The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

Potala Palace was cold.

It was because many lama monks had died, and holes had been blown open in the walls of several structures.

Inside, where the cold wind rushed in freely, Gal Dong-tak was crouched on the floor.

He had a blanket draped over him, yet he was still trembling for some reason.

A top-tier martial master shouldn’t be susceptible to cold like that, so it seemed to be a psychological issue.

He cautiously sipped a cup of steaming tea.

Hoo, frrrrrp.

Yi-gang gazed quietly at Gal Dong-tak.

Gal Dong-tak’s strength was that he didn’t easily fall into gloom.

But now, he was so dispirited he looked like a frightened calf, making the atmosphere awkward. To change the sunken mood, Yi-gang opened his mouth, “That tea tree, you know, there’s a legend tied to Bodhidharma about it.”

Gal Dong-tak slowly looked up at Yi-gang.

Seeing that he seemed interested, Yi-gang began to tell an old tale.

“You know, when Bodhidharma was doing wall-facing meditation, there’s this story where he was so drowsy he cut off his own eyelids.”

Gal Dong-tak’s expression froze like ice.

Yi-gang, unaware, continued the story.

“He threw those eyelids into the yard, and when he went back the next day, a tree had sprouted there.”

“Uh, uh-huh…”

“When he brewed and drank its leaves, his drowsiness vanished. And that’s supposedly how the tea tree began…”

Gal Dong-tak let out a short scream and dropped his teacup.

Clatter—tea spilled everywhere as the cup shattered.

Gal Dong-tak buried his head between his knees.

Tsering gently patted his shoulder.

“You okay?”

“Huff, huff…”

Though she used to call Gal Dong-tak ‘Pigsy,’ Tsering now seemed to have warmed up to him.

She scolded Yi-gang as if he were a naughty child.

“You’re mean!”

It looked like Yi-gang had made a misstep.

“Hah, hah… I’m gonna get eaten…” Gal Dong-tak muttered under his breath.

Whatever had happened over the past five days remained a mystery.

Since Tsering looked perfectly fine, it didn’t seem like Dam Hyun had actually done anything to him.

They questioned Dam Hyun, but he looked deeply aggrieved and insisted on his innocence.

He claimed he had merely been thinking about what to do in case Yi-gang didn’t return.

“Gal Dong-tak.”

“I’ll make sure to scold Senior Brother Dam Hyun.”

Gal Dong-tak remained silent for a moment, then nodded roughly.

“Y-yeah, you better.”

Seeing him like that, Yi-gang figured he’d be fine after a few more days.

Leaving Tsering and Gal Dong-tak behind, Yi-gang headed to where Dam Hyun was.

Bodhidharma was no longer by his side.

After defeating the Great Desert Yellow Dragon, Bodhidharma had taken up residence in a vacant area granted by the lamas of Potala Palace.

It seemed he was going through some internal change.

Dam Hyun’s location was the uppermost level of the palace.

He was at the top of a tall tower standing along the outer edge.

When Yi-gang entered, there was already a guest inside.

“Venerable Panchen Lama.”

“O Arhat.”

Panchen Lama pressed his palms together in greeting, even more respectfully than Yi-gang expected.

Though it made him uncomfortable, Yi-gang no longer refused Panchen Lama’s formalities.

There was no use refusing—it wouldn’t work anyway.

Ever since Yi-gang had stopped the Mad Wind Sect and the Great Desert Yellow Dragon, they had been calling him Arhat.

“Heh, a Taoist being called an Arhat.”

Dam Hyun snickered mockingly.

Yi-gang ignored it and approached Dam Hyun.

Dam Hyun was wearing glasses.

Whenever he needed intense focus, he would put on those glasses.

Even though his martial power hadn’t completely vanished and his eyesight shouldn’t have deteriorated, he had given Yi-gang another reason when asked.

“It’s because I have to do extremely delicate work. Can’t be helped.”

And this was one of those times.

Dam Hyun was seated at a stone desk.

On the desk, strange diagrams had been drawn using chalk made by hardening cinnabar and lime.

