Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 124
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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 124. The Contest in the Light, The Hunt in the Shadows (3)
Ho Geom Jin In was extremely flustered.
“Investigation room? What kind of terrible words are those?”
“Isn’t the truly terrible deed the evil act of your faction, deceiving a fourteen-year-old boy and turning him into a test subject for a bizarre technique that can’t even be called half-complete?”
“Great Hero! Please listen to what I have to say first!”
“The martial art called Kang Won Gong, from whom did you obtain it?”
“Great Hero Jeong Gal!”
“Is it from the Ho Yeon Family?”
Ho Geom Jin In felt like he was going insane.
He wanted to grab him by the collar if he could. He wanted to slap him a few times, telling him not to get excited and to listen to his words first.
“I’ve never even heard of a martial art called Kang Won Gong! You seem to be misunderstanding something, but that Moyong Bi fellow killed Young Geom for no reason at all…!”
“Are you certain?”
“What, what did you say?”
“I asked if you’re certain. Are you sure that the young man Moyong Bi murdered Yeong Geom Jin In?”
“Of course! How could I lie to you?”
“Where is Yeong Geom Jin In’s corpse?”
“Ah, we haven’t found it yet! That’s why we need to capture that bastard and get a confession!”
“You haven’t even seen the corpse, yet how do you know Yeong Geom Jin In was murdered? From whom did you hear that he was dead?”
Ho Geom Jin In was on the verge of madness.
“If I didn’t hear it from that bastard, who else would I have heard it from?!”
“How very strange. You’re saying that young man directly told you about something that could potentially destroy not just an individual but an entire family?”
“That’s why we need to hurry…!”
“Then let’s both stop here.”
“…?!”
“You want to capture that young man even though you’ve never seen Yeong Geom Jin In’s body, and I’m certain that you know about Kang Won Gong.”
Jeong Gal Ryun shook his head.
“Without any solid evidence, one person is being branded as a murderer. Without any solid proof, one Taoist Priest is being branded as a ruthless villain.”
“…”
“We’ll stop here for now, so please withdraw the Tae Ryun Sword Sect’s forces.”
Ho Geom Jin In’s face turned bright red.
“Listen here, Great Hero! Didn’t you say just moments ago! That Young Geom wasn’t murdered but received divine punishment! If that’s the case, then you also know that Young Geom is dead, so how can we pretend this never happened?!”
“I’ve wanted to correct this from the beginning, but the person who said he was missing suddenly started using the term ‘murdered.'”
“…!”
“Then when you first spoke to me, you should have said he was murdered, not missing. Why did you change your words midway?”
“That was just…”
The words wouldn’t come out properly.
He didn’t know where to start explaining, nor did he understand what was happening. The parts he needed to hide and the parts he needed to be honest about were all mixed up, causing confusion.
“You clearly said that Moyong Sohyeop killed Yeong Geom Jin In. Why did you use the term ‘missing’ when you were trying to lie to me?”
“That, that’s just a minor issue.”
“Minor?”
Jeong Gal Ryun’s gaze changed once again.
“Are you calling your martial brother’s death a minor matter?”
He really wanted to scream out loud. Extremely flustered, Ho Geom Jin In couldn’t even speak properly.
Whoooosh.
A cold wind passed between the two men and shivered.
“Jin In.”
“…”
“Because you keep trying to lie, your words don’t match up and become tangled.”
“…”
“To this person who once respected you, please don’t leave behind only feelings of disgust. Whether this is the last time or not, I hope you can show even a little of the dignity befitting the title Jin In.”
“…”
“I ask again. Kang Won Gong, does it belong to the Wudang Sect?”
Ho Geom Jin In’s face, which had been colored with confusion, gradually became calm.
“You want me to answer honestly?”
“That’s right.”
“Truth can change at any time depending on the situation. Even you must know that.”
“Truth is always truth. If you think truth changes, then you’ve lived mistaking that truth is hidden within situation manipulation and lies.”
“It’s not a mistake but a fact.”
“I don’t want to discuss the nature of truth with you. I wanted an honest answer, but this is the ultimate non-answer.”
From Jeong Gal Ryun’s mouth came his signature line that always made listeners feel terrified, just short of a threat.
“I’ll ask one last time.”
“…”
“Is it true that Kang Won Gong belongs to the Wudang Sect, and that you experimented on it even while destroying a boy’s body?”
Ho Geom Jin In’s jaw began to tense.
“Is it true that once the effects of the martial art called Kang Won Gong were proven, you intended to immediately capture him and force human experimentation?”
“…There’s no longer any reason to continue this conversation with you.”
Ho Geom Jin In smiled coldly.
Finally, he had thrown off his mask.
“Think whatever you want. And go around claiming whatever you want. Wudang will never acknowledge it.”
Honest disappointment appeared on Jeong Gal Ryun’s face.
Ho Geom Jin In felt a surge of anger for a moment, but didn’t let his rage explode.
Right now, the person who gets angry loses.
“Since we have past ties, I’ll briefly explain what the current situation is. Great Hero Jeong Gal has been deceived by a young man’s smooth words and is slandering our sect and me. However, Young Geom’s death is a fact, and even if he’s not dead, his disappearance is certain.”
Ho Geom Jin In smiled as if amused.
“Which of these two matters do you think people will consider more important? Even if it’s not our sect, wouldn’t they think one person’s disappearance is more serious?”
It was a reasonable point.
Toward the silent Jeong Gal Ryun, Ho Geom Jin In spoke.
“Think carefully for today. What is the truth, and whom you should believe.”
