Chapter 244
Chapter 244
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 244
>Chapter Title: Sichuan (1)
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After dealing with all the gamblers, Il-mok and his group headed for the Arts Hall.
The Orthodox faction's later-generation talents had departed. Late arrivals like Gu Yang-mun, Joo Seo-yeon, and Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a joined them as well.
They entered the hall through the back door, accessible only to members of the Maitreya Cult. Before long, those staying in Byeongnyang County arrived to join them.
Once everyone had gathered, Il-mok gave a brief rundown of the incident at the manor.
"Those guys belonged to a place called the Black Island Gang in Gwangwon County, Sichuan Province. So, I'm thinking of paying them a visit."
"You're planning to go there yourself?"
Jin Ha-yeon asked, sounding surprised.
He had handled this incident personally, but Il-mok generally wasn't the type to favor getting directly involved.
"Guys like that will just keep scheming if we leave them be. Better to clean them up sooner rather than later."
Il-mok shrugged, as if he had no choice.
"Besides, it looks like we'll have to hit their backers directly at some point, and I don't have anyone I can entrust it to. Third Brother Sam is busy tracking down the spies."
The small-time thugs they'd caught today had simply followed orders from the Black Island Gang leader. Who knew what lay behind them.
The reason the gang leader had set up a gambling den in Byeongnyang County might have been information leaked by the Hao Mun.
And if the Hao Mun was behind their movements, there was one more thing to take care of.
"While we're at it, I figure we might as well start some proselytizing there too."
They couldn't spend forever reacting passively to the Hao Mun's schemes.
On top of chasing down the spies, he planned to slowly chip away at their territory.
'Our conditions are way better than the Hao Mun's, so the courtesans and errand boys will come over on their own. Proselytizing alone will ruin their business—one stone, two birds. Or make it three, since we're saving the girls too?'
As Il-mok mulled over his plan to land a blow on the Hao Mun, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult followers—led by Dam Bin and Jin Ha-yeon—dropped to one knee before him.
"We were fools, blind to Young Master's grand ambition."
"The Lord of Ten Thousand Demons at headquarters will be overjoyed."
"Heavenly Demon descends! Ten Thousand Demons rejoice!"
They saw this expedition as the first step toward seizing Sichuan Province after Gansu.
Il-mok belatedly realized what they were thinking and gave an awkward smile.
'Crazy. Target that place? Three massive powers have their nests coiled there?'
The Seven Great Families' Sichuan Tang Clan. The Nine Great Sects' Emei and Qingcheng.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult might handle them, but taking them on with the Maitreya Cult's strength would be suicide.
Il-mok just planned to proselytize and moderately deal with any Hao Mun-linked brothels.
But it felt awkward to spell that out plainly to these fanatic believers brimming with eager anticipation.
As Il-mok pondered how to handle it,
"T-take me with you, p-please. Y-Young Master."
A tiny voice, like an ant crawling, echoed out.
Everyone there practiced martial arts, so none missed that faint sound.
Il-mok and the others turned toward the source.
"What's that supposed to mean, Jeong Sojeo?"
Standing there was a woman in male disguise, her face drained white.
Il-mok addressed her as all eyes focused on her, making her face go even paler.
"Jeong Sojeo, as the Jade Sword Prince, you need to stay here, don't you?"
At Il-mok's point, Jeong-hyeon frantically shook her head side to side.
"I c-can't do it anymore."
Even amid the spotlight, she somehow forced out the words. Il-mok's face lit up with emotion at the sight.
"Oooh. You've grown, Jeong Sojeo. It was worth acting as the Jade Sword Prince."
As people applauded in agreement with his praise, Jeong-hyeon muttered faintly, her face ashen.
"P-please. S-save me..."
* * *
The next day.
Il-mok and his group left Byeongnyang County and headed south.
Fortunately for Jeong-hyeon, she was included in the party.
Thanks to Il-mok's deep感动 at her life-or-death act of courage in muttering those words.
The Jade Sword Prince—who'd boasted the highest popularity at the Yakhab Sparring Tournament—was gone, but that was a problem for those left behind to handle.
Anyway, people changed eventually. As the saying went, the waves of the Yangtze pushed the front ones aside.
With Jeong-hyeon's departure settled, the meeting naturally shifted to the Yakhab Sparring Tournament.
How to fill the gap left by the Jade Sword Prince.
Interestingly, some of the proposed solutions tied into this very incident.
"No need to stick to pure mystique. How about the sparring participants form their own sect? Like those gamblers who led the gambling—when outsiders cause chaos here, they step up as a sort of vigilante group."
Not just scripted spars, but actually punishing real villains to heighten the realism.
That was Il-mok's proposal.
On top of that,
"I heard some punk from the Hubei Peng Clan barged in and caused a scene this time! But if we play it right, it could really amp up the drama!"
Baek Cheon—the ultimate fanboy hanger-on—came up with an intriguing idea.
Instead of strictly following the set sequence, occasionally have someone crash the sparring midway.
Of course, the intrusion would be pre-planned theater, but it seemed perfect for adding variation to the one-note flow.
'That idiot Peng Ji-gwang's antics are turning out oddly helpful.'
Thanks to his intrusion, they'd found the gamblers faster. And now it had sparked a way to make the Yakhab Sparring Tournament even more entertaining. Truly bizarre.
