Chapter 269
Chapter 269
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 269
>Chapter Title: Plague (4)
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No One Held a Knife to Your Throat Chapter 269
The Martial Alliance Leader's invitation to join the Alliance.
From the perspective of Il-mok, the Eighth Young Master of the Demonic Cult, it was an utterly absurd situation.
Naturally, the thought of how ridiculous it was came first, but he quickly composed his emotions and sorted through his thoughts.
‘Infiltrate the Martial Alliance and act as a spy?’
It wasn’t a bad option. Penetrating from the inside would be far more advantageous than gathering information from the outside.
However, Il-mok soon realized it was a bad move.
‘Even if there were incidents with the Blood Cult and the Tang Clan, the timing is too sudden.’
On top of that, the Alliance Leader had tested them with that initial surprise attack.
‘He doesn’t trust us.’
If they joined the Martial Alliance in the midst of this, there was a risk that their own information could leak to the Alliance instead.
And if their connection to the Demonic Cult were ever discovered, all their accumulated efforts would go up in smoke.
In Il-mok’s view, refusal was the best choice, but even that wasn’t easy.
He kept apologizing profusely and using a gentle tone, so it didn’t show, but.
Just looking at that initial surprise attack, the invitation to join was practically a threat.
Accepting the invitation to join or refusing it.
With both options looking like bad moves, Il-mok chose a third path.
“I’m sorry, but joining the Martial Alliance right now doesn’t seem like the right time.”
He chose to put it on hold.
And this choice had its own justification.
“As you can see, our Maitreya Illuminated Cult is barely managing to care for the plague patients, so it would be difficult to undertake anything with the Alliance.”
The Alliance Leader seemed somehow unconvinced, furrowing his brow slightly as he stroked his beard and replied.
“Isn’t that a job for physicians and the authorities? Of course, your Maitreya Illuminated Cult’s compassion for the common folk is admirable, but to my eyes, it’s like using a famed sword as a dining knife. Wouldn’t it be better to focus on what you do best?”
To the Alliance Leader’s point, Il-mok replied in an indifferent tone.
“That’s why we’re prioritizing the plague. This plague was spread by the Blood Cult.”
“!?”
This time, even the Alliance Leader hadn’t anticipated it, and for the first time, Cheok Pae-myeong’s face showed genuine bewilderment.
“What do you mean? The Blood Cult?”
“The Blood Cult used sorcery to hide jiangshi in the stream. The plague spread due to the poison qi and curses from those jiangshi. It seems like revenge for what happened at Mount Baekhak.”
“Hah. Jiangshi, you say.”
“If you don’t believe me, I can show you the jiangshi.”
“…….”
While the Martial Alliance Leader organized his thoughts in response to the unexpected situation, Il-mok pressed his advantage.
“Our Maitreya Illuminated Cult agrees with what you said, Alliance Leader. We must stop the rivers of blood that the Blood Cult will cause, mustn’t we? So for now, we have no choice but to prioritize caring for the plague patients here.”
“Hah. But you martial artists—how do you plan to treat the plague? Especially one created by the Blood Cult’s sorcery.”
At his point, Il-mok shrugged lightly.
“We got lucky. Thanks to helping with Yunbaek Dojang, the Wudang Clan gave us a fine gift: three Small Azure Pills.”
“…From the Wudang Clan?”
This was information he hadn’t heard either, and a subtle change appeared on the Alliance Leader’s face.
“That’s right. If you don’t trust me, ask the Wudang Clan to confirm. Besides, our Maitreya Illuminated Cult has physicians too. Using the effects of the Small Azure Pills, we can certainly manage the plague, though it may take time.”
After Il-mok’s response, the Alliance Leader stroked his beard as if organizing his thoughts, then spoke.
“If that is the will of the Maitreya Illuminated Cult, then so be it. We’ll consider today’s meeting as a sufficient greeting and take our leave. Whenever you have the leisure, think about joining the Alliance.”
With that, the Alliance Leader departed with light, unburdened steps, showing no lingering attachment.
