Origin

When Huo Da returned from the study, he had that exquisite booklet with gilded edges in his hand.

Liu Heshang slightly raised his chin in indication, and Huo Da directly handed the booklet to Xie Yuan.

Xie Yuan took it and looked it over. White pages, gold-trimmed edges, superb paper quality, and the cover bore eighteen arhats—it was precisely the martial arts manual he had seen before.

Liu Heshang lay on the bed and said slowly:

"Everything I know came from this booklet."

As though recalling events from long ago, he lightly closed his eyes and spoke in a low, unhurried voice:

"Back then, I was just a little beggar, begging for scraps everywhere and barely keeping myself alive.

"I thought I'd muddle through like that until one day I starved to death. But then... things changed.

"That day, I'd managed to beg for some food and hid in a ruined temple. Before I could eat, several people burst in and started a bang-bang-bang battle to the death. I'd stumbled into a martial world ambush.

"It was five Demonic Cultists against one Great Monk. I thought two fists could never beat four hands, but the Great Monk fought one against five and sent all five cultists off to see the Buddha.

"But he himself was too badly wounded to rise. Seeing that, I gathered my courage and went to look, only to find that he had just one breath left.

"I hesitated, then remembered all those stories about people who saved great masters and received divine arts in return. An idea immediately came to me. I helped him stop the bleeding and fed him my own food.

"The Great Monk's skills were formidable, and he managed to hang on. Once he recovered somewhat, he took me back to his temple."

Xie Yuan asked quietly:

"Prajna Temple?"

Liu Heshang froze for a moment, then laughed hoarsely. The motion tugged at his wounds, and he bared his teeth in pain again.

"Don't listen to Cao Shan's nonsense... Mm, well, it wasn't really his nonsense. I was the one who taught him to say that.

"It was Yanbei Jinhe Temple, a cultivation sect neither too large nor too small. But all Chan sects under heaven trace back to Prajna, so there wasn't much wrong with saying it that way."

Xie Yuan paused, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He lowered his head to look at the booklet and lightly shook it.

"So that wasn't it."

After being curious for so long, he had finally gotten the definitive answer from the man himself.

Liu Heshang continued:

"I thought he was going to take me as a disciple, and I was full of anticipation—even if it meant becoming a monk. Truth be told, I was dying to become one. Those monks were all fat and well-fed; being able to eat my fill was a blessing as vast as heaven to me back then.

"But the Great Monk said he could see that I had quite a calculating mind and wasn't suited to enter Buddhism, so he made me a menial laborer instead... Damn it, that really pissed me off."

Liu Heshang smiled faintly. Though he said he had been angry, speaking of it now, there was only nostalgia.

As direct disciples, Huo Da and Lu Hong had naturally heard these stories before, though never in such detail. They pricked up their ears and listened quietly.

Perhaps because Liu Heshang had taken a trip to the gates of death, he felt like looking back over his life and went on chattering:

"I worked as a menial at Jinhe Temple for three years. At least I didn't go hungry. But I always carried some resentment in my heart, thinking that I'd saved the Great Monk's life, yet he made me do odd jobs every day.

"After three years, the Great Monk summoned me again. He said he'd observed me for three years and found that I truly had no spiritual root, that I had no affinity with Buddhism, so he told me to go down the mountain.

"So he'd still been testing me. Alas, I was neither foolish enough nor clever enough, and I missed my chance to become a Great Monk, haha. Looking back, I found it deeply regrettable, so outside I often called myself a monk returned to secular life. Gradually, even my name became Liu Heshang."

When he reached this point, he paused for a long while before continuing:

"But before I went down the mountain, he said that he owed me a life no matter what, so he taught me a set of Iron Cloth that circulated through the martial world, with a few improvements of his own—that became the Iron Cloth of our Iron Clothes Gate.

"I trained on the mountain for another five years. During that time, the Great Monk guided me with great care and supplied me with good food, good drink, and good medicine. I finally achieved a little success.

"Then the Great Monk gave me this booklet, saying that it would completely settle the karma between us. He said this Iron Cloth held a trace of Buddhist intent. Once one reached the later stages and wanted to advance further, one had to contemplate this booklet. If one had sufficient insight, it might even be possible to comprehend divine abilities.

