Chapter 266
Chapter 266
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 266
>Chapter Title: Plague (1)
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In response to the Blood Cult Leader's question, his subordinate recited the results of their investigation.
It was a brief explanation of an emerging righteous faction force based in Gansu Province.
The Blood Cult Leader clicked his tongue lightly at his subordinate's report.
"Tsk."
Now, with the Martial Alliance, the Nine Great Sects, and the Seven Great Clans lighting fires to hunt them down, they couldn't afford to make any moves that would expose their tracks.
That said, they couldn't just let the ones who had interfered with their grand undertaking go unpunished.
After pondering for a moment, the Blood Cult Leader soon came up with a sinister idea.
"An emerging righteous faction, eh? Let's see just how much they cherish the common folk. Heh heh heh."
* * *
At the Huangbo Clan, located in Jinan, the provincial capital of Shandong Province.
Huangbo Se-hee, known as one of the Five Blossoms of the Murim, was gazing blankly into the void from a pavilion built within the massive clan estate.
Huangbo Yeon, on her way to the training grounds, happened to spot her younger sister and approached her.
"What are you thinking about so deeply?"
Huangbo Yeon asked in her characteristically blunt, heroic tone, and Huangbo Se-hee, who had only just noticed her, smiled and replied.
"I was wondering if Uncle Huangbo Palace has arrived in Lanzhou by now."
"Hmm."
Huangbo Yeon turned her head toward the west, where Gansu Province lay, and soon nodded.
"Indeed, he should have arrived in Lanzhou by this time."
"Yes. I wonder if he read the letter I sent."
"You put it in the box with the gift, so of course he'll read it."
"Then, he'll send a reply someday, right?"
"Hmm."
At Huangbo Se-hee's question, Huangbo Yeon showed a subtle reaction.
It wasn't because she thought the Maitreya Divine Cult wouldn't reply. It was just...
"I don't doubt that they are a righteous faction, but you're taking someone you've never even seen to heart too much."
It simply bothered her that her sister didn't seem to be acting this way merely out of 'gratitude.'
And Huangbo Yeon's concern didn't seem to be unfounded.
"That man saved my life and my sister's, didn't he? And does a face really matter when people meet?"
These words came from a sister who had suffered endless harassment from countless men because of her beauty, carrying all sorts of meanings.
At her sister's bold words, Huangbo Yeon let out a light sigh before responding.
"It's your heart, so it's not for me to meddle in, but keep it from Father. Who knows what might happen."
Huangbo O, the father of Huangbo Yeon and Huangbo Se-hee and the patriarch of the Huangbo Clan, was an extreme doting parent.
To be precise, only toward Huangbo Se-hee, who resembled their mother and was called one of the Five Blossoms of the Murim.
Huangbo Se-hee, who was turning nineteen this year, was at an age where marriage considerations were beginning in the Central Plains, but no suitors had been sought yet because of that.
In Huangbo Yeon's case, she had devoted herself to martial arts, so talk of marriage hadn't arisen.
In any case, if their father learned that his precious youngest daughter, raised like gold and jade, had feelings for some man whose face she didn't even know, Huangbo Yeon couldn't even imagine how he would react.
His feelings toward the Maitreya Divine Cult could flip in an instant from benefactor who saved his precious daughter to mortal enemy deserving a thousand deaths.
At Huangbo Yeon's advice, Huangbo Se-hee tilted her head.
"Don't you want to wait for a reply too, sister?"
Huangbo Yeon had also sent a letter, so wasn't she waiting for a response as well?
And without the slightest hesitation, Huangbo Yeon shook her head.
"I've made my intentions clear, so what need is there to wait for a reply?"
"Hmm. What did you write to them, sister?"
"I wrote that once I've cultivated skills I'm not ashamed of, I'll come visit again, and we can have a spar then."
Huangbo Yeon replied, recalling that day.
She had taken pride in her own skills, but on that day, she had only played the role of a mere nuisance.
