Chapter 97

First.

Separate from the chaos Jong Haeng had caused, Vinaya Hall Leader Muk Haeng still had his duty to perform. Namely, sealing the Brahmacharya Clan.

Normally, it would be within the Vinaya Hall Leader’s authority to announce the sealing and, together with the accompanying monastics, remove the Brahmacharya Clan’s plaque to carry out the procedure. That was what should have happened. That was how it was supposed to be, if only…

“Vinaya Hall Leader, I pay my respects.”

Seo Tae-gon, Master of Brahmacharya Clan, who had pushed himself up from his sickbed, bowed courteously to the Shaolin monks. His pallid face looked worn and pitiful.

Muk Haeng, striving to ignore the pricking of his conscience, replied with the ritual response. “It’s been a long time, Master Seo.”

Beside Muk Haeng stood Myeong Gak and On Gak who had accompanied him, and beside Seo Tae-gon were his two children. But the children looked as haggard as their father.

Muk Haeng felt his pangs of conscience double—no, triple.

‘That Jong Haeng, that bastard…’

It seemed the whole family was left with nothing but a chill in their hearts after the gate’s destruction.

In reality, that wasn’t the whole story.

“First, I will deliver the orders from the main mountain. Master Seo, listen.”

Seo Tae-gon nodded with his gaunt face and forced a smile. Muk Haeng took from his robe the edict from the Shaolin abbot and began to read.

“Shaolin is well aware that the private branch Brahmacharya Clan has over the years offered no small amount of toil and sacrifice to the main mountain. However, recently the rumors circulating across Suzhou have shown signs of spreading beyond the gate itself and even affecting the main mountain’s reputation and its discipline; this is a matter that can no longer be left unattended. Therefore, Shaolin issues the disposition to seal the private branch Brahmacharya Clan in order to preserve the sanctity of the main mountain and to properly reestablish the foundation of monastic discipline. This disposition is not punishment but a warning; Brahmacharya Clan must accept the main mountain’s intent gravely and examine itself.”

Though verbose, the meaning was clear: the main mountain had decided to seal the private branch.

Having read the edict in a heavy voice, Muk Haeng looked at Seo Tae-gon. “Does the Master of Brahmacharya Clan have any objection to this?”

Seo Tae-gon closed his eyes and said nothing. Seo Nak-il, who stood beside him, opened his mouth.

“Head, I have one question I’d like to ask.”

“Speak.”

“Head, on your way to Brahmacharya, did you observe the sentiments of the people in Suzhou?”

Muk Haeng had seen it too. During the short walk from entering Suzhou to reaching Brahmacharya, how many people had gathered to support the gate and welcome the monks? It was puzzling to Muk Haeng and the monastics; the reaction was nothing like what Shaolin had expected.

“Last night a proclamation was posted throughout Suzhou. It revealed the true nature of the slanders and their instigators.”

“Slanders and their instigators—what do you mean by that?” Myeong Gak asked.

“All the rumors surrounding Brahmacharya Clan were false accusations. The local garden lords of Suzhou colluded to spread them in order to bring down Brahmacharya Clan. We gathered evidence and witnesses and exposed the truth through the proclamation.”

“Ah…!” On Gak let out a low exclamation. Only now did he realize who those crowds they’d seen on the way were.

“Now that the slanders have been proven false, the innocence of Brahmacharya Clan is effectively revealed as well. The people’s sentiment in Suzhou will gradually return, and the abbot’s sealing order should also…”

“Brahmacharya Clan has no objection.”

At that moment, Seo Tae-gon, who had been silent, interrupted Seo Nak-il and answered. “I accept Shaolin’s disposition.”

The Shaolin monastics were surprised by Seo Tae-gon’s answer. Even his children were.

“Master!” “Father!”

Seo Tae-gon raised his hand to silence his two children and continued speaking. “Hall leader.”

“…Speak.”

“In my youth I went up to the main mountain and received Shaolin’s teachings from highly accomplished masters. ‘The Buddha does not only dwell on Mount Sung; he is also in the hearts of sentient beings.’ Following that teaching, I came down into the secular world and, succeeding my father, inherited the heavy name of Brahmacharya Clan.”

