Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“Euhahahahah!”

Seeing the Green Forest King laughing wildly, the disciples of Mount Hua glanced at each other. The large size of the man had an effect on them.

If you took into account the amount of qi he was exuding, one would surely shutter.

‘I miss him.’

‘Do you think he crossed over?’

‘Nanman is a long way away.’

The disciples of Mount Hua felt nostalgic seeing this. While on the other hand, the Green Forest King, who was laughing, observed them.

“… ahem.”

There was a bit of shock in his eyes, and the disciples of Mount Hua actually understood why.

‘Well.’

‘This is probably the first time he has met someone who reacted like this.’

Of course, the disciples would have reacted differently if they were watching this for the first time, just like when they had met Meng So.

“Ahem.”

The King cleared his throat before opening his mouth, revealing a heavy voice,

“Which one of you is Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon?”

“Me?”

“Hmm, you?”

The Green Forest King looked at Chung Myung,

“You don’t look strong.”

“Yes. Well, I was thinking the same thing!”

“…what did you say?”

“I can feel it, I think we will get along pretty well.”

Chung Myung smiled, and now the man was looking at him with odd eyes,

“As I heard, you are a cheeky bastard.”

“Oh? You have heard about me?”

“These days, all over the world, there is a lot of talk about Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon. So, of course, I have heard about you. The rumors were so loud that even the mountains are forced to listen to them.”

“Hehehe. I am not that great.”

‘Do not appreciate his comments that much!’

‘Is he a reincarnated ghost who didn’t get any praise in his previous life?’

At that time, the eyes of the King sank, and the smile on his face calmed.

‘He seems angry.’

‘He is truly angry.’

“Right, I heard you told me to come and find you if I want to continue living as a bandit?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon and the others, who nodded.

“Did I say that?”

“…”

“…”

“I am sure I would have remembered….”

The King’s beard trembled.

“Look at this guy making fun of me?” roared the Green Forest King. His roar was so loud that the hall vibrated.

“I was going to look at you favorably, those who have defeated the Ten Thousand People Clan in combat. But how dare you!”

“Ehh, calm down. You need to think.”

“… You?”

“Does it matter if I said something like that or not? The important thing is that I have something to tell you.”

The Green Forest King jumped up and glared at Chung Myung with eyes that wanted to tear him apart. However, Chung Myung stared back at the guy, not backing down.

After a while, the King withdrew his qi,

“…you are a strong one.”

And leaned back on his chair,

“Right, what did you want to say? I will listen to you only in consideration of what you did.”

“What I want to say is not such a great thing, but it is a compelling one.”

“Hm?”

“Are you sure that you have no thoughts of making money?”

“Money?”

“Yes, money. You are interested in that, right? After all, all this is being done for money.”

“Hmm.”

“Now what I am saying is…”

“Wait!”

“Eh?”

Green Forest King waved his hand with a sad face,

“If this is the case, that is not my business.”

“Eh!”

Huh?

Chung Myung turned his head in the direction of the answer he heard, and a door burst open with a man rushing in right after,

“You called… cough! Cough! Ah, this damned cough! Cough!”

The man stopped running and coughed, covering his mouth.

“Cough! Eheheheh!”

Chung Myung looked at the guy with blank eyes.

What was this now?

No matter who saw him, they wouldn’t think this person lived the mountain life. His robes were worn out, but it was clean for what it was. Besides, the fan in his hand was also tattered but still carried some grace.

And his head was oddly tied up with a dusty speck of jade, but not a single hair fell down.

“Achoo!”

Ah, it came.

Very neat.

However, what they found more impressive was even with a pale face and dark eyes, not a single trace of blood was present in his sneeze.

“…are you sick?”

“Cough! Do not mind me, my body is a bit…”

“…”

He looked so weak that even a child could snap his neck. Anyway, except for that, he looked like a loser.

“You called!”

“These guys are talking about money, I hate such bothersome things, so handle this.”

“Yes! Isn’t that what I am the best at? As soon as I opened my eyes, I could do math and even followed the stars and constellations and….”

“Shut up! Stop speaking that nonsense!”

“Yes.”

