Return of Mount Hua Sect - Chapter 543
Glug, glug, glug.
“…….”
“Kuahhh! This is amazing!”
Blood drained from Han Yi-myung’s face.
‘What kind of liquor is that….?’
Snow Dew Essence.
This is a liquor that only a very small number of upper-rank people can drink even in the Ice Clan. Even the former Clan Leader savored it with a small specially made glass when he drank it.
But now, the Taoist in front of him empties a bottle of such precious liquor.
“Iya, this place sure has good alcohol. One more bottle!”
“Here you go, Dojang!”
“…….”
However, what turned him upside down was not Chung Myung who drank Snow Dew Essence like water, but Seol So-baek who was sitting next to him and serving Chung Myung in earnest.
‘Where the hell did the authority of Clan Leader go to….?’
It was fortunate that there were no other Ice Clan members here.
“Keueu. It tastes good.”
Looking at Chung Myung emptying the bottle one after another, Han Yi-myung wondered whether he was a Taoist or not.
But it’s too late to think about it now.
And next to Chung Myung, a ball of pure white fur was tearing at the stretched meat.
Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp!
“Why is this one eating what’s mine?”
Chung Myung stared fiercely, but soon shook his head and nodded.
“Right, well… You’ve done a good job this time, too.”
When Baek-ah heard the words, he stood up close and stretched out his chubby little belly.
“Yes, eat, eat.”
Two men… No, a man and a beast emptied alcohol and meat coolly again.
Then Jo-Gol, sitting next to Han Yi-Myung, looked back at Baek Cheon and asked.
“By the way, Sasuk.”
“What?”
“That bastard is still sick, is it okay to drink like that?”
“Leave him alone.”
“Is he in better condition than we thought?”
“No, he’ll die like that.”
“…….”
‘What kind of conversation is this?’
Han Yi-myung shook his head with a stunned look.
‘I don’t know anymore.’
Seeing Chung Myung’s behavior frustrated him, and listening to Mount Hua’s disciples made him dizzy.
“Let’s see.”
Finally, Chung Myung, who put the liquor bottle aside, opened the booklet in his hand.
It was a booklet with a list of the Ice Clan’s assets.
‘Clan Leader-nim…’
Han Yi-myung closed his eyes without realizing it.
Seol So-baek, who was grasping the list of assets by scolding and bullying the Elders, stood out in his eyes. – Write down everything we have! Everything! Do you understand?
‘It’s all my karma.’
Seol So-baek, who was a good and obedient child until he became Clan Leader, has now become a person who wipes the elderly with a flame lit up in his eyes.
Of course, how would Han Yi-myung be responsible for the change….
“Hehe. I’ve been looking into everything.”
“Keueu, the Clan Leader has a good knack. I’m very happy.”
“Thank you, Dojang!”
“…….”
An inkwell. (Similar to a perfume seller and a blacksmith.)
It is inevitable to have a stain where there is an inkwell, but in the eyes of Han Yi-myung, the Taoist named Chung Myung was not an inkwell, but the river of ink itself.
It is the level of throwing people into the river where ink flows and dyeing them. How else would he explain the change in Seol So-baek?
“Hummm.”
Whether or not he knew how Han Yi-myung felt, Chung Myung was focused on looking at the list of properties of the Ice Clan with a careful eye.
However, as the booklet’s pages turned over one by one, Chung Myung’s face became noticeably duller.
“……So-baek.”
“Call him Clan Leader! You damned little brat!”
“You’re humiliating our sect!”
“Don’t call me Dongryong!”
“Sasuk, we’re not talking about that now.”
“Oh, really?”
No matter what they said next to him, Chung Myung couldn’t hear it. He looked at Seol So-baek with a very sad face.
“What did you guys eat to live on?” “…….”
“……No, I shouldn’t say this.”
Chung Myung sighed and put down the booklet in his hand on the table.
‘This is a list of the property of not one person, but one whole clan.’
It’s no different from Mount Hua Sect when he first arrived. No, it’s worse than Mount Hua Sect given that there are many more people to be responsible for.
It is only natural if one thinks about it. What would make money on this land of ice?
In the past, they would have made money and supplied grain by trading with Jungwon with products only from the North Sea. However, even since that idiot Seol Chonsang cut off trade with Jungwon, the finances could only worsen.
“Ughh.”
Everything in the world has a price.
Considering what Chung Myung did to the North Sea, it was not too much to say that he pulled out the entire pillar root of the North Sea Ice Clan.
The problem is that the root of the pillar did not exist in the first place, and the wall supporting the ceiling was worn out and about to collapse.
Chung Myung flashed through the booklet with stunned eyes.
