Episode 63

“So…”

Hyun Jong couldn’t hide his shock. It was the same for everyone in the room.

There were only two people who remained composed.

One was Hwang Mun-Yak, sitting opposite Hyun Jong, and the other was Chung Myung, who was made to kneel and reflect.

“That child… you’re saying that Chung Myung cured Elder Hwang and prevented a crisis in the guild?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.”

Hyun Jong looked at Hwang Mun-Yak and Chung Myung alternatively.

It was unbelievable.

Although he was a disciple of Mount Hua, Chung Myung hadn’t been here for more than three months. He had little time to learn and was barely more than an average child.

How could it make sense for this child to accomplish such a formidable feat?

“Elder, is this really true?”

Hwang Mun-Yak frowned at Hyun Yeong’s question.

“Do you think I would lie to you?”

“O–of course, that’s not the case.”

Hyun Yeong backed off; the power of the Eunha Guild was so frightening that Mount Hua couldn’t afford to offend them.

Moreover, this man had consistently supported Mount Hua in the past. Without Hwang Mun-Yak, Mount Hua would have collapsed long ago. Doesn’t that mean he should be catered to as a guest of unparalleled importance?

Even if Hyun Yeong held an esteemed position as the finance head and elder of Mount Hua, he couldn’t treat Hwang Mun-Yak carelessly.

“I don’t believe that you would do such a thing.”

Hyun Jong frowned slightly, looked at Hyun Yeong, and spoke.

“It wasn’t our intention. I will apologize for what was asked, Elder Hwang; please don’t be too upset with us.”

“Well.”

However, his displeased expression didn’t relax.

He wasn’t really bothered by their behavior, but he needed to keep the others in line. A merchant who engages in trade shouldn’t be too friendly. Even a small gap should be exploited as an opportunity to challenge the opponent…

“Kuak!”

Hwang Mun-Yak coughed when he glanced at Chung Myung, who showed a displeased look on his face.

‘Come on now.’

A third-class disciple is the one saving his elders from being scolded too harshly. Where in the world would you see a sight like this?

Hwang Mun-yak couldn’t ignore the signals Chung Myung was sending him and softened his expression.

Un Geom spoke up.

“I don’t understand.”

Hwang Mun-Yak looked at him and asked.

“Who are you?”

“I am Mount Hua’s Un Geom. I am in charge of the dorms the disciples reside in.”

“I see, and Un Geom, you are saying that you don’t believe my words?”

“That’s not the case. I just have a fundamental question. Apart from everything else, does Chung Myung even have the ability to cure such ailments?”

“…”

A reasonable question.

Everyone looked at Elder Hwang and Chung Myung with doubt in their eyes. Hwang Mun-Yak was speechless and also looked at Chung Myung. This wasn’t something the two had discussed.

“That isn’t difficult.”

“Can you explain?”

“Yes. As you all know, I was a beggar, right?”

“Yes.”

“Beggars usually pick up anything and eat everything they can get their hands on, so they often get sick and poisoned.”

“What are you saying! If that was the case, then the Tang family could have helped treat Elder Hwang a lot earlier.”

“Yes, but you see beggars end up poisoned in unexpected ways. Most are unaware of how to relieve traditional poisons, but beggars are much more capable when it comes from something edible.”

Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth.

“Five Shade Grass is a plant that is found in most places. It is very similar to mugwort, but it has poison in it. Birds also often eat it and get poisoned. Once consumed, the poison begins to afflict you after a couple of days, then comes a long period of suffering and eventually death.”

Everyone was engrossed in his words.

“However, the way to detoxify it is simpler than one might think. Even if you take the person to a physician, they won’t be cured, but feeding the person a ground radish will help them recover.”

“So, Elder Hwang was poisoned with the Five Shade Grass?”

“Yes. The symptoms were very similar, so I tried it out, and he recovered.”

“No…”

Hyun Sang, who was silent until then, began to speak.

“I’ve heard a similar story. The Beggars Union is known to have the most efficient poison remedies.”

“Well, is that so?”

Chung Myung laughed internally as he saw the others questioning whether to believe it or not.

‘Ask away, you bastards.’

There was nothing to worry about, even if they went and asked the Beggars Union to check the authenticity of the information. Everything he said was true.

War was fought against supply. Getting supplies to the front lines on time was the most difficult thing in the world. So, those on the front line would often pick up anything that could be eaten, and there are many cases of people getting sick.

The incident he spoke about was something Chung Myung had actually experienced in the past. It was the Beggars Union that had helped him.

What happened to Elder Hwang had nothing to do with this, but what do the sect leaders even know?

‘It sounds reasonable enough.’

Life is like that.

“Such a thing exists?”

“Then we can’t do much. Should we really cause a fuss over Chung Myung being a few days late when someone’s life was hanging in the balance?

“You did a great job!”

Everyone looked at Chung Myung in admiration.

“Sect leader.”

Un Geom spoke.

“If this is true. Then, rather than punishment, shouldn’t a reward be given instead?”

