Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 15

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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 15. Something More Important Than Money (5)

The dream was chaotic.

Sometimes memories of playing with Father, who was clearly ill, came to mind, and sometimes memories of eating meals that Mother had prepared surfaced.

She also saw Bi Ah, who was young but mature, and little Su Hyang from her childhood days when she would cry and make a fuss at the drop of a hat.

The dream showed her many things, but it didn’t show her anything that wasn’t real.

They were all things she had experienced. Countless memories from the past, now faded even in her recollection, came flooding in like a torrent before scattering like wind in endless repetition.

Moyong Su Jeong gazed blankly at the dreams that changed in an instant.

‘There’s so much.’

Twenty-one years.

She had thought it wasn’t a long period of time, but there had been too many hardships since childhood. Was that why? The dream, a series of fragments, seemed excessively long and complicated.

That’s when it happened.

‘Bi Ah?’

She saw her Younger Brother who had come to visit her room.

It was the last time her Younger Brother had looked at her with a bright, lively face and a smile.

‘No! Don’t move on!’

The dream respected her wishes.

Then she could clearly hear the conversation with her Younger Brother.

‘Go to Myeongjin Hall. Go there and heal your body.’

‘A Myeongjin Entrance Token? Wh-where did you get this?’

‘I received it from a Taoist master. I was lucky.’

‘…Is it genuine?’

‘Just to be sure, I asked Chief Steward Seok. He said it was genuine.’

‘…!’

‘You’ve suffered a lot, haven’t you? It seems Heaven hasn’t abandoned us yet. Once Elder Sister gets healthy, the Main Family House will be able to soar again.’

‘Bi Ah.’

‘You must get treatment.’

Moyong Su Jeong shed tears.

After losing Father and Mother in childhood, each day was difficult as she took care of her younger siblings.

But what truly sustained her were her younger siblings. Especially Moyong Bi, who never caused a single incident and even encouraged and helped her instead.

He had been such a kind and mature Younger Brother.

Time flowed again.

On that day when he returned after three years, she saw her Younger Brother who had become so broken that even the word “twisted” couldn’t describe it.

And she also saw Su Hyang, who had followed her elder brother like a father, glaring at her broken Younger Brother with eyes full of disgust.

‘It’s my fault.’

Moyong Su Jeong despaired.

‘I shouldn’t have left.’

She cried and cried again. Though the dream showed her countless scenes, nothing else entered her sight.

Before such profound regret, even the mystique of life flashing before one’s eyes lost its luster.

How much time had passed like that?

“Rest well. I’ll see you again in the morning.”

Her younger brother’s voice, filled with warmth, awakened her soul that had grown weary from crying.

She wiped away her tears and looked at her younger brother.

She saw her younger brother looking at her with a somewhat awkward face, but with warm eyes.

Her younger brother’s gaze was the same as their father’s, whom she could barely remember now.

‘If you can forgive me, I want to talk again while looking at the midday sun.’

Moyong Su Jeong closed her eyes.

Even with her eyes closed, the world was full of light.

And then.

“F-Family Head!”

Seok Woong’s tearful voice guided Moyong Su Jeong back to reality.

Moyong Su Jeong slowly opened her eyes and spoke with a tired face.

“…Acting Family Head.”

“Sob!”

Seok Woong, holding Moyong Su Jeong’s hand, burst into tears. Guo Lao also wiped away tears beside them.

“Sister.”

“Su Hyang.”

Moyong Su Hyang forced a smile.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay.”

She had just regained consciousness, but surprisingly, her body was full of strength. She only felt a little drowsy, and her chest, which had been sore from frequent coughing, felt refreshingly clear.

“Did Physician Yang come?”

“Yes, he’s outside right now.”

“I’ve received another great favor.”

Moyong Su Hyang, who had been moving her lips, smiled again.

“He said you’ll be fine if you take the medicine he gave you and rest for a while.”

“I feel like I’d be fine even without taking it.”

Though she said it jokingly, it was also a statement with some sincerity mixed in.

As her mind became clearer, she was greatly surprised.

‘My meridians?’

