Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 556

“Where do I stack this?”

“I told you to move it over there!”

“Martial Uncle! It seems difficult to stack this any higher.”

“Then stack it next to it!”

Baek Sang told everyone what to do. The Mount Hua disciples worked hard, carrying boxes and bags. They sorted the precious gifts from the *distant* Northern Sea. Each item was put in its place in the storeroom, making neat stacks.

“Heh heh heh heh.”

Hyun Young watched all the activity. His smile was huge, stretching almost to his ears.

He knew he should look serious in front of his disciples, but he couldn’t help it. His face just stayed in a wide grin.

“Heh heh heh heh.”

Looking at the mountains of goods, he felt as happy as if he had eaten a huge feast.

Baek Sang rushed to him and opened a sack.

“Elder, I don’t know what this is.”

“Hmm? Let’s see… Well, I’ve never seen this before either… Young Head, do you know what this is?”

Hwang Jong-ui, who had come up from the Hwaeum branch of the Eunha Merchant Guild to help with the sorting, examined the sack. Soon, his eyes widened.

“I-Is this Snow Lotus Seed?” Hwang Jong-ui asked, his eyes wide.

“Is it worth much?” Baek Sang wondered.

“Worth much?” Hwang Jong-ui repeated.

“Of course! It’s a very special herb, only from the Northern Sea! It was already rare, but now we can’t trade with the North anymore. We haven’t seen any in ages, so the price has gone up a lot!”

Hyun Young’s smile became warmer and kinder.

“So, you’re saying it’s expensive.”

Good. Very good.

Heh heh heh heh.

“It’s quite amazing. It seems everything from the Northern Sea is expensive and precious.”

“That’s only natural. The Northern Sea is completely different from the Central Plains in terms of environment and ecosystem. As a result, there are dozens of items that can only be found in the Northern Sea.”

Hwang Jong-ui couldn’t take his eyes off the sack, swallowing hard as he spoke.

“Of course, once trade with the Northern Sea resumes, the price will drop little by little, but even so, for a while, these items can be sold for five times… no, ten times the price. Goodness, how did you manage to pick out only these things?”

“Heh heh heh.”

Hyun Young sat down beside Chung Myung, his face very kind. He patted Chung Myung’s head as the boy happily ate a sweet.

“It’s a bit silly to say it myself,” Hyun Young said, “but Chung Myung is really good at business.”

“Hee hee hee!” Chung Myung giggled.

“If you were a merchant, you’d be very rich!” Hyun Young added.

“Ehehehehehe!” Chung Myung laughed.

Jo Gul was carrying a heavy box. He heard them talking and his face twisted in annoyance.

“Elder!” Jo Gul called out. “The Ice Palace just *gave* us these things! Chung Myung didn’t pick anything!”

Hyun Young smiled calmly.

“Jo Gul,” he said softly.

“Yes?” Jo Gul replied.

“Be quiet and keep working,” Hyun Young said. Jo Gul just sighed and went back to carrying boxes.

Hyun Young clicked his tongue repeatedly at the sight of Jo Gul carrying the load again with a pout.

“Tsk tsk tsk. For a son of a merchant family, that fellow is so petty!”

“My Senior Brother is a bit like that.”

“Aing! I shouldn’t have said anything!”

It was enough to drive Jo Gul crazy from his point of view.

But even if it was Chung Myung, how could he dare to talk back to Hyun Young?

“To succeed as a merchant, you need to be as bold as our Chung Myung! Isn’t that right, Young Head?”

“Haa… Haha. That’s right. Of course.” Hwang Jong-ui nodded repeatedly, beads of sweat dripping down his face.

‘The problem is that what he’s saying isn’t exactly wrong.’

Merchants have a saying: Hard work is good, but being smart is better. And even being smart is not as good as being lucky.

It might sound strange, but it’s true in the merchant world. Usually, to make money, you need careful plans and lots of hard work. Deals happen because of planning and effort.

But sometimes, luck is more important. A lucky deal can appear out of nowhere, even if you didn’t plan it. A once-in-a-lifetime chance can be worth more than anything else.

‘But….’

