Mount Hua Will Be in Total Chaos (1)
Hyun Jong was having one of those days where he barely had a moment to breathe.
The children had gone to the North Sea and returned with excellent results, which was certainly a fine thing. Unfortunately, it also meant his workload had grown by leaps and bounds.
“So the remaining schedule is….”
“There isn’t much left now. On the Heavenly Friends Alliance side, you have a meeting scheduled with the Tang Family head, and to confirm trade with the North Sea, you’ll also need to meet with the head of the Eunha Merchant Guild once.”
At Unam’s words, Hyun Jong let out a long sigh.
“And?”
“The Hwayeong Gate leader is requesting an audience.”
“The Hwayeong Gate leader? Why now?”
“Now that Hwayeong Gate in Xi'an has become completely stable, it seems they want to discuss opening new branches.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Yes. They feel they’ve been a little late in expanding, so they want to establish two more branches at once.”
“Honestly. If that’s all, why bother coming all the way to see me?”
“That is… it’s not just Hwayeong Gate. It seems there are also several sects that want to return as subsidiary branches of Mount Hua.”
“Hmm?”
Hyun Jong’s brow slowly furrowed.
“You mean the ones that broke away in the past?”
“No, not those. They at least have some shame, so they wouldn’t dare. It seems some of the former Mount Hua branch disciples who left the mountain in the past saw Hwayeong Gate and started thinking they’d like to found branch sects of their own. They must have discussed it with the Hwayeong Gate leader.”
“Hoho. So that’s what happened.”
Hyun Jong slowly stroked his beard.
If they were manageable, then the more branch sects Mount Hua had, the better. Each one would help Mount Hua’s finances and strength. Of course, they couldn’t have so many sects that they became impossible to manage and harmed Mount Hua’s reputation, but wasn’t the whole point of having the main sect to keep such things under control?
“This is a good thing.”
The fact that they needed more branches meant Hwayeong Gate in Xi'an was packed with disciples, and the fact that others wanted to open branch sects meant Mount Hua’s name now carried enough weight to attract disciples from beyond its own mountain.
Though his days were busier than ever, a smile bloomed at the corner of Hyun Jong’s mouth.
“Because the children suffered, Mount Hua is reaping the rewards.”
“It’s all thanks to how much care Sect Leader has taken.”
“How could that be due to my own ability? If it were something I had truly done well, it would already have happened long ago.”
Hyun Jong chuckled and lifted his teacup.
Mount Hua’s reputation was rising day by day, but Hyun Jong never allowed himself to become carried away. He knew full well that all of this had very little to do with his own abilities.
Those who took others’ accomplishments as their own were sure to invite disaster.
“All right, then. Are those the only important matters?”
“There is… one more.”
“Hmm?”
“Chung Myung said he needs to go make a move on the Shaolin abbot once….”
Unam trailed off. Hyun Jong shut his eyes tightly.
“Let’s handle that a little later.”
“He’s been pressing the issue, but….”
“Hang in there just a bit longer.”
“Yes.”
A sigh escaped Hyun Jong’s lips of its own accord.
We do need to take issue with them.
What the Shaolin abbot had claimed and the actual situation in the North Sea were completely different things. It was only because Mount Hua’s disciples had handled things well that they’d gotten through it at all. If they had been even a little slower, Mount Hua would have suffered a terrible loss.
This was not something that could simply be forgiven and brushed aside at the sect level.
“Sect Leader.”
“Hmm?”
“If it feels too burdensome, I can try persuading Chung Myung myself.”
At Unam’s careful question, Hyun Jong tilted his head.
“Burdened by what?”
“Isn’t it because you feel burdened at the thought of confronting Shaolin over their mistake?”
Hyun Jong raised his eyes slightly, then gave a soft laugh.
“That isn’t it.”
“….”
“Of course Shaolin is a burdensome opponent. No matter how strong Mount Hua’s momentum has become of late, how could we dare compare ourselves to Shaolin?”
“That’s true.”
“But I don’t want to drag those things into this matter. Mount Hua’s disciples nearly lost their lives because of Shaolin’s false information. If we still cannot demand an accounting for that, then Mount Hua has no right to hang up its signboard.”
The words were calm, but the conviction behind them was firm and unwavering.
“If I’m being honest, I would go to Shaolin right this instant and tear into them personally.”
“Then why do you hesitate?”
When a puzzled look crossed Unam’s face, Hyun Jong fell silent for a moment before squeezing his eyes shut again.
