"And so they grieved and complained to one another, not one of them offering any solution to their plight. And Wang, young and beset by the guilt the others had forced upon him, went off with his thoughts to the hills east of Sinanju.
"There he meditated for five days. Although he had been taught proper diet, Wang ate only rice hulls and grass roots because he wished to purge his mind of all distraction. After three days, he forebore all food and concentrated on proper breathing alone, an art which was known then, although not refined.
"After five days, Wang's meditation bore no fruit. He had no solution to Sinanju's grave plight. Further, his spirit was failing for he was weak from hunger and very cold. In truth, life and will were slipping from his body.
"On the fifth night, he lay on his back staring into the heavens. Above him, the stars moved inexorably, and it seemed to Wang they were cold, uncaring stars, unmindful of the tragedy gathering on the shores of the West Korean Bay. Yet at the same time Wang could see that the stars never went out; they were always burning, just like the sun. If only people could burn as bright and as long... Wang thought.
"It was then a great ring of fire came down from the skies. The fire had a message for Wang. It said that men do not use their minds and bodies as they should; they wasted their spirit and strength. The ring of fire taught Wang the lessons of control— and though Wang's enlightenment came in a single burst of flame, his mastery of what he had learned took a lifetime.
"This was the beginning of the sun source," Chiun finished, opening his clear eyes.
"You think there is some connection between that ring of fire and these UFOs?" Remo asked, frowning.
"The sun source is known," Chiun said slowly. "But the source of the sun source is not known. Many Masters have contemplated the mystery of the ring of fire which spoke to Wang, for it is the greatest mystery of Sinanju. I myself have given this much thought. And you, Remo?"
Remo shrugged. "I thought it was just a legend."
"I see. Then perhaps you are not responsible after all."
"I'm not?" Remo asked hopefully.
"When I first read of these USOs, Remo, I saw in their mystery the answer to the greatest riddle of Sinanju. It was no accident that we of Sinanju, in the hour of our direst need, were given the gift of the sun source. A wiser power from the stars saw that our glory should not fade from this earth, and perhaps one of their USOs visited with Wang and through their skill placed the secret of the sun source into his brain.
"If this were true, then it is the duty of the Master of Sinanju to make contact with the descendants of the Master who gave Sinanju to the Greatest Master Wang. For we are bound by a common destiny."
"Let me get this straight," Remo said. "You think the things we can do with our bodies are because a flying saucer dropped in on Wang?"
"An emissary from an advanced Korean civilization," Chiun corrected.
"Korean? How do you figure Korean?"
"Very simple. Korean is the most civilized nation on this planet. It therefore follows that any advanced people on other planets are Korean, too. Besides, this Master from the House of Beetle Goose has a Korean name. He told it to me."
"He did? What is it?"
"Well," Chiun said evasively. "He pronounced it differently than you and I would. His accent was atrocious."
"Right. But what was his name?"
"He called himself Hopak Kay," Chiun said quickly.
"Hopak Kay? What does it mean?"
"It does not matter what it means. It is his name."
Remo scratched his head. Hopak Kay? The words sounded familiar, but Remo's command of Korean was not exactly fluent.
"What is important," Chiun continued, "is that I had made contact with this Master."
"And I screwed it up?"
"Yes, you screwed it up."
"I did not know, Little Father. I am sorry."
"Are you prepared to atone for this?" Chiun asked.
"If it is within my power," Remo replied.
"Then you will help me regain contact with this World Master?"
"Does that mean I'm forgiven?"
"Yes, Remo. I forgive you."
"Thank you, Little Father," Remo said gratefully. He no longer felt like an orphan. "It was my speech that did it, wasn't it?"
Chiun smiled. "Yes, it was your beautiful speech which touched my heart." And Chiun tore to pieces the parchment on which he had been writing, pleased that he had been spared the necessity of finishing the long letter in which he told Remo that despite all the insults and indignities he had suffered, Chiun would return to resume Remo's training since Remo was of such a level of ineptitude that without Chiun, he was in danger of being run over by a three-wheeled bicycle.
?Chapter Thirteen
"I'd better check in with Smitty," Remo said, picking up the telephone. "What did he say he wanted?"
"He wanted you to recover something that was stolen from your country," Chiun said absently.
"Oh yeah? Did he say what it was?"
"It was one of those ridiculous atomic things."
"What! You mean an atomic bomb?" Remo demanded.
"No, not one of those."
"Good," Remo said, listening to the Folcroft number ring.
"Smith called it a warhead," Chiun remarked.
"An atomic warhead's been stolen!" Remo shouted.
"Yes, I know, Remo," Smith's lemony voice came over the receiver. "I've been trying to reach you about it. And there's no need to shout. I can hear perfectly."
"Smitty, what's going on?"
"Not good, Remo. The Air Force secretly moved the damaged Titan missile today, along with its warhead, which took a different route for security reasons. The vehicle carrying the warhead disappeared en route, and its driver was found dead. He'd apparently been left, unconscious, on a road three miles from the missile base, where he was run over."
"In other words, you don't know who took this thing?"