Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 447

“Hoo.”

The sigh that escaped Tam Gyeong’s lips seemed to age his face by several years in just a dozen days.

Yi Beon glanced at him.

“Why the sigh?”

“It’s just a sigh that comes out.”

“Are you trying to go before this older brother?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t they say that sighing often shortens your lifespan?”

“Hahaha.”

Tam Gyeong, who had burst into laughter, smacked his lips and said,

“I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Is it perhaps that the contents of the scriptures are not being interpreted well?”

“That’s nothing new, is it? It’s something to explore until the day I die.”

Yi Beon smiled.

“Then it must be because of that child.”

“Child?”

“I’m talking about that child, Yeon Ho-Jeong.”

Tam Gyeong’s mouth snapped shut like a clam.

Yi Beon, who had closed the old book he was holding, continued, patting his back.

“You seem to have changed a lot since meeting that child. To be precise, it’s like you’ve returned to your past, full of youthful vigor.”

“Does it look that way?”

“Actually, now that I think about it, none of us were as passionate as you. Weren’t you called the most fearsome Arhat Hall Master [a high-ranking monk in Shaolin] in the history of Shaolin? Some even said you were the reincarnation of a Wisdom King, perhaps?”

“Haha, why bring up things that have passed?”

“I’m not saying this to cheer you up. I’m just saying it to understand you.”

“……”

“The winds of time don’t just change the mountains and rivers. They seep into people’s hearts as well. That’s why hearts that were once as hard and sharp as steel become soft with age.”

Tam Gyeong looked at Yi Beon.

Yi Beon, leaning against the cave wall, looked like a Taoist sage who had attained enlightenment, despite his disheveled appearance.

It must have been because of his eyes. His deep, profound eyes were like a spotless mirror. If you looked at them, it felt as if your own heart was being seen through.

“You’ve changed from the past. But that past is also a part of you. Unfortunately, you haven’t been able to completely separate yourself from your past self.”

“Does it look that way?”

“It does.”

Tam Gyeong’s face turned bitter.

“I still have a long way to go.”

“Is it so disappointing that you haven’t completely changed from your past self? It’s not like you were someone who committed evil deeds.”

“I’ve devoted the rest of my life to unraveling the secrets of reincarnation and getting closer to the Buddha’s path. For that, I should have forgotten my past self, who chastised the martial world, and followed the path.”

“……”

“I should have forgotten the fiery fists by now, but it seems that the embers still remain in my heart.”

Yi Beon chuckled.

“That’s why you need to find a job that suits you. Your choice was noble, but you should have done what you wanted to do.”

“How many people in the world can do what they want? Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do. And just so you don’t misunderstand, I don’t dislike this work either.”

“Puhuh!”

Yi Beon shook his head.

“When my great-grandson and Beom Oh came and asked for help, you were the first to step forward.”

“……”

“Yes, it’s a matter involving the government, so how could we, who have severed ties with the secular world, not move? But you were different. The reason you moved wasn’t because the government might collapse or because our work might be disrupted.”

Tam Gyeong’s eyes wavered.

Yi Beon stared at Tam Gyeong with his deep eyes. It was as if he could see right through him.

“Your heart still holds the vibrant spirit to chastise the martial world.”

“……That’s just being meddlesome.”

“Hehe, there’s no law that says you can’t dream just because you’re old. In fact, aren’t we all gathered here for a dream? The dream and belief that if we can delve into the gap between immortality and reincarnation and get closer to the truth, we can bring peace to the world faster.”

“……”

“Dreams don’t discriminate between men and women, young and old. It’s just that the kind of dreams we have are different. I don’t think you’re pathetic. Rather, I envy you. That you can live with such passion even at that age.”

Yi Beon winked.

“Unbreakable passion is a symbol of youth. Even if your body and martial arts have aged, you are still young.”

“……”

“Young people should act like young people, without worrying about what others think, and go wild.”

