Return of the Mount Hua

What kind of wealth and fame would I enjoy? (3)

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The senior members of Hwasan gathered at the temporary residence of the Sect Leader. While they were referred to as seniors, the gathering consisted of elders, Un disciples and Ogeom, so they were the most crucial figures in the current Hwasan.

“Why did you summon us?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

Hyun Young’s question made Hyung Sang shrug his shoulders.

“You called us here, so where is the Sect Leadrr?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

Eventually, Hyeon Young’s face contorted in frustration.

“No, isn’t it something you should know as Sahyeong? What’s the point of all this if you don’t even know where the Sect Leader is? You should be following him closely!”

“Hah, there’s nothing I can do. I’m busy in my own way.”

“What?”

When Hyeon Young glared fiercely, Hyun Sang cleared his throat with a puzzled expression.

“…Is Financial Pavilion so busy?”

“Is it busy? Is it really?”

“…”

“Do you think food, bathing, and sleeping for all these people happen on their own? Do you think someone else does it for them? Does the Emperor provide for us?”

“Ahem.”

Hyun Sang turned his head slightly, as if his words were stuck in his throat. Hyun Young’s anger, once unleashed, was not easily quelled.

“When we came to the river, what did you say? You assured me that there wouldn’t be any fighting!”

“Well, that was…”

“But then you fought like there was no tomorrow, tearing apart our clothes! Suddenly, you asked me to find medical herbs to treat people here! And what else? You told me to sell all the remaining grain and prepare to feed everyone because we’ll be staying here for a while?”

Hyun Young’s eyes began to change gradually, turning hostile. Hyun Sang panicked and quickly tried to dissuade him.

“I, I don’t underestimate your efforts. It’s just that the situation is so urgent…”

“The situation? If that’s the case, why did you position us right in front of those arrogant Gupailbang people? If only they weren’t here, we could have left the children alone, and they could have roamed freely!”

“Ahem!”

Hyun Sang coughed nervously. Of course, he didn’t have a significant role in deciding all of this, but he felt embarrassed to offer such explanations to Hyun Young, who had been running around tirelessly.

“If you’re going to start something, think about the aftermath too! You should plan it out and execute it properly! Just starting things recklessly and then saying, ‘Oh, I don’t know anymore,’ who’s going to clean up that mess? Huh? Who’s going to clean it up?”

“C-calm down a bit. The children are watching.”

Hyun Young glanced briefly at the Ogeom, and those who met his gaze quickly lowered their heads.

Hey, bow down, bow down!’

‘If our eyes meet, we die.’

At times like this, if you make a mistake, there’s no telling what might happen. Even though Chung Myung was doing well, Baek Cheon was gaining recognition, and Sect Leader was regaining his authority, within Hwasan, it was undisputed that Hyeon Young held the highest real power.

“Sigh… It’s good that Hwasan is doing well… It’s really good… In the old days, I could just throw a rag anywhere I went, but now, I have to pay attention even to a single piece of clothing and a single meal.”

Everyone lowered their heads in embarrassment at Hyun Young’s complaints and ramblings.

In reality, the tasks in other places hadn’t changed much here. But due to the situation where the same number of people were responsible for multiple times the work, Financial Pavilion was literally dying out.

“Well… supplementing the personnel…”

“Do you think I can supplement them just because I want to? When I ask anyone to help me with Financial Pavilions work, they roll their eyes and say they don’t have enough time to train!”

Hyun Young took a deep breath and looked around with sharp eyes.

“But why isn’t Sects Leader here? I’m busy to death, and if you called someone, they should be here!”

Of course, Hyun Young didn’t know that Hyun Jong had approached the door but turned away upon hearing Hyun Young’s heated voice. Even the great Hyun Jong couldn’t handle Hyun Young when his temper flared.

Fortunately, there was at least one person in Hwasan who could handle Hyun Young.

“Hey, why bother about such things?”

“Huh?”

Ogeom’s faces momentarily darkened.

‘Wow, did you hear the elder’s voice just now?’

‘How can he openly discriminate like this?’

‘Did you hear how kind his voice has become? I got chills.’

Hyun Young’s expression softened upon hearing Chung Myung’s words.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there’s no need to pay so much attention to that. We don’t need to impress those Gupailbang bastards.”

“Right, right. That makes sense.”

Hyun Young nodded approvingly, as if Chung Myung understood it well.

“But, Chung Myung, even though we don’t need to impress Gupailbang, we should be mindful of the eyes of the commoners. Those who are watching us now probably know that we played a significant role in Maehwado. If they see us being shabby, what will they think?”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that! You’re right, Elder! If it weren’t for you, we’d all be beggars. Hwasan is getting praise from everywhere now, thanks to you!”

“Tsk tsk. What are you talking about? How is that my doing? It’s all your doing!”

“Hey, what did I even do?”

As the two elderly men exchanged sharp blows, Baek Cheon’s face turned sour.

This is… He isn’t wrong at all. In fact, if you look closely, it’s all true…

“Baek Cheon.”

