Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 201
>Chapter Title: Search (1)
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The first gathering of the Maitreya Cult was quite a success.
The Branch Leader continued his sermon while wearing a mask, and whenever the atmosphere started to get rowdy again.
“We have peace~ like rivers~!”
“We have peace~ like rivers~!”
It was all thanks to Baekcheon stepping forward without fail, leading the hymn and drawing cheers from the crowd.
The sermon didn't drag on too long either. It wrapped up after about half a shichen—thirty minutes.
“Looks like everyone's getting hungry, so take some of the night snacks we've prepared with you.”
No sooner had the Branch Leader finished speaking than several people appeared, pulling carts loaded with dumplings and pancakes.
Some were errand boys summoned from the pleasure house to serve as laborers, while others were the very women who had been deployed for honey trap operations.
With so many attendees, it would have been impossible for the Demonic Cultists alone to prepare such a spread.
Naturally, the night snacks had been prepared by the pleasure house's chefs on order.
But Il-mok felt no pangs of conscience for directing them to make the snacks.
It was funded by the massive wealth seized from the Nancheon Society. A portion of that fortune was now being used as labor costs.
The chefs who prepared the snacks and the errand boys handing them out were all thrilled with their generous pay.
Those who had attended the gathering spotted the ones who had lured them here and approached their carts to receive the snacks.
“Young lady, there you are!”
“We were away preparing food for everyone.”
The three women who had been roped into honey trap duty after being captured by the Nancheon Society leader handed out the snacks with practiced ease.
“Here you go.”
Jin Ha-yeon offered dumplings and pancakes with her usual icy tone, utterly indifferent.
“Whoa. So aloof and haughty.”
“With a face like that, can you blame her? She's easily the top beauty of the capital.”
Countless men were utterly entranced by that very haughtiness.
“Um... young hero?”
“Ahem. Mind if I grab some snacks too?”
The problem was that even Gu Yang-mun and Joo Seo-yeon were so smitten by her aloofness that they weren't handing out snacks to the people right in front of them.
“Hahaha. Eat up, everyone! It's all from our Maitreya Cult. Oh, if you'd like, I could sing another tune. Or how about a play?”
In the midst of it all, Baekcheon—who had led the hymns—had made his way to a cart, chattering away enthusiastically as he distributed the snacks.
“......”
Only one person handed out snacks in silence, lips pressed tightly shut.
But whether he spoke or not, those who received snacks from him buzzed with excitement.
“That pale face and those soulful eyes. Up close under the moonlight, he's even more dazzling.”
“And so stoically manly too.”
The man silently distributing snacks was none other than Jeonghyeon.
Exercising extreme patience, he fought off the side effects of the Demon Spirit Divine Bow while handing them out.
“I almost hugged him without thinking.”
Jeonghyeon nearly had a fit at the whisper from a woman who had just received her snacks, shared with her friend.
Whether it was the unexpected snacks or the handsome men and beautiful women who had led them here, a strange liveliness began to stir at the gathering site.
“Huh? That little sister we saw before didn't come?”
Amid the buzz, a man who received snacks from Jin Ha-yeon voiced his question.
“She's feeling unwell today and resting at home.”
Jin Ha-yeon replied in her impassive tone, but it was a lie.
Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a had also been out on proselytizing duty, and was originally slated to help distribute the snacks.
The plan had changed abruptly on Il-mok's orders.
—Beggars' Sect disciples have shown up. Just in case, Seon-a, you're sitting out the snack distribution.
From atop a tree a short distance away, keeping watch, Il-mok quickly issued instructions to the Demonic Cultists.
Because the oldest-looking beggar among them was around Baekcheon's level.
Having gauged the middle-aged Beggars' Sect disciple's skill, Il-mok swiftly organized his thoughts.
‘That showoff Baekcheon can't be hidden anyway, so better to draw all the attention to him.’
Demonic arts progressed absurdly fast. Moreover, the people he had brought were generally those with achievements beyond their years, even within the Demonic Cult.
Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a in particular had reached the early pinnacle realm by Central Plains standards at just fifteen, and she even had the conspicuous trait of red eyes and hair.
Because of that, she always had to dye her hair black whenever leaving the branch.
‘If her high realm for her age draws attention, they'll eventually notice her eyes and hair too.’
For that reason, Il-mok had ordered Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a to rest.
And now, she was perched on a branch beside him atop the tree where he had been hiding, beaming as she sat cross-legged.
Gazing at Il-mok's serious face as he overlooked the gathering site.
The simple reason Il-mok had singled out only Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a was that the only experts the top Beggars' Sect disciple might notice were Baekcheon, Joo Seo-yeon, and Jeonghyeon.
Gu Yang-mun and Jin Ha-yeon were several levels above that middle-aged beggar, making it hard for him to detect them.
Added to that, the three honey trap women and the errand boys pulling the carts included plenty of untrained folk, making it even harder to spot anything amiss.
Yet Il-mok, not fully free of his paranoia, kept a sharp eye on the Beggars' Sect disciples' movements, just in case.
Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a, noticing Il-mok's gaze fixed on the beggars, asked with a smile.
“Shall I kill them, big brother?”
“…No need to go that far.”
When Il-mok replied half-heartedly, Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a pressed.
“Then should I cripple their legs so they can never come to another gathering?”
