Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“….Here it is.”

“Kuak. It’s big.”

Chung Myung grabbed the bundle of slips that Song Tae-Ak handed over.

“Thank…”

Clench.

“…”

“…”

Chung Myung, who was gently pulling the bundle of slips, looked at Song Tae-Ak.

Both of them looked at each other.

“Let go.”

“…”

“Ah, I said let go.”

“Kuak.”

The hands of Song Tae-Ak let go. As the bundle of bills slipped out of his grasp, he felt as if he had lost his soul with it.

‘How well did I save this money?’

With this one transaction, all his spare funds were gone. Not only did his spare funds disappear, but in order to raise money, he had to quickly sell off his land and tea estate.

Since he was in a hurry, there was no way he could get the money he needed. It was heartbreaking to have barely enough money saved, but what could he say about the feeling of desolation when all his saved money was instantly lost?

Song Tae-Ak, who was groaning in pain as if a piece of his flesh was cut off, closed his eyes tightly.

‘No. This is just an investment.’

Anyone afraid of spending money would never make money.

What mattered was what one could earn with the money invested. If he could resell the Yunnan tea in Hubei and Beijing, then the money made would be incomparable to what he spent now.

‘There will be almost no trace left! But if I can get permission to sell tea to high-ranking people in Beijing, then everything will be alright!’

In the end, he still had business to do….

It was enough business, but…

“What’s with that expression?”

Song Tae-Ak forcibly twisted his lips at Chung Myung’s words.

“B-because I’m happy.”

“But you don’t look very happy?”

“I-Is that even possible? Take a look. Aren’t I so happy that I could cry now….”

Chung Myung saw the tears in his eyes and burst into laughter.

“Well, there are tears, haha. You seem really nice.”

“…”

Right. It was good.

‘Wouldn’t it be nice if I were like you, you rotten idiot?’

Song Tae-Ak was suppressing his anger.

‘It’s all or nothing.’

He couldn’t make money without investment, and he couldn’t grow without taking risks.

His gamble wasn’t just about buying the rights to sell the tea but to align with Mount Hua instead of Wudang.

‘If this move fails, then my entire union will fail.’

But what if he succeeded?

At least in the commercial area above Hubei, he would be able to achieve absolute status as a merchant. Mount Hua was located in Shaanxi, and all the merchants who trade with them were located in the west or central parts.

It was clear that becoming pro-Mount Hua in the east would cause them significant trouble.

But.

“Hahahaha. How much is all this?”

“…..”

As he watched Chung Myung gleefully examining the bills in his hand, Song Tae-Ak wondered if this man was sane.

“Hehe, let’s do well.”

“Ugh. Look after me.”

Song Tae-Ak gripped the extended hand of Chung Myung tightly. The situation was favorable now. Now that he was on the back of a tiger, the only way to move forward was to befriend it.

“But…”

Song Tae-Ak slowly turned his head and looked at the yard.

This mountain of pure white sacks was piled in the middle of the vast yard of the merchant’s union to handle their deliveries.

“Yes?”

“…Just what will you use these things for?”

Song Tae-Ak had a puzzled look.

Chung Myung had asked him to prepare his share of the payment in goods, not money. Needless to say, the value of those items was close to a million coins.

Even if all of Mount Hua’s disciples were here, carrying those sacks back to Shaanxi wouldn’t be easy.

“Ah, that?”

Chung Myung shrugged.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve prepared everything fine, so things will be alright.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Well.”

Chung Myung opened his mouth and smiled brightly.

“If you want to do it, then you need to do it right.”

Upon seeing that smile, Song Tae-Ak felt a tremble in his body.

Wuhan, Hubei province, was the location of the merchant union and the largest city in Hubei. Consequently, it was greatly influenced by the Wudang sect, the largest sect in the land.

A group of people had just appeared on the main road in Wuhan.

“Uh?”

People passing on the street were all confused by the sudden appearance of these people.

“Who are those people?”

Since it was the main street, many people were using it, and this group of people didn’t seem that strange either.

Yet, the reason they couldn’t take their eyes off them was because more than 100 people had appeared in the same outfit, a uniform they hadn’t seen in Wuhan before.

“Black robes… and the pattern… uh? A flower? Is that a flower?”

“Mount Hua!”

“Mount Hua! It’s Mount Hua! The warriors who came to Wuhan!”

