Chapter 259

Dharma King Hong Dao.

He was the Abbot of Shaolin, known as the Mount Tai and Northern Dipper of the Murim, and one of the Ten Kings.

And he had breathed his last here in Henan, of all places—the front yard of Shaolin and the site of the Star-Array Grand Banquet.

“H-How could this happen?”

“Master Hong Dao!”

Sorrow and shock pressed down on everyone gathered there, but my gaze remained fixed on only one person.

I spoke toward his back, which had gone rigid as a plaster statue.

“Old Master—no, Master.”

Jeok Cheongang, who had been looking down at Hong Dao’s corpse, turned his head.

“I’m going to Shaolin.”

His voice boiled like molten lava.

The blade-sharp aura pouring from the entire body of the Fire King, Jeok Cheongang, made it difficult to breathe and prickled my skin.

But there was only one thing that had gone cold and still: his eyes.

The man before me was suppressing the urge to tear Jongni Chu apart immediately with the last thread of his reason.

What could possibly be important enough to take precedence over avenging his dearest friend?

“Was that Master Hong Dao’s final wish?”

“Later. Every moment is precious right now.”

Just as Jeok Cheongang finished speaking, dozens of presences rapidly approached from far away. At the front of the group, the Thunderbolt Saber King opened his eyes wide at the sight unfolding before him.

“H-Hong Dao!”

“We have no time to be surprised, so listen carefully.”

Jeok Cheongang continued speaking without pause.

“I’m heading to Shaolin by this route. Inform everyone and gather them. We cannot delay even for a moment.”

“You intend to cast a net over heaven and earth to capture Jongni Chu?”

“The opposite.”

“What?”

“Myriad-Mile Pursuit is tracking him, but he’s certain to fail. When everyone has gathered, have them come straight to Shaolin.”

“You said Shaolin?”

“That’s right.”

Jeok Cheongang nodded heavily.

“If Hong Dao’s final words are true… a blood wind will soon blow through Shaolin. It may have already begun.”

“……!”

The gathering fell silent at those shocking words. Even the Thunderbolt Saber King was left gaping, so naturally, I was no different.

At Shaolin Temple?

What kind of place was Shaolin Temple?

It was a temple and martial sect of such stature that calling it the Mount Tai and Northern Dipper of the Murim was only natural. Shaolin had existed for a thousand years.

Some even claimed that the Murim had begun with the arrival of Bodhidharma.

It was the holy ground of Buddhism and the central seat of martial arts. Even if Shaolin’s power waned, its deep-rooted history and the respect of the people remained unshaken.

And now a blood wind was going to blow through that very Shaolin Temple.

“W-What do you mean? Hong Dao’s final words? And who would dare to—”

“Hah!”

Kwoooong!

Jeok Cheongang’s shout jolted everyone back to their senses. The Thunderbolt Saber King, who had been rambling, clamped his mouth shut.

“Dark Heaven. They’ve begun to move. If this old man’s guess is correct, we’ll eventually see Jongni Chu—that bastard who deserves to be torn apart—in Shaolin as well.”

“Dark Heaven…!”

Several leaders, including the Thunderbolt Saber King, opened their eyes wide. Judging by their reactions, they had clearly received at least some warning already.

“Do you understand now that every moment is precious?”

Jeok Cheongang turned away from the Thunderbolt Saber King and swept his deeply sunken gaze across the gathering.

“Do exactly as I have said. That is Hong Dao’s final will.”

There was truly no time left to waste. After exchanging a glance, Jeok Cheongang and I simultaneously unleashed our movement techniques and left the area.

Whoooosh!

As I moved my feet against the fierce wind, a cold liquid touched my cheek.

The sky was clear, without a single cloud. There was no sign of rain.

But the eyes of someone running after losing a friend and postponing his revenge must have been brimming with tears.

No, this is rainwater. I’ll think of it as rainwater.

Damn it.

I clenched my teeth as I thought of Jongni Chu.

I have a feeling today is going to be a long day.

Screeeeech!

“Find the culprit!”

“He could be hiding somewhere nearby!”

“Everyone, calm down. Nothing is going to happen!”

The Murim Alliance was as noisy as a hive someone had kicked apart.

