Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 185
>Chapter Title: Maitreya Illuminating Cult (1)
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Those spreading the faith were not limited to Gu Yang-mun and Joo Seo-yeon. Jin Ha-yeon was out with Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a.
It was Il-mok's own consideration. A way to keep Joo Seo-yeon and Gu Yang-mun away from Jin Ha-yeon.
Jin Ha-yeon wandered the marketplace and spoke to a young man passing by.
"Excuse me, I'm new to this area and was hoping you could point me in the right direction."
No sooner had she spoken than the young man stopped dead in his tracks, staring at her with a dazed expression.
Regardless of her icy demeanor, Jin Ha-yeon was a beauty who naturally drew the eyes of everyone around.
"O-Of course, I'd be happy to help!"
She asked the enthusiastic man,
"Do you happen to know the way to Wind Heaven Inn?"
Wind Heaven Inn was the largest inn in Golang County, a place anyone living there for even a few days would know.
Yet even when asked about such a famous spot, the man harbored no suspicion.
After all, this lovely young lady had said it was her first time in Golang County. And more than that.
'That face couldn't possibly be lying!'
His gaze was already fixed firmly on Jin Ha-yeon's features.
The man gladly led Jin Ha-yeon and Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a to Wind Heaven Inn.
"Thank you, Young Hero."
"Hahaha. N-No, I don't deserve such a title."
As the man blushed and laughed awkwardly, Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a stepped forward.
"We've come this far together by fate—why not join us for a cup of tea inside?"
"Young Lady's words ring true. You've shown us such kindness; we must repay you. We'll cover the tea, so please join us."
At the invitation to share tea, the man's mind was already painting rosy pictures of the future.
They entered the inn and exchanged simple introductions, easing into casual chit-chat.
"Hahaha!"
Even though it was nothing of substance, the man's smile stretched from ear to ear.
It was nearing evening, yet he seemed to have forgotten his parents waiting at home for dinner.
'Mother! Father! Just wait a little longer! It looks like I'll soon have a wife—two of them, no less!!'
No, he even believed he was fulfilling his filial duty right now.
As the man drowned in his delusions,
Jin Ha-yeon's voice, smooth as rolling jade beads, slipped into his ear.
"So, Young Hero Park, do you follow any faith or religion?"
* * *
While Gu Yang-mun and Joo Seo-yeon proselytized alongside Jin Ha-yeon and Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a, Dam-bin was moving independently.
At that moment, Jeong-hyeon, who had been trailing a full zhang and three bu behind Il-mok with her head bowed, sent a transmission.
- Young Master. I-is this really the right way to spread the faith?
Jeong-hyeon, who would throw a fit if anyone came within a zhang and three bu of her, had been excluded from proselytizing and assigned as Il-mok's guard.
As Jeong-hyeon asked, this entire method had been Il-mok's idea.
He had experienced it ad nauseam in his modern life.
From the utterly archaic "Do you know the Way?" to asking directions to well-known landmarks as a way in.
'No universities here, sadly. Can't pull that college project interview nonsense.'
There were endless ways to approach passersby.
Thanks to that endless barrage in his past life as Seo Ji-hoon, he'd grown accustomed to ignoring strangers who approached him on the street.
In urban Korea, human connections had frayed to the point where one wondered if it was all the cults' fault.
And conversely,
'If it worked in the suspicion-filled modern city, no way it fails in this medieval era.'
Jeong-hyeon's worries were utterly pointless. If anything, he was concerned it might work too well.
* * *
After the sun had fully set.
Il-mok beamed at those returning from their proselytizing.
"You've all worked hard. Did you set the place and time for the next meeting?"
The five who had been out answered affirmatively.
"Then bear with it just a few more days."
Il-mok had no intention of continuing this proselytizing method.
Not out of any prick of conscience.
'Keep this up in this cramped place, and we'll draw attention. I'm not Baek Cheon; can't risk that.'
Golang County wasn't a city. With the same faces coming and going, they'd stand out quickly.
What they'd done today was mere groundwork.
To broaden the base, however slightly, for the real proselytizing ahead.
"Here's a simple form I've prepared. Fill in the personal details of the potential converts you spoke with today according to this."
Nothing special. Just name, age, hobbies, relationships, and personality traits observed during the conversation.
Yet this seemingly trivial information would become a tremendous asset for future proselytizing efforts.
Jin Ha-yeon looked down at the paper Il-mok offered and raised her head.
"I followed your instructions, Young Master, but I'm not sure this method is truly right."
"Even if the form seems simple, it'll be a great asset later."
"I wasn't questioning the form. I meant whether it's right to draw people in through mere familiarity rather than teaching the doctrine."
Some of the more thoughtful ones shared her doubts, casting skeptical glances at Il-mok.
They seemed uneasy about converts joining not from true faith, but mere personal ties.
Of course, this excluded Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a, who blindly trusted Il-mok, and Baek Cheon, whose head was filled only with thoughts of theater.
Amid it all, Gu Yang-mun and Joo Seo-yeon's gazes turned toward Jin Ha-yeon, who had voiced the question.
"Hoo."
After scanning the mad bunch, Il-mok addressed those capable of logical discussion: Dam-bin, Jin Ha-yeon, and Jeong-hyeon.
"You have it backward. We've known the Divine Cult's great doctrine since childhood, but to the people of the Central Plains, it's utterly foreign. Hm. Think of food, for example."
"Food?"
"Yes. Imagine someone offers you a new dish from afar—not your usual fare, but something bizarre-looking and unfamiliar."
"Your analogy has issues, Young Master."
"Are you saying the Divine Cult's doctrine is bizarre?"
Il-mok shook his head at Dam-bin and Jin Ha-yeon's points.
"At the very least, it might seem bizarre to the people here."
Honestly, it struck even Il-mok that way.
"Anyway, how would you feel if a stranger from afar tried to force that weird new food on you?"
"Like it was poison."
"Exactly. Now, suppose instead a group of familiar acquaintances or close friends all enjoyed it and said it was delicious—what would you think?"
"...It might feel off, but curiosity would stir, wouldn't it?"
Jin Ha-yeon and the others began to grasp Il-mok's intent.
To drive it home, Il-mok added,
"And that's not the only strength of this method. Humans struggle most to sever bonds of affection. Unlike openly approaching with our faith, if they've already grown close to us—if friends and family are among us—potential converts won't leave easily."
Il-mok knew this from knowledge gleaned in the modern world.
One reason people stayed in cults even after realizing the truth was precisely this.
"Finally, we must soften the doctrine at first. As I said, to them, it's foreign weird food. Rather than shoving it down raw, we should shape it into something familiar to locals, no?"
"How should we soften it?"
When Dam-bin asked, Il-mok inexplicably pointed at Jin Ha-yeon.
"Borrow from how Lady Jin taught me before. Omit the 'Heavenly Demon' title and use 'Maitreya.' Teach that Maitreya will come and punish the wicked."
"...So, reveal our true Divine Cult identity only to those who come to truly believe later?"
Il-mok nodded at Jin Ha-yeon's question.
"Yes. Until then, we're not the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. From 'Maitreya who will one day purge evil and bring light,' we'll operate as the Maitreya Illuminating Cult."
* * *
Proselytizing continued for two more days.
The five worked different spots in Golang County each day, conversing with several people.
Per Il-mok's orders to avoid attention, they halted afterward. Two days later, one evening.
A few people gathered on the midway slope of a low mountain near Golang County.
"Welcome."
"Thank you for keeping your promise."
The five, after three days of efforts, stepped forward to greet each guest they had invited.
Surprisingly, Jin Ha-yeon had drawn the most.
Despite her deepest skepticism about the method and her poor sociability yielding stiff conversations.
But Il-mok wasn't surprised.
'As expected, in a face-driven world, some lives are just different.'
Every man she'd spoken to showed perfect attendance.
'This is why men must beware the honey trap above all.'
Though he'd ordered the honey trap himself, Il-mok gave it no thought.
"Hm? What brings you here?"
"You're one to talk—what are you doing here?"
Golang County being small, many invitees knew each other.
And among them were Il-mok's other preparations.
Warriors from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Golang County branch.
Having lived here for years or decades, they blended seamlessly as locals.
Naturally, they could play ignorant villagers, shaping the mood.
Gathered in the moonlit clearing, they shared light conversation.
Starting with brief greetings and small talk, a few on assignment gradually wove in doctrine.
"We believe. One day, Maitreya will come, slay all evildoers, and usher in a peaceful world."
"Heaven's net seems wide-meshed, yet no wicked soul escapes it."
But not all fell for the contrived atmosphere.
"What naive nonsense. Good deeds only bring loss in this world."
A young man grumbled, echoed by a woman.
"Yeah. If evildoers really got punished, why are those bastards still thriving?"
As their words stirred unrest,
Il-mok, who had been watching from the brush in hiding, stepped forward.
He had anticipated this to some degree.
More precisely, even if not tonight, it was bound to happen continuing proselytizing in Golang County.
In a world where villains ran rampant, promises of future justice rang hollow.
And in this Golang County lurked a band of black path scum.
Extorting money through intimidation, usury, even forcing women into prostitution for unpaid debts.
"Is the 'those bastards' the lady mentioned referring to the Red Serpent House?"
Masks on, emerging suddenly from the brush—gazes in the clearing turned to Il-mok.
The reason Il-mok felt no guilt using those tiresome modern tactics.
It stemmed from what the Branch Leader had told him about Golang County: the Red Serpent House.
The Demonic Cult struck Il-mok as cultish too. But.
'Cult or not, the Demonic Cult aren't trash.'
They didn't commit the depravities cults evoked, like temple prostitution.
They simply relied wholly on force to realize what they deemed right—that was the issue.
Thus.
"Before Maitreya cleanses the world, He sent His incarnation into the mortal realm. Maitreya has decreed: in Golang County dwells a band of evil; eradicate them to save the masses."
Tonight, as payoff for their proselytizing, Il-mok planned to deliver justice for Golang County's people.
In the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's way.