Chapter 184

Chapter 184: The Price of Salvation (2)

“Let’s skip the tedious history lesson.”

Dong Bongsu cast a glance toward the group of children.

“How exactly do you plan to resolve this mess?”

“It wasn’t a mess.”

“Oh?”

Jeon Rahwa hesitated for a heartbeat, sweeping her gaze over the youths before biting her lip and responding with conviction.

“Righteousness.”

“…”

“You told me that when it comes to doing what is right, I should not hesitate. So, I followed that advice.”

Tch.

I didn’t expect this specific outcome.

She really is a captivating woman.

In many aspects, our temperaments are worlds apart, yet that very friction makes her an ideal match for my goals.

Existence truly is a tapestry of contradictions.

And it seems even a man like me cannot avoid that web.

“Well done.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said, you did a good job.”

“…Really?”

“Forget it, just stop.”

“…”

“Why the silence?”

“Didn’t you tell me not to say ‘yes’?”

“…I told you to differentiate between ‘Yes?’ and ‘Yes.’ We’ve covered this.”

“Ah, yeees.”

“What’s with the ‘yeees’?”

“Discernment.”

“…”

After a brief pause, Dong Bongsu spoke again.

“Regardless, since you have committed to this, I will present you with your options.”

“Options? What kind…?”

1. Protect: Train the children and integrate them as members of the ‘Faith’.

2. Entrust: Leave them under the care of a friendly organization or village.

3. Abandon: Sever ties and move on.

Reviewing the system prompts, Dong Bongsu slightly adjusted them and raised a finger.

“First: We have saved them, so our obligation concludes here, and we part ways.”

“No, that’s not—.”

“Second: We hand the children over to the local government office in the River Capital.”

“That’s even worse! The local officials here are completely different from other regions, they are extremely—.”

Once again, Dong Bongsu interrupted her.

“Third.”

He extended his ring finger, signaling the final choice.

“You take personal responsibility for these children.”

“…?!”

Jeon Rahwa stared at him, stunned, her lips slightly parted.

She had planned to get them to an inn, but taking full responsibility? She hadn’t considered the weight of that.

After a long pause, she finally spoke.

“What would you choose?”

“My decision is yours.”

“…What is that supposed to mean?”

“A traveler simply follows the signpost.”

“…”

When she failed to reply, he pressed her further.

“You claimed you didn’t hesitate. Didn’t you anticipate the consequences of your actions?”

“…No. I didn’t.”

“That was your error. When I told you not to hesitate in acting righteously, it was under the implicit assumption that you would operate within your own limits.”

“…”

“Can you realistically provide for all of them with your current skills?”

“…”

“You can’t? And yet, you foolishly dismissed the first two options?”

“But those first two are no different from condemning them to death.”

“Then you must commit to the third.”

“I… I mean, I can barely look after myself!”

“The traveler follows the signpost.”

“What… are you talking about?”

Dong Bongsu offered a smile.

“My ability is your ability.”

In every sense of the word.

“Ah!”

Enough of the theatrics.

Click.

Progress: 100%

Options two and three dissolved, while option one glowed, generating new holographic text.

[You did not abandon fate and have responded to the First Faith appropriately. A reward is granted.]

[+1]

[The bond with your first relationship has strengthened.]

[The world has become slightly brighter, if only by a small measure.]

The rewards concluded there.

And so, he had committed to rescuing all the ‘new burdens’ mentioned by the system.

Ding.

[You have heroically chosen to ‘Protect’ the ten children.]

[The ‘Family Member Window’ is now unlocked. Guide them so they may grow as members of the ‘Faith’.]

[Faith always brings its own reward.]

‘Family Member Window?’

[Jeon Rahwa, Ho, Uk, Yuyeon, Wi, Soran, Pungjiho, Ho-ae, Roe, Jomi, and Seon have been added to the Family Member Window.]

Family members, I see.

As Dong Bongsu reviewed his new ‘family,’ Jeon Rahwa, his ‘first family member,’ spoke up.

“Will this actually work out?”

“Why wouldn’t it?”

“There are ten of them.”

Ten.

Indeed.

Considering them as family, the count was quite substantial.

Furthermore, it was likely this number would increase as the system progressed.

Is the Hero telling me to build a noble clan rather than act as a solo hero?

That suits me fine, Clan Head.

If it grants me strength, I will be a hero, a clan leader, or whatever is required.

In that regard.

“Don’t you know the more, the better?”

“What? Why bring that up?”

Smirk.

An innocent, guileless smile tugged at Dong Bongsu’s lips.

It was an odd expression—simultaneously feigned and sincere.

“It is always preferable to have more family.”

“Fa…mily members?”

“Didn’t you select option three?”

“Well… I did, didn’t I?”

“Then they are family, what else would they be?”

“…”

“Let’s go.”

“Wait? Where to?”

“Where do you think?”

“If you have a family this large, you require a home.”

“A house?!”

Dong Bongsu was already walking away.

“I didn’t expect you to trigger this kind of incident, but I’ve already secured a property.”

While she stood there bewildered, the distance between them increased.

Jeon Rahwa turned to the children, addressing the eldest girl.

“You heard him, right?”

The girl nodded.

“Then hurry and follow.”

Anxiety still flickered in her eyes like a dying flame.

Yet, she didn’t just agree; she stated her own terms.

“I am aware that people like us have no agency. But may I ask for one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Will you feed us well?”

Her voice was grim, as if this were a life-or-death negotiation.

A dry chuckle escaped Jeon Rahwa.

“Of course.”

“Then we will follow. If we eat one meal, we perform one meal’s worth of labor. Two meals, two units of work. Three meals, three units. Right, everyone?”

The girl looked back at the other children.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

A boy applauded.

Woong! Woong!

