Episode 364

“Uh…”

Water…

Water… throat is dry…

“Uh?”

Jump!

He stood up with eyes wide open and hastily looked around.

‘This is?’

When he opened his eyes and saw an unfamiliar figure…

No… not this!

Hae Yeon looked around in panic. He was lying alone in a room with no one there.

“W-what did I do…?”

What happened last night began to flash through Hae Yeon’s mind.

-Kuaaak! This monk is great at drinking.

-Good! Good! One more! One more drink!

-Kuak! Are you blowing it down? Kekeke!

“Amitabha! Amitabha!”

Hae Yeon’s face, which vividly recalled the chaos he had created last night, turned red.

‘I committed a sin!’

No. No.

It wasn’t that he just committed it, but he even drank enough alcohol to fill a cart!

He remembered Chung Myung, who was drinking alcohol and giggling in front of him when he was only half conscious.

Just thinking about that sinister laugh made his body tremble.

But this wasn’t something to blame on Chung Myung.

‘Wasn’t I someone who had forgotten the preachings in the first place?’

As a Buddhist, this should never have happened. But, it had, and breaking the rules wasn’t so bad if you didn’t forget the lessons learned from the experience.

Hae Yeon quickly decided to do that…

‘The time is?’

It looked like the sun had just begun to rise, as the light was coming in. Now, before the others opened their eyes, he could wash his body and get back into proper form.

With that thought, he hurried to open the door.

But then, soon after, he was left dumbfounded.

“No, these idiots! Move your legs!”

“Swing straight! Straight!”

“You can fall for a sword, but never drop your sword! How dare you drop your sword! The only time a swordsman does that is when he dies!”

“…”

Hae Yeon felt mesmerized at the sight of it. The disciples of Mount Hua, who also had drunk all night with him, were sweating like they were standing in the rain.

‘Everyone is up at this time?’

Obviously, they had all been drinking till dawn, but since the early morning, everyone had been training as usual?

Wasn’t that too harsh?

No, the word harsh was not right. Hard-working or passionate would be a better way to describe this.

‘This is Huayoung Gate.’

And his question was resolved.

When he turned his gaze to the side, he could see the disciples of Mount Hua and those of Huayoung Gate in the midst of training.

“… Amitabha.”

Hae Yeon was stunned by the shock, even without him realizing it.

‘I am ashamed.’

Even though it was the first time he had drunk alcohol, the appearance of everyone practicing as if nothing had happened was a shock to him.

‘Mount Hua isn’t Mount Hua for nothing.’

Weren’t people already admiring their skills during the competition? There was no way that they were skilled for no reason. If they hadn’t been reinventing something new each day and practicing like this over and over again, they wouldn’t have been able to be this strong.

‘What did I see?’

He thought that the people of the world would be different from those who practiced dharma on mountains. That was why he thought what he saw yesterday was so different.

But the essence was the same.

He was a Buddhist, but he also walked on the path of nothingness. There was no shortcut when learning martial arts.

“Amitabha.”

Hae Yeon, who reflected on himself, had been idle for a while. And he carefully moved to not interfere with their practice.

However, Chung Myung, who was nagging in front of him, swiveled his head like a ghost.

“Kekeke. The monk came.”

Everyone’s eyes focused on Hae Yeon, making him turn red.

“Y-Yesterday I was…”

“Yah, monk, you are such a good drinker?”

“Wow. Look at him walking. As expected of Monk Hae Yeon. If it were me, I would be crawling on all four.”

“Are you and he the same?”

“That is why I said that.”

Hae Yeon was a bit shocked, unable to know what to do with the attention he received. Thinking about how all these people must have been acting the same way and saw what he had done yesterday, he really wanted to hide in a hole.

But Chung Myung giggled and laughed.

“He played yesterday until his head turned red, and now he is all shy.”

“Huh. What kind of monk does that?”

“Then… are you feeling embarrassed?”

“The bald head! The bald head is the problem! What does it mean to have a bald head for a monk? How bad must it be for his head too!”

“… stop saying that, Sasuk.”

Sometimes, Baek Cheon was the worst of the bunch.

Well, Chung Myung giggled again and approached Hae Yeon.

“Had a good rest?”

“Uh, I slept well. But how did I get into that room?”