The countless martial artists who had attended the Star-Array Grand Banquet were scouring the surrounding area with fire in their eyes, searching for Jongni Chu, while the commoners moved according to the orders of the people controlling the area, their faces tense with anxiety.

It won’t do any good.

They still did not know that Jongni Chu had already fled far away—or that Dharma King Hong Dao was dead.

For a moment, I considered telling them, but I quickly erased the thought from my mind.

It would only make the confusion worse.

Besides, I did not have time to go around informing the leaders one by one. It was only a matter of time. They would find out soon enough.

For now, I had to put everything I had into following Jeok Cheongang.

Fortunately, Shaolin Temple isn’t very far away.

That was at least one fortunate fact. After passing the preliminary competition, traveling from Mount Song to the Murim Alliance had taken about three shichen by carriage. If we used our movement techniques as we were now, the journey would be shortened dramatically.

Whoooosh!

After racing like a gale for some time, the bustling crowds and tightly packed buildings disappeared. Rice paddies came into view.

As we crossed the broad plain, Jeok Cheongang, who had been leading the way in silence the entire time, suddenly spoke.

“Jongni Chu. Dark Heaven. Unnamed. Buddhist Staff.”

The four words came out in his hoarse voice.

To someone who did not know the circumstances, they would have sounded like a random list of words. But I understood immediately.

They were the answer I had been waiting for.

“Was that Master Hong Dao’s final wish?”

“Yes. Even that took everything he had left.”

“……”

“It would not have been strange if his breath had already stopped. He held on only to deliver those words to me.”

Jeok Cheongang’s voice, which had trembled faintly for a moment, settled again.

“What do you think?”

“It’s as you suspected, Old Master.”

“It is only a suspicion, not a certainty. Speak without leaving anything out.”

“First, the first two words seem to indicate that Jongni Chu is Dark Heaven. That much hardly needs an explanation.”

“And?”

“Unnamed and the Buddhist staff… I’m not sure. To be honest, I don’t know.”

“Do you remember Hong Dao’s Disciple?”

“Oh, of course.”

The memory from a year ago was still vivid.

The young Buddhist monk I had met at an inn somewhere in Henan was none other than Dharma King Hong Dao’s Disciple. He had introduced himself as Unnamed.

So the Unnamed Hong Dao mentioned was that Unnamed.

Was he asking Jeok Cheongang to look after his Disciple in his final moments?

“But what’s a Buddhist staff? Do you mean those staffs monks carry around?”

Jeok Cheongang nodded.

“That’s right. But the Buddhist staff Hong Dao mentioned was the Green Jade Buddha Staff, Shaolin’s sacred treasure.”

“The Green Jade Buddha Staff?”

A scene suddenly came to mind from the day Jeok Cheongang and Hong Dao had reunited after a long time and chatted with laughter.

“What choice did they have? They’re the ones who forced the Abbot’s seat on someone who said he didn’t want it.”

“The Green Jade Buddha Staff. To entrust Shaolin’s sacred treasure, with its immense authority after a thousand years, to a damn monk like this… They must all have been completely blind.”

The staff Hong Dao had taken from his robes that day had been absurdly short, and a faint green light had glimmered across its smooth surface.

I had wondered what it was, but I had been quite surprised to hear that it was Shaolin’s sacred treasure.

“But why would he leave the Green Jade Buddha Staff as part of his final words?”

“Not long before his death, Hong Dao told me something. He said he had entrusted the Green Jade Buddha Staff to his Disciple.”

As I furrowed my brow slightly, Jeok Cheongang continued.

“The Green Jade Buddha Staff is not only Shaolin’s sacred treasure. It is also the symbol the Abbot always carries.”

“Ah!”

A short exclamation escaped me before I could stop it. A single thought had flashed through my mind.

Hong Dao’s final words, forced out with the last of his strength.

The reason Jeok Cheongang had turned toward Shaolin, postponing even the revenge for his dearest friend.

“The Green Jade Buddha Staff!”

“That’s right.”

Jeok Cheongang’s low voice continued.

“Dark Heaven’s true objective is not Hong Dao’s death. It is the seizure of the Green Jade Buddha Staff.”

Everything became certain.

Jongni Chu—or rather, Dark Heaven—clearly wanted Shaolin’s sacred treasure.