Tam Gyeong looked at Yi Beon with trembling eyes.

Don’t just sit here, not fitting your personality, go out into the world and be cool.

That was what Yi Beon’s words meant. And his words were filled with sincerity, without a hint of resentment or falsehood.

After looking at Yi Beon for a long time, a warm smile appeared on Tam Gyeong’s face.

“That was a wonderful test.”

“It wasn’t a test?”

Tam Gyeong shook his head.

“What I saw wasn’t my past self, who galloped across the world with gusto. It was the reward of suppressing evil and bringing peace to the world.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. I was just imitating the past a little this time. That alone is enough for me.”

“Is that sincere?”

“It’s sincere.”

The smile on Tam Gyeong’s face deepened.

“It’s sincere. How could it not be? I will still envy my past self in the future, but it won’t be an obsession, but a memory. I just realized that.”

“Hahaha.”

“I’m too old to be crushed by the illusion of memories and go wild. At least I’m old enough to distinguish that.”

If Yi Beon’s advice was sincere, Tam Gyeong’s words were also full of sincerity.

Tam Gyeong burst into laughter.

“Still, it seems I’m younger than you, brother. I sometimes feel my hands itching.”

“Puhuh! The man who was feared by the world as the Wrathful King is being so meddlesome.”

“What’s wrong with being a little meddlesome? There’s only us here anyway.”

“Hahaha.”

Passion knows no age. Similarly, enlightenment knows no age.

Tam Gyeong went out into the world, met a unique junior, and was soaked in the desires of the secular world, gaining a small vexation.

And now, by burning that vexation, he was able to reach a higher level once again. For Tam Gyeong, it was an enlightenment more valuable than the rise of martial arts, the enlightenment of a saint.

Yi Beon shook his head.

“So, is there another reason why you haven’t told us yet?”

“What do you mean?”

“About the Yellow Dragon.”

Tam Gyeong’s eyes lit up.

“That child told you the Dharma [Buddhist teachings] of the Yellow Dragon, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“That guy is a funny one. Even if it’s a trade, to just give something like that away.”

“That child, Yeon Ho-Jeong, is not a fool. In martial arts, there are separate formulas and Dharmas. He didn’t tell me the formula.”

“Still.”

“Besides, he said that to awaken the true Yellow Dragon, one must master all the true energy of the Four Divine Beasts and know all the formulas of the Four Divine Energies. To someone who doesn’t truly know the Four Divine Beasts, the Dharma of the Yellow Dragon is just empty talk.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Yi Beon looked at him with a subtle gaze.

“Do you think the same?”

Tam Gyeong nodded.

“Even if I knew the formula, the Dharma is just the Dharma. The Dharma of the Yellow Dragon, filled with metaphors, similes, and incomprehensible poetic expressions, was at a level that even scholars would scratch their heads at.”

“Then how about you? For you, who interpreted the scriptures of immortality and reincarnation, filled with enlightenment.”

Yi Beon pointed to the wall with his hand.

“In the Dharma of the Yellow Dragon, did you find a solution to interpret this content?”

Surprisingly, under the bright light of the night-shining pearl, numerous letters were densely engraved.

The wall was not rough, and the letters were clear. And that wall was not the only one here.

Throughout the Bul Mountain cave, letters that had deciphered dozens of scriptures were engraved.

“I don’t know yet. However, it seems almost certain that the person who created this Bul Mountain Holy Text Stone Wall was Sa Bang-Mujae.”

“Hmm.”

Flames ignited in Yi Beon’s eyes.

The pure thirst for knowledge and the will of a human being towards a dream. He said that Tam Gyeong had a passion for the secular world, but he also clearly had his own passion.

“The unique metaphors written on this Holy Text Stone Wall have something in common with the Yellow Dragon Dharma. I don’t know if Sa Bang-Mujae created the Yellow Dragon or completed the Yellow Dragon he learned from his predecessors, but it seems clear that Sa Bang-Mujae came here after ending the Blood Cult Rebellion in the past.”