The man turned his gaze toward the disciples of Mount Hua and smiled a little. Suddenly, his smile turned very bright,

“Oh my! Nice to meet these warriors! My name is Yuk So-Byeong, I assist the Green Forest King.”

“Assist?”

Chak!

The man spread his fan wide before covering his mouth to say,

“The King is so open-minded that he doesn’t pay attention to trivial things. So you can talk to me.”

“…”

Baek Cheon smiled,

‘It is a drowning rat that I see.’

No, actually, if anyone looked close enough, anyone could tell, whether it be from his slender face, pale skin, or strange charm.

“Hehehe! It is an honor to meet Mount Hua’s warriors like this! You don’t know how much my heart pounded when I heard the rumors about you people. Besides, didn’t I almost get tired of hearing the story of how you took down the Ten Thousand People Clan?”

But the little charm he had was destroyed by his sly smile, that long body, bent legs, and his two hands which looked too desperate.

“…you seem to have a story to tell?”

At Baek Cheon’s words, Yuk So-Byeong cast his gaze to the small window with a sad expression.

“… how can there be just one or two people who have stories to tell?”

“Enough of that.”

Green Forest King, who watched this, snorted.

“What is a guy who tried to hang himself after not passing a test trying to do by talking about stories?”

“… No, I asked you to keep that a secret…”

“Shut up, hurry up, and do something!”

“Yes, I will!”

The disciples of Mount Hua closed their eyes.

‘This place is also wrong.’

‘All shit.’

After all, it didn’t seem like this was a prim and proper place either.

“Right, are you saying you want to do business?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Hmm. Hmmm. I know that Mount Hua is a place where noble people live together, but they want to do business with people like us? That is quite bizarre.”

“People like us?” asked the King, his eyes wide. Looking back, the poor guy flinched,

“Hehe. Those are just words.”

“Did this guy hit his head or something?”

“… I am sorry.”

“… so the business?” asked Yuk So-Byeong, his face sullen.

Chung Myung just shrugged and said,

“Right now, we are preparing something like a transportation business.”

“Transport!? Trade!? Mount Hua is…? Are you opening an escort service? We also want to maintain a good relationship with escort services! Isn’t friendship between the two good for improving the flow of money?”

“Ah, not an escort service like that. Literally, we will transport things. We aim to deliver things quickly, small things.”

In an instant, the eyes of the man shone.

“Small things… quickly?”

And he laughed out loud,

“This is a very interesting idea. Apparently, your purpose is to deliver things quickly over long distances.”

“Oh! You got it right, right!”

“Hmm. Then Mount Hua’s people will do it themselves?”

“Someone else will do it.”

This made him frown,

“Being fast is best, so why not do it yourself?”

“Because we have prepared someone who has the fastest footwork technique.”

“Ahh! Right! Right!”

The man nodded his head.

“I understand. So, in order to shorten the distance, you have to ignore everything and cross mountains, waterways, and roads…. But you are worried there will be a problem because we are in the middle of all this?”

“You are pretty smart!”

“That is surprising, but what an idea you have! You must be doing this to target high-ranking officials and wealthy people.”

Chung Myung was surprised,

“Ehh. You are really smart.”

“Hahaha. This is nothing.”

Yuk So-Byeong smiled and lifted his chin while Chung Myung’s eyes shone.

“Wow, it has been a long time since I have met someone like you. Do you want to leave this place and join Mount Hua? You will be treated better than you are here.”

“Hahaha. Thank you for those words, but I am someone who understands my level. I need to be here, to repay the grace shown by my king.”

“I can give you a gold coin each month.”

He grabbed the hands of Chung Myung,

“How can I survive here with only grass around? Sometimes I want to eat other things too, can we leave right away?”

“You bastard!”

Unable to handle their conversation, the King screamed, rising from his seat.

“Will you not do your work properly!”

“I-I apologize.”

He moved back, but only after whispering,

“I am sorry, the man is impatient.”

“… until he hits us, it is alright.”

“This is a difficult time.”

The guy looked toward the sky.

Meanwhile, Baek Cheon, who was watching them, felt a chill run down his spine.

‘What is this?’

Why were they working together so well? Looking around, the others seemed to feel the same way.

