Life Was Never Fair to Begin With (5)
"What?"
Hyun Young’s eyes widened as he stared at the man seated across from him.
"You come looking for someone first thing in the morning, and now you’re saying what?"
Baek Sang looked back at Hyun Young, who seemed utterly baffled, and said firmly, "I want to join the Finance Hall."
"...You really had to bring this up now?"
"Of course, I know this isn’t exactly the right time to say it. But it’s what my heart wants more than anything, so I thought it would be better to act as quickly as possible."
"Hah."
Hyun Young watched him with equal parts bewilderment and curiosity.
It’s not a bad thing, though.
It was time to start looking for more people from the Baek generation to bring into the Finance Hall.
They hadn’t dared to bring it up yet, since both the Baek and Cheong generations were fully devoted to training, but Mount Hua was improving by the day, and the money flowing in was increasing just as quickly.
At this point, the existing staff of the Finance Hall could no longer handle Mount Hua’s finances on their own.
So wasn’t it a blessing to have someone willing to step forward like this?
"But why do you suddenly want to join the Finance Hall?"
"I thought about it quite a bit, but..."
"Yes?"
"I can’t beat my fellow disciples in martial arts."
"You’re still too young to be thinking like that."
At Hyun Young’s words, Baek Sang shook his head firmly.
"No, Elder! I know myself. Right now we may be evenly matched, but someday those bastards will surpass me."
Hyun Young’s face twitched slightly.
"So because you can’t see a path forward through martial arts, you’ve decided to join the Finance Hall instead? Because that looks easier?"
"No!"
"Hmm?"
Baek Sang’s voice was so resolute that Hyun Young was slightly taken aback. A little of the irritation that had started to rise in him shifted into curiosity.
"Elder! I’m those bastards’ sahyung, and I’m their sasu. Even if I lack talent in martial arts, I don’t want to be left behind by them!"
"Oh?"
Well, now.
Hyun Young’s eyes gleamed with interest.
"So after thinking it through in depth, I realized one thing!"
"And what was that?"
"That Mount Hua’s true power comes from the Finance Hall!"
"Oh?"
Light seemed to burst from Baek Sang’s eyes.
"What is the reason Mount Hua is regaining its former glory? Martial arts? Yes, perhaps. Talent? Well, that too, maybe. But what matters even more is that Mount Hua now has money."
"Exactly! Exactly! You really do understand!"
"Money! Control money, and you control power! I’d rather become the kind of man who wears down his fingers counting money than the kind who wears down the soles of his feet running around! Please take me in, Elder! No, Finance Hall Leader!"
Hyun Young smiled with deep satisfaction.
Such a shameless, calculating little thing—he was exactly the sort of talent the Finance Hall needed.
Actually, I’d already had my eye on Jo Gul.
The boy came from a merchant family, so he seemed perfect for the Finance Hall. But somewhere along the way, Chung Myung had rubbed off on him, and he’d started relying on his body before his head. A man like that could never become a proper Finance Hall Leader.
But after hearing Baek Sang now, Hyun Young was certain this boy was the true kind of talent who could one day succeed as Finance Hall Leader.
"How admirable. Tell me, did you come up with this all on your own?"
"...N-no, not exactly..."
"Then?"
Baek Sang scratched his head a little.
"I thought of it after talking with Chung Myung last night."
"Really? You talked with Chung Myung?"
A warm smile settled on Hyun Young’s face.
Just as I thought. Chung Myung, after all.
He had even gone and sent this talent to the Finance Hall on his own. Chung Myung had clearly recognized the boy’s potential and gently nudged him in that direction.
Otherwise, how could he have made up his mind overnight and come here like this?
"Are you truly certain about this?"
"Yes, Elder!"
Hyun Young nodded.
"Then I’ll speak to the Sect Leader and have you accepted into the Finance Hall. But if you become part of the Finance Hall, you won’t be able to devote yourself to training the way you do now. You won’t regret it?"
"I’ll make both work."
"Both?"
"Yes!"
Baek Sang continued with unwavering determination.
"Just because I’m joining the Finance Hall doesn’t mean I plan to forget my duty as a martial artist. It won’t be easy, but I intend to make my life as a martial artist and my life as a Finance Hall member coexist as much as possible."
"Hmm."
Hyun Young nodded.
"It won’t be easy, as you say, but if you’re determined, it’s not impossible. Still, I won’t go easy on you just because of your circumstances when it comes to training. Keep that in mind."
"Of course."
"Good, then."
Hyun Young smiled faintly.
People were coming in, money was coming in. Since the day he had taken office as Finance Hall Leader, the Finance Hall was enjoying the best prosperity in its history.
With all this going on, he couldn’t just sit idly by and watch the money roll in, could he?
"Then move over a little."
"Pardon?"
"What I’m about to show you isn’t something normally shown to outsiders, but now that things have turned out this way, you should at least know what the Finance Hall does."
