Chapter 212: Kongtong (3)

The following dawn.

The group, minus Baek Cheon, slipped out of Lanzhou under the cover of darkness.

Il-mok's official excuse was that Baek Cheon was needed in Lanzhou for the gathering and the hymn session. As for the real reason, having an attention magnet along would only cause problems since this was essentially a spy mission.

They made good time, alternating between sprinting with their lightness skill and taking short breaks, and reached the outskirts of Dingxi County by noon.

Il-mok and the group split into smaller teams, each at a set distance from the others.

This was done both to avoid attention by reducing the number of people traveling together and partly to speed up their investigation.

Dam Bin and Seon-ah were the first to enter.

Hyeokryeon Seon-ah, the first to enter Dingxi County. They chatted about random things as they made their way through town.

"Excuse me, are there any inns around here?"

They'd stop to talk to locals, then rent a room at an inn and order some food, putting on a show of just being two travelers enjoying a slow meal and a chat.

But despite their casual appearance, from the moment they'd entered Dingxi County, they'd been channeling their internal energy to enhance their hearing and eavesdropping on conversations around them.

The second pair was no different. Ouyang Mun and Ju Seo-yeon put on the same show but in a different location.

And then there was Il-mok's group with Jin Hayeon and Jeong Hyeon.

"I greet the Eighth Disciple of the Supreme One."

They'd gone straight to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's branch in Dingxi County.

So while everyone else was running around gathering information the hard way—

"I heard from Squad Leader Kang Yul that Taoists of the Kongtong Sect paid a visit here."

"That's correct, Young Master."

"Bring me files on what they've been up to and any notable rumors. All of them."

—Il-mok just had to ask for the finished report.

"Oh, and before you get those files, draw me a bath. I worked up a sweat getting here from Lanzhou."

Yeah, being the boss definitely has its perks.

***

That night.

Everyone snuck back to the cult's branch office under the cover of darkness.

They all gave their reports to Il-mok, who compiled them with the file he'd gotten from the Branch Leader.

And the conclusion they reached was... pretty anticlimactic.

"So basically, they just poked around and left?"

"It's thanks to us being one step ahead."

"Exactly. Because you gave Squad Leader Kang Yul instructions to spread the greatness of the Maitreya Luminous Cult here first, Young Master, they had no opening to make their move."

Everyone started praising Il-mok's brilliant foresight, but Il-mok didn't look particularly pleased.

After all, they'd basically made a wasted trip.

"Since those bastards are gone, we'll need to head to Mount Kongtong if we want to dig up more on them."

Il-mok let out a light sigh and gave his orders.

"Alright, everyone back to the inn for some rest. We leave for Pingliang County tomorrow morning."

Pingliang County was the closest settlement to Mount Kongtong.

And the next day, they managed to reach the vicinity of Pingliang County.

And just like before, they split up before heading into the county.

The difference this time was that Il-mok also had to wander the marketplace searching for an inn.

Unlike Dingxi, Pingliang didn't have a local cult office to crash at.

That's why they'd heard about the Kongtong Sect so late.

As he strolled through the market, Il-mok noticed something strange about the locals.

'Something's off... There seem to be fewer people than there should be for a county this size.’

Maybe he was just used to Lanzhou's bustling atmosphere, but he couldn't shake the feeling that things were oddly empty.

'Plus, everyone looks kind of anxious?'

Every single person looked like they were being chased by something.

He saw people with shifty eyes, people who stuttered or spoke with a tremor in their voice, and a whole lot of folks with twitching hands and bouncing knees.

Naturally, Il-mok's head turned back.

To Jeong Hyeon, who was trailing a few paces behind him.

"I-Is something wrong, Young Master?" Jeong Hyeon stammered.

Yep, just like that.

It was one thing for one or two people to be that twitchy—Jeong Hyeon was living proof of that—but when half the town was doing it, something was definitely weird.

As that nagging feeling in his head grew stronger, Il-mok headed toward an inn visible on one side of the marketplace.

"Welcome..."

The inn's server greeted them with a somewhat listless attitude.

"Let me know when you've decided."

The guy looked so profoundly lazy and bored with his job that both Jin Hayeon and Jeong Hyeon immediately looked over at Il-mok.

(TL Note: lol.)

"...Is something wrong?"

"...It's nothing, Young Master."

Jin Hayeon answered indifferently, while Jeong Hyeon awkwardly looked away, seemingly embarrassed.

Feeling even more unsettled for no reason, Il-mok turned his head and surveyed the inn's interior.

There are a few customers filling in.

That is to say, they were in the middle of picking at their food with an attitude that suggested they were eating merely to live.

"Haa..."

Some even let out heavy sighs mid-bite.

'Did I pick the wrong inn?'

Thinking the food here might taste like absolute shit, Il-mok ordered the most basic dishes.

A moment later, that same server brought the food with a lethargic attitude and set it down on the table.

"Just in case, the two of us will taste it first, Young Master."

Jin Hayeon and Jeong Hyeon sampled the food first in case it was poisoned, and after they confirmed there were no issues, Il-mok also took a taste.

"Hm?"

It didn't taste like garbage. It was just... average.