“How did you move? Well, people moved you after you blacked out.”

Amitabha.

Hae Yeon closed his eyes tightly… and thought…

If he could go back to yesterday, he would beat his former self who had drank till his head went blank. What the hell was he thinking, drinking so much?

“How was it?”

“…Uh?”

“Was it fun?”

“…”

Hae Yeon looked at Chung Myung with a slightly bleak face.

Fun?

Fun?

“… I…”

Chung Myung chuckled. As if there was no need to hear the answer.

“If you want to be here, take it easy on yourself. You didn’t come here all the way to experience the same things you could in Shaolin, right?”

“Amitabha.”

Hae Yeon nodded his head.

“Your words are right.”

Hae Yeon’s face brightened up, and he smiled, liking what Chung Myung said.

“Let’s have something to eat first. You need to work to pay for it.”

“Yes!”

Replied Hae Yeon brightly.

“…”

Hae Yeon’s lips twitched as he sat down at the table. Everyone was eating happily, but not him.

Meat…

And some more meat…

And a little more meat…

A diet of beef, pork, lamb, and chicken was laid out before his eyes.

‘W-what is this…?’

For him, who could not eat meat, it was like a horrible painting.

‘D-Do normal people eat like this?’

Shaolin did not forbid them from eating meat, but they placed emphasis on food that was vegetarian, and this was his first time seeing so much meat in one place.

Just as he was pondering what to do…

“Oh, so refreshing.”

Chung Myung, who had been in the bath, passed in front of him, making him flinch.

And Chung Myung looked at the table in front of Hae Yeon.

“Uh?”

Chung Myung stiffened for a moment as if it was absurd and shouted,

“Sahyunggggg!”

“W-what?”

Yoon Jong jumped up in surprise.

“What?”

“No! Some madman put meat in front of the monk!”

“Ah, y… this…”

Yoon Jong looked at the bowls in front of Hae Yeon and looked shocked.

“You need to put grass! Weed! Or something! You need to feed grass to raise goats! How dare you put meat in! Are you messing with him!”

“I-I apologize, Monk! We didn’t think about it.”

“N-No. It is fine.”

When Chung Myung and Yoon Jong’s reactions were too intense, Hae Yeon was surprised and bowed his head.

“I apologize for being the odd one out. If there is any leftover rice, just one….”

“Grass! Bring him grass!”

“Be quiet! I am losing my mind!”

Hae Yeon was back to chanting.

“Amitabha. I apologize. I didn’t want to cause any inconvenience, but…”

“Is that so?”

Chung Myung, who was the one making a scene about grass, tilted his head,

“… then will you try some?”

“No, this idiot! Wait!”

“He should have what we give!”

“Does it make sense to feed a monk meat? Think about it!”

Baek Cheon and the others lashed out at Chung Myung, to which he shouted,

“He drank alcohol yesterday, so why not meat?”

Puak!

Chung Myung’s words were strong, like a dagger in the back.

“Is this and that the same?”

“What is the difference? No, matter what you have, be it alcohol or meat, there is only one thing to crave!”

Puak!

Another dagger…

“Yoon Jong.”

“Yes, Sasuk.”

“Take that away.”

“Yes!”

At Baek Cheon’s command, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul moved to the left and right of Chung Myung and dragged him away.

“Let go! You won’t? What did I even say that was so wrong?”

Baek Cheon let out a low sigh looking at Chung Myung’s mouth still working despite him being dragged out.

“I apologize. We will prepare new meals right away, so please wait.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Hae Yeon let out a tough sigh.

The road to adapting to Chung Myung looked tough and dangerous.

“Did you say you are going around Xi’an?”

“Uh? Why? You don’t want to?”

“If possible. Then…”

“Are you embarrassed to go in front of so many people?”

“…”

When Hae Yeon bowed his head, the silence answered for him, and Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

“As far as I know, Shaolin’s first priority is saving all living beings, right?”

“Yes. It is a wonderful thing to be cultivating dharma on your own, but it cannot be compared to leading others down the right path.”

“How can you help if you don’t want to go out?”

“…”

At Chung Myung’s words, Hae Yeon flinched as if the words hurt him.

“Well, if you go back to Shaolin, you will be hidden inside the mountains and only meet tourists. And you can actually be helping people here, right?”

