The Master of the All-Knowing House stroked his chin, organizing his thoughts for a moment before continuing.
"It seems you do not know, so I will tell you step by step. There is no one by that name in the River Capital."
"But?"
"If you look at the entire Jianghu, there is one person."
"I knew it!"
The Master of the All-Knowing House tilted his head, staring intently at Jeon Rahwa as he spoke.
"How curious. Do you truly not know Kim Rae-won?"
"No."
"Well, you must have come to ask because you do not know."
"…?"
The Master of the All-Knowing House took out a teacup and poured some tea.
The tea itself had a subtle, pleasant aroma, but because a foul stench came from his hands, it was difficult to honestly call it good tea.
Not that it mattered, since it was not for a guest to drink anyway.
"As for Kim Rae-won."
He lightly touched the teacup to his lips before pulling it away and continuing.
"He is a high school student."
"…A high school student?!"
Only then did a name Jeon Rahwa had heard before come up.
To be precise, it was a 'title'.
● ● ●
A moment later.
Tap.
Leaving the All-Knowing House, Jeon Rahwa tilted her head.
'High School Student….'
A birth name is given the moment a person is born, so it cannot clearly contain their characteristics and attributes.
On the other hand, a title is born from the natural spread of one's character or martial arts as they become active in the Jianghu, condensing into a single symbolic feature.
That is why the saying circulates in the Jianghu: 'A birth name ends with death, but a title lasts forever.'
High School Student.
He had suddenly appeared about twenty years ago.
No one knew where he came from, and he used unidentifiable martial arts of unknown origin.
According to one theory, when he first appeared, he couldn't even speak the language here.
Whenever someone asked his identity, he would always reply, 'High School Student,' and that simply stuck as his title.
The official story was that the title originated from how he defined himself after being acknowledged as a master on par with one of the Three Monsters at the Orthodox Assembly Gathering.
—Jeongil High School. I was a high school student there.
School (虐敎).
Not 'Hak (學)' for study, but 'Hak (虐)' for cruelty.
A large and cruel sect on another unknown continent.
According to him, a common warrior there was called a high school student.
He claimed to have been just one of them.
The common opinion in the Jianghu was that he was just being humble, and he was likely one of the 'leaders' of Jeongil High School.
He.
That is, the High School Student was active in the Jianghu for about ten years before suddenly vanishing.
Rumors said he gave up his dreams in the Jianghu and fully entered the path of a cultivator, while others said he returned to his homeland and became a cult leader.
What was certain was that it had been over ten years since he had shown himself in the Jianghu.
And that High School Student's name was….
'Kim Rae-won?'
Although the High School Student was a renowned master of the Jianghu, his name was largely unknown, which was why Jeon Rahwa had not known it either.
'No, it can't be.'
First of all, the age didn't match, did it?
He was active in the Jianghu for nearly ten years, and another ten years had passed since he disappeared.
Even if he had made his debut in the Jianghu around the age of twenty, he would have to be nearly forty by now.
However….
On the other hand, something felt suspicious.
A master capable of wiping out the Iron God Gang all by himself.
The very rare surname 'Kim'.
And although it was subtle, he seemed a little different in appearance as well.
'I've submitted the request, so I'll just have to wait.'
She had barely paid the fee by scraping together all the Martial Currency she had found (?) at the Plum Blossom Fortress.
It was no use, no matter how much she insisted that this High School Student and her Kim Rae-won were different people.
They had insisted, saying that if the investigation revealed they were different people, they would immediately return double the amount, and charged her a premium for a special scoop.
"Damn money-grubbing beggars!"
Just as Jeon Rahwa, filled with rage, was shouting near the All-Knowing House.
"W-we didn't steal anything… P-please spare us."
Jeon Rahwa stopped in her tracks.
Looking around the corner of the alley where the voice came from, she saw children huddled together.
There were several children dressed in rags.
Frightened by her own voice just now, the children were clinging to each other.
'That's strange.'
There were no beggars in the River Capital.
To be precise, aside from the fake beggars like those at the All-Knowing House run by the Great Beggars' Sect, they could not exist.
This was because the Iron God Gang, the Seven Star Immortal Society, or other sects had 'collected' all the beggars.
The talented were taken as disciples, the untalented but sturdy as slaves, and those who were neither… were used for various other purposes.
What if new beggars appeared? It was obvious they would be collected again before a day passed.
And yet, there were children like these?
'Ah!'
Jeon Rahwa quickly understood.
She realized they must have been freed when the Iron God Gang was annihilated.
"We, we… are not beggars. W-we don't ta-taste good, either."
The youngest-looking child looked up at her.
Was she about six years old? A scrawny little girl.
"I'm hungry…."
A boy who looked about ten years old was lying on the ground, groaning weakly.
The other children all seemed to be in a similar state.
"Haaa."
A sigh escaped her lips on its own.
Having been in a similar situation herself until just recently, a wave of pity washed over her.
"You all, how many are there?"
"T-ten of us. Why?"
The oldest child answered.
She looked to be about thirteen years old.
"Where is everyone?"
"Over there."
The girl pointed to the ruins of a collapsed building.
The rest of the children were hiding there.
Jeon Rahwa took out a silver coin from her clothes.
"Use this to buy something to eat. And hurry up and buy some clothes to wear."
The girl's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Yes. But…."
Jeon Rahwa looked around.