Being called by nicknames like Iron Phoenix or Nine Divine Star had perhaps made her arrogant without realizing it.
Furthermore, from that day's events, Huangbo Yeon had gained a very important lesson.
The lesson that justice without power is nothing more than empty words.
She had to abandon those who saved her life under the excuse of needing to save her sister and flee.
Thus, she vowed.
On the day she could proudly speak of justice, she would leave the clan again and seek out the Maitreya Divine Cult.
At Huangbo Yeon's answer, Huangbo Se-hee showed a strange reaction for some reason.
"Sister, isn't that a challenge rather than a thank-you note?"
"...Ahem. They're martial artists too, so they won't mind a challenge, will they?"
"Is that so?"
Huangbo Se-hee tilted her head again, then beamed and cheered Huangbo Yeon on.
"Still, if it's you, sister, you can do it in no time!"
Thinking that on the day Huangbo Yeon finished her training and went to the Maitreya Divine Cult, she would go along too.
* * *
After Hou Ga left upon hearing the news of what happened at Mt. Baekhak.
"Alright, let's see how much they brought."
Il-mok rubbed his hands together and looked at the boxes prepared by the Huashan Sect, the Jeonmyeong Clan, and the Huangbo Clan.
Unknowingly smiling at the corners of his mouth, the first box Il-mok opened was from the Huashan Sect.
"Oh ho."
The box from the Huashan Sect was filled with silver taels.
Silver taels might seem unremarkable, but they were proper currency made of silver.
There was even a saying that one silver tael could buy a month's worth of rice for a family of four, so in this world, it was quite a substantial sum.
"Where do these righteous faction bastards get all this money from?"
They wouldn't be doing business, after all.
It had to be money fleeced diligently from the common folk in Shaanxi Province.
Cursing the righteous factions moderately, he opened the Jeonmyeong Clan's box, which was likewise filled with silver taels.
Confirming that the Huashan Sect and Jeonmyeong Clan had prepared gifts of similar value, Il-mok finally opened the box from the Huangbo Clan.
"Crazy..."
The inside of the box was literally sparkling.
That was because it was nearly filled with gold notes.
The box size wasn't much different from those of Huashan and Jeonmyeong, but the value of the contents seemed at least ten times greater.
'Even just this one gift from the Huangbo Clan could cover several years' budget for our Divine Cult.'
This was even judging by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which ruled all of New Jiang, not just the Maitreya Divine Cult.
"Filthy righteous faction scum."
While the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult barely scraped by in harsh New Jiang, these bastards lived in such abundance.
Il-mok, realizing the severe wealth gap, trembled with rage for a moment.
Then, he belatedly discovered a letter hidden among the glittering gold notes.
"Hm?"
Thinking it might be a secret message from the Huangbo Clan, Il-mok unfolded it, then folded it back with an indifferent expression.
"Well, it might be useful later, so I should keep it."
Thinking he could use it if he ever needed help from or to exploit the Huangbo Clan later.
Turning his head back, Il-mok looked down at the Huangbo Clan's box and smiled.
"Now, where should I spend this to make rumors spread that I used it well."
His face, reflecting the golden light, was shining yellow.
* * *
After the righteous faction guests had come and gone in droves, peace returned to Lanzhou once more.
Amid the blood and tension wafting from Sichuan and all corners of the Central Plains, Lanzhou somehow felt detached.
Having received boxes full of silver taels and gold notes, Il-mok had no urgent need to spend money right away, so he first hid them in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult branch.
Then, over the next few days, he spent time chatting with his companions, resting, or practicing swordsmanship to reach Transcending Demon.
Someone with an urgent expression rushed into the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult branch.
No sooner had he arrived at the branch than he sought out Il-mok and ran straight to him in the training grounds.
"Y-Young Master!"
It was a somewhat familiar face to Il-mok.
With Seo Jae-pil having left for Pingliang County to treat and research drug addicts, this demonic sect-originated physician was running the Maitreya Divine Cult's infirmary in his place.
