Chapter 204 Karma (3)

During the time when the exiled monk Deok-mun^[1] of the Shaolin Temple was still a monk, his Dharma name was Ja Geum-jeong. He was taken in by the current Sutra Pavilion Master, Grand Monk Gong-jeon, who was one of the top five martial arts masters in Shaolin.

Grand Monk Gong-jeon, who took in Ja Geum-jeong after he lost his parents to ongoing famine and bandit attacks, highly regarded Ja Geum-jeong’s martial arts talent among the children he had taken in at Shaolin and personally taught him martial arts as his direct disciple.

Living up to these expectations, Ja Geum-jeong’s outstanding martial prowess was recognized to the extent that he was even mentioned as a candidate for the next Ten Precepts Monk after just ten years.

However, despite this recognition and Grand Monk Gong-jeon’s repeated recommendations, Ja Geum-jeong was repeatedly excluded from the list of Ten Precepts Monk candidates.

Grand Monk Gong-jeon, who considered this unfair, raised the issue during a Dharma Council meeting.

“Amitabha. I would like to ask the Abbot and all of you. Why do you keep excluding Deok-mun from the list of candidates whenever selecting the Ten Precepts Monk?”

It was the Precepts Hall Master, Grand Monk Dae-deok, who answered Grand Monk Gong-jeon’s question.

“Amitabha. As the Sutra Pavilion Master is well aware, one must not only excel in martial arts to become a Ten Precepts Monk, correct?”

“Of course. However, in my judgment as the one who directly taught that child, no one has a gentler heart than him.”

At these words, Grand Monk Dae-deok, the Precepts Hall Master, let out a sigh and opened his mouth.

“Sutra Pavilion Master.”

“Amitabha. Please speak.”

“There is a difference between having an upright heart and a gentle one.”

“…Precepts Hall Master. You know better than anyone the unfortunate circumstances behind Deok-mun being called to the Precepts Hall several times, don’t you?”

“And that is precisely why that child is not suitable to become a Ten Precepts Monk who will represent Shaolin.”

“How can you say that?”

“Do you want me to directly mention this matter?”

At those words, Grand Monk Gong-jeon suddenly realized his mistake.

He only wanted to give his disciple, Ja Geum-jeong, a chance.

However, because of this, the fact that only he, the Precepts Hall Master, and the Abbot knew within Shaolin was about to be revealed.

“I can understand that seeing things one shouldn’t see when the Spiritual Gate opens is that child’s karma given by Buha. However, Deok-mun tries to endure it not through the practice of the Buha’s teachings, but with the alcohol offered in the Dharma Hall.”

Murmuring

At the Precepts Hall Master’s words, the senior monks began to stir.

Grand Monk Gong-jeon tried to settle this.

“Precepts Hall Master, but that’s…”

“Yes. The world that child sees is different from ordinary people. How can living in a world where he sees dead spirits not be painful?”

“You know that, yet…”

“And that is precisely why it cannot be allowed. He has to endure pain and suffering for a lifetime, but he has already succumbed to alcohol several times, unable to control himself, and is locked up in the Seclusion Hall. How can we give the position of Ten Precepts Monk, which requires being a role model to other monks, to someone like that? We should no longer discuss this issue.”

At the Precepts Hall Master’s words, all the monks in the council hall nodded their heads.

Seeing them, Grand Monk Gong-jeon lowered his head with a regretful expression and pressed his palms together.

He wanted to give that child a chance.

However, while everyone said they understood, they looked at the child’s suffering with a distorted view and simply believed it should be overcome through the Buha’s teachings.

“Amitabha.”

But Grand Monk Gong-jeon thought differently.

How can one overcome everything just by practicing the Buha’s teachings?

He saw no big difference in telling someone whose leg was cut off to diligently practice the Buha’s way and that they would be able to walk someday.

“Everyone only sees one side of that child.”

Grand Monk Gong-jeon was truly regretful.

Because Deok-mun could see what others couldn’t, he was able to realize even what Shaolin had lost.

However, everyone focused on his faults rather than his merits.

This was the nature of the Buha’s teachings.

This would remain unchanged even as time passed.

“Perhaps it would be right to let that child go, for his own sake.”

***

Papapapapapapang!

Countless evil spirits instantly burst and vanished.

“Ha!”

At this sight, the exiled monk Ja Geum-jeong couldn’t hide his surprise, his mouth agape.

After leaving Shaolin, he had been drowning in alcohol to forget the “visible suffering” even a little.

As he sank into alcohol, naturally he couldn’t control himself, and thanks to that, he committed numerous eccentric acts and was even called a madman.

It was none other than Monk Imun-hae who pulled him out of this mire.

“You have lived a truly painful life.”

Imun-hae was the first to understand these cursed eyes of his and drove away the evil spirits with talisman techniques, allowing him to sleep peacefully for the first time without alcohol.

Taking this as a bond, he had been following Monk Imun-hae and living with him.

However, he couldn’t help but click his tongue.

“What kind of fellow is this?”

