novelraw Chapter 182 : Temple Stay
Chapter 182 : Temple Stay
Chapter 182: Temple Stay
This was the second time I had climbed the rugged mountain path of Mount Song.
Since the purpose of this trip was what it was, I needed to quietly slip into the Shaolin Temple. To make that possible, I had obtained a bit of help from someone along the way.
When I announced my visit, the Branch Leader of the Henan Branch welcomed me warmly.
“I heard from Pak Chil. You need my help? Say the word.”
Ever since the incident where I had persuaded the Son of Heaven, I had been treated like a hero in every branch.
The high-ranking members of the Beggars’ Union treated me with sincere hospitality, despite their poverty, practically viewing me as a candidate for the next Sect Leader.
“You really don’t have to go this far. I’m still just nobody who hasn’t even been formally acknowledged as a Successor Beggar yet.”
“Hah! Just because that person hasn’t returned to the position of Sect Leader and declared it publicly doesn’t mean anything. You are a disciple who learned the Dog-Beating Staff Technique. Why think so little of yourself?”
Anyway, with the help of the Henan Branch Leader Ogeol, we were able to infiltrate the Shaolin Temple disguised as Lay Disciples.
My identity was the second young master of a mid-sized trading company in Henan Province—the Yangzhou Trading Company.
As for Ilhong beside me—
“I suppose I’ll be a distant relative of the Byeok Clan. One who can barely obtain permission to use firearms.”
To legally use firearms in the Central Plains, one needed a status that permitted it. The Byeok Clan had once sent a gift together with black powder weapons.
“Don’t cause trouble with that and drag the Byeok Clan into problems.”
“I won’t. Do you think I’m some kind of Captain?”
“Cough… what did I even do?”
I brushed it off with a fake cough.
Lately, every request I took on had turned into something big, so Jo Harang and Ilhong seemed to see me as some sort of symbol of misfortune.
Still, even through all those hardships, there had never been a request I failed to complete. That was what mattered.
“All Lay Disciples visiting this Shaolin Temple, gather quickly at the mountain gate!”
When we arrived at the mountain gate of Shaolin, a monk’s booming voice called out from among the murmuring crowd.
There were about forty people. According to Ilhong, they were the Lay Disciples of this intake—people who had donated a certain sum of money to Shaolin Temple to gain entry.
Murmur, murmur.
The leader of the Orthodox Murim. The opportunity to experience the martial arts of Shaolin itself. If lucky, one could even build connections.
For the prestigious families, trading companies, and wealthy elites across Henan and the Central Plains, wouldn’t they gladly donate a fortune just to send their children here?
“Form orderly lines. From this moment on, you will become disciples of Shaolin.”
Of course, Lay Disciples like us could not access Shaolin’s secret arts or its highest-level martial arts.
Still, since one could at least learn something, there were plenty of reasons for people to compete to send their children here.
The Lay Disciples gathered in droves before the towering mountain gate of Shaoshi Peak and lined up neatly.
Then several figures walked out from inside Shaolin Temple and took their positions.
Incidentally, distinguishing Lay Disciples from True Mountain Disciples here was very simple.
“So those bald heads that look like bare mountains are the True Mountain Disciples, right?”
“Shh! They’ll hear you. Please speak quietly.”
Unlike Lay Disciples, who still had lives and businesses in the outside world, the True Mountain Disciples had the most undeniable proof that they had left the secular world.
Hearing my mutter, Ilhong startled and hurriedly shushed me.
“Instead, look for someone with strange facial contours. They must have slipped into this group of Lay Disciples.”
The Lay Disciples entering the mountain were strangers to each other—dozens of unfamiliar people arriving together.
It was the perfect chance for someone unknown to quietly blend in.
That meant the master from the Emei Sect must also be hiding somewhere among these people.
All I could do was hope Ilhong, who had talent for this kind of thing, would find them as soon as possible.
Living on a mountaintop—eating temple food and sharing life with countless bald monks—would certainly become more unbearable the longer it lasted.
