Chapter 195
Chapter 195
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 195
>Chapter Title: Night in Nanzhou (1)
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As soon as Il-mok's order fell, the group set off.
Leaving only Il-mok behind.
“Ahem. I have severe hygiene OCD, so I won't be able to help with this. Carrying corpses or rummaging through dark corners is out of the question. If I slip up and fall into demonic deviation, going berserk, that'd be a problem, wouldn't it?”
Il-mok, who had felt uneasy about lounging alone, hemmed and hawed excuses.
“Leave these trifling tasks to us.”
“As your maidservants, it's only natural.”
“Don't worry, brother.”
Dam-bin, Jin Ha-yeon, and Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a answered without missing a beat, and the others, apparently unperturbed, exited the hall just like that.
Seeing them volunteer for the chores, Il-mok let out a sigh of relief.
Half of it was an excuse, but the other half was sincere.
‘Damn sweat.’
Thanks to sweating during the fight with the Nanzhou Heavenly Society Leader, his OCD was intensifying bit by bit as time passed.
“Whew.”
While Il-mok sat calmly, cooling his sweat and trying to suppress his OCD, the group bustled about.
They scoured the vast Nanzhou Heavenly Society compound, gathering the corpses of those they had killed, and along the way, they searched every nook and cranny for assets or ledgers.
Il-mok, resting in the Nanzhou Heavenly Society Leader's hall, had such a thought.
‘Coming to the Central Plains was the right call!’
A situation he couldn't even dream of at the main headquarters.
He'd probably be stuck with Master or his eldest senior brother, slaving away as a knowledge errand boy day in and day out.
Il-mok savored this brief respite and modest happiness for a moment.
“Young Master. What are your plans for them?”
Jin Ha-yeon, who had returned carrying a pile of corpses, impassively pointed to one side with an indifferent face.
There lay three women, passed out.
They were the women who had been on the bed with the Nanzhou Heavenly Society Leader when they first raided the place.
Around the time the three guards were cut down by Il-mok, all three had fainted at the gruesome sight.
“Hmm.”
Il-mok pondered briefly, shrugged once, and replied.
“Take them to the branch for now.”
* * *
After gathering the corpses, setting them ablaze, and collecting gold, silver, treasures, and ledgers, Il-mok and his group headed to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's branch in Nanzhou.
Nanzhou was the capital of a province, so naturally, there was a branch here.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's branches in the Central Plains numbered about seven or eight per province, each staffed by a dozen or so branch members.
However, near the provincial capitals and major sect strongholds, more branch members were assigned, though not every province had branches.
Starting from provinces close to Xinjiang like Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan, branches existed up to Hunan and Hubei near Dongting Lake, where the Martial Alliance was based.
In contrast, eastern Central Plains provinces like Zhejiang, Hebei, and Anhui had no branches.
The distance from Xinjiang was too great; maintaining branches was difficult, and even gathering intel took ages to relay back to headquarters.
In any case, Il-mok and his group located Nanzhou's branch using information from the Golang County Branch Leader.
“We pay respects to the disciple of the Supreme One!”
It was barely Mao hour (5-7 a.m.), yet the Nanzhou Branch Leader welcomed Il-mok with several branch members.
Half of the Nanzhou branch members lived in the compound as servants or retainers, while the other half hid their identities by living outside and visiting periodically.
The Branch Leader clasped his hands in a fist and bowed his head as he asked.
“Young Master. Did you encounter combat on your way here?”
Il-mok himself was less so, but blood stained many of their clothes, and some were even carrying fainted women on their backs—that was why he asked.
But the response exceeded the Branch Leader's expectations.
“We fought the Nanzhou Heavenly Society.”
“!?”
“No self-proclaimed 'heaven of Nanzhou' thugs remain in this Nanzhou now.”
“You mean... you exterminated the Nanzhou Heavenly Society?”
As Il-mok nodded, the Branch Leader prostrated himself in shock.
“Heavens. Heavens. Heavens upon heavens. The Supreme One's grace has shone upon this Nanzhou, bringing light to the masses.”
Working in Gansu rather than Xinjiang, news traveled slowly, but he had heard rumors of the youngest Young Master.
To think he wiped out the Nanzhou Heavenly Society with just that small band of warriors.
Realizing the disciple of the one they served was a genius beyond common sense, the branch members followed the Branch Leader in bowing to Il-mok.
In that reverent atmosphere, the genius beyond common sense spoke up.
“First, could you prepare some bathwater?”
It had been about two hours since his life-or-death duel with the Nanzhou Heavenly Society Leader.
His hygiene OCD had already reached its limit.
- Kill them all!
- Slice away every filthy speck of dust and germ in this world!
Those bowing to Il-mok were unaware.
That a madman on the verge of rampage stood right before their noses.