Monk Imun-hae had said something like this while drinking together.

“I told you your skills are good, so why are you conscious of the sect?”

“Yeah. With your level of skill as a monk, you could receive better treatment wherever you go, couldn’t you?”

“Haha. Ja-hyung, I feel good hearing you say that. But just as there are countless masters in the martial world, as you said, the same goes for the world of monks. There are monks far more outstanding and great than me.”

“To this drunkard, you’re the best.”

“I’m grateful for your words, but if a mere itinerant monk like me goes around claiming to be the best, the monks of the world will laugh at me.”

“Hmph. Stop pretending to be humble.”

At that time, he thought that even if a monk’s skills were outstanding, they would all be similar.

He considered them all to be the same.

But when he actually witnessed Mok Gyeong-un’s monastic technique of slaughtering countless evil spirits by forming hand seals without even using talismans, he was dumbfounded.

Monk Imun-hae really couldn’t compare to him.

“what the .... is this guy’s true identity?”

Judging by the energy felt from the outside, he was clearly a martial artist.

But how did he master monastic techniques to this level?

Then,

“Haa… haa…”

“Young lady? Are you coming to your senses?”

Woo-hyang, the daughter of the estate owner who had been suffering from an evil spirit’s possession, regained consciousness.

She looked around in a daze.

“What happened?”

Ever since her father became like that, every single day had been so painful that even breathing was difficult.

But now, it wasn’t like that at all.

She felt as if her whole body had become light, as if she had returned to the past.

“Young lady, your complexion?”

“My body feels at ease. What happened?”

At this question, the man supporting her hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the exiled monk Ja Geum-jeong and Mok Gyeong-un with a nod.

“I think those guests did something.”

“Those people?”

“Yes.”

He couldn’t say exactly what they did.

However, after Mok Gyeong-un did something, her heavy body suddenly became much lighter.

Even the eerie phenomenon of occasional chills running down her spine disappeared.

Then, Woo-hyang clasped her hands together and bowed her head to them, refusing the help of the man supporting her.

“Thank you. Thanks to you two heroes, my body has become much lighter.”

At her gratitude, the exiled monk Ja Geum-jeong snorted and said,

“This drunkard didn’t do anything. If you want to thank someone, thank that fellow who looks like a long-time courtesan…”

Smack!

“Ugh!”

Before he could finish speaking, Ja Geum-jeong grabbed his nose in pain.

Drip drip

“!?”

Feeling the warm wetness on his hand, Ja Geum-jeong’s eyes widened.

His nose was bleeding.

The blood dripping onto his palm was quickly washed away by the heavy rain, but that wasn’t the issue.

“What the?”

He didn’t even see it coming.

He only realized it after feeling the pain upon impact.

To him, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said,

“If you don’t know my name, just call me ‘sir.’ I don’t particularly like being called a long-time courtesan.”

“You… what the .... are you?”

Papak!

The exiled monk Ja Geum-jeong removed his hand from his nose and assumed a martial arts stance.

He had thought that while he didn’t know about his monastic techniques, his martial arts skill was only at the Peak (絶頂) level of mastery.

But just now, he couldn’t even detect the blow to his nose.

This aroused his fighting spirit.

However,

Pat!

Seop Chun stepped between them, gripping the handle of his Wind Demon Blade, and said,

“Exiled monk. Do not be rude to my lord.”

Of course, he wasn’t the only one.

Mong Mu-yak also stood beside Seop Chun and half-drew his sword.

Shing!

Seeing them, Ja Geum-jeong frowned.

The exiled monk Ja Geum-jeong knew from the moment he saw them that these two were Transcendent Realm masters.

Yet, men with such martial talent were pledging allegiance to that fellow who resembled a long-time courtesan.

That made him even more curious about that guy’s true identity.

Whoosh!

Energy gathered in Ja Geum-jeong’s fists.

Then, a blue light flickered from his fists, forming a strength of fist.

Seeing this, admiration flashed in the eyes of Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak.

“Fist strength?”

“His qi circulation is fast.”

They knew he wasn’t an ordinary master, but they didn’t know he could circulate qi so quickly to form fist strength.

Unlike their surprise, Mok Gyeong-un was focusing on a different aspect.

This time too, Ja Geum-jeong gathered the surrounding energy to form fist strength.

“Interesting.”

Although he was watching it with his own eyes, it was difficult to understand the principle.

The movement of internal energy through acupoints could be understood as a kind of qi circulation principle, but this transcended the realm of understanding, just like the Art of Sword Control shown by the Society Leader.

It was a technique that couldn’t be easily stolen without accompanying enlightenment.

That’s why it piqued his interest even more.

“Both of you, stand back.”

Mok Gyeong-un gave an order to Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak.

“But My Lord…”

“It’s alright, so please step aside.”

At this, Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak simultaneously retreated to the left and right.

However, Ja Geum-jeong still maintained his martial arts stance without releasing it, showing the momentum of throwing a punch at any moment.

To him, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“Is that fist technique a martial art of the Shaolin Temple?”

