Whik— Tak.

Yi-gang continued tossing the item left behind by the Ugly Buddha, repeatedly catching it.

Swish— Tak.

Of course, he wasn’t using his hands to toss it; instead, he kicked it up with his foot.

It might be disrespectful to treat someone else’s belonging like this.

And he was also aware that he didn’t look very dignified doing so. So Yi-gang kicked the item up onto the table.

Then, he sat down in front of the table.

“…”

It was a silver coin.

A single nyang silver coin, not particularly large.

By no means was it a small amount. Yi-gang knew well the value of one silver nyang.

For a poor family, it could be enough to sustain them for a month.

Of course, to the Shaolin monks, it might not seem like a large amount.

Just because the lifestyle of Shaolin’s warrior monks was humble didn’t mean that Shaolin itself was poor.

Shaolin’s secular disciples were spread throughout the entirety of the Central Plains, and the wealth they generated was substantial.

Shaolin’s financial strength was, without a doubt, a pillar of the martial world.

However, could the Ugly Buddha really have so much money that he’d carelessly drop a silver coin from his sleeve?

“Are you planning to leave?”

Jeong Myung asked Yi-gang, who was staring intently at the silver coin on the table.

“Leave?”

“I only ask because you took out a silver coin. Inside the temple grounds, there’s no need for money, after all.”

Jeong Myung was correct.

There was no reason for a Shaolin monk to carry money.

Money would only be given to those leaving the temple for travel expenses, or to those sent on errands for Shaolin’s purposes.

“Well…”

Yi-gang cut his response short and then carefully inquired.

“Jeong Myung, do Shaolin monks, um….”

“Yes?”

“Don’t they receive something like a salary?”

“Haha, a salary?”

He asked just in case.

“How could we, who live by pursuing enlightenment as our vocation, receive something like a salary? However…”

They probably weren’t receiving money regularly.

However, the donations Shaolin’s patrons offer to the Buddha each year would certainly be substantial.

“Sometimes, the senior uncles distribute those donations among us. We might buy items or food from outside.”

“How much do you usually receive?”

“We typically receive a few coppers.”

“I see.”

It didn’t seem as though they never handled money at all. Still, unless they left Shaolin, it appeared unlikely they’d handle silver coins.

A single silver nyang was worth about 200 coppers.

“Is the Ugly Buddha out on an errand?”

Yi-gang intended to return the silver coin to the Ugly Buddha.

He thought he could use the opportunity to ask about the money and build rapport, but the Ugly Buddha was nowhere to be seen.

Apparently, he had left at dawn.

His robe looked newer than usual, which made sense.

“He’s likely running an errand for the Dharma Hall. The Dharma Hall Head cares for Senior Uncle Beop Jae, so he sends him on an errand every month.”

“What does caring for him have to do with sending him on errands?”

“Haha… Perhaps it wouldn’t matter to someone like me or the One Hundred Eight Arhats, who often venture out, but it would feel lonely to stay within the temple grounds all the time.”

Although the Beop line had a seniority rank higher than Jeong Myung, Jeong Myung, as a successor who had attended the Dragon-Phoenix Conference, was different from the Three Buddhas of Endless Suffering, who had never once left the temple grounds.

It seemed like just going on an errand was something enjoyable.

“What is the purpose of the errand?”

“They’re buying paper and ink. The Sutra Pavilion and Dharma Hall regularly transcribe Buddhist scriptures, so they need high-quality paper.”

Yi-gang had thought it might be a minor errand, but it was more than that.

If Shaolin was buying paper specifically for scripture transcription, it would surely be high-grade. An errand that might require gold, not silver.

“How do they pay for it?”

“Likely… with a credit note. In Henan Province, Shaolin’s name holds great trust.”

A credit note issued under Shaolin’s name would be valid not only in Henan but throughout the entire Central Plains.

Jeong Myung seemed puzzled, as if wondering why Yi-gang was asking about all this, but Yi-gang was too absorbed in thought.

The silver coin that the Ugly Buddha dropped.

It could be dismissed as nothing, yet it kept bothering him.

Yi-gang murmured softly.

“…Perhaps it’s time I go down the mountain.”

