Mercenary Black Mamba

There are too many such people in Korea. I only disciplined the greediest and rudest specimens."

"Why does my heart flinch when you say 'discipline'?"

"The summer has passed. You shall eat hot food and warm your back on a heated floor. Ms. Yang is a devout Buddhist and quite adept at attending to chores. She will tend to the temple's needs well."

Mussang quickly changed the topic. He didn't intend it but several dozens of lives ended up being buried. If the Teacher ever knew of the incident, he was going to make Mussang recite Buddhist scriptures for a whole day.

"Where do connections come? The ancient people said they come from the west. The breadwinner of a family is the pillar and beams of the said family. Peace within a family is only possible thanks to the breadwinner's sacrifice and endeavor. You shall treat them well. If the breadwinner falls, so does the family. If you forget this and don't even make them breakfast, you shall also fall like someone."

"Teacher!"

Mussang yelled. Priest Daeu, who had gone off on a tangent, glanced at Ms. Yang and quickly changed the topic.

"Connections follow emotions. Emotions follow connections. That is how this world works. Bodhisattva, you do not need to be concerned about tending to the temple that much. You can just enjoy the stay at ease. You met my student due to the virtues you accumulated in your past life. The demon who possessed your world will be flushed away like a wall made of dirt in a flood. In the temple, there may not be worldly pleasures but an abundance of clear wind and clean air. Do not worry about anything at all and just tend to your hurt heart. Namu Amita Buddha!"

Priest Daeu's face turned gentle like cotton candy and words tender like a spring breeze. Ms. Yang's face was filled with respect and adoration. Both the teacher and the student had a knack for charming people.

"Thank you. I only have gratitude. The unfortunate woman without a roof in the entire world, graced by your goodwill, had her heart cleansed. I wish the infinite grace of the Buddha to stay with you and your student forever! Namu Amita Buddha!"

Ms. Yang kept bowing. It is said a tiger begets a tiger. After meeting the great monk, she understood the magnanimity of Mussang.

The first emotion coming to a failed businessman is a shame. When their fortune leaves, so do their reputation. When poverty enters the front gate, love flees through the window. Shame fills the absence of recognition and love.

When even shame gets washed away, purged from one's conscience, the second guest, separation comes. Their partner leaves and so do their children. A poet once sang, "Poverty does not negate love" but there were different degrees of poverty.

The difference between a poor one and an impoverished one was the same as the difference between real fruit juice and fruit-scented water. The sturdy love of a middle-aged couple also gets tested by the bitterness of reality like a piece of fish on a cutting board. Maybe Ms. Yang did accumulate great virtues in her past life. Before separation could come, Mussang came into their life. It must have been the Buddha's grace.

Ms. Yang entered the drafty kitchen. Priest Daeu and Mussang went up to the sanctum.

"Sit."

Mussang cautiously knelt on the mat.

"Let's have a look."

Priest Daeu covered the top of Mussang's head with both hands and closed his eyes.

"It is gone! The persistent seed of strife is gone. You missed your chance to be enlightened but you had some positive outcomes. That is quite auspicious!"

"I jump from hell to hell. What could ever be auspicious? I only had some of my heart's burden relieved."

"Huh. You act like a monk now. That is auspicious. Tell me about it."

His wrinkled face bloomed into a big grin. As a teacher, he was more than ecstatic to see that the persistent seed of evil was gone that even resisted his supernatural powers. Mussang briefed him about how he saved and brought Gim Gitaek's family to safety, how he entered an awakening state in the middle of a conversation, the birth of Garuda, and the fight with Choe Dosik.

"Those events are quite auspicious. You may have to be a great evil to discipline evil but please be merciful toward life. Every living being has a reason to live."

"I will remember that."

"Namu Amita Buddha!"

Priest Daeu closed his eyes and recited mantras for a while. Ssamdi stood between life and death. Kkamdung whose origin was unknown. The enigmatic Garuda. The mysterious monster Dino. The world-flipping beings flocked to his student.

