Chapter 357: Something Is Rolling In (2)

Papapak!

Firecrackers placed in front of the large gate went off one after another.

A large nameplate could be seen despite the smoke. 'Huayoung Gate' was engraved on it.

"Ah..."

Wei Lishan looked at it with tears brimming in his eyes.

At first, he tried to change the name and make a new start. Because he thought that it was right to put new wine into new bottles.

But from now on, it had a name suitable for Mount Hua and would spread its name around the world again.

"Do you like it?"

"... Elder?"

When Hyun Young, who was next to him, asked, Wei Lishan bowed his head to express his gratitude.

"I am happy. I am so happy. But I don't know. It is a new gate, so the name Huayoung seems shabby..."

"Huhu. You say such silly things."

"Uh?"

Hyun Young smiled and said,

"Just as Mount Hua is meaningful to Huayoung Gate, so is Huayoung Gate to Mount Hua."

"..."

"Which part of the gate do you think Mount Hua likes the most?"

"... the tribute?"

"..."

Hyun Young was silent for a moment with a shocked expression. He should have said no right away, but he couldn't,

"R-Right. That is important."

In this regard, Hyun Young was overly honest.

"But that is not all. What we really want is trust."

"... you just said trust?"

"Yes."

Hyun Young nodded,

"Actually, the relationship between gates and sects seems deep, but they're quite shallow."

"..."

"That is why trust is so important. The sect tries to do something for the gate, and the gate will believe and follow it. Huayoung Gate has proven its trust in Mount Hua. So if not the name Huayoung Gate who can claim this position?"

"... Elder."

Hyun Young was someone who could not hide his emotions.

"This man, seriously."

But Hyun Young was also someone who liked being thanked.

"So put your worries aside. The important thing is to get you all settled into Xi'an."

"Yes!"

"In order to do that, we must first introduce as many disciples to the inside as we can!"

"Do not worry! I have been running Huayoung Gate for decades! I am confident in receiving and raising disciples! Leave that to me!"

Wei Lishan shouted with a voice full of confidence.

"..."

"..."

Baek Cheon looked on with a pouting face.

The table was full of food prepared for those who would come. The drinks were kind of unexpected.

Nom. Nom.

"..."

Nom. Nom.

What could only really be said was that Chung Myung was the only one passionately eating food, and no one else wanted to join him.

"Sasuk, flies are coming?"

"... chase them off."

"Yes."

The disciples stood by the banquet table and chased the flies away.

"No, no matter what. How can people not come?"

Baek Cheon looked around, a bit shocked. There was no way others had not seen this new place.

Besides, didn't the people of Xi'an recognize Mount Hua's disciples at once? If the disciples came down from Mount Hua's main base and opened a new extension of it, wouldn't they at least come out of curiosity?

Then how was it that not a single person came?

"Even if a new rice cake shop opens up, more people than this would be there."

"I know."

All the disciples from Mount Hua looked around, shocked. Not only that, even the passersby didn't look at them.

"Elder!"

"Um."

Hyun Young scratched his cheek.

"I expected it, but this is more than I thought."

"Uh?"

"Of course, Southern Edge did shut its doors, but its sub-sects are still working around here and have influence in Xi'an."

"Their influence?"

At that time, Chung Myung, who was drinking alcohol, put his bottle down and wiped the corners of his mouth.

"Well, to put it simply, there will be ten gates of Southern Edge around Xi'an, and the ones in Xi'an must have enough disciples to carry this out."

"... ah."

"It is going to be a bit tangled as they might know the officials."

Only then did Baek Cheon realize how serious this situation was.

"This, is Xi'an, a giant sect for those people?"

"Yes."

Baek Cheon mumbled with a puzzled face,

"Why didn't I know that? Even if I forgot, this is Southern Edge."

"The disciples who are stuck in the mountains and only learn martial arts do not need to know such things. Because it is your superiors who create and use these situations."

"Ah..."

Chung Myung spoke with a smile,

"Now, do you understand what I mean? It doesn't mean everything if a sect gets stronger. This is how a sect's power turns into influence."