“… … Twelve carts. Thirty-one dog sled. There… … Fifty dogs?”
“I heard it’s a great dog.”
“…… I’m going crazy.”
Soul escaped through Chung Myung’s mouth.
Even if he tries to shake them off, only dust will come out. On the contrary, the items brought to the North Sea had to be selected.
‘How could they manage the future?’
There was pity in Chung Myung’s eyes when he saw Seol So-baek.
Hyun Jong had his own years of experience and had a strong affection for Mount Hua. That’s the reason he could survive those tough days. But this young man is different.
How in the world can they afford this terrible financial situation?
Thinking about what Seol So-baek had to go through in the future, it felt like his eyes were getting wet.
“……This is enough.”
“What? Don’t you have anything you like there?”
“No…… it’s not like that. Anyway, it’s enough for now.”
“I’ll check again to see if there’s anything missing.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Chung Myung waved his hands and broke into a cold sweat. Mount Hua’s disciples tilted their heads in unison.
“What’s wrong with him, Sasuk?”
“Well. Isn’t that because that one isn’t enough, so he wants to eat something bigger?”
“Ah… Right, of course. I thought he gave up eating it because he was worried about the Ice Clan.”
“Hahaha. That’s one of the funniest and most ridiculous stories I’ve heard in years.”
“Right? Haha.”
‘No… These bastards?’
Chung Myung has blood veins on his forehead.
“Hngg. I should stop talking.”
Chung Myung shook his head and looked at Han Yi-myung sitting over Seol So-baek.
“Old man. No, General Han-nim.”
“Yes, Dojang.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“What are you going to eat now? Apparently, everyone is going to starve to death now.”
A bitter smile crossed Han Yi-myung’s lips.
It’s not wrong. Seol So-baek would not have felt much after seeing that list. However, in his eyes, General Officer of the former Clan Leader, the finances of the Ice Clan were now clearly miserable.
“I was still thinking about it. I could never have imagined that Seol Chonsang had ruined the Ice Clan this far… … .”
The Ice Clan is not just a clan.
Ice Clan is the representative sect in the North Sea and a local ruler who takes care of the lives of the North Sea people. Therefore, Ice Clan should be responsible for the livelihood of the North Sea people as well as the Ice Clan members.
The North Sea people are suffering from severe hunger due to the violence of Magyo and Seol Chonsang. Even if they managed to get by this winter, it was certain that they would run out of food completely before the next harvest.
Han Yi-myung thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“The people of the North Sea have high hopes for the new Ice Clan. But if we don’t solve the food problem, it won’t take long for that expectation to turn into disappointment.”
“I guess so. For now, making a living is the top priority.”
“That’s why I’m telling you…….”
“Yes?”
Looking determinedly at Chung Myung, Han Yi-myung said.
“I would like to resume trade in the North Sea with Jungwon, which had been suspended.”
Chung Myung nodded calmly. Right now, that is indeed for the best.
It’s just…
“But what do you have for sale? Looking at this, it seems that there is nothing left?”
“…… That’s the biggest problem…….”
Han Yi-myung sighed one after another with a dying face.
‘I don’t think Seol Chonsang is a person who cares about such things.’
The Clan Leader position is not just a place where one can take on with only strong martial art.
Especially in places like the Ice Clan. Those who don’t have economic sense should never be Leaders of the Ice Clan.
Wasn’t it that Seol Cheonsang could not become the Clan Leader in the end even though he had superior martial arts than the previous Clan Leader? “…… And so I thought that I’ll have to ask you a favor.”
“Favor?”
“Yes.”
Han Yi-myung took a deep breath and brought it up.
“It is shameless, but could we borrow some grain from Mount Hua Sect?”
“Hoo?”
Chung Myung’s eyes, which had been dull all along, began to shine as if he had found something funny.
“There’s nothing we can give you now that our warehouse is empty, but after a while, Ice Crystal will come again, and we’ll have another supply and demand. And if we can trade North Sea specialties, we can pay you back quickly.”
“I guess so.”
“So… if you could lend us enough food for this year, we will try to repay you as soon as possible.”
Han Yi-myung, who finished speaking, bowed his head.
They have already benefited greatly from Mount Hua. Nevertheless, it was really shameless to ask for grain to be borrowed.
But now the Ice Clan had nowhere to lean but Mount Hua Sect. By unilaterally suspending trade with Jungwon, all relations with existing trading lines have been severed, and the allies of the Great Five Clans are also struggling to make ends meet, if not as much as Ice Clan.
The determined voice of Chung Myung stuck in Han Yi-myung’s ear, who waiting for an answer with a nervous heart.
“Ei. That’s not it.”
“…….”
As expected.
He sighed slightly with a bitter face. He tried to apologize for asking a favor for no reason.
