Return of Mount Hua Sect

Time was fair.

To the old man who regretted the passing day, to the middle-aged man who endured the long day’s boredom with a yawn, to the child who ran around the town for a short day, time simply flowed fairly.

And it was the same for the merchants who traveled the Yangtze River.

“Ohh…”

Ma Cheol looked at the sight before him with shock.

“Oh my… what is this…”

“What happened?”

“W-why is there a city?”

“Uh? What do you mean?”

Ma Cheol looked back, dumbfounded. The members of the merchant union following him stared at him with puzzled looks.

“You know I am from the center of the river, right?”

“Right. Weren’t you excited to visit your hometown after a long time? I heard you worked in the center of the river before enlisting in our merchant.”

“Right. It’s only been five years since I left the place… until then, it was a wasteland.”

“Uh? No way…”

“You! Would I eat expensive food and talk nonsense? I am telling you the truth!”

“If that is the case…”

The man glanced at Ma Cheol’s expression and looked ahead.

He answered as such, but inside he had an entirely different thought.

‘At least say something that makes sense.’

What he could see there was a large city. Then how could that city be built in just five years?

No, he had heard that it hadn’t even been three years since the merchants began to come and go. So in just three years, a city as big as that had been built; even a three-year-old child wouldn’t believe such a thing.

“Let us go first.”

“Yes, leader.”

But what could be done? If the superior said the beer was made with red beans, one had to believe it to work under him.

“Heheh, right.”

Ma Cheol shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it, no matter how much he looked, and led the merchant union towards the city that was right in front of him.

“…”

Ma Cheol opened his mouth wide this time as he reached the outskirts of the city.

When he actually entered the city, it was different from what he had seen from afar. Large buildings lined both sides of the wide street, catching his eye.

‘Doesn’t this look more bustling than the center I knew before?’

Of course, the buildings were all shiny and new. After all, this place was just a wasteland until a short while ago.

What surprised him was that the buildings were all large, and the number of people moving between them seemed greater than those on the streets.

In addition…

“Here, give me some alcohol! I have come a long way, and I am thirsty!”

“Yes, yes! Coming right up!”

“And the noodles will take time?”

“Oh my! I will be leaving soon! Just a moment! Just a moment!”

The entire hall was packed with people. It was amazing where all these people had come from.

And this complex and lively city didn’t even give Ma Cheol the time to enjoy it slowly.

Before he could even turn his eyes, two people appeared from somewhere and grabbed his left and right.

“Oh my, merchants! Thank you for coming! This way! Come this way! I will guide you to the best guesthouse on Plum Blossom Island!”

“Oh my! This guy is cheating again! How can your Godly Wind Guesthouse be the best on Plum Blossom Island? We have the Dragon Flower Guesthouse!”

“What, you moron! Are you talking about this after catching an old man who ran away last week because you gave him a hard time? Merchants, don’t listen to this nonsense! If you go there, you will end up eating tasteless food! Our Godly Wind Guesthouse is the best for food!”

“Here comes another nonsense! Haven’t you heard the rumor that our inn hired a chef from Hwa-pyung House, the best hall in the world? Compared to the food prepared by the chef from there, your inn’s food is worse than dog food! Merchants, come this way! There is just one room left in our guesthouse!”

“How can these two sleep in one room, you brat!”

“Oh my! I made a mistake and said one when there were two!”

Ma Cheol, caught in the middle, was out of his mind.

He thought of yelling at them for being rude, but when he glanced at them, he saw another person in front of him in a similar situation. The other person who followed them was the same.

‘Is this normal here?’

What kind of guest house host came out on the street to get customers?

“This man!”

“Do you want to fight today?”

Ma Cheol shouted in surprise as the people rolled up their sleeves like they wanted to fight at any moment.

“D-don’t fight. We are going to stop by the deck first…”

“Uh? Even if you go today, it will take four days for the merchant ship to be able to move?”

