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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Business Trip (2)
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"Aaaah! Lord of Ten Thousand Demons!!"
"The Heavenly Demon has descended!!"
Even because of the residents who were throwing themselves flat on the ground and shouting from the start, the number of residents coming to see him was steadily increasing as time passed.
At this rate, all the villagers were going to crowd at the narrow village entrance.
'I might not have known, but what is Master thinking?'
Could it be that Master was actually the type who craved attention?
'Well, if he wasn't the attention-seeking type to begin with, he couldn't play the role of a cult leader.'
As I was lost in such thoughts inwardly.
Master advanced toward the villagers, exuding an aura of solemn dignity far more imposing than usual, radiating a subtle pressure.
"Aaaah!"
"Heavenly Demon's arrival! Blessings upon the Ten Thousand Demons!!"
"The Heavenly Demon has come to save us!"
The residents touched by Master's presence trembled as if on drugs, their faces overcome with ecstasy as they burst into tongues.
And as Master proceeded forward, he displayed superb showmanship: lightly stroking the heads of those prostrating nearby, or gently grasping the hands pressed to the ground.
The reactions of those who received Master's blessing were truly a sight to behold.
Tears streaming down their faces was the baseline; some frothed at the mouth and collapsed, while others convulsed, staring intently at the spot Master had touched.
'What is this?'
Following closely behind Master and observing, at this point, fear overtook any sense of amazement.
It was bizarre.
Clearly, I had witnessed similar scenes a few times back when I was Seo Ji-hoon.
Not in person, but through the internet or Nutube.
A cult leader pretending to shoot energy blasts, and cult followers trembling and falling over.
The cult leader placing hands on a follower's head and chanting strange incantations, causing the follower to convulse and foam at the mouth.
Back when I was Seo Ji-hoon, I'd seen that online and laughed it off, thinking, 'Why are those idiots acting like that?'
But seeing it in person now, it wasn't funny—it was terrifying.
Why on earth were these people so immersed in this cult religion?
And these were ordinary common folk who hadn't even trained in demonic arts.
Ironically, as doubts arose about their behavior, Master's attitude suddenly started making sense.
'Is that why he deliberately walked instead of taking the carriage?'
For whatever reason, these people were fanatics. And in the religion they were utterly devoted to, Master was no different from a god.
To put it in modern terms, it was like the relationship between a superstar and rabid fans.
If fans line up eagerly waiting for their favorite celebrity, only for the celebrity to zip past in a car, it's bound to feel empty.
But what if that celebrity suddenly steps out of the car and shakes hands one by one, takes photos?
For those already fans, it was showmanship that would make them fall even deeper.
A technique to turn existing fans into die-hard ones with just a bit of effort.
At that moment, I couldn't help but get chills at Master's meticulous scheming in those small details.
* * *
It took a full two ke to reach the final destination, the branch, passing by the residents who had come to see Master.
When we finally arrived and looked back, the village entrance wasn't that far.
We had walked a distance that could be covered leisurely in one ke in the span of two ke.
'They still haven't gone back.'
And the sight of thousands of people crawling on their bellies from the branch to the village entrance, speaking in tongues, was seared into my eyes.
"Heavenly Demon's arrival! Blessings upon the Ten Thousand Demons!! Warm Hostel County Branch Leader Ma Gang-il pays respects to the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons."
Turning my head at the shout piercing through the people's tongues, I saw a sturdy, burly man prostrating in front of the branch building.
"Rise."
The man who stood at Master's command was a middle-aged man with a fierce face.
"First, let us go inside. If this old man stays out here any longer, the masses won't be able to carry on with their livelihoods."
"We shall obey the Heavenly Demon's command."
"Instruct the branch members that after we enter, they should soothe the residents and send them home."
"Understood!"
Master quickly issued orders and headed inside the building with the Branch Leader.
Jin Ha-yeon and I followed behind and entered the building as well.
"You must be hungry after coming all this way, so we shall prepare a meal first."
Master shook his head at the words of Ma Gang-il, the Branch Leader guiding us inside.
