Chapter 54: Public Sentiment Began to Shift
“The Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult wished to change the cult. At the very least, he did not want it to remain a place pointed at and condemned from the outside.”
At the strategist’s reply, the Cult Leader spoke with an indifferent tone.
“I heard that too. But what does that have to do with those bastards from the Guardian Division going out to commit suicide?”
“To make our Bright Cult into that kind of place, everything must return to its original purpose.”
“Original purpose?”
“The purpose of the Guardian Division is to cherish and love the cultists, and to serve them.”
“Love? Serve? Just tell those Guardian Division bastards to stop leaking information. Because of them, our people have seen so much blood spilled.”
As the Cult Leader grumbled, the strategist smiled.
“Even so, for a reason similar to why you did not capture and kill them, the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult wishes for them to carry out their duties properly.”
At the strategist’s words, the Cult Leader pursed his lips.
Honestly, he had wanted to kill them. He had been so furious that he wanted to wipe out every last one of the Guardian Division.
Yet he could not imagine a Bright Cult without them.
So as he forced himself to endure, he began to see the other side. The reason those Guardian Division bastards had committed such acts of betrayal.
When that was brought up, and with the strategist’s words that ‘the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult wishes for them to carry out their duties properly,’ he was finally able to vaguely read the Vice Cult Leader’s intentions.
“Do you think it’s possible?”
“With the Guardian Division alone, it would be difficult.”
“I figured. With Bright Cult martial artists appearing from time to time and capturing and killing people, there’s no way they’d be looked upon kindly.”
“Please take into consideration that the Guardian Division carried this out after meeting the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. They would not be unaware of that fact.”
“So Han ordered it?”
“I do not know whether there was a direct command, or merely a path shown. But it is certain that the Vice Cult Leader’s will was reflected in it.”
“That means similar things will start happening among the martial artists as well.”
“The Vice Cult Leader openly declared that he would change the cult, did he not?”
“Will it be alright?”
To the Cult Leader’s question, laden with many meanings, the strategist did not answer, instead asking something else.
“Even so, will you be alright with it?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You now clearly understand what the Vice Cult Leader intends to do. I am asking whether you are still fine with it.”
“So what exactly is the intent behind that question?”
At the Cult Leader’s repeated questioning, the strategist replied.
“I am asking whether the Vice Cult Leader’s will aligns with the Cult Leader’s will.”
After throwing out that question and gazing steadily at him, the Cult Leader let out a snort of laughter.
“Han’s will is my will.”
“Why is that?”
At the strategist’s question, seeking a more definite reason, the Cult Leader answered with an awkward smile.
“To be honest, I don’t really know. It’s been that way ever since my master brought that brat wrapped in swaddling clothes. A kid who wouldn’t stop crying for anyone else—hell, not even in my master’s arms—but when I held him, he smiled brightly. From that moment on, it was like that. If it was for that kid’s smile, I wanted to do anything.”
“Is that truly the only reason?”
“Only? Do you know what kept me going as I faced death countless times during my master’s training? I endured, ready to die, just to see that kid smile one more time. If I died, who would change Han’s diapers? Who would go begging for milk for him? It’s ridiculous, but that’s what kept me going. So don’t use the word ‘only’ so lightly. Next time, even if it’s you, I won’t tolerate it.”
At the Cult Leader’s firm answer, the strategist nodded.
“I see. I understand.”
“If you understand, then why do your eyes look like that?”
At the grumbling question, the strategist smiled once more.
“It means I understand that it’s a heart that isn’t a father’s, yet is like one.”
“You bastard. What kind of only friend blocks someone’s path to marriage?”
At the Cult Leader’s complaint, the strategist asked with a deliberately surprised expression.
“Are you getting married?”
“That’s just how people say it! Stop spouting nonsense and answer my question already.”
He was demanding an answer to the ‘will it be alright?’ question he had asked earlier.
To that, the strategist replied.
“If the Cult Leader does not waver, then will it not be alright?”
At the strategist, who attached the condition of ‘if you do not waver’ to something the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult was undertaking, the Cult Leader let out a snort of laughter.
“Seriously, you bastard…… So how far do you expect this to go?”
“Behind the curtain, it will be child’s play. There will likely even be those who step forward insisting that the Bright Cult be split in half.”
“Blood will flow, then. Thickly, within the Bright Cult.”
From the chill in the Cult Leader’s voice, the strategist could sense the acrid smell of blood. The Cult Leader of the Bright Cult, called the greatest of demon lords—the Martial Heaven Demon Emperor—had resolved to draw his blade for his disciple.
The strategist did not think he should stop it.
Because he, too, wished to see what the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult had spoken of.
<A Bright Cult that returns entirely to its original purpose>
With that desire, the strategist gauged the coming backlash and began to think over the tasks he needed to carry out.
Shin Jijinren, the sect master of the Kunlun Sect, sank into deep worry after hearing the report from the Dao Illumination Court Head.
The concerns he had harbored after receiving information from the Beggars’ Sect were becoming reality.
“Are there many who have defected?”
“Across the entire Cheonghae Region, the Bright Cult is rising like wildfire. From what I have confirmed alone, it already exceeds several hundred.”
“Hmmm…… It’s hard to believe that simply taking care of a single patient could have such a far-reaching impact.”
“We are also surprised. We are cautiously speculating that it may be because this region has long suffered from a severe medical vacuum.”
“Is there a solution?”
“We were thinking of opening free clinics ourselves.”
“Would that be possible?”
“Bringing people in from outside would be honestly difficult. No matter how much money we offer, hardly anyone is willing to come into the Cheonghae Region.”
It was because of Cheonghae’s harsh and barren living environment. Water was scarce, local products were few, and cultural life was something one could not even dream of.