In the gentle hills at the Sichuan border from Gansu, as the group prepared camp for the night,
'Dog shit can be used as medicine. Something like that?'
Il-mok briefly recalled the meeting a few days prior—and that utter wastrel—before his expression crumpled.
A group was approaching their campsite.
The Orthodox faction's later-generation talents from before.
"Not needed now. Dog shit."
As his group shot him puzzled looks at the mutter, the later-generation group had already reached their vicinity.
"Infinite Mercy."
Curiously, this time it wasn't Hwangbo Yeon stepping forward, but the young Taoist.
Likely because his Daoist robes put people most at ease.
"I'm Yunbaek Dojang of the Wudang Sect. We're thinking of camping here too, so we came to say hello in advance. No need to worry."
At Yunbaek Dojang's words, Gu Yang-mun stepped up as representative.
"Please do."
It was to hide their identities.
The ones they'd met at the manor that day were just Il-mok, Dam Bin, and Jin Ha-yeon—and they'd worn masks.
Il-mok had led the conversation alone, and the skill gap made it hard to discern their cultivation bases.
As long as Il-mok masked his voice, the chance of being recognized was slim.
Yunbaek Dojang withdrew after Gu Yang-mun's reply, and they set up camp about ten paces away.
"Hahaha. Camping out like this is something every jianghu hero should experience at least once."
Il-mok easily pierced the truth behind Peng Ji-gwang's chatter—as he sneakily ogled the veiled woman.
'All that mad leaping around was to impress her, huh.'
Naturally, the woman's face from that day came to mind.
She was quite the beauty, but Il-mok wasn't all that interested.
She seemed haughtier than Jin Ha-yeon and less cute than Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a.
Sure, she had her own distinct charm.
'But a face isn't everything. Right.'
Having spent time with a peerless beauty who was a psychopath, Il-mok had come to think that as long as a face cleared the bare minimum, it didn't really matter.
And that psycho peerless beauty—along with Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a—was currently veiled.
Just like that woman: they had looks that inevitably drew attention if uncovered.
"Hahaha. What a shame. If there'd been bandits on the mountain road, I could've given them a proper thrashing."
Il-mok watched Peng Ji-gwang's desperate antics to catch the beauty's eye for a moment.
Then he turned to look at Gu Yang-mun.
'Gu Yang sohyup. Sorry for treating you like a stalker all this time.'
Compared to that guy, Gu Yang-mun seemed downright gentlemanly.
But he kept the thought to himself.
No need to accidentally embolden Gu Yang-mun by pointing it out.
He might launch another confession assault on Jin Ha-yeon—and the fallout could hit Il-mok.
Even as Il-mok and his group quietly finished their meal and rested, chatter continued from the other side.
"Nice clear sky today. Stars are shining bright."
"Hoho. Could Yunbaek Dojang perhaps read my stars?"
"Haha. Stars, huh. Shall I divine the heavens for you?"
The others seemed to be steering the conversation away to fend off Peng Ji-gwang's relentless overtures.
"But stargazing's just slapping nonsense together anyway—all lies. More importantly, Hwangbo Sojeo. Forget that useless talk. I heard some really juicy rumors."
Inevitably, Peng Ji-gwang shattered the flow.
Awed by his impressive talent, Il-mok turned to Jeong-hyeon this time.
"???"
As Jeong-hyeon gave him a puzzled look, Il-mok sent a transmission.
*-Hang in there, Jeong Sojeo. You're just struggling to speak because of the side effects. It's not a lack of social skills.*
*-W-what do you mean?*
*-Not being able to tell appropriate talk from nonsense—that's poor social skills. Draw some courage from watching that guy.*
At Il-mok's encouragement, Jeong-hyeon reluctantly glanced at Peng Ji-gwang.
* * *
The next day, at early dawn.
Il-mok and his group set out first on their journey to avoid tangling with those later-generation talents.
After half a day nonstop in the carriage, they arrived in Gwangwon County as dusk fell.
Their first stop was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's branch hall.
Just as in Gansu Province, several branches dotted Sichuan—and fortunately, Gwangwon County hosted one.
"We pay respects to the exalted one's eighth disciple!"
After appropriately responding to the Branch Leader's fervent greeting, Il-mok cut straight to the point.
"Is there a black dao gang called the Black Island Gang around here?"
"Indeed. They're the black dao group that effectively controls Gwangwon County."
"How strong are they?"
"The gang leader and deputy are peak-realm masters. We've assessed their warrior count at over fifty."
After hearing the full explanation, Il-mok voiced a question he'd pondered before.
"I see. But how can a black dao group openly seize control of an entire county in Sichuan, with three massive Orthodox powers right there?"
"The Tang Clan, Emei, and Qingcheng have seen their conflicts intensify over the past few years. Their attention is fixed on the provincial capital area. Meanwhile, black dao groups have been settling into outlying spots like this one by one..."
The Branch Leader trailed off, seeming to hesitate before adding,
"Gathering intelligence from our branches across Sichuan Province, we've detected a strange trend."
"What trend?"
"It's not confirmed, but it seems some black dao gangs are being backed by one of those three major powers."
At the unexpected news, furrows creased Il-mok's brow.