Hwang Jongi glanced around.

It was a familiar room he had seen several times before.

For a sect like Mount Hua, it was customary to have a separate hall to welcome outsiders. Therefore, the residence of the sect leader, the center of the sect, wasn’t typically a place for outsiders to set foot in.

However, Hyun Jong didn’t bother setting up such an office or hall and handled most major and minor meetings in his residence. That was why Hwang Jongi also came into the sect leader’s residence.

Yet, today was the first time he sat in this place without Hyun Jong and waited for so long.

Was that why? The appearance of the room, which he normally didn’t pay attention to, caught his eye today.

‘So down to earth.’

It was surprising.

Mount Hua had changed so much. It was no exaggeration to say that it was a complete transformation compared to the time when he first climbed Mount Hua to learn about Chung Myung and followed Elder Hwang to establish ties with Mount Hua.

However, although the appearance of the once-collapsed Mount Hua had become so grand that it rivaled any sect in the world, this room hadn’t changed from when he first saw it.

Other than what was absolutely needed, there wasn’t a single hanging scroll for decoration. Just by looking at this, it wasn’t difficult to guess how simple the personality of this room’s owner was.

‘Seriously, you are so amazing.’

People usually changed depending on the place they lived.

But nothing changed even when Hyun Jong was the leader of this forgotten small sect in Shaanxi, the leader of the Heavenly Friends Alliance who commanded the world, or the sect leader of Mount Hua.

Hwang Jongi, who dealt with many people, couldn’t help but understand how difficult it is to maintain a stable character, and his respect for Hyun Jong bloomed again.

“Sect leader…”

But the Clan Leader of the Ghost Clan, Do Un-chan, who was sitting next to him, had no time to admire such a sight. With a nervous look on his face, he kept urging Un Am, asking when the sect leader would come.

“He will be coming soon.”

“Where has he gone this early in the morning?”

“I apologize. The sect leader usually does personal training at this time… I have sent a disciple, so he will be coming soon.”

“Why this early in the morning…”

When Hwang Jongi raised his hand, Do Un-chan, who was complaining, let out a low growl.

If checked, it was true that those who came to the sect early in the morning were the rude ones. However, if one was constantly asked where the owner of the place was, it would be too rude.

“Phew…”

He was saying this because of how ignorant Do Un-chan was. But he was also anxious and urgent, not having time to show courtesy now. The only thing on his mind was the reason for their arrival.

As he gently bit his lip.

Clack.

The tightly shut door opened, and Hyun Jong entered the room.

Hwang Jongi, Do Un-chan, and those who came to accompany them all got up.

“I apologize. I didn’t expect guests to come at this time, so I was out. Please forgive me for my rudeness.”

“How is your act considered rudeness, sect leader? I can only thank you for not blaming me for the rude act of knocking on the gates early in the morning.”

Hwang Jongi and Do Un-chan bowed their heads.

Hyun Jong bowed his head in greeting and quickly walked over to sit at the head of the table.

“Please sit down.”

“Yes, sect leader.”

Do Un-chan sat down and quickly tried to speak. Because he was anxious, he couldn’t wait for any more pleasantries.

But he decided to be silent.

‘Uh?’

It was because he felt something different from Hyun Jong.

It was definitely not rough, but it felt like a force gently pressing down on all sides…

‘Now that I think about it, doesn’t his outside appearance look better?’

The last time they met was for the opening of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, so it must have been a long enough time for such a change. Do Un-chan blinked at the strange occurrence.

At that time, Hyun Jong quietly said,

“Seeing as you have come to see me this early, it seems like something unusual happened. Please tell me the reason.”

“Yes, sect leader…”

Hwang Jongi slowly turned his gaze to Do Un-chan.

He thought it would be better for Do Un-chan to explain it. Then Do Un-chan nodded and said,

“Sect leader, the special delivery person of our sect under the Eunha Escort service, was attacked.”

Hyun Jong’s face hardened.

“Now… Did you say attacked?”

“Yes. That…”

That was when Hwang Jongi slowly opened his mouth. Do Un-chan, who was a bit angry and unable to speak properly, needed another additional comment.

“To be exact, I think it would be more accurate to say that we are being disturbed in our work rather than attacked.”

“Could you explain in detail?”

Do Un-chan sighed with a helpless look on his face.

“The people crossing the Yangtze River to deliver items to the southern part of Central Plains are being attacked by pirates.”

“…”

“There are already more than five kids who have been harmed. Three of them lost their items and their lives, and the whereabouts of the other two remain unknown. Maybe…”

Hyun Jong closed his eyes tightly.

If the whereabouts were unclear while crossing the river, the consequence was obvious. If a person was thrown into the wide river, it was natural that finding the body would be difficult. Even if he were fortunate enough to be alive, it meant that he was in no condition to return with serious injuries.

Hyun Jong, who roughly understood the situation, spoke in a heavy voice.

“Why is something like this suddenly happening? I know nothing of such major problems occurring.”

“… I can think of reasons.”

Hwang Jongi drooled and opened his mouth.

“The first is that the special delivery service of Eunha is now very famous. Of course, we encouraged this to increase the number of users. Still, even considering that there were too many rumors about Eunha merchants transporting valuable items. Naturally, we became a target.”

“Hmm.”

Hyun Jong nodded as if it made sense.

“The second is that the amount of special deliveries has increased, and the area has expanded. In the meantime, the Eunha escort services were moving from Beijing to Sichuan and other places. But now, with more high-ranking officials depositing goods, the journey extends to Nanking, Hangzhou, and even Gwangju.”

