Chapter 202: Investigation (2)

The day after the gathering ended.

Byuk, the eldest son of a fruit stand owner, who had been lured into attending the assembly by a beautiful woman and a young girl, was once again starting his day’s business with his father from early in the morning.

There was only one thing different from usual.

"I’ve got peaace~ liiike~ a river. I’ve got peaace~ liiike~ a river."

He couldn't stop humming that ridiculously catchy song from last night.

“This kid hasn't shut up since last night. Peace? Peace my foot. Keep this up and our dinner table is gonna be anything but peaceful, you little punk.”

Byuk pouted. His dad was only in a bad mood because they hadn't gotten any customers yet.

“Does being grumpy bring in customers, Dad? You gotta do business with peace in your heart so customers feel comfortable approaching you. You should try singing it too. It'll put your mind at ease. I’ve got peace li~ke a river.”

“You little shit, where the hell did you go last night?”

While the father looked at his son like he'd lost his mind, and the son ignored his father's glare to cheerfully belt out hymns.

A passerby then entered the fruit shop.

"What's good today?"

Father and son both noticed the customer at the same time and immediately plastered on smiles.

"Welcome!"

“Everything’s fresh here! Feel free to look around and take your pick!”

The woman chuckled at the two of them, then looked over the fruit and pointed to some apples.

The father and son team quickly bagged them up for her. But as she paid and took the bag, she said something unexpected.

"Looks like you went to last night's gathering."

Hearing that, a huge grin spread across Byuk’s face.

“Ah! Were you also there, miss?”

"Yes. I prefer 'We Shalll Fight Against the Wicked' over 'Peace Like a River' though. It just rolls off the tongue better, you know? Don't you just feel pumped up when you sing it?”

As the woman hummed quietly, Byuk grinned widely and joined in singing the chorus.

The woman gave a faint smile at Byuk’s enthusiasm and left the shop, while his father stared at his son with a bewildered expression.

"What in the world is going on here?"

"Can't you see? This is what happens when you find inner peace, Dad.”

And with that, Byuk started humming to himself again

But the father couldn't bring himself to scold his son after what had just happened.

Was it because of that song?

Customers kept coming steadily after that, and some of them would recognize each other and sing along together.

Faced with this utterly bizarre scene, the father eventually stood there with a dazed expression, watching his son's peculiar behaviour.

"Peace like a river flowing through me~"

He even caught himself singing along without realizing it.

***

And it wasn't just happening at the fruit stand. Similar scenes were playing out all over Lanzhou.

The red-light district had caught the fever too.

Actually, it was the worst there.

"Glo~ ry! Glory! O’ Divine Cult!!"

"Peace like a river flowing through me~"

Since the Maitreya Luminous Cult had taken over the red-light district from the Heavenly Orchid Society, every brothel and tavern under the cult's jurisdiction had been required to attend the gathering.

Whether they were attendants, courtesans, guards, or managers, after being force-fed with hymns all last night, the melodies just wouldn't leave their mouths.

It was even worse among the courtesans since some of them were skilled musicians who could play instruments.

Ding~

“Hey, what if we tried playing this part like this?”

“Sing it for me, and I’ll give it a try on my instrument.”

They'd work out the tunes on their instruments, and when a waiter or a bodyguard walked by and heard it, they'd start singing along. Before you knew it, the whole red-light district was one giant, nonstop hymn sing-along.

But while the hymns were echoing all over the place, something serious was going down on the top floor of the Crimson Silk Pavilion.

The old man who now managed several brothels in addition to the Crimson Silk Pavilion was meeting with a middle-aged woman.

"You wish to meet with the Incarnations of Maitreya?"

The Pavilion Master sounded less than thrilled with her request.

"I said I would like to meet with those who have become the new masters of Lanzhou."

"Those people are the Incarnations of Maitreya."

"Then I would like to meet with them."

"They are not people who come when I call or go when I tell them to."

When he shut her down, the woman looked troubled but pressed on.

“Even if you can’t summon them, they still come to see you, don’t they? Couldn't you just… mention me to them next time they do?"

“You’re so desperate to meet them, yet you were the one who took advantage and stayed open for business all by yourself last night."

This was the main reason the Pavilion Master was in such a foul mood.

It was not out of absolute loyalty to the Maitreya Luminous Cult, nor was he trying to prevent her from meeting the Incarnations of Maitreya out of principle.

It was because last night, while all the brothels loyal to the cult were closed for the mandatory gathering, a few places—hers included—had stayed open and raked in all the cash.

It wasn't that they were rebelling. It was that the Maitreya Luminous Cult had intentionally left them alone.

These places had also paid tribute to the former Heavenly Orchid Society, but they had separate organizations backing them.

This was something the Demon Cult had figured out by combining old intel with new info they got from raiding the Heavenly Orchid Society. And that's why they had decided not to touch those establishments.

And because they didn't belong to the Maitreya Luminous Cult, they'd done business among themselves last night and essentially monopolized all the customers who came to the red-light district.

“We simply weren't invited, so we couldn't very well just show up. And it's not like we could just close up shop for no reason, could we?”

The owner of a brothel called the Red Blossom Pavilion offered her excuse.

The Pavilion Master scoffed.

“Don’t play dumb with me. You didn't trust them yet, so you threw us out like bait. You watched to see if anything terrible would happen to us at that gathering, and now that we're fine, you're finally coming to request protection. Even a blind bastard can see that."