Il-mok watched his retreating figure for a moment.
Just as he was nearly out of sight, a transmission entered Il-mok’s ear.
- Is it alright to just let the Alliance Leader go like this, Young Master?
It was Dam Bin’s transmission.
- It’s fine. With our current forces, fighting him would only lead to our annihilation.
- …Then I shall pursue him and send word to the main headquarters.
- By the time reinforcements arrive from headquarters, he’ll already be back at the Alliance. And even with Team Leader Dam Bin’s stealth techniques, fooling him won’t be easy.
At Il-mok’s firm response, Dam Bin’s transmission cut off.
Having roughly sorted the situation, Il-mok let out a light sigh.
“Whew.”
He hadn’t shown it, but throughout the conversation, he’d felt suffocated.
Composing himself, Il-mok turned his head and looked around the hall.
The residents of Nanzhu who had come running at the commotion, or the mild plague patients inside the hall, were all watching him.
Their faces filled with worry.
‘Human affairs are unknowable, even when you think you know them. This time, they ended up saving us instead.’
If he’d wanted, he could have killed him, but Il-mok had been able to respond confidently because of them.
‘His reaction back then too—he didn’t show it, but he was a man who cared about his reputation.’
Perhaps it was only natural. As the head of a force claiming to be righteous, he had no choice but to care about justification.
The only difference was whether he cared about justification out of true righteousness or merely used it as a hypocrite to manipulate the masses.
‘Would the Martial Alliance Leader come to behead the leader of a group tending to plague patients in broad daylight?’ Those words weren’t just to drive away the Demonic Cultists.
He’d phrased it like mocking the other out of offense, but it was also to test him.
And through the conversation so far, Il-mok had learned one fact.
‘He’s a man with ideology similar to the Flying Dragon Hall Leader.’
He saw no issue with sacrificing a few for the greater good.
He’d spoken as if fighting the Blood Cult was more important than caring for plague patients.
Just as the Alliance Leader had probed the Maitreya Illuminated Cult with his initial surprise attack, Il-mok had gleaned some information about him in return.
Naturally, the Alliance Leader’s parting words came to mind.
- We’ll consider today’s meeting as a sufficient greeting and take our leave.
It wasn’t that the implication of possibly returning bothered him. Rather, the part about being satisfied with the greeting stuck with him.
It felt like, at the very least, his curiosity had been sated.
‘For now, it’s a draw.’
Not a particularly pleasant outcome. A draw in name, but the initiative in power lay with them.
Of course, comparing to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult rather than the Maitreya Illuminated Cult, they held the advantage—but if the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult moved, they’d be fighting not just the Martial Alliance, but the entire Central Plains.
‘Should I hope the Blood Cult shakes up the Martial Alliance as much as possible?’
The thought surfaced first, but it wasn’t pleasing.
He didn’t want to cheer for the ones who’d spread the plague in Nanzhu.
As Il-mok pondered ways to screw over both sides at once, something came to mind.
‘Ah. That’s right, I have that.’
He still held an ace up his sleeve to turn the war between the Blood Cult and Martial Alliance into a total mess.
‘Now, when should I use it to make it stick properly?’
Before he knew it, Il-mok wore the expression of a true Demonic Cult Eighth Young Master.
* * *
Even after the unexpected visit from the Martial Alliance Leader, the Maitreya Illuminated Cult’s plague treatment proceeded without a hitch.
An Jeok-un and the sorcerers who had headed to the slum stream drove stakes into the ground nearby and strung up ropes to block people’s access, then performed sorcery to purify the stream.
“Hey, if you block it like this, what are we supposed to drink and wash with?”
Slum dwellers occasionally came to drink or wash in the stream, but they willingly invoked the Maitreya Illuminated Cult’s name.
“We’re from the Maitreya Illuminated Cult.”
“This stream is what spread the plague. If you don’t want to catch it, take this money and grab a cup of tea at a teahouse.”
