A Mutual Threat and a New Brotherhood

“Explain yourself clearly, what exactly did you do? Was it the Shadow-Hiding Technique? Has your Master taught you a martial art that does not belong to Shaolin!”

“It is nothing of the sort. This is definitively a martial art of Shaolin…”

Even as he protested, Gwang-yeon looked loath to elaborate. Seeing this, it became clear that Hyeon-geon had imparted a special stealth technique exclusively to him. Torn over what to do, Gwang-yeon ultimately knelt before Venerable Won-hyun’s frosty glare.

“My Master taught me.”

Shaolin was home to countless martial arts transmitted down through the generations, including the Seventy-Two Supreme Arts. Within its thousand-year history, masters had frequently created techniques under their own names, so there were bound to be stealth methods that even Venerable Won-hyun was unfamiliar with.

Hyeon-geon might have had access to a technique readily available within his position and instructed Gwang-yeon to master it. Even so, as the Head of the Disciplinary Hall, Hyeon-geon would never have taught a martial art from another sect, and Venerable Won-hyun was undoubtedly aware of that.

Yet, with a single wild accusation, the Grandmaster had cornered Gwang-yeon in an instant.

‘He used this to deflect from the fact that Gwang-yeon caught me here!’

I was left utterly speechless, marveling at Venerable Won-hyun’s instantaneous wit. As I did, I felt an intense gaze upon me. Gwang-yeon was staring at me.

It seemed that even under such fearsome reprimand, he found it difficult to suppress his curiosity about my presence.

“Grand-Grand-Uncle, but who might this young master be?”

Venerable Won-hyun looked at Gwang-yeon in sheer exasperation.

“Is this truly the time for you to be asking such a thing!”

When Venerable Won-hyun bellowed like thunder, Gwang-yeon flinched. But then, as if wondering why on earth he had to be scolded so severely, he cautiously lifted his head.

“Grand-Grand-Uncle. I am deeply sorry to speak out, but could you perhaps tell me what it is I have done wrong? I have not mastered the martial arts of another sect. What I have trained in is unequivocally an art of Shaolin.”

Venerable Won-hyun’s stratagem was brilliant, but it seemed it would not work on the audacious Gwang-yeon.

“They say the back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves forward…”

As Venerable Won-hyun spoke, he somehow looked profoundly forlorn. It seemed he was attempting to sway Gwang-yeon by acting like a lonely old master who had been surpassed by the rising generation. Since his logic was flimsy, he was resorting to an emotional appeal instead.

Gwang-yeon wore a deeply apologetic face.

“No. Let us leave that matter aside for now. If Hyeon-geon did not pass down the arts of an outside sect to you, then it is not for me to take issue with. Indeed, the Head of the Disciplinary Hall, of all people, would never do such a thing.”

“That is correct, Grand-Grand-Uncle. You do not need to worry about that. He explicitly stated that what I learned is undoubtedly a stealth technique passed down within Shaolin.”

“Tell me more.”

“That is true, but he also mentioned that it is not something just anyone can look at and learn.”

Driven by the sheer weight of Venerable Won-hyun’s overwhelming momentum, Gwang-yeon seemed to have no choice but to lay everything bare.

The more he confessed, the more formidable Venerable Won-hyun’s expression became. He commanded Gwang-yeon to speak further, and eventually, he went so far as to demand that the youth demonstrate the technique right then and there.

In the end, Gwang-yeon was thoroughly shaken down by Venerable Won-hyun. He was forced to unleash the movement technique he had learned from his Master without any way out.

To be frank, I was a bit confused. Even though Venerable Won-hyun was his Grand-Grand-Uncle, was Gwang-yeon truly obligated to comply just because he was told to?

Venerable Won-hyun watched Gwang-yeon’s stealth technique and nodded. Seeing his eyes gleam with sharp discernment, it appeared he had realized something.

“Grand-Grand-Uncle, as you well know, you must absolutely never mention a word of this to my Master. If you do, there won’t even be bones left of me.”

I wondered if a master could truly go that far with his own disciple, but Venerable Won-hyun adopted a thoroughly benevolent expression, telling him not to worry.

“Now we finally seem to be speaking the same language. As expected, trust between individuals runs deepest when they hold one another’s flaws.”

It was hardly the kind of remark a monk should make, sounding more like something from a band of underworld thugs, but Venerable Won-hyun looked utterly pleased with his own sly words.

“Gwang-yeon, I hold your weakness, and if I so much as breathe a word, you will be severely punished by your Master. If it were anyone else, they might just lecture you with a few words and let it slide, but Hyeon-geon is not that kind of man. I know very well how much he treasures you. It is precisely because he treasures you so deeply that he will be all the more rigorous with you. If he demonstrates that he does not hesitate to cast aside even you—his most cherished disciple—imagine how much the others will fear him.”

Venerable Won-hyun spoke with meaningful gravity. The blackmail hit its mark perfectly; Gwang-yeon was rendered speechless, his face draining of all color.

Poor Gwang-yeon. Of all the people to get tangled up with, he had to cross paths with Venerable Won-hyun.