Everyone nodded as if they understood.

'This is like Hua-Um.'

Today's Hua-Um was all related to Mount Hua.

The guest houses, the tea shops, all money makers from Hua-Um, and the people feel like they belong to Mount Hua.

What if other sects came there?

'No one would even go there.'

If it were opened with the permission of Mount Hua, no one would reject it. But what about the Southern Edge's sub-sects that came to Hua-Um?

"Xi'an is a place like Hua-Um."

"Right. At least there is a gap. If Southern Edge didn't close its gates, no matter how strong we are now, we wouldn't be able to enter. And that is because Xi'an had been the working area of the Southern Edge Sect for hundreds of years now."

And in particular, in the last 100 years, when Mount Hua lost its power, the Southern Edge Sect invested a lot of money here and focused on improving the public image of themselves.

Having solidified their influence in Xi'an, it would have been possible to declare its doors shut... it must have been calculated that it wouldn't bring them much damage.

'Well. I have no intention of just leaving it at that.'

Chung Myung smiled,

"But if you're right, doesn't that mean this will only continue to happen?"

"Tch."

Chung Myung frowned, looking at the disciples.

"Aren't you all too greedy these days?"

"Uh?"

"Did you think that if you had a suitable plan everything would be resolved? It seems that the world looks happier to you these days?"

"It is not like that."

Chung Myung nodded at Baek Cheon's denial,

"Right. Dong-Ryong cannot do that. Being cheeky, I mean."

"... Ugh."

Then he ripped off a piece of chicken leg and looked outside.

"That looks so unnatural."

"Right."

Hyun Young nodded in agreement.

"It's not that they aren't interested. People in Xi'an also have ears, so they can't not know what is happening within Mount Hua. Nevertheless, the fact that they ignored us like this means that they want to stay away from this place consciously."

"Consciously."

"Right. For example..."

Hyun Young showed a bit of a sullen smile.

"Look through the eyes of someone else."

It was then.

"Hehehe. Only flies come here."

"I know."

A strange voice came from the entrance, and everyone turned to the side.

"Oh?"

"A guest?"

A group of people were coming in through the entrance. And the disciples from Huayoung Gate got up in a hurry.

"Welcome! Welcome to Huayoung..."

Tak.

But then they were interrupted by a threatening hand.

"Ah!"

The hand stopped right in front of their face.

No matter who looked, this wasn't a gesture of friendship.

"We are not guests. We have something to do."

The old man had a sharp impression and spoke with a cold face,

"Where is the gate leader?"

"Uh?"

"... you morons. I am looking for your gate leader!"

At the rude and loud voice, the disciples of Mount Hua got up.

"Shhh."

But Chung Myung, who would have been extremely mad, had actually stopped them.

"Watch. Keep watching."

"..."

"This looks fun."

The corners of Chung Myung's lips went up. Meanwhile, Wei Lishan ran ahead without delay.

"I am Wei Lishan, the gate leader of Huayoung Gate. And aren't you the guests? It is only proper manners to reveal your identity first."

Wei Lishan spoke proudly.

The eyes of the disciples of Mount Hua looked shocked.

'Oh?'

'Did the gate leader have such a side?'

Baek Cheon was the most shocked of all.

Come to think of it, when they first met, the man was bedridden. And after that, they met again to help them out. So they all thought that this man was meek.

Huayoung Gate Leader's attitude to the other people not belonging to Mount Hua was imposing enough to give out a tense atmosphere.

But...

"Wei Lishan? You are a man without a title."

"You!"

When Baek Cheon was about to get angry, Chung Myung pushed him down by his head.

"Stay still."

"But!"

"Is Sasuk going to live here?"

"... Uh?"

Chung Myung continued,

"If this is a sect where the disciples from the main sect will constantly stay, you can go. But in order for them to be accepted as a proper clan here, they need to be able to solve their own problems."

"Ugh..."

There was nothing wrong with that. But understanding this with their head made it more uncomfortable. A groan-like sound escaped from Baek Cheon's mouth.

Wei Lishan didn't appear to be the least bit agitated.

