Song of Adolescence

Within the kingdom of Khotan, inside the Grand Sanskrit Temple…

While the name of this temple might sound imposing, while it might be the kingdom’s designated temple and while it might be comparable, in terms of size, to the likes of Yunlin and Baima, but in terms of grandeur, it was still lacking.

The current state of the Buddhist faith was such that the temples of the Central Plains enjoyed an unending flow of the faithful. In contrast, those of the Western Region practiced an ascetic lifestyle: meal mustn’t be filling and clothes mustn’t be warming. Only through such abstinence would one achieve great merit.

The Grand Sanskrit Temple was just such a temple, one that lived up to every definition of the word ‘ascetic’. Juxtaposed against the resplendence of the great temples of the Central Plains, it was as if someone threw on a layer of mud on the Grand Sanskrit Temple, and with its state of severe dilapidation, it was on the verge of collapsing any moment.

Yet it was in such a rundown temple that an unusually ornate sedan appeared on its doorstep. One with a golden palanquin that was even etched with a divine bird, feathers so real that it seemed like it was about to take off. All four of its corners were held up by burly men while a couple of lean, tender faced teenagers armed with exquisite swords led the way.

The teenager on the left was a tad younger than his counterpart, and as he gazed around at the bleak faced monks walking past them, he couldn’t help but chuckle, “back at Revelations, I’ve seen my fair share of monks myself. Every one of them would have used golden threads to weave their robes if they could, yet these monks won’t even fill their stomachs.”

“What do you know?” Walking on the right, the older of pair scoffed, “These monks speak of asceticism, should you force those flashy clothes on them, they might even blame you for ruining their cultivation.”

“Ehhh, what’s that they’re chanting over there?” The teenager on the left paid his companion no heed as he continued staring at the monks.

“Probably something along the lines of Amitabha, what else do these monks ever chant?” The right teenager leaned in at this point to listen closely but he soon found that the monks weren’t exactly conforming to his preconceptions.

“It’s Om Mani Padme Hum.” A gentle voice suddenly spoke out from within the palanquin. It was an oddly sharp voice that was difficult to distinguish right away whether it belonged to a male or a female.

“What? What’s that, teacher? Can you repeat that again?” The curiosity of the left teenager was immediately piqued by that foreign chant.

“Although the Buddhist sects of the world all trace their lineage to a common source, there are still different denominations amongst them. Especially in the thirty-two Buddhist kingdoms of the Western Region, there are denominations abound. That chant you just heard was a six syllable mantra, also known as the Sadaksara. There are Buddhist denominations that believe that these six syllables are the condensation of all Buddhist teachings, and invokes the compassion and wisdom of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. With one chant, one accumulates the merit of thousands of scripture recitations.” Explained the figure in a knowing fashion.

“As if, I bet those monks just want to skive off so they invented a short chant like that.” Scoffed the teenager.

“What does a kid such as yourself understand of the profoundness of Buddhism. Bo Yong, you mustn’t blaspheme.” Though his words were barbed, his voice was gentle as if he wasn’t actually rebuking the teenager.

However, the teenager, known as Bo Yong, wasn’t convinced, still, he obeyed his teacher in the end. Instead, it was the teenager on the right that spoke up, “Leave it to teacher to know such matters of the Buddha.”

“It’s not like I wanted to. Why else would the Grand Eunuch dispatch me to this desolate land? Tell me, Ling Jun, what does that recent report say of his whereabouts?” Asked the figure in the palanquin.

“According to the spies, the target just escaped from the Enchantress Villa last night. He even encountered the Western Region’s most fearsome bandit troupe, but that still wasn’t enough to contain him, he should be rushing towards the kingdom of Khotan right now,” answered the teenager on the right.

“As expected…” smiled the figure in the palanquin.

“But…” Ling Jun hesitated for a second.

“But?” The figure was surprised, “go on.”

“He isn’t alone.”

“Oh?” The voice asked with a hint of amusement. “Tang Lian is with him as well? Was he persuaded to do so?”

“Not Tang Lian. Two teenagers, one clad in red, the other clad in a fox coat. For now, we have no clue as to their identities.”

The figure in the palanquin fell into deep thought for a while before saying, “I knew we can’t underestimate that young monk. The moment there was news of him being sent to the Nine Dragons Temple, the Grand Eunuch sent us on our way. But the Grand Eunuch has never dealt with this monk before, he does not know how formidable he is.”

“Formidable the Snow Moon City might be, but without their three leaders acting, there’s no way to contain that monk. That’s why we are here waiting for him. Yet who would’ve thought that he would pick up a pair of accomplices on the way. Red clothes and a fox coat… nobody comes to mind offhand, new disciples of the Snow Moon City perhaps?”

“Speaking of that city, Grand Eunuch had clearly sent word to them already, why do we still have to be dispatched?” Asked Bo Yong.

