Chapter 272 : The King of Rats (1)
Chapter 272: The King of Rats (1)
The day after Il-mok met with the Left Commissioner, a group of constables showed up at the Maitreya Luminous Cult's estate with a cart loaded with several chests.
Il-mok, who'd been waiting at the estate, immediately opened the chests to find them packed full of silver taels and rice.
It was the reward the Left Commissioner had sent over.
Though to be fair, Il-mok hadn't asked the Left Commissioner for money as a reward.
That money was just a tool, nothing more.
After confirming the Left Commissioner had sent enough funds, Il-mok turned to the Maitreya Luminous Cult members who'd gathered around to watch and called out to them.
"You've all heard about the plague by now. That plague came from contaminated water, and our Maitreya Luminous Cult will now begin construction work following the Left Commissioner's orders! We're going to divide the waterways running through Lanzhou and separate the water used for drinking and cooking from the water that carries away waste!"
It was basically a sewage system project.
Since Il-mok hadn't been a civil engineering official in his modern life, he didn't know the specific methods or principles behind proper sewage construction.
He just planned to set up something primitive that would at least separate the two.
On top of that, he wanted to give the believers some work to do that is in line with the cult’s teaching of "a day without work is a day without food."
'I know the Blood Cult's sorcery started it, but honestly, living next to that shit-water would make anyone sick.'
It was inevitable that the slums ended up with the dirty river water.
People always live near water, and the rich and powerful always take the clean water upstream. That left the powerless poor stuck downstream to use dirty water that had already been used several times by others upstream.
The problem was that this led to slum residents getting sick, and those illnesses could spread to the entire city.
And this wasn't just Lanzhou's problem.
'The Xinjiang side will run into the same issue once the population grows and settlements expand.'
He'd need to do sewage construction work in Xinjiang to prepare for that day.
'The sewage work here can serve as practice.'
And so, Il-mok casually laid out plans that would one day grind the Demonic Cult members of Xinjiang under the wheels of labor.
After announcing the purpose of the construction and publicly crediting it all to the Left Commissioner's grace, Il-mok did what he always did, passing the actual work off to his subordinates.
"Pick out the people who want to work. Oh, and tell the sorcerers to map out the underground water flows in Lanzhou."
Since they didn't have modern tools, it was smarter to use sorcery to find the water veins and build along the natural water vein.
"Long live! Long live!"
"I had no idea the Left Commissioner cared about us so much!"
As the Maitreya Luminous Cult members celebrated and praised the Left Commissioner, Il-mok wore an indifferent expression.
He didn't mind giving the credit to the Commissioner.
'We've already established ourselves in Gansu Province anyway, so it's better to maintain good relations with the Left Commissioner.'
This was way more convenient than having the government constantly picking fights with them.
Thanks to this arrangement, work that should've emptied the Maitreya Luminous Cult's coffers was instead being funded by emptying the Left Commissioner's pockets.
***
While the Maitreya Luminous Cult was busily preparing for the sewage construction project.
"Left Commissioner, sir!"
People kept coming to see the Left Commissioner at the Provincial Office.
"Haa."
The Left Commissioner let out an irritated sigh and addressed the official who'd rushed to find him.
"Let me guess. You're here to talk about the Maitreya Luminous Cult?"
"Y-yes, that's correct."
While the official hesitated at the Left Commissioner's unexpected reaction, the Left Commissioner asked again.
"Did you also hear rumors somewhere that the Maitreya Luminous Cult is a seditious group?"
"...Y-yes, that's right."
When the man answered while stealthily hiding the letter he held behind his back, the Left Commissioner let out a blatant sigh and spoke.
"Get out."
Once that official scurried away like a rat, the Left Commissioner pulled out a brush and paper.
"I guess I can't just sit around and wait."
The Left Commissioner muttered to himself, recalling that sewage construction thing or whatever it was that the Maitreya Luminous Cult had started.
Truth be told, he didn't really understand what the project was supposed to be. To be precise, he did not know whether it could really prevent the plague or be of great help to the people.
But his reason for accepting it was simple.
Because with the right framing, the project seems like it could bring him great merit.
'Those who stopped the plague following the Left Commissioner's orders' were now undertaking construction to prevent future plagues and aid the people's livelihood.'
And since that construction was also being done under 'the Left Commissioner's orders,' it was a perfect story.
The Left Commissioner had never been someone who particularly cared about the people's livelihood.
If he cared, he would have done something when scums like the Heavenly Orchid Society terrorized Lanzhou.
He hadn't cared when the Society was causing chaos, and he'd stayed quiet when the Maitreya Luminous Cult pushed them out.
His reason for stepping up now was simple.
He'd caught the scent of 'achievement.'
Like most officials, his own promotion was his top priority.
The only difference was the size of his ambition.
Unlike those stupid officials who just schemed for bribes and offered those bribes up the chain in the hope of higher positions, he knew how to see the bigger picture.
That's how he'd managed to reach the rank of Left Commissioner, a second-rank position, and yet he still had his eyes set on climbing even higher.
'Sewage construction, was it? I thought this from the moment I heard they'd dealt with the plague, but those guys are going to be really useful.'
He had an intuition that the Maitreya Luminous Cult would be a huge help in getting him promoted.
He couldn't let some cheap slander ruin a valuable asset like that.
Swoosh.
Like a swordsman wielding his blade, he swept his brush across the paper and rapidly wrote letter after letter.
