Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 205
>Chapter Title: No Work, No Eat (2)
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Right after Hong-gae shut his mouth.
Il-mok addressed the beggars.
“From now on, those who wish to follow the teachings of our Maitreya Cult and earn wages through labor should go wash yourselves at that stone basin over there. As for those who do not, leave at once.”
At Il-mok’s proclamation, a few beggars raised objections.
“J-just last time, didn’t you give us food for free?”
“Suddenly changing your tune like this—there must be some ulterior motive!”
But their rebellion held little weight.
“Our Maitreya Cult seeks to punish the wicked and save the masses. Let me ask you this: even when offered the chance to work, you choose not to, instead begging and preying on the masses as offerings. Are you the righteous, or the wicked?”
It wasn’t the beggars who answered Il-mok’s question.
“Wicked!!”
“Those shameless scum!”
The people, learning that the beggars refused even to wash for alms, began denouncing them.
Naturally, the beggars were forced to a crossroads.
Most of the beggars, led by Hong-gae—those who had trained in martial arts—began gauging the Beggar Clan disciples’ reactions.
“I-I’ll work!”
“I want to live like a proper human too, sir!”
A few among them squeezed their eyes shut, ignored Hong-gae and the Beggar Clan disciples, and grabbed basins to wash.
“Gang Leader!”
Some Beggar Clan disciples urgently sought out Hong-gae at the sight of the defectors, but he shook his head darkly, as if possessed by a heart demon.
“…Enough. Let’s head back for today.”
In the end, the beggars split into those following Hong-gae away and those staying to wash.
Even those leaving weren’t simply refusing to work.
It was out of trust in Hong-gae, who had protected them all this time. More precisely, because of his words—they might indeed be strange folk.
Right after the departing beggars had all left.
“Begin the assembly!”
At Il-mok’s order, the Branch Leader stepped forward and started the sermon.
Though the squabble with the beggars might have left things chaotic, the atmosphere was quite fervent.
It was because they had been deeply moved by Il-mok’s admonition of the beggars.
While the people’s eyes focused on the Branch Leader delivering the sermon, Il-mok deployed his stealth technique and swiftly returned to his original hiding spot.
- It was truly moving instruction, Young Master, revealing the depth of your contemplation on the Divine Cult’s doctrines. It made me reflect on my own shallow studies—my deepest gratitude.
Returning to the tree, he heard Dam-bin’s transmission from where she had been watching elsewhere.
On top of that, Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a, who had remained in the tree per Il-mok’s instructions, gazed at him with a most familiar look.
What was it like?
It resembled the gaze of Heavenly Demon Divine Cult fanatics beholding the Heavenly Demon.
Meanwhile, the Branch Leader’s brief sermon came to an end, and Baek-cheon stepped forward with three women.
At that moment, the eyes of those gathered at the assembly changed.
All who had attended the previous assembly sensed it instinctively: it was hymn time.
“W-wait a moment!”
Then, from one group among the three factions at the assembly—some from the brothels and pleasure houses—raised their hands high and shouted.
“We’ve been preparing music for the past ten days! Would it be all right to join in?”
At the courtesans’ question, Baek-cheon burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha! Your devotion to Maitreya is most touching! Of course, join us!”
At Baek-cheon’s reply, the courtesans began pulling out instruments they had brought in advance, and Baek-cheon, watching, asked.
“We’ll start strong with ‘Fight the Wicked’! Ready?”
The courtesans replied vigorously and exchanged glances.
And right after they nodded in unison, a melody of various instruments resonated through the assembly grounds.
Baek-cheon, face enraptured, felt the music and began the hymn at the perfect moment.
“Fight the wicked, brothers freed from sin. Fight boldly against the evil foes there.”
Those who had attended the prior assembly sang along with Baek-cheon from the opening.
“Light~ ! Light! Maitreya Cult~ !”
“Light~ ! Light! Maitreya Cult~ !”
Even those who hadn’t memorized the song belted out the chorus without missing a beat.
Meanwhile.
A woman hiding in a different spot from Il-mok, watching the assembly—Dam-bin observed the scene with eyes full of fervor.
‘Ahh. The Lord of Ten Thousand Demons should have seen this sight.’
The supreme one she served, the true identity of the Maitreya they fervently sought: she regretted not showing this scene of worshiping the Heavenly Demon to him.
Above all.
‘As the Supreme One said, the Eighth Young Master is undoubtedly the vessel to guide our Divine Cult to greater heights!’
The depth of the Eighth Young Master’s schemes, who had orchestrated all this, was utterly awe-inspiring.
* * *
After several sermons and hymn sessions.
“It’s getting late, and you must all be hungry, so take the night snacks we’ve prepared.”
The night snack time the departed beggars had so craved finally arrived.
As those gathered enjoyed the snacks and chatted in small groups, Jin Ha-yeon approached the former beggars devouring theirs and spoke.
“After you finish, follow me.”
