Chapter 193
Once again, Hyang-I spoke in an animated voice.
"It's not just empty praise."
"......."
"Sect Leader, you defeated the alliance leader Namgung Cheon-rui, renowned as the greatest expert of the orthodox faction, and True Person Cheongho, sect master of Mount Hua, one after another. And you did it alone, with overwhelming might."
"......."
"There's no one left in the jianghu who doubts your martial arts."
Hyang-I's voice brimmed with pride.
In truth, she had grown up in the Red Light District with Jaseong as childhood friends.
For Jaseong, who grew up alongside her, to now become the one the entire world feared—the World's Greatest—how could she not be proud?
"The World's Greatest..."
Jaseong let out a faint chuckle.
But behind that laugh, he felt a faint shiver run down his spine.
'The World's Greatest. The summit every warrior in the jianghu dreams of... As I swore at the graves of my eldest brother and sister-in-law, I have finally reached that peak.'
The boy from the Red Light District, whom everyone ignored, had become an absolute master whom no one could ignore, ruling the world at his feet.
'Eldest brother. Sister-in-law. I've kept half of our promise. I've become an expert feared by the jianghu, prepared to annihilate our enemies, both orthodox and unorthodox, as I once swore... Now, only the Demonic Cult remains.'
Looking out through the window at the street below, Jaseong tightly clenched his fist.
His eyes, facing his final enemy, burned with a cold flame.
Hyang-I, watching him, had a subtly changing expression.
Her excitement faded, and instead, a worried glint appeared in her eyes.
'Sect Leader is thinking about the Demonic Cult again. I wish he would rest, if only for a moment...'
But she did not voice those words aloud.
No one understood better than her just how deep Jaseong's thirst for revenge ran.
* * *
Afterward, while allowing himself time to recover, Jaseong also kept careful watch over the inner workings of both the Hao Sect and the Evil Path Association.
His very first order of business was to restructure the enormous flows of funds gathered from the Tianxia Association, pleasure districts across the Central Plains, and the Evil Path Association's black path organizations.
In the Evil Path Association Leader's chief's office at Black Union City.
Jaseong sat at the head seat and summoned Hyang and Gu Janghu.
"Hyang, Gu Janghu."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"At your command."
Both answered respectfully.
Jaseong closed the ledger lying atop the table and slowly began to speak.
"I want what I'm about to say delivered to every branch and group without exception. Exactly as I say it—don't alter a single word."
Jaseong's gaze was gravely serious.
Sensing it was more than a routine order, Hyang-I listened with rising tension.
"Take half of all protection money and profits collected from the pleasure districts, gambling halls, and black markets."
"Half, you say...?"
"Use that half to provide relief for the poor common folk."
"......!"
Hyang-I's eyes grew round with astonishment.
Gu Janghu could not hide his surprise, either.
"Half... That is an enormous sum. The revenue from the Tianxia Association alone could purchase several mid-sized merchant guilds, and when adding half of the Evil Path Association's profits...."
Hyang-I trailed off, unable to finish.
It was not just a large sum.
It was enough financial power to shake the jianghu itself.
And he wanted to distribute it among the common folk?
"Isn't that too excessive? We need funding to operate our organization and expand our influence."
Gu Janghu cautiously gave his opinion.
But Jaseong shook his head.
"No, it must be done."
Jaseong rose and walked to the window.
Outside, the streets of Ansun could be seen.
In the twilight sun, passersby bustled along: merchants, porters, mothers with children in hand. Their daily lives appeared peaceful, but to Jaseong's eyes, he saw the unease lurking beneath that peace. Now that the rulers of the jianghu had changed, he wondered—what were those people afraid of at this moment?
"We have defeated the orthodox Murim Alliance. We crushed them with strength and exposed their hypocrisy with righteous cause. Now, we are the new, undisputed masters of the jianghu."
His voice was filled with authority.
"But people's perceptions do not change easily. To them, we are still the unorthodox. We are the black path, the demon's brood, merely objects of fear. They tremble in dread that we will exploit them worse than the orthodoxy ever did."
Jaseong turned and fixed the two with his gaze.
"Ruling by fear is the lowest of measures. True rule begins with winning people's hearts. We must show, through our actions, that we are different from those hypocrites of the righteous faction."
Memories from his past flickered through Jaseong's mind.
Those days trembling in hunger in the Red Light District's back alley.
If only someone had spared a warm meal, if only someone had reached out a hand....
He had never forgotten the desperation of those days.
"The strength we possess is not for trampling the weak. Return that might to them. Feed the starving, give medicine to the sick. That is what I wish the Evil Path Association to become."
Faced with Jaseong's unwavering conviction, both Hyang and Gu Janghu fell solemn.
Their lord was not merely strong in martial arts.
He carried within him the capacity to embrace the world.
"We understand. We will take your will to heart, Sect Leader."
Hyang was the first to bow her head.
Gu Janghu pressed his fist to his chest and added,
"I will send orders to all organizations and personally oversee each branch myself."
Both bowed deeply.
A few days later,
strange things began happening all across the Central Plains.
The black path organizations of the Tianxia Association and the Evil Path Association moved in unison.
But what they held was not sword or spear.
It was sacks of grain, bundles of medicinal herbs, and silver ingots.
To a destitute village in Hebei, where famine had driven people to starvation, a wagon convoy under the Tianxia Association banner arrived.
"What...what is all this?"
