Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: The Giant Monk Ado
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My head tilted up involuntarily.
As I stood, his massive head loomed so high above that I couldn't even see his face without craning my neck.
'He's really huge.'
It wasn't just tall and lanky either.
Muscles bulged across his entire frame. Even his skeleton seemed to surpass any mortal's, thick and enormous from the start.
'A heaven-sent martial bone.'
And that wasn't all.
My unusually keen senses picked up the aura emanating from the man.
'This guy's... strong.'
Compared to his build, his face looked incredibly youthful.
Beyond just young—it felt downright childish.
A face as innocent and pure as a boy's.
"Good person!"
"Yeah, yeah. So why were you letting those kids beat on you with that huge body of yours, huh?"
He looked so young that I slipped into casual speech without thinking.
"Excuse me, but how old are you, brother?"
"Good person!"
"...If that's your way of saying thanks, you can stop now."
"Good! Good!"
"..."
Dang Gun's voice came from behind me.
"Hui, my brother. Seems like his mind isn't all there."
"Yeah."
I looked into the man's eyes. He shouted again.
"Good person!"
"...Yeah. Thanks. So, how old are you anyway?"
"Mm..."
The man fiddled with his fingers, folding and unfolding them for a good while.
Growing impatient, Yang-hui asked again.
"What's your name?"
A bright smile burst across his face as he answered.
"Ado!"
Ado? Not the 'ado' from 'dull,' I hope.
'Doesn't sound like a dharma name. Not a Shaolin monk, then?'
Shaolin monks receive dharma names cycling through characters like Hui, Beop, Gong, Gye, Mu, Myeong based on seniority.
"Alright, Ado. Are you from Shaolin by any chance?"
"Yes!"
He has the look, but no dharma name?
That doesn't add up.
"You really came from Shaolin?"
"Yes!"
"Then why were you here getting beat up by kids?"
"I was playing with them! The kids are good!"
So he wasn't getting beaten—he was playing?
And those kids who swarmed him swinging sticks were 'good'?
His mind definitely isn't all there, that's for sure.
'So why does he keep calling me a good person?'
From his perspective, I must seem like the guy who interrupted his fun with the kids.
"Why's a Shaolin monk in Taehwa?"
Shaolin Temple was so famous that no one in the martial world hadn't heard of it.
But actually spotting a Shaolin monk was rarer than stars in the sky.
They holed up in Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, never venturing out.
Unlike the other Nine Great Sects that had lay branches to interact with the secular world, Shaolin had none—not even lay disciples.
Unless you visited as an incense guest, you'd never lay eyes on one.
"Yes, I came out for the Lotus Pilgrimage."
The sects of the martial world send their disciples out into the jianghu once they reach a certain level to gain worldly experience.
Shaolin calls it the Lotus Pilgrimage, apparently.
"I see."
I crossed my arms and sank into thought for a moment.
A chance encounter. There might be something to gain from this.
But...
'Messing with Shaolin is a hundred—no, a thousand times riskier than kicking a wasp nest.'
I could end up making the mistake of pulling the grass to get at the snake.
Better not get involved.
"Well then, see you around. Dang hyung, Gu hyung, let's go."
Just as Yang-hui turned to leave...
"Whoa."
Suddenly, something yanked my clothes from behind, nearly toppling me.
I almost fell flat.
What the hell—his grip was insanely strong!
"What?"
"Good person!"
"Thanks for the compliment. I'm heading out now."
"Good person, so I'll go with you."
"With me?"
"Yes."
"You?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you're a good person."
Gu-ak chuckled and tossed in a joke.
"Little brother. Looks like the big monk's taken a shine to you."
Ah. This is a headache.
"Ado."
"Yes?"
"Why do you want to follow me? Do you follow every good person you see?"
"Yes. The head monk told me to learn from good people."
"Why am I a good person..."
I trailed off. A sudden realization hit me.
Come to think of it, his gaze...
'He's looking at my dantian.'
"Don't tell me... you can see it?"
"Yes. I can see you're a good person."
I get it now. That's why he kept calling me that—it had me puzzled.
Yang-hui's eyes deepened.
This guy had read my dantian's pure core and pure energy.
'First time since Master Umhu.'
Not even the Jeon family head could perceive the pure energy or pure core.
Yet this kid, who looks so young despite his size, sensed it?
'Shaolin... or Buddhism in general? Or maybe...'
The pure core and pure energy were mysteries even to Yang-hui himself.
That's why he was heading into the Sword King Mausoleum—to uncover clues.
'Getting tangled with Shaolin would be a hassle. But I can't just leave someone who might hold clues.'
Riiip.
"..."
The fabric Ado gripped tore right off.
He wasn't even squeezing—just holding it—and it crumpled and ripped.
How strong is this guy exactly?
"Ado. If fate brings us together again, we'll meet. You know what I mean, right, as a monk?"
"Seasonal Karma?"
"Exactly. If there's fate, we'll meet again. See you then."
"Yes!"
I pried his hand off my collar and walked away with the group.
"..."
"..."
"..."
A sigh escaped me naturally.
"Ado."
Ado, following right behind, beamed innocently.
"We met again. It's fate!"
You followed us the whole way and now it's 'met again'? Cheeky punk.
He looked ready to follow us to the ends of the earth.
"Hui, brother. Might be best to travel with him for now. Leaving someone not right in the head feels wrong."
"Yeah. We could even think of it as forging ties with Shaolin—not a bad deal."
True enough.
If we weren't set to enter the Sword King Mausoleum in half a month, that is.
