Why Is So Much Coming? (3)
It was a sight worthy of being called a miracle.
Clack! Clack!
“We need to raise the pillar here!”
“Understood! I’ll handle the inside, so you take care of the outside, Brother!”
In the blink of an eye, pillars went up, and walls rose as if by magic. If you looked away for even a moment and then turned back, something new had already been built. In fact, what should have required dozens of skilled carpenters working themselves to the bone was being completed by only two people.
The Tang Family’s extraordinary ability didn’t stop at simply adding on to buildings.
“Hmm. I don’t like this at all.”
“It does look a little old, yes. But we can’t change the style entirely.”
“True. Keep the style as it is, but let’s upgrade the materials a bit. Bring over the stone we hauled in!”
“Yes!”
Once they started working, the utterly ordinary exterior walls transformed, and the direction of the eaves shifted in subtle but unmistakable ways. It didn’t even look as though much had been done, but by making small changes to the materials and construction methods, the buildings began to take on an air of refinement.
And then…
“We should carve plum blossoms here!”
“And here too!”
“Let’s make the whole place look like a flower garden! If we’ve taken their hospitality, the least we can do is this much!”
Plum blossoms, the symbol of Mount Hua, began appearing on the pillars of the halls. The blossoms were carved so quickly and so vividly that they looked ready to scatter in the wind at any moment.
“Wow…”
“My goodness…”
“This is why they call them artisans.”
The Mount Hua disciples, who had been pushed out of any truly specialized work and relegated to manual labor, stared slack-jawed at the near-miraculous scene.
Thirty artisans from the Tang Family were literally reshaping all of Mount Hua.
“Mister Pyo! Don’t touch that part!”
“Huh? But it’s too worn out.”
“Even so, that pillar holds Mount Hua’s history! Please leave it where it can be preserved!”
“Hmm. In that case, we won’t carve it down. We’ll paint it first, then engrave a pattern over it. It would be even better if there were a line or saying that became a symbol of Mount Hua.”
“That sounds good. Please wait a moment. I’ll talk to the Sect Leader.”
“Very well.”
And whenever there was a matter where the Tang Family’s tastes differed from Mount Hua’s, Dang Soso stepped in and mediated with a sharp little efficiency.
“They’re really amazing.”
When Mount Hua’s disciples worked by themselves, they honestly had no idea when it would all be finished. But only half a day after the Tang artisans had been brought in, the place was changing so dramatically it was enough to make one’s eyes spin.
And the Tang Family hadn’t brought only artisans.
“These are the fine tea sets for the event, along with the boxes to hold the gifts.”
“Good heavens…”
As Hyun Young looked at the supplies Tang Gun-ak was unloading, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Such luxurious things…”
“The gifts will be more than enough if they’re Mount Hua’s plum blossom tea and the finest tea brought from Yunnan. If we place them in these boxes, all the better.”
“Thank you so much, Lord Tang.”
“Think nothing of it.”
Tang Gun-ak smiled faintly.
“This event is not Mount Hua’s alone. It is an event of the Heavenly Alliance. Helping, then, is only natural.”
“W-Well, yes, but…”
Indeed, work was something where experience mattered.
Mount Hua and Hyun Young had thrown themselves into the task with all the enthusiasm they could muster, but compared to the Tang Family, it simply wasn’t in the same league. Especially in matters like this, the Tang Family ranked among the best in the world; Mount Hua had no business even trying to compete with them.
“And I think it would be best to inform Hwaeum in advance as well.”
“Hwaeum, sir?”
“Yes.”
Tang Gun-ak gave a slow nod.
“In an event like this, not only the invited guests but also the onlookers tend to swarm in. We can’t possibly house all of them at Mount Hua, so we need to notify the inns in Hwaeum beforehand. It’s not a particularly large town, so there don’t seem to be enough inns. In my opinion, it wouldn’t hurt to prepare temporary lodging in advance as well.”