“T-t-that long?”

“Oh, my leader. Is this your first time at Plum Blossom Island?”

“Y-yes.”

The server nodded like he understood.

“Then you can do this. Waiting for 3-4 days is a daily routine here. If not, why would all the merchants be staying around and resting?”

“Ah…”

“If you are lucky, it will take four days, and if you are unlucky, then ten days.”

“T-ten days? Do you mean when it rains heavily or storms?”

“No, no. The ships of Plum Blossom Island never stop operating, whether it rains, snows, or is windy. Even if you load them as such, when there are a lot of people, you will have to wait ten days. So it is better to find lodgings first.”

“… I-I want to check it with my own eyes first.”

“I, I said something useless then.”

“Such a shameless man. Oh, my merchant, of course, you should check out the condition first. Instead, if you come back, you know you won’t be scammed… no, don’t suffer any losses and come straight to the Dragon Flower Guesthouse.”

Ma Cheol nodded with a face that looked so lost.

“But… can I ask you one thing?”

“Uh? Feel free to ask.”

“Isn’t this the riverside?”

“Yes?”

“That… there is such a bustling place by the riverside… won’t the pirates come in then?”

“Uh? Pirates?”

The two of them looked at each other as if they had never thought of it before and then burst into laughter.

“AHAHAHAH! Pirates?”

“Hahahahah! Wow! It’s been so long since I heard something like this.”

Ma Cheol blinked his eyes, not knowing what was happening.

“What… did I say something odd?”

“It isn’t odd. It’s just that it’s been so long since I’ve heard that. Don’t worry. Since the Plum Blossom Island was established, the pirates never come near them.”

“Sometimes we pass them by the river, but we have never been attacked. They are aware of it, so how dare they invade the place guarded by the world’s best, the Heavenly Friends Alliance!”

“This is the safest place on the Yangtze River. Isn’t that why so many merchants come to Plum Blossom Island every day?”

Ma Cheol nodded.

He had heard that and came here, but there was a huge difference between what he had vaguely imagined and what he saw with his own eyes.

“I-I understand. I will stop by the dock first.”

“Yes! Take a look around.”

“Dragon Flower Guesthouse! Dragon Flower Guesthouse!”

Even after barely turning down the two people, he had to endure more harassment from a few servers who had joined him, and only after dealing with all of them was he finally able to continue on his way.

“Hehehe. What kind of place is…”

As he walked comfortably without being harassed, the surrounding scenery became more clearly visible.

Nothing was missing.

A tavern, tea house, diner…

“A gambling house?”

“… there is everything here.”

This looked more like a bustling marketplace than a pleasure district. The only difference was that this was a practical place compared to places solely for pleasure.

As he passed the tavern and bars and approached the dock, he saw large warehouses lined up on both sides. As he passed the warehouses, he saw people and carts crowded together.

“It seems to be there.”

“Let us head there first.”

Ma Cheol approached the dock and spoke to the merchant standing nearby.

“I…”

“What?”

“I am someone who just arrived. Where should I stand in line to make a reservation?”

The merchant who was first in line glanced at Ma Cheol and gestured behind him.

“You can stand here.”

“Ah, thank you. Guys, pull the cart here.”

“Yes!”

Ma Cheol, who was standing in line, looked around again. The people who filled the dock and the five large ships anchored there. And the workers who were loading the ships with goods.

This was when they saw they were full of energy.

“This is amazing.”

“… there are five ships. Those big ones.”

“Even though there are five ships like that, we have to wait for more than four days. How much cargo comes to this dock?”

“All the goods from the Yangtze River are unloaded here, so there is no choice. It is a hundred times better than being robbed on the river. Still, we are lucky. How many people are crossing the river because the distance is too far, crying and eating seeds.”

“Right, leader.”

Ma Cheol still felt blank and let out a hollow laugh.

‘This is when the saying, ‘a mulberry field looks like a blue sea’ is used.’

