Fallen Monk (2)
“If the reason for shaving one’s head is to cut off the worldly concern of grooming one’s appearance for others, should not all hair on the face be shaved off as well?”
Mu-jin, saying so, looked in turn at Hyun Gong, Abbot Hyun Cheon, and Hyun-gwang.
Specifically, at their well-maintained white beards and their long, unkempt eyebrows.
“Haha, what shall we do? Head of the Jurisdiction Department, I, for one, have no intention of shaving it off.”
And Hyun-gwang, as if it were the most natural thing, stroked his long white beard and looked at Hyun Gong.
While Hyun Gong was conflicted between his role as the Head of the Jurisdiction Department and the beard he had grown over decades,
Mu-jin subtly added more to the conversation.
“If you look at the screen painting of the Dharma Master, our founding master, he only shaved the top of his head. The hair on the sides and back of his head, as well as his eyebrows and beard, were all kept long. Ultimately, what matters is severing ties with the secular world, not the shape of our hair, isn’t it?”
Upon hearing Mu-jin’s words, Hyun Gong glanced at him.After all, the justification for all Hyun-mun members to grow beards stemmed from the fact that the Dharma Master, their founding patriarch, had a beard himself.
From that perspective, Mu-jin’s hairstyle was not much different from that of the Dharma Master.
The Dharma Master with only the top of his head shaved.
Not completely bald, Mu-jin had shaved the sides and back of his head clean, even etching a swastika symbol there.
Both hairstyles showed a disregard for the views of the secular world.
“Cough. As long as you do not grow your hair any longer, I shall allow it.”
Eventually, unable to concede his own beard, Hyun Gong had no choice but to approve of Mu-jin’s hairstyle.
[1:52 PM]
Mu-jin, with his two-block Mohican scratch hair, was thus recognized by the Head of the Jurisdiction Department.
* * *
The next morning, at dawn, when the third-class disciples gathered at the Arhat Faction to train their bodies.
“Mu… Mu-jin? What… what… what is that hairstyle?”
Beob Gang asked, stuttering like a broken clockwork toy. In fact, he was asking on behalf of everyone; all the second-class disciples, third-class disciples, and Master Uncle Hye-jeong at the training ground were looking at Mu-jin’s hair.
“Ah. Didn’t the Head of the Jurisdiction Department tell you? It’s a hairstyle approved by the Head of the Jurisdiction Department.”
“…Did the Master Uncle say so?”
Beob Gang tried to recall the Master Uncle Hyun Gong he knew.
“Rather than approval, isn’t it a miracle that you’re still alive?”
Beob Gang thought that the moment he was spotted, the Vajra Divine General might have burned his head clean off.
Discontented, Beob Gang listened once again to Mu-jin’s reasoning.
Since the second-class disciples, third-class disciples, and Master Uncle Hye-jeong were all around, Mu-jin intended to finish explaining it once and for all.
“Cough. So, you are saying that what matters is expressing our renunciation of the secular world and our refuge in the Buddha’s Way?”
“Yes.”
“You’re saying… Master Uncle Hyun Gong accepted that argument?”
“Yes.”
Beob Gang was still uneasy since he omitted the fact that he had used the beard and eyebrows as leverage.
“Well, if that’s Master Uncle’s will, then so be it.”
But one could hardly argue against the judgment of Master Uncle, the Head of the Jurisdiction Department.
Eventually, when Beob Gang accepted Mu-jin’s hairstyle, all the second-class disciples and third-class disciples around had no choice but to nod in agreement.
‘So there was such a way!’
Among them, there were third-class disciples who were quite impressed by Mu-jin’s hairstyle.
Considering that third-class disciples were about the age of middle and high school students in modern terms, some of them were still suffering from their adolescent rebellious phase.
For these kids, Mu-jin’s unique hairstyle was enough to provide strange inspiration.
Among them was Mu-gung, who had the largest build among the third-class disciples.
‘Would Master Uncle really allow it?’
Mu-gung, recalling the silent and weighty Master Uncle Hye-dam, trembled in a way that didn’t match his large stature.
Perhaps because the adolescent rebelliousness was stronger than the fear of Master Uncle.
