Mount Hua Has Found a Treasure
Baedong was narrower than Chung Myung had expected.
Then again, that made perfect sense. If Mount Hua in its prime had possessed the wealth to carve out a cavern this large with Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron, then the sect would truly have been called the greatest in the world.
"...So you kept whining about being broke all the time, and you were spending money on crap like this."
A surge of irritation rose in him, but what could he do? It wasn’t as if he could confront people who were already dead.
Still grumbling, Chung Myung stepped inside and looked around.
There were all sorts of things stored in the cavern. First things first—what should he check?
"Money!"
Chung Myung’s eyes gleamed.
It had to be here! The secret stash the sect leader had carefully saved up! Brilliant gold! Dazzling treasures! Glorious porcelain that shimmered like it was made to blind the eye—
"It should be here."
Chung Myung looked around, then tilted his head.
What the hell? Why wasn’t it here?
He widened his eyes and searched the cavern again and again, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find so much as a single glint of treasure.
That couldn’t be right.
"N-no way."
Even if the sect leader had been a stingy man, he was still the sect leader. There had to have been plenty of places where money was needed.
Wasn’t it common sense to hide away a certain amount of wealth for emergencies—just in case Mount Hua had to weather a crisis?
"Then why’s there no money!"
A huge wave of sorrow washed over him.
Damn it. What a hopeless bastard. He hadn’t even left a secret fund.
Chung Myung rubbed his face hard.
If the sect leader had hidden away a stash, it could have been put to all sorts of good use.
He could have gone to brothels for the sake of Mount Hua’s revival, or gone to brothels, or gone to brothels...
"N-no! No, that’s not it! I was only thinking purely about Mount Hua’s revival!"
It almost felt like someone somewhere was clicking their tongue at him.
"Tch."
Abandoning his lingering disappointment, Chung Myung turned his head. In truth, there was something more important than treasure.
"Is this it?"
Books were neatly arranged on shelves lining one wall of the cavern.
Chung Myung swallowed dryly and approached the bookcase.
"This has to be right."
He pulled out one of the books from the middle shelf and skimmed the contents. As he read line by line, a smile gradually spread across his face.
"That’s right!"
There was no way it wouldn’t be there.
Just as he had expected, the books on the first shelf were Mount Hua’s records, carefully organized by the sect leader. They should have been kept in the Treasury Hall, but it seemed the sect leader had copied and gathered them here to preserve documents only he could understand and to prepare for any unforeseen situation.
There were records not only from Chung Myung’s generation, but from the generations before as well. With these alone, he could smash those rotten bastards right in the back of the head.
"You little shits are all dead!"
This alone was worth every bit of the hell he’d gone through to open the cavern.
And on the second shelf...
"Oh-ho!"
Secret manuals!
Chung Myung nearly shouted without even realizing it.
The lost secret texts of Mount Hua were here...
"Huh?"
He frowned, tilting his head.
"These aren’t the lost ones."
His brows drew together. They were still secret manuals, but the ones here were somewhat different from the martial arts that were commonly practiced. Gathered neatly here were manuals for martial arts that had almost fallen out of use in Mount Hua.
"Hmm."
Chung Myung scratched his cheek.
"What a sentimental old fool."
He had decided not to pass them down anymore, but they were all still Mount Hua’s martial arts. It seemed the sect leader couldn’t bring himself to discard them completely.
Perhaps he worried that losing those arts might negatively affect Mount Hua’s future, so he had gathered them here.
If the first shelf proved the sect leader’s duty to Mount Hua, then the second shelf held his concern and affection for it.
"...Sect leader."
Feeling his eyes sting, Chung Myung sniffed.
"Don’t worry. I’ll restore Mount Hua to what it was, no matter what."
No—he would make it even more prosperous than it had been in the past.
Chung Myung smacked his lips and turned around.
There were no secret manuals for the martial arts, but that was fine. He already knew all the important formulas and principles in his head. It was only a pain to write them down; he didn’t actually need the manuals. He could just create them himself.
And finally...
The third shelf held nothing.
In the empty shelf, there was only a single scroll, rolled up neatly.
"What’s this?"
Without hesitation, Chung Myung reached out, unrolled the scroll, and began reading at once.
To the sect leader who comes after me.
If someone is reading this, then it means the next sect leader has already been chosen. Sometimes a single line can carry more than a hundred words, so I leave my intentions in writing.
The position of Mount Hua’s sect leader is by no means a position meant to lead Mount Hua.
The one who leads Mount Hua, as any future sect leader will already know, is Mount Hua’s disciples, and the children growing within Mount Hua. The sect leader need only protect them and give them the support they need to unfold their own will.
Now that you have become Mount Hua’s sect leader, cast away any impatience that says you must shoulder the burden of leading it. Mount Hua is simply Mount Hua. No one can lead it, and no one can wield it.
To the one who comes after me,
when the hardships of reality and the heavy burdens on your shoulders leave you weary, remember this:
The spirit of Mount Hua does not fade.
Mount Hua is simply Mount Hua. Whether its momentum declines or it flourishes across the world, it is still only Mount Hua. What the sect leader must preserve are Mount Hua’s soul and its spirit.
So that the will of the forebears who protected Mount Hua may continue into the future. So that it may remain unchanged for ten thousand generations, raise the next generation and carry on our intent.
As your forebear, and as the sect leader of the previous generation, I leave this heavy burden to you.
