Black and White Martial Emperor

“Whew.”

Tamgyeong let out a quiet breath. In barely a dozen days, his face seemed to have aged several years.

Lee Beon glanced at him.

“What’s with the sigh?”

“I simply felt like sighing.”

“Planning to go before your elder brother?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t they say too much sighing shortens your life?”

“Ha ha ha.”

Tamgyeong laughed, then smacked his lips.

“I simply have a lot on my mind.”

“What is it? Having trouble interpreting the scriptures?”

“That’s hardly anything new. What would there be to fret over now? I’ll simply keep studying them until the day I die.”

Lee Beon smiled.

“Then it must be because of that boy.”

“Boy?”

“The one named Yeon Hojeong.”

Tamgyeong’s mouth snapped shut like a clam.

Lee Beon closed the worn book in his hands, thumped his lower back, and continued.

“You’ve changed quite a bit since meeting that boy. Or perhaps I should say you seem to have gone back to the hot-blooded man you once were.”

“Did it look that way?”

“Now that we’re talking about it, none of us was ever as fiery as you. Weren’t you called the most terrifying master of Arhat Hall in Shaolin’s history? Some even said you were the incarnation of a Wisdom King, if memory serves.”

“Ha ha. Why bring up such ancient history?”

“I’m not saying it to encourage you. I’m saying it so you’ll understand yourself.”

“......”

“The bitter winds of time do more than reshape mountains and rivers. They seep into the human heart as well. A heart that was once hard and sharp as steel in youth grows softer with age for that very reason.”

Tamgyeong looked at Lee Beon.

Leaning against the cave wall, Lee Beon looked shabby and unkempt, yet somehow resembled an immortal who had attained the Dao.

It was probably because of his eyes. Those unfathomably deep eyes called to mind a flawless bronze mirror. Stare into them long enough, and it almost felt as if they were reflecting everything hidden in one’s heart.

“You’re different from the man you were in the past. But that man was still you. And unfortunately, you never completely severed yourself from him.”

“Is that how it seems?”

“That is how it seems.”

A bitter look crossed Tamgyeong’s face.

“I still have a long way to go.”

“Is it really so disappointing that you haven’t become completely different from your former self? It isn’t as though you spent your youth committing evil.”

“I have devoted the rest of my life to uncovering the secret of reincarnation so that I might draw one step closer to the Buddha’s path. To do that, I ought to forget the man I once was—the man who stormed through the martial world—and devote myself wholly to seeking the Way.”

“......”

“I should have forgotten these fists that once burned like fire by now. Yet it seems a spark still remained in my heart.”

Lee Beon snorted with amusement.

“This is why a man ought to find work that suits him. Your choice was noble, but you should have done what you truly wanted.”

“How many people in this world get to do whatever they please? Sometimes one must do what one would rather not. And lest you misunderstand me, I do not dislike what I am doing now.”

“Pfft!”

Lee Beon shook his head.

“When my great-grandson and Beomo came asking for our help this time, you were the first among us to step forward.”

“......”

“Yes, the matter concerned the government offices. Even though we have cut our ties with the mundane world, how could we simply stand aside? But you were different. You didn’t move because you feared the government might collapse or because our own work here might be disrupted.”

Tamgyeong’s eyes trembled.

Lee Beon stared straight at him with those deep eyes, as though he could see directly into the other man’s heart.

“There is still a vigorous, living ambition inside you—the desire to once again shake the martial world.”

“......How embarrassing at my age.”

“Ha ha! Who says age means a man can no longer dream? Come to think of it, aren’t all of us gathered here because of a dream? The dream—and the faith—that if we can uncover the connection between immortality and reincarnation, if we can penetrate that unknown gap and draw one step closer to the truth, then perhaps we can bring peace to the world that much sooner.”

“......”

“Dreams care nothing for whether one is a man or a woman, young or old. Only the dreams themselves differ. I don’t find you pathetic in the least. In fact, I envy you. To still carry that much passion at your age.”

Lee Beon winked.

“Passion that refuses to break is the mark of youth. Your body and martial arts may have grown old, but you are still young.”

“......”

