Return of the Mount Hua Sect

‘As expected, Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon is aware!’

Hong Dae-Kwang no longer doubted the skills of Chung Myung. There was no need for doubt. His half-turned eyes were enough to prove it.

Was this alright?

No… if so, then this could not be right.

To be precise.

‘He’ll never come to the Beggars Union again.’

Crying out, Chung Myung had his hands on his waist as he began to move.

‘What a relief.’

He was rubbing his hands together like he had everything in the world under control.

Hong Dae-Kwang felt that if he allowed this man to have his way, he wouldn’t be able to eat meat ever again.

“… One million two-hundred thousand.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“One million and three…”

“Ha?”

“…”

Hong Dae-Kwang is a proud disciple of the Beggars Union. He has been recognized for his ability to take command as a leader and was sent to Luoyang, a large city, and given the position of branch head.

Why should such a person allow himself to be dragged around by Chung Myung?

Hong Dae-Kwang’s face went stiff.

He resolutely vowed to himself to firmly protect the values of the Beggars Union.

“Oh, my god. Young disciple, that’s all the money a branch head can afford. It will take at least half a month to get support from the main sect. Let’s settle this with two million, I can give you one million now and another million later—”

“Three million.”

“…”

“Three million in one sitting. Don’t even think of twisting things further.”

‘This evil bastard!’

Hong Dae-Kwang’s eyes trembled.

It was shocking to hear the number three million come out. That was exactly what Hong Dae-Kwang had estimated the value of the map to be!

He wasn’t sure if this disciple truly understood the value of what he had or if he was just playing hard to get. Either way, the amount matched perfectly.

‘This cannot happen.’

But there was no other way.

Chung Myung leaned back on the chair with legs crossed and a map in one hand.

It was as if he was saying he would run straight to the Lower District sect if Hong Dae-Kwang tried to deceive him again.

“Disciple… As I said, this branch doesn’t have that much money.”

“Yes. I know.”

“Huh?”

“How much money could a bunch of beggars have? That 1.3 million is the most you could gather after borrowing money here and there, right?”

“Y-yes.”

“But you don’t have to worry, there is another way.”

“… another way?”

Chung Myung smiled happily.

“If you look around, there’s a Continent’s crisis funding branch in Luoyang. If you go there and say that you have an emergency and need to borrow some money in the Beggars Union’s name, they’ll immediately give you the three million nyang. Oh, and please bring the receipt they give you.”

“….”

“Simple, right?”

‘Uh, it’s certainly simple. Really simple. Why didn’t I think of that?’

“But you want me to take out a loan to buy this!? You’re asking me to cut my life short!”

“Why would you even care about that? What could be worse than living as a beggar?”

“… Huh?”

‘That’s not wrong though.’

“You are a beggar because you’re broke! You aren’t broke because you are a beggar!”

“…”

Persuasive.

‘Ah, I almost was convinced.’

“Anyway, that’s unreasonable. We cannot give you more than that. The Lower District probably won’t be able to provide that much either.”

And that was the truth.

It wasn’t easy for any place to put out such a large sum of money at once.

“Then, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Chung Myung crammed the map into his sleeve.

‘I won’t let you take advantage of me this time, you brat!’

Hong Dae-Kwang was terrified that Chung Myung would leave and go to the Lower District sect when he quoted him a low price earlier, but not anymore. After listening to his demands, he knew that even the Lower District sect wouldn’t be able to deliver that amount.

So, he could relax.

“You wanted to ask the Lower District right? That would be good too. Go ask them and come back.”

“I’m not going.”

“… Huh?”

“I am not going to the Lower District sect.”

Hong Dae-Kwang titled his head.

‘What?’

“Then where will you go?”

“Wuhan.”

“Wuhan? Why there?”

“The branch in Luoyang won’t buy it, so I’ll go to the branch in Wuhan.”

“…”

Hong Dae-Kwang’s eyes convulsed.

“W-Wuhan’s branch?”

“Yes. Ah, I didn’t want to travel any further than this, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Hiccup.

Hong Dae-Kwang gulped.

‘What if he manages to sell it there?’

Then Hong Dae-Kwang would be ruined. Seriously.