"My youngest disciple sweated a great deal training on the way here. Wouldn't it be better to wash up, rest a bit, and then eat?"
At Master's words, the Branch Leader's gaze fixed on me.
"Ah, so you're the new disciple the Heavenly Demon took in? I've heard a lot about you. Hahaha."
Unlike his fierce face, the Branch Leader laughed heartily and approached me familiarly.
"Then we shall start the meal in about one shichen. I'll have them prepare warm water for bathing in the meantime, and guide the Heavenly Demon to a place to rest."
"Do so."
As Master and the Branch Leader's conversation ended, Jin Ha-yeon quietly spoke to Master.
"Then, until the bath is ready, this girl will perform Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians on Young Master Il-mok."
"Do so."
In the end, Jin Ha-yeon and I headed to the room the Branch Leader guided us to, and once there, until the bath was ready, I received Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians from her to loosen up.
"Phew. Feels like I'll live."
My body, exhausted from the brutal Qi Circulation and Breath Adjustment and lightness skill training since morning, felt pleasantly languid thanks to Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians and the hot bath.
After resting like that and passing the time, a warrior from the Warm Hostel County branch we hadn't seen before guided us to the dining area.
There, seats were prepared for Master and me, and the Branch Leader Ma Gang-il whom we'd met earlier.
"Please, sit."
After Master said that and picked up his chopsticks first to take a bite, our slightly late lunch began.
"By the way, how is the education of the Warm Hostel County residents progressing?"
And as expected of an old-timer, Master unhesitatingly brought up work during the meal.
"My branch members and I patrol the village daily, tending to the residents. In the process, we gradually teach them the doctrines written in the Heavenly Demon Secret Record. We'd like to distribute scriptures and have them study, but few have learned enough letters to understand the Heavenly Demon Secret Record, so we have no choice but to explain the doctrines orally."
After that, questions from Master and answers from the Branch Leader continued.
Watching Ma Gang-il, who was so tense answering that he barely touched his food, it was truly a pitiful sight.
Nom nom.
Of course, starved since morning from all the running around, I was shoving food into my mouth nonstop.
Just as my hunger was somewhat sated, Master's barrage of questions toward the Branch Leader finally came to an end.
And having finished attacking the Branch Leader, Master suddenly looked at me and asked.
"What do you think, Il-mok?"
"…About what?"
"Based on that system you mentioned last time, is there a way to change this place?"
After running me ragged since morning, now he's assigning more work?
Hiding my incredulity, I replied.
"I haven't examined it enough yet, so nothing comes to mind right now."
"Hahaha. Fair enough. Then after the meal, go tour the county with the Branch Leader."
"Understood."
Well, touring the village could be done with a tourist mindset, just wandering around casually.
'Even if something comes to mind, I'll just play dumb.'
I had no desire for more work piling up here.
With that mindset, I lifted my chopsticks to finish the remaining food. That's when Master's voice pierced my ears.
"If even after touring Warm Hostel County nothing comes to mind, let's go visit somewhere else."
"Somewhere else… like where?"
"Hahaha. There are plenty of places to go. Do you think there's only one or two villages following our Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's doctrines?"
"...."
In other words, if I couldn't come up with good ideas, we'd go to another village each time.
And in that process, I'd have to repeat today's morning ordeal every time.
On top of that, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's base in Xinjiang was ridiculously vast.
Far larger than the combined size of South and North Korea.
'I'm screwed.'
It seemed that if I couldn't think of something good today, a journey rivaling an eight provinces tour on foot would begin.
* * *
After the suffocating meal with Master, I set out from the branch with Jin Ha-yeon and Branch Leader Ma Gang-il.
"Hahaha. It's an honor to introduce Warm Hostel County to Young Master."
Ma Gang-il, the Branch Leader, approached with a friendly smile that contrasted his fierce face.
It looked like some clueless kid had shown up at his workplace to inspect the site, but he showed no displeasure whatsoever.
Under his guidance, as we strolled through Warm Hostel County, unlike the frenzied atmosphere when we arrived, it now felt like just an ordinary village.
'Well, it's already been a shichen and a half since Master entered the branch.'
