Return of the Mount Hua Sect - Ch. 835
“Sir, do you think this is the place?”
“I-it does seem like it, doesn’t it?”
Those pulling the cart stopped, patting the horse on the back. Before them lay a large pier and a bustling crowd of people.
“… why are there so many?”
“R-right?”
Baggage was piled up like mountains, and the line of carts stretching behind seemed endless.
Of course, it wasn’t something they couldn’t comprehend.
Launching a ship into the Yangtze River was akin to suicide now. Yet, this was the only place where one could safely launch a ship. In other words, all merchants needing to use ships on the Yangtze River would converge here.
“… I never imagined there would be so many merchants on the Yangtze River.”
“You don’t usually see crowds like this.”
“Yes.”
The man nodded, gazing ahead with a nervous expression.
“Anyway, be cautious. This is no ordinary dock. Isn’t this place run by the Mount Hua and Heavenly Friends Alliance? One wrong word, and we could be in trouble.”
“They’re from the Justice Faction, so I really hope it’s alright.”
“You never know! Do you realize how high the standards are for those who claim to be from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families?”
The noble-looking man shook his head thoughtfully.
“The people merchants find more challenging to deal with than officials are those high-headed sects. I’m sure it’s not the first time people have lost their minds trusting the words of the Justice faction. So don’t relax and think you’re dealing with a high-ranking official.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“… let’s go.”
After swallowing hard, the nobleman led the troops toward the dock.
‘But who should I speak with?’
Since this was a system he had never encountered before, it was difficult to get a sense of it. The chaotic surroundings only added to the challenge.
The gaze of the person who was constantly looking around landed on someone in the center. The way he was holding a large booklet looked a little different from others.
‘Is it there?’
The noble-looking man approached the guy and asked.
“Excuse me… c-can I take a ship from here?”
Stroke!
The student-like person turned his head and smiled brightly at him.
“Welcome, sir!”
“…”
“Guys! Water! Bring refreshing, cool water and wet towels! Right now!”
“Yes!”
Those who were busy around the pier rushed to a chest and took out water that seemed to be soaked in ice and a cold towel.
“Thank you for your efforts in coming this long way!”
“Now, now! Here.”
The man suddenly accepted what was offered. As he held the cold gourd of water in his hand, he felt like all the hard work he had put into this journey had vanished.
“Is this the first time?”
“Yes, that is true… but our merchant leader said that I could take a ship from here…”
“Ah, is that so? Which merchant union are you from?”
“We are from the Cheering Merchant Union.”
“Cheering Merchant Union?”
This disciple-like kid flipped through the list in hand.
“Let’s see, Cheering, Cheering Merchant… ah! Here it is, book 2! If it is your first time, this is the ship! Guys! Accept this guest!”
“Yes!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a bunch of men rushed in and began to lift his baggage from the cart and put it onto the ship.
“Huh…? Is that heavy thing being lifted like that?”
At the merchant union, there were people who basically carried the luggage as their daily work. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel shocked at the sight of so much heavy luggage being carried like this. Right, one person was carrying two or three pieces of heavy load at the same time.
Just looking at it, it was easy to guess that these people were not ordinary ones.
“They are so strong…”
“Fly! Quickly!”
“R-Run, you bastards!”
“If you are late, you die! Fly!”
“…”
The merchants watched the people carrying the luggage with all their might.
‘Do we really need to do something like that?’
The shiphands appeared more desperate than the merchants transporting the cargo. It was quite strange, considering that the workers usually tried to make their work easier.
But the disciple/student in front of him didn’t seem to like this pace.
“Did these people not eat anything? Move quickly! If you cannot carry all these loads by today, I will die, and so will you! You know that guy’s personality, right? Don’t you?”
“Ugh.”
At those words, the workers groaned and began to speed up.
“Fly! Fly quickly!”
“No! This ship cannot take any more load! If you put more on, it will sink!”
“Then hurry up and take the next ship! What on earth are you bastards even doing? Hurry up, and don’t waste ships!”
“There! Don’t put it in there anymore!”
The nobleman wiped the cold sweat off his forehead as he watched the workers relentlessly carry the luggage.
‘What is even happening here?’
It was right then.
“Isn’t this Gwang Hong?”
“Uh?”
Hearing this familiar voice, the nobleman turned to the side to be greeted by a familiar face.
“Oh? Lee Myong hyung!”
“You came here too? After all, among those who make a living on the Yangtze River now, there is probably no one who doesn’t come here.”
“Yes, hyung. Hyung is also here.”
Lee Myong, a merchant, laughed at this.
“This is insane…”
“Truly insane…”
“But you will get used to it soon. I have finally gotten used to this.”
Lee Myong looked around and spoke in a voice of admiration.
“Isn’t this amazing?”
“Right. After all, Mount Hua is Mount Hua. When on earth did they even build a dock, and where did they get these workers? From the looks of it, they don’t seem like Taoists….”
“Uh? You don’t know?”
“What?”
“Look over there, on that side.”
