Return of Mount Hua Sect

Plum Blossom Island was bustling with merchants every day.

When Mount Hua first built the island, it was not small in scale, but it grew significantly over the years. Now, it was so large that even the biggest merchants couldn’t resist visiting.

It was only natural.

Plum Blossom Island monopolized the logistics between the South and North of the river.

Whether evil and justice factions were at war or simply drawing a line and snarling, people needed to eat to live and wear clothes to go out.

Whether they were merchants from the North of the River wanting to bring goods to the South or merchants from the South wanting to bring goods to the North, they all prioritized Plum Blossom Island. Now, it has become difficult to even fit ten ships there.

“Why would I resort to banditry when I can earn money so easily?”

“… Is this going to last a lifetime?”

“The problem with the first elder is that you are too negative.”

“The pine cicadas need to eat pine needles. The Lord of Green Forest these days is beyond speaking terms.”

“Don’t starve to death in search of dignity; just do your job well.”

“Ugh.”

“And the preparation?”

“… Almost finished. But is this really something we can do? We are the Green Forest. And for the Green Forest to escort the merchants…”

“If it is something worth the money, then there is no reason we cannot do it. Didn’t we collect the toll in the first place for that reason?”

“But the fundamentals of…”

“We need to change to survive.”

Im So-Byeong smiled.

As the Evil Faction, people became more and more rampant; even those who crossed Plum Blossom Island to travel were now often suffering damage. Large merchants could hire escorts, but the small ones had a hard time doing so.

Thus, they were preparing to organize a trip by ship with merchants crossing the island and provide a person to escort the trip with the Green Forest.

“If we can do this, more money will come in. These days, more people are playing around since we don’t do banditry anymore, so how can we miss this chance and make money by using those messing around?”

“… There will be people who don’t like it.”

“If we just make an example out of them and handle it a couple of times, it would vanish.”

The first elder gulped as he listened to the calm words.

He could be smiling on the outside, but at times like this, he realized that this person was the true king of Green Forest.

“Then Plum Blossom Island will also have a solid path.”

“It is just a temporary gain until the Four Precepts Alliance finds us.”

“So? Before that, let us eat everything we can. Do you know how much money we make in a day?”

“That is why it is unfair. We do all the work, but aren’t we getting just a portion of the money?”

“Tsk tsk. How foolish. If we had done this by ourselves, do you think the merchants would have stayed around Plum Blossom Island? They trust us because of the names of Mount Hua and the Heavenly Friends Alliance. No, if we had taken this island for ourselves before that, the pirates and Ten Thousand People clan wouldn’t stay still.”

The first elder sighed deeply.

“I know. I know that… but don’t they make money too easily? Even if we eat a little more than what….”

“Elder.”

Im So-Byeong’s voice turned dreary at that moment. The elder straightened up.

“I-I am sorry, Green Forest King.”

“Do you know why people die?”

“… I don’t really know.”

“It is because they get too greedy. Like the guy who sank down into the river today.”

“…”

“I want to believe that the elder isn’t such a moron.”

“Yes, that much is obvious.”

“The elder is a bandit, so you probably are a bit greedy. But… there are things in the world you shouldn’t touch.”

Cold sweat ran down the elder’s back.

“… I will keep that in mind.”

“It is better to do everything within limits, within limits.”

Im So-Byeong returned to his usual smiling demeanor.

“But…”

His gaze shifted to the side.

Beyond the window on the wall, he could see the river flowing wildly and Plum Blossom Island.

“… as the elder said, I don’t know how long I can maintain this.”

The situation was worsening.

The plum tree growing on the island caught his attention.

“Plum Blossom Island isn’t named for the plums, but for the people who are like plums…”

A faint longing flashed through his eyes, and sighing softly, he said,

“Well, let us hurry up. If the Taoist doesn’t kick the door open and wreak havoc on the island, it will be none other than me or the first elder drowning in the middle of the river.”

“… that sounds horrible.”

“It was unbearable before, but now…”

Im So-Byeong shook his head as if he didn’t even want to imagine it.

“It is horrible, ugh, so disgusting.”

But the first elder didn’t miss the strange smile on Im So-Byeong’s lips and joked,

“Honestly, we are doing pretty well compared to those people running around sweating.”

“That is definitely true.”

“So let us not joke around. If that man hears us complaining, he will try to stab us in the forehead with a poisoned needle.”

Then the first elder’s face turned angry.

“… those people are so arrogant these days.”

“First elder.”

“I am just expressing how I feel. The complaints from the others are rising.”

“Phew.”

Im So-Byeong pressed his fan against his forehead as if he had a headache.

“Tell him to be as self-restrained as possible.”

“But…”

“I know. That is why I am telling you.”

“… yes, Green Forest King.”

The first elder bowed his head deeply.

“Then,”

“Right. Leave.”

After he left, Im So-Byeong looked out the window again with a stern face.

‘Is this the limit?’

On the outside, it was filled with only the best things. But Im So-Byeong, who was in the middle of it all, felt the cracks more keenly now.

‘The absence of Mount Hua is too great.’

Im So-Byeong and Tang Gunak were doing their best to stop it. However, if the situation continued a little longer, the Heavenly Friends Alliance might collapse from the inside.

If it hadn’t been for Mount Hua in the first place, there would have been no way that Green Forest would be standing with the Tang family.

“So slow. Tsk.”

A sigh escaped the lips of Im So-Byeong as he looked at the withered plum tree.

“Please hurry up a little, Taoist. I am at my limit now.”

A voice too small to reach the distant island rivers.

---

“I am reporting.”

Tang Gunak, sitting in the top seat, nodded quietly.

If things were as they were, the place he would have been receiving reports from would have been the house of the Sichuan Tang family. Still, the place he was currently sitting was not the Sichuan Tang family but a large room in a manor.