Hwang Jong-ui’s gaze turned to Chung Myung, who was still chewing on sweets without getting tired of them.

‘What on earth is this person made of….’

The kind of luck that someone who has dedicated their life to commerce might encounter once or twice was commonplace for this person. To put it mildly, he was the kind of person who could wrap a bundle and leave wherever his feet took him and still come back with a dragon pearl in his mouth.

‘No matter how much luck is bestowed by the heavens….’

Isn’t it a bit too much luck to be given to one person?

“Kkeueueueung! Why is this so heavy!”

“Elder! Where do we put the Hancheol?” someone asked.

Before Hyun Young could answer, Chung Myung said casually, “Stack that separately. We’ll sell it to the Tang family.”

“Where?”

“Just pile it over there, roughly, in the front.”

“Okay, got it! Pile it in the front!” Baek Sang shouted.

“Yes!” people replied. They started throwing and stacking the Hancheol sacks.

Hwang Jong-ui watched, sweat dripping down his neck. ‘Stacking Millennium Hancheol like it’s trash…’ he thought.

Millennium Hancheol was so valuable, even a small piece could make someone rich. But here, they were just throwing sacks of it around like it was worthless junk.

As Hwang Jong-ui, who remembered the past of Mount Hua, could not help but think about the big change that had occurred.

“Heh heh heh heh. The Ice Palace Lord really put a lot of thought into this. So, all of this is a gift, and there’s no need to pay separately, right?”

“Yes. That’s what they said.”

“Kheuheueue. The Ice Palace’s generosity is soaring through the sky!”

Hyun Young chuckled and patted Chung Myung’s back.

“Ack! That hurts!”

“You lovely rascal!”

Hyun Young, who looked at Chung Myung’s antics (?) with a pleased expression as if watching a child’s play, looked at Hwang Jong-ui and said.

“How is it, Young Head? Can you dispose of all these items?”

“How could I call myself a merchant if I couldn’t sell what I have? I’ll sell it all off within ten days!”

“Hmm? What about our payment?” Hyun Young asked about the commission.

“Hahahaha! Payment between friends? Don’t be silly!” Hwang Jong-ui laughed.

“Come on,” Hyun Young said. “Your merchants will work hard. I can’t ask you to do it for nothing.”

“Elder, I’m hurt you’d say that!” Hwang Jong-ui said. “We’re not strangers, Mount Hua and the Eunha Merchant Guild!”

Hyun Young smiled, pleased. Hwang Jong-ui leaned closer and whispered, looking at Hyun Young and Chung Myung.

“It’s not really a bribe, but…”

“Go on,” Hyun Young said.

“If you could help the Eunha Merchant Guild be in charge of trading with the Northern Sea…” He stopped, looked around quickly, then pulled out a thick stack of money from his sleeve. He pushed it into Hyun Young’s hands like lightning.

“Huh?” Hyun Young blinked. But Chung Myung saw everything!

Just as Chung Myung was about to complain, another stack of money landed in *his* hands. Hwang Jong-ui was so fast and smooth, even a Tang family member would be impressed.

But then… Paaaah!

Coldness flashed in Chung Myung’s eyes.

“What exactly is going on here?” he asked.

His voice was quiet, but it made Hwang Jongi shiver as he realized he had made a mistake. A cold sweat instantly broke out, trickling down his spine.

‘This, this is… Still, Master Chung Myung is a Taoist, after all.’

He realized now that trying to bribe Chung Myung with money was a mistake.

Just then, Chung Myung whispered ever so softly.

“A moment ago, it seemed that the wad of notes was bigger than mine?”

“Haa, I’m disappointed. So very disappointed. Even facing the icy winds of the Northern Sea didn’t chill me this much.”

Without a word, Hwang Jongi pulled out another bundle of notes and quickly gave it to Chung Myung.

Instantly, the icy mask that had frozen Chung Myung’s face melted away like snow under the sun.

“Krooooh! As expected, the Central Plains are warm indeed. Ah, so warm.”

This man is not acting like a Taoist at all.

He is more like…

“Hahahahaha!”

Hyun Young laughed loudly and slapped Hwang Jongi on the shoulder.