After filling his stomach adequately, Il-mok called the server over again.

"Here's for the meal. We'll also be staying the night. Give us your best room, and get a bath ready."

As he said this, Il-mok handed the server some silver taels.

It was quite a large sum from the server's perspective.

"Sure."

But the server just pocketed the silver with that same listless attitude and shuffled off looking utterly bothered by everything.

'What the hell is wrong with this town?'

Everyone was either completely listless or exuding an air of anxiety.

It was at that moment that a faint noise could be heard from outside the inn.

It was faint and far away, but since he was already focusing his senses, he picked it up.

Il-mok, Jin Hayeon, and Jeong Hyeon exchanged glances and immediately left the inn to head to where the noise was coming from.

They stopped at some distance to be safe and what greeted Il-mok left him speechless.

How should he put it?

It was damn familiar to him.

"Please grant me salvation too!!"

"Please, please help us!"

"Yuanshi Tianzun!!"

(TL Note: One of the Three Pure Ones, basically one of the creators of the universe within Daoism)

A group of Taoist priests was holding court in the market, and the entire town of zombies and nervous wrecks had suddenly transformed into a wailing, screaming mob of fanatics, all bowing down to them.

They were a textbook cult and its fanatics.

And Il-mok couldn't help but glance over Jin Hayeon.

Toward Jin Hayeon.

She gave him a frosty look. "...Is there something you'd like to say?"

"Ahem. It's nothing." Il-mok said, quickly looking away.

It takes one to know one, and Il-mok instantly caught on to what’s going on.

'These bastards aren't really from the Kongtong Sect. Hell, they're not even from any proper sect.'

They were fakes. Frauds. A rival cult.

But just because they weren't from Kongtong didn't mean all their problems were solved.

'These bastards are seriously doing their business on someone else's turf?'

In a way, they were an even more dangerous enemies.

Il-mok maintained some distance while observing that bizarre scene.

He wants to figure out exactly the methods those Taoist bastards used in their missionary work to drive people this crazy.

And then he got his answer.

"Do not fear! Tonight, we will hold a gathering! Salvation will be granted to all!"

Il-mok's eyes lit up.

***

That night.

Il-mok and his party left their inn at the appointed time and gathered in one place.

And not long after, people began leaving their homes all over the village and heading somewhere despite the late hour.

From the shadows, Il-mok's crew uses the cover of darkness to tail the crowd.

They followed them out of town to a small hill just outside the county.

Il-mok silently cursed.

'Fucking hell.'

The people who had set out from all over Pingliang County were all converging on that hill.

It was clear that these fakers had managed to turn most of the town into brainwashed followers.

'What the hell did they do?'

He was genuinely curious about their business methods.

They reached the clearing where the rally was being held, and soon, a few of the Taoists walked out.

"Thank you all for joining us tonight."

"Ohhhhh!"

"Yuanshi Tianzun!"

"Please grant us salvation!"

At the heated cries of the cult fanatics, Il-mok's companions frowned.

'What is this? Self-loathing among their own kind?'

He shook off the weird thought and focused on the stage.

But the bastards' sermon had no real substance.

They didn't even sing hymns like his group did, or show anything special that would captivate people.

As the meaningless sermon was winding down...

"We will now show you the paradise where Yuanshi Tianzun awaits you all."

The Taoist who'd been preaching up front said something bizarre.

"Ohhhhhh!"

"Finally!!!"

The fanatics, whose eyes were already rolling back, screamed even more fervently, and in that moment—

"!!!"

Il-mok sensed a bizarre energy flow and moved quickly,

‘It’s a Formation!’

The energy around the gathering went haywire, and a massive Formation swallowed everyone inside.

Luckily, everyone except Seon-ah had received Formation countermeasure training at the Hall of the Demonic Way, so no one panicked.

They all scrambled together into a tight group so they wouldn't get separated.

As for Seon-ah, Il-mok moved swiftly and was already standing guard with his hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Big Brother."

The girl blushed and spoke with deep emotion, but Il-mok's gaze was directed elsewhere.

'Some kind of illusion Formation.'

The darkness of the night sky had disappeared, and beautiful scenery was now spread out around them.

'Using Formation to scam people...'

It was a method even Il-mok hadn't thought of.

Right then, whether it was an effect of the illusion or not, a hazy mist began enveloping the surroundings, and sensing something, Il-mok quickly covered Seon-ah's mouth and nose.

—Circulate your internal energy and push out anything that enters when you breathe.

He could feel something... weird mixed in with the fog.

‘Poison? No, that'd kill their entire audience. Unless... did they spot us? Are they trying to take out just our team?'

While calculating various possibilities and assessing the situation, Il-mok felt Seon-ah circulating her internal energy and removed his hand from her mouth and nose.

He kept watching his surroundings for a while, just in case the bastards were using poison to specifically target them.

At some point, the mist finally faded away from the Formation and Il-mok finally could see what was going on. The county residents who’d been exposed to the mist began babbling in complete gibberish.

Thanks to that, Il-mok could easily figure out what was mixed into the mist.

"There's shit you should use and shit you shouldn't, you fatherless sons of bitches.”

Il-mok's expression had already turned ice cold.