Return of the Mount Hua Sect

In addition to the people of Mount Hua Sect, Tang Gun-ak and Im Sobyong, who visited yesterday, sat across Sect Leader.

“First….”

Hyun Jong cleared his throat and continued.

“I would like to express my deepest apologies to the two who must have worked hard while Mount Hua was away. And I must apologize to you both for not fulfilling my role as Maengju of Heavenly Comrade Alliance.”

“There’s no need for such words, Maengju-nim.”

Tang Gun-ak shook his head.

“Who doesn’t know that just because Mount Hua is away, it doesn’t mean we can live comfortably? We just had different roles to play.”

“Gaju-nim…”

Amidst the warm exchange, a slightly sarcastic voice interjected.

“Well, of course, it was a bit difficult.”

“…….”

Im Sobyong smiled brightly and innocently at Hyun Jong.

“We were trembling, worried about Evil Tyrant Alliance crossing over anytime, having Ten Great Sect visit the Yangtze for no reason who would just glare and leave, please the merchants who talk about how expensive the toll is, and even distribute the money I had saved so hard among the commoners. It was hard, but…!”

“…….”

“Of course, Mount Hua, who only trained behind the scenes, must have had a hard time. Yes! What could be more difficult to do? Hahahaha.”

“No, but this guy!”

When Chung Myung tried to stand up with his eyes overturned, Baek Cheon pressed down on his shoulders.

“Hold it, Chung Myung. It’s just the beginning, and if you start like this now, we won’t get anything done today.”

Then Chung Myung, who made a groaning sound, turned his head and asked Hyun Young.

“Is there anything wrong with the ledger? Anything missing? Skimmed off the top? It’s possible, right? I’m sure there are? There should be, right?”

It was a statement that momentarily caused confusion as to whether it was better to have embezzlement or not.

And unfortunately, Hyun Young’s answer was different from what Chung Myung wanted.

“It’s clean.”

“Clean?”

“Yes, clean.”

Hyun Young shook his head and emphasized.

“Not a single coin off.”

“Really?”

“I cross-checked everything. This is the first time in my life that I have seen such a perfect ledger.”

When Hyun Young turned to him with admiration, Im Sobyong spread his fan wide and smiled with a triumphant face.

“Haha. I can’t believe I was able to satisfy Elder-nim, I’m glad.”

But then.

“I knew it! That bandit bastard!”

Chung Myung suddenly jumped at Im Sobyong and grabbed him by the collar.

“Keek!”

Im Sobyong, who was suddenly grabbed by the collar, opened his eyes wide as if he had been struck by lightning.

“N- No! How many years have you been deaf? It’s clean and perfect! Perfect! Don’t you know what perfect is?”

“Yes, I know, perfect! That’s why I’m doing this!”

“What?”

When Im Sobyong looked at him asking what he was talking about, Chung Myung shouted in anger.

“The bandit wrote the ledger, does it make sense that there’s nothing wrong? Are you taking us for pushovers?”

“…….”

Im Sobyong’s mouth dropped open.

“Spit it out, you bastard! How much have you done! I’m sure you must have scraped everything you saw and stole in a very cruel manner! Spit it out! Aren’t you going to spit it out right now?”

Chung Myung shook Im Sobyong’s head vigorously. Im Sobyong’s neatly combed hair was flung back and forth, quickly turning into a mess.

“Chu- Chung Myung. That person is….”

“I know! This guy’s a thieving rat! Don’t worry, Sect Leader! I’ll make sure to recover every last coin this bastard has hidden inside!”

“N- No. Nokrim King….”

“This guy, still not confessing even after I’m doing this? Do you want to die? Huh?”

Tears welled up in Im Sobyong’s eyes.

It was obvious that they suspected a bandit in a business, that’s why many people had been up all night to make sure that nothing was missing, even by mistake, but what was all that time for?

“Grab him!”

“Yes!”

When Hyun Jong’s order fell, Five Swords, who was waiting, rushed to take Chung Myung away from Im Sobyong. Chung Myung was dragged but still struggling and kicking in the air.

“No! Let go! Everyone’s being fooled!”

