Chapter 371
Chapter 371
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 371
>Chapter Title: Who is the Evil One? (1)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
At the old man's words, Cheok Pae-myeong feigned a instinctive sense of foreboding as he brushed past him and hurried into Pingliang County.
Pingliang County, which had gained fame starting with the Medicine Exchange Tournament and the Co-operative Mountains, followed by tourism, music, and art. Contrary to its recently widespread renown, the place exuded an oddly desolate atmosphere.
Drifters from afar who had settled here, and ordinary folk who had lived mundane lives until recently developing an interest in music, poetry, or calligraphy.
Some of them played instruments or performed plays in the streets one by one, but the emptiness lingered nonetheless.
It was because the Hall of Arts—where all of Pingliang County's arts originated, beginning with the Medicine Exchange Tournament—had closed its doors.
"It seems the Demonic Cult bastards really fled."
Chief Strategist Gong Son-hyeon approached cautiously and said as much, whereupon the Alliance Leader nodded and infused his voice with inner energy as he shouted.
"The Demonic Cult bastards must have fled in fear of us! Therefore, we must immediately advance westward and wipe out those cowards in one fell swoop!"
Cheok Pae-myeong led the orthodox faction warriors westward for several days, finally arriving at Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu.
There stood the scriptures hall, which could be called the headquarters of the Maitreya Illuminated Cult, but not a single person who had cultivated demonic arts remained.
Maitreya Illuminated Cult warriors, missionaries who taught doctrine to the common folk, physicians who healed the common folk—all of them.
Only the commoners from Lanzhou who had occasionally acted as substitute teachers for money in their stead, along with female healers and musicians who were former courtesans, remained.
Even though the people of the Maitreya Illuminated Cult who had paid their salaries were all gone, they continued to stay at the scriptures hall, helping the common folk.
The common folk, too, even at this very moment, gathered at the scriptures hall, conversing together, reciting Maitreya Illuminated Cult hymns or doctrines to pass the time.
That is, until the orthodox faction warriors approached.
With over a thousand people surrounding the scriptures hall, they trembled in terror.
Watching the scene, Cheok Pae-myeong ground his teeth and shouted.
"They couldn't have fled too far!"
Having spoken, Cheok Pae-myeong moved to set off westward once more, but someone interjected with a counterargument.
"Alliance Leader, aren't you being too hasty?"
It was Mok Seon-ja, the sect leader of the Mount Hua Sect.
"Hasty? What do you mean by that?"
"It's plain to see—the Demonic Cult bastards have already fled to Xinjiang. Surely you're not planning to chase them all the way there?"
"If it's to exterminate the Demonic Cult bastards, of course we must."
"Ha ha ha. Your resolve is admirable, Alliance Leader, but empty chivalrous spirit is mere recklessness. You seem to be underestimating the Demonic Cult bastards."
At Mok Seon-ja's words, Cheok Pae-myeong had to swallow his curses inwardly.
'...So it comes to this after all.'
The orthodox factions gathered under the Martial Alliance banner only when there was a common enemy to fight.
Now that the enemy had fled, signs of the alliance splintering were already appearing.
"The Mount Hua sect leader is right. If we wish to strike the Demonic Cult, it would be best to wait for those who haven't joined yet and reorganize our ranks."
As Am Gak Jin-in, the sect leader of the Zhongnan Sect, stroked his beard and sided with Mok Seon-ja, Cheok Pae-myeong felt an inexplicable foreboding.
Mount Hua and Zhongnan were rivals, if not outright enemies.
They had always competed over the territory of Shaanxi Province, so this was only natural.
Yet, here these rivals were backing each other, which naturally aroused suspicions of their ulterior motives.
"Then, do the two sect leaders wish to sit here twiddling our thumbs, waiting for reinforcements?"
At Cheok Pae-myeong's question, the two sect leaders flashed affable smiles as they swept their gazes over the Maitreya Illuminated Cult's scriptures hall.
"Ha ha ha. Twiddling our thumbs? There's plenty to do here, Alliance Leader."
"Indeed. We must save the deluded mortals ensnared by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's false doctrines, mustn't we?"
