Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1470. Let’s make history (5)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"Ca- Careful there!"
“If you mess up, it’s gonna cause an accident!”
With slight exaggeration, death-like groans continuously leaked from the mouths of those carrying and moving a boulder as large as a house.
“Is- Isn’t this too big……”
"They say they can't cut it anymore."
"Th- Then they should lift and move it themselves... Kkeueueu."
"Aah! It's falling over!"
The huge boulder that over ten people were barely managing to carry began to wobble and tilt to one side. Those whose faces turned pale first threw their bodies in all directions and tightly closed their eyes.
"......"
"....Huh?"
But no matter how long they waited, there was no crashing sound. When they cautiously opened their eyes in puzzlement, they saw a hand the size of a pot lid supporting the boulder.
"Gu- Gungju-nim?"
"Tsk, tsk."
Beast Palace Gungju Maeng So, who had caught the falling rock with one hand, shouted angrily.
"You lot who call yourselves Beast Palace warriors can't even properly move a mere rock like this and are struggling! Don't you know shame!"
The scolded men flinched and bowed their heads. But some of them seemed to be quietly swelling with resentment.
“Isn’t it too big for a human? Please add more people……”
"What!"
At that moment, a thunder-like shout burst from Maeng So's mouth.
"Need more people? You should just get stronger! Are you saying you'll make up for lack of strength with numbers?"
"N- No, that's not what I meant..."
"You useless lot! Move aside!"
Maeng So stretched out both hands and firmly grabbed the boulder.
"Heup!"
Then in one motion, he lifted a boulder ten times his size onto his shoulder.
"Hi- Hiiik."
"Good heavens......"
Not only the people from other sects who were doing their respective jobs, but even the Beast Palace warriors familiar with Maeng So were so surprised their eyes popped out. It was that wondrous a sight.
Maeng So himself strode forward nonchalantly while shouldering the rock as if this much was natural.
"Where should I move it?"
"Thi- This way, Gungju-nim!"
"Lead the way."
"Yes!"
Everyone clicked their tongues as they watched Maeng So walk ahead with a man guiding him. That's not something you can do simply by having strong internal strength. Wouldn't it require someone with extraordinary natural divine strength to even attempt it?
"What are you doing! Hurry and bring the rest too!"
"Yes! Yes! Gungju-nim!"
The Beast Palace warriors suddenly came to their senses and enthusiastically rushed off. Someone watching burst into a hollow laugh.
"It's no joke, really."
"I thought it was truly impossible, but somehow it's working out."
"That's what I'm saying."
People shook their heads in disbelief.
Even with martial artists mobilized, this speed defied common sense.
One of the secrets to the speed that transcended common sense was, no matter what anyone said, the sect leaders and elders.
"Isn't this a wondrous sight? To think I'd see a yangban who's a sect leader of a sect carrying and moving boulders."
"Is it only Yasugungju-nim? Tang Gaju-nim was hammering nails into the pavilion."
"W- With a hammer?"
“What nonsense is that? He’s throwing wooden pegs like a ghost and driving in dozens of them at once. He finished work that an average carpenter would have to do for half a day in the time it takes to take one breath."
"Haha... Really."
Who wouldn't know that when sect leaders who have reached the pinnacle of martial arts lend a hand, they can achieve not just one against a hundred, but one against a thousand?
However, no one in the world dares to voice such a favor to a sect leader. The sect leaders, especially those who are heads of Five Great Family or Five Great Outer Palaces, were not people who did such menial work.
The patriarch of Tang Family doing carpentry work, and the Gungju of Beast Palace carrying luggage? Most people in the world would no doubt tell you not to spout such ridiculous nonsense.
But here, that so-called nonsense was actually happening.
"Wooooood!"
Namgung Dowi, the young master of Namgung Family, came sprinting down Huayin's newly built main street.
“Wood! Aren't we short on wood? Why is everything so damn slow?"
“W- Well, earlier the Mount Hua disciples said we were short on stone, so they told us to move the rocks first…”
"The wood is what's needed to put up houses right away, there's such thing as priority to work! Stop the ridiculous talk and say you'll move the timber first."