“I’ll prepare myself as well.”

Though he claimed he had no interest in going outside, Jeong Myung looked inexplicably pleased.

Well, he was still young and a successor known by name, even if he was a monk.

He, too, wanted to go out and feel the wind of the secular world.

“Before that, let’s meet with two of the Three Buddhas of Endless Suffering.”

However, before going out, he had something to confirm with Beop Jin and Beop Yun.

Yi-gang held a reed straw, as thick as a finger, in his mouth.

The end of the straw was placed in a cup in front of him.

As he sipped, the cold tea entered his mouth.

It was a straw. Beop Jin clapped in amazement as he watched Yi-gang drink tea using a straw he had crafted.

Of course, that wasn’t the case right now.

As soon as Yi-gang mentioned the silver coin that Beop Jae had dropped, the expressions of the two became serious.

Then, they continued their conversation in whispers.

Yi-gang closed his eyes, waiting for their conversation to end.

Their faces turned grave, and with a solemn tone, they spoke.

“To be honest, Beop Jae has a secret.”

“A secret?”

“Yes, he has a secret.”

Beop Jin supplemented Beop Yun’s explanation.

“Senior Beop Jae, as a monk, has been engaging in improper behavior. If the Disciplinary Hall Head knew, he’d be severely punished.”

Beop Jin said this, casting a sideways glance at Jeong Myung.

Jeong Myung, who was standing beside Yi-gang, turned pale.

Though he didn’t understand what was happening, a secret that the Disciplinary Hall Head couldn’t overlook was no small matter.

Jeong Myung took a step back.

“I-I’ll just step aside…”

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Beop Jin slapped the ground and leapt up with a swoosh.

Then, he clung to Jeong Myung’s back.

“You’re planning to run off to the Disciplinary Hall Head, aren’t you?”

“W-What are you talking about… I know nothing.”

“What will you say if the Disciplinary Hall Head asks? If he asks if there’s something fishy about those Three Buddhas of Endless Suffering?”

“How could I lie in response to a question from the venerable master of the sect?”

“So, in other words, you’re planning to report it.”

Beop Jin clung tightly, showing no sign of letting go of Jeong Myung.

In the end, Jeong Myung sighed and sat down.

Yi-gang then asked Beop Yun in front of him.

“Could it be something bad…?”

“Something bad? From Beop Jae?”

“Yes, considering you said it couldn’t be reported to the Disciplinary Hall Head.”

“Hahaha! You probably don’t know Beop Jae well, so it’s understandable you’d think that.”

Beop Yun gave a bitter smile as he spoke.

“That boy doesn’t know how to commit an evil deed… But, yes, he does violate the monastic code.”

“Please explain in detail.”

“What does it mean to be a monk? It means to sever ties with the secular world and walk the path as a Buddhist.”

Such is the case for Shaolin.

It’s slightly different for disciples of the Taoist sects. Even when they become Taoist adepts, they don’t completely sever connections with the secular world.

However, in Buddhism, sects like Shaolin’s Zen order completely cut off ties with the secular world.

Sometimes, commoner families entrust their children to temples to reduce the number of mouths to feed, and monks who venture out for training may also bring orphans with them.

It’s said that Beop Yun and Beop Jin themselves were orphans.

“Beop Jae was different. He was the son of a poor farmer family living on leased land at the outskirts of Dengfeng County, right beneath Mount Song.”

Until he entered Shaolin at a young age, Beop Jae had lived as the second son of a destitute family.

“As a monk, he must sever all connections to the secular world. He shouldn’t look back out of longing for family, nor should he meet with people from his past.”

Such was the strict monastic code in Buddhism.

“Beop Jae knew this well. Thus, even when he went down to Dengfeng County, he never once visited the place where his family lived.”

“Yet…?”

“But he met her. His younger sister.”

Even if they happened to meet, he should have simply pretended not to recognize her.

If he had simply folded his hands in prayer and recited a Buddha’s name before leaving, it would have been enough.

But Beop Jae couldn’t do that.

He had thought they would be living well, assuming that even if his father was brutal and had died drinking himself to death, the rest of his kind-hearted family would still be harmonious despite their poverty.

The reality was harsher than he had imagined.