But behind those affable smiles flickered flames of greed.
'Damn it...'
Cheok Pae-myeong easily discerned the two sect leaders' intentions.
Shaanxi Province bordered Gansu. In other words, if the Maitreya Illuminated Cult vanished, Mount Hua and Zhongnan could absorb its territory outright.
It seemed Mount Hua and Zhongnan had agreed in advance to divide the Maitreya Illuminated Cult's territory rather than fight each other.
As if to prove Cheok Pae-myeong's deduction, Mok Seon-ja and Am Gak Jin-in simultaneously shouted to their disciples.
"Seize the Demonic Cult's lackeys here immediately and interrogate them!"
"Not a single detail about the Demonic Cult bastards can be overlooked!"
As the Mount Hua and Zhongnan disciples moved at their sect leaders' commands, Huang Bo-ak, who had been watching, could no longer hold back and stepped forward.
"What is the meaning of this! Those are innocent common folk!"
"Huangbo Family Head, what are you saying? Innocent common folk? They are the ones who fell for the Demonic Cult bastards' doctrines."
"Since when does a victim who was tricked by a swindler (骗子) suffer the same punishment as the culprit?"
To Huang Bo-ak's logical retort, Mok Seon-ja replied.
"Ha ha ha. A swindler like some two-bit charlatan is nothing like the Demonic Cult. How can we trust those who fell for the Demonic Cult's doctrines?"
"But they haven't even learned any martial arts."
"Even if they haven't learned martial arts, they might still pass our information to the Demonic Cult, no?"
With those words, Mok Seon-ja added with a sinister smile at the end.
"Your constant interference is quite suspicious. Could it be that the Huangbo Family is still in league with the Demonic Cult?"
The gazes of the nearby orthodox faction warriors turned simultaneously toward Huang Bo-ak.
As suspicious stares focused on him, Huang Bo-ak ground his teeth to suppress his anger.
In that instant, as he quelled his rage and pondered, Huang Bo-ak decided to exploit the prejudice against him.
Snorting heavily with flared nostrils, Huang Bo-ak shouted with a face full of fury.
"Hmph! I don't know about all that complicated stuff! All this family head knows is one thing: we mustn't torment innocent common folk!"
Tension rippled through the area as Huang Bo-ak exuded the air of one ready to strike at any moment.
At that very moment, Yang Mu-ja, the sect leader of the Hyeong Mountain Sect, approached Huang Bo-ak's side and spoke.
"This sect leader agrees with the Huangbo Family Head as well."
He had stepped forward not out of admiration for Huang Bo-ak's eloquence.
He had simply seen through the intentions of Mount Hua and Zhongnan.
'You think I'll let scum like you take this fine prey?'
From the perspective of Hyeong Mountain, which had only recently secured a seat at the table among the Nine Great Sects, it could not allow Mount Hua and Zhongnan to grow further.
Unlike when Huang Bo-ak alone—an absolute master, though solitary—had opposed them, with Yang Mu-ja joining in, the sect leaders of Mount Hua and Zhongnan showed signs of difficulty.
The two old Daoists exchanged glances, transmitted some message via sound transmission, and then spoke.
"Then you two stay here and monitor them. We must ascertain whether they are truly pitiable common folk or wicked minions who fell for the Demonic Cult's false doctrines and became their lackeys, mustn't we?"
"We will scout other counties for Demonic Cult lackeys until the other sects and families arrive in Gansu."
It was tantamount to saying they would seize the other counties around Lanzhou first.
Before Huang Bo-ak and Yang Mu-ja could press further, they turned on their heels and left the Maitreya Illuminated Cult's scriptures hall with their disciples.
As about a third of their fellow travelers departed, Cheok Pae-myeong and Gong Son-hyeon ground their teeth.
From the outset, the alliance had split into two factions, making everything feel off-kilter.
* * *
Golang County, Gansu Province.
The place where Il-mok had first used the name Maitreya Illuminated Cult.
The common folk living there were currently in utter chaos.
The rumor had spread across the Central Plains that the Maitreya Illuminated Cult, which had saved them, was in fact the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Upon hearing this, the people divided into three broad groups: those wandering in confusion, unsure what to do, and those enraged at having been deceived.
