"Sect leader!"
"Sect leader! Open your eyes!"
Hyun Jong opened his eyes in shock.
'A dream?'
He got up and saw that the box was still in front of him. Fortunately, it wasn't a dream.
"Un–Un Geom!"
"Yes! Sect leader!"
"Call the merchants. Move the box to my residence! And have the older disciples guard the perimeter."
"Yes! Sect leader!"
"No–No! I will move it myself! Right now!"
Hyun Jong took a breath and calmed himself.
Nothing was certain yet. To accurately understand the situation, he would have to check everything first and see if the items were genuine.
But.
'They must be genuine!'
If these things were buried here, along with such enormous wealth, they had to be genuine.
'No, no, no! Still, I need to be certain.'
Hope and anxiety battled against one another as his emotions surged. Has he felt like this anytime in recent decades?
"Un Geom!"
"Yes! Sect leader."
"Bring your things and come down the mountain."
"Yes!"
Hyun Jong jumped up and then suddenly looked at Chung Myung.
"Chung Myung!"
"Yes. Sect leader."
"You have worked hard. We will discuss this later."
"Yes."
When Chung Myung stepped back without saying a word, Hyung Jong hurriedly lifted the entire box. Then, he made a request to Chung Myung.
"Take the other children and head back to the dorm."
"I will."
"Good!"
With that, Hyun Jong headed down the peak. And Un Geom followed him with the other valuables. The children who were there looked at them with blank eyes.
"What was that?"
"… huh?"
Amid the confused children, Chung Myung smiled.
'This should be enough for now.'
The wealth and supplies contained in the box were only a portion of what was in the warehouse.
Why did he only give a portion?
It's not Mount Hua's, It's Chung Myung's….no, that's certainly not why
'It is because the first bite vanishes fast.'
If you give a buffet to a dying man, his body may not be able to withstand it and waste what's been given. Rather than overfeed him, you must give him enough to sate his hunger so that he would no longer starve.
It's not necessarily a good thing to give someone more than they need.
Chung Myung judged that the current Mount Hua couldn't handle the burden of a large sum of wealth. It was unreasonable for them to be handed an enormous sum of money at once. All the sect needed to do was start over.
Of course, this was a trial for the sect, but it wasn't one for Chung Myung.
Yoon Jong approached him,
"Sajae."
"Huh?"
"We were asked to go down; shouldn't we head back to the dorm?"
Chung Myung nodded his head.
"We should"
"But why does Sajae look like that?"
"Ugh, something happened."
Chung Myung waved his hand and dismissed the concern.
'I know what he is asking about.'
Thanks to using his pure internal qi, the condition of his body deteriorated.
'I should have been more careful.'
This wouldn't have happened in the past, but now he wasn't even in a stable body. So, everything changed when he tried to over-exert himself with a child-like body.
It was foolish to think he could control it perfectly using this new and inexperienced body. It was only natural that he ended up using more of his true internal qi than he intended.
"You look like you are going to die."
"I won't die."
"Really?"
"… would you prefer that I die?"
Yoon Jong turned his head away without answering.
Huh?
Not answering? Did he really want Chung Myung to die? Such a bastard!
"You aren't going to die anyway, so why were you expecting me to say that I hope you don't die?"
"Expect! Expect what? Khuem."
Chung Myung clicked his tongue at that.
'I really might be on the bed for a month or two.'
It wasn't easy to recover from such things. Even if Chung Myung tried living carefully, he could only struggle until his body returned to normal unless he could find some medicinal pills.
"By the way, how did you find that? It didn't seem like something normal, especially seeing how shocked the sect leader was."
"Live a good life, and the heavens will look after you. So be a good boy from now on."
"…"
If someone like Chung Myung was blessed by God, then the other children should already be guaranteed a blessed life. Yet, no one retorted.
Chung Myung glanced down and looked at the sect leader descending the mountain.
'If he's been given this much, he should be able to handle it; things will go well.'
'If he isn't stupid.'
"Come on, let's go down."
"Right. But… where are you going?"
"What?"
"To go down, shouldn't we head down from this way?"
Yoon Jong pointed at the path leading down.
"Are you seriously asking something so obvious?
"Then, why are you walking up?"
"tch, tch, tch."
Chung Myung clicked his tongue at Yoon Jong's question.
"Sahyung."
"… huh?"
"To be a warrior, you need to have a flexible way of thinking. Don't think that there is only one way down. Climbing to the top and descending the other side, there are many ways to go down."
'What sort of bullshit is he saying? That idiot!'
"Come on, the sect leader and the others are gone, but we still have the training to do. The last ten people won't get their meals today. Run!"
Yoon Jong's feet began to move as he hurriedly ran towards the peak, even before he had a chance to express his dissatisfaction. The other kids followed him, running to the top in a panic.
'That devilish bastard!'
'Fucking shit! I don't think I can catch up to him!'
Seeing the kids running with their might, Chung Myung smiled.
"I will give a present to whoever finishes first."
What should he prepare for the next time?