In the past, no one would have recognized Mount Hua. Still, now everyone could recognize it from their uniform and plum blossom pattern alone.

This was why one had to make a name.

“Are you talking about the Mount Hua who took down the bandits?”

“Yes! It’s that Mount Hua!”

“But why are they here?”

The gaze of the Wuhan people turned to Mount Hua.

There was no need to hate the sect now. Who would hate those who took down the bandits and made their lives comfortable?

Even if those bandits were ordinary bandits, they would be grateful enough to bow to these disciples of Mount Hua. Didn’t Mount Hua take down the most terrifying ones?

Naturally, everyone looked at them with admiration.

“It’s Mount Hua. They are truly unique!”

“So different from Wudang!”

“Hehe. Right. Actually, the Wudang are those who control the world, but doesn’t it seem like recently it’s been Mount Hua?”

“Ugh! How can you compare Wudang to Mount Hua?”

“Huh? Because it’s like that. To put it bluntly, did you hear Wudang doing anything in the past few days?”

“…It wasn’t like that.”

“A place is permanent. Of course, right now, Wudang is the best when it comes to the sword sects, but isn’t it the way of the world that one can never know what will happen if ten years pass like this!”

“Tsk. Anyway, that’s right. Still, what about Mount Hua!”

The opinion was divided. But considering that this was like Wudang’s front yard, this response level could be called great.

Their arms were bent inside, and even dogs didn’t fully eat their food.

The fact that Mount Hua, a sect of Shaanxi, was being compared to Wudang in Wuhan showed how much Mount Hua had grown.

“But… what is this?”

“Hm? Doesn’t it seem like they are carrying something?”

“I don’t know about that, but it seems heavy.”

The people began to express their doubts as they looked at the sacks being carried by the disciples of the Mount Hua sect.

Mount Hua’s disciples, who walked without any signs of difficulty despite carrying so many sacks, which seemed tough to look at, began stacking the sacks in the middle of the street.

“Oh?”

“…It seems huge?”

“What are you going to do with that?”

The people were all curious about this.

But…

Wheik.

The disciples of Mount Hua, who put down their sacks, didn’t think about what to do and just turned and began to move back.

“Uh?”

“Uh?”

Everyone who saw the scene was dumbfounded.

Wheing.

Where all the disciples stepped back from, only the sacks remained.

“…Why are they just going?”

“What about them?”

At that time, everyone was wondering what the hell was going on.

“T-there! They are coming again!”

“Uk? What is this now?”

Those who saw the disciples of Mount Hua reappear in the distance opened their mouths. This was because the Mount Hua disciples came carrying sacks on their shoulders.

Chuk! Thuk!

They piled the sacks up on top of the previous ones. This process was repeated several times, and the mountain of sacks built up.

“Uh….”

“Uhhh…”

The eyes of those observing the scene continued to widen. The sacks were piled up, making the area resemble a small garden.

“Is this the end?”

“Seems like it?”

The disciples of Mount Hua, who had raised the last of the sacks, now all stood around them.

This occurred without anyone saying anything. However, everyone who saw this fell silent and moved to inspect the sacks.

‘What are they doing?’

‘What are in those sacks?’

‘I might die from curiosity.’

The gathered people took turns examining the mountain of sacks and the Mount Hua disciples surrounding them.

“J-Just what is this?”

“What are they doing here?”

As the disciples of Mount Hua remained in their place without offering any explanation, the impatient ones couldn’t stand it any longer and began to voice their questions.

The Mount Hua disciples stayed silent, and the frustration reached a peak.

“Ahem!”

In the eyes of the people, a figure began to slowly emerge from among the Mount Hua disciples.

Naturally, everyone’s attention focused there.

“Ahem!”

The young man, who looked so innocent and youthful, cleared his throat to gain their attention.

“So.”

The person glanced around at the people, opened his mouth slightly as if he wanted to say something, and then turned his head.

“How should I explain this?”

“Why ask us that!”

“Just do it, brat!”

“Damn it!”

Chung Myung, who had spoken but received no response, twisted his face in anger and raised his voice.

“Ahh! Can you all hear?”

When the Mount Hua disciples saw Chung Myung shouting at the people, their faces turned red, and they all bowed their heads.

“…. Please just do it already.”

“Why do I feel embarrassed?”

See.

The disciples were all ashamed of this.