‘That’s right! I just need to memorize the logic Mu-jin used to persuade the Head of the Jurisdiction Department! I will persuade Master Uncle too!’
Mu-gung, envisioning in his head how he would verbally convince Master Uncle, smiled foolishly.
‘What kind of hairstyle should I try?’
Mu-gung was already spreading the wings of his imagination without even starting to persuade.
And there were other third-class disciples around the training ground, wearing similar smiles to Mu-gung.
However, Mu-jin was completely uninterested in the influence his hairstyle had on the talents
of Shaolin.
[2:00 PM]
Something else in the training ground captivated Mu-jin’s attention, so he had no time to worry about such trivial matters.
“Ooooooh!!”
While Mu-jin had been locked away in the Cave of Repentance for a month, the exercise equipment he had requested from Arhat Faction Leader Hyun Seong had been prepared.
As usual, Mu-jin first loosened his body with the Close-Range Spear Technique before starting his actual workout routine.
Beside him, curious Mu-gung, Mu-gyeong, and Mu-yul had joined him.
“Mu-jin! What is this thing for?”
“It’s been brought into the training ground several days ago, but even Arhat Faction Leader said he didn’t know how to use it.”
To the question from Mu-yul and Mu-gyeong, Mu-jin answered with a grin.
“What do you mean what? It’s a tire. No, a rubber wheel.”
Of course, in a world without cars, it wasn’t a ‘tire’ in the usual sense.
It was an object created by shaping steel into the form of a wheel and then melting natural rubber over it to attach it.
After answering, Mu-jin bent his waist and lower body as if to demonstrate, grabbed the bottom of the rubber wheel with his hands, and lifted it with all his might.
“Heave-ho!”
Lifting the gigantic rubber wheel, Mu-jin held onto the edge and then cautiously let go.
Thud!
The heavy rubber wheel, boasting a significant weight, fell back to the training ground floor with a weighty sound.
“It must weigh around 250 geun (approximately 150 kg)?”
“Two hundred… fifty geun!?”
Mu-jin muttered with a satisfied smile at that weight, and Mu-gyeong, who was watching from the side, exclaimed in surprise.
“Hmph. I can lift a steel rod weighing 250 geun too. That would probably be harder.”
Mu-jin chuckled at Mu-gung’s boastfulness and replied.
“If you’re only going to lift it once or twice, then you shouldn’t do this exercise.”
Mu-jin lifted the rubber wheel again and flipped it over.
“You have to keep rolling it like this and go around the training ground.”
What Mu-jin was doing was an exercise commonly known as a tire flip.
“Unlike a steel rod, you have to use all your body’s strength to lift this. It’s a full-body workout. Plus, it’s wide and round, so the balance of weight shifts every time you lift it, right? The distribution of strength changes every time too. There’s nothing better for training whole-body muscles and strength distribution.”
Tire flipping wasn’t an exercise for meticulously building specific muscles. However, as a full-body workout, it was excellent.
“Phew.”
After giving a brief explanation to the trio, Mu-jin continued to flip the rubber wheel as he walked across the training ground.
After going around the training ground, sweat poured down Mu-jin like rain.
“Now. Looked easy, didn’t it? It’s your turn to try lifting it.”
“Hmph. You think I can’t do it?”
Still with a competitive spirit toward Mu-jin, Mu-gung began to lift the rubber wheel following Mu-jin.
“If you cheat using internal energy, you’ll get ten smacks on the back of the head.”
“You think I’m that petty!?”
[2:08 PM]
Indeed, Mu-gung’s natural size and strength were reliable as he lifted the 250 geun rubber wheel at once, even managing to respond.
Mu-jin watched the scene for a moment before turning and heading somewhere.
It wasn’t to take a break. On the contrary, it was to prevent the heat that had built up in his body from dissipating.
Where he was headed, there was a chin-up bar soaring high.
It was an odd size to be called a ‘chin-up bar’. It was about one zhang (approximately 3 meters) high and four chi tall.
Mu-jin used a leather belt and rope to attach weight plates to his waist. Then he grabbed the rope hanging in the center of the tall chin-up bar with both hands.