Most of the meridians in her upper body had been contracted or deteriorated due to the cold qi. But now, all her meridians had almost returned to normal.

They would worsen again as time passed, but she couldn’t remember when she had last tasted such refreshment.

Especially around her heart and lungs, she could feel intense yang qi. It was pure and dense yang qi that she couldn’t feel even with the internal energy accumulated through the Single Yang Heart Method.

‘Such pure yang energy.’

Moyong Su Jeong felt burden rather than relief.

“Physician Yang must have used some good spiritual medicine. Because of me, unnecessarily…”

“That’s not it.”

Seok Woong wiped away his tears and said with a smile.

“The one who healed the Family Head’s body is Young Master.”

“What?!”

* * *

“Whew.”

Moyong Bi, who had gathered his Internal Energy through one round of Energy Cultivation, openly frowned.

‘There’s no energy at all, damn it.’

The task of restoring the depleted Internal Energy was not easy.

Originally, when Internal Energy hits rock bottom, Energy Accumulation becomes slow. Then, as Internal Energy gradually fills up, it gains momentum and the speed of Qi accumulation also increases.

But even considering that, the Energy Accumulation speed was too slow.

‘It’s because I converted vital energy into true qi.’

Because he had transformed vital energy, that is, innate qi, into Honyuan true qi, the density of the Qi itself was tremendously high.

To regain Internal Energy of such density, even three straight days of Energy Cultivation would be insufficient at his current level. Even borrowing the power of the Brain Gate Heart Technique, it would take more than two days.

‘This really feels like death.’

Since it was Internal Energy built on the foundation of life force, when depleted, his physical strength inevitably dropped drastically. It was equivalent to returning to the state before learning the Honyuan Heart Method.

‘I need to somehow regain my vital energy.’

Vital energy is life force, and depleted life force can be replenished by eating well and resting thoroughly.

The problem is that it’s impossible to perfectly fill what has been consumed. Even with the help of the world’s greatest physicians, could he recover even half?

If one could create Internal Energy from vital energy and then regain life force, every Tom, Dick, and Harry would have expanded their dantian that way.

That’s why most Martial Arts that use vital energy are classified as Demonic Arts. While one can become stronger immediately, as time passes, most cases lead to sudden death from depleted life force or madness leading to qi deviation.

‘Well, I don’t really care about lifespan.’

He had already lived intensely once and died spectacularly.

Being alive again was nice, but in the midst of it all, parasitizing his Great Grand Nephew’s body didn’t feel very good.

‘I just need to live healthily until I revive the Family Clan.’

He had no great attachment to life.

The fact that someone who died once returned with memories of their previous life shouldn’t be interpreted as living long and happily, but rather as finishing whatever couldn’t be accomplished in the previous life.

At least that’s how Moyong Bi thought. The Family Clan was in this state too, wasn’t it?

‘As long as I do my job properly, it doesn’t matter what happens to the rest of my life.’

Well, Su Jeong would be sad, but that can’t be helped.

“Still, it should be fine for a while.”

He had consumed almost all of his Honyuan true qi, and in the process, had implanted part of his Internal Energy into her blood vessels through Body-Separated Energy Transmission.

For at least one year, or up to two years at most, she would be free from the cold symptoms of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

“But Body-Separated Energy Transmission cannot provide fundamental treatment. Since it’s come to this, I need to pass on the Honyuan Unity Qi Art as quickly as possible.”

Fortunately, Moyong Su Jeong’s Internal Energy was considerable and her talent seemed remarkable too.

With help from the side, she could escape from the severed meridians condition much faster than Elder Brother.

“Anyway, we’ve overcome one hurdle.”

Moyong Bi stood up abruptly.

Unlike before, even with sudden movements, stars didn’t flash before his eyes. Though his vitality was damaged, having internal energy meant his body’s responses were beginning to return to normal.

‘About thirty percent, I’d say.’

He had recovered about thirty percent of his almost completely depleted internal energy.

‘That’s enough.’

The attending physician had come, and Seok Woong and Su Hyang would take good care of her, so Su Jeong would be safe. Plus, those Fire Sword Group guys were surrounding the Family Head’s Office like an iron wall.