“Temporary lodging, you say…?”
“Usually, people put up tents and the like. But Mount Hua seems likely to host guests often in the future, so this may be a good chance to establish lodging that doesn’t provide meals and charge a fee for it.”
It was something Hyun Young had never even considered. He blinked, then nodded absently.
“I’m sorry. We usually speak with Eunha Sangdan and have them handle this sort of thing…”
“Merchant guilds have their own work to do. Besides, planning an expansion over a long period is one thing; making things happen in a hurry is another entirely, is it not? Even Eunha Sangdan would not have much experience carrying out this kind of work.”
Hyun Young, struck speechless, nodded again.
“Lord Tang, your words are right. Having you here is an immense help.”
“It is only what I ought to do. I apologize I could not come sooner.”
“What do you mean by that? We can only be grateful.”
With a small smile, Tang Gun-ak looked over Mount Hua’s grounds. Then he issued another round of instructions to the artisans.
“We’ll need to hold the opening ceremony at the central training yard, but I’m concerned the platform is too low.”
“Should we tear it down and rebuild it?”
“A training yard is where a sect’s martial arts are learned. The height and size each have their own purpose. How can you so casually speak of tearing it down?”
“...I was thinking too simply.”
“Make a raised platform. Since transporting it will not be a problem, don’t worry about weight; make it grand. Build it so it can be stored out of sight and then laid over the existing platform whenever needed. Choose the materials carefully so no daily maintenance will be required.”
“Yes, Lord!”
Such efficiency was the very definition of the phrase.
From the moment he arrived at Mount Hua, Tang Gun-ak had been cleanly directing everything, as though determined to demonstrate the dignity of the Sichuan Tang Family.
“How can we possibly repay this kindness…”
At Hyun Jong’s words, Tang Gun-ak shook his head.
“Not at all, Sect Leader. I only worry that I may be making a fuss for nothing and disturbing the long history that has rested here at Mount Hua.”
“How could that be? The ancestors of Mount Hua would surely be pleased.”
Hyun Jong didn’t know it, but those words were true.
Because Chung Myung, who was watching Mount Hua’s transformation right then, had his mouth hanging open wide enough to split his face.
“H-Hey, can’t you use gold leaf? You didn’t bring any gold?”
“...Chung Myung. Go stand over there.”
“Or platinum is fine too. If not that, then jade, maybe.”
“I told you to go stand over there.”
“No, the Tang Family is loaded! Way richer than we are!”
“Please… shut that mouth of yours…”
“That’s fine, Sect Leader.”
Tang Gun-ak gave a low chuckle.
“I’m relieved you like it.”
“Hehe. Of course work should be left to the experts!”
Chung Myung grinned and turned his head away.
The Tang Family retainers, who were not artisans, busied themselves arranging the things that had been brought in from Eunha Sangdan. Dividing the invited guests and the senior figures into proper seating arrangements was, naturally, something the Tang Family was far better suited to than Mount Hua.
“What about the Palace Lord?”
“He’ll be here. I told him it would be fine if he arrived within three days, but given that impatient temper of his, he’ll likely arrive tomorrow.”
“...He’s not bringing beasts again this time, is he?”
“I’ve already warned him, so he should restrain himself this time… I can’t promise it, though.”
Chung Myung grinned again.
He liked that about Tang Gun-ak.
Anyone else would have been eager to put himself forward and make a show of what he was doing, but Tang Gun-ak acted as though this were only the natural thing he ought to do.
That meant he did not see a divide between Mount Hua and the Tang Family.
One family, huh…
Chung Myung turned his head slightly.
That bastard would’ve liked this.
Even in the past, the Tang Family and Mount Hua had been quite close, but not in the kind of unguarded, easygoing way Chung Myung and Tang Bo had been.
Only now, a hundred years later, had the relationship Tang Bo once wanted finally come to pass.
Chung Myung sniffed once for no reason at all, then spoke in a casual tone.