* * *
After bathing and purifying himself.
“This is Nanzhou Branch Leader Gae-yun. May I enter, Young Master?”
“Come in.”
The Nanzhou Branch Leader entered the hall with Il-mok's escorts.
“We interrogated them. All three women were sold here from other counties due to debts.”
“Are you certain?”
If they were lying, things could get messy. They might be the Nanzhou Heavenly Society Leader's concubines, for instance.
At Il-mok's question, the Branch Leader—who had instructed branch members to sort gold, silver, treasures, and ledgers while Il-mok bathed—replied.
“There are records of the transactions. Of course, we'd need to verify with their home counties for certainty, but it seems likely true for now.”
“If there's a branch in those counties, check the intel. If not, send a branch member to confirm.”
“As you command.”
“And lead me to where those women are. I need to talk with them.”
At Il-mok's words, the Branch Leader guided him.
They hadn't subjected them to torture-like interrogation; no marks marred their bodies.
Yet, unable to grasp their situation, all three eyed him with anxious gazes.
“Don't worry. If your words are true and you have no direct ties to the Nanzhou Heavenly Society, I'll release you in a few days.”
Il-mok spoke soothingly, but their eyes remained filled with unease.
Watching them briefly, Il-mok lightened the mood with a hopeful note.
“If your stories check out, I'll gladly send you back to your hometowns. With the Nanzhou Heavenly Society gone, you won't need to worry about your debts.”
But for some reason.
Even at the promise of returning home, their faces remained reluctant.
Perhaps they didn't trust him, or were simply anxious—but Dam-bin's transmission revealed the truth.
- Young Master. Sending these women home could bring them misfortune if mishandled.
- Why is that?
- The villagers know they were sold off as prostitutes.
Only then did Il-mok recall something he had once learned.
While studying Korean history for the civil service exam, the tale of the gongnyeo.
Some sold to the Yuan as tribute girls returned home but received no welcome from their villages; they were called 'whores.'
Pondering what to do for a moment.
Il-mok, struck by a good idea, spoke up.
All three women were beauties, enough for the Nanzhou Heavenly Society Leader to keep them for nightly service.
“Do you know how to act?”
They'd make fine recruits for proselytizing.
“A-acting?”
As the three women looked startled, Il-mok added.
“Ah. Don't worry. We'll cover your food and lodging.”
He had no intention of using them like slaves, at least.
At Il-mok's words, the three exchanged glances with complicated expressions, until the middle one steeled herself and replied.
“I've never acted in my life, but I'll do my best.”
They had nowhere to go anyway, and they sensed this man held their lives in his hands.
At her resolute answer, Il-mok turned to Baek Cheon.
“Young Master Baek. Teach these women some acting.”
From the moment 'acting' was mentioned, Baek Cheon—looking like a puppy desperate to poop—beamed.
“You mean it, Young Master! They say this Baek's acting overflows, but even I couldn't handle an entire play's roles alone. This Baek shall mold these women into splendid troupe members and spread the name of Heaven... no, Miroku, far and wide!”
At Baek Cheon's ecstatic demeanor, Il-mok smiled awkwardly.
‘I just meant to use them for honey traps.’
He hadn't planned to thrust them into Baek Cheon's theater, but Baek Cheon looked too blissful.
Better not to give and then take away, as the saying goes; retracting now would be tough.
‘Well... better than going home, I suppose.’
Il-mok felt a twinge of pity for the three who would suffer under Baek Cheon henceforth, but decided to let it slide.
“Branch Leader.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Having settled the matter with the three women, Il-mok questioned the Branch Leader.
“From investigating the Nanzhou Heavenly Society's ledgers, have you mapped out the brothels, inns, and taverns they ran here in Nanzhou?”
The thought had arisen naturally while mulling over the women.
‘They were buying and selling women as prostitutes across Gansu Province.’
Beyond these three, women sold by them lingered throughout Gansu.
“We've identified some, but we haven't checked all the ledgers yet, so more investigation is needed.”
Il-mok nodded at the Branch Leader's words.
“Let me know once you've mapped them. With the Nanzhou Heavenly Society gone, Nanzhou's night trade will soon be up for grabs; it needs tidying up.”
Having roughly sorted the situation, Il-mok pondered taking a nap.
The Branch Leader cautiously spoke up.
“Young Master. There's one more thing to report.”
As Il-mok eyed him curiously, the Branch Leader produced a small box from his bosom and opened it.
Inside lay a clump of herbs.
A medicinal herb emanating a mystical aura.
“It's one of the assets from the Nanzhou Heavenly Society you brought. We couldn't distribute it without knowing what it was, but checking their ledgers confirmed it's millennium-old rehmannia root bought in Heishi.”
At the Branch Leader's further explanation, Il-mok's lips curved upward.