Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“….”

“Ah, of course, since you are now Gaju of the family, you have the right and obligation to check the family assets. But why so suddenly…?”

Namgung Myung looked at Namgung Dowi with suspicious eyes. Namgung Dowi just muttered with a soulless expression on his face.

“Just….”

“Yes?”

“Don’t ask… Please let me know. Just….”

“… … .”

What on earth happened to the man who left his lodging this morning with a gleam in his eyes, to return looking like someone who gambled away his entire fortune?

Namgung Myung glanced at Namgung Dowi with suspicious eyes and said nervously.

“Then I’ll hand over the organized ledger.”

“Uncle.”

“…Why do you keep doing this?”

“Our Namgung Family is wealthy, right?”

“Hoho.”

Namgung Myung said as if it were absurd.

“Are you kidding? It is said that in this world there are as many merchants as there are clouds, and wealthy men rolling around in abundance, but no matter how wealthy they are, they cannot compare to the wealth that our Namgung family possesses.”

It was a statement filled with pride.

It is only natural. As far as Namgung Myung knows, the only sect in the world that can compare to Namgung Family in terms of wealth is Shaolin. The reality is that even Peng and Wudang were a step behind them.

However, rather than being happy after hearing those words, Namgung Dowi started biting his nails.

“Wealthy… so wealthy… truly wealthy.”

“So- Sogaju?”

“We were wealthy… so wealthy…”

Has this guy gone crazy?

Kkadeudeuk.

Namgung Dowi, who had been biting his nails, finally opened his trembling lips.

“Where can I get the ledger?”

“If you want a copy, the Second Accountant should have it.”

“…Yes, then.”

Watching Namgung Dowi trudge out, Namgung Myung was overcome by an inexplicable anxiety.

It was because he faintly heard Namgung Dowi muttering, “This has to be a good move. It has to be. It must be. Please, let it be a good move.”

“What exactly…”

It was Namgung Myung who did not yet know the exact nature of the disaster that was approaching Namgung Family.

* * *

Chung Myung’s eyes grew as big as a lantern.

His mouth involuntarily gaped open, and his hand holding the ledger trembled as if he had caught a chill.

“…Is, is this…”

“…”

“Is this all?”

Namgung Dowi nodded his head grimly.

“This is a list of Namgung Family’s assets.”

“….My, my gosh.”

Chung Myung’s head cracked and turned arbitrarily. Even if Heavenly Demon appeared right before his eyes, he wouldn’t have been this shocked.

Chung Myung, who continued to look at Namgung Dowi and the ledger alternately, expressed his impressions without hesitation with half-opened eyes.

“I wondered why people in the world would starve themselves even if they worked so hard, but these bastards had all the money. These bastard thieves.”

“…”

“Ho…. What is this…. Hohoho.”

Chung Myung looked at the ledger again with an expression of disgust.

To be clear, Mount Hua was by no means a sect without money. Although it may not have been a few years ago, it can now be said to be one of the richest sects in the world.

The wealth it has accumulated might not yet match that of Jungwon’ richest, but considering the income alone, it could now slap around any average clan with money.

Looking at the revenue alone, they can be confident that they have surpassed Mount Hua, which was doing well in the past. However….

“This… crazy. I heard there are real wealthy people.”

Perhaps surprised that Chung Myung’s reaction was so strong, Baek Cheon quietly approached.

“What’s in there that has you reacting like this?”

“Look.”

Chung Myung handed over the ledger to Baek Cheon without a word.

Baek Cheon said indifferently as he turned over a few pages of the ledger.

“No, it’s possible for them to have a lot of money. It’s Namgung Family, after all. But to speak to Sogaju like that is a bit…”

At that moment, Yoon Jong witnessed a sight he had never seen before.

Baek Cheon’s eyes slowly widened, then bulged out.

“This, this is…”

Chwarak! Chwarararak!

Baek Cheon’s hand as he turned the ledger began to become aggressive.

Baek Cheon, with an expression utterly unbecoming of his neat appearance, abruptly stopped flipping through the ledger. Then he raised his head and looked blankly up at Namgung Dowi.

But that was only for a moment, and the blank expression on his face quickly began to change into a look full of resentment. Namgung Dowi was taken aback.

“Why, why do you look like that?”

“Rich bastard…”

“Huh?”

Namgung Dowi was so baffled that he could not believe his ears. Are those words really coming from Baek Cheon’s mouth?

At that time, Chung Myung shouted loudly.

“With all this money, why are you wandering around brandishing sword, you madman!”

“What, what do you mean…”

“The rich really are worse! Truly worse!”

A voice full of venom flowed from Chung Myung’s mouth.

“Damn it. There’s a limit to how unfair the world can be! Some are born orphans, barely keeping their lives in a place worse than a beggar’s den, like Mount Hua! Someone was born are born as sons of Namgung Family!”

“That’s right!”

“Sasuk is from Southern Edge Sect!”

“Compared to Namgung, Southern Edge Sect is a beggar’s den!”

“Ah. That’s right.”

“Damn rich bastards.”

“Damn landlords.”

Jo-Gol looked at the scene and rubbed her eyes. Somehow, it seemed like a red aura was swirling behind Chung Myung and Baek Cheon. It looked as if scythes and hammers were faintly visible…

“Oh my gosh…. I thought I was rich.”

Chung Myung muttered with a vacant face.

Now he knows for sure. The brainwashing of that damn Cheong Mun Sahyung was making his world narrow. No matter how much Chung Myung boasted about making a lot of money, in the end, he was nothing more than a Taoist fool who was satisfied as long as he had food to eat and alcohol to drink.

