Chapter 9: The Temple (5)

Monk Jamyeong was being scolded by someone he’d never seen before.

Even though the man looked much younger too.

The girl, who had seen many people in the basement, knew how scary such people could be.

Especially those who asked, “Do you know who I am?”

Even the sages, who were so terrifying to the girl, couldn’t treat these people carelessly.

“Donor, please calm down first.”

Monk Jamyeong’s usual soft voice.

The girl finally came to her senses and hurriedly hid behind a nearby rock.

She had to avoid dealing with such people.

If she got involved, they might make strange demands disguised as “wishes.”

Even if the temple monks were heretics, weren’t they her benefactors who had saved her?

If they used them to blackmail her, she wouldn’t be able to resist.

Then, Mia’s body would be harmed.

Though she wanted to help Monk Jamyeong, her fear was greater.

But even after the girl hid, the citizen’s voice kept getting louder.

“If you invited guests, you should’ve cleared the parking lot. What is this, training mutts? Huh? Are you messing with me right now?!”

“Donor. Our temple doesn’t allow vehicle entry.”

“No vehicle entry? Then why is there a parking lot? And what’s that car over there!”

His menacing aura seemed like it could kill with just a glance.

Monk Jamyeong paid no attention even to the man’s raised eyebrows.

Clack.

He turned his prayer beads behind his back and answered quietly.

“It’s a parking lot for those with disabilities and for transporting goods.”

“So you’re telling me to just go back down after I drove all the way here?”

“Yes, that’s what you need to do.”

“Ha… I’m the chairman of the Jingwan-dong Residents’ Committee!”

The conversation went in circles, making no progress.

Chairman of the Residents’ Committee?

Since it had “chairman” in the title, he must be some great authority figure, right?

She needed to quickly tell the monks about the anomaly in the mountains.

The girl stomped her feet, unable to decide what to do.

At the same time, the middle-aged man finally got out of his car with a bang- and approached the monk.

“Really now. I came because you said there was some lecture, and this is how you treat guests? What’s your name?”

When he was in the car, he was just barking like a caged animal, but-

“Why aren’t you answering? I’ll have you know, I drink with the town chief and even go to karaoke with the district office head!”

Now that he was out of the car, he started poking Monk Jamyeong’s shoulder with his finger and pushing him – behavior that was hard to watch.

Clack, clack.

The prayer beads Monk Jamyeong was turning trembled.

Clearly, he was holding back a lot too.

“You’re treating people like dogs just because of one car? If I wanted to, huh? It’d be nothing to mess up that kid you were trying to get sponsorship for!”

The girl had been trying to close her eyes and cover her ears, but.

She couldn’t ignore it when her own story came up.

Though her name wasn’t mentioned, she clearly remembered Monk Jamyeong saying every day, “Our genius child needs to be educated in a proper place!”

So…

The monk being insulted like this was ultimately the girl’s fault.

“Ah.”

The girl’s face, which had been flushed from running, turned pale.

Her gaze, which had been on Monk Jamyeong, fell to the ground, and she bit her lip.

I really shouldn’t be alive.

I should have died after atoning as promised.

Mom and Dad, and Mia too.

People around her always met with terrible misfortune.

So this time, she didn’t want to leave it be.

It’s enough if I go to hell alone.

The girl who had been hiding behind the rock stood up and approached the two.

“D-don’t talk to the monk like that!”

Two pairs of eyes immediately turned to her.

Monk Jamyeong’s eyes were full of surprise, not expecting the girl to be there.

And.

“Looking at you, are you that ‘genius’ Awakened?”

As if he’d caught something good, the middle-aged man walked towards her, leaving the monk behind.

The girl flinched reflexively at his aggressive aura.

But she didn’t back down.

She was used to pain.

Whether mental or physical.

At least it would be better for her to hurt alone than for others to suffer because of her.

“Huh, what’s with this hair? These monks must be loaded. Dyeing a kid’s hair and all?”

The girl squeezed her eyes shut.

Just as the middle-aged man’s outstretched hand was about to touch her blue hair-

Crack-

With a loud sound like something breaking-

“You bastard!”

Monk Jamyeong’s booming voice, which she’d never heard before, rang out.

It was so loud that it echoed throughout the entire temple.

What’s going on? What happened? Murmurs from citizens started to be heard from all around.

“B-bastard? Are you talking to me?”

The middle-aged man stopped in his tracks, startled.

When he turned back to Monk Jamyeong, the monk’s face was red like a well-cooked octopus.

He looked unable to hide his anger, as if he’d forgotten everything he’d done until now.

“You crazy fucking monk, how dare you speak informally to me!”

He strode towards Monk Jamyeong again, stretching out his hand as if to hit him.

“N-no!”

The girl, belatedly realizing what was happening, screamed.

