Mount Hua Will Grow Stronger (3)
Time was fair.
It flowed with the same indifference past an old man who regretted every passing day, a middle-aged man who endured the tedium of a long day with a yawn, and a child who raced through the village as though a day were too short to hold him. To time, it made no difference at all.
And the same was true for the merchants who traveled the Yangtze River.
“Oh....”
Ma Cheol stared at the sight before him, his eyes wide.
“Good heavens.... What in the world is this....”
“What’s wrong?”
“W-why is there a city here?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Ma Cheol turned around in bewilderment. The merchants following behind him were staring at him with puzzled expressions.
“As you all know, I’m from Jiujiang, aren’t I?”
“That’s right. Weren’t you excited to stop by your hometown after all this time? I heard you worked in Jiujiang before joining our convoy.”
“Exactly. I only left Jiujiang five years ago, and back then this place was nothing but open wasteland.”
“What? Surely not....”
“You little fool! Do you think I’d talk nonsense after spending good money on meals? I’m telling you, it really was!”
“If you say so....”
The merchant quietly studied Ma Cheol’s face, then looked ahead again.
He had answered politely enough, but in truth he was thinking something entirely different.
Say something that makes sense.
What lay before them was clearly a huge city. How could such a city have appeared in only five years?
No, from what he’d heard, it had only been less than three years since merchants first began coming and going in earnest. If that was true, then this city had been built in barely three years. Not even a child of three would believe such nonsense.
“Let’s go have a look first.”
“Yes, Boss.”
But what else was there to do? A merchant had to believe his superior even if the superior claimed they could make bean curd from red beans.
“Heh. Would you look at that....”
Still shaking his head as though he couldn’t believe it, Ma Cheol led the caravan toward the city in front of him.
“......”
Once they reached the outskirts, Ma Cheol’s mouth fell open again.
Now that he was inside, it felt different from the view from afar. Huge buildings lined both sides of a broad avenue, drawing the eye wherever it went.
Isn’t this even more prosperous than Jiujiang?
Of course, all the buildings were brand-new and gleaming. Not long ago, this had been nothing but barren land.
What shocked him most was not just that every building was large, but that the number of people hustling through the streets seemed even greater than in Jiujiang.
And then there was this....
“Bring the liquor faster! I came a long way and my throat’s dying here!”
“Coming, coming!”
“How much longer for the noodles?”
“Aigoo! They’ll be out soon! Just a little longer, please!”
Every building they passed was packed solid with people. It was astonishing enough to make one wonder where all these people had come from.
And this bustling, lively city gave Ma Cheol no time at all to admire it at leisure.
Before he’d even had a chance to turn his head, two men sprang out from somewhere and latched onto his left and right.
“Aigoo, merchants! You’ve had a long journey, haven’t you? This way! Come this way! I’ll guide you to the finest inn on Maehwado!”
“Ho! That bastard’s at it again, trying to scam people! How can a place like New Wind Inn claim to be the best inn on Maehwado? Our Dragon Flower Inn is right here!”
“What’s that, you brat? Are you saying this after running off with our chef last week because it was too hard? Merchants, don’t listen to his nonsense! If you go there, you’ll be forced to stuff yourselves with food that tastes like nothing! Our New Wind Inn serves the best food!”
“You’re the one talking nonsense! Haven’t you even heard the rumor that our inn hired the chef from Peaceful Wave Pavilion, the finest tavern in Wuhan? Compared to the food made by someone from Peaceful Wave Pavilion, your New Wind Inn’s cooking isn’t even fit for a dog! Merchants, come this way! Our inn has exactly one room left!”
“One room? How are they all supposed to sleep in one room, you fool!”
“Oh dear! I meant to say two, but said one by mistake!”
Ma Cheol, caught in the middle of it all, was nearly driven out of his mind.
He did think briefly about shouting at them for their rudeness, but when he looked around, he saw that the caravan ahead of them was being subjected to the same treatment. So was the one that had followed behind them.
Is this normal here?
What kind of ridiculous inns were these, coming all the way out to the main road to call customers over?
“What did you say?”
“You want to fight about it today?”