He couldn't see Mussang's future with his spiritual eye because Mussang's original soul was bigger than his own. A little bit of enlightenment could never match an asura's power. When powerful beings gathered, there was always a corresponding reason. The world was going to be turned upside down. The only remaining connection he had in the mundane world brought darkness to his mind.

"Asuras are known as gods of destruction but they are an ancient warring tribe. The king of asuras is called the King of asuras. Garuda is a direct subordinate to the King of asuras. It means that you are Sura-King. When powerful beings gather, the order of Vishnu is shaken. It is no use telling whether it is good or bad. Namu Amita Buddha!"

"Teacher, what is this made of?"

Mussang took out the Gorgon, Choe Dosik's weapon, and handed it to Priest Daeu.

"That thing is filled with murderous intent!"

Priest Daeu wielded it lightly. The jade contribution box caught in its path was sliced open. It was one of the most expensive Buddhist items in the space but it was of no use in this particular temple because no one ever contributed anything to it.

Priest Daeu continued.

"I have no idea. There wouldn't be any sturdier and sharper item in the world than this. Also, it is infused with an evil spell."

Priest Daeu caressed the hammer. It screeched and blue smoke rose from the blade. Priest Daeu waved the smoke into a ball. He then tossed the candy-sized smoke ball into his mouth and swallowed.

"It must be Japanese. The energy is salted lightly."

Priest Daeu burped exaggeratedly and returned the hammer to Mussang. With the spell removed, the blade turned from black to silver.

"You underhandedly use me for your chores. Now you won't be tracked and your soul won't be invaded either. I am just in awe with Choe Dosik's evil intent."

"Do you mean he intentionally left the Gorgon to me?"

"He was going to utilize it later."

"That sounds like him."

Mussang nodded. Choe Dosik was an expert at harming people. He was surely prone to using such a trick. Now he could gift it to Neopchi safely.

"Did Choe mention Puppet Awakening?"

"Yes. He was acting crazy, wondering why the seed of the puppet was not responding. It was quite comical, haha."

Mussang giggled. It was quite funny to see Choe Dosik be disheartened after yelling "Wake up, Puppet!" several times.

"It was not a laughing matter. He is inherently evil. My teacher, a hundred years ago, went to the Honshu island in Japan to weed out the teachers of the evil arts. He entered the afterlife before he could finish that task. That is why there are still ones like Choe Dosik."

"Teacher's teacher?"

"Mussang, I also had to learn all I know. My teacher was wary of Japan across the ocean more than China. I am hell-bent on a student inheriting my temple because that was also my teacher's will."

"Do you want me to take down and eliminate Japan?"

"No. The flow of the world has its reasons. The rise and fall of nations also depend on it. If you interfere with it, you will be caught in a repulse."

"What is Puppet Awakening? Choe Dosik must have been counting on the spell."

"He must have been. It is a spell developed by the engineers of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The seed of the puppet is a marble made by the chemicals extracted from Arhopala japonica's caterpillar which are then treated with spells. It is planted in the victim's brainstem. If the caster recites a spell of a certain frequency, the seed responds and awakens. When the victim's brain is corrupted, they become a puppet only responding to the caster's biddings."

"Is such a thing possible?"

It sounded absurd. Mussang was aware of the existence of spells and witnessed some himself but this sounded far-fetched. How could anyone turn on and off the intricate thought processes of a human being?

"It is. In western Japan, there is a vast valley rivaling that of Huangshan, China. The butterflies native to the area, Arhopala japonica, secrete peculiar chemicals when they are caterpillars. Attracted by the chemicals' sweet scent, ants consume them and had their brain subdued and their dopamine levels suppressed. With reduced dopamine, they lose memory and curiosity and could only focus on the task at hand. The affected ant protects the caterpillar until they die, continuing to consume the chemicals. Someone influenced by Puppet Awakening is just the same. They lose their memories and curiosity. They only heed the bidding of the caster. You were impervious to it because the auspicious light you emanated when you were in a state of enlightenment eliminated the puppet's seed. No one could be more immune to bad luck than you! Haha."

