Chapter 278 : Chaos (3)
Chapter 278: Chaos (3)
Il-mok was so shocked he couldn't speak, but Dam Bin took his silence the wrong way. She looked at him like he was a god.
"As expected of you, Young Master. I thought you just wanted to distract the Alliance, but to think you'd already seen this far ahead..."
With the Orthodox Faction fighting itself while chasing the Blood Cult, the Murim Alliance wouldn't have any breathing room to worry about the Maitreya Luminous Cult.
Maybe it’s because she’d seen him pull off so many crazy things before, she assumed this was all part of his master plan.
It was a total misunderstanding, but Il-mok decided to just roll with it.
"Ahem. Now that the Murim Alliance and the Blood Cult will be too busy punching each other for a while, we should focus on our own work.”
"You're right, Young Master."
"So then, how's the situation progressing in Lanzhou?"
Dam Bin pulled out a stack of papers as if she'd been waiting for him to ask. They were daily records documenting the progress of the water and sewage system construction.
As Il-mok skimmed through the pile she'd handed him, something crossed his mind. "Come to think of it, didn't you say the Hao Clan broke out in a civil war as well?"
"That's correct. Using the former Hao Clan Lord's death as an excuse, the Elders of the Hao Clan have been attacking each other."
"Hmm."
Il-mok stroked his chin briefly before setting down the stack of papers.
"Since construction is going smoothly, I think it's time to expand our territory."
While the rest of the world was busy waging war against each other, Il-mok decided to take advantage of the chaos and grow his cult. Basically, he wanted to eat the popcorn while everyone else put on the show.
"Are we going to start recruiting in other provinces?"
"Both the Murim Alliance and the Blood Cult will be too distracted to pay attention, so now seems like the perfect opportunity. Let's start with Qinghai and Northern Sichuan since they're close. I want to focus specifically on the red-light districts."
"Is this because of the Hao Clan's internal strife?"
Il-mok nodded and elaborated further. "That's part of it, but also because of our experience in Gansu Province. While there are some who became courtesans of their own volition, are there not many who were sold due to being in debt or kidnapped? When we pay off their debts and give them an education, they become our most loyal followers."
"A lot of information flows through drinking parties, so if we take over the red-light districts, we'll be able to gather all kinds of intelligence from across the Central Plains, just like we did with the Hao Clan. It'll definitely be a huge help to our Divine Cult."
***
Deep within the treacherous mountains, somewhere in the Central Plains.
A man in black robes came to find the Blood Cult Leader once again after hurriedly gathering information scattered across the region.
Upon hearing the bizarre rumor that his cult had attacked the Hao Clan Lord, the Blood Cult Leader had ordered a thorough investigation to trace the rumor's source.
"What did you find?" The Blood Cult Leader questioned the man prostrating before him.
"...It is said that everyone in the brothel where the Hao Clan Lord resided was found dead, their blood essence drained, resembling mummies. Furthermore, several ritual tools and talismans appearing to belong to our Blood Cult were found at the scene."
"...Are you telling me there were fools who moved against my orders to lay low?"
The man in black robes shook his head frantically and cried out.
"That's impossible! After investigating everything, we confirmed that no one in our cult attacked the Hao Clan Lord."
"So, someone framed us."
"...That's correct." The man swallowed his saliva in fear as he answered.
But what came back wasn't a reprimand or curse, but a laugh of disbelief.
"Ha. Unbelievable."
He was used to tricking the Alliance, but he'd never been tricked like this before.
"Did the Murim Alliance kill the Hao Clan Lord and blame it on us?"
The Blood Cult Leader naturally arrived at that conclusion.
"The Orthodox Faction has its share of Taoists and sorcerers. Plus, they would've collected the artifacts we couldn't clean up at Mount Baihe, so faking our sorceries wouldn't be hard for them."
And it wasn't just Mount Baihe.
Starting with the incident at Mount Kongtong, the Beggars’ Gang and the Murim Alliance had been hunting down the Blood Cult for quite some time now. Sure, some of their members had been caught by them over the years, but those bastards must have collected more than a few Blood Cult artifacts from the dead.
The Blood Cult Leader never even considered that the Maitreya Luminous Cult might be behind this.
For one thing, he believed the Beggars’ Gang had dealt with the Ghost Valley Master at Mount Kongtong. And as far as the Blood Cult Leader knew, the Maitreya Luminous Cult was busy dealing with a plague that his cult had prepared.
Having concluded that this whole incident was the Murim Alliance's self-directed play, the Blood Cult Leader let out a cold laugh.
"Hypocrites. Every last one of them."
The sight of them committing atrocities no less vile than his own while pretending to be righteous on the surface disgusted him to no end.
The problem was, there was no way to clear their name and prove they hadn't done it.
No one would believe the Blood Cult, especially if the Alliance planned the whole thing.
