Episode 353

“Equality for all, Martial arts are for all, supreme enlightenment.”

That law said that everyone is equal, there was no such thing as highborn or lowborn.

That was why this was called the highest and most righteous thought.

The Abbot quietly recited that sutra and opened his closed eyes,

“If you are here, come in.”

There was no answer.

But the Abbot waited rather than urging further. If the other person wanted, they would come in, if not, they wouldn’t.

Kiik.

And as he waited, the door opened. And he saw an unfamiliar familiar face.

“Come here.”

“I greet the Abbot.”

The Abbot who received the greeting nodded his head.

He was used to it, but it now felt unfamiliar.

His face still had the youthful look which he remembered, but his eyes were slanted, giving a different impression from what he knew.

“Sit down, Hae Yeon.”

“Yes, Abbot.”

After closing the door, Hae Yeon sat quietly across from his leader.

The Abbot, who pulled out half-cooled tea, asked him,

“Are you free from your delusions?”

“…”

When Hae Yeon didn’t answer, the Abbot shook his head.

“You still haven’t been able to escape from that day. That is an obsession.”

“…”

His eyes, which looked at Hae Yeon, were sad.

On the day he was defeated by Chung Myung, Hae Yeon went silent. And until this day, he hadn’t taken a single step away from the statue of Buddha.

The pain of tasting defeat for the first time. And a sense of shame for Shaolin, which had been tainted.

All the emotions were leading him on a different path. At least, the Abbot thought so,

“As you said, victory and defeat are decided by the superior. If you are a warrior you must accept defeat, and if you are a Buddhist you shouldn’t be trapped by such hardships. Until then do..”

“Abbot.”

Hae Yeon opened his lips,

“I am not bound by defeat.”

“… then why do you look so pained?”

He shook his head at the Abbot’s question.

“I locked myself in there, trying to understand the incomprehensible. But no matter how patiently I thought, I couldn’t understand.”

The Abbot’s eyes widened,

“What do you mean you don’t understand?”

“Chung Myung.”

Putting that name on his lips made Hae Yeon go silent. After a while, he continued,

“He is incredibly strong. It was only natural for me to lose to someone that strong. And I do not doubt his strength. I have no reason to question his weaknesses either.”

Hae Yeon’s voice was absolute,

“What I do not understand is the anger and sorrow held within Chung Myung. He is extremely strong, and he deserves the power he holds the most. His actions are what create a delusion in me.”

“…. Hae Yeon.”

“Sir, please tell me.”

“…”

Hae Yeon’s sunken eyes looked at him.

“He insulted the Abbot, but you didn’t call him rude. It seems to me that Abbot felt like his anger was justified. Am I wrong?”

“…Amitabha.”

Although the Abbot was reluctant to answer and only chanted, Hae Yeon didn’t seem to have any other intention other than getting his question answered.

“Even if the Tao is about patience and perseverance, ignoring the truth is not in within the Tao. Abbot, am I not worthy of knowing the truth?”

The Abbot sighed,

“Could that be possible?”

“Then please tell me. I cannot proceed without confirming this fact.”

At Hae Yeon’s resolute will, the Abbot eventually nodded.

He wasn’t sure about other disciples, but Hae Yeon would one day shoulder Shaolin. It was something he would eventually need to know.

“… that’s what happened.”

After all the explanations, the Abbot looked at Hae Yeon.

There was no change in his expression, so it was difficult to guess what he was thinking.

Finally, Hae Yeon opened his mouth,

“How…”

However, he only blurted out those words, almost as if he couldn’t speak. The Abbot could only shake his head,

“A thing from our ancestors.”

“How could they do that?”

“You cannot pay the price for what you didn’t do. If your enemy dies and you can’t get rid of all of them, do you also need to kill their children to remove that possible future?”

“…”

“There is no need for us to take full responsibility for what happened in the past. That is too harsh. We can be kind to them, but…”

“Abbot!”

Unable to bear it, Hae Yeon interrupted the Abbot,

“Everything that Shaolin enjoys now came from our ancestors! If we do not strip away the husks of Shaolin and go back to being simple monks, then how else are we meant to extract our misdeeds?”

“Foolish words.”

The Abbot raised his voice and turned to Hae Yeon,

“In that sense, how many mistakes has Shaolin made so far? Humans are sinful. How many sins have we committed in the past, and you want all of those sins to be placed upon Shaolin now?! If you cannot bear all these sins, then what you said is too rash!”

“…”

“Dharma begins with establishing oneself completely. Cutting off the worldly order doesn’t simply mean cutting off your raging emotions. You must be able to cut off your diverting thoughts and establish order within yourself to walk down the proper path!”

Hae Yeon, who listened to him, nodded,

“So you cut it?”

“Yes.”

“To not get caught up?”

“Yes. Even if thousands of eons pass, the karma from what we did will not disappear. If that is the case, then the karma of the past should be borne solely by our ancestors. Do you need to bear that sin?”

“… Amitabha,” chanted Hae Yeon,

“The Abbot’s words are absolutely right.”

“Do you understand now?”

“Yes. I finally understand.”

The Abbot smiled,

“I am glad. Now do not get caught up in it anymore and do what needs to be done.”