‘Let’s finish this quickly and come back.’

Busy, so busy.

Moyong Bi left his residence and headed straight for the main gate.

Just then, Guo Lao’s voice could be heard.

“Young Master!”

“Hmm?”

“Wh-where are you going?”

Guo Lao’s face was filled with joy as he approached with a limp.

“I have somewhere to go for a bit. Is Elder Sister alright?”

“More than alright! She looked the healthiest she’s been in the past two years. Even Physician Yang was amazed, saying her condition had improved.”

Moyong Bi grinned.

It was only a temporary improvement; given time, the severed meridian syndrome would strike again. Still, it was fortunate that she looked healthy for now.

“Take good care of her.”

“Rather than this, why don’t you come to the Family Head’s Office with me? Not only the Acting Family Head, but Physician Yang also wishes to see you, Young Master.”

“Ah, I’m fine.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m going out for a stroll, so please take good care of Elder Sister in the meantime.”

Anxiety began to show on Guo Lao’s face.

“Where are you planning to go from this morning?”

Though he had healed someone’s body through mysterious methods, it apparently wasn’t enough to completely change his reputation. He could see the anxiety about what kind of trouble this troublemaker Young Master might cause if he went outside.

“Don’t worry. I won’t cause any trouble.”

Though I will do some hunting.

Moyong Bi, who had been speaking with a smile, suddenly brightened his eyes.

“But Guo Lao.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Before learning the Honyuan Heart Method, that is, from when he had checked the secret manuals in the Martial Arts Library, there was something he had been curious about.

That was precisely Guo Lao’s existence.

“You…”

“Yes.”

Moyong Bi, who was about to continue speaking, closed his mouth again.

‘This is strange.’

Guo Lao was also an outstanding master.

Of course, he wasn’t at Elder Brother’s level, but he had skills worthy of praise wherever he went, and especially when it came to protection, he was capable enough that calling him one of the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven wouldn’t be excessive.

He was curious about how he got injured, how he lost his martial arts and ended up with his leg in that condition. But setting that aside.

‘Why didn’t you pass on your martial arts?’

Although they weren’t the Moyong Noble Family’s secret martial arts, the martial arts he had mastered were all super first-rate without exception.

If the Moyong Family had no martial arts manuals, Guo Lao could have passed down his own martial arts.

Of course, even if he was a guard warrior, a warrior was still a warrior, so asking for martial arts would be an extremely shameless act.

However, Guo Lao’s loyalty was genuine. He wasn’t just a simple guard warrior, but a man who would jump into the fires of hell for the Moyong Noble Family.

‘With the main family house in such a difficult situation, if you were the person I know, you would have not only passed down martial arts but even provided direct training guidance.’

That part was what he was most curious about.

That said, for him to have other ulterior motives, Guo Lao’s eyes were too clear and deep.

He might not know about others, but his own eyes couldn’t be deceived. This wasn’t someone he was meeting for the first time, and he hadn’t lived carelessly enough to be unable to read the character of a man who had stuck close to Elder Brother like family.

‘He does seem more frail compared to before, but other than that, nothing has changed.’

There must be some circumstances.

He wondered what kind of circumstances would prevent someone from stepping forward even while watching the downfall of a family clan he had devoted his life to, but still, Moyong Bi trusted Guo Lao.

“No. Anyway, I’ll be back before dinner, so don’t worry too much.”

“If you insist… I understand.”

“And Guo Lao.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Moyong Bi smiled and patted his shoulder.

“Thank you for dedicating your life to the main family house from Grandfather’s time until now.”

For a moment, Guo Lao’s eyes widened.

“Y-Young Master.”

“I’m sorry for treating you carelessly all this time. Let’s talk a lot more from now on.”

He might not know about others, but when it came to Seok Woong and Guo Lao, nothing he could do for them would be too precious.

“Well then.”

As Moyong Bi rolled his shoulders and opened the main gate, his eyes became as sharp as those of a hunter.

“Shall I go see Captain Yaong’s face.”

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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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