Longevity - Chapter 49

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 49: Four Reincarnated Dharma Kings
He had already decided: he must escape.
The problem was how. Naeng Gyeongnam and his companions never left Jangsaeng’s side, whether he was awake or asleep. Even if he stole a horse and fled, they would catch him before he got far. And with his injuries, scaling mountains was impossible.
If he could not break free by force, he would have to make them let him go of their own accord.
Jangsaeng called out to Naeng Gyeongnam, who rode alongside the cart.

“Naeng, what did the Abbot tell you about finding the Reincarnated Dharma King?”

Naeng Gyeongnam loosened the reins and drew his horse closer to the cart. Though Jangsaeng had not acknowledged him as the Dharma King, his face brightened at being asked.

“The Abbot left us several signs. One of them is the Heavenly Fire Hair Loss—the loss of hair by the fire of heaven.”

Jangsaeng ran his palm over his rough scalp.

“Is that all?”
“Of course not. The timing must also match. The Abbot said we would find the Reincarnated Dharma King on a night in early summer.”
“And the place?”
“He said it would be someone born in Zhongtu, who had endured war and fallen into most pitiable circumstances.”

Naeng Gyeongnam’s gaze swept across Jangsaeng’s torn clothes and the still-unhealed burn scars. In his eyes there was no doubt—only certainty.
Jangsaeng asked again.

“What else did he say?”
“That the Reincarnated Dharma King would bear an unusual sign upon his body.”
“Did he describe what kind of sign?”
“He did not say that much. But the burns on the Dharma King are no ordinary fire wounds. They must be seen as an unusual sign that appeared together with the Heavenly Fire Hair Loss.”

Naeng Gyeongnam fell silent for a moment, then added the most crucial fact.

“Most importantly, the Reincarnated Dharma King bears the Dharma Appearance from birth.”
“What does the Dharma Appearance look like?”
“That is…”

While Naeng Gyeongnam was choosing his words, the man riding beside him spoke first and laughed.

“You’ll know it when you see it. It’s different from ordinary people.”

Jangsaeng did not ask further.
The timing and place could be made to fit, and the signs and appearances could be interpreted as one wished. It was difficult to turn back those who already believed with their whole hearts.
Jangsaeng was silent for a moment, gazing at the road. Just before dawn, only the distant mountain ridge glowed pale. The closer they drew to Gyeokrosa Temple,

the fewer chances he would have to escape.
If persuasion would not work, he would have to change their destination.

“I have worldly business left unfinished.”

Naeng Gyeongnam immediately bowed at the waist.

“Say what you need.”
“Once I have settled that matter, I will go to Gyeokrosa Temple.

You are welcome to come with me.”

Naeng Gyeongnam’s expression hardened. The man who seemed ready to follow whatever Jangsaeng asked now shook his head firmly.

“Dharma King, that cannot be.”
“Why not?”
“All matters have their priority. The most urgent thing now is to return to Gyeokrosa Temple and meet with the Abbot and the four Dharma Protector Abbots. Worldly affairs can be handled afterward.”

Jangsaeng regarded Naeng Gyeongnam in silence. He did not move at the mere asking. They called him a Dharma King, yet they kept the authority to command bound to the Abbot instead.

“I said I would go. Are you refusing me? Do you not think it impious to defy a Dharma King’s word?”

Naeng Gyeongnam’s lips tightened.

“I know the Dharma King is displeased. But the Enthronement Ceremony has not yet been held, and your True Identity has not been confirmed. It is difficult for us to judge whether we should accept your commands as law at this moment.”

Jangsaeng turned his head away. Though Naeng Gyeongnam had refused him, he did not leave the cart when Jangsaeng’s anger surfaced.

“Dharma King, please put aside your anger.”

Jangsaeng said nothing.
Only after Naeng Gyeongnam apologized twice more did he speak.

“The matter I must attend to cannot be delayed even a single day.”
“And if I carry this resentment for the rest of my life—whom shall I blame?”

The hand holding the reins stiffened.

“You say you believe I am a Dharma King. A true Dharma King means you would have to bear my resentment for all your days. Even if I am not yet a Dharma King, you yourselves said I am a Reincarnated Dharma King—and one day I shall become a Dharma Protector Abbot. Can you truly ignore such a grievance so lightly?”

Those following stirred with unease. One could refuse a Dharma King’s command, but one could not brush aside the resentment of one who might become a Dharma King or Dharma Protector Abbot in the future.
He summoned the senior members of his party and conferred with them for some time at the roadside.
After a long while, Naeng Gyeongnam returned.

