Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 839

With a *whish*, a mountain of silver coins tumbled onto the table.

Usually, seeing so much money would make anyone smile. But Hyun Jong looked sad, not happy.

“Hee hee hee!”

“⋯⋯.”

“I’m giving you a discount because I’m the sect leader. Anyone else would have charged you twice as much. Sigh, I really shouldn’t be doing this. I *should* charge you more because we’re family! But… (sighs dramatically) …I’m too kind. So, discount for you!”

Hyun Jong listened to Chung Myung talk. He didn’t say anything. He just looked up at the ceiling.

‘Ancestors.’

I am sorry.

Mount Hua has now become a place where disciples lend money to their sect leader at high interest.

Hyun Jong despaired and covered his face with both hands.

Hyun Jong was the kind of person who would wake up in the middle of the night at the mere mention of debt and unfair interest. Just thinking about how much he had suffered in the past made the back of his neck stiff.

To think that he would have to borrow money from his own disciple and pay interest, of all people.

“I-It’s not compound interest, is it?”

“You just need to deposit the money by the promised date, you know? But why are you so concerned about that?”

That’s something I’ve heard a lot before…

“What happens if… I can’t keep that date?”

“Hey. You’ll pay it back on time, so what does it matter? Hee hee.”

Hyun Jong squeezed his eyes shut.

It felt like one problem was replaced by an even worse one.

This is my fate…

However, Hyun Young, who had shared most of his fate, seemed to think a little differently.

“Money transactions must be certain! Ahem! What a thoughtful fellow.”

Watching Hyun Young nod his head as if he was satisfied, Hyun Jong felt the urge to twist that chin around to the back of his neck. Hyun Jong glared at Chung Myung, who was laughing gleefully again.

That fair and square guy!

That guy with no loose ends and certain calculations!

…Huh? Is this a compliment?

At that moment, Hyun Young’s gaze was fixed on the Five Swords.

“You!”

“Yes?”

“From now on, you are forbidden from personal spending for three months. No allowance!”

“Yes? Why, why?”

Jo Gul asked, his eyes wide. Jo Gul’s voice cracked with surprise.

As Mount Hua’s disciples spend most of their time training, there is not really any corner to get money from. Those from wealthy families receive money from home, but most have not received support from their families since Mount Hua started earning money and paying allowances to the disciples as pocket money.

But suddenly cutting off their allowance! No thunderbolt could be worse than this.

“What? Did you intend to provide relief with other people’s money and spend all of your own? And take credit for it yourselves?”

“⋯⋯Well, that’s⋯⋯.”

Hyun Young said firmly.

“You’re making others pay for your good deeds! It’s like you want to look generous without spending your own money! If you wanted to do good deeds and be generous to people, you should naturally bear the losses yourselves. How dare you try to take everything for yourselves and just feel good with other people’s money!”

“A-Anyway, how can you take away even that tiny bit of pocket money! You might as well eat the liver of a flea! You really have no blood or tears⋯⋯.”

“This bastard?”

The moment Yoon Jong’s eyes flashed and he was about to punch Jo Gul in the chin, something flew in like lightning and kicked Jo Gul.

“Kyaaa!”

“⋯⋯.”

Yoon Jong swallowed hard as he looked at the leg stretched out in front of his eyes.

“You have no manners. You need to be punished.”

“Y-Yes, Sago.”

That’s right. But to kick someone out of the blue like that… Sago has changed a lot.

Yoo Iseol, who slowly folded her long legs and retrieved them, calmly knelt down again and raised both arms.

Yoon Jong, seeing her eyes, flinched and quickly stuck both arms close to his ears.

“⋯⋯I understand, Elder.”

Along with Baek Cheon’s low reply, the other Five Swords nodded.

“We will.”

“Understood.”

“Kkeueung⋯⋯. If this was going to happen, you should have answered before I got hit⋯⋯.”

“You went crazy and ran wild before we could even answer.”

The Five Swords sighed deeply. However, they felt guilty about trying to take credit with other people’s money, so they did not seem to have any major complaints.

Giving is cutting off a part of oneself to give, not giving away someone else’s.

At that moment, Hyun Jong, with a slightly complicated heart, quietly pushed the silver coins in front of him to the side. Then, organizing the atmosphere, he looked around.

“Anyway, so⋯⋯.”

Before he knew it, the senior members of Mount Hua had gathered in the room.

“Let’s discuss the current situation a bit⋯⋯. Yes, let’s have a discussion.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

His dignity as a sect leader had already flown far away, but it did not matter since it was not that great to begin with.