“The ledger is accurate!”

“How dare this bandit bastard, towards our Sect Leader!”

“…….”

Ah, so that was the reason.

Then just say so.

Baek Cheon, who had almost let go of his hand, flinched at the last moment and regained his senses. Then he grabbed Cheongmyeong tightly again and dragged him back.

“…I’m sorry, Nokrim King.”

“…….”

“Are you all right?”

“…I’m fine.”

Though Im Sobyong’s eyes seemed moist, neither Hyun Jong nor Tang Gun-ak did not necessarily point out the fact.

“Anyway…”

Chwaak.

Im Sobyong opened the fan wide. It’s just a pity that the fan, which used to be a symbol of confidence, is now being used to hide his face.

“As you can see from the ledgers, Plum Blossom Island is making a significant profit. The merchants, who have confirmed that Plum Blossom Island ensures safety, are trying to cross the Yangtze River through Plum Blossom Island, leading to a shortage of ships.”

“Oh my gosh! These guys stole the money to buy a ship… Eup! Omphffff!”

“…….”

Im Sobyong looked back at Chung Myung with eyes filled with the emptiness of the world. Then Hyun Jong spoke up.

“Nokrim King.”

“Yes, Sect Leader….”

“Let’s not bother about it.”

“……Yes.”

Im Sobyong, who cleared his throat, continued.

“As Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword said, it is a problem that can be solved by increasing the number of ships, but in fact, in the end, it’s a profit gained from the blockade of the Yangtze River, so the situation on Plum Blossom Island can change rapidly at any time depending on the situation on the Yangtze River.”

“Hmm. That’s correct. I didn’t expect the pirates to still be blockading the river.”

“Yes, Sect Leader. Hence, blindly increasing the number of ships might lead to losses. For now, it seems better to maintain the status quo.”

“You really put in a lot of hard work.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Im Sobyong smiled lightly.

“Shouldn’t we, Nokrim, also play our role as proud members of Heavenly Comrade Alliance? Hahahaha.”

“But that Evil Sect punk sticks his spoon out somewhere again! To think I’ll have to witness such a sight before I’m buried in the ground… Eugh! Eugh!”

This time even Tang Gun-ak stepped up to shut up Chung Myung’s mouth.

“Be quiet, will you!”

“Shut your mouth.”.”

“One more time and I’m going to put a throwing knife in your forehead, Sahyung!”

Hyun Jong held his face and once again apologized to Im Sobyong.

“…I’m sorry.”

“They say the life of a bandit is worse than that of a dog.”

“Wasn’t it ‘the life of a slave’?”

“…Whether it’s a slave or bandit.”

It’s different. Very much so.

However, Hyun Jong consoled Im Sobyong, who was suffering from the shackles of social status.

If Nokrim had lived honestly for the past three years as Im Sobyong said, the world’s perception of them would have changed a lot. Even if the perspective has not changed much, one would agree that Mount Hua can suppress Nokrim.

Therefore, as Im Sobyong said, it may be necessary to solidify the position of Nokrim, which is an unofficial ally of Heavenly Comrade Alliance.

‘Before a real problem breaks out with Evil Tyrant Alliance.’

Hyun Jong’s eyes, who nodded thoughtfully, turned to Tang Gun-ak this time.

“You’ve been through a lot, too, Gaju-nim.”

“It’s not worth mentioning.”

Tang Gun-ak shook his head.

“There’s really no big problem with the disturbance in the Yangtze River. If there was a problem, it would be that Tang Family with a small number of people had to coordinate in an area that was too large.”

Chung Myung took Baek Cheon’s hand away from his mouth and grumbled.

“Then you could’ve used those idle bandit cubs, you know?”

“…Realistically, it wasn’t easy. Who would welcome bandits coming down the mountains to catch members of Evil Sects?”

“See, those bandits are not helping.”

Tang Gun-ak continued as he agonized over what Im Sobyong had come this far from the Yangtze River for.

“But thanks to this, the public sentiment in the Yangtze River clearly turned towards Heavenly Comrade Alliance.”

Hyun Jong nodded deeply.

