Cold Truth of entering Sacred Ground

Shin was stunned for a moment. He didn't know any of these. He shook his head and stared at Iron Fist, waiting for an explanation.

"Then, let me break it down for you. First, World Association is basically the government that controls this world. You should know that once power gets into people's heads, they became addicted to it."

"Bandits are basically these kinds of people. They rob, kill and destroy the lives of people. But, there are different types of bandits. For example, my son was a normal bandit who would simply take others' money and occasionally rob others."

"Then, there are land pirates. They are different than bandits. They travel through different regions and attack civilians for their money and pleasure. In short, they are simply scums living in this world."

"World Association's job is to protect these civilians from these bandits and pirates. Most of the region has a station of World Association and they call themselves Police."

"They will arrest bandits and imprison them. But, not all bandits are bad, right? Some are simply adventurers but how do you distinguish them? It should impossible to distinguish between Bandits unless you have seen them doing bad stuff."

"In order to clear this kind of confusion, there is a system called 'Bounty System'. Bounty Association which is independent of the World Association designates bounties for every bandit in the world."

Hearing his words, Shin was stunned for a moment. This system of Bounty and Police made him shaken for a moment.

"Wait, they only give bounties to people who did bad, right? I mean if I don't do anything bad, they won't give me bounties, right?"

Iron Fist heard his words and chuckled.

"What you think is correct but there is a slight problem with that. Let me ask you something. What do you think is the first nature of most human beings?"

Shin froze for a moment. For some reason, he couldn't help but think negatively about this question. He looked at Iron Fist and answered.

"Greed?"

"Yes, Greed!" Iron Fist heavily nodded his head and continued "People are greedy. And, most people can't contain their greed. So, when they see someone with astonishing abilities or talent, they couldn't help but give birth to greed in their heart."

"Of course, since I receive that ability, it's not like you can take it. But, there are several methods that they can have it. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Hearing his words, Shin narrowed his eyes and said.

"Threat and Money! People can be bought so does their abilities. Bounty Association releases the bounty for these people so that rich families can acquire them through threats or money. Am I right? You are also a victim of this, right?"

Iron Fist couldn't help but show a helpless smile. He nodded his head and continued.

"Indeed! Once your abilities are leaked to the ears of Bounty Association, they will release your bounty and several powerful people or families will try to hire you."

"Most of the people join them for money but some are threatened. When I was young, I entered one of the Sacred Grounds and luckily managed to acquire Iron Body Talent."

"I realized that I couldn't go further. I had also acquired quite a lot of money so I decided to live the rest of my life with my love. We were childhood sweethearts. She told me that she would wait for me and she did."

"After I returned, we got married and had a baby. I thought my life was the best and it couldn't be better. I had a beautiful and honest wife. She was pregnant with my child and I had enough money to survive through my generation. But just when she was pregnant, our family was attacked."

"It was a group of bounty hunters who attacked us. I was lucky enough to kill them all but during that process, my wife was injured. And, after her delivery, her body became weaker."

"It was frustrating. I thought I finally had everything in my life but it was slowly leaving me. I hated those people. I wanted to kill them so I tried to find out more about them."

"And, through that, I eventually learned about the existence of the Bounty Association and Bounty Hunter. So what if I can kill a few bounty hunters? I don't have the power to rival an entire association that could rival World Association, right?"

"So, I returned and tried to live a normal life with my family. My wife continued to get sick and I eventually realized that without proper medicine, I can't cure her."

"I even thought of entering the Sacred Ground but I already had. And, from what I've experienced, I understood that my strength was too weak to go too deep."

"That means if I go there alone, I will surely die. That would leave my child alone. I was extremely frustrated with myself. Just before I was about to give up, a family contacted me."

"They said that if I join their group and marry one of their girls, they will help me go deeper into those Sacred Grounds in order to find the medicine. I was so excited that I didn't hesitate to agree."

"I left without hesitation after telling my wife about it. And, I did find the medicine. I was excited when I returned home but at that moment, I learned a harsh truth."

"My wife was cold dead and my son hated me more than anything else. I was left alone. I cursed myself for being weak and late. I wanted to talk to my son and apologized but his hatred for me was so strong that I couldn't bear to go near him."

"It turns out there was a rumor that I left my family just to marry a young and rich girl. My life was destroyed by a single rumor and a single piece of bounty paper."

"After that, I lived my life as a husband of a young and rich girl, giving birth to three children who inherited my Iron Body Talent."

"That was my life."

When he finally stopped speaking, Shin stared at him for a long time. He didn't expect the person in front of him to be so tragic. After a long silence, he finally said.

"I think you did something wrong."

Iron Fist raised his head. There was a look of confusion and sadness in his eyes as he stared at Shin.

"This is the exact look but with a tone of anger. When your son told me about you, his eyes were full of sadness. It was only his tone that was filled with anger."

"Maybe if you had told him the truth and asked him to hide your relationship with him, he wouldn't have hated you. Life is full of choices."

"I am making a choice here to let you live. Maybe I am doing something wrong. But once I make a choice, I have decided not to regret it in the future."

"So, whether you will be good or bad, I have no regret in leaving you alive. Because at least for now, you are a good person." Shin spoke with a soft tone as he slowly stood up.

Just when he turned around, Iron Fist asked.

"Can you tell me how you differentiate good people from bad people?"

Shin paused for a moment. He turned around and said.

"This question has a subjective answer. For me, good people are basically those who do not harm others unless they have been harmed by those. As for bad people, they are people who would harm innocent just for the sake of pleasure or profit or revenge."

"A long time ago, I read a story about a young man who was mistreated by an entire village but in the end, he never hurt them. In my eyes, he is not a good person or a bad person. He is simply a Saint."

"But, in the same village, there was another boy who saw his lover dying at the hands of his best friend. He neither asked why his best friend killed his lover."

"He never tried to understand the reason. Instead, he tried to burn that village. In the process, he took the life of his own teacher's wife and his own teacher."

"It was just a story but it made me understand how horrible people can be. In my eyes, no matter what reason he might have, he is no less than a devil."

"In my eyes, the moment your son tried to harm Hina for no reason whatsoever, he is bad. But you who had the power to harm others, also had a reason but didn't do it is a good person at least in my eyes."

"But this could be different in other's eyes. So, don't judge people based on others' preferences. Believe in what you think is right and wrong. Because the consequences of your choice will either make you feel good or feel regret."

"That is the life, Iron Fist."