Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 550

Baek Cheon’s eyes were drawn to the man’s head – his hair was cut very short, almost shaved.

He wore robes of a deep reddish-purple, the thick cloth looking warm against the cool grassland wind. It was clearly a monk’s clothing, but different from the simple grey robes Hye-yeon wore.

“‘A Lamaist monk? From Tibet?'” Baek Cheon wondered, turning slightly to share a questioning look with his companions.

Just then, more figures emerged from the large, dark tent. They were monks too, and as they stepped out, they placed their hands together in prayer and began to chant in unison, their voices rising and falling like a gentle song.

The monk at the front, who seemed to be their leader, finished chanting and smiled warmly at them. His eyes crinkled at the corners.

“Om Mani Padme Hum,” he said, his voice kind. “Even a quick meeting is fate, they say. To meet in this place must be a great blessing. Welcome, it is a true pleasure to meet you.”

“Ah…”

Baek Cheon, a little embarrassed, quickly bowed formally.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Baek Cheon, the second disciple of the Mount Hua Sect from the Central Plains. And these are my senior and junior disciples.”

“Hua-San.”

The Lamaist monk murmured quietly, his eyes gleaming.

“We are honored to meet such esteemed guests.”

He put his hands together in prayer and bowed his head again. Baek Cheon bowed even more deeply in return.

‘I don’t know what’s going on.’

It was strange enough that monks had appeared in the grasslands, which didn’t seem to have anything to do with Buddhism. But it was even stranger that someone who wasn’t dressed in the style of the Central Plains could speak such fluent Chinese.

The Lamaist monk smiled gently, as if he understood Baek Cheon’s confusion, and gave a clear answer.

“We are monks from the Potala Palace.”

“Ah!” Baek Cheon exclaimed without thinking.

‘To think I’d meet people from the Potala Palace here.’

He was on his way back to the Central Plains after visiting the North Sea Ice Palace, one of the Four Outer Palaces. Now he was meeting people from another of the Four Outer Palaces along the way.

It was quite a coincidence.

“The grasslands belong to no one. But those who arrive first cannot simply ignore those who come later. Please, come inside. We will offer you warm tea and something to eat.”

“Hmm… Then I will accept your offer.”

Baek Cheon nodded.

They weren’t in desperate need of help, but refusing would be impolite.

“Everyone, this way…”

The Lamaist monk was about to lead the disciples of Mount Hua inside when his gaze stopped on Hye-yeon. He put his hands together in prayer with a very respectful expression.

Hye-yeon, looking more serious than usual, returned the greeting with a half-bow.

“Cultivation is not only found within the peaceful temple. It is a great pleasure to meet a Bhikkhu seeking enlightenment on the road.”

“Amitabha. How could there be a different path under the Buddha’s teachings? It is an honor to meet such deeply cultivated individuals.”

The Lamaist monk smiled gently at Hye-yeon’s reply.

“Please come this way. We have warmed the inside of the tent.”

They led the disciples of Mount Hua toward the large tent in the center. Chung Myung was about to follow them with an indifferent expression, but Baek Cheon grabbed his shoulder.

“Chung Myung-ah.”

“Huh?”

“Are you sure about this? I’ve never heard of the Potala Palace, one of the Four Outer Palaces, traveling to Mongolia. It’s best not to get involved…”

Chung Myung chuckled at Baek Cheon’s worry.

“We’re already talking to them. It’s too late to just walk away now.”

“……”

“And… if they wanted to stop us, we probably couldn’t anyway.”

“……Huh?”

“It’s fortunate that they don’t have any bad intentions.”

Baek Cheon was lost in thought for a moment, listening to Chung Myung’s words.

Chung Myung seemed to be greatly overestimating them.

Of course, it wouldn’t be strange if someone else had said these words. But coming from Chung Myung, who had looked down on all kinds of elders and sect leaders, and even the bishop he had faced in the Ice Palace, it was surprising.

“Let’s go. Keep an eye on things. It seems like there’s someone important inside.”

“……”

The disciples of Mount Hua entered the tent with slightly tense expressions.

The Lamaist monk who stood before them put his hands together in prayer toward the inside and spoke.

“Lama, I have brought guests. They are disciples of the Mount Hua Sect from the Central Plains.”

“Hua-San, you say.”

The disciples of Mount Hua were quite surprised by what they saw.

‘What is this?’

They felt a strange sense of unease.

In fact, it was nothing particularly special. Two Lamaist monks, not including the one who had guided them, and a child were simply sitting around a brazier in the center.

‘A child?’

Baek Cheon quickly understood why he felt uneasy.

There is a ‘place’ for a person to sit. And the most important seat in this tent was the one located on the opposite side of the entrance, the seat located deepest inside.

But the one sitting there was not an old, aged monk, but a small child who seemed barely old enough to understand things.

“Welcome.”

The old monk who sat guarding him spoke first, not the child.

“……Thank you for your hospitality. We are grateful for a place to rest our weary bodies from our long journey, even if only for a short while.”

“You are most welcome.”

The old monk smiled gently at Baek Cheon’s words. It was a truly kind and gentle smile.

Baek Cheon had already met the old monks of Shaolin. But the feeling he got from these people was different from that of the Shaolin monks.

‘Is it because they don’t have beards?’

Unlike the old Shaolin monks with their impressive long, white beards, the Lamaist monks did not grow beards. Their wrinkled, beardless faces felt unfamiliar.

“Please, sit here.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Tsering.”

“Yes!”

“Bring them tea. They must be chilled from their long journey.”

“Yes, Lama.”

The old monk smiled innocently. It was a situation where they shouldn’t relax, but his smile strangely put them at ease.

“Om Mani Padme Hum.”

