Chapter 239: Chapter 239

Chapter 239: Espionage (3)

Il-mok had suspected that Sohyang might be the spy from the Hao Clan, but with another woman standing beside her, it was hard to tell.

"So, which one of you claimed to be the Hao Clan spy?" Il-mok asked, trying to clear up his confusion.

The unfamiliar woman carefully raised her right arm, her face pale with fear.

A woman going by the courtesan name Baekyeon had arrived at the red-light district of Lanzhou.

There was nothing special or unusual about the place.

While many became courtesans through kidnapping or human trafficking, there were always some who voluntarily entered the profession to pay off debts or earn money.

On top of that, Lanzhou's red-light district had recently seen many courtesans leave, leaving it short-staffed.

As a result, Baekyeon was accepted into the Red Blossom Pavilion without much difficulty. And the person assigned to train her was Sohyang, who had just returned to the pavilion after receiving treatment for several days.

"How long have you been in this line of work? Oh, I'm not trying to boss you around or anything. It's just that things work differently here, so I wanted to explain."

Even though the question could have been annoying, Baekyeon responded with a friendly smile.

"I worked somewhere else for about a year."

Inside, though, she was cursing.

'Who does this bitch think she is?'

The reason she held back her anger was simple, her mission was to gather information from this place.

Every word that came out of this unnecessarily helpful woman named Sohyang was information to her.

However, the information Sohyang provided was unexpectedly different.

"Here in Lanzhou, nobody forces you to sleep with customers. If you don't want to, you can just keep them company with drinks and that's perfectly fine."

Baekyeon almost looked at her like she was crazy.

It didn't sound like something that could possibly be true.

"Is... is that really possible?"

"It's thanks to the Maitreya Luminous Cult."

"The Maitreya Luminous Cult?" Baekyeon asked innocently, but inside, she cheered with delight.

After all, the information she needed to dig was precisely about the Maitreya Luminous Cult. And here was this woman just handing it to her on a silver platter.

How can she not be happy?

Unaware of Baekyeon's true feelings, Sohyang enthusiastically sang the praises of the Maitreya Luminous Cult.

"The Maitreya Luminous Cult cleared our debts and stopped forcing us to sleep with customers. But the Hao Clan, on the other hand, locked us up and forced us into it."

Her explanation was laced with curses for the Heavenly Orchid Society and the Hao Clan, who had previously managed this place.

"In the end, we tried to escape to survive. I failed and got caught and suffered harsh torture."

Sohyang showed the marks of torture scattered across her body.

But strangely, there was no sadness on her face as she displayed those scars.

"And just when I was about to die, salvation truly came. The Incarnation of Maitreya came to rescue me."

Instead, her eyes held hope and conviction.

Baekyeon felt an inexplicable sense of displeasure and discomfort.

Those eyes are the kind that couldn’t be seen in the red-light districts where she'd grown up.

Those are the eyes you’d see on some young disciples from prestigious sects or children from affluent families.

Those are eyes that are full of dreams and conviction that everything would work out.

A look that only those who were born into good circumstances could afford. But for people like her, those are eyes that would inevitably lose their shine after being trampled on countless times.

She knew she shouldn't draw attention to herself as a spy, but she felt irritated for some reason she didn’t know.

Baekyeon asked, feigning ignorance, "Are your wounds okay? With scars like that, isn't it hard to get customers?"

It was her way of indirectly saying, 'You are a useless bitch who can't even make a living as a courtesan anymore.'

But surprisingly, Sohyang just smiled.

"Didn't I tell you earlier? We don't have to sleep with customers. These wounds can be hidden with clothes, so it's fine. Besides, I don't plan on being a courtesan for the rest of my life."

Baekyeon could only laugh awkwardly and move on.

If she hadn't forced a smile, she felt like her displeasure would've shown through.

After that, Sohyang continued to explain how courtesans worked at the Red Blossom Pavilion and the spaces they used.

She kept comparing the differences between when the Hao Clan managed the place and now, under the Maitreya Luminous Cult's management.

When she was done, she grabbed a tray of sand and started doodling in it with her finger.

"What are you doing?" Baekyeon asked.

"These are characters I learned at the Maitreya Luminous Cult's school. I really want to learn to read and write so I can become a nurse at the cult's medical facility."

"Oh, I shouldn't bother you then. Thanks for the tour. I'm going to look around a bit more."

Baekyeon felt like she’d explode if she spent another second with this delusional girl, so she took off.

And Baekyeon soon realized something.

It wasn't just Sohyang who was .

For some reason, all the courtesans here wore genuinely happy smiles.

These weren't the fake smiles they put on for customers.

Having spent her entire life reading people's faces and selling smiles, she could easily distinguish between real and fake laughter.

And here, all the courtesans and servants were absorbed in something. They are either studying characters, playing musical instruments, or doing other activities.

But that didn't mean everyone wanted to quit being a courtesan.

"Ohohoho. I actually job. I make money and meet men. Two birds with one stone, right?"

There were always people, regardless of gender, who enjoyed carnal pleasures.

"So I guess you don't care much about the Maitreya Luminous Cult?" Baekyeon asked.

The courtesan smiled. "Are you kidding? Since they don't force us to sleep with anyone, I don't have to deal with the creeps anymore. Plus, they teach us to read, so I can actually have conversations with educated customers, how great is that?"

Either way, most of the courtesans at the Red Blossom Pavilion are happy.

No, after spending a few more days here, she realized it wasn't just the Red Blossom Pavilion.

Most people in the district had a totally different vibe from what she was used to.

Of course, there are people who complain about everything wherever you go, but compared to other places, this was practically paradise.

Sometimes she even forgot she was in a red-light district.

While gathering information about the Maitreya Luminous Cult, Baekyeon wondered, Why is this place so different from everywhere else?

She found the answer thanks to Sohyang, who was always looking out for her.

"I'm going to become a nurse."

Even if your life is in the gutter right now, as long as you have hope that things will get better, you can smile and move forward.

Baekyeon suddenly found herself wondering,

'If I give the Hao Clan information on this place, will my life get better?’

Of course, the Hao Clan had promised her rewards.

They promised financial compensation for minor information, and if she achieved great results, they would teach her bedroom arts and martial arts, maybe even let her run her own branch someday.

'I'd still be a courtesan. I'd still be stuck in the mud.'

Compared to the hope these people held, her rewards seemed covered in filth.

She felt wronged and angry.

What good did it do to realize this now?

‘If only I'd been here from the start.’

She envied those who had gained hope so much so that she felt the urge to destroy that hope.

Then one day, Sohyang led Baekyeon somewhere.

"Today's the day of the gathering."

She was led to the massive estate of the Maitreya Luminous Cult, where she heard a sermon from a man wearing a wrathful deity mask.

"Maitreya is the fire that burns away all evil, but He is also merciful. Repent! His mercy comes to those who repent, but His wrath will hunt down those who pretend they did nothing wrong."

"Advent of Maitreya! Salvation for All!"

"Repentance isn't difficult. First, reflect on yourself and change your ways. Second, honestly confess your sins. Receive your punishment and be reborn as a new person."

"Advent of Maitreya! Salvation for All!"

That day's sermon was about repentance and confession.

It was a doctrine that Il-mok had created after encountering the Beggars’ Gang's tricky method. That doctrine had spread all the way to Lanzhou, where Won Sul was teaching it while wearing a mask.

After hearing the sermon about repentance and confession, Baekyeon fell into deep contemplation.

‘Can my sins really be forgiven too?’

She wanted to reveal her identity as a spy and become a believer of the Maitreya Luminous Cult.

She was dying of envy as she watched the courtesans around her living in hope.

‘What if I'm not forgiven? No, even if I am forgiven, what if the Hao Clan tries to kill me?’

Everyone values their own life, after all.

Just then, Sohyang noticed how much sadder Baekyeon looked compared to before.

"Do you have something on your mind?"

After hesitating briefly at the question, Baekyeon answered indirectly.

"I just... I think I have sins too. But I wonder if I can really be forgiven?"

"Hehe. It's because of yesterday's sermon, isn't it? Don't worry. The Maitreya Luminous Cult has never once broken a promise made in their doctrine or sermons."

"But what if scary people forced me to do bad things? If I reveal this, those scary people might kill me..."

When Baekyeon spoke fearfully, Sohyang held her hand.

"The very place that pushed out the infamous Hao Clan is the Maitreya Luminous Cult. I didn't know at the time because I was tied up, but I heard later that even a Hao Clan Elder showed up here."

"A-an Elder from the Hao Clan?"

Being a grunt, she had no idea about this. She never imagined an elder had died here.

Seeing her shocked reaction, Sohyang added reassuringly. "And this is also something I heard later, but that day, one of those bastards from Hao Clan said this to the Incarnation of Maitreya, 'Aren't you afraid of our Hao Clan?!'"

"So? What did he answer?"

Sohyang put on a sneer, acting out the scene as if she were in a play.

"If I were scared of the Hao Clan, do you really think I'd be doing this?"

Sohyang was acting out a scene she’d never even seen.

But her story gave Baekyeon courage.

"I... I have something I need to confess."

"Alright. If you're too scared to say it alone, I'll go with you. The Crimson Silk Pavilion Master who manages the red-light district is close to the Incarnation of Maitreya, so you can tell him too."

And so, Baekyeon went to find the Crimson Silk Pavilion Master, hand in hand with Sohyang.

"I am... a spy from the Hao Clan."

Hearing Baekyeon's courageous confession, Sohyang, who had been holding her hand, froze like stone.

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After hearing the lengthy story from both Baekyeon and Sohyang, the first thought that crossed Il-mok's mind was that it was a good thing he was wearing a mask.

Otherwise, his bizarrely contorted face would've been fully visible.

‘This is ridiculous.’

He hadn't done anything, yet somehow the problem had solved itself.

‘I guess good things really do come to those who do good deeds, huh?’

This must all be the result of performing good deeds under the name of the Maitreya Luminous Cult.

Or rather, this woman named Baekyeon is just a special case.

Still, Il-mok was able to confirm that the Hao Clan spies had infiltrated Gansu Province thanks to her.

'There have to be other spies among the strangers... Aside from those two martial artists, the only weird thing about the rest is that they sing hymns way too eager.’

As Il-mok's thoughts reached that point, a forgotten memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.

'I planned the missionary work, so how could I forget that part!?'

Il-mok quickly sent a voice transmission message to Dam Bin.

—Send people to every town in Gansu where outsiders showed up. Round them all up and bring them to one place.

— Do you plan to imprison them there and find the spies through torture?

—We'll find the spies, but we don't need torture.

Modern cults have all kinds of tricks, starting with stopping people on the street to ask, "Do you know the Way?”

Most people would already be freaked about that tactic, but the real heavy hitter was something else entirely.

—We're going to put them all in a camp for a month of religious training. Lock them up so they can't leave and have them live together.

You have to brainwash—I mean, inspire faith in—the people you recruit, right?