Priest Daeu, having finished the long explanation, chortled.

"What?"

Mussang had goosebumps. His body even resisted the most lethal poison, botulinus. Even the compound poisoned like Cantarella couldn't affect him. It was no surprise that he was immune to minor spells but when a foreign substance directly attacks the brain, it was possible that could lead to a momentary lapse. In a battle where every moment counted, even migraine could prove disastrous.

"I thought you kept hitting my head for no reason."

"My power was not strong enough to remove the puppet's seed planted deeply in the brain. I kept hitting it to dislodge it but your skull is quite thick."

"I assume all that hitting was loaded with some love too?"

Mussang shot a defiant stare at the Teacher. His wild-spinach staff could replace a drill in a construction field.

"Hmm!"

Priest Daeu cleared his throat. He wanted to deny it but he didn't want to lie to his young student.

"Did you use Resonance Wave to Choe?"

Priest Daeu hurriedly changed the topic. If he continued to let Mussang talk, he was going to babble on for a long time.

"I used it as protection but not offensively or defensively. He was too quick for me to load my blows with energy."

"You did great. One of the ancient ninja spells is to absorb the opponent's energy and disperse it. In wuxia terms, it would be Energy Absorption. Since you let him go, it is better you didn't reveal your hidden ability."

"I crippled him with Finger Wind in the end. A leg and an eye."

"Finger Wind? That of Shaolin?"

"That is more like telekinesis than Finger Wind. Like this."

Mussang opened his hand and flicked it. A big woodblock on a mat flew into his hand. It was ten times bigger than an ordinary woodblock.

"You learned another of the evil spells!"

Priest Daeu clucked his tongue.

"I am sorry. Due to my ineptitude, I stray further away from the Buddha's path every day. I gravitate toward the way of an asura."

Mussang scratched the back of his head.

"That must be the karma you accumulated as an asura. You shall let it be. Show me."

Mussang rapidly attached his palm to the woodblock then detached it. The movement could not be followed with bare eyes. The opposite side of the woodblock was completely shattered. The side where the palm touched was intact.

"Your Resonance Wave has advanced another level. It shall protect you wherever you go."

"Haha. Other than your wild-spinach staff, no one would ever be able to harm me. Whether it is Shaolin or Tongbeiquan, they cannot harm me if I don't let them get to me. This is the real bit."

Mussang held up his index finger and poked the air. The atmosphere vibrated. Of course, it was imagery only seen by Priest Daeu's spiritual eye. In the middle of the spiritual rock in front of the sanctum, a hole as deep as the depth of two palms was made. It was the exact spot where Priest Daeu had hurled his woodblock after getting frustrated when he tried to assist Mussang's enlightenment. The rock that weathered dozens of thousand of years kept getting harassed by the ill-tempered teacher and his student.

"What?"

Priest Daeu's eyes widened. It was different from a telekinetic blow.

"What was that?"

"That's Finger Wind."

"It is. Did you feel some tingling in your nerves?"

"Yes. Up to my butt."

"Hahaha. I never expected to witness such a legendary skill with my own eyes."

Priest Daeu burst out laughing, quite out of character.

"A legendary skill? How come?"

"I have only wondered about it and never realized it. The myth says that a monk once blinded an emperor from miles away. I don't know anything further."

"You shouldn't say you don't know. You discipline us with all kinds of abilities. You are not saying it even if you could."

"You continue to run your mouth! The foreign influence has spoiled you. I am but a grain of dust in the vast universe. There is a limit to my knowledge. I am just guessing here but pressure caught in two differently-natured energies must be acting as a projectile."

"Like a rail pistol gun?"

"Yes. Just like an electric eel's body evolved into a bionic generator, your body could have been developed into a high-purity superconductor.