So There Was Still a Justice Gate After All (2)
“Heehee…….”
“…….”
“Heeheehee…….”
“…….”
“Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee!”
“…….”
“Ehehehehehe! Ehehe! Kyaaaaah! Kyaaah!”
“…….”
Green Forest’s First Elder carefully whispered into Im So-byeong’s ear.
“Is he really all right?”
“……Just let him enjoy himself.”
“…….”
At some point, Chung Myung had dressed himself in silk robes and hung expensive jewels all over his body while clutching a mountain of silver coins in his arms. His grin had stretched so wide it looked like it might tear off his face and stick to the back of his head.
“Ehehehe! Ehehehehehe!”
It was all money.
Money earned in just two days of business!
He had made plenty of money before, more than enough to grow numb to it, but watching it pile up day by day with his own eyes was on an entirely different level.
This was the thrill of cash business, wasn’t it?
“Krrr! Business is something you do with people who’ve got money! The richest bastards in the world are merchants, aren’t they? Ehehehehehe!”
The merchants on the Yangtze were usually not the sort with no money; their problem was that money simply didn’t circulate.
They had set the island’s crossing fee at a somewhat outrageous level, but the merchants, who looked ready to sell their souls just to get across the river, paid without a peep. They were so eager to hand the money over that it actually made him wonder if he’d set the toll too low.
In any case, thanks to that, money was now piling up like a mountain while they did nothing more than sit there.
“Ehehehe! Ehehehehehe!”
Watching Chung Myung cackle like a lunatic, the First Elder shook his head.
How was that a Taoist? Taoists were supposed to keep their distance from wealth and devote themselves to the Dao.
Even the money-mad merchants wouldn’t love money that much.
Where on earth had they dug up a Taoist bastard like him?
“Krrr. Good work. Good work. As expected of the Green Forest King. You really know how to collect money!”
“Heehee. That’s my specialty.”
“See? I knew you were reliable! Knew it!”
“You flatter me. None of this would’ve been possible without Mount Hua and your reputation, after all.”
“Exactly. Exactly! Heeheeheehee.”
“Heeheeheehee.”
The Taoist and the bandit praised each other and laughed in a sly, greasy way. Anyone looking at them would have sworn it was the posture of two black-hearted schemers hatching some rotten plot.
“This is only the beginning. The merchants gathering at the pier right now are only the ones around Jiujiang. Once the rumors spread further, every caravan along the Yangtze will come swarming here.”
“They will, won’t they?”
“By then, even if we lower the toll a little, we’ll make several times what we do now.”
“Then we’ll need to expand the pier! Bring in more laborers, too.”
“Exactly! Exactly!”
“There’ll be more people coming, so we’ll need to improve the facilities not just on the island but around the pier as well, right?”
“You really do understand this stuff, don’t you? You really do!”
The island they had now named Maehwado was home not only to them, but to countless merchants as well. The traders, panicked by the ever-growing threat of water bandit raids, couldn’t relax even at the pier, so they wanted to spend the night on the island guarded by Mount Hua.
Seeing Mount Hua disciples stationed throughout the island and White Thunder Cannons set up as though they were guarding the place, everyone applauded Mount Hua’s mighty presence.
The merchants were happy because they could carry their goods in peace, and Mount Hua was happy because it was making money. It was the perfect case of one hand washing the other.
“Still, while the island itself is fine, we need to stabilize the surrounding area a bit more. If we go to all this trouble getting them across the river only for them to get robbed on the other side, then the island becomes useless. The problem is, that’s not something Mount Hua and we can handle on our own……”
“That’s fine.”
“Pardon?”
Im So-byeong tilted his head at Chung Myung’s reply.
“Of course…… for a while there shouldn’t be any problem, but you don’t actually plan to stay here forever, do you? Once Mount Hua leaves, there’ll be trouble.”
Chung Myung grinned.
“Nope. Won’t be a problem. That bastard doesn’t want the trade routes blocked either. He’ll stabilize it himself before long.”
“Ah…….”
Im So-byeong nodded.
Indeed, there was no way Jang Il-so would sit still if his money stream got cut off. Other demonic sect bastards might get greedy for a little money and keep raiding the area, but Jang Il-so understood better than anyone that money had to circulate to become bigger money.