He paused to catch his breath, then asked, “Hall leader, do you remember the previous master of Brahmacharya Clan?”

Muk Haeng’s gaunt head slowly nodded.

“Of course I remember. He was as upright and resolute as a straight bamboo.”

Seo Tae-gon smiled. That smile resembled the Vairocana Buddha’s smile he had long gazed upon.

“My father was my pride. Following Shaolin’s teachings and my father’s teachings, I led Brahmacharya Clan. ‘The path to Buddhahood is not straight and smooth. Sometimes you must face storms, other times you must walk through mud.’ I am reminded of that oft-repeated saying at this late age. Thank you for giving me that realization.”

“Ahem…” Muk Haeng let out an embarrassed cough.

Seo Tae-gon spoke again. “Head,” he called once more. “I know that a private branch has its own duties. The branch of Mount Song may be noble, but its roots are planted deep in the earth. If the main mountain is the branch, then the private branch is the root. The Buddha within sentient beings cannot always be pure; if we alone try to remain spotless, how can that be proper Buddhist practice, Hall leader?”

Addressing Muk Haeng for the third time, he said, “I, a flawed being, will be satisfied if Brahmacharya Clan has not sullied the name of Shaolin.”

Muk Haeng felt a dull ache rising in his chest. How petty he had been to doubt the qualifications of such a master of the gate.

“The name of Brahmacharya Clan has always been Shaolin’s pride. From previous generations to now, unchanged.”

Seo Tae-gon smiled and nodded. “To topple a person is not a high mountain but a small stone to trip over. Brahmacharya Clan will take the main mountain’s intent to heart and rise again as a merciful Buddhist order.”

“Are you really sure this is all right?”

“Of course.”

Vinaya Hall leader Muk Haeng and Brahmacharya Clan’s master Seo Tae-gon, having reached an amicable agreement, stepped out into the courtyard. Although it was Brahmacharya Clan that accepted the sealing order, somehow Shaolin felt the heavier moral debt.

“Master of Brahmacharya Clan.”

Muk Haeng took Seo Tae-gon’s hand with his wrinkled fingers and spoke. “I will report this matter to the main mountain without fail.”

“I appreciate your understanding.”

When the two turned their heads, the collapsed gate of Brahmacharya came into view. And there, sweeping calmly before it, was a servant of Brahmacharya.

“…?”

Seeing the young man sweeping, Seo Tae-gon widened his eyes. ‘Why is that person there…?’ The servant met Seo Tae-gon’s gaze, winked, and made a beckoning gesture.

“What’s the matter, master? Did you see something you shouldn’t?”

“It’s nothing.” Muk Haeng guessed that the sight of the ruined gate had wounded Seo Tae-gon’s heart. With a sympathetic hand he gently covered the gaunt master’s and said, “The cost to rebuild the gate will be fully borne by the main mountain. No—not the main mountain; that scoundrel…”

“Scoundrel?”

“Venerable Jong Haeng will be held responsible.”

“You mean Venerable Jong Haeng.”

Seo Tae-gon looked at the broken gate and thought quietly. At first it was shocking, but in hindsight it was not that momentous. The broken gate had taught him a lesson: not to cling to vanity and to set one’s foundations aright.

“Come to think of it, where did the venerable go…?”

Seo Tae-gon looked at his two children, but they only shrugged. No one knew where Jong Haeng had disappeared to.

“Might Venerable Jong Haeng have returned to the main mountain first?”

“I haven’t heard any such news.”

“If even the Head doesn’t know, then where on earth is Venerable Jong Haeng…?”

At that very moment, people spotted Jong Haeng trudging toward Brahmacharya beyond the collapsed gate. His appearance was odd: his monk’s robe was torn as if he’d just come from a fight, and his white beard and eyebrows were blackened and singed.

“Gah!”

Jong Haeng, trudging along, met Muk Haeng’s eyes and was startled as if he’d seen a ghost. He stiffened so noticeably that it showed from a distance, and soon began to sweat profusely. A stranger might not have believed he was a Shaolin fighting monk.

“Jong Haeng!”

