Chapter 52: Mireuk Cult (2)

 

After the day of the spiritual eye awakening, new regions appeared on the map. 

 

To be precise, the names of the existing regions had changed.

 

And they had taken on names filled with adolescent grandeur.

 

A river where yang energy gathered and flames soared was now called Geukyangcheon.

 

A valley where yin energy converged and everything froze was now called Geukeumgok.

 

A plain where winds blew strong enough to cut through steel was now called Salpungpyeongya.

 

And then there was Jeonryusan, named for its flowing current of the otherworldly.

 

I had arrived at Jeonryusan.

 

“Hmm.”

 

I got off the electric scooter and examined Jeonryusan.

 

It was just a barren hill with no grass or trees.

 

Far away, something that looked like a mountain lodge stood halfway up the hill.

 

As expected, there was no sign of electricity in Jeonryusan.

 

I had suspected as much when I heard about the otherworldly current.

 

I quickly took off my boots and changed back into sneakers.

 

Then I slowly climbed Jeonryusan.

 

Without trees or grass, there was no risk of getting lost.

 

In about 20 minutes, I reached the mountain lodge.

 

I knocked on the door of the lodge and said,

 

“I’ve come to offer my tribute.”

 

The door creaked open.

 

A young woman stood in the doorway.

 

“Welcome. You must be a trainee here to offer your tribute and receive the trial.”

 

“Yes, that’s correct.”

 

The woman wore a white hanbok and a peculiar mask.

 

Naturally, I felt a bit tense.

 

In these times, a hanbok was a symbol of strength.

 

It’s said that all the high-ranking members of powerful clans and sects wear hanboks. 

 

In fact, in those places, you can’t wear a hanbok until you reach a certain rank.

 

As I hesitated, the woman spoke up.

 

“Would you like to have some tea while you wait for the others to arrive?”

 

“Yes, tea sounds good.”

 

I followed the woman into the lodge. 

 

By the way, that mask she was wearing seemed familiar.

 

I couldn’t quite place it.

 

I sat at the table and was served tea.

 

“By the way, arriving so early must mean you are quite a formidable trainee.”

 

“Haha, it’s nothing special.”

 

It really wasn’t.

 

I sipped my tea and looked around.

 

The lodge had a Western exterior but an Oriental interior.

 

It reminded me of the last office I visited.

 

I also noticed a beautifully decorated altar.

 

“What’s that altar for?”

 

“Oh, that altar holds a relic of Lord Mireuk. Any sizeable Mireuk cult residence always has at least one relic.”

 

A relic of Lord Mireuk.

 

I wondered what kind of relic it could be.

 

I fiddled with the bag I had brought.

 

Fifty million won and Harin’s clothes.

 

Would this really be enough? I wasn’t sure.

 

While I was pondering, the door to the lodge opened.

 

“Ugh, the otherworldly current. It stings. I lost three of my men to it.”

 

A huge middle-aged man entered. He had a shaved head and his hands and arms were covered in traditional tattoos.

 

“Welcome, Leader.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Oh, what’s this? Someone arrived before me?”

 

The middle-aged man strode towards me with long strides.

 

With a sly smile, he extended his hand to me.

 

"Nice to meet you. I am the Overlord of Hongdae, known as Makju."

 

I decided to conceal my real name here.

 

I didn't want to share my true identity with people like him.

 

"Hello. You can just call me Jin."

 

"Jin? Never heard of it."

 

He said this as he naturally took over the sofa.

 

"But seeing as you made it here unscathed, your skills must be solid. Let's get along. If you ever have dirty or bothersome tasks, feel free to request our Am-Mak."

 

The Leader of Am-Mak.

 

I had heard of him.

 

Am-Mak is the third largest criminal organization based in Seoul, centered around Hongdae.

 

Therefore, the leader of Am-Mak was effectively a boss over the Hongdae Sub-King Cheonsu.

 

To think such a top-tier piece of trash was standing before me.

 

The world is full of surprises.

 

Anyway, having such a notorious scoundrel participating suddenly made my fifty million won feel insignificant.

 

Makju gazed out through the large window at the desolate gravel field.

 

Then, he chuckled and remarked,

 

"It's quite a sight. A forest made entirely of lightning. It would make a great tourist spot if it didn't flash so much that you can't see a damn thing."

 

A forest made of lightning.

 

Of course, nothing like that was visible to my eyes.

 

After that, the door opened and new participants entered. 

 

Three men and two women. They all carried briefcases and treasure chests.

 

As people gathered and time passed,

 

the masked woman in the hanbok stood up and spoke.

 

"Now that the time has come, we will accept the tributes. Will the first person offering tribute please step forward?"

 

"I'll go first."

 

The one who stepped forward was none other than Makju.

 

He signaled to his subordinates to open two briefcases.

 

"Ten billion won. This should be sufficient, right?"

 

"Ten billion won."

 

The masked woman in the hanbok trailed off.

 

This made Makju's expression turn sour.

 

"We appreciate your generous offering. Now, what about the relic?"

 

At another signal from Makju, a white box was opened.

 

"It's the relic of the great prophet Ju-Hol, who predicted the coming of Mireuk 500 years ago."

 

"The relic of Ju-Hol. Is there a way to verify this?"

 

"Do you not trust me? I am the leader of Am-Mak. Do you think I'd disgrace myself by bringing a fake?"

 

Hearing this, the masked woman in the hanbok bowed.

 

"No, but it is certainly a powerful relic. Although it's a bit disappointing, we will accept this item."

 

So even ten billion won plus a relic was barely enough.