As the Blood Cult Leader's expression grew increasingly cold, the man in black who'd come to report hurriedly reported something strange.
"Also, while gathering information, I came across some strange news."
"Strange news?"
"Yes. Starting with the Hao Clan, incidents of sects being raided under the pretext of rooting out those colluding with us are occurring all over the Central Plains."
"What the hell...?"
The Blood Cult Leader's cold expression twisted into something resembling bizarre confusion. It’s not like they didn’t have some sects operating undercover for them; in fact, they had quite a few.
But if that many places were getting hit, he would have heard about it from his own spies by now.
He thought about it for a second and realized what was happening.
"They're fighting each other!"
"Exactly, Cult Leader."
"Hahaha. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot."
The Blood Cult Leader burst into mocking laughter, thinking the Murim Alliance had fallen into its own trap.
Then a cunning idea bloomed in his mind.
"This actually works out perfectly. Tell our people to stop hiding and gradually resume our agendas.”
"It shall be done."
When his subordinate gave a “yes,” the Blood Cult Leader frowned and asked. "Do you even know why I'm telling you to do this?"
"Th-that is..."
Seeing the man unable to finish his sentence due to fear, the Blood Cult Leader clicked his tongue and elaborated. "It's to mess with their heads. A lie works best when you mix a little truth in it. If we stay hidden, the Alliance will eventually fix this mess sooner or later."
"...!!! So you intend to leave some traces of our presence on purpose? To make it look like we really are involved, even as they tear each other apart?"
"Correct. While we're at it, we might as well plant some of our artifacts or leak false information to sects that have nothing to do with us."
"Your wisdom towers over the heavens, Cult Leader! I shall swiftly carry out your will!"
The Blood Cult Leader watched for a moment as the man in black rushed out. Before long, a cold expression had settled upon his face.
The Blood Cult Leader knew.
That no matter how self-directed this play was by the Murim Alliance, intentionally showing their presence at this point would inevitably cost some of the cult’s members’ lives.
But even knowing this, the Blood Cult Leader didn't care.
He had learned from the history of failure that had occurred some seventy years ago.
If you want to defy the heavens, you need absolute power.
"If we can complete the Heavenly Blood Jiangshi with your sacrifices, then defying the heavens won't just be a dream." He muttered to himself and turned to look at the corpse sleeping at the back of the cave.
He would shake the Murim Alliance and make blood flow like rivers throughout the Central Plains.
Even if that means spilling the blood of the Blood Cult.
They should rejoice, for their blood will help the Blood Cult’s ambition to come true.
***
While the rest of the Central Plains was tearing itself apart because of greed and the fake Blood Cult rumors, the atmosphere around Gansu was surprisingly serene.
The water and sewage construction in Lanzhou was going smoothly, and they were slowly starting to recruit people again.
But the biggest change was in the people themselves.
It had been about twenty days since Il-mok and his group had left Lanzhou.
"Hahaha. Is there anything you need, Squad Leader Dam Bin?"
"Let's see. I've been sitting for so long, my body feels a bit stiff."
"Then let me give you a massage. Hahaha."
Compared to before they'd left, the atmosphere between Dam Bin and Ouyang Mun had become much more harmonious.
It looked like Ouyang Mun's constant love-bombing finally melted the Dark Spider’s frozen heart.
From what Il-mok had heard, when Dam Bin started being picky about food because of morning sickness, Ouyang Mun would use his lightness skill to run to the next town or climb a mountain in the middle of the night just to get whatever she craved.
And even when Dam Bin could only manage a few bites because of her morning sickness, he never showed any sign of resentment or displeasure about the trouble he'd gone through.
When Il-mok heard about such devoted dedication, one thought immediately came to mind.
'I guess it's true love if she likes you back.'
The problem was, when it didn't work out, it was called stalking.
"Well, they look happy. It's a nice thing to see."
Il-mok watched Ouyang Mun massage her shoulders, then called him over when he was done.
"You and Dam Bin seem pretty close now."
"Hahaha. Isn't it all thanks to your advice, Young Master?"
Seeing Ouyang Mun laugh cheerfully, Il-mok smiled faintly and asked. "But hey, it's been a while. Why are you still calling her 'Squad Leader'?"
"I've gotten so used to it that I just keep calling her that, Young Master."
Il-mok felt frustrated hearing that.
'Damn. Am I being too much of a boomer?'
But watching the two of them felt less like a married couple or lovers and more like a pet dog and its owner.
Perhaps it was because they were a couple with a significant age gap that made it feel even more pronounced.
(TL Note: Btw, Dam Bin is around Il-mok’s homicide instructor in age, while Ouyang Mun is just two or three years older than Il-mok. So around early twenties vs late twenties, I guess. Il-mok is around 18 or 19 at this point.)
"Hmm. I don't know what Dam Bin's preferences are, but why don't you try calling her something else?"
