Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 227

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 227. Preparation and Meeting (2)
It was nothing but a series of incomprehensible words.
“Me… why me?”
He was so flustered that his words even began to stammer.
Guo Lao had never seen Neung Hyeong like this before. The man who was always brimming with confidence and arrogance was genuinely bewildered in front of the Family Head.
‘So you have this side to you as well.’
Honestly, I had expected Neung Hyeong to spout something like, “What good is learning such pathetic martial arts?” or similar nonsense.
Seeing him this flustered suggested that despite my distrust, Neung Hyeong had changed considerably.
“Because Bi Ah trusts Instructor Neung.”
Having already decided that he would accept the title of instructor, Moyong Su Jeong addressed him by that title without hesitation.
“And I, too, wish to trust Instructor Neung as much as Bi Ah does.”
Neung Hyeong, who had been staring blankly at her, spoke with a fierce expression.
“What if I leak the Moyong Family’s martial arts to the outside world?”
“Then I would have to blame my own poor judgment and my Younger Brother’s.”
“That’s not something you can speak of so lightly. In a martial family, martial arts are a treasure that cannot be exchanged for anything else. You would entrust such a treasure to an outsider, not even sharing your bloodline?”
“You said that those worse than strangers are blood relations, didn’t you?”
“That’s… but you don’t think that way yourself, do you?”
“By that logic, you’ve already transmitted the Moyong Family’s martial arts to the Fire Sword Group. They are not of the Moyong Clan.”
He had nothing to say, but Neung Hyeong forced his mouth open anyway.
“That’s a different case.”
“It is different. They are in the position of receiving instruction, while you are in the position of teaching.”
“You must understand what I mean. Teaching me the Moyong Family’s martial arts? Isn’t that like entrusting fish to a cat?”
Moyong Su Jeong shook her head.
“Speaking sincerely, I truly cannot see what the difference is between those two cases.”
“What?”
“Why would Instructor Neung be a cat?”
“Is that even something you can call an argument?”
“Neither I, nor Bi Ah, nor Su Hyang think of you as a cat.”
“…?!”
“In the end, it’s only Instructor Neung himself who thinks that way.”
In that moment, Neung Hyeong felt something surge within him.
He had always been upheld, and moreover, he had received trust without reason.
It was the natural trust that the Alliance Leader of Sacred Blood Palace, the Divine Physician’s representative, should receive, but it was entirely different from ordinary human relationships.
The peculiarity of religion, the forced trust created by strict hierarchy and the logic of the strong preying on the weak, and submission.
For Neung Hyeong, relationships with people had always been one-sided. He had been accustomed to it his entire life.
But Moyong Su Jeong said it was not so.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while. It seems Instructor Neung always packages himself as a twisted person, someone unpredictable in what he might do. Yet we have never thought of you that way.”
“…”
“Why do you live wearing a mask of a stubborn, ill-tempered, disagreeable old man that you yourself have created?”
At those words, Neung Hyeong was shocked once more.
‘Did I make myself into such a person?’
I wanted to deny it.
The person I am now is the sum total of every moment I’ve lived. This is who I am, and I wanted to say that I have never once denied myself.
But the words wouldn’t come easily.
“For the past several months, Instructor Neung Hyeong, you’ve drifted like duckweed on water. Su Hyang and I have always tried to reach out to you. Why? It’s simple. Because Bi Ah brought you to us.”
“….”
“Moreover, Bi Ah has changed too. Perhaps she distrusted you at first, but now she accepts you as a member of the family. Haven’t you felt that transformation?”
I felt it. I knew it.
Yet part of me insisted otherwise—that he merely regarded me as a convenient chess piece to manipulate.
Why was that?
“Bi Ah has changed. You’ve changed too, Instructor. Even if you don’t believe it yourself, all of us who observe you think so.”
“….”
“Are you denying yourself now that you’ve already transformed?”
“I am….”
“Yes.”
“…I am.”
Neung Hyeong struggled to open his mouth.
Moyong Su Jeong’s face, as she watched him, bore a serene smile.
It was an expression of complete acceptance and understanding—so compassionate that one could hardly believe it belonged to a young woman not yet thirty, barely into her mid-twenties.
“I trust you, Instructor Neung Hyeong. But not completely.”
“….”
“However, now I wish to trust you completely.”
In that instant, Guo Lao’s eyes widened.
Moyong Su Jeong’s expression remained unchanged, though she too was inwardly startled.
Neung Hyeong’s eyes glistened.
Not quite tears, but moisture gathered at the corners of his eyes. And the person most flustered by this was Neung Hyeong himself.
He quickly turned his head away and cleared his throat. He didn’t even dare wipe his eyes with his sleeve, lest it truly appear as though he were weeping.
A strange silence settled among the three.
After a full quarter hour of deep breathing, Neung Hyeong spoke with a trembling voice.
“I’m not as good a person as you think I am.”
“I know.”
“Perhaps one day, I might drive a blade into your backs.”
Moyong Su Jeong turned to Guo Lao and asked.
“Instructor Neung Hyeong, do you seem like such a person?”
Guo Lao answered without hesitation.
“Of course.”
Moyong Su Jeong burst into laughter despite herself, and Neung Hyeong’s brow furrowed.
“I do not trust that man. I believe him to be dangerous. This conviction will likely not change easily.”
“I see.”
“But precisely because of that, I trust the judgment of the Family Head and the Young Master.”
“I believe there will come a day when Guo Lao accepts you as an instructor.”
“I won’t hold my breath, but I won’t forget those words either.”
Moyong Su Jeong looked at Neung Hyeong again.
“No family moves in perfect synchrony from the start. We learn to match our steps one by one. At least, that’s how I was taught.”
“….”
“Will you learn the Martial Arts of the Main Family House?”