 

I started to consider if I should just run away.

 

The next person to step forward was a swaggering man.

 

From head to toe, he was dressed to show off his wealth.

 

He spoke with a mocking tone, not hiding his disdain.

 

"Makju, calling yourself an Overlord with just ten billion? Aren't you being a bit stingy?"

 

"Shut up. If it weren't for having to clean up after Cheonsu..."

 

The swaggering man snapped his fingers.

 

Immediately, four briefcases behind him opened simultaneously.

 

"Twenty billion won. Is this enough to satisfy the Mireuk Cult?"

 

"Thank you for your generous offering."

 

The woman in the hanbok bowed her head immediately.

 

This was valuable information.

 

Twenty billion won was enough to satisfy the Mireuk Cult! Damn.

 

"Next, it's time to present your relic. Please, step forward."

 

From behind the man, a treasure chest-like box was brought forward.

 

The man spoke proudly.

 

"It's an ancient manuscript of the Mireuk Sutra. It’s at least a thousand years old."

 

"Oh."

 

The masked woman in the hanbok looked visibly pleased.

 

She bowed her head and said,

 

"Thank you for your offering."

 

"Don't mention it."

 

The subsequent cash and items were no joke either. Amounts like twenty billion, fifteen billion, and thirty billion were tossed around like game money.

 

The items included ancient Mireuk statues (SR), secret celestial reports on Mireuk (SSR), and more. Of course, there was one item I couldn't quite understand.

 

"This is a photograph of Lord Mireuk’s visage."

 

With that, the woman handed a photo to the hanbok woman.

 

Upon seeing the photo, the hanbok woman trembled and said,

 

"This... this is a photo we've never had in our collection. A photo of Lord Mireuk gazing indifferently at the river. It is such a majestic picture."

 

What kind of photo would elicit such a reaction?

 

What is it? What kind of photo is it?

 

Is it really a photo of Harin?

 

I have so many photos of Harin. My mother loved taking pictures, so we have a lot of photos of Harin from when she was young.

 

After my mother passed away, I took many photos myself.

 

If I had known, I would have brought some photos of Harin.

 

But is that really a photo of Harin?

 

The man I met in the office last time also had a photo of Harin.

 

"Such a precious relic. Thank you very much, Sister."

 

"You're welcome, Sister."

 

I was bursting with curiosity but couldn't see the photo.

 

Because it was my turn next.

 

I awkwardly stood up and handed over five checks from my inner pocket.

 

The masked woman in the hanbok tilted her head as she accepted the checks.

 

"Fifty million won."

 

"Fifty million won? Just that?"

 

The masked woman’s confusion was palpable even from where I stood.

 

Before she could recover, I spoke up.

 

“Shall we move on to the relics?”

 

I opened my bag and took out Harin’s clothes.

 

To be precise, it was her underwear.

 

Damn, I never imagined I’d do something like this in my life.

 

The first item I introduced was this:

 

A slightly stretched white shirt.

 

These were clothes Harin wore at home.

 

“These are the clothes that Lord Mireuk wore more frequently than any other.”

 

“What? What? Hold on. This is...”

 

Was it confusion or disbelief?

 

The woman in the hanbok started trembling.

 

Even the two heads of the criminal organizations, who seemed to sincerely believe in the Mireuk Cult, were shaking.

 

Did they think it was an insult?

 

Before things got worse, I had to explain the next item.

 

Harin’s character underwear. Damn. I had to explain this with my own hands.

 

“These are underwear with characters from a cartoon that Lord Mireuk liked. She wore these frequently too.”

 

My sister, Yoo Harin, was indifferent to everything.

 

She didn’t particularly like anything except playing with me.

 

Not toys, not TV.

 

But sometimes, when I was late, she would watch a certain children's cartoon. She would stare at the screen with her usual blank expression.

 

Honestly, I found it cute. 

 

So when the time came to buy her underwear, I bought ones with characters from that cartoon. And then Harin took my hand and said,

 

‘Thank you, Oppa. Really.’

 

It was quite a reaction for a kid who usually showed no emotion. 

 

It surprised me a bit.

 

Anyway, these were underwear with those memories. It might sound strange, but they were quite precious to me.

 

So please don’t misunderstand me as a pervert.

 

If you want to insult me, just call me trash.

 

I really have no choice right now.

 

If I can just confirm that Harin is alive, I’d gladly become trash ten times over.

 

With these embarrassing thoughts in mind, I glanced around.

 

What I saw were people bowing to Harin’s panties.

 

From the masked woman to several crime bosses, they were all bowing to Harin’s underwear.

 

“This, this, such a sacred, such a holy relic.”

 

“Ugh, it’s good to be alive.”

 

“So noble. So moving.”

 

To have this reaction to a girl’s underwear.

 

And they were my sister’s panties, no less.

 

Damn, it’s utterly repulsive.

 

And it seemed the Overlord of Hongdae, Makju, felt the same.

 

Makju spoke up with a look of disbelief.

 

“Unbelievable. Bowing to a kid’s underwear? What a bunch of perverts...”

 

Wow, he’s really speaking my mind.

 

I was just about to say the same thing.

 

But...

 

At that moment, the masked woman’s hand shot into Makju’s mouth.

 

And without hesitation, she yanked out his tongue.

 

“Who did you dare call a kid? Mireuk?”

 

The masked woman in the hanbok spoke in a low voice. Everyone except me bowed their heads, clearly fearing her.

 

“Did you think you were anything more than an insect just because you opened the Ghost Gate? I’ll ask again. Who did you dare call a kid, Makju?”

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

 

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