He is also a person who knows how scary public sentiment is. Wasn’t the reason Mount Hua was able to survive until the end even in such difficult circumstances before the arrival of Chung Myung because there were a small number of people who were willing to support Mount Hua?

“But now we’ve reached our limit, Maengju-nim.”

“Hmm.”

“Right now, we can do anything because Evil Tyrant Alliance is silent, but the problem will surely grow as they make moves. We need the support of Heavenly Comrade Alliance.”

Although it is said ‘Heavenly Comrade Alliance’, the only members of Heavenly Comrade Alliance in Jungwon are Mount Hua and Tang Family.

This was tantamount from Tang Gun-ak to the official request for support to Mount Hua.

“I’m sure… After spending the last three years on the Yangtze River, the main house in Sichuan must be in a bad state.”

“I’m ashamed to admit, but it is.”

“I understand, Gaju-nim. We, the Mount Hua Sect, will do our best to support you as soon as possible…”

“Why bother?”

“Huh?”

All eyes turned to Chung Myung.

Baek Cheon, who was holding Chung Myung, slowly took his hand away. He can now sort of tell the difference between when he talks nonsense and when he says something right.

“Why not just leave them to it and withdraw?”

Baek Cheon’s hand gently grabbed Chung Myung’s shoulder again.

Should I subdue him?

“……Did you ask me to step out?”

“Yes.”

“From the Yangtze River?”

“Yes.”

Tang Gun-ak frowns at Chung Myung, who speaks calmly.

“I know you’re not one to speak thoughtlessly, but I just can’t understand what you’re saying.”

Baek Cheon opened his eyes wide in shock.

Excuse me, Gaju-nim….? It seems you might be mistaken because no one in Jungwon speaks more thoughtlessly than this punk.

“During the past time, the Tang Family has been protecting the commoners, of course, because it was their natural duty, but it was also to create a favorable public opinion toward Heavenly Comrade Alliance. But if we step away from this, wouldn’t it all be useless?”

“No, you’ve done all these so far, and if they swear at you for taking a break, isn’t that inhumane? They’re just like a beast then, right?”

“…….”

“They should be grateful when getting helped! It’s outrageous to save someone from drowning only to have them demand our belongings in return!”

“That’s… not wrong, but the world doesn’t always work that way, does it?”

“His words are true though, why should we be the ones guarding there? Originally, it should be the responsibility of Wudang and Namgung Family.”

“Didn’t they go into Bongmun….”

“Is Bongmun an official title? Are they allowed to ignore everything just because they entered Bongmun?”

“….That’s not something for Mount Hua to say.”

Baekcheon quickly nodded in agreement.

Yeah, that’s not something for us to say, right?

However, Chung Myung snorted sharply.

“Then keep doing it.”

“Huh?”

“You’re asking Mount Hua for support, right?”

“That’s… right?”

Doubt clouded Tang Gun-ak’s face.

And indeed… Chung Myung was Chung Myung.

“Even if a knife comes at my neck, I have no intention of fighting at the Yangtze River in place of those Wudang bastards. Tang family can either back off or keep doing whatever they’re doing there!”

“…….”

“Why are we doing what those rotten Ten Great Sects bastards had to do in the first place!”

“Still, even though it’s not official, the Ten Great Sect and Heavenly Comrade Alliance are like an alliance…”

“Aliiiiiiaaaaaaaaance?”

Finally, Chung Myung turned his eyes upside down.

Seeing his wild glare, Tang Gun-ak involuntarily shut his eyes tightly.

“I’d rather stick with the Evil Sects than form an alliance with the bastards of the Ten Great Sect! Shaolin and Wudang can f*ck off!”

“Haha. Well, since it’s brought up, maybe we can form an alliance with Nokrim and…”

“You, spit out the money you’ve eaten!”

“No! I didn’t eat anything!”

The exploding Chung Myung, the protesting Imso soldier, and the agonizing Tang Gun-ak.

In front of a scene of hell-like chaos, Hyun Jong smiled happily.

‘Yes, this was the feeling.’

Ah… I just want to go back to the deep mountains.

Please…