“… And so that happened!”
“….”
After hearing the entire explanation, Hyun Jong stared at Chung Myung with an expression that was difficult to explain.
“And therefore…”
His eyes scanned the people sitting in front of him.
Chung Myung, Baek Cheon, Baek Sang, Yu Yiseol, Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, Tang Soso, and even Hae Yeon with Im So-Byeong.
“Occupy the land.”
“Yes!”
“Running a pirate group…. is the plan?”
“Oh my, sect leader! I explained it to you in a good way, but you still don’t understand!”Chung Myung pounded his chest in frustration.
“It isn’t about stealing, it is about collecting a fair toll, right?”
“… you collect the toll on the river?”
“Yes!”
“Don’t pirates do that?”
“….”
“…”
Chung Myung and Hyun Jong looked at one another.
Of course, in the complex intersection of gazes, it was Chung Myung who turned his gaze first.
“No, well… if you say that, it might be true depending on what you think….”
Shhh.
“Eik!”
“Now, why are you pulling out the sword?”
“Wait! Just calm down first!”
“Let go! Aren’t you going to let me go!?”
Hyun Jong removed the disciples who were holding onto him. His eyes were red.
“Now that I am even hearing that Mount Hua disciples are going to try and steal! I realize that I should have cut that guy down before he did this!”
“Do you have the skills to do that?”
“Hyun Young, whose side are you on, you bastard!”
“What side, you ask? Of course, I am on Chung Myung’s side.”
Bubbles frothed from Hyun Jong’s mouth.
He chose the wrong person to ask. Yes, Hyun Young was definitely on Chung Myung’s side.
At that time, Hyun Jong spoke in a slightly calmer voice.
“And depending on how you think about it, it isn’t that wrong.”
“Don’t you think charging a toll is wrong?”
“It makes no sense to say that we are pirates just because we collect taxes. Then, are all the people on a ship who take money for putting people on a ship pirates?” Ř𝔞N𝘰ΒË𐌔
“….”
“If you think about it that way, everyone who drives a ship on the Yangtze River is a pirate. Is the Yangtze River such a place?”
“…. You too.”
Hyun Jong sat down. After listening to all this, it didn’t seem so wrong.
“… No, I said the same thing…”
“Chung Myung.”
“Uh?”
“Words inherently have different meanings and conveyance depending on who says them.”
“…”
Chung Myung also thought that way and knew that what he said wasn’t wrong, but he felt strangely bad.
Hyun Young glanced at the sullen face, smiled, and spoke again to Hyun Jong.
“If you think about it, it isn’t a bad idea. If the term toll tax bothers you, you can just collect the fare when you take people on a ship going to and from the island. Let’s just leave the island for free.”
“Umm….”
“More than anything, isn’t it true that there is no guarantee that something like this won’t happen again in the future? It isn’t possible to chase him this far and catch him every time. Mount Hua should also provide a safe route for the Eunha merchants. The losses are so great now.”
“Okay. That is true….”
Hyun Jong thought for a moment, then nodded.
In the past, he might have quit the talks, but now he understood a bit about how businesses run. Thanks to that, he knew how important this work was.
“But we will be occupying this place? What about training? What about our actual mountain?”
“Ah, that is right.”
“Uh?”
“The Green Forest will handle this. I am done talking with the Green Forest King.”
Hyun Jong blinked his eyes and then looked away. Im So-Byeong had a smile as he nodded.
“Yes.”
“… You mean, Green Forest?”
“Yes.”
“The Yangtze River?”
“I didn’t become a bandit because I liked the mountains. One turns to banditry because they need to make a living. What does it matter if it is the mountain or water? As long as we get money?”
That was right… well, it was true. Besides, whether they were bandits or pirates, they were all the same.
“I know what the sect leader is worried about. But now, Green Forest is also following the will of Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon and the Heavenly Friends Alliance. We are increasing our business while not harming civilians and only charging appropriate toll fees.”
“… isn’t collecting the toll a problem in itself?”
“We provide an escort instead. We escort travelers until they cross the mountain. Those who were previously victims of looting and thieves here would welcome it with open arms.”
Welcome them with open arms?
Bandits?
“That… the bandits… no, does Green Forest do that?”
“There are some people who feel irritated and stifled by small things. It isn’t like we can help them all. If you don’t like something, you don’t do it. Simple.”
“… it doesn’t have to be a ‘not do it’ just because I hate it.”
Everyone turned to look at Hae Yeon at the sound of his voice. Hae Yeon’s face, which had been calm, suddenly turned bright red.
“I don’t like it.”
“It seems like he really doesn’t like it.”
“For some reason, even if you die in Shaolin, nothing good will happen.”
