“You have been sweating buckets since morning, I see?”

Tang Gwan was not surprised by Yeon Hojeong’s sudden visit.

“What is it? The axe is not finished yet.”

“I came to tell you something besides the axe. But your True Qi seems quite unstable, doesn’t it?”

Tang Gwan snorted.

“That is none of your concern. In any case, that body of yours is hardly normal either. What trouble did you cause this time, and where?”

Yeon Hojeong chuckled.

“I had a pretty intense clash with Mo Yonggun.”

Tang Gwan’s expression changed instantly.

“With Mo Yonggun?”

“Yes. I tried to receive everything he threw at me somehow, but he truly was no joke.”

“What happened?”

“Before I explain that, there is something I need to tell you separately. Do you have time?”

It had truly been a long time since Tang Gwan had seen it.

That seriousness and tension cast over Yeon Hojeong’s face.

“Come in.”

*****

“What did you say?”

Was this truly the response of the head of Shaolin Temple, called the greatest sacred ground of the Orthodox martial world?

Venerable Gonggong did not even seem surprised. His presence did not waver, nor did he make a fuss.

But Je Gal Munho knew that Venerable Gonggong was more shocked than he had ever been. His presence remained like a deep, clear lake, but his eyes, full of Buddhist devotion, were shaking as if an earthquake had struck.

Je Gal Munho opened his mouth again and said,

“......”

A brief silence fell.

Venerable Gonggong quietly looked at Je Gal Munho, then moistened his throat with a sip of tea. His presence was still calm.

“The Three Fanatic Creeds...”

“That is correct.”

Venerable Gonggong looked at Je Gal Munho with deep eyes.

Although there was no hierarchy between their positions, Je Gal Munho was kneeling.

It was not simply an apology. Je Gal Munho had not come as a head of the Orthodox Path, nor as one of the highest-ranking leaders of the Martial Alliance.

At this moment, he was a junior who had come to lean on a senior wiser and more deeply respected than himself.

Je Gal Munho, who was always exacting in separating public and private matters, had lowered himself this far. Venerable Gonggong could feel that this matter was no ordinary one.

“In other words, should I understand that the reason you only now told me of them is because they are such a terrifying organization that you had to spare your words until now?”

“That is correct. They have successfully infiltrated the imperial palace and the authorities. Furthermore, the faction called the Perverse Lust Cult even played a decisive role in the founding of Ink Dragon Manor.”

“......”

“Of course, such a thing should not be possible, but if their claws have reached even into our Orthodox Path, there may be spies among us. That is why we have been cautious.”

Venerable Gonggong’s eyebrows twitched.

There was a chance that spies existed among them. It was a truly dangerous sentence.

Je Gal Munho bowed his head.

“I know full well that your Buddhist heart is more than vast enough to cover all under heaven. However, given the gravity of the matter, I could not make exceptions even among the Service Lords.”

“Does that mean you investigated the Service Lords from behind?”

As expected, Venerable Gonggong was no ordinary man. He immediately caught the meaning hidden in Je Gal Munho’s words.

“Yes.”

“......”

He admitted it in an utterly calm voice.

How much hardship must he have endured for that voice to become so firm? Setting aside everything else, Venerable Gonggong understood that the anguish Je Gal Munho had suffered must have exceeded imagination.

Venerable Gonggong sighed.

“Raise your head now.”

“......”

“Though I may be older than you, Strategist, I am neither so virtuous nor so noble a man that I deserve to be treated as your senior.”

“That is far from true.”

“I know that you bowing your head like this is not meant as a plea for me to look kindly upon you.”

“......”

“But in this state, it seems impossible for us to have a deep conversation. Raise your head now.”

“I apologize.”

Only then did Je Gal Munho raise his head and sit more comfortably.

Venerable Gonggong’s face grew serious.

“I know you are not someone who would jest about such a matter, but I must still ask. Is it true?”

Je Gal Munho took out more than ten carefully folded documents from inside his robe and handed them over.

“Please look at these.”

Venerable Gonggong accepted the documents.

