The King of the Wandering Vagrants spoke, her voice carrying the rough timbre of a life spent in the dust of battlefields.

“The Blood Immortal Cult has always rampaged, claiming they will dismantle the Heavenly Design and drown the world in chaos. We stood against them, preventing that hastened destruction. But after you appeared, a thought struck me.”

She gripped the empty porcelain alcohol bottle with both hands. Slowly, the muscles in her arms swelled, corded with power as she applied pressure.

Geugeugeuk—

The ceramic groaned, then crumbled as if it were soft wax, the last few drops of spirits weeping from the wreckage. Yet, she did not stop; she compressed it further, crushing the shards until they condensed into a single point within her massive palm, her hands eventually clasping together as if in prayer.

Formidable energy converged within that clasp, contained without explosion—a realm of control even Jin Cheon-hee had not yet touched. And this woman had achieved it merely through the haze of drunkenness.

“Isn’t our tireless war against those Blood Immortal bastards the ‘Heavenly Design’ itself?” she mused. “Isn’t the clash between those who seek to destroy and those who seek to protect just another act in a play written by someone else? If so, what is the Heavenly Design? Is there any meaning in us protecting it?”

She opened her hands. Resting in the center of her large, calloused palm was a dark, metallic sphere—the remains of the ceramic, compressed by sheer force.

“We are confused. We receive no oracles, unlike the Cult. We fight to protect a vague concept. Compared to us, those bastards are consistent; they run wild, killing to hasten the end.” She looked up, her gaze piercing. “This is the situation you created. What do you think?”

Jin Cheon-hee listened in silence, his expression unreadable. After a long moment, he finally spoke.

“Well… that happens in life. I don’t harbor any particularly special thoughts on it.”

“What?”

“I understand you have lived with a multigenerational duty to protect the Heavenly Design, and now you feel manipulated. But as a third party, it isn’t my place to debate the truth.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes. I offer my condolences that you feel your existence has been denied.”

The King and Muk Dal stared at him in disbelief. Even Cheon Woo looked surprised; the brother he knew usually empathized deeply with the pain of others. To draw such a sharp line was unlike him.

“Everyone asks if I’m ready to bear the weight of the world… but honestly, I don’t know,” Jin Cheon-hee continued, his brow furrowing slightly. “To avoid tearing the Heavenly Design, should I refuse to treat patients? I don’t know the grandeur of the fate decided by the heavens, but I know the Heavenly Design Compliance suffered to protect it. Still, I will refuse to treat the Blood Immortal Cult. They’ll just find another doctor, won’t they?”

“Is that your only impression?”

“Hmm… Yesterday, I taught a child how delicious a Tanghulu eaten twice is. I made it with a ripe persimmon. He ate it so hurriedly he didn’t notice the juice running down his hand. Even when he becomes an adult, he will remember today whenever he eats a ripe persimmon.”

Cheon Woo nodded silently.

He remembered the night before—Jin Cheon-hee feeding porridge to the children, checking their pulses, and sharing the promised persimmons. It was a rare night where no one was beaten or broken for showing hunger.

“What are you trying to say?” the King asked.

“Just that the moon was very bright that day. I don’t know much about the Heavenly Design, but is it right to take away a child’s ripe persimmon?”

He chuckled softly to himself. Only Cheon Woo truly understood the depth of those words, but the King seemed to grasp the shadow of his meaning.

“You are a person to whom the ripe persimmon before your eyes is more important than the majestic Heaven.”

“You can’t eat the Heavenly Design, can you?”

“True. A human who values feeding others ripe persimmons.”

She tilted her massive shoulders, propping her chin on her hand in thought.

“Then let’s do this. While you are in Hangzhou, feed them persimmons to your heart’s content.”

“Oh?”

“That is what I can do for you. Hangzhou is my territory; the other Heavenly Design Compliance members won’t bother you here. But only here. You take care of what happens when you leave.”

“That’s my specialty. Taking care of things myself.”

“Good. I see why you are called One Light. It is regrettable. If we had a talent like you on our side, things might have been better.”

She clicked her tongue lightly.

“Three hundred Wandering Vagrants…” Jin Cheon-hee began.

“I will send them. I’ll pick the decent ones. So, run wild with my tacit approval.”

“Thank you.”

“However, be warned,” she added, her tone sharpening. “The Crimson Wine Gang won’t be easy. Above them is the Hao Sect. The Heavenly Design Compliance unites for a cause and keeps a line, but the scariest thing is human malice. Can you handle that?”

“Ha… Hahaha.”

“I know you are close with the Golden Blood Chamber, but the Hao Sect is a different beast. Just as the Compliance has different thoughts, they will too.”

It was advice that could not be bought with gold. Jin Cheon-hee clasped his hands in deep gratitude.

***

At the same time, within the headquarters of the Hao Sect.

The leaders of the five factions that formed the backbone of the organization had gathered: the Golden Blood Chamber, Scarlet Tower Pavilion, Thieving Sect, Gambling Faction, and the Five Assassination Faction.

Among these powerful figures, the one who held the title of Hao Sect Leader was the Master of the Scarlet Tower Pavilion. He wore red robes, held a long tobacco pipe, and wore a pair of spectacles—a rarity imported from Western merchants. Though the effectiveness of the round lenses was unknown, he wore them religiously to correct his vision.