“…Can you help Beop Jae break free from worldly attachments properly?”

After finishing his explanation, Beop Yun waited for Yi-gang’s response.

Nodding, Yi-gang realized that Beop Yun couldn’t see his gesture and spoke instead.

“Let’s meet and talk with him, shall we?”

Beop Jae was dressed in his monastic robe.

As a hunchback, he was often shunned.

The unruly village boys would mock him, or drunken passersby would pick fights with him for no reason.

But that wasn’t the case here in Dengfeng County.

After all, who would dare to harass a monk on Shaolin’s grounds?

Thanks to this, Beop Jae could remain undisturbed.

He had already completed the errand assigned to him by the Dharma Hall Head.

The paper shop would order the high-quality mulberry paper that the Dharma Hall needed.

Any remaining time now belonged to Beop Jae.

Typically, monks would use this time to enjoy something tasty or indulge in a bit of leisure.

But Beop Jae did not.

There was a place he visited once every month.

‘…She’s beautiful.’

Before his eyes stood a young woman.

Perhaps about ten years younger than Beop Jae, who was in his mid-thirties.

She was a woman with a fresh smile.

Her clothes were shabby, but she was beautiful.

With a neat face and a radiant smile, her white teeth gleamed whenever she laughed. She was like the sunshine of a spring day.

Beop Jae gazed blankly at this woman.

It was a scene that would likely provoke whispers from others.

Here, at the edge of the marketplace, a young woman selling tanghulu was being silently watched by a hunchbacked monk.

But to Beop Jae, the murmurs of others were inaudible—and even if they were, it didn’t matter.

The woman was blind.

She had no idea that Beop Jae had been watching her here for nearly half an hour.

Beop Jae sensed someone approaching and subtly turned his head.

And then he was startled.

“You’ve been here this whole time?”

“…Ugh. Uh.”

He let out a sound without meaning to.

How did Yi-gang know to come here?

Yi-gang even had Jeong Myung accompanying him.

“You’ve been watching that young lady, haven’t you?”

“Ah!”

Beop Jae quickly waved his hands.

He seemed aware of how this situation could easily be misunderstood.

“Yes, I understand. She’s your younger sister, isn’t she?”

“Ugh!”

But Yi-gang had already been informed of the circumstances.

Knowing that meant someone had told him.

‘Was it Senior Brother? Or that rascal Beop Jin?’

He quickly used sign language to ask.

Yi-gang nodded.

Beop Jae snorted in frustration but soon bowed his head in despair.

‘Well, if you’ve heard everything, there’s nothing I can do.’

It was a heartbreaking story.

His younger sister, whom he hadn’t seen in ages, was now blind.

He, the monk, had lost his hearing and become disabled, and now his youngest sister had also become visually impaired.

Beop Jae broke the monastic rules and investigated her situation.

It felt as though the heavens were cruel, and the more he learned, the worse it became.

Their mother had died due to an epidemic, and their eldest brother had fled from gambling debts.

Moreover, she had been so hungry that she ate wild grass, only to go blind from poisonous herbs.

How could she have endured alone in her frail condition? It was truly admirable.

‘Given the circumstances, I must make sure Yeong-yeong never finds out…’

“Are you a visitor?”

Just then, a voice as clear as a silver bell echoed.

She, unable to see well, cautiously felt her way forward.

Then, she asked,

“Are you… a monk, perhaps?”

Beop Jae clenched his teeth and, with no other choice, responded.

A mute answering a blind person—indeed, it was a unique interaction.

He tapped his wooden block.

Tak, tak.

“I thought you’d come around this time, and here you are. It’s been a while!”

It seemed he was accustomed to communicating with her through the wooden block.

Yi-gang looked at Beop Jae with a curious expression.

Beop Jae gestured in sign language to keep silent.

“And the person beside you…?”

Though she was blind, it wasn’t as though she couldn’t see anything at all.

The woman was visually impaired but could still discern general shapes.

Yi-gang looked at Beop Jae without responding.

Beop Jae’s expression was one of desperate urgency.

“…I am an attendant for the monk.”

“Oh, I see.”

Beop Jae sighed in relief beside him.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep