Chapter 234: Chapter 234

Chapter 234: Corruption (1)

While the grand cooking competition was in full swing in Pingliang County, Hong Gae came to find Il-mok with some news.

"We've hit a snag tracking down what we think are Blood Cult traces. Because of that, a full mobilization order came down, so we'll be taking our leave now."

"Thanks for everything."

"It was a good experience for the Beggars’ Gang too."

After their brief exchange of farewells, Hong Gae added something as if just remembering it.

"Oh, right. There was intel that one of the elders from the Hao Clan had come to Gansu Province."

The mention of the Hao Clan made Il-mok's brow furrow.

He remembered how he’d basically threatened the Madam of Red Blossom Pavilion who was the Hao Clan’s Branch Leader in Lanzhou.

'I definitely warned them not to try anything funny.'

Of course, it might be an overreaction to suspect them just because a Hao Clan elder had headed to Gansu Province.

"Why did a Hao Clan elder come all the way to Gansu?"

Hong Gae just shrugged at Il-mok's question.

"We don't know either. We're too busy tracking the Blood Cult to dig into details like that."

"Then can you at least tell me about this elder?"

"His name is Yang Jong. He's the Second Elder of Hao Clan and a rat bastard who uses underhanded tricks. That's why I thought I'd give you a heads up just in case."

Il-mok cupped his fists in a simple show of respect.

"Thanks for looking out for us."

Hong Gae turned around and marched out of the office, looking like a man who was glad to be done with his work.

Watching his retreating figure for a moment, Il-mok clicked his tongue lightly.

'Guess it's time for me to head back too.'

The demonic sword was purified and became the Ascension Sword, and the residents of Pingliang County were settling in nicely.

On top of that, he was bothered by the fact that there was trouble with the Hao Clan, the very group he'd warned.

After organizing his thoughts, Il-mok left the office and headed for the manor.

"Warrior Kwan. I need to talk to you for a moment."

When Il-mok called him, Kwan Mu-yeol followed with a face as white as a sheet.

"Are you sick or something?"

"N-no. O’ Incarnation of Maitreya."

Il-mok tilted his head in confusion, but shrugged it off as nothing serious.

"I'm planning to leave Pingliang County tomorrow."

"Is there a problem?"

"No problem at all. Which means there's no reason for me to stick around here anymore, right?"

Hearing that Il-mok was leaving, color began returning to Kwan Mu-yeol's face.

That is, until the next words came out.

"So from now on, I want you to take over Pingliang County from now on."

"I mean exactly what I said. The County Magistrate Park Chunsik is currently being treated at the manor, correct? So starting today, you'll live as Park Chunsik and manage this place."

Hearing that his name was effectively Chunsik from now on, Kwan Mu-yeol felt his head spinning.

Just as he'd told Kwan Mu-yeol, Il-mok left Pingliang County and headed for Lanzhou all by himself.

He left Baek Cheon behind to run the Hall of Arts. Jeong Hyeon was also left behind, but for a different reason.

‘Seeing how she got enlightenment last time, it seems the theatrical duels are doing well for her.’

Il-mok thought this was also for her benefit.

In any case, Il-mok returned to the Lanzhou branch after quite a long time.

Dam Bin, Jin Hayeon, and Hyeokryeon Seon-ah, who had remained there, welcomed him back.

Ouyang Mun and Ju Seo-yeon were probably out running around Gansu with the Demonic Cult's combat units.

"Have you guys been doing okay?"

Seon-ah was the first to answer.

"Yes! I've been training hard while waiting for you to come back, Big Brother."

She looked just like a puppy wagging its tail, begging for praise.

Il-mok patted the head of the girl who had become a young lady and said, "Then I should check and see how much you've improved."

"Are you going to spar with me?"

Seon-ah smiled with a delighted expression.

Maybe it was because she'd grown up in the Demon Cult, from what Il-mok could tell, Seon-ah seemed to view sparring as a kind of game.

But unfortunately, she didn't get her wish to play with him.

"Young Master. You should confirm Young Lady Seon-ah's growth through real combat, not sparring."

Hearing Dam Bin's words, Il-mok frowned, "Don't tell me this is related to the Hao Clan?"

Dam Bin looked slightly surprised at that question as she answered. "To think you knew about Lanzhou's affairs even while staying in Pingliang County. How impressive, Young Master."

Il-mok decided not to mention that the beggars had told him. Instead, he just asked, "So what has the Hao Clan been up to in Lanzhou?"

"It might be easier to hear it from the witness yourself. How about we go to the red-light district together?"

Il-mok nodded and grabbed his wrathful deity mask.

Following Dam Bin's lead, Il-mok slipped out of the branch office using stealth techniques and arrived at a pleasure house with a sign reading "Crimson Silk Pavilion.

When Dam Bin and Il-mok entered the top floor of Crimson Silk Pavilion through the window, the Crimson Silk Pavilion Master who was there bowed with a completely unfazed attitude.

"The Advent of Maitreya! Salvation for All!! I greet the Incarnation of Maitreya."

The Crimson Silk Pavilion Master had grown accustomed to it since Dam Bin had occasionally shown up without warning.

"Have you come regarding the matter of that courtesan?"

When Dam Bin answered in an indifferent tone on behalf of Il-mok, the Crimson Silk Pavilion Master stood up and said, "Then I'll have her called."

The Crimson Silk Pavilion Master left the room and soon returned with a certain woman.

"These are the Incarnations of Maitreya."

As soon as the Crimson Silk Pavilion Master's introduction ended, the woman suddenly dropped to her knees and cried out, "P-please save Sohyang! I-I beg you, Incarnations of Maitreya!"

"Hey! You can't just make such requests out of nowhere!"

