Chapter 353

Episode 353

“See you Shinseung.”

“Nice to meet you, Yeon Siju.”

An old man wearing a monk’s robe put his hands together and greeted me.

The Buddha statue standing tall behind my back created a strange feeling of pressure.

“So you said you wanted to see me?”

It is often said that the head of Shaolin Temple is a priest.

The identity of the old monk was Baekmyeong Daesa, the Shaolin leader of the time.

I knew that he was a person of one rank higher than Gamwon, the head of the Eight Great Houses, and that he also studied martial arts with Buljon, the head of Taesangbang.

As expected from a person leading Shaolin Temple, the prayer flowing out was heavy.

I thought that at this level, he would be no less than the sword of Botaam.

“yes. “I have admired the reputation of the divine monk for a long time.”

“It puts strength on my shoulders to hear the most famous man in Tanggeum Wulin say that.”

Ambassador Baekmyeong felt better when he heard me say things I didn’t even mean to say.

I was out of breath.

It was an extremely uncomfortable situation.

“.......”

I sipped the tea on the table and looked at Shinseung’s thoughts.

Honestly, I don’t know what else to say here.

The reason I asked Gamwon to make a place for me before was because I wanted to meet the monk who had prayed for me in my past life.

It’s not that I really wanted to face Shinseung.

“An important guest has come to visit, but unfortunately I don’t have anything to treat him with. “I’m sorry.”

“it’s okay.”

I didn’t even expect it to begin with.

Is there meat or alcohol in the temple?

I was planning to just be moderately polite and quickly return to Maeng’s headquarters.

“If there is something you want to do, tell me now. “Are there any places you’d like to see or anyone you’d like to meet?”

“If possible, I would like to meet Monk Baek-oh.”

There was surprise in Shinseung’s eyes.

It was as if he was asking how you knew him.

The Buddhist name of the old monk who had prayed for happiness in his previous life was Baek-o.

It was several years ago that I asked Hao Wen to find out his identity based on his appearance in my memory.

It was now clear that he was not the person involved in my return, but since I had come all the way here, I thought I would at least talk to him.

I’d like to at least say thank you, something I couldn’t do in my previous life.

“I didn’t know that Lord Yeon had such deep Buddhist devotion.”

“......?”

Shinseung’s words that followed were of a type I didn’t expect.

My back felt cold due to an unexplainable feeling of anxiety.

I knew it intuitively.

That something is going wrong.

“I will put the message in right away. “The Dragon King will be visiting soon, so get ready.”

“...What do you mean by preparation?”

“What can I do? “One hundred and eight times.”

I was momentarily speechless.

I lost my mind.

Why on earth are you trying to make me do something like that?

“Why is the reaction like that? “Isn’t it Yeon Si-ju who said he wanted to meet Baek-oh’s friend?”

“That’s right.”

“Didn’t the fact that you were going to visit Gyejiwon mean that you wanted to see and experience the monks of Shaolin practicing Buddhism?”

I screamed inside.

What kind of crazy talk is this?

* * *

I trudged along with Shinseung with a blank expression.

I didn’t know how it happened.

...Actually, I understood it off the top of my head.

I was wondering what kind of wind was blowing to show favor to me, who was seen as an evil enemy in the eyes of the Baekdo Martial People.

“I know that the Dragon King’s donor is an official of the collapsed Wolhwajang and hates the Demonic Cult. However, the members of the Demonic Cult are ultimately human just like us. “If you ask whether it is okay to kill someone without any conscience, it will be difficult to give an easy answer.”

“.......”

“I think the lord knows. “Not all demons have committed mortal sins.”

“.......”

“Also, all those involved in the destruction of Wolhwajang have long since passed away. “As a benefactor, it will be difficult to keep track of things.”

I’m sorry if I sound like I’m counting the seconds, but I’ve never had to worry about having a full stomach like that.

The reason I wanted to destroy the Demonic Cult was for personal revenge and for a safe future, not because I had any noble mission.

“Probably most of the martial arts people have anxiety in their hearts. “If we continue to accumulate murderous karma like this, won’t it come back in the future as an unbearable disaster?”

It was something I didn’t agree with at all.

However, I felt like I knew something about Baekoh’s values and tendencies.

This is what I thought when I saw him in my past life, but he was a person with strange magical powers.

Perhaps the reason why I, who was about to die, told him confidential information was because I was swept away by the unique atmosphere?

“I don’t think the answer to the lord’s concerns is something I can give. Don’t rush and think about it slowly. I hope that the hundred and eight times that will begin now will help you organize your thoughts.”

Monk Baek-oh, who finished the story, left the room.

Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.

The monks waiting outside tapped the wooden table to a certain beat.

I reluctantly got up from my seat and stared at the Buddha statue with an astonished expression.

I felt like I had all kinds of strange experiences in my life.

I managed to gather my composure and started bowing towards the Buddha statue.

Once, twice, three times, four times.

As the number of times passed, I felt like the agony in my heart was disappearing... It didn’t work.

I hadn’t even bowed ten times, but I was already so tired that I couldn’t stand it.

It was absolutely not something a human would do.

‘Seventeen eighteen eighteen nineteen thirty.’

I ended up taking special measures.

It was humanly impossible to fill in all 108 numbers.

I decided to use stealth techniques to prevent the monks outside from detecting my presence and increase the number of times appropriately.

‘Forty-four, forty-five, seventy-six.’

While I was spending time doing other things, whenever I saw a monk passing by outside my window, I immediately fell down on the floor and pretended to bow.

Even when I thought about it, I couldn’t help but think it was such a petty thing to do.

It wasn’t until the world began to fall into dusk that the sound of the moktak subsided.

Monk Baek-o, who was waiting outside, spoke to me as I left the Buddhist temple, feigning a calm expression.

“Have you organized your thoughts well?”

“yes. Thanks to you, I feel much more at ease.”

“Then you are lucky.”

After saying thank you, I left Gyejiwon as if running away.

* * *

Approximately an instant of time has passed since then.

When I felt that there was no one around, I let out a long sigh.

No matter how much I thought about it, it was something I couldn’t do twice.

I will never promise to visit Shaolin Temple again.

Even if Master Bodhidharma reincarnates and invites me.

For a while, we walked towards the dormitory where the members were resting.

An old man suddenly appeared in front.

After recognizing the other person’s identity, I immediately returned my expression and spread my shoulders wide.

“See you, Chief Taesangbang.”

The Buddha of Taesangbangjang of Shaolin Temple.

Finally, the person who invited me showed up.

“You look tired.”

“no. Thanks to you, I had a good experience.”

“It’s a good experience. Wouldn’t you like to have an experience you’ll never be able to experience again?

“yes?”

“I will prepare a stage for you to experience the power of the Hundred Eight Arhats. How are you feeling?”

“...!”