Something weirdly inconsistent about the Shaolin Chief Abbot (DGSD)

[Ken Cheng]

There's something strangely inconsistent about the Shaolin Chief Abbot (Hui Juk's father) in DEMIGODS & SEMIDEVILS, the infamous "Big-Headed Big Brother" who coordinated the vast conspiracy/cover-up concerning Kiu Fung's origins that resulted in so much suffering for Kiu Fung.

The way that the Chief Abbot schemed to keep what had happened at the Gate of Ah Mun a secret, one would guess that he had great shame/fear over letting the truth of what had happened get out. And yet, when finally exposed during the Heroes' Conference at Shaolin, the Chief Abbot did not behave like a man who had desperately tried to hide a terrible secret by any means necessary. He admitted his wrongdoing, and accepted his punishment. If he was going to admit his crime and submit to his punishment so easily, why did he bother going through all the trouble of the coverup (and the guilty conscience that went with it) in the first place? His sudden remorse was just a bit too...sudden for me.

[CC]

Part of the reason is that he thought MRB had already passed away and he did not want to tarnish a dead man's reputation.

He had no idea XYS was alive too. So he probably thought that it was XF doing all that sneaking around and murdering the people. Openly admitting it would not have solved the problem and I suspect he was more worried about Shaolin's reputation.

[wkeej]

the problem is that someone knows that he knows. so he can't hide anymore?
or was it because he realized that his lover is around? hence better settle everything once and for all?

[qiaofeng]

i think its more like hes exposed and cant hide the secret any longer. denying it would make matters worse, as xiao yuansan probably has some way to prove it. so to save the very little face and reputation he has left, he did the best thing given the situation and owned up like a man.

[Zhuge Liang]

In what way did the abbot try to cover it up? Yes he kept quiet about it but what schemes did he hatch to keep it under wraps. It was in fact the other participants that were intent on dying than revealing his identity.

Other than his thing with Evil 2 i thought he was quite a righteous guy.

[Ken Cheng]

In what way did the abbot try to cover it up?

He was the infamous "Big Headed Big Brother" who concealed many details of Kiu Fung's origin from Kiu Fung, and withheld a number of dark secrets that would have exonerated Kiu Fung of various wrongdoings he had been accused of.

[PJ]

He was the infamous "Big Headed Big Brother" who concealed many details of Kiu Fung's origin from Kiu Fung, and withheld a number of dark secrets that would have exonerated Kiu Fung of various wrongdoings he had been accused of.

What crimes accused of Kiu Fung do you speak of?

[Ken Cheng]

What crimes accused of Kiu Fung do you speak of?

The slaying of Kiu Fung's adopted parents and Shaolin teacher. These crimes were committed by Siu Yeun San and Chief Abbot knew it, but to hide his role in the Ah Mun Gate incident, the Chief Abbot withheld this information.

[PJ]

These crimes were committed by Siu Yeun San and Chief Abbot knew it

I am not sure if Abbot Xuanci knew it was Xiao Yuanshan all along. Everyone thought Xiao Yuanshan had died, right?

[Zhuge Liang]

Apart from Sweeper Monk everyone only found out that Xiao Yuen San was alive when he revealed himself.

While the abbot did keep quiet about XF's past they had all agreed to keep it a secret. He may have kept quiet about his 2 misdeeds but i don't think he went out of his way to hatch schemes to hide the fact. His colleagues were the ones that were willing to keep the secret for him.

I think that he probably suffered internally quite a bit as he had to keep 2 dark secrets all his life and longed to know about his son but could not speak a word about it as he told Xiao Yuen San.

When defending Shaolin against danger it seemed like he would be willing to sacrifice his life to do so. He even declined using XZ to defend against the threat to Shaolin since his kung fu was from a different sect when someone suggested XZ was more able than any of them to deflect the impending challenge (though he did let XZ finish dueling with JMZ).

[kidd]

The slaying of Kiu Fung's adopted parents and Shaolin teacher. These crimes were committed by Siu Yeun San and Chief Abbot knew it, but to hide his role in the Ah Mun Gate incident, the Chief Abbot withheld this information.

Where did u get this idea? I only watched DGSD97 and I have never for once thought that the Chief Abbot knew about Xiao Yun San being alive and that he did all the crimes. The Chief Abbot was just like everyone else. They all believed Xiao Feng commited the crimes. Chief Abbot saw Xiao Yun San jumped off the cliff. He thought Xiao Yun San has already died 30 years ago.

[SolidSnake]

The slaying of Kiu Fung's adopted parents and Shaolin teacher. These crimes were committed by Siu Yeun San and Chief Abbot knew it, but to hide his role in the Ah Mun Gate incident, the Chief Abbot withheld this information.

Nothing was said about his knowing Xiao Yuansan being alive. At least not in first edition novel, don't know about the revisions.