Chapter 96

Three monks walked along the road.

The old monk in the center had gaunt, hollowed cheeks and a harsh face, and his kasaya looked threadbare and faded.

In contrast, the two monks flanking him were young, their kasayas clean and new.

Though they looked like ordinary monks, they were disciplinary monks dispatched from Shaolin’s Vinaya Hall.

The old monk between them was none other than the Vinaya Hall leader, Great Monk Muk Haeng, whom all the monks of Mount Song feared and avoided.

He belonged to the same monastic order as the Victorious Fighting Monk Jong Haeng.

Jong Haeng, Shaolin’s number-one troublemaker, always tried to steer clear of Vinaya Hall leader Muk Haeng.

“Hall leader, sealing off an outer sect is unprecedented in Shaolin’s history,” one of the disciplinary monks escorting Muk Haeng said.

“Other monks can’t accept the Vinaya Hall’s decision either. It’s not as if Brahmacharya Clan has been tied to Shaolin for just a year or two, is it?” the other monk added.

Being named one of Shaolin’s Eight Affiliated Houses was not trivial. Countless families and sects were tied to Shaolin, but only those with the deepest bonds earned that title.

To seal the gate over a mere rumor—other monks found such judgment excessive and bewildering.

“It is not the Vinaya Hall’s will.”

The young monks exchanged puzzled looks at Muk Haeng’s words.

“If it isn’t the Vinaya Hall leader’s will, who could make such a decision?”

“No way… Could the Abbot be—?”

Muk Haeng slowly shook his head, indicating it wasn’t even the Abbot’s order.

He spread his fingers and pointed north.

“It is precisely the will of the Bukgung Family.”

“Eh? The Bukgung Family? You mean the Grand Young Master’s influence reached this far?”

Muk Haeng’s nod confirmed it.

The young monks were shocked, angry, and outraged.

“How dare an outsider interfere in Shaolin’s affairs! Insolence beyond measure!”

After venting, they calmed and raised a question.

“But why would the Grand Young Master meddle in a Shaolin-affiliated house’s matters?”

“The Grand Prince likely believes Brahmacharya Clan has fallen under Drunken Flower’s influence. Suzhou is the Fifth Prince’s domain, and Brahmacharya Clan has long been a fixture there. Perhaps he aims to cut off that branch and remove a potential threat.”

“So you mean the Abbot and the Vinaya Hall leader sealed the gate for that reason?”

“Myeong Gak, On Gak.”

Muk Haeng called the dharma names of the two young monks.

“There are matters in this world you may not want to accept yet must abide by. Believe me—this trial will strengthen Shaolin.”

Myeong Gak and On Gak clenched their fists in sorrow.

“Do not be too disheartened. One thing I’ve learned during my long tenure as Vinaya Hall leader,” Muk Haeng told them, “is that an unlit stove produces no smoke. If Brahmacharya Clan’s head’s wrongdoings have spread across Suzhou, there’s likely cause for it.”

The three monks arrived in Suzhou.

Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province, was a world apart from Mount Song. It teemed with courtesans, rough wanderers, swindlers, lanterns, and food stalls on every street.

And today, Suzhou had one more thing in abundance.

“Look at this, look!”

In alleys and on streets, clusters of people gathered in threes and fives. The curious young dharma monks stood on tiptoe to peer in, but the crowd blocked their view.

“Well, I’ll be!”

“What on earth!”

“See? Didn’t I tell you?”

Only the clamor and gossip stirred the monks’ curiosity.

Then a passerby approached.

“Could you possibly be monks?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Might I ask where you are going?”

“We are headed to Brahmacharya Clan…”

“Ah!”

Delighted, the passerby seized Myeong Gak’s hand.

“You’re on your way to Brahmacharya Clan!”

“Yes? Y-yes…”

“Here, take this. There’s little I can give a monk. Judging by your dress, you must have come from afar. Even so, Brahmacharya Clan is a place worth visiting. Honestly, the people of Suzhou owe Brahmacharya Clan many debts. Our family always stops by to offer incense on special days… Oh my, look at me, stopping busy people—what folly. Go on your way. I’m old and overly sentimental, that’s all…”

A fragrant peach ended up in Myeong Gak’s hand.

And that wasn’t all.

“Monk, please take this.” “Take this with you.” “Heading to Brahmacharya Clan? This way will take you there.” “Aren’t you hungry? How about a bowl of noodles…”

Street vendors and passersby greeted the robed monks warmly.

Before long, gifts hung from Myeong Gak’s, On Gak’s, and Muk Haeng’s hands like clusters of grapes.

“What on earth is this…”

Myeong Gak and On Gak exchanged puzzled looks.

“What sort of miracle is this? Didn’t you say the misdeeds of Brahmacharya Clan’s head had covered all of Suzhou?”

“Hmm…”

Even Muk Haeng didn’t understand.

“For now, let’s go to Brahmacharya Clan.”

They quickened their steps.

They did not know identical notices had been plastered all over Suzhou—an effort that had taken the sweat and toil of an unknown brother and sister, one of Suzhou’s buried secrets.

Muk Haeng led, his stride familiar to the two young monks.

“Hall leader, have you ever been to Suzhou before?” a disciplinary monk asked.

“I came here in my youth. Even then Brahmacharya Clan was one of Shaolin’s Eight Affiliated Houses. The previous head was upright and deeply devoted to the Buddhist path.”

Though Suzhou’s streets had changed, things around Brahmacharya Clan remained unchanged.

Stone towers, piled up by worshippers offering incense, rose around the compound. Beyond here, few ventured.

A small stream ran nearby; cross one bridge and the grand gate of Brahmacharya Clan would stand before you.

