The New Mercy House
The underground passage that Su-ran and Cheong Ho-wi of the Spring of Luoyang descended with Jeong-a was entirely different from the one that led straight down to the lowest hall.
"From here on, we will assist with the guiding," two armed priestesses said, bowing respectfully to Jeong-a.
"My thanks. Please guide us to where my master, the First Young Master, is currently residing."
The two armed priestesses answered with a joined-palms salute and took the lead. Jeong-a followed them, speaking over her shoulder to Su-ran and Cheong Ho-wi.
"This is the headquarters of the Mercy House. Even invited guests who do not belong to the order must move only in the company of an escort within these grounds."
"Yes, we understand."
"We won't cause any trouble."
They had never intended to cause any trouble in the first place, so the promise came easily. That did not stop their eyes from locking onto the armed priestesses.
When did the equipment of the Mercy House's armed priestesses get this good? It's top-grade stuff, almost on par with the Luoyang Sword Family's own warriors.
It's not just the gear. Their cultivation realm seems higher too. The last time I met any of them, they weren't anywhere near this level.
Is this change also because of the First Young Master ending his seclusion?
What other answer could there be?
But their astonishment had only just begun.
"This is the main thoroughfare of the headquarters."
The passage was so broad it recalled one of Luoyang's main avenues, and it thronged with people and the handcarts they pulled.
"Those are…?"
Even before the crowd itself, what first seized the eye were the enormous crates stacked along one wall of the passage. They rose high and stretched out of sight down the length of the corridor—an immense volume of supplies, both in bulk and in value. Laborers were loading the crates onto handcarts and hauling them away.
"Supply goods. From here they are distributed to every Mercy House branch."
On the First Young Master's orders, the armed priestesses offered explanations they would normally never have given outsiders.
"All of it was purchased at near cost—through the First Young Master's grace—from the great farms and workshops the Sword Family runs, directly or indirectly," Jeong-a added. "My master is already laying plans for the Mercy House to produce these goods itself."
"Some production has already begun. Simple clothing is the best example; the poor are paid to weave at home and receive wages for their labor."
Su-ran and Cheong Ho-wi found themselves momentarily speechless. The shock hit Su-ran harder; she had been playing problem-solver in the slums longer than Cheong Ho-wi. The Mercy House she had known lived off the reputation of the Medicine Fairy and her faith, scraping by on donations from people like the First Young Master. Each branch received a meager budget from headquarters and somehow kept itself afloat through the ingenuity of its head. That Mercy House no longer existed.
"…Come to think of it, this passage is part of a waterway, isn't it?" Cheong Ho-wi asked, looking down.
A long channel ran down the center of the broad thoroughfare; through the gap came the rough sound of water rushing below.
"Correct."
"Then when the summer rains come hard and the water rises, doesn't this place flood as well?"
"That will never happen." The armed priestess smiled. "Not long ago, under the guidance of our leader, the First Young Master, the Mercy House secured a control mechanism that can divert and regulate the waterway's flow."
"That's…!"
Luoyang's Underground Great Waterway was far more than a sewer system; it was a vital facility that kept the artificial lakes and grand canals at constant depth. For that reason the government controlled every regulation point with iron strictness. And yet the Mercy House had obtained one of those mechanisms.
"The device we secured is an emergency reserve left by the previous dynasty in secret. Unlike the ones the authorities control, it can only regulate a limited section of this district."
"Even so, it has allowed us to use the headquarters waterways as open space without fear."
Even if it was only a partial system, how on earth had the First Young Master gotten his hands on a reserve mechanism the government itself had never found? And what, exactly, was he trying to turn the once-mere charity of the Mercy House into?
The two members of the Spring of Luoyang felt their thoughts whirl.
"Wait a moment!" Su-ran cried. "The Underground Great Waterway is more dangerous than even the Five Evils! If you keep expanding your territory like this…!"