“Hmph. With what face would I use Shaolin’s fist techniques after being excommunicated? This is the Demon Subduing Attacking Fist^[2] created by this drunkard.”

At these words, Seop Chun snorted.

He said it wasn’t Shaolin’s fist technique, but no matter how you look at it, it resembles the Shaolin Demon Subduing Fist.

The Shaolin Demon Subduing Fist, one of the five fist techniques derived from the Divine White Technique^[3], was famous for its fierce yet elegant fist sequence as an offensive martial art.

Of course, Mok Gyeong-un, who didn’t know this, didn’t care at all which one was the original.

He just wanted to know how Ja Geum-jeong circulated his internal energy.

“Was it called the Unsurpassed Power^[4]?”

Unsurpassed Power.

The legendary cultivation method that Bodhidharma supposedly created as his final enlightenment before becoming a celestial being.

If one could manipulate the surrounding energy without gathering internal energy inside the body, nothing could be more efficient.

That’s why he wanted to grasp its principle even more.

So, Mok Gyeong-un provoked him.

“In the martial world, they say to yield three moves to a junior, right? Come at me.”

“What?”

Ja Geum-jeong scowled fiercely.

He knew from that one move earlier that this fellow wasn’t ordinary, but still, he was someone who was known as one of the Three Madmen in the martial world and had a notorious reputation.

Yet, this young fellow was provoking him, saying he would yield three moves to him, so his anger rose.

“Alright. If you’re that confident, let’s have a go…”

Right then,

Boom!

Before Ja Geum-jeong’s words could end, a huge roar erupted from the main hall.

At this, everyone’s gaze simultaneously turned there.

Wondering what happened, the wall of the main hall had collapsed at some point, and a man in a gray monk’s robe with a Yin-Yang symbol was staggering there.

Seeing this, the exiled monk Ja Geum-jeong cried out in surprise.

“Imun-hae!”

And he hurriedly tried to rush towards him,

Pak!

But Mok Gyeong-un blocked him and shook his head.

Because,

Bulge bulge

The condition of the man called Imun-hae, wearing a monk’s robe, was unusual.

Black blood vessels were bulging all over his face, and his eyes were also rolled back, taking the form of white eyes.

“Kekekekekek!”

The man laughed towards them in an eerie voice.

Both his appearance and laughter were extremely creepy.

The exiled monk Ja Geum-jeong, who thought his condition was unusual, shouted roughly.

“Get out of the way!”

Mok Gyeong-un snorted and said,

“What can you do even if I move?”

Gnash!

“Then are you telling me to just stand by and watch?”

“Yes.”

“What?”

Pat!

As soon as the retort ended, Mok Gyeong-un’s figure dispersed and suddenly appeared in front of the possessed Imun-hae.

Flinch!

The eerily laughing Imun-hae was startled by Mok Gyeong-un’s sudden appearance and tried to slash his neck with sharpened nails.

However,

Pak! Crack!

Mok Gyeong-un grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm at once.

He twisted it so hard that the bone protruded through the elbow.

Normally, this level of pain would make one scream, but Imun-hae laughed even more.

“Kekekekekek! It’s useless. Do you think this body will feel pain from something like this?”

“Yes. I suppose so.”

“Are you also a monk? This fellow’s body is already mine…”

Slap!

Before he could finish speaking, Mok Gyeong-un slapped Imun-hae’s cheek.

Imun-hae’s head turned, his eyes wide open.

He felt no pain at all when his arm was broken, but that slap just now made his face burn as if it would char.

“I guess this hurts, huh?”

The startled entity possessing Imun-hae’s body turned its head.

“You… who the hell are you?”

Thwack! Crack!

Right then, Mok Gyeong-un kicked Imun-hae’s shin.

With his shin broken, Imun-hae was forced to kneel on one knee.

Thud!

Mok Gyeong-un then slapped Imun-hae’s other cheek.

Slap!

“Ugh!”

A scream burst out from Imun-hae’s mouth at the searing pain.

The entity possessing Imun-hae’s body finally realized something was wrong.

This bastard could directly inflict pain on it.

Thus,

‘I need to get out.’

That entity tried to leave Imun-hae’s body.

However,

Grab!

Mok Gyeong-un grabbed his shoulder,

Pak! Pak! Pak!

Struggle (鬪)! Rip (裂)! Spread (陳)!

He made a simplified hand seal.

Then the entity trying to escape from the monk Imun-hae was trapped inside the body as if it had become a prison and couldn’t get out.

That entity cried out in a fluster,

“You… just what the .... are you doing…”

Slap!

“Ack!”

Before it could finish speaking, the entity’s cheek turned to the side.

It was so painful that the entity possessing Imun-hae’s body turned its head in disbelief.

But then, Mok Gyeong-un’s face entered its white eyes.

Flinch!

‘He’s… smiling?’

This wasn’t the kind of expression someone trying to save the owner of this body from it would show.

Rather, this smile was filled with nothing but malice.

For a moment, the entity unconsciously swallowed its dry saliva.