Chapter 223
Chapter 223
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 223
>Chapter Title: Joy (3)
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After arriving at the fake Kongtong Sect's main hall, Il-mok led them to the human sacrifice altar hidden within the formation.
There, about a dozen abandoned corpses lay scattered across the floor.
They were Guigokja and his disciples.
"In the end, this bastard even used his own disciples as sacrifices to perform some bizarre ritual. It's called the Four Spirits Blood Ghost Formation, described in a book known as the Blood Ledger."
At Il-mok's explanation, Hu-gae and the other Beggars' Union members who had come along scanned their surroundings with grave expressions.
"...It really looks like a horrific bloodbath took place here."
As he said, the area was a total mess in every direction.
To the point where not a single intact spot could be seen around the altar.
There were countless traces from the battle with the vengeful spirits, but in fact, quite a few marks had been added afterward as well.
They had layered on extra traces to cover up any signs of demonic arts.
Since the place was already a wreck from the bloodbath, adding more wouldn't look out of place.
The restricted corpses of Guigokja and his men had also shriveled up like mummies, leaving no distinct signs of demonic arts.
'It was smart to clear away the remaining bodies beforehand.'
Il-mok thought to himself as he led the Beggars' Union members onward.
The next place they headed was a site with over a hundred burial mounds clustered together.
"These are the temporary graves we made to appease the vengeful spirits of those used as sacrifices by them."
"...To think so many people died such unjust deaths."
Muttering with a bitter expression, Hu-gae faced the graves and performed a fist-and-palm salute in respect.
"I'm sorry it took so long. I will definitely track down the Blood Cult's remnants and avenge you all."
Following his lead, the rest of the Beggars' Union members also paid their respects to the graves.
Il-mok then guided them to the site that had been burned to ash.
"Hwagapcho grew here, but we burned it all just in case."
"It's a shame the evidence is gone, but there's no helping it. Hwagapcho is a dangerous substance in many ways."
Fortunately, So Hu-gae nodded with a look of understanding.
Having toured not just Pyeongnyang County but Kongtong Mountain as well, So Hu-gae spoke to Il-mok with a serious face.
"Seeing it firsthand, I can truly grasp how atrocious these acts were. If these were Blood Cult remnants, similar horrors must be happening elsewhere."
His eyes burned with righteous fury.
"I'll leave the investigation here to the Union disciples and head to the main branch and the Martial Alliance."
"You're going in person?"
"We need to spread word of this horror as quickly as possible, don't we? Sending a letter risks issues along the way, and besides, some things are better conveyed by word of mouth than writing."
At So Hu-gae's response, Il-mok nodded and said,
"Then, I have one favor to ask."
"I've seen with my own eyes over these few days how outstanding a righteous sect the Maitreya Divine Cult is. Speak freely."
Holding back a smile at his righteousness-filled reply, Il-mok answered.
"Could you help not just with the investigation here, but also in caring for Pyeongnyang County's residents? With only the Maitreya Divine Cult's strength, we lack the manpower to tend to all those poisoned by hwagapcho."
"Hahaha! How could the Beggars' Union sit out such a righteous cause? I'll send word ahead, so command us as you need!"
With that, Hu-gae rummaged in his filthy robes and pulled out a wooden plaque.
"This is a plaque symbolizing me, Hu-gae. It may not compare to the Union Leader's command tablet, but with this, you can secure cooperation anywhere."
At So Hu-gae's generous offer, cold sweat dripped down Il-mok's back.
'They want me to take that?'
He felt like he'd have a fit just touching the grimy plaque pulled from that sweat-soaked beggar's rags.
* * *
Right after So Hu-gae departed with his hearty laugh.
Il-mok used the wooden plaque, wrapped and sealed in multiple layers of cloth, to request the Beggars' Union members' cooperation.
"What should we start with?"
The Beggars' Union disciple who asked Il-mok was Hong-gae, the head of the local branch. He was the beggar with the most knots on his sash in Gansu Province, outranking even O-gyeol-gae.
Hong-gae had remarkably clear eyes.
'The Deputy Leader who came in the Union Leader's stead judged these folk righteous. And the Leader himself said their methods were right, so long as they committed no evil behind the scenes.'
Thanks to the Leader and Deputy Leader's judgment, Hong-gae had escaped his heart demon.
And having escaped it, he had no intention of questioning the Maitreya Divine Cult's actions any further.
At Hong-gae's friendly question, Il-mok pointed to the steward who had climbed Kongtong Mountain with them.
"Select some Union disciples and have them follow that steward's instructions to till this burned field into arable farmland."
"...Pardon?"
As Hong-gae asked back in confusion, Il-mok replied again.
"Till the land. We set fire to where the hwagapcho grew in clusters, turning it into a slash-and-burn field, so it should be perfectly usable for farming, right?"
"So why farm here? And what does that have to do with helping Pyeongnyang County's people?"
Now snapping to attention, Hong-gae asked again, but Il-mok replied as if it were the most obvious thing.
"We need to earn money to care for Pyeongnyang County's people, don't we? We've even called in beggars who aren't Union disciples. We'll select some to farm here. Part of the profits will go to the workers here, and the rest to helping Pyeongnyang County's folk."
"No, then they should farm or work around Pyeongnyang County. How are they supposed to commute from Pyeongnyang County to the middle of Kongtong Mountain?"