“So all we have to do is make money. I thought we’d come all the way to the Yangtze and end up suffering like dogs before heading home, but it turns out all that crawling around like our lives depended on it was worth it!”
Chung Myung tossed a bundle of silver coins into the air. As the coins showered down like glittering rain, his face melted into pure delight—right then and there, the door outside burst open.
“Sect Leader!”
“Hey, even if you talk to me……”
Noisy voices came from beyond the door.
“Isn’t there any way?”
“This isn’t Sichuan. Even moving as fast as we can, it’ll take months.”
“We don’t have time to wait that long. The situation is far too dire.”
“Haaah. Yes, I know that, but…… I didn’t exactly bring a purse full of money with me. There’s not really any way…….”
Bang.
Moments later, the door swung open, and Hyun Jong entered the room with a deeply furrowed brow. Behind him, the Mount Hua Five Swords followed with desperate expressions. Hyun Jong let out a long sigh.
“So even if you try to pressure me, there just isn’t any money……”
As he spoke weakly, Hyun Jong’s eyes suddenly locked onto the mountain of silver coins piled around Chung Myung.
“……There is?”
“There is.”
“It’s piled up.”
“…….”
At the sight of the sect leader and the Five Swords staring fixedly at the silver coins, Chung Myung bared his teeth.
“Hahaha. Our Chung Myung really has been hoarding money again. So this is how he knew we were short on funds.”
“Ugh……”
Chung Myung’s hair bristled as he swept the silver coins toward himself and shook his head in resistance, but Hyun Jong only kept inching closer with a kind smile.
“There, there, good boy. Take a little step back.”
And the Five Swords, after exchanging glances, also started inching toward him.
“No. It’s not like we’re using it for something bad.”
“The situation around the Yangtze is a mess right now. Those demonic bastards are running wild, and the common people around here can’t even get a proper meal.”
“Even the people who used to scrape by catching fish are starving now.”
“Hand over the money.”
“Just a little. We’ll only use a little.”
“Haaah!”
Chung Myung hissed, but in the end the Five Swords and the sect leader all lunged at once.
“Grab him!”
“Pin him down!”
“Get the silver out! Hurry!”
Chung Myung, with his arms and legs seized, struggled and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Aaaah! You heartless bastards! And you call yourselves Taoists after doing this to me!”
“We said we’d pay it back after using a little!”
“It’s going to take time before the money from Mount Hua gets here anyway!”
“Come on, stay still!”
“Aaaaargh! You thieving scum! Aaaah!”
That was the moment Chung Myung was on the verge of tears.
“Kyaaaack!”
Jo Gul, who had been gleefully pinning Chung Myung down from the front, was kicked into the air by something and slammed into the wall.
Bang!
Jo Gul slowly slid down the wall, then began convulsing while foaming at the mouth.
“W-What?”
“An enemy?”
“Who?”
Startled, the Five Swords turned their heads, and before them stood a figure radiating a fierce blue aura from head to toe.
“E-Elder?”
Hyun Young ground his teeth, his face dark with murderous fury, and spat out the words as if chewing them up and hurling them back.
“You little……”
“…….”
Completely terrified by the killing intent pouring off him, the Five Swords shrank back in alarm.
“I was wondering what was going on, and now you’re all robbing your junior brother together?”
“N-No! That’s not it……”
“W-We……”
The Five Swords, trying to stammer out an excuse, all turned their eyes at once toward one person. When Hyun Young got angry, the only person who could stop him was Hyun Jong.
But all they could see was Hyun Jong’s back, already standing far away as he looked at the wall.
Wow…….
Wow…….
“Today, I’m going to rip your rotten brains out and fix them properly! Get over here, you brats!”
“Aaah, Elder!”
“We’re sorry!”
“Please spare us!”
Hyun Jong, still facing the wall, closed his eyes tightly without a word.
Sorry.
But there’s nothing I can do, is there?
Hah. Amitabha.
“…….”
Kneeling in a group, the Five Swords hung their heads sadly, then sneaked their eyes upward.
Hyun Young was radiating killing intent, and beside him sat Chung Myung, munching on candied fruit as if nothing in the world concerned him. Every time Hyun Young patted his head, Chung Myung let out bright, delighted giggles, and watching that made their stomachs twist and churn on their own.
Annoying.
