Chapter 200: Perilous Road (11)

People sometimes crudely called it rabbit food.

It was a common jab at Buddhist meals made from greens, grains, and things prepared from them.

Of course, anyone who had actually eaten such food might think differently.

Avoiding meat did not mean abandoning good food.

Soyak filled her bowl with stir-fried mung bean sprouts, barley rice, and roasted mushrooms.

Gong-eop glanced at the meager portion she had taken and opened his mouth to say something, only to stop himself.

During a bowl meal, one took only as much as one could finish.

And who in the world did not know how much they themselves ate?

...It would just be needless meddling.

Besides, she was a master who had reached the Transformation Realm.

Surely someone like her could get by on very little food.

People at that level could go several days without sleep and compensate with a little circulation practice.

“Why are you looking at me like that, Monk Gong-eop?”

He might have held his tongue, but he could not hide his gaze.

And Soyak had sensed it perfectly.

“Don’t worry, Monk Gong-eop. I have always eaten very little. And after nearly three years of living on nothing but stream water and fasting pellets, I have a hard time eating large meals even when I want to.”

“Is that so? Then I am relieved.”

It was not entirely a lie.

It was true that her appetite had never really grown.

And the explanation eased Gong-eop’s concern.

He would have felt uncomfortable if he believed his disciple had troubled Soyak badly enough to spoil her appetite.

“Go ahead and eat. It may not look like much, but I think it will suit your taste.”

Soyak slowly nodded.

The Chinese continent was vast beyond measure.

And across that immense land, each region had developed its own distinct food culture.

That was why knife-shaved noodles from Shanxi Province could be treated almost as a local specialty here in Henan.

But that only happened after the dish had been thoroughly adapted to local tastes.

The regions were far apart, with little reason for ordinary people to interact and no easy means of doing so.

Naturally, their palates developed differently.

So if Gong-eop could confidently say the food would suit her taste, there were only two likely explanations.

Either it had been seasoned specifically for someone from Shaanxi...

or the ingredients themselves were good enough that only light seasoning was needed, allowing their natural flavors to stand on their own.

Soyak looked down at the golden-brown surface of a well-roasted mushroom.

It was not drenched in heavy sauces or spices.

The color was clean.

So was the aroma.

She took a bite, and a deep, savory richness filled her mouth.

“...It really is delicious.”

“A meal made only of greens does not have to be cheap and tasteless.”

Among Buddhist temples, Shaolin had more contact with the secular world than most.

How could its monks have no desire for good food?

Buddhist teachings might say that even such desires should ultimately be relinquished...

but one could hardly demand the enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha or Vairocana Buddha from every monk.

There were many forms of happiness in life...

and the pleasure of good food was one of the strongest desires of all.

Besides, Shaolin had both the money and the time to indulge that desire without violating its precepts.

They could spend years trying and refining different cooking methods.

They could spend money to procure rare ingredients from across the Central Plains.

With those two things, there was no reason a dish had to contain meat in order to become a delicacy.

Soyak finished everything in her bowl.

Then she poured in warm scorched-rice water and began stirring it with her spoon.

It loosened the stray grains of rice clinging to the sides.

Finally, once the liquid had cooled enough, she drank it down in a few swallows.

That brought the bowl meal to an end.

Even to Gong-eop’s eyes, her bowl was spotless.

He nodded approvingly.

“Very impressive.”

“I was not raised spoiled, Monk.”

“It seems I worried for nothing.”

After cleaning his own bowl just as thoroughly, Gong-eop rose with Soyak.

Seongeung had still not finished eating.

He was eating far more slowly than Gong-eop was accustomed to seeing, which made it seem likely that he was still reciting the mantra between bites.

Gong-eop watched him for a moment...

then simply left.

Seongeung was working hard to steady himself through the mantra.

But if Soyak and Gong-eop remained in sight, he would almost certainly be dragged back into needless turmoil.

His heart was not yet that steady.