One child bobbed their head continuously, while another stared with wide eyes, salivating at the thought of food.

Their responses varied, but their affirmation was unanimous.

With that, Jeon Rahwa gathered the children and rushed to catch up with Dong Bongsu.

However…

“This is it? The place you called a house?”

“Exactly. It’s quite the place, right?”

“You slaughtered them.”

“Why the past tense?”

“…Can’t you see?”

Dong Bongsu grinned playfully.

“I see it perfectly. It’s a place that was destroyed. However, that is merely a matter of a little cleaning.”

“…You think ‘a little cleaning’ can fix hundreds of corpses?”

“What constitutes ‘a little cleaning’ anyway?”

“…”

Jeon Rahwa shook her head, staring at him.

At times like this, she truly wondered about the man he was before his memory loss.

He preached of righteousness, yet he treated mass slaughter like swatting bothersome insects.

Of course, most of those he had killed were men who deserved it.

“Have you ever lived in a place this large?”

Prompted by Dong Bongsu, Jeon Rahwa walked to the entrance and retrieved a plaque that had been snapped in two.

Three characters were carved in red onto a heavy, black iron plate.

Iron God Gang.

She had heard the name from Dong Bongsu…

But seeing it in person made the reality set in.

That man truly had demolished this massive sect entirely on his own.

Stepping inside, the scale was even more evident.

A training courtyard paved entirely in granite.

Of course, it was currently blanketed by hundreds of corpses—sacrifices to a ‘natural disaster’—covering the entire training ground.

She stood in the center of the shattered Iron God Gang and scanned the area.

“I have.”

In a past life, a childhood she could barely recall, Jeon Rahwa had been the Young Sect Leader of a renowned clan known to the entire Jianghu.

She had dreamed of that place so often, the memory felt tangible.

As if she had been there only yesterday.

My home was ten times larger than this…

“But, even if you destroyed this place, that doesn’t make you the owner, does it?”

“If I conquered it, does that not make it mine?”

“…Excuse me. No matter how wild the River Capital is, there is a minimum requirement for law and documentation, you know?”

Thud.

A blunt object hit her forearm.

She looked down to see a black jade pendant.

“What is this?”

“Read what is inscribed on it.”

She picked it up and read the three characters, identical in script to the broken plaque: Iron God Token.

The artifact symbolizing the total authority and assets of the Iron God Gang.

“I picked it up yesterday.”

Dong Bongsu chuckled with a sly expression.

“Destruction is merely the precursor to creation.”

“…”

It was absurd, yet in this context, his logic held.

He had resolved the situation in the style of the River Capital, and he had ‘claimed’ this property in the same manner.

“If you intended to do this, couldn’t you have broken a little less?”

“I know, right? Had I known, I would have caused less of a mess.”

“…Tsk. Can’t you yield just a little?”

“I already gave you something of great importance.”

“What?”

“You.”

“…”

“I have entrusted my entire path to you.”

With that, Dong Bongsu handed her another token.

A blue jade pendant shaped like a crescent moon.

“What is this?”

“Cannot you tell by looking? It is a jade pendant.”

“Hey! I see that! I meant—.”

“Do you not desire to be stronger?”

“Yes?”

“You should say ‘Yes,’ not ‘Yes?’.”

Faced with Dong Bongsu’s sudden gravity, Jeon Rahwa accepted the pendant with a dazed expression.

“Yes…”

“Become stronger.”

Dong Bongsu looked toward the ten children still lingering at the entrance.

“If you brought them, you must be responsible. If you accepted them, you must protect them.”

“…Yes. I will.”

“Wearing that will enhance the power of yin-cold martial arts or immortal arts. It is a magic treasure.”

“A magic… what?”

“A Magic Treasure.”

A Magic Treasure was a relic beyond relics, formed by condensing the laws of heaven and earth and spiritual energy.

One of its previous owners had once said:

— One who obtains a great Magic Treasure does not just gain a weapon; they gain the authority to carve out a new destiny.

“Why give something so invaluable… to someone like me?”

“Someone like you?”

“I am… I am just…”

“Yes, yes. You have been treated like a weed and have lived a brutal life, I know.”

“…”

“But I have decided to raise you, and we have decided to walk this path together, so you are no longer a weed. The same goes for them.”

Jeon Rahwa followed his gaze to the children at the gates.

But what she perceived and what Dong Bongsu’s [Sight] revealed were entirely different.

To her, they were ten nameless outcasts, but now, they were flowers she would cultivate.

To him.

[Ho], [Uk], [Yuyeon], [Wi], [Soran], [Pungjiho], [Ho-ae], [Roe], [Jomi], [Seon]

They were [flowers] whose names he had claimed before they even spoke.

Flowers that signified [Family Members].

The word ‘family’—warm on one side—must be defined with cold calculation on the other.

Of course, Jeon Rahwa, oblivious to this hidden definition, smiled brightly at the children.

As if to promise that everything would be alright.

She made a quiet vow to herself.

I will become stronger.

I will never be trampled again.

Neither I, nor my family.

“Thank you.”

“What is there to thank? I can provide that much at any time. So long as it helps us gain strength.”

“Tsk, that is exactly why I am grateful.”

Jeon Rahwa was so moved that she feigned a pout as she clasped the jade necklace around her neck.

『Jade Pendant of the Heavenly Yin Sect’s Maiden』

◆ Grade: Rare

◆ Category: Hidden Weapon ⊃ Weapon

◆ Description: A pendant bearing the mark of the Heavenly Yin Sect.

◆ Special Effect: When worn, enhances the power and mastery of Cold/Ice attribute arts.

However, the moment Jeon Rahwa secured it, a new line appeared in the item’s details.

※ Embedded with a tracking function, accessible to those who share the same mana.