Some contained warnings that he wouldn't tolerate anyone spreading false rumors about the Maitreya Luminous Cult.
And on other papers, he eloquently detailed the excellent achievements the Maitreya Luminous Cult had accomplished following 'his orders.'
It was a way to protect the cult and brag about his own achievements at the same time.
***
Several days into the sewage construction funded by the Left Commissioner, a letter arrived for Il-mok.
[Found the rat's head.]
After reading the letter from his Third Brother, Il-mok summoned Dam Bin and Ouyang Mun to his quarters.
He showed them the letter and spoke.
"I'm leaving Lanzhou tonight."
"I'll prepare immediately."
Il-mok shook his head at Dam Bin's response.
"Squad Leader Dam Bin and Young Warrior Ouyang will remain here."
"Young Master. I know I'm pregnant, but my job is to serve you."
"That's exactly why I'm asking you to stay. If we all leave, the Hao Clan might catch wind of it. If the head that my Third Brother barely managed to find goes into hiding, who knows when we'll get another chance?" Il-mok countered.
"Then couldn't you leave others behind instead?"
I'm leaving you because I trust you the most. I need you to lead the Maitreya Luminous Cult while I'm gone. Especially the construction project, it's important for the Divine Cult."
When Dam Bin looked confused, Il-mok added more context.
He told her that Lanzhou was a practice for building a water and sewage system back in Xinjiang later.
"You're the only one I can trust with such an important task, Squad Leader Dam Bin."
After mulling it over for a moment, Dam Bin bowed her head respectfully.
"I will follow your will, Young Master. I'll make sure to record everything about the construction while you're gone so we can use it in Xinjiang."
"Good thinking."
After convincing Dam Bin, Il-mok turned to Ouyang Mun.
"Young Warrior Ouyang, you'll also remain here to assist Squad Leader Dam Bin. Miss Dam Bin will stay at the branch headquarters to receive reports, give instructions, and organize the progress, while Young Warrior Ouyang will travel between the construction site and the branch to make sure everything goes smoothly."
After looking back and forth between Il-mok and Dam Bin with a thoughtful expression, Ouyang Mun soon bowed his head.
"I'll do as you ask."
With those two settled, Il-mok called in the group who would strike at the Hao Clan Lord.
He gave them thirty minutes to get ready and instructed them to bring certain items.
Thirty minutes later, a dozen or so people slipped out of Lanzhou into the darkness.
***
After about ten days of travel, Il-mok and his group arrived at Nanning, the provincial capital of Guangxi.
It t was ridiculously far from where they originally planned to go since the Hao Clan Lord changed his locations regularly.
When Il-mok finally met up with Seo Wan-pyeong, who'd been steadily sending updates while pursuing the Hao Clan Lord, he clasped his fists and bowed respectfully.
"You've worked hard, Third Brother."
His already gloomy face looked far more gaunt than usual.
Tracking someone while staying hidden meant he couldn't eat, sleep, or even use the bathroom properly.
"When it comes to pursuit, there's truly no one in the Central Plains who can match you, Third Brother."
This time, it wasn't just an empty flattery to soothe his brother's paranoia.
It was genuine gratitude for his hard work.
"Hahaha! I'm glad I could help my capable youngest brother. But more than that, youngest, what on earth has happened that you have improved so much in such a short time?"
Seo Wan-pyeong once again felt amazed at Il-mok's growth.
He'd always thought his youngest brother was a genius, but at this point, it was on a completely different level.
When he'd started tracking the Hao Clan Lord, his youngest brother had been at a similar level to him, but now he couldn't even gauge his youngest brother's level anymore.
For Seo Wan-pyeong, who'd been too focused on tracking the Hao Clan Lord to learn the details of what had happened elsewhere, Il-mok roughly explained the recent events.
About the Heavenly Demon Secret Cave and the Blood Cult's scheme. And even his life-or-death duel with the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord.
"Not only did you find the remains of the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon, but you also completed your revenge! That's amazing!"
Seeing Seo Wan-pyeong's genuine happiness as if it were his own accomplishment, Il-mok also smiled warmly.
After briefly catching up on old times, they headed somewhere following Seo Wan-pyeong's lead.
Befitting the provincial capital of Guangxi, Nanning boasted a massive red light district. They waddled through the district and stopped before a location.
"The Hao Clan Lord is holed up in a private room in that place."
As Seo Wan-pyeong pointed to the brothel where their target was located, Il-mok nodded and examined the building.
"There are too many customers right now. We should rest and attack later."
He wanted to avoid hurting innocent people. Mostly because if anyone saw their faces, they’d have to kill them to keep their identities.
Il-mok and his group took rooms at an inn near the brothel where the Hao Clan Lord was staying and began resting.
Since they had time to rest, Il-mok shared various stories with Seo Wan-pyeong.
About the plague that broke out while Seo Wan-pyeong was tracking the Hao Clan Lord, about the Murim Alliance Leader's visit, and about his meeting with the Left Commissioner.
Each incident was significant, and since Seo Wan-pyeong kept expressing his amazement, the conversation naturally stretched on.
As time passed and it approached the end of the Hour of the Tiger (3-5 AM).
"I think it's time to start, Third Brother."
Seo Wan-pyeong nodded in agreement.
Right before sunrise, at the darkest part of the night, the perfect time to hunt dirty rats has finally descended.