At the center sat a red gemstone the size of a human torso—that was the heart of the Great Desert Yellow Dragon.

“This thing is a real treasure.”

Yi-gang had seen the heart of a giant dragon once during a palace report. The rıghtful source is 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝗇𝗲𝘵

But even compared to that, the Great Desert Yellow Dragon’s heart was larger.

And that wasn’t the only difference.

Perhaps because it had still been alive just a few days ago, something strange, like a shimmering mirage, was rising from it, and a heat-like sensation still lingered.

Perhaps because it had devoured so many people, even a sinister aura was swirling around it.

“There’s something inside this thing.”

“What do you mean, something?”

“Yeah, like a foreign substance. I thought it was just a muddied aura mixing in, but…”

Yi-gang stared closely but couldn’t see anything.

It was likely because of its sheer size and opacity that he couldn’t see all the way to the center.

Without a word, Dam Hyun handed over his glasses.

“Put them on and take a look.”

Yi-gang put on Dam Hyun’s glasses.

“Oh? Surprisingly suits you.”

“…This is…”

Yi-gang now understood why Dam Hyun wore glasses.

They weren’t ordinary glasses. He couldn’t be sure if they were a type of Treasure, but they definitely allowed one to see what normal eyes could not.

Strangely, the view reminded him of how things looked under the Sutra of Inexhaustible Mind and Body’s outer gaze.

And when he looked at the heart of the Great Desert Yellow Dragon through the glasses, something truly was off.

There was something pitch black at its core.

It was still too murky to make out clearly… but something about the size of an acorn seemed to be embedded inside.

An object. Something man-made was hidden inside the dragon’s heart.

“Whether someone hid it there, or it was something the Great Desert Yellow Dragon swallowed and somehow fused with its heart—I can’t say for sure.”

Yi-gang took off the glasses and handed them back to Dam Hyun.

Putting the glasses back on, Dam Hyun spoke, “I don’t know exactly how it happened, but this beast used to dwell in Xinjiang. That’s where the Demon Cult is.”

From that, Dam Hyun had arrived at a hypothesis.

“I ran several tests. Now I’m certain.”

He spoke with conviction, “A fragment of the Heavenly Demon’s soul is in here.”

It was a hard thing to believe.

But Dam Hyun explained his findings one by one, each backed with logic.

It was a convincing argument.

“More than anything, didn’t Zhang Sanfeng tell you?”

Zhang Sanfeng had instructed Yi-gang to find the fragments of the Heavenly Demon’s soul.

When Yi-gang asked how he was supposed to find pieces scattered across this vast world, he had said that fate was already at work—he would be able to find them.

“I should’ve… brought the Divine Demon Disk.”

The Divine Demon Disk was currently being stored in the Azure Forest.

There were limits to what Yi-gang could do alone, so the task of finding the soul fragments had been entrusted to Yu Jeong-shin.

“In any case, we need to bring the Heavenly Demon Plaque now.”

That too was currently in Yu Jeong-shin’s possession.

It should now be back in the Azure Forest.

Dam Hyun offered to go retrieve the Heavenly Demon Plaque himself.

However, this place, Tibet, was clearly beyond the Great Wall.

To make a round trip to Hunan Province, where the Azure Forest was located, would be no small feat.

It would also take a great deal of time.

Panchen Lama interjected, “I shall lend you our finest horse and support your journey.”

Yi-gang and Dam Hyun then briefly explained the matter concerning the Heavenly Demon Plaque to them.

The Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama pledged to keep the matter secret and offered their assistance.

“It’s fine. If I go with Cheongho, we can be back in a fortnight—no, within ten days.”

Even on a fine steed riding hard, that would be a difficult pace.

But with Cheongho, it was entirely possible.

“In exchange, help me out when I return.”

With that request, Dam Hyun confidently began explaining to Yi-gang—a method of communicating with Zhang Sanfeng inside the Heavenly Demon Plaque, something even Yu Jeong-shin hadn’t discovered.

He said he had found a clue here in Potala Palace.

