Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 188

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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 188. Broken Chains (3)

After finally removing even the remnants of demonic energy that Heo Joong Jin In harbored, Neung Hyeong collapsed and lay down.

Fortunately, since Heo Do Jin In had managed it for many years, there was almost no demonic energy left in Heo Joong Jin In’s chest.

“I see.”

Heo Joong Jin In’s face was filled with disturbance.

“It really was… Neung Hyeong.”

No wonder he had accumulated such tremendous martial arts that didn’t match his age.

Heo Do Jin In sighed and spoke.

“Don’t tell Ja Dam.”

“Of course.”

“Right.”

“Senior Brother.”

“…”

“Don’t you hate him?”

Heo Do Jin In let out a bitter smile.

“I’ve let go of past hatred. As I said, he too is a victim swept up by the times.”

“I… cannot believe it.”

“Does that mean you don’t trust the Alliance Leader either?”

“That’s not it, but what if the Alliance Leader was deceived?”

“Do you want to doubt the Alliance Leader’s abilities too?”

“…”

“You’re looking for a reason to hate Neung Hyeong.”

Heo Joong Jin In sighed as if frustrated.

His senior brother was right. He ‘wanted’ to hate Neung Hyeong. Only then would he have the face to look at his mad fellow disciples and relatives.

But… he couldn’t easily hate Neung Hyeong.

Heo Joong Jin In honestly expressed his feelings.

“I don’t know if it’s because the remnants of demonic energy have evaporated, but I can’t think of him as an evil person at all.”

“It was simply an irresistible force. Think of it that way.”

“Then are you saying the dead Taoist priests of Wudang went mad over nothing?!”

It was rare for Heo Joong Jin In to show anger.

Heo Do Jin In shook his head.

“Forcing yourself to find reasons to hate means you cannot control your own true feelings.”

“The dead must be shedding tears of blood from heaven!”

“The dead are dead.”

Heo Joong Jin In looked at his senior brother in disbelief.

Solemnity appeared on Heo Do Jin In’s face, which had been stained with bitterness.

“People say we must carry on the will of the dead. Yes, that’s one choice. But I won’t live that way anymore.”

“Senior Brother?!”

“I devoted everything for my fellow disciples and relatives. I’m not saying I’m satisfied with that, but what’s important now is setting the distorted Wudang Sect right, not struggling to hate someone.”

“…”

“I believe our fellow disciples and relatives would understand. If you keep looking for reasons among the dead, the living cannot envision a future.”

Heo Joong Jin In unconsciously bowed his head.

His senior brother was right. The dead Taoist priests would rather pity a life lived for hatred.

What would they truly want? Revenge?

They might want revenge. But more than revenge, they would want the Wudang Sect to be like the Wudang Sect, and the world to function as it should.

Heo Joong Jin In could not ignore this all-too-obvious truth.

“Then… now both you and I can move without Bongmajin.”

“Still, I plan to keep Bongmajin up.”

“Do you intend to strike the disciples immediately?”

“It’s impossible with this body. Besides, I’m not trying to kill the disciples. I’m trying to restore the Wudang Sect to its original state.”

“…What if the disciples refuse to give up until the end?”

“I’ll think about that when the time comes.”

Heo Do Jin In turned his gaze outside the hermitage.

“First, I need to talk with the Alliance Leader.”

* * *

“Damn it…”

As Neung Hyeong got up holding his head, jerky was thrust in front of him.

“Eat this.”

“What’s this piece of jerky? Don’t tell me this one piece is payment for my efforts?”

“Payment? Do I need to give you payment for helping yourself?”

“Son of a bitch.”

“Just eat it, you bastard.”

Neung Hyeong snatched the jerky like lightning and chewed it irritably.

Ja Dam, who had been quietly watching the situation, bowed his head.

“My thanks are late. I sincerely thank you for helping Master and Uncle.”

Neung Hyeong didn’t even respond.

Moyong Bi shook his head and said.

“We and you are a community of fate. If you think of it as helping each other, there’s nothing to be so grateful for.”