Rubbing his rough chin, he spoke.

“Greetings. I am the Hao Sect Leader. Real names don’t matter between us anyway. Please, call me Hong Ryu.”

It was rare for the Sect Leader to step forward personally, a testament to the fact that Hangzhou was a critical base for their operations. Before him, the executives of each faction sat to report on the situation.

The first to speak was the representative of the Thieving Sect.

“One Light has started his madness again. He claims he will pacify Hangzhou and break this absurd situation.”

The Five Assassination Faction grumbled in response. “If he is a physician, he should stick to touching patients’ flesh.”

“How can we know One Light’s mind?” the Gambling Faction countered. “Maybe he truly wants to become a chivalrous warrior.”

“A chivalrous warrior in this day and age? It would make more sense if he stepped up to seize Hangzhou’s interests and grasp public sentiment. What say you, Golden Blood Chamber?”

The representative dispatched from the Golden Blood Chamber remained silent.

“The man sent from the Golden Blood Chamber is taciturn indeed,” the Hao Sect Leader noted.

“May I say a word?” Hong Ryu interjected smoothly.

“Speak, Hao Sect Leader.”

“Our friend… or rather, the ‘friend of a friend of a friend’, the Black Dragon Sect—a connection across three bridges—was hit. The Crimson Wine Gang, who receives tribute from them, is likely next.”

“Kheheum…”

“However, as you know, our Hao Sect has various interests tied with the White Qilin Medical Pavilion. Especially the Golden Blood Chamber, which has a special relationship. Is that not right?”

The Golden Blood Chamber still did not answer. Hong Ryu merely watched him, a smile playing beneath his glasses. Without pressing further, he shifted the topic.

“Anyway, I called you all to decide on a policy.”

Finally, the Golden Blood Chamber spoke.

“Iron Blood Hall Leader Cheol Rip speaks on behalf of the Golden King. Our Golden Blood Chamber actively supports One Light’s will.”

“I thought the Silver Blood Hall Leader, Sama Hyeon, would come,” the Five Assassination Faction grumbled. “Unexpected.”

“The Silver Blood Hall Leader is currently undergoing the Golden King’s test.”

At those words, surprise rippled through the gathered leaders.

“Hoh? The Golden King gave a personal test?”

“An enviable thing.”

“Or he might die.”

Huu—

Hong Ryu exhaled a plume of smoke. “I wish Young Hero Sama Hyeon martial luck. Regardless, I understand the Golden Blood Chamber’s opinion.”

As he tilted his head, the chain of his glasses rattled softly—chareureuk.

“The Golden Blood Chamber follows the money,” the Thieving Sect stated. “The Thieving Sect abstains. Our main business is thievery; this doesn’t concern us.”

“Speaking of which, a thief from the Thieving Sect broke into our faction too.”

“Oh, is that so? Truly fascinating.”

The Thieving Sect answered shamelessly. Just as the Beggars’ Sect could not command every beggar, the Thieving Sect could not leash every thief. In truth, this was the nature of the majority of the Hao Sect; they were an organization as loose and shifting as grains of sand.

“I am curious about the opinions of the Gambling Faction and Five Assassination Faction,” Hong Ryu asked.

“The Gambling Faction believes sanctions should be imposed. If we show weakness in Hangzhou, everyone will ridicule the Hao Sect.”

“The Five Assassination Faction agrees. We must demand a blood debt from the Young Pavilion Master. Even if he is not the party directly involved, at least the White Qilin Medical Pavilion must bleed. Otherwise, what will the rest of the Unorthodox Path think?”

“Hmm.”

The Hao Sect Leader maintained his silence, smiling.

For the Unorthodox Path, notoriety was currency. One who could not repay a grudge had no right to walk the dark path. If the honor of the Hao Sect fell to the ground, the villains under their command would scatter to the winds. However, that was the concern of the traditional Unorthodox factions; the Golden Blood Chamber cared little for such things.

“So, what about the Blood Qilin Mad Slaughterer standing behind One Light?” the Thieving Sect asked. “I believe everyone knows his schemes are no joke. If he rampages, the Hao Sect will be split in half. The incident with Wangya Ju could repeat itself.”

“The five gathered here have all lived in the Murim since the Blood Qilin Mad Slaughterer was truly earning his name,” Hong Ryu replied calmly. “I deliberately asked that no young ones be sent to this meeting, and I am glad each Sect Leader respected that.”

Everyone remembered the days when the Blood Qilin Mad Slaughterer was truly mad. They remembered how many Unorthodox factions had been wiped from the map, how many had waited for the day he would die, convinced that even if he lived, he would surely weaken. Time was supposed to be on their side.

Until he took a disciple.

“Even so, we must see the end,” the Five Assassination Faction insisted. “If we retreat here, the Hao Sect has no future.”

“…One abstention. Two votes for sanctions. One opinion to cooperate with One Light. Understood.”

Now, only the Hao Sect Leader’s vote remained.

Hong Ryu pushed up his glasses with a slender finger.

“As the Hao Sect Leader, I…”

At his answer, the eyes of everyone in the room widened. The direction of the Hao Sect had been decided.