The office of the Heavenly Mandate Hall.
Two men sat facing each other. As soon as Gangchan took his seat, Chief Administrator Yuk spoke up hurriedly.
“Please don’t feel pressured—actually, no, please listen to me. To be honest, I couldn’t bring this up the other day, but I have a niece whom I cherish more than life itself. That energy you felt that day from the Hall Master… it is related to that child. Numerous physicians have examined her and diagnosed the illness, but none have dared to attempt a cure. The child is dying. You have likely heard of it before. The Nine Yin Severed Meridians.”
“I have heard of it,” Gangchan replied calmly, as if he had expected this.
“Of course. It is a famous, incurable disease… That is why I am begging you. Could you perhaps take a look at her?”
“Me?”
Chief Administrator Yuk stood up and knelt before Gangchan.
“I beg of you. I will give you anything you desire.”
Flustered by the unexpected situation, Gangchan stammered.
“This is something I never considered… and please, this makes me very uncomfortable.”
Seeing Gangchan hesitate to answer, Chief Administrator Yuk bowed his head even deeper.
“I implore you once more. The result doesn’t matter. I only ask that you see her just once.”
Yuk’s desperation moved Gangchan’s heart.
‘I don’t know how it will turn out, but shouldn’t I at least try?’
After a moment of deliberation, Gangchan finally made his decision. A smile touched his lips as he looked down at the kneeling man.
“Well, do you intend to stay like that forever? You need to get up so we can go see her.”
Chief Administrator Yuk looked up at Gangchan with a dazed expression before leaping to his feet and grabbing Gangchan’s hands firmly.
“Hall Master, thank you so much!”
“As you know, I am not a physician. I will take a look at your niece, but I cannot guarantee a cure. Do not get your hopes up too high.”
“Yes, of course. I won’t expect anything.”
“Pardon?”
It was shortly before 9:00 PM.
***
Gangchan arrived at the Hangju branch of the Golden Exchange with Chief Administrator Yuk.
Having received word of Gangchan’s arrival, Hwang Jin-san had been pacing in front of the main gate for quite some time. When he spotted Gangchan in the distance, he couldn’t wait and ran out to greet him personally.
Following Hwang Jin-san’s lead, Gangchan entered the reception room next to his office.
The reception room of the Golden Exchange was not a place just anyone could enter. It was a location that most people in the Middle Plains could never even hope to see unless they were figures of great renown.
“I am so sorry to bother you, Hall Master, and I am also deeply grateful. I know it was rude of me to bring you here in such a hurry.”
“I came because I wanted to, so do not worry about it.”
“You likely heard from Chief Administrator Yuk, but there isn’t much time left.”
“How old is your daughter?”
“She turned 20 this year. It is the age all the physicians said she would be unlikely to surpass.”
“Master of the Peng Family.”
“Please, speak.”
“As you have heard, I am not a physician. I am only here because I thought the martial arts I’ve mastered might be of some help. It is possible I may be of no use to the patient.”
“I know. I understand. Please do not worry about that.”
“Then I shall see the patient immediately. She is likely in a lot of pain and struggling even now.”
At Gangchan’s words, tears finally welled up in Hwang Jin-san’s eyes.
Hwang Jin-san and Yuk Yang-jin guided Gangchan into Hwang Ha-rin’s room. As they approached her quarters, Gangchan was shocked once again by the sheer intensity of the Yin energy.
The girl lying in the room was as still as a corpse, appearing unconscious. Despite her lack of consciousness, her brow was furrowed. Her agony was being conveyed perfectly.
Gangchan looked at the two men who had entered with him and spoke.
“To check her condition, I must first move the blanket. Is that alright?”
The two men looked at each other and nodded.
“If it is for her treatment, it doesn’t matter.”
In truth, how could a parent feel otherwise? Though she was a patient, she was a daughter of marriageable age. However, when it was a matter of life and death, such things could not possibly be important.
The blanket was pulled back.