“At the end of the day, those hailing from the Snow Moon City are still members of the martial world. The way they function tend to be a little hasty; the Grand Eunuch was worried about that…” the voice in the palanquin sighed. “Still, that monk is a tough one to deal with, capricious too.”

“But, teacher, how did you know that he would come to the Grand Sanskrit Temple?” A thought suddenly occurred to Ling Jun then: back when they were about to set off, their teacher mentioned that they would be leaving for the kingdom of Khotan as if he knew of this all along.

“He’s here to find someone,” answered the voice.

“Who?”

“Well, aren’t we about to see him for ourselves?” The voice cleared his throat, “lift off.”

A monk dressed in ragged robes walked out of the temple at that moment, raised one of his arms and straightened it respectfully; he was most likely the attendant monk of this temple.

The attendant monk led their entourage into the temple but said nothing throughout, merely leading them into the center of the courtyard before suddenly stopping.

“What’s the matter, old monk, why aren’t we moving?” Asked Bo Yong.

“Abbot.” The attendant paid him no heed, instead choosing to greet the figure in front.

Bo Yong and Ling Jun raised their heads then to find three monks standing ahead of them. The center monk was wizened, with a long flowing beard of white. While his robes were austere like the rest, at least it wasn’t patched; this was most likely the abbot of the temple. The two flanking him, on the other hand, were a lot more muscular. One fingered a rosary of 108 beads while another wielded a gigantic Buddhist monk’s knife. Both wore a stern countenance full of righteousness.

“How is it?” Asked the voice quietly.

“The monk on the left practices the Demon Subjugation Rosary Divine Skill, roughly of the seventh tier. The one on the right practices the Broken Vows Knife, eighth tier. As for the monk in the center…he doesn’t know any martial arts.” Despite his tender age, Bo Yong was able to identify the martial level of the three monks in an instant.

“Venerable Fa Lan, it has been a while. Ten years, since we last met in Revelations City.” The figure in the palanquin led the charge with a respectful greeting.

The one, known as Venerable Fa Lan, merely clasped his hands together in a greeting and said nothing else.

“The audacity!” Snapped Ling Jun.

“It’s fine,” said the figure in the palanquin. “Venerable Fa Lan wasn’t being rude, he’s just unable to talk, that’s all.”

“A…mute?” Bo Yong and Ling Jun were both surprised by that. “The abbot is actually a…mute.” The two battlemonks at the side frowned at that remark, clearly incensed by the teenagers’ attitude, however, Venerable Fa Lan merely shook that off with a smile.

“Venerable, we’re here in search of someone.” The voice said in a humble tone, though he had no intention of leaving the palanquin at all to speak.

The Venerable merely shook his head.

“Venerable, I have on hand, a missive from the monarch of your kingdom.” The voice said with a smile.

This time, the voice wasn’t just met with a shake of the Venerable’s head, the Venerable also waved his hand, and as he did so, a line of words slowly revealed themselves on the ground.

“The Elements of the Mind and Qi Technique!” Bo Yong immediately pointed out the name of that powerful internal technique of the Buddhist Sects.

Compared to that, the figure in the palanquin was a lot more calm about it. Not even lifting up the window blinds, he said thusly in a silky voice, “is the Venerable writing on the floor again? Unfortunately, I do not have the mood to look at them this time round.” He lightly waved his hands, causing the window blinds to lift up for a brief instant before falling down once more. Bo Yong focused his gaze ahead, but the words that had yet to be revealed fully had already been wiped clean.

“I’ve said so before: this time, you can’t shelter him.” The voice grew heavier but still, Venerable Fa Lan shook his head before lightly sighing.

Exasperated, the voice said, “Twelve years ago when the leader of the unorthodox cults, Ye Dingzhi, paid a visit to your teacher, Venerable Mo Ke, to inquire about the matters of heaven, no amount of threats could force him to budge -not even when the man’s sword qi came rushing towards him like a tidal wave, all he did was shake his head. Buddhism aside, that head shaking of yours has definitely inherited the spirit of the Venerable Mo Ke. Ling Jun, Bo Yong!”

The two teenagers drew their swords. In response to that, the two battlemonks immediately took a step forward, one fingering his rosary beads, the other flourishing his Buddhist knife, as they both glared at their opponents.

“How about I have some fun with you two first!” Bo Yong yelled, sword already rushing towards the knife-wielding battlemonk before the words even left his mouth. However, the battlemonk wasn’t fazed at all as he met the teenager’s challenge head on with knife raised high.

The name, Broken Vows Knife, stemmed from the breaking of one’s abstinence, in other words, to engage in manslaughter. That was why this particular knife technique was said to be a deviant amongst the other Buddhist martial arts; it was pure offense, brutal and efficient. The battlemonk in question had already spent countless years on this knife technique, having reached the eighth tier of the technique.