"You should probably go somewhere else quickly. Bad people will come to get you soon."
"What?"
"The Iron God Gang is gone, but there are other guys, right? Like the One-Eyed Sect or the Black Wind Hall."
The girl's face turned pale.
"…We have nowhere to go."
Jeon Rahwa was at a loss as well.
Where in this River Capital could be safe? No matter where they settled, there wouldn't be a single spot where children alone could rest safely.
As she stood there pondering what to do, Dong Bongsu's words came to her mind.
—I have just one request for you, too. Righteousness. When performing a righteous deed, do not hesitate.
I must not hesitate….
Although she felt a lump in her throat, Jeon Rahwa ultimately extended her hand to the oldest girl.
"Then come with this older sister."
The girl looked up at her, hesitating.
But soon, she shook her head.
"I won't go."
"Why?"
The girl looked at the other children one by one, then her gaze returned to Jeon Rahwa's face and fixed there.
"I can't go alone."
Jeon Rahwa patted the girl's head and smiled.
"I can't go alone either, you know?"
"What?"
"Because there's an uncle who would scold me for coming alone in a situation like this."
It was at that very moment, as Jeon Rahwa was about to perform a 'righteous deed' just as Dong Bongsu had taught her.
"Oh, here you are."
A group of men appeared along with a gruff voice.
Men wearing red hoods.
On the front of their hoods, three dark reddish-brown characters, darker than the hoods themselves, were embroidered.
Fire Bell Gang.
They were the fourth-ranked power in the Western Road, after the One-Eyed Sect and the Black Wind Hall.
Though it would be more accurate to call them the third-ranked now.
There were five of them.
All were middle-aged men, and heat seemed to radiate from their bodies just by walking.
As their name suggested, the Fire Bell Gang was a sect that mainly trained in fire arts.
Handlers of fire.
"We went through a lot of trouble looking for these brats, and they were all gathered here."
The man in the lead grinned.
His face was covered in burn scars.
"We called dibs first…."
His lips curled up as he stared at Jeon Rahwa.
"What was the young lady doing just now?"
Jeon Rahwa couldn't answer.
Even if she was the descendant of a great sect, how long ago was that? For over a decade, she had lived as nothing more than a slave.
She had only been learning martial arts for a single day.
Her entire body trembled.
And yet… she instinctively hid the children behind her.
"I asked what you were doing. Young. Lady."
Bo Geonhwi, the vanguard warrior of the Fire Bell Gang, took another step forward, examining Jeon Rahwa closely.
Her temples were smooth, and she wasn't wearing clothes bearing the crest of a sect.
She wasn't a government official, either, and he could faintly see a look of fear on her face.
Heh heh, Bo Geonhwi let out a low growl and made his decision.
The conclusion was that he could just brush Jeon Rahwa aside.
"If you back off now, I'll let you keep that pretty face of yours. You. Little. Bitch."
Just then.
「I told you to quietly focus on your martial arts, and here you are, causing trouble?」
A familiar voice struck Jeon Rahwa's mind.
A voice only she could hear.
A smile formed on Jeon Rahwa's lips without her even realizing it.
She bit her lip, her expression hardening with even more resolve.
Then, fixing her gaze on Bo Geonhwi's eyes, Jeon Rahwa moved the children back.
"Step back."
"Haha. Refusing a toast and drinking a penalty shot."
"If you step back now, you might be able to keep your life."
"Kekeke. Young lady, a pretty face is useless in a fight. Ah, of course, after the fight, it's very useful. It's nice to look at, and above all—."
"…"
"It has multiple holes, doesn't it? I can fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee's dick, shooting my load over and over again. Hehe."
As he finished speaking, Bo Geonhwi roughly grabbed Jeon Rahwa's arm.
Jeon Rahwa, who had been prepared, quickly stepped back, but she couldn't dodge completely.
Rip—
The sleeve of her arm was torn, exposing Jeon Rahwa's shoulder.
"Oho? Look at this."
The 'Money' character brand came into everyone's view.
"A bitch with a slave brand, roaming around alone without a leash-holder?"
Bo Geonhwi's eyes flashed fiercely.
"An escaped slave, I see."
"Hehehe, how did you know our Fire Bell Gang also does slave-hunting, that you'd roll over to us on your own?"
"The price of one slave should be enough for drinks."
The Fire Bell Gang warriors surrounded Jeon Rahwa in a semicircle.
It was one thing when they hadn't identified her, but now that everything was out in the open, they had nothing to fear.
Even more so now that the great obstacle known as the Iron God Gang was gone.
"Guess I'll have to do some slave-hunting for the first time in a while."
"But let's have some fun first."
"She's a free body, so we can be a little rough, right?"
Despite this, Jeon Rahwa did not back down.
No, in fact, a smile of well-founded confidence spread across her face.
She glanced at the terrified children and then shifted her gaze forward again, comforting them.
"Don't cry. It's okay."
Though her hands were shaking violently, her face was even calmer than before.
"I warned you."
"Hahaha. Warned us? What warning?"
"I told you to back down. That if you back down now, you might be able to keep your life."
"And if we don't?"
"Your bodies will be riddled with holes like a beehive. Oh, and bees shoot stingers, not dicks. After sticking it wherever you please—"
Jeon Rahwa smiled a smile that resembled someone she knew.
Baring her white teeth.
"You'll have to die."
