Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Part 3: Compassion Institute
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Yeon So-hyeon slowly walked through the winding alleys of the slums, following behind the old woman guiding him.
His steps were slow, and the footsteps of his entourage slowed to match.
Not a single one voiced any complaint.
The people lining both sides of the alley grabbed Yeon So-hyeon's hand and kissed it.
Those who couldn't reach it prostrated themselves to kiss his feet or the hem of his robe.
The slum dwellers were filthy and unkempt from lack of proper washing, afflicted with all manner of skin diseases large and small that marred their appearances, and they reeked of a nauseating mix of filth and pus.
Yet Yeon So-hyeon showed no sign of distaste.
His expression remained serene, without the slightest flicker.
He quietly walked on, accepting the respects directed toward him from as many as possible.
*Hmph, with dignity. Everyone, act with dignity.*
The Triplet Maids following behind him were in a flurry.
*Everyone, follow the Head Maid's example!*
Jeong-a was listening to the slum dwellers' pleas—something she wouldn't dare do with Yeon So-hyeon himself.
"Lady Fairy! Please bless my child!"
"Make sure my husband, away at the front lines, returns safely!"
"Let my mother rest in peace in the heavens!"
Jeong-a lacked the power to answer each and every one of their prayers.
Instead, she did what she could.
She embraced those who deserved to be held, stroked those who needed comforting, and kissed the foreheads of those weeping bitterly.
At that sight, the Triplets grew bolder in approaching the slum dwellers.
"...Believers of the Fairy Faith Cult, are they?"
One of the Fourth Young Master's young advisors, following at a distance, couldn't hide his bewildered expression as he watched them.
"I'd heard their influence was strong among the poor, but not to this extent..."
"I knew the Grand Matriarch's name still rang across the entire Central Plains, but I never imagined her son would receive such homage too."
"Is it some kind of fanaticism?"
The Fourth Young Master sighed at the words of the young scholars debating behind him.
"Can't you tell, just from their actions and expressions?"
"What do you mean...?"
He gazed at the distant silhouette of his eldest brother.
"...They're not paying respects to our Grand Aunt. They're honoring our Eldest Brother."
"...Is that so?"
In contrast, what of the reactions the slum dwellers showed to his own group?
Even as the Fourth Young Master's entourage passed right by them, most paid them no mind.
"Master."
The plump maid walking beside him asked.
"For people this poor, wouldn't a few coins be enough to make them leave the neighborhood on their own?"
The Fourth Young Master smiled at her innocent question.
"It's not that simple."
"Is it not?"
He took the plump maid's hand and explained.
"If they leave here, where would they go?"
The plump maid blushed at having her hand held but answered earnestly.
"Um... to another slum?"
"Exactly. But no slum has room enough for all of them. They'd scatter to various ones, and that pittance they received would vanish in an instant."
"Vanish?"
The Fourth Young Master smiled at the maid with her eyes wide round.
"They may seem to huddle together haphazardly, but shacks or hovels, it all costs money in the end. And plenty of people would prey on whatever money they have."
He had put it mildly, but reality was far more brutal and horrific.
"Ah..."
The Fourth Young Master shrugged.
"For them to leave with peace of mind, they'd need an enormous relocation fund—enough to lift them out of poverty entirely."
"I see..."
The plump maid, from a wealthy household, nodded with a slightly puzzled look.
"Are they all beggars? Can't they escape a place like this by working hard?"
At her question, the Fourth Young Master finally burst out laughing.
"Most of them have jobs."
"Pardon?"
"And they're people who work diligently and honestly."
* * *
Yeon So-hyeon looked at the one-armed young man clutching his hand and kissing it.
A tattoo on his remaining arm marked him as a former soldier.
But his exposed body bore more wounds from after the battles than from the fights themselves.
Yeon So-hyeon gazed down at the old woman and children kissing his feet.
The scars and wounds visible on the old woman and children weren't from abuse.
Countless hands brushed past Yeon So-hyeon's hand and robe hem.
Broken nails, nails missing without a trace, crooked fingers, severed fingers, hands covered in tiny scars.
These were the brutal marks of relentless labor.
* * *
"Adults and children alike, no matter the time or place, they take any job available wherever they can find one. It's just..."
A bitter smile tugged at the Fourth Young Master's lips.
"...no matter how hard they work, their wages aren't enough to escape this place."
Under harsh labor conditions, they wear out quickly.
If injured or sick, too young or too old, their already meager pay shrinks even further.
They couldn't survive here without effort.
"There's only one place they can go after leaving here."
The Yellow River.
To become a handful of ashes swept away in its waters.
It was as if the listeners could smell burning corpses in their nostrils.
* * *
"Master, the vanguard has reached the destination."
Hearing the report, the Fourth Young Master turned to his subordinates.
"Everyone, watch closely from now on. See why these people revere my Eldest Brother like a god."
