Chapter 223: Chapter 223

After reaching the Kongtong Sect's main hall, Il-mok led them toward the human sacrifice altar hidden behind the Formation.

There, a dozen or so abandoned corpses lay strewn across the ground.

They were the Ghost Valley Master and his disciples.

“In the end, that man used even his own disciples as offerings to cast a strange spell known as the Dead Spirit Blood Demon Formation, which is written of in a tome called the Blood Curse Record.”

Following Il-mok's explanation, the Little Tiger Beggar and the other Beggars’ Gang members who'd come along scanned their surroundings with grim expressions.

"...Looks like one hell of a bloody battle took place here."

Just as he said, the place was completely trashed.

The altar and everything around it were completely demolished.

Countless marks were left from the fight with the angry spirits, but a lot of the damage was actually added later.

Il-mok had deliberately created extra damage to cover up any traces of Demonic Arts, just in case. Read full story at NoveIꜰire.net

Since the place was already a complete disaster zone from the battle, adding more destruction didn't look unnatural at all.

Besides, all the bodies except for the Ghost Valley Master had all turned into mummified husks, so there wasn't really any proof they'd been killed by Demonic Arts.

'Good thing I cleaned up the other bodies beforehand.'

With that thought crossing his mind, Il-mok continued leading the Beggars’ Gang members forward.

Their second stop was a location where over a hundred burial mounds had been gathered.

"These are temporary graves we made to honor the spirits of those who were used as sacrifices."

“I can’t believe so many people were unjustly killed…”

The Little Tiger Beggar muttered with a bitter expression before clasping his fists toward the graves in a gesture of respect.

"I'm sorry we were late. I swear I'll track down every trace of the Blood Cult and avenge you all."

Following the Seven-Knot Tiger's lead, the rest of the Beggars’ Gang members also paid their respects to the graves.

Then Il-mok led them to a place that had been burned to ash.

"This is where the Butterfly Dream Grass was growing. We burned everything to the ground just to be safe."

"It's unfortunate that we lost potential evidence, but it couldn't be helped. That Butterfly Dream Grass is dangerous stuff in more ways than one."

Fortunately, Little Tiger Beggar nodded with an understanding expression.

After touring both Pingliang County and Mount Kongtong thoroughly, the Little Tiger Beggar spoke to Il-mok with a serious face.

"Seeing it all in person really drives home just how horrific these bastards' actions were. If they're remnants of the Blood Cult, then similar atrocities must be happening elsewhere too."

His eyes burned with righteous indignation.

“I’ll leave my men here to handle the investigation. I need to head to our main base and report to the Murim Alliance.”

"You're planning to go yourself?"

“This news is too horrifying to wait. We need to tell them as fast as possible, right? A letter could get lost or intercepted, and this kind of thing is better explained in person than on paper anyway.”

When Little Tiger Beggar said that, Il-mok nodded.

"In that case, I have a favor to ask."

"Though it's only been a few days, I've seen with my own eyes what a righteous sect the Maitreya Luminous Cult is. Speak freely."

Hearing that justice-filled response, Il-mok had to force himself not to smile.

"Could you help us care for the residents of Pingliang County in addition to investigating this place? There are just too many people who were addicted to the Butterfly Dream Grass for us to care for on our own. We’re stretched way too thin.”

"Hahaha! How could our Beggars’ Gang sit out such a righteous cause? Of course we’ll help! I’ll tell my men, so just give them whatever work you need done!”

After saying that, the Seven-Knot Beggar rummaged around inside his filthy clothes and pulled out a wooden token.

"This token represents me as the Heir of the Beggars’ Gang. It's nothing compared to our Chief's Jade Bamboo Token, but it’ll be enough to get my men to help you with whatever you need.”

The Little Tiger Beggar’s big-hearted gesture made Il-mok break out in a cold sweat.

‘H-he wants me to grab that thing?’