Twenty-first Sect Leader of the Great Mount Hua Sect, Chung Mun.
"..."
Chung Myung stared quietly at the words written on the scroll.
He knew.
These were not words left for him by the sect leader. And yet the timing was uncanny. The one who had to read this now was none other than Chung Myung.
"Seriously... what a nagging bastard."
With a sigh, Chung Myung tucked the scroll into his robes.
He’d have to return everything else to Mount Hua, but this scroll he wasn’t about to hand over to anyone.
"All right, then..."
Chung Myung let out a small laugh and turned around.
"I didn’t get as much as I hoped, but this should be good enough."
What mattered most for now was that he had secured the records. With those alone, he could reclaim every business Mount Hua had once owned. Then he could break free of the debts currently strangling the sect.
So, with that much accomplished...
Chung Myung, just as he was about to leave, stopped in his tracks.
Wait a second.
Something felt a little off.
What’s wrong?
He couldn’t say exactly what was wrong, but the inexplicable unease wouldn’t go away.
Why did he feel this way?
"Wait."
The third shelf?
Chung Myung’s head snapped back around.
Sect leader.
Chung Mun, the twenty-first sect leader of Mount Hua, had been a bit of a clean freak. His room was always neatly organized.
Not just clean—everything was arranged with obsessive precision. Every piece of furniture and bedding was set at exact angles, and he was the sort of man who couldn’t tolerate things unless even the left and right sides were perfectly balanced.
And yet—
He had set up two bookcases stuffed full of books on one side, and on the other, left a single scroll lying in an empty shelf?
"No, no. That doesn’t make sense."
I know the sect leader. There’s no way that kind of thing would happen with him!
Chung Myung bolted toward the empty shelf.
There’s something here!
There had to be.
That absurdly awkward empty shelf kept nagging at him. Why would someone have set up an entire shelf just to display a single letter? The sect leader Chung Myung knew would never do something like that.
If the one who had entered this place had been the future sect leader instead of Chung Myung, he might not have found it strange. But the person here now was none other than Chung Myung.
Chung Myung gripped the bookcase. Then, without hesitation, he pushed it sideways.
There can’t be any mechanism outside.
So there couldn’t be anything behind the bookcase. That side was covered in Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron. But what about below?
There would be something there. Of course the floor would be covered in cold iron too. But still?
After moving the shelf, Chung Myung placed his hand on the floor. Then he began drawing in his true qi, pulling with all his strength.
If it’s my sect leader, it’s here!
The place that feels wrong is the trap.
Wooooooong!
But nothing happened. Thinking he might not have enough force, he yanked harder until his face practically twisted, yet there was still no change.
Did I get it wrong?
Just as he was about to give up in embarrassment—
Jiggle.
"...!"
There it was!
"Uracha-cha-cha-cha-cha!"
Chung Myung summoned every last ounce of strength and pulled at the floor.
Clunk!
The moment something slipped free beneath his hand, Chung Myung lost his balance and rolled across the floor.
"Ow, ow, ow."
He’d smashed the back of his head several times, and stars were flashing in front of his eyes.
That wasn’t loud, was it?
Instinctively, he turned his head toward the entrance. But there was no sign that the sect leader had noticed anything. It did lead into the living quarters, but the distance was enough, and there had to be soundproofing, so he probably wouldn’t catch on so easily.
More importantly—
Chung Myung sprang up and rushed forward.
Something had definitely opened.
He darted back to the spot and clenched his fist at the hole punched open in the floor.
"I knew it!"
What kind of man was the sect leader, anyway?
"He really was a thorough bastard."
He had made a double floor, preparing for the chance—one in a million, ten thousand in one—that someone other than the sect leader might open this cavern and enter it.
Anyone who had struggled their way in here would never imagine that there might be another cavern hidden inside the first. Even Chung Myung would have left without discovering it if he hadn’t known exactly what kind of man the sect leader was.
Look.
Light was pouring out from that opening!
Light!
A soft radiance was spilling forth as if it meant to bring enlightenment directly to Chung Myung.
Without hesitation, he shoved his body into the hole in the floor. Even with a child’s body, the opening was so narrow he could barely squeeze through. Passing down through it, he found a space so low he could hardly straighten his back.
Inside there...
Chung Myung reached out. Then he carefully put the lid back down over the opening he had worked so hard to uncover.
"Huff. Huff!"
Now the sound wouldn’t leak out, right?
So...
Chung Myung’s eyes went wide. His breathing quickened, and his heart pounded wildly. Blood rushed to his face so hard it felt like he might burst.
But what did that matter?
"Ehehehehehe!"
He was so happy he could die!
There was happiness right in front of him.
On one side, gold bars were piled neatly and generously.
And on the other, all kinds of treasured swords were lined up with perfect precision.
And then...
"I-is this a Myoanseok?"
Strange gemstones he couldn’t even identify, along with more secret manuals!
"Ehehehehehehehe!"
Laughter kept bursting out of him. No matter how hard he tried to restrain himself, foolish laughter spilled from his mouth uncontrollably.
"Ehehehehehehehehehe!"
Yes. Laugh! Laugh!
"I’m rich nowwwwwwwww!"
In the end, the situation the twenty-first sect leader of Mount Hua, Chung Mun, had desperately tried to avoid even if it cost him a fortune had come to pass after all.
The fate of Mount Hua had fallen into the hands of the one person who should never have been allowed inside.