Baek Sang nodded solemnly.
He’s going to show me the work of the Finance Hall.
He didn’t know what exactly that work would be, but it had to be important. He needed to commit it firmly to memory.
As he shifted aside, Hyun Young raised his voice.
"Come in."
Creak.
The door opened at once, and Wi Lip-san, the leader of Hwayeong Gate, stepped inside.
"I was told the Elder had summoned me."
Hyun Young gave him an exceptionally benevolent smile.
"Come in, come in."
"Th-thank you for your hospitality."
Wi Lip-san took his seat with a visibly burdened expression.
At first, that warmth had seemed very welcome and pleasant, but the more days he spent dealing with Hyun Young, the more some strange unease kept gnawing at him.
"What matter has brought you here?"
At Wi Lip-san’s question, Hyun Young smiled.
"Tell me, Gate Leader of Hwayeong."
"Yes, Elder."
"You came here as the leader of a branch of Mount Hua. Is that not so?"
"Yes, that is correct, but..."
"Is a branch sect part of Mount Hua, or not?"
Wi Lip-san tilted his head slightly and thought about it.
He wasn’t sure what the intent of the question was, so he hesitated over how to answer.
"O-of course, Hwayeong Gate is part of Mount Hua—"
"Ahem! Ahem!"
"...or so I think, but the branch and the main sect are strictly separate. If they weren’t, wouldn’t we have to call it a branch office instead of a branch sect?"
"Exactly, exactly. You do understand a thing or two."
At last, Wi Lip-san answered in the way Hyun Young wanted, and a wave of relief washed over his face.
"Then why do you ask?"
"Tell me, Gate Leader of Hwayeong."
Hyun Young began with a broad smile. On the surface, he looked utterly kind, but the eyes hidden beneath that smile gleamed sharply.
"Would you like to make some money?"
"...Pardon?"
Hyun Young curled his thumb and forefinger into a circle and gave them a little shake.
"Money."
"..."
That was the moment Wi Lip-san realized something was going very, very wrong.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The day of the main matches arrived quickly.
The two days of quiet had been a lie; the moment the sun rose, people began pouring in until the grounds were packed shoulder to shoulder.
"So the main event starts today!"
"Up until now it was just the warm-up, wasn’t it? From here on out, the real All-Heaven Martial Arts Tournament begins!"
"Exactly! Exactly! How can those who only watched the preliminaries say they saw the tournament? This is the real thing!"
The crowd’s faces were already flushed with excitement.
And why wouldn’t they be?
The true All-Heaven Martial Arts Tournament was essentially starting today.
The great sects of the world had sent out their outstanding younger generation, and when all of them were gathered together, the number easily exceeded a thousand.
But how many among them were truly capable of making a name for themselves across the world?
At most, one in ten.
The main matches beginning now were a battlefield where that carefully sifted one in ten would test their skills against one another.
Wasn’t it obvious that the ones who emerged victorious here, those who would spread their names far and wide, were the pillars who would one day lead the world?
That was why the number of people gathered at Shaolin had already far surpassed the preliminaries.
"There sure are a lot of them."
"Yeah."
"What’s all that stuff back there? Looks like they’re selling things."
"There are so many people, of course they’ll sell food and whatnot. Chung Myung, look over there—they’re selling taffy."
"Where? Where?"
Chung Myung whipped his head around.
Behind the crowd, food vendors and peddlers selling trinkets had formed a lively makeshift market.
"What’s that over there?"
"Hm? Looks like there are a lot of people gathered there."
Hyun Jong, watching the scene, let out a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha. So many people came."
"Seeing that market makes me hungry. Sect Leader, would you like something to eat?"
"No. I’ll be going to the platform soon enough, so I won’t have time to eat anything."
Smiling as he looked over the stalls, he suddenly tilted his head as if he had spotted something.
"But that place doesn’t seem to be selling anything in particular. Why are so many people gathered there?"
At Hyun Jong’s words, Hyun Sang narrowed his eyes and looked toward a large stall.
"Red and blue... betting odds? Hmm... I think they’re taking wagers."
"Wagers? Gambling, you mean?"
"Doesn’t it look that way to you?"
Hyun Jong’s mouth fell open.
"G-gambling?"
Here? In Shaolin?
They were gambling in this sacred place of Shaolin?
"Hahaha. Did Shaolin really allow that? No, even if Shaolin did allow it, to think there’d be someone bold enough to pull off something like that. Truly, you live long enough and see all sorts of things."
"Haha. Indeed. I thought only our people were the ones who caused trouble."
"Exactly. I never imagined that besides us there would be someone else..."
Hyun Jong tilted his head.
The face of the merchant standing behind the stall, holding up a huge placard and drawing people in, looked strangely familiar...
"He looks familiar."