“And teach it properly?”
“Yes.”
“What do I gain from this?”
“You’ll receive passionate days, peaceful sleep, and a fulfillment beyond words.”
Guo Lao expected Neung Hyeong’s response to carry a hint of mockery. At the very least, he thought there would be complaints.
But his expectations were completely wrong.
“My days have always burned hot and moved swiftly, with or without you all.”
“Is that so?”
“But… I’ve never experienced peaceful sleep or that indescribable fulfillment.”
Surprisingly, a serene smile graced Neung Hyeong’s face.
Watching him, Guo Lao thought—perhaps Neung Hyeong too had been starving for genuine connection.
Neung Hyeong, who had been smiling up at the sky, furrowed his brow again.
“Did that bastard Moyong Bi have the Family Head tell me this?”
“He only asked. Whether it might be good to open the Main Family House’s Martial Arts to you, Instructor Neung.”
“That’s all he said?”
“The moment those words came from Bi Ah’s mouth, I knew it was time to act. Perhaps because we’re siblings, we move in subtle harmony.”
Not siblings, but Great Grand Uncle and Great Grand Nephew.
I muttered this inwardly, yet now they truly seemed like siblings. It was because of Moyong Bi’s relentless effort.
“So what will you do? Will you accept the Martial Arts of the Main Family House?”
Neung Hyeong deliberated once more.
‘The Martial Arts of Moyong Cheon?’
Of course, he knew that Moyong Cheon—or rather, Moyong Bi—possessed his own unique techniques.
But his movements, his enlightenment, were fundamentally rooted in the Martial Arts of the Moyong Family.
Neung Hyeong recalled the Martial Arts that Moyong Bi had wielded in the past.
That day at Hunan Cheonja Mountain, when they fought their first and last battle.
Even the strongest Demonic Arts of Sacred Blood Palace had failed to land a solid blow, while that man’s attacks, though ranked several levels below, gradually carved wounds into his body.
He had lost because of the Brain Gate Heart Technique, a Secret Art of the Moyong Family, but even without it, that man’s Martial Arts and growth trajectory were beyond anything he had witnessed.
‘Moyong… the Moyong Family….’
Neung Hyeong, lost in thought, spoke bluntly.
“I will prove beyond doubt that I am a tiger.”
It was a truly characteristic answer. Moyong Su Jeong rose with a smile.
“Rest well today and come to the Family Head’s Office tomorrow.”
Neung Hyeong did not ask why she wouldn’t teach him right now.
“Very well.”
“Then.”
The two of them rose and departed.
Left alone, Neung Hyeong sank into contemplation for a long while.
Half an hour later.
“…There’s something here.”
* * *
Moyong Bi, who had been in deep conversation with Seok Woong, turned his head.
“What? When did you arrive?”
“Just now, you fool.”
“Why? Do you have something to say? Even if you do, tell me later. I’m busy now.”
“Handle that busy work later. Right now, I’m more important.”
Seok Woong spoke with a smile.
“I’ll take care of the rest. Please, go ahead and talk.”
“My apologies. It’s because of this stubborn man.”
“Think nothing of it. Besides, those who will help lighten my workload should be arriving soon anyway.”
As Seok Woong stepped away, Moyong Bi let out a heavy sigh.
“Damn it, this move has me scattered. Mechanisms, formations—I need to create an impenetrable fortress. You know this, so why are you like this?”
“Why are you like this when you know it too?”
“What do I know, you bastard?”
“Mechanism Formations can only contribute to building an impenetrable fortress; they cannot be the decisive factor.”
“Even if they can’t be the decisive factor, they play a considerable role at critical moments.”
Neung Hyeong’s face hardened.
“So you coaxed the Family Head into opening the Moyong Family’s Martial Arts to me?”
“Coaxed? He just left on his own, saying he’d meet with me.”
“Don’t play dumb. If one more person—if it’s Guo Ho Gyun—joins in, we can create the most impenetrable fortress possible. At least with the two of us, we can sufficiently respond to any attacks from the Demon People.”
Moyong Bi chuckled softly.
“I’d tell anyone else that their pride is excessive, but since it’s you, I can’t even say that.”
Neung Hyeong felt a surge of emotion once more.
That statement wasn’t merely acknowledging his abilities. It carried the meaning that he could be trusted with his family—his blood relations, more precious than life itself.
“Why?”
“Why what again?”
“Do you really trust me that much?”
Moyong Bi’s expression grew increasingly serious.
Neung Hyeong did not stop speaking.
“What part of me are you seeing to trust me? Have you already lost your mind? If you have, let me remind you. I was once the Alliance Leader of the Sacred Blood Palace, and in those days, I waged bloody warfare against the Central Plains….”
“I trust you.”
“What?!”
“I trust you.”
“…!!”
“I have no desire to enumerate trivial reasons—that I’ve seen enough of you over time, that your natural talent is this or that. My heart has already decided, so why would I search for reasons?”
With trembling eyes fixed upon Moyong Bi’s face, Neung Hyeong could suddenly perceive another emotion from his lifelong rival—one he had never witnessed before.
It was anxiety.
“I believe in you. And I hope that my faith is not misplaced, that my judgment has not failed me.”
“….”
“And I believe that you have become an ordinary martial warrior living within the Moyong Family, cherishing the lives of these many people—not the legendary Demon Immortal you once were called.”
“You? So soft-hearted after all? To entrust the Family’s Martial Arts with such baseless faith….”
“Because it is you.”
“….”
“Guard the Main Family House while I am away at the Martial Alliance. I am asking this of you.”
His voice carried an unmistakable desperation.
Neung Hyeong, who had been gazing intently at Moyong Bi’s face, turned his body away.
“Don’t go getting cocky about returning to your old workplace and end up dead, you madman.”

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