Muk Haeng let out a furious roar upon seeing him. The kindly monk who had been gently holding Seo Tae-gon’s hand a moment ago was gone. In that instant he resembled a fierce guardian deity, and Jong Haeng looked like a monkey before the Buddha.

Ta-tat!

Seeing the Vinaya Hall Leader’s face contorted with wrath, Jong Haeng hastily executed a secret art. But someone faster intercepted him: Yeon Mujin, who had been disguised as a servant and was sweeping.

“He’s running away! Seize him!” shouted Yeon Mujin.

The monastics, unaware of the reason, instinctively reacted to the shout and pursued Jong Haeng.

Thak! Thak! Thak!

In the blink of an eye Jong Haeng unfolded three sequences of the Great Fist, and Yeon Mujin countered with the Red Palm. Today it was different; Yeon Mujin’s technique overcame Jong Haeng’s. Jong Haeng’s eyes widened as Yeon Mujin applied pressure to a vital point and subdued him.

“I caught him!” Yeon Mujin grabbed the back of Venerable Jong Haeng’s neck and handed him over to the monastics.

“Oh? Oh… thank you.”

The young monastics were astonished. So this was indeed a branch of Shaolin—how could even the servant who swept the courtyard be versed in martial arts?

“Make sure he cannot escape again. Better yet, lock him away in the deepest part of Shaolin’s penance hall.”

“Y-yes…”

Startled, the monastics couldn’t bring themselves to object to such imperious words.

“Jong Haeng, get up!”

Before he could regain his wits, the Vinaya Hall Leader stormed forward. Muk Haeng carefully checked that the pressure points were sealed and then took out the cloth strap he kept specifically for Jong Haeng, binding his arms tightly.

“Think that you will never see the light of day again in your lifetime.”

Jong Haeng, gagged by a pressure point, let out a silent scream with his eyes. His gaze, full of despair, searched for Yeon Mujin. Yeon Mujin looked at him from amidst the confusion and smiled—a most obnoxious smile.

Jong Haeng heard Yeon Mujin’s inner voice: ‘This is the gentleman’s revenge.’

“Ugh! Uuuh! Uuuuh!”

“Be silent, criminal!” Muk Haeng scolded sternly as Jong Haeng strained against the bindings; he seemed ready to slap him if there were no witnesses.

“Master Seo, that scoundrel… Venerable Jong Haeng, I will severely punish him and make him pay restitution for the gate, so do not worry.”

“Y-yes…” Intimidated by Muk Haeng’s stern tone, Seo Tae-gon merely nodded.

“Originally the sealing procedure should be carried out by taking down the gate’s plaque, but since Brahmacharya’s gate is not standing at present, we will consider our business concluded here.”

Everyone looked at the ruined gate.

Brahmacharya Clan’s master Seo Tae-gon, Seo Nak-il, Seo Nak-yeon. Shaolin’s Vinaya Hall Leader Muk Haeng, the fighting monk Jong Haeng, and monastics Myeong Gak and On Gak. And Yeon Mujin as well. Each person saw something different in the ruined gate, but all agreed on one thing: Brahmacharya Clan would grow roots even deeper.

Without further incident, as if after exchanging final farewells, the Shaolin monks departed.

And finally…

“Father.”

“Nak-il.”

Seo Nak-il stood facing Seo Tae-gon. He had finished what he needed to do here. The gate was gone, but thanks to Yeon Mujin the family had been preserved, and the deep rift felt somewhat healed.

Seo Nak-il, looking at the now desolate Brahmacharya Clan, suddenly began to bow. Three bows facing the ruined gate—this was a rite offered to the family that had departed. Three bows to Seo Tae-gon, who had decided on the sealing—this was a rite offered to the parent who raised him. Finally three bows to Yeon Mujin, who had helped save Brahmacharya Clan—this was a rite paid to a teacher in life.

Seo Tae-gon, Seo Nak-yeon, and Yeon Mujin quietly watched Seo Nak-il perform the bows. Having completed the triple bows, Seo Nak-il spoke to the master of Brahmacharya.

“When the sealing ends and the ruined gate is rebuilt, I will return with Flying Swallow Manor’s External Protection Troops and come find you again, Father.”

Seo Tae-gon, who had been watching him, finally turned and said, “Do as your heart desires.”