How Could You Be So Generous? (1)
Bombs had gone off in the Finance Hall.
"What the hell do you mean we have to set up a trading company in Sichuan!"
"What? The swords made by the Sichuan Tang Family are on the way? T-then what are we supposed to do with them? Stack them in the warehouse first?"
"What’s this about rice in Yunnan now? And who’s supposed to manage that?"
Each one of those reports would have been enough to turn an ordinary sect upside down. A handful of them had landed all at once, and the Finance Hall had descended into chaos as though war had broken out inside its walls.
"Tsk, tsk. Look at them."
Watching the scene unfold, Hyun Young smiled with deep satisfaction.
"And why are you all making such a fuss over something so great?"
"Elder, isn't it great? Since I joined the Finance Hall, I’ve never seen anything like this before."
"Of course not."
Hyun Young’s mouth curled higher and higher. By now, it was practically reaching his ears.
"Back then, our Chung Myung wasn't at Mount Hua, was he?"
"……."
Our Chung Myung?
Was that even the way the Elder talked now?
"There’s nothing to be shocked about. That’s right, no reason to be shocked. There'll be even more surprises from now on, so why are you all losing your heads already?"
Unbang had no words. Looking at Hyun Young’s face, so blissfully happy it was almost radiant, he couldn’t bring himself to say a thing. Besides, ruining that happiness would hardly be the conduct of a proper disciple.
Bang!
Then the Finance Hall door flew open, and one of the disciples came rushing in carrying a huge basket.
"Elder! I brought it!"
"Oh!"
Hyun Young sprang to his feet, hurried over, and snatched the basket from him.
When he lifted the cloth covering it, a massive, writhing eel poked up its head along with ginseng and a tied-up chicken.
"……What is that, Elder?"
"The boy must be worn out from trekking all the way to Yunnan. He’ll need something like dragon-phoenix soup to get his strength back, won’t he?"
"Dragon-phoenix soup doesn't have eel in it."
"What? Then why is it called dragon-phoenix soup?"
"……."
"……."
Unbang coughed softly into his fist. That was not the important issue right now.
"N-no, I mean, Mount Hua may not forbid meat, but we’re still a Daoist sect. Alive, breathing animals…"
"It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s a worthy death. They’d be happy too."
Shouldn’t we at least hear the eel’s opinion on that?
Is that really supposed to be fine?
Ignoring Unbang’s worries with alarming ease, Hyun Young muttered in a tone full of pity.
"Poor thing. The boy came back looking half-starved, didn’t he? If Chung Myung is well fed and well raised, then Mount Hua will grow. That’s how it works."
"He looked perfectly plump to me."
"Ahem!"
"I wouldn’t feed my own grandson like that."
"How dare you compare a grandson to Chung Myung!"
There’s no arguing with him.
"Anyway, handle all of this yourselves. I’m going to go and stew these things."
"W-we will?"
"Of course!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Hyun Young spun around and headed happily toward the kitchen.
Unbang watched his retreating back in a daze, then let out a small sigh. After that, he smiled quietly.
How pleased he must be.
When he thought of the Hyun Young from before, the only image that came to mind was one long, weary sigh.
He had spent his days shuffling through ledgers, sighing, worrying some more, then sighing again. Deep creases had always marked his brow, and his eyes had been hollow and tired.
He had been someone crushed beneath the burden of having to keep Mount Hua alive when no one knew when the sect might collapse.
That was the Hyun Young Unbang remembered.
And now that same man was laughing so brightly that, putting the work aside for a moment, even Unbang found his own mood lifted.
He really has changed a lot.
In just two years, it felt as if they had become a different sect entirely. Even for himself—when had he last smiled this happily at the sight of Hyun Young?
"Tsk. It’s come to this."
He knew Hyun Young favored Chung Myung. More than anyone else who had served him since entering Mount Hua, in fact.
And yet he couldn’t bring himself to dislike Chung Myung, because that boy was working himself to the bone without rest for the sake of everyone in Mount Hua.
"Vice Hall Leader. What should we do?"
"Do we really handle this ourselves?"
Seeing the disciples ask in confusion, Unbang furrowed his brow.
"Stop whining."
