Return of Mount Hua Sect - Chapter 353

“Equality of Law, No Superiority nor Inferiority, Simyeong Anudara Sammak Samboje.”

There is no high or low point in the law.

That is why it is referred to as the highest and most accurate enlightenment.

Bop Jeong, closed his eyes and calmly recited the Vajra Prajnaparamita Sutra (금강반야바라밀경(金剛般若波羅蜜經) / Diamond Sutra), opened his eyes quietly.

“If you’re here, come in.”

There was no response.

But instead of urging again, Bop Jeong waited. If the opponent is thinking, he will open the door; if not, he will turn around.

Squeak.

The door opened quickly, as if his wait had been incorrect. He also noticed both familiar and unfamiliar faces.

“Welcome.”

“Greeting, Bangjang.”

Bop Jeong quietly nodded in response to the opponent’s courtesy.

Familiar person.

And yet it’s unfamiliar.

The young face remained the same as he had seen it countless times before, but his blurred eyes and pale eyelids completely changed the impression of the person he knew.

“Sit down, Hye Yeon.”

“Yes, Bangjang.”

Hye Yeon, who had closed the door and entered, sat on the opposite side of Bangjang.

Bop Jeong asked him as he poured the half-cooled tea.

“Are you free from the illusion?”

“…….”

When Hye Yeon didn’t answer, Bop Jeong shook his head quietly.

“You still haven’t been able to escape the illusion of that day. It’s just an obsession.”

“…….”

His eyes looking at Hye Yeon were filled with sadness.

On the day he was defeated by Chung Myung, Hye Yeon entered Repentance Cave (참회동에) on his own. And so far, he has not taken a single step away from there.

The pain of the first defeat.

And the sense of shame that he has tarnished Shaolin’s reputation.

All these emotions led him on the path of asceticism. At least Bop Jeong thought so.

“As the saga said, there are superiors or inferior between victory and defeat. A martial artist has to accept defeat; if one is a Buddhist, one shouldn’t avoid hardships. Until then…” (고(苦) meaning anything that is “uneasy, uncomfortable, unpleasant, difficult, causing pain or sadness)

“Bangjang.”

Hye Yeon opened his mouth in a slightly subdued voice.

“I am not bound by defeat.”

“…. Then how can you be so distressed …?”

When asked by Bop Jeong, he raised his head.

“I locked myself in to understand what I couldn’t understand. However, no matter how hard I try, I can’t understand.”

Bop Jeong’s eyes twitched slightly.

“What don’t you understand?”

“Chung Myung.”

With the name in his mouth, Hye Yeon closed his mouth. And it wasn’t until a moment later that he started talking again.

“He was so strong. It’s only natural to lose to someone stronger. That’s why I don’t doubt his strength. I have no reason to doubt my own weakness either.”

Hye Yeon’s voice was very determined.

“But what I don’t understand is the anger and sadness of Chung Myung Siju. He was stronger than ever and deserved what he wanted with that power. But on the contrary, he vented his anger and just turned away. His behavior is confusing to me.”

“……Hye Yeon-ah.”

“Then please tell me.”

“…….”

Hye Yeon’s sunken eyes looked like a swamp.

“Bangjang was insulted by him, but Bangjang didn’t admonish him as being rude. The way I see it, it seemed to me that Bangjang took his anger as justified emotion. Am I wrong by any chance?”

“……Amitabha.”

Although Bop Jeong was reluctant to answer and only chanted, Hye Yeon seemed unwilling to step back.

“Even if the Buddhist Tao is about patience and perseverance, ignoring the truth is not the Buddhist Tao. Am I not qualified to know the truth, Bangjang?”

Bop Jeong sighed softly.

“How could that be?”

“Please tell me if so. I can’t move on without confirming this fact.”

Bop Jeong finally nodded at Hye Yeon’s firm will.

He doesn’t know if it’s anyone else, but Hye Yeon, who someday will lead Shaolin, should know.