"What is it?"
Wondering why he looked so frantic, Il-mok asked, but the response was gravely serious.
"P-Plague, Young Master."
"Plague? What do you mean?"
"It seems a plague has started spreading in Lanzhou!"
"!!!"
Not only Il-mok but those nearby also looked at the physician in shock.
"Tell me the details."
"Recently, the number of patients visiting the Maitreya Divine Cult's infirmary showing similar symptoms like vomiting, fever, and diarrhea has been steadily increasing. We've prescribed medicine, but their conditions are worsening, and now the numbers have grown so much that the infirmary staff alone can't handle it, Young Master."
Il-mok squeezed his eyes shut at the physician's explanation, then opened them and rapidly issued orders.
"Dam Team Leader, send a letter to Pingliang County immediately. Tell them to bring all available physicians and nurses."
"As you command."
"Jin Clerk, I'll give you money, so buy a few houses on the outskirts of Lanzhou. From now on, anyone infected with the plague or suspected will be quarantined there for treatment without exception."
"Understood, Young Master."
"Branch Leader, from now on, buy up every bit of cotton cloth and liquor you can find in Lanzhou, and pay the breweries to rent distillation equipment. Ask the physicians for the recipe and produce as much disinfectant alcohol as possible."
Il-mok issued instructions without pause.
It was an unexpected situation, but amusingly, it was something he was somewhat familiar with.
"Also, question the plague patients and those around them to trace their paths. We need to figure out where it started, and at minimum, prevent further infections."
Before being stabbed to death and reincarnating into the murim world, back when he was Seo Ji-hoon, there had been a pandemic that struck the entire world.
Having worked as a civil servant then, Il-mok had never directed on-site himself but knew the response measures from seeing or hearing about them.
"Moreover, from now on, all nurses and physicians must cover their mouths and noses with disinfected cloth without fail. Especially for the buildings housing plague patients, only martial artists will enter and exit. Only those who can expel toxins with internal energy while tending to patients."
"Young Master, there are hardly any such people among the physicians or nurses."
"Recall the martial artists from Pingliang County too. And from now on, we'll have to tend to the patients as well."
No sooner had Il-mok's orders ended than his companions unleashed their lightness skills at full power and left the building.
* * *
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult followers moved busily.
Following Il-mok's orders, they bought several houses on the outskirts of Lanzhou with extra money, and began purchasing cotton cloth and liquor indiscriminately.
It was possible because of the money gifted by the Huashan Sect, Jeonmyeong Clan, and Huangbo Clan.
They first guided patients who had come to the Maitreya Divine Cult estate to the treatment building, checked their symptoms and cared for them while simultaneously beginning epidemiological investigations.
Thanks to steadily training the courtesans in the meantime, they had the capacity to conduct investigations as well.
And on the fourth day, about twenty-odd people arrived in Lanzhou by carriage.
Reinforcements from Pingliang County.
Led by Seo Jae-pil, physicians, nurses, and even the armed unit warriors who had been staying in Pingliang County.
They had rushed nonstop for two days but joined the treatment site without delay.
With twenty more hands, it seemed breathing room might come, but reality was different.
Fitting the name plague, the number of patients kept increasing.
Moreover, the investigations uncovered even more patients they had missed.
Patients who hadn't made it to the Maitreya Divine Cult infirmary—those bedridden at home.
"Ugh."
"Damn it."
Among those patients were even some who had already passed away.
After two more days of disposing of belatedly discovered corpses, treating patients, and continuing investigations.
"Young Master! We found it!"
They finally pinpointed where the contagion had begun.
With their noses and mouths wrapped in double layers of cloth and masks on top, they followed the physician's guidance to the location.
A stream flowing a short distance from the slum where Lanzhou's poor gathered.
'Waterborne disease, huh.'
Il-mok scowled at the murky stream.
Bzzzzz!
As if sensing something, the Soaring Heaven Sword at Il-mok's waist suddenly let out a sword cry.