"But…"
"Are we the ones who should be whining? You know what the Medicine Hall looks like right now."
"Ah…"
At the mention of the Medicine Hall, the disciples seemed to understand and nodded. Then, with pitying eyes, they looked over in that direction.
"Two geun and three nyang of Humanoid Purple Ginseng!"
"Two geun and three nyang!"
The ginseng was being cut with painstaking care. The hands wielding the knife allowed not even the slightest error, as though they refused to permit a single hair’s breadth of deviation.
"Two geun and three nyang!"
"Bring it over here!"
"Yes!"
The Medicine Hall disciple carried the cut pieces away with utmost caution and ran off at top speed.
"Here it is."
The Medicine Hall Leader, Un-gak, swallowed dryly and took the humanoid purple ginseng. Then he carefully placed it on the scale.
The moment the needle passed slightly beyond two geun and three nyang, Un-gak’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
"I told you to cut it to two geun and three nyang! Why did you cut four nyang? Are your eyes full of knots or something?"
"N-no, that’s not it—"
"Do you even understand what kind of work this is, you idiot? If you mess this up and the Honwon Dan… no! The Jaso-dan turns out wrong, are you the one who’ll take full responsibility? You stupid fool!"
Fury exploded from him, and the Medicine Hall disciple went pale before bowing frantically.
"It’s a capital crime, I swear!"
"How can a martial artist not measure something simple properly?"
"M-my scale clearly read two geun and three nyang!"
"What?"
Un-gak glared.
But then a voice from behind him drained the power from his eyes.
"It looks like all the scales are too old, so they don’t match each other."
"Hmm?"
Un-gak turned his head.
Dang Soso, dressed in Mount Hua’s robes, was weighing a coin on one scale after another.
"The problem seems to be that the scales don’t agree with each other, Hall Leader. Either we should use just one scale, or we need to replace them all."
"Hmm. Is that so?"
"Yes. Ratios are the most important thing, and if the scales all use different markings like this, the error changes the ratio."
"Hmm. But if we use only one scale, that’ll take far too long."
The Medicine Hall Leader jerked his head around.
"Go to Hwasung right now and buy new scales! Right now! The Finance Hall will cover the cost."
"Yes! Then one scale—"
"What do you mean one scale? Replace them all! Not a single one left behind, all of them! But make sure you buy only accurate scales!"
"Yes!"
The Medicine Hall disciple, nearly looking as though Un-gak would bite the scales apart with his own teeth, bolted outside in terror.
The Medicine Hall Leader, Un-gak, glared and shouted,
"Listen carefully, all of you."
"Yes!"
The Medicine Hall disciples answered at once, their faces taut with tension.
Sweat had already beaded on their foreheads.
"Mount Hua’s fate depends on this! If even one of you is careless, I’ll throw you into Plum Blossom Cave and make you sit facing the wall for three years! Understand?"
"Yes, Hall Leader!"
Un-gak raised his sleeve and wiped the sweat from his brow.
Grrr. This isn’t easy.
Of course, the process of making the Honwon Dan itself wasn’t especially difficult. The Medicine King had explained it in excruciating detail, and it didn’t require any special refining method, either. As long as they matched the quantities and ratios correctly and followed the Medicine King’s formula, it should be fine.
The problem was the pressure.
Spirit pills were absurdly delicate, so much so that if the ratio was off by even the tiniest grain, the medicinal effect would drop sharply.
This is Purple Wood Grass we dragged all the way back from Yunnan. Not a single failure can be tolerated!
Un-gak let out a long sigh.
Still, it’s a relief that girl is here.
In truth, Mount Hua no longer possessed the formula for refining spirit pills. Which meant they hadn’t made one in nearly a hundred years.
He had learned the theory of spirit pill refinement while inheriting the Medicine Hall, but this was the first time he’d ever made one himself.
If Dang Soso hadn’t arrived in time, he would likely have been stumbling through endless trial and error right now.
I can’t reveal the whole formula, but…
Even just hearing Dang Soso’s advice on the basic preparation process was proving invaluable.
But even making the Honwon Dan alone was enough to suffocate him with pressure, and on top of that, there was another problem.
