Return of the Mount Hua Sect

A sight that was worthy of the word ‘remarkable’.

Snap! Snap!

“We need to put up a pole there!”

“I understand! I will take this inside so you can take this out!”

In no time, the poles were up, and like magic, the walls had been set up. And if they looked away and turned back, something new appeared again. Even though it could have taken a dozen skilled carpenters to do it, just two people were completing the entire task.

This incredible ability of the Tang family didn’t stop at simply expanding the pavilions.

“Hmm. You don’t like this?”

“It just seems a bit old. But we cannot change the form.”

“Right. Let us continue with this style but change the materials to more luxurious ones. Move the stones brought up.”

“Yes!”

As orders were given, the exterior of the wall of the normal pavilion changed, and the direction of the eaves changed, too. It didn’t seem like much was done. Still, just by making small changes to the materials used and the construction methods, the pavilions were turning out to be a lot more luxurious.

And…

“We can carve a plum blossom here!”

“This way, too!”

“Let us make it like a flower garden initially! If we take something, we need to at least do that.”

Plum blossoms, the symbol of Mount Hua, began to be engraved on the pillars of the temple. The rapidly engraved plum blossoms were so vivid that they seemed as if they would be blown out by the wind.

“Woahh….”

“Oh my…”

“T-this is why they are called craftsmen.”

Mount Hua’s disciples, who had been pushed out of all helping work and had to do just simple labor, looked at the almost miraculous sights happening with open mouths.

Thirty or so craftsmen from the Tang family were literally changing the entire face of Mount Hua.

“Mister Pyo! You cannot touch that!”

“Uh? Isn’t this too old, though?”

“But that holds meaning; it is the history of Mount Hua! Allow us to at least preserve this place!”

“Hmm. Then, let us not touch it; instead, we will paint over it and carve something out. It would be better if we could write something that symbolizes Mount Hua.”

“I think that would be alright. Please wait for now. I will go call the sect leader.”

“I get it.”

And if there were any issues where the Tang family intervened, and their thoughts had changed, Tang Soso would join in.

“This is wonderful.”

When Mount Hua’s disciples were all working together, they had no idea just when all this would come to an end. But within a day and a half of the Tang family’s arrival, something had changed so much that it was eye-watering.

Moreover, it wasn’t just the artisans who were led by the Tang family.

“These are boxes that contain high-quality tea-ware and gifts for the event.”

“Oh my…”

Hyun Young was startled as he looked at the baggage of the Tang family, which was being unpacked by Tang Gunak.

“Such luxurious things…”

“For gifts, plum blossom tea from Mount Hua and the finest from Yunnan would work. It would be better if we could put it in this box.”

“Thank you so much, Lord Tang.”

“It was nothing.”

Tang Gunak grinned.

“This event isn’t one being done by Mount Hua alone; this is an event by the alliance. So wouldn’t it be natural for us to help too?”

“R-right, true…”

Surely, experience played a role when it came to this work.

Although Mount Hua and Hyun Young were excited about doing it, it was impossible to compare the results of their effort to what the Tang family brought now. In particular, the Tang family held the upper hand in this region, so it wasn’t a place that Mount Hua could approach without realizing it.

“And I think it would be a good idea to tell Hwa-Um in advance.”

“You are speaking of the village?”

“Yes.”

Tang Gunak quietly nodded.

“Events such as this tend to attract not just those who were invited but also those who wish to see. Since we cannot accommodate them in Mount Hua, we will have to inform Hwa-Um village about the influx of guests. It doesn’t seem like there are enough guesthouses because this place wasn’t large to begin with, but I don’t think it would be bad to prepare a temporary stay.”

“Temporary stay…?”

“Normally, we would put up tents. But, it seems like Mount Hua will continue to receive guests in the future, so it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to take this opportunity and earn money by providing accommodation, even if it doesn’t include food.”

It was truly unexpected. Hyun Young nodded blankly.

“I apologize. Normally, I handle this by talking with the Eunha merchants….”

“The merchant union has work any merchant union does. Besides, it is one thing to build an extension over a long period and another to move in a hurry. And Eunha has never had to handle such a thing before.”

Hyun Young nodded, falling silent.

“What the Lord said is right. It means so much to us that you came here at the right time.”

“Of course, it is an expected thing for me to do. I am sorry I couldn’t come here any sooner.”

“What do you mean by that? I just wanted to thank you.”

Tang Gunak smiled and took a quick look at the view of Mount Hua around him. He then gave additional instructions to the artisans.

“The ceremony should be held in the central training hall, but I am concerned that the podium might be a bit too low.”

“Should we tear it down and build a new one?”

“The training ground is a place to learn the martial arts of the sect. The height and the size of it all differ. How can we take down or change that?”

“… I was being too short-sighted.”

“Built a trestle. Lifting and carrying should be no problem, so don’t worry about the weight. Move it somewhere out of sight and make it so that it can be overlaid on top of the podium when needed. We carefully select the materials we need so that there will not be any regular need to maintain it.”

“Yes, lord!”

Maybe the phrase ‘One step at a time’ was used for such a situation.

Tang Gunak had been leading everyone neatly since he stepped into Mount Hua as if he was displaying the dignity of the Sichuan Tang family’s head.

“How do I express the gratitude of…”

Tang Gunak shook his head at the words of Hyun Jong.

“No, sect leader. I am worried that by making a fuss here, I would be shaking off the long history that Mount Hua chose to protect.”

