Episode 27. Say Something That Makes Sense
An enormous amount of wealth was being carried into Maehwa Pavilion, and when Cha Seongtae saw it, he approached with a pale face.
“What is all this? Where did you get it? Did you learn how to steal now?”
“It’s the funds that the Golden Phoenix Hall Lord of the Black Cat Gang skimmed off. It’ll be used to build sect facilities like the inn.”
“You brought the Black Cat Gang’s money here?”
Cha Seongtae looked completely dumbfounded.
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“Because I felt like it. The heart of a busboy, the heart of the Hao Sect Master, the heart of a thief.”
“The thief part I understand very clearly, but what about when the Black Cat Gang comes storming in? Those guys are the ones who take money, not the ones who lose it. They’re the ones who beat up thieves.”
“I’m good at beating people too, so it’ll be fine, no?”
“Haah…”
So far I’d killed the Jo brothers, some lackeys from the Black Boat gang, and the Golden Phoenix Hall Lord. But I had never once gone all out.
Besides, I knew this was a time when the Black Cat Gang’s leader couldn’t spare much attention for a place like Ilyang County. He was at a stage where he barely had time to train each day.
Still, if I started explaining all of that in detail, the atmosphere would only get weirder, so I decided to gloss over it.
“If the Black Cat Gang comes, I’ll just go and settle it with their Sect Leader.”
“Settle it, sure, that sounds great.”
“Or I’ll beat the Black Cat Gang Leader. Or I can torment him and torture him. Or I could just take him as my subordinate.”
“Subordinate, good, good. Torture? Ah, what a brilliant plan, that’s… yeah, that’s the move, right there. I worried for nothing.”
“Or I could kill him. I’ve got plenty of options.”
Those listening nearby all sighed and avoided my eyes, while Cha Seongtae stared into space and muttered with a dazed look.
“Could you at least say something that makes sense, so I can feel reassured… ha…”
I glanced at Cha Seongtae and answered succinctly:
“It makes sense.”
I was used to being doubted, but I also needed to calm people down a little.
“Alright. Looks like the poor masses are full of worries again today. I get it. Tell the heads of the Hao Sect’s branches to gather in the clearing at the Zahwa Inn site. I’ll ease their minds a bit.”
“Who exactly counts as a branch head? I’m still not totally sure.”
Honestly, later on even I would end up like Cha Seongtae, not really knowing who was part of the Hao Sect. I planned to recruit almost everyone at the bottom of society as I traveled around. The Hao Sect was always meant to be a group of working people. In that sense, you could call it the Labor Sect.
There is no noble or base work.
But in the jianghu, distinctions of high and low were everywhere, and everyone took them for granted.
That’s why most of the jianghu was my enemy.
“For now, call in Jang Deuksu of the Shop Division.”
“Huh? Deuksu-hyung?”
“Why, you looking down on Deuksu-hyung?”
“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant. His beef soup sure is good though.”
“And Master Geum Cheolyong for the Iron Division, and Yeon Jaseong for the Construction Division will be enough for now.”
“Hmm, what about that guy who looked like he was in charge of the caravan?”
“Leave him be. I need to watch him longer.”
“Understood.”
Hao Sect’s First Rule
We lit a bonfire in the middle of the construction site at Zahwa Inn and I gathered with the branch lords (small sect masters) around it.
Geum Cheolyong spoke first.
“Our Sect Master says he has something to tell us.”
“Yes.”
Since Master Geum was present, I began speaking in polite speech.
“I’ll explain the Hao Sect’s operating principles. Please excuse me if it sounds a bit disorganized. I’m not trying to deliver some polished speech; I just want to share my true intentions and hope we can empathize.”
“Just speak freely.”
I watched the firewood crackle and burn, then opened my mouth.
“From here on, everything that happens in the Hao Sect is, by default, my fault. If there’s a problem, just say the Hao Sect Master did it. If someone comes asking where the Sect Master is, just tell them where I am. If someone presses you for answers, tell them only the Hao Sect Master knows. That is the Hao Sect’s first operation rule.”
To summarize:
“It’s all my fault.”
When I finished speaking, I looked around at the branch heads. As expected, they were all staring at each other like, What kind of bullshit is this?
The eldest, Geum Cheolyong, asked again as if to confirm:
“So… everything is the Sect Master’s fault?”
“That’s correct.”
He tilted his head.
“How can that be called the operating principle of an organization? Explain a bit more.”
“Alright. I should explain more. I’m no good at noodle soup, so I set my sights on the jianghu.”
“Is that really true?”
“Let’s just move past that part. Anyway, Master Geum who runs the smithy, and Deuksu-hyung who runs Chunyang Tavern, neither of you has any ambitions in the jianghu. Not now, and not ever. Isn’t that so?”
The two men nodded.
“We’ve got no business with the jianghu.”
“Not in a million years.”
I looked at Yeon Jaseong and Cha Seongtae.
“These two are probably the same.”
Cha Seongtae thought, Well, I’m not… but kept his mouth shut because of the mood.
“And most Hao Sect members will be the same. But I’m different. I don’t even need to give detailed examples—inn busboys, escorts, cart drivers, people who make weapons, people who cook, people who make daily necessities, merchants of all sorts—they’ve all been killed by jianghu people countless times, and no one could ever seek justice for them. That’s how it was, and that’s probably how it will be going forward. Through this Hao Sect, I want to reduce that number by one person, two people, three… as many as possible. And if a Hao Sect member dies unfairly, I’ll hold the killer accountable, no matter who they are.”
