Longevity - Chapter 51

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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 51: Dagil Dharma King
When Chubby Child flinched in fear, his hands withdrawing, the Five-Colored Buddha Light extinguished with them.
Jangseong’s Seven-Colored Rosy Glow had lasted only moments. Before he could even release his grip, the Buddha Bone Relic

shattered and vanished without a trace.
From the Front Courtyard and Rear Courtyard, cheers erupted.

“The Dharma King has returned!”

Those watching through the windows must have seen the two lights as one—first flickering weakly, then blazing stronger.
But inside the Great Hall, not even a breath could be heard.
Chubby Child groped for Jangseong’s hand in the darkness. Jangseong’s hand trembled far more violently than the child’s.
He had destroyed the Buddha Bone Relic.
That single fact alone was reason enough to be seized and punished.
After enough time for dozens of water drops to fall, the Northern Elder Monk came to his senses. As he returned one relic to a Jade Box, the other two Dharma Protectors followed suit.
The second old monk from the south did not raise his hand. The relic he had held had already vanished.

“Light the lamps.”

The oil lamps and candles flickered back to life.
Jangseong studied the faces of the four Dharma Protectors first. All of them were watching him far longer than they watched Chubby Child. The stern-faced old monk narrowed his brow, while the dark-skinned elder kept his eyes fixed on the tips of Jangseong’s fingers.
The four men carried on a silent conversation, moving only their lips. When the Northern Elder Monk spoke at length, the other two nodded, but the monk who had lost his relic remained silent for a long time. When he finally shook his head, all four pairs of eyes snapped toward Jangseong at once.
Chubby Child tugged at Jangseong’s sleeve.

“Brother, are those grandfathers cursing us?”
“Be quiet.”

Jangseong could not tear his eyes from the empty space in the Jade Box. Before he could think of escape, he needed to find words that would preserve his life. The problem was that he himself did not understand what had just happened.
After a long pause, the four Dharma Protectors rose from their seats.
They stepped past Jangseong and stood before Chubby Child.

“Namo Amitabha Buddha. We humbly welcome the return of the Dharma King to this world.”

Chubby Child pointed at his own chest.

“Dharma King? Me?”
“Indeed. Your exalted title in your previous life was Dagil Dharma King.”
“But my name is Jeong Dae-joong?”

Several monks averted their eyes. The Northern Elder Monk smiled and began wiping the child’s wet hands with a cloth.

“Your name in this life is as you say, but your dharmic title is that of Dagil Dharma King. Since the Dharma King is still young and has soiled his garments, this matter must remain secret for the sake of dignity.”

The surrounding monks brought their palms together in unison.

“We shall remember.”

The old monk wiped Jangseong’s hands with the same cloth.

“The Benefactor must also be astonished. Dagil Dharma King is a Child of Ten Years and possesses the Pure Yang Golden Body. When the Dharma King’s urine soiled the Benefactor’s hands, and those hands touched the relic, the relic shattered because it could not withstand the force of Pure Yang.”

Jangseong looked up at the old monk.
It was a lie.
Jeong Dae-joong had only wet his trousers; nothing had soiled his hands. And Jangseong’s hand had been taken by the child only after the relic was already touched.
Yet the old monk, standing before Jangseong who knew the truth, offered this false explanation without hesitation.
As Jangseong began to open his mouth, the monk’s finger pressed lightly against the back of his hand.

“It was Heaven’s will, not the Benefactor’s fault.”

It sounded like comfort, but the meaning was unmistakable.
He was telling him to keep his mouth shut.
Jangseong glanced around. The monks’ faces showed they already understood. If the relic’s damage came from Dagil Dharma King’s Pure Yang energy, it wasn’t an ill omen—it was proof of the Dharma King’s divine power.
No one asked Jangseong why the Seven-Colored Rosy Glow had emanated from him.

“Then I’m not to be punished?”
“Of course not. You have no connection to the Buddhist Order, benefactor.”
“Then why did the relic break only in front of me?”

The elder monk’s hand stilled for a moment.

“As I’ve said, it was due to the Dharma King’s Pure Yang energy.”
“Nothing happened to the other relics.”

