You can just leave it be. (5)
“Why the assets assessment list suddenly…?”
“…”
“Well, of course, since you are now the head of the family, you have the right and duty to confirm the family’s assets. But why so suddenly…?”
Namgung Myeong cast a suspicious gaze at Namgung Dowi. Namgung Dowi merely mumbled with a vacant expression on his face.
“Just…”
“Yes?”
“Don’t ask… just tell me. Just…”
“…”
When he left his lodging in the morning, the young master, who had been filled with determination in his eyes, returned with the look of a man who had squandered his entire fortune on gambling. What could have happened?
Namgung Myeong, who was staring at Namgung Dowi with a perplexed look in his eyes, spoke hesitantly.
“Then I’ll hand over the organized ledger.”
“Uncle…”
“Why do you keep doing this?”
“Our Namgung family is wealthy, aren’t we?”
“Haha.”
Namgung Myeong said with a sense of absurdity.
“Are you serious about this? They say there are rich people in this world like clouds, and speculators who roll around like pebbles at their feet. But no matter how great their wealth is, it can’t compare to what our Namgung family has.”
It was a statement filled with pride.
It’s only natural. As far as Namgung Myeong knows, the only faction that can rival the Nangong family in terms of wealth is Shaolin. Even if they are Wudang or the Paeng family, the reality is that they are just a step below the Namgung family. But upon hearing those words, Namgung Dowi began to chew on his fingernails in distress rather than rejoicing.
“Wealthy… wealthy… we’re wealthy.”
“Yo- young Lord…?”
“Wealthy… we were wealthy…”
Could this guy have gone insane?
Namgung Dowi, biting his fingernails as if possessed, finally opened his trembling lips.
“Where can we get the ledger?”
“If it’s a copy, then Chief Accountant Lee should have it.”
“Yes, then.”
Watching Namgung Dowi stumble out, Namgung Myeong was engulfed in an inexplicable sense of unease.
It was because he faintly heard Namgung Dowi muttering,
“You have to do well. You have to do well. Please, it has to be done well.”
“What in the world…”
Namgung Myeong still didn’t know the true nature of the calamity that was looming over the Namgung family.
***
Chung Myung’s eyes widened like lanterns.
His mouth hung open, and the hand holding the ledger trembled as if struck by a storm.
“This… this is…”
“…”
“Is this all?”
Namgung Dowi nodded somberly.
“It’s the list of Namgung family’s assets.”
“Incredible.”
Chung Myung’s head turned as if on its own accord. Even if the Heavenly Demon appeared before him, he wouldn’t have been as shocked as he was now.
Alternating his gaze between Namgung Dowi and the ledger, Chung Myung expressed his thoughts candidly with half-open eyes.
“Why do people toil so hard and still go hungry? Because these bastards had all the money. Thieves.”
“…”
“Haha… What is this… Hahaha.”
Chung Myung looked at the ledger with a disgusted expression.
To be precise, Hwasan was no longer a faction without money. While it might not yet rival the wealth of the central factions, considering the income it was generating now, it could easily slap other factions in the face with money.
If we consider income alone, Hwasan had surpassed its past success. However…
“Whoa… insane. Seriously, those guys had even more.”
Perhaps Chung Myung’s reaction was so intense that Baek Cheon approached cautiously.
“How much are we talking about, exactly?”
“Look.”
He handed the ledger to Baek Cheon without a word.
Baek Cheon flipped through a few pages of the ledger and nonchalantly remarked,
“Well, it could be a lot. It’s the Namgung family, after all. But to talk like that in front of the head…”
At that moment, Yoon Jong witnessed an entirely new sight.
Baek Cheon’s eyes gradually widened, and something jutted forward from him.
“This… is…”
Swish! Baek Cheon’s hand, passing the ledger, started to become more forceful.
With an expression that didn’t match his normally composed face, he roughly passed the ledger with increasing intensity. Then, he abruptly stopped and raised his head, staring blankly at Namgung Dowi.
But that was only momentary, as his dazed expression quickly turned into a piercing, icy glare. Namgung Dowi was taken aback.
“Why, why are you doing this?”
“You rich bastard…”
“Yes?”
Namgung Dowi was not just bewildered – he began to doubt his own ears. Could those words truly have come from Baek Cheon’s mouth?
Then, Chung Myung suddenly exclaimed,
“With this much money, why do you still go around killing people, you crazy fool!”
“W-what do you mean…”
“The rich get richer! Seriously, they get even richer!”
Chung Myung’s voice was filled with a sense of indignation.
“Darn it! There’s a limit to how unfair the world can be! Some people are born in poverty, struggling to survive as an orphan, while others are born into the Namgung family!”
“That’s right!”
“And Sasuk is from the Southern Edge!”
“Compared to Namgung, it is like a beggar’s den!”
“Ah, that’s true.”
“Damn those wealthy scoundrels!”
“Cursed landowners!”
Jo Geol squinted as he watched this scene. It seemed like a red aura was overflowing behind Chun Myung and Baek cheon. He could almost see glimpses of a sickle and hammer…
“Good heavens… I thought I had a lot of money.”
Chung Myung muttered with a dazed expression on his face.
Now it was clear. The cursed Taoist indoctrinations of the long-lost Sect Leader Sahyeong [he is thinking about Chung Mun] had been narrowing down his world. No matter how much Chung Myung boasted about making money, in the end, he was nothing more than a Taoist monk satisfied as long as he had food to eat and liquor to drink. Human greed had surpassed Chung Myung’s pure standards.