Hong Dao had squeezed out the last of his strength to leave those final words and reveal that fact.

Now that Dark Heaven knew the Green Jade Buddha Staff was not in Hong Dao’s possession, even a three-year-old child could tell where its path would lead.

A blood wind will blow through Shaolin.

As I recalled what Jeok Cheongang had said to the Thunderbolt Saber King, my mind seemed to grow cold.

“Huff… Hoo…”

Tap-tap-tap-tap!

Ragged breathing. Feet that never stopped moving.

The feet of the middle-aged man racing along the mountain path were halted by an aged voice.

“Looks like something urgent has come up for you, young friend.”

The owner of the voice was an old man with a beard that hung to his chest.

He was quite tall, and his hair was neatly arranged. At first glance, he even looked like a retired scholar.

“The weather is lovely, too. Wouldn’t it be better to walk while taking in the scenery?”

The middle-aged man’s throat bobbed heavily.

His voice, unable to conceal his tension, slipped between his lips.

“Who are you?”

“I’m just an old man who came out for a stroll. I heard the scenery around Mount Song was lovely, so I came here to kill some time.”

“To kill time?”

The middle-aged man shouted through clenched teeth.

“Cut the bullshit! You must be a vile demonic fiend yourself!”

“Hm?”

The old man opened his eyes wide before giving a quiet laugh.

“Young friend, you have quite a fiery temper. Still, you’re much better than the ones I met earlier. They were too busy doing nothing but lying.”

“You met people earlier… Don’t tell me?”

“A woodcutter, an herb gatherer. Why are there so many kinds of gatherers around here? Ah, the pair who disguised themselves as husband and wife to pray for a child were at least convincing. I almost fell for them myself.”

“……!”

“So I killed every last one of them, martial artists and commoners alike. It seemed much easier that way.”

The middle-aged man’s body trembled as though he had been struck by lightning.

There was no doubt about it. The companions who had scattered to deliver the urgent report had already met their deaths.

He would probably suffer the same fate soon.

At least I should be grateful that my death will not be meaningless.

Those on the ground had been caught in the net, but the sky was another matter.

That was the moment he found a sliver of comfort while watching a messenger eagle fly powerfully across the plain in the distance.

Screeeeech!

Along with a sharp, strange cry, something black swooped down upon the messenger eagle.

It was three or four times larger at a glance. The battle between the two birds that collided in midair ended far too quickly to leave any hope.

Kreee!

As the messenger eagle plummeted with a final cry, blood seeped between the middle-aged man’s tightly clenched teeth.

“Dark Heaven…”

“Oh? You know us?”

“How could I not? You old bastard who deserves the wrath of heaven and man!”

“Most of those Beggars’ Sect beggars didn’t know. Your martial arts are too decent for you to be Lower District Sect riffraff… That’s it. You’re from the Hidden Shadow Pavilion.”

The old man stroked his beard and lifted the corners of his mouth.

“But I find the phrase ‘deserves the wrath of heaven and man’ a little unpleasant. What do you think?”

“You dare do something like this and still—”

The middle-aged man opened his bloodshot eyes wide and was about to shout when the old man shook his head.

“No, not you.”

Then he raised one withered finger and pointed over the middle-aged man’s shoulder.

“I was asking that fellow.”

“……!”

Crack!

The middle-aged man could not turn his head.

The sky and earth flipped, and his vision shook.

There was only one sensation he felt at the end.

Hot.

Fwoosh. Thud.

The charred corpse collapsed.

Then someone’s foot crushed the head of the middle-aged man, now reduced to a lump of charcoal.

“Han Su, you bastard. What kind of bullshit are you pulling? You’re off playing with trash like this.”

The owner of the rough voice was a stocky old man. His beard had grown wildly, and, strangely enough, it was red.

At the appearance of an old friend who had been with him for decades, the old man who looked like a scholar smiled faintly.

“I was just about to wrap things up and leave. How are things up there?”

“Pretty busy having fun. Oh, apparently that Disciple of his has the Green Jade Buddha Staff.”

“Really? Then let’s go together, Flame Tiger.”

The two men exchanged faint smiles and began walking at a leisurely pace.

With every step they took, the screams coming from Shaolin Temple drew closer.