Lee Myong carefully pointed to a large man carrying luggage. Hong tilted his head in curiosity.
“… What about him?”
“Look carefully. There’s no way you don’t recognize him.”
“Uh?”
He scrutinized the man for a moment, his eyes narrowing, then flinched in realization.
“Well… No way!”
“Right. That’s the Taiping Great Blade.”
“Why is that person here?!”
The Taiping Great Blade.
He was a notorious mountain bandit from the Green Forest bandits located in the Taiping Mountains. With his great strength and vicious nature, there wasn’t a merchant who hadn’t heard of him.
Hong had encountered him a couple of times. Due to the notoriety of the Taiping bandits, they had to pay more tolls there than anywhere else.
And this bandit was famous for his monstrous strength.
“Kuaak!”
As the Taiping Great Blade grunted while carrying the luggage, a passerby kicked him on the butt.
“Ah!”
“This bastard is done! Move quickly, you moron!”
“I-I am sorry!”
The unbelievable sight made both their faces turn pale.
“W-what is this…”
That Taiping Great Blade got hit on his butt and apologized in return? What was happening here?
“They all seem to be from Green Forest.”
“Uh, all the workers? All of them?”
“…”
Hong’s body went cold.
A bandit carrying merchant loads here—what an absurd situation was this? It was like leaving the fish to the cat.
“A-are you alright with this?”
“If you think about it, it isn’t such a bad thing. Take a look. Who are the people targeting this place the most right now? Aren’t they the pirates?”
“Sure.”
“To fight against such pirates, one needs to have bandits too. How could pirates come when the bandits heavily crowd the place?”
“A-ah, no, they are still bandits…”
“Tsk tsk. You worry about everything. Look over there.”
“Uh?”
Hong turned his gaze to the place pointed out by Lee Myong. A huge flag was waving, adorned with some crooked handwriting.
“What is written there…”
Hong had to squint to read the words, and then his eyes widened.
There was no need to be surprised anymore.
“… What is that?”
“They say it was written by Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon. No matter how strong the bandits are, can they really fight against Mount Hua?”
“…”
Hong felt dizzy with this.
Everything happening here was far beyond his common sense.
Bandits working at a dock built by Taoists. Even the Taoists of Mount Hua are renowned for being the best at defeating bandits.
‘I don’t care anymore.’
Let us not try to think; anyway, all you have to do is make money.
“It looks like your luggage is loaded.”
“A-already?”
Shipping usually took longer than expected. It would take an entire day to fill one ship and even get workers to do that.
But not here. One could see the load piling onto the ship. Even if a kid stacked wooden toy blocks, they wouldn’t be able to do it so fast.
“Then let us see the island.”
“You mean, not cross?”
“Tsk tsk. Did you really come here without knowing anything? Here, you need to travel through the island. I think they did it on purpose because it would be a pain if they went straight to the water and ran into pirates there.”
“But wouldn’t that mean repeating the loading and unloading again at the end?”
“Who cares? It isn’t something we have to do.”
After listening to it, he realized that it was true.
“Of course, one has to pay tax twice, but if they can just move, then the fare is nothing to me. Well, I have to go now, so see you later.”
“Yes, hyung.”
Hong clutched his head as he watched Lee Myong hurry to the ship. At that time, the disciple giving the instructions came rushing over.
“Cheering Merchant’s leader, right? The shipment is loaded. Get on the ship, and you can head to the island.”
“W-what do I do at the island?”
“Don’t worry. We do all the unloading. But the cart you brought cannot be loaded onto the ship, so please rent a cart on the other side to move the luggage.”
“Ah, the cart…”
“It is one coin per cart.”
“…”
The disciple smiled kindly.
“And it doesn’t matter when the time is early like today, but if you arrive at the island late in the day, I recommend sleeping at night and moving tomorrow. These days, the Evil Faction is so rampant that it is dangerous to travel at night. We already have accommodations ready for you to stay on the island.”
‘Ah…I am so thankful…’
“It is five coins per room.”
“…”
“Of course, meals are provided.”
“… and how much for that?”
“Hahaha. You can have as much as you want.”
“…”
Surely, that meal would not be cheap for sure.
“Well, can I ask one question?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“It seems like they are building something there. What is that?”
“Ahh. There are more people than expected, so there are more people waiting. We are building accommodations for them to rest.”
“Ah. That would be easier…”
“There will be a diner where you can have a quick meal, a tea house to enjoy tea, a bar to drink, and even a gambling house to kill time.”
“…”
“Please visit us often! I hope you visit us!”
“… yes.”
“Then, please leave.”
The disciple who smiled kindly turned and shouted.
“Move those things quickly! The customers are waiting!”
He was filled with excitement and ran, but Hong shook his head.
‘I don’t know what is happening here.’
Even though he had lived and traveled around for a long time and had seen a lot of things in the world, a couple of things always went past his common sense.
If the workers asked for money or unnecessary compensation, he was asked to report immediately. All to separate the workers’ bones and flesh.