Chapter 451
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 451
Chapter 451. The Holy Body (4)
I was speechless at his words.
The mother of the monk had died ten years ago, and her husband was alive and well?
I didn't know why his uncle had said that to the monk, but something seemed strange.
I asked again.
“Does her Orabeoni not know that she is dead?”
“What do you mean, he doesn't know? He came to the funeral and even took the condolence money.”
“....”
“Any more questions?”
“No, that's all. Thank you.”
I gave the villagers a reward, and they left happily with the money.
“In my opinion, the monk seems to be unaware that his mother has passed away.”
At my words, Seo Woo's eyebrows rose slightly.
“Honestly, wouldn't it be more effective to talk about the living rather than the dead?”
“That's true.”
“And the mother's late husband has nothing to do with you. Why are you concerned about his health?”
Seo Woo replied.
“As you say, Liege, there is no reason. There can only be one conclusion. The monk's maternal uncle is a scoundrel.”
I nodded in agreement.
This raised a question in my mind.
Why didn't Jijang Seungryu know that his mother had passed away?
It wasn't that far from Shaolin Temple.
If he hadn't officially become a monk, it would have been understandable, but once he became a monk, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to leave the nearby village.
We decided to resolve this question later and returned to Shaolin Temple.
When we arrived at Shaolin Temple, it was already time for dinner.
What should we do?
I thought about it, but I had already come to a conclusion.
The monk Jang must know the truth. It would be painful, but he couldn't go on without knowing.
If he continued to be manipulated by his uncle, the monk Jang's future would be bleak.
A good person like the monk Jang couldn't suffer because of his family!
There was a possibility that he would become angry upon learning the truth and commit a grave sin, but...
From what I had seen, the monk Jijin was not a shallow man.
He would be able to control his anger.
After dinner, I headed for the sutra hall.
I had to tell him the truth.
He must know before he does something rash. How tragic it would be if he found out after the fact.
“Amitabha, what are you doing here?”
As I approached the sutra repository, the monk greeted me with a bow.
Actually, I was here earlier...
I said with a smile.
“This is my first time at Shaolin Temple, so I was curious and took a walk around the grounds. I ended up here.”
“I see. I'm sorry, but from here on, outsiders are not allowed to enter.”
“I apologize.”
“No, it's okay. You didn't know, so you came here. That's why we're here, isn't it?”
He is a good person, as expected.
At that moment, the sound of drums rang out within the temple grounds.
Dong, dong, dong!
Accompanied by the sound, a group of monks approached the sutra hall.
It was time for the shift change.
I had come here timing the shift change. After watching the shift change for a moment, I approached him as he was heading somewhere.
“I guess you're going to have dinner.”
“Yes, I'm going to eat and rest.”
After exchanging some light conversation, I asked him something that came to mind.
“You look familiar, but I don't know why. Have we met before?”
He shook his head at my question.
“No, we've never met before. I've never left Shaolin Temple.”
“Is that so?”
His eyes looked sad as he said that. Could it be that his maternal uncle told him to never leave Shaolin Temple, using his mother as an excuse?
“I apologize. Your face looked so familiar...”
“No, it's okay. It's understandable.”
I scratched my cheek and then exclaimed, “Ah!”
“I finally remember where I saw you.”
“Yes?”
“It wasn't you, but I saw someone who looked like you in a nearby village a long time ago.”
I continued.
“She was a very beautiful woman.”
His eyes flickered at my words.
Yes, he must have known intuitively.
That I was talking about his mother.
“I see.”
“She was Mrs. Hae from Daeri County, and she was the third wife of Song Jang-ju, who was a close friend of my father.”
“Is she... living happily now?”
The monk's eyes trembled and his voice was hoarse.
I had told him everything in detail, so he should have known.
That was why I asked if she was living happily. I wouldn't have asked that if we weren't related.
“Oh, that...”
I looked sad.
“She passed away ten years ago.”
“What?”
“She had a son with her late husband, but she sent him to Shaolin Temple and took vows against marriage, which she didn't want to do. I heard that she was very sad because of that.”
“....”
“But what's even more shocking is that her brother showed up at the funeral and even accepted money for her funeral expenses.”
I was furious.
“He sold his sister to a rich family as a concubine and got all that land, and now he's living a life of luxury. He should have some shame! Really!”
“....”
“I got carried away. I'm sorry.”
“...No, it's okay.”
The monk's face was contorted with pain as he replied.
“Then I'll go.”
“Yes.”
“Is the lady's husband... all right?”
“He is very healthy.”
“....”
I called him cautiously.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine.”
I took a handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to him.
I was sorry, but it was a pain he had to go through anyway.
And compared to the pain and sadness he had originally experienced, this was nothing.
“You are crying.”
“I... I made a fool of myself.”
“If you need any help, please come find me. And anger is not necessary for revenge.”
With those words, I left.
I felt I should leave him alone now.
* * *
Jisang felt as if his heart was being torn apart.
No, it was more like being torn to shreds.
His mother had passed away.
Every night, he had cried for her, longing to see her, but she was no longer in this world.
At first, he couldn't believe it.
But Mrs. Hae of Daeri County was the third wife of Song Jang-ju. How likely was it that her son had become a disciple of Shaolin Temple?
