Chapter 175: The Cave of Repentance
The Heavenly Law Sword would not stop trembling.
A wave of confusion washed over me.
Why?
I had clearly burned away all the demonic qi that had consumed Master Gonghyeon.
And yet the Heavenly Law Sword was still vibrating as if warning me of something.
Then I saw it.
In one corner of the floor, a faint strand of black energy twitched.
It was a remnant that had escaped destruction when I cut apart the demonic qi extracted from Gonghyeon.
The moment my gaze landed on it, the black energy stopped moving.
Almost as though it were watching me.
I didn't hesitate.
I swung the Heavenly Law Sword down.
SWOOOSH!
But just before the blade reached it—
the black remnant stretched thin.
Then, like a living snake, it raced across the floor.
In an instant, it slipped through the gap beneath the door and disappeared.
“What was that just now...?”
Master Baekheo's rigid voice came from behind me.
I didn't answer.
Instead, I looked down at the Heavenly Law Sword in my hand.
Wooooom.
The vibration continued.
Some portion of the demonic qi that had consumed Gonghyeon was clearly still somewhere inside Shaolin.
At that moment, an old memory flashed through my mind.
The Shaolin Bloodbath.
The tragedy where maddened warrior monks ran rampant all at once and drenched Shaolin in blood.
Wait.
I immediately turned toward Master Baekheo.
“Where is that warrior monk now?”
He frowned.
“What warrior monk?”
“The one who lost his mind and attacked his fellow disciple.”
Baekheo hesitated for a moment before answering.
“We were unable to find a way to treat him, so we isolated him in the Cave of Repentance.”
Then he added, watching my expression,
“And just in case you are worried, several dozen elite warrior monks of the Dharma Hall are guarding the Cave of Repentance.”
The moment I heard that...
the ominous feeling inside me grew stronger.
“Where is the Cave of Repentance?”
Baekheo looked startled by the urgency in my voice.
“Taoist Han, why are you suddenly asking?”
I tightened my grip around the trembling Heavenly Law Sword.
“I'll explain later.”
My voice hardened.
“Right now, we need to check the Cave of Repentance.”
Baekheo frowned.
“The Cave of Repentance is not a place we can casually show to outsiders—”
“If we delay any longer, all of Shaolin may be drenched in blood!”
"..."
A tense silence filled the room.
The one who broke it was Gonghyeon.
“Baekheo.”
“Yes, Abbot.”
“Do as Taoist Han says.”
Baekheo turned toward him in surprise.
“Abbot, but....”
Gonghyeon's voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking his intent.
“If not for Taoist Han, I would still be consumed by demonic qi.”
He looked toward me.
“There must be a reason he is acting with such urgency.”
Then—
“Do not delay.”
Baekheo fell silent.
After a moment, he nodded.
“If that is your will, Abbot... understood.”
He immediately opened the door and moved out.
Gonghyeon took a brief moment to steady his breathing before slowly rising.
His qi and blood still didn't seem fully recovered...
but his eyes were firm.
I followed them outside.
The Kunlun group and Shaolin's elders were waiting there.
The moment Gonghyeon appeared, the Shaolin elders stared at him in shock.
“Abbot!”
“You've regained consciousness?”
Several elders started toward him.
Before they could reach him, I called out.
“Master Baekheo.”
He looked toward me.
“Please take us to the Cave of Repentance.”
One of Shaolin's elders frowned.
“Why are you suddenly asking for the Cave of Repentance?”
“There is no time to explain.”
I stared directly at Baekheo.
“If we do not move now, it may already be too late.”
Confusion appeared on the elders' faces.
Once again, Gonghyeon stepped in.
“Do as Taoist Han says.”
They looked toward him.
“Abbot?”
“This is not the time to ask why.”
Gonghyeon looked around at the elders.
“First, we go to the Cave of Repentance.”
Baekheo nodded with a grim expression.
“Understood. I will guide you.”
Jin Gwangung stepped closer to me.
“Mujin. What's going on?”
I looked at him.
“Master, I need your help.”
He frowned.
“Help with what?”
“I'll explain once we reach the Cave of Repentance.”
"..."
Jin Gwangung tilted his head once.
Then nodded.
“Fine. I'll come with you.”
He took his place beside me.
Hyeongwon, Myeongjeon, and Yu Seola naturally followed behind him.
Then Gonghyeon spoke again.
“I will go as well.”
Baekheo immediately objected.
“Your qi and blood have not fully recovered, Abbot.”
“You should remain here and rest.”
Gonghyeon shook his head.
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“If something has happened to Shaolin, how can I, its Abbot, remain here?”
“But....”
“I can still move.”
Gonghyeon's will was too firm.
Baekheo could no longer stop him.
We immediately set out.
Master Baekheo took the lead.
I followed closely behind him.
The Cave of Repentance.
The moment I repeated the name in my head...
another memory from before my regression surfaced.
The day word reached the Shadow Corps that something had happened at Shaolin.
The hurried words exchanged by Shadow Corps members.
The Cave of Repentance has been breached.
Back then...
I hadn't understood what that meant.
Now I did.
The real beginning of the Shaolin Bloodbath...
was the Cave of Repentance.
We traveled along a hidden mountain path behind Shaolin.
After running deep into the mountains for quite some time...
we reached a steep cliff.
Set into the rock below was an enormous stone door, nearly the same color as the surrounding cliff face.
The Cave of Repentance.
A place where disciples who violated Shaolin's rules were made to repent alone...
or enter closed-door cultivation.
But now...
it was being used to imprison a warrior monk who had fallen into madness.
Master Baekheo stopped before the stone door.
“...Strange.”
The entrance was empty.
No matter where we looked...
there wasn't a single person in sight.
I asked,
“Where are the monks guarding this place?”
Baekheo's expression turned confused.
“Normally, warrior monks of the Dharma Hall should be guarding the entrance....”
Wooooom.
The Heavenly Law Sword at my waist began vibrating even more violently.
I stared at the sealed stone door.
Then looked back at Baekheo.
“Tell me honestly.”
He frowned.
“About what?”
“Was there really only one warrior monk who fell into madness?”
Baekheo's expression shifted.
“You wouldn't assign dozens of elite Dharma Hall warriors just to isolate one person.”
"..."
My words clearly struck something.
Several Shaolin elders exchanged uneasy looks.
After a long silence...
Baekheo finally answered.
“At first, there was only one.”
His voice was heavy.
“But after the first incident...”
He exhaled.
“more disciples began showing the same symptoms.”
I asked immediately,
“How many?”
Baekheo's face darkened.
“Including warrior monks from the main temple and secular disciples connected to the outer estates...”
He paused.
“close to twenty.”
I heard Myeongjeon suck in a breath behind me.
I stared directly at Baekheo.
“Why did you hide that?”
His hand tightened around his prayer beads.
His expression was filled with pain.
“The Abbot's condition alone had already placed Shaolin in a precarious state.”
His gaze shifted toward the stone door.
“If word spread that nearly twenty disciples had also fallen into madness...”
He swallowed.
“Shaolin's name would have been dragged through the dirt.”
