Read Novel Full Chapter 1206: Now The Sect Is Finally Getting Back On Track (1)
Chapter 1206: Now The Sect Is Finally Getting Back On Track (1)
Power has accompanied human history and has driven countless people to ruin. Power is like a double-edged sword; those who wield it poorly are bound to lose everything.
Yet people cling to it because it must be worth taking all those risks, isn’t it?
But here, the young swordsman who rose to become the most powerful figure in Mount Hua is now wondering whether the power he holds is worth even a pebble by the roadside.
“Take this, and take this too.”
“...Thank you.”
“Before you go, don’t forget to stop by the finance hall and bring some money.”
“Alright. I won’t forget.”
“If the water changes, the kids might get stomach-aches. Tell Soso in advance to pack medicine.”
“What warrior gets a stomach-ache because the water changed...”
“If something happens to the guys, will sahyung be the one to take responsibility?”
“...I’ll tell them.”
“Tsk.”
...It’s uncomfortable.
Of course Baek Sang wasn’t always an easy subordinate. After all, Baek Sang was the second among the Baek ranks — someone Baek Cheon should naturally respect. Moreover, he had once done countless tasks as Baek Cheon’s hands and feet.
So Baek Cheon had been somewhat mindful of Baek Sang. But how to put it... this current discomfort felt a bit different in tone.
“Um... Sang.”
“Yes?”
“...Never mind.”
Baek Sang, who had been glaring at Baek Cheon, abruptly turned his head and began rummaging through items.
“A person isn’t some ox calf that’s been given a prepayment...”
“...”
“You screw things up the moment I look away, then you mess up again the next time I look back!”
“...”
“Who has to clean up after that? Oh my fate. At this age I’m about to become the Finance Hall.”
“I... It’s just that I’m taking on the role of Acting Sect leader. You won’t really change much...”
Baek Cheon fell silent. Baek Sang, looking too tired to speak, pulled something from his bosom and shoved it in front of Baek Cheon’s face.
Seeing the bundle of keys threaded on a thick wire, Baek Cheon’s expression shifted slightly.
“Do you know what this is?”
“...Looks like keys?”
“The sheds and the storerooms! Keys to the storerooms that keep food and supplies! Keys!”
Baek Cheon stared blankly at the bundle of keys and tilted his head.
“What’s that small key in the middle? Why is the key gilded...?”
“Yes. Good eye. That’s the issue!”
Baek Sang’s eyes glittered as he raised his voice. Startled, Baek Cheon took a step back.
“Do you know what this is?”
“I-I just asked you...”
“The vault key, the vault! The key the elder Hyun Young carries around like a sacred relic wherever he goes! The sect vault that’s only in Elder Hyun Young’s room! That vault key! The key Elder Hyun Young brought from that Shanxi all the way here, the Mount Hua vault key!”
“...”
“He entrusted me with that vault key he kept by his side every moment of his life! Even when bathing he’d hold it in his mouth! Do you know what that means?”
I know. How could I not...?
“The elders are already giddy at the thought of handing over duties, but the one who did the actual work gets daisies blooming in his head!”
“S-sorry.”
“Ah, really!”
Baek Sang snorted. Seeing that, the slightly cowed Baek Cheon clasped his hands neatly in front of him.
“I thought this would be a story twenty years down the line.”
“Me, as an elder? Oh, my stomach...”
Baek Cheon hung his head low.
Others could just swagger about being an elder and carry on with their usual tasks, but Baek Sang’s case was very different. He was the one who, after Hyun Young, should become the Hall leader of the Finance Hall.
The Finance Hall is incomparable in terms of the workload at Mount Hua. Naturally, Baek Sang, forced into the position of the Hall Leader of the Finance Hall, couldn’t help but feel his insides twist.
“So!”
“Hm?”
Baek Sang narrowed his eyes and spoke.
“Have you decided on the Martial Hall leader position?”
“M-martial Hall?”
“Yes! Martial Hall leader!”
