Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 176

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 176. Shadow in the Clouds (1)

The Jegal Clan, which had been facing collapse at an alarming speed despite long preparation, was barely able to catch its breath under the terrifying martial prowess and judgment of just two men.

Of course, that was an overly simplistic expression.

How much effort Jegal Moon had put into getting the Jegal Clan in his grasp, and furthermore, what kind of deduction and intelligence Moyong Bi and Neung Hyeong had relied on to make this possible, wasn’t particularly important in this situation.

What mattered was the fact that the Jegal Clan had nearly fallen into the hands of demons without anyone knowing.

For people who loved to gossip, there couldn’t be a more interesting topic than this, but the members of the Jegal Clan had no desire to become someone’s entertainment.

The day when the demonic shadow that had been staining the family was futilely stripped away.

The clan members looking at their devastated family began coldly restoring their clan while hiding their emotions tightly, as befitting the Jegal name.

* * *

“I don’t know what words of gratitude I should offer.”

Jegal Chung Ho’s face as he spoke looked as hard as a mineral.

“If not for you two, the main house would have fallen into the hands of demons and our blood relatives would have met a terrible end.”

“….”

“I sincerely thank you for contacting me.”

Moyong Bi, who had been quietly watching him, moistened his throat with a sip of tea.

“How is the family head?”

“I’m sorry to say, but he’s not yet in a condition to have a conversation with anyone.”

Jegal Dan’s body was on the verge of collapse.

He had endured for years fighting against poison that gnawed at his mind and body for a long time. On top of that, the psychological shock was added from the terrifying threats that were even more frightening because they weren’t expressed openly – the enemy’s intention to destroy his bloodline if he made any foolish moves.

Even in a situation where he could do nothing physically or psychologically, Jegal Dan had tried to find a way somehow.

That effort had ultimately worsened his condition even further.

“Now I understand.”

Neung Hyeong’s face was pale. Since not even a full day had passed, his internal injuries couldn’t have healed completely.

“That must be Blood Parasite Poison.”

“Blood Parasite Poison?”

“It’s not the type that damages nerves, blood, or muscles with poison qi introduced from outside. Blood Parasite Poison is a type of venomous poison that grows by feeding on blood once the seed is planted.”

Jegal Chung Ho’s previously rigid face turned red again.

“Such a poison existed?”

“It does. Detoxification is also difficult. If someone with powerful internal energy – roughly speaking, someone who has reached the Transformation Realm – discovers it within half a day of the seed’s infiltration, they can escape the poisoning. Because they can burn it away.”

“That means even a master of the Transformation Realm could be poisoned otherwise.”

“Well, it depends on how potent the one used was. If they used the most potent kind, as you say, even someone who has reached the Transformation Realm would find it hard to avoid poisoning.”

“Do you happen to know a detoxification method?”

“Even if I knew, detoxification would be difficult.”

“Why is that?”

“Blood Parasite Poison is somewhat different from ordinary venomous poisons. It’s fortunate that it’s not the terrible method where the poisoned person dies when the mother body dies, but the ones that have already spread seeds in the blood vessels rapidly reproduce and become one with part of the blood.”

“…!”

“Unless someone of the Transformation Realm or higher, whose martial prowess reaches the heavens, burns it all away with extremely delicate concentrated fire without touching any organs like blood vessels, nerves, or internal organs, it’s difficult to escape the poisoning.”

“…Is that truly the only method?”

“You can remove it much more easily by performing qi guidance using a spiritual medicine of Shaolin’s Great Recovery Pill grade. Or by putting a person into a state of suspended animation for about an hour. If you’re lucky enough to extract only the blood that has become one with the Blood Parasite Poison, that would also be one solution.”

If the Jegal Family Head’s life was in danger, perhaps Shaolin Temple might give them a Great Recovery Pill.

But the probability of them not doing so was high, and crucially, Jegal Dan wasn’t the only one poisoned with Blood Parasite Poison.

Putting someone in suspended animation for about an hour was also absurd. Even if they woke up again, if blood didn’t circulate to the brain for an hour, the probability of not being in their right mind when they woke up or having physical abnormalities was extremely high.

Luckily extracting only the blood mixed with Blood Parasite Poison made even less sense.

A shadow fell across Jegal Chung Ho’s face.

“In other words, detoxification is impossible through ordinary means.”

“Those are the only methods I know. Those who directly manufactured the Blood Parasite Poison might have other methods.”

Jegal Chung Ho didn’t ask how Neung Hyeong knew so much detail about Blood Parasite Poison. It wasn’t the situation for that, and he had neither the time nor the desire to do so.

“When you have time later, could you examine my father’s pulse?”

“I will.”

For some reason, Neung Hyeong readily agreed.

As Jegal Chung Ho bowed his head and stood up, Moyong Bi spoke.

“Did you find the missing people?”

More precisely, he meant whether they had found the remains.

Jegal Chung Ho shook his head.

“We haven’t found them yet. At least they don’t seem to be within the family estate.”

“Young Master Jegal.”

“Please speak, benefactor.”

“I’m sorry about your mother’s matter.”

At those calm words, Jegal Chung Ho’s eyes turned bright red.

Moyong Bi continued.

“I didn’t particularly want to offer words of comfort, but humans are not rocks or ice walls.”

“….”

“It will be difficult, but clearly face your emotions and honestly accept them. Don’t let sorrow make your heart sick. Once it becomes sick, when you face a similar moment again, the disease will try to tear not just your body but your soul.”

If Neung Hyeong had been unlike himself, then Moyong Bi also gave words unlike himself.

“There are times when emotions must be suppressed, but they should never be left to rot.”

“…I cannot understand what you mean, but I will not forget the benefactor’s words.”