“Dharma King, there is a way.”

Jangsaeng did not raise his head at once.

“Tell me.”
We will send a falcon to Gyeokrosa Temple and ask that Abbot Gilma himself come eastward. We will have him bring the Dharma Implements and Sacred Object as well, so that we may confirm your True Identity along the way. Once confirmation is complete, there is no need to return to the temple—you may go where the Dharma King wishes.

“Did you not already tell the temple that you had found a Reincarnated Dharma King?”
“We only sent word asking them to welcome you. We did not ask Abbot Gilma to come himself.”
“How old is the Abbot?”
“He is past eighty.”

Jangsaeng’s brow furrowed.

“Is it right to have him travel such a distance at that age?”

Naeng Gyeongnam did not hesitate this time.

The Abbot is a great master who possesses Purple Vital Qi. He can cross the emptiness and travel a thousand leagues in a day, so there is no need for concern.

A thousand leagues in a day meant meeting at Yuzhou would be far swifter.

“Very well. I shall meet him at Yuzhou.”

Naeng Gyeongnam exhaled slowly and bowed deeply.

“As the Dharma King wishes, so shall I do.”

He dismounted at once and wrote a letter. Once the paper was bound to the falcon’s leg, a dark speck rose into the brightening western sky.
His eyelids had grown heavy from a night spent in thought. He laid his back against the floor of the open-roofed cart and fell asleep.
* * *
When he opened his eyes, it was near midday. The cart was passing along the main road of some county town. Passersby stopped in their tracks to stare at him, lying flat in the roofless carriage.
As Jangsaeng pulled himself upright, Naeng Gyeongnam approached as though he had been waiting. In one hand he carried a warm wooden cup; in the other, a paper-wrapped bundle stained with oil.

“Dharma King, please take some nourishment.”

Jangsaeng thanked him and accepted the cup. Inside was hot tea. When he unwrapped the paper, a whole chicken with glistening skin emerged.
He picked up a chicken leg and looked at Naeng Gyeongnam.

“This is chicken, isn’t it?”
“It doesn’t suit your taste?”
“No, I do like meat.”

Jangsaeng bit into it at once. After several days of eating poorly, the salty meat and hot tea revived his body.
Only after eating a few mouthfuls did a strange thought occur to him.

“But aren’t monks forbidden to eat meat?”

Naeng Gyeongnam laughed.

“The Five Pungent Plants forbidden in Buddhism are scallions, garlic, Chinese chives, onions, and cilantro. Meat itself is not wholly prohibited.”
“Milzong follows precepts differently than Seon Buddhism. We do not forbid meat-eating, nor must we shave our heads. There is no need to cut hair or observe such strictures.”

Jangsaeng chewed the chicken before asking.

“Then could one also marry?”

Naeng Gyeongnam’s laughter froze awkwardly.

“That would be… difficult.”
“I see.”

Jangsaeng asked nothing further and gnawed at the chicken leg. He had eased his worry that they had chosen the wrong person, but he could not know what sort of man their superior was until he saw him with his own eyes.
* * *
As noon drew near, the road split into three paths. From the northern route came a procession mixing carts and mounted riders.
Naeng Gyeongnam’s party waved first. A shout returned from the other side.

“Yeofung! We have found the Reincarnated Dharma King!”

The man at the head of the northern procession laughed loudly.

“Master Naeng, my congratulations! We have found him as well!”

Jangsaeng set down the chicken bone he had been eating.
The two processions quickened their pace, and as they drew closer, each examined the other’s cart first.
Jangsaeng’s cart had no roof. The moment Yeofung’s party halted their horses, they scrutinized him. Several of them, noting his short hair, gaunt face, and the burn scars covering his body, visibly narrowed their brows.
Naeng Gyeongnam would not stand idle.

“Now that you have seen our Reincarnated Dharma King, let us also meet the one you have brought.”

Yeofung hesitated briefly but could not refuse. He went to the rear carriage, lowered the steps, and helped a child down from inside.
The child was perhaps eleven or twelve, round-faced and plump. A small hat sat on his head, and around his neck hung a Longevity Lock wrought in gold. The long journey had worn on him—his nose ran, and tears brimmed in his eyes. He had not yet burst into tears, but his lips trembled repeatedly.
Jangsaeng saw only the child’s appearance of holding back tears; he did not presume to guess what lay beneath.
Yet Naeng Gyeongnam’s party had already reached their verdict.

“How can one so fat in the flesh claim to be the Dharma Appearance of the Dharma King?”

Yeofung’s side launched a swift counterattack.

