Chapter 300
Chapter 300
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 300
>Chapter Title: The Cult of Evil (5)
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‘Miss Jin!!! I had no idea you were such a loose-lipped woman!!’
While Il-mok vented his frustration at Jin Ha-yeon inwardly.
The Heavenly Demon, who had been looking at him with admiration, spoke up.
“But youngest, why haven’t you shared such a brilliant idea until now? If the Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord hadn’t stepped forward, I might have overlooked it.”
“T-That’s…. It’s such a daunting goal that I hesitated to mention it casually before you, Master.”
Il-mok barely scraped together an excuse and replied, prompting Wi Jin-hak to burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha. A real man should harbor grand dreams. How impressive it is to see your ambitions on such a grand scale. If anyone dares mock your dreams, just tell your senior brother here. I’ll chop off their head for you.”
“Heh heh heh. No need to worry, Jin-hak. You’ve already sensed it yourself, but our youngest is no longer someone who’d come back battered from anywhere.”
“Hahaha. Indeed, Master. This foolish senior brother of mine only reached Transcending Demon in my mid-forties thanks to the youngest’s help, yet he’s already achieved it. No wonder—a man with such lofty dreams grows swiftly.”
“You’re right. Sending our youngest to the Western Regions this time might just be one of the finest decisions of this old man’s life. His worldview has broadened, and he’s attained Transcending Demon, after all.”
The Heavenly Demon and Wi Jin-hak lavished praise on Il-mok to the point where the term “favoring the youngest” fit them perfectly.
The weight of their golden words was so heavy that Il-mok could barely lift his head.
‘…I don’t want to unify the world under the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult or anything like that.’
Just traveling back and forth between Shaanxi and Merv in the Western Regions was enough to make him want to vomit, let alone world conquest.
At that moment, the chuckling Heavenly Demon seemed to recall something and alternated his gaze between Il-mok and Wi Jin-hak as he spoke.
“Oh dear. Considering the youngest’s goal, it won’t do to simply teach those fellows the Central Plains tongue and call it a day.”
Wi Jin-hak wore a puzzled expression, wondering what he meant.
‘No way….’
Il-mok caught on and inwardly prayed it wasn’t so, keeping his head bowed.
But the wise Heavenly Demon had arrived at the exact same thought as Il-mok.
He had unwittingly booked tickets for that hellish express train Il-mok had tried to skip out of laziness.
“To spread our Divine Cult’s doctrines across the world, we must translate our scriptures and tenets into the languages of other lands, mustn’t we?”
And the passengers on that train were the former slaves—and the Doctrine Hall.
“From now on, the Doctrine Hall shall not only teach them the Central Plains language and our doctrines but also have them learn the tongue of the blue-eyed foreigners in reverse. For the day we spread our teachings to their homelands.”
At the Heavenly Demon’s command, Doctrine Hall Lord Wi Jin-hak bowed deeply and replied with utmost reverence.
“For the day the whole world is dyed in our Divine Cult’s colors, I shall pulverize my bones and shatter my body in devotion!”
It was the moment when the very people brought in to lighten the Doctrine Hall’s load had doubled their workload.
Well aware of the culprit, Wi Jin-hak finished his bow, rose, and fixed his sparkling eyes on Il-mok.
“Together with our youngest.”
To Il-mok, those bloodshot eyes, weary from overwork, looked especially terrifying today.
‘…I need to bolt out of here as fast as possible.’
Though Il-mok had planned to rest at the main headquarters for a few days, it now seemed necessary to change his schedule and depart tomorrow.
* * *
The next day.
True to his own resolve, Il-mok promptly set out from the main headquarters with his group, heading east.
For some reason, O-hal-lak was among that group, while the Black Tiger Unit had been excluded.
Black Tiger Unit Leader Gu Yang-hyeok and his men had been assigned to establish an outpost near that previous river.
To link up with O-hal-lak’s tribe, those with whom they were already acquainted had no choice but to step up.
They couldn’t just wait idly for Il-mok’s return from the Central Plains, after all.