“…… That’s what happened.”

After completing all the explanations, Bop Jeong looked at Hye Yeon quietly.

There was no significant change in expression on his bony face, so it was not easy to guess what he was thinking.

Finally, Hye Yeon opened his mouth.

“How come….”

But he blurted out the end of his words as if he couldn’t put them into words. Bop Jeong shook his head.

“It’s the work of the ancestors.”

“How can you write it off like that?”

“You can’t pay for what you haven’t done. If your enemy dies and you can’t solve the grudge, will you cut their child to solve the grudge?”

“…….”

“We have no reason to take full responsibility for what has happened in the past. That’s a harsh thing to do. I can do them a favor, but…….”

“Bangjang!”

Hye Yeon, who couldn’t stand it, shouted and cut off Bop Jeong’s words.

“Everything that Shaolin enjoys now comes from its ancestors. If we don’t strip away the husks of the Shaolin and go back to being just one Buddhist, then how can we judge the work of our ancestors!”

“That’s ridiculous!”

Bop Jeong’s voice has also been somewhat raised. A determined look was directed at Hye Yeon.

“Then what fault has Shaolin committed so far? Human beings live by sin. How many sins have been committed by those who have passed by (live in) Shaolin so far! If all that sin is not yours to bear, then you shouldn’t say it recklessly!”

“…….”

“Dharma begins with establishing oneself completely. Sorting one’s inner self does not just mean cutting off worldly materials. You must be able to cut off all of them and establish yourself to walk in Dharma!”

Hye Yeon, who quietly listened to Bop Jeong, nodded very slowly.

“Did you tell me to move on?”

“That’s right.”

“You mean don’t be tied up, right?”

“Yes. Even if a thousand eons pass, the karma you have done will not disappear. If that is the case, then the karma of the past should also be fully borne by the ancestors. Did you need to bear that sin?”

“……Amitabha.”

Hye Yeon softly chanted.

“Bangjang is right.”

“Did you understand?”

“Yes. This monk finally understood.”

Bop Jeong smiled and relaxed his stiff face.

“That’s a relief. Don’t be tied up anymore and do what you must.”

“Yes.”

Hye Yeon stood up with a face saying he had put down a big burden.

“Yes, go ahead.”

Then he took an exemplary Half-Palm stance.

“Bangjang. We may not be able to see each other for a long time, so please take care of yourself.”

Bop Jeong opened his eyes wide.

“What does that mean?”

“This monk wants to go to Mount Hua.”

“… what?”

At the unexpected remark, Bop Jeong’s face contorted into absurdity. But Hye Yeon didn’t pay much attention. Rather, he said with a refreshing face.

“Did I find the answer in Bangjang’s sermon (설법(說法))? I have seen Buddhism in him. I didn’t understand why the young Taoists had our Buddhism, but Bangjang told me.”

“…me?”

“Yes.”

Hye Yeon nods his head.

“If there is Buddhism there, of course it is right that we should seek it out (궁구(窮究)). But I couldn’t cut off the relationship between Shaolin and Bangjang, so I pondered again. But Bangjang here told me not to be bound by ties and walk in the Dharma, so I am willing to put that into practice.”

Bop Jeong’s mouth was wide open.

‘What the hell is this all about?’

“Hye Yeon. That’s not what I meant!”

“There is no need to panic. My Dharma is not that deep yet to sever my ties with Shaolin. So…….”

Hye Yeon turned his head and looked at the closed door. No, he felt like he was looking beyond.

“I’ll go and see. What he does. How he lives. I think I can go further if I look at him with both eyes.”

“…….”

Bop Jeong bit his lower lip. He never thought this would happen.

“What would you do if I didn’t allow you?”

“With the grace I have received, how can I disobey Bangjang’s orders?”

“Then…….”

“If you want to stop me, I’ll return to Repentance Cave. If I’m not allowed to pursue it even after seeing the path, then I should at least search for it in the place where I stand.”