At this point, he was able to face the truth.
He recalled how his maternal uncle had looked when he came to see him.
He had come to him in shabby clothes, asking for help.
So he saved the monthly allowance he received and gave it to him.
But now he was living a life of luxury!
Once he began to suspect, other strange things came to mind.
He always wore the same clothes when he came to see him.
There were no patches on them.
The colors were hardly faded.
No matter how carefully one treats their clothes, if they have to wear the same clothes for years, the color will fade and there will be patches.
And unlike his shabby appearance, his hands were very white and delicate.
Hands are evidence of a person's life.
They show whether a person lives a comfortable life, works hard all day, or practices martial arts.
If one is dressed in rags, one's hands should also be rough.
Only then did Jiseong realize what was going on.
His maternal uncle had been deceiving him all this time.
Jiseong was not stupid, nor was he naive.
One cannot survive in competition and become a monk at Shaolin Temple by being too kind.
Moreover, the fact that he had succeeded in becoming a monk among so many disciples meant that he was intelligent for his age.
His only weakness was his mother.
But as of today, that weakness was gone. His mother had already passed away, so she could no longer be his weakness.
Still, today, he wanted to cry.
The tears he shed now were tears of mourning for his mother.
After grieving for a long time, he wiped his tears with a handkerchief.
Then, looking at the handkerchief, he remembered Eun Seo-ho.
He approached him out of the blue and asked if they were acquaintances, then naturally started talking about his mother.
The reason he approached him must have been to tell him about his mother.
He remembered what Eun Seo-ho had said when he gave him the handkerchief.
Anger would not help him get revenge, and if he needed help, he should come find him.
Now he was angry.
It was obvious that his great-uncle was the one who had started all this tragedy. Not only that, but he had even told him to do something he shouldn't do.
It would be strange if he wasn't angry.
However, he thought he understood Eun Seo-ho's intention in telling him this news.
It meant that he should not be swayed by his great-uncle's words and do something foolish.
“Then... does he already know everything? Does he know what I was going to do?”
A chill ran down his spine.
“I must go see him right away.”
* * *
It was already time to go to bed.
But I couldn't sleep, so I stayed up reading a book in my room.
As expected, the monk would come to see me even at this late hour.
“Young master, you have a visitor.”
I nodded at Pal-gap's words. Just as I expected.
“Tell him to come in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Soon, the door opened and the monk I had seen earlier entered.
His eyes were swollen, so he must have cried a lot.
Ugh... I suddenly felt sorry for him.
“Please sit down.”
He sat down where I invited him and bowed his head.
“First of all, thank you. I just found out about my mother.”
“The lady I mentioned earlier was your mother.”
“You already knew, yet you are so clever.”
As I expected...
I immediately bowed my head slightly in apology.
“I am sorry.”
“No, I am grateful that I can pray for your mother's rebirth in paradise, even at this moment.”
He spoke so politely that I felt embarrassed.
“But why are you being so kind to me?”
“I don't know if you will believe me, but I actually saw His Excellency Dao in a dream.”
“What?”
“The monk looked at you with pity in his eyes. I wondered what had happened, so I investigated and found out the truth.”
“...”
“Why didn't you find out about your mother all this time?”
He replied calmly to my question.
“My uncle said that if I left Shaolin Temple, it would harm my mother.”
“I see.”
I really want to curse him.
“I didn't want my mother to suffer because of me.”
How could he take advantage of someone's filial love!
He is the most evil of all evil people.
“He told me to come find him if I needed help, so I came.”
“Please tell me.”
“Actually, my uncle ordered me to do something unthinkable.”
He recounted what had happened to him in a calm voice.
“He told me to take the sacred medicine hidden in the body of the monk Hyukgon Seung. He said that if I burned the body, no one would know what I had done.”
He spoke calmly, but was his heart really calm?
He was trying his best to suppress his anger.
“You have every right to be angry.”
“What?”
I repeated.
“You have every right to be angry. What happened to you is outrageous.”
“But you said earlier that anger is not necessary for revenge…”
“That's right. Anger is not necessary for revenge. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be angry. Isn't it natural for people to experience joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure?”
I continued.
“It just means that you shouldn't let it ruin your life.”
“Ah…”
“Your mother must have seen how well you grew up. She would have been very proud of you.”
“Would she have?”
“Yes. So don't stain your hands with revenge. Leave revenge to the heavens. If you break your vows by spilling blood, how sad would your mother be?”
As a monk, even if he committed murder, he would hardly be excommunicated, but it had to be for a good cause.
“But I don't know how to control my feelings.”
“I will help you.”
“What?”
“The truth is, I am serious about protecting the body of His Excellency, the monk Hyukgon.”
“But that's no reason for you to go out of your way for me.”
“Just think of it as your mother sending me here for the sake of your son's future.”
“....”
“If not, why would I be here now? Isn't this the answer from heaven to your mother's earnest prayers?”
I continued.
“So, how about you enter the penitential hall for a month or so?”
“The penitential hall?”
He thought about my suggestion for a moment and then nodded.
“All right. I will meditate for a month and pray for your mother's rebirth in paradise.”
You can count on it.
When you come out in a month, everything will be neatly sorted out.