At the icy beauty’s words, the beggars either stared at her dumbfounded or bowed their heads in shame.
Her striking appearance made them too intimidated even to respond.
But regardless of their reactions, she maintained her usual impassive expression.
And once they seemed done eating, she led them somewhere.
Surprisingly, it was the Nan-cheon Society’s vacant manor.
That night, to erase traces, they had burned all the bodies and covered martial arts damage throughout the manor with other marks, but they hadn’t fully removed every bloodstain.
Jin Ha-yeon guided them to a wing relatively free of bloodstains.
“It’s late today, so shelter here for the night. Tomorrow, your first task will be cleaning this manor.”
Having conveyed all the instructions to her new non-beggars, she vanished into the darkness.
After the woman who had guided them disappeared, the men exchanged uneasy glances.
“Th-this was the right choice, yeah?”
“Ahem. It was. They gave us food and a place to sleep.”
“But this is where the bloodbath happened just days ago.”
As the former beggars shared their anxieties, Jin Ha-yeon used her stealth technique to return to the branch undetected.
“I’ve guided the laborers to the Nan-cheon Society’s manor, Young Master.”
“Well done. Miss Jin.”
“Young Master. May I presume to ask one question?”
Noting her even more reverent tone than before, Il-mok replied curiously.
“Ask freely.”
“Might I know what tasks you intend for them?”
She hadn’t been briefed on the details herself.
She had simply followed Il-mok’s sudden transmission, guided them there, and given brief instructions.
At her question, Il-mok shrugged nonchalantly.
“The manpower from headquarters should arrive in about a fortnight, no? I plan to clean it up for their use. Plus, start a few ventures there.”
Il-mok shared some of his ongoing plans.
Having heard them all, Jin Ha-yeon replied with her usual calm face.
“I never imagined you’d planned even that far ahead in such a short time.”
A faint tremor lingered in her eyes.
Considering the realm and side effects of her Bare Hand Demon Art, it was considerable emotional fluctuation.
‘…Sarcasm or sincere? Hard to tell.’
To Il-mok, she just looked impassive.
“Just got lucky.”
Even Il-mok thought himself far from ‘genius.’
He wasn’t dumb—passing the 7th-grade civil service exam in his past life proved that—but ‘genius’ was a stretch.
Still, qualifying for 7th grade made him at least talented.
The reason he could devise varied plans so quickly was simple.
Though only eighteen as Il-mok, as Seo Ji-hoon, he already had years of adult experience.
‘Lucky, yeah. Of all things, I mastered that cursed Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword. Damn it.’
Compounded by the demonic art’s side effect: habitually calculating dozens of scenarios for everything.
* * *
The next morning, early.
“Get up, you rascal!”
The fruit vendor berated his son, Byeok-gwa.
“What? Did you eat something bad at the assembly last night?”
Half-asleep, Byeok-gwa parroted what his father had said days ago.
Byeok-gwa had gone to the assembly with his father the night before. At first, his son’s odd behavior seemed bizarre, but frequent customers had said or sung similar things.
Having attended with his son, the father now said, eyes blazing.
“Tch, tch. Were you just chasing skirts at the assembly? Some man you are.”
With that, he unfurled a large sheet of paper.
“Recall the words of Maitreya’s incarnation! From today, this shall be our family motto!”
It read [No Work, No Eat].
Having supported a family for decades at the fruit stand, the father had been profoundly moved by Maitreya’s incarnation admonishing the beggars.
Thus, he’d asked that arrogant middle-aged scholar for the phrase on paper and brought it home.
“Come on, let’s go!”
Saying so, the father dragged his still-drowsy son to the shop.
Humming the addictive hymn was a bonus.
“I have might~ y peace. I have might~ y peace.”
Irritated at being forcibly awakened by his father from morning, Byeok-gwa.
“I have might~ y peace. I have might~ y peace.”
Soon hummed the hymn alongside him as they started work.
‘When the Nan-cheon Society ruled, life was so perilous.’
‘Now, just work hard and that’s enough.’
The once-dreary sky seemed especially blue.
* * *
The Nan-cheon Society’s manor.
Men who had been beggars until last evening now diligently carried items, demolished wings, or repaired collapses under someone’s orders.
The man issuing commands was a carpenter hired by the Maitreya Cult.
Not a mere handyman, but a master capable of designing houses and manors.
‘Can these ex-beggars really work properly? Well, they pay well, so let’s see.’
He eyed the industrious former beggars skeptically while directing them.
Truth be told, the Maitreya Cult distrusted them just as much.
A mysterious group that suddenly wiped out the Nan-cheon Society, its name now whispered secretly in Nan-ju. Naturally, suspicions of hidden agendas.
Not that that was the reason.
‘Demolish the central wings entirely and build one large one? An indoor training hall? Plus an academy and clinic. What the hell are these people up to?’
With a queasy expression, he stared at the letter listing the Maitreya Cult’s requirements.