Mount Hua Has Found a Treasure (5)
"Hmm?"
Far away, from atop the eaves, Chung Myung watched the sect leader and the merchants with bright, amused eyes.
"So that’s how you want to play it?"
He looked at the sect leader with a faintly puzzled expression, then let out a snort.
He didn’t know.
He truly couldn’t tell whether the sect leader was doing this to shove those men straight into hell, or whether he was trying to show them one last shred of compassion even in a situation like this.
Either interpretation was possible.
But one thing was certain: Hyun Jong, the current sect leader of Mount Hua, was not the simple man he appeared to be.
Yeah, of course.
Hadn’t he seen it?
The sect leader clutching the door to the underground vault and weeping his heart out.
He was a man who had kept the face of Mount Hua’s sect leader even as his insides rotted away. While carrying a sect on the verge of collapse on his back, he had still not lost his gentleness or dignity.
Chung Myung narrowed his eyes and stared at him.
But that can’t be all there is to it.
He had already proved he had patience. But what a sect leader needed was not just character and patience.
Those things were certainly important. But for Mount Hua—no, for anyone who led a sect—there was something else he absolutely had to possess.
Cold-blooded judgment.
That was what a sect leader was.
Even if they lived as Daoists, the essence of Mount Hua was still a martial sect.
No matter what kind of person he was at heart, the one who led a sect as its head had to be cold and merciless when necessary. If it was for the glory of Mount Hua, he had to be able to cast himself entirely into the balance of gain and loss.
Did Hyun Jong possess the poisonous heart a sect leader needed?
Lying on the eaves with his chin propped in one hand, Chung Myung slowly pushed himself up.
Crack, crack, crack!
A sharp popping sound burst from his back.
"Agh……."
With a groan, Chung Myung clutched his waist and flopped back down onto the eaves.
Damn, I’m dying here.
His body was so badly worn out there wasn’t a single part of him that felt fine. Even after continuously circulating qi and resting, the damaged innate energy had no intention of recovering.
By his calculations, it would take about three months to return to his original condition. The problem was surviving those three months. He was already trapped in the body of a weak little brat and miserable enough as it was, and now he couldn’t even properly use that weak body?
"Ugh…… I need to come up with some kind of plan."
Chung Myung let out a long sigh, then lifted his head slightly.
For now, his body could wait. He needed to see how this situation ended.
"You asked to delay the repayment deadline?"
Gong Mun-yeon frowned before he even realized it.
He had expected something. He had never underestimated Mount Hua’s foundation. Dozens of sects rose and fell every single day. To survive for hundreds of years in that den of vipers was no easy thing.
Even if Mount Hua was no longer what it once had been, a sect with such a long history should still have some hidden strength left in reserve.
And yet……
Is this really all that strength amounts to?
A bitter chuckle almost escaped him.
Did I overestimate Mount Hua?
Thinking about it, if they truly had any strength left, they would never have been driven into this situation in the first place. Gong Mun-yeon drew in a deep breath.
"Sect Leader. I already made it clear before that we can’t delay the repayment any further."
"Please do not misunderstand. This poor Taoist is not asking you, Manager Gong."
"……Pardon?"
Hyun Jong quietly looked at Gong Mun-yeon before speaking again.
"I understand the position of the Hwameum Merchant Alliance well enough. That is why I am now making this request to all of you directly. Even if it is one hundred thousand nyang, each of you has your own amount to receive, do you not?"
"That is true."
"So I am asking whether there is anyone among you willing to personally delay the repayment date."
Gong Mun-yeon frowned.
What a flimsy trick.
He couldn’t tell what the point was supposed to be.
"Then are you saying you can pay back the money to those who refuse to delay the deadline?"
"That is correct."
"What?"
Gong Mun-yeon’s eyes widened.
"Mount Hua may no longer be what it once was, but it is not as though there are no people willing to extend a helping hand. We could not prepare all one hundred thousand nyang, but we were able to gather part of it. So if you are willing to help us, Mount Hua will not lose its name. That is why I ask you. Those who show mercy to Mount Hua today will surely be repaid in Mount Hua’s name."
The sect leader bowed again with clasped hands. His posture was humble, but there was an undeniable dignity in it.
Watching him, Gong Mun-yeon frowned despite himself.
"What nonsense is this……"
"Exactly."
At that moment, Yu Jong-san, who had been watching the situation unfold, cut in over Gong Mun-yeon’s words. It probably hadn’t been intentional, but for Gong Mun-yeon, whose words were cut off midair, it was impossible not to scowl.
"So you’re saying that if we delay the deadline, you’ll repay us later?"
"That is so."
"Sect Leader, let’s be honest here."
Yu Jong-san continued with a bitter expression.
"We all know it, and you know it too, Sect Leader—Mount Hua might collapse tomorrow. But if you want us to believe you and postpone the repayment, that means asking us to accept the risk that we may never get our money back."
"……If you put it that way, yes."
"Do you even hear how absurd that sounds?"
Gong Mun-yeon steadied his expression again. Yu Jong-san had interrupted him, true, but he was also saying the things Gong Mun-yeon himself couldn’t say without damaging his own image. If anything, it was better for Yu Jong-san to take the lead.