“Even if you are Lay Disciples, you are now disciples of Shaolin. Strict discipline will be imposed. Anyone who cannot follow it…”
The bald martial monk who had gathered everyone began explaining Shaolin Temple’s rules as if he had been possessed by a military training instructor.
“…will be sent down Mount Song in accordance with the sacred precepts of Shaolin Temple.”
In other words, they would lose their status as Lay Disciples and be expelled.
Naturally, even if they were expelled like that, their donation would not be refunded.
They also wouldn’t be able to go around claiming to be former Shaolin Lay Disciples. If caught, it would only make them look pathetic.
“Now then, from this moment on, you will begin parting with the secular world in order to sever worldly attachments.”
With those words, the bald True Mountain Disciples rushed forward and began searching the belongings of the Lay Disciples.
“The martial arts of Shaolin are about escaping worldly afflictions and attaining enlightenment.”
“Put down anything that might interfere. You will receive it back when you leave.”
It felt like a military training camp. Just like handing over money and belongings before entering a base.
Since most of these people were children of wealthy families who even brought servants along, all sorts of items kept appearing from their pockets.
On the other hand, there was also someone who had nothing—so empty-handed that not even dust came out.
“Young Master… you truly didn’t bring anything at all?”
A Shaolin monk asked me with a look that clearly said, ‘What kind of person is this?’
“I do have some roasted beans.”
Since I had started life as a beggar and lived with almost nothing to my name.
I pulled out a small handful of beans I used to chew on whenever I got bored.
“…Just keep them. It would feel wrong to confiscate even that.”
A Shaolin monk who survived on temple meals looked at me with pity.
Then a small commotion broke out beside me.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Ilhong began laying down various projectile hidden weapons and bombs she had hidden in her clothes.
At first, when a small Thunderburst Bomb appeared, the monks flinched.
But when round iron spheres began appearing endlessly, the Shaolin monks panicked.
“What in the world is all this…?”
“She’s from the Byeok Clan.”
Ilhong boldly used the borrowed identity.
“Even so, why would someone coming to become a Lay Disciple bring Thunderburst Bombs this large…?”
Exactly. It wasn’t like she was heading into war. At the office she fiddled with them constantly too.
“They say it’s better to be safe than sorry. Bandits might appear on the road.”
Everyone nearby looked at Ilhong with exhausted expressions.
“Ahem. In any case, these will be returned once you safely complete all your training.”
She had worn loose clothing for her disguise as a man, but I never imagined she would fill the entire space with weapons.
Was she trying to become a bomb fanatic like Byeok Nara?
For a while she had seemed obsessed with reaching the Peak Master Level to help me, but since that wasn’t easy, it felt like she had slightly changed direction.
“As expected of the Byeok Clan…”
“There isn’t a single normal person among them.”
People whispered around us.
Anyway, after parting with all worldly belongings like that, we began living the life of monks together with the bald-headed monks at the towering Shaolin Temple in the mountains.
Back in the Korea where I used to live, once military manpower started running short, even orphans from orphanages were gradually dragged into the army.
So I had prided myself on being fairly accustomed to a controlled life.
But life in a temple—where even appetite itself was treated as something to guard against—felt entirely different.
First of all, the sleeping arrangements were a problem. Claiming that comfort and luxury were enemies of training, they made everyone sleep on hard beds.
We barely slept a few hours before the bell rang at the Hour of the Rabbit, waking everyone.
Above all, the extremely restricted meal portions and the meatless temple cuisine made me feel increasingly strained as time passed.
“Ilhong, let me ask you one sincere favor.”
This was a mountain. Wild animals were everywhere.
Yet here I was chewing on nothing but vegetables like I had returned to my beggar days.
And while starving like this, I had to perform dawn prayers, run several laps around Shaolin Temple for morning training, and complete martial arts practice.
My stomach spent every day producing nothing but loud growls.
Even a body that could survive being stabbed dozens of times needed high-calorie food packed with protein and fat—not temple meals.
“Meat… bring me some meat dishes…”
We could find the Emei master later. For now I begged her to bring me something to chew.