"Haha. I think so too. Doesn’t he look exactly like the leader of Hwayeong Gate?"
"He does. He really does not look like—"
He did.
So much so that you could have sworn they were twins...
Huh?
A stunned murmur slipped from Hyun Jong’s open mouth.
"W-why is Wi Lip-san over there..."
That was when it happened.
Wi Lip-san snapped open the fan in his hand, covering half his face, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "All right! You must place your bets before the match starts! Once the match begins, no more wagers will be accepted! Those who have placed bets, please collect your tickets from the side! Tickets without a seal cannot be cashed out, so do not lose them!"
Tickets? Seals? Cashing out?
"P-placed bets?"
Hyun Jong murmured blankly.
"What exactly is he doing?"
"...He’s opening a gambling den, I’d say."
"Then that stall owner is Wi Lip-san of Hwayeong Gate?"
"..."
"N-no, that madman?"
A gambling den, here in sacred Shaolin?
And the man doing it was one of Mount Hua’s people?
Hyun Jong’s eye began to twitch violently.
His face flushed red, then turned pale, then red again.
Finally, he collected himself and started whirling his head around in a frantic search for one particular person.
"W-where is that bastard?"
Hwayeong Gate’s leader?
No!
The Wi Lip-san he knew was not the sort of man who could pull off such a ridiculous act by himself.
There was no doubt the one who had ordered this was someone else entirely!
"Chung Myung! Where is that brat Chung Myung!"
"Huh?"
Chung Myung, buried among his fellow disciples, popped his head out. The moment he did, Hyun Jong stormed over like a thunderbolt.
"You little punk! What have you done?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"That! You’re the one who told him to open that gambling den, aren’t you?"
"The gambling den?"
Chung Myung blinked his round eyes, then looked toward the area where Wi Lip-san was standing and clicked his tongue.
"Wow. That Gate Leader is something else. How come I didn’t think of that?"
"...It wasn’t you?"
"Nope. Not me."
Seeing that Chung Myung truly had no idea what was going on, Hyun Jong fell into deep confusion.
Not Chung Myung?
Then who on earth...?
"Ahem!"
At that moment, a low cough came from behind him. Hyun Jong shuddered as though struck by lightning, then slowly turned his head.
Hyun Young.
His beloved junior brother and Mount Hua’s Finance Hall Leader was grinning from ear to ear, his face so oily it practically shone.
Hyun Jong murmured in a voice that sounded half-possessed, "Is it you?"
"What exactly are you asking?"
"Was it you?"
"I’m asking what you mean."
Hyun Young shrugged.
"That was simply something Gate Leader Wi Lip-san of Hwayeong Gate did on a private basis. No matter how much I am Mount Hua’s Elder, it wouldn’t do for me to interfere in the affairs of a branch sect, would it?"
"...You’re opening a gambling den? In Shaolin?"
At that, Hyun Young calmly looked around. Then he quietly stepped closer to Hyun Jong, wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and pulled him in.
"We’re splitting the profits fifty-fifty."
"..."
"Those bald monks are more money-hungry than I expected. The people who set up those stalls over there all got their spots by agreeing to hand over half of what they made. There wasn’t a word saying they couldn’t gamble. I checked in advance. Heh heh heh."
"..."
"Heh heh. Don’t worry about a thing, Sect Leader. We’re talking big money here! Big money, we can—"
"You—! You lunatic!"
Hyun Jong, trembling all over, kicked Hyun Young’s backside and sent him flying. Then, his face flushed with rage, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I told that Chung Myung brat not to stir up trouble, and now one of our sect elders is the one making trouble instead?! Is that the sort of thing a sect elder is supposed to do?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down."
Having been sent flying, Hyun Young returned to his spot as though nothing had happened.
Then he whispered with a sinister expression, "It was Hwayeong Gate that did it, Hwayeong Gate. Mount Hua knows nothing about this."
Hyun Jong grabbed the back of his neck as his blood pressure spiked to the point he nearly collapsed.
This damned sect!
Now even the elders were going insane!
"Y-you idiot. Do you even know the meaning of face?"
"What face is there for Mount Hua? And when have we ever benefited from worrying about face? Money is what matters, money!"
"Ghh, gghh..."
"And!"
Hyun Young grinned and tugged Chung Myung closer, pressing down on his head.
"You don’t need to worry. This brat will preserve Mount Hua’s honor for us. Isn’t that right, Chung Myung?"
"Yep. But can I place a bet too?"
"Of course, of course. You’re betting on yourself winning, right?"
"Obviously."
"Good! Let’s make a fortune today. Hahaha!"
"Heeheeheehee!"
Watching the two of them laugh in the exact same disgusting fashion, Hyun Jong shut his eyes tightly.
I should just quit being Sect Leader. This sect is hopeless!
Mount Hua’s finances improved day by day, and yet the more time passed, the harder Hyun Jong’s life became.