Chapter 40

Jin Wonsang left Zhang Yan Gong's sedan in silence. This silence continued until they reached a small temple at the eastern end of the city.

The temple on the outskirts of the city was different from the mountain temples commonly found in the Central Plains. Unlike the temples in the Central Plains, which were divided into several halls and hermitages, this temple consisted of only one large three-story quadrangle building, similar to an inn. Apart from a large wooden Buddha statue placed in the center of the first floor, it was hard to imagine it as a temple.

Small lanterns were placed here and there, illuminating the clusters of people huddled together. Over them, shadows of old and dirty blankets swayed.

If it weren't for the swastika sign hanging at the entrance of the building, it would have looked more like a refugee shelter for the poor than a temple. Surprisingly, no one stopped or questioned Zhang Jian and Jin Wonsang as they quietly entered.

Zhang Jian looked puzzled, wondering how he could find a girl he didn't know in such a place. At that moment, someone carrying a small lamp was moving among the crumpled people and noticed Zhang Jian and Jin Wonsang. He skillfully avoided the sleeping people and approached them.

"Welcome, sir. Do you need a place to stay? If so, I'm afraid you'll have to share a space with these people."

The person who approached was a young man, probably just over twenty. His head was shaved, and his clothes, though old, looked like a monk's robe. He held a lantern in one hand and mechanically continued speaking.

"We prepare porridge for breakfast every morning, but we don't provide bowls and chopsticks, so you'll have to bring your own. If you fight with other guests, you'll receive a warning the first time, and you'll be expelled the second time. After breakfast, we hold morning prayers, and if possible, we would appreciate your help with cleaning the temple. Due to the temple's poor condition, there is no lunch, and in the evening..."

"Wait. We didn't come to stay at the temple."

The young monk looked puzzled at Zhang Jian's words, then suddenly brightened.

"Oh, then perhaps you've come to make a donation..."

"We've come to find someone."

The monk's face quickly lost its energy.

"Oh, I see... Who are you looking for? The others are sleeping, so I can wake them up for you."

Zhang Jian glanced at Jin Wonsang, who was still silent. With no choice, Zhang Jian stepped forward and asked.

"Last week, a woman named Yeo Song-yeon was hanged. Is her daughter here?"

A look of caution appeared on the young monk's face.

"May I ask why you're looking for Jin?"

"We are Yeo Song-yeon's hometown friends. We came to meet her, but... we learned about the situation."

The monk's caution quickly turned to sympathy.

"Amitabha... What a tragedy. Why does the world make life harder for those who are already suffering..."

But the monk quickly suppressed his sympathy and asked.

"You are Yeo Song-yeon's friends. What do you plan to do when you meet Jin? Do you know that she is very ill? She has just begun to accept the deaths of her parents, and I'm not sure if meeting you would be good for her."

Zhang Jian was momentarily speechless. He was a wanderer with no home, merely an observer in this situation. He couldn't think of what to offer to Yeo Song-yeon's daughter.

At that moment, Jin Wonsang removed the hood from his head and stepped forward. His head, which was dark and bristly with black hair, shone. He looked at the young monk, clasped his hands, and said.

"We didn't come to harm the child. Please let us check on her condition."

The young monk, who had been looking at Jin Wonsang's head, quickly bowed and recited a prayer. After a moment, he hesitated but finally turned and led the way.

"Please be careful not to disturb the sleeping people."

The monk skillfully avoided the sleeping people and climbed to the second floor. As he climbed the stairs, he quietly said.

"Severely ill people like Jin stay in separate rooms on the second floor. Jin used to share a room with someone, but... that person passed away a few days ago, so she is alone now."

"Are there no other monks?"

"There are the head monk and my senior brother. They are sleeping now."

As they continued their conversation, the monk stopped in front of a room and turned back.

"Jin might not wake up. She might not be able to talk."

"It doesn't matter. Open the door."