“Well, um... If Elder Hyun Sang steps down, then it would probably be the Un Geom sasuk...”
“Un Geom sasuuuuuk?”
Baek Sang rolled his eyes again, and Baek Cheon squeezed his eyes shut.
“Sect leader is Baek Cheon, Finance Hall leader is Baek Sang! And the Martial Hall leader would be the Un Geom sasuk? Even if the sect is going topsy-turvy, there’s a limit to indecency! Are you saying we’ll be taking reports from a sasuk now about the martial arts? Huh?”
“Th-that’s impossible! Right! That’s absurd!”
“Then who will you appoint?”
“That’s...”
Baek Cheon clamped his mouth shut like a clam. Baek Sang, unable to bear the frustration, grabbed at his chest.
“Don’t speak! I will...”
“...”
“Sahyung.”
“Uh... yes?”
Baek Sang glared at Baek Cheon with blazing eyes.
“Listen to me carefully.”
At the suddenly serious tone, Baek Cheon’s shoulders tensed. Whatever came next didn’t seem like something to brush off as a joke.
“Your mind must be crowded now with the state of the Jianghu, the future of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, and the relations between the sects.”
Baek Cheon silently nodded.
Though he tried not to show it, he actually felt a heavy burden. Naturally, his mind was filled with the very things Baek Sang mentioned.
“That’s common for those rising to the top. When facing great matters, you can’t attend to small things. I understand. But...”
Baek Sang sighed deeply and continued.
“There’s a saying: family harmony brings success in everything.”
“...”
“The elders told me to mind what is within my reach because you can’t leap forward if the ground beneath your feet isn’t stable. If you truly wish to lead Mount Hua well, sahyung, you must properly attend to the near matters before the distant ones.”
Just as Baek Cheon was about to nod heavily, Baek Sang’s expression changed completely.
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t be saying this. Ugh!”
“...”
“Read this on the way to Southern Island.”
Baek Sang pulled a booklet from his bosom and handed it over.
“...What is this?”
“A ledger. Mount Hua’s financial accounts!”
Baek Cheon’s face showed slight discomfort.
“Do I really need to look at this? It’s your job; I can just trust you...”
“What kind of convenient nonsense is that!”
Baek Sang suddenly shouted, and Baek Cheon flinched and hunched his neck.
“Believing someone is one thing, but you must know how to handle the work properly! Funds are like the lifeblood of the sect! If the vessels clog, people die, people!”
“Y-yeah.”
“Then at least know how the sect’s income and expenditures work! And whether any money leaks in the middle, shouldn’t you at least be able to read the ledger? What will you do if I turn my mind and siphon off funds?”
When Baek Cheon couldn’t answer, Baek Sang clicked his tongue and pulled another booklet from his bosom, placing it in Baek Cheon’s hands.
“And look at this too.”
“...And what is this?”
“It’s a roster categorizing the Baek disciples and Chung disciple ranks’ personal details, temperaments, and martial skill levels. The sect is built on its disciples. A Sect leader must properly understand each disciple.”
“Ah, no, Baek Sang. There’s nothing wrong with what you say. It’s just that right now I’m...”
“Oh, it’s not something to do immediately? Because you’re the Acting Sect leader?”
“...”
“Stop with the easy comforts. Who expected me to be doing this? I thought it would take another ten years before I’d be carrying storeroom keys. But it took less than a year to slip into it!”
“Q-quick.”
“When has Mount Hua’s business ever proceeded at a reasonable pace? From when you drop the acting Sect leader title to becoming the real Sect leader takes less than a year. Understand? Put another way, from now, within one year you must master all Sect leader duties completely!”
“That’s true, but...”
“Don’t even say that the Sect leader will help you now.”
Baek Cheon, about to say those exact words, closed his mouth and politely clasped his hands in front of him.
“That would be no different from enjoying the rights while avoiding the responsibilities. How would the disciples view sahyung then? I cannot tolerate that myself!”
“Y-yes. I’ll try...”
“So memorize perfectly, the ledgers and the roster I just gave you!”
