Chapter Ninety-Two: A Token

The little monk who finally brought the two men back to themselves paid no heed to their silent reverie. Instead, he opened the courtyard gate from outside and stepped in, coming to stand before them. After the familiar invocation of Buddha, he spoke at last.

“Honorable benefactors, the hall master instructed this humble monk to call upon you at noon. Before departing, the hall master entrusted me with this token and asked me to pass it on to Young Benefactor Chen.”

As he spoke, he handed over a string of prayer beads.

The “Young Benefactor Chen” he referred to was naturally Chen Hao. Chen Hao first glanced at his father, and only after seeing him nod did he accept it in a daze.

When Chen Hao had taken the beads, the little monk spoke again. “The hall master asked me to convey a message: this token bears witness to the bond the two of you share. If Young Benefactor Chen should ever need anything in the future, he may present this object to seek out the hall master, and the old hall master will do all he can to help.”

Chen Hao gave no particular reaction to the little monk’s words. Chen Dingan, however, who knew the old hall master’s identity, was visibly astonished. One must know that his father and the old hall master had been close friends for many years, yet the old hall master had never made such a promise to his father, much less could he himself ever hope to receive one.

He had not expected the old hall master to make such a pledge to Chen Hao, and to do so merely because they had met once. Why would that be?

Chen Hao had neither aided the old hall master nor demonstrated his martial talent in the old monk’s presence. Could it be that the old hall master had looked at Chen Hao and somehow known him to possess extraordinary martial promise? Even so, was there any need to make such a vow to help him to the utmost?

Chen Dingan was filled with puzzlement, yet to Chen Hao this was a tremendous blessing. If his grandfather heard of it, he would surely be delighted for him as well.

Having thought it through, Chen Dingan no longer dwelt on why the old hall master had done this, and instead turned his attention to something else in the little monk’s words.

He bore no trace of disdain merely because the other was a young monk. Though youthful, he had entered the Shaolin martial hall and was entrusted with carrying the old hall master’s message, so he was certainly no ordinary person. Thus Chen Dingan asked with due respect, “Master, you just said the old hall master left before coming here. Does that mean he is no longer at Shaolin Temple?”

“Amitabha.” The little monk replied courteously, “Please do not call this humble monk ‘master,’ Benefactor Chen. I am unworthy of such a title. The hall master had already left Shaolin Temple while the two benefactors were still deep in thought just now. In truth, he ought to have departed several days earlier, but when he learned that the two benefactors would be visiting today, he remained here a little longer.”

Chen Dingan was startled. “The old hall master actually knew we were coming? But I had not informed him in advance.”

The little monk said calmly, “The old hall master is farsighted and miraculous in his foresight; such matters are not for the likes of us ordinary folk to guess.”

Chen Dingan nodded repeatedly. “Then may I ask why the old hall master left Shaolin Temple, where he has gone, and when he will return?”

The little monk only smiled, joining his hands in silence.

Only then did Chen Dingan realize that he had been rather abrupt. Whatever the reason for the old hall master’s departure, wherever he had gone, it had nothing to do with him.

Indeed, he should not have asked. Perhaps the old hall master had gone out on Shaolin Temple’s business; perhaps it was a private matter. But in either case, he had no right to pry, and the other party had no obligation to tell him.

So, acknowledging his own impropriety and discourtesy, Chen Dingan bowed. “Please do not take offense, Master. I was too presumptuous. It is just that after so many years, it is rare enough to see the old hall master even once, and yet we did not spend much time together before receiving so great a kindness from him. I cannot help but feel deeply indebted, and in my haste I misspoke.”

“Benefactor Chen need not mind. This humble monk has not taken it to heart. If the two benefactors do not mind, you may stay the night in the temple. It is only that the temple may not have food suited to Young Benefactor Chen’s taste, and the lodging may be somewhat humble.”

“Master, you are too kind,” Chen Dingan said with a wave of his hand. “We already feel terribly sorry for troubling your temple on this visit. If we were to stay overnight here without regard for propriety and cause the masters further trouble, that would truly be inappropriate.”

As though he had anticipated Chen Dingan’s reply, or perhaps because the little monk had been instructed in advance by the old hall master, he did not attempt any further persuasion. “In that case, this humble monk shall not insist. If Benefactor Chen changes his mind, our hall’s gates will always remain open to the two of you.”

“Thank you, Master!”

“Also…” the little monk added.

“What would you instruct us to do, Master?” Chen Dingan asked.

“Please do not call me ‘Master’ anymore, Benefactor Chen.”

“All right! Master!”

“......Thank you......”

“You are most welcome! Master!”

After the little monk took his leave, Chen Hao had nothing to say about his father’s odd performance, though he looked at him with some regret. “Are we leaving already?”