‘This is my first time meeting someone who is perfect for Chung Myung.’

‘They are a match.’

‘This is different from the Palace Lord.’

If the Beast Palace Lord was perfect for Chung Myung in terms of how grandiose they could be, then this guy was, well… a perfect fit in terms of character.

“So… cough! Eh…! Again… Cough Cough! This damned cough! It is seriously…!”

He coughed for a while before taking out a gourd and drinking from it.

“Kuak! Cold water is so nice.”

“…”

Baek Cheon’s eyes twitched. At this point, they seemed like brothers.

“Anyway.”

The guy smiled at Chung Myung and said,

“So you want to ask for the understanding of the Green Forest while conducting your business?”

“Yes, precisely.”

“Nice, nice… actually, what is the difference? After all, isn’t our business protecting things from the dangerous forests filled with animals?”

“…protect?”

“Yes. Eh, why are you looking at me like that?”

Yuk So-Byeong shrugged,

“As long as the proper tax is paid, we will help. So how much are you willing to pay? In order to be able to pass through our seventy-two bandit strongholds, as well as the small and medium bandit groups without a hitch… the price can’t be low, right?”

The look in his eyes was something that Chung Myung understood.

“Looks like you want to make a lot of money from this.”

At that, Chung Myung smiled,

“Well, money isn’t that important, right?”

“Right. Right. As Confucius said, when a person makes a friend, he isn’t to talk about money! Cough! That is what one does! It has been a while since I met a person like this, this! I feel cold… cough! Cough!”

The guy was coughing so hard it was like he was about to cough up his stomach organs.

“Tch tch… die like this,” grumbled Yuk So-Byeong, as he wiped the corner of his mouth with some cloth.

The guy folded the cloth as his eyes shone,

“Now, now, so that is all alright. I finally managed to meet a like-minded person, so I want to offer it for cheap… but you see, I am hired to serve the King that’s over there, so I cannot cut the price by my own accord.”

“Hmm.”

And he turned to Chung Myung, who had a strange face.

“I have changed my mind a little.”

“Uh?”

“I was going to give a good amount of money for the privilege of telling you not to touch our stuff, but looking at this, I thought it is alright to open up a bit.”

“Ohh.”

He smiled as if he liked it,

“Great wealth is always welcome. So what are you talking about?”

Chung Myung smiled,

“But I don’t think this is something to share like this. I need to speak with the king.”

“Ah… you see, our King is a bit weak with such things…”

“It seems like you don’t understand what I am saying.”

“Uh?”

The guy tilted his head like he didn’t understand,

“I need to talk to the Green Forest King. The Green Forest King.”

At Chung Myung’s firm words, the man smiled.

“The Green Forest King?”

“Yes.”

“You realized?”

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“Now?”

Taking a deep breath, the guy closed his fan and scratched his head.

“Ha, you’re cool-headed, I didn’t think so.”

The disciples of Mount Hua just blankly stared at the situation, not realizing what was going on.

‘What are they talking about?’

Suddenly, they didn’t understand anything.

At that time, Yuk So-Byeong turned around and walked over to the King, and the King’s eyes widened,

“This guy! I made sure to tell you to complete the task….”

“Yah, you got caught, brat! Now get off!”

“What is that…”

“We got caught, you bastard!”

The finance guy was yelling at the King.

“Oh my!”

The giant king jumped down and moved across,

“Eh, for real.”

Yuk So-Byeong grumbled and tossed the band off from around his head. His hair flowed down, tangled roughly.

Tak!

Before long, a different qi rose from the small body of the man sitting on the massive chair.

“Let me introduce myself again.”

Mount Hua’s disciples gulped,

‘Then he is…’

Nothing much had changed.

However, the guy Yuk So-Byeong, with his legs crossed on the throne, seemed to be in his rightful place. A person could change so much with just one expression.

And he spoke with a dignified voice,

“I am Im So-Byeong, the Green Forest King. Mount Hua’s Little… cough! Ehehe! I might die this way! This fucking cough! Ehehe! Bring me water! Water!”

“….”

Baek Cheon looked at Im So-Byeong.

‘I wanted at least one thing to happen properly.’

Right.

Phew.