The Heavenly Demon Cult’s Strongest Maid - Chapter 332

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 86

The ancient capital city of Luoyang, famous for its countless scenic spots, was a place that bustled with crowds year-round, living up to its reputation.

Thanks to this, the streets were always full of vitality, and facilities like inns, pleasure houses, and tea houses for visitors to Luoyang were well-equipped.

Even in Luoyang, the most prosperous area was considered to be the Dang-seong Intersection.

Four establishments located there – inns and pleasure houses – suddenly closed their doors. Not only did they refuse all guests, but they strictly controlled entry and exit.

Before long, rumors spread that someone had rented out all four places entirely.

People were uniformly amazed and clicked their tongues.

Just how much money did they have to rent all four locations in the best spots in Luoyang?

Rumors spread like wildfire about who could have pulled off such an enormous feat.

Some said it was the work of the world’s greatest merchant group, the Geumyang Trading Company, others speculated that the world’s greatest financial house, the Cheongeum Bank, had made a move, and some whispered that it might have been rented by a high-ranking imperial figure for some reason.

However, these were all just floating rumors, and no one knew the exact truth.

Just as the unverifiable gossip was abundant and interest was gradually dying down.

A single flag was erected on the roof of an empty pleasure house.

It was the flag of Sa Do-ryeon, with five white circles drawn on a purple background.

Luoyang was instantly in an uproar.

With Shaolin Monastery so close you could hit it with a stone, people said Sa Do-ryeon must have collectively gone insane.

But the surprise was brief, as soon another flag fluttered on the inn across the street.

The character “” (righteous) written large on a white background.

It was the flag of the Martial Arts Alliance.

Righteous and evil.

Everyone was in chaos, wondering what on earth was happening with this mismatched combination.

But that wasn’t the end.

A few days later, the single character “” (demon) written in white on a black background.

When the Mukcheongi flag symbolizing the Cheonma Sect was raised, Luoyang trembled.

A demonic sect’s flag in the heart of Jungwon territory.

It couldn’t help but be a major incident that would shock any martial artist.

And only then did everyone realize.

Righteous , Evil , Demonic .

The fact that flags dividing the three paths of the world were planted side by side foretold that a righteous-evil-demonic summit would soon be held in Luoyang.

It wasn’t just righteous and evil, but righteous, evil, and demonic.

Gangho was stirred by this unprecedented situation they had never seen in their lives.

Meanwhile, one curiosity arose.

Four places were rented, so who was the owner of the remaining one?

“Oh? What brings you here?”

What greeted me and my party as we left Wuhan and entered Luoyang was Muk-mul, the young branch leader of the Hao Clan.

For some reason, the kid had been waiting for me.

“Hello.”

I was happy to see him after a long time, but Muk-mul just nodded his head coolly and immediately turned around.

“Follow me.”

It seemed this kid was assigned to guide us.

“Muk-mul!”

“What?”

When I called him, the kid turned around with an annoyed expression as if I was bothering him.

“You should greet adults when you see them, shouldn’t you?”

“I already greeted you as the representative, miss.”

“Am I the only one here?”

I glared at Muk-mul and introduced Eok I-geon and Cheon-gang.

“You know the Bongwang-dae from seeing them once before, right?”

Though it was a very brief encounter, the smart kid seemed to remember.

“…Yes, hello.”

Muk-mul gave a half-hearted greeting and quickly turned around again.

“What an impudent little brat.”

“Still, he has some unexpectedly cute aspects.”

At Eok I-geon’s criticism, I subtly took Muk-mul’s side.

Actually, I found the kid nothing but adorable.

“This is where Cheon-sin-mun will stay.”

The place Muk-mul brought us to was an enormous pleasure house.

Even if Grandpa Tak came, Cheon-sin-mun had fewer than fifteen disciples, so what was Uncle Jegal Mun-gi thinking when he rented this entire place?

Well, the facilities seem high-class, so that’s good.

“Oh! The atmosphere is pretty cool, isn’t it?”

“There’s even a banquet hall. Should we have a party here later?”

“I want to take a bath first. Hehe!”

Though it wasn’t a very long journey, the Bongwang-dae members who arrived in Luoyang excitedly rushed inside in a group.

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

Having finished his job, the Ink Boy turned around again without saying goodbye.

Such a cold kid.

“Muk-mul!”

“Why are you calling me again?”

“Don’t be like that, want to go eat some sweets with us?”

“…Sweets?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Well, because sweet treats are the best way to get close to kids?

But if I said that, he’d probably run away even more.

“Why? Just because your big sister wants to buy them for you.”

“That’s really free?”

Muk-mul squinted his eyes and looked at me suspiciously.

Right, I had momentarily forgotten.

How thorough this kid was about money calculations.

“You’re not trying to give me a measly sweet and then ask me to take on a job, are you?”

“Oh my, look at this kid. What do you take me for!”

“There’s no such thing as free in this world.”

The kid spoke with firm conviction as if it were an absolute truth.

What should I do with this little one?

It must be because he experienced many hardships in life from a young age, right?

I wanted to show this kid that there was such a thing as kindness without a price.

“Who says that? There are free things in the world too.”

“Where?”

“Me! What this big sister buys for you is free. Got it?”

Muk-mul stared at me intently with fresh eyes.

Heh, did you perhaps fall for me?

Your big sister has lots of money?