Chen Dingan smiled. “What, do you really want to taste Shaolin Temple’s vegetarian fare?”

“Of course not. It’s just that I’m growing more and more curious about the martial arts of Shaolin Temple. Even if the old hall master has gone, there ought to be many other eminent monks in the martial hall, no? Can we not pay a visit to the others?”

Chen Dingan ruffled Chen Hao’s hair. “You little rascal, you make it sound so easy. Do you think things are really that simple?”

“Hmm?”

“I admit you have a point. Shaolin Temple is vast, and of course there are other monks who train in martial arts there. But the ones we are generally able to meet are all from the outer martial hall—that is, the monks ordinary people can see.

Though the skills of those warrior monks are already quite remarkable in the eyes of outsiders, they still fall somewhat short when compared with our martial families.

At present their strength may indeed surpass yours, but that is only because they have trained longer than you. In terms of potential, martial foundation, depth, and future prospects, they are not as good as you. There is no real need to seek instruction from them,” Chen Dingan explained.

Chen Hao seemed unsatisfied and continued, “If the outer martial hall won’t do, isn’t there still the inner martial hall? Isn’t the old hall master from the inner martial hall?”

“Since you already know Shaolin Temple has both an inner and outer martial hall, you can tell as much from the names. The outer martial hall, as the name suggests, is open to outsiders. The inner martial hall is naturally for internal use; how could an outsider easily gain access?” Chen Dingan explained patiently.

“But didn’t we still get to see the old hall master?” Chen Hao was still unwilling to let go of the matter.

“We were able to see the old hall master because he and your grandfather have been friends for many years. If not for your grandfather’s face, let alone meeting him, we wouldn’t even have been able to see the gate of this great courtyard. We would already have been driven away.”

“Oh.” Chen Hao nodded. “Then since Grandfather knows the old hall master, he must also know the others in the inner martial hall, right? Wouldn’t it be fine for us to visit someone else?”

Chen Dingan shook his head. “Setting aside whether your grandfather still knows any other eminent monks from the inner martial hall, even if he does, I actually would not mind paying them another visit at a time like this.”

“Hmm? Why is that?” Chen Hao asked in confusion. “We rarely come here. Why not meet them and ask them for guidance? Isn’t that exactly why you brought me on this journey, Father? To travel to different places, meet renowned martial artists across the country, and learn valuable experience from them?”

Chen Dingan did not refute this. “Yes, you are right. The purpose of bringing you to visit martial sects and masters all over the country is indeed to broaden your horizons and draw upon the strengths of many schools to improve yourself.

But this improvement and absorption must also be measured. There is a saying: haste makes waste. Another says the moon waxes and wanes. The meaning is that in anything you do, if you are too eager for quick success or too desperate to take everything in, the result may be the opposite of what you intended.

By now, you have followed me to many places and witnessed the martial attainments of many great masters. In your heart, you should already have gained a great many impressions and ideas.

Yet these newly absorbed things have not truly been integrated. You have seen them, but you have not yet made them your own. If, at this point, you were to encounter still more eminent monks of the same kind, it would not necessarily be a good thing for you.

Especially with someone like the old hall master, a master among masters, whose martial achievements can by no means be compared with those of ordinary martial artists. If I were to let you see several more martial artists of the same level as him, it would not only fail to advance your martial arts by even the slightest degree, it might even cause them to slip backward. I do not expect you to understand all this right now, but your old man is certainly not trying to harm you.

So this visit to Shaolin Temple ends here. Next, we go to the place we had planned from the very beginning!”

“The place we planned to go to from the start—is it the Dong family, the great sect of Henan Hong Fist that you mentioned, Father?”

“Exactly the Dong family! Let’s go. While it’s still not dark, if we move quickly enough, we might even make it in time for dinner! The road to their place is not easy. The paths in Shaolin are mountainous roads, but at least there are stone steps.

As for the road to the Dong family, it is all mud, truly all mud. In the mountains, after rain, the ground can stay damp for ten days or half a month. If we do not arrive before nightfall, we will be in for a lot of delay.”

Chen Hao said carelessly, “That’s nothing. We can just take it as training!”

Chen Dingan was quite surprised. Though very satisfied with Chen Hao’s attitude, he still said, “You little punk, don’t underestimate those muddy mountain roads. They are nothing like the paths I usually take you on when we climb mountains. Their road... never mind, I won’t say more for now. You’ll understand once you get there.

Anyway, every time I go to their home, I end up exhausted. If it weren’t necessary, I truly would not want to go to the Dong family. Come on, let’s move!”

With that, Chen Dingan led the way out of the old hall master’s great courtyard and went straight down the mountain path.