'No helping it for now. I'll find a chance to shake him later.'
"Ado. You gonna keep following?"
"No? We're walking together."
"Same difference. Got it."
Somehow, we'd picked up a massive new companion.
His height drew stares from everyone in the market streets the whole way.
Was this good or bad?
"Hyung. Those meat skewers at that stall look tasty. Buy some?"
I flicked him a silver coin.
"I'll get some... huh?"
The spinning silver, meant for Chui-dal's palm, landed in Ado's grasp instead.
"What are you doing?"
"Hee hee hee."
Ado looked up at Yang-hui with sparkling eyes.
His eyes and face were so cute, I'd love to give him pocket money.
But with that head up there, the disconnect was unreal.
"You broke?"
"I received alms."
That wasn't alms—that was robbery, kid.
I sighed and tossed another silver.
Snap!
"...You need two?"
"I'm hungry, wanna eat a lot."
"Fine... get whatever you want."
"Thanks!"
Ado's huge frame thumped away excitedly.
-Now's our chance. Everyone, bolt!
I sent a transmission and leaped into lightness skill with the group.
We reached the inn where we'd left our things in a flash.
"We met again. Truly seasonal karma, right?"
My face stiffened.
Ado stood in front of the inn, arms full of rice cakes and candies.
He'd bought everything and still caught up—his lightness skill was no joke.
'This guy... it's not just deep inner energy.'
A heaven-sent martial bone.
Inner energy beyond what his age should allow.
And top-tier martial prowess on top?
'No way.'
In his past life, around this time, there was a rumor sweeping the jianghu.
A heaven-sent prodigy and future world's greatest was growing in Shaolin.
Yang-hui had died before roaming the world fully, so he'd never met him, but he knew Shaolin had been furious.
'No way? No way?'
"Sigh. Let's head in first."
"Yes."
I apologized to the innkeeper and spread out the bought food on a first-floor table.
"Waiter, liquor here. The best you've got."
"Right away! How many bottles?"
The Dang siblings, Gu-ak, and Yang-hui himself.
Four in total.
"Four bottles!"
"Eight nyang of silver!"
I smirked teasingly at Chui-dal's pout and took the bottles from the waiter.
'How long has it been since I had a drink?'
Seven years since regressing—fully seven years.
Even counting this life's body, it was my first since birth.
"Ahh. Smell that. Chui-dal, wanna sniff?"
"You mocking me right now?"
"Then it's comfort, isn't it?"
"Ugh!"
As Chui-dal crammed meat skewers into his mouth, Yang-hui carefully poured a cup.
"Dang hyung. Dang sister. Gu hyung. Cheers!"
We clinked cups lightly and downed them.
A luxurious aroma. It clung perfectly to the tongue.
"Ahhhhh!"
This is liquor! This is what liquor should be!
In his past life, he'd scrimped and drunk only cheap fire wine.
How long since such fine brew?
"Hyung. Can't I have just one cup?"
"No way."
"Three months till fifteen—three months!"
"Ah, no drinking till your body's fully formed, even as an adult."
"..."
I grinned smugly and speared a piece of meat.
Then I noticed Ado's food.
'No meat at all.'
A monk eating meat was odd, sure.
But could that build hold up without it?
"Monk. Wanna try some?"
"Yes?"
"Hey now, Yeon. No teasing."
"Tch, fine."
It took about two hours for the mountain of food to vanish.
Buzzed from the booze, we ordered inn dishes and another round each to keep the fun going.
"Ah, be right back."
"Little brother. Where to?"
"Gonna check on Little Fei."
I paused on my way out.
"What? Not following now?"
Ado smiled brightly.
"Everyone here's a friend. You won't run."
...Not a total fool, huh?
"Going alone's lonely, and you can't drink alone anyway, so come on, Chui-dal."
"Huh?"
"No chatter. Follow."
Walking with Chui-dal in tow, I pondered briefly.
'Shaolin. Shaolin, huh.'
Ah, whatever.
Since we're going all out anyway, might as well drag Shaolin into it?
Mount Song, where Shaolin sits, was right up in Henan province.
If I wanted, we could reach the temple in three days from here.
'Sigh. Stick to the plan for now and rethink later.'
"Chui-dal, follow me."
With that, I leaped up.
Hopping roof to roof, I reached the inn's top floor.
"Hello there, boss."
"Gah! You scared me!"
The innkeeper, buried in paperwork, spotted Yang-hui and toppled backward.
"Whoa. Careful now."
Yang-hui darted in, grabbed his arm, and hauled him up.
"Y-young hero, what brings you...? If it's, uh, money you're after, it's over there."
...Looks like some Black Dao gang's nearby.
He assumed so naturally I was here to rob him.
Fair enough—armed martial artists climbing through windows look the part.
"My apologies for the rudeness. Didn't want anyone tailing me if I used the stairs."
"Th-then, what is it...?"
The request was simple.
"Tell me where the Hawon Sect's branch is."
The innkeeper's face changed instantly.
-Hyung! Suspicious!
"Hawon branch, eh? Why you looking?"
"Got my reasons. Digging info or buying it—one or the other."
The innkeeper slipped both hands under his stool.
That instant, Chui-dal shot forward like an arrow.
"You bastard!"
But he didn't reach the innkeeper.
Yang-hui snatched his nape first.
"I told you to quit reading those trashy novels."
"...?"
The innkeeper, frozen from Chui-dal's outburst, raised his hands.
In them: ledger and abacus.
"Welcome, customer!"
"...Huh?"
Yang-hui gave a pathetic look to the gaping Chui-dal.