“A-amitabha! Buddha! Amitabha!”
“Just say infinite Buddha.”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue and opened his mouth again.
“Anyway, it isn’t bad. It isn’t like we are messing around, and Green Forest will handle things. In return, we can safely ensure the Eunha merchants pass and collect half the toll fees from merchants passing by.”
Oh? Escort?
That was a fair distribution of profits.
If he thought about it, Mount Hua wouldn’t have to do anything… yes, right…
At that time, Hyun Sang, who was silently observing the situation, opened his mouth.
“Chung Myung.”
“Yes.”
“I understand what you were thinking when you did this. But I am anxious. This is the Yangtze River. You have already ruined two pirate groups, so if you occupy this place and sit here, will the other pirates stay still?”
“Ah, that?”
“On the way, I saw you setting up cannons around the island and a new bridge. But the Yangtze River path isn’t an easy way to block with just a few cannons. You are not looking down on the water pirates just because you took down one or two, right?”
“Eh. As if?”
Chung Myung waved his hand dismissively.
If the Black Dragon King were to come with all his troops, this island would fall in less than half a day. To prevent that, a large troop, whether Green Forest or Mount Hua, would have to be stationed here.
But that was impossible.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Uh?”
“The Black Dragon King will not be able to attack this place.”
“…Why?”
“Maybe soon, this won’t be such a big deal.”
“Uh?”
Chung Myung’s lips twitched.
“In the past, they would have attacked right away, but the Black Dragon King cannot move like that now.”
“Why? What is happening with the Black Dragon King?”
“No, it isn’t that something is happening; it’s that something is going to happen now.”
“…I don’t have a clue what you mean.”
“You will soon find out.”
Chung Myung curled his lips into a smile.
“If I am right, things will start happening right now. So just wait a little while.”
Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung with an expression of confusion.
“Did you do something?”
“It is true that I did something. But it will happen even if I don’t because there are people other than me who can take care of it.”
“Just what?”
“I don’t know for sure about that, but…”
Chung Myung thought for a moment and then smiled.
“One couldn’t refuse when the plan is laid out for them, right? Let’s have fun in that case.”
Unlike his brightly smiling mouth, his eyes were dark.
On the surface, there was nothing particularly conspiratorial about the situation. But Chung Myung’s intuition never missed the strange things that flowed between happenings.
Usually, when one gets this feeling on the battlefield, there would be a well-laid trap in front of you.
In such a case, there were just three ways to escape the trap.
One, do not go.
The other was to break through with skills.
And finally…
‘Make matters bigger than the other person can handle as a trap.’
If you created a pirate, you could act like one.
Instead, he would reap the benefits. Not money or anything like that, but real benefits.
Chung Myung’s gaze went beyond Hyun Jong and looked somewhere far away. All one could guess was that he was looking at a very distant place, but no one could tell what kind of scene he was envisioning.
Hyun Jong sighed softly.
‘I don’t know.’
He knew that the kid’s thoughts were beyond his understanding, so he had no choice but to trust him. But Hyun Jong was worried that this would place another burden on Chung Myung.
“Right. First, I know what you think. Then, can we just leave this matter to Green Forest and return to Mount Hua?”
“Ah, yes. We can, but…”
“Uh?”
“I was waiting for you to come. You brought a lot of disciples with you, right?”
“I… did?”
Chung Myung clapped loudly and laughed like a kid.
“Then let’s get started right away. We have one simple thing to do.”
“One simple thing?”
For some reason, those words made Hyun Jong feel even more uneasy.
A large ship came into the dock.
Soon, a large rope was thrown from the ship, firmly connecting the ship to the land. A large wooden plank stretched out between the ship and the land, and people began to get off the ship one by one.
For some reason, the faces of everyone who got off the ships looked like they had narrowly escaped death.
“Damn it!”
One of the merchants who disembarked was so furious that he threw his luggage to the floor.
Normally, it would have been packed with valuables and handled with care. Still, the man hurled it to the ground without the slightest hesitation, letting out an angry roar.
“Again! Again! Shit!”
Then, the other merchants waiting to board the ship approached, their faces filled with concern.
“…Did you get robbed again?”
“Damn it! Everything was taken except for the bag! This… damn it, if this keeps happening, how are we supposed to make a living!”
“Which pirates?”
“I don’t know. These people don’t even reveal who they are anymore! They just approach on small ships and steal everything that can make money!”
“Euk.”
“I am going insane.”
The merchants’ faces were filled with sorrow.
It might be surprising that the Yangtze River was experiencing such turmoil, but the recent behavior had been unusual.
In the past, if they paid the toll, their goods wouldn’t be taken. But now, these nameless thieves were stealing everything.
