Chapter 491
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 491
Chapter Title: Please Do Not Forgive Me
Late at night.
Jeon Dok-u was still immersed in his work.
Thanks to the lanterns lit here and there and the night-luminescent pearls embedded in spots around the room, his office was bright even at night.
Thus, Jeon Dok-u could focus entirely on his paperwork.
Then, amid his work.
He noticed the shape of his shadow cast by the documents changing.
To be precise, another person's shadow had overlapped with his, altering the form.
Realizing this, Jeon Dok-u lifted his head.
"Working hard, are we? Have you sorted out that matter?"
"I greet the Messenger of the Cult."
Confirming the appearance of the man who had appeared out of nowhere, Jeon Dok-u rose from his seat and bowed deeply with respect.
"Answer my question."
"It has been resolved."
Jeon Dok-u replied confidently.
The messenger's face showed surprise.
He had urged him, but even he had thought it impossible.
His visit today was to inform him that one day had passed out of the seven days and nights allotted.
The intent was to keep pressuring Jeon Dok-u, forcing him to devote all his effort to completing the task.
Yet he had accomplished it in a single day.
"Well done."
The messenger tried to mask his astonishment and praised Jeon Dok-u with feigned composure.
"It is all thanks to the benevolence of the Heavenly Demon God."
With that reply, Jeon Dok-u turned, clasped his hands toward the small wooden altar, and bowed deeply.
The messenger did the same.
The Thousand-Armed Guanyin Statue with eight arms that Ha Mu-baek had seen.
"It is all due to the benevolence of the Heavenly Demon God. It is because the Heavenly Demon Guanyin resides here eternally."
The messenger spoke calmly.
Heavenly Demon Guanyin.
It meant the Heavenly Demon manifested in the form of Guanyin.
It was a key figure in proselytizing the cult, drawing deep faith from the common folk.
The doctrine claimed that for the sake of ending this chaotic world, the Heavenly Demon had descended as Guanyin.
Since Guanyin was already deeply rooted among the people, they instantly embraced the doctrine with fervent belief.
For the commoners struggling to survive day by day, this world deserved to meet its end.
"It is all thanks to the benevolence of the Heavenly Demon God."
Jeon Dok-u spoke with genuine sincerity, his eyes brimming with faith.
The task's success was due to his own efforts and cunning in visiting the construction guild.
Yet he fully accepted the messenger's words that it was all thanks to the Heavenly Demon God, displaying unwavering devotion.
This was a complete departure from the man Ha Mu-baek had seen at the inn earlier that day.
His eyes held only faith and conviction.
The intellectual, calculating gaze he usually showed, along with his raw greed for money, had vanished entirely.
"Good. Well done. The manor to be built on that site will play a crucial role in establishing the Heavenly Demon God's dominion over the world. Continue devoting all your effort to the work ahead."
With those words, the messenger faded away silently.
And Jeon Dok-u's eyes returned to normal.
He resumed his work with his usual composure.
"Hmph."
Atop the ceiling pillar.
Ha Mu-baek let out a muffled groan, having blocked all sound with his energy.
Earlier that day.
Having discovered the wooden altar cleverly hiding Seok Won-cho's presence here, he had been vigilantly scanning Jeon Dok-u's surroundings with his senses.
It was only natural that the stealthy approach of someone heading toward Jeon Dok-u would catch Ha Mu-baek's senses.
The trip from the inn's room to here had been instantaneous.
And he had overheard their entire conversation.
"Heavenly Demon God, huh."
A faint murderous intent flickered across Ha Mu-baek's face as he muttered.
"Definitely Demonic Cult bastards..."
What troubled Ha Mu-baek.
Was that he sensed no trace of demonic arts from this so-called messenger.
It wasn't hidden so deeply that even he couldn't detect it.
'He's never cultivated demonic arts.'
Yet with that speech, demeanor, and level of martial prowess.
After their defeat in the great war and deep retreat into hiding, it seemed they had changed their ways.
They called themselves a cult, but they were merely a band of armed rabble sowing chaos in the world.
Now, however, they had truly become the Demonic Cult.
A religious organization calling itself the Heavenly Demon God Cult.
But.
It wasn't purely a religious group.
Ha Mu-baek was certain some trickery had escaped his notice.
Otherwise, Jeon Dok-u's drastic change couldn't be explained.
'Some kind of sorcery, after all...'
Among the orthodox sects, Seonyugok reigned supreme in sorcery, but in the unorthodox and demonic paths, the Demonic Cult held that title.
There was no way the Demonic Cult would leave such sorcery unused.
They had actively researched and innovated it for this scheme.
No matter how fanatical one's faith, such an extreme transformation wasn't normal.
But Ha Mu-baek couldn't identify the sorcery used on the Demonic Cult's messenger.
For all his prowess, he was a novice in sorcery.
He could resist it, but analyzing and dispelling it was another matter.
Two days remained until the inn's family departed Luoyang.
It was already past midnight, nearing the hour of the tiger.
'Let's see, then.'
Ha Mu-baek glanced at Jeon Dok-u, then pursued the messenger who had just vanished.
The messenger moved swiftly, utterly unaware that Ha Mu-baek was tailing him.