“…….”

Bop Jeong trembled without saying a word. He couldn’t bear to say anything even if he wanted to.

Hye Yeon once again took a Half-Palm stance and turned away.

Bop Jeong, who stared blankly at the back of Hye Yeon, hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Hye Yeon-ah.”

“…….”

“Will you come back?”

“I will.”

“…then, go ahead.”

“Yes.”

Hye Yeon opened the door and left the room without hesitation.

Silence settled when the door closed.

Left alone, Bop Jeong sighed quietly as he looked at the cold tea.

‘It’s karma.’

The world is shaking even at this moment.

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

But Jungwon only thought of their own interests. And in the field of the previous war, the collapsed Magyo is slowly showing its strength again.

A turbulent era.

The turmoil is coming.

To the shadow of the sacrifices made in the past.

‘Yes, go and see.’

In essence, Hye Yeon is someone that cannot be led. Dragons are creatures that humans cannot tame. Only the same dragon can lead a dragon.

If Hye Yeon is a dragon, then Chung Myung is also a dragon.

There must be something Hye Yeon will learn from Chung Myung.

“Amitabha.”

Bop Jeong chanted.

But he was missing one thing.

No matter how the white dragon boasted his pure white scale, if he got along with a black dragon, he too would turn black in an instant.

If Bop Jeong had known this first, he would have held onto his bottom robe and stopped Hye Yeon.

Unfortunately, however, Bop Jeong didn’t know that at this time.

……Unfortunately.

* * *

“That’s it!”

“Oh!”

“It’s Xian!”

Mount Hua’s disciples raised their voices. Chung Myung frowned at the excited voice and bluntly rebuked it.

“Are you going on a picnic?”

“You often go in and out of Xian because of Eunha Merchant Guild, but this is our first time.”

“…Really?”

When Chung Myung asked again with a tone of absurdity, the disciples of Mount Hua sighed deeply.

“We don’t often go down from Mount Hua, what’s the point of coming all the way to Xian?”

“…What a bunch of hillbillies.”

“You’re noisy!”

Chung Myung grinned when Yoon Jong screamed.

“Well, that’s fine. You’ll soon travel all around the place.”

“You all will be.”

Hyun Young also nodded and helped with the conversation.

“There will be more opportunities to travel around the world in the future as well as Xian. Didn’t they say that the ancestors of Mount Hua past performed cooperative activities around the world and accumulated many merits? You will soon too.”

“Yes, Elder!”

Mount Hua’s disciples answered with a loud voice of anticipation.

But only Chung Myung didn’t let go of his sour face.

‘To hell with cooperative activities.’

Hey, look!

That’s all zone management!

If other sects set up subsidiary sects where their subsidiary sect is located, they’ll go and squeeze them, and if bandits and thieves set up where the subsidiary sect lives, they’ll beat it up!

Then the subsidiary sect will pay the reward with their own hands, and the sect will be enriched!

That’s the way the world is, to hell with cooperative activities.

Of course, while moving to manage the area, there was often the case of breaking in and smashing everything if it was upsetting to hear. However, there were not many occasions for cooperative activities itself.

Why does he have to do many things when he is busy learning the sword?

‘Well, you’ll find out soon enough.’

The reality is that it’s not that easy.

And it is from there that you realize that fact.

Chung Myung captured the high walls of Xian with both eyes.

“Well then, let’s see!”

The corners of his mouth curled up.

“Shall I start with here for now?”

‘Let’s start with Xian and eat all of Shaanxi! Just like how Mount Hua used to be.’

“Kikikik.”

Seeing Chung Myung secretly starting to laugh alone, everyone felt anxiety flooding in.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

‘Leave him. It’s not the first or second he is like that.’

They don’t know why he’s doing this, but they know deeply from experience that something must happen every time he smiles like that.

Baek Chun and the rest of the disciples prayed and prayed that this ominousness would go away this time.