Chapter 1909 - Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1909. I’m Home. (3) ❀ ❀ ❀

“So then…”

Hwang Jong-ui let out a dry cough. Each time he did, his body trembled like a feather caught in a spring breeze, making anyone watching flinch in sympathy.

But Hwang Jong-ui stubbornly continued speaking.

“First of all, it seems about half of the refugees will return to their hometowns. After all, they don’t have enough of a foundation here in Huayin. No matter how much farmland they cultivated or homes they built, it can’t compare to their homeland.”

That, at least, wasn’t a bad thing for Huayin.

An excessive population that exceeds one’s capacity will always bring disaster sooner or later. The side effects were already beginning to show. The fact that they were still at war and that Mount Hua had given generously had helped people endure the inconvenience, but that couldn’t last forever.

“The problem is… that the remaining number still makes up half. At most half, at least around thirty percent, will stay in Huayin, and that’s where the real issue lies. The city is already stretched to its limits just housing the refugees.”

“Ugh…”

“It means there’s no infrastructure to support the long-term self-sufficiency of thirty percent of those refugees. Only a provincial capital-level city could handle that.”

“Hmmm…”

“So what’s most urgent right now is to persuade them to return home peacefully or, somehow, ensure they can make a living here… Are you listening to me?”

“Sahyuuuuung…”

In the end, Hwang Jong-ui covered his face with his hands.

Cheong Myeong was still clutching the cracked memorial tablet, sobbing.

“Damn it! Is that tablet really the problem right now? It’s just a piece of wood with a crack in it! What’s the big deal?”

“What? Are you done talking now?”

“Since when did you care so much about your elders? The name ‘Cheong Myeong of Mount Hua’ is known all the way to Yunnan as the incarnation of destruction! If you’ve got the energy to worry about a cracked tablet, maybe worry about the seniors who are still alive!”

“I’m taking care of it because they’re dead! The dead don’t nag! Or wait… do they? Do they still nag even after dying?”

Now clutching the tablet tightly, Cheong Myeong started mumbling like a madman. ‘Why are you still nagging even in death? You’re driving me crazy…’

Hwang Jong-ui shut his eyes tightly.

‘Just when I thought I could finally breathe again…’

After being left alone with no one to help, the Eunha Merchant Guild had endured hellish days. He couldn’t resent those who had risked their lives on the battlefield, but there was no way to keep up with the impossible workload. He had lost flesh and gained wrinkles instead.

And now, when he had finally heard that the people of Mount Hua were back and had run here in excitement, this is what he got....

‘No… come to think of it, he’s always been like this.’

Feeling his stomach twist, Hwang Jong-ui recalled old memories he had long suppressed and shuddered. Perhaps that was why his late father had passed away earlier than expected…

“So, sniff.”

Cheong Myeong wiped his runny nose roughly with his sleeve. Seeing that, Hwang Jong-ui didn’t even try to hide his expression twisting in disgust. Cheong Myeong, of course, didn’t care.

“So what exactly are we supposed to do?”

“I’ve been explaining it this whole time! For the past half an hour! Continuously! Since earlier!”

“Why are you yelling? You’ll lose weight if you keep bottling up that kind of stress.”

“Uuuugh!”

Hwang Jong-ui tore at his hair.

It was truly strange. The same words, when said by that man with that face, somehow sounded twice as irritating and twice as infuriating. He could almost believe Cheong Myeong had trained in some secret art of psychological torture.

Cheong Myeong stroked the cracked tablet and spoke again.

“So what exactly do you want me to do?”

“Hmm.”

Hwang Jong-ui’s face suddenly grew serious, and this time Cheong Myeong grimaced.

“Ugh, don’t make that face. You look like a monster. Scared me for a second, ugh. I almost drew my sword.”

Hwang Jong-ui sighed.

“Of course… from the perspective of a merchant, the increase in Huayin’s population is a good thing.”

“Right.”

“But right now, it’s more than we can handle. Wouldn’t it be better to send them back?”

As he spoke, Hwang Jong-ui glanced sideways at Cheong Myeong.

‘Not that I really mean that.’

Huayin was effectively under the exclusive control of the Eunha Merchant Guild. From the start, no other merchants had any reason to invest in such a small town unless they were suicidal.

‘But that’s no longer the case!’

If one had to describe Huayin now, it was like releasing a small carp into the garden pond, only for it to grow into a whale overnight.

He hadn’t even wished for it, yet his front yard had somehow turned into a land flowing with milk and honey. If he let this chance slip away, even his father might crawl out of the grave to kick him.

And this was Huayin. Huayin, of all places.

If something like this had happened anywhere else, every merchant guild in the Central Plains would already be charging in with bloodshot eyes. But this was Mount Hua’s front yard. Competing against the Eunha Merchant Guild, which enjoyed the backing of both the Heavenly Comrade Alliance and Mount Hua itself?

