Episode 649

An old man facing a large golden Buddha statue was reciting a sutra, his eyes cold.

A very common sight in Buddhism, yet anyone who had seen this monk doing so would never think of it as such an ordinary occurrence.

His appearance was special, even though nothing out of the ordinary was happening. It was a sight that seemed to prove their specialness has true value when it emerges from the mundane.

“At heart, there is no love, no fear, no affection, no knowledge, no enlightenment; all there is is Nirvana.”

As he continued to chant, the face of the monk began to relax slightly.

But his deep self-discipline felt shattered.

“A-abbot!”

An urgent voice came from the door outside. The old monk’s eyes twitched at this.

Cultivating Buddhism was the most important thing for someone who studied it. Therefore, no matter what the situation, someone who was chanting shouldn’t be interrupted.

But the person screaming must have known that. This meant that something more important than this was happening.

“Come in.”

As soon as his low voice rang out, the door burst open, and a Buddhist monk wearing the Shaolin yellow robes hurriedly came inside.

“S-something huge just happened, abbot!”

“First, calm down.”

Hearing the calm and composed words of the monk, the man took a deep breath and sat down.

“I apologize. I think this needs to be informed as quickly as possible.”

“Now tell me. What is the matter?”

“Abbot! Wudang has been defeated!”

The abbot of Shaolin slowly opened his closed eyes and then looked at the monk with heavy eyes.

“Speak to me in detail.”

“Yes. It appears that Wudang and Mount Hua had a spar in Wuhan.”

“Spar…”

The abbot, who repeated the word, sighed softly.

“There is no way that the first-class disciples of Mount Hua went to fight, then Wudang sent their second-class disciples?”

“It isn’t that. It seems the disciples of the second class came forward for Mount Hua, but Wudang is said to have brought their first-class disciples, not the second and third.”

The abbot frowned at this.

Although the abbot was someone who rarely showed emotions on one’s face, this situation seems to have been unexpected by him.

“Tell me everything in detail.”

“Yes, that…”

The abbot listened to the entire report without interruption and quietly shook his head.

“The sect leader of Wudang has raised his hands.”

“…Who could have even predicted this outcome? When it comes to the first-class disciples of Wudang, they are recognized as the best warriors everywhere in the world. No matter how formal the spar defeat was, isn’t it true that Mount Hua’s young disciples defeated the first-class disciples of Wudang time and again?”

“Yes.”

“Among the second-class disciples of Wudang, there are only a few who can guarantee victory against the first-class disciples of Wudang. It is especially difficult if the opponents are famous among the disciples.”

However the difficult task was accomplished by someone from Mount Hua.

Not somewhere else, but Mount Hua.

“…Are you alright, abbot?”

The monk gulped and spoke with a slightly nervous face.

“This isn’t something that will simply end in the defeat of Wudang. Wudang, along with Shaolin, is a symbol of the Central Plains. In addition, aren’t they among the Nine Great Sects?”

The abbot nodded silently as if there was nothing wrong with what he said.

“The fact that they were defeated by Mount Hua means that the best Taoist sect was defeated by Mount Hua. Wouldn’t it be common for people to say that Mount Hua has defeated them all?”

“Hmmm.”

The abbot’s eyes twitched.

“Mount Hua is also one of our Central Plains’ sects. Why do you speak of them like they are strangers?”

“Abbot… you understand what they are doing.”

“…”

“If it wasn’t for the Heavenly Friends Alliance, we might have celebrated the growth of Mount Hua. But how can we look favorably on those who only declared that they would be taking a different path from us?”

“But there is nothing that we cannot see.”

“How can we be comfortable with just that!”

The abbot smiled, watching the monk in frustration.

“If you don’t listen to what I said, you will have to bear the coming loss. The sect leader was in a hurry this time.”

“Please don’t talk like you are talking about someone else! Isn’t it our Shaolin which has to deal with the outcome of what Wudang did?”

“Still, human life cannot escape suffering. Does putting a small burden on top of the mountain make any difference?”

In the end, the monk couldn’t release his frustration and clenched his hand.

The abbot was at such a high level that the monk couldn’t dare follow. So, it was probably natural that he couldn’t understand the thoughts.

But it was true that sometimes those noble words made him feel sour inside like now.

“Abbot… are you really planning to leave Mount Hua alone?”

“What if we don’t leave them alone?”

The monk looked at the abbot as if he had no ideas.

“I don’t know what the abbot is thinking. But why are you so gentle on Mount Hua?”

“…”

“I do not understand why Mount Hua is trusted so much with the tasks, why you allow Mount Hua to run around, and why you continue to keep Hae Yeon with them when he is the future of Shaolin.”

“Is that what I did? Things just happened like that.”

“You have the power to change the flow, don’t you?”

“Monk.”

The monk flinched at the abbot’s soft word and lowered his head.

“For a moment, I lost…”

“It is fine.”

The abbot nodded, saying it was fine.

“You asked why I have left Mount Hua alone?”

“Yes.”