Normally, he would have soothed Yu Jong-san and calmed the atmosphere, but this time Gong Mun-yeon stayed silent as well. Now was the time to push the sect leader harder.
It’s over now.
Mount Hua would write the final chapter of its long history here and now.
For a martial sect like Mount Hua to be brought down not by another sect’s blades but by the power of money was a bitter spectacle, but that was precisely why it held such meaning.
"Shopkeeper Yu."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"What exactly do you think I can offer you?"
"……Pardon?"
Hyun Jong straightened his shoulders.
A cool breeze drifted in from somewhere. Bathed in that wind, Hyun Jong smiled gently.
"Mount Hua has nothing left. What remains now is only the honor it has upheld for so many years in Hwameum and Shaanxi. The only thing I can stake is Mount Hua’s name."
"That……"
"If you ask me what you should look at and trust, that is my answer. Mount Hua’s name. Mount Hua’s history. Is that truly so hard to accept?"
Yu Jong-san closed his mouth without another word.
Mount Hua’s name.
Mount Hua’s history.
Yes. Perhaps it was meaningful. If the people gathered here were not merchants.
To a merchant, name and history meant nothing. The only thing that mattered to merchants was money. Can it make money, or can it not? Those who staked everything on that single question were merchants.
And now he was asking merchants to take Mount Hua’s name and history as collateral?
"Heh."
Yu Jong-san couldn’t suppress the laugh that burst out of him.
"Sect Leader, aren’t you pushing this a bit too far?"
"You think I am?"
Hyun Jong looked at him calmly. The heaviness in those eyes made Yu Jong-san flinch and unconsciously take a step back.
"Perhaps I am."
Yet unlike the weight in his gaze, Hyun Jong’s voice was gentle.
"But I would like to try being unreasonable. Because I believe Mount Hua—the Mount Hua that has protected Shaanxi and Hwameum for hundreds of years—did not leave its name in this world for nothing."
"……"
"Let me ask you the reverse. What does Mount Hua mean to you? Does Mount Hua’s name, Mount Hua’s history, really have no value at all?"
No one could speak.
Mount Hua.
Who would dare call that name insignificant? And who would dare dismiss its history as meaningless?
It was a name now faded, leaving only traces behind, yet no one could casually belittle Mount Hua. All the more so if they were people who had lived with their roots buried in Hwameum.
That was why no one could easily continue the conversation.
Everyone except one person.
"I think we’ve drifted off the point a bit."
Gong Mun-yeon stepped in to refresh the atmosphere. Hyun Jong’s gaze turned to him. Unlike Hyun Jong’s somewhat placid eyes, Gong Mun-yeon’s were sharper than ever.
"To summarize, you’re saying that those who want to delay repayment can do so individually, and those who don’t should collect their money today."
"That is correct."
"Very well."
Gong Mun-yeon nodded.
"Normally, I’d oppose that in the name of the Hwameum Merchant Alliance, but I’m not an unreasonable man either, so I’ll permit it. If anyone wishes, they may personally delay the repayment. However!"
Gong Mun-yeon turned with a sharp look behind him.
"You will bear the responsibility for that choice yourselves. Those who delay repayment will not receive any special protection from the merchant alliance. Even if you end up losing your money."
It was subtle pressure.
"You may choose. Those who will keep the deadline, stay here. And those who think they will delay repayment, go over there."
Gong Mun-yeon’s hand pointed to the side.
"Is that acceptable, Sect Leader?"
"It is."
Hyun Jong nodded readily.
"I do not understand what point this serves. Still, I will respect the sect leader’s opinion to the very end. Even if Mount Hua is destined to disappear, is the position of Mount Hua’s sect leader not one that deserves respect?"
Hyun Jong only smiled quietly.
"Thank you for your consideration."
Gong Mun-yeon frowned without meaning to. Even after his subtle provocation, Hyun Jong’s expression did not change.
Let’s crush that attitude, then.
After a brief pause, Gong Mun-yeon said in a light tone,
"Well? Regrettably, it seems there is no one willing to delay the deadline."
"……"
"See for yourself."
Gong Mun-yeon pointed behind him. Following his gesture, Hyun Jong’s gaze moved to the merchants. Everyone who met his eyes quickly looked away.
"Do you need more time?"
Hyun Jong did not answer. He merely closed his eyes.
"No matter how long you wait, nothing will change. No one will give up a fortune for the sake of Mount Hua’s faded name. So let’s stop here, Sect Leader. Hand over the halls and step down. You’ve done enough."
Drunk on victory, Gong Mun-yeon spread both arms without realizing it.
"Now, with this……."
"Tsk."
That was when it happened.
Footsteps came shuffling from behind him. Gong Mun-yeon turned around before he even thought about it.
"……Shopkeeper Yu?"
Yu Jong-san wore an expression like he had just bitten into something foul as he shuffled awkwardly to the side.
To the place where the people delaying their repayments were supposed to go.
"What in the……"
Seeing Gong Mun-yeon’s stunned face, Yu Jong-san let out a long, weary sigh.
"……Listen here, Shopkeeper Yu. Just what exactly are you thinking?"
Gong Mun-yeon’s angry voice spread sharply in all directions.