Chapter 38. About Faith (2)
State Preceptor Namwan's Buddhist Holy Land consisted of dozens of buildings.
The nine-story wooden structure containing the banquet hall was especially extravagant.
Buddhist paintings covered the walls.
Gold-leaf painted decorations glittered across its surfaces.
At the highest part of the banquet hall stood King Nampyeong's seat.
Slightly lower, on the left and right, were seats prepared for State Preceptor Namwan and Chancellor Jin Sangwon.
The two royal brothers sitting beside each other could not have looked more different.
The elder brother, Nampyeong, possessed a strong and brilliant appearance.
The younger brother, Namwan, looked timid and ordinary.
He was short.
His back was bent.
Deep wrinkles covered his face.
Without his gold-decorated Buddhist robes, he would have been someone with very little presence.
Perhaps because of that inferiority complex...
Namwan committed all kinds of wrongdoing while wearing the mask of a great Buddhist master.
He ruthlessly exploited the people.
He desired power, wealth, and women.
Officially, he recognized only Nam Huyeong as his adopted daughter and registered her in the family records.
But rumors claimed he had many illegitimate children scattered throughout the country.
Within the Buddhist Holy Land, every practitioner was ranked according to who they had been before entering religious life and how much wealth they had donated.
It was a class society maintained through completely worldly standards.
Namwan smiled.
“This is a place devoted to spiritual cultivation, so our preparations are far too humble to properly welcome such honored guests.”
For some reason, Namwan was especially talkative today.
He was constantly presenting one thing after another.
Sangwon sat comfortably with his legs crossed, quietly watching him.
His intention was obvious.
The person Namwan wanted to win over today was not his elder brother, King Nampyeong.
It was Jin Sangwon.
Namwan looked toward him.
“I don't know whether the prepared food suits the Chancellor's tastes.”
His expression almost resembled someone trying to court a lover.
Then Namwan lowered his voice.
“Come to think of it, lately many people have been abandoning their registered homes and arriving at the Buddhist Holy Land, asking to become monks or temple servants.”
“...”
“I would gladly accept all of them out of compassion... but this land is limited. We cannot take in so many people.”
Namwan sighed dramatically.
“I fear the discipline of the kingdom may collapse if this continues.”
The meaning hidden inside his words was obvious.
Because his elder brother Nampyeong had lost control over the kingdom...
the people of the Hui Kingdom would soon begin following Namwan instead.
He was revealing his desire to eventually swallow his brother's kingdom.
Nampyeong tilted his head in boredom.
“So what exactly are you asking for?”
“Do you want me to give you more land?”
“Or more money?”
Namwan stiffened.
Nampyeong continued.
“What exactly is wrong with your religious operation that you constantly need more?”
Then suddenly...
the king's pupils widened.
They shone like the eyes of a wild animal.
Sangwon immediately became tense.
He knew that look well.
It was one of Nampyeong's warning signs.
The king laughed.
“That day suddenly comes to mind.”
“Didn't you take my soldiers and go hunt down those useless monks and heretics?”
It was the day the two brothers had made a certain deal and become accomplices.
Nampyeong suddenly brought up the past.
“I thought we clearly divided our territories and each took our share of the benefits back then.”
Because his elder brother had taken the throne, Namwan had tried to build a religious kingdom and rule there like a king.
But naturally...
even that had not been enough.
Deep inside, he had always believed he would make a better ruler than his mad elder brother.
There had never been a single day when he did not resent their father's decision.
Even back when he had merely been an ordinary prince whom no one paid attention to.
Nampyeong's eyes narrowed.
“Don't tell me you still desire this throne.”
Namwan immediately bowed his head to the floor.
“Your Majesty, what are you saying?”
“This humble monk was your faithful supporter then, and I remain so now.”
“Have I not proved my loyalty and our brotherly affection through countless prayers?”
Namwan apparently hoped he could escape the situation with appropriate humility.
Nampyeong burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Whenever I see something like this, I realize just how wise Father really was.”
“...”
The king leaned forward.
“Why do you think Father chose me as the next king?”
“If you had become king, how long do you think you could have kept the throne?”
Nampyeong suddenly stood.
He walked toward his younger brother, who remained kneeling and trembling.
Then he removed the golden crown from his own head.
And placed it on Namwan.
It was an outrageous action.
He threw aside both the dignity and the responsibility of kingship as though they weighed nothing.
Nampyeong smiled.
“Well?”
“Now that you've actually worn it, are you satisfied?”
The heavy metal crown touched Namwan's closely shaved head.
A chill ran through his body.
He nearly collapsed.
Pretending or acting appropriately did not work before King Nampyeong.
The king would continue pressing until the ugliness hidden inside the other person was dragged into the open.
Realizing the atmosphere had become dangerous, Namwan hurriedly removed the crown and placed it on the floor.
Then he shouted,
“Your Majesty, I have committed a crime worthy of death!”
“Please forgive this monk's disloyal words!”
Sangwon stared coldly at the golden crown lying on the floor.
The king was behaving like a madman.
The monk could do nothing except roll his eyes nervously.
These were the two men holding the greatest political and religious power in the kingdom.
As Chancellor, Sangwon could not simply watch the foundation of the royal family being thrown onto the floor.
He quietly intervened.
“Your Majesty, the journey here must have exhausted you. Perhaps you should retire to your chambers.”
He turned toward Namwan.
“I am certain the State Preceptor has also prepared many things for tomorrow's rites.”
But Nampyeong had already been provoked.
He was not going to stop so easily.
“Prepared things?”
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
The king's eyes sharpened.
“Did you know that my dear younger brother refused entry to the people I brought with me?”