"Haa..."
"What are we to do..."
"What do you mean? We're about to be lumped in with those heretics!?"
And finally, those who still boasted unwavering faith.
"Don't spout such heretic nonsense! When we were tormented by those mongrel dogs of the Red Silk Squad, who stepped up to help us? Those so-called orthodox factions didn't lift a finger, and the officials just stood by gawking!"
Some among them were those who had attended the faith education center and already knew the true identity of the Maitreya Illuminated Cult.
"It doesn't matter to me if they're Maitreya Illuminated Cult or Heavenly Demon Divine Cult! They protected my daughter from being sold off! How could I betray such people!?"
"They taught illiterate wretches like us how to read, and shared food with us during the lean months! You expect me to betray the ones who kept my children from starving to death!?"
At their cries, the other residents of Golang County flushed with shame and bowed their heads deeply.
Such scenes were not unique to Golang County. Wherever the Maitreya Illuminated Cult's influence had reached—in Gansu and northern Sichuan—the same sights unfolded.
Those pricked by conscience at their devout cries split into two groups: those who returned to the Maitreya Illuminated Cult branch division with the faithful to pray daily, and those too fearful to step forward but who now hung their heads in shame wherever they went.
Then one day, Daoists clad in robes emblazoned with plum blossom patterns appeared in Golang County.
They went straight to the Maitreya Illuminated Cult branch division and swung their weapons at the followers.
"They're in league with the filthy Demonic Cult bastards. Don't let a single one escape—subdue them all."
At Mok Seon-ja's order, the Mount Hua Sect disciples mercilessly swung their swords.
Some were struck by the flat of blades and had their bones broken—those were the lucky ones. Others had limbs severed, and a few even died.
The Mount Hua Sect began interrogating the captured Maitreya Illuminated Cult followers, and went on to scour Golang County, ransacking commoners' homes like combs.
"Pocketing the filthy wealth handed out by Demonic Cultists! These folk are no different from Demonic Cultists themselves!"
They began plundering the wealth, rice, and other goods the Demonic Cult had distributed to aid the common folk.
In the face of their tyranny, the plundered common folk harbored the same thought.
'Maitreya, please!! Save us once more!!'
'Maitreya comes. Salvation for all. Maitreya comes. Salvation for all.'
They desperately hoped their departed savior would return.
* * *
Hami, Xinjiang.
The village closest to the Jade Gate Pass, the border between Gansu Province and Xinjiang. It was there that Il-mok and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult warriors were.
They planned to hold position here, monitor developments in Gansu, and if the orthodox faction fools rashly crossed into Xinjiang, retreat to the rear and lure them deep into Xinjiang.
Conversely, if the orthodox faction fools did not cross into Xinjiang, they would communicate with the Beggars' Sect, Wudang, or the Huangbo side to solidify the alliance before moving.
After several days of monitoring Gansu while resting.
Fresh intelligence arrived, crumpling Il-mok's expression.
'I misjudged them.'
Il-mok knew there were many hypocrites among those who called themselves the orthodox faction.
But as hypocrites, he had expected them to at least show some restraint.
Places directly or indirectly operated by the Maitreya Illuminated Cult: Lanzhou's scriptures hall, Pingliang County's Hall of Arts, or the various pleasure houses in assorted counties.
He had anticipated they would seize and operate those. But he had never imagined they would torture common folk indiscriminately and plunder every bit of wealth they themselves had distributed to help them.
Il-mok squeezed his eyes shut at the grim report from the messenger, then opened them to see his comrades.
Four maidservants, Seo Wan-pyeong who had rejoined under Wi Jin-hak's orders, Gu Yang-mun and Dam Bin who had been with them since Lanzhou, Baek Cheon who had hastily withdrawn from Pingliang County, and others.
The mid-level experts who had heard the news gazed at Il-mok with eyes filled with the same emotion.
In response to their looks, Il-mok rose to his feet and spoke.
"Tell them to prepare for battle immediately."
At Il-mok's command, everyone present broke into smiles.
Smiles brimming with killing intent and demonic energy.