Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 12
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12. Something More Important Than Money (2)
Moyong Bi, who had been trying to avoid answering and leave, changed his mind.
Looking at Moyong Su Jeong’s face, it seemed like she wouldn’t sleep properly until she heard the story.
“It’s true that I deliberately borrowed money. But I can’t tell you the reason…”
Moyong Bi roughly added some flesh to his story.
He said that it seemed like the Family Clan would collapse at this rate, and thinking he should help in his own way, he had been preparing various things for a long time.
Though he said he added flesh to the story, he hadn’t given a clear answer about anything. That couldn’t be helped. There was no point in making up reasons when different words later would only lose her trust.
That for a long time, he too had been thinking he should do something for the Family Clan.
Moyong Bi thoroughly emphasized only that content.
“I see.”
Though not a single question had been resolved, Moyong Su Jeong still nodded her head.
Moyong Bi’s worry about what he’d do if she kept pressing him turned out to be groundless.
“Yes, you must have had your thoughts.”
“I’m sorry I can’t tell you in detail… sorry.”
Since she was like a granddaughter to him, he had to use all his strength to correct the elder’s tone that was about to slip out.
“No. Elder Sister is moved enough just confirming that your heart hasn’t left the Main Family House.”
Moyong Su Jeong’s face held the same apologetic expression and worry as always.
“When I think about when I returned to the Main Family House, I still can’t sleep. Your wandering was all because of me too.”
Huh? What is she talking about?
‘Was she away from the Family Clan for a while?’
Moyong Bi shook his head.
“What I did wasn’t something that deserves to be defended with the word ‘wandering.’ It wasn’t because of anyone. It was all just because I was pathetic.”
He truly thought so. Though he could say this because he didn’t know Moyong Bi’s life, at least looking at Moyong Su Jeong’s appearance, he couldn’t forgive himself.
Moyong Su Jeong unconsciously shed tears.
‘He’s finally returned.’
She recalled the conversation with her Younger Brother from five years ago, when he was only fourteen.
‘I’ll take care of the Family Clan and Su Hyang, so Elder Sister, don’t worry about anything and go. I’ll protect our Home.’
‘Bi Ah.’
‘Make sure to cure your illness. If you ever get tired and have a hard time, come back Home anytime.’
She still couldn’t forget her Younger Brother’s eyes, so young yet filled with fatigue.
‘It’s my fault.’
Back then, she resented her own talent. She thought that if she could just cure her illness, she would go out into the world and achieve great success.
But her condition only grew worse.
She became increasingly anxious and irritable. Yet she absolutely didn’t want to return Home.
In that moment, Moyong Su Jeong realized.
That she had been treating the Family Clan, the surname Moyong, like a burden.
‘I never tried to understand Bi Ah’s sense of responsibility or his fatigue.’
It was a time when I lived only for myself.
Only when I realized there was no way to cure my illness did I think of my family. With only a few years left in my life, I wanted to live while reflecting and taking care of my family.
But the home I returned to was greatly ruined.
And there was my younger brother, ten times more devastated than the house.
‘Things didn’t go your way out there, did they? Looks like you couldn’t cure your illness either. Why? Now that you’re about to die, you finally think of family?’
The sight of my younger brother giggling while drunk.
Seeing my younger brother who had grown so much in three years, yet was broken as much as he had grown, Moyong Su Jeong fell into extreme self-hatred.
Everything was my fault. Leaving those young siblings behind and departing alone was an unreasonable thing to do.
From then on, I devoted everything to the family clan.
Taking on the role of acting family head in place of my younger brother who couldn’t perform the duties, I sacrificed sleep to rebuild our crumbling house.
Two years passed like that, but my younger brother still wouldn’t open his heart to me.
I thought it was natural. I thought I should understand even if he never opened up until death.
Because the sin I had committed was too great.
‘He’s finally come back.’
My wandering younger brother was looking at me with changed eyes, a changed voice, and a changed attitude.
My younger brother who only caused trouble, it turned out he wanted to try doing something for the family clan.
Moyong Su Jeong felt as if she had gained the whole world. Just knowing my younger brother’s heart and will seemed to make the worsening illness hesitate.
‘Thank you for forgiving me.’
And thank you for not giving up and rising again.
“Why are you crying?”
Seeing her burst into tears, Moyong Bi was flustered.
‘Damn, did I do something wrong?’
Did my words about being inadequate sound sarcastic? Looking back, I thought that might be possible.
Even though I tried to stop now, I kept feeling resentful toward Moyong Bi.
‘Oh my, this pathetic fool.’
If I had met him during my Alliance Leader days, Moyong Bi’s legs wouldn’t have remained intact.
“Bi Ah.”
“Huh?”
“Thank you, thank you.”
“What did I do?”
Moyong Su Jeong wiped her tears with her sleeve and straightened her expression again.
“Still, I cannot accept that money.”
Moyong Bi’s eyes widened.
“Why? That’s clean money with no strings attached.”
“That’s not the reason. The wealth accumulated by the Black Tiger Gang is the blood and sweat of common people. Shouldn’t that money go back to where it originally belongs?”
Look at this good-hearted fellow.
“You shouldn’t think that way.”
“I shouldn’t?”