Of course, Chung Myung didn’t care about this and just smiled, opened his mouth, and gathered them.

“You all know who we are, right?”

“Aren’t you from the Mount Hua sect?”

“Thank you for taking down the bandits.”

Chung Myung laughed at their words.

“Ah, you did something amazing. Heheh.”

“Do it quickly, brat, it’s embarrassing!”

“Dong Ryong, be silent now!”

Annoyed by the voice from behind, Chung Myung looked back at the people and smiled.

“Right. We are the disciples of Mount Hua. Not too long ago, we rounded up the bandits, disciplined them, and handed them over to the officials. You won’t have to worry about them and can head up the mountain.”

“Ah!”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Although they had heard about it, not a single person had confirmed it. But when the person they heard about said it in person, they could trust it.

“But those sacks?”

“Ah, I was going to tell you.”

Chung Myung grinned and pointed to the mountain of sacks.

“As we were clearing out the bandits’ place, we realized how diligently they had robbed the people of Hubei all this time. There was this mountain of wealth!”

“… T-then?”

“Uh. Those are the goods taken from their place.”

The eyes of the people widened in shock, and those who understood were about to comprehend what was happening.

“Tsk. Even if we take it, no one will know anything, but aren’t these actually the riches robbed from the people traveling from Hubei?”

“Yes, right.”

“True!”

Chung Myung took a strong step forward.

“The sect of Mount Hua said it is not moral for us to take the riches to Mount Hua! The bandits robbed these items from their rightful owners, so it is right to return them to their owners!”

When Chung Myung turned his head, Baek Cheoon and Yoon Jong, who were waiting, untied the string around the sack and threw the contents down.

Swish!

Grain poured out of it and fell to the ground. All attention was focused on the grain that fell out, their eyes trembling slightly.

“So from now on!”

Chung Myung pointed to the mountains of grain piling up.

“We will share the grains with all of you!”

Sasak!

As soon as he finished saying that, the disciples of Mount Hua took out a bundle of dried gourds and a small sack they had prepared in advance.

The people who witnessed the scene alternated their gaze between the grain and Chung Myung as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“Is that true?”

“Are we being deceived?”

“No, this is my first time hearing something like this.”

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

“I’m not sure how the other sects operate, but this is how Mount Hua does it.”

“…”

“So, don’t just stand there! Bring those who aren’t here! I’ll be sharing this with you from now on!”

Chaak!

Mount Hua’s disciples continued throwing the sacks down and transferring the grains into smaller ones.

“Share it!”

“Here you go!”

“Please, take this!”

Those who hesitated and didn’t know what to do were handed the sacks by Mount Hua.

“Thank you!”

“C-can I really take this?”

As the people holding the sacks of grain bowed, Chung Myung shouted.

“Don’t thank me! This belongs to you!”

“…”

“So hurry up and call everyone! Everyone in Wuhan needs to get at least one bag!”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“Oh my! It’s really happening!”

Starting anything was tough.

As soon as one or two people began to receive the sacks, everyone started to rush forward.

“M-me too!”

“I want one too!”

“Ah, please form a line! There’s enough for everyone!”

“I’ll give it to you, so don’t push! You might get hurt.”

The disciples of Mount Hua had smiles on their faces as they distributed the grain to the crowds.

At the same time, people praised Mount Hua.

“Now I understand why people call Mount Hua great.”

“I’m grateful that you risked your life to subdue the bandits and even brought us this.”

“I’ll make sure to spread the word of Mount Hua’s deeds! Thank you!”

The disciples of Mount Hua distributed the sacks to those around, and Chung Myung, who watched this, turned his head and laughed.

‘Is there anything else that works as well as bribes?’

Bribes weren’t just for those in power. If you distributed wealth to achieve a goal, could that be considered a bribe?

They said that the grain stacked up like this was nothing compared to Mount Hua’s finances. It was a small amount compared to the wealth gained from selling it.

‘If we can meddle with Wudang in this way, it won’t be a simple matter.’

What expressions would the Wudang people have when they heard this news?

“Hehehehe.”

Chung Myung laughed heartily.

“Mom, that guy is strange…”

“Shh. Come on. You can’t get close to them.”

Even though Chung Myung’s character was tarnished, it was the moment when Mount Hua’s name began to spread widely throughout Wuhan, along with the sacks of grain.