Time until the Eastern Emperor Bell rings: 23 years
"Waaah—!!"
Torrential rain poured from the sky. Beside a reeking garbage bin, an abandoned infant wrapped in a tattered towel wailed at the top of his lungs.
Yet no matter how pitifully the infant cried, his cries were drowned out by the rain and thunder. On top of that, this place was extremely secluded, and no one noticed the abandoned child's existence. As time passed, his crying grew weaker and weaker.
Icy rain slapped against his skin, and an unnatural flush appeared on his face. His hoarse cries eventually ceased, and he lay motionless amid the garbage, as if he had fainted from the fever.
Just then, a figure slowly walked to his side.
It was a monk wearing a mud-stained kasaya. He reached out and picked up the feverish, unconscious infant. His eyes, clear as autumn waters, showed not the slightest ripple of emotion, yet he still used his body to shield the child from the wind and rain.
Carrying the infant, he passed through deserted streets until he finally stopped before an iron gate.
He looked up, and five large characters came into view:
—Hanshan Orphanage.
Destiny Monk placed the infant in his arms before the iron gate, bit his fingertip, and gently wrote three characters on the tattered towel wrapped around the child.
After doing all that, he turned and left, his figure swallowed by the downpour.
"Woof—woof—!"
Barking came from within the orphanage. A black dog rushed to the iron gate and barked wildly at the abandoned infant outside. An old man carrying a stick hurried out of the house.
"What are you barking for?! Keep it up and I'll beat you!"
After threatening the black dog a few times, the old man was about