"Ha-ha-ha, little devil, so you've been hiding here!" His long hand reached forward to grab Tiong Li. However, it met another soft hand.
"Omitohud, what do you intend to do with this child, friend?"
Si Golok Naga furrowed his thick brows when he felt his hand movements being halted.
"Hmph, don't interfere, old hwe-sio. Stay out of my business and hand the child over to me!"
"You haven't answered my question, friend. What do you intend to do with this child?"
"Damn, you scoundrel! The child must die by my hand!" bellowed the black giant.
"Omitohud, whoever commits evil against an innocent or sinless person, that evil will rebound on themselves, like throwing dust against the wind, which will turn back towards the one who threw it." The hwe-sio spoke these teachings of Buddhism with a loud yet gentle voice as a reminder.
"Old hwe-sio, if you keep talking, I'll kill you too! Hand over the child!"
The old hwe-sio reiterated the Buddhist teachings, "Those who carry out their desires through violence are not right. Wise is the one who weighs between what's right and wrong."
As the black giant grew increasingly angry, the old hwe-sio spoke again, "This child has nothing to do with you, and has sought refuge with me. I hope you, as a noble person, can respect my wishes and not disturb us again."
"You boring old hwe-sio. Don't you know who you're dealing with? I don't want to kill you because you're a hwe-sio and have nothing to do with me. But this child must die by my hand. Hyaaaattt. !"
He then sent a deadly punch with his right hand towards the child's head. The punch was immensely powerful. The mere wind generated by it was lethal due to the sin-kang energy embedded in the punch.
"Plakk!" His hard and large right fist met a hand that was soft and delicate like a child's. And the punch was stalled, its energy seemingly absorbed as if into water. The black giant felt like he was hitting jelly or water.
Of course, he was startled and quickly retracted his hand, gazing at the unknown old hwe-sio. Only then did he realize that he was dealing with someone exceptionally skilled!
"Omitohud, please realize, friend. Weeds are a disaster for rice fields and hatred is a disaster for humanity, hence, offerings given to those free from hatred bring great merit. My good friend, violence will only bring destruction upon yourself, remember that."
The black giant, who had just effortlessly killed four major party figures, of course, did not heed the old hwe-sio's warnings. He had unsheathed his sword, which had just drunk the blood of five people, a sword that he had stolen from the palace's treasure trove a month ago, the Mestika Golok Naga.
As soon as he unsheathed the sword, the black giant then attacked the old hwe-sio, aiming for his head. The sword whizzed through the air, swift and incredibly powerful. However, the hwe-sio simply uttered "Omitohud...!" and slightly bowed his body, causing the sword to miss. The black giant became curious and increasingly angry. He continued his attacks with even stronger slashes.
However, he felt like he was slashing at shadows. No matter how swiftly he swung his sword, his attacks never hit their target, as though the old man's body had already shifted away, pushed by the wind of his attacks, like someone attacking a feather that is incredibly light. Because the old man continually dodged, the black giant got an idea. What mattered to him was killing the child, as the child had witnessed his meeting with the four major party figures.
So, he suddenly turned around, and now his sword was slashing towards the still kneeling child. But the sword was held in the air! When he looked up, his sword was already pinched between two fingers of the old man's hand.
He quickly spun around and swung his sword, but suddenly his hand couldn't move because in a flash, the old man had struck the underside of his arm, immediately paralyzing it. When he tried to move his left hand, the old man continued with an incredibly powerful one-finger strike. In the blink of an eye, the three most vital blood vessels in his body had been struck, and he couldn't move, rigid like a statue!
"Omitohud....! Friend, starting from today, be aware and return to the right path. If you continue your evil deeds, they will drag you into a deep valley of suffering. Now, go away!"
He patted the black giant's shoulder and the giant's body swayed backward, but he could move again. Now the black giant was sure that he couldn't stand up to the old hwe-sio, so he quickly jumped away.
"Now, the murderer has gone. Let's find your father, good child," said the old hwe-sio, taking Tiong Li's hand. They descended the peak and soon found the body of Tan Hok, now a corpse with a severed head.