“Well, you were a sucker after all.”

“…!”

Suddenly, the strength drained from my knees and my body swayed.

The kid looked at me and grinned.

“You, if you keep being cheeky, you’ll get in trouble!”

I was being so nice to him and this kid really!

“When my sister gets angry, she’s totally scary!”

“You can eat some sweets and cool down. Let’s go!”

“…What?”

“They say sweet things are the best when you’re angry.”

Muk-mul walked ahead as if telling me to follow him.

“Geez, that little pipsqueak! I can’t even give him a good smack.”

I had no choice but to grumble and follow the kid along with Eok I-geon.

“But why sweets all of a sudden?”

“Seeing you reminded me of someone.”

“Who?”

“Someone. A boy taoist who uses difficult words.”

It was a child who left a strong impression on me despite seeing him only once.

Wondering if I might see him again, I looked around every time I went to buy sweets, but I hadn’t seen him since that day.

“You know a good place?”

“Of course. In Luoyang, I know everything except what I don’t know.”

How could he say something so obvious with such a straight face?

If that was a skill, it was quite a skill indeed.

Ink Boy led us through several alleys to a street stall.

“Grandma!”

When the kid saw the street stall grandmother, he ran over and greeted her happily.

“Oh my, isn’t it Muk-mul? What brings you all the way here?”

“Close up shop for today!”

“Huh? What did this kid eat wrong? I just opened, what do you mean close up?”

“Just close when I tell you to close! I brought a sucker with me!”

A sucker?

Who?

Don’t tell me it’s me?

Muk-mul happened to look at me and gestured.

Wow, should I kill that kid or let him live?

For starters, I felt like I needed to give him at least one flick on the forehead to feel better.

I put force into my eyes and beckoned with my finger for him to come while I was still being nice.

Muk-mul shook his head defiantly in rebellion.

Won’t come?

Then big sister can just go to you.

When I took a big step forward, Muk-mul stepped backward.

“Hey hey, there’s someone behind you!”

Before I could say anything to stop him, the kid bumped into someone behind him.

Huh?

But why is he here?

That’s because the person Muk-mul bumped into was the Young Taoist I had seen in Wuhan.

“Wonsi Anjin.”

The boy greeted me politely with proper etiquette.

Indeed, the Taoist manners were impressive.

After seeing that cheeky Muk-mul kid, meeting the boy felt like my eyes were being opened.

“Have you been well?”

The well-mannered kid’s appearance was the same as before.

Old and worn loose taoist robes.

Why would a kid who should be in Wuhan come here?

Then suddenly, a piece of knowledge I had read in novels flashed through my mind.

Don’t tell me the one who took you in wasn’t a Taoist Temple, but a wandering fortune teller?

You know, those taoists who wander around like peddlers with flags inscribed with fortune-telling or good and bad luck stuck on wooden bundles.

Wandering fortune tellers tend to move following rumors.

Luoyang was bound to be even more chaotic than before due to the Righteous Faction talks, so it seemed he had come chasing after good business.

Since it might be a sensitive topic, I couldn’t bring myself to ask, so I came to that conclusion.

“Since we met like this, it worked out well. You should eat sweets with us too. Big sister will buy them for you!”

As soon as he greeted me, the boy’s gaze was fixed on the sweets just like before.

“Yeah, I’m being generous too!”

Muk-mul picked up a sweet and handed it to the boy, even though he wasn’t the one buying. The kid already had a sweet in his mouth.

Indeed, at that age, nothing beats sweets.

But the Young Taoist couldn’t readily eat the sweet today either.

His conflicted expression while holding the sweet in his hand was quite serious.

“It is said that no disaster is greater than not knowing contentment, and no fault is greater than wanting to obtain.”

“In the Mencius Commentaries, Gaozi said that food and sex are human nature. Why bring up the Tao Te Ching over just one sweet?”

Muk-mul chuckled and took a big bite of his sweet. Then the Young Taoist stared at Muk-mul.

“Why? What?”

Thinking it was a challenge to fight, the kid lifted his chin.

However, the boy was a taoist.

“Zhuangzi said that those with deep desires have shallow heavenly mechanisms.”

“But the Great Learning says this: Those who wish to rectify their hearts must first make their intentions sincere; those who wish to make their intentions sincere must first extend their knowledge. Cultivation is not about suppressing desires, but about properly understanding desires.”

“Master Laozi said…”

“Master Confucius said…”

“In the Tao Te Ching…”

“In the Doctrine of the Mean…”

This is ridiculous.

Are they really going to have a philosophical debate over sweets, bringing up Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Confucius?

It went into my ears clearly, but flowed right out the other ear as it came in.

I had no idea what they were saying.

It felt exactly like listening to a foreign language.

“Um, kids?”

At my voice, both of them turned to look at me simultaneously.

“Just eat the sweets, okay?”

“What!”

Muk-mul exclaimed in disbelief and looked me up and down. The Young Taoist shook his head beside him.

“You couldn’t understand what we were saying? Is this for real?”

“If you don’t know, just say you don’t know. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. But could you understand if we taught you?”

What’s with these kids?

Are they making fun of me for being ignorant right now?

“Still, you’re the first person to buy Doe sweets. This must be fate too.”

“I guess I wasn’t the only sucker.”

Wow, I can’t stand this anymore.

Thunk! Thunk!

I gave each of them a satisfying flick on the forehead.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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