The old monk, chanting the Six-Syllable Mantra as if singing, smiled gently and spoke.

“It is a pleasure to meet the disciples of Mount Hua. I am a follower of the Buddha’s law, and the monks of Potala call me the Panchen Lama.”

“Ah, is that so…”

“Pa, Panchen…!”

“Hieeek! The Panchen Lama!”

A terrified voice suddenly burst out from behind Baek Cheon, who had been about to answer calmly. Baek Cheon glanced back.

Jo Gul’s mouth was wide open, and Tang Soso was practically gagging herself with her fist.

‘What is it?’

Just then, Chung Myung spoke up.

“You are a very important person to be in such a simple place.”

“Hey, you little punk!”

“Your tone, you little punk!”

Soso-ya…

He’s still your senior disciple, calling him a punk is a bit…

Geol-ah, I can understand you, but if even you are like that…

Baek Cheon, who had unexpectedly found himself defending Chung Myung, looked at Tang Soso’s pale face. What was it about the Panchen Lama that made those two act like that?

At that moment, Tang Soso crawled on her knees and whispered very quietly in Baek Cheon’s ear.

“The Panchen Lama is a title for the second most important person in the Potala Palace!”

“Ah, is that so… What?”

Baek Cheon, who had glanced back at Tang Soso, widened his eyes.

The second-in-command?

The second-in-command of the Potala Palace? Did that mean he was at the level of a Vice Palace Lord?

Baek Cheon’s eyes, as big as lanterns, turned sharply toward the Panchen Lama.

‘This person?’

No matter how he looked at him, it was strange.

The old monks of Shaolin certainly had dignity. Whether one liked them or not, no one could deny the solemnity that came from their high Buddhist teachings and inaction.

Just looking at them, one could feel the depth of their cultivation.

But the Panchen Lama before him didn’t give off even a hint of that depth.

Frankly speaking, he was too ordinary.

If it weren’t for the monk’s robe and shaved head, he would have looked like a village elder.

Baek Cheon realized that this old monk was the important figure Chung Myung was talking about and blinked several times.

‘Why is the second-in-command of the Potala Palace here?’

As if to answer Baek Cheon’s question, Chung Myung narrowed his eyes and asked.

“I don’t think you’re the type to come to such a remote place without a reason.”

The Panchen Lama replied with a comfortable smile.

“Everyone has their own story.”

“May I ask what that story is?”

“It’s nothing so grand.”

“Hmm.”

An intriguing smile spread across Chung Myung’s lips.

Just then, the one called Tsering handed them cups and picked up the brass kettle on the brazier. He poured the tea with neat and respectful movements.

Pour, pour, pour.

Hot steam flowed out. The scent of the tea calmed Chung Myung, and he kept sipping it. It was a sight that would have disappointed the sect leader, who always offered him tea.

“Ah, this is good.”

“I’m glad it suits your taste.”

He seemed truly unpretentious.

Even after revealing his identity, the Panchen Lama’s attitude didn’t change at all. Despite the difference between the young disciple of Mount Hua and the Panchen Lama of the Potala Palace.

“If it’s difficult for you to say, I won’t ask. I didn’t mean to pry.”

The Panchen Lama widened his eyes slightly at Chung Myung’s words, then smiled gently.

“It seems there was a misunderstanding. It’s not that I can’t say, but it’s truly nothing grand. Everything is relative. What is most important to us may not be important to you.”

The Panchen Lama put his hands together in prayer and briefly chanted a verse, then quietly looked at Chung Myung and his party one by one.

“If you are curious, there is no need to hide it. I am simply carrying out the role I have been assigned, and these people are helping me with the events of Potala.”

“A role?”

“Yes.”

The Panchen Lama smiled innocently.

“All those who walk the path of Buddhism in the Potala Palace must pursue their own Buddhist teachings and strive to save sentient beings. However, those who have received the title of Panchen Lama must also do something different.”

Everyone’s attention was focused on him. The Panchen Lama spoke calmly in a quiet voice.

“That is to find the Dalai Lama.”

“Yes?”

Find the Dalai Lama?

The disciples of Mount Hua tilted their heads, not understanding. The Panchen Lama kindly added an explanation.

“The Dalai Lama, the Pope of the Potala Palace, is not a position that is earned through cultivation. You who have come from the Central Plains may find it difficult to understand, but the one who will become the Dalai Lama is determined from birth.”

“From birth?”

“Yes. The Dalai Lama is such a being. And the Panchen Lama is the one who is tasked with finding that Dalai Lama. Only when one has cultivated the Dharma Eye through repeated practice and is able to recognize the reborn Dalai Lama can one become the Panchen Lama.”

Baek Cheon’s eyes shook greatly.

He understood one thing from this conversation.

Why else would the Panchen Lama travel all the way from the distant West, further than the Northern Sea?

“That, that means perhaps…?”

As if Baek Cheon’s guess was correct, the Panchen Lama nodded.

“Yes, that is so.”

He smiled and looked at the small child sitting next to him. It was more than just looking at a small child.

It was filled with respect and conviction.

“This person is the incarnation of Avalokiteśvara, the living Buddha, the Dalai Lama.”

“Da, Dalai…”

Baek Cheon closed his mouth, as if he was suffocating.

He had heard the name Dalai Lama countless times, though he was hearing the name Panchen Lama for the first time today.

The Great Living Buddha.

The Dharma King of the Potala Palace, who protected Western Tibet, and the incarnation of the Buddha, called the living Buddha.

“That kid is the Great Living Buddha?”

Even Chung Myung, who was not easily surprised, widened his eyes and looked at the small child in front of him.

The child’s eyes were deep and profound.

With eyes that didn’t suit his age, the boy was quietly looking at Chung Myung with an unreadable expression.