Another booklet was pulled from Baek Sang’s bosom.
“There’s more... wait a moment.”
“This is a summary of Mount Hua’s business sites managed externally by the Sect leader, and an outline of the enterprises Mount Hua is currently running.”
“Why do more books keep coming out of your bosom?”
You had all of that tucked in there?
“This is approximate information and internal organization charts for entities allied with Mount Hua, including Eunha Merchant Guild and the Ghost Clan!”
“...”
“And this is...”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
In an instant, booklets stacked in his hands like a tower. Baek Cheon squeezed his eyes shut.
“If you glance over roughly this much, you should get a sense of how Mount Hua runs. I’ve really filtered only the bare minimum, so cram every bit of it into your head without leaving any out!”
A sigh escaped Baek Cheon’s mouth. He realized anew how many duties the Sect leader of Mount Hua handled...
‘These are things I should have known by right.’
Baek Sang had been doing all of that for him up until now. And he never once made a show of it, just did it quietly.
When Baek Cheon’s face hardened at that realization, Baek Sang glanced around furtively and changed his tune.
“Well... it is a lot, but there’s no need to worry so much. You just need to know it, and the actual managing and operating of it will be my job.”
Baek Cheon felt thankful to Baek Sang anew, but Baek Sang believed Baek Cheon had grown weary of the many tasks.
“No, don’t make that face. I know you’re busy with external affairs. I’ll handle the inside work, but you should still know about it. That’s what makes a truly excellent Sect leader...”
“Sang.”
“Yes?”
“...Thank you.”
Baek Sang, momentarily stunned, twitched his lips.
“What a strange thing to say... In any case, memorize all of that. I have to go manage the provisions now.”
Baek Sang’s face flushed slightly as he left the storeroom without looking back.
Standing there dazed, Baek Cheon set the booklets on the ground and opened the one on top.
At that moment, a sigh escaped his lips.
It was a newly written book.
Not something he had been shown before, but written anew, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) character by character. All the booklets were like that.
Wasn’t Baek Sang the one who hardly had time to sleep while feeding the disciples of the Heavenly Friends Alliance? No doubt he stayed up many nights straight to make these booklets.
They weren’t even fully dry yet; the smell of ink still lingered. Baek Cheon stared at them, closed the pages, and let out a small sigh.
“He’s a damned fellow...”
Baek Cheon isn’t the only one bearing responsibility.
As he advances, others will shoulder the same responsibilities. When everyone grows accustomed to that weight, they can become the Mount Hua they’ve longed for.
A heaviness settled in one side of his chest.
‘I will not disappoint them.’
Baek Cheon etched the firm vow once more, gathered all the booklets, and as he was about to open the storeroom door, a piercing voice reached his ears.
“Noooo, what do you think wooden swords grow if you dig the ground? Why are you using them so recklessly! And didn’t I tell you to be careful not to tear your clothes during sparring? Do these brats really think clothes fall from the sky when it’s time?!”
“Ah, no, sasuk... how were we supposed to spar like that...?”
“What? You brat, are you rebelling against me now? You useless freeloaders who can’t earn a single coin, how dare you squander the blood-earned money that sasuks and sahyungs earned with their bodies!”
“We- were wrong...”
“Do you think money will rain forever on Mount Hua? The Chung disciple brats have had it easy, that’s why. Don’t they know the value of money! Back in my day, we’d sew the same robe dozens of times! We’d climb the mountain to fell trees and carve a single wooden sword ourselves! These kids nowadays are hopeless!”
“I’m sorry, sasuk! I was wrong. Please...”
“It’s not that I’m being stingy with money! Hey? That money was all earned by your Acting Sect leader and Chung Myung getting cut by blades! Getting beat by power while earning it all for the Sect! And you lot...”
“Eek!”
Enduring the stream of needle-sharp scolding, Baek Cheon gently set the door handle back down.
“...Out of respect for his goodwill, I should read them here, shouldn’t I?”
And when it quiets down a bit, I’ll leave...
When it gets quiet.......