The items he placed in that box and gave to the sect were just a little of what he had. The wealth brought out was less than one-tenth of the wealth in the storehouse.
Chung Myung glanced up at the sky. It felt like his Sahyung was looking down at him with a distorted face.
"Ehh. Don't tell me, you think I'm going to eat it all alone?"
Healthy! Just enough, in moderation. Right, moderation!
"heheh!"
Chung Myung smiled as he moved.
"It's genuine."
He could feel his heart pounding. Of course, this answer was expected, but the impact didn't diminish even though it was expected.
Hyun Jong asked, unable to hide his trembling.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I am sure. The ledgers are genuine, and we also secured the deed lying underneath the gold. Sect leader."
"Huhuh! Huhuhu."
He wanted to speak, but words weren't coming out. He couldn't help but laugh in a hoarse voice.
"H-How did this…."
"We have it! Sect leader!"
"Huh… huhuhuhu."
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop smiling.
It was said that no one knew what would happen in life, but do such precious things really happen?
What if this was discovered a week late?
He didn't even want to think about it.
'The heavens have not forsaken us!'
No, it's not the heavens, but the ancestors of Mount Hua, who kept looking after and helping them.
Hyun Jong closed his eyes, unable to hide his burning passion.
"Then can we prove the contents in the ledger?"
"These certificates were issued by the nation! Of course, we can prove it! We can bring the businesses of Hua-Um under us once more and even Tae-Hua Pavilion as well."
"Good. That's good."
It's a miracle.
In just a few days, the disciples of Mount Hua would have been thrown out to live on the streets. But with these books, they could not only protect their home, but they could even recover the businesses they lost so long ago.
A jackpot!
The head of financial affairs, Hyun Yeong, laughed.
"It is improbable, but even if they are fake, we can overcome the immediate crisis. Even if these ledgers don't work, the wealth in the box is worth well over 100,000 nyang. It is more than enough to pay it back."
"Thank god. It's a relief."
"With this money, we can solve all the financial problems of Mount Hua at once. And if we can take back the businesses, we won't ever have to worry about money again."
He could hear such honeyed words flowing nonstop. To Hyun Jong, it sounded like the most beautiful symphony.
"That's not all."
Hyun Sang, the head of martial arts, smiled and said,
"This Seven Sages Sword is the real thing. I will have to examine it more later, but there wasn't a single error written in this book."
"Oh oh!"
"It is also encouraging that the Falling Flower Sword is correct. Although it isn't on the same level as the other ones, it is perfect for learning along with the Seven Sages Sword. It will serve as an intermediate step into the more advanced arts."
"R-right."
"The Bamboo Leaf Sword seems to be legitimate too."
He was losing it.
Hyun Jong couldn't keep up. If he spoke now, it would only make him look stupid.
"It's an indescribable feeling; the Seven Sages Sword has fallen into our hands once again. In the past, it was practiced as the basis for all of Mount Hua's martial arts. Finally, it will be like it was in the past."
"It wasn't like that for us, right?"
"Yes, sect leader."
"This is the treasure of Mount Hua."
The sect leader noticed that Hyun Sang had opened his mouth to say something and then closed it, but Hyun Jong didn't miss it.
"Is there some problem?"
"N-No. it was nothing."
"Is it about the martial arts?"
"Not at all. They are genuine. I can guarantee that."
"I am glad."
As the sect leader nodded, Hyun Sang spoke.
"Wasn't it said that a third-class disciple found them?"
"Right. A child called Chung Myung joined recently."
"He needs to be rewarded."
"We should give him something. Thanks to that child, Mount Hua…."
"I didn't mean that, sect leader."
Hyun Yeong cut short Hyun Jong's words.
"He is a child who just entered Mount Hua. How long has it been since we saw someone have such a heart for Mount Hua?"
"… right."
"Even if that child didn't know the value of the books, he would clearly recognize the value of the gold and jewels. If it were me, the moment the box was opened, I would have taken a few items and hid them somewhere else. If not, I would bury the box itself and hide it from others."
There were horrible words. But what Hyun Yeong said was the truth.
"Right. I didn't think of that."
"A unique child, truly strange and unique. That's a wealth that could shake the heart of any man in Mount Hua. If I had seen it, I wouldn't have spoken about it right away…."
"I'll remember that."
"… S-sect leader?"
Hyun Yeong was a bit flustered, to which Hyun Jong said.
"It is wonderful. But Mount Hua got a blessing."
Hyun Jong smiled.
Although it was a coincidence, he was really thankful that this box was discovered at the right moment. He thought that changing his mind and bringing in the beggar was the right decision as it was going to save Mount Hua.
"Hyun Yeong."
"Yes. Sect leader"
"Are the ledgers real?"
"I will put my neck on the line."
"I see, then there are people we need to call right away."
Hyun Jong's eyes were serious.
Now was the time to punish those who tried to aim their arrows at Mount Hua.
"All those involved, bring them to Mount Hua."
Hyun Jong, the sect leader, was finally able to stand tall.