Repaying the Sect’s Grace
When I returned to the sect leader’s quarters, the leader was waiting for me. He paced back and forth, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his hands, a faint tension hanging over his face. He must have been dying to know how my deal had gone. The moment he spotted me, he blurted out, “So, did the deal go through all right?”
“Yes. I collected the payment and came back.”
“Good. Well done.”
There was a subtle tremor in the sect leader’s voice. It was as if he had something he wanted to say but couldn’t quite bring himself to voice it. His eyes wavered for a moment before he finally spoke.
“Hyeonseong.”
“Yes, Master.”
“The payment from this deal must be considerable, then?”
“Yes. I received about five hundred nyang in silver.”
The sect leader’s eyes went wide.
“F-five hundred nyang?”
Five hundred nyang in silver was enough to buy five hundred bushels of rice. Even as the leader of Jigeom Sect, it was a sum he had never heard of, never seen, and certainly never touched.
“……”
He stared blankly into space. Biting his lip, he fell into thought. In all the years he had led the sect, he had never once held so much money in his hands. For an instant, greed stirred in his heart. But he couldn’t bring himself to say a word. The silver earned from selling the Hwan-yo hide belonged to the eldest disciple. No matter that he was a disciple of the sect, it had been earned through his own ability; the leader could hardly demand he turn it over.
More than that, the elders of Jigeom Sect had recently scolded me harshly.
I caught the change in the sect leader’s expression and spoke first.
“I’ll contribute about one hundred nyang of it to the sect’s upkeep.”
“H-hyeonseong… How can you…?”
“Please think of it as my way of repaying the kindness you showed me when you took me in and raised me.”
Jigeom Sect had taken in an orphan, fed me, and taught me martial arts until now. Once my preparations were complete, I planned to leave the sect, and since the leader had always been especially fond of me, I thought this much repayment was only right.
“Thank you. With one hundred nyang in silver, the sect won’t have to worry about running itself for quite some time.”
“I’m glad I can be of help as the sect’s eldest disciple.”
The leader’s eyes trembled. He seemed to sense something in the way I spoke.
“Hyeonseong, could it be…?”
I cut him off. “With this, I believe I’ve repaid everything I’ve received from the sect.”
For a moment, silence fell. The sect leader looked thoroughly flustered, at a complete loss. I gave him a light martial salute.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
The leader hurriedly called after me. “Has Zhuge Gongzi gone back already?”
“Yes. He returned to his lodging first to send the Hwan-yo hide to the Zhuge Clan.”
The sect leader let out a breath of relief and nodded.
“Good. Since the transaction with the Zhuge Clan went smoothly, we must make the most of this chance. And tell me—do you truly know how to use Hwan-yo hide?”
“I know the information Zhuge Gongzi needs.”
“Hoho…”
He gave a hearty laugh, looking unconvinced. It had already been strange enough that I had started hunting down Hwan-yo in the first place. He knew my martial arts were the strongest in the sect, but he had likely wondered whether that meant I could really hunt beasts to begin with. Now I was claiming to know the method for using Hwan-yo hide, too.
“I see. In any case, thanks to you, we’ve been able to build ties with the Zhuge Clan. I hope you’ll take special care to keep that connection strong.”
After hearing his final words of caution, I left the sect leader’s quarters. From there I returned to the storeroom, where Duseong and Hwaung were standing at the entrance, restless and uneasy.
“Eldest Brother!!!”
The moment Duseong spotted me, he rushed over.
“Duseong, what happened?”
“Well, Semin-senior and Sejun-senior tried to take the silver from the storeroom, so we stopped them.”
To think they’d even tried to rush the storeroom in that brief window. Those two really were shameless. I stepped inside.
Jiseong-hak and Jiseong-un were standing beside the chest of silver, their expressions caught somewhere between embarrassment and displeasure. The moment they saw me, both turned to stare. I looked at them and said, “Why are you here?”
Jang Semin stepped forward first. “Hyeonseong, we’re doing this for the sect. Five hundred nyang in silver—has the sect ever seen that kind of money? It should be used for Jigeom Sect.”
I let out a quiet sigh and shook my head. Saying they wanted to spend the money for the sect’s sake was a lie of the highest order. They were obviously scheming to live lavishly off that silver.
“I already contributed one hundred nyang to the sect’s upkeep. That should be more than enough to cover things for a while.”
Jang Sejun raised his voice. “Even so, don’t you think it’s unfair for you to take all the rest? Jigeom Sect wasn’t built by you alone. It was built by all of us together.”
I listened to him to the end and then walked forward slowly. Stopping in front of the chest, I faced them both.
“It’s true the sect raised me. But this silver was earned through my own strength. I sold the hide of the Hwan-yo I hunted—that money isn’t sect funds. And built together, was it? What exactly am I hearing now? What have the two of you done for the sect?”
Jang Sejun shut his mouth tight. No matter how shameless they were, my blunt words had clearly left him speechless. But their eyes still said they weren’t convinced. I went on, my voice turning firmer.