Why was a branch head assigned to lead a branch? They’re urged to neatly handle matters to avoid burdening the main sect, and each of the branches competes with one another.

Who makes significant contributions and how valuable they are is quickly evaluated. But if Chung Myung went to Wuhan’s branch head and managed to sell Yak Seon’s map, then Hong Dae-Kwang’s own reputation would suffer while Wuhan’s would rise.

‘No! I cannot bear to see that Zhao Gae make a profit!’

Not everyone in the world is the same, but everyone has the same mindset.

It is important for one to do well on their own, but it is also important that others fail to do well. Especially if there is a competitive relationship between them.

“If I hurry, I’ll get there within a day. Then, I’ll need to get going.”

“W-Wait disciple!”

“Why?”

“W-wait”

Hong Dae-Kwang choked back tears of blood as he caught Chung Myung.

It was a problem for Hong Dae-Kwang if Wuhan’s branch leader, Zhao Gae, managed to benefit. But it was also a problem if Chung Myung let out that he had been rejected from Luoyang’s branch. With Zhao Gae’s personality, he would definitely inform the main branch.

In that case, it wasn’t just a matter of benefits anymore. The sect elders would surely lecture him about his poor decision… no, it was certain that they would even come running barefoot to slap him.

“I-I’ll buy it! Three million nyang!”

“Who said three million?”

“… What?”

Chung Myung chuckled and shook the map in his arms.

“3.2 million.”

“Ah, but just a moment ago….”

“The market price of an item always changes quickly; it’s already gone up two hundred thousand nyang.”

“…….”

“Oops, the price is about to go up again. It’ll be 3.3 million now… soon it will be three million and fiv—”

“Ahhh! I’ll buy it! I’ll buy it! three million and three hundred thousand.”

“Oh, that’s a wise choice.”

Hong Dae-Kwang felt so moved that he covered his face. His shoulders were trembling, a testament to his admiration.

‘I was beaten by this sly bastard, he’s robbed me of everything.’

He couldn’t understand where the hell this little demon came from!

“The authenticity must be guaranteed!”

“Of course.”

“If it’s fake. I’ll definitely hold you accountable.”

“Please.”

“Kua.”

Hong Dae-Kwang sighed deeply.

“Chang Baek! Is Chang Baek out there?”

“Yes, branch leader!”

“Go to the Continent’s crisis fund center and borrow the 2.5 million nyang in my name and bring another 800,000 nyang from the branch leader’s funds!”

“W-where are we going to spend that much mo—?”

“Don’t talk and go do what you are told!”

“Yes, sir!”

The man called Chang Baek rushed away while Chung Myung smiled joyfully.

“You know how to make a deal.”

“… disciple is quite good.”

So good that Hong Dae-Kwang wanted to kill him.

Hong Dae-Kwang gnashed his teeth.

‘What is with him?’

He looked like a young disciple, but he operated better than the old geezers in the Kangho. Even the elders are unable to behave like this. Those old fossils still have to maintain their face, so they wouldn’t act so carelessly. This disciple, though, acted like he had nothing to lose.

“I didn’t expect Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon to be after money like this.”

“If you knew how to make money, you wouldn’t be a beggar right? I understand.”

“…”

‘How does this brat keep turning my words upside down?’

“Ahh.”

Hong Dae-Kwang, who was robbed in broad daylight, sighed deeply.

He had already made the purchase. There was no turning back now, so it would be better to think about how to deal with the item he had just bought.

He didn’t want to look at this guy anymore.

‘If it’s genuine, then 3 million is cheap.’

If he was willing to sell it, he could make a massive amount of money. And… there was the option to keep it for themselves.

‘The Sword Tomb.’

Selling the map would bring a huge sum of money, but they could search for the place and excavate it themselves and…

‘No, that would actually be a lot better,’

While Hong Dae-Kwang was contemplating his next move, Chang Baek ran inside.

“Here you are. Branch leader.”

“Good work.”

“And here’s the alcohol you mentioned….”

Hong Dae-Kwang’s lips trembled.

‘No, why bring such expensive alcohol now?’

Now that the negotiations had ended in a loss, Hong Dae-Kwang was about to ask him to take the alcohol back when Chung Myung’s arm shot forward like lightning and retrieved the liquor.

