Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 603

Chomp chomp chomp chomp!

Chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp!

It was more than just eating. It was a wild scene.

It was like they were inhaling food, or crushing it into dust.

The problem was that more than one or two people were eating like this.

“More duck meat here!”

“Liquor! More liquor too! Liquor!”

“Is that bastard reaching for my meat?”

“Where’s your meat and my meat? Finder’s keepers!”

Plates flew across the table, almost like they had wings. Food vanished in a blink. Then, new plates arrived, and the wild eating started again.

“Ah! Yes, this is real food for humans!”

“After eating plain mountain food for so long, eating meat makes me feel alive!”

“I said more liquor! Liquor!”

Song Tae-ak simply blinked, his face blank.

‘Have they all become ghouls?’ he thought.

A boisterous bunch had arrived in a large group and were devouring all his ingredients.

Even if they were people, shouldn’t there be some limit? They were here to sell goods, but eating food like this was simply not polite.

And Song Tae-ak, in his usual state, would never have tolerated such rudeness.

Yes, in his usual state, that is.

“Mister! I’m telling you we’re short on liquor!”

“Yes?”

“Liquor! Liquor!”

“Liquor? Ah, yes! Yes, I understand! You lot! They say we’re short on liquor!”

Song Tae-ak’s eyes blazed as he roared. Mo Wan, his face paling, hurried over.

“S-Sir, Guild Leader. We’re out of liquor.”

“What? Out of liquor? Our warehouse running out of liquor! Is that even possible?”

“N-No, it’s not that, but all the liquor set aside for consumption is gone. All that’s left is what we’re supposed to sell…”

Song Tae-ak squeezed his eyes shut.

Even if it was not for sale, the guild had a lot of liquor stored. More than fifty *mal* were set aside. But it was all gone in less than half an hour.

‘Even a strong ox wouldn’t drink this much liquor,’ he thought.

Were those people, or liquor-guzzling ghosts?

“W-What do we do?”

“…So, there’s still liquor for delivery left, right?”

“Yes, that’s true, but…”

“Bring it all!”

“S-Sir, Guild Leader. Those liquors are precious and expensive. If we give it all away, the losses…”

“You fool!”

Song Tae-ak gritted his teeth and glared.

“Do you know who these people are! They are the heroes who defeated the Great Separate Villa! If rumors spread that our Golden Thread Merchant Guild, representing Hubei, was negligent in treating the heroes who solved Hubei’s problem, how could I ever show my face again!”

“T-That’s…”

“Stop your nonsense and bring it here immediately!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“Hurry!”

“Yes!”

Song Tae-ak’s cheeks twitched.

‘It’s such a waste,’ he thought.

The guild’s finances weren’t in good shape as it was, and if he lost that liquor too, he might have to eat only grass for a couple of months.

But Song Tae-ak was, after all, a merchant.

A merchant must be bold when the time calls for it. If he tried to save money in a half-hearted way by getting liquor from nearby taverns, he would spend the money and fail to win hearts.

You have to give generously to get something in return.

“I’ll bring the liquor right away, so I hope the heroes of Mount Hua will bear with me for a moment, for Song’s sake!”

“Who is that old man?”

“Don’t know.”

Tears welled up in Song Tae-ak’s eyes.

‘Are these guys really from the Mount Hua Sect?’ he wondered.

Of course, the black uniforms and the plum blossoms embroidered on their chests clearly showed that they were from the Mount Hua Sect, but…

No.

No matter how he looked at it, weren’t these just bandits?

“Ooh! Monk Hye-yeon is drinking a whole jar!”

“Wow! He’s downing that in one gulp without stopping!”

Seeing the bald monk in the corner holding a large jar of liquor and gulping it down, Song Tae-ak gave up on thinking any further. This was not something that could be understood by thinking or worrying about it.

“Kuh.”

At that moment, a short exclamation was heard from behind. Song Tae-ak turned around sharply. He saw Chung Myung, sitting next to the Mount Hua elders at the head table, drinking straight from a bottle.

Rushing over, Song Tae-ak bowed repeatedly as if he had no spine.

“Oh, esteemed sirs! How is the food? I hope it meets your satisfaction.”

Hyun Sang cleared his throat and gave a gentle smile.

