Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 197
>Chapter Title: Proselytizing (1)
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The next day, early in the morning.
“Yawn.”
Il-mok stretched languidly as he woke up with a sleepy face.
After battling the Nan Cheon Society Leader and then performing Qi Circulation and Breath Adjustment from early morning until late afternoon to absorb the spirit energy of the millennium Hwasu-o, he had fallen asleep at dusk and only now woken up.
“Did you cough, Young Master?”
At the sound of Dam Bin’s voice from outside the door, Il-mok stepped out while yawning and asked.
“Yawn. How did things go last night?”
“I relayed all of Young Master’s instructions. We’ve taken care of everyone who opposed your will or got greedy.”
“You’ve worked hard. You probably didn’t get proper sleep at night, so why not rest a bit more?”
“We’re taking turns sleeping, so there’s no need to worry.”
As he said this, Il-mok glanced beside Dam Bin and saw Joo Seo-yeon looking somewhat sullen.
They were taking turns guarding him in pairs, but she clearly wasn’t thrilled about always being paired with Dam Bin or Gu Yang-mun.
It was Il-mok’s consideration for Jin Ha-yeon. If he assigned Joo Seo-yeon or Gu Yang-mun to guard her, who knew what terrible thing might happen.
But her sullen expression didn’t last long. Joo Seo-yeon’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Because Jin Ha-yeon and Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a were approaching, each carrying a tray and a basin.
“Brother!”
“We’ve prepared water for washing your face and breakfast.”
Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a greeted him with a bright smile, her voice cheerful, while Jin Ha-yeon’s calm voice rang out at the same time. Joo Seo-yeon shouted with the face of a puppy seeing its owner after hours.
“You look as beautiful as ever today, Ha-yeon sunbae!”
“…Thank you.”
Jin Ha-yeon gave a curt reply to Joo Seo-yeon’s praise, then turned to Dam Bin.
“Team Leader, we’ll take over the guard duty from now on, so why not go in and get some rest?”
“I’ll do that.”
Dam Bin nodded and grabbed the nape of Joo Seo-yeon, who was staring piercingly at Jin Ha-yeon with a face full of regret, and dragged her away.
“…….”
Il-mok shook his head at the dizzying sight, washed his face to shake off his grogginess, and enjoyed breakfast.
After finishing an appropriate amount, Il-mok asked.
“Where are Young Master Baek Cheon and the women?”
“I’ll bring them right away.”
Jin Ha-yeon left the hall, and shortly after, she returned leading Baek Cheon and the three women.
“…….”
Il-mok stared at them speechless for a moment, then sighed and asked Baek Cheon.
“What the hell did you do to them?”
The three women looked a mess. Their dazed expressions seemed even worse than during last night’s interrogation.
“I just taught them some acting.”
“…How did you teach them to end up that out of it?”
Baek Cheon looked wronged at Il-mok’s question, but Jin Ha-yeon was the one who explained.
“After Young Master gave the order, he’s been teaching them acting nonstop.”
“Nonstop? You don’t mean all night, do you?”
At Il-mok’s incredulous question, Baek Cheon protested.
“That’s unfair! No matter what, I wouldn’t pull an all-nighter, would I? Sleep deprivation is the enemy of beauty, and as someone who needs to captivate people’s attention, how could I stay up all night?”
“…….”
Even as Il-mok stared at Baek Cheon like he was a madman, his excuse continued.
“Just moderately. Until the end of the Hai hour last night, and then we started practicing again early this morning.”
Since he’d been instructed to teach them acting at dawn yesterday, that meant he’d drilled them for eight hours until then and woke them again at dawn today to continue.
Il-mok decided to reflect on himself.
‘Madmen don’t know the meaning of “moderately.” It’s my fault for knowing he was crazy and not setting a time limit beforehand.’
Il-mok let out a light sigh and asked.
“Still, if you taught them that much, they must have at least the basics down.”
“That’s more than enough for the job.”
Il-mok nodded at Baek Cheon’s answer and said.
“Then there’s no need to drag it out. Let’s start right away.”
Only then did the three women realize it. The culprit who had subjected them to a madman’s obsessions all night was this man right here.
At that moment, for some reason, the madman with the obsessions blurted out something unexpected.
“Young Master, could you also send Miss Jeong-hyeon along with these three?”
“You mean Miss Jeong-hyeon?”
“Yes.”
Il-mok furrowed his brow and asked.
“What’s the reason?”
“To demonstrate for them.”
“You think Miss Jeong-hyeon can do that?”
Il-mok asked, recalling Jeong-hyeon’s side effects.
“Young Master! That’s an insult to her!”
Trust in Jeong-hyeon sparkled in Baek Cheon’s eyes.
“She’s been learning acting from me for over half a year, so she can definitely pull it off!”
No, he just believed in himself for having taught her.
Separate from the madman spouting madness, Il-mok pondered for a moment.
Something that had been bothering him a little fit perfectly. If Jeong-hyeon joined the proselytizing, it could solve that issue.
Having finished thinking, Il-mok spoke.
“Bring Miss Jeong-hyeon here. I’ll let her decide herself.”
A short while later.
