Chapter 203
Chapter 203
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 203
>Chapter Title: Search (3)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
A few days later.
“Yawn.”
Il-mok stretched languidly as he woke from sleep.
‘This leisurely life is the best.’
Being able to sleep when he wanted and wake when he wanted was truly a blessed existence.
“I’ll have them prepare water for washing and your meal.”
As soon as Il-mok stirred awake, Jin Ha-yeon’s voice came from where she stood guard as his protector.
A short while later, Jin Ha-yeon and Jeong-hyeon entered the room, each carrying a basin and a tray.
After washing up and enjoying the meal they had brought, Il-mok stepped out of the hall at a relaxed pace.
The branch headquarters buzzed with a cheerful atmosphere.
The branch members were each acting in accordance with their disguised identities, while Dam-bin was giving various instructions to Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a, Gu Yang-mun, and Joo Seo-yeon.
On another side, Baek-cheon was diligently teaching acting to the trio of women, or making a bizarre expression lost in some strange worry by himself.
Even as rumors about the Maitreya Divine Cult quietly spread throughout Nanjou.
For some reason, they weren’t engaging in any proselytizing activities.
It was due to Il-mok’s orders.
There were two main reasons.
First, they had detected the Beggars’ Sect members who approached during the gathering.
To avoid their gaze, they had decided not to draw attention with conspicuous activities.
There were a few whose appearances alone stood out, and if such people kept proselytizing in Nanjou, they risked being tracked naturally.
Of course, they couldn’t avoid holding another gathering altogether, but at least they could buy some time.
And from what the branch members active in Nanjou under their disguises had reported, proselytizing was happening on its own after the gathering.
Thanks to the hymns and the late-night snacks.
That was all the more reason Il-mok had ordered them to halt proselytizing activities.
‘It’s impossible to manage all of Nanjou with our current numbers.’
If they gained too many more followers here, it could become unmanageable and lead to problems.
Anticipating this, Il-mok had sent a letter to the main headquarters before striking the Nancheon Society.
The problem was that Nanjou was so far from the main headquarters that it would take at least half a month more for reinforcements to arrive.
And to buy that time, Il-mok had halted proselytizing to evade the Beggars’ Sect’s eyes even one more day.
As Il-mok stepped outside, Dam-bin, who had been instructing Gu Yang-mun, Joo Seo-yeon, and Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a, approached him.
“Have you awakened, Young Master?”
“You’ve worked hard. Team Leader Dam-bin.”
Il-mok spoke with genuine sincerity.
Dam-bin worked tirelessly from morning till night. He secretly visited the red-light district to manage it at night, took turns standing guard as Il-mok’s protector with the others, and taught the juniors whenever he had time.
Above all.
“Ha-yeon sunbae!”
“Ha-yeon!”
Seeing Gu Yang-mun and Joo Seo-yeon with their eyes fixed on Jin Ha-yeon, who had followed Il-mok out, made him marvel at how well Dam-bin was handling such people.
“Oppa!”
Of course, Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a was no different, just with her gaze fixed on someone else.
Understanding the intent behind Il-mok’s praise, Dam-bin smiled maturely.
‘It’s amazing no matter how many times I see it.’
On the night they raided the Nancheon Society, the eerie aura Dam-bin exuded while unleashing his martial arts was completely different from his usual maidservant demeanor.
But for Il-mok, who had already witnessed that eerie side, it felt oddly intriguing in many ways.
As Il-mok recalled that night, Dam-bin spoke up.
“Young Master, there’s something I need to report.”
“Speak freely.”
“The Red Flower Brothel Madam has requested a meeting with the True Red Brothel Madam.”
“A meeting? With us, you mean?”
“Yes. In short, she’s offering protection money and asking to be placed under our umbrella as well.”
Il-mok, aware of the true nature of the faction that included the Red Flower Brothel and a few other brothels, fell into brief contemplation.
After thinking it over, he spoke.
“We should meet her at least once.”
* * *
As the sunset faded and people on Nanjou’s streets began heading home one by one.
There was one street that was only just coming alive.
Women dressed in gauzy clothes stepped out in front of their shops to solicit customers, and even before night had fully fallen, drunks staggered in already sloshed. The red-light district.
At the top floor of the True Red Brothel in the heart of that street of pleasures sat a middle-aged woman and an elderly man. The Red Flower Brothel Madam and the True Red Brothel Madam.
Delicious-looking food and liquor covered their table, but the two regarded them as if invisible, their faces tense.
Soon after, the guest they awaited appeared, accompanied by the faintest sound.
Sss.
The window slid open as if by a breeze, and a black shadow filled the two madams’ view. The silhouette of a man backlit by the sunset.
The man wore black robes and an enraged Four Heavenly Kings mask, making it hard to discern his features or age.
After gazing down at the two madams as if testing them, the man descended to the floor and approached their table.
Thud.
Snapping to their senses, the Red Flower Brothel Madam and True Red Brothel Madam hurriedly rose and paid their respects to the man.
After eyeing them for a moment, the man spoke.