“That’s enough.”

Jegal Chung Ho bowed his head and left the guest hall.

Neung Hyeong glanced at Moyong Bi.

“What’s gotten into you? Unlike you to say such things?”

“Because I understand his feelings.”

“You do?”

“The heart of someone who has lost blood relatives due to unexpected circumstances.”

“….”

“Furthermore, the heart of a person who has witnessed the sight of their family transformed into something miserable.”

Neung Hyeong let out a bitter laugh.

“Right, perhaps there are few who understand that foolish fellow’s heart better than you.”

“Isn’t it the same for you?”

“Me?”

“You desire freedom, but at the same time, you’re angry at the immoral behavior of those who could be called your descendants. It’s just a matter of whether they’re dead or alive, but we’ve both witnessed miserable situations.”

“….”

“You and I are both failures in the end.”

That’s why Moyong Bi hoped Jegal Chung Ho wouldn’t break down.

The only place where there should be more failures is the enemy camp. And the Jegal Clan was not enemy territory, at least for Moyong Bi.

Furthermore, Jegal Chung Ho was also a young man with a tender and good heart inside.

Personal friendship aside, he was a young person too valuable to collapse like this.

“Anyway, it’ll be busy for a while. When I looked around earlier, warriors from the Hubei Branch had also entered. Were they helping to arrest the outer courtyard warriors?”

“From the Hubei Branch’s standpoint, it would have been difficult to infiltrate easily. Unless there was a direct request from the Jegal Clan.”

“But we did it.”

“The Hubei Branch is different. They belong to the Martial Arts Alliance. If they carelessly interfered, it could become a catalyst for political strife even if the Jegal Clan was revived. They might have complained that it was interference in internal affairs.”

Neung Hyeong was dumbfounded.

“You mean they’d say such things even when helping those who were about to be completely killed by enemies?”

“Of course the Jegal Clan would be grateful. They’re not ungrateful bastards. But they’re bound together under the name of the Six Great Clans, and the current Gu Pa Il Bang and Six Great Clans help the Martial Arts Alliance while not wanting to be dominated by them.”

“I should tell you, you people really live complicated lives.”

“Though I spoke like this, in reality, there’s no organization that would commit the folly of revealing that openly.”

“Why not?”

“Because a sword displays its greatest power when it’s in its sheath.”

“Hmm.”

“If the moment truly comes when the Martial Alliance engages in a power struggle against the Nine Sects and One Alliance and the Six Great Families, that’s precisely when the Six Great Families will draw their swords.”

“Can they defeat the Martial Alliance with that?”

“How can you defeat a tiger with just one wooden stick? However, we can at least make it aware that it can be struck.”

“…Countless hunters wielding wooden sticks will appear.”

“Among them, there will be humans carrying arrows or axes instead of wooden sticks.”

Neung Hyeong shook his head vigorously.

“You people are truly incomprehensible. Sometimes you look like folks who’d stake their lives on justice or peace, but other times you seem desperate to devour each other.”

Moyong Bi let out a bitter smile.

“Yes, perhaps the Orthodox Martial World are the ones who handle human desires most nakedly and secretly.”

He rose from his seat.

“Where are you going?”

“The appointed time has come.”

“You’re going to see that old fool.”

“I made a promise.”

Neung Hyeong smiled wickedly.

“How does it feel? This reality where you must speak respectfully to someone you once commanded with just a finger?”

Moyong Bi grimaced.

“I don’t like it, but it’s nothing new. I can’t even speak informally to that bastard Jegal Chung Ho.”

“Just go wild like me.”

“Don’t forget that I’m a member of the Orthodox Martial World that you call so complicated.”

Neung Hyeong flopped down flat.

“I’m going to sleep, so don’t wake me when you return. No, just ask for a different guest hall. This place is spacious and nice.”

Moyong Bi left without even responding.

Left alone, Neung Hyeong stared at the ceiling and frowned.

‘The same?’

The heart of an elder witnessing the miserable situation of his descendants.

Thinking of it that way, Moyong Bi’s words weren’t wrong either.

But Neung Hyeong thought it was different.

‘I could at least beat them with a club to make them come to their senses, but you don’t even have anyone to beat.’

Of course, many descendants would go to the Underworld from that clubbing.

Thinking about it that way, his own situation seemed worse than Moyong Bi’s, but at least in terms of having an ‘opportunity,’ Moyong Bi’s reality was colder and more desolate than his own.

After glaring at the ceiling for a while, Neung Hyeong let out a deep sigh and turned over.

“Forget it, let’s just sleep. Descendants? What bullshit.”

* * *

Moyong Bi came out of the guest hall and looked around.

The Jegal Family, which should be busier than ever, was indeed busy. Countless warriors who had awakened from the Dream-Form Demon Incense were hurrying back and forth everywhere.

But they maintained their silence. They were tremendously shocked by the fact that their family could have collapsed while they were trapped in sleep.

Even if only to escape from that shock, they had no choice but to move busily.

Moyong Bi leaned against the wall and watched them for a long time.

‘Still, you’ll be fine.’

Many people had died, and they had lost things as precious as life itself.

Still, they were alive and could develop.

At least it wasn’t the worst case scenario where a dead Great Grand Uncle had to return and forcibly revive the family—content from some grotesquely scribbled novel by a madman.

‘At least you didn’t lose your martial arts.’

Then, an aged voice was heard.

“Those melancholic eyes are truly unlike those of a young man your age.”

Moyong Bi spoke without even uncrossing his arms.

“Old Taoist Priest, your hand techniques were quite sharp for someone supposedly unlike a Taoist.”

“Hehe, were they?”

Heo Joong Jin In said with a laugh.

“Would you walk with me for a moment?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————