Chapter 95
Chapter 95
I moved by looking at the direction of the sun during the day and the stars at night.
I avoided places where I sensed people and moved as secretly as possible along the mountain paths.
All methods I learned from Yeon-ryang.
‘Sister. Do you see that star? That’s the Big Dipper. Tamlang, Geomun, Nokjon, Mungok, Yeomjeong, Mugok, Pagun. Those seven stars are always in the north. So, when you’re looking for a way...’
I recalled Yeon-ryang’s voice and headed east, and then east again.
I was planning to get out of Hubei and hide on the border between Henan and Anhui.
If I made a hideout on a rugged mountain peak where no one would think people could be, I could buy time until Yeon-ryang recovered.
I glanced over my shoulder.
“Brother.”
“……”
“Yeon-ryang. Hey. You’re not dead, are you?”
I called out softly, but there was no answer. I quietly listened to his breathing.
The regular breathing was not much different from that of a person who was sound asleep.
He was alive, just unconscious.
Okay. It’s enough that he’s alive.
Just as I was reassuring myself and trying to hurry my steps, I heard a familiar cry.
“Kiee eee!”
When I turned my head, Ju-ryeong was running up the mountain ridge on all fours.
Covered in bits of leaves, the creature returned and jumped into my arms, eyes twinkling.
I picked off the leaves stuck to Ju-ryeong’s fur and asked.
“Did you get rid of the scabbard well?”
“Kiee.”
“Didn’t you run into the trackers?”
“Kyueoo.”
“Are they far away?”
“Kkuluk.”
“Okay. Good job.”
I took out jerky, put one in Ju-ryeong’s mouth, and one in my mouth, chewing. Then, I gently laid Yeon-ryang down under the tree trunk.
“I’m going to disinfect your wound before we go, so wait a little.”
“……”
“It’s going to hurt a bit.”
I muttered and unwrapped the cloth around Yeon-ryang’s back, revealing scabs roughly covering the torn wound.
Thanks to the Wound Remedy Jin-sung had given me, Yeon-ryang’s wound was healing day by day.
It was fortunate that new flesh had grown and covered the bone in just a few days.
But he didn’t regain consciousness easily. I thought it might be because his Internal Martial Arts was severely damaged.
Still, in about three days... no, it would probably take four.
My hands, which had become accustomed to treating wounds in the past few days, moved fluidly even while I was thinking about other things.
Ju-ryeong, who was watching me disinfect the wound and replace it with a clean cloth, whimpered and scratched my knee.
“Kkyuu……”
It seemed like the creature was worried about Yeon-ryang too. I poured water into Yeon-ryang’s mouth and replied.
“He’ll come to his senses soon. I need to feed him something, but I’m worried.”
I wanted to boil some dried rations and feed him, but there was no time to light a fire.
“Let’s go another half a day and I’ll make some porridge for you. It’s killing me carrying you, so bear with your hunger. You damned brother.”
I said words he couldn’t hear, then carried Yeon-ryang again and climbed the mountain path.
The forest, thick with pine trees, showed no signs of people.
Even traces of wild animals were rare. The terrain was so rough that there was no food, so they didn’t seem to come up this high.
Excited, I quickened my pace. I was sure I had found a suitable hiding place.
The moment I pushed through the dense bushes and reached the top of the peak, a building appeared.
It was a small hermitage with layers of time accumulated on it.
To put it nicely, it was ancient; to put it badly, it looked more than two hundred years old. An old monk was picking herbs below the hermitage.
Panicked, I froze, unable to even think about running away.
The old monk, who had discovered me, spoke.
“Have you come to offer a Buddhist service?”
“Uh… well, I…”
“Or are you looking for a place to stay?”
He didn’t seem surprised at all to see me carrying a man as big as a door.
The old monk slowly rose from his seat, smiled kindly, and gestured.
“Night comes quickly in the mountains. It’s too late to go down, so if the Benefactor is willing, please come in.”
It was a gentle voice.
I hesitated and tightened my grip on Yeon-ryang.
Could I trust that old monk? Would he report us?
As I warily rolled my eyes, I soon realized my suspicion was absurd.
It was nearly impossible for an ordinary commoner to deceive my eyes, go down the rugged mountain, and report us to the authorities.
It would make more sense to worry that the monk would be harmed by the trackers who were chasing us.
As I hesitated, unable to answer, Ju-ryeong poked its head out from inside my sleeve.
“Kkyuu!”
“Haha.”
The old monk, seeing Ju-ryeong, burst into laughter and covered his mouth.
“Is that the Benefactor’s friend? It seems like that child likes it here too.”
Seeing that Ju-ryeong wasn’t wary, it seemed okay to stay for one night. I bowed politely.
“…Thank you. Monk. I’ll stay just one night and leave.”
“Come this way, Benefactor.”
The old monk lifted a basket woven from straw and began to walk slowly toward the hermitage.
I cautiously followed him.
The hermitage was well-maintained, contrary to its appearance.