“We just came to sell some things, but this welcome is amazing! Thank you, Guild Leader.”

“No, no! What are you saying!”

Song Tae-ak said with a serious expression.

“If the Mount Hua Sect had not defeated the Great Separate Villa, the people of Hubei would still be living in fear. How could I possibly neglect the members of the Mount Hua Sect?”

This was not just empty words.

Even without considering the people of Hubei, the situation was the same. Because of the Great Separate Villa, which was firmly established below Hubei Province, the Golden Thread Merchant Guild could not even think of crossing the Great Separate Mountain and always had to take a long detour to start their commerce.

Being able to use the commercial route that they had been unable to use even though it existed right in front of them was an enormous benefit in itself. So, compared to that, this level of expenditure was nothing.

Yes. It was definitely nothing, but…

“Kya, this liquor is quite good?”

Watching Chung Myung drink the expensive Golden Honor Wine like water, Song Tae-ak couldn’t help but feel a stomach ache coming on. It was a rich, golden liquor, usually savored slowly.

“Haha.”

Hyun Young laughed as if he was delighted.

“The Guild Leader’s high regard for our Mount Hua fills our hearts with abundance.”

“Not only I, but all the people of Hubei are praising Mount Hua without hesitation. I may not dare to represent Hubei, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again.”

Song Tae-ak’s bow seemed full of sincerity.

“Ahem.”

“Hehe.”

The faces of the Mount Hua elders sitting at the head table turned slightly red.

When had they ever received such gratitude?

They had desperately wished for it since their youth. Someday, they would solve all of Mount Hua’s problems and spread Mount Hua’s name throughout the world through heroic deeds.

The dream that they had thought was impossible to achieve, constantly facing reality throughout their lives, was being realized in their later years through their disciples, and their emotions were indescribably unique.

However.

“Enough with the compliments.”

There was bound to be someone in the world whose heart was made of steel and who couldn’t feel any emotion, no matter what.

“So, is the appraisal finished?”

“Ah… are you talking about the goods you brought?”

“Yes.”

Song Tae-ak hesitated, looking slightly troubled.

“I am sorry to say this, but… the items you brought are so diverse and in such large quantities that it is not easy to appraise them all at once.”

Chung Myung sighed loudly, “Aaaah.”

Song Taeak replied, “If you could just wait another day or two, we will expedite things as quickly as possible…”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue, sounding annoyed.

Chung Myung’s face darkened. He slammed his cup onto the wooden table with a *thump*, making the tea slosh over the side. “Hey, Guild Leader,” he said, his voice sharp.

Song Taeak jumped slightly. “Yes?” he replied, trying to sound calm.

Chung Myung leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. “So, tell me, Guild Leader. Why do you think we bothered to travel all the way here?”

Song Taeak hesitated, avoiding Chung Myung’s gaze. “To… to sell your goods quickly, of course…”

Chung Myung scoffed. “You know that’s right. But then what was that about? Two days? You said *two days* to get this done?” He tapped his fingers impatiently on the table.

“Aah, forget it, forget it. I thought the best guild in Hubei would be something great. Kids, pack your bags! Let’s go home!”

“Ah, no! No, Guild Leader!” Song Taeak exclaimed. “Two days? When did I ever say such a thing? One day! One day is enough.”

“One day?” Chung Myung tilted his head.

Chung Myung turned to his friend, Jo Gul! “Hey Jo Gul!”

“Huh?” Jo Gul responded.

“Are there any other guilds nearby?” Chung Myung asked.

“Hmm. Hubei is kind of the center of the merchant world, so even if they aren’t as good as the Geumseon Guild, there should be a few more guilds of a similar level,” Jo Gul replied.

“Which one is the closest?”

“There’s the Daepung Guild right nearby.”

“Hurry up and pack. Let’s go!”

Chung Myung jumped up from his seat, and Song Taeak, terrified, quickly threw himself forward.

“G, Guild Leader!” Song Taeak pleaded. “Aish, why are you doing this!”

“Let go. Won’t you let go?” Chung Myung contorted his face and shouted.

