"Why is it so late?" Jo Geol anxiously looked outside.

The dawn was breaking in the distance, yet Cheongmyeong had not returned.

If Cheongmyeong did not come back by morning, the elders of the sect would discover that he had left his post.

Then there would be chaos.

Just leaving Mount Hwasan without permission was a serious crime.

And if they found out that Cheongmyeong had returned late wearing his black night clothes? 'It would be hell.' He absolutely did not want to see that.

"Stay calm."

"But, hyung."

Yoon Jong shook his head.

"He’s not that foolish. He will return before it gets too late, unless something happened."

And no matter how much he thought about it, he did not believe anything would happen to that monstrous guy.

Most likely, he would just be a little late.

"But you never know what could happen."

"True, if he were an ordinary person."

Just as Jo Geol stretched his neck to look out the window, the door suddenly swung open.

"Tsk."

Both Jo Geol and Yoon Jong turned their heads sharply.

"Master!" Cheongmyeong entered, holding his mask in one hand.

As soon as he closed the door, he quickly stripped off his night clothes and began changing into his training uniform.

"Everything alright?"

"That's what we should be asking. Was everything alright?"

"Everything was fine."

Cheongmyeong chuckled.

"I was treated well and even received some travel money."

"W-Who gave it to you?"

"What was his name? Yoo... Anyway, he’s the owner of the fabric shop."

"Huh?" Jo Geol and Yoon Jong's eyes widened.

Seeing their reaction, Cheongmyeong couldn't help but chuckle at the earlier situation. 'It's not even funny.

Really.' Yoo Jong-san, who had assumed Cheongmyeong was out to organize Hwasan, spilled all the information he didn’t even need to share.

Yet, he made a great effort to engrave his name in Cheongmyeong's mind.

'What a character.' While it was nice that things went smoothly, he couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter.

In Yoo Jong-san's mind, Hwasan was clearly absent from the list of prestigious sects.

Even after witnessing Cheongmyeong's sword techniques, he couldn’t associate it with Hwasan.

No matter how much the Plum Blossom Sword Technique had been put into practice, it should still be known that Hwasan had once mastered it.

Considering Hwasan's current strength, he might have thought that no one so young could possess such abilities, but the bitterness remained.

'Well, bitterness is bitterness, but at least it made things easier.' He had prepared himself to reveal his identity, but if he ended up completely hidden, wasn’t that a good thing?

"What happened?"

"…Tsk."

At Jo Geol's question, Cheongmyeong waved his hand.

"The kids can’t do anything on their own. Just leave them be."

"…But they are kids too."

"Enough. Gather them. We need to train."

"Today too?" Cheongmyeong glared.

"Listen well, hyung."

"Huh?"

"Rain or shine, snow or wind. Starting today, we won’t skip a single day of training! Even if a blizzard hits and the mountain collapses, there will be no days off!"

Jo Geol nodded with a serious face. 'This is what I prepared for!' Wasn’t this the reason he had decided to help and follow Cheongmyeong? If he could become stronger through training, he could do anything.

Non-stop training was exactly what he wanted.

"Line up properly. Then you…"

"Ah. I’m not going."

"Huh?" Cheongmyeong turned to Yoon Jong with a blank expression.

"You know how to train, right?"

"…I do."

"Do it the same way."

"What about you?"

"I have other things to do."

As Cheongmyeong waved his hand, Yoon Jong sighed.

"Fine. We’ll train among ourselves today. But this is the only time."

Yoon Jong’s face became serious.

"Don’t forget that this training is possible because you are here. If you’re not going to take it seriously, you need to join us."

"I know."

The reason the three great disciples of Baekmaegwan trained hard without complaints was that Cheongmyeong was glaring at them.

No matter how much Yoon Jong was the eldest disciple, there were limits to how much he could substitute for Cheongmyeong.

"Then."

As Jo Geol and Yoon Jong left the room, Cheongmyeong flopped down on the bed.

"Now what do I do?" His head hurt.

That guy’s justification.

If he could sweep it away without worrying, it wouldn’t be a difficult task, but as long as he bore the name of Hwasan, he had to be aware of others' gazes.

If what Cheongmyeong did only added to his own infamy, there would be no reason to hesitate.

But right now, that was impossible.

No one would think that Cheongmyeong acted alone.

It was simply unreasonable for someone his age to undertake such matters alone.

Everyone would point fingers, saying that Hwasan was using Cheongmyeong to act while hiding behind a child.

That was not what Cheongmyeong wanted.

He had to find some justification.

"Justification. Justification… Ugh."

Cheongmyeong pulled at his hair.

"Does this even make sense? Damn it!" All those businesses originally belonged to Hwasan.

Yet, he had to pay back the money to those who had swallowed Hwasan’s businesses! It was infuriating!

If he could just prove that those businesses originally belonged to Hwasan and that those guys had manipulated the books to swallow them while Hwasan’s upper management was absent, then it would be enough.