Having sent their severely wounded to the infirmary, the Black Tiger Unit planned to cross the desert once more with those who recovered quickly.
Upon hearing that Il-mok had just departed the main headquarters, the Heavenly Demon in Heavenly Demon Hall gazed east with a pleased expression.
“Heh heh heh. Working so diligently for the Divine Cult. The others should take a page from our youngest’s book.”
At the Heavenly Demon’s soliloquy, the Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord offered a salute and added,
“I feel the same, Sovereign of Ten Thousand Demons.”
While inwardly offering silent prayers for those who would be further ground down in comparison to Il-mok.
Meanwhile.
James and the former slaves were being led somewhere by the Black Tiger Unit members.
Upon arriving at a massive estate, they were greeted by none other than Wi Jin-hak, Sixth Young Master Jong-ri Chu, and members from the Doctrine Hall.
James, who had already met Wi Jin-hak at Heavenly Demon Hall the day before, startled and bowed to him.
“K-Kyoma-gakju-nim! Greetings!”
“Hahaha. Just as I heard—you pick up languages fast!”
As Wi Jin-hak burst into satisfied laughter, James, having bowed, whipped his head around and signaled urgently to the slaves behind him.
‘Hurry up and bow too!!’
Some caught on and mimicked James with awkward bows, but others just stood there blankly.
“You lot!”
A Black Tiger Unit member shouted in shock at the sight, but Wi Jin-hak intervened.
“Hahaha. They’re still clumsy with our etiquette and language, so let it slide for now.”
With that, Wi Jin-hak briefly introduced themselves to the former slaves.
“These are the instructors who will teach you our doctrines and language starting today.”
Finishing his words, Wi Jin-hak looked to James, who quickly stood, gesticulating wildly as he interpreted for the captives.
“You’ve probably heard already, but we have no intention of treating you as slaves. Just as the youngest promised, we’ll release you after five years—so help us until then.”
As James continued his near-performance-art interpretation, Wi Jin-hak, having finished his overview, turned to Sixth Young Master Jong-ri Chu.
“Then I’ll leave the rest to you. Sixth Junior Brother.”
“Thank you for entrusting it to me.”
It was something he’d learned from Il-mok.
Il-mok always devised grand plans before handing off the work to others.
‘Right. If you can’t trust others and try to do everything alone, you’ll never rise to lead them all. How did the youngest grasp such a vital truth from such a young age? Hahaha.’
Wi Jin-hak interpreted it as the quality of a leader who must guide others.
Never as a way to offload work—purely fulfilling his role as Pavilion Lord, he entrusted the task of instructing the slaves to Jong-ri Chu before departing.
“Alright then. With the mindset of teaching young children at an academy, let’s teach them the Central Plains language from the basics, one step at a time.”
Under Jong-ri Chu’s direction, the formal education began.
The prospective instructors from the Doctrine Hall proceeded with utmost kindness.
As if training to teach children they’d face in real combat.
“Heaven—cheon. Repeat after me. Heaven—cheon.”
Pointing at the sky with a finger, they taught pronunciation.
“Now, copy this character here once.”
They made them memorize characters to read and write as well.
Even when the slaves failed to grasp it and mangled the pronunciation, the instructors never raised their voices once.
Touched by their kindness—or rather, out of terror that letting his guard down here might lead to some horrific fate—James threw himself into the lessons with all his might.
‘Can’t let my guard down! This is the Cult of Evil!’
But unlike James, some were downright lazy.
“Yaaawn.”
They were fed well, allowed to sleep comfortably. Even promised freedom after five years.
For every person grateful for kindness, there’s always one who mistakes it for weakness.
‘That crazy Frenchman!?’
Led by that young Frenchman who had previously asked why he didn’t escape, a few slaves began openly showing their annoyance.
“Hm?”
Mid-explanation, Jong-ri Chu suddenly furrowed his brow and glared at some empty spot in the air.
‘What’s that? A fly?’
The moment James wondered as much.
“How dare an orthodox faction dog infiltrate this place!”
