Chapter 34

Chapter 33. You, brat? Are you from the Zhongnan Sect? (3)

"Senior Brother! Great Senior Brother!"

"Why are you making such a fuss?"

"Did you hear it?"

Yunzhong smirked.

"What did you hear?"

"Isn't the rumor already widespread? Didn't you hear it?"

"Since I have ears, I couldn't help but hear it."

When Yunzhong answered calmly, Zhaoge became even more agitated.

"The merchants from Huayin who were demanding debts from Huashan turned out to be Huashan's former agents. Their businesses were all owned by Huashan."

"Is that so?"

"Now Huayin is in chaos. The government troops have occupied Huayin and confiscated all their assets."

"I heard that too."

"Oh, Great Senior Brother! Why are you so calm? Ah! I shouldn't even talk to people who are going to become Taoists!"

Zhaoge beat his chest in frustration.

"Is it really that big a deal?"

"It is. It's a huge deal. If all the assets of those who came are confiscated, do you know how much money that would be? Ignoring their assets, just taking over their business premises would ensure that Huashan wouldn't have to worry about food and shelter for generations."

"Really...?"

Yunzhong looked at Zhaoge with a newfound seriousness, as if he finally understood the gravity of the situation.

He was originally someone who was going to become a Taoist, and his background was far removed from the business world. The way he viewed the situation was clearly different from Zhaoge, who was the son of a merchant.

"It seems to be a bigger deal than I thought."

"Senior Brother, you will have to lead Huashan in the future. If you lack financial sense, it will be a big problem."

"Hmm. I'll keep that in mind."

He had heard the rumors, but he hadn't realized it was such a huge deal. He had thought that the debt collection could be avoided, but it turned out to be a much bigger issue than expected.

This led to a new question.

"But how did this happen so suddenly? Why did the Sect Leader endure the humiliation until now?"

"That, that..."

"Hmm?"

Zhaoge's face became strangely complicated.

"They say the ledger was discovered recently?"

"Ledger?"

"Yes. The ledger related to Huashan's business. It was discovered a few days ago, and that's how they were able to take down those people..."

Zhaoge subtly trailed off. Yunzhong understood why Zhaoge's expression was so troubled.

"A few days ago, you mean."

"Yes."

"The ledger was discovered a few days ago. And it was definitely in the form of a book, right?"

"Yes."

Yunzhong laughed bitterly.

"Coincidentally, we saw a book being discovered a few days ago, didn't we?"

"…Yes."

Zhaoge and Yunzhong exchanged a subtle glance, unable to continue speaking.

'That box.'

'There was definitely a book in it.'

It was too coincidental to be a mere chance. Moreover, the Sect Leader's reaction to the contents of the box was so striking.

"I don't want to believe it, but..."

"I feel the same way."

Zhaoge and Yunzhong's faces darkened even more.

"Besides, the guy's reaction before that was a bit..."

"Too obviously strange."

- Oh no! What's this? There's a rock here!

- No, no! It's not a rock! Who buried this here? That's strange. Hahaha. It's really strange.

- Should we dig it up? Can I dig it up? Hahaha. Ha. To think something like this was buried here. What a strange thing. It's not even treasure.

Yunzhong closed his eyes tightly.

'Even if I wanted to be fooled, I can't be fooled by just anything. Damn it.'

He couldn't forget that awkward voice. Even a three-year-old would have thought,

'This guy is definitely up to something strange.'

And the box that appeared after that ridiculous act...

"Sure enough?"

"Seems so."

Zhaoge and Yunzhong's faces became serious.

"Where did he find such a thing?"

"The more I know, the less I understand this guy."

"Ugh."

Yunzhong shook his head.

There are too many suspicious points. Even without deliberately looking for them, they seem to fall into place one after another.

However, the reason Yunzhong doesn't take Qingming too seriously is because his sincerity towards Huashan is clear.

In this case as well, thanks to Qingming finding those ledgers, Huashan has benefited greatly.

"Anyway..."

At that moment,

"Great Senior Brother!"

A loud voice came from outside the room.

"What is it?"

"Have you seen Qingming?"

"Why Qingming?"

"The Sect Leader is looking for him, but he can't be found anywhere. Not even in his room."

"…Hmm?"

Yunzhong, who was about to answer casually, suddenly stopped. His face turned dark.

"Not there?"

"Yes, nowhere."

"Surely not!"

Yunzhong jumped up from his seat and started running towards Qingming's room.

Yunzhong burst into the room and opened Qingming's wardrobe.

"Senior Brother! What are you doing?"

Zhaoge, who had followed Yunzhong in a hurry, shouted.

"…It's not there."

"What?"

"It's not there."

Yunzhong pointed to the empty wardrobe. Inside the wardrobe was Qingming's Taoist robe.

"Huh? He took off his robe and went somewhere..."

At that moment, Zhaoge's eyes widened.

Taking off the robe means he put on different clothes. But the casual clothes were also placed next to the robe. The missing clothes were...

"Surely not."

The night clothes and mask that Zhaoge had recently provided.

Yunzhong's face contorted.

"Is he planning to cause some trouble again?"