Within the Grand Sanskrit Temple, he was definitely the top expert when it came to that technique. Yet, in face of this teenager who was at most thirteen or fourteen years of age, his Broken Vows Knife wasn’t even able to gain a single inch of advantage. His knife was meant for offense and only offense, but so was the teenager’s sword technique, all the teenager did was attack and not defend.

In contrast, however, Bo Yong’s sword was a lot more nimble than the furious swings of the Broken Vows Knife. With a tap of his foot, he deftly landed atop the body of the Buddhist knife, leaping over the battlemonk an instant over to thrust a deadly stab into the latter’s back, forcing him to retreat several paces.

“You!” The battlemonk’s eyes were wide open with fury. He had held back previously because his opponent was a mere teenager, plus he also bore a missive from the monarch. Yet that same teenager just thrust a sword mercilessly towards his back. Had he been any slower, he would have mostly likely died there and then.

“See that, monk. This sword of mine is called Mercy, and this Mercy is for killing people. How about that Broken Vows Knife of yours, are you still planning to hold back?” Bo Yong laughed haughtily as he gave his sword a twirl.

Seeing that, the battlemonk grew incensed. He raised his knife once more, this time, however, his aura was vastly different. Even from the vantage point of Ling Jun, he could feel the overwhelming wave of knife qi, as if taking a single step nearer would rip him to shred. Yet, in the face of a knife qi that had to be even more fearsome, Bo Yong seemed that much more ecstatic as he dodged an oncoming swing and yelled, “A knife to slay one’s abstinence, and a knife to slice apart the mundane! That’s how it should be!”

In contrast, while the Broken Vows Knife had already managed to send Bo Yong weaving left, right and center, the battlemonk was grimacing in his heart. His knife was fearsome, but so was the toll it took on his stamina. Should he fail to defeat his opponent within thirty moves, he would have nothing left in him to continue. Should the fight drag on past a hundred moves, he would end up collapsing from exhaustion. From the looks of things, Bo Yong, with all his agile weaving, seemed to have resolved himself to dodging all hundred of his moves.

“Senior martial brother!” The rosary battlemonk rushed forth to aid his companion, having already seen through the boy’s intent.

“Even monks have learned to gang up on others now?” Ling Jun scoffed as he blocked the monk’s path with a sword.

“Stand aside!”

“Alright then, I’ll stand aside.” Ling Jun laughed before nimbly leaping over the monk and tapping his sword over the monk’s shoulders. “See, I stood aside!”

The rosary monk howled, violently shrugging his shoulders in process and deflecting that sword away. His palm straightened out as he sliced downwards with his beads. Despite being beads, however, Ling Jun dared not receive it head on. It was said that the 108 Demon Subjugation Beads in that monk’s hand all had the power to subdue a dragon and tame a tiger. Thus he had no choice but to beat a hasty retreat, just in time for the beads to smash a hole in the stone floorboards.

“Remember to actually hit next time, monk. Else your temple might end up getting smashed to bits before you even save the person you want to save.” Ling Jun sniggled without fear.

However, the battlemonk didn’t respond this time. The beads in his palm started to furiously spin around as he began chanting something. Realizing that, the knife-wielding battlemonk first reacted with surprise, then promptly forced Bo Yong back with his knife before leaping to the side of the rosary monk.

“Subdue!” The rosary battlemonk yelled and the beads in his rosary immediately burst asunder with a thunderous bang. All 108 beads shot forth, propelled by the explosion as they dove at the teenager with unimaginable force.

“So that’s the Demon Subjugation Rosary Divine Skill -reminds me of Tangmen’s Ten Thousand Trees Flying Flowers Art.” Bo Yong said admiringly.

“Form up!” Ling Jun leaped to the side of Bo Yong and shouted. Bo Yong immediately reacted by tossing away his sword and slamming both his palms onto the back of Ling Jun. That sword was promptly caught by Ling Jun who began a furious sword dance with both swords, and by coalescing the invisible sword qi produced, formed a defensive circle that forcefully deflected the oncoming beads.

“To think that the beads which I vested twenty years of hard work on couldn’t even defeat a pair of kids.” The rosary battlemonk sighed bitterly. That single strike was the accumulation of twenty years of hard work and study, after that one strike, he no longer had any energy left to fight.

However, Ling Jun and Bo Yong didn’t get off unscathed either. The moment they made impact with the beads, a wave of force battered their chests, churning their insides upside down and forcing a spurt of blood upwards. Had it not been for the swords supporting them as they remained stabbed into the ground, both of them would have probably collapsed by now.

“Noisy…what’s with all…the ruckus today…why are there so many…people here.” A string of slurred words suddenly barged into the scene. Bo Yong and Ling Jun hurriedly turned around to meet the voice, but all they saw was a flash of shadow before they found the figure standing right before them.

“Such skill…” Bo Yong gasped but immediately stopped himself from finishing that sentence. ‘A level that was on par with our teacher…’