“Don’t call it an unusual sign when you’ve brought a child covered in wounds. With a sharp face and depleted vital energy, where is the Dharma Appearance you claim to see?”

Yeofung stepped forward in front of the child on his side, his gaze fixed on Naeng Gyeongnam.

“Our Reincarnated Dharma King is still young—his features are merely swollen with youth. As he grows and the excess flesh falls away, his true Dharma Appearance will emerge.”

Naeng Gyeongnam rode up alongside Jangsaeng’s carriage.

“Our Dharma King has wasted away from hunger and hardship in the turmoil of war. Once he is properly robed and comes of age, his bearing will pierce the heavens.”
“Hmph.”

Yeofung let out a scoffing laugh.

“Hmph.”

Naeng Gyeongnam matched it with equal disdain.
The two processions moved westward together in cold silence.
From their exchange, Jangsaeng gathered that the other two members of their party were also searching for candidates and heading toward Yuzhou
(渝州)
.
Jangsaeng drew a quiet breath. Once the true Reincarnated Dharma King was revealed in Yuzhou
(渝州)
, Gyeokrosa Temple’s attention would be fixed entirely on that child. In such a moment, there might be an opening for escape.
(格魯寺)

Yeofung had seized on Jangsaeng’s burn scars as evidence against him, while Naeng Gyeongnam countered by calling his candidate sluggish. The same marks became proof of authenticity only when they favored their own child.
As Yeofung moved ahead, Jangsaeng called out to Naeng Gyeongnam.

“Naeng, were you and he always on bad terms?”
“Not at all.”
“Then why do you both find fault with each other the moment you meet?”

Naeng Gyeongnam glanced back at Yeofung’s retreating figure.

“I serve under Abbot Gilma, while Yeofung serves under Abbot Galryung.”
“Are your abbots not on good terms with each other?”
“That’s not quite it either. But when it comes to finding the Reincarnated Dharma King of this age, the situation is different.”

Naeng Gyeongnam lowered his voice.

“Whichever abbot’s child is proven to be the true Reincarnated Dharma King of this age will become the Dharma King’s teacher. He will gain the authority to instruct the Dharma King and claim a higher station than the other three abbots.”

Only then did Jangsaeng understand why both factions were disparaging each other’s candidates. It was not merely about determining the child’s authenticity—it was a competition with the status of four abbots hanging in the balance.

“Then you should be all the more courteous toward Yeofung’s party.”

Naeng Gyeongnam turned with a puzzled expression.
Jangsaeng added quietly,

“I don’t think I’m the Reincarnated Dharma King at all.”
“That can’t possibly be true.”

As noon approached, two hawks came swooping down from the western sky. One alighted on Yeofung’s shoulder, while the other caught its talons on the arm Naeng Gyeongnam extended.
The moment Yeofung unfolded the letter tied to the bird’s leg, his expression shifted.

“I’m leaving ahead. To Yuzhou Prefecture
(渝州府)
see it firsthand!”

He ordered the men to quicken their pace and rode ahead, kicking up clouds of dust.
Naeng Gyeongnam was reading the letter. Jangsaeng waited until he finished the last line before asking.

“What is it?”
“The other two teams have already arrived in Yuzhou.

We’ve received word.”

Naeng Gyeongnam folded the letter.

“The four Dharma Protector Abbots of Gyeokrosa Temple have set out carrying the Dharma Implements and Sacred Objects. They’ll arrive in Yuzhou before nightfall.”

Jangsaeng’s spine stiffened.

“All four of them?”
“Yes.”
“Why has this become so grave a matter?”
“Because a Reincarnated Dharma King has appeared. It is only proper that we receive him in person.”

Jangsaeng gazed beyond the dust trail left by Yeofung’s procession.

“They mean to verify his identity with the Dharma Implements and Sacred Objects?”

Naeng Gyeongnam nodded, then corrected himself.

“Not his identity—his True Body. The Dharma King wishes to know the outcome, but the four abbots are even more eager to determine which one is genuine.”

Having finished speaking, Naeng Gyeongnam turned toward the company and shouted.

“All of you—increase pace! We enter Yuzhou before the sun sets!”

The crack of whips rang out in succession. Horses struck the earth, and the open cart shook violently as it raced westward.
In Yuzhou, two Reincarnated Dharma Kings were already waiting. With the plump boy who had gone ahead and himself, that made four. The four Dharma Protector Abbots who would judge them were converging on the same place.

Gilma, who had been searching for a chance to escape, now found himself heading straight toward the judgment of four boys and four abbots.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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