The Crimson Silk Pavilion Master tried to stop her in alarm, but Il-mok intervened.

"Tell me in more detail. Who is this woman named Sohyang, and why do you want me to save her?"

The woman who had been bowing raised her head and spoke in a tense voice.

"S-Sohyang was a courtesan who worked at Red Blossom Pavilion with me. We tried to run away last night, but... she got caught trying to make sure I got out first."

Red Blossom Pavilion was the brothel where the Hao Clan Branch Leader served as the Madam.

"What happened at Red Blossom Pavilion that made you try to escape together?"

As the woman began rambling on in response to Il-mok's question, Dam Bin stepped in.

"Let me explain briefly."

According to Dam Bin, things had gotten weird in the red-light district ever since the Maitreya Luminous Cult took over part of it.

It was because of rumors about the pleasure houses under the Maitreya Luminous Cult's jurisdiction.

—Those who believe in the Maitreya Luminous Cult are given opportunities for education. Additionally, their debts are cleared.

—You won't be harmed even if you refuse to sleep with customers.

—Those who can read or have knowledge of music can be hired by Maitreya Luminous Cult for money, so you can even quit being a courtesan.

Obviously, the girls working in the Hao Clan brothels went crazy when they heard this.

For these women, it sounded like a miracle.

Some might have chosen this work for money, but most were trafficked, kidnapped, or sold by their own parents.

The problem was that taverns and brothels belonging to the Hao Clan were excluded as the Maitreya Luminous Cult refused to accept them.

Eventually, the courtesans began secretly slipping out of the Red Blossom Pavilion to try to transfer to pleasure houses under the control of the Maitreya Luminous Cult.

"The-the guards and servants at the pleasure house were w-watching us around the clock. If we looked even a little suspicious, they... they'd tie us up or beat us."

The Hao Clan's response to this was confinement and violence.

"W-we were locked up every day and could only s-sell our smiles and bodies as we were told."

As the courtesan added her testimony to Dam Bin's story, Il-mok frowned.

'I told them to keep their filthy paws from us and just to stay put, and they've been pulling this garbage.'

He never considered that this incident was caused by his treating his own people too well. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel·fiɾe·net

If they didn't want the girls to leave, they should've just treated them better.

Sure, they might lose money, but that wasn't Il-mok's problem.

'I heard that the Hao Clan was a group formed by people like courtesans and servants banding together to survive. Locking them up and ripping them off goes against everything they stand for.'

It was the exact opposite of the Beggars Gang, who happily helped the Maitreya Luminous Cult to save their own people.

Il-mok nodded for them to go on, and Dam Bin continued.

"They say it got even worse recently."

Ironically, this was also because rumors related to the Maitreya Luminous Cult had spread.

Rumors had spread that the Maitreya Luminous Cult had recruited more courtesans as medical staff and troupe members.

As a result, there was another rumor that claimed there was a shortage of courtesans at pleasure houses under the Maitreya Luminous Cult's control.

"S-so Sohyang and I tried to escape. P-please save Sohyang. They might have even used aphrodisiacs on her."

"They're drugging the courtesans?"

When Il-mok asked back in disbelief, the woman added, "To make money off the girls who refuse, they drug them and force them into rooms with customers."

After hearing her full explanation, Il-mok nodded and sent a voice transmission to Dam Bin.

—Looks like we need to pay a visit to the Red Blossom Pavilion.

He didn't plan to slaughter everyone just yet.

If you act after hearing only one side of the story, you might end up getting played.

First, he wanted to visit the Red Blossom Pavilion Madam and observe her reaction.

‘The fact that the Hao Clan Elder named Yang Jong has entered Gansu Province really bothers me.’

If the Hao Clan was treating courtesans this poorly, he suspected that the Elder’s movements might also have some connection to it.

At a brothel in Lanzhou's red-light district.

At the top floor of the place with a sign reading [Red Blossom Pavilion].

A martial artist from the Hao Clan had come to find the Red Blossom Pavilion Madam.

"What happened to that bitch?"

At the Red Blossom Pavilion Madam's question, the martial artist bowed his head and answered.

"We tied the one we caught to the ceiling of the girls' room as a warning. We're torturing her now."

"Not the one we caught, the one who got away!"

The Red Blossom Pavilion Madam took a drag from her pipe and snapped irritably at the martial artist who then bowed his head and answered.

"Sh-she already entered Crimson Silk Pavilion under Maitreya Luminous Cult's control, so there's no way we can..."

Before the martial artist could finish speaking, she hurled her pipe right at his face.

"Get out of my sight!"

After kicking out her useless lackey, she looked at an old man who had been watching the entire situation from the side.

That old man was Yang Jong, an elder of the Hao Clan who had come to Lanzhou at her request for support.

Honestly, she didn't want to call him at first.

Apart from the warning left by the Incarnation of Maitreya, she was too busy managing the courtesans to even think about investigating the Maitreya Luminous Cult.

Then, she heard some weird rumors.

In addition to rumors that other pleasure houses were short on courtesans, there were rumors that the Maitreya Luminous Cult seemed to have fewer people around.

Realizing that the business would fail at this rate and she could be in danger, she willingly took a risky move.

She'd requested support from Hao Clan's main branch, and as a result, Yang Jong had come here with his disciples.

This is worse than I thought. We might have to shut down our business in Lanzhou at this rate."

Yang Jong clicked his tongue, looking disappointed. The Madam bit her nails nervously and asked, "Do you have a plan, Elder?"

Yang Jong grinned. He had a big X-shaped scar right across his nose.

When he smiled, the scar twisted, making him look cruel and creepy.

"Heheh. The problem keeps getting bigger because you never fixed the root cause."

...The root cause? Wait. Are you saying we should attack the Maitreya Luminous Cult?"