Deeming that Gwang-yeon was sufficiently terrified, Venerable Won-hyun called me closer, rested a hand on my shoulder, and began to introduce me.

“This child is.”

However, his words ground to an immediate halt at the exact moment he needed to state my name. He seemed to be deliberating whether it was safe to introduce me as Sorin.

At that, Gwang-yeon intervened.

“You may trust me. At any rate, I am no longer in a position where I can speak entirely honestly about everything to my Master.”

“You are quite quick to understand. Very well. This child is Sorin.”

“Young Master Sorin… By any chance, do you mean Young Master Tang Sorin of the Sichuan Tang Family?” Gwang-yeon asked, his face awash with astonishment.

Venerable Won-hyun nodded, granting Gwang-yeon a few moments to process the information.

“Yes. You must be aware that the Second Young Master of the Sichuan Tang Family once came to stay at Shaolin. While others believe Sorin left this place long ago, Sorin remains here. Do you know why I am telling you this?”

“Because even if I were to leak this information, you possess more than enough power to handle the fallout, Grand-Grand-Uncle.”

“Indeed. You are clever. Since you are that clever, I shall permit you to visit my quarters frequently and stay here.”

At Venerable Won-hyun’s words, I burst into laughter internally. It was a matter he had already permitted, yet here he was trying to take credit for it all over again.

Besides, even if Gwang-yeon wanted to, it wasn’t as though his circumstances allowed him to freely come here. Hyeon-geon would never grant him permission.

‘Wait, then how did he manage to come today?’

Come to think of it, slipping away to this place today could not have been an easy feat for him either.

Perhaps because meeting me was so fascinating, Gwang-yeon didn’t ask a single question regarding the baby snake.

“I heard that your health was poor. How are you feeling now, Young Master Tang?”

“I have recovered significantly.”

“But why must the fact that you are staying here be kept a secret…” Gwang-yeon trailed off, nodding as if he had found the answer on his own.

“What did you conclude, Gwang-yeon?” Venerable Won-hyun inquired.

Gwang-yeon opened his mouth to reply. “It must be because of my Master. To be precise, it must be because of my Master and the other Grandmasters of the ‘Hyeon’ generation.”

Upon hearing this, Venerable Won-hyun burst into laughter.

“It seems you know Hyeon-geon quite well.”

“I am glad to see that you know him well too, Grand-Grand-Uncle. Everything my Master does is out of his love for Shaolin, and for the sake of Shaolin.”

He seemed to be echoing the very words Venerable Won-hyun had spoken to him previously.

“Now, what do you wish to do? You are the only one who knows that Sorin has not returned and is staying here with me. Therefore, if a word of this slips out, I shall not leave you be.”

“I understand. What you worry about will absolutely never happen. I, too, am aware that not every action can be excused just because it is done for the sake of Shaolin.”

Those words were striking, especially since I had assumed Gwang-yeon would blindly follow Hyeon-geon.

But thinking back, he had been the same in our past life. Had he not resisted Hyeon-geon’s decree to punish me, choosing to receive the punishment in my stead? Yet, what had made Venerable Won-hyun trust Gwang-yeon? I trusted him based on my knowledge of his past life, but the Grandmaster had no such memories.

Venerable Won-hyun gazed at Gwang-yeon for a brief moment before speaking.

“Go inside the room and enjoy your time together. You must have gone to great lengths to spare some time to come here, so you shouldn’t spend it listening to this old man’s nagging, should you? As you know, our Sorin has battled illness for a long time and has never had the chance to make friends. There is barely any age difference between the two of you, so get along well. And since our Sorin is younger, ensure you take good care of him.”

With that, without even waiting for a reply, he strode off toward the kitchen with long, fluid strides. Gwang-yeon stared blankly at Venerable Won-hyun’s departing figure. Still, as the resident of this place, it seemed the duty of entertaining the guest had fallen squarely upon me.

“Please, come inside.”

“There is no need to speak with such formality. You may speak comfortably.”

Despite telling me to speak comfortably, he did not lower his own speech toward me either.

“Then, perhaps you should be the first to speak comfortably, monk Gwang-yeon.”

“You do not need to call me monk Gwang-yeon.”

“If you dislike being called by your Buddhist name, would you mind sharing your secular name?”

“It isn’t that I dislike being called by my Buddhist name…”

He paused, then took a deep breath as if arriving at a resolution.

“May I address you as my junior?”

In relationships like this, it was only after the elder party formally lowered their speech that casual conversation could truly begin to flow. When I nodded for him to do so, he cautiously dropped his formal honorifics. Because formal etiquette was so deeply ingrained in his bones, speaking casually actually seemed to make him more uncomfortable.

“Then, should I call you Brother?”

“Yes. That would be good. It is not as though we belong to the same sect.”

With that, he stole a brief glance at me, appearing to ponder whether there was even a remote possibility of me becoming his fellow disciple. However, he did not press further on the matter.

No matter how immense Venerable Won-hyun’s stature was, teaching Shaolin’s martial arts to someone who was neither a secular disciple nor a formally ordained disciple of the mountain was a grave violation. Gwang-yeon had likely decided it was best to simply push the thought from his mind.