"But what insight did I have? After leaving Golden Mountain Temple, my cultivation progressed slowly for decades, and I could never break through to the third refinement. I've read this booklet until it was practically worn to pieces, yet I still couldn't make heads or tails of it. Since you want it, Xie Yuan, take it and study it. Perhaps this thing suits you better..."

Xie Yuan held the booklet, slowly running his fingers over it as he nodded slightly.

So the Iron Clothes Gate's martial arts had such origins. No wonder it was said, "Buddhist Charm Hidden Within."

At last, he had cleared up something that had long piqued his curiosity. Though it did not have the grand pedigree of Prajna Temple, this booklet might truly prove useful.

He cupped his hands.

"I'll take it back and study it. I'll be sure to keep it safe, and I'll return it after some days."

Liu Heshang did not care much.

"No rush. Huo Da and the others are all wooden blocks for brains. They've looked through it plenty of times already, but they still can't understand it."

Xie Yuan recalled another matter and asked:

"Master Liu, there's a friend who has helped me greatly. I was wondering whether I could pay some silver on his behalf and teach him the basics of Iron Cloth..."

Liu Heshang repeatedly waved his hands.

"What's the point of saying that, Xie Yuan? Why would you need to pay silver? Considering what you've done for our Iron Clothes Gate, teach it to whoever you want. Mm, how about this? From now on, you'll be the martial school's instructor for passing down techniques. When you have time, come give us some pointers and help us spread our branches and leaves outside. Of course, if you're busy, then forget it—your own affairs come first."

After saying this, he was already thoroughly exhausted. Seeing that, the others had Lu Hong stay behind to look after him while they left the bedroom.

Xie Yuan had suddenly become the Iron Clothes Gate's instructor for passing down techniques. Though it was only an honorary position, his seniority had become rather strange.

Seeing Huo Da and the others looking at him with odd expressions, he gave a light cough and said:

"Senior Brother Huo, we'll each go by our own... Mm, I probably won't be coming back here much in the future. If anything comes up, send word to Cloudshine. Give me a shout."

Xie Yuan tactfully declined everyone's invitation to stay for a grand feast. Such occasions did not particularly suit him; rather than spend the time here, he might as well return and study this booklet.

Just before leaving Coiling Dragon Town, an idea struck Xie Yuan. He made a special trip to stroll past the entrances of Black Tiger Fist Hall and Divine Weapon Hall once more. Seeing disciples constantly going in and out, their faces clouded with misery, while the scent of medicine wafted all the way outside, he knew they were treating the two hall masters' injuries.

When the disciples at the entrance saw Xie Yuan, they were both shocked and terrified:

"Xie Yuan, y-you... what else do you want?"

"Nothing. Just taking a stroll."

Seeing this, Xie Yuan smiled faintly. He knew the situation in Coiling Dragon Town had been settled and needed no further concern from him. Given the ties between him and Iron Clothes Gate, he had done more than enough. He then mounted his horse and returned to Cloudshine.

Inside the escort agency, in his own spacious room.

"Why is it all pictures? There isn't a single word..."

After looking through the booklet once, Xie Yuan was somewhat puzzled.

The booklet was filled with images of Arhats in various poses, seemingly hinting at the routes by which one should exert force and circulate one's cultivation.

Yet there were no written annotations and no master to guide him. What could anyone possibly comprehend just by looking at pictures?

Back then, that monk had probably not given him a complete manual either. They really were just images meant to test one's powers of comprehension.

If Liu Heshang, with his ordinary aptitude, could understand them, that would truly be a ghostly affair.

"The Great Monk talked about settling karmic ties, but he had no sincerity at all. He merely wanted peace of mind for himself. There was more than a touch of hypocrisy in that."

Still, it was fitting enough that this incomplete karmic debt had ultimately fallen into his hands.

Though Xie Yuan could not make sense of it, he was in no hurry. Following the first pose, he stood on one leg, folded the other up, pressed his palms together, and crouched slightly, assuming the Cross-Legged Arhat stance.

Gradually, he seemed to gain a faint sensation of something. He looked up and smiled.