A small manor on the outskirts of Luoyang.
He slipped into its largest main hall, with Ha Mu-baek following soundlessly.
There stood a massive wooden statue.
An enlarged version of the small one in Jeon Dok-u's office.
The statue they called the Heavenly Demon Guanyin.
The messenger prostrated himself repeatedly before it, muttering incantations.
As if reciting some spell.
This main hall rivaled a temple's grand sanctuary.
'And Elders Gong Son and the scholar missed this?'
Ha Mu-baek grimaced, utterly baffled.
Observing a bit longer.
By late tiger hour, early rabbit hour.
He sensed numerous presences converging on the manor.
All common folk.
No traces of martial arts training, let alone demonic arts.
They merely prostrated themselves earnestly before the statue, just like the messenger.
'Those guys?'
Ha Mu-baek spotted familiar faces.
The laborers and craftsmen who had eaten early breakfast at the inn.
'Heh.'
It was absurd.
According to Head Chef Gong, Jeon Dok-u had meddled with the construction guild, causing these workers to stop patronizing the inn.
Yet Jeon Dok-u and these men worshipped the same statue.
The messenger could have easily ruined the inn if he wanted, but he hadn't.
'Thorough compartmentalization.'
In other words, Jeon Dok-u was unaware that these men worshipped the same entity he did.
About half a shichen passed.
The crowd filling the main hall dispersed in all directions.
Without greetings or any interaction.
Watching silently, it was even eerie.
Their mechanical, emotionless movements.
'Just like zombies...'
The first thing that came to mind was zombies.
Soon the manor emptied again.
No permanent residents.
Only the messenger remained.
As dawn broke, he locked the main hall's doors and headed to an annex.
Around then, a few people entered the manor.
By their attire, hired laborers.
They moved straight to their tasks with practiced ease.
Having seen this much, Ha Mu-baek vanished silently.
Soon after, he returned to his room at the inn, descending to the first-floor dining area as if just waking.
The inn family bustled about despite knowing no guests would come.
And with only two days until departure, they tended the place like their cherished home.
Spotting Ha Mu-baek descending, Eun Cheong-seon headed to the kitchen.
Soon Head Chef Gong and Gong Yeop-myeong appeared.
"Guest, we are truly sorry."
Gong Yeop-myeong bowed deeply before Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek eyed him questioningly.
"You probably saw and heard everything yesterday, but we've sold the inn. We got three days' grace, so we'll run it until tomorrow, and from the day after, it belongs to Jeon Merchant Group. They'll likely demolish it. That means you'll have no place to stay, so I don't know how to apologize."
He offered a small pouch.
A rough cloth one.
"This covers everything you've spent eating and resting here. I know it's rude, but we'll refund it all. Please do not forgive us. And curse me if you wish."
He bowed deeply again.
When had they approached?
Eun Cheong-seon, and even Gong Hae-bin and Gong Hae-jun, bowed alongside their parents.
But Ha Mu-baek merely looked at them, not reaching for the pouch.
"Guest?"
Gong Yeop-myeong looked puzzled.
Ha Mu-baek smiled warmly, then composed himself as Gong Yeop-myeong started to lift his head.
"What a coincidence."
"Pardon?"
"I was planning to finish up here today and leave tomorrow anyway."
"Pardon?"
Gong Yeop-myeong couldn't help asking again, despite the impropriety.
It was too coincidental to be chance.
As if deliberately leaving tomorrow to spare them concern.
"Guest, you needn't go out of your way worrying about us..."
Ha Mu-baek shook his head, cutting him off.
"Make no mistake—I'm leaving tomorrow."
He stated firmly.
"Guest..."
Gong Yeop-myeong trailed off.
"So no need to return that. You haven't done anything unforgivable. On the contrary, I've rested comfortably and eaten well, so I should thank you."
Gong Yeop-myeong was speechless.
"I need a wash. Could I have some thin noodles and stir-fried gongsimchae? Oh, and half a roasted chicken if available."
He headed straight to the bathhouse.
As if deliberately giving them space.
But what the Gong family hadn't considered: the bathhouse had only cold water.
It was early morning; they hadn't heated it yet.
No issue for Ha Mu-baek, though.
After washing leisurely, he returned to the first floor.
About one ke passed.
His ordered dishes were plentifully arrayed at his seat.
He ate heartily.
"That was delicious."
Then he left the inn again.
His senses already blanketed all of Luoyang, so his destination was one place.
The manor on the outskirts.
He needed to watch it more.
The messenger chanted incantations before a small Heavenly Demon Guanyin statue in an annex room.
Circulating his internal energy as he did.
'Orthodox sect martial arts.'
A technique from an orthodox sect the Demonic Cult had wiped out in the last war.
He was passing it on.
The chants were unremarkable.
The Buddhist Thousand Hands Sutra, crudely altered.
Using another faith's scripture bastardized like this revealed their impure motives from the start.
The laborers bustled, but avoided the main hall and annex.
"What are you muttering so fervently?"
Someone emerged from hiding, footsteps thudding deliberately.
"Who goes there!"
The startled messenger unleashed his full internal energy, whirling around.
"Me? The one who'll exterminate you lot."
Ha Mu-baek grinned at the messenger.