Chapter 57 : I Didn’t Recognize Them
Chapter 57: I Didn’t Recognize Them
Several people joined the escort unit departing from the main compound of the Bright Cult.
They were the Fourth Elder and the squad leaders under her command, who were to escort the third Western Regions Trade Caravan.
Since it was a route they would have to take in a few days anyway, the excuse was that they would travel together—but in truth, they had a different motive.
While heading toward Golden Flower Manor, they had intended to ask the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult for a personal favor, but things went awry from the very beginning.
There was simply no time to strike up a conversation.
Given the composition of the Bright Cult escort unit, the lowest level among us was Master Level.
As a result, the travel speed was set accordingly. Of course, no consideration was given.
I pushed them so hard that even the fifteen squad-leader-level masters at the Master Level looked as if their hearts might burst out of their throats.
The Golden Flower Manor Lord ran out barefoot to greet Yul Han—who entered with squad leaders panting so hard it made one wonder whether they were truly masters.
“Vice Cult Leader, and all the great heroes, I wholeheartedly welcome your visit to Golden Flower Manor.”
The Golden Flower Manor Lord greeted us with a beaming smile, his hospitality almost excessive.
But it was understandable.
Although profits had not yet returned, the Western Regions Trade Caravan—long stalled for years—had already departed twice.
Moreover, the third Western Regions Trade Caravan was scheduled to depart in just a few days.
Because of this, Golden Flower Manor had recently been brimming with vitality.
Everyone in the manor knew where that vitality came from, so the Bright Cult escort unit received an unexpectedly warm welcome.
Everyone we passed smiled brightly and greeted us.
It was a complete change from the past, when they would avert their eyes, trembling with fear.
Perhaps finding this strange, Yul Han asked,
“Did something happen? The people’s attitudes are…”
“Ah! Lately, we’ve been hearing many good things about the Bright Cult. They say you treat the sick for free and even give rice to common folk on the brink of starvation.”
“I was under the impression that was limited to the Cheonghae Region.”
“Ah! Since a few days ago, Bright Cult instructors have returned to Gansu and begun missionary work. They haven’t reached Xining yet, but in the northern areas, it’s already quite famous.”
That wasn’t bad.
It seemed the Guardian of the Faith had understood the message properly.
As Yul Han smiled faintly, the Golden Flower Manor Lord lowered his voice and asked,
“By the way… where do you intend to strike?”
“What do you mean?”
“Three of the Five Demons, all of the Thirteen Bloods, and fifteen masters radiating overwhelming demonic energy… Are you perhaps planning to wipe out the Kongtong Sect while you’re at it…?”
At the manor lord’s misunderstanding, Yul Han smiled bitterly.
“No. They’re all my people. Ah—except for those from the Fourth Elder’s side. They came to escort the third Western Regions Trade Caravan.”
At Yul Han’s words, a dazzling beauty—blooming like a rose in full flourish—shot him a reproachful glance.
“Oh my! Vice Cult Leader. Why are we excluded? We want to be your people too!”
At the coquettish display of the Fourth Elder, Demon Flower, Yul Han’s gaze turned cold.
“If the Cult Leader were to hear that the Fourth Elder said she intended to privately pledge herself to the Vice Cult Leader, I’m sure he would be quite pleased.”
“Oh ho ho ho. It was a joke, a joke. You’re scary when you get so serious.”
“If it scares you, then don’t do it.”
At Yul Han’s cold reply, Demon Flower finally drooped and tucked in her tail.
“Yes…”
Watching the Fourth Elder, Iron Demon snickered.
“Heh heh. I knew it’d turn out like that the moment she started batting her eyes at the Vice Cult Leader. She’s almost seventy, yet still putting on airs.”
Demon Flower glared at him with narrowed eyes, but Iron Demon looked back with a bored expression, as if to say, What are you going to do about it?
In truth, Demon Flower was the only female among the elders, and her popularity had once matched her flamboyant beauty.
But half a year ago—after she publicly declared she would marry the Cult Leader—her popularity withered rapidly.
She had gone from a flower that might one day be plucked to one that couldn’t even be touched.
No Bright Cult warrior was bold enough to lay hands on a woman who openly professed affection for the Cult Leader—no matter how the Cult Leader himself reacted.
Having already heard those inner details during Cold Blade Blood’s chatter, I found Demon Flower distasteful.
She claimed to like the Cult Leader, yet dragged other men into her bed every night.
Worse still, it wasn’t by their will—she shattered their reason through soul manipulation.
I understood the reason. After she publicly declared her feelings for the Cult Leader, no one approached her no matter how much she flirted.
If she was going to live like that, she shouldn’t have claimed to love him in the first place.
That was what I found utterly disagreeable.
Because of that, my deeply furrowed expression became frightening enough that even the Golden Flower Manor Lord began to edge away from me.
Unaware of why, I called out to him as he kept retreating.
“Manor Lord.”
“Yes? Ah! Yes.”
Startled, the Golden Flower Manor Lord reflexively stumbled backward. It felt as though his throat might be torn out at any moment.
Looking at him, I asked,
“Why… are you acting like that?”
“Pardon? Ah, it’s nothing. My health has been poor lately… Please, go ahead and ask, Vice Cult Leader.”
Though a merchant, he was the head of a great family—one of the Central Plains’ five greatest wealthy figures. Someone who could walk anywhere with confidence now bent deeply at the waist and humbled himself.
I looked down at the Golden Flower Manor Lord with concern.
“Are you unwell? Our Fifth Elder is said to be quite skilled in medicine—shall I ask him to take a look?”
The Fifth Elder meant the Poison Demon.
Lately, his medical skills were said to be so extraordinary that even Hua Tuo and Bian Que would weep in defeat, earning him the nickname Demonic Physician.