Who would have thought that the world would change so much in just five years? No, not five years. It had been just three years…

That was when.

“What are you all doing? Why are you interfering?”

“Uh?”

Suddenly, a group of people swarmed and glared at Ma Cheol, threatening him.

“Interfering? We were just standing in line, though?”

“I was leaving my luggage to take care of personal business, and you took my place in the meantime. Stop trying to avoid this and move out of my way right now! Unless you want trouble!”

“What? What interference!”

“What? Interference? These people!”

The merchant ran up and grabbed Ma Cheol by the collar.

“If you stand in the wrong line once, and your turn is cut off in front of me, you’ll have to lose another day. Do you know how much you will lose because of it? Where are you going?”

“Well, then, shouldn’t you have just stayed in your place? Well, I will not move out!”

A merchant couldn’t afford to lose a fight.

Knowing that, Ma Cheol raised his voice, and the merchant who grabbed him by the collar glared.

“Ah, this is not how it’s supposed to be. You will be so done today.”

As their fight escalated, those watching from the side clicked their tongues.

“Uh! Excuse me! You!”

“… Uh?”

“What do you think this place is? You keep yelling here!”

“What do I think…”

The merchant who grabbed Ma Cheol by the collar tilted his head, seemingly confused.

Then, the goat-bearded merchant who had intervened looked at the two people with a knowing look.

“You two don’t know much about Plum Blossom Island, do you? Is this your first time?”

“…”

“….”

As both people blinked, the goat-bearded merchant clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“If you get caught doing this, you will be kicked out of here right away and won’t be able to use their services for a month. You haven’t forgotten that this is Plum Blossom Island, right? If you don’t plan on risking your life crossing the river, then keep quiet here. If you two fight and it affects us, I will not stand still. You get it?”

Ma Cheol asked back, unsure.

“We create a mess, and we cannot transport anything?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, no. Does that make sense? Isn’t this a place that takes money and moves our luggage?”

“…what?”

“Hehe, seriously.”

“That’s why you people are acting like that.”

The merchants around him widened their eyes and clicked their tongues, while Ma Cheol turned red with embarrassment.

“Uh, first time?”

“…Yes, we are a small merchant group, and the previous leader quit because he got sick… so I moved in a hurry.”

“Tsk tsk. So you don’t know what’s happening. Look now. This is Plum Blossom Island. If you use your normal senses here, you’ll be in trouble. The rules of Plum Blossom Island are simple: Don’t cause trouble, don’t make a fuss, and do your math right.”

“…”

“The most important of those is not to cause trouble! Do you know how many merchants got kicked out because they broke the rule?”

“…”

“Don’t do anything useless and stay quiet now… damn it! I’m late!”

“Uh?”

It was then.

Whisper. Whisper.

Suddenly, the front turned noisy, and the merchants stepped back to the left and right. As the path opened up between them, a group of men walked ahead with terrifying gazes.

A huge man, who must have been 7 feet tall.

A beard with spikes sticking out.

Sharp eyes.

Where did he leave his shirt? His upper body was exposed, the muscles bulging as if they would burst. He must have been carrying luggage all the time, as thick sweat formed around the muscles and ran down.

“Uh…”

Just as Ma Cheol, who was completely terrified by that overwhelming sight, shrank his neck, the people who walked out looked at him with all the irritation in the world on their faces.

At that moment, Ma Cheol’s heart sank.

“This…!”

The man’s eyes turned bloodshot as he looked up and down at Ma Cheol’s group.

At the same time, Ma Cheol’s face turned pale.

‘I-I am dead now.’

Oh my, why did he come here…

As if he couldn’t hold back his anger, the man trembled with his large body and then opened his mouth like a roaring tiger.

“What is the problem, sir?”

“…”

“Is there something bothering you?”

“… Uh?”

From a face that looked like it could eat a human, the kindest tone emerged.

“T-that…”

No.

Just what on earth was this?

Just what…