Chapter 244 : Sichuan (1)
Chapter 244: Sichuan (1)
With the gambling operators taken care of, Il-mok and his crew headed over to the Hall of Arts.
Since the Orthodox Faction’s young warriors were gone, Ouyang Mun, Ju Seo-yeon, and Hyeokryeon Seon-ah met up with them. They slipped in through a back door that only Maitreya Luminous Cult members used, and soon the rest of the team staying in Pingliang joined the meeting.
Once everyone had gathered, Il-mok gave them a quick rundown of what had happened at the estate.
"Those guys were from a group called the Black Island Gang in Guangyuan County, Sichuan Province. So I'm thinking we should pay that Guangyuan County a little visit."
"Do you plan to go there personally?" Jin Hayeon asked, sounding a bit surprised.
Even though he handled the raid today, Il-mok usually wasn't the type who liked doing the legwork himself.
"If we just leave scum like that alone, they'll keep pulling shit like this. Better to clean them up sooner rather than later," Il-mok replied with a casual shrug, like he had no choice in the matter.
"Besides, the whole thing is suspicious. I need to check it out myself to see who's pulling the strings, and I don't have anyone else to send. Third Brother is too busy chasing spies."
The small fries they'd caught today were just following orders from the Black Island Gang's leader, but who knew what was really going on behind the scenes?
The reason the Black Island Gang’s boss had specifically set up a gambling den in Pingliang County might've been because the Hao Clan had fed them some information.
And if the Hao Clan was involved, Il-mok had one more item on his to-do list.
"Might as well kill two birds with one stone. Since we're going, I figure we should start our missionary work there as well."
They couldn't just keep playing defense against the Hao Clan's schemes forever.
On top of tracking down the spies, Il-mok planned to start nibbling away at their territory, bit by bit.
'Our working conditions are way better than the Hao Clan's, so the courtesans and waiters will probably defect to us on their own. Just by spreading the word, we can bankrupt their business. It's killing two birds with one stone. Wait, if we're converting the girls too, does that count as three birds?'
While Il-mok was plotting how to give the Hao Clan a good beating, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult members, led by Dam Bin and Jin Hayeon, dropped to one knee before him.
"We were fools not to see your great vision, Young Master."
"The Lord of Ten Thousand Demons back at headquarters will be thrilled."
"The Heavenly Demon Descends! Ten Thousand Demons Obeys!"
They believed that this expedition was the first step to conquer Sichuan.
When Il-mok finally realized what they were thinking, he gave an awkward smile.
'Are they insane? Why would I try to conquer Sichuan? There are three massive powerhouses sitting on top of that place!'
The Sichuan Tang Family, the Emei Sect, and the Qingcheng Sect. One of them is from the Seven Great Families, while the other two are from the Nine Sects and One Gang.
Maybe the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult could handle them, but trying to take on all three with the Maitreya Luminous Cult's strength would be suicide.
Il-mok just wanted to do some recruiting and mess with a few of the Hao Clan's brothels. But he couldn't exactly tell that to these fanatics who looked like they were ready for a holy war.
While Il-mok was pondering what to do about this...
"P-please take me with you too, Y-Young Master."
A tiny voice, barely louder than an ant crawling, echoed through the room.
Since everyone there had trained in martial arts, no one missed that small voice.
Il-mok and everyone else turned toward where the sound had come from.
"What are you talking about, Miss Jeong?"
There stood a woman in men's clothing with a face pale as a ghost.
She looked like she was about to faint from receiving everyone’s attention.
"Miss Jeong, don't you need to stay here as the Jade Sword Young Master?"
Jeong Hyeon frantically shook her head from side to side.
"I-I don't think I c-can do it anymore."
Seeing her manage to squeeze out her words despite the crushing weight of everyone’s gaze, Il-mok looked proud of her progress.
"Oh! Look at how much you've grown, Miss Jeong. See? Being the Jade Sword Young Master has really toughened you up."
When people applauded in agreement with Il-mok's praise, Jeong Hyeon muttered softly with a pale face.
"P-please... s-save me..."
***
The next day, Il-mok and his group left Pingliang County and headed south.
Much to Jeong Hyeon's relief, she was included in that group.
It was thanks to Il-mok being deeply moved by her courageous plea that she had poured her very life and soul into.
The Jade Sword Young Master, the most popular figure in the theatrical duels, disappeared in a flash, but that was a problem for the people staying behind.
Whatever. The actor was going to change eventually.
As the saying goes, the rear waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves.
With Jeong Hyeon joining the road trip, the meeting naturally turned to the show. How were they going to fill the gap she left? Interestingly enough, the solution came from the incident with the gamblers.
"We don't need to be so mysterious all the time. Why not have the actors form an actual sect? That way, when outsiders come in and cause trouble, the actors can step up as a vigilante group."
The core of Il-mok's proposal was to increase realism by punishing real villains rather than merely staging scripted sparring matches.
On top of that...
"I heard that punk from the Hebei Peng Family barged in and caused a scene! But if we play this right, we could actually use that to make the show even more entertaining!"
Baek Cheon came up with an interesting idea too.
His idea was to mix things up. Instead of just sticking to the script, they could have "intruders" crash the fights. Of course, the intruders would be part of the script too, but it would spice things up and keep the audience guessing.
'That idiot Peng Ji-gwang or whatever his name is actually turned out to be useful.'
Thanks to that bastard's interruption, they'd found the gambling operators quickly, and now they'd even figured out how to make the duels more entertaining. It was weird how things worked out.
As the group set up camp on a small hill near the border between Gansu and Sichuan, Il-mok chuckled to himself.
