Chapter 225: Chapter 225

In his entire life, Hong Gae had seen that maybe one or two officials out of a hundred actually cared about regular people. All the rest didn't give a damn.

And the chances of an upright official who actually cared about the common folk coming to this place? Slim to none. Literally one or two out of a hundred.

Seeing Hong Gae hesitate, Il-mok drove the point home.

“At the end of the day, this is about helping the people that the Ghost Valley Master poisoned. Think about saving their lives first."

After a moment of consideration, Hong Gae finally nodded.

'Yeah, he's right. Based on what they've done so far, this has got to be better than letting some crooked official take over. And we're right here with them, so if they try anything shady, we can stop them then and there.'

Seeing that Hong Gae had accepted his words, Il-mok let out a quiet sigh of relief internally.

'Phew. At least the Beggars’ Gang isn't bailing on us. That's something.'

In order to develop Pingliang and Mount Kongtong the way he planned, Il-mok absolutely needed the Beggars' Gang.

After all, they were a free workforce that knew martial arts.

Once they decided to take in the magistrate and his officials, the beggars went to the government office and moved all the heavily addicted guys over to the estate.

Il-mok then made his way into the now ownerless government office.

The first place he headed was where the county magistrate had conducted his business.

As Il-mok examined the ledgers stored there, he let out a hollow laugh.

“He really cleaned up for such a small town.”

The bastard was reporting way less tax income than the town actually brought in, and he was pocketing the difference.

Well, it wasn't like he'd eaten it all alone, since he had to cut in his own men and pay off the inspectors who dropped by every now and then.

Looked like every country had its share of thieves in government, no matter where you went.

However, the magistrate's disgusting corruption actually worked out perfectly for Il-mok.

“Hmm. I can just use the money the magistrate skimmed off the top to pay the official taxes in Lanzhou. Since I only have to pay the low amount he’s been reporting, this stash should last us a few years."

Thanks to the crooked magistrate, the Maitreya Luminous Cult wouldn't have to spend a dime of its own cash.

The next morning, beggars from all over Gansu Province began trickling into Pingliang County one by one.

Il-mok called Hong Gae to the government office.

“I need you to leave two of your guys here. Make sure they’re First-Rate masters. I’ve got a special job for them.”

"What are you planning?"

“It’s along the same lines as our cult’s band bringing entertainment to the people.”

“...Are you planning to make our guys sing or act in a play or something?”

"Not singing, but something similar to a play, yes."

Why the hell would you need First-Rate Masters for a play?

Something felt off to Hong Gae, but he nodded anyway.

They'd already decided to trust and work together; nitpicking every little thing seemed pointless at this point.

'If they do something weird, I'll call them out on it then.'

Hong Gae eventually selected two Three-Knot Beggars from the newly arrived members and sent them to the government office.

Later, when he got back to town after checking on things up on Mount Kongtong, the sun was starting to set.

That’s when Hong Gae saw the weirdest thing in his entire life.

“Gather ‘round, gather ‘round! We’re about to have a duel between two of the biggest martial arts masters in all of Gansu!!”

The Maitreya Luminous Cult's leader, wearing that distinctive wrathful vajra mask, was shouting in the middle of a crowd.

Looking closer, the Maitreya Luminous Cult's band was standing behind the leader.

'So the band was playing a show here?'

That explained why people had gathered, but Hong Gae couldn't fathom why the leader was acting .

As Hong Gae puzzled over this, the leader shouted again.

"You fine folks will serve as witnesses to this duel! Now, first up, all the way from northern Gansu, a villain so notorious that babies stop crying when they hear his name! Give it up for Lord Iron Blood Saber!”

Hong Gae’s jaw dropped.

Iron Blood Saber that’s infamous throughout northern Gansu? As the leader of the Beggars’ Gang, he’d never heard of the guy. Also…

'Wait, that's the guy I sent to the office this morning!'

The middle-aged guy with the giant saber on his back and a face as red as his own was none other than one of the Three-Knot Beggars he sent earlier this morning.

Judging by how red his face was, Hong Gae figured he was either about to die of humiliation, or he was drunk off his ass trying not to.

"And on this side, we have the hero who came all the way from Sichuan in the south just to bring the villainous Iron Blood Saber to justice! From the famous and righteous Taiqing Gate, the Azure Sword Hero!"