With the already good reputation of the Maitreya Illuminated Cult in Nanzhu, plus a few coins thrown in, most backed off without complaint.
“Argh! Give me water! Or more money!”
Of course, among the slum dwellers, there were those with nothing to lose and no shame.
“Have you forgotten the grace the Maitreya Illuminated Cult has shown you? How can you act so shamelessly!”
“Hmph. Does shame put food on the table?”
When someone who approached to restrain the brazen slum dweller whispered in his ear, his attitude changed abruptly.
“Are you insane and trying to die? This is the Maitreya Illuminated Cult’s business. Get up quick. You might end up dead without anyone knowing.”
It was because of the Maitreya Illuminated Cult’s past actions.
Infinitely kind to the pitiful and the good, but merciless to those who obstructed their tasks or tormented the innocent.
Just like how they’d cleaned up the Nancheon Society and Haomen branches.
While the sorcerers blocked access with a bit of money and the Maitreya Illuminated Cult’s name and purified the stream.
Physician Seo Jae-pil succeeded in producing a decoction for treating the plague using the three Small Azure Pills.
They distributed it starting with those in critical condition and began full treatment, and gradually, patients’ symptoms started improving.
“Whew.”
Il-mok, who had pushed through near-sleepless days, let out a light sigh at the successive reports.
“At least we can breathe a little easier now.”
Dam Bin watched him with a smile. A smile full of admiration.
“It’s all thanks to Young Master’s grace.”
“I just flapped my lips—what did I really do?”
“Wasn’t it resolved thanks to Young Master’s swift decisions and instructions?”
The others nodded in agreement with Dam Bin’s words.
Among them, Physician Seo Jae-pil nodded most vigorously.
“To investigate the movements of all the infected, track down hidden carriers, and pinpoint the plague’s origin— even I, who studied medicine, never thought of such a method, Young Master. This is a vital case that must be reported to headquarters.”
It was the moment concepts like disinfectant alcohol, anesthesia, psychiatric treatment, and epidemiology took root in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
With everyone gazing at him like fanatics, Il-mok felt oddly like a cult leader and changed the subject.
“Ahem. How’s the stream situation?”
At Il-mok’s question, Branch Leader An Jeok-un replied with his usual impassive face.
“It’s more or less sorted. We removed the jiangshi at the source, so no more evil qi will accumulate, and since it’s flowing water, it’s naturally dispersing to some extent.”
“That’s a relief. Then now we just need to focus a bit on caring for the remaining patients until they’re fully cured…”
As Il-mok continued, about to end the meeting.
“Urp…”
Suddenly, Dam Bin made a retching sound and hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand.
At the sight, Il-mok and the others jumped in alarm.
“Physician Seo, hurry and check Team Leader Dam’s condition. She might have caught the plague.”
It was a highly suspicious situation.
Since ordinary people tending to plague patients could spread it further, only those who could handle internal energy had done so, and Dam Bin was no exception.
“I’ve been continuously expelling the poison qi with my internal energy, Young Master. There’s no way I caught the plague, urp…”
Dam Bin denied it as absurd, but retched again, prompting Physician Seo Jae-pil to rush over and take her pulse.
After examining her pulse for a moment, Seo Jae-pil tilted his head as if something was off.
“Sorry, but please bear with it just a bit longer, Team Leader Dam Bin.”
With that, Seo Jae-pil checked her back, abdomen, face, and other areas after her wrist, or observed her closely to assess her condition.
And as the examination continued, Physician Seo Jae-pil’s expression grew more complicated.
‘No way, did a mutation occur?’
Recalling the horrific pandemic he’d experienced in the modern world, Il-mok swallowed hard.
Finishing the examination, Physician Seo Jae-pil stepped back from Dam Bin and spoke.
Still with a complicated expression.
“Ahem… You’re pregnant.”
“!?”
Silence fell for a moment at Physician Seo Jae-pil’s out-of-left-field declaration.
The eyes of everyone gathered in the hall turned simultaneously toward Gu Yang-mun.