"Ahem. Are you inside?"
"……."
The door to the refining chamber opened, and Hyun Jong and Hyun Sang entered.
"Greetings, Sect Leader!"
The Medicine Hall disciples bowed in unison. Hyun Jong nodded with his usual benevolent smile.
"Yes. I know you’re all busy, so I fear I may have come for nothing."
Un-gak stared at him, aghast.
Sect Leader.
That makes six times today.
If that’s the case, why not just leave a chair here and sit down? Why do you keep going back and forth?
"Ahem. You are all working hard. It’s just that…"
Hyun Jong, who had been glancing around as though assessing the room, subtly lowered his gaze.
"It seems everyone is too busy to notice, but… the floor is terribly dusty, isn’t it?"
"……Pardon?"
"I was worried that some foreign impurity might mix into the spirit pill during the refining process. And if the windows are left this wide open, some passing insect might fly in."
"Ah… yes."
"Ahem. And also, um… if you leave the materials laid out like this, moisture will evaporate and their weight will change. I was worried that might lower the pill’s effectiveness…"
Un-gak closed his mouth.
This was the sixth time today.
He had come to encourage them, but instead he kept listing concerns. They would clean while working, then return to work, only to end up cleaning again.
"Sect Leader…"
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I… I’ll take care of it properly."
"Hmm! I’m not trying to interfere with the Medicine Hall Leader’s authority. I’m just old and prone to unnecessary worry, that’s all."
Watching Hyun Jong speak with a touch of embarrassment, Un-gak finally wiped at the corners of his eyes.
It would be better if he just cursed at them and hit them.
That face that said he couldn’t quite trust them, popping in a dozen times a day—it was enough to drive a man insane.
"So, then, how long do you think it will take to finish the Hon… no, the Jaso-dan entirely?"
"Ten days."
"Th-that long?"
Hyun Jong flinched.
His expression plainly said, What? We already look like we’re about to lose our heads, and now you’re telling us to wait ten more days?
Un-gak couldn’t hold back a deep sigh.
"Sect Leader. Most spirit pills require forty-nine days of refining and another forty-nine days of drying and aging. In comparison, Jaso-dan is actually simpler to make than most spirit pills, so it takes less time."
"I-is that so?"
Hyun Jong’s face reddened slightly.
"We’ll need an expert in internal qi techniques during the actual making process, so there will come a time when the Sect Leader must inspect it personally. Until then, please… please just—"
"Ahem. I-I understand. No, I was only wondering if there was anything I could do to help…"
"If that happens, I’ll come ask you myself!"
"Y-yes, then."
Looking a little sheepish, Hyun Jong glanced around once more, gave a loud, awkward cough, and turned to leave.
"Right. Then, all of you work hard."
"Please take care, Sect Leader!"
Hyun Jong left again, looking reluctant. Once the door closed, one of the Medicine Hall disciples spoke with a very uncomfortable expression.
"He seems to be expecting a great deal."
"Yes. I suppose he is…"
Come to think of it, what an enormous matter this was. It wasn’t strange that Hyun Jong would behave like this.
But understanding and not being inconvenienced were two different things. For those of them shouldering a great undertaking, there shouldn’t be even the slightest distraction.
"Everyone, stay sharp. We absolutely cannot fail at this!"
"Yes, Hall Leader!"
"Not only can we not fail for Mount Hua’s future…"
Un-gak let the end of the sentence trail off a little.
"Think about it. Chung Myung went all the way to distant Yunnan just to bring back the ingredients for this spirit pill."
"Yes!"
"……But if we fail, that bastard will have to go back to Yunnan again."
"……."
The atmosphere around them chilled sharply.
"Do you think he’d just quietly go if that happened? That Chung Myung?"
"……No."
In the minds of the Medicine Hall disciples, the image of Chung Myung with his eyes rolled back, rampaging like a lunatic, surfaced naturally.
They all shuddered.
We have to succeed no matter what!
We must succeed even if we die!
Every one of them opened their eyes wide and glared at the materials for the Honwon Dan.
Un-gak’s own eyes also sank low and hard.
I’m putting everything I have into this.
A fierce heat began to fill the Medicine Hall.