"Something else? Like what?"
"I know it's cheesy, but you know, like couples’ nicknames? Or you could just try calling her by her actual name. That wouldn't be bad either."
Even someone as indifferent to dating as Il-mok could tell that being called so formally by a much younger partner could kill the romantic mood.
"By her name?"
When Ouyang Mun tilted his head in confusion, Il-mok smiled awkwardly and added.
"I mean, if she likes things this way, stick with it. But you should at least try. You'll never know what she likes unless you do, right?"
Ouyang Mun thought about it and nodded in understanding. "Now that I think about it, I've only ever done what she asked. I've never made a move myself. You really are the Dating Master!"
Being called Dating Master by Ouyang Mun brought a bitter smile to Il-mok.
'Meanwhile, I haven't even been on a single date in this world.'
To be fair, Il-mok himself had built up some walls around romance. He'd already experienced enough of the mental exhaustion that came with maintaining a relationship back in his past life.
More importantly, being tied to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult meant that everyone around him seemed destined for tragic fates.
Dating anyone here sounded like a nightmare.
And if he wanted a woman who’d achieved Transcendence, it would mean his partner would be around his Eldest Brother's age, which is middle-aged at minimum.
Il-mok shook off the depressing thoughts and gave one last tip.
"If you are going to call her by her name or a nickname, you might as well try using casual speech once in a while. Hahaha."
Even though he'd cursed Ouyang Mun out in his head as a crazy bastard countless times, given the years they had spent together, Il-mok genuinely wished for Ouyang Mun to find a little happiness.
And as they left the hall together, Ouyang Mun ran into Dam Bin by chance and immediately put Il-mok's advice into action without hesitation.
"Wifey. How are you feeling?"
"...Wifey? Are you talking to me right now?"
(TL Note: Ouyang Mun actually called her 빈 매, which is Bin Mae in Korean or Bin Mei in Chinese. Note that the Mae/Mei in here is as in the Meimei of the Chinese language, which is used to address younger sisters or females younger than you. If you are close, that is. But since it’s awkward to put it directly into English, I’ll use Wifey when Ouyang Mun calls her such.)
Dam Bin looked at him like he had two heads after hearing the sudden change in address.
Startled by her reaction, Ouyang Mun quickly bowed his head like a puppy caught doing something naughty.
"I-I'm sorry, Squad Leader Dam Bin."
But when he switched back to being polite, she actually looked disappointed.
"Actually, Young Mas..."
Ouyang Mun was about to rat him out, so Il-mok screamed into his mind using voice transmission.
—Shut up!
—!!!
—Just shut up and say exactly what I tell you!
To the flinching Ouyang Mun, Il-mok quickly added.
—Tell her that since you are going to be a husband and wife soon, calling you formally felt too stiff, so you wanted to try calling her something different!
As soon as Il-mok's voice transmission ended, Ouyang Mun repeated it word-for-word like a parrot.
"Hmm. I see."
She nodded with a mysterious look. But Ouyang Mun still looked anxious as he spoke.
"I am merely sorry for making you feel uncomfortable."
"Not at all. I didn't mind it. In fact, Hubby."
(TL Note: Again, Dam Bin here addressed Ouyang Mun as Gege a.k.a Older Brother. Anyway, I’ll be stuck with Hubby every time she addresses Ouyang Mun such.)
Hearing such an endearing term come out of Dam Bin’s mouth, Ouyang Mun's eyes went wide.
"S-so, can I keep calling you that...?"
"Please do."
"Ahem."
Ouyang Mun cleared his throat and carefully called her. "Wifey."
"Yes. Hubby."
"Hmm."
The contrast of Dam Bin’s soft smile and Ouyang Mun’s embarrassed reaction made IL-mok’s lips twitch constantly. He realized that he had fed himself a bunch of dog food and couldn’t blame anyone else but himself.
"Does anything hurt? Wifey."
"Let's see. My body feels a bit stiff. I think I need a massage."
"Hahaha. Just say the word. I'm always ready for you, Wifey."
Ouyang Mun stepped forward to massage her, but she shook her head. Instead, she gestured to her room with a flushed look on her face. "Not here, but in there. I think that would be better, Hubby.”
"Hm? Is there a difference between here and there?"
(TL Note: Damn lucky bastard.)
Dam Bin simply smiled gently at her dense soon-to-be husband and pulled him to her room.
Il-mok let out a hollow laugh as he watched them go.
'I didn't mean for him to get this happy, though.'
Just then, Dam Bin looked back over her shoulder and mouthed something to Il-mok.
'Thank you, Young Master.'
"......"
It seemed Dam Bin had already figured everything out.
'Ouyang Mun, my boy, you're probably going to be wrapped around her finger for life.'
A bear-like husband and a fox-like wife, what a perfect match they are.