Jeong-hyeon, who had just barely woken up, arrived at Il-mok’s hall with a groggy face.
Last night, Dam Bin and the women from the Silver Guard Pavilion, along with Gu Yang-mun, had visited the brothels and pleasure houses managed by the Nan Cheon Society.
On top of that, they had taken turns guarding Il-mok, so she had only fallen asleep at dawn and just woken up.
“I-I greet Young Master Il-mok.”
As Jeong-hyeon bowed and greeted him, Il-mok smiled gently and explained the general situation.
Already half-asleep, she stared at Baek Cheon with a dazed expression at the unexpected talk of proselytizing.
‘W-What grudge does Young Master Baek Cheon have against me…?’
Misinterpreting Jeong-hyeon’s resentful look, Baek Cheon grinned, flashing his white teeth.
‘Just trust in me! With the acting skills I taught you, it’ll work perfectly!’
From the look in his eyes, their intentions weren’t connecting at all.
Of course, even if they talked, it would be the same. Baek Cheon only heard what he wanted to hear.
At that moment, Il-mok’s voice snapped Jeong-hyeon out of her thoughts.
“I called Miss Jeong-hyeon here to give her a choice. If she were just someone trembling in fear, I wouldn’t have bothered, but didn’t Miss Jeong-hyeon say she wanted to overcome her social anxiety too?”
“Ah….”
“I’m not forcing you. Think it over calmly and decide.”
Jeong-hyeon pondered for a while before speaking.
“…I-I do want to cure my social anxiety, but for pr-proselytizing, don’t I have to t-talk to people?”
She figured she could manage approaching people if she forced herself, but she had no confidence in holding a normal conversation.
Her mind was filled with visions of herself stammering terribly, mumbling like an ant crawling, then exploding on her own.
But for some reason.
At her worry, Il-mok smiled brightly and said.
“Don’t worry. In Miss Jeong-hyeon’s case, you won’t need to say a word.”
* * *
A teahouse located on one side of Nanzhou’s marketplace.
The delicate tea sets and sweet snacks were items that inevitably won the hearts of young women, transcending time and place.
This place was famous among Nanzhou’s young women, drawing crowds of them.
Normally, the teahouse would be filled with young women chatting, starting with praises of the tea and sweets, then exchanging various neighborhood rumors.
But for some reason, today, awkward silences kept falling between conversations.
The reason was simple.
Most of the women had their attention stolen somewhere, unable to properly talk with their companions.
Some stared blankly at one spot, unable to snap out of it, while others tried to turn their heads to focus but ended up sneaking glances anyway.
And where their gazes were directed was Jeong-hyeon.
“Oh my, look at that face.”
“Girl, be careful. What if he hears you?”
Dressed as a man.
Thanks to her heightened senses from the Ghost Spirit Divine Art, Jeong-hyeon didn’t miss the women’s whispers and thought.
‘H-How did it end up like this?’
Of course, it was all Il-mok’s doing.
* * *
After deciding to use the three women for proselytizing, Il-mok had one concern.
‘They’re not on Miss Jin or Seon-a’s level, but all three have decent looks, so they’re more than enough for proselytizing… but the gender ratio will be way off like this.’
Using seduction for proselytizing meant the new converts would end up mostly men swarming in.
Sure, taking over the taverns and brothels would bring in the courtesans as converts, but it still felt lacking somehow.
That side felt more like annexing territory than true proselytizing.
One might think gender ratio doesn’t matter for proselytizing, but for Il-mok, who hadn’t yet freed himself from the obsession of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, it was quite irksome.
Then, when Baek Cheon suggested including Jeong-hyeon in the proselytizing, Il-mok felt struck by lightning.
It reminded him of something from the Demonic Path Academy. Specifically, his first meeting with Jeong-hyeon.
‘Come to think of it, Miss Jeong-hyeon has a refined look with an androgynous vibe, so if dressed right, she could pass for a pretty boy!’
Hadn’t Il-mok himself mistaken her for a man for a while?
Once the idea clicked, other forgotten memories came flooding back.
The biggest one was from his Seo Ji-hoon days.
Specifically, when he learned Joo Seo-yeon was Jin Ha-yeon’s sasaeng fan, it reminded him of something from his college days—a female idol sasaeng fan’s passionate speech.
- Idols should be beast idols, not those frail pretty boys! Young girls who haven’t been close to men yet are scared of them, so they hate ripped abs or rugged manly types and prefer girly pretty boys, but you’re wrong!
That was nearly ten years ago, when weird terms like “beast idol” were trending.
And if you flipped that college girl’s words around.
‘Girls who haven’t been close to men or still find them intimidating prefer androgynous pretty boys!’—a shocking conclusion.
The mission Il-mok assigned Jeong-hyeon was the pretty boy ploy.
A so-called Jade-Faced Young Master operation.
* * *
While Jeong-hyeon, sold off as a pretty boy agent by Il-mok, despaired at her situation, the voices of young common women reached her ears.
“Where did such a beautiful man come from….”
He wasn’t a man.
“Look at that pale face. How is he paler than me, a woman?”
It was just pale from fear.
“And that vibe. Look at those melancholy eyes.”
Not melancholy—just wanting to cry.