“If it were only me, then maybe. If it were only me….”
“….”
“Without a doubt, that brat Chung Myung would insist on following me and turn Shaolin upside down. How am I supposed to deal with that?”
“…”
“The way of the world is that when someone does wrong once, you punish them once, and that’s the end of it. But Chung Myung? If he thinks someone has done wrong once, he’ll insist on hitting them a hundred times.”
“T-that is true.”
“So what do you think would happen?”
“….”
Trying to picture it, Unam’s face went a shade pale as he shook his head.
“That won’t do.”
“Exactly.”
Hyun Jong let out another heavy sigh.
“If we aren’t careful, we may end up the ones apologizing. Let’s wait until Chung Myung’s resentment has cooled a little.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
Even as he answered, though, Unam seemed to have something else he wanted to say. When Hyun Jong motioned for him to continue, Unam hesitated and then spoke.
“But… there is one thing….”
“What is it?”
“Will Chung Myung really ever forget that grudge?”
Hyun Jong could not find an answer. He simply tightened his grip on the teacup in his hand.
“Anything else?”
Then, as though he had not heard the question at all, he moved on to the next topic. Unam felt he had come to understand, at least in part, what experience truly meant.
“Nothing else of consequence.”
“The Green Forest King is staying inside the sect, but the disciples aren’t unsettled, are they?”
“Once they realized it was one of Chung Myung’s doing, everyone cleanly lost interest. At this point, I don’t think anyone would be surprised even if it wasn’t the Green Forest King but a talking tiger sitting there.”
“……That… is a relief, I suppose.”
Whether it was truly a relief or not was another matter, but for now, it had to be called a relief.
“Good. Make sure you keep calming the children so they don’t get worked up.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
Hyun Jong stroked his beard once more and nodded slowly.
It’s getting busier and busier.
His body was a little more worn out, and he had far more headaches than before. And yet he absolutely did not hate the situation. All of it was proof that Mount Hua was becoming a better sect.
“Unam.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“I’ll tell Hyun Young, so you should start overseeing the work of the Finance Hall as well.”
“Oversee it, you say….”
“I want you to be the one to make the final decisions for Finance Hall matters.”
“S-Sect Leader!”
Unam jumped in alarm and stiffened.
“Isn’t that your responsibility, Sect Leader? How can you hand that to me….”
He wasn’t complaining about being burdened with work. No, deciding Mount Hua’s finances was one of the Sect Leader’s great powers. And now Hyun Jong was saying he wanted to hand that power over to Unam.
“You should start preparing now as well. I can’t remain in this seat forever, can I?”
“What are you saying? Of course you should be here for several more decades.”
“That’s greed.”
But seeing Unam practically bouncing in protest, Hyun Jong only smiled faintly.
“Thanks to the elixir Chung Myung gave me, I’ve regained a bit of vitality, but a person naturally loses the sharpness of youth as he grows old. I may one day become a burden to Mount Hua, so I need to prepare before that happens.”
“Sect Leader….”
Unam studied the expression on his leader’s face for a moment before speaking.
“I’m not suited for it.”
“Hmm?”
“If you tell me to oversee Finance Hall matters, I will. Right now, Sect Leader has greater things to do. But if this is preparation for handing me the seat of Sect Leader, then I must refuse.”
“Why is that?”
Confusion flickered across Hyun Jong’s face. He had expected Unam to refuse easily enough, but he hadn’t expected him to react so sharply.
Unam answered in a courteous yet firm tone.
“Sect Leader. I’m too small a vessel to become Mount Hua’s Sect Leader. The most I could do is become a scarecrow. If someone like me sits in the Sect Leader’s chair, Mount Hua will not be able to go any further.”
“You little….”
A faint flush of irritation rose on Hyun Jong’s face.
“What nonsense is that? You say you’re lacking?”
“Sect Leader.”
But Unam only sighed and went on stubbornly.
“If Mount Hua were as it was in the past, I would gladly become its Sect Leader and be buried here with my bones. In calming the disciples, restoring order to Mount Hua, and enduring and enduring again, no disciple in Mount Hua could possibly surpass me.”
“Exactly!”
“But right now, Mount Hua is not a place that needs endurance.”
“….”
Hyun Jong squeezed his eyes shut.
“Do you think I have no greed? Of course I do. But I cannot use my own greed to ruin Mount Hua.”
“Then are you saying Un Geom should be given the seat of Sect Leader?”
