"Ugh."
Hyun Yonug pulled back the blanket and sat up. Habitually turning his head to look at the window, he slightly frowned.
'Has the sun risen?'
Today, he had overslept a little.
Normally, oversleeping was impossible, but while his disciples went to the Southern Lands, he hadn't slept a wink for several days and nights, so the accumulated fatigue seemed to hit him all at once.
"Oh, my joints."
He patted his shoulder. Though he had mastered martial arts and kept his body in good shape, age was something he couldn't overcome.
After fully removing the blanket, he sat cross-legged right there. Only after finishing his habitual breathing exercise did he get up and change clothes.
"Hmm."
Before stepping out the door, he closed his eyes briefly.
Mount Hua has been achieving success after success. But precisely because of that, he must be more cautious.
Fortune always comes with misfortune. If one becomes arrogant or intoxicated by success, they inevitably pay the price.
'I must be careful.'
These are things young disciples easily overlook. He, being older by even a year, must first be vigilant and soothe them.
Hyun Young wore a slightly wicked smile.
"Then shall I find some fault today?"
Determined to be a strict spirit for his disciples today, Hyun Young firmly opened the door and stepped outside. But his resolve collapsed neatly in less than a short while.
"…What is all this…?"
Standing at the entrance of the estate, Hyun Young muttered with a dazed expression.
Piles of luggage stacked like mountains blocked his view. Not only inside the estate but also at the entrance and beyond, unknown things were piled up in a chaotic layered mess.
"…Did the Demonic Cult invade here? Are they evacuating people?"
"Ah, no. That's not it…"
Baek Sang wiped the sweat flowing down his forehead and answered.
"Since early dawn, people have been coming in crowds, thanking us for driving away the Demonic Cult…"
"Th-this?"
"Yes."
"All of this?"
Hyun Young's pupils trembled wildly as if an earthquake had struck.
As he raised his head following the piled luggage, he grabbed the back of his neck before even seeing the top.
"Oh, my neck…!"
"Are you alright?"
"…Is this all?"
"There's no more space inside, so the disciples are receiving and stacking goods outside the estate now."
"What?"
Flames suddenly lit up in Hyun Young's eyes.
"Is this guy sane or not? You accepted all that gladly? You took without thinking that these are things brought by commoners who struggle to survive day by day while others rake in money?"
Baek Sang was shocked and waved his hand.
"Oh, Elder. That can't be. We naturally refused politely. But when they insistently give it, what can I do?"
"…Insistently?"
"They say it's nothing, why don't you accept even this, is what they said? They say our life is worth only that much. What can I say? No matter how much I block, they just throw it over and run away…"
"…Ha, haha."
Hyun Young couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
It's not new for things sent from various places to pile up at Mount Hua. Hyun Young had seen it many times. But this is different.
The gifts that came to Mount Hua so far were from powerful figures in Shaanxi to gain favor. Even at best, they were hardly sent with pure hearts; to put it bluntly, they were bribes.
But the things piled here have a completely different meaning, don't they?
Mount Hua will soon leave the Yangtze River region and go far to Shaanxi. What good would it do for the locals to curry favor with them?
That means all these are truly goods given by the local commoners as pure tokens of gratitude.
"Hehehe…"
Hyun Young, smiling with an unreadable meaning, approached the piled luggage as if entranced and unpacked one bundle from the bottom.
Inside the roughly tied bundle was grain, not particularly precious, packed tightly. Hyun Young quietly looked at it and gently touched it with his fingertips.
"…This precious thing…"
Though gifts from powerful figures might be expensive, they were not 'precious' to Hyun Young. How could things sent by the wealthy just to show off have great meaning?
But this grain was different.
The people living in the Yangtze River region had just barely escaped the Pirates' grip. They struggled daily just to eat. These people took some of the grain they needed for winter and brought it as a token of gratitude.
How could this grain be considered as less valuable than such treasures?
"There are many small things, mostly food."
"…"
"But the quantity is too large to store easily. We need to find suitable merchants to sell them…"
"What, you fool?"
Hyun Young's eyes blazed as he sharply turned his head, glaring at Baek Sang with fierce anger.
"Sell what?"
"Th-the grain…"
"Are you crazy?"
Hyun Young's eyes were bloodshot with fury.
"What is this! What kind of goods are these that you talk about selling? Are these things you can trade for money? The leftovers here are parasites who eat like oxen; feed them all! Why would you sell this!"
"E-Elder, grain can be stored and eaten later, but fresh meat or vegetables brought in now will spoil soon…"
"Eat it all!"
Hyun Young spat fire from his mouth, and Baek Sang quietly shut his mouth.
"Don't leave a single grain; eat it all! If you don't, you all will die!"