The wooden floor was polished without a speck of dust, and there wasn’t a single common cobweb.
The old monk, conscious of Yeon-ryang, took me straight to a room.
Another monk, who encountered us in front of the room, widened his eyes.
“Monk Seol-jae, these Benefactors are…”
“They are guests staying tonight. Monk Wolam. Please prepare a place for them to sleep.”
It was only after meeting the other monk that I realized what kind of place this hermitage was.
This was a place where female monks practiced.
At Monk Seol-jae’s calm voice, Monk Wolam also composed herself and prepared a place for Yeon-ryang to lie down.
I was concerned about Yeon-ryang’s dirty clothes, but it seemed difficult to find new clothes that would fit Yeon-ryang’s size.
As soon as I laid Yeon-ryang face down on the bed, the muscle pain that I had forgotten due to tension surged in like a tide.
Exhausted, I slumped down, and Monk Wolam spoke to me.
“We only have Monk's Robe to offer. Would you like to wear Monk's Robe, Benefactor?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Then I will boil water so you can wash and change.”
“Ah, no. Monk. Just tell me where it is, and I’ll boil it myself.”
“The Buddha taught us that we are all Buddhas, so we should treat everyone like a Buddha. Serving the Benefactor is also a way for me to accumulate merit. Please don’t worry and rest.”
Monk Wolam replied kindly and closed the door.
I sat quietly and listened to the sounds outside.
A dipper splashed against the surface of the water, as if drawing water from a well, and someone clattered dishes, as if preparing a meal.
It was a sound full of hospitality for a traveler.
I slowly leaned my back against the wall.
At least for tonight, I would be able to rest under a roof.
The meal the monks prepared was simple, but enough to fill my stomach.
They even made porridge separately, so I could replenish Yeon-ryang’s energy.
“Brother. Are you alive?”
“……”
“You have no conscience. How can you make me take care of your meals too? Just you wait until you wake up. I’m going to make you work twice as hard.”
I grumbled, poured a bowl of porridge entirely into Yeon-ryang’s mouth, and then got up.
The feeling of the long Monk's Robe wrapping around my body was so familiar that I let out a hollow laugh.
I won’t be able to wear anything but Long robe now.
“Ju-ryeong. Stay here and protect Brother.”
“Kie!”
I left Yeon-ryang to Ju-ryeong and came out of the room. The surroundings were quiet, as if the monks were meditating.
I slowly came out of the hermitage and looked around the area. I was planning to check the escape routes in case of an emergency.
As I rolled my eyes, looking for a path that wasn’t cut off by a cliff, I felt Monk Seol-jae approaching from afar. I pretended to be looking at the scenery, feigning ignorance.
Monk Seol-jae, who stood quietly beside me, spoke.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t those seven peaks quite a spectacle? They surround our hermitage as if protecting it. That’s why our hermitage is called Chilbong Hermitage.”
Now that I heard it, seven peaks, as sharp as the tip of a brush, surrounded the hermitage.
As I nodded awkwardly, Monk Seol-jae asked again.
“Have you visited temples often?”
“No. This is my first time.”
“It’s a pleasure to hear that Chilbong Hermitage is the first place the Benefactor has met the Buddha.”
He smiled kindly and looked beyond the peaks. The forest, with the remaining afterglow of the setting sun, was dyed dark red.
“The summer retreat period is coming soon, Benefactor.”
“Summer retreat?”
“In Buddhism, meditation is considered the most important thing. When the retreat period approaches, entry and exit from the mountain gate are prohibited for three months. No one can go out of or come into this mountain gate.”
Monk Seol-jae paused for a moment, looked at me, and took my hand. It was a warm gaze.
“Since only female monks live here, no one will come looking for you. So, please stay here comfortably.”
It meant that he wouldn’t ask about my circumstances, so I should recover fully and leave.
I stared blankly at him, bit my lip, and bowed my head.
“…Thank you, thank you. Monk.”
Life at the hermitage was peaceful itself.
Every day at dawn, I woke up to the smell of incense, and the sound of a wooden gong echoing through the small hermitage greeted me.
After getting up groggily, opening the door to the next room, and checking on Yeon-ryang’s condition, I would come outside, draw water from the well, and carry it to the kitchen.
I was helping with the preparation of the morning meal.
As I watched the sky brighten, listening to the sounds of mountain birds, I thought that living buried in the mountains without any worries wouldn’t be so bad.
Being a female monk in a remote hermitage would be better than being a third-rate Martial Artist who was being threatened and running away.
I don’t want to shave my head, though.
“Give it to me. Monk. I’ll do it.”
“No. Benefactor. I… You’re very strong.”
“I’m a bit sturdy.”
After the morning meal, I chopped firewood and washed the Monk's Robe in the stream. I also swept the yard or cleaned the floor of the Buddhist sanctuary.
It was something I had done every day as a Maid. It was familiar work, so there was nothing difficult about it.
Seven days and nights passed living with the monks in the hermitage like that,
“Huh, Sister. Where is this?”
Yeon-ryang woke up.