“If that’s the case, then all the profits we’ve earned are dirty money. There’s no money in this world that doesn’t have blood on it.”
“Still….”
“If that really bothers you, then grow the family clan and give generously to the poor and destitute.”
Moyong Su Jeong’s face darkened.
Moyong Bi continued speaking forcefully.
“It’s not easy to fill your own belly while thinking about everyone else. Moreover, considering the Main Family House’s situation, it’s absurd.”
“….”
“Remember this. No one sheds tears for the powerless. Even if they do, those people need practical help more than tears. And that help comes from power.”
“…!”
“Sympathy, worry, consideration, mercy. All good things. But to show your heart through actions, you need power. Without power, you can’t do anything.”
Goodness? Excellent. Mercy? Important.
But the world is harsh, and there are more people who try to exploit others’ hearts than those who try to understand them.
Cultivation of spirit and heart should come before power, but it shouldn’t be superior to power either.
That was the world Moyong Bi had learned about.
Slide.
Moyong Bi pushed the bundle closer to Moyong Su Jeong and stood up from his seat.
“I know how kind our acting family head is. But right now, I hope you won’t think about other things.”
“Bi Ah.”
“Gaining power comes first, and giving comes later. And I know well that even when our family clan gains power, our sister’s good heart won’t fade.”
Moyong Bi smiled mischievously.
“Most importantly, that’s war spoils I obtained directly, isn’t it? A victor must reinforce the weakened army first before distributing the war spoils. That’s the priority. Right?”
“….”
“Get some rest. Let’s meet again in the morning.”
With those words, Moyong Bi left the office.
Moyong Su Jeong stared blankly at the closed door and felt her emotions welling up once again.
Her younger brother’s words about meeting again felt so warm.
Every single word her younger brother said today had been like salvation. It felt as if her mistakes from the past years had been forgiven, just a little, just a tiny bit.
‘Thank you.’
Moyong Su Jeong covered her eyes with a towel.
The tears kept flowing, but she wasn’t sad.
* * *
After leaving the office, Moyong Bi went straight to his personal quarters.
Though it was late at night, sleep wouldn’t come. He wasn’t in the right state of mind to sleep, and he had much to think about.
Moyong Bi reviewed everything that had happened from the moment he awakened until now.
‘There are too many uncertainties. I don’t know anything about this guy Moyong Bi either.’
He didn’t even know the identity of that young girl he saw the moment he first regained consciousness.
‘Come to think of it.’
Suddenly, Jang Gu’s words came to mind.
‘Yes, we know. We’re not unaware that you were trying to do well somehow. That’s why we waited for you.’
‘But now that things have turned out this way, what can we do? From what we can see, it seems your relationship with Miss Hwang of the Ten Sword Gate has also been severed.’
Ten Sword Gate?
‘Was there such a sect in Hubei?’
I don’t know. There might have been, or there might not have been.
During the war, so many sects were destroyed, and in the midst of it all, many places were established everywhere. Hundreds of sects appeared and disappeared every day, so it was impossible to remember them all.
‘Anyway, it probably wasn’t a famous sect.’
Moreover, they called her Miss Hwang. It was highly likely they were referring to that young girl.
‘Miss Hwang of the Ten Sword Gate… Ten Sword Gate…’
Seeing that those unreasonable ruffians didn’t come when the two were together, it was certain they were being cautious of the young girl called Miss Hwang.
Therefore, the sect called Ten Sword Gate was clearly a more influential force than the Moyong Family.
‘It even seems like he was trying to do something with that child called Miss Hwang.’
Inferring from Jang Gu’s words, it seemed the Great Grand Nephew had borrowed one hundred taels from the Black Tiger Gang and was aiming for some kind of miraculous comeback.
Moyong Bi was inwardly puzzled.
‘What was he trying to do with just one hundred taels? Was he someone who didn’t understand reality?’
It wasn’t a small amount, but it was woefully insufficient as funding to accomplish something big.
‘I don’t know for sure, but it doesn’t seem much different from the prices twenty years ago. Even accounting for regional differences, one hundred taels would be…’
Moyong Bi, who had been continuing his thoughts, soon crossed his arms.
“I need to know what that troublemaker Great Grand Nephew was trying to do, but the urgent matter is the Black Tiger Gang. I only beat up one site manager, but when they start the handover process, they’ll come looking for money again.”
And one most important matter.
‘Mine and Su Jeong’s bodies.’
Though I didn’t perform pulse diagnosis, the child called Su Hyang looked very healthy.
Moreover, her frame was excellent too. Though her growth wasn’t finished yet, her long limbs showed elasticity, suggesting she had trained in martial arts from childhood.
‘The top priority is for the two of us to regain our health. Recovering our actual martial power level comes next.’
And the core of martial power is martial arts.
For whatever reason, it was certain that the family’s martial arts that had been restored were not passed down.
Actually, that part was the most puzzling. Money could come and go, and business could worsen if circumstances were bad, but could learned and mastered martial arts disappear?
‘In other words, it means Elder Brother and Dae Ho died without properly passing down martial arts to the children.’
Moyong Bi, who had been deep in thought, left his residence when the eastern sky began to brighten.
“Before catching the black cat, I should check the martial arts situation first.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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