“Heave-ho!”
Using the grip strength of his hands and the power of his arms, he began to climb the rope.
“Wow! That looks fun!!”
Mu-yul, watching from below, had his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Perhaps due to his monkey-like agility, Mu-yul seemed interested in rope climbing.
Regardless, Mu-jin alternated his hands as he climbed up the rope.
Normally, gloves are worn for rope climbing exercises because friction and gravity can cause abrasions or burns on the hands.
However, having practiced Iron Skin for over a year, Mu-jin had no trouble climbing with his bare hands, even while wearing weight plates around his waist.
Reaching the end of the rope at the chin-up bar, Mu-jin didn’t descend immediately but hung from the bar instead.
From that position, he lifted his legs to form a ‘乚’ shape and twisted his upper and lower body from side to side using his abdominal and core muscles.
After sufficiently tormenting his abs and core, he finished off with several chin-ups before descending back to the ground along the rope.
“Phew.”
Thump.
With a deep breath, he unfastened the weight plates tied to the leather belt, feeling much lighter.
“Mu-yul, do you want to try it?”
“Yeah!”
“Since you’re a bit lacking in strength, you should climb without the weights, just with your body.”
No sooner had Mu-jin spoken than Mu-yul promptly started climbing the rope.
His movements were truly monkey-like.
‘Are there no martial arts techniques like Crane, Snake, Leopard, Tiger, Dragon, and perhaps Monkey?’
If there were, it would suit Mu-yul perfectly.
‘Or should I create it myself later?’
The main issue was his stubbornness, but just letting him act freely seemed like it might naturally turn into Monkey Fist.
Imagining Mu-yul using Monkey Fist, Mu-jin chuckled to himself and then moved on.
Aside from the chin-up bars and rubber wheels, there were several other newly introduced tools remaining.
These items generally shared similar characteristics.
They resembled equipment more commonly seen in CrossFit than in a traditional gym.
[2:15 PM]
‘After all, increasing muscle size here would only interfere with martial arts practice.’
With flexibility and strength reasonably well-developed over the past two years,
Mu-jin had thus started CrossFit, which focuses on functional movements rather than just increasing muscle size.
* * *
A few days later.
In a hall located in the Shaolin Temple,
Hye-dam, who was as large as a guardian king statue, silently handed a razor to his disciple Mu-gung.
It wasn’t a suggestion for him to commit suicide. It meant that it was time to gradually start shaving his head.
Gulp.
Without saying a word, Mu-gung looked at Master Uncle Hye-dam, who was pushing the razor towards him, swallowed dryly, and cautiously opened his mouth.
“Master Uncle. For what reason do we shave our heads?”
Hye-dam’s eyebrows slightly rose at this unexpected nonsense. Of course, his mouth remained firmly shut.
Emboldened, Mu-gung began to excitedly prattle on, reciting the bizarre logic Mu-jin had shared with him a few days ago.
“The reason monks shave their heads is to reaffirm their severance from the secular world! Therefore, as long as we can reflect on our devotion to Buddhism, there is no need to shave our heads completely! For example…”
Was it the thought of refuting his Master Uncle Hye-dam for the first time? His mouth moved non-stop.
Mu-gung, engrossed in his own logic (which, of course, he had heard from Mu-jin), failed to see the veins throbbing on the steadfast Hye-dam’s forehead.
Instead, it was Beob-hwi, Mu-gung’s teacher standing to the side, who sighed, realizing his Master Uncle’s growing anger.
“Beob-hwi.”
Then, Hye-dam, who had remained silent, suddenly called out to Beob-hwi.
“Yes, Master Uncle!”
“Seize him.”
“Yes!”
With military crispness in his voice, Beob-hwi approached from behind Mu-gung, who was still babbling incoherently despite his large frame.
“Master Uncle!?”
And just like that, he restrained Mu-gung’s limbs.
It was only after his arms and legs were bound that Mu-gung came to his senses. Reflected in his eyes was the sight of Hye-dam, still with an indifferent expression, reaching out towards his head.
“Eek.”
As the red energy of the hand blade surged towards his head, Mu-gung let out a strange scream.
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