“Yes? Yes!”

Baek Cheon jumped in surprise as Hyun Young addressed him.

“Is there some problem? Why is your expression like that?”

“N-no problem, Elder. There’s no problem at all! Really!”

“Hmm.”

Hyun Young shot a suspicious glance but reluctantly nodded. Baek Cheon’s forehead was damp with cold sweat.

“Anyway, as I just said, make sure to keep yourselves presentable. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes, Elder!”

Ogeom replied with a determined look on their faces. Although Ogeom had begun to be praised as a top martial artists representing Hwasan externally, unfortunately, their status within the sect hadn’t changed at all.

No, even if it had changed, it was the same.

Who would dare to oppose the highest authority in Hwasan, who even makes the Sect Leader sweat himself?

“Ahem!”

At that moment, a door has been opened with a loud cough.

“I’m late, it seems.”

Hyun Young narrowed his eyes as he looked at Hyun Jong, who spoke politely.

“It feels like you’ve been here in front of the door for a while…”

“W-well, there’s no way that’s true. I just arrived.”

“…Let’s leave it at that.”

Hyun Jong sat down on a stone seat, slightly hunched. Though there was a momentary hint of sorrow in his eyes, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, his disciples didn’t send him pitying glances.

They just looked at him with understanding.

‘Don’t give me that look. It makes me want to cry.’

What could be done about it? The cause was simple. After entrusting full control over finances during the days of poverty, even after Hwasan began to accumulate wealth, Hyun Jong couldn’t reclaim that authority. Even though Sect Leader was undeniably influential as the leader of Cheonumaeng, he couldn’t ask for control back when they had their finances stabilized. After all, he had left it to Hyun Young to handle during the tough times.

As a result Sect Leader found himself in the position of receiving pocket money from Hyun Young.

Hyun Jong discreetly wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve and composed himself. He couldn’t keep this up forever.

“I’ve called you all here to discuss future matters.”

As he brought up a serious topic, the expressions of his disciples changed. Hyun Jong realized once again how his authority had grown far beyond what it used to be.

Certainly, during the times when both he and Hwasan were struggling, these well-behaved disciples had respected his authority. However, there was something distinctly different from those times.

“As you know, we’ve distanced ourselves significantly from Gupailbang due to recent events.”

“Hmm.”

They had expected this outcome, but it was still a heavy statement to bear. After all, it was Gupailbang, the core of Gangho. No faction would willingly distance themselves from such a powerful group.

“Therefore, we need to firmly establish our position going forward.”

Hyun Jong’s statement left Un Am puzzled, and he asked,

“Sect Leader, it might be an audacious suggestion, but shouldn’t we discuss this matter with the leaders of the Alliance? It seems like this concerns Cheonumaeng more than Hwasan.”

Hyeon Jong nodded thoughtfully at this comment.

“From a logical perspective, that might be the right thing to do. But I find it secondary.”

“Why is that?”

“Because, before I am the leader of Cheonumaeng, I am the Sect Leader of Hwasan.”

Hyun Jong smiled gently as he looked at everyone.

“Especially when the path I should take is not entirely clear, I feel this way even more. If discussions are necessary, I would prefer to have them with all of you first.”

His words brought smiles to everyone’s faces.

No matter how much his positions had changed, it seemed that Hyun Jong was simply being himself. He was the same Sect Leader who had affectionately cared for them even during their early days together.

“So, Chung Myung.”

“Yes?”

“What do you think we should do from now on?”

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung scratched his cheek.

The disciples of Hwasan all expected something special from Chung Myung, as he had often provided unconventional ideas that led to new paths whenever such questions arose in the past. They assumed this would be another instance of his innovative thinking.

However, that assumption shattered the moment he began to speak.

“I think the question might be a bit off, Sect Leader.”

“Hmm? The question is off?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung shook his head.

“I can only answer the question in this way.”

He paused for a moment and looked closely at Hyun Jong. When their gazes met, an inexplicable force seemed to flow into Hyun Jong’s body.

“What would Sect Leader like to do?”

“…Are you asking me?”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

When Hyun Jong hesitated in his response, Chung Myung turned his head to look at the others gathered there.

“I also believe we should ask the people gathered here what they want. The path Hwasan is going to take should be decided together with everyone involved. Before determining what we can do, we need to decide what we want to do.”

Silence followed, and it was a rather unremarkable statement, almost too obvious.

But in this context, these obvious words held great significance.

‘That little bastard…’

‘Unbelievable…’

Most of them looked at Chung Myung in disbelief. However, Jo Geol went a step further and reached out, shaking his hand on front of Chung Myung’s face.

He furrowed his brow subtly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just thought maybe you’ve eaten something bad. No fever, right?”

Before Chung Myung could react, Yoon Jong intervened and hit Jo Geol in his side. While Jo Geol whimpered silently, everyone waited for Chung Myung to continue.

“Let’s discuss it together.”

Everyone waited for the words that would follow from Chung Myung.

“About the path Hwasan should take in the future.”

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