The sight of their daughter, so emaciated she looked like a mummy, broke their hearts.
Gangchan carefully took her thin hand.
A cold wave of Yin energy rushed toward him. It was almost miraculous that a human body could contain such powerful Yin energy. Gangchan absorbed as much of the rushing Yin energy as possible, while using his other hand to inject warm Yang energy into her.
15 minutes passed. 30 minutes. As time flowed, white frost began to settle over Gangchan’s entire body.
Releasing her hand, Gangchan stepped back and quietly walked out of the room. Not knowing what was happening, the two men stared blankly at him.
Suddenly, a very familiar voice—the voice of their daughter—reached their ears.
“Father! Uncle was here too. I felt so warm in my dream.”
“Ha-rin! Are you awake?”
The startled Chief Administrator Yuk cried out. Beside him, Hwang Jin-san’s legs gave out, and he collapsed where he stood.
“How can this be… What on earth…”
Hwang Jin-san couldn’t find the words to continue. A look of peace, which he had only seen so long ago he could barely remember it, was settled on his daughter’s face.
While they were overcome with shock and emotion, the door opened and Gangchan re-entered. However, he quickly turned his head away.
To them, Gangchan was like a god.
“Father, the blanket, please…”
The two men looking at their daughter finally realized the situation and hurried to cover her.
“Hall Master, it’s alright now.”
Chief Administrator Yuk called out to Gangchan. Gangchan approached and sat near Hwang Ha-rin.
“Are you feeling more alert?”
“Yes.”
Hwang Ha-rin answered softly, avoiding Gangchan’s gaze.
“Alright, I will remove the Yin energy once more. Please hold out your hands.”
Hwang Ha-rin pulled her hands out from under the blanket and reached toward Gangchan.
“Is this right?”
Taking her hands again, Gangchan activated the Jieugiseong and began to suck out the Yin energy.
“Relax and stay comfortable.”
A deep silence filled the room. The atmosphere was so heavy it felt as though even the sound of breathing would be a burden, much like a religious rite.
As time passed, white frost once again settled over Gangchan’s body. Hwang Jin-san and Yuk Yang-jin were lost in wonder as they witnessed this miraculous sight once more.
Gangchan stood up quietly and walked out of the room as he had before. This time, Chief Administrator Yuk followed him.
Once outside, Gangchan walked to the center of the courtyard. He stood still with both hands spread open. After a moment, a white aura radiated from his palms.
*Crackle!*
A sound like the air itself was shattering rang out. Then, the energy vanished, and Gangchan turned around.
“Were you there?”
“That… what on earth was that?”
“I was expelling the Yin energy that was inside your niece’s body.”
“No, how is such a thing possible? I truly cannot believe it, even having seen it with my own eyes.”
Just then, Hwang Jin-san’s urgent shout came from inside the room.
“Hey, Brother! Where are you? Brother!”
The startled Chief Administrator Yuk rushed back into the room. And then… he froze in his tracks.
Hwang Ha-rin was sitting up, looking at him.
“Uncle!”
After she had collapsed three years ago, her condition had worsened to the point where she couldn’t even sit up and spent all day lying down. But now, she was sitting.
Yuk Yang-jin approached her with trembling hands, and as he took her hand, he finally burst into tears.
“Let me see you, child… *Sob*.”
Gangchan watched quietly from outside as the two men in their fifties wailed with joy.
“Unfortunately, she must receive treatment at least once every six months.”
Perhaps human greed knows no bounds, for a shadow of regret flickered across Hwang Jin-san’s face.
Seeing this, Chief Administrator Yuk stepped in.
“Brother! Ha-rin got up and sat down without pain. This is a miracle. Right now, my heart feels like it’s going to burst from that alone.”
In that moment, Gangchan spoke up as if he had remembered something.
“There is one more way.”
“What is it?”
“If your daughter learns the martial arts I have mastered and expels the Yin energy herself, she will be as good as cured.”
Gangchan returned to the Heavenly Mandate Hall.