“How long will this take?”
“At most, it won’t take more than two days.”
“Two days?”
“Cleaning the buildings, organizing the items people will use, and expanding the lodging isn’t much work. Enlarging the kitchen will take a little longer, but even that can be finished by today.”
The sheer swagger of saying they could build a couple of halls in half a day.
Mount Hua’s senior figures, feeling the dignity of the Sichuan Tang Family in every fiber of their bodies, desperately suppressed the urge to applaud.
“Then why two days?”
“The problem is what comes after that. This is a reception, is it not?”
“Hm?”
Tang Gun-ak looked at the filthy, dust-covered Mount Hua disciples with a rather troubled expression.
“The ones we’ll have to host are Mount Hua, the Beast Palace, and the North Sea Ice Palace.”
“...”
“We’d be lucky if they don’t just start beating each other senseless…”
“...”
A deep gloom began to settle over Tang Gun-ak’s face.
The Sichuan Tang Family was infamous throughout the world for being cruel and difficult, yet compared to the sects that would make up the Heavenly Alliance, they were gentlemen among gentlemen.
Mount Hua, a place with no interest whatsoever in the rites and codes of the Central Plains, the Beast Palace, and the North Sea Ice Palace, which had survived in the barren North until they were as rough as a feral cat with a thorn in its paw… and then there was Mount Hua, which could probably still be called the most ill-mannered sect in all of central China.
Something went wrong when these people got gathered together.
At this rate, even an evil sect might flee in disgust and refuse to associate with them.
“Won’t it take at least two days just to train the people who’ll be greeting guests and beat the temper out of them?”
“...Wouldn’t it be enough to just say that if they cause trouble, we’ll throw them off a cliff?”
“And will that stop them from causing trouble?”
“Nope.”
Chung Myung answered brightly, almost cheerfully.
“Our senior brothers wouldn’t be discouraged by something as small as being thrown off a cliff! They’re all real men!”
“...That is not what being a real man means.”
Tang Gun-ak let out a long sigh.
“So we’ll teach them in advance. The goal of this event is to finish it with as few incidents as possible.”
He muttered something afterward about not knowing whether that would actually happen, but Chung Myung never heard it.
Tang Gun-ak then straightened his back and said,
“This is the moment when the Heavenly Alliance will make its name known to the world. We must not show even the smallest flaw.”
At those words, Chung Myung nodded.
In the world, the intent behind something mattered, yes—but so did the form it took. If possible, looking good was always better.
However…
“Here! How about here?”
“Where?”
“The blue stone floor feels too plain! Should we carve plum blossoms here too?”
“On the floor? Isn’t the walls enough?”
“More is better if you can manage it! Go ahead and carve them!”
“Great!”
Chung Myung’s cheek twitched faintly.
“The roof tiles! Let’s carve them into the roof tiles!”
“I don’t like the landscaping here! Go down there and pull up a few plum trees! We can plant them here!”
“Too narrow! Too narrow! Knock down this wall! We can put up a new one, so let’s widen it!”
“...”
But… wasn’t that a little too much?
Watching them obsess over plum blossoms even more than Mount Hua itself, Chung Myung glanced at Tang Gun-ak. Tang Gun-ak covered his mouth with a slightly embarrassed look and coughed awkwardly.
“Ahem. Didn’t you carve a plum blossom into the pillar back then?”
“I did.”
“Ever since then, oddly enough, carving plum blossom patterns into goods around the Tang Family has become a trend… At this rate, the plum blossom may become the Tang Family’s symbol instead.”
“...”
“They’re just excited, so leave them be.”
“...”
Chung Myung, who had been looking askance at the artisans carving plum blossoms with wild enthusiasm, soon let out a small smile.
Well, whatever.
Too many plum blossoms were a good thing, weren’t they?
And so the two days of renovations and “education” passed.
With Mount Hua fully prepared, the heroes of the world began pouring in like clouds.