“So act like a young man. Stop worrying about what anyone else thinks and go raise all the hell you please.”

Tamgyeong stared at Lee Beon, his eyes trembling.

Stop wasting away here doing something that never suited you. Go back out into the world and live freely.

That was what Lee Beon meant.

And there was not the slightest trace of resentment or falsehood in his words. They were filled entirely with sincerity.

Tamgyeong studied him for a long while before a warm smile finally spread across his face.

“That was quite a test.”

“It wasn’t a test.”

Tamgyeong shook his head.

“What I saw was not the man I used to be, charging boldly across the realm. What I saw was the sense of fulfillment I gained from suppressing evil and bringing peace to the world.”

“Is that so?”

“It is. This time, I merely imitated my old self for a little while. That alone was enough for me.”

“You mean that?”

“I do.”

Tamgyeong’s smile deepened.

“I truly do. How could I not? I may still envy the man I once was from time to time, but that is nostalgia, not attachment. I realized that just now.”

“Ha ha ha.”

“I’m far too old to lose myself chasing illusions born of memory. I’m at least old enough to know the difference.”

Lee Beon’s urging had been sincere.

So was Tamgyeong’s answer.

Tamgyeong burst into hearty laughter.

“Still, I suppose I really am younger than you, Brother. My hands still itch for a fight every now and then.”

“Pfft! The whole realm once feared you as the Wrathful Wisdom King, and now look at you, acting like a fool in your old age.”

“What’s wrong with acting foolish once in a while? We’re the only ones here.”

“Ha ha ha.”

Passion did not discriminate by age.

Neither did enlightenment.

Tamgyeong had gone out into the world, met an unusual junior, and been touched once more by the desire-laden winds of the mundane realm. From that, a small affliction had taken root within him.

And now, by burning away that affliction, he had climbed to yet another height.

For Tamgyeong, it was an enlightenment more valuable than any advance in martial prowess—the enlightenment of a sage.

Lee Beon shook his head.

“So, is there some other reason you still haven’t told us?”

“Told you what?”

“About the Yellow Dragon.”

Tamgyeong’s eyes gleamed.

“I heard that boy taught you the cultivation passage of the Yellow Dragon.”

“He did.”

“That brat really is something. A trade is a trade, but to hand something like that over without hesitation...”

“Yeon Hojeong is no fool. Martial arts have formulas and cultivation passages as separate things. He never gave me the formula.”

“Even so.”

“Besides, he said that awakening the true Yellow Dragon requires complete mastery of all the True Qi of the Four Spirit Martial Art, as well as knowing every formula of the Four Spirit Qi. To someone who does not truly understand the Four Spirits, the cultivation passage of the Yellow Dragon is nothing more than empty talk.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Lee Beon regarded him meaningfully.

“And do you agree?”

Tamgyeong nodded.

“If I at least knew the formula, perhaps it would be different. But a cultivation passage is just that—a cultivation passage. The Yellow Dragon passage is filled with metaphor, simile, and obscure poetic language. Even a renowned scholar would struggle to make sense of it.”

“And what about you? You managed to interpret these scriptures on immortality and reincarnation, overflowing as they are with profound insights.”

Lee Beon pointed toward the wall.

“Did the Yellow Dragon passage give you any clue that might help interpret what is written here?”

Astonishingly, beneath the bright glow of luminous pearls, countless characters had been densely carved into the stone.

The wall itself was smooth, and every character remained sharp and clear.

Nor was this the only wall like it.

Throughout the caves of Foshan, inscriptions interpreting dozens of scriptures had been carved into the stone.

“I still don’t know. But I’m almost certain that the one who created these Sacred Text Stone Walls of Foshan was the Martial Emperor of the Four Directions.”

“Hmm.”

A flame ignited in Lee Beon’s eyes.

Pure scholarly hunger and a man’s will to pursue his dream.

He had spoken of the passion Tamgyeong still held for the mundane world, but Lee Beon possessed a passion of his own just as surely.

“The distinctive metaphors used throughout these Sacred Text Stone Walls share much in common with the Yellow Dragon passage. I don’t know whether the Martial Emperor of the Four Directions created the Yellow Dragon or perfected something inherited from an earlier generation, but at the very least, it seems certain that the Martial Emperor came here after ending the Blood Cult uprising.”