“…disciple is right.”

“To get what you cannot in Shaolin, you have to do things you didn’t do in Shaolin.”

Hae Yeon nodded his head. Because he felt like those words were truly right.

“Then get ready to go.”

“Yes!”

Hae Yeon finally nodded his head with a determined face.

‘He is a strange person.’

Clearly, they were simple throw-away words, but Hae Yeon took them to heart. It didn’t seem like those words were meant maliciously, and it didn’t seem like there was any ill intent in dragging him along.

‘How much will I be able to learn from this person?’

While Hae Yeon was calming his fluttering heart, Chung Myung was jumping around behind him.

‘I think we can get another fifty.’

New disciples had entered, but not enough to overcrowd the place.

If he takes Hae Yeon around Xi’an for a while, they will naturally be able to get more people interested.

‘Because there is no one more important than the bald head in the red robe.’

Chung Myung smiled warmly at Hae Yeon.

“Go, get ready quickly!”

“Yes!”

However, Hae Yeon, who didn’t know the true meaning behind this, was smiling brightly.

Not long after, the disciples of Mount Hua and Hae Yeon left the gate…

“Why are we leaving?”

“To be modest.”

Baek Cheon shrugged at the question from Jo Gul.

“Sometimes, it is necessary to observe the atmosphere of Xi’an since we can never know everything. If we stay inside the Gate, our growth will be limited to that place alone. We need to be proactive.”

Having said that, Baek Cheon glanced at the back of Chung Myung.

‘This guy, however, seems to be having a different thought.’

Baek Cheon knew too well that trying to guess what was happening inside the head of Chung Myung was close to impossible.

As they walked around the large road in the center, Hae Yeon looked around, curious.

“What are you so excited about?”

“Ah. I am sorry. This is my first time here.”

“Huh? There is Luoyang right next to Shaolin, and Luoyang should be bigger?”

“I have never been to Luoyang,” said Hae Yeon happily.

“Eh?”

“I have never left Shaolin till now. This is the first time I’ve seen such a city up close.”

“That. Tch tch.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

In order to devote themselves to training, they moved to a deeply located mountain range, and the number of disciples increased as a world of their own was created.

Then, a situation was cultivated where disciples who entered at a young age never left the sect.

‘And such things happen.’

Perhaps it was better to cultivate the Tao and awaken the concept of Dharma. If it meant being cut off from the rest of the world, what was the meaning?

No matter how good or powerful they were, they must be used where they could have meaning.

“Right. How does it feel to see where people live?”

“Looks busy.”

“… quite a good feeling.”

Hae Yeon spoke a little differently from what Chung Myung thought and continued,

“I thought that fierceness had its meaning only when we fight with ourselves. But it seems that those who live here also have their own fierceness. This is what it means to say that Buddha is everywhere, and so is dharma.”

“… uh?”

He turned his head and looked at Chung Myung, who flinched at his burning eyes.

“You must have wanted to show this to me!”

“… uh, r-right.”

Ah…

Right.

But what? What about it?

“Thank you, Disciple.”

“… uh. Yes.”

…. He should have realized it.

Chung Myung opened his mouth.

“If you look at it, there is nothing good about being stuck on mountains, learning martial arts, or honing your skills. For those who live to earn their living, each day is a new one.”

“Ah…”

“As we go through life, countless things happen which we cannot experience in mountains, for example…”

Crack!

At that moment, the sound of something breaking and a man shouting was heard.

“Uh?”

“… uh. Like that.”

Chung Myung smiled and looked ahead.

What was this now…

“Uh.”

For a moment, Chung Myung narrowed his eyes. He saw someone leaving a house with their hands on someone’s back, helping them out.

Actually, it wasn’t strange but…

The reason Chung Myung made a frown was that the person was the leader of the West Moon Gate, whom he had met several times.

“I see that man way too many times. So annoying.”

Nam Ja-Myung frowned as he looked at the disciples of Mount Hua and mumbled, hoping for them to hear.

“I keep seeing people who I don’t want to again and again.”

“No, what did that bastard just say?”

When Chung Myung was about to rage out, the disciples quickly grabbed him. And before something could happen, Baek Cheon rushed forward…

“What the hell is this!”

Baek Cheon and Nam Ja-Myung’s eyes met with sparks flying between…