Caught red-handed, the woman hesitated for a moment, then let out a sigh and spoke with a serious expression.

“Let’s be honest. It sounded crazy, didn't it? A protection fee of only five percent? Plus, they were going to pay our girls and cancel their debts? Come on. Can you believe a crazy story like that when you first heard it?”

"..."

The Red Blossom Pavilion Madam's gaze made him avert his eyes. The old man simply couldn’t lie and say yes to that.

He’d stayed alive this long by being careful and has seen all sorts of shit in his decades of life. He knew damn well that people offering such good conditions were most likely scammers.

But not anymore.

Nothing bad had happened at the gathering, and they'd even been paid extra for the effort of hauling carts and preparing late-night snacks.

“You know I have a lot of people to look after, Pavilion Master. I simply couldn't move rashly. I just couldn’t afford to be reckless. Please, try to understand, for the sake of my girls.”

"Hmph."

As the Crimson Silk Pavilion Master snorted with displeasure and puffed tobacco smoke from his long pipe.

The Red Blossom Pavilion Madam added. "I'm not saying this for free. I'll give you half the profits we earned doing business by ourselves last night."

The Crimson Silk Pavilion Master thought it over for a second. “I’ll pass your message along to the Incarnation of Maitreya. Whether it's acceptable or not will be decided by them. I'll let you know when there's a result."

True to being a cautious old man, the Crimson Silk Pavilion Master did not act greedily.

The Red Blossom Pavilion and a few other establishments had made enormous profits last night when most brothels and pleasure houses were closed.

Instead of pocketing half those profits himself, he intended to report to the Incarnations of Maitreya and pass it on to them.

The old man had survived this long in a harsh world, and he’d seen way too many people get themselves killed over a little bit of money.

***

While talk of the Maitreya Luminous Cult spread through Lanzhou's four directions, a shouting match was breaking out in the shantytown under the bridge where the city's beggars lived.

"I'm truly disappointed in you, brothers!"

“Hey! Is this why you told us not to go there?”

Beggars with grime dripping from them were venting their fury on other beggars, their eyes practically blazing.

“W-We had no idea it would be like that!”

“Yeah! We tried to get some for you guys, really! We’re all family, aren't we!"

The beggars being interrogated didn't know what to do with themselves and kept averting their eyes.

“Ahem. Look, this is all Hong Gae's fault! Go yell at him!”

And just like that, the Three-Knot kid threw his boss under the bus.

Only then did the beggars turn their blazing eyes to search for Hong Gae who was hiding in the shack.

"Brother Hong Gae!"

“Boss! You can’t do this to us!”

As they began to look for him outside, Hong Gai exited the hut with his face bright red like his name.

‘That damn… no-good beggar!’

Hong Gae was furious at his Three-Knot disciple for selling him out, but—

"Are you seriously trying to get mad at us right now?"

“We had a chance at a free meal, and now we’re starving because of you! How dare you glare at us!”

Bombarded by the angry beggars, Hong Gae could only hang his head in defeat.

They weren't members of the Beggar Gang like Hong Gae. They were ordinary beggars living in Lanzhou.

And today, while they were out on the streets, they’d heard the one thing he didn’t want them to hear.

They’d heard that last night, the Maitreya Luminous Cult's gathering was giving out free food to everyone.

And why didn't they go?

Because Hong Gae and his crew had warned them it was dangerous and told them not to go anywhere near it.

But from what they’d heard, the place wasn't dangerous at all. It was a fantastic place that gave out free food!

Naturally, a nasty suspicion started to spread through the crowd.

"Tell us, Hong Gae! Did you do it on purpose? You did this on purpose, didn't you?! You were worried there wouldn't be enough food to go around, so you lied to keep it all for your gang!”

This ridiculous accusation made Hong Gai's head snap up with a reddened face.

“That’s complete bullshit! I did it to protect you! I even asked those bastards for more food. I told them we needed to get portions for you too. Those stingy bastards wouldn't give it to us!"

Hong Gae glared at the gang members as if demanding they back him up.

Spooked by his terrifying stare, his men started talking fast.

"Hong Gae is telling the truth."

"Yes. They said they'd only give it to those who attended the gathering, and if anyone missed out, they could participate in the next gathering."

That explanation made the regular beggars’ eyes lit up.

"The next gathering?"

“There’s gonna be another one?”

"In nine days. No wait, since yesterday was nine days away, it'll be in eight days. Same place, same time."

Hearing the crew's explanation, the ordinary beggars glared at Hong Gae.

The eyes of beggars who'd missed out on free food were practically murderous.

“You’re not gonna try and stop us this time, are you, boss?”

"Ahem. What choice do I have?"

Realizing there was no way he could keep them away from this cult now, Hong Gai sighed and hung his head low.

‘Don’t tell me they had even calculated this?’

While Hong Gae wondered if those bastards had plotted to turn even the beggars into believers...

"Oh, and if you want to participate in the gathering, you need to know the songs."

"Songs?"

Seeing that the ordinary beggars had calmed down a little, the gang members began teaching them about the hymns.

The younger beggars had already heard them so much that they knew them by heart.

"Try singing along. Peace like a river flowing through me~"

"Peace like a river flowing through me~"

His head was already spinning, and now, right next to him, they were singing the cult's anthem. Hong Gai just looked up at the sky.

'The whole world has become the Maitreya Luminous Cult. And we’re all just living in it.’