Chapter 450
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 450
Chapter 450. The Holy Body (3)
That afternoon.
I asked a monk named Jong-o, who had become a close friend of mine, about that monk.
“You mean the monk Jisang.”
“His Dharma name is Jisang. May I ask who he is?”
“He is my immediate subordinate. He is in charge of managing the Janggyeonggak, and he is a quiet disciple who silently does his work.”
“I see.”
“That is why not only his fellow disciples but also his superiors think highly of him... But why are you asking about the monk Jisang?”
I casually gave the excuse I had prepared for that question.
“It's nothing, just something I found interesting. Everyone else was watching the duel with great excitement, but he seemed uninterested. Judging by his clothes, he seems to be a martial artist.”
“Don't think anything of it. The monk on the ground is talented in martial arts, but he has a weak heart and hates to use his skills to hurt others. He is a heavenly monk.”
“I see.”
I frowned slightly, remembering the look in the monk's eyes from earlier.
That look was clearly... guilt and frustration.
There must be something going on.
Exploiting people's weaknesses is the specialty of the Black Dao.
That night.
I had a dream for the first time in a long time.
* * *
Early morning.
Jae-sung headed for the hall of scriptures and recalled his memories of coming here.
When he was only seven years old, his maternal uncle brought him to Shaolin Temple.
“From now on, this is where you will live. Live and die at Shaolin Temple.”
“Uncle, I'm sorry. Please don't leave me here. I'll eat just a little bit. Please send me back to my mother.”
“You good-for-nothing child! Are you jealous of your mother's happiness with her rich new husband?”
“No, that's not it...”
“If you care about your mother, don't you dare think of leaving this place! That is the best way you can show your filial piety! Do you understand?”
“...”
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
And so, Jiseon began his life at Shaolin Temple with thousands of other disciples.
Shaolin Temple is a place that does not turn away those who come and does not hold back those who leave.
That is why when they accept disciples, a huge number of people come to join.
However, about two-thirds of them drop out during the first year due to the harsh training and lifestyle.
Even at Shaolin Temple, they push the children hard during the first year to see how determined they are.
In fact, Jisang also dreamed of leaving Shaolin Temple every day, just like the other children.
But if he left, he had nowhere to go.
Moreover, he loved his mother.
Therefore, he kept telling himself that staying here was the only way to honor his mother, as his maternal uncle had told him, and he persevered like a stubborn mule.
Fortunately, he had a talent for martial arts, so when he came of age, he was able to choose to remain at Shaolin as a monk.
He realized that in order to stay at Shaolin Temple for as long as possible, he had to avoid attracting attention from others as much as possible.
So he lived his life quietly, as if he didn't exist.
Then yesterday, he met his great-uncle.
Somehow, his great-uncle found out that he had officially become a monk at Shaolin Temple and contacted him.
Since then, he had been contacting him about once a year.
Yesterday, my great-uncle said to me,
“Do you still want to see your mother?”
“I severed all ties with the outside world a long time ago. I just want my mother to be happy in this life and go to paradise after death.”
“Would you call the bond between mother and child ‘natural’ for no reason?”
“....”
“Actually, your mother wants to see you. You have grown up to be a fine young man, so it would be filial to show her how well you have done and put her mind at ease.”
Jang-sang bit his lip at those words.
He hadn't seen his mother since he was seven years old. How could he not want to see her?
He had spent countless nights crying because he wanted to see her.
“But there is a problem.”
“...What is it?”
“Your mother's new husband, Chairman Jang, is ill and may die at any moment. They have tried everything to cure him, but there is no improvement.”
“....”
“So, the only option left is to use a magic potion. I heard that the body of the Venerable Master of Shaolin Temple was recently brought here, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I heard that the Venerable Master's body contains a magic potion. Bring it to me.”
“What?”
Jisang was shocked.
“I can't do that! How can I lay my hands on the body of the Venerable Master?”
“Don't worry. After you find the elixir, set it on fire to destroy the evidence. Then who will know what you did?”
“....”
Jisang's maternal uncle said to him as he hesitated.
“If the chairman dies, your mother will become a widow again. She wasn't even his legal wife, but a concubine. What will become of her?”
“....”
“But if you bring me the magic potion, your mother will receive the chairman's favor.”
Jisang thought about what his uncle had said and washed his face with his hands.
His uncle had given him until the day after tomorrow.
That meant he had no time to waste.
On his way to the library, he stopped in front of the main hall.
“Wait... Let me go in.”
There was no one inside.
It was very rare for no one to be inside. He went inside and sat down heavily.
“Huu...”
He let out a deep sigh.
“I don't think I've done anything wrong in my life. Even if I have, I don't think it's enough to cause me to suffer like this.”
“...”
“So, won't you help me just this once? My mother's husband is sick... If he could just recover... Then... My uncle's request would be null and void.”
“...”
Of course, there was no answer from the Buddha. As always, he just stared at him silently.
* * *
Daeungbojeon.
This place, which can be called the center of Shaolin Temple, houses a statue of Buddha.
And I am now hiding behind the statue of Buddha.
Why am I here?
Ugh...
It's all because of a dream I had last night.
While I was watching the monk Jijang suspiciously, I fell asleep without realizing it and had a dream.
In that dream, Grand Master Hyegonseong appeared.
He was looking at the monk Jang with a pitiful expression, and the place was right here in the Daeungbojeon Hall.
Then he looked at me and pointed east with his finger. The sun was shining in the east.
At that moment, I woke up from my dream and immediately realized the meaning of his finger.
It meant that I should go to the Daeungbojeon Hall when the morning sun rose.
So I immediately moved and hid here when I saw the monks coming.
Thanks to that, I learned unexpected information.