“Let us say fish are living in a pond.”

“… uh?”

“Do you know what would happen if there were no other natural enemies in the water to catch and eat the fish?”

The monk pondered for a while to answer since he found no meaning in this.

“That… they will live. There is no need to get eaten.”

“Wrong.”

The abbot shook his head.

“The pond will slowly begin to rot. Fish that aren’t caught and eaten will continue to multiply and eventually eat up all the plants within. Then, in the water, with no plants left, there will be nothing to eat, and slowly, they will start to die en masse.”

“…”

“But that doesn’t happen when there are natural enemies.”

This didn’t mean that Mount Hua was the enemy of the Nine Great Sects, but it meant that the Mount Hua sect was a form of catalyst that could awaken the sleeping sects to move once again.

“But abbot…”

The monk sighed.

“The Nine Great Sects aren’t fish.”

“…”

“Fish have no other choice but to run when there is an enemy, but the Nine Sects will not leave a sect which would devour them. They aren’t the kind of people who get bitten just because Wudang got hit once.”

“… I guess so.”

“I would be glad if they took this as a lesson and were considerate of their benefactors, but that won’t happen. Wouldn’t those who are on fire try to bring down Mount Hua with them?”

“…”

“This is even the second time. The Southern Edge went into seclusion the first time and now Wudang suffered so much humiliation. Up until now, the Nine Great Sects had been fighting to be considerate of Mount Hua, but now they won’t care if it’s about saving face or anything.”

Now, it was clear.

Mount Hua’s first-class disciples were no longer their backbone. The ones coming later were those with bright futures. But Mount Hua’s second-class and third-class disciples had gone beyond the realm of possibility and into threat.

And if things continued as such, all the sects would be at the feet of Mount Hua. This meeting with the abbot was nothing short of declaring that fact to the world.

“Monk.”

“Yes, abbot.”

“You think Mount Hua doesn’t know that?”

“…”

The abbot shook his head.

“That child has dozens of snakes growing in his stomach. No, not a snake. It is a child holding too many imoogi dragons. Even I don’t understand what that child is planning.”

“… you are talking about Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon?”

“Right.”

“If he is that wise, he would avoid the cautious glare of many sects.”

“He would have done that if he had enough time.”

“… what do you mean?”

“When you have enough time, you can treat and boil the medicine, but when you don’t have time, there are times when one uses a knife right away.”

“…”

The monk expressed his doubts with suspicion, but the abbot didn’t say much. This was because it was clear that the monk wouldn’t understand.

It wasn’t because he wasn’t smart, but because the world the monk saw and the abbot saw were different things in the first place.

‘You are trying to be on guard and threaten Mount Hua?’

Ultimately, this meant that from the point of view of the Nine Great Sects, they would be a common enemy.

When enemies rose up outside, the inside was cleaned up. A fact that hadn’t changed since ancient times.

As things turned out like this, it was natural that the unity between the two sides, which had been fighting over the land, would get stronger. If Mount Hua became the leader of the Heavenly Friend Alliance and increased its reputation, the trend was bound to accelerate.

If they fought each other and shed blood, things would be different. Still, as long as it didn’t go to that extent, the existence of the Heavenly Friend’s Alliance would help the Nine Great Sects to take a step further.

And Wudang was bound to lose the power it held over the others due to this incident.

On the other hand, thanks to Wudang stepping forward to take the hit, Shaolin’s mistake in the tournament was buried.

There was no need for Shaolin to unite further nor for Shaolin’s position to increase.

“I guess there won’t be enough presents.”

“… Uh?”

The abbot smiled.

He knew that Mount Hua harbored no fondness for Shaolin, and he could understand why. But Chung Myung, whom he had met and come to know, wasn’t someone who would jeopardize the Nine Great Sects over such fleeting emotions.

Hostile dependency.

No other term could more aptly describe the relationship between Mount Hua and Wudang.

It was as if the abbot could hear a very frustrated voice.

-If one sets a meal on the table, they need to have the ability to hold chopsticks and eat, right? If one cannot even do that, they should be removed from the table!

“Hahaha.”

The abbot smiled at those words.

“The stronger the enemies who come, the better.”

“What do you mean, abbot…?”

“When is the inauguration of the Heavenly Friends Alliance?”

“… It hasn’t been clearly declared yet, but it will begin once Mount Hua returns to their sect. I heard that the Tang family is busy.”

“I cannot go there myself, so I will have to send someone suitable. It has come to this extent, so please go and offer our congratulations in person.”

“A-abbot?”

“And.”

“… Uh?”

The abbot’s eyes darkened.

“It is a sin not to seize the opportunity created. There are matters to discuss about the alliance, so you will convey my message.”

The monk gulped, slightly flustered at that.

‘I guess things are a lot bigger than I thought.’

He wasn’t sure what the abbot was planning. However, it was quite possible to predict that if this meeting were to happen, then the impact would be significant.

And so, he nodded with a grave expression, realizing that the entire course of the Central Plains was about to change.