"…"

Qingming, whether he was a blessing or a curse to Huashan, was a mystery to the two of them.

* * *

"Ah..."

Zhaoming looked at the cart with a dazed expression. The cart contained part of the wealth he had accumulated so far.

The cart was so full that it seemed about to collapse.

If someone who didn't know him saw it, they would be shocked by the amount, but Zhaoming's heart was filled with despair.

"All in one day..."

It was like a bolt from the blue.

When they hurriedly came down from Huashan, what they saw was their business premises already occupied by government troops. The armed troops surrounded the premises, and they were given an eviction order.

When they protested, the only response was that if the Sect Leader hadn't asked for leniency, they would all have been sent to the government office.

'What is happening?'

If this is true, then the ledger was real.

But Zhaoming couldn't help feeling wronged. Who could have imagined that the plum workshop, which had been run by his family for generations, belonged to Huashan? They had simply taken it over from the previous generation.

But now, in one day, they were stripped of the workshop and expelled from Huayin. How could there be a more unjust situation in the world?

The expressions of the others were just as dark.

Seeing the carts gathering, Zhaoming felt his heart sink.

"…What is happening?"

"That's what I'm saying."

Sighs could be heard from all around.

They were immediately expelled from Huayin, but their families were allowed to stay a bit longer. Now, they had to entrust their families with the aftermath and leave Huayin.

"Must we really leave like this?"

"What else can we do?"

"We should at least protest..."

"Protest?"

Jin Yishan, the leader of Huayin's inn, glared at Zhaoming with a murderous look.

"Did you not see how the shop owner of Chao Ping was dragged to the government office for protesting? We are fraudsters, fraudsters! If the Sect Leader hadn't shown mercy, we would be in prison now! What do you mean by 'protest'?"

Zhaoming's shoulders slumped.

"Damn it!"

Jin Yishan turned around irritably.

"Let's go!"

"Already?"

"Didn't you hear that we have to leave within an hour or be imprisoned? We need to get out of Huayin first!"

Zhaoming reluctantly nodded. The onlookers, with dark faces, followed him.

They rode in the carts for a while before finally leaving Huayin. Stopping the carts under a tree, they got off and gathered.

"…Is this far enough?"

"The government troops who were watching us from behind seem to have gone. We can relax now, right?"

"We should be able to relax."

"What should we do now?"

As the urgency subsided, other issues began to surface.

Zhaoming subtly turned his head to look at Gong Wenyan, who had been silent. Seeing him say nothing, Zhaoming's frustration grew.

"Gong Lu Zhu!"

His voice sharply rose.

"What should we do now?"

As Zhaoming opened the discussion, others began to criticize Gong Wenyan.

"Say something!"

"Didn't you say we could trust Gong Lu Zhu? What's going on here?"

"Trusting Gong Lu Zhu has made us fraudsters. How do you plan to take responsibility for this?"

Gong Wenyan slowly raised his head.

"…"

Seeing his eyes, everyone fell silent. Gong Wenyan's usually gentle eyes were now filled with a fierce glare.

"Are you blaming me now?"

"…"

Under Gong Wenyan's pressure, everyone involuntarily took a step back.

"No, that's not what I meant…"

"We need to come up with a plan. A plan…"

As everyone flinched, Gong Wenyan's presence became even more overwhelming.

"Pathetic lot."

"…"

"…"

Gong Wenyan coldly rebuked them.

"Wasn't this a plan to challenge Huashan from the beginning? Is there anyone here who can say they have no shame? You all knew about it, didn't you?"

No one answered.

Those who still had a sense of shame bowed their heads, but most did not.

Gong Wenyan slightly softened his tone.

"There's no need to make a fuss. We are just taking shelter for now. This is not the end."

"…What do you plan to do?"

"There's no way the ledger is real."

"…"

"It's probably a forged ledger."

"But the government…"

"If the magistrate and Huashan colluded, manipulating the authenticity of a ledger is nothing! They must have agreed to share the wealth!"

"Ah!"

The merchants' heads snapped up.

"Then?"

"Let's go to Luoyang. Once we get to Luoyang, we can take action. If they are using power to suppress us, we need to use greater power to counter them! We will make sure to punish that evil magistrate and the Sect Leader of Huashan!"

"Ooh!"

"That's right! How can a ledger from a hundred years ago suddenly appear?"

"We need to expose the fraud!"

The merchants' voices grew louder.

But in their minds, they were thinking differently.

Whether the ledger was real or fake didn't matter. If they could use the power of influence, as Gong Wenyan said, they could turn a real ledger into a fake one.

Then getting their assets back would be a small matter.

Seeing their changed reactions, Gong Wenyan sneered.

"So you don't need to worry. I will take care of everything, so just follow me."

"We trust you, Lu Zhu!"

"We have always trusted you! Yes, we have."

'Pathetic.'

Gong Wenyan slightly frowned.

They are like scum, but he still needed them. It was more advantageous to have people who could speak up with him rather than going alone. Once he led them to Luoyang, he could turn the situation around. He had a powerful backer who could provide him with the necessary support...

"Talking nonsense."

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice rang out.

Gong Wenyan's head snapped around.