"So- Sogaju-nim. That's...."
"Give that here!"
As if even talking more would be a waste of time, Namgung Dowi half-forcibly seized the cart a Beast Palace warrior was pulling.
"N- No, this is ours...."
“Damn it, if we don’t finish this before sundown, the general’s going to kill me! Are you going to take the hit for me!”
The bloodshot eyes and ferocious outburst from Namgung Dowi made the Beast Palace warriors slump their shoulders in defeat.
"I'm busy enough to die! Hurry up and move it. Next cart!"
Just as when he arrived, Namgung Dowi raced off kicking up clouds of dust.
"Aaaah!"
"Drive gently! An accident will happen!"
Those coming and going on the street threw their bodies in all directions to avoid the runaway cart.
Those staring blankly at the scene let out hollow, dazed laughter.
“Am I dreaming right now?”
"That's what I'm saying."
"Good grief...... Ah, but looking at it, I can see Namgung Family member, Beast Palace Gungju, and Tang Gaju, but I don't really see the other sect leaders."
The one who brought it up smiled a strange smile. It was a slightly smug expression.
“Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be fair to say Mount Hua Sect Leader is actually the strongest of them all? At least he’s not hauling stuff around like the others, right?”
Of course, the people of Huayin have great affection for Heavenly Comrade Alliance. But even so, it doesn't compare to their feelings about Mount Hua. While the sect leaders of other sects were going through hell, Mount Hua Sect Leader was not visible, so they felt subtly pleased.
However....
“…Hey. Don’t tell me you didn’t hear?”
“Hear what?”
"....No. Maybe it’s better if you don’t know.”
"Huh? What do you mean by that? What is Sect Leader doing?"
"Not Sect Leader, but Grand Sect Leader."
"What?"
The pitying gaze of the man who spoke turned toward a distant pavilion.
Thud!
Facing the newly piled ledgers, the soul drained from Hyun Jong's eyes in an instant.
“D- Do I have to do all this too…?”
"No, c."
"Th- That's right, isn't it?"
"It's not just this, but there's about three times more work left that needs to be done by today."
As he clenched his teeth, Hyun Jong's beard trembled.
"Besides this, you need to check the list of goods to purchase in Xi'an, and you need to recompile the rosters of the sects flying in from all directions to grasp the number of personnel. Ah! And this ledger has recorded the pavilions newly built in Huayin up to this point, so you need to confirm where and how to place each sect. After that, you'll need to do this......"
“S- Stop… stop…”
Hyun Jong's hands began to tremble.
"My- My eyes hurt too much, so let me rest a little..."
"Aigoo, Grand Sect Leader, the Grand Sect Leader of Mount Hua says his eyes hurt just from looking at some ledgers. Everyone in the world will laugh. You're good at joking too."
But it's true? My eyeballs really feel like they're going to fall out right now? Do you know how old I am?
Hyun Jong clenched his fists tightly. If there were no watching eyes, he would have already torn at his hair several times. Even in this suffering, he couldn’t bring himself to shout that he couldn’t do this. No, he dared not shout.
Because of the hellscape unfolding around him.
"The numbers don't match, the numbers!"
“I checked ten times. How can it not match?"
"Can't you see here now? Are your eyeballs knotholes?"
"Wh- Why is that wrong again?"
Then Hyun Jong's eyes turn to the opposite side.
"The ledger entries don't match the actual warehouse counts! Which bastard stole the difference?"
"Huh? Let me see. Ahh, we loaned these to White Bell Escort Agency in Luoyang last month!"
"Why didn't you write that in the ledger, you crazy bastard! Do you know how many times I've looked at this again!"
People with dark shadows hanging down to their chins under their eyes were frantically flipping through ledgers as if screaming in agony. Hyun Jong spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.
“…But, General Chief.”
"What?"
"A merchant guild, is the work originally this much?"
"How can that be?"
"Then…?"
"Think about it. It's almost the work of building a new city. The goods needed for that will be more than what a typical merchant guild transports in a year."