Under the crimson sky where the sun was just beginning to set, villagers bustled about busily for their livelihoods.
"Oh dear. Even with your body unwell, you shouldn't have bothered telling us."
And Ma Gang-il, despite his fierce face, amiably greeted the village elders as he approached.
"Heavens no. How could we burden you busy folks with big duties with something like this?"
"Hahaha. Helping all of you is the big duty we've taken on. Elder."
He naturally took over the bundle from a hunched old man and chatted.
Watching that, I quietly asked the elder.
"Elder, if you don't mind, could you tell me what that 'big duty' you mentioned earlier is?"
At my question, the elder's gaze turned to Ma Gang-il.
His eyes said, 'What's this young punk asking?'
Ma Gang-il, unfazed even by my sudden interruption, smiled and said to the elder.
"Hahaha. Didn't you see earlier? He's the Heavenly Demon's disciple."
No sooner had he finished than the elder startled and tried to drop to his knees on the spot.
If I hadn't swiftly moved to support him, I would've nearly received a bow from someone several times my age.
"No need for that."
"H-How could I not show respect to the Heavenly Demon's disciple?"
"It's fine. We're out incognito right now, so drawing attention would only cause trouble."
Only at my mention of my own trouble did the elder finally give up bowing. He still seemed fidgety.
No point in saying more; my presence would keep making them uncomfortable, so to finish up quickly and leave, I asked again.
"Elder, could you tell me what that big duty you mentioned is?"
"W-Well, isn't it protecting us?"
The elder's story, once he opened up, was simpler than expected.
Originally, this Xinjiang region was mostly mountains and deserts, so there were plenty of bandits or mountain thieves based in oases or mountain ranges. Plus criminals crossing over from foreign lands beyond the mountains.
In an already harsh environment for survival due to the terrain, those villains ran rampant, making it hellish.
Then, as the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult took root in Xinjiang, the number of villains drastically decreased, allowing common folk a somewhat livable world.
"I heard this from my great-grandfather when I was young, but back then, they worried every day if bandits or thieves might raid."
"…Pardon?"
At the elder's last words, I asked with a puzzled expression, and Jin Ha-yeon, who had been listening beside me, spoke up.
"Our Heavenly Demon Divine Cult arrived here about two hundred years ago, Young Master. Since then, we've gradually expanded our influence, and now we've fully rooted ourselves in the Heavenly Myriad Mountains."
Thanks to her explanation, I recalled what she'd told me before.
'Ah, right, about two hundred years ago, they were branded rebels by the imperial court.'
That's when they came to Xinjiang from the Central Plains, steadily expanding the territories they managed.
"Compared to my great-grandfather's time, it's less now, but bandits and thieves still appear occasionally. And whenever that happens, the Divine Cult's warriors protect us. A few years ago, my son ran into a bandit gang while heading to the Ulmus Wood area for business. But even then, the Divine Cult's warriors saved him."
"Those who saved your son back then were probably one of the armed units on patrol, Young Master Il-mok."
At the elder's praise, Ma Gang-il added that, perhaps to not steal another's merit.
"In truth, Warm Hostel County is close to the main headquarters, so such villains hardly appear. So we mainly help with the villagers' livelihoods like this."
Hearing up to there, I could grasp how things were run.
'The branches in each region are like parishes?'
Places that care for local masses, assist with miscellaneous tasks, propagate doctrines, and also serve as guards suppressing foreign troublemakers or rampaging bandits and thieves.
At this point, I could understand why even ordinary commoners had become fanatics like the headquarters' demonic cultists.
Having helped them for nearly two hundred years, subtly instilling the cult's doctrines nonstop, even I might have been brainwashed.
But conversely.
'Doing the exact same thing for two hundred years—makes the South Korean civil service system feel cutting-edge by comparison.'
It felt stale in every way.
Still, from my position, it wasn't a bad situation.
'At this level, there's more than enough to change, huh?'
If it's running on such a one-dimensional system, there were plenty of angles to tweak.
Of course.
'I'll touch it minimally, to keep work from piling up on me as much as possible.'
I had zero intention of falling back into work hell.