“Ahem. We don't want to poke the Beggars' Sect hornet's nest and have them come at us in force, so let's just watch for now.”
Half sincere, half excuse.
He didn't want to stir up the Beggars' Sect when nothing had happened yet.
‘A fifteen-year-old girl saying that...’
It was also to soften the girl's pure killing intent, even a little.
‘It's all because of that messed-up family education. Sigh. Those crazy Demonic Cult bastards.’
Il-mok looked pityingly at the girl, warped by improper upbringing from childhood, and patted her head.
At that gentle touch, Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a smiled brightly and vowed to herself.
‘I’ll kill anyone who gets in big brother’s way.’
It seemed less about family education and more about Il-mok.
* * *
Meanwhile.
Unaware that a pure assassin was targeting their necks, the Beggars' Sect disciples had gathered and were whispering among themselves.
“Damn crazy beggars. What’s got them so thrilled they’re belting out songs like that?”
At Hong-gae's scolding, a third-class disciple replied confidently.
“Wasn’t it to avoid standing out? We beggars live off sidelong glances—surely you noticed, Branch Master?”
“…If you’re so perceptive, why were those beggars singing their hearts out? How much did they stuff themselves to sing that loud?”
At Hong-gae's continued rebukes, the Beggars' Sect disciples averted their eyes—except for one third-class disciple.
“I’m hungry anyway, so shouldn’t we at least eat that?”
He pointed toward the carts where the night snacks were being distributed.
“Sigh. Fine, let’s go, you beggar scum. A beggar refusing charity would look suspicious.”
At Hong-gae's words, smiles crept onto the faces of the disciples who had looked away.
They might have joined the sect and learned martial arts, but they were still beggars at heart. The sight of free food wafting delicious aromas was too much to resist.
Drooling, the Beggars' Sect disciples headed for the carts, and the gathering attendees wrinkled their noses and stepped aside.
It was a scene fitting the saying about avoiding the filthy.
Amid it all, only Hong-gae barely clung to his senses, steadily scanning the surroundings with his qi sense.
‘Whoa. That handsome young man and that flighty woman aren’t pushovers either.’
The carts where women were squealing in delight featured a taciturn, beautiful youth with his mouth shut. And on the other side, a certain woman who kept acting flighty.
Both were a cut below Hong-gae himself but at a level worthy of the pinnacle label.
As he walked, scanning his surroundings, Hong-gae naturally ended up trailing behind the other Beggars' Sect disciples.
Arriving late at a cart, he found a cold-faced woman distributing snacks.
‘A beauty I’ve never seen before! Is this what the famed Five Blossoms of the martial world look like?’
The five young beauties recently making waves in the Central Plains sprang to mind.
Hong-gae instantly realized why he had ended up at this cart.
‘Damn beggar scum!’
The young beggars had clearly been dazzled by her looks and swarmed this cart.
Beggars had eyes too, after all.
And the cold-faced beauty handed dumplings and pancakes to the Beggars' Sect disciples, maintaining her signature blank expression without a hint of discomfort or displeasure.
“Heheheh.”
Hong-gae sighed inwardly at the pathetic sight of the drooling, entranced beggars receiving their food.
‘Yeah, whatever. Beggars looking pathetic—what’s new?’
He decided to just pass it off as brilliant acting. Otherwise, he’d be the one getting sick with frustration.
When his turn finally came, Hong-gae put on a display of genuine beggar acting.
“Ahem. Could you spare a few extra?”
He began begging, beggar-style.
“We have a set number per person, so I can’t give more.”
“My little brothers couldn’t make it today, so could you be generous? They begged all day and haven’t eaten a single meal—poor things.”
Tears welled in his eyes, a pitiful sight for anyone.
“Impossible.”
It didn’t faze the cold woman at all.
“If you really need more, there’s another gathering in eight days. Bring your brothers then.”
At her curt refusal, Hong-gae instinctively realized.
No point begging this one.
In the end, he had to turn away with a regretful expression.
Leading away the beggars too busy ogling the cold beauty’s face, Hong-gae’s expression had turned deadly serious.
‘That woman doesn’t seem trained in martial arts.’
Just in case, he had feigned begging while subtly emitting his aura, but she hadn’t noticed a thing.
‘Looks like the only experts here are those three I spotted earlier.’
Hong-gae had fallen for Il-mok’s plan, but he still harbored suspicions.
“The real leader must be hiding separately.”
At Hong-gae’s words, a third-class disciple—still stuffing his face like a possessed man—asked.
“Wha mmmph mmph? (What kinda nonsense is that?)”
“Finish eating before you talk, you beggar bastard.”
At Hong-gae’s curse, the third-class disciple quickly chewed and swallowed.
“Calling a beggar beggar-like—is that an insult?”
“It’s an insult, you fool. You’re no real beggar; you’re just acting like one.”
Knowing Hong-gae’s prickly temper, the third-class disciple shrugged it off and asked.
“Yes, Branch Master. Anyway, what do you mean the leader’s hiding separately?”
“These are the ones who wiped out the Nancheon Society overnight. But among the experts here, I don’t see anyone capable of killing even their vice leader, the Raksha Woman.”
At Hong-gae’s logical deduction, the Beggars' Sect disciples nodded in enlightened admiration, exclamations bursting forth.
“Ah.”
Still stuffing their mouths with dumplings and pancakes.