“…”
“My door is always open.”
Ho Geom Jin In turned around.
Then, Jeong Gal Ryun asked.
“At least I understand one thing clearly now.”
“…”
“You consider the Wudang Sect’s honor ten times more serious than the matter of Ma In appearances.”
Ho Geom Jin In gritted his teeth.
He wanted to spit out some curse, but keeping his mouth shut to the end, he disappeared.
Jeong Gal Ryun sighed.
“Are you really planning to go all the way to the end?”
Only then did Moyong Bi speak up.
“It’s difficult to deal with someone who’s smart and strong. But they still submit to smarter and stronger power.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“The truly difficult opponents are those who refuse to acknowledge anything else while firmly acknowledging only their own pride.”
“…”
“Like that damned Taoist Priest.”
Jeong Gal Ryun lowered his head weakly.
Moyong Bi turned his head.
“What do you think?”
Beside him stood Ja Dam with a complicated expression.
Surprisingly, Ho Geom Jin In failed to detect Ja Dam’s presence hidden behind the shadowy building. This was because Moyong Bi’s Infinite True Qi had thoroughly erased her existence.
It was remarkable skill. Having learned Taoist divine arts made it easier to conceal herself, but this wasn’t the level of ability someone her age should be able to display.
Jeong Gal Ryun spoke as if frustrated.
“Honestly, I was uncertain.”
“I understand.”
“But after hearing your words, I investigated quite a wide area just in case. That’s when I discovered the existence of the Tae Ryun Sword Sect and thought perhaps everything you said might be true.”
“What do you think now?”
Jeong Gal Ryun squeezed his eyes shut.
“I never could have imagined that Ho Geom Jin In was this kind of person…”
Even while deliberately pressing hard, Jeong Gal Ryun hoped.
Please let those words not be true, let Ho Geom Jin In refute every single thing he said.
His prayers went unanswered.
Moyong Bi scratched his head and said.
“Ja Dam Dojang. Or should I call you Taoist Priestess?”
“…Please call me whatever is comfortable for you.”
“You said the current Wudang Sect is being controlled by the sect leader and nine elders classified as radicals?”
“Yes.”
“Even you can see how rotten they’ve become, right?”
Ja Dam couldn’t bring herself to answer.
“Now do you understand why I told you not to mention the demon appearances to him?”
If she mentioned the demons, she would have no choice but to tell everything about Yeong Geom Jin In as well. Especially given Ja Dam’s personality.
Ja Dam nodded weakly.
“Keep your mouth shut from now on, unless you’re going to help me. Understood?”
“What is it that Young Master wants?”
“Simple revenge, nothing more?”
“…”
“It may be revenge for me, but it will be an opportunity for you all. I’ll be selectively pulling out only the foul-smelling poisonous weeds that have infested the Wudang Sect.”
“By revenge… do you mean you’ll even kill Martial Arts Master Ho Geom?”
“Is there a problem with that?”
Confusion appeared on Ja Dam’s face.
She couldn’t answer easily.
Martial Arts Master Yeong Geom, Martial Arts Master Ho Geom, and even Jang Moon Sa Hyeong all bore original sins.
But must they necessarily receive the punishment of death? Shouldn’t they be given one more chance to reflect on themselves and reform?
‘…Even if given such a chance, would the martial arts masters truly repent their wrongs?’
She didn’t know.
Ja Dam couldn’t understand her martial arts masters, nor could she be certain they would repent their sins.
She truly knew nothing at all.
“By the way, you’re in danger now too.”
At Moyong Bi’s words, Jeong Gal Ryun frowned.
“You mean me?”
“That’s right.”
“Why would I be?”
“Didn’t you see that greedy Taoist Priest’s face?”
Jeong Gal Ryun was about to ask what he meant when a sudden thought made his jaw drop.
“Surely… Ho Geom Jin In wouldn’t try to kill me?”
Ja Dam also looked at Moyong Bi in shock.
Moyong Bi tilted his head as if bewildered.
“Why are you surprised? Isn’t it obvious?”
“O-obvious?!”
“As you saw, that Taoist Priest stakes his life on his reputation. If he thinks someone is worth dealing with, he’s the type who will somehow make sure no rumors spread.”
“Even so, would he really try to kill me? If he wrongly touches the Jeong Gal family, the aftermath would be…”
“How many people know that I killed that Taoist Priest called Yeong Geom?”
“…?!”
“And coincidentally, demons have been appearing in the area. Plus he has the position of Wudang Sect elder.”
He meant killing him, treating it as a disappearance, then manipulating public opinion to make it seem like he was killed by demons.
“The picture comes together perfectly. Honestly, I would have done the same.”
Jeong Gal Ryun unconsciously swallowed.
“Aren’t you looking at this too extremely? What one can do and what one actually does are completely different…”
“This is why people get stabbed in the back.”
“What?!”
“Did you see how Ho Geom’s words got tangled? He’s not a smart guy by any stretch. But there are moments when such fools become brilliantly clever.”
Moyong Bi made a gesture of slitting his throat with his hand.
“When they try to kill someone to get what they want, hypocrites’ intelligence and initiative double.”
“…!”
“People who value morality think several times even about things they can do. Because they must consider whether it’s right or wrong. But what about people who place morality below practical gain?”
“…”
“If they can do it, they just do it. Such people have no limits.”
Jeong Gal Ryun and Ja Dam swallowed dryly.
“And there’s only one way to deal with such bastards.”
Moyong Bi gently stretched his ankles.
“Strike first to win. You must crush them before they get you.”
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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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