The armed priestess nodded. "You are right. The Underground Great Waterway is where all of Luoyang's darkness gathers. Conflict with that darkness would have been inevitable. However…"
The other priestess wore a meaningful smile. "We hold the control rights to the nearby waterways."
"Every channel that once connected the outside to the headquarters is as good as sealed."
"Ah…!"
The priestess pointed ahead. "Come. His Excellency is attending to business just ahead."
One of the large chambers within the Mercy House headquarters of the Underground Great Waterway.
Following the armed priestesses, Su-ran and Cheong Ho-wi stepped inside with Jeong-a—and their feet simply stopped.
"……!"
Lighting had been deliberately kept low so that concentration could be absolute. In that wide space more than a hundred children sat in neat ranks, wholly absorbed in cultivation practice. Not one of them, young as they were, made a sound or stirred in restlessness. At the center of that stillness, holding every gaze, stood a single figure.
"Focus only on sensing the qi! The origin of qi circulation was never merely to accumulate internal energy; it was to bring human existence into harmony with the great natural world."
The clear, ringing voice belonged to the First Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon.
"You are not simply concentrating on the qi that flows around you. You are becoming part of the great natural world itself."
Under his guidance the children, following their mental methods, observed their own inner selves while simultaneously feeling the currents outside.
"…Not merely to accumulate internal energy, but to become part of the great natural world."
Cheong Ho-wi's eyes deepened. The teaching was for the children, yet it had reminded him of things he himself had let slip.
The First Young Master's learning is truly astonishing…! The rumors that he displayed power worthy of a divine being in the Valley of Sin may not have been empty after all.
In that same moment Su-ran was startled for an entirely different reason.
"These children are all of the Mercy House…?" she whispered.
The armed priestess nodded and answered softly. "Yes. Children born with the talent to sense and handle qi, yet who lost their parents and are now cared for by the Mercy House."
"Under the leader's guidance we have gathered such children for special instruction."
"They are also the ones of exceptional faith."
Su-ran swallowed dryly. "And this, too, began only recently?"
"It did."
"These children are still at the stage of awakening to qi. Separate instruction is already being given to those who can properly be called martial artists."
Su-ran suddenly understood how the armed priestesses' level had risen so dramatically—and at the same time she was horrified.
The Mercy House has begun building its own independent military force…!
She looked over the hundred-plus children.
They are still young, but given time…?
In her mind's eye she saw the children before her growing up while new ones continually filled the ranks they left behind.
"If I may ask…," Cheong Ho-wi said with unusual caution after digesting his brief insight, "if the First Young Master is transmitting the Sword Family's martial arts to the Mercy House, won't that create serious problems later?"
Su-ran started and looked at the priestesses.
"Once they learn their arts are circulating outside, even if the First Young Master himself is the one who did it, the Sword Family will not simply stand by."
The armed priestesses smiled faintly.
"We appreciate the concern, but there will be no such problem."
"Every martial art the leader bestows upon the Mercy House has no direct connection to the Sword Family."
Su-ran and Cheong Ho-wi recalled that the Sword Family had collected an enormous number of techniques from other sects.
"And if the original owning sect comes to make trouble…?"
Jeong-a cut in cleanly. "Every technique transmitted to the Mercy House was created by my master, the First Young Master himself, based upon his studies of Buddhism and Daoism."
Both their mouths fell open.
"He created… martial arts?"
"He made them himself…?"
At that moment Yeon So-hyeon's lecture ended. From a distance he inclined his head slightly toward Su-ran and Cheong Ho-wi. They hastily bowed deeply in return. The First Young Master, however, did not approach them; he turned and walked toward the next passage.
"I must apologize to you both…," Jeong-a said. "The First Young Master's schedule is already overflowing with prior appointments. If you would wait a little longer, I would be grateful."
They waved their hands quickly.
"Not at all! We're the ones who came without an appointment—waiting is only natural!"
"We can wait as long as necessary!"