"I am sorry for not having a good reputation. But who might be saying this?"

"I am Nam Ja-Myung, the gate leader of the West Moon Gate in Xi'an, and they call me the Still Hearted Sword."

Wei Lishan frowned.

'West Moon Gate??'

'If they are from the West Moon Gate, then it is another one from the Southern Edge Sect.'

After they decided to move to Xi'an, they made sure to get all the information about the gates around them, and this was a name that existed here.

"You are from the Southern Edge Sect."

"Right."

"And what is such a person doing here?"

"Huh?"

Nam Ja-Myung snorted,

"You must be as thick as your skin."

"Ah, Gate Leader, I hope you calm down. How can someone do this?"

"Right, right. Someone who knows nothing can sure do this."

Wei Lishan frowned as the people behind the man laughed.

"Are the other people from the Southern Edge Sect too?"

"I am Gong Ilsan from the Songcheon Sect."

"This body is Jeon Yeo-rang, the Gate Leader of Johyeon Gate."

In addition to them, others shouted their affiliations.

From the looks of it, it seemed like all those who belonged to the Southern Edge Sect had gathered here.

Wei Lishan, who had been silently listening to all of them, opened his mouth only after they were finished.

"I know who you all are. But what are you here for?"

"How dare the shameless Mount Hua bastards come into Xi'an?"

"And! If you wanted to open a sub-sect you should have greeted us first! How dare you open up a Gate without even saying anything?"

"I heard Nanyang was a village, must have been right. They don't even have manners!"

The faces of the Mount Hua disciples began to turn red.

'No, those people are!'

If they had eyes, there was no way they were unaware that people from Mount Hua were also present.

But they had ignored them till now and came out to question this only now?

"T..."

"There is no need to talk!"

The man waved his hand.

"We are here to warn you today."

"... did you say warn us?"

"Anyway, the fact that you opened your gate without saying anything means that you have no intention of getting along with us. So we will also do whatever we want, so make sure to keep an eye out!"

"..."

"If you don't want things to be rough, just clean up and leave Xi'an."

They expected that Wei Lishan would have a heart full of fear. But an unexpected reaction came from him.

"Hehehe."

"... are you laughing?"

Nam Ja-Myung's eyes twitched. But Wei Lishan looked at him like he was being ridiculous.

"I know that the reach of Southern Edge is great. Now that I look at it, it seems like being them and being below them are separate things?"

"What!"

Wei Lishan spoke firmly,

"This land of Xi'an doesn't belong to Southern Edge, and it belongs even less to you! Why do I need to ask you, of all people, for permission? That is something newbies would do!"

"... did you just call us newbies then!"

"Yes! Where was I wrong?"

"Ha... hahaha."

Nam Ja-Myung laughed loudly and turned his back to look at Wei Lishan with furious eyes.

"I wish you have as many skills as you have guts."

"Do not worry. It has already been proven that Mount Hua disciples are superior to those from Southern Edge!"

"... this..."

He glared at Wei Lishan and then turned around.

"We are leaving now!"

"Ahem!"

The people from Southern Edge, who made a lot of commotion, rushed out right away, showing their displeasure with their bodies.

And the disciples of Mount Hua who watched this were startled.

"Wah... Gate Leader, you are so good at talking."

"Right. That was amazing."

"Is this a characteristic of those from Mount Hua...?"

Everyone looked at him in surprise as Chung Myung and Hyun Young couldn't take their eyes off the Southern Edge sect members who had left.

"It has to be because of them."

"They have already shown their hand. There must be no one to stop them."

Chung Myung smiled,

"A lot clearer than I thought."

"That is right. Since this is the realm of Southern Edge, we cannot argue much about it."

The two of them, who had imagined this happening, raised their lips into a smile as if this was a good thing.

And without imagining what was going to happen, they stared back at Huayoung Gate Leader.

"How dare they try to turn things?"

"Hehehe."

Seeing the two of them smile wickedly, the disciples of Mount Hua trembled.

'What are they planning?'

'I already feel so nervous.'

However, whether or not they knew the hearts of the disciples, the two only continued to exchange glances.