But then he heard something completely unexpected.
“We’re not strangers, but lending a grain? I’ll just give it to you!” Han Yi-myung’s head flashed.
“Yes?”
“I will just give it to you. After all, there was a surplus of grain.”
“I- If it were food to feed all the people of the North Sea until next year, it would be no small amount…”
It is not enough to say that the amount is not small. It’s right to say that it’s an enormous amount.
But they’re not lending it, but just give all of that?
Han Yi-myung’s eyes were flustered, not knowing what to do. Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders and pushed his stomach out.
“I guess you don’t know, but I have a lot of money.”
“…….”
“Ah, don’t get me wrong. It’s not because I have other thoughts. The North Sea and Mount Hua Sect are now friends. Yes?”
“O- Of course, Dojang!”
Tears welled up in Han Yi-myung’s eyes, who replied hastily.
He didn’t say much, but he couldn’t sleep well after checking the financial status of the North Sea.
At this rate, wouldn’t they have to watch countless people starve to death?
But to give them food for free!
‘I misunderstood Chung Myung Dojang.’
Come to think of it, Chung Myung was never a bad person.
His words and actions were rude, but didn’t he a Taoist who led their force to take out Seol Chonsang, fight the Magyo at the forefront, and save the North Sea from the crisis?
In terms of his achievements, no adult can be like him.
“Thank you. Thank you very much, Dojang.”
Han Yi-myung, who jumped from his seat, bowed flat on the spot.
“Hey! Why are you suddenly like this!”
Chung Myung also rose in a hurry to raise Han Yi-myung.
“What’s the big deal about this! Wouldn’t it be natural for friends to help each other in times of need?”
“……Yes, it is. That’s right, Dojang.”
Han Yi-myung wiped away the tears with his sleeves.
‘I must have misunderstood this good man… … .’
Chung Myung, who put his arm on Han Yi-myung’s shoulder, smiled quietly. Then he said.
“That’s why…….”
“Yes?”
“We’re friends now, aren’t we?”
“Of course! Who in the world would be friends if Ice Clan and Mount Hua Sect weren’t friends? The friendship between the two sects will never change.”
“Right, right. Of course it should.”.”
Looking at the welcoming Han Yi-myung, Chung Myung’s face was filled with a bright smile.
“By the way…. General-nim.”
“Yes.”
“That’s what friends are for, right? Helping each other.”
“That’s right.”
“But, for example, a friend of mine opened a bar in my neighborhood, how would he feel if he saw me drinking somewhere else?”
“… I’m sure he’ll feel bad……?”
“Right?”
“O- Of course. But why are you suddenly saying that….?”
Chung Myung brought up the main topic with a dazzlingly bright smile.
“No. It’s not a big deal, but Mount Hua Sect has a kind of small merchant organization?
While managing this merchant organization, we also do delivery service. Anyway, what is it?
We’re focusing a bit on the trade side of taking and selling things…….”
“…….”
“I thought it would hurt my feelings if my friend made a deal with another merchant organization. Friends. A friend.”
“…….”
Han Yi-myung’s face, which was deeply moved, hardened. His cheeks began to tremble.
“Y- You mean…….”
“Hehe. It’s not much, is it? You said you were going to trade anyway. It’ll be good for each other if you can do it with us. It’s also annoying when others complicate it and interfere with the North Sea, right? Don’t you think so?”
“So mo- monopoly……. Are you asking for exclusive rights?”
“Ei. It’s so bleak and harsh when you say it like that. I’m just saying let’s make a deal first between friends. We’re not even going to hit the price, wouldn’t this be comfortable for each other?”
“…….”
“Don’t you think so?”
“…….”
“Don’t. You. Think. So?”
It felt like a clear voice was stuck in his head. Han Yi-myung nodded in a hurry as he saw Chung Myung with his eyes open and radiant. A cold sweat ran down his spine.
“The- Then……. Su- Sure, Dojang.”
“Hahahahat! As expected of General Han-nim! We’re speaking the same language!”
Chung Myung patted him on the shoulder and smiled broadly.
“Friends can’t argue with each other’s interests! I’ll tell Sect Leader and send you as much food as you want!”
“…….”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there a problem?”
“That…. Hahaha… No, I’m just curious about one thing.”
“Yes.”
“Monopoly… … . No, until when do we trade with friends first … ?”
“Ei. You’re stating the obvious.”
Chung Myung smiled broadly at the cautious question.
“Until we die.”
“…….”
“Because friendship is eternal as long as life is attached!”
“…….”
“If you betray, you’re going to die. Just like that.”
‘I’d rather…’
It was Han Yi-myung who wondered if starving to death would be better.
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