His gaze turned forward.
"And you'll understand why I invited him into our plans, even offering shares if needed."
All eyes turned ahead.
The first thing to enter their view was a building with a tiled roof.
Compared to the flimsy, filthy shanties around it, the structure—worn and not particularly grand—still drew the eye.
Drawing closer, they saw crowds lining up at the entrance, turning it into a bustling market.
A martial artist enhanced his inner power to read the building's signboard.
"Compassion Institute?"
They entered the central courtyard through the pre-cleared main gate.
Chaos reigned inside.
"Meals this way! Line up for meals this way!"
Regardless of age or gender, people held bowls and queued for the porridge boiling in massive pots.
"The sick, over here! Line up this way!"
Under makeshift ceilings of patched old cloth, countless patients lay on straw mats directly on the ground.
Boys and girls, too young to distinguish as errand runners or whatever, dashed about frantically.
Voices of physicians triaging patients by severity mixed with those of doctors trying to save the critically ill.
Assisting them—apprentice physicians or nurses, it seemed—were wrapped head to toe in cloth.
"...Leprosy patients?"
One maid covered her mouth in horror, only for the Head Maid to scold her.
"Leprosy isn't highly contagious. Don't overreact."
Just then, a physician approached them.
"Ah, no need to worry. They're all cured; they're just covering the severe scars. Not patients."
The Fourth Young Master nodded.
"The conquest of leprosy. One of the Grand Matriarch's legacies."
"Correct. They learned medicine to repay that grace and now help us."
The physician smiled.
"Calling her 'Grand Matriarch'—you must be the Fourth Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan."
He began guiding them inside.
The plump maid voiced what everyone wondered.
"Selling food and providing medicine in a slum—does that turn a profit?"
The leading physician's eyes widened, then he burst into laughter.
"Ah, this isn't a business."
The Fourth Young Master continued.
"It's a place that provides food and medical care to the poor free of charge. My Eldest Brother covers all the costs to run it."
Everyone's shocked expressions were plain to see.
The Fourth Young Master's Head Maid added.
"Every major slum in Luoyang has one of these 'Compassion Institutes.'"
The physician gave a kind smile.
"And every Compassion Institute doubles as a shrine to our master, the Medicine Fairy."
* * *
The Fourth Young Master held the incense in both hands, respectfully waving it in the air a couple of times.
He inserted it into the large censer, then stepped back to join his subordinates in solemn clasped hands.
After sufficient time showing reverence, he raised his head and gazed at the painting beyond the censer.
In a world ravaged by drought and flood, the people groaned in agony.
Starving, ragged, diseased, they rolled in the dirt, wailed, and suffered.
And there was one who saved them.
A woman standing barefoot on the scorched earth was beautiful, her lips curved in the compassionate smile of a Buddha.
In one hand, she held a willow branch; in the other, a bottomless medicine pouch.
The beings gathered at her feet were filled, learned wisdom, attained enlightenment, and were saved.
She was the Medicine Fairy, incarnation of the Medicine Buddha, Lady Soyu.
"May you watch over us..."
After murmuring a brief prayer, the Fourth Young Master turned and exited.
His subordinates followed in reverent silence.
As they emerged, another group of slum dwellers entered to offer prayers.
And still, countless more lined up outside.
Pausing to take it in, the Fourth Young Master turned to his scholars.
"Do they still look like fanatics deluded by false faith?"
No one dared answer in shame.
"Now do you understand why they welcome my Eldest Brother with such devotion?"
They nodded and murmured agreement.
The Fourth Young Master clicked his tongue at them.
"You always prattle on as if you know everything about the world, but your eyes never see beyond the high walls of the main house."
Who could argue with two tongues?
"Those scheming for great enterprises and power call themselves strategists and advisors, yet ignorance of the poor and destitute is commonplace."
He looked at the bowing scholars.
"Because they can't buy any of the goods we deal in. They're just disposable tools—hired for pennies, replaced when broken."
The Fourth Young Master clapped his hands.
Everyone looked up at him.
"Even so, you must know this: the will of heaven begins with the hearts of the people, and the will of the people starts from the lowest places."
A small, young boy spoke of the Mandate of Heaven with his tender lips.
"If you wish to devise clever stratagems and solid strategies to become true advisors and strategists, engrave this truth deep in your hearts."
The young scholars clasped their hands and responded in unison loudly.
The Fourth Young Master nodded approvingly and said.
"So now, do you grasp how remarkable and great my Eldest Brother is?"
The scholars hesitated, on the verge of answering.
What did one have to do with the other?
"You idiots!"
The exasperated Head Maid grabbed her hopping master.
"Now, now, the Eldest Young Master is waiting for you."
"Ah!"
At that, the Fourth Young Master ran off.
"Eldest Brother! This foolish little brother is late!"