“No, I!” Song Taeak cried. “I came here thinking it’s good to be good, but does this guy think I’m an easy mark? What, appraising? Appraiiiising? Ah, really? You talk about being a hero who subjugated Daebyeolchae, but you’re going to calculate and take every single penny? Ugh! I won’t even pee in this direction in the future! Oh, my fellow townspeople!”

“N, no, that’s not it, that’s!” Real cold sweat began to trickle down Song Taeak’s back.

Even though the commercial district is a place to make profits, reputation is more important than profit in order to do real big business. No one wants to open their purse to a miser who only knows money.

But if Hwasan leaves like this and spreads the word that the Geumseon Guild tried to cheat them and couldn’t make a deal, what would happen to the guild’s reputation?

Song Taeak would never lose money in a deal under normal circumstances, but right now, they came with too much in their hands. With the achievements of subjugating Daebyeolchae still fresh, what guts would he have to argue about money with these people?

‘I thought a god of wealth had come.’ This was like a devil had come. Chung Myung asked again.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I, I will buy it all right now! Right now!”

“For how much?”

Song Taeak’s eyes wavered for a moment. ‘How much?’ It wasn’t that he didn’t have a sense of how much those treasures were worth. He just wanted to be sure, and he wanted to keep Hwasan around a little longer if possible.

‘If I give them about 20% more, that should be enough.’ These aren’t robbers, so they wouldn’t try to take more, would they?

“Th, then four, four hundred…”

“Excuse me?” In an instant, Chung Myung’s eyes rolled back in anger.

“F, four hundred and ten…”

“Ahem. For someone who is said to be the guild leader of the Ten Great Guilds of the Central Plains, you are trying to cheat me with such a small amount!”

“…F, four hundred and twenty! I can’t go any higher! Our backs will break!”

“Six hundred.”

“Yes?”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue. “A person should be generous. What can you do with that? Even a neighborhood corner store would spend more than that.”

“G, Guild Leader! If you take that much, we’ll be out on the streets. I… I cannot agree to that deal.”

“Really? Then seven hundred.”

“…Ah, no, what is this…”

“Instead,” Chung Myung grinned.

“I’ll give you the exclusive rights to distribute Yunnan tea in Hubei.”

The expression momentarily vanished from Song Taeak’s face, who had been staring blankly as if he had seen a ghost.

“…Are you serious?”

Chung Myung curled up the corners of his lips as he watched Song Taeak’s face instantly revert to that of a merchant. ‘Yes, that’s what the guild leader of the Ten Great Guilds of the Central Plains should be like.’

“Yes, well. Actually, our guilds know how to transport tea, but it’s too difficult to sell it up north, so we were looking for a suitable place.”

“…”

“I heard that this guild is quite famous for tea. Is that not the case?”

Song Taeak’s eyes gleamed. ‘They didn’t come here by chance.’ They didn’t just come to the closest place after subjugating Daebyeolchae. At least, this guy had been waiting for the chance to bring this up since he came here.

‘No wonder Hwasan is gaining fame.’ If there’s someone like this, it’s no wonder they’re making a name for themselves.

“Let’s make it a thousand.”

“Oh?”

“Instead!” Song Taeak opened his mouth with a slightly chilling look in his eyes.

“Beijing. Give me the exclusive rights to Beijing. Other places are fine. I’ll give you three hundred more on the condition that you add Beijing.”

“Heeeuuuum.” Chung Myung looked him up and down with strange eyes.

“Wouldn’t the Wudang Sect dislike it if you went that far?”

“I am a merchant,” Song Taeak said firmly.

“If you don’t know how to seize an opportunity when it comes, you’re not a merchant. I chase profits, not relationships.”

Chung Myung nodded as if he liked it.

“Okay. Then let’s do that.”

“Hahaha! You made a good choi…”

“Then let’s settle on twelve hundred.”

“⋯⋯Yes?” Song Taeak stared with an expression as if he had been hit. Chung Myung grinned.

“Seeing you call out a thousand, it seems like you still have some leeway, so twelve hundred. How about it? It seems like an amount that can satisfy each other pleasantly.”

“⋯⋯”

“The answer?”

“⋯⋯”

“The answerrrr?”

“Just cut off a lot of money.”

“Well, that much.” Song Taeak squeezed his eyes shut. Still, he could bear not shedding tears at the thought that he had saved the cost of alcohol.