Inside, the findings they had gathered thus far concerning the Three Fanatic Creeds were densely written in fine brush.

As Venerable Gonggong read through the documents with a heavy heart, surprise filled his eyes.

“The Pavilion Lord of the Medical Immortal Pavilion?!”

“That is correct. The Pavilion Lord of the Medical Immortal Pavilion is of the Divine Flame Cult’s bloodline, one of the Three Creeds. Commander Yeon converted him to our side, and he provided us with a great deal of information.”

“......”

“Please continue reading. There is much that will surprise you.”

Venerable Gonggong calmed his mind for a moment, then quietly read through the documents.

A short while later—

“Huh.”

At last, an empty laugh slipped from Venerable Gonggong’s mouth.

“Such things were happening in unseen places, yet this poor monk lived idly without knowing a thing.”

“This is not your fault, Venerable Abbot. How could anyone know what was happening around him unless he had seen and heard it? The one who blocked your eyes and ears was me. I will carry that sin entirely.”

“...I do not think that is a matter ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) to discuss here.”

Venerable Gonggong calmly brushed that aside, then nodded and asked,

“Which of the Service Lords know?”

“Yeon Wi, Clan Lord of the Yeon Clan of Green Mountain in Gangdong; Mo Yonggun, Clan Lord of the Mo Yong Clan in Hunan; and Tang Gwan, Clan Lord of the Tang Clan of Sichuan.”

“......”

“At present, including you and me, there are five in total.”

“Do you intend not to tell the other Service Lords?”

“For now... yes.”

Setting aside the importance of the matter, it made one wonder just how cautious they had to be for him to go this far.

If they had gathered this much information about an organization that had not revealed itself until now, Je Gal Munho must have been busy beyond measure. Considering that he had also taken every possible precaution to preserve secrecy, Venerable Gonggong could not bring himself to say they should reveal it to everyone.

“Strategist.”

“Please speak, Venerable.”

“When everyone learns of this someday, you may have to step down from your position then and there.”

It was a cold reality. Je Gal Munho bowed his head.

“If I am stripped of the strategist’s position, I will accept it humbly. After that, I will risk my life fighting to drive out the Three Creeds. If I still survive after that, I will pass the clan lord’s seat to the legitimate heir of my main house and spend the rest of my life in the Brain Prison of the Martial Alliance to receive punishment.”

It was a terrifying resolve.

It was all the more terrifying because he was not saying it lightly. If Je Gal Munho were imprisoned in the Martial Alliance’s Brain Prison, the name of the Je Gal Clan would inevitably be dragged through the mud.

Je Gal Munho had done all this while accepting even that.

Venerable Gonggong sighed.

“If everything you have told me is true, and further, if the time comes when all of us must fight them...”

“......”

“Then I, too, will lend what little strength I have, and afterward step down from my position as abbot.”

This was it.

This was why Je Gal Munho felt sorry toward Venerable Gonggong.

Venerable Gonggong was a flexible man, but he was also someone who would never exercise that flexibility unless it was necessary.

The instant he shared this secret, Venerable Gonggong would be in the same boat as Je Gal Munho. Then, when Je Gal Munho was forced to step down as strategist, he too would have to let go of everything.

Je Gal Munho bowed his head once more.

“I apologize.”

Venerable Gonggong slowly closed his eyes.

There was no tremor in Je Gal Munho’s voice, but Venerable Gonggong was not so blind that he could not read the desperate emotion contained within it.

“I believe you did what you had to do, Strategist. Of course, the process cannot be called entirely upright, but if worldly matters could be resolved simply by handling them uprightly, how good would that be?”

Those were not words one would expect to come from the master of the abbot’s quarters of Shaolin Temple.

Yet that, too, was Shaolin Temple.

Shaolin Temple was one of the sacred grounds of Central Plains Buddhism and was called the sun of the martial world. Precisely for that reason, the abbot could not help but be deeply versed in worldly affairs.

Ordinary evils were left to flow according to proper order. But when a calamity too great to endure appeared, Shaolin actively intervened to uphold chivalrous justice.