The thought of handling a token that had been pulled from inside a beggar's grease-stained clothes made him feel like he might have a breakdown.

Right after Little Tiger Beggar cheerfully departed, Il-mok used the carefully wrapped token to move the Beggars’ Gang members.

"What should we start with?"

The beggar who asked the question was Hong Gae, the Five-Knot Beggar Elder who was also the Branch Leader of Lanzhou’s Beggars’ Gang and at the same time, the highest-ranked beggar in Gansu Province.

Hong Gae had remarkably clear eyes.

'Little Tiger Beggar came here representing the Chief and judged them to be a righteous sect. The Chief himself said that as long as they aren't doing evil stuff on the back, their methods are acceptable.'

Because his Chief had made his decision, Hong Gae was finally able to get past his own doubts.

And now that he was past his doubts, he had no intention of second-guessing anything the Maitreya Luminous Cult did.

At Hong Gae's favorable question, Il-mok gestured toward a cook who had ascended Mount Kongtong with them.

He was a cook they’d picked out specifically because he knew a thing or two about farming.

“I need you to pick some of your beggars and have them follow that cook's directions. Tell them to plow this burned field and turn it into a working farm.”

When Hong Gae asked again in a confused tone, Il-mok repeated himself.

"Till the soil. We burned the place where the Butterfly Dream Grass was growing in mass, turning it into a fire-cleared field, so it should work perfectly for farming, don't you think?"

"Wait, why would we farm here? And what does that have to do with helping the people of Pingliang County?"

Finally processing what he'd heard from Il-mok, Hong Gae asked again. But Il-mok answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“We need to earn money to take care of the people of Pingliang County, don't we? We brought in all those beggars to the county, even those who aren't in the gang. We're planning to select some of them to farm here. Part of the profits will go to the beggars working here, and the rest will be used to care for the people of Pingliang County."

"Wait, but... if they're going to farm, they should do it near Pingliang County. How are they supposed to travel back and forth between Pingliang County and halfway up Mount Kongtong to farm?"

Hong Gae's criticism was fairly reasonable. Unless you were a martial arts expert or had a horse, the trip from Pingliang County and the middle of Mount Kongtong would take a good eight to ten hours of non-stop walking.

However, Il-mok had never planned for them to commute in the first place.

“I never said anything about a commute. They’re going to live here.”

Il-mok pointed his finger beyond the Formation, toward where the Kongtong Sect's main hall stood.

“We’re going to fix up the pavilion. Part of it will be dorms for the workers, and the other part we’ll turn into an inn. You know, the kind of place that serves food made with local mountain ingredients and offers a bed for the night.”

Il-mok was tapping into his memories from the modern world, planning to turn Mount Kongtong into a full-blown tourist trap.

At Il-mok's explanation, Hong Gae’s expression grew complicated.

'Okay, so this helps the people in town, and it gives beggars jobs. It sounds like a great thing... but why do I have this nagging feeling I'm getting played?'

Just then, one of the nearby Beggars’ Gang members listening in piped up.

"So the beggars working here would be stuck here for life?"

“If they get good at the inn business and want to leave for another job, they're free to leave. And periodically on their days off, they can visit Pingliang County."

“It means I’ll set a schedule so that they can take turns having a day off.”

When Il-mok explained that, all the beggars looked over at Hong Gae.

“Boss, this sounds pretty good.”

"It's a chance for beggars to learn work skills and earn money."

“This means we can help the beggars we look after get out of the gutter for good!”

Seeing the gang members respond favorably, Hong Gae organized his thoughts and nodded.

“Alright. We have to search the area for the Blood Cult anyway, so we might as well get the farming and the building repairs done while we’re at it.”

Either way, the Little Tiger Beggar had already told them to actively support the Maitreya Luminous Cult's work, so there was no real way to say no.

In the end, Hong Gae divided up the Beggars’ Gang members so that one group worked on the burned field with the cook, and another worked on fixing up the estate with the carpenter.