I know we were the ones in the wrong, but he’s still annoying.
I want to punch him just once.
“Why aren’t your arms held properly straight!”
At the thunderous shout, the Five Swords flinched and snapped their arms up straight.
“You mountain bandit bastards! Now you’re trying to spend someone else’s money as if it were your own! And you still call yourselves Taoists!”
In the corner, the two bandits watching the scene—Im So-byeong and the First Elder—flinched and drew in their necks for no reason. They weren’t the sort to be cowed easily, but how were they supposed to deal with someone who could beat the famous Mount Hua Five Swords like dogs and silence Mount Hua’s sect leader with a few words?
“……W-Well…… we weren’t planning to use it for ourselves.”
“We really do need the money urgently, and it takes time to bring grain and funds from Mount Hua……”
“No, even so, you bastards!”
When Hyun Young barked again, the Five Swords’ heads dropped low.
“A man of the Dao must never justify the means for the sake of the end! And how could this money possibly be yours?”
“…….”
“It is good to care for those who are hungry! But if you steal a healthy man’s money in the name of charity, how is that righteous? If you need money, go earn it or borrow it properly! Don’t go snatching someone else’s money just to make yourselves look good!”
“W-We were wrong.”
Feeling faintly guilty at how thoroughly the Five Swords were being scolded, Hyun Jong cautiously opened his mouth.
“Hyun Young…… It wasn’t exactly done with bad intentions……”
“Sect Leader, you’re the same!”
“…….”
“Is this Mount Hua’s money? What exactly did Mount Hua do here that gives you the right to spend it? Chung Myung planned everything, and the Green Forest handled all the work! Dang Family built the halls!”
“W-Well, yes, but even so, the situation……”
“And you, who showed up late after everything was done and just stood around watching, now want to use your disciples’ money as if it were your own? Is all Mount Hua property just the sect leader’s? Then what, should I just hand over all my money too? Huh?”
“I-I didn’t mean it like that. I, I truly didn’t!”
“Then what is it? What else do you call it? That’s robbery! How can the sect leader of Mount Hua steal his disciples’ money and still expect to save face? Is this a Taoist sect? Is it? You’re acting like demonic bastards!”
At last, Hyun Young even rolled his eyes back in fury, and Hyun Jong quietly folded both hands together and bowed his head.
“You lot are completely useless, every one of you! Not a single coin to your names! I was already sick of watching you rich bastards spend money other people earned as if it were nothing, but now what? You want to rob the man who finally fixed your lives so you don’t have to live off weeds and tree bark? There are limits to ingratitude!”
“Hehe. Elder, don’t be like that. They’re still our senior brothers and martial uncle, and he’s still the sect leader.”
At that one line from Chung Myung, Hyun Young’s rolled-back eyes immediately softened. With fierce affection, he patted Chung Myung’s head and marveled aloud.
“Oh my, oh my, our Chung Myung! Such a kind heart, too. How can he be this good? How can he be so sweet, hmm?”
“Hehehehe! Hehe!”
Baek Cheon could swear it without even a moment’s hesitation.
There were countless people in the world, as countless as grains of sand, but in all of under Heaven, Hyun Young was the only one who could ever describe that wretched demon as “kind.”
“If you so much as touch that child’s money again, I’ll make sure you all spend the rest of your lives eating nothing but thin gruel! Understood?”
“……Yes.”
The leader of the Heavenly Alliance and sect leader of Mount Hua answered meekly. Then he cautiously raised one hand.
“Um, but…… Hyun Young, no…… Elder of the Finance Hall.”
“What is it?”
“……I really do need money urgently right now, so is there no way you could make something happen?”
“If you need money, then borrow it! Borrow it properly and pay the interest!”
“I-Interest?”
Hyun Jong looked at Hyun Young with a thoroughly bewildered expression, then cautiously shifted his gaze to Chung Myung.
“Um…… Chung Myung. I urgently need money, and I can truly pay it back soon. I just need to borrow some for a little while before then, so how much interest would…….”
“Ah, interest?”
“Y-Yes. Interest.”
“Aaah, interest?”
Chung Myung swallowed the candied fruit he’d been chewing so satisfyingly and smiled brightly.
“How much did you come prepared to negotiate up to?”
“…….”
Hyun Jong once again realized just how difficult life could be.