“I see.”

Lee Beon stared at the stone wall with trembling eyes.

“You’re certain? That the Martial Emperor of the Four Directions was the one who made these walls?”

“I am.”

“Then... the one who left these words here—the words saying that eternal life is reincarnation, and that one must therefore escape the cycle of reincarnation and reach Heaven, along with the means by which Heaven might be reached—was truly the Martial Emperor of the Four Directions?”

Tamgyeong smiled.

“Shouldn’t we investigate further and interpret more of it before deciding? But before that, it seems we have guests to receive.”

“Guests? Ah!”

Perhaps because he had been so absorbed in the stone wall, Lee Beon had failed to notice their approach.

His face twisted.

“Those damned brats. Why don’t they just put up a sign announcing that the greatest elders of Buddhism in the Central Plains are gathered here?”

“Ha ha ha.”

The two men left the cavern.

Outside stood Yeon Hojeong and Beomo.

Beomo immediately offered a Buddhist salute, while Yeon Hojeong merely inclined his head.

Lee Beon roared.

“You little bastards! This isn’t a place you can come and go from whenever you please! What are you going to do if someone spots you?!”

Beomo coughed awkwardly, but Yeon Hojeong showed no such embarrassment.

“The assassins already knew what this place was. What’s the point of acting secretive now?”

“What did you say?”

“If you want to hide something, hide it properly.”

“Look at this brat. He teaches us the Yellow Dragon passage once and suddenly thinks he owns the place! If you were coming all the way out here, you could at least have brought some decent food instead of showing up empty-handed!”

Lee Beon kept grumbling.

These young visitors had arrived at precisely the wrong moment and shattered the swelling joy of his discovery. He found them thoroughly irritating.

Yeon Hojeong ignored him and looked at Tamgyeong.

Tamgyeong smiled.

“I was planning to seek you out, yet here you are.”

“Things have gotten busy.”

“I see.”

“So? Did you find what you wanted?”

“I’m not sure yet. If I had my way, I’d ask you to teach me the entire Four Spirit Martial Art.”

“I trust you know that’s absurd.”

“Ha ha ha! Of course I do. I was only saying it.”

Tamgyeong’s laughter rang unusually clear.

A strange light flashed through Yeon Hojeong’s eyes. Somehow, Tamgyeong seemed a little different from before.

When his laughter subsided, Tamgyeong regarded Yeon Hojeong with deep eyes.

“Truthfully, once you gave me the Yellow Dragon passage, there was no real need for us to meet again. We each obtained what we wanted. We could simply go our separate ways.”

Yeon Hojeong frowned.

“You were the one who said we should meet again.”

“I was. And I wanted to meet again so I could ask you about anything in the Yellow Dragon passage I failed to understand.”

“And?”

“And now I no longer need to.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

“Don’t tell me you’ve completely deciphered the Yellow Dragon passage?”

Tamgyeong shook his head.

“Of course not. I know neither the formula nor anything about the Four Spirit Qi. I imagine it will take a very long time to interpret.”

“Then why?”

“The Yellow Dragon passage as you understand it is concerned entirely with martial arts. The Yellow Dragon passage as I understand it centers on sudden enlightenment. How could advice from one of us resolve the questions of the other?”

“I see.”

Yeon Hojeong shrugged.

“Then I suppose we really have no further business with each other.”

“That isn’t quite true either.”

“Why not?”

“Because I now have something to give you.”

“Something to give me?”

“Yes. I do.”

Tamgyeong gazed steadily at Yeon Hojeong before speaking in a suddenly solemn voice.

“Until the very moment you die, you must never abandon the value of chivalry.”

“......?”

“You must not harm good people, and you must have compassion for others. You need not change your personality, but at the very least, no righteous blood should ever be spilled beneath your axe.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I did not live that way. Whatever the outcome may have been, my fists always carried justice behind them and were always aimed at evil.”

“......?”

“I pray that the power I place upon your axe will never be stained with the blood of the innocent.”

“......?!”

Shock spread across Yeon Hojeong’s face.