Sect Leader! That Bastard Is a God of Wealth! (3)
"So..."
Hyun Jong could not hide his bewilderment. The others in the room looked no different.
Only two people seemed untouched by the shock.
One was Hwang Mun-yak, seated across from Hyun Jong.
The other was Chung Myung, kneeling beside him.
"That child... you mean Chung Myung treated Lord Hwang's illness and prevented the guild from collapsing?"
"That is correct."
"Hah."
Hyun Jong looked back and forth between Chung Myung and Hwang Mun-yak.
It was impossible to believe.
Chung Myung might be a disciple of Mount Hua, but he had only been in the sect for less than three months. Strictly speaking, he was still just a brat who had barely shed his baby fuzz.
And yet this child had done something this enormous? Could that possibly be real?
"Is that truly the truth?"
At Hyun Young's suspicion-laden question, Hwang Mun-yak narrowed his eyes.
"Are you implying that this old Hwang is lying, Elder of Finance?"
"W-Well, of course not."
Hyun Young immediately backed down.
The power of Hwang Mun-yak and the Eunha Merchant Guild was so vast that it was beyond what the current Mount Hua could casually challenge.
More than that, Hwang Mun-yak had supported Mount Hua consistently in the past. Without him, Mount Hua's decline would have come twice as fast. Hadn't even the former sect leader treated Hwang Mun-yak as Mount Hua's most important guest?
No matter how much Hyun Young was an elder and the Finance Elder of Mount Hua, he could not afford to treat Hwang Mun-yak lightly.
"This old Hwang is not a man with time to waste."
Hyun Jong frowned slightly and looked at Hyun Young. Startled, Hyun Young hastily spoke again.
"That was never my intention. Please accept my apology, Lord Hwang, and forgive my rudeness."
"Hmm."
But Hwang Mun-yak still did not easily let go of his displeased expression.
Of course, he was not truly angry. A merchant in the middle of a negotiation could not afford to miss even the smallest opening. Why not use this chance to get the upper hand and...
"Ahem!"
Hwang Mun-yak glanced toward the source of the fake cough. Chung Myung was plainly wearing an uncomfortable expression.
Good grief.
A third-generation disciple trying to help an elder in the sect out of a scolding? Where else would you ever see something like that?
Unable to ignore Chung Myung's signal, Hwang Mun-yak softened his expression.
At that moment, Un Geom spoke quietly.
"I must confess, I do not understand."
Hwang Mun-yak studied his face for a moment and asked, "And you are?"
"I am Un Geom of Mount Hua. I serve as the leader of Baekmae Hall."
"I see. Taoist Un Geom. You too do not trust my words?"
"It is not that. I only have a basic question. Setting everything else aside, are you saying Chung Myung can actually treat a person's illness?"
"..."
A perfectly reasonable question.
Everyone stared at Chung Myung and Hwang Mun-yak with suspicion written all over their faces. Hwang Mun-yak had nothing to say either, so he looked back toward Chung Myung. This was not his explanation to give; it was Chung Myung's.
"It's not that hard."
"Can you explain it?"
"Sure. As you all know, I used to be a beggar, right?"
"Indeed."
"Beggars eat whatever they can find, and they eat anything that looks edible. So they often get sick, and they often get poisoned too."
"What a foolish thing to say! By that logic, the chief of poisons in the world wouldn't be the Sichuan Tang Family, but the Beggars' Sect."
"In certain cases, yes. That's because beggars may not use poison themselves, but they know a fair bit about how to cure poisoning. Especially when it's something similar to food."
Chung Myung took a deep breath and went on.
"There's a thing called Oumcho. At a glance, it looks almost exactly like mugwort, but it contains a deadly poison. Since it's not easy to mistake it for something else, accidents don't happen often, but beggars who pick up and eat anything that looks edible sometimes end up swallowing Oumcho. Once poisoned, they waste away for days before eventually dying."
Everyone became absorbed in his explanation.
"But the method of detoxifying Oumcho is surprisingly simple. Even if you take the victim to a physician, they often won't know what to do, but if you feed them grated radish, oddly enough, they recover."
"Then are you saying Lord Hwang was poisoned by the toxin of Oumcho?"
"Yes. The symptoms were so similar that I tried it as a test, and he recovered almost immediately."
"No, but..."
Hyun Sang, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up.
"I believe I have heard something similar. It is said that the Beggars' Sect possesses quite a few methods for dealing with poison."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Watching the others debate whether to believe it or not, Chung Myung smiled inwardly.
Go on, ask around, you idiots.
Even if they ran straight to the Beggars' Sect to verify it, he had nothing to worry about. That was because the story was true.
War was a fight over supplies. But getting supplies to a chaotic front line on time was one of the hardest things in the world. So the men on the battlefield would pick up and eat anything that looked edible, and stomach ailments were common enough.
The matter of Oumcho had actually happened to Chung Myung during the war. It was the beggars of the Beggars' Sect who had taught him the cure.
The poison that had struck Hwang Mun-yak had nothing to do with Oumcho, but how would any of them know that?
As long as it sounds plausible, that's all that matters. It has to sound plausible.
That was life.
"So that happened."
"Then there was no way he could return immediately. When a person is about to die right in front of you, what does a day or two matter?"
"You have done something truly remarkable! Remarkable indeed!"
Everyone looked at Chung Myung with eyes full of admiration.
"Sect Leader."
Un Geom, quick to catch on, spoke up.
"If what he says is true, then this is not a matter for punishment. Shouldn't he be rewarded instead?"
"Hmm. Yes, that is true."
Hyun Jong's eyes curved warmly.