Jong-ri Chu suddenly yelled nonsense and wildly swung his sword, infused with sword qi, at the empty air.
“S-Sixth Young Master’s having a fit!”
“Restrain him!”
“Hurry and grab him!”
The instructors, diligently teaching the slaves, startled and rushed toward Jong-ri Chu in a panic.
Boom!
Slash!
Each time Jong-ri Chu and the instructors swung their weapons, the ground exploded around them, and people bizarrely flew through the air.
The terrified slaves huddled on the ground, heads bowed, not knowing what to do—like an earthquake had hit.
“Eek.”
“S-Save me.”
This went on for quite a while amid the sudden fierce battle during the lesson.
“Whew.”
Jong-ri Chu belatedly came to his senses, shook his head vigorously, then made a fist salute with a perfectly fine expression.
“Sorry for startling you.”
Even after that, every few days, Jong-ri Chu or one of the instructors would go berserk.
“Die!!”
“You bastard!!”
It was unavoidable. They were practicing kindness in preparation for teaching children later, but at their core, they were all psychopaths who cultivated demonic arts.
Teaching script to people who didn’t even speak the language naturally made their chests and guts feel tighter than usual, stirring their demonic arts.
“Gaaahhh!!”
When yet another instructor went berserk, Jong-ri Chu, who had kept his composure, chuckled and said,
“Hahaha. Pay it no mind. It’s commonplace in our Divine Cult.”
James gulped dryly at his casual words.
‘A place where stuff like this happens all the time….’
Confirming once more that this was undoubtedly a den of demons.
* * *
While the Doctrine Hall instructors at the main headquarters were busily teaching the former slaves.
After half a month of travel, Il-mok and his group arrived in Lanzhou, Gansu Province.
“Greetings, Eighth Young Master.”
“It’s been too long. Dam Team Leader.”
Reuniting after nearly three months, Dam Bin was heavily pregnant, almost full-term.
“Shouldn’t you set aside work and rest now?”
“Mun-rang’s taking good care of me, so I’m fine.”
So saying, Dam Bin leaned slightly against Gu Yang-mun beside her and smiled.
Il-mok smiled faintly at the lovey-dovey scene and asked Gu Yang-mun,
“How’s the Central Plains situation lately?”
Gu Yang-mun, whose face had flushed red just from her slight lean, cleared his throat and replied.
“The war between the Blood Cult and the orthodox factions continues as ever, but it’s taking some strange turns.”
“The orthodox bastards are still fighting among themselves, I see.”
“Yes. The Emei Sect and Hebei Peng Clan are still pressuring the Sichuan Tang Clan, and the clashes between mid- and small sects are nearly over…. But lately, the major powers have started moving one by one.”
“You mean the Nine Great Sects and Seven Great Clans?”
“Exactly. They’d held back due to watchful eyes from the Martial Alliance and others, but now they’re mimicking the smaller sects. Using the Blood Cult as an excuse, new forces are emerging that absorb or eradicate nearby mid- and small sects.”
Il-mok clicked his tongue lightly at Gu Yang-mun’s explanation.
‘I expected it, but they’re even worse than anticipated.’
For most, expanding their own power took precedence over crushing the mad Blood Cult dogs.
But thanks to that, their own operations had become easier—so life was full of unpredictabilities.
After listening to updates on the Central Plains from Gu Yang-mun and Dam Bin for a good while.
Having grasped the general situation, Il-mok issued orders.
“I’ve brought the massive fortune earned from the Western Regions, so use it to purchase goods to resell there—plus large quantities of rice and foodstuffs.”
The food was to provide daily sustenance for the Divine Cult followers in the barren Sin-gang region.
“It’ll take some time to prepare. Will you wait here in Lanzhou until then?”
At Dam Bin’s question, Il-mok openly showed his regret and shook his head.
“In the meantime, I have a place I need to visit.”
That was precisely why he had dragged O-hal-lak all the way back here.
For he planned to head to that vast grassland expanse in the north of the Central Plains, home to countless nomads.
“First, prepare some Sichuan Merchant Company masks.”
As the incarnation of Maitreya.