If that were the case, what’s a mere hundred thousand nyang? Just pay it back, and that’s it.

No, there wouldn’t even be a need to pay it back.

That money originally belonged to Hwasan.

What kind of interest is there when the owner takes their own money? So, he just needed to prove that those businesses originally belonged to Hwasan.

Then everything would be resolved…

"If that were possible, I wouldn’t be in this situation."

If there had been records, Hwasan wouldn’t have been sitting idle.

Back when he was around, the kids entering Hwasan were all sharp as a tack.

If there had been evidence, there would have been no reason not to reclaim them.

Looking at the situation, it seemed that when the Demon Sect invaded, all the records had flown away…

"Is this also my fault?" His stomach hurt.

His stomach.

Cheongmyeong rolled around on the bed.

"No! Master Jang, shouldn’t important things be stored safely? Safely!" How much money was tied up in that? To just leave it carelessly in a place…

"Huh?" Cheongmyeong suddenly sat up.

Carelessly? C-Carelessly? 'That can’t be!'

What kind of person is Master Jang to keep such records carelessly? 'Let me think.' Cheongmyeong had never been interested in such matters.

He knew that money was needed to run a sect, but he believed that a true martial artist and a true Taoist should not be attached to material possessions.

Looking at the kids in Hwasan now, just eating porridge, he felt like smashing his own face in for chasing after his past self, but that was how Cheongmyeong had been back then.

Because of that, Master Jang never showed Cheongmyeong the records.

Whenever Cheongmyeong came, he would often sneakily push them aside while organizing the records.

"…Push them aside?" He tried to recall his hazy memories.

There were at most three volumes of records in Master Jang’s room.

To operate Hwasan, there should be dozens of records at the very least.

So where were those records stored? 'There must be another place!'

Master Jang’s room wouldn’t have such things stored.

Even though he was the head of the great Hwasan sect, he was still a Taoist.

Master Jang’s room was incredibly simple.

If he tried to fill a chest in Master Jang’s room with records, there wouldn’t be room for anything else.

Moreover, he had seen Master Jang open that chest several times, but there were no records inside.

So where could those records be?

"Then, was that true?" He had heard rumors before that Hwasan had a secret storage room that only the head could enter.

It was more like a rumor than anything, but it was quite a famous story.

If it were the Cheongmyeong of that time, he could have figured out the truth, but he hadn’t checked because he wasn’t particularly interested.

'Wait a minute.

Now that I think about it…' A few things came to mind.

Since Hwasan represented the prestigious sect of the province, strange things sometimes came in.

For example, forbidden martial arts that shouldn’t be known to people or secret techniques of past masters.

Occasionally, legendary swords or treasures would also be acquired.

So where did all those things go? It wasn’t in the Jaegyeonggak.

If it had been in Jaegyeonggak, Cheongmyeong would have seen it.

Nor had they been sold off.

There were some things that would cause chaos in the martial world if released.

If Master Jang had sold such things, Cheongmyeong would have heard about it.

Then? 'There is!' There is a storage room where records and treasures are gathered.

And it’s not far from here.

Since they couldn’t leave Hwasan to go in and out of the storage room, there must be such a place within Hwasan.

A place that no one knows about.

But is that even possible? To build a storage room in a place where martial masters swarm like mosquitoes and not get caught?

Cheongmyeong burst out of the door.

The only possible place for that would be inside Master Jang’s quarters.

If there were an entrance outside the quarters, it would be impossible to avoid detection.

A place that no one can enter without Master Jang’s permission.

Such a place exists only in Master Jang’s quarters in Hwasan.

'Master Jang’s quarters haven’t changed since the past.' That means? Cheongmyeong’s eyes widened as he dashed outside.

Behind the quarters where Master Jang resides, there is a gentle hill.

'If there is a storage room, it would definitely not be noticeable.' However, there is one way to hide a storage room even after building it.

That is to build it underground.

If they dug under the quarters and built a storage room, it would have been discovered by sensitive masters.

But if they created a passage and built the storage room under that hill?

"Unless they are ghosts, no one would know."

Cheongmyeong chuckled ominously. 'It’s there.'

Thinking about it, it was strange.

Usually, in other sects, the head’s quarters would be located at the center of the sect.

That way, they could oversee everything.

Isn’t it odd for an emperor to live in a corner of the palace? But Master Jang’s quarters are located deep within Hwasan.

And there is nothing behind it.

Only that!

Looking at the small hill behind Master Jang’s quarters, Cheongmyeong grinned.

"Looks like I’m going treasure hunting, something I never expected."

He could almost feel Master Jang rolling his eyes from above.

"Please understand, Master Jang. First, I need to save Hwasan, right? If possible, I’ll hand it over to you without touching anything."

If possible.

After I take what I need.

If you feel wronged, just come back to life again."

He chuckled gleefully.