“Oh my! Thank you!”

“…”

He moved swiftly, removed the lid, and put the bottle near his nose.

“Kuak, the smell is amazing. Maybe it’s not the branch leader’s taste.”

Gulp gulp.

Chugging down the contents of the bottle, Chung Myung used his sleeve to rub the corner of his mouth.

“Would you like a glass?”

“… it’s fine.”

Right now, Hong Dae-Kwang only wanted this brat gone.

Checking the receipt, he looked down and sighed once more.

“Never in my life did I think the day would come that I borrowed money like this.”

“Must be a different experience for a beggar.”

“… ugh. Here, check it out.”

There was more than one receipt slip. Checking the slips, Chung Myung nodded and shoved them into his sleeves. When it touched his body, he felt proud.

“Ah, I never get tired of the smell of money.”

‘Are you seriously a taoist?’

No matter how hard he looked, this brat seemed like a fake.

‘Maybe Mount Hua lost its original colors during their collapse and resurrection? If not, how could such a person come from Mount Hua?’

“Here you go.”

Chung Myung handed the map over to Hong Dae-Kwang.

Upon receiving his treasure, Hong Dae-Kwang examined it.

‘No matter how I look at it, it certainly looks genuine.’

First off, the parchment seemed old, very old, and the lines drawn on the parchment had slightly faded over a long time.

No matter how sophisticated a counterfeit was, Hong Dae-Kwang was confident that he could separate a fake from a genuine article. However, there were no signs of forgery here.

“Then.”

Chung Myung got up.

Hong Dae-Kwang spoke in a cold tone, unlike before.

“It was a good deal but keep one thing in mind. If this has been tampered with, you’ll pay for it. There’s no place in the world outside the eyes of beggars.”

“Did you buy this thinking you’d been deceived? It’s definitely genuine.”

“You’re that sure?”

“Yes.”

“Oh?”

Hong Dae-Kwang’s complexion brightened. If the man was this confident, then it meant that the probability the map was genuine increased.

“Why is that?”

“The Wudang already figured it out. So, it must be genuine.”

“Ah, then surely—”

Hong Dae-Kwang went silent, and his beard trembled.

“W-what did you say?”

“The code. It was solved.”

“Who?”

“Wudang,”

“Ah…. Wudang?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung smiled.

A smile that should make you feel better.

“Then Wudang will excavate the Tomb soon.”

“Right. I think they should have left by now.”

“Ah, so…”

Hong Dae-Kwang finally understood the situation. And there was only one appropriate reaction.

“What did you say just now! You crazy bastard!!”

Chung Myung giggled and ran out.

“Catch him!”

However, how could beggars catch Chung Myung? He dodged between the beggars and rushed outside; jumping onto the roof of a nearby hut, he shouted back.

“I didn’t lie to you!”

‘I just didn’t tell the full truth.’

“You had better sell it quickly before others figure out what Wudang is doing.”

Chung Myung escaped, and Hong Dae-Kwang, who watched him, stumbled back.

“Branch leader!”

“Branch leader! Are you fine?”

“That… that… crazy….”

His senses finally returned after some time.

“No! My money! I don’t have time for this!”

Hong Dae-Kwang grabbed the map.

A fire burned in his eyes!

“Right away! Call for any sect that can buy this map to come! Tell them we’ll give them a good deal too!”

“We won’t keep it ourselves?”

“No! Search for others! Any nearby sects! Anywhere we can cash in! It’s fine even if it isn’t a sect. Check for famous people around and take this to them! Any expert can buy a copy too!”

“Yes, branch leader!”

All their eyes were burning brightly.

“And!”

“Yes!”

“Ask the main sect for support! We need to move!”

“Yes?”

“… Let’s give it a try too! It’s going to be a free-for-all!”

The Beggars Union could not handle the Wudang alone. Especially once Wudang mobilized their troops.

But if this map was used to attract all sorts of heroes, then the story would be different.

“Right, let’s try. If it is like this, it’ll be the battle for the Sword Tomb! And we’ll kick that damned Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon too!”

Hong Dae-Kwang had no way of knowing that all of this was a plan woven by Chung Myung.