Baek Sang's face turned pitch black.
Of course, those here eat five or six times more than an ordinary man, causing Hyun Jong stomach pain. But even so, how could they possibly eat enough to fill ten huge granaries in just a few days?
"Ah, no…"
"Shut up! Start feeding them from lunch today! Make them eat it all!"
"…"
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, yes…"
"Tsk."
Hyun Young clicked his tongue in displeasure and looked at the piled gifts with a renewed gaze.
Indeed… young disciples would find it hard to understand.
For some, chivalry is a matter of choice, but for others, it was a desperate hope too dazzling to even look at.
When Mount Hua was once on the brink of collapse, Hyun Young couldn't even dream of chivalry. For some, it might be a task they can skip if lazy despite ability, but for Hyun Young and his generation, chivalry was something dazzling.
What kept them going through that harsh life was the vain hope that someday they too would fight as proud warriors for the suffering commoners and make Mount Hua's name known far and wide.
As his hair gradually turned white in longing, and as he realized youth doesn't last forever, he slowly let go of that hope.
Hyun Young carefully put down the grain he had been gently touching.
"…I was not wrong."
"Yes?"
"No."
Hyun Young answered curtly and turned his head. He didn't want to show his face to the disciples now.
After taking some time to compose his expression, Hyun Young looked again and asked.
"So, are there still visitors outside?"
"Yes. The disciples are receiving the goods now."
"Let's go see."
"Yes!"
Baek Sang quickly stepped forward. Following him, they soon saw people lined up carrying bundles tightly wrapped.
After waiting, a large man reached the disciples, snorting, and suddenly thrust the items in his hands forward.
"I don't know if the masters eat meat, but I couldn't think of anything else, so I brought this."
"Thank you. We do eat meat."
"That's a relief."
The gruff man almost threw the bundle into the disciples' arms.
"…It looks like a lot."
"It's not much for someone like me!"
"Th-thank you."
The disciples wiped sweat from their foreheads and accepted the goods despite his gruff attitude.
"Where do you live…"
"Enough. What's the use in knowing that?"
"…Ah, yes."
The man turned as if without regret but glanced at the Mount Hua disciple.
"Thank you."
Chung Myung, holding the bundle, looked at the man with questioning eyes.
"I have an elderly mother. If we had to evacuate, she wouldn't have survived the harsh outside winds, so she would have died here helplessly."
"…"
"Thanks to you, she lived. Thank you."
Chung Myung stared blankly at him for a moment, then smiled warmly.
"I just did what I had to do."
"Ahem."
The man nodded, then turned and shuffled away.
Hyun Young stared at the man's back, then turned his gaze aside. The bottom of the bundle was damp, perhaps from freshly butchered meat.
"…Baek Sang."
"Yes, Elder."
"Go and bring more disciples. The weather is cold, and the line is too long. If they can't refuse, at least reduce their waiting time."
"Yes? But Chung Myung is currently beating… no, training the kids, so he won't let them go."
"Tell him I called for them and bring them out. No, bring Chung Myung and all the trainees to receive the goods first."
"That training is…"
"Hurry."
"Yes! Elder."
Baek Sang hurried inside. Even though it was Chung Myung, no one would argue with the sect leader and Elder Hyun Young's orders, so there should be no problem.
Hyun Young silently watched those lined up.
From the shaggy-haired strong men to the elderly bent old women, and the women holding children's hands with rough hands, all held something in their hands and looked at Mount Hua's disciples with admiring eyes.
"That…"
Hyun Young opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it again. As he turned his head, a voice brushed past his ear.
"Isn't it a good sight?"
Hyun Jong glanced back and said gruffly.
"When did you arrive?"
"Just a moment ago."
Hyun Jong was smiling warmly at him.
"The sect leader is quite free. What is there to see that he comes all the way here?"
"No matter how busy, there are things one must see."
"Then why not lend a hand?"
Hyun Young's words made Hyun Jong smile quietly.
"We are not the ones who should welcome them, right?"
Hyun Young silently nodded at those words.
"Chivalry should not be performed expecting reward. The moment you expect reward, it ceases to be chivalry and becomes a transaction."
"…"
"But…"
Hyun Jong said.
"If the reward is like this… yes, it's worth receiving."
Hyun Young just pouted his lips. He felt that if he spoke, nonsense would come out, so he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.
At that moment, disciples came running breathlessly from afar.
"Work!"
"Damn! We get to work!"
"I'll do it! Please just let me!"
Seeing the disciples excitedly running as if work was better than training, and Chung Myung trudging behind with his mouth open, Hyun Young chuckled.
"Move quickly! You lazy ones!"
Hyun Young's clear voice was filled with vitality rarely seen for a while.