“Uhm. Indeed, you are right.”

Hyun Jong’s eyes widened a little.

“But sect leader.”

Un Am raised a slight objection.

“It is a great sin to disobey the sect leader’s order and not return, no matter how righteous his intentions were, what he did was wrong.”

“Are my orders more important than a man’s life?”

“… that…”

“Are you saying that we should praise a disciple for leaving a person to die as long as they return punctually?

Un Am went silent.

“Mount Hua is a sect which pursues justice. What can take priority over saving people’s lives? Are my petty orders more important than life?”

“I was short-sighted.”

Un Am bowed his head.

Meanwhile, Un Am and Hyun Jong exchanged glances. Un Am was the first to speak, and Hyun Jong expressed his anger, so people wouldn’t bring this topic up anymore.

Hyun Jong, who realized Un Am’s intention behind asking this question, gave a quick glance at Un Am and looked back at Chung Myung.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes, sect leader.”

“Well done.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung bowed his head.

As soon as the situation was settled, Hwang Mun-Yak decided to speak.

“The Eunha Guild and I have been greatly blessed by Mount Hua. No, to be precise, I was helped by Chung Myung, but he said that it was all thanks to the teachings of Mount Hua and gave credit to the sect.”

“Oh!”

“That child.”

“It’s the Path of Dao, seriously!”

Hwang Mun-Yak smiled.

‘Everything is taken care of.’

However, it was impossible to speak the truth. From his point of view, it was better to let Chung Myung and Mount Hua be one.

It was hard to hold back his laughter as he looked at the face of Chung Myung, who brazenly accepted his elder’s praise.

“And so, to repay the kindness I received, I would like to make a small investment in Mount Hua.”

“Investment?”

“Yes. Though perhaps the word investment isn’t right. More like support. An investment has to be returned, but there is no need for such things if it was given in the form of support, right?”

“Y-You have already given so much to Mount Hua….”

“Sect leader.”

Hwang Mun-Yak looked at Hyun Jong.

“If I was planning to end it there, I wouldn’t have bothered coming here with my family. I want to pour all of myself into Mount Hua.”

Hyun Jong’s eyes trembled.

“E-elder Hwang?”

Despite Hyun Jong’s surprise, Hwang Mun-Yak only smiled.

“We brought our people so we can take this slowly. What Mount Hua needs and what we can do will all be discussed.”

“Thank you! Thank you very much, Elder Hwang.”

“There’s no need to thank me. I will fall short no matter how much I try since life cannot be measured with money.”

Hwang Mun-Yak and Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung at the same time.

Hyun Jong spoke with a cheerful smile on his face.

“You’ve brought a blessing over Mount Hua, and now you’ve even helped spread the name of Mount Hua. I’m almost ashamed.”

“Don’t say that. If I hadn’t learned anything here, would I even be able to do that?”

Hwang Mun-Yak was shocked.

‘Look at this silver-tongued devil.’

His words flowed smoothly like oil on an even surface.

“Then, apart from the finance head and Un Am, the others can leave and rest.”

“Yes, sect leader.”

Everyone stood up.

“And Chung Myung, I will call you later, so don’t go too far.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung bowed his head slightly and went out with the others. As soon as they exited, the head of Martial Arts, Hyun Sang, patted him on the shoulders.

“You worked hard. It was a great job.”

“Well, I didn’t do anything too great.”

“What you did was amazing. How can it not be a huge deal? Huhuhu. It’s amazing enough to save a life, but it was even Elder Hwang’s life! Really, a shooting star must have come to Mount Hua!”

That shooting star was Chung Myung himself.

He was the only star here.

Chung Myung sighed, seeing these people giving all the credit for what he did to some random luck.

Right, right. What can I do when they’re so happy?

At that moment, Un Geom came.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes, Dorm Master.”

“I know you did a good job, but it is true that you handled it poorly. You were in the wrong, especially for leaving Mount Hua without a word.”

“I was in a hurry, so I didn’t think about it.”

“That’s possible, but be careful next time. What you did this time was more dangerous than you thought.”

“Yes. I will be careful.”

“It is true that you disobeyed the sect leader’s order. You can’t always use the excuse that it was unavoidable.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung bowed his head.

His lips were pouting.

‘Why is this child so inflexible?’

However, Chung Myung, who was thinking all sorts of twisted thoughts, felt relieved when he looked up and saw Un Geom’s lip twitching and struggling to hold back a smile.

“Ahem. Well, you should be careful and keep up the good work.”

‘Look at him.’

The others all approached, patted him on the shoulder, and congratulated him. The existence of Elder Hwang in Mount Hua held a deeper meaning than Chung Myung thought.

He is a person who provides money.

And those with money are the best.

“It seems like Mount Hua’s luck is finally turning around. Good fortune keeps finding us lately.”

Luck?

Everything was because of Chung Myung.

Chung Myung sighed secretly.

‘Ah, Sahyung. My back is starting to hurt now.’

He seemed to hear his Sahyung laughing at him from the sky.