The monk nodded and opened the door. A cold chill, as if no one lived there, filled the room. Hesitantly, they entered and saw one empty bed and one bed with a bulging blanket. The room was stark and barren, with no other furniture.

The monk approached the bulging bed and gently lifted the blanket.

"Jin, Jin. Wake up, Jin."

Under the blanket lay a girl. Her face, slightly pale, didn't look particularly ill. However, she didn't wake up, even when the monk called her closely.

The monk looked at the girl with pity and then at Zhang Jian and Jin Wonsang.

"She won't wake up. What do you plan to do?"

"Wait."

At that moment, Jin Wonsang took a small wooden box from his robe and approached the girl. He gently pushed the monk aside, placed the box on the bed, and began to carefully examine the girl.

"What are you... doing..."

The monk tried to stop Jin Wonsang when he saw him completely lift the blanket and examine the girl's eyelids. Zhang Jian held the monk back. The monk, looking puzzled, met Zhang Jian's calm gaze and slowly stepped back.

After examining the girl, Jin Wonsang straightened up and looked at the monk.

"Can I ask you for one favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Jin Wonsang said with a determined face.

"I need to treat the child immediately. Her condition is much worse than I thought. Please make sure no one enters this room until I'm done."

"Of course... Do you know what illness she has? Even the famous doctor from Tianhou couldn't diagnose it..."

"This isn't really an illness. It's more like a congenital condition. I had a hunch after reading Xiao Xiao's letter, and unfortunately, my suspicion was correct."

The young monk looked anxiously between Zhang Jian and Jin Wonsang and finally shook his head.

"I don't understand what's happening. But this must be a karmic connection created by the nun's virtue. I'll do as you say. How can I help?"

"Please just create a quiet environment where I can focus. If I need anything else, I'll ask later."

The monk nodded and left the room. As Zhang Jian was about to follow, Jin Wonsang called him.

"Zhang Wuren. Please help me."

"Are you going to give her medicine and treat her internally with your inner energy? Then you'll need a protector."

Jin Wonsang's face showed surprise.

"Zhang Wuren... You don't seem to be associated with the Huang Army or ancient families... Yes, I knew you were an extraordinary person from our first meeting. That's right. I will give her the medicine and treat her with my inner energy. But I can't do it alone. Can you guide the inner energy?"

"Having three different energies in one body is not good. The medicine, your inner energy, and my inner energy could mix chaotically in the child's body, and her meridians might not withstand it. Moreover, she's not a healthy child but one who has been ill for a long time. I'm not even sure if giving her the medicine is the right thing to do."

Jin Wonsang's surprise turned to a slightly dazed state.

"Do you... know medicine?"

Zhang Jian frowned at Jin Wonsang's expression.

"I learned a little from the surface. What do you know?"

Jin Wonsang hesitated for a moment. Then, looking at Zhang Jian's expression and the unconscious girl, he finally spoke.

"The child's illness is a condition where the nine major meridians in her body become stiff and blocked. Due to a congenital problem with the shape of her meridians, energy cannot flow properly and accumulates in the blood vessels, slowly leading to death. The condition varies slightly from person to person, but they usually die between the ages of ten and twenty."

He picked up the small wooden box he had placed on the bed.

"There is no proper treatment. It's an extremely rare condition, and there are few records, so no research has been done on treatment."

"Then how do you know about it?"

Jin Wonsang smiled faintly.

"I read about it in the temple's library. While studying the scriptures, I found a monk's diary that mentioned this illness."

"Did they cure it in the diary?"

Jin Wonsang carefully opened the wooden box. A faint golden light and a mysterious coolness emanated from inside. He showed it to Zhang Jian.

"Yes, with this. It's called the Dahuandan."

"Ah."

Zhang Jian couldn't help but exclaim in admiration as he looked at the box. Could this be the famous Shaolin Dahuandan?

However, what glittered inside the box was different from what Zhang Jian had expected. It wasn't a pill made by compressing medicine but a small, irregular stone. The Dahuandan, contrary to its name, was only the size of a fingernail, and it emitted a faint golden light, appearing opaque and not like something meant to be eaten.

