Please Stop The Pope

Chapter 109

5.

Li Jie, the team leader of the Northeast Asia Team 4 in the International Cooperation Division of the Department of Ability Management of the People’s Republic of China.

She was a Class A Hunter, classified as “Zi” level according to Chinese standards. This meant that she was recognized as a formidable individual in China, where Hunters are graded based on the Twelve Signs.

Li Jie had confidence in her abilities.

Although she was slightly inferior compared to the four transcendents, who were a point of pride for China, she was confident that, apart from them, she could hold her own anywhere.

In fact, during her four years of service in the Department of Ability Management, there hadn’t been many people who could match her skills.

Her abilities stood out even among the “Zi” level Hunters.

‘Where did it all go wrong?’

She was now standing at the temple of the Limen Order, a religious group.

Following orders from her superiors, she had arrived at this place to meet the irregular Kim Siwoo from South Korea.

Initially, she had arrived with a strong sense of purpose, thinking the task would not be difficult.

Since the Dimension Opening, South Korea had been in rapid decline, and by now, it was regarded as a toothless tiger.

Though they had recently been attempting to turn things around, she never imagined a small country would openly disrupt a major nation’s event. It wasn’t something they would have dared to do just a few months ago.

However, a strange old man had appeared like a ghost and blocked their path, resulting in the current standoff.

There was no magical energy coming from the old man. But her heightened senses told her that he was dangerous.

Thus, she had been unable to easily enter the temple and had been waiting at the foot of the stairs while contacting her superiors.

She was about to follow orders from her superiors to decide her next action, but unfortunately, things were not going the way she had hoped.

“We have the privilege to disarm you within this sacred place. This is an authority officially granted by the South Korean government.”

It was when the standoff had grown tense that a young man appeared from behind and walked toward them.

It was surprising that Li Jie hadn’t noticed his approach, but what was even more surprising was the feeling that arose in her mind as soon as she laid eyes on him.

‘…Fear?’

Like the old man, there was no sign of power coming from the man. He appeared to be an ordinary person, devoid of any magical presence.

Shiver.

However, the moment she looked at him, her legs began to shake uncontrollably. Her survival instincts screamed at her to get away from the spot immediately.

Li Jie soon realized that the man in the black priestly robe was Kim Siwoo.

‘That… can’t be… the Pope.’

The irregular known as the “Black Pope,” Kim Siwoo had none of the gentleness or kindness that would typically be associated with a religious leader.

Instead, it was terror, fear, and dread.

A person who could evoke such emotions just with a glance did not deserve the title of “Pope.”

Rather,

‘Yaksha. That guy is a Yaksha.’

TLN: In CN mythology ‘Yaksha’ is a fearsome and malevolent demon.

A murderous fiend who had devoured countless lives, close to a Yaksha.

Has she ever seen a being that could instill fear just by being looked at?

She tried to recall, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t remember anything like it.

Even the transcendents, like her direct superior “Sword Demon,” did not give off this level of fear.

“Drop your weapons. I’m not like Archbishop Rapart who will wait for long. I’ll give you 1 minute. Exactly 1 minute. If you don’t disarm by then, there will be no further discussions. I’m not exactly a patient person.”

Was Kim Siwoo able to speak Chinese?

No, that wasn’t it. Judging by his lip movements, he wasn’t speaking Chinese.

It was probably one of the abilities he possessed.

Li Jie swallowed and looked around.

There were already countless people watching the scene. Some were taking pictures with their smartphones, and at this rate, the pride of a great nation would surely be crushed.

‘But do you expect me to charge at that terrifying monster?’

There was no chance of winning.

Her oblivious subordinates might not know, but Li Jie thought that if she showed any aggression toward Kim Siwoo, not only her teeth but her neck might be ripped out.

A dangerous man like him could certainly do that.

“Team leader, what should we do?”

A team member quietly asked from behind her.

“The magic detector isn’t working, what should we do?”

“This person is an irregular, just like the Sword Demon. It’s no surprise the magic detector isn’t working, you dumb fool.”

Li Jie snapped at her subordinate and swallowed again.

“But team leader! Do you really think that Korean guy will act? Even though he’s an irregular, we are from the People’s Republic of China…”

“Do you really think so? Do you really think that monster will just leave us alone?”

“30 seconds left. It seems like your team coordination isn’t great.”

Kim Siwoo mocked them as he spoke.

Li Jie had to make a choice. Either not disarm for the pride of her country, or lower her pride and cooperate willingly.

The decision didn’t take long.

“Everyone, drop your weapons.”

“Team leader!”

“Shut up and drop them! We’ll be punished, but it’s better than dying in a foreign land.”

Her team members all looked dissatisfied, but no one disobeyed her orders.

Clink clink-

Clink-!

After confirming that her subordinates had placed their weapons on the ground, Li Jie herself placed her two daggers down. She then spoke quietly to Kim Siwoo.

“I’ve disarmed.”

“If you had just listened to me from the start, we could have had a nice conversation. What a shame. It would have been more fun if you hadn’t listened to me.”

At that moment.

Kim Siwoo closed the distance in the blink of an eye. His speed was impossible to follow with her eyes.

“What…”

“I’m a bit of a jerk, so if I hear something wrong, I always correct it. Watch closely.”

Kim Siwoo grinned as he placed his hand on the shoulder of her subordinate, the one who had just said, “Do you really think that Korean guy will act?”

The subordinate then dropped to his knees and started screaming.

“AAAAHHHH!”

Even with the sudden display of force from Kim Siwoo, Li Jie couldn’t say a word.

And as she stood frozen, Kim Siwoo whispered in her ear.