And, of course, the guy who stepped forward was the other Three-Knot Beggar.

Hong Gae felt his head spinning.

It wasn't just that he'd given his beggars stupid names and backstories.

'This makes no sense!!'

Why the hell would martial arts masters invite regular common folk to witness their duel?!

And why would someone from northern Gansu and someone from Sichuan be fighting here in Pingliang County of all places? Hong Gae couldn't wrap his head around it.

“Let the duel… BEGIN!”

Whether it made sense or not, the second the leader shouted, the two beggars—sorry, "Iron Blood Saber" and "Azure Sword Hero"—started their fight.

The two martial arts masters, faces bright red, roared fiercely as they swung their saber and sword.

True to their status as First-Rate Masters, explosive sounds erupted whenever their weapons clashed.

Watching this spectacle, Hong Gae felt like he was about to have a Qi Deviation.

'This is complete bullshit!! Who the hell uses martial arts like that?!'

Every single movement of their sword and saber was exaggerated. So much so that if they tried this in a real fight, they'd get their heads lopped off immediately.

Finally reaching his limit, Hong Gae approached the leader who'd orchestrated this bizarre situation.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

"I told you this morning, didn't I? It's a play to bring joy to the residents of Pingliang County."

"That's right. They say the most entertaining things in the world are watching fires and watching fights, don't they? Since I can't exactly set fire to Pingliang County, figured I'd at least give them a fight to watch."

"...And those ridiculous names like Iron Blood Blade Master and Azure Sword Hero?"

“It’s no fun if it’s just two beggars fighting, is it?”

“...So those ridiculous, over-the-top moves... you told them to do that?”

The leader shrugged at the question.

"Do you really think ordinary common folk can properly appreciate real martial arts combat? This way is more entertaining to watch, you know? Do you have any idea how much trouble I went through choreographing their moves?"

Of course, all he’d really done was sit on his ass and boss them around.

And right after Il-mok finished speaking—

The Iron Blood Saber brought his saber in a dramatic downward chop, and the Azure Sword Hero blocked it.

With a massive explosion, the two locked blades and started a power struggle, pushing back and forth.

Just when it looked like Azure Sword Hero was about to lose, he shoved the saber away with a huge roar. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel•fire.net

The recoil sent Iron Blood Saber flying a good ten feet into the air before doing a backflip and landing.

And at that very moment—

The crowd, which had been looking kind of bored up to this point, finally started to cheer.

This was Il-mok’s second big idea for turning Pingliang County into a tourist town, right after the musical play.

At first, he’d thought of turning the beggars into traditional singing street performers, but then he remembered they knew martial arts and that gave him another idea. That idea was none other than pro wrestling.

"See? Look how happy they are."

At the leader's triumphant voice, Hong Gae felt dizzy.

Meanwhile, their completely staged fight just got flashier and flashier.

"Azure Sword Hero! You can do it!!”

The crowd's cheers grew louder as well.

This was because the Azure Sword Hero, who'd been introduced as the "good guy," was slightly losing ground.

"Muhahaha! Is that all you've got?!"

To make things even more intense, the Iron Blood Saber started yelling with some of the worst, most cringe-worthy acting imaginable.

With another cringe-inducing shout, he swung his saber in a huge, telegraphed arc.

Just then, the Azure Sword Hero pulled out his trump card and achieved a dramatic reversal—

"AZURE SWORD HERO!! AZURE SWORD HERO!!!"

The crowd's cheers reached their absolute peak.

While Hong Gae was just staring at the whole crazy scene with a blank look on his face, the leader puffed out his chest.

“Get it now? The most important thing in this town is fun. Pure, simple joy. The kind of joy that makes the so-called paradise experienced through Butterfly Dream Grass seem like nothing."

However, the one who gained enlightenment from his words was sadly not Hong Gae but someone else.

“This one, Baek Cheon, has received another profound lesson from the Incarnation of Maitreya today! I will now show you a joy from our cult that will blow theirs away!”

Baek Cheon, who had been watching the whole show from the back, suddenly snatched an instrument from one of the musicians and crashed through the stage.

He started playing and singing, pumping his internal energy into it, and the sound just blasted out in every direction.