“In Esoteric Buddhism, there’s a method of communicating with spirits dwelling inside objects. Right?”

“Indeed,” Panchen Lama affirmed.

From the perspective of those in the Central Plains, many of Esoteric Buddhism’s practices seemed bizarre—so such a method sounded plausible.

“Let’s study it properly when I get back.”

Without delay, Dam Hyun began preparations to depart for the Azure Forest.

It wasn’t exactly a leisurely time, but Yi-gang didn’t stop him from hurrying.

“Forgive me for not seeing you off.”

“I’ll be back soon. You just take care of things here.”

Dam Hyun gave a wide grin.

Yi-gang nodded and descended from the tower where Dam Hyun had been.

The place he headed to was the great hall where the right hand of Śākyamuni Buddha had once descended.

The building, still half-destroyed, had a gaping hole in the ceiling.

The shock of that day had broken all the mechanical mechanisms inside.

Bodhidharma had declared he would remain there.

And now, it was the third day since then.

Bodhidharma had not come out even once.

Yi-gang didn’t bother hiding his presence as he stepped into the great hall.

Even though the ceiling was open, the interior was not bright.

It couldn’t be helped.

The inside of the hall was completely filled with Bodhidharma’s black body.

He had tried to compress himself, but even then, this large building was packed tight.

Everywhere Yi-gang looked, there was nothing but jet-black scales.

He gave up trying to locate Bodhidharma’s head in this dark space.

“I’ve arrived.”

“…Mm.”

There was the sound of Bodhidharma clearing his throat, and then his head slowly rose into view.

At the same time, screams and desperate cries rang out from somewhere.

“Please spare us!!”

“Please! Let us out! Aaaagh!”

Bodhidharma wasn’t alone.

The remnants of the bandits whose dantians had been shattered were here with him.

Their voices came from inside Bodhidharma’s body.

Of course, Bodhidharma hadn’t eaten them.

They were half-imprisoned in the gaps between Bodhidharma’s coiled-up body.

Yi-gang let out a breathy laugh and muttered, “Looks like the bandits have lost all their fight.”

“We’ll tell you everything! Please, just let us out!”

Unfortunately, the squad leader and captains of the Mad Wind Unit had all been killed by Mang-hon.

They had tried questioning the small fry about the Demon Cult and Mang-hon, but those fools had been too arrogant.

Now, they were receiving their punishment—living together with Bodhidharma in here.

A bit of interrogation now, and they’d spill all their secrets.

“Do with them as you wish.”

“Of course.”

“And what of Mu Myung?”

Yi-gang was silent for a moment before answering.

The Divine Monk’s condition was not good.

“He will likely pass within the next few days.”

Now, more often than not, he was unconscious rather than awake.

Each day, there was only a brief moment when they could exchange a few words.

Hearing this, Bodhidharma replied, “I see. Then it must be done today.”

“What must be done?”

The reason Yi-gang had come here was because Bodhidharma had requested to meet him.

Yi-gang didn’t even know why Bodhidharma had called for him.

In a low voice, Bodhidharma said, “We made a promise, didn’t we?”

“…Right.”

“To undergo the body transformation. It must be done.”

Yi-gang’s eyes widened in surprise.

He hadn’t forgotten, but he didn’t expect it to begin so suddenly.

“How… should I prepare?”

“There’s nothing special. The preparations are already complete.”

Bodhidharma had not once left this space.

So when and how had he prepared?

“Let’s go to the lake. It’s the most suitable place.”

The place Bodhidharma chose for the body transformation was none other than the lake.

The same lake that had frozen over once again.

Bodhidharma neither shrank down to cling to Yi-gang’s arm, nor returned to human form.

He simply slid forward, moving his massive body.

The only ones left behind in the space Bodhidharma vacated were the bound, collapsed bandits.

Yi-gang followed after Bodhidharma.

Turning his head to check if Yi-gang was following properly, Bodhidharma muttered, “Today will be the last.”

“The last of what?”

But Bodhidharma gave no answer and simply continued moving forward.