“Before Limen, everyone is equal. Whether you’re Korean or Chinese. If you’re rude in this sacred temple, this is what happens. Remember it.”

Li Jie could only desperately nod in response to his words.

Kim Siwoo, satisfied with her reaction, patted her on the shoulder and slowly turned away, finishing his statement.

“Now you’re ready to talk. Follow me.”

She bit her lip as she watched his back.

‘We’ve walked right into the tiger’s den.’

By the time she realized it, it was already too late.

There are people who need to test whether something is poop or soy paste to figure it out.

Take this Chinese woman in front of me, who’s currently hunched over with anxiety.

No, actually, someone like her would have noticed before trying to figure it out. She’s just taking responsibility for her subordinate’s reckless words.

“Are you not going to smile?”

“Yes, yes.”

The woman who introduced herself as Li Jie was startled by my words and quickly nodded her head.

‘At this level, she’s probably quite strong even among S-rank hunters.’

Though she was no match for Representative Choi, she definitely seemed stronger than Oh Junwoo.

After all, she was sent here as a representative from China to scout the area, so they wouldn’t have sent some mediocre person.

Moreover, given what happened earlier, she might hold some hostility, yet she’s maintaining a low posture, signaling that she’s also equipped with a sense of tact.

She had a strong resolve to avoid making any careless remarks.

If this woman had said anything inappropriate, I had been thinking of using that as an excuse to deal with her, but sadly, that didn’t happen.

“Here’s the tea. Chrysanthemum tea.”

“Thank… you.”

I served her the chrysanthemum tea President Seo had given me as a gift.

Li Jie trembled slightly as she held the cup and drank. I thought she would like tea, being Chinese, but maybe not?

“Don’t like tea?”

“I… like it, I do.”

“Then, drink it with a good mood.”

“Yes.”

At those words, Li Jie barely managed to force a smile while drinking the tea. Her face looked like she was about to cry, but the corner of her mouth was slightly lifted, which looked quite comical.

Li Jie had the typical beauty of a Han Chinese woman, but honestly, people’s expressions play half the part. With a face like that, she just looked ridiculous.

“Let me tell you upfront, you don’t have much time. Our Archbishop Rapart has ordered Luna to return, and she’s probably on her way back now… 30 minutes? You’ll need to finish whatever business you have within 30 minutes.”

If it had been Archbishop Rapart or Luna remaining at the shrine, the situation might have been different.

If it had been Luna, she would’ve swung her mace first and then dealt with things.

Li Jie’s subordinates were currently waiting outside the shrine.

What if they ran into Luna when she returned? They would definitely be smashed beyond recognition to the point where living would feel more torturous than death.

“You didn’t come to pray at our shrine, so what did you come here for?”

“I just came to make…a proposal.”

“With such an impure air, you’re here to make a proposal? Is this how things are handled in China?”

At my comment, Li Jie simply lowered her head.

“…I truly apologize.”

“Of course you should apologize.”

I wasn’t sure what kind of proposal she was going to make, but I doubted that would be the only thing.

She was clearly an awakened skilled in assessing others. And sending her to me meant they were trying to gauge my power.

A thief who feels guilty about their actions, that’s why she’s so anxious.

I lightly set the teacup on the desk.

“Let’s hear your proposal. I’m curious to know what you have to say.”

“This is an unofficial proposal from our side. We’d prefer it if this doesn’t get out.”

“Fine, just get to the point. Luna’s return is in 27 minutes.”

Li Jie took a deep breath and began speaking in a more composed voice.

“I think the most important thing for a new religious group like the Limen Sect is to have many followers.”

“That’s true for all religions. So why?”

The number of followers directly correlates to the power of the religion.

This was expected.

But why were they suddenly bringing up this obvious point?

“As you probably already know, China is still the most populous country in the world even after the Dimension Opening. This means we have the largest potential group of people who could become followers of the Limen Order.”

“Interesting. Keep going.”

“Although the government is currently preventing the Limen Order from entering China…depending on the attitude of the Limen Order, the policy could change. Perhaps the government will offer full support. Unlike the weak government of South Korea, our party’s power is still strong. In fact, it has grown even stronger since the Dimension Opening.”

They’re offering to let us spread our religion to 1.4 billion people.

That was the gist of their proposal.

It was a rather tempting carrot. After all, 1.4 billion people isn’t just some trivial number. It was impressive that they still maintained that population even after the calamity of the Dimension Opening.

However, they wouldn’t offer that without a purpose.

“I get what you’re trying to sell. What’s the condition?”

“The condition is simple. The Limen Order should not participate in the upcoming Northeast Asia Exchange. After all, the Limen Order is a religious group, not a state entity, so it has no obligation to partake in national events. If you agree to this condition, we will allow you to build a shrine on our mainland, and our party will provide full support for your missionary activities.”

On the surface, it might sound like a sweet offer.

1.4 billion people and active missionary support.

It was an opportunity to expand our religious influence to an unimaginable scale.

It was a proposal that screamed China.

However, I didn’t respond immediately. Instead, I just stared into Li Jie’s eyes. Her gaze shook uncontrollably as she made eye contact with me.

“Even you must realize this is a ridiculous offer, right?”

“…I’m just the messenger.”

“Alright, let’s summarize this.”

I slowly stood up from my seat and approached Li Jie from behind.

“Stab South Korea in the back, and accept China’s followers. If you wear the leash we give you, we’ll feed you until your belly bursts. Am I right?”

Li Jie didn’t respond. No, ‘couldn’t respond’ is a more accurate way to put it.

Now that eyes were on her, she knew exactly how I was feeling.

I looked down at the frozen Li Jie, then spoke in a low voice.

“What should I say to people who treat us like fools? Li Jie, you try answering.”

The answer was already clear.