“Would that ever be possible? Even the ancestors of Mount Hua will be pleased with this.”

Hyun Jong didn’t know this, but what he did say was true.

Chung Myung’s mouth was wide open as he watched the changes at Mount Hua happen.

“Well, is it not possible to plate it? Have you not brought any gold?”

“… Chung Myung. Get lost.”

“If not even platinum would do, or jade or something too.”

“I told you to get lost.”

“But the Tang family has a lot of money! There should be so much more with them!”

“Please… just be silent….”

“It is fine, Sect leader.”

Tang Gunak smiled.

“I am just glad you like it.”

“Hehe. After all, work should be done by professionals!”

Chung Myung smiled and turned his head.

The family members of the Sichuan Tang family, who weren’t just artisans, were diligently bringing out the items brought by Eunha merchants. The Tang family had no choice but to do a good job of dividing things, taking into account things like the invitees, the officials who come, and such.

“Palace Lord?”

“He must be coming. He should be here in one or three days, but considering his impatient nature, it will likely be tomorrow.”

“… he will not be bringing animals this time around, right?”

“I did say no, so he might hold back this time… but I cannot guarantee it.”

Chung Myung grinned. He liked this aspect of Tang Gunak.

While the others were all boasting about what they could do, Tang Gunak acted as if it was something natural.

This meant that Mount Hua and Tang would not be separated.

‘One family…’

Chung Myung slowly turned his head.

‘He would have been really happy to see it.’

In the past, the Tang family and Mount Hua were quite friendly. Still, the relationship wasn’t as informal as the one between Tang Bo and Chung Myung.

Only now, 100 years later, had he achieved the relationship Tang Bo had wanted in the past.

Chung Myung, who accidentally wiped his nose, said,

“When will all this end?”

“It won’t take more than 2 days.”

“2 days?”

“It isn’t a big deal to refurbish the buildings, organize the supplies for people, and build accommodation. Expanding the kitchen will take some time, but we can get that done by today.”

The spirit of being able to build a couple of pavilions in half a day.

The senior leaders of Mount Hua, feeling the majestic nature of the Sichuan Tang family, desperately suppressed their desire to applaud.

“But why two days?”

“The problem lies next. Isn’t this the job of receiving the guests?

“Uh?”

Tang Gunak looked at the tangled disciples of Mount Hua with slightly confused eyes.

“But the people will need to be entertained by Mount Hua, Beast Palace, and the North Sea Ice Palace.”

“…”

“It would be lucky to not get knocked…”

“…”

Tang Gunak suddenly looked sorry.

In terms of his harshness and bad temper, he was considered to be the most powerful person in the world, but compared to the sects that made up the Heavenly Friends Alliance, he is a gentleman among gentlemen.

The Beast Palace had no interest in learning the etiquette and laws of the Central Plains, and the North Sea Ice Palace, akin to a wild cat pushed to extreme survival conditions, was… well, tough. Then there’s Mount Hua, which, despite being the strongest in the Central Plains, had nothing to show for it.

‘Something is wrong.’

At this rate, even the Evil Faction would be ready to flee, not wanting to deal with these three sects.

“Wouldn’t it take a day or two to educate those who have to serve the guests to not lose their temper?”

“… wouldn’t it be easier to throw them off the cliff and call it an accident?”

“Why would there be an accident here?”

“Then hit them!”

Chung Myung asked in a refreshing tone.

“Sahyungs are not things to be thrown off the cliff! They are people with names!”

“… hitting doesn’t mean that.”

Tang Gunak sighed.

“We will have to inform them in advance. The goal is to complete the event with as few incidents as possible.”

Afterwards, Tang Gunak muttered, ‘I don’t know if that will work out,’ but his words weren’t even heard by Chung Myung’s ears.

Tang Gunak immediately straightened his back and spoke.

“This is a place where the alliance makes its name known throughout the world. It cannot show any flaws.”

Chung Myung nodded at Tang Gunak’s words.

The meaning of things was important in the world. But their appearance was even more important. It was better to look the part.

But…

“Here! How about here?”

“Where?”

“I am bothered by the plain bluestone on the ground! Should we engrave the plum blossoms here, too?”

“On the floor? Isn’t it something to carve on the wall?”

“The more, the better! Let us engrave it!”

“Nice!”

Chung Myung’s cheeks twitched slightly.

“Then the tiles! Let’s engrave it on the roof tiles!”

“I don’t like it there! Go down and pull down some plum blossom trees! We can just plant them around!”

“That is a narrow place! It is narrow! Tear down this wall! All we have to do is put up a new wall and widen it up!”

“…”

But… wasn’t this all a bit too much?

Looking at the people who were more obsessed with plum blossoms than the Mount Hua sect, Chung Myung glanced at Tang Gunak. Tang Gunak covered his mouth, looking a bit embarrassed at that.

“Ahem. Didn’t you carve out plum blossoms on the pillar?”

“Right.”

“After that, strangely enough, it became popular within the Tang family to engrave plum blossoms on items… if this continues, the symbol of the Tang family will end up changing to plum blossoms.”

“…”

“They are doing this in excitement, so leave it alone.”

“…”

Chung Myung looked at the excited artisans engraving the plum blossoms and smiled.

‘Ugh, I don’t care anymore.’

The more plum blossoms, the better, right?

Just like that, in two days, things were moving swiftly.

The warriors of the world began to flock together like clouds towards Mount Hua.