"......"
“Thankfully, those people from Sichuan, uh… what was their name again…?”
"Sahae Merchant Guild."
"Yes, yes! It was fortunate that the Sahae Merchant Guild people came. If it weren't for them, our Sangdanju-nim would have put on a mask and escaped from Huayin too."
At that moment, Hwang Mun-yak's face came to Hyun Jong's mind.
“…I saw him earlier, but it seemed like he was just sightseeing outside."
"Ah, you didn't know?"
“Know what?”
“Sangdanju-nim will go to Luoyang with Elder Hyun Young in a little while. They said he will purchase goods from the merchant guilds there."
"......"
"Just the purchase list ledger is almost a cartful, so one merchant guild probably won't be able to procure it all. It will probably be at a level where all the merchant guilds in Luoyang and Xi'an will have to jump in."
"Why is Hyun Young going?"
"Sangdanju-nim said he has never seen anyone who drives down prices so ruthlessly in his entire life. He even said the late former Sangdanju-nim was not that extreme."
Hyun Jong was momentarily speechless. The image of Hyun Young gathering the merchants and hurling insults at them came to mind.
But Hyun Jong quickly erased that image. Dignity and whatnot aside, he had to survive first. He gestured with his chin toward the ledgers in front.
"....Then when will this end?"
"I heard that the Sahae Merchant Guild people who had gone on business trips are also coming to Shaanxi. They said they will be able to join us in about three days, so I guess we will have some more free time then?"
Hyun Jong's face instantly flushed bright red.
Three days? You're telling me to do this for three more days? Without even letting me sleep?
"This, this is too..."
It was that very moment.
Wajajang!
The side door of the inner room where Hyun Jong was suddenly burst open, and ledgers poured out from within.
"Aigo, are you alright? It looks like he's fainted."
"Why is this yangban so weak?"
“Shh, be careful. This person is from Nokrim.”
"Huh? I thought a scholar from the Imperial Palace had come."
Hyun Jong stared blankly at the person who had poured out with the pile of ledgers. Im Sobyeong, whose complexion alone made it seem better to just call him a corpse, was trembling while clutching a ledger.
Even at a glance, it looked like five times more than what Hyun Jong had to look at.
“Isn’t he going to ruin his body like this? We should help……”
“Quiet. All of that was specially assigned by Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword. It’s not for us to decide whether to help or leave him.”
“…Then we have no choice.”
Hyun Jong's eyes began to well up with tears. To think a day where he’d relate more with a bandit rascal instead of a Mount Hua’s disciple would come.
Of course, the Mount Hua disciple on the other side wasn't an ordinary disciple but that damned disciple......
Hyun Jong asked with a shred of conscience.
"Isn- Isn't that a bit excessive?"
“It is a bit.”
The general supervisor from the Eunha Merchant Guild, who had been hauling more ledgers, furrowed his brows.
"However, they said the ledgers that fellow is looking at are related to personnel and weapons, so others shouldn't see them... Ah! Since Grand Sect Leader is maengju of Heavenly Comrade Alliance, of course you can see them. Then, how about you help a little?"
Hyun Jong, who had been sending a pitying gaze, rose from his seat without hesitation. And he approached the collapsed Im Sobyeong.
The General Chief naturally nodded his head. As expected, Mount Hua of Righteousness and benevolence......
Thunk! Thunk!
At that moment, Hyun Jong kicked the poured-out ledgers with his foot and pushed them into the room across. He shoved the twitching Im Sobyeong’s limp arm inside as well, then slammed the door shut and firmly latched the lock.
"......"
"Let's continue what we were doing. Ah, you said we only need to do up to that point?"
...Let's pretend I didn't see this. The general chief quietly erased the scene from a moment ago from his mind.
|Note
Consider supporting me by subscribing on Patreon for 5$. The Patreon membership for Mount Hua and Infinite Mage is the same. The benefit:
Advance chapters of Mount Hua : 76
Advance chapters of Magic Realm Convenience Store Worker : 144 Chapters
Advance chapters of Got a Gallery in the Wild : 10
Comments Box