“They say people die not when their lives collapse, but when their pride crumbles. You two have saved Master’s and Uncle’s pride.”

Moyong Bi looked at Ja Dam as if surprised.

“That’s not something that should come from a Taoist priest’s mouth.”

“Is that so?”

“It sounds like a warrior’s statement, not a Taoist priest’s.”

“I am also a swordsman who learned martial arts. Though I am a Taoist priest, I learned from my teacher what true honor is.”

There wasn’t even a speck of confusion on Ja Dam’s face as he spoke.

Moyong Bi smiled.

“You must have suffered a lot.”

“Pardon?”

“You must have struggled quite a bit to not lose your beliefs among senior brothers who were neither like Taoist priests nor warriors, with foreign blood.”

The mention of foreign blood was inevitably a provocative statement in many ways. Especially for someone who had faced much discrimination.

Ja Dam spoke as if bitter.

“Even with different races, discrimination exists. What’s so surprising about that?”

Heo Do raised at least one disciple properly.

Moyong Bi felt a sense of kinship with Ja Dam.

The situation was different from when they first formed a connection. Even then, he knew Ja Dam was Heo Do Jin In’s disciple, but now that he had heard all the truth, he couldn’t help but see him differently.

‘Su Jeong and Su Hyang come to mind.’

In some ways, Ja Dam was not much different from those two children.

Though not blood-related like the two children, Ja Dam was the disciple of an old friend. If teacher and student are like father and son, then Ja Dam was in a position similar to a nephew to him.

Of course, he couldn’t openly show that.

“My teacher said that a Taoist priest who just recites Taoist scriptures is no different from a Buddhist monk who blindly follows Buddha’s teachings. Whether Taoist priest or monk, if you want true enlightenment, find the answer in the secular world.”

“You cannot reach the Way without knowing people.”

“Yes. Thanks to that, I couldn’t sleep properly when I first subjugated bandits.”

It meant that harming them was a big shock, but it was even more shocking how people could be so cruel and full of malice.

Moyong Bi didn’t speak. After all, all enlightenment and learning is one’s own responsibility. Still, Ja Dam had the weapons of correct standards and good character, so he would rarely go astray.

A moment later.

Heo Do Jin In and Heo Joong Jin In walked out of the hermitage.

“I don’t know how to repay this debt.”

The two people bowed their heads respectfully.

Neung Hyeong pretended not to notice them, but Moyong Bi also responded with a courteous greeting.

“I merely gave a few sips of water to a thirsty traveling companion, so don’t worry about it.”

Neung Hyeong looked at Moyong Bi with an expression of disbelief. That expression seemed to contain the meaning ‘All I did was give a few sips of water?!’

Moyong Bi, cleanly ignoring Neung Hyeong’s gaze, continued speaking calmly.

“What do you plan to do from now on?”

“Even though there were circumstances, the fact that Mu Dang has changed to be unlike Mu Dang is the responsibility of us adults. We must set things right even now.”

“It will be difficult in your current state.”

“That’s why I ask.”

A streak of tension appeared on Heo Do Jin In’s face.

“What do you plan to do about the current radical faction of Mu Dang?”

Because Ja Dam was present, he had no choice but to use the expression ‘benefactor.’ He had actually received kindness as well.

Moyong Bi spoke as if it were natural.

“I plan to make them pay an appropriate price.”

“You plan to shed blood.”

“That’s right.”

Tension circulated around the hermitage.

Even though they had committed evil acts, they were still disciples. Even if they were to be executed, they would want to do it themselves.

Heo Do Jin In, who had been quietly observing Moyong Bi’s complexion, spoke in a heavy voice.

“At the final moment, could you give us even a brief time to talk?”

This meant he wouldn’t stop the revenge against the disciples.

Heo Joong Jin In’s eyes wavered and Ja Dam also looked at Heo Do Jin In with trembling eyes.

Moyong Bi maintained his composure as always.

“I won’t deliberately create that opportunity. However, if such an opportunity happens to arise, I’ll give you time to talk briefly before taking their heads.”

“Thank you.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for.”

