Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 212
>Chapter Title: Kunlun (3)
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The next day at dawn.
The group left Nanzhou secretly while it was still dark, leaving Il-mok behind to guard Baekcheon.
Since this was a journey for discreet investigation, leaving behind someone who might attract attention was the safer choice.
After repeating bouts of lightfoot movement and rest, they arrived near Jeongseo County by the time the sun was high in the sky.
Il-mok and the others split into small groups, spreading out at intervals.
This was both to reduce the number of people traveling together to avoid notice and to speed up the investigation.
Danbin and Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a, who entered Jeongseo County first, crossed through it while exchanging casual chatter.
"By chance, are there any inns around here?"
They occasionally spoke to villagers and booked rooms at inns, ordering meals and slowly savoring the food while chatting, as if just passing through.
However, contrary to their outward demeanor, from the moment they entered Jeongseo County, they had activated their hearing with internal energy, eavesdropping on conversations around them.
Guyangmun and Joo Seo-yeon, who entered the village second, were no different. They were simply gathering information from a slightly more distant spot.
And finally, Il-mok, Jin Ha-yeon, and Jeong-hyeon entered Jeongseo County.
"We pay respects to the eighth disciple of the Great One."
They had gone straight to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's branch in Jeongseo County.
Unlike the others who had to scour the area on foot for information,
"We heard from Squad Leader Kang-yul that Kunlun Sect Taoists had come here."
"That's right, Young Master."
"Bring me a summary of what they've done or any special rumors. Compile the investigated materials and hand them over."
Il-mok simply received the materials already prepared at the branch.
"Oh. And before sorting the documents, prepare some bathwater. I worked up a sweat coming from Nanzhou."
He couldn't help but think how convenient it was to be in a position of authority.
* * *
That night.
Those who had scattered reunited at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Jeongseo County branch under cover of darkness.
They each relayed the information they had gathered to Il-mok, and he organized their reports based on the documents provided by the Branch Leader.
The conclusion they reached was rather anticlimactic.
"So, in the end, they just came and left without doing anything?"
"It's thanks to us getting here first."
"Indeed. Because you instructed Squad Leader Kang-yul to spread word of the Maitreya Radiant Church's greatness here ahead of time, those guys lost their chance to step in."
Led by Danbin and Jin Ha-yeon, everyone praised Il-mok's quick judgment, but he didn't look particularly pleased.
It had all been for nothing—a wasted trip.
"Since they've already left, we'll have to head toward Kunlun Mountain to dig up more on them."
Il-mok let out a light sigh and gave his orders.
"For now, everyone return to the inn and rest. We'll leave Jeongseo County tomorrow morning and head for Pyeongnyang County."
Pyeongnyang County was the closest settlement to Kunlun Mountain.
And the next day around noon, they arrived near Pyeongnyang County.
Just like in Jeongseo County, they split up to enter Pyeongnyang County.
The difference was that this time, Il-mok had to wander the marketplace looking for an inn.
Unlike Jeongseo County, Pyeongnyang County had no Heavenly Demon Divine Cult branch.
That was why the news about the Kunlun Sect had reached him late.
While roaming the marketplace and searching for inns to inquire about the Kunlun Sect,
As Il-mok observed the daily life of Pyeongnyang County's residents, he felt something off.
'The population seems too low for the size of the county?'
He might have grown accustomed to Nanzhou's bustle, but he couldn't shake the sense that the place felt empty.
'And everyone looks a bit uneasy?'
They all seemed pursued by something.
Eyes trembling anxiously, people stammering or mumbling, and quite a few fidgeting with their hands or feet.
Naturally, Il-mok turned his head.
Toward Jeong-hyeon, who was following a short distance away.
"I-is there a problem, Young Master?"
She had exactly that anxious look.
Of course, one or two people could be like that, but with so many villagers acting this way, it was bound to seem strange.
As an inexplicable unease grew in his mind, Il-mok headed first to an inn he spotted on one side of the marketplace.
"Come on in...."
The inn's waiter greeted them with a listless attitude.
"Tell me your order."
His demeanor suggested everything was a bother, drawing glances from Jin Ha-yeon and Jeong-hyeon toward Il-mok.
"...Is something wrong?"
"...It's nothing, Young Master."
Jin Ha-yeon replied indifferently, while Jeong-hyeon quickly looked away, embarrassed.
Feeling even more unsettled for no reason, Il-mok turned to survey the inn's interior.
A few customers sat eating.
They picked at their food as if eating just to stay alive.
"Hah."
Some even sighed now and then.
'Did I pick the wrong inn?'
Wondering if the food was just that bad, Il-mok ordered the most basic dishes.
A moment later, the same waiter brought the food with a listless, lethargic attitude and set it on the table.
"Just in case, the young ladies will taste it first."
To check for poison, Jin Ha-yeon and Jeong-hyeon tried it first, and once they confirmed no issues, Il-mok took a bite.
"Hm?"
It wasn't garbage. It was just average.