“No. That man also lacks the qualifications to be Sect Leader. Martial skill is important, but martial skill alone cannot make a Sect Leader.”
“Then…?”
As though he had already made up his mind, Unam said, “Skip the Un generation and pass the seat to Baek Cheon.”
“What!”
In the end, Hyun Jong shouted with a face full of anger.
“What are you talking about? Those children may be leading Mount Hua now, but it was you of the Un generation who guarded Mount Hua for decades before them. How could you simply skip over all of you and give the position of Sect Leader to the Baek generation? There is no such rule anywhere!”
“….”
“If there are shortcomings, then fill them in! You can do it.”
“Sect Leader.”
But Unam did not yield so easily. He smiled bitterly instead.
“Sect Leader, you have lived your entire life for Mount Hua.”
“….”
“I want to do the same. If you were in my position, Sect Leader, what would you do?”
“…You brat.”
Hyun Jong looked at him with eyes full of sorrow.
Of everyone in Mount Hua, he alone probably understood Unam’s feelings right now.
“So please consider it. Everything is for the sake of the sect.”
“The Baek generation is too young.”
“If Sect Leader holds the position for another twenty years, there won’t be a problem.”
“And for those twenty years, you mean to say you’ll be satisfied with your current position? After that, it would be fine to retreat into the back room and live out your days?”
“Back room?”
Unam gave a small smile.
“I plan to become the biggest nag in all of Mount Hua. That brat Baek Cheon can be a little overbearing at times, but as long as I’m firmly in place, he won’t be able to act recklessly.”
“……Hngh.”
“When it comes to driving things forward, Baek Cheon is the best. When it comes to stabilizing things, Yoon Jong is the best. If Baek Cheon helps Mount Hua grow and then Yoon Jong helps organize the expanded sect afterward, Mount Hua will finally become the place Sect Leader dreamed of.”
Unam had already thought everything through that far. Hyun Jong let out a long breath.
“Let’s set this aside for now. It’s too far away. Too far to discuss today.”
“Yes.”
Unam did not press him further. But once an issue had been raised, everything would eventually settle into its proper course.
Looking at Unam, Hyun Jong’s eyes softened with sympathy.
Why would Unam have no greed of his own?
This was not the Mount Hua of old. When Hyun Jong first became Sect Leader, everyone had shunned the seat, but now Mount Hua was a sect acknowledged by the whole world, and one that could even become wealthier than any other sect under heaven.
The position of Sect Leader in such a sect would be an irresistible temptation for anyone.
And yet Unam was refusing it for the sake of Mount Hua.
It was admirable, and at the same time deeply pitiful.
“Still….”
“Yes.”
“Setting that aside for a moment.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“You said Baek Cheon is the one who drives things forward, and Yoon Jong is the one who stabilizes them?”
“Yes. So at the proper time, Baek Cheon should pass the Sect Leader’s seat to Yoon Jong.”
“No. That isn’t the problem.”
“Pardon?”
Unam tilted his head, not understanding. Hyun Jong hesitated, as though the words were hard to say, before speaking.
“Th-then… what if… that brat Chung Myung says he wants to become Sect Leader….”
“We must stop him.”
Before he could even finish, Unam’s voice rang out like ice. A chill colder than anything he had shown before had entered it.
It was so resolute it sounded like someone about to go to war.
“We must use every resource Mount Hua has, rally every disciple, and do whatever it takes—even if we have to throw that bastard into the thunder prison—to stop him for certain!”
“…….”
“Baek Cheon is the one who drives things forward, and Yoon Jong is the one who stabilizes things. Chung Myung is the one who ruins them! Mount Hua would turn into a total mess.”
“B-but up until now, he’s done quite well, hasn’t he?”
“That’s because you were here, and I was here, and at any rate the martial uncles and senior brothers were here too. A colt behaves when someone has the reins in hand. The moment the reins come off, that’s when its true nature appears.”
“…….”
“I… I absolutely do not want to see that brat’s true nature!”
“R-right. I understand.”
Hyun Jong had always trusted Unam’s judgment of people. And yet for him to say something like that….
You should’ve tried living like a human being, then. Chung Myung, you bastard….
Thinking of Chung Myung, Hyun Jong clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Then it happened.
“Hmm?”
Both Hyun Jong and Unam turned at once toward the door.
Some commotion had broken out outside.
“What is it?”
Both men sensed that something was wrong and shot to their feet.