“This money isn’t just wealth. It’s payment for fighting with my life on the line. No one has the right to claim it. That includes the Master.”
At the mention of the sect leader, Jang Sejun’s expression wavered. He seemed to feel the weight of my words. Even so, dissatisfaction still lingered there. Jang Semin, who had been watching the exchange, suddenly cut in.
“So you plan to keep it all for yourself. Don’t you feel even a little ashamed toward the other disciples?”
I was silent for a moment, then answered slowly, “Think about who’s been feeding and clothing the disciples all this time. I don’t think the two of you are in any position to lecture me about that.”
Jang Semin and Jang Sejun exchanged a look. They still looked displeased, but they also knew they couldn’t refute me. I added one last thing.
“If you’re really sincere about protecting the sect, then stop obsessing over the silver sitting in front of you and think about what the two of you can actually do for Jigeom Sect going forward. Though… even then, I doubt it’ll amount to much.”
Silence settled over the storeroom. In the end, Jang Semin let out a long breath and nodded.
“Fine. But remember this, Hyeonseong. If you truly care about the sect, you’ll prove it with your actions.”
I smiled. “What more do you want me to show you here?”
Jang Semin and Jang Sejun’s faces twisted sourly. They couldn’t say another word and turned away. And just like that, the conflict in the storeroom came to an end—for now. But I knew better. This was only the beginning. There was no way those two greedy bastards would ever give up the remaining silver.
Haa… So this is really the moment I leave, isn’t it?
After the two troublemakers left, Duseong and Hwaung came into the storeroom.
Duseong asked, “Eldest Brother, nothing happened, right?”
Hwaung snorted with a laugh. “Like those two could lay a finger on Eldest Brother.”
“That’s true enough.”
I took one hundred nyang from the chest of silver and moved it into another box set aside nearby.
“Hwaung, take this to the sect leader.”
“Yes, Eldest Brother.”
Hwaung lifted the box and carried it out of the storeroom. I looked at the remaining silver and said to Duseong, “Take the rest to Maneundam and deposit it.”
“Yes, Eldest Brother.”
Maneundam was a place that safeguarded money. If you deposited silver there, they issued a certificate in return, allowing you to spend the equivalent value. It was the largest power in Murim, and its certificates were recognized anywhere in the Central Plains. If you entrusted five hundred nyang in silver to Maneundam, you could even earn interest on it.
For now, it’s important to open a line of business with Maneundam for the future.
The larger the amount held in deposit, the greater the interest and the more benefits Maneundam offered. But first I needed to clear that initial transaction. Maneundam would only grow stronger from here. With the appearance of beasts, enormous amounts of capital would begin circulating throughout Murim. When that time came, Maneundam would seize the profits generated by the beasts far ahead of the other merchant houses and escort guilds.
Before long, it’ll even be hard to become a customer there.
Four hundred nyang in silver wasn’t a fortune, but it was enough to secure my name at Maneundam. The money I needed for immediate use was still in my hands, and I could replenish it again and again. More importantly, once the Zhuge Clan built the beast-defense grid and I began taking a share of the profits it generated, I would have access to even greater capital.
Of course, it’ll take some time before those profits settle onto a proper track.
The perfect plan for independence was coming together. Without realizing it, a smile touched my lips. Some time later, Hwaung returned first, and then Duseong came back as well.
“Eldest Brother, I delivered the one hundred nyang to the sect leader safely.”
“I also deposited four hundred nyang in Maneundam. Here is the receipt they issued, along with the wooden plaque that marks Maneundam membership.”
Duseong held out a finely polished wooden plaque. At the front, where a red cord was threaded through, the words Maneundam had been engraved in relief, and my name was written on the back.
“Hmm… a wooden plaque membership. Not bad.”
Maneundam ranked its members according to how much they deposited. The wooden plaque was the lowest grade of membership. In truth, considering how hard it would be to obtain even that in the not-so-distant future, I was more than satisfied.
Feeling pleased, I looked at the two disciples.
“Good. Since there’s something worth celebrating today, we’ll take the day off from training.”
At my words, Duseong and Hwaung brightened at once. To them, being able to rest for a day from the hellish training they endured with me must have felt like pure luxury. Ever since we had begun training together, they had not once been given a single day off.
“Really?”
“I honestly want to sleep properly today.”
I told them, “You’ve both worked hard. Today, I’m treating.”
Duseong and Hwaung smiled with delight. Together, the three of us left the estate and headed for the Great Lake of the Wanshan region, where Jigeom Sect stood. There, the two disciples and I ate something delicious and had a few drinks. The pair, worn down by all their training, looked deeply moved as they ate the food and drank the liquor I’d bought.
“All right. Eat as much as you like. Since you’re resting today, you’ll need to train twice as hard starting tomorrow.”
At that, both disciples flinched for a moment, but they decided to focus on the feast in front of them and soon went back to eating and drinking with abandon. Watching them, I smiled in satisfaction.
“Yeah. This is what makes earning money worth it.”