The stern-faced elder monk took a step forward, but the Northern Elder Monk stopped him with a glance.

“Karma permits no two identical patterns. There is no need for you to inquire further, benefactor.”

The elder monk lowered his hand.
Jangseong felt relief, but his doubt only deepened. Why would they break their own precepts and lie to send away someone? Moreover, all four of them were already demanding his silence before they’d even aligned their story.
Jeong Dae-joong tugged at the elder monk’s sleeve.

“You said I’m the Dharma King?”
“Yes.”
“Then why was the limping hyung brighter than me?”

The Great Hall fell silent again.
The elder monk glanced at Jangseong before answering.

“The light that appeared before the benefactor was an anomaly caused by the Dharma King’s Pure Yang energy shattering the relic. It is different from the Dharma King’s Buddha Light.”
“But hyung was still brighter. Then he should be the Dharma King.”
“The Dharma King is fatigued.”
“I’m not tired. I’m going home.”

Jeong Dae-joong shook off the elder monk’s hand and hid behind Jangseong.

“I’m not becoming a monk, and I’m not becoming a Dharma King. I’m going to my mother!”

The elder monk’s hand touched the boy’s back lightly. The strength drained from Jeong Dae-joong’s body.
Jangseong reached out to catch him, but the elder monk had already lifted the child into his arms.

“What have you done?”
“I’ve only put him to sleep. As the Dharma King’s first incarnation, he cannot appear afraid before the believers.”

As the Great Hall door opened, cheers poured in.

“The Dharma King has returned!”

The four Dharma Protectors carried the sleeping child outside. All eyes turned to Dagil Dharma King, and Jangseong was quickly forgotten.
* * *
A young monk approached and pressed his palms together.

“Please rest here, benefactor.”
“Are you confining me?”
“How could such a thing be?”

The room had no bar on its door. Soon after, a table laden with chicken, duck, and fish was brought in.
Jangseong waited with the food before him for a while. When no one came to watch him, he slipped outside and made his way to the Western Flower Thicket.
The old clothes, money pouch, letter, and Paulownia Branch were still there.
On his way back with the bundle, he passed a monk carrying meals for the other candidates. The tray held only a few bowls of rice gruel and some vegetables.
Jangseong asked.

“Do those children eat only this?”
“Yes.”
“But didn’t you say those children were also subject to Spiritual Reincarnation?”
“The Verification Ceremony is complete.”
“It’s quite different from my food.”

The monk hesitated for a moment.

“The four of us decided it that way.”
“But you said I have no karma with the Buddhist Order.”

The monk could not answer and merely pressed his palms together.
Jangseong did not press further. He could not tell if this special treatment was kindness or surveillance.
He could have escaped. There was no guard, and he had recovered his bundle. But the temple gates were already closed. More than that, something nagged at him—why they would treat him specially if they meant to let him go.
He ate the food that spoiled easily first, and set aside what would keep. He even washed his old clothes by the well and hung them to dry.
That night, Jangseong could scarcely fall asleep.
Why had the relic reacted to him?
What were the four Dharma Protectors hiding?
If they had found the Dagil Dharma King, what reason could they have to keep him by their side?
* * *
The Northern Elder Monk arrived with Jeong Dae-joong the next day at the hour of Chen.

“Since the benefactor has no karma with the Buddhist Order, we shall not bring you to Gelru Temple.

However,” the old monk continued.
Jangseong waited for his next words.

“It will take seven days for the Dharma King’s honor guard and parents to arrive. Will you remain as a companion to the Dharma King in the meantime? On the day of departure, the four of us shall together employ our Divine Powers to treat the old wound in your leg.”

Jangseong rose from his seat.

“Can you heal my leg?”
“We can.”
“Then why not now?”
“Because it is an old wound, all four of us must work together. We cannot gather our strength before the Dharma King’s affairs are settled.”
“Can I truly walk properly again?”
“How would one who has left the world speak falsely?”

Yesterday’s false explanation came to mind.
And yet the promise that he might walk properly again was hard to turn away.

“If you will heal it, I shall stay.”