Back when I was the Mad Demon, every time the Righteous and Demonic sides clashed, the jianghu turned into a war zone and countless innocent people died. People with absolutely no sin would die all the time.
I had zero sympathy for mad monkeys with martial arts who killed each other in their own petty wars.
But when a busboy carrying drinks and side dishes got beaten to death for no real reason, that was something I couldn’t forgive.
Geum Cheolyong asked:
“I’m starting to understand, but what does that have to do with you ‘aiming for the jianghu’?”
I continued.
“It has everything to do with it. If wounded or dead people are Hao Sect members, it means I’ll find out about them. If a Black Path thug kills them, I’ll kill that thug. If a Righteous sect member kills them, I’ll go to the Martial Alliance and hold them accountable… after killing the bastard first. I’ll be the guardian of ordinary working people. However…”
I looked at everyone in turn.
“Just by doing that—protecting the weak—we’ll inevitably clash with existing powers. As Hao Sect Master, I’ll always have the moral high ground, because I represent the powerless.”
In my last life, I had no such justification. That’s why I so easily became the “Enemy of the Martial World.”
I was criticized easily, mocked easily. Everything I did was “the Mad Demon being mad,” and I even ended up taking the blame for things I hadn’t done.
To be fair, there were plenty of times I couldn’t be bothered to explain.
On top of that, my temper didn’t help, so I became a public enemy in record time.
I didn’t want that this time.
Who else has the experience of hiding from the Martial Alliance while training day and night to kill the Demonic Cult Leader?
This time things were different.
I’d been given a rare opportunity. If I didn’t use it properly, I wouldn’t just be crazy—I’d be stupid.
Yeon Jaseong spoke up first.
“I understand.”
Cha Seongtae raised his hand and said:
“There’s one thing I don’t quite get… Doesn’t all of this only work if the Sect Master is incredibly strong? Let’s say the Black Cat Gang really does come tomorrow. According to the rules, we’re supposed to confess that this is all your doing. And that’s just the Black Cat Gang. How will you deal with all the other sects and experts you’ll clash with going forward?”
“Good point.”
I looked at them holding their breath, waiting for my answer, then said something I knew they’d find hard to believe.
“It’ll be fine when I become the strongest under heaven.”
“……”
A suffocating silence fell.
Cha Seongtae hurriedly brought his hand to his mouth, but failed to suppress the “pfft” that slipped out.
Taking that as a signal, Geum Cheolyong burst into hearty laughter, Jang Deuksu clutched his belly, and even Yeon Jaseong started giggling. With their courage thus bolstered, Cha Seongtae also broke down laughing, and the branch heads roared.
“Bwahahahahaha!”
“Kuhahahaha!”
“From Ilyang County… to the strongest under heaven…”
“A busboy… oh, sorry, I mean…”
Watching them laugh, I smiled faintly too.
Honestly, I thought it was pretty funny as well.
The busboy of Zahwa Inn, strongest in the world…
In the end, I couldn’t help but laugh along with them.
“Hahaha…”
After a long laugh, I turned to Cha Seongtae with a straight face.
“You, ease up on the laughing. You trying to die? You’ve got tears coming out, you crazy bastard.”
“Yes, sir.”
Just hearing me talk seemed to put Geum Cheolyong in a good mood.
“You’re still young, so if you give it your all day by day, in a few decades you might indeed become a famous expert. A man should have grand ambitions. I’ll support our Sect Master.”
Yeon Jaseong, who also had grand dreams in his own field, chimed in with innocent eyes:
“I’ll support you too. Please become the strongest under heaven. I’ll be a Hao Sect member and your sponsor.”
His own ambition was to become the greatest builder in the world, so he genuinely wanted to support someone with a similar mindset.
My gaze turned to Jang Deuksu, who hadn’t said a word.
Jang Deuksu’s thoughts were roughly like this:
Being the strongest under heaven isn’t some kid’s game…
Enjoying his complicated expression, I said:
“Deuksu-hyung thinks it’s impossible.”
Being an honest sort, he nodded and answered:
“Wouldn’t it be?”
“Why do you think so?”
“There are countless sects, experts, and powers in the jianghu, and more martial arts prodigies than you can count. Most of them start training before they can even walk, right?”
“Pretty much.”
Jang Deuksu then quoted something he’d heard somewhere:
“And even then, the strongest under heaven is said to be a person sent down from the heavens.”
True.
The strongest under heaven is a person chosen by the sky.
And in this era, the guy the heavens had picked was me.
“That’s me.”
But in the end, what matters more than the result is the mindset.
“Whether I actually become the strongest in the world isn’t that important. What matters is how hard I work for it. A man who lives without a goal isn’t a man. Busboy Lee Jaha will throw himself at the goal of becoming the strongest under heaven. As for you all…”
I pointed at each branch lord in turn.
“Think seriously about what you’re going to live for.”
At that moment, I suddenly wondered whether I really had been the Mad Demon in my past life.
But no—I had been.
In my past life I had no plan. Now I did.
If I nurtured the Hao Sect properly, I’d be able to confront the Martial Alliance and clash with the Demonic Cult as well. If I became a champion of the weak, there’d be no reason for me to be branded a public enemy like last time.
With the moral high ground…
I could argue justice with the Righteous.
I could compete in strength with the Demonic monkeys.
And I could either kill or recruit the crazed thugs of the Black Path.
That is the power that comes from having a cause.
When someone tries to push a belief that’s different from the majority’s onto the world…
If they succeed, they’re a revolutionary; if they fail, they’re a lunatic.
This time, unlike my previous life, I intended to become a successful lunatic.