‘They’d have to be insane.’

Hwang Jong-ui skillfully hid his triumphant smile.

He might have played the part of a desperate man before Cheong Myeong, but there was no way he’d let this opportunity go. Health? You can fix that with money. Sleep? You can do that when you’re dead.

As long as you can make money, most problems can be solved. That’s the proper mindset for someone leading a merchant guild.

‘So for now, I just need to look as miserable as possible.’

With Mount Hua, which had practically conquered half the Central Plains, and the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, which had swallowed it whole, supporting them, they would turn Huayin into a true city, and he would quietly swallow the enormous profits that came with it.

For that grand plan to succeed, it was necessary to show just how desperate he currently was.

And Hwang Jong-ui knew: no matter how much he complained, Mount Hua would never choose to drive away all the refugees. After all, one of the greatest pains Mount Hua had always borne was how far it was from any major city.

Adjacent large cities increase a sect’s income. They also provide a stable supply of talent. For Cheong Myeong, who must now plan Mount Hua’s long-term future, those commoners would be an indispensable resource.

“So then, please just give me your support, Dojang.”

There is nothing to feel guilty about. This was the rightful reward for the Eunha Merchant Guild, which had been overworked without pay for so long.

“Hmm.”

At that moment, Cheong Myeong set the memorial tablet he had been holding down with a thud and leaned his body far back.

“...Why are you doing that?”

“This is impossible. Impossible. Right?”

“Yes. Um, for now, yes. Right now...”

“Then there’s nothing we can do. Send them all back.”

“...Huh?”

Taken aback by the unexpected reply, Hwang Jong-ui blinked.

“All of them? Those people? All of them?”

“Yes.”

“No, that is...”

“Why? You said you could not handle them.”

Cheong Myeong replied indifferently.

“W-well, that is true, but...”

“If you cannot handle them, what good does holding on to them do except drag us down together? If I am to go under, better to send them away.”

“J-just a moment, Dojang.”

Hwang Jong-ui’s face went pale.

He had forgotten. He had forgotten that common sense did not apply to the person sitting in front of him.

‘Oh no.’

If he had wanted to arrange such a thing, he should have sneaked off to see Hyun Yeong or Baek Cheon while Cheong Myeong was away. But by the time he remembered it was already too late. Just being briefly apart had made him forget how dangerous handling this matter was.

Maybe he had forgotten because Cheong Myeong’s way of polishing the tablet had seemed so pathetic.

“Dojang. You have not forgotten that Mount Hua already invested a huge amount of money in them, have you?”

“Of course not. Who dug the land and built the houses?”

Thinking about it made Cheong Myeong shiver as if the memory made his teeth chatter. Not only the funds of the mount hua treasury but even the slush funds that Cheong Myeong had meticulously tucked away had been completely exhausted.

“But... are you saying you would give all of that up?”

“Of course? Does money grow if you keep holding on to them?”

It should, you idiot. Why would it not? If we hold on to them of course money will come. Hwang Jong-ui shouted this in his head, but his inner cry was never going to reach Cheong Myeong.

“It is money already spent so it cannot be helped, and if we want to avoid further loss from now on, what else can we do? We must send them back.”

Hwang Jong-ui squeezed his eyes shut.

‘No.’

No. Absolutely not. Why did Huayin get to this state? Because there was demand? Because the population increased?

Not at all.

Those who had fled with nothing but their lives had no money to build shrines. Even if the population had increased, without land and without harvests, what good would wider roads do?

All of that had been paid for with the Eunha Merchant Guild’s money. The investments had been made to rake in coin once the pockets of the newly settled commoners began to jingle.

But if they all went back to their hometowns now...

‘We are finished!’

It felt as if Hwang Monyak’s roar from the afterlife came charging through the air toward this place. This would really ruin them to the bone.

“Th-that... dojang. Perhaps you should reconsider.”

“Yes?”

Hwang Jong-ui continued, sweating coldly.

“Aren’t these people those without houses or property? They probably do not even have the fare to go back home. Would sending them off be needlessly cruel...?”

“Oh, that is something we can help with a bit.”

“...That would not be a trivial expense.”

“If they keep staying here, do you think there will be no costs? With even more mouths to feed in the camp, we must cut expenditures to survive.”

“Th-that's true...”

Cheong Myeong raised an ironclad defense beyond expectations. But Hwang Jong-ui could not fall back now.

“Sending them back is also a problem. They have not had proper sowing done. They probably have no food to get through the winter. Sending them home will just mean they starve to death, will it not?”

“Well, that is the choice they made, so there’s nothing we can do about it. They say even the king can’t save a man from poverty.”

“.....”