“Ahem, we’re all friends here, is there really a need to discuss such things? Of course, the Eunha Merchant Guild should handle the trade with the Northern Sea!”

“Hehe, that’s right. Because it’s the Eunha Merchant Guild.”

Hwang Jongi quickly got the agreement of the two most important people for Mount Hua’s money matters. A big smile spread across Hwang Jongi’s face.

‘Monopoly!’

Monopoly.

What a wonderful word!

Every trader who buys and sells goods dreams of being the only supplier. There are so many good things about having a monopoly, it’s hard to list them all. But the best thing is being able to decide how much to sell and how much to charge.

If one can control the quantity and price well, making enormous profits is a piece of cake.

‘And this is a deal just for the Northern Sea!’

Anyone in the Central Plains who knows about business would want this chance. It’s a deal that promises huge money.

Of course, Mount Hua would take the lion’s share of the profits, and they would only receive a few crumbs, but if the cake is as big as a mountain, even the crumbs can form a desert!

‘This will make the Eunha Merchant Guild grow even bigger!’

Hwang Jongi again thought about how smart Hwang Mun-yak had been to make a deal with Mount Hua.

“Then, after carefully sorting the goods…”

Just at that moment, *plop*!

The bottom of a sack, carried by one of the disciples, tore open. And from within, blue gemstones spilled out.

Hwang Jongi’s eyes widened in shock.

“Th, th-that…!”

“Hey, be careful. That stuff’s expensive.”

“Ice, Ice Crystals…!”

Are these people crazy? They’re treating Ice Crystals like potatoes, just throwing them in sacks!

Hwang Jongi was still in shock, but Hyun Young didn’t seem to notice and asked Chung Myung casually.

“Are you going to sell those Ice Crystals too?”

“No. I have other uses for those.”

“Hmm, I see. Let’s use them ourselves, then.”

Hwang Jongi quickly shut his mouth, which was hanging open. He looked away from the messy pile of Ice Crystals. He felt like he would live less longer if he kept looking at them.

Just then, the warehouse door burst open.

“Elder! Chung Myung!”

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon entered with a perplexed expression and said.

“You should come out. We have a guest.”

“A guest?”

Chung Myung tilted his head and stood up.

A guest at Mount Hua, of all places.

“What kind of person with nothing to do would climb all the way up here?”

“You’ll know when you see them.”

“Tsk.”

Chung Myung grumbled as he trudged out of the warehouse.

“…”

Gaze met gaze in the empty air.

A Taoist dressed unlike a Taoist.

A bandit dressed unlike a bandit.

“Hey…”

After they stared at each other in silence for a moment, the bandit in the white Taoist robe spoke first.

“Wow, it’s good to see you!”

“Ahem.”

At that, the infamous Chung Myung cleared his throat.

“Why couldn’t you just wait for us to send it? What did you think you’d get by coming all the way here?”

“You were going to give it to us?”

At Chung Myung’s indifferent tone, the bandit in the Taoist robe tilted his head.

“That’s not what I heard. Who said they would send it quickly but then disappeared to the Northern Sea?”

“Well, you’re here now, aren’t you?”

“I hope that’s good enough, Chung Myung. I really hope so!”

Chung Myung shook his head and clicked his tongue.

“You are very brave. What kind of bandit comes all the way here?”

“I’m going to die soon! Do you think I can be choosy? Since then, my Ieum has gotten worse, from a Half Severed Meridian to a Three Yin Severed Meridian. Now, I wake up shivering every night!”

The man in the Taoist robe.

The Green Forest King, Im So-byeong, shuddered and trembled as he spoke.

“In my whole life, I’ve never seen anyone cheat a bandit! People just don’t do that!”

“Cheat? No, things just got a little mixed up!”

“I don’t think your friends behind you think so?”

Chung Myung glanced back at Baek Cheon and his group, cleared his throat loudly, and pointed inside.

“Well, you’re here, so come on in for now.”

“Please give me something warm to drink. How can a mountain be so cold and harsh? Ah… This is why people should live on flat land.”

“Is that something a bandit should be saying?”

“Aren’t bandits people too?”

As the two bickered and headed inside, the disciples of Mount Hua muttered quietly.

“But, Master.”