Hong-gae's point was reasonable enough. Unless one was a martial arts expert or riding a horse, the distance from Pyeongnyang County to mid-mountain would take a full four or five hours of nonstop walking.
But Il-mok had never planned for them to commute in the first place.
"I never said they'd go back and forth from Pyeongnyang County. They'll eat and sleep here."
With that, Il-mok pointed toward the fake Kongtong Sect's main hall beyond the formation.
"We'll repair the hall—use part as lodging for the workers here, and turn another part into an inn. The kind that sells food made from ingredients grown right here on Kongtong Mountain and provides beds too."
Drawing from his modern memories, Il-mok intended to develop Kongtong Mountain into a proper tourist spot.
At his explanation, Hong-gae wore a complicated expression.
'It's for helping Pyeongnyang County's people, and it gives jobs to beggars. It seems truly righteous... but why do I feel like I'm being had...?'
Just then, a Union disciple listening nearby spoke up.
"Then the beggars working here have to stay trapped on this mountain forever?"
"If they get used to inn work and want to leave for jobs elsewhere, that's fine. And they can visit Pyeongnyang County periodically on days off."
"What's a day off...?"
"It means we'll rotate so one at a time gets a day free from work."
At Il-mok's explanation, the Union disciples looked to Hong-gae.
"Branch Head, sounds good to me."
"It's a chance for beggars to learn skills and earn money."
"We can free the beggars we've been protecting from their beggar lives!"
As the Union disciples voiced their support, Hong-gae gathered his thoughts and nodded.
"Fine. We're investigating the area for Blood Cult traces anyway, so we might as well till the fields and repair the hall while we're at it."
No real reason to refuse, especially since the Deputy Leader had ordered full support for the Maitreya Divine Cult.
In the end, Hong-gae divided the Union disciples—assigning some to till the fields with the steward, others to repair the hall with carpenters.
The rest he ordered to scour the area for Blood Cult clues. Then, on the way down Kongtong Mountain with Il-mok.
"Oh, right—there was a carpenter left at the mountain base. Why bring him up?"
Hong-gae belatedly voiced the question that occurred to him.
"I'm thinking of setting up a few street stalls and a stable at the Kongtong Mountain entrance."
"...You're planning to run a business at the base too, not just the inn up top?"
"Yes. Selling simple snacks helpful for climbers, like water or bamboo-leaf rice balls, should do well. Oh, and hiking staffs would sell nicely too."
For a tourist spot, you had to start the commerce right at the trailhead.
As Il-mok brainstormed more items for the base, Hong-gae asked again.
"That job too—you planning to assign it to beggars from other counties?"
"Beggars would be fine, or we could give work to Pyeongnyang County folk whose poisoning isn't severe."
"......"
Staring at Il-mok with his mouth agape, Hong-gae suddenly voiced another question.
"Hmm? But why just stalls and a stable at the entrance? If you make a place to sleep there too, you'd get way more visitors."
"If we build an inn at the entrance, won't people sleep there and head straight to other regions? Without lodging there, climbers will flock to the nearest spot—Pyeongnyang County."
"Ah...?"
As one unexpected idea after another poured out, Hong-gae's mouth now hung wide open.
Seeing Hong-gae look dumbfounded, Il-mok casually added more to help him understand, as if it were no big deal.
"The stable's the same. Partly to supply stall goods, but mainly to run a 'public carriage' service shuttling regularly between the Kongtong Mountain base and Pyeongnyang County. So climbers can easily get down to the county. Naturally, the ones managing and driving it will be beggars or Pyeongnyang County folk too."
To properly fleece tourists coming to Kongtong Mountain, you had to create an environment where they had no choice but to go to Pyeongnyang County.
Of course, it was obvious to Il-mok, who had studied public administration and worked as a civil servant dealing with all sorts of matters.
'...How can this guy casually come up with all these ideas?'
Hong-gae couldn't hide his shock.
'Now I get why the Deputy Leader told us to accept their requests! He meant for us to watch and learn!'
The Deputy Leader had spoken of it: emulate the Maitreya Divine Cult's core principle of "teaching through example" in aiding the masses.
Don't just give beggars money—give them jobs.
And the man before him was doing exactly that, effortlessly.
'As the saying goes, borrow a neighbor's stone to polish your own. We must learn their ways and give our beggars hope!'
Before long, Hong-gae's eyes cleared again. Unlike Il-mok's rotten pollack eyes, they burned with passion and zeal.
Il-mok spoke to the enthusiastic beggar.
"Oh, right—when are the other Gansu Province Union disciples and beggars due to arrive? We can start base construction once they're here."
"They'll arrive steadily from now on, so I'll assign them as they come!"
At Hong-gae's zealous volunteering for free labor, Il-mok nodded in satisfaction.
On the way down Kongtong Mountain.
Hong-gae mulled over the plans the shaman ahead had shared, pondering how to adapt them for the Union.
Then, he realized something crucial.
"But is it okay to just start construction like this in Kongtong Mountain and Pyeongnyang County on your own?"
He wasn't yet aware they were being used by the shaman.
"Even with the saying that officials can't touch you, if you go this far, won't the authorities step in?"
At Hong-gae's question, Il-mok merely shrugged lightly.
"Why not think of it the other way around? While most residents were poisoned and over a hundred offered as sacrifices, why didn't the authorities move?"