The gate—

“…The gate?”

Myeong Gak exclaimed in dismay.

“Hall leader. Th-the, the, the Brahmacharya Clan gate…!”

On Gak, stunned, grabbed the Vinaya Hall leader’s scrawny body and shook him.

But the most astonished was Muk Haeng himself.

“The gate has collapsed!” Muk Haeng cried, momentarily forgetting his dignity.

He recognized the damage at once. Having spent his life at Shaolin and dealt with Jong Haeng’s aftermaths, he knew the sign.

“It’s the trace of the Hundred Step Divine Fist!”

There couldn’t possibly be two such brazen fools in the world who would unleash the Hundred Step Divine Fist on someone else’s gate.

“Jong Haeng, that bastard!” Muk Haeng screamed inwardly, unable to voice it aloud.

How could someone sent merely to deliver a word end up smashing a gate to pieces? The thought stunned him.

“No—surely not. Could Jong Haeng have started a fight with Brahmacharya Clan first?”

It was plausible, but the retainers beyond the broken gate went about their business as if nothing had happened.

Muk Haeng vaulted over what remained of the gate and dashed inside.

Myeong Gak and On Gak had never seen the Vinaya Hall leader move so quickly.

“Hey, are you from Brahmacharya Clan?” Muk Haeng asked a young man sweeping with a broom.

“I am, but who are you, monk…?”

“My dharma name is Muk Haeng. I serve as Shaolin’s Vinaya Hall leader.”

“Gasp! It’s an honor to see Shaolin’s Vinaya Hall leader!”

Myeong Gak, watching from behind, tilted his head.

“Myeong Gak, what’s the matter with you?”

“That man—his hair’s rough, his frame solid; he doesn’t look like an ordinary servant… Didn’t he just recognize the Vinaya Hall leader before you introduced yourself?”

“Ah, no way. You’re imagining things.”

Meanwhile, Muk Haeng spoke with the servant.

“Is this really Brahmacharya Clan?”

“Yes, this is Brahmacharya Clan.”

“Then what happened to that?” Muk Haeng pointed at the shattered gate—pillars standing, top gone.

The servant’s face darkened.

“I don’t know if I should say this, but…”

“Speak frankly. I have some inkling.”

“That gate was the work of Great Monk Jong Haeng, who came earlier.”

“That Jong Haeng damned…!” Muk Haeng stopped himself from cursing aloud.

He forced down his anger and pressed on.

“Why did Jong Haeng smash the gate?”

“He wanted to show off Shaolin’s martial skills, demonstrated the Hundred Step Divine Fist in front of people, and in the process…”

“That mad son of a…!”

This time Muk Haeng bit out his curse a little too late. He repeated patience to himself and asked one last question.

“Where is that Jong Haeng scoundrel now?”

The servant smiled.

“The great monk said there was time before Shaolin’s monks would arrive and went out to Taiyuan for a short stroll.”

The profane curses Muk Haeng uttered afterward are too vulgar to print here.

Yeon Mujin quietly closed his ears and pretended not to hear the Vinaya Hall leader’s tirade.

Why? Because he is the kind of man who carves favors in water and grudges into bone.

Compared to the hardships he’d suffered fighting Jong Haeng, being caught by the Vinaya Hall leader and sent to a repentance cell for a few years would be a small price.

What? You say it’s unfair? If it’s unfair, then don’t go smashing gates in the first place…

Reverse Use Demon, who had left Master of Net’s Garden, walked Suzhou’s streets with a bundle slung over her back.

For the first time in a long while she was barefaced, without her usual concealing mask. She rarely showed her face.

She walked lost in thought, then muttered aloud.

“My disguise was discovered?”

Her disguise technique was the pride of her life. For decades, not a single person had perceived it.

But how—

“Some kid I don’t even know recognized my disguise?”

It struck her like news that the Victorious Fighting Monk had been beaten, or that the Bukgung Family lacked funds.

That her disguise had been unmasked shocked her—she had always believed her technique rivaled Jong Haeng’s martial prowess or the Bukgung Family’s influence.

And that wasn’t the only surprise. After her disguise was uncovered, Reverse Use Demon asked him:

—So you’re someone who came out of Brahmacharya Clan. Did you come looking for me? To catch the one who spread the slander and take revenge?

But the reply was unexpected. Yeon Mujin scoffed and answered:

—Revenge? If you were struck by a slingshot while passing by, would you take revenge on the slingshot, or go after the one who fired it?

—Of course… you’d go after the one who fired it.

Reading that expression, Yeon Mujin nodded and pointed toward the garden heads, saying:

—Revenge has already been taken. Do you not see those men over there?

—Then what business do you have with me?

—None.

—…?

—I was merely curious what kind of person the rumored Reverse Use Demon was. Now go.

Her disguise had rarely been detected in her life, and yet after recognizing it he told her he had no business with her and to leave.

—Are you really going to let me go like this?

—And what if I don’t? Should I take a stroll here holding hands with some old woman? If you’ve seen what you wanted, leave.

—My sobriquet is Reverse Use Demon. If you let me go now, you will never catch me again.

Yeon Mujin snorted.

—You’ve already been caught once, haven’t you? As if.

The remark chipped away at Reverse Use Demon’s pride.

She shouldered her bundle and stood as he had said.

Yeon Mujin truly sat down and did not move.

But as she took three steps, she heard his voice from behind.

—I am Yeon Mujin of the Bukgung Family’s Flying Swallow Manor.

When Reverse Use Demon turned, Yeon Mujin’s place was already empty.

She stared at the empty spot for a moment, then walked away.