After filling his stomach adequately, Il-mok called the waiter again.
"Here's the payment for the food. We're thinking of staying the night—prepare your best room. Oh, and bathwater too."
As he said this, Il-mok handed some silver to the waiter.
It was a considerable sum for the waiter.
"Sure."
But the waiter pocketed the silver with the same listless attitude and shuffled off as if everything was a hassle.
'What the hell is this place?'
Everyone was either lethargic or exuding an uneasy aura.
Right then, a small noise came from outside the inn.
Thanks to focusing his hearing, Il-mok caught the sound from quite far away.
Exchanging glances, Il-mok, Jin Ha-yeon, and Jeong-hyeon left the inn and headed toward the noise, keeping a discreet distance without drawing attention.
The sight that met Il-mok's eyes as he stopped at a suitable range was, well...
Something quite familiar.
"Grant salvation upon me too!!"
"Please, please help us!"
"Primordial Heavenly Lord!!"
In the distance, Taoists had set up in the marketplace, and the residents—who had been listless or anxious moments ago—were now prostrating themselves, wailing, and screaming en masse.
The picture of fanatical believers.
Naturally, Il-mok's gaze turned.
Toward Jin Ha-yeon.
"...What does this mean?"
"Ahem. It's nothing."
To Jin Ha-yeon's cold question, Il-mok looked away again.
Being one of their own, he recognized it immediately.
'These guys aren't real Kunlun Sect. Hell, they're not even orthodox sect at all.'
They were a cult too.
But just because they weren't orthodox didn't mean everything was resolved.
'They're doing business on someone else's turf?'
In another sense, they were even more dangerous foes.
Il-mok observed the cultish scene from a safe distance.
To figure out exactly how these Taoists were proselytizing to drive people so mad.
In the midst of this,
"Don't worry. A gathering is prepared for tonight, and we will grant you all salvation."
At the words from one of the Taoists, Il-mok's eyes gleamed.
* * *
That night.
Il-mok and his group, who had scattered to rest at inns, slipped out at the appointed time and gathered in one place.
Soon after, people began leaving their homes from various parts of the village, heading somewhere despite the late hour.
Hiding in the shadows, Il-mok and the others trailed the villagers using stealth techniques.
Following them out of Pyeongnyang County toward a nearby low hill.
Il-mok had to swallow a curse inwardly.
'Insane.'
People were streaming out from everywhere in Pyeongnyang County, all converging on that mountain.
Most of the county's residents had already become fanatical followers of these self-proclaimed Kunlun Sect cultists.
'What the hell did they do?'
It was enough to make anyone curious about their sales tactics.
Chasing the crowd with a mix of curiosity and hostility for a while,
They soon arrived at the gathering site, where a few Taoists appeared.
"Thank you all for coming today."
"Oooo!"
"Primordial Heavenly Lord!"
"Save us!"
As the fervent cult fanatics shouted, Il-mok's companions furrowed their brows.
'What is it? Tribalism?'
Il-mok shook off the absurd thought and focused on the gathering.
But the sermon held no substance.
They didn't even sing hymns like his group or show anything special to captivate the crowd.
As the pointless sermon neared its end,
"We will show you the paradise where the Primordial Heavenly Lord awaits."
The Taoist leading the sermon uttered strange words.
"Ooooo!"
"Finally!!!"
At that moment, as the already wild-eyed fanatics screamed even more fervently,
"!!!"
Sensing a bizarre flow of energy, Il-mok moved swiftly.
'A formation.'
The energy enveloping the gathering site shook, and a massive formation swallowed the people.
Fortunately, everyone except Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a had received formation countermeasures training at the Demonic Path Academy, so no one panicked.
To avoid being scattered by the formation, they quickly grouped together.
In Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a's case, the only one without training, Il-mok had already grabbed her shoulder and stood guard.
"Thank you, brother."
The deeply moved girl blushed as she spoke, but Il-mok's gaze was elsewhere.
'An variant of the Illusion Dream Formation.'
The night's darkness had vanished, replaced by beautiful scenery all around.
'Using formations to deceive people.'
Even Il-mok hadn't anticipated this method.
Right then—perhaps due to the formation's effect—faint mist began to envelop the area, and sensing something, Il-mok quickly covered Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a's mouth and nose.
* Circulate your internal energy to push out the incoming energy when you breathe. *
He felt an unidentified energy mixed in the mist.
'Poison? But using poison here would kill all the villagers too? Did they spot us and target only us?'
As he scanned the situation, calculating possibilities, he felt Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a circulating her energy and removed his hand from her face.
After vigilantly watching the surroundings for a while, in case they were targeting them with poison,
The mist, which hadn't dispersed due to the formation and kept swirling around, finally faded late.
Those exposed to it for long periods began babbling in unknown tongues.
Thanks to that, Il-mok easily realized what the energy mixed in the mist had been.
"You save some for yourselves and not others, you crazy bastards."
By now, Il-mok's expression had turned ice-cold.