Tang Gunak, sitting there, stared ahead with a stern face.

Those who knew him could tell he had become a little more serious just by looking at his expression.

“There was another clash between the Evil Faction and the Justice Faction in Lu’an.”

Tang Gunak’s brows furrowed at the report he received.

“And…”

“Yes. I think it will spread a little more with time.”

Tang Gunak slowly tapped his finger on the table. His expression hadn’t changed much, but the noise represented his discomfort.

Tang Pae, who had caught that, sighed and said,

“Since Lu’an is an Anhui city, if it were normal, the Namgung family would step in to help…”

The Namgung family still locked their doors and stayed home.

They didn’t specifically declare a closed gate, but it was no different from it. The only difference was that the Namgung family didn’t reject visitors from outside. It was almost like they didn’t engage in external activities now.

In the past, there would have been no way for the Evil Factions to come and fight in Anhui, where the Namgung family was located, especially there.

But the world was now so different.

“Looking for those who aren’t there will not provide an answer.”

“Yes.”

“Send someone to help mediate.”

“… their momentum is so strong. It doesn’t seem like a situation where words can persuade.”

“Then send men to suppress them by force.”

“Yes, I understand.”

A sigh escaped from Tang Pae’s mouth.

Even though they claimed they didn’t engage in external activities, Anhui was clearly the land of the Namgung family. Sending troops there to suppress someone would be a burden.

But now wasn’t the time to delve into details.

‘It is happening too fast.’

The world had changed so much.

The most obvious change was that many of the sects that were around the South had moved to the North.

The sects that moved to the North have settled in and clashed not only with the existing Justice faction but also with the existing Evil sects residing there.

If they were to settle in someone else’s land, they should at least show some restraint by respecting the order. But would they be considered an Evil Faction if that were the case?

“…we could have stopped it a long time ago.”

“It cannot be helped.”

Tang Gunak shook his head with a serious look.

The reason why we didn’t stop the Evil Factions from crossing over to the North, even though they knew such things would happen, was simple.

“How can we stop them from wanting to live? Even if they are Evil Factions, they are made of people.”

“That is true, but…”

If they had come to invade the land, they would have been stopped. But they hadn’t moved to attack the place. The Evil Faction moving now has crossed the river to live.

The Four Precepts Alliance had swept around the Southern Lands, demanding only submission.

Either kneel or perish.

Most of the Evil Faction chose to kneel down and submit, while a small number resisted and met a miserable end.

The rest neither submitted nor resisted; they fled.

“I understand the situation… but shouldn’t they at least remain quiet?”

Tang Gunak shook his head again.

In the first place, a warrior sect was a place that could not produce a grain of rice on its own. If they could not secure their land and collect money, they were no different from beggars.

Therefore, the Evil Faction had come to the Northern side with no choice but to secure land and survive.

“Well, we need to ensure that the civilians aren’t harmed.”

“I will do so.”

“Anything else?”

Tang Pae looked at Tang Gunak’s face and said.

“… Lord, in the past month, we have intervened in more than seven big and small disturbances.”

“Right.”

“In the past, it was just two or three a year. It’s getting too much for us to handle.”

“I know.”

The places where the Evil Faction sects had settled were mostly Hubei and Anhui.

Those two places were where the Evil Faction had the hardest time growing in the past. They were managed by the Wudang and Namgung sects.

But now, with the two sects closing their gates, they had become the best places for the Evil Faction sects to settle down. There was plenty of food, and the land had no owners.

It wasn’t easy for small and medium sects and clans to deal with them. As a result, the Tang family had to run around and mediate.

“How long will this continue…”

“It is for the sake of the Alliance’s reputation.”

“I know, family lord. But the discontent in the sect is growing. Even though we are in the Alliance, the Beast Palace and Ice Palace haven’t done a thing in the Central Plains. We are the only ones handling this work, right?”

“…”

“Mount Hua started it, but we are handling the aftermath. At best, the Green Forest is helping… if they said openly that if we are going to take on such a worthless task, we should have never come to the Yangtze River.”

Tang Pae, who was speaking, went silent.

“And… I think the same. How many years has it been since we were back in Sichuan? Why are we the—”

“Enough.”

“Lord.”

“If we were only after profit, we wouldn’t be here. Do you want to become thieves like them?”

“…no.”

“Then.”

Tang Gunak said with a stern face.

“The one who is having the hardest time now isn’t us. It is Mount Hua.”

“…”

“Let us try a bit harder.”

“…I understand, Lord.”

“Good. Now go.”

“Yes.”

As soon as Tang Pae went out, Tang Gunak sighed.

‘It isn’t easy anymore.’

The world was tightening its grip on them more and more.

The Four Precepts Alliance, which had finished the unification, had begun internal reorganization. Once that ended, they could push into the North at any time. Knowing this, chaos was growing in the North of the river. Everyone must have felt that the inevitable war was coming.

In this situation, the sects that could be working to stabilize the land have given up on the issue, and the gap to fill was too big.

And it wasn’t easy for the Tang family to fill that gap.

And…

Even things that would have been resolved simply in the past have now turned into problems. The voices of discontent flowing out from within the family were growing louder.

Tang Gunak lightly rubbed his eyes.

‘It has been a thousand days now. Do you still need more time?’

A tired look crossed Tang Gunak’s face. He couldn’t help but realize the limits of his ability. How could he handle the Heavenly Friends Alliance when he couldn’t even control his internal discontent?

He sighed deeply and cast his gaze northward.

‘Taoist.’

Tang Gunak mumbled softly.

“Please hurry a little early. Just a little.”

From that place where the scent of plum blossoms would soon fill the air, no news had come yet.