“And besides, there is no miraculous solution just because they are here, is there? Homesickness and roots. If one is going to die anyway, let them die in their hometown.”

“You demon bastard.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. It is nothing.”

His palm had gone damp with sweat.

“Even so... Would it not be better to, somehow, settle these people here?”

“You just said we should send them away.”

“Ha. Of course, if you only think of the merchant guild... naturally I would say that. But if they stay, would they not benefit Mount Hua in many ways?”

“Oh?”

“If we only thought of ourselves, of course sending them away would be right. But we are not the sort to think only of our own profit, are we? We must be willing to endure at least that much.”

“Wow... to think you care about us this much.”

Cheong Myeong sniffled loudly, dragging his sleeve across his nose.

“After dealing with those stingy merchants in Henan, meeting a man like you brings tears to my eyes.”

‘That’s snot, not tears.’

“If only everyone in the world were like you, Sangdanju-nim.”

‘It’s enough that not everyone in the world is like you.’

As if he could hear Hwang Jong-ui’s inner voice, Cheong Myeong suddenly narrowed his eyes.

“But you know.”

“Y-yes?”

“To settle people down also takes money, doesn’t it? There isn’t enough farmland as it is, and it will be hard for them to last until next year.”

“Does Mount Hua not have any money...?”

“Hey, come on. Don’t even bring that up. We’re barely scraping by. The storehouses are empty. The wrinkles between Elder Hyun Yeong’s brows have gotten so deep you could probably meditate between them.”

“.....”

“So then... what should we do? Someone has to pay for it.”

Cheong Myeong smiled slyly at him.

“Right?”

Hwang Jong-ui braced himself.

“Of course, we would gladly empty our storehouses for Mount Hua. But as you know, the Eunha Merchant Guild also no longer has any funds left.”

“Ah... really? I didn’t know that.”

“While you were away, we had to feed and house all those people.”

“For that, there seems to be quite a lot that was built.”

“Haha... all of it for Huayin’s sake, of course. In any case, the situation being what it is, we truly have nowhere left to squeeze money from, Dojang.”

He put on the most sorrowful face he could manage. Full of sincerity, as if to say he truly wanted to help but was powerless to do so.

‘Mount Hua’s storehouses are empty? I’ll believe that when I hear something believable. The amount we settled with them alone was enormous.’

Mount Hua had already made immense profits through the tea trade. Even if they emptied their vaults tonight, they would be full again by morning.

‘If they don’t want to use that, then they can cough up the Heavenly Comrade Alliance’s money. Go on, stop pretending and pay up!’

Just as Hwang Jong-ui watched him with a flicker of hopeful expectation—

‘Huh?’

Cheong Myeong was smiling brightly back at him. A chill dropped in Hwang Jong-ui’s chest.

“D-dojang...?”

“So. Mount Hua has no money. The Eunha Merchant Guild has no money. But to feed the commoners, we need money. That’s it, right?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“Then there’s no other choice.”

“Ah, so you’re going to release some funds...”

“We’ll just call the ones who have money.”

“...What?”

Hwang Jong-ui blinked.

“Do you mean Zhongnan...?”

“What did you say?”

“M-my apologies! A slip of the tongue. I meant, who exactly do you mean by the ones who have money?”

“Oh, come on. Who else would it be? Obviously, the merchants.”

“...Sorry?”

“Or maybe I should say the trading companies?”

Cheong Myeong’s lips curled upward.

“Ah, I really didn’t want to do this, you know? I’d be happiest if the Eunha Merchant Guild were the only one in Huayin. But people are about to starve, and we have no money, so what else can we do, right?”

Hwang Jong-ui’s neck made a creaking sound as it twisted to the side. Cheong Myeong continued smoothly, his tone relaxed.

“We’ll just invite a few rich trading companies from the Central Plains and ask for their support. Maybe we can offer them the right to do business in Huayin. I made a few acquaintances in Henan recently, so I can contact them and—”

“How much!”

“Huh?”

“How much do you need?”

“...Didn’t you say you had no money?”

“If we mortgage our property and trade rights, there are places that can lend us funds. W-we can manage it somehow. How much? How much do you need?”

“Hey, there’s no need to go that far. We can’t trouble you that much. It’s fine.”

“No! We’re not just any merchant guild! How could we stand by and watch Mount Hua bow to another? We’ll do it. No—please let us do it, Dojang!”

“No, I said it’s fine.”

“Dojang! Dojaaaang!”

“Hey, hey, My pants are slipping down! Let go of this—hey! You’ll break the memorial tablet!”

“I said we’ll pay! We’ll handle everything ourselves! Please!”

Tears welled up in Hwang Jong-ui’s dry eyes. The sound of his late father’s sobbing from the afterlife must have just been his imagination.

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