Romance of Dragons and Snakes

Chapter 140: The Countermeasure of the Shaolin

The Shaolin Temple had a branch in Hong Kong and was most recently made into the center of all Shaolin Temple branches in Hong Kong amongst the others. Every year, there were 3000 disciples that would have warrior monks or martial art instructors teach them. Their power was quite strong.

But the abbot of the Shaolin Temple Shi Yongxin did not live in this branch or make any contact. Instead, he took up residence in the most luxurious hotel in Hong Kong, the Peninsula Hotel.

Right across the Peninsula Hotel was Victoria Harbor. The scenery was breathtaking, and the middle and high levels were capable of overseeing the entire seascape. Even the queen of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II would stay here.

Shi Yongxin and many of the important characters of the Shaolin Temple had arrived in Hong Kong along with several powerful families and celebrities to increase their power. Naturally, they were preparing for their stocks to enter the market, so no loss of face could be accepted here so that they could grow and adapt to the modern times.

“Has the abbot risen yet?” At this moment, a grizzly bearded old monk wearing gray and yellow robes came walking down the hotel corridors before coming to a stop at one of the doors.

There were two younger looking monks with leg wrappings and yellow upper garments standing at the door. Their muscles were clearly seen protruding, their temples were slightly puffed outwards, and had bright eyes. A dignified and valiant look, a look that showed off their proficiency at martial arts. But these two monks had glossy lips and their clothes had the smell of wine, meaning that they had been drinking.

Seeing the elder monk, the two younger monks immediately stood straight up, “Master De Jian, yesterday night, the abbot was at the drinking party for the Linshi Jewelry Corporation. Because of that, he wasn’t able to sleep the entire night. And then in the morning, a call came in for him for a matter in Beijing. After all of that, he was able to eat some lunch before finally going to sleep.”

“Ah, is that so. I won’t wake the abbot then. It’d be better to wait for him to wake first.” The monk De Jian gave a gentle sigh before turning around to walk away.

“Master De Jian.” At the door, another yellow robed young monk could be seen calling out for De Jian.

“Ah, Xing Shen. Have you come looking for the abbot? The abbot hasn’t slept since yesterday, and is only sleeping now. Since he doesn’t know martial arts, his physique is rather frail. It’d be best to not disturb him.”

“Out of the question! I just received some information! Today this morning, Guochao….Guochao and the head of the Laoshan School if Internal Martial Arts fought. He was….he was….” The monk’s face grew ashen while the cry of an elephant could be heard coming out from his nose. His two hands clenched tightly into a fist with a crackling sound.

“What’s wrong? What happened to Guochao?” De Jian quickly asked.

“The Ministry of State Security just informed me. This morning Guochao partook in a competition where a killing move was used to crush his throat with a kick. He has….died already.” As he spoke, the monk’s eyes had watered up as if he had lost a son.

“What! How could that be? This is impossible! Guochao’s martial arts was one of a kind, practically no one could beat him. How could he be killed? Did, did they use a gun?” De Jian was astounded. With all his years spent cultivating and meditating, it was useless to calm down his heart.

“No gun was used. Guochao was a part of the Ministry of State Security, and the opposite side was a part of the government as well. I just received news that it was a pure match of martial arts.” Xing Shen let out a long sigh as he tried to calm himself. “Guochao was our inheritor. With his death, I must go take revenge on the one responsible.”

“Hold on. We must consult his with the abbot first!” De Jian commanded. “Xing Shen, you’ve already 50 years to you, you’re past your prime. Guochao as a child was already more than a match for you. If he wasn’t enough to be an opponent, then if you tried taking revenge, what much could you do? You’d be killed by the other side! Furthermore, this is a matter with the government, do you think you could interfere so easily?”

Bitter and hateful, Xing Shen spoke, “Then what am I to do? You should know just how much pain and energy I’ve spent on Guochao. This pain hurts more than losing a son.”

“Yong Bao and Yong He, those …..Guochao….ai!!! Let’s consult with the abbot and see what he will do.” De Jian spoke.

When the two monks guarding the door saw De Jian and Xing Shen come walking over, neither of the two had dared stop them. Instead, they seemed rather afraid of Xing Shen and moved aside immediately.

Xing Shen’s eyebrows were concentrated together on his long and narrow face. His eyes were as wide as a bull, and his mouth was quite wide as well. A malevolent look that resembled the face of an Asura.

The two entered the room, and after passing through several doors, they finally arrived in front of a soft bed where a chubby Maitreya-like monk could be seen sleeping. This was the abbot of the Shaolin Temple.

“Abbot, abbot!” Xing Shen cried out several times before the abbot had finally awakened and rubbed at his sleepy eyes.

“You two?” The abbot sat up. “The matter with Yong Bao and Yong He has already been dealt with. I’ve talked with several acquaintances yesterday and passed on a message to the Ministry of State Security, so it should be a lighter matter. You two shouldn’t try to intercede any further. They have violated matters, and at the very least, they’ll receive 18 years. In this matter, I have no other choice.”

“No, it’s Guochao. Today this morning when he arrived in Hong Kong, he fought with Wang Chao in a match. As a result, he was killed.”

“What?” The abbot was shocked and practically leapt out of his bed before his eyebrows locked together. “Wait a moment.” With that, he grabbed the nearby phone and dialed in a few numbers that was hard to understand to see who he was calling. “Was Guochao killed this morning, what in the world happened?”

A tiny mosquito-like voice could be heard on the other side of the phone, causing the abbot to ashen in the face.