He asked me to cure his wife's illness by tomorrow. If I do so, his request will be nullified.
Although it was a short message, I could infer several things.
First, his mother remarried.
Otherwise, he would have said his mother's husband, not his father.
Second, the person who gave him the task was his maternal uncle, and the deadline he gave him was the day after tomorrow.
That is why he asked him to cure him by tomorrow. If he is cured by tomorrow, the news will reach him in time.
Third, the monk's maternal uncle lives near the Shaolin Temple.
This is another piece of information that can be inferred from the request to cure him by tomorrow.
It means that it will only take a day for the news to reach them.
I was concerned about the expression on the face of the monk I saw in my dream last night.
He looked pitiful.
His appearance in my dream must mean that he wants me to help the monk Jijin.
First, I must check the monk Jijin's records. I need information to help someone.
The records are kept in the Janggyeonggak.
Of course, they were under strict security, but it wasn't difficult for me to sneak in and out.
Besides, my energy has a characteristic that makes it difficult for others to detect.
After memorizing the information written in the monk's records, I left the Janggyeonggak and returned to my quarters.
“Pal-gap.”
“Yes, sir?”
“I need to go out for a bit.”
“What? So suddenly?”
“Tell them I have something urgent to take care of.”
Pal-gap nodded as if he understood.
“Yes, sir. I will tell them that.”
He's quick to understand.
So I left with Seo-woo.
I don't think the monk will do anything until tomorrow, but you never know.
That's why I asked Jin-yu to keep an eye on Jang-sang and then left Shaolin Temple.
There were quite a few villages near Songshan, where Shaolin Temple was located. That was because the most dangerous things in the mountains were tigers and the Green Forest Bandits.
The safest place was where the Shaolin masters who could deal with them were nearby.
I headed for the village listed in Jang-sang's monk's register.
It was Dali County, a village south of Songshan.
I brought only Seo Woo with me because, apart from Jin Yu, he was the fastest in the movement arts.
I decided to find out about the monk's maternal uncle first.
It was not difficult to find him.
“Twenty years ago, it was a poor family.”
“All they had was a small field about the size of the palm of your hand?”
“Then her husband died, and her younger sister returned to her parents' home, which changed their fortunes.”
“She became the concubine of Song Jang-ju, the richest man in the neighboring village. Her younger sister was very pretty.”
“Actually, she didn't want to become Song Jang-ju's concubine.”
“Of course not! What mother would want to part with her own son?”
“Anyway, Song Jang-ju bought land for her family, and now he's living the high life as a chairman.”
“And his nephew, who he abandoned at Shaolin Temple, became a monk.”
That testimony alone was enough to prove it.
It was his coercion that made his sister become Song Jang-ju's concubine and his nephew become a disciple of Shaolin Temple.
I headed for the manor where my maternal uncle lived.
“...”
I was speechless when I saw the manor.
It was more luxurious and bigger than I had imagined.
If he was living this well, there was no need to send his nephew to Shaolin Temple.
Moreover, making his nephew a disciple of Shaolin Temple meant cutting off his father's lineage.
If he needed the prestige of Shaolin Temple, shouldn't he have sent one of his own children there?
As I was quietly swallowing my anger, someone entered the mansion.
The unpleasant aura I felt from him was undoubtedly that of a black Daoist.
I followed him and secretly entered the hall.
He headed for the reception room.
I made sure no one noticed me and headed for the roof.
Then, I peeked through a crack in the roof to see what they were doing.
Inside, the man who appeared to be the monk's maternal uncle was sitting face to face with the guest I had just seen.
The guest had a sneer on his face and looked like a skilled martial artist.
“So, how do you think it will go?”
I quickly focused my attention on their conversation.
“Don't worry. I've given orders to that guy, and he will never disobey me.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I have stimulated his weakness well. So he will definitely burn the body of the Great Monk of Blood and Iron.”
As expected...
The plan to destroy the body of the Great Monk of Blood and Iron was continuing.
The lay monk's maternal uncle rubbed his palms together and said.
“So you will keep your promise?”
“Of course. If you succeed, I will repay the 30,000 nyang debt as promised.”
Ugh...
So, the uncle of the monk on the ground owed someone money and got involved in something he shouldn't have in order to repay the debt.
And by associating with Dao, he was infected by his energy, which then spread to the monk on the ground.
There was nothing special about the rest of the story, so I quietly left the house.
“Let's go.”
“It's not that you didn't accomplish anything, but it seems like something is bothering you.”
Hearing that, I touched my face and asked, “I don't think I'm bad at controlling my expressions, but how did you know?”
“I can tell just by looking at you.”
“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything.”
I smiled awkwardly.
“Actually, that's right. I found out the whole story. If you succeed in destroying the body of the monk Hyukgon, he will pay off your debt of 30,000 nyang. But...”
I touched my chin and said.
“My younger sister is the concubine of Song Jang-ju, the richest man in the neighboring village. Song Jang-ju is wealthy enough to pay 30,000 nyang. Wouldn't it be easier to ask my sister to get the money?”
“Yes, you're right.”
“We need to find out more about your sister who became Song Jang-ju's concubine.”
Soon, we headed for the mansion of Song Jang-ju in a nearby village. And I was able to confirm what I had suspected.
“Song Jang-ju is sick? What are you talking about? He looks very healthy. I saw him this morning.”
As expected, Song Jang-ju's illness was a lie.
I asked about the mother of the monk.
“Ah, you mean the beautiful concubine? The daughter of Mr. Hae from the neighboring county of Dae?
”Yes, that's her.“
”Then why are you looking for her now?“
”What do you mean?“
”She died of a chronic illness ten years ago. She wanted so much to see her son, whom she had left behind with her parents..."