“I see.”

Yi Beon looked at the stone wall with trembling eyes.

“Is it certain? That Sa Bang-Mujae was the one who created this stone wall.”

“Yes.”

“Then… the words that eternal life is reincarnation, and therefore one must escape the cycle of reincarnation and reach the heavens, and that the one who left the method to reach the heavens on this stone wall is truly Sa Bang-Mujae?”

Tam Gyeong smiled and said,

“Shouldn’t we investigate more and interpret more? However, before that, we should receive some guests.”

“Guests? Ah!”

Perhaps because he was focused on the stone wall, he hadn’t felt any presence.

Yi Beon frowned.

“These kids, they’re really advertising. That the highest elders of the Central Plains Buddhist community are gathered here.”

“Hahaha.”

The two left the cave.

Outside the cave were Yeon Ho-Jeong and Beom Oh.

Beom Oh immediately bowed, and Yeon Ho-Jeong slightly lowered his head.

Yi Beon shouted angrily.

“You brats! This isn’t a place you can come and go as you please! What if you get caught by someone?!”

Beom Oh coughed awkwardly, but Yeon Ho-Jeong was different.

“Even the assassins knew the identity of this place, so what’s the big deal?”

“What did you say?”

“If you’re going to hide, hide properly.”

“That brat, he’s so arrogant just because he taught you the Yellow Dragon Dharma. You brat! If you’re going to come, you should bring some delicious food, not come empty-handed!”

Yi Beon kept grumbling. The young guests who had shattered the joy that welled up in the moment of emotion were very annoying.

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Tam Gyeong without answering.

Tam Gyeong smiled.

“I was going to go find you, but you came to me.”

“Things got busy.”

“I see.”

“So, did you get what you wanted?”

“I don’t know yet. Actually, if I could, I’d like to ask you to teach me the entire Four Divine Beasts.”

“I trust you know that’s nonsense.”

“Puhuh! Of course, I know. I’m just saying it.”

Tam Gyeong’s laughter was very clear.

A strange light flashed in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes. He felt that Tam Gyeong was somehow different from before.

Tam Gyeong, who had stopped laughing, looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong with deep eyes.

“In fact, there’s no need for us to meet again since I’ve learned the Yellow Dragon Dharma. Since we’ve each gotten what we wanted, we can go our separate ways.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong frowned.

“The old man said we’d meet again.”

“That’s right. And the reason I said we’d meet again was to ask if there was anything about the Yellow Dragon Dharma that wasn’t clear.”

“But?”

“But, there’s no need anymore.”

In that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes lit up.

“Could it be that you’ve completely interpreted the Yellow Dragon Dharma?”

Tam Gyeong shook his head.

“How could that be? I don’t know the formula, and I’m ignorant about the Four Divine Energies. It seems like it will take a long time to interpret.”

“Then why?”

“The Yellow Dragon Dharma that you interpreted is thoroughly focused on martial arts, and the Yellow Dragon Dharma that I interpret is focused on sudden enlightenment, so there’s no way that getting advice would solve anything.”

“I see.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shrugged.

“Then, I guess we can say that we have no more business.”

“That’s not quite right.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have something to give you.”

“Give me something?”

“Yes, I have something to give you.”

Tam Gyeong, who had been staring at Yeon Ho-Jeong, suddenly spoke in a serious tone.

“You must never abandon the value of chivalry until the moment you die.”

“……?”

“You must not harm the virtuous, and you must have compassion for others. There’s no need to change your personality, but at least the blood of the righteous should not flow where your axe is directed.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“I didn’t live like that. No matter what the result, my fist was always aimed at evil, with justice on its back.”

“……?”

“I hope that the power of mine that is placed on your axe will not be stained with the blood of the good.”

“……?!”

Surprise appeared on Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face.