The old monk smiled, satisfied, and departed.
As the door closed, the expression on Jeong Dae-joong’s face—which had been vacant—suddenly changed. He peered through the crack in the door and then hurried over to Jangseong.

“Jangseong. Those monks don’t seem like good people.”
“Why do you think so?”
“I was at home, and they suddenly brought me here. And they lied yesterday. When did I ever pee on your hand?”

Jangseong looked at the boy again. He had assumed the child understood nothing, caught up in tears and drowsiness.

“You understood what they said?”
“I’m not stupid. You’re brighter than me, yet they called me the Dharma King. That’s strange, isn’t it?”
“What is your name?”
Jeong Dae-joong. My father is a merchant, and our family is very wealthy.”

Jeong Dae-joong lowered his voice.

“Let’s run away without anyone knowing. If you take me home, my mother will give you lots of silver.”
“Why your mother and not your father?”
“Father allowed me to come here. Mother said I shouldn’t.”
“Even if we return, the monks will come fetch you again.”
“Then we just hide. Our house has a huge storehouse. Once we’re in there, they’ll never find us.”
“Do you know the way from here to your house?”

Jeong Dae-joong fell silent.

“Which direction is the city gate?”

The boy couldn’t answer that either.

“You can’t walk far, and I’m lame. They’ll catch us before we even reach the gate.”
“But you’re smart. We can just ask people as we go.”
“If we ask directions from anyone searching for us, they’ll seize us on the spot.”

Tears welled up in Jeong Dae-joong’s eyes.
Jangseong didn’t dismiss the boy’s plea—he asked instead.

“Why do you want to go home so badly?”
“I want to see my mother, and I want to see Aran

too.”
“Who is Aran?”

Jeong Dae-joong’s eyes brightened.

“My betrothed. She’s two years older than me and very pretty. When she smiles, she has dimples.”
“Did she say she would wait for you?”
“Of course. She cried when I left.”
“Perhaps she cried because you were crying first?”
“No. I didn’t cry.”

Jeong Dae-joong rattled on about Aran—how her hands were pale, how pretty her hair looked in braids—as though he’d forgotten he’d been weeping just yesterday. Jangseong listened, and eventually he laughed.

“Does the Dharma King think of nothing but girls?”
“I told you, I’m not going to be a Dharma King.”

Jeong Dae-joong grabbed his sleeve again.

“Please, come with me.”
“Right now, we’d both be caught. We need to wait until the gates open and the guards grow careless.”
“Then you pick the time.”
“Just because I decide on a time doesn’t mean we’ll necessarily be able to leave.”
“But you never lie.”

Jangseong couldn’t answer. He’d stayed because of a promise to fix the boy’s leg, and he didn’t know how the child would react if he mentioned it.
The boy nodded, though his face showed displeasure.
From that day on, they spent their time together. Jeong Dae-joong stayed confined to the Back Garden, while Jangseong moved freely in exchange for keeping the boy content. They ate meals together, but at night the monks would take Jeong Dae-joong away.
* * *
On the fourth morning, Jeong Dae-joong brought a piece of Cow Leather no bigger than his palm.

“Make me a slingshot from this.”
“A monk-to-be shouldn’t take life.”
“If you make it, I’ll tell you a secret.”
“What secret?”

Jeong Dae-joong leaned close to Jangseong’s ear.

“I wet the bed again last night.”
“What secret is that?”
“Just listen. After I woke up from it, the old monks were talking outside.”

Jangseong’s expression shifted.

“What were they saying?”
“About how to fix your leg. And that what came out of you that day wasn’t Buddha Light.”
“Then what did they call it?”
Rosy Glow.

Jangseong’s hand went still.

“Do you remember exactly what they said?”
“That what came from you wasn’t Buddha Light but Rosy Glow, and that it might even be greater than mine. But that it wasn’t the same path as me.”
“What path did they say it was?”
“I didn’t catch that part. I bumped into the door trying to hide my wet blanket.”

Jeong Dae-joong placed the cow leather into Jangseong’s hands.

“But they said you’re not on the same path as me. Now make me a slingshot.”

Jangseong looked down at the cow leather.
The truth he had hidden beneath a false explanation had returned before him after four days.

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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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