'I guess the saying that even dog shit has its uses is true.’
Il-mok spent a moment thinking back to their meeting when his expression soured.
A group of people was approaching where they were setting up camp.
It was those orthodox sects’ young warriors he'd seen before.
"We don't need dog shit right now," Il-mok muttered to himself.
While his companions looked confused by his mumbling, the young warriors had already arrived at their doorstep.
"Immeasurable Heavenly Lord."
Oddly enough, it was not Hwangbo Yeon but the young Taoist who stepped forward to address them this time. Maybe they figured a priest looked the least threatening.
"I am Taoist Un-baek of the Wudang Sect. We're planning to camp over there, so we just wanted to say hello so you wouldn't worry."
Ouyang Mun stepped up to answer instead of Il-mok.
"Do as you wish."
They were trying to keep their cover.
The only ones who had been at the manor were Il-mok, Dam Bin, and Jin Hayeon, and they had been wearing masks.
Il-mok had done all the talking by himself, and the difference in realms meant it wouldn't be easy for them to gauge their cultivation either.
As long as Il-mok keeps his mouth shut, they are safe.
After hearing Ouyang Mun's response, Taoist Un-baek withdrew, and they set up camp just a few yards away.
"Hahaha! Spending a night under the stars like this is an experience a warrior of the Jianghu should go through at least once!"
Watching Peng Ji-gwang bullshiting his way while trying to use his non-existent rizz on Hwangbo Sehui is tough for Il-mok’s eyes.
'So he was acting like a retarded son of a bitch just to impress her?'
The face of the woman from that day came to mind.
She was quite beautiful, but Il-mok isn’t particularly interested.
She didn't have the same aloof charm as Jin Hayeon, nor the same cuteness as Hyeokryeon Seon-ah.
Well, she definitely had her own unique appeal, but...
'A pretty face isn't everything. Yep.'
After spending time with a drop-dead gorgeous psychopath, Il-mok had come to think that as long as someone cleared a minimum threshold for looks, the rest didn't really matter.
Speaking of which, that gorgeous psychopath and Hyeokryeon Seon-ah were currently wearing veils to hide their faces.
Just like that woman over there, they were way too pretty to walk around showing their faces without attracting a crowd.
"Hahaha! What a shame! If there'd been some bandits on the mountain path, I would've given them a proper thrashing!"
After watching Peng Ji-gwang desperately trying to get the beauty's attention for a while, Il-mok turned his head to look at Ouyang Mun.
'Perhaps, I treated you too harshly.’
Compared to that loudmouth, Ouyang Mun was basically a gentleman.
But Il-mok didn't voice that thought out loud.
It would be a disaster if Ouyang Mun saw that idiot and got bolder. He might launch another confession attack on Jin Hayeon, and the aftermath would come crashing down on Il-mok himself.
While Il-mok and his group quietly finished their meal and rested, chatters continued to drift over from the other camp.
"The sky is clear tonight. The stars look great."
"Hoho. Can you read fortunes from the stars, Taoist Un-baek?"
"Haha. Astrology, is it? Well then, shall I try reading the heavens for you?"
The others were trying desperately to change the subject to get away from Peng Ji-gwang's retarded cringe-worthy flirting.
"Astrology is just making stuff up. It's all bullshit. Forget that useless stuff, Miss Hwangbo. I heard a really funny rumor."
And just like that, Peng Ji-gwang totally killed the vibe.
Il-mok was honestly amazed at Peng Ji-gwang’s hidden talent that should be kept hidden and turned his head to look at Jeong Hyeon.
"???"
When Jeong Hyeon made a confused expression, Il-mok sent her a telepathic message.
—Hang in there, Miss Jeong. You just have trouble speaking because of your anxiety. It's not like you have zero social skills.
—Wh-what do you mean by that?
She seemed baffled by the random pep talk, so Il-mok gestured toward Peng Ji-gwang with his eyes.
—See that? Not knowing when to shut up or what to say, that's what we call having zero social skills. Look at him and feel better about yourself.
Jeong Hyeon looked over at Peng Ji-gwang with a weirded-out expression.
***
Early the next morning, Il-mok and his group set out on their journey first to avoid getting tangled up with those young warriors.
After traveling by carriage for half a day straight, they managed to reach Guangyuan County around sunset.
The first place they headed was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's branch office.
Just as in Gansu Province, there were several branch offices in Sichuan, and fortunately, Guangyuan County was home to one of them.
"I greet the Eighth Disciple of the Supreme One!"
Il-mok nodded at the Branch Leader's enthusiastic welcome and got straight to business.
"Is there a gang called the Black Island Gang around here?"
"Yes, there is. They're a group of Black Path thugs who practically control Guangyuan County."
"How strong are they?"
"The gang leader and deputy gang leader are both Peak Realm masters, and there are easily over fifty martial artists belonging to the Black Island Gang."
After listening to the briefing, Il-mok asked something that had been bugging him.
"I see. But how can a Black Path thugs openly control an entire county in Sichuan, when there are three major Orthodox powers here?"
"The conflicts between the Tang Family, Emei Sect, and Qingcheng Sect have been intensifying over the past few years. As a result, all three sects have their attention focused on the area around Chengdu, and in the meantime, Black Path thugs have been establishing footholds one by one in remote places like this, but..."
The Branch Leader trailed off, seeming to ponder for a moment before adding more.
"As we've been compiling information circulating among the Cult's branch offices in Sichuan Province, we've detected a strange pattern."
"What kind of strange pattern?"
"We can't be certain yet, but it looks like some of these gangs are actually being backed by those three big sects."
At this unexpected news, Il-mok's forehead creased into a deep frown.