*Clack*. The phone was put down. “This isn’t going to be an easy affair to deal with. Bring Yong Long and Yong Hu from the American and German Shaolin Temple back here. Also, call Xing Yi from the Russian branch over. There are far too many things criss-crossing against each other, I must think about what to do next. Other than that, master Xing Shen, don’t stir yourself. Do not panic. And furthermore, do not go searching for vengeance with the head of the Laoshan School of Martial Arts. I remember that Wang Chao killed Zhang Wei in the past. Zhang Wei has some friends–one of them is the Daoist priest Xu. Find him. Master De Jian, you go talk with Xu Zhen. Wang Chao killed his disciple, this should be of interest to him. Other than that, Xu Zhen has some connections with the Japanese world of martial arts. In Shandong, Wang Chao killed Ye Xuan, so surely there’s some hatred for him there. Let us see what happens next before making another judgement. Our Shaolin Temple cannot interfere with politics. So it would be best for us to use the methods of the Jianghu here.”

There were 70 generational positions with the Shaolin Temple:

福慧智子觉，了本圆可悟。

周洪普广宗，道庆同玄祖。

清净真如海，湛寂淳贞素。

德行永延恒，妙本常坚固。

心朗照幽深，性明鉴崇祚。

忠正善禧祥 谨志原济渡。

雪庭为导师，引汝归铉路。

TL Note: In the Shaolin Temple, there is a 70 character poem that monks derive their given names from. The first character, 福 (Fu), would be given to the first generation monk after the poem was written. The monks Yong Bao and Yong He belonged to the 33nd generation, represented by the 33rd character 永 (Yong). Shi Yongxin follows this trend, as all Buddhist monks are given the last name Shi, and then the generation name. So the monks Yong Bao and Yong He can also be called Shi Yongbao and Shi Yonghe.

TL Note: Here is a translation of the poem (Credits to this site here for translating it):

Blessed and talented,

an intelligent young man will grow into awareness;

you are originally in a state of completion and thus apt to understand.

All around in the universe the Buddhist doctrine spreads,

we celebrate that our principle comes from the same ancestry.

The Buddhist state is pure and quiet, vast as the sea;

in the profound silence our chastity and nativeness are enhanced.

Our moral conduct will endure forever;

and our bodies are constantly firm.

The mind is a crystal clear that can light up the depth of the mountains;

and the innate character can make one bright enough

to distinguish nobility from treachery.

Faithfulness, decency and virtuousness will bring happiness and auspiciousness;

We cautiously keep in mind our original course in the crossing.

The snowy courtyard is like a teacher,

that will guide you to return to a bright road.

De Jian was a master of the Southern Shaolin Fist, but he had grown old. The southern and northern Shaolin Temples had already been connected and combined together because of Shi Yongxin. Collaborating both sides to form a brand, he had been able to revitalize the economy with it. In terms of seniority, De Jian was older higher than Shi Yongxin by two generations. But generation and seniority didn’t matter here, as Shi Yongxin was the abbot.

Xing Shen was a monk that taught martial arts in Mount Taishi. His martial arts was outstanding, and he was also the master of Duan Guochao. However, because he was past his 50s and reaching 60, his martial arts was no longer the same as when he was at his peak. So De Jian could make note that despite Duan Guochao’s death, the road in front of his master held no benefits.

The experts of Shaolin martial arts were all abroad at the current moment. Yong Long and Yong Hu were at the German Shaolin Temple and the American Shaolin Temple keeping up appearances, and Xing Yi was the master of the Russian Shaolin Temple.

The circumstances abroad weren’t the same as they were in China. To open a school abroad, fights and competitions couldn’t be avoided. Fights to the death were simply nothing out of the ordinary.

Back when Bruce Lee was building up fame in America, he had to fight everyday with martial artists, boxers, Judoka, and even criminals. So for the very same reason, the elites of the Shaolin Temple were all overseas.

The men within the country were only braggarts with no substances who could only mess around and eat. But abroad, aside from those who were self-acclaimed to be the number one, strength was the only thing they had.

Yong Bao and Yong He were born boxers in America and eventually converted to become monks later.

“Master Xing Shen, please, do not go through your connections to try and stir trouble up above. Our Shaolin Temple can only develop our economic and martial arts status. Nothing else can be touched! We cannot even think about it! I’ve already written Yong He and Yong Bao from the registries of the Shaolin Temple, they will be driven out from our temple. As for Duan Guochao, I will admit, the affairs of monks for matters like this, I have no connections to resolve this. Whatever the government wishes to do, then it will be done. A monk should not interfere with the everyday life of the world, you shouldn’t try to cause a disturbance either.” Although Xing Shen was the fellow monk of his senior generation, the abbot continued to cajole him with a serious tone.

“Understood.” De Jian and Xing Shen nodded. The abbot was unskilled in martial arts, but in the Shaolin Temple, everyone had to pay their respects to him. His authority exceeded that of an emperor. Without him, whether the monks would be able to find enough money to eat would become a major problem.

Despite Xing Shen’s martial arts was impressive, the food that he ate, the clothes he wore, his salary, premiums, and wealth. Everything depended on the abbot.

No matter how high one’s skill at martial arts was, it would not put food on the table.

But leaving aside the fact that the Shaolin Temple had received news that Duan Guochao had died and their plans in regards to it, Wang Chao and Lin Yanan had already returned to the army headquarters. On the next day, the comrades from central had already arrived at commissar Yang’s office.

“Colonel Lin Yanan, lieutenant colonel Wang Chao. Dong Ling, Chen Ke, and Duan Guochao fought against each other without explicit approval. This is a serious violation of the organization’s rules. You will all be brought to Beijing for penalization.”