Unlike me, who was suffering terribly from this temple life, Ilhong looked perfectly fine.
“Captain, have you forgotten your beggar days? Back then it was worse than this.”
“Hey, back then I was a tiny kid.”
Now I was taller, more muscular, and my body’s performance had increased dramatically.
Ihong had a slender build and had always eaten lightly, so temple food didn’t seem to bother her at all.
“The Shaolin monks say ‘All things arise from the mind’ and ‘Affliction itself is enlightenment.’”
Everything comes from the mind, and enlightenment is gained through such troubling afflictions.
In short, they meant I should endure it and gain enlightenment.
“What enlightenment…? It’s just hunger.”
“That’s what the Shaolin monks say.”
“Ugh…”
They say masters can regulate their bodies and endure long periods without eating or drinking.
But this body of mine was terribly inefficient.
Well, except when it came to martial arts—it possessed overwhelmingly superior specs.
Maybe gaining something meant losing something in return.
“Maybe I should sneak out and hunt some mountain animal.”
If I caught a pheasant and roasted it nicely, it would be a delicacy beyond compare.
When you’re hungry, even a simple dish becomes a feast greater than luxury dishes in the finest inns.
“You’ll be expelled immediately if you get caught. You know that, right?”
Ihong immediately interrupted.
Right. There was a rule that no one could leave Shaolin Temple without permission.
“Hey, haven’t you discovered anything? Still no trace of Venerable Huiyul?”
She scratched her cheek awkwardly at my question.
“I haven’t found anyone with strange facial contours yet. The only thing I discovered is the power struggle here.”
We needed to find that Emei master so we could end this temple stay and leave.
“What if that Emei master isn’t wearing a human-skin mask, but instead used disguise techniques or bone-shrinking martial arts? If it’s their real skin and bones, I might not notice.”
In other words, if it wasn’t a human-skin mask but martial arts that altered real skin and bones, even a specialist like her wouldn’t be able to detect it.
“Then there was no reason to bring you.”
“…Ugh.”
Lately Ilhong seemed sensitive to comments like that, perhaps feeling she hadn’t been very useful.
“I’m joking.”
“Yeah right.”
If she still couldn’t find them, it probably wasn’t a human-skin mask.
The timing of the incident also suggested it, and my instincts kept whispering that they were hiding among the dozens of outsiders.
“Then how do we find them now? Is there no method?”
Ihong asked if we had reached a dead end.
“No, there is a method. It’s just a bit troublesome.”
Gi Hyo and Jeong Yo, was it?
They seemed to possess insight into future events.
They had even sparred with me and demonstrated Emei martial arts so I could experience them, saying they would show me how to find the person.
In the current situation, that would help a lot.
“They say all Lay Disciples will take turns sparring. I’ll find them then.”
Any martial art I saw or took a hit from, my body remembered to some extent.
It was one of the few advantages of the Heaven-Slaying Star body that seemed to evolve all martial arts into itself.
“Unless they’ve reached the Returning to Simplicity Realm, it’ll show when we cross fists or swords.”
Masters recognize other masters.
I only needed to endure until the time came when everyone had learned enough martial arts to spar.
Thinking that, I clutched my starving stomach and walked through Shaolin Temple with Ilhong.
“Ah! Wait! There’s some misunderstanding—ugh!”
From a corner between buildings, the sound of a fight suddenly rang out.
When I peeked over, I saw one slick-looking fellow being surrounded and beaten senseless by several people who looked like they had grown up in luxury.
“Where do you think you’re acting familiar?”
“A brat from some insignificant trading company.”
“Unbelievable.”
They had been told to abandon all worldly concerns.
But they were still children of powerful families from various regions.
Of course they couldn’t truly let it go.
Maybe this was the power struggle Ilhong had mentioned earlier.
“This reminds me a bit of when I first met you.”
“Why bring that up now?!”
Ihong flared up in embarrassment, probably recalling the time she had been surrounded and beaten during her beggar days.
“Because I just thought of it.”
I answered calmly and stepped forward toward those people—who seemed to have traded the Buddha’s teachings for something worthless.