"However, Sect Leader."
Unam raised his voice slightly.
"Even if he did a righteous deed, disobeying the Sect Leader's order and failing to return is still a grave offense."
"Is my order more important than a person's life?"
"...That is..."
"Should a disciple who left a dying man to fend for himself and returned on time be praised for being dutiful?"
Unam shut his mouth.
"Mount Hua is a sect that pursues the righteous path. What could possibly come before helping and saving people? Is my petty order more important than upholding justice?"
"I was shortsighted."
Unam bowed deeply and withdrew.
In the middle of it all, Unam and Hyun Jong exchanged a glance. Unam had spoken first, and Hyun Jong had shown anger; with that, none of the others could continue judging Chung Myung's offense. Hyun Jong, understanding the intention behind it, gave Unam a faint look before turning back to Chung Myung.
"Chung Myung."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"You have worked hard."
"Yes."
Chung Myung lowered his head deeply.
Once it seemed that the situation had finally settled, Hwang Mun-yak began speaking.
"The Eunha Merchant Guild and I owe Mount Hua a great debt. No, to be precise, I personally received help from Taoist Chung Myung, but he told me that everything he did was only possible thanks to Mount Hua's teachings, and he attributed all of it to Mount Hua's merit."
"Hah!"
"That child..."
"How pious. Truly pious."
Hwang Mun-yak smiled faintly to himself.
Though he still took everything that could be taken.
Still, some things could not be said as they were. From the perspective of the Eunha Merchant Guild and Hwang Mun-yak as well, it was better for Chung Myung to gain a strong foothold within Mount Hua.
Watching Chung Myung accept such blatant falsehoods with a straight face made it hard not to laugh.
"So, to repay Mount Hua's kindness, I would like to make a little investment in Mount Hua."
"Did you say... investment?"
"Yes. Perhaps 'investment' is not quite the right word. 'Support' is more accurate. An investment is given with the expectation of receiving something back, but support is given without such expectation, is it not?"
"Ah, we are already grateful for everything you have given Mount Hua up to now, but..."
"Sect Leader."
Hwang Mun-yak looked at Hyun Jong calmly.
"If I were only intending to wipe my mouth after such a small amount, I would not have come here in person with my household. I want to stake everything I have on Mount Hua."
Hyun Jong's eyelids trembled.
"L-Lord Hwang?"
Even in response to Hyun Jong's astonished question, Hwang Mun-yak merely smiled.
"I've brought the guild's working staff with me, so let us discuss this slowly. What Mount Hua needs, and what we can do to help."
"Thank you. Truly, thank you, Lord Hwang."
"There is no need to thank me. It is far from enough to repay a life-saving grace."
Hwang Mun-yak's and Hyun Jong's gazes turned at the same time to Chung Myung.
Hyun Jong spoke with an expression of utter delight.
"You have brought fortune to Mount Hua, and now you have even helped a benefactor of the sect spread Mount Hua's name. I am ashamed of myself."
"Please don't say that. If I hadn't learned what I learned at Mount Hua, how could I have done any of this?"
Hwang Mun-yak marveled inwardly.
He's gotten really good at acting.
Look at that smooth, flowing speech. The oil is practically dripping off it.
"Then Elder of Finance and Unam, please remain here. The rest of you may leave."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
Everyone stood up.
"And Chung Myung, I'll call for you again in a little while, so don't go too far and wait."
"Yes."
Chung Myung bowed slightly and went out with the others. As soon as he stepped outside, Hyun Sang, the Martial Hall Elder, patted his shoulder.
"You worked hard. You truly worked hard."
"Ah, come on. It wasn't that big a deal."
"Of course it was. How could it not be? Hah! It was already admirable enough that you saved a man's life, but for it to be Lord Hwang as well! Mount Hua really has a treasure rolling straight into its hands!"
The ones who rolled in were you lot.
I was the stone already embedded here.
Looking at the younger fools who were claiming ownership simply because they had rolled in, Chung Myung let out a quiet sigh to himself.
Fine, fine. If they're happy, what am I supposed to do about it?
Then Un Geom spoke in a slightly stiff tone.
"Chung Myung."
"Yes, Hall Leader."
"I understand that you did a good deed. But it is also true that your handling of the matter was careless. In particular, leaving Mount Hua without a word was undoubtedly wrong."
"The disciple was in a hurry and didn't think that far."
"That may be so. Be more careful from now on. This matter was far more dangerous than you realize."
"Yes, I'll be careful."
"It is also true that you disobeyed the Sect Leader's order. You cannot excuse yourself with 'there was nothing I could do' every time."
"Yes."
Chung Myung lowered his head.
But his lips puffed out just a little, out of sight.
Why is this guy so damn stubborn?
I went this far for them! And he's still nagging me for not doing even more!
But the irritation in Chung Myung's heart vanished the moment he lifted his head and looked at Un Geom's face.
The corner of Un Geom's mouth was twitching. It seemed he simply could not help the smile that kept trying to form.
"Ahem. Hm. One must always strive harder."
He's trying so hard.
The others came over one by one, patting Chung Myung on the shoulder and praising his achievement. It seemed Lord Hwang was far more important to Mount Hua than Chung Myung had realized.
Well, he did bring money.
The person who gives money is always king.
"Looks like Mount Hua's luck is finally turning around. Good things are happening one after another."
Turning around, was it?
I came to Mount Hua.
Chung Myung let out a long, silent sigh.
How was he supposed to bring this sect back to life while dragging around these blood-soaked brats?
Sahyung, my back hurts too now.
It almost felt as though Chung Mun were smiling down from the heavens.