She tried to throw herself between them to block the man, but

Monk Jamyeong wasn’t just standing still either.

“Listening to you, it seems Mara has entered your head!”

He grabbed the middle-aged man’s wrist with his left palm facing the sky.

He hid the small girl behind his back.

“Huh?! You’re grabbing me? This is assault! I’ll sue you!”

Ignoring the middle-aged man’s angry shouts, he raised his right hand.

His palm was gently curved towards the ground, as if stroking a sparrow.

“Assault? Right! Well said. You have nothing better to touch so you touch a child! This is the Abhaya mudra, created by Buddha to punish Mara bastards like you!”

Whack-!

Monk Jamyeong’s palm came down on the middle-aged man’s crown.

“Ugh!”

The sound was even louder and clearer than when striking a wooden block.

It must have hurt quite a bit, as the middle-aged man rolled on the ground, howling.

“Oh my! I’m dying! Look here! This monk is swinging his fists!”

“…What’s with that guy?”

People’s attention was already drawn by Monk Jamyeong’s angry shout.

As murmurs spread among the citizens, the middle-aged man subtly curled his lips in a smile.

“You! I won’t let this slide! I’ll sue that kid too…!”

But he didn’t seem to notice that the citizens’ voices were actually hostile towards him.

“What the hell! Who’s the bastard touching our little one!”

As the commotion grew, Monk Haein appeared holding a huge ladle in one hand.

His muscular build was like two ordinary people put together.

“Wh-what! Are you threatening me now, monk?!”

The middle-aged man raised his voice, scared, but

“If Monk Jamyeong is angry enough to shout, this must be quite the son of a bitch.”

“Tsk tsk, at that age, does he want to roll around like that? Isn’t he ashamed in front of his parents?”

If there was something the confident middle-aged man hadn’t expected, it was Monk Jamyeong’s reputation and information about those invited to this temple.

None of them doubted Monk Jamyeong.

“Ho ho, it’s nothing, everyone go about your business. We’ll take care of this Mara ourselves.”

In fact, the reason Monk Haein had rushed out of the kitchen was because of such a “guest.”

“Monk. Is this an uninvited guest?”

Just before Monk Haein could drag the middle-aged man away.

A man in a suit quietly appeared.

Despite the weather, he wore a perfectly pressed suit with sunglasses.

A silence fell at the appearance of the handsome man whose looks couldn’t be hidden even by such an outfit.

“Oh, why didn’t you greet us when you arrived!”

On the contrary, Monk Jamyeong couldn’t hide his delight and greeted the man with a bright smile.

“I was told you went to handle a complaint, so I was waiting…”

The man looked clearly unusual.

Surprisingly, everyone at the temple seemed to know who he was.

“Th-the Chungseong Guild Master?!”

It was Lee Sunghwan, the guild master of the Chungseong Guild, a pillar of South Korea, and an S-class Awakened himself.

He had suddenly appeared at the temple despite his busy schedule.

At this point, even the middle-aged man rolling on the ground sensed something was wrong, but

“It seems this inhuman thing was wasting my time.”

His realization came too late.

Lee Sunghwan approached with large strides and lifted the middle-aged man without moving a finger.

It was the telekinesis of an S-class Awakened, said to easily lift even buildings.

“This is embarrassing. I must have been too eager to show off our child.”

“Not at all. Given your reputation, it’s only natural for garbage-eating hyenas to flock here.”

If it had been the middle-aged man’s usual personality, he would have spouted various patterns he’d found useful before, like “An Awakened using abilities on a civilian! I’ll sue! Do you want to be branded a villain!” and so on.

“I’ll handle this quietly.”

“……!!”

But his opponent was the Chungseong Guild Master.

He wasn’t someone such tactics would work on.

With his power, he could probably bury one civilian without any problems.

He needed to explain himself right away.

But the middle-aged man couldn’t open his mouth.

No matter how desperately he tried to make a sound, something seemed to be blocking his throat.

Could it be…?

“Hmm, is this child the one you mentioned, Monk?”

“That’s right. Isn’t she cute?”

The Guild Master, seemingly no longer interested in the middle-aged man, chatted with Monk Jamyeong.

It was clear his ability was blocking the man’s throat.

Ah…

The middle-aged man finally regretted his actions.

He had jumped at the chance when told he’d get enough money to live on for life if he could just bring Monk Jamyeong to court for assault or anything else, but who knew this day would become his memorial day.

Drip.

Tears flowed down the middle-aged man’s cheeks.

“Excuse me…”

It was then.

The girl, who was somehow in Monk Haein’s arms, quietly poked her head out.

Like a kangaroo peeking out of its pouch, she grabbed the Guild Master’s sleeve and

“Are you going to kill him?”

She asked, looking at the middle-aged man with emotionless eyes.

It was a chilling voice, too eerie to be a child’s question.

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