Chapter 446
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 446
Chapter 446. To Shaolin Temple (2)
Once again, we set off for Shaolin Temple and soon arrived at the Yellow River.
The Yellow River, which flows along the border between Hebei and Shandong, is a downstream area, so it seemed much wider than when we crossed the river in Gansu.
However, we were not worried.
We knew that Joo Gang-ma could cross the river regardless of its width.
“Let's go! Everyone, hold on tight to the reins!”
“Yes!”
Joo Gang-ma slowly picked up speed and began to cross the river quickly.
Being able to cross the river in one go saved us a lot of time.
Instead of following the river, we headed slightly south and then west.
“It's starting to get dark,”
I said to everyone in response to Pal-gap's words.
“Let's find a place to spend the night.”
“Yes, sir.”
Soon, we found a suitable place and settled down.
Tap, tap.
We had come down to Henan, but perhaps because we were in the forest, it had become a little chilly at night.
It felt good to sit around the bonfire like this.
As we were relaxing, I suddenly sensed a killing intent.
I immediately stood up.
“What's wrong?”
“I sensed a killing intent nearby.”
At my words, everyone looked tense and drew their weapons. I closed my eyes and concentrated my senses to scan the surroundings.
“There was a battle in this area. It seems to be a fight between the Black Daoists and the orthodox sects.”
“What shall we do?”
I hesitated slightly at Seo Woo's words. I wondered if we should rush into danger.
But my intuition told me
that we had to go.
“We can't leave any uncertainties. Let's go.”
“Understood.”
“Myeongjong, stay here with Palgap and guard the luggage.”
“Yes.”
I immediately ran toward the battle with the rest of the guards.
Chaeng! Chaeng!
Kang!
“Push them back a little more!”
“Ughahahaha! You monks! Give up already!”
When I arrived there, I quickly grasped the situation. People who appeared to be monks from Shaolin Temple were fighting black-clad martial artists.
The monks were protecting something, and the black-clad martial artists were attacking them fiercely to take it away.
“My lord, what should we do?”
“Let's help them first.”
With that, I kicked off.
At that moment, I saw a black sword flying toward one of the monks.
Clang!
I blocked the sword and swung my sword again, cutting off the black warrior's arm.
“Guh!”
“Unlike the monks, we have no mercy. Wouldn't it be better to retreat?”
One of the Dao warriors shouted in response to my words.
“You, don't interfere!”
“I can't do that because I'm a nosy person.”
I said with a smile.
“I'm not responsible if you die.”
At that moment, another black-clad warrior shouted.
“Even if you kill us, there are others who are after the Holy Body. Do you think you can take them all on?”
“Your compassion is admirable, but you should know when to step forward and when to stay back, especially when you are clearly outmatched in martial arts!”
Why do you think I'm weak in martial arts?
Ah... It's dark, so you can't see my face clearly.
But I think I just heard something important.
“What did you just say? Did you say ‘holy body’?”
Hearing this, one of the Shaolin Temple monks gasped and said, “That's right. Donor. What we are carrying is the holy body of the Great Master Xue Gong.”
“....”
What an interesting coincidence.
Should I be scared at this point?
In any case, I couldn't ignore this situation.
I went through all that trouble to deliver the remains to Shaolin Temple...
If those black-clad men take them, I might lose my temper.
Besides, I have the remains of Master Xue Gong.
I had a strong feeling that I had to help them...
“The body of Master Xue Gongcheng! Then I can't back down.”
But then I suddenly had a question.
“But why are you after Master Xue Gongcheng's body?”
“Because there's an elixir in his body!”
Elixir?
What on earth are you talking about?
I asked with a stunned look on my face.
“Where on earth did you hear such nonsense? There is nothing inside the body of the Grand Master. It's just bones and skin, not some elixir!”
“The rumor is already spreading! Then how can you be so sure that there is nothing inside?”
How can you be sure?
Well, I have a golden rule.
If there was an elixir in the body of the blood-bound monk, the golden rule would have noticed it first and made a sound.
And in my previous life, I investigated the remains of the blood-bound monk, but there was nothing.
However, these are not evidence that can be presented to them.
I sighed.
“Excuse me, I don't know where that rumor started, but whoever started it must be rolling on the floor laughing at you all acting so ridiculous.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We already investigated when we took the sacred body out of the Gansu province's armory, and we confirmed that there was nothing inside.”
Of course, that was a lie.
It was strictly guarded as soon as it was found.
“So, everyone in Gansu knows that there is nothing inside the Holy Relic... But since they didn't get anything, they are frustrated and started spreading rumors out of spite... And you fell for it.”
“What?”
“What are you talking about?”
I scratched the back of my neck.
How could I say such a thing out loud?
“I...”
But as if sensing my thoughts, the warrior Seo Woo shouted from beside me.
“Our Liege is Master Sun, the hero of the Dragon and Phoenix Duel!”
The warrior Yeo Eung-am shouted after him.
“He also played an important role in the recent sword competition at Yeonji Mountain in Gansu!”
I gave the two warriors a quick look of gratitude. Thanks to them, I was spared the embarrassment of having to say my name out loud.
The Black Dao warriors were thrown into confusion by the shout, while the Shaolin Temple monks cheered quietly in delight.
I looked at the Black Dao group and said, “Dao, you are the leader of the Black Dao, right?”
“Grand Master Xue Gong passed away while gazing at Songshan, where Shaolin Temple is located. As the old saying goes, even a fox turns its head toward its home when it dies, and this is proof that the Grand Master missed Shaolin Temple, which was like his home, until the very end. That is why we went through all this trouble to return his body to Shaolin Temple....”
I was angry.