Il-mok watched for a second, felt like something was missing, and sent him a voice transmission.

—You gotta give their eyes a show, not just their ears. Try shaking your head around vigorously.

Baek Cheon's eyes popped open when he heard the message. He immediately started shredding on the instrument while whipping his head back and forth like a maniac.

That’s what finally made the crowd go wild. Baek Cheon, totally pumped by the cheers, started shaking his whole body and going nuts.

Il-mok nodded as he watched the scene.

"Of course. It ain’t rock until you start headbanging.”

(TL Note: It’s a pun. Rak (락) is the word for Rock in Korean, and the title of this mini arc is Rak (락, 樂) for Joy.)

That was the direction Pingliang County would take.

And Hong Gae, who was standing right next to Il-mok and heard him mutter that, felt the world start to spin even faster.

'I... I need to get out of here.'

He felt like the Heart Demon he thought he'd recovered from was coming back.

At a secret base of the Murim Alliance near Dongting Lake.

The Little Tiger Beggar who had traveled for days using lightness skill was meeting with Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord Jeong Yeong.

After hearing Little Tiger Beggar’s report about the horrific events at Mount Kongtong and Pingliang County, the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord Jeong Yeong had to force himself not to sigh.

'Dealing with the Demonic Cult is already a huge pain, and now the Blood Cult shows up?'

For Jeong Yeong, who’d just sent his best men to Xinjiang to dig up dirt on the Demonic Cult’s Eight Young master, this was a massive headache.

But he couldn't just ignore this matter and move on.

Not only was it truly horrific, but the book called Blood Curse Record that the Little Tiger Beggar had brought definitely reeked of the Blood Cult.

As he was thinking about what a mess this was, a suspicion popped into his head.

"Is it possible that this Maitreya Luminous Cult is connected to the Demonic Cult? They might have staged this to deflect suspicion, don't you think?"

Little Tiger Beggar looked annoyed at the suggestion.

“I already looked into that. They are definitely not working for the Demonic Cult.”

He answered so firmly because he remembered the cult’s leader calling the Heavenly Demon a “son of a bitch.”

"Then I'll take your word for it."

Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord Jeong Yeong nodded as if convinced, then spoke as if something had just occurred to him.

“Oh, in that case, did you happen to see a guy who looks there?”

Jeong Yeong pulled out a wanted sketch and handed it to the Seven-Knot Beggar.

It was a sketch of the Demonic Cult's Eighth Young Master drawn by the trusted subordinates he'd sent to Xinjiang.

The Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord had recently heard that the Eighth Young Master was off on some mission for the Heavenly Demon, which made him suspicious.

The problem was that Little Tiger Beggar had firmly stated the Maitreya Luminous Cult had no connection to the Demonic Cult.

So he omitted mentioning that it was a sketch of the Eighth Young Master. There was no need to needlessly provoke the Beggars’ Gang.

Moreover, he needed to keep the fact that he was investigating the Eighth Young Master and the Demonic Cult a secret.

"This is a man our Flying Dragon Pavilion is tracking, but his whereabouts have been unknown lately, so I thought I'd ask just in case."

At the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord's words, Little Tiger Beggar examined the sketch carefully.

The only major figure from the Maitreya Luminous Cult that the Seven-Knot Beggar had directly met was their leader.

Even that leader had been wearing a mask, making it impossible to see his exact face, but—

“Nope, didn’t see anyone who looks .”

He said it without a hint of doubt.

Even though the Maitreya Luminous Cult's leader wore a mask, he could still make out the eyes, mouth, and facial outline.

And all of those were different from the sketch.

'Everything else aside, the eyes are completely different.'

The leader of the Maitreya Luminous Cult he remembered had extremely shrewd eyes.

The kind eyes that had weathered life's harsh storms, unfazed by most things.

To put it bluntly, dead fish eyes.

The eyes in the sketch were sharp and full of energy, way too different from those dead-fish eyes he remembered.

“You know, just from the drawing, he looks like a talented young guy, got the air of a real hero about him. Why is the Flying Dragon Pavilion looking for a guy like that?”

Jeong Yeong gave the answer he’d already prepared in advance.

“He just looks good on the outside. In reality, he's a degenerate who uses that pretty face to seduce and mess with women.”