Human greed(?) surpassed Chung Myung’s imagination, who lived in a clean and magnanimous environment.

“Wait a minute. So, you’re saying that Shaolin and Wudang bastards have a similar amount of money?”

Chung Myung gritted his teeth.

“But these bastards are asking for military funds? I, I should go after these bastards and dig up their graves.”

“…What are you even talking about? Since a while ago?”

“Keueueu.”

Chung Myung scratched his throat as if he had swallowed scroching coals.

Yoo Iseol, intrigued by the reaction that seemed like they would foam at the mouth at any moment, quietly approached Chung Myung and took the ledger.

And.

Kung.

“Kyaak! Sago! Why are you collapsing?”

Tang Soso was shocked and ran to Yoo Iseol, who had fallen backwards.

Watching this, Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

“That’s right, that’s right. It’s normal for people from the street to faint when they see such amounts.”

“Sago is not an orphan!”

“It’s all the same.”

“No, how much money does it have to be for you all to make such a fuss?”

Tang Soso picked up the ledger and looked at it.

“Hmm.”

Then she handed over the ledger to Jo-Gol with a slightly annoyed look on his face. Jo-Gol also read for a moment and then said.

“…It looks like just an ordinary ledger, doesn’t it?”

“Isn’t it necessary to have this much in Namgung Family?”

At the two’s reaction, Baek Cheon and Chung Myung’s eyes began to turn bloodshot anew. Yoo Iseol, who was lying on the floor, also lifted her head and grabbed the sword on her waist.

“Filthy landlords.”

“Rich brats, I swear!”

“Exterminate!”

The trio of orphans, runaways, and street-born glared at the three who were born with silver spoons in their mouths.

“Wa- Wait a minute! I might not know about the others, but Sasuk is an exception, right?”

“That’s right! Sasuk also comes from a good family! He left by his own choice!”

Jo-Gol was confident that this attack would definitely work. However, the moment Baek Cheon’s answer came out, Jo-Gol gave up his counterattack.

“At birth, my older brother was Jin Geumryong.”

“Wow…”

“That’s a concession.”

“Please stay there, Sasuk. Excuse us.”

In an atmosphere where the flames of revolution seemed to be rising at any moment, Yoon Jong quickly intervened.

“I- Is this the time for us to fight among ourselves, Chung Myung?”

“Ughh.”

Chung Myung forcibly twisted his neck.

“Huff. Huff.”

His insides twisted and turned, but didn’t this ledger come into his hands anyway?

“That….”

Chung Myung looked at the ledger and Namgung Dowi alternately, and then with difficulty parted his lips.

“…It’s worth it.”

“Yes?”

“…This, this… worth…. N- No. This is worth….”

At that moment, Chung Myung realized.

Deep within him, there indeed existed something called ‘conscience’ that he himself was unaware of.

Tears streamed down Chung Myung’s eyes.

‘I can’t ask for more….’

Of course, his labor is so precious that it cannot be exchanged for gold. The problem was that Namgung Family’s wealth was so vast that it could use gold as a rag for wiping feet.

No matter how highly he thought of himself, Chung Myung couldn’t ask for just a few strokes of the sword.

‘Sahyung! Cheong Mun Sahyung! Today I finally understand what conscience is, Sahyung!’

– Is that conscience? You madman!

Ah, just be quiet for now!

Chung Myung took a deep breath again and opened his mouth.

“That… if… if you could just give this per…”

“What? What percent?”

As Namgung Dowi asked back in confusion, Chung Myung shrank and spoke in a retreating voice.

“The- Then, one per…cent.”

Later, Jo-Gol would recall this scene like this:

It was like the sight of the sun in the sky shrinking and the water in Dongting Lake drying up, that Chung Myung of the world was suppressed by money rather than anything else.

At that moment, Namgung Dowi shook his head.

“That’s not it, Dojang. The amount is too little.”

“…Yes?”

“Namgung has been saved. And now, aren’t we part of Heavenly Comrade Alliance?”

“That, that’s true…?”

“I will offer five percent of our assets. Please use it as the military fund for Heavenly Comrade Alliance.”

Tuk.

The ledger fell from Chung Myung’s hand.

With a face as if he had seen a ghost, Chung Myung’s jaw trembled.

“Five… five… Five percent? Five… percent?”

“Yes!”

Namgung Dowi nodded with a stern face.

“I think it will be enough for Dojangto divide it appropriately. Dojang’s share, Mount Hua’s share, and Heavenly Comrade Alliance’s share.”

“Re- Really five percent… Are really paying that much?”

“Of course.”

Namgung Dowi lightly tapped his chest.

“No matter how important wealth may be, it cannot compare to the grace of having one’s life saved. Please understand that we can only repay you in this way.”

Chung Myung rushed towards him and grabbed his hand tightly.

“Th- Thank you! Thank you!”

“Do- Dojang! Why are you doing this? It’s nothing.”

Tears streamed down Chung Myung’s eyes.

‘To you, it might be nothing.’

Thank god.

It’s really fortunate that he’s a fool.

Huh? This isn’t about being a fool, but being kind? That’s what makes one a fool.

“I will…”

“Yes?”

“I will devote my body and life (??(身命))! By any means necessary, I will ensure Namgung Family fulfills the role of being a human! I will do my best!”

“…”

“Definitely!”

“Tha- Thank you.”

At that time, Jo-Gol, who was watching quietly, whispered to Yoon Jong.

“Sahyung. The situation seems a bit odd, but when you think about it, isn’t this like paying to get beaten up?”

“Shh. Be quite.”

“….”

That day, Namgung Family became a friend of Mount Hua.

A true friend whose friendship comes from the heart….