***
After two sessions of treatment, Hwang Ha-rin ate her first meal in months, shared a conversation, and even laughed. Hwang Jin-san prayed fervently that if this were a dream, he would never wake up.
Night fell, and Hwang Jin-san and Yuk Yang-jin were talking in the office.
“Brother! Hall Master Gang might be part of the Dark Sect, but what does that matter?”
“The daughter of the Golden Clan becoming a member of a Dark Sect…”
“If it can save her, we should do even more than that.”
“You’re right. What does the world’s opinion matter?”
“Let’s ask Ha-rin when the sun rises tomorrow and make a decision.”
“Let’s do that.”
The long night passed, and dawn finally broke. Hwang Jin-san and Yuk Yang-jin decided to eat with Ha-rin and headed toward her room. They happened to see a maid walking out with a basin of washwater.
“Greetings, Master.”
“Yes. Did Ha-rin sleep well last night?”
“She didn’t wake up once and slept soundly until just now.”
“Oh, really? I see. Tell her I have arrived.”
“Young Lady! The Master and the Chief Administrator are here.”
“Tell them to come in.”
When the two men entered the room, they were lost for words at the sight before them. Hwang Ha-rin was standing, dressed in her regular clothes rather than her nightgown, and was bowing to them.
“Did you two sleep well?”
“Wait, is it alright for you to be standing like this?”
“I know, right? I can stand and even walk a little. *Heehee*.”
“I truly cannot believe this.”
“I agree. I’m really having a hard time adjusting.”
“But what brings you here so early in the morning?”
“I heard you were going to eat, so I came with your uncle to join you for breakfast.”
“I’m glad you came. Let’s eat together.”
The three of them sat around a fairly grand table and ate. Although Hwang Ha-rin only ate porridge, the fact that she could eat at all was a miracle she was grateful for.
After a light breakfast, tea was prepared.
“I can’t believe a day like this has come. I can die now with no regrets.”
“Brother! Don’t be so dramatic. Why are you like that on such a good day?”
“It’s because I’m happy. Because I’m happy.”
“It’s nice to see you two bickering.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll have to fight with him every day from now on. Hahaha.”
Hwang Jin-san couldn’t take his eyes off Ha-rin. Though she was so thin that her former beauty was gone, he knew she would soon return to her old self if she kept eating well.
“Brother, you’re going to burn a hole through her.”
Hwang Jin-san glared at Yuk Yang-jin.
“You two have something to say to me, don’t you?”
“Ha-rin, you might not know, but the man who treated you is the Hall Master of the Heavenly Mandate Hall.”
“He looked young when I caught a glimpse of him, but he’s a Hall Master?”
In truth, Hwang Ha-rin had nearly been unconscious during the first treatment, and during the second, she had been too embarrassed by her condition to look at Gangchan closely.
“A few years ago, the Dark Sects of Hangju were fighting for territory. His sect was newly formed then, and though people don’t know it well, he unified the Dark Sects of Hangju.”
“Wow, he must be a master.”
“People call him the Heavenly Bow. Some say that when he fires an arrow, thunder strikes from the heavens.”
“Whoa, that’s so cool.”
The two men were somewhat flustered by Ha-rin’s reaction before they could even get to the main point. Then, Hwang Jin-san told her the story Gangchan had shared the day before.
After listening quietly to everything, Hwang Ha-rin spoke.
“So, in the end, I either have to become his wife or his disciple?”
“No, not his wife.”
“If I have to be by his side for the rest of my life, how is that different from marriage?”
“Is that how it works?”
“Anyway, your concern is that I have to become a disciple of a Dark Sect, right?”
“That’s right. If you dislike the idea, tell me. I will find another way.”
“Is there another way? There isn’t, is there? So there’s no need to waste your energy. I’ll just become a heroine of the Dark Sect.”
“A what? A heroine of the Dark Sect?”
“Yes.”
And so, the first Heroine of the Dark Sect in the history of the Kangho was born.