As the barkers rolled up their sleeves as though they were about to come to blows, Ma Cheol panicked and shouted, “D-don’t fight! We were just going to stop by the pier first....”
“Huh? If you go now, it’ll be at least four days before you can even get a ship.”
“I-it takes that long?”
“Aigoo, Boss. Is this your first time on Maehwado?”
“W-well, yes.”
The barkers nodded as though that explained everything.
“Then that makes sense. On Maehwado, waiting three or four days is just part of life. Otherwise, why would all those merchants bother booking rooms and resting here?”
“Ah....”
“If you’re lucky, it’s four days. If you’re unlucky, ten.”
“T-ten days? It takes that long? Even when it’s pouring rain or there’s a storm?”
“No, no. The boats on Maehwado don’t stop running just because it’s raining or snowing or windy. Even so, when there are too many people, you still have to wait ten days. So you’d better find lodging first.”
“......I-I’ll check it with my own eyes first.”
“Honestly, there’s no point telling you.”
“T-that insolent little.... Aigoo, merchant. Of course you should check. But when you come back, don’t get cheated somewhere else—no, I mean, don’t take a loss. Come straight to our Dragon Flower Inn.”
Ma Cheol nodded like a man whose soul had left his body.
“But.... may I ask one thing?”
“Yes? Ask anything.”
“This is the riverbank, isn’t it?”
“That’s right?”
“Then... if there’s such a prosperous place on the riverbank... doesn’t the Water Bandit Sect come here to rob it?”
“What? The Water Bandit Sect?”
The barkers looked at one another as though they’d heard something absurd, then burst into laughter at the same time.
“Aha ha ha ha! The Water Bandit Sect?”
“Ha! Man, it’s been ages since I heard someone say that.”
Ma Cheol only blinked in confusion.
“Did I... say something strange?”
“Not strange. Just something we haven’t heard in a very long time. Don’t worry. Since Maehwado was built, not a single water bandit has come near.”
“They sometimes pass by on the river, but they’ve never attacked. They may be bandits, but they’re not fools. What guts would they have to come charging at a place protected by the Heavenly Alliance?”
“This is the safest place on the Yangtze River. That’s why so many merchants keep coming to Maehwado day after day.”
Ma Cheol nodded slowly.
He had heard as much before coming here, but the gap between what he’d vaguely imagined from those stories and what he saw with his own eyes was enormous.
“R-right. I understand. First the pier.”
“Aye. Go have a look.”
“Dragon Flower Inn! Dragon Flower Inn!”
Even after finally shaking off the two barkers, he had to suffer through several more who latched onto him, and only after getting rid of all of them could he hurry on his way.
“Heh. What kind of place is this....”
Once he could walk without being harassed, the surroundings came into even sharper focus.
There was nothing missing.
Wine houses, inns, tea shops, restaurants....
“Is that a gambling den?”
“......There really is nothing missing.”
It looked less like Jiujiang and more like Hangzhou or Suzhou—different only in that, unlike those places built purely for pleasure, this one seemed practical.
As they passed through the inn district and neared the pier, huge warehouses lined both sides of the road. Beyond those, there were crowds of people and carts piled high with cargo.
“Looks like that’s the place.”
“Let’s go.”
Ma Cheol approached the pier and spoke to a merchant standing nearby.
“Um....”
“What is it?”
“We just arrived. If we want to reserve a spot, where do we line up?”
The merchant who had lined up first glanced at Ma Cheol, then pointed over his shoulder with a tilt of his chin.
“Stand here.”
“Ah, thank you. Boys, bring the carts over here.”
“Yes!”
Once he had joined the line, Ma Cheol looked around again. The pier was packed to the brim with people, along with five massive ships docked there. Men were unloading cargo onto them as well.
“That’s what they mean when they say lively.”
“......Five ships. Those huge ships.”
“And even with five of those, we still have to wait over four days? Just how much cargo comes through this pier?”
“Well, everything in the Yangtze is unloaded here. What choice do we have? It’s a hundred times better than having it all stolen by the Water Bandit Sect. Still, we’re the lucky ones. There are plenty of people who, because their destination is too far away, end up crossing the river by boat even though it’s barely worth it.”