There had been hundreds of years of anguish behind Shaolin Temple’s decision to set down that holy Buddhist heart.

“However, even if I must step down as abbot, I will do my utmost to ensure that you do not rot in the Brain Prison.”

“Venerable Abbot. Please do not.”

“Your eyes are turned toward chivalrous justice. Had you not made such a decision, who knows what would have become of the world?”

“You praise me too highly. All I did was make one decision. Every merit you may think I established was accomplished by the Yeon family, so I ask that you please see that clearly.”

Venerable Gonggong gave a bitter smile.

“How good it would have been if every person in the Martial Alliance were like you, Strategist.”

“......”

“I understand. I will keep my mouth sealed for the time being.”

“Thank you.”

“If you have time tonight, let us share a cup of tea.”

“Of course. Then.”

After giving his final farewell, Je Gal Munho left the quarters.

Venerable Gonggong closed his eyes.

“If the Way rises one foot, the demon rises ten...”

Suddenly, Yeon Hojeong’s bold words came to mind.

“The masters of the Daoist and Buddhist paths always say this, do they not? If the Way rises one foot, the demon rises ten. The crooked and evil always outpace the good.”

“If one has power, one must strive, through ceaseless self-cultivation, to make the Way rise three feet, seven feet.”

Hearing those words, Venerable Gonggong had been greatly shocked.

If you have power, use it for righteousness. Shaolin Temple had involved itself in the affairs of the martial world precisely because of such a teaching left by its masters.

It was an utterly obvious duty—one he might have forgotten.

Venerable Gonggong opened his mouth.

“Is anyone there?”

“Yes, Venerable.”

“Send word to Daoist Seunghyeon of Wudang. Tell him I will visit at noon today.”

*****

“You have come?”

Tang Gwan nodded and sat in any chair.

With his arms crossed and his eyes turned toward the window, he looked strangely cold. It seemed his mood was rather foul.

Yeon Wi sighed.

“You heard from Hojeong?”

“I heard, which is why I came to this exceedingly uncomfortable gathering.” 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

“I owe you an apology.”

Tang Gwan snorted.

“It must have been truly entertaining all this time. When I think of you people laughing among yourselves in front of a fool who knew nothing, my blood still boils.”

“Clan Lord Tang. We never did that. In fact...”

“Shut up.”

Tang Gwan glared at Yeon Wi.

He did not waste words.

“Is there anything else you are hiding?”

“There is not.”

“Hmph! As if I can believe that.”

Tang Gwan growled as if his anger had yet to subside.

“If there is another matter this grave you are hiding, then it ends there.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Tang Gwan kicked the table with his foot.

THUMP.

“Rude brat.”

Yeon Hojeong smacked his lips.

“Did you call me?”

“What are you doing? Hurry up and brew some tea.”

Inside the room were Yeon Wi, Tang Gwan, Mookbi, Yeon Jipyeong, and Yeon Hojeong. Je Gal Munho and Mo Yonggun would also arrive.

There were more people than expected. Yeon Hojeong cleared his throat and stood.

“Understood.”

Yeon Jipyeong quietly began to rise.

“I will help...”

In that instant, Tang Gwan glared at Yeon Jipyeong with terrifying eyes.

Yeon Jipyeong hiccuped without realizing it. Yeon Hojeong waved his hand.

“Stay seated. I will brew it.”

“Y-Yes!”

“...Ah, damn it. Making things all uncomfortable.”

When Yeon Hojeong muttered quietly, Tang Gwan flew into a rage.

“Stop spouting nonsense and hurry up!”

“I said I understood.”

Grumbling, Yeon Hojeong hurried out of the room.

“......”

Silence pressed down on the air with the weight of ten thousand geun.

A short while later, Tang Gwan tossed out a question.

“You said Mo Yonggun is coming too?”

“That is correct.”

“If that bastard disrupts my mood, I will cut off his head on the spot, so do not stop me. Understood?”

Yeon Wi sighed.

“...I will try.”

It was truly a difficult gathering.

Difficult enough to make even Yeon Wi’s mouth feel dry.