Then he ordered the remaining gang members to investigate the area for clues about the Blood Cult. After that, while heading down Mount Kongtong with Il-mok.

"Oh, now that I think about it, you left a carpenter at the entrance to Mount Kongtong. Why did you bring him?"

Hong Gae asked Il-mok about the question that had just occurred to him.

"I'm thinking of setting up some street stalls and a stable at the mountain entrance."

"...You're planning to do business not just at the inn you're building up there, but at the entrance too?"

"That's right. If we sell simple snacks that would be helpful for mountain climbing, it should do pretty well. Oh, and selling walking sticks for climbing should bring in decent money too."

When you've got a tourist spot, you always start selling stuff right at the entrance.

While Il-mok was planning out what else to sell at the Mount Kongtong entrance, Hong Gae asked again, "Are you planning to have beggars from other counties handle that work too?"

“We could give the jobs to the beggars, or it wouldn't be a bad idea to give work to the folks in Pingliang County who aren't severely addicted."

Hong Gae stared at Il-mok with a speechless expression, then voiced a question that suddenly popped into his head.

“Huh? But why stop at just stalls and a stable? You’d probably get tons of business if you let people sleep here."

"If we build an inn at the entrance, people will just sleep there and then take off for another town, right? If there’s nowhere to sleep here, hikers will have to flood into the nearest town, which is Pingliang County."

As Il-mok kept dropping bombs he’d never even considered, Hong Gae now stood there with his mouth hanging completely open.

Seeing Hong Gae's dumbfounded expression, Il-mok casually added an explanation to help him understand, as if it were all no big deal.

"Same goes for the stable. Yeah, it’s for hauling supplies for the stalls, but I’m also planning to run a ‘public carriage’ service back and forth between Mount Kongtong’s entrance and Pingliang County. That way, tired hikers can easily get to town. And of course, the people managing and driving the carriage will be beggars or Pingliang residents.”

If you wanted to squeeze every last penny out of the tourists coming to Mount Kongtong, you had to set things up so they had no choice but to go to Pingliang County.

Of course, this was all just basic stuff to Il-mok, who’d studied public administration and dealt with all this kind of shit as a government worker.

'How the hell does he come up with this stuff like it's nothing?'

Hong Gae couldn't hide his shock.

'Now I understand why the Little Tiger Beggar told us to help them! He wanted us to stick close and learn from these guys!'

The Little Tiger Beggar had said they should emulate one of the Maitreya Luminous Cult's core principles for helping people.

Not just giving money to those who'd become beggars, but providing them with work.

And the guy in front of him was pulling it off like it was the easiest thing in the world.

'They say you can learn from watching others' mistakes. I need to observe their methods and learn, so we can give hope to beggars too!'

Just like that, the light was back in Hong Gae's eyes. Unlike Il-mok’s dead fish eyes, his were burning with passion and motivation.

Il-mok addressed the passionate beggar. “Speaking of which, when are the rest of the beggars from Gansu supposed to get here? We'll need them before we can start construction at the entrance."

“They’ll be trickling in from here on out. I’ll send them your way as soon as they show up!”

Seeing Hong Gae's passionate volunteering to become free labor, Il-mok nodded with a satisfied expression.

On the way down Mount Kongtong, Hong Gae reviewed the plans the mystery man before him had shared, pondering whether there was any way to apply them to the Beggars’ Gang.

And then, he realized something important.

"By the way, is it really okay to just start construction on Mount Kongtong and in Pingliang County ?"

He hadn’t realized that the man before him was using them.

“I know everyone talks about how the Imperial Court doesn’t meddle in Jianghu and Jianghu doesn’t meddle with the Imperial Court, but if we start something this big, the authorities aren’t just going to look the other way, are they?”

At Hong Gae's question, Il-mok simply shrugged his shoulders lightly.

“Why not flip the question around? While most of the town was getting drugged and more than a hundred people were sacrificed… why do you think the government did nothing?”