“Then… could you examine my daughter instead of me?”
“Your daughter—do you mean Miss Ga Hwa-yeong?”
“Yes. She’s been sickly lately, but every physician reputed to be skilled has only shaken their head…”
“Then I’ll quickly summon the Poison Demon—”
My words trailed off there. The Ga Hwa-yeong whom the Golden Flower Manor Lord had said was ill was running toward us.
“Huff, huff. Y-you’re here.”
She must have run as fast as she could—she could barely catch her breath as she greeted me. I asked in surprise,
“Miss, are you all right?”
“Huff, huff. Y-yes. I’m f-fine.”
Her appearance as she panted heavily was very different from before. Her cheeks had grown gaunt, and her eyes looked hollow.
So she really was sick.
“I heard your health was poor. Are you truly all right?”
“Oh! N-no. It’s nothing. I’m perfectly fine. I can even run around like this—ah!”
As she hurriedly turned, she staggered, and I quickly caught her.
“Are you all right, Miss?”
From the moment we met, all I had done was repeat whether she was all right. Ga Hwa-yeong looked at me reproachfully.
But soon she withdrew that gaze and, shyly and cautiously, slipped out of my grasp.
“Yes. I’m fine.”
As I gave a bitter smile at how completely different she was from the past—when she had spoken harsh words without a second thought—the Golden Flower Manor Lord stared at his daughter in shock.
He had realized what her behavior meant. Perhaps because of that, his gaze darkened.
Deciding he could not leave things as they were, the Golden Flower Manor Lord stepped forward.
“What is this foolishness! Please come inside at once. You’ve traveled far—why not rest and depart tomorrow?”
“If that’s the case, we’ll accept your hospitality.”
At my words, the Golden Flower Manor Lord hurriedly led the Bright Cult escort unit into the inner courtyard.
As I was guided inside, with Ga Hwa-yeong trotting closely beside me, Demon Flower cast a meaningful look at Golden Flower Manor.
“What are you doing?”
At Iron Demon’s blunt question, Demon Flower replied,
“If we swallow this whole, our finances would improve quite a bit, wouldn’t they?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I recall the Golden Flower Manor Lord saying he has only one daughter.”
Iron Demon grumbled at Demon Flower for ignoring his question and rambling on.
“His biological child, sure—but there’s an adopted son. Why? Are you planning to hit on that kid too?”
At his rebuff, Demon Flower smiled chillingly.
“If the adopted son disappears, who do you think this fortune belongs to? It’ll all go to that little girl.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? The Golden Flower Manor Lord is still alive—why would it go to her?”
At Iron Demon’s utterly confused question, Demon Flower smiled brightly.
“The Golden Flower Manor Lord? To me, he looks like a walking corpse. Doesn’t he look that way to you, brother?”
At that, Profound Demon—who had been listening quietly—stepped forward and warned her in a cold voice.
“Don’t burden the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult with pointless thoughts. If you do, I won’t forgive you—no matter who you are.”
Leaving those words behind, Profound Demon followed after me, who had already gone inside. Demon Flower stared at his back in shock.
Those words meant that he was sincerely following the Vice Cult Leader.
‘Why would Brother Profound Demon, who has a hundred vipers coiled inside him, do that?’
As Demon Flower stood there, unable to understand, Iron Shatter Blood—the seat head of the Thirteen Bloods—passed by her and left a remark.
“The Thirteen Bloods feel the same, senior. Don’t shake the Vice Cult Leader. We absolutely will not stand by.”
After throwing out those words, Iron Shatter Blood followed after Profound Demon, and the gazes of the Thirteen Bloods moving with him were sharp.
As Demon Flower stood there, plainly stunned and bewildered, Iron Demon approached her.
“What is it? What on earth is it that’s got everyone acting like that?”
Iron Demon still hadn’t grasped the situation.
Watching him, Lee Tae—who was mixed in among the squad leaders—shook his head.
The gazes that had been observing the bustling Golden Flower Manor vanished. Judging by their shabby clothing, they were clearly beggars.
Recently, the Beggars’ Sect’s intelligence-processing duties had been placed under severe overload.
The movements of the Bright Cult were being detected frequently—and across an extremely wide range.
Because of that, the Beggars’ Sect was struggling with information gathering and processing in the western regions of Gansu.
There were few operatives available, while the scope of necessary intelligence kept expanding.
In the end, the Beggars’ Sect was forced to make the decision to dispatch a large number of personnel from the Gansu branch to infiltrate the Cheonghae Region.
Because Cheonghae was far more dangerous than other regions, the unqualified were excluded, and many of those who formed the core of intelligence operations were mobilized.
As a result, Gansu’s intelligence gathering, classification, and analysis capabilities fell into shambles.
Although notice had come that reinforcements would soon be sent from the main headquarters in Kaifeng, Henan, it had yet to be realized.
For that reason, the Beggars’ Sect operative monitoring Golden Flower Manor failed to properly recognize the faces of those who entered while flying the Bright Cult Banner.
After all, it was impossible for a newcomer—barely three months since initiation—to recognize high-ranking Bright Cult martial artists from such a distance.
Thus, the contents of his report to his superiors were simple.
<Multiple Bright Cult martial artists have entered Golden Flower Manor. Presumed to be the escort unit for the third Western Regions Trade Caravan, which was said to depart soon.>
That report was immediately relayed through the Gansu branch to the main headquarters in Kaifeng.
At the same time, copies were made and transmitted via message hawks to the Martial Alliance, the Nine Sects, and the Six Great Clans—all of whom provided considerable funding to the Beggars’ Sect.
Thanks to the Beggars’ Sect’s simultaneous information-distribution system, the message reached Mount Kunlun late that very evening—the same day I arrived at Golden Flower Manor.