“Wait a minute. So, Shaolin or Wudang must have similar amounts of money, right?”
Chung Myung sharpened his words.
“But these guys were asking for military funds? I’ll have to go and dig up their graves.”
“What are you talking about? Since when?”
“Hmmph.”
Chung Myung scratched his neck as if swallowing burning charcoal. His reaction, as if he could froth at the mouth at any moment, piqued Yu Iseol’s curiosity. Quietly, she approached Chung Myung , snatched the ledger, and then…
Thud.
“Whoa! What happened? Why did you collapse?”
Startled, Tang Soso rushed to Yu Iseol, who had fallen backward.
Seeing that, Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
“That’s right, that’s right. People from the streets should faint when they see this amount.”
“But I’m not an orphan!”
“Six of one, half a dozen of the other.”
“No, seriously, how much money are we talking about here?”
Tang Soso picked up the ledger and examined it.
“Hmm.”
Then, with a somewhat puzzled expression, she handed the ledger to Jo Geol. After reading it briefly, Jo Geol commented,
“It looks like a regular ledger.”
“Isn’t this the kind of amount expected for the Namgung family?”
The eyes of Baek Cheon and Chung Myung sparkled anew in response to their reactions. Yu Iseol, who had been lying on the ground, raised her head and swiftly drew her sword from her waist.
“You dirty landowners!”
“Born with a silver spoon!”
“Exterminate!”
The three, who an orphan, a runaway, and someone born in the streets, glared at the three who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths.
“Wait a moment! Others might be like that, but Sasuk isn’t!”
“That’s right! Sasuk came from a good family! It’s not his fault!”
Jo Geol had been confident that this defense would work, but the moment Baek Cheon responded, Jo Geol gave up on a counterattack.
“When I was born, my older brother was Jin Geum-ryong…”
“Wow…”
“I have to admit that.”
“Please forgive me, Sasuk. I apologize for intruding.”
Amidst an atmosphere that felt like the flames of revolution could erupt at any moment, Yoon Jong quickly intervened.
“This isn’t the time for us to fight each other, Chung Myung.”
“Hmmph.”
Chung Myung strained his neck forcefully.
“Huff, huff.”
Even though his stomach was twisted and his insides were turned upside down, wasn’t this ledger now in his hands?
“Um…”
Chung Myung looked alternately at the ledger and Namgung Dowi, then finally managed to speak through great effort.
“…manageable.”
“Yes?”
“…Work… I mean, this work…”
At that moment, Chung Myung realized it.
Deep within him, there was an undiscovered ‘conscience.’
Tears streamed down his eyes.
‘I can’t be any richer…’
Of course, his labor was so precious it couldn’t be exchanged for gold. The problem was that the Namgung family’s wealth was so great that they could use gold as a foot rag.
No matter how highly Chung Myung rated himself, he couldn’t amass too much wealth in exchange for beating a few swordsmen.
‘Sahyeong! Sect Leader Sahyeong! Today I finally understood what a conscience is, Sahyeong!’
— Is that conscience? You crazy person!
Ah, please, quiet down!
Chung Myung took a deep breath and spoke again.
“So… If you give me this amount, how can I…”
“Yes? This amount?”
When Namgung Dowi asked in confusion, Chung Myung lowered his shoulders and spoke in a crawling voice.
“T-then… I’ll work…”
Years later, Jo Geol would recall this scene like this:
It was as if the sun that had risen in the sky had suddenly shrunk, or as if the waters of the East Dragon Lake had dried up. It was nothing less than Chung Myung, the greatest in the world, being crushed by money.
At that moment, Namgung Dowi raised his head.
“That’s not it, Dojang. It’s too little money.”
“…What?”
“Namgung clan received their lives on Maehwado. And now, aren’t we part of the Cheonumaeng family?”
“Well, yes…”
“I’ll give you 50% of my assets. Please use it as Cheonumaeng’s military funds.”
Thunk.
The ledger slipped from Chung Myung’s hand.
His face looked as if he had seen a ghost, his chin trembling.
“Ha-…? Half…?”
“Yes!”
Namgung Dowi nodded firmly.
“You can divide it as you see fit. Your share, Hwasan’s share, and Cheonumaeng’s share.”
“Are you really giving me fifty percent of this?”
“Of course.”
Namgung Dowi lightly tapped his chest.
“No matter how valuable wealth may be, it cannot compare to the grace of saving lives. Please understand that we can only show our gratitude in this way.”
Chung Myung rushed at him and grabbed his hands.
“T-thank you! Thank you!”
“D-Dojang! Why are you like this? It’s nothing.”
Tears streamed down Chung Myung’s eyes.
“It’s nothing for someone like you.”
Thank goodness.
It’s so fortunate that he’s an idiot.
‘Huh? Isn’t that because he’s kind? That’s what makes him a fool.’
“I will give my all, even if it means using any means necessary, to make the members of the Namgung family appear as human beings! I will do my best!”
“…”
“For sure!”
“Thank you.”
At that moment, Jo Geol, who had been quietly observing, whispered to Yoon Jong.
“Sahyeong, the situation seems a bit strange. If you think about it, isn’t he paying for being beaten to death?”
“Hush. Be quiet.”
“…”
That day, the Namgung Family became friends with Hwasan. A true friendship born from the heart…
________
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Return of the Mount Hua 
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