“Yes.”

Hae Yeon got up from his place with a face that said he had a long way to go.

“Right. Go and see.”

And set an example for all.

“Abbot. I might not be able to see you for a long time, so please take care of your body.”

The Abbot’s eyes widened,

“What do you mean?”

“I am going to Mount Hua.”

“… w-what?”

At his unexpected words, the Abbot’s face contorted. But Hae Yeon didn’t care. Rather with a smile, he said,

“I found the answer within Abbot’s words. I have seen the teachings of Buddha in you. I didn’t understand. Being young, I didn’t understand the Tao of Buddha, but the Abbot showed me.”

“… me?”

“Yes.”

Hae Yeon nodded his head,

“If there is Buddhism, of course, it is right for us to seek answers. However, I am… I was troubled and pondered many things because I couldn’t break my ties between Shaolin and Abbot. But my abbot told me not to be bound by the past or laws, so I will be putting that into practice.”

The Abbot looked shocked.

What did this mean?

“Hae-Hae Yeon. I didn’t mean that!”

“Do not panic. My intention isn’t strong enough to sever my ties with Shaolin. So…”

Hae Yeon turned his head and looked at the closed door. No, he seemed to be looking beyond it.

“I will go and see. What he does. How he lives. I think I can go further when I see both of those things with my own eyes.”

“…”

The Abbot bit his lip. He never thought things would shape out like this.

“What if I don’t let you?”

“I have received nothing but grace, so how can I disobey the command of the Abbot?”

“Then…”

“If you stop me, I will return to closed training. If there is no other way, I will have to find one in there.”

“…”

The Abbot couldn’t say anything and just trembled. If that was the case he couldn’t say anything.

Hae Yeon turned his body to the Abbot.

The Abbot stared at him and said,

“Hae Yeon.”

“…”

“Will you come back?”

“I will.”

“… okay. Then go.”

“Yes.”

“… I see. Then come back safe.”

“Yes.”

Hae Yeon opened the door without regret and left the room.

As the door closed, silence fell. And the Abbot, who was left alone, sighed as he looked at the cold tea.

‘Karma.’

The world was shaking at this moment.

The world would have been different by now if they had established a new order based on the past Mount Hua and the sacrifices of numerous sects who had helped each other.

But everyone thought of their own success. And with the karma of the past coming up, the demonic sect was rising up again.

Turmoil was soon to come.

The sacrifices made in the past didn’t matter.

‘Right. Let’s see it.’

Hae Yeon wasn’t someone who could be led. Dragons were creatures that humans could not tame. Only a dragon could lead another.

If Hae Yeon was a dragon, then Chung Myung was also a dragon.

Then, there must be something Hae Yeon could learn from Chung Myung.

“Amitabha.”

The Abbot chanted.

But he was missing something.

Even if a white dragon had amazingly pure scales, if it got too close to a black dragon, it would turn black in an instant.

If the Abbot had known about that, he would have stopped Hae Yeon from leaving at all costs.

Unfortunately, the Abbot didn’t know and could never have guessed.

… unfortunately.

“Excuse me.”

“Oh!”

“Xi’an!”

The disciples of Mount Hua raised their voices. Hearing their excited voices, Chung Myung frowned.

“Are we here for a picnic or something?”

“You are often going out because of Eunha, but this is the first time for us.”

“… really?”

When Chung Myung asked, clearly shocked, the disciples of Mount Hua sighed.

“You don’t go down from Mount Hua, so what can you know about Xi’an?”

“… there are real villagers here.”

“Shut it!”

When Yoon Jong screamed, Chung Myung smiled.

“Well, it is fine. We will be in and out in the future, like coming to our second home.”

“Right.”

Hyun Young nodded.

“Not just Xi’an, but in the future, there will be even more of a need to travel around. Haven’t we told you how the ancestors of Mount Hua performed cooperative activities worldwide and accumulated a lot of goodwill? We will soon be doing that too.”

“Yes, Elder!”

The disciples answered confidently.

However, Chung Myung didn’t release his dull face.

‘Just die.’

Look here!

This is all business!

If other sects are being set up here, shove them away, and if there are thieves around, beat them to a pulp!

If that were done, their family would become richer and richer, and more money will make its way into their hands!

Everything in the world worked like that.

Of course, while sliding into the managerial role for an area, there were often cases of break-ins and many things being smashed. All of which could be heard from listening to the news every now and then. However, there were not many occasions to go out with the sect for the sake of working together.

Learn the sword and die, so what was the point of entering Kangho without purpose?

‘Well, you’ll find out once you experience it.’

The reality was that it wasn’t easy.

And it was from there that they soon realized that fact.

Chung Myung captured the high walls of Xi’an with bright eyes.

“Well, where to!”

He smiled,

“Would you like to start from there?”

Start from Xi’an and eat till Shaanxi! Just like the old Mount Hua had!

“Hehehe.”

Seeing Chung Myung laugh, everyone felt anxiety rushing in.

‘Why now?’

‘Leave it. Leave us for a day or two.’

It wasn’t known why he was doing this, but they knew from experience that something would happen every time he smiled like this.

Baek Cheon and the others prayed and prayed that this ominous feeling would go away.