“As you all have heard, the surrounding situation is not good. With the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families forming the Jang Gang Inviolability Treaty, this area has become a no man’s land.”

When Hyun Jong gave him a look, Hyun Sang nodded and took over the words.

“Currently, the Jang Gang area is literally swarming with strange or bad groups. It is said that even the bandits, who usually do not show their faces, are running rampant.”

“Shameless thieves!”

“We should throw them all into the river and drown them!”

“That’s what bandits are!”

At the reactions bursting out from here and there, Hyun Jong gave a slight awkward look and glanced at one corner of the room. He was worried about one person who was gradually losing hope.

Hyun Jong cleared his throat.

“⋯⋯Be careful with your words.”

“Ah⋯⋯.”

Those who finally noticed Im So-byeong, the Green Forest King (a former bandit leader), huddled in the corner scratched the back of their heads with slightly apologetic faces.

“That wasn’t our intention, Green Forest King.”

“Yes, of course. Not all bandits are the same. Mountain bandits are a bit better.”

“They’re all just bandit bastards anyway. What’s the difference?”

“Chung Myung, be quiet.”

However, Hyun Sang continued his explanation as if Im So-byeong was not even visible.

“As a result, the damage to the common people is extreme. It’s a problem that they are suffering from bandits, but the merchant ships are not circulating properly, and those who used to steer fishing boats are also unable to go out to the river. Naturally, they are bound to be in a state of poverty⋯⋯.”

“Hmm.”

Hyun Jong, who had been pondering for a moment, quietly looked at Baek Cheon.

“What was it like when you saw it directly?”

“It’s serious. It’s not a matter of a day or two, but something that has been going on since the war started in the Jang Gang⋯⋯. If it goes on a little longer, people may start starving to death.”

Hyun Jong nodded.

Of course, there may be those who know all this from seeing it directly, but it is important for a sect to make sure that everyone knows what those at the top know. This is especially true for Mount Hua. Hyun Jong, having confirmed that everyone had grasped the situation, spoke.

“Eunha Merchant Guild is moving Mount Hua’s assets to the Jang Gang. As soon as the grain and wealth arrive, we will put out the urgent fire, so everyone should help.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

At that moment, Hyun Young, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth with a slightly displeased look.

A heavy silence hung in the air. “There are limits to how much we can help,” someone finally said.

“I know.”

“Sect Leader, I am Taoist too, and I agree with helping people. But we can’t fix everything. Mount Hua’s money will run out. We can’t help everyone forever.”

Hyun Jong nodded in agreement. The world could not be solved with just good intentions. Hyun Jong knew they couldn’t just rely on kindness alone.

In this situation, there was one person who always offered the most accurate opinion. Hyun Jong’s gaze turned towards him.

“Chung Myung, what do you think?”

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung tapped his cheek a few times with his finger before opening his mouth.

“Those annoying troublemakers won’t last long. They’re causing trouble now, but they’ll get tired soon and stop. Then most things will return to normal. The problem is that the waterways are blocked, so the laborers have nowhere to work right now…”

Chung Myung shrugged.

“We were a bit short on manpower anyway, so we’ll just hire the laborers. It would be nice to drag in free labor and just use them… but well, bandits don’t know how to work in the first place, so if we keep doing things this way, problems might arise.”

Then, suddenly annoyed, Chung Myung glared at Im So-byeong.

“If the Green Forest King was a bit stronger, he could just beat them all.”

“…Sorry for not being stronger.”

“Knowing is enough.”

Hyun Jong sighed lightly and said to Hyun Young.

“Since that’s the case, let’s release some wealth for a while. Mount Hua also has a responsibility for the situation in the Yangtze River.”

“You would have spent it even if we didn’t have a responsibility.”

“Haha, please understand.”

Hyun Young pouted, but didn’t object to Hyun Jong’s words any further.

When the room got a bit quieter, Im So-byeong cleared his throat and spoke carefully.

“The Sect Leader holding this meeting with me here must mean you want to hear my opinion as well, so I will speak.”

“I just started it without thinking…”

“……”

“Go on, speak.”

Im So-byeong began to explain in a slightly subdued voice.

“Right now, the merchants of the Yangtze River are gathering in Gugiang. If we hire the laborers there at a good price, their families will gather in Gugiang as well.”

“That’s likely.”

“Then it will become a city.”

“Hmm? A city?”

Hyun Jong blinked at the sudden remark.

“Isn’t that a bit of an overestimation?”

But Im So-byeong smiled and shook his head lightly.