Hwang Jongi gulped and continued to speak.

“There is no need to cross the Yangtze River to travel to Sichuan. Of course, for normal travel, it is faster to travel by water, but for the disciples of the Ghost Clan, it is faster to travel by land than by water. So, there was no need to touch the water until now.”

“Hmm, right.”

“But to reach Hangzhou and Gwangju, we must cross the river and go halfway around the central plains. Therefore, we have no choice but to cross the Yangtze River.”

Hyun Jong nodded.

The Yangtze River extended from the East Sea to Dongting Lake in Hunan.

Hangzhou was located almost on the East Sea. To deliver Beijing’s goods to other places without crossing the Yangtze River, one would have to travel around the Central Plains.

This was an excessive waste of time.

“In order to transport cargo, we have to cross the river… the pirates are targeting that aspect.”

“Yes, right.”

Hyun Jong quietly closed his eyes.

After a while, he opened his eyes and looked at Hwang Jongi and Do Un-chan. Hwang Jongi’s face was cold, and Do Un-chan’s face went pale.

“I understand your situation. Then how would you two like me to handle this matter?”

In response to Hyun Jong’s question, Hwang Jongi opened his mouth.

“Sect leader.”

“Yes.”

“It seems like they are targeting the Eunha escort service along the path of the Yangtze River, specifically the 18 Families. This means that these attacks will likely continue in the future.”

“…Right.”

“To secure customers quickly, Eunha set up a higher compensation rate than any normal escort service. It’s not a huge problem since we’ve used the money we’ve earned so far, but if this happens a couple more times, we won’t be able to provide compensation anymore.”

Hwang Jongi sighed and continued.

“We considered transporting the cargo by detouring around the river, but it ended up being tougher than we expected. One can bear the increased cost of bypassing it, but we would lose the speed of delivery, which is what makes us popular.”

“A special delivery that isn’t fast is no longer a special delivery.”

“Right. Then the officials in Beijing will no longer entrust their goods to Eunha.”

Hyun Jong’s face turned determined. This was a more serious issue than he had thought. The very existence of the Eunha escort service might be at stake now.

“The bottom line is, you need to cross the Yangtze River without taking any damage.”

“Right, sect leader.”

Hyun Jong turned his gaze to Do Un-chan and asked.

“Umm. What do you think, sect leader?”

“Sect leader.”

Do Un-chan bit his lip and said.

“The disciples were injured.”

“…”

“The fate of some is still unclear to us. What can I say in this situation… sect leader? Please remember this. The reason I first started this journey of escort services was for one reason.”

“What is that?”

“Even if we lose the target, there is always someone who will come ahead to help. And that would be Mount Hua.”

“…”

“Sect leader, I am begging you, please resolve this situation for us.”

Hyun Jong was lost in thought for a moment, without saying anything.

Crack. Crack.

Silence fell in the room. The sound of the lamp burning was loud enough to be heard.

Hyun Jong, who had been thinking, said,

“… if I am to be honest….”

Everyone waited for his next words.

“I don’t know much about business. And I don’t know why we should continue the business and take such a risk.”

For a moment, Hwang Jongi’s face hardened. This was because it sounded like they wanted to end their ties with Eunha.

But Hyun Jong wasn’t done.

“But I know one thing for sure.”

Two bright eyes looked at the two guests in front of him.

“The Ghost Clan is Mount Hua’s friend. What is important isn’t the loss of the item or the loss to the business. Mount Hua’s friend was injured and went missing. The most important thing right now is this.”

“S-sect leader!”

Do Un-chan was taken aback and bit his lip.

How could he not come forward and say something different? A cry rose in his throat to seek revenge on those who attacked the disciples.

But he couldn’t speak out of line because he knew that was unfair. However, Hyun Jong came forward and said,

“Mount Hua isn’t a place that turns a blind eye to friends. Not now, not in the future.”

Hyun Jong looked resolute.

“Mount Hua will not sit idle and watch this happen.”

“Sect leader!”

“Thank you, sect leader!”

“But!”

Hyun Jong slowly shook his head and told them to stop.

“Even if I am Mount Hua’s sect leader, considering the repercussions of this, it isn’t something I can decide alone. I would like to call for the leading people in the sect and a few disciples to discuss this. Please understand.”

“Yes, sect leader! It is expected.”

Do Un-chan nodded in agreement. It was because what Hyun Jong said was right, but it was also because he wanted to hear this from someone else’s mouth.

“Un Am, go find the disciples…”

“Sect leader.”

“Hmm?”

Before Hyun Jong could give the command, Do Un-chan spoke.

“I will personally meet Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon. I think reporting the situation first would be better.”

“…”

“Can I not?”

“That… why can’t you… right, there is nothing you cannot do… right?”

When Hyun Jong showed this reluctant reaction, Hwang Jongi stepped ahead to help Do Un-chan.

“It is better than hearing it here… why not?”

“…”

Hyun Jong secretly imagined the reaction that Chung Myung would give if he heard this.

“… right.”

“Yes, sect leader.”

“Un Am.”

“Uh?”

“Take these people to Chung Myung.”

“Yes, sect leader.”

Hyun Jong, who was watching the two people get up without delay, sighed and added.

“And if possible…”

“Uh?”

“Take some guys with you. For no reason, just to be sure.”

“… I will make sure to do that.”

Upon hearing that, Do Un-chan and Hwang Jongi both thought.

‘Seems like nothing has changed with him.’

‘He is… truly consistent.’

But for today, both of them felt happy about it.