At that moment, a thought flashed through Zhang Jian's mind as he looked at the small stone. It reminded him of certain beads he had seen only in museums in his past life. These beads were said to come from the bodies of virtuous monks after they died.

"Could this be...?"

"Can you recognize what this is? You have a remarkable insight. Yes, this is one of the relics of Bodhidharma. It is a lump of his lifetime virtue and inner energy."

Zhang Jian gasped at the shocking revelation. So, eating this would be like consuming the remains of Bodhidharma, who lived hundreds of years ago. He also realized that the Shaolin Temple would not consider this a mere medicinal herb but a relic of their ancestors.

"Would they just give this to you?"

"A living person's life is more important. There are precedents."

Jin Wonsang answered casually, holding the Dahuandan and continued.

"According to the diary, the patient was given the Dahuandan and treated with inner energy to correct the twisted meridians. The patient then lived a long and healthy life. When I received Xiao Xiao's letter and learned about the girl's symptoms, the illness described in the diary came to mind. I hoped it was just a baseless fear..."

Zhang Jian shook his head gently. To come here with just a brief record and a medicinal herb was reckless. Even if the herb could cure the illness, bringing it without permission could attract trackers. There might already be other Shaolin monks in the city looking for them.

"Step aside."

Zhang Jian stepped forward, took the girl's wrist, and examined her condition. He couldn't just trust the naive monk and feed the girl a bomb.

"Zhang Wuren..."

Zhang Jian closed his eyes as he heard Jin Wonsang's call. A very fine and delicate thread of his inner energy carefully seeped into the girl's meridians. The blocked and withered meridians showed no resistance as his inner energy slowly flowed through them.

The thread of inner energy navigated through the girl's body, finding the relatively intact meridians and bypassing various paths. After a while, Zhang Jian could feel the nine twisted meridians and the cold, sticky energy accumulated inside them, as Jin Wonsang had described.

The overall condition was severe. The meridians at the extremities were already dying, and the other important meridians were as dry as a desert. The situation had recently worsened, and the cause was not hard to guess.

After confirming the condition, Zhang Jian withdrew his inner energy and opened his eyes.

"I don't know what effect the medicine will have, but I don't think it's a good idea for both of us to guide the inner energy. It might tear her entire blood vessels."

Zhang Jian spoke with determination, but Jin Wonsang nodded readily.

"I will follow your lead, Zhang Wuren. I will be the protector."

"Are you sure?"

Jin Wonsang nodded silently and handed the Dahuandan to Zhang Jian. Zhang Jian looked at Jin Wonsang's face again. He seemed genuinely willing to follow Zhang Jian's lead.

Zhang Jian hesitated, looking at Jin Wonsang's face and the Dahuandan in his hand. He wasn't a great healer; he was only skilled at handling inner energy. Moreover, Jin Wonsang's state was concerning. He had been crying as if the world was ending just a while ago, but now he seemed too calm.

However, the girl, whose name they still didn't know, was in a critical condition. The young monk in the temple seemed unaware, but the girl was standing at the crossroads of life and death.

Finally, Zhang Jian said to Jin Wonsang.

"Then I'll do it. Make sure no one touches my body or the child."

"I will. Don't worry."

Zhang Jian nodded and immediately placed the Dahuandan in the girl's mouth. He placed his right hand on her crown and his left hand on her dantian, then closed his eyes. The unconscious girl couldn't swallow, but the Dahuandan naturally slipped down her esophagus into her stomach. As it did, countless threads of energy from Zhang Jian's hands began to seep into the girl's body. These threads enveloped her entire blood vessels and then surrounded the Dahuandan that had entered her stomach.

A massive burst of bright light erupted from the center of the lump.

*

Zhang Jian slowly exhaled and opened his eyes. Guiding the inner energy was a good decision. The power of the Dahuandan was sufficient to correct the girl's nine meridians and dissolve the dark energy accumulated inside