"Omitohud!"
The old hwe-sio clasped his hands and watched Tiong Li scream and cry, kneeling to hug his father's corpse. The old hwe-sio shook his head. "Omitohud, how can the world be a peaceful place when lust and violence reign over human hearts?"
He then approached Tiong Li, who was still crying, and helped him up.
"Be quiet, good child. The dead cannot be brought back to life by tears. Death comes for everyone, so don't cry anymore. Let me help you bury your father properly. Where's your home? We can bring your father's body back to your family."
"Lo-suhu, my father and I live in the village at the foot of the hill. But we have no one else. We were living alone."
"Your mother?"
"She passed away when I was still young, lo-suhu." "Ah, such a small child is already an orphan. So,
what should we do? Should we bury him here?"
The child nodded. It didn't matter to him where his father would be buried because he had firmly decided to follow the old hwe-sio who was able to drive away the evil black giant earlier.
Then something happened that left Tiong Li amazed. Using a piece of wood, not a hoe or any other sharp tool, the old man dug the ground. The digging with the piece of wood went so quickly that in a blink of an eye, a hole big and long enough to bury his father's body was dug up. The old man then lifted the body along with its head and gently laid it into the hole. After reciting a prayer for the deceased, the hole was filled by the two of them. On the mound of earth, a long stone was placed by the old hwe-sio, who easily lifted a stone that probably couldn't be lifted by four strong men.
After that, Tiong Li fell to his knees in front of the old man, "Lo-suhu, I have no one else, so please allow me to follow you, to become your disciple," He said this while crying.
"Omitohud, helping others should never be half-hearted. Even if you didn't ask, I wouldn't abandon you. Good child, what's your name and what's your father's name?"
"My late father's name was Tan Hok and I'm Tan Tiong Li, lo-su-hu."
"In that case, we need to inscribe your father's name on this stone as a reminder for you." The old hwe-sio used his index finger to etch on the large stone. The characters appeared as though they were carved, reading: Tomb of Tan Hok.
"Let's go home, Tiong Li." The old man said, taking the child's hand. Immediately, Tiong Li felt his body being lifted and quickly climbing the peak. His feet seemed to not touch the ground, but his body moved very quickly, as if flying, and in no time, they were back at the peak where he had met the old man. "This peak is where I live and it's called Pek-hong sen-kok (Valley of the White Crane Mountain). Starting today you'll live here with me."
And so, from that day, Tiong Li became the disciple of the old man who didn't have a name, instead using the name of the peak as his own, Pek Hong San-jin (White Crane Mountain Man). The child was indeed diligent and well-behaved. Despite his young age, he already helped the old man with various tasks. Gathering dry wood, boiling water, gardening, carrying water from the spring, cleaning the small shack that was more like a hut, sweeping the yard. And he never complained about eating only simple rice and vegetables. He didn't know where the old man got the rice from, just that sometimes the old man would leave the peak for a day and return with all their living necessities.
However, from the old hwe-sio, Tiong Li learned all sorts of knowledge. Not just the basics of martial arts, but also how to read and write, and even after he became proficient in reading, he was instructed to read religious books.
A few years later, after Tiong Li had established the basics of martial arts, his master began to teach him martial arts. It turned out the old man was a master of all martial arts.
Glossary
- Omitohud - A Buddhist term often used as an expression of surprise or shock, similar to "oh my God" in English.
- Hwe-sio - A term referring to a Buddhist monk or a person of high religious order in Buddhism.
- Si Golok Naga - A character's title, directly translates as 'The Dragon's Saber'.
- Sin-kang - A term for internal energy in martial arts, similar to 'qi' or 'chi' in Chinese martial arts.
- Mestika Golok Naga - The name of a special weapon in the story, translates as 'The Dragon's Jewel Saber'
- Pek-hong sen-kok - Name of a location, translates as 'Valley of the White Crane Mountain'.
- Pek Hong San-jin - Character's title, translates as 'White Crane Mountain Man'.