“A city isn’t such a grand thing. If many people gather and live in a place, that place is a city. Even if we don’t do anything, the people who gather will build houses on their own, and if merchants gather to see those people, a city will be created in no time.”

“Hmm, thinking about it, that’s true.”

Im So-byeong snapped open his fan and covered the lower half of his face. His eyes sparkled.

“Then what we need to do is firmly seize that city and make it the territory of the Mount Heaven Alliance.”

As everyone nodded, captivated by his strategist-like appearance, Chung Myung suddenly glared.

“Why are you rudely opening a fan in front of the Sect Leader? Put it down!”

“……”

Im So-byeong, now looking dejected, quietly lowered his fan and continued.

“A city means money and people. Right now, Mount Hua, the Mount Heaven Alliance, and the Green Forest have seized an unprecedented opportunity. We can exert influence throughout the Yangtze River centered on this city, and further, we can spread the might of the Mount Heaven Alliance throughout the Central Plains.”

“Why are you subtly including the Green Forest? Are you trying to die!”

“Ah, don’t be so harsh and include us! We’ve already applied to join the Mount Heaven Alliance, haven’t we?”

“Why? Are you going to take the civil service exam too?”

“Actually, I did take it once…”

Hyun Jong sighed deeply and covered his face.

‘Please, let’s just have a meeting, you guys.’

Why did these two have to stick together when one of them alone was enough to drive him crazy…

Hyun Jong quickly opened his mouth before the conversation strayed even further.

“So, what does the Green Forest King think Mount Hua… no, the Mount Heaven Alliance should do?”

“Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

“Yes?”

Im So-byeong smiled brightly.

“The Sect Leader just needs to continue doing what you’ve been doing. There’s nothing special you need to add.”

“…Will that be enough?”

“Yes.”

Im So-byeong nodded slowly. And then he spoke seriously.

“Those who have already gathered here remember the name of Mount Hua and accept Mount Hua as their protector. So, they will naturally feel a sense of belonging to Mount Hua… Cough! Cough! Augh… Just a moment.”

Im So-byeong coughed a few times, his face red, and continued.

“If they accept Mount Hua as their sect, they will consume Mount Hua’s goods first and try to sell Mount Hua’s products. They will support Mount Hua, and Mount Hua will protect them, and this will naturally lead to exploitation… no, um… collection? Ah, no… Damn it, what do you call it?”

The disciples of Mount Hua narrowed their eyes and glared at Im So-byeong as if to say, ‘That’s what you’d expect.’

‘That bandit…’

‘So that’s why they say he’s a bandit.’

‘Look at the way his mind works. He’s just like Chung Myung.’

As if proving that silent criticism, Chung Myung quickly stepped in to help Im So-byeong.

“Virtuous cycle! Virtuous cycle! Ah, yes, like a good circle! We help them, they help us, everyone wins!”

Im So-byeong smiled brightly. Then, suddenly, he muttered with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

“No, but this shouldn’t be this easy… Thinking about it, it’s absurd. If it’s going to be like this, why did I even become a bandit? We should have just become a righteous sect. If we just pretended to be good, people would bring us money… Wow, the more I think about it, the more unfair it feels?”

“Keep your head on straight.”

“Ah, sorry. I spaced out for a moment.”

“……”

Im So-byeong, noticing the eyes of distrust that were now upon him, smiled awkwardly.

“So, to finish, we need to take control of business in the Yangtze River area and look after the people who come here for it.”

“…I didn’t start this with such grand thoughts.”

Im So-byeong chuckled at Hyun Jong’s muttering.

When you think about it, all of this was a table set by the Unorthodox Alliance and the Nine Great Sects. All they had to do was put a spoon on it and swallow the whole table.

To create a city in the Yangtze River, fill it with people, and incorporate it into their territory? This was a difficult task even for a nation to undertake. But that unbelievable thing was happening on its own.

“The problem is how those unorthodox bastards will react…”

It was at that very moment, when a slight worry appeared in Im So-byeong’s eyes.

“Sect Leader! Are you there, Sect Leader!”

“Huh?”

Hyun Jong turned his head and looked towards the door. A hurried voice was heard from outside.

“This is Hong Daekwang of the Beggars’ Sect! I have something you must know!”

“Oh, Branch Leader Hong. Come in.”

Those near the entrance opened the door, and Hong Daekwang quickly entered.

Hong Daekwang, who immediately bowed to Hyun Jong, opened his mouth with a dark expression.

“Sect Leader… The Unorthodox Alliance has done something.”

Hyun Jong’s face hardened at those words.