"The Evil Path Association Leader sent these relief goods! Form a line! Everyone will receive their share!"
Gruff black path members, sweating, carried bags of rice on their backs.
The starving commoners, in disbelief, accepted the grain.
In a small Jiangnan village devastated by flood, silver was distributed.
It was a lifeline for rebuilding ruined homes and obtaining immediate food.
In the slums of great cities like Luoyang, Kaifeng, and Chang'an, free clinics opened their doors.
Bearing signs reading 'Eternal Pharmacy,' they treated the sick who could not afford care, providing free medicine as well.
"No payment needed! These are the orders of the Association Leader!"
The physicians tended patiently to festering wounds and cared for the suffering with sincerity.
Moreover, orphanages were established under the Tianxia Association, sheltering itinerant children and providing them food, martial arts lessons, and education.
For children with nowhere to go, a new home was born.
When Hyang-I heard the news, she murmured softly.
"Because Sect Leader was like that as a child, too. If it weren't for eldest brother, he might have starved on the streets..."
Her eyes glistened red.
She recalled the image of two brothers surviving on slop, cooking whatever scraps they could in the Red Light District.
She alone in the jianghu understood Jaseong's true reason for founding the orphanage.
At first, the common people were puzzled and wary, but gradually, they began to sense the Evil Path Association's sincerity.
"Is this a dream or reality... For the Evil Path Association to send grain?"
"I thought those Tianxia Association folks were heartless, but... They saved my ailing mother."
"They gave out medicine without charging a single coin. Unbelievable..."
At taverns, marketplaces, and wells, the talk of the town was the good deeds of the Evil Path Association.
"Look at those orthodox hypocrites. They strutted as noble sects, but never cared if lowborn folk like us lived or died."
"That's right. They even bled us more, all in the name of protection money. Just hypocrites!"
"But the black path saved us. Who would have believed it?"
The hearts of the people were shifting.
Hundreds of years of blind faith in the righteous sects were cracking, and in their place, gratitude and support for the Evil Path Association was beginning to grow.
"Jaseong, leader of the Evil Path Association... Is he truly a villain?"
"No. If you ask me, he's a true hero."
Both the jianghu and the common folk's views were slowly but unmistakably changing.
The seeds sown by Jaseong had begun to sprout.
* * *
While the jianghu was abuzz with talk of Jaseong, the man himself was quietly devoted to recovery.
The aftereffects of the 'Twelve Gates Ki Suppression' were deeper than expected.
Even with the secret arts of the Heaven Evading Celestial Formula and the Eternal Divine Physician, full recovery would take more time.
He spent day and night guiding his ki, restoring his unsteady energy.
Lee Rin brought decoctions for him every day without fail, and with her North Sea Ice Palace technique, ice-Blood Sealing Pulse, she calmed and stabilized his meridians.
Thanks to her medical skills, his recovery was visibly swift.
And then, late at night—
Third floor of Drunken Immortal Pavilion, inside Jaseong's sleeping quarters.
Knock, knock.
A careful knock sounded.
"Come in."
Jaseong opened his eyes and spoke.
The door opened and Lee Rin entered.
In her hands was a steaming bowl of herbal medicine.
"Great hero, it's time for your medicine."
She set the bowl down on the table.
Jaseong rose from his bed and picked up the bowl.
Though the medicine was intensely bitter, he drank it all in one go.
"Thank you."
He set down the empty bowl.
Usually, Lee Rin would have left with a "Sleep well" farewell.
But tonight was different.
She stood there motionless, just gazing at Jaseong.
In the candlelight, her eyes flickered with emotion.
She seemed to want to say something, her lips moving as if to speak, but closing again.
"What's wrong? You look like you've something to say."
Jaseong asked, puzzled.
Lee Rin slowly lifted her gaze.
"Great hero."
"Yes?"
"Do you know how long you were sleeping, with your pulse so weak?"
"You said three days. Wasn't it?"
"Yes. Only three days."
Lee Rin took a step closer.
"But do you know, for someone, those three days... were the longest, most difficult, most terrifying time of their life?"
Her expression became solemn.
The mischievous and spirited look she often wore was nowhere to be found.
"That person who suffered... was me."
"......."
"I kept watching, terrified your breathing might stop, your heart cease... I couldn't look away for even a moment. If you hadn't awakened... And that's when I realized."
Lee Rin met his eyes directly.
The candlelight sparkled within her teary gaze.
"How deeply I care for you. How precious you are to me. Not just as a comrade, or a benefactor..."
She paused, took a breath.
And then, as if finding resolve, she smiled radiantly.
"I won't hide it anymore."
Her voice rang clear.
"I like you, great hero. Very much."
"......!"
For a moment, Jaseong went blank.
It was a confession he never expected.
He had not so much as blinked before countless enemies, but at this moment, his heart dropped with a thud.
The night wind from outside flickered the candle flame.
Under the trembling light, Lee Rin's pale cheeks flushed a soft red.
"I don't expect you to have an answer for me right now. It's enough... Just that you know how I feel."
Lee Rin slowly moved to rise.
Just then, unexpected words slipped from Jaseong's lips.
"Lee Rin."
"Yes...?"
"I treasure you too. As much as my own life."
There was more sincerity in Jaseong's quiet words than ever before.
Her eyes went wide at that one sentence.
And then, a radiant smile bloomed across her face.
The crescent-moon smile blossoming on her pale face was dazzlingly beautiful.