As this happened constantly, merchants became afraid to board the ships traveling on the Yangtze River.
“How many times has this happened!”
“What are the officials doing! Why are they leaving the pirates alone!”
“Have the officials ever done anything properly? At the very least, they could be taking money from the pirates and making a living too!”
“Shh! Lower your voice, man!”
“Did I say something wrong?”
Excited people had no control over what they could or couldn’t say.
“Damn it, I am trying to make a living, but if they keep getting ripped off like this, how will I be able to feed my wife and kids? It would be better to get slashed by a sword and die! The entire river is full of pirates! Be it the Nine Great Sects or the officials, no one is interested.”
“Huh. Not everyone is uninterested.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you hear? Mount Hua!”
“Mount Hua?”
“I heard that the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s Mount Hua destroyed the Great Whale pirates. And in the meantime, didn’t they say that they also subjugated a newly formed pirate troop?”
“M-Mount Hua? Why Mount Hua?”
“Is there a reason for Mount Hua to do that? Isn’t Mount Hua the place where the bandits who went on a rampage were attacked, broke into the mountains, destroyed the bandits’ hideouts, robbed their storehouses, and helped people with that?”
“… they did?”
“This time, after hearing that the pirates had captured civilians, I was full of courage and came running here.”
“Huh… oh my… is that true?”
“Eh! It is so late to hear news from a merchant, you know Mister Cheon, right?”
“I know.”
“Didn’t they say that he was kidnapped by a group of bandits and was rescued by Mount Hua’s disciples? That guy told that story 15 times a day. It will stick to your ears anymore.”
“Mister Cheon isn’t the type of person to make up things that didn’t exist.”
“Right. The Nine Sect bastards are just watching and not doing anything, but this isn’t the case with the Heavenly Friends Alliance.”
“Oh my, there is no such document….”
“Besides, it seems like Mount Hua’s sect leader made a decision this time.”
“A decision?”
“They say they will occupy a place on the Yangtze River and launch ships so that merchants and those who want to cross the river can do so without a problem.”
“I-is that true?”
“Right. Besides, it isn’t that far from here. So even if you can’t go by river, crossing it won’t be a problem, right?”
“Just that alone takes the breath away! But would the pirates just sit and watch it?”
“What will they do, not sitting still? The Heavenly Friends Alliance is a place where Sichuan Tang and the Palaces side with Mount Hua! I’m saying it isn’t a place where people like pirates could do anything.”
“… After hearing it, maybe it is right.”
Those who were talking once again realized the power of the Heavenly Friends Alliance.
From their perspective, the most feared and grim reaper-like threat was the pirates. Since it was a place that even the famous Nine Great Sects couldn’t touch, there was no way to break through, so they couldn’t help but be more afraid.
However, they were unable to do anything about Mount Hua, who invaded their waters and set up camp.
“Was the power of the Heavenly Friends Alliance that strong?”
“I plan to use this chance to change business partners as well.”
“Business partners?”
“Think about it. If the Yangtze River is blocked like this, isn’t it natural for the merchants to suffer damage? However, if Mount Hua goes out and creates a road, merchants with connections to the Heavenly Friends Alliance will be able to pass by the road without any problems.”
“… Yes.”
“Then which will do better in the future? It is obvious.”
“Eh… but still, the Nine Sects are….”
“Tsk, tsk. A person called a merchant! If you wait like that, the Heavenly Friends Alliance will surpass the Nine Sects, and you won’t be left with anything to work with! One can make a lot of money by looking at the future and making moves in advance.”
“…”
“Anyway, I am going to do it so you can hurry and find your way. I heard that within 10 days, Mount Hua will have an entire pathway set up.”
Each of the merchants thought and blinked.
‘Is that real?’
‘If this is true…’
Some were just surprised, while others were amazed.
However, a few astute and keen individuals realized that the world was changing.
Mount Hua from Shaanxi, or rather the Heavenly Friend Alliance to which it belonged, had now begun to extend its influence all the way to the Yangtze River. It might be a small change now, but it was difficult to imagine how significant this impact would be in the future.
“I hope things go well for Mount Hua.”
“Why?”
“Whether they came looking for profit or following an agreement, isn’t Mount Hua the only one who helped us when we were having a tough time? Those damned old sects just talk and negotiate but never actually do anything!”
“Right!”
“Right, you damn bastards!”
“Destroy everything!”
Among those who threw their lives into the Yangtze River, admiration for the Heavenly Friends Alliance and Mount Hua, along with disappointment in the Nine Great Sects, gradually spread and grew in size.
Rumors about this situation also spread quickly and soon reached Shaolin and Wudang.
The scale of what started as a small subjugation grew at a fast rate.
Like… like an ember burning in a dry forest.
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