Soyak understood what Gong-eop was doing.

So after finishing the meal, she followed him out and returned the guest bowl she had borrowed.

When she glanced back, Seongeung had stopped reciting for a moment.

He was staring at the two empty places they had left behind, his expression complicated.

*****

“You really do not need to walk me such a short distance.”

“It is on my mind. In the end, my disciple troubled a Benefactor who came here as our guest.”

“You do not need to think of it that way.”

The guest hall where Soyak was staying was not far from the place where they had eaten.

Even at a leisurely pace, taking time to look at the scenery, the walk would not take a quarter hour.

“Then think of it as a walk after dinner.”

Beside them, rugged mountain ridges stretched beneath the high sky.

Shaolin of Mount Song in the north, Wudang in the south.

Mount Song certainly deserved its reputation as a famous mountain.

A great mountain did not easily welcome human footsteps.

Its vast, imposing slopes spread out with a grandeur all their own.

Unless one had come specifically to train body and spirit, even climbing this mountain would be difficult.

Without Lightness Arts, simply going up and down its slopes could count as training in itself.

Apparently Soyak was not the only one who thought so.

Monks could be seen endlessly ascending and descending long flights of stone steps.

It was a sight sometimes seen at Mount Hua as well.

“For some reason... I find myself thinking that wherever people live, things are much the same.”

“Is that so, Benefactor? I suspect you will feel that way many more times in the future.”

“Will I?”

“I have been to Wudang as well. Their teachings are different, their clothes are different, and even the length of their hair is different, but in the end, people are much the same wherever they live.”

The moment he brought up the length of their hair, half the remark had clearly become a joke.

Soyak failed to suppress her laughter, and Gong-eop laughed along with her.

“That is cheating, Monk. Making someone laugh like that only leaves them feeling guilty afterward.”

“My hair has not fallen out. Why should you feel guilty? I shave my head voluntarily to observe the precepts. Do you have any idea what it feels like to run a razor over your scalp every morning?”

Of course she did not.

In fact, Soyak had never cut her hair even once.

She had occasionally trimmed damaged ends with scissors...

but she had never put scissors to it for the purpose of making it shorter.

“I have no idea, Monk. And if we are being honest, I probably never will, will I?”

“You have very fine hair, Benefactor Soyak. Perhaps you truly will go your entire life without knowing.”

They exchanged idle remarks as they walked, easing the heaviness left by the matter of Seongeung.

Before long, they reached the guest hall.

Gong-eop stopped outside.

“I enjoyed this, Benefactor. Will you be leaving early tomorrow morning?”

“Yes. I intend to reach Mount Tianzhu as early as I can.”

“Is there some reason you are hurrying so much...?”

Soyak quietly looked west.

Toward Mount Tianzhu.

Of course, there was no possibility of seeing it from this distance.

“Would it not be better to arrive early and rest? It will give me time to improve my condition in several ways.”

“...I see.”

Though she should hardly need to do anything of the sort.

Even if Soyak had inherited only half of Elder Jeonggang’s true level...

she could probably beat every entrant in the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering using nothing but her scabbard.

At that kind of gap, physical condition would scarcely matter.

It was true that even a great master could die to a blind blade.

But that referred to chaotic melees involving many combatants, or to sudden ambushes no one had anticipated.

In an honest one-on-one spar on a prepared stage, there would be almost no room for such variables.

“Benefactor Soyak.”

“Yes?”

“Would you mind if I asked Seongeung about the conversation the two of you had?”

It was a kind of intuition.

That conversation.

And Soyak’s strange insistence on doing her absolute best for the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

Gong-eop sensed that there might be some connection between the two.

Soyak realized that as well.

She thought for a moment, then nodded.

Anyone with reason to know probably already knew.

Gong-eop simply was not the sort of man to investigate someone’s past without cause.

“It would probably be better for you to hear it from Monk Seongeung himself. I do not mind.”

“...Thank you. Then please rest well.”