“You are truly despicable people! Thanks to the mercy of the Grand Master, the sword gate collapsed, and you were saved from being killed inside. You should be grateful to the Grand Master, but instead you spread such false rumors! Are you really so lacking in morality?”
Hearing my words, some people turned their heads away or bowed their heads in shame.
To be honest, there are many bad people among the Black Swordsmen.
However, there are quite a few who turned to the Black Swordsmen because they had no other way to make a living, so there are still some who have a shred of conscience left.
I looked at them and continued.
“Anyway, you are being manipulated by those people. So don't stand here and instead go after the ones who spread those rumors and teach them a lesson.”
I swung my sword.
Swoosh!
The ground in front of them was cut open.
“If you truly wish to fight us, I will not stop you. But if you choose to fight me and my bodyguards, be prepared to lose an arm or a leg.”
A tense moment.
“Ugh.”
At that moment, someone began to sheathe their sword, and everyone else followed suit.
“I think he's right.”
“Well... If there was any elixir in there, the guys at Yeonjisan would have eaten it first.”
“What a waste! Damn it!”
“I'm sorry!”
With that, the group of black-clad men left, and I sheathed my sword and approached the monks.
I clasped my hands together in a bow.
“I am Captain Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Trading Company. It is an honor to meet you, sirs.”
They waved their hands in response.
“We are not worthy of being called sirs. Thank you very much for your help.”
“It's strange how fate works. To meet you on the way to Shaolin Temple. But why are you here? I heard that the monks of Shaolin Temple moved the sacred body to the Martial Alliance.”
“That's right. We are on our way from the Martial Alliance.”
“Isn't this far from the road to Songshan from the Martial Alliance?”
“Yes. We had just left the Martial Alliance when we were attacked. They blocked the road to Songshan, so we had no choice but to change our route.”
“You must have had a hard time.”
“Fortunately, none of my disciples lost their lives, but it was a very difficult situation. Thank you once again.”
“By the way, how did you manage to drive them all away without killing anyone?”
“You are truly a master of martial arts.”
“You flatter me. Hahaha.”
Then one of the monks said,
“I heard that our disciples received a lot of help from you, Master. That is why we invited you here. Is that why you are going there?”
“Yes, that's right.”
When I nodded, the monks smiled brightly and invited me.
“That's perfect. We are also on our way to Shaolin Temple, so it would be nice if you would accompany us.”
“That would be our pleasure.”
And so we ended up traveling with them.
“First, come this way and rest a little. We have a place reserved for us.”
We headed for the place where we had set up camp.
“Young master, you're here?”
Pal-gap and Myeong-jong greeted us.
“Yes. Everything okay?”
“Yes, everything is fine.”
“That's good. These are the monks from Shaolin Temple.”
I explained the situation to Pal-gap and Myeong-jong.
“Well done. Have you had dinner, monks?”
The monks shook their heads in response.
It was understandable, as they had been fighting frantically while being chased.
There was no way they could have had a proper meal.
“Would this rice be of any help?”
The monk asked if there was any food left and handed over the rice. Pal-gap saw this and readily agreed.
“Ah! Then we'll make some rice porridge with that.”
“Please do.”
Pal-gap quickly fetched some water from nearby, put the rice in a pot, and began to cook the porridge.
“Let me help you.”
“Then please stir it for a moment.”
Pal-gap went somewhere and soon returned with something. It was mushrooms.
“These mushrooms are incredibly delicious.”
“Oh? Really?”
Pal-gap carefully cleaned the mushrooms, chopped them into small pieces, and put them in the pot.
There are many poisonous mushrooms in the wild, but I wasn't worried.
Why?
Pal-gap is extremely good at distinguishing poisonous mushrooms. Bears are bears, after all.
The warm porridge was ready, and Pal-gap served a bowl to each monk.
There were twenty monks in total.
They ate the porridge Pal-gap had made, looking as if they were in paradise.
“It's really delicious.”
“Thank you.”
The monks ate their fill.
With that, I paid off another debt.
I told Pal-gap he had done a good job, and he smiled and rubbed his nose.
“It's nothing.”
I smiled lightly and sat down, lost in thought.
By the way, there is a rumor that there is a magic potion inside the body of the monk Hyegonseong...
What a malicious rumor.
Who started such a rumor?
We worked so hard to achieve a different outcome from the previous life, when the abbot's body was cut into pieces.
At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.
Could it be...
Is there a reason why the body of the abbot of Shaolin Temple must not be returned to Shaolin Temple?
Is that why someone is trying to prevent it?
No, it can't be...
What could possibly be in that body, which was completely empty?
If there was anything, it would only be the remains of the Grand Master, who loved Shaolin Temple so much.
However, I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.
The next morning, we tidied up and left for Shaolin Temple again.
There were no uninvited guests who came to see us the night before.
However, we couldn't say for sure that there wouldn't be any today.
We formed a large circle around the cart carrying the remains of Blood Monk, with the cart in the center.
Less than two hours after we set off,
whoosh!
An arrow was shot at us.
It was an ambush.
We didn't think it was the Green Forest Bandits because there was a monk among us.
The Green Forest Bandits had a kind of unwritten rule that they didn't touch monks.
If you touch a monk, you will be sent to the most painful hell in all of hell, or so they say.
And since they had been unlucky for three years, they didn't touch the monk.
The Green Forest Bandits are also members of the Black Dao, but those who were after the body of the monk seemed to be the type who didn't care about such things.
“You're talking nicely, so hand over the remains.”
“We must take that elixir!”
Looking at the people in front of us, I clicked my tongue.
Why are they so easily swayed by useless rumors?
At this rate, I'll waste all my time.
Then, a good idea suddenly came to mind.
It was the same method I used to dispel the rumors about the martial artist. The best way to fight rumors is with more rumors.
I said to them,
“What? Haven't you heard the rumors yet?”