“I’ll speak with the Red Flower Brothel Madam alone, so the True Red Brothel Madam, please leave.”
“As you command.”
The True Red Brothel Madam paid her respects again and cautiously exited the room. A heavy silence descended on the room now occupied by the two alone.
No. It felt heavy only to the Red Flower Brothel Madam.
The man in the enraged Four Heavenly Kings mask sat in a chair with a relaxed demeanor and said.
“Sit comfortably.”
“Thank you.”
The Red Flower Brothel Madam sat properly and, treating him as her elder, carefully poured liquor into his cup.
As she began pouring into her own cup as well, the man spoke.
“You wanted to meet us?”
“Yes. Incarnation of Maitreya.”
“Why?”
To his curt question, the Red Flower Brothel Madam carefully replied.
“Because we, like the True Red Brothel, wish to receive the protection of the Maitreya Divine Cult.”
“Protection.”
The masked man echoed the word in a strange tone, as if it were utterly unfamiliar.
“Why do you need our protection?”
“…Though the Nancheon Society is gone now thanks to all of you from Maitreya, human greed is a fearsome thing. They may not dare defy the Incarnation of Maitreya, but once ruffians learn we’re not under the Maitreya Divine Cult’s jurisdiction, they’ll surely appear. That’s why we seek your protection.”
Despite her lengthy answer, the masked man simply stared at her in silence for some reason.
At the indifferent gaze visible through the mask, the Red Flower Brothel Madam swallowed once and added.
“Of course, we’ll show our sincerity for receiving protection. A few days ago, the day most brothels and pleasure houses closed. We’ll offer half of what we earned that day. And henceforth, a portion of our earnings will be offered to the Maitreya Divine Cult, just like the others.”
As her words ended.
Through the gap in the Four Heavenly Kings mask, a smile appeared on the man’s lips.
But to the Red Flower Brothel Madam, that smile sent chills down her spine.
It wasn’t a smile of satisfaction.
It was closer to a sneer.
‘Not enough money?’
Before she could open her mouth to offer better terms.
“You must not have understood my question.”
The masked man spoke first.
“Or are you mocking us?”
Even without emitting any particular aura, the Red Flower Brothel Madam felt like prey before a predator.
As cold sweat trickled down her back, she forced a smile befitting her years and said.
“This foolish woman doesn’t understand what you mean.”
“Then I’ll mercifully ask once more. Why do you need our protection? You, who belong to the Hao Gate.”
“…….”
The Red Flower Brothel Madam’s cold sweat now soaked through her back, trickling down her forehead and across her face.
Hao Gate (下汚門).
A group formed by those whose lives crawled in the filth, using the character for “filth” under “below.” In some ways similar to the Beggars’ Sect, but unlike them, they received no orthodox faction treatment.
It was only natural. While the Beggars’ Sect was formed to aid those who pitifully became beggars in times of war, the Hao Gate was an organization banded together by those who wallowed in the muck to survive on their own.
And to survive, they resorted to all sorts of tricks.
Unlike beggars who lived off alms, they stole from pockets as children to make money, and women sold smiles to lure men, drug their drinks, put them to sleep, and dump the liquor tab on them—a common ploy.
At least they avoided severe crimes like human trafficking, drugs, murder, or robbery.
Not out of any moral code, but to avoid making too many enemies.
Like the Beggars’ Sect, they operated taverns and brothels across the Central Plains, gathering vast information to sell for profit.
As the masked man said, she belonged to the Hao Gate. Beyond mere membership, she was the Branch Leader of Nanjou’s Hao Gate branch.
True to her role as a Hao Gate Branch Leader, she struggled to stay calm even as her heart raced.
She had fully considered the possibility that they knew her true identity.
From the start, during the takeover of the red-light district, they had precisely excluded only their group.
That alone made it highly likely they knew who they were.
“Though we belong to the Hao Gate, the Central Plains are so vast that we’re practically on our own. It’s just for receiving aid if misfortune strikes. But even if we clean up after disaster hits, the dead won’t return, will they?”
Even as cold sweat streamed down her forehead, the Red Flower Brothel Madam forced a smile and gave a lengthy reply.
“For the same reason, we paid protection money to the Nancheon Society to survive in Nanjou. Incarnation of Maitreya.”
At her seemingly plausible explanation, the smile on the masked man’s lips deepened.
“What you need isn’t our protection, but our information, isn’t it?”
“…….”
Pierced to the core, she was momentarily speechless.
She had even fooled the shrewd True Red Brothel Madam, but that indifferent gaze through the mask seemed to read her every thought.
Toward her now frozen stiff, the masked man said.
“The reason I came here today was to give you a warning.”
“…….”
“If you don’t want your underlings massacred due to your pointless greed, restrain yourself—repeatedly.”
As the Red Flower Brothel Madam stared at him with a tense face, speechless.
“By the doctrine of our Maitreya Divine Cult, we do not touch innocent beings.”
The masked man said in an indifferent tone.
“But I do wonder greatly whether the disciples of the Hao Gate are truly without sin.”
Killing intent horrific beyond his impassive expression crushed down on the Red Flower Brothel Madam.