“Before that, I’d like to find out directly what the disciples did – will you permit this?”

“I will not permit it.”

Moyong Bi clearly stated what was possible and impossible.

A shadow fell across Heo Do Jin In’s face.

“I’ll speak honestly. I know the disciples have gone astray, you’ve clearly stated the harm done, and I know you’re not someone who would lie. But…”

“From your position, it’s natural to have hesitation in your heart since you haven’t experienced it firsthand.”

To put it simply, Heo Do Jin In was now agreeing to allow an old friend who had been harmed by a cousin nephew who had committed all sorts of evil acts to take revenge.

Unless one was someone who had lived cutting off all relationships around them, one could understand how difficult it was to ignore a blade aimed at blood relatives. No matter what evil acts they had committed. They were even younger people and children they had taught themselves.

“If my own child, nephew, or disciple had become like that, even while saying I would kill them, I wouldn’t be without hesitation.”

“…People are all similar, it seems.”

“That’s why the saying arose that to attain the Way, one must squeeze through the gaps between people, not mountains.”

At those words, Heo Do Jin In solidified his resolve.

“You came to see me, benefactor.”

“That’s right.”

“You have a family to return to and much to do, but there’s no need to leave behind obstacles that must be cleared away someday.”

Heo Joong Jin In looked at Heo Do Jin In with trembling eyes.

Moyong Bi nodded.

“I was planning to handle only the Jegal Clan matter and leave, but since I’ve come this far, there’s no need to waste time.”

“Even for someone like you, benefactor, it would be difficult alone.”

“I know.”

Moyong Bi’s current martial arts were difficult to evaluate at any particular level.

If evaluated by the standards of Taoist martial arts, he had reached the level of Sun and Moon Unity, but because he retained the enlightenment from his previous life, he could produce results beyond that in ‘combat,’ and with his abundant experience, he could respond quickly to any situation.

However, the limits of his level were also clear, and even if he had reached a higher level, handling the Mu Dang Faction alone would be nonsense.

“So I make this proposal.”

“Please speak.”

“If my junior and I persuade the disciples unrelated to that matter, things will become easier, but for the worst case scenario, we need strength.”

Moyong Bi immediately understood his words.

“Internal energy recovery – how long will it take?”

“I don’t know how long it would take to recover my original internal energy, but to reach a usable state, one day would be sufficient.”

“Under the premise of receiving help from spiritual medicine.”

“That’s right.”

Heo Do Jin In looked at Heo Joong Jin In.

Heo Joong Jin In’s mouth opened automatically.

“There’s a medicine hall not far from Ja Seo Palace. I don’t know how many spiritual pills it currently has, but there should be items that would help restore even a little of senior brother’s strength.”

“We target there first?”

“Without a token or the divine object passed down through generations to Mu Dang sect leaders, entry is impossible.”

“Are there mechanisms too?”

“Yes. It’s possible to enter ignoring procedures, but around the spiritual medicine storage, various formations and mechanisms are set up. Of course, there are guards as well.”

“Is there a way?”

Heo Joong Jin In let out a bitter smile.

“If we force our way in with strength, the disciples won’t trust us. Therefore, we must persuade the medicine hall master and guards first.”

Moyong Bi and Neung Hyeong answered simultaneously.

“A waste of time.”

“How annoyingly complicated.”

Not only Heo Joong Jin In but also Heo Do Jin In was flustered.

“What?”

Neung Hyeong spoke bluntly.

“Since we’re going to overturn things anyway, we should push through with the mindset of persuading later. Don’t tell me you were planning to overturn things with such wishy-washy thoughts of minimizing damage?”

“…?!”

“You have to go in with the mindset that it doesn’t matter if you lose all the disciples. Why are you being so frustratingly cautious?”

Moyong Bi chuckled.

“I don’t want to agree, but this fool is right.”

“You bastard.”

While the two were flustered, Moyong Bi planted his spear in the ground.

“Let’s decide to just break through the mechanisms and formations with force, and occupy the medicine hall first.”

“…”

“Give me one Song Moon Ancient Sword.”

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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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