Had they been told this the moment they arrived, they might have felt a private sting. But after everything they had just witnessed, complaint was impossible. In their eyes the First Young Master's stature had already changed completely. Even if they had to wait days in this place, he was someone they would gladly wait to meet.
"You may wait in the reception room or tour more of the headquarters if you wish," Jeong-a continued, "but rather than that… how would you like to observe the First Young Master conducting his work from nearby?"
The two of them nearly jumped.
"W-would that really be all right?"
"Wouldn't we be a disturbance?"
Jeong-a shook her head. "It is fine. This way, please."
With the armed priestesses in the lead she guided them onward.
Hey, Cheong Ho-wi! I told you so, didn't I?! This is huge! The First Young Master is a total big deal!
Unbelievable. So there really are days when your gut is right.
A dull thump made the guides glance back. Beside Cheong Ho-wi, who was hopping on one leg and clutching his shin, Su-ran hastily waved her hands.
"Heh-heh, it's nothing. Please don't mind us."
Then she smacked him across the back.
"You idiot! I told you to watch your feet because it's dark!"
"Y-you damn little brat…"
As they resumed following the guides, the two exchanged close-range sound transmissions.
The Hyeonwol Pavilion chief's words about the First Young Master's abilities weren't exaggerated at all. Just like she said, the reason Hyeonwol Pavilion grew so fast was the First Young Master himself!
Cheong Ho-wi answered while still limping.
Just what we've confirmed so far is enough to know he's a terrifyingly capable man.
Even if the First Young Master has no intention of joining the Spring of Luoyang, we have to build a cooperative relationship no matter what! Cheong Ho-wi! Do not cause any trouble!
You're the one who always causes the trouble!
Just then the guides ahead came to a halt before an iron door only high enough for a person to pass without ducking.
"Beyond this is the First Young Master's office."
At those words the two of them hurriedly straightened their clothes. Once they were ready, Jeong-a smiled with her eyes.
"Inside you will also find the people of Daseonrang."
Su-ran shouted, "Daseonrang?! The famous Daseonrang?! They're meeting with the First Young Master right now?! We heard the rumor they'd arrived in Luoyang!"
Cheong Ho-wi cried out as well. "The greatest beauty of Sichuan, Sang-gwan Nan-hwa…!"
The looks the armed priestesses gave him became distinctly pitying; that was no imagination.
"Ahem."
Jeong-a, who had been smiling quietly, spoke again. "This is still a secret to the world, but the current representative of Daseonrang is the First Young Master himself."
"……?!"
The door opened a crack and a figure in the maid's uniform of Wongak Pavilion peeked out.
"Chief Maid. The master says you may enter now."
The armed priestesses remained outside; only the two of them followed Jeong-a through the narrow opening.
The chamber was larger than expected. Situated roughly at the half-basement level of an old-city building, high-set windows let in sunlight. Many people were already present, standing or sitting with their backs to the walls, wholly focused on the meeting.
"…Thus the relocation of the residents of Hodu Village is proceeding smoothly, and they are being guided to the pre-designated villages…"
Jeong-a led Su-ran and Cheong Ho-wi between the people until they could carefully take empty seats. With no one blocking their view, their gazes naturally settled on the figure seated at the working desk.
So that is… the First Young Master.
Yeon So-hyeon sat with the sunlight at his back, examining documents while listening to the report. His posture held a certain ease, yet the glances he cast over the papers were sharp.
"…That is all."
"Good."
He set the documents down and turned his eyes toward the guests. Under that gaze the two of them unconsciously straightened and swallowed dryly.
"If the guests would wait just a little longer, I would be grateful."
"Yes, sir!"
"As long as you need."
When Yeon So-hyeon turned away again, the two of them simultaneously swallowed the sighs they had been holding and looked at each other.
The First Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon. His appearance was youthful and his build ordinary, yet the presence he so freely displayed was utterly peerless.
"Next."