It was to the point that people said even the rural cities of Gansu were more developed than Xining, the provincial capital of Cheonghae.
Considering that Gansu itself lay on the fringe of the Central Plains, it spoke volumes about just how underdeveloped Cheonghae truly was.
“Then what is it that you propose?”
“We would like to hire clinics that are already operating within Cheonghae.”
“They must be making no small profit. Would that even be possible?”
“That is why the Sect Master’s decision is necessary. We would need to guarantee them more than the profits they currently earn.”
“Hm…….”
After pondering deeply in silence for a long while, Shin Jijinren asked,
“If we were to leave it alone, what would happen?”
“We would lose an unimaginably large number of believers.”
“Is their faith really that shallow?”
“This is Cheonghae. In a place so hard to live in, simply believing in the Bright Cult grants free treatment and free medicine. Even if they are not sick now, there is no reason not to believe in the Bright Cult for the sake of ‘just in case.’”
“Haha… this is quite something….”
“And there is more.”
“There is more?”
At Shin Jijinren’s surprise, the Dao Illumination Court Head replied.
“The children who were kidnapped recently have returned.”
“Ah! I did hear that children had been disappearing in various places lately. There were many claims that it was the Bright Cult’s doing, were there not?”
“Yes. Chronologically, it coincided with the Bright Cult’s Unsealing Training period.”
That was why they had remained silent. If they stepped in rashly, they would spill blood for nothing and gain nothing in return.
Some criticized them for turning a blind eye to the suffering of the common people, but from experience, intervening at such times only resulted in losing countless disciples without stopping the kidnappings.
The Unsealing Training period was limited, and Bright Cult martial artists, desperate to obtain what they wanted for cultivation, acted with ruthless urgency.
So they had deliberately looked away and pretended not to know.
“But to return them—what does that mean?”
“The Bright Cult sent the children back.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
Seeing that Shin Jijinren clearly could not believe it, the Dao Illumination Court Head explained.
“Without a word, Bright Cult martial artists returned the children and disappeared. Afterward, however, the instructors of the Guardian Division went around telling people to hang the Bright Cult’s symbol on their doors. They said that if they did, children would never disappear again….”
“So what happened?”
Even as he asked, Shin Jijinren believed he already knew the answer. As expected—
“Whether they believed in the Bright Cult or not, most households with children hung the Bright Cult’s banner in front of their doors.”
“If they only hung the banner…”
With a sliver of hope in his voice, Shin Jijinren spoke, but the Dao Illumination Court Head shook his head.
“At first, they only hung the banner. Later, they began participating in Bright Cult events and became believers.”
“No, why?”
“Over the past few days, Bright Cult instructors have been distributing relief grain.”
“The Bright Cult’s food situation cannot be that abundant. How is that possible?”
After all, even the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult had come to borrow rice. To that question, the Dao Illumination Court Head answered with a look of shame.
“The Guardian Division of the Bright Cult decided to eat only one meal a day… and they are distributing the food they saved to starving believers.”
They were reducing their own rations to help those in need. Shin Jijinren could understand why the Dao Illumination Court Head felt ashamed.
Even so, the amount of relief grain could not be very large. After all, the Guardian Division instructors numbered only a few hundred at most.
“Then is the impact really something to worry about? No matter how much they save, it can’t be much.”
To Shin Jijinren’s question, the Dao Illumination Court Head replied,
“We thought so at first as well, but the situation is not unfolding normally.”
“Why?”
“As word spreads that the Guardian Division of the Bright Cult is starving itself to help those in need… public sentiment is shifting rapidly.”
Free medical treatment, free medicine, and even relief grain. He could not deny that they were perfectly suited to capturing the hearts of people struggling to survive in Cheonghae.
In the end, words of approval came from Shin Jijinren’s mouth.
“Clinics… try to secure them. As for the cost… do not worry about it.”
Knowing all too well how tightly Kunlun would have to tighten its belt to cover those costs, the Dao Illumination Court Head bowed deeply.
“My apologies, Sect Master.”
After dismissing the Dao Illumination Court Head, Shin Jijinren’s expression darkened.
It was because he realized that competition with the Bright Cult was no longer limited to power alone, but had now extended even into the realm of faith.
It was then that the Sangho Pavilion Lord came to see the Sect Master.
“Sect Master, you should take a look at this.”
As the Sangho Pavilion Lord handed him a letter, Shin Jijinren asked,
“What is this?”
“A transcription of a message hawk dispatch.”
“A message hawk? From where could such a message come…?”
As he asked in puzzlement and unfolded the letter, Shin Jijinren’s eyes widened.
Seeing this, the Sangho Pavilion Lord hurriedly continued.
“It is a message from the Bright Cult. Not only us, but also the Martial Alliance, and even all sects known as regional overlords, seem to have received one.”
Just as Shin Jijinren was shocked by those words, there was another person, thousands of li away, who was equally flustered.
The Shaolin Divine Monk, leader of the Martial Alliance, received the message hawk dispatch that the strategist Jegal Giyeon brought and read it, his expression turning incredulous.
“Is this truly from the Bright Cult?”
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
At Jegal Giyeon’s confirmation, the Shaolin Divine Monk’s gaze dropped back to the message.
“Escorting the kidnapped children back to their parents… Ha, ha, hahaha.”
As the Shaolin Divine Monk reacted in disbelief, Jegal Giyeon asked,
“What should we do? If we block them, it would mean obstructing the return of children to their parents. If we let it be, we must stand by and watch Bright Cult martial artists roam freely through the Hundred Paths’ territory….”
Just as Jegal Giyeon was troubled, so too was the Shaolin Divine Monk.