“That’s right, Boss.”
Ma Cheol let out a dry laugh, still dazed.
So this is what they mean by seas turning into mulberry fields.
Who would have thought the world could change so much in just five years? No, not even five years. It had been less than three....
Just then—
“Who are you? Why are you cutting in line?”
“What?”
A group of men that had come rushing over suddenly glared at Ma Cheol and barked at him.
“Cutting in line? We’re just standing here in line.”
“I stepped away for a moment to handle something with my cargo, and you lot come and steal my place? Stop talking and get out of the way, right now! Unless you want to get hurt!”
“What nonsense is that!”
“What? Nonsense? You bastards?”
The merchant rushed forward and grabbed Ma Cheol by the collar.
“If I get bumped back a turn because I stood in the wrong line, I lose another day. Do you know how much that costs me? And you think you can just freeload?”
“T-then you should’ve stayed and guarded the spot! Either way, I’m not moving!”
A merchant could not afford to lose a fight.
Knowing that, Ma Cheol raised his voice too, and the merchant gripping his collar glared at him fiercely.
“Fine. So that’s how you want to play it. You can go die today, then.”
As their quarrel swelled, the people watching from the sides clicked their tongues.
“Hey there! You lot!”
“......Yes?”
“Do you know where you are, shouting like that?”
“Where we are....?”
The merchant still gripping Ma Cheol’s collar tilted his head. He looked genuinely unable to understand what was being said.
Then the goateed merchant who had stepped in looked back and forth between the two groups with an expression of understanding.
“So neither side knows Maehwado very well. First time here?”
“......”
“......”
When both groups only blinked, the goateed merchant clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“If you get marked for causing trouble here, you’ll be thrown out immediately and barred from loading cargo for a month. You haven’t forgotten that this is Maehwado, have you? If you’re not planning to get kicked out and risk your life crossing the river on your own, keep quiet. If the two of you start fighting and drag the rest of us into it, I won’t let you off. Understood?”
Ma Cheol stared, dumbfounded.
“If you make a scene, you can’t load cargo?”
“That’s what I said.”
“N-no, that doesn’t make sense. Isn’t this just a place where you pay money and have your goods moved?”
“......What?”
“Heh, look at this.”
“This is why rookies—”
The merchants around them widened their eyes and clicked their tongues, and Ma Cheol flushed red with embarrassment.
“S-so this really is your first time?”
“...Yes. We’re a small caravan, and the former boss suddenly fell ill and had to step down, so... I had to set out in a hurry.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. No wonder you’re acting like that without knowing anything. Listen here. This is Maehwado. If you apply the common sense of other places here, you’ll be in trouble. The rules of Maehwado are very simple: don’t cause trouble, don’t make a scene, and pay your bills properly.”
“......”
“The most important rule of all is don’t cause trouble! Do you know how many caravans have gone under after breaking that rule and getting thrown out?”
“......”
“Stop doing foolish things and behave—damn it! Too late!”
“Yes?”
Just then, the murmur ahead suddenly grew loud, and the merchants parted to the left and right. As a path opened through the crowd, a group of men walked toward them with fearsome glares.
They were huge—easily seven feet tall.
They wore bristling, spike-like beards.
Their eyes were fierce and round, and they had stripped off their shirts somewhere along the way, leaving their upper bodies bare and bulging with muscle that looked ready to burst. Sweat poured down the ridges of those muscles, as if they’d come straight from hauling cargo.
“Uh....”
Ma Cheol, who was already stiff with fear at the sight of them, shrank his neck back. Then the men who had walked out turned their faces toward him, every trace of annoyance in the world written plainly across them.
In an instant, Ma Cheol’s heart sank.
“W-we’re dead now.”
Oh, what possessed us to come here....
As though he could no longer suppress his fury, one of the men trembled all over. Then, like a tiger’s roar, he opened his mouth.
“What seems to be the matter, customer?”
“......”
“Is there something uncomfortable about our service?”
“......Yes?”
From that face that looked ready to eat a man alive came the gentlest voice in the world.
“Th-that is....”
No.
What in the world was this place?
Just what....