Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 236

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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 236. What Do You Desire? (6)
“Mm.”
Gong Sun Baek’s eyes gleamed with sudden interest.
He had been sipping his tea in silence, but when his gaze shifted abruptly, neither Moyong Su Hyang nor Jin Gwang showed any alarm.
“Has word come from the Alliance Leader’s Residence?”
Gong Sun Baek’s eyes widened.
“How did you know that?”
“Just intuition.”
Both of them had witnessed Sama Hyeon receiving reports from the Huabei Branch members countless times before.
Gong Sun Baek chuckled softly and rose from his seat.
“Let’s go enjoy some better tea.”
“Where to? Surely not the Alliance Leader’s Residence?”
“Why would we go to that stuffy place? I mean to properly escort you to your quarters.”
Moyong Su Hyang looked taken aback.
“Does that mean we’ll be staying at the Martial Alliance from now on?”
“I don’t understand your surprise. Didn’t you come here with that understanding already?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Still, I wished to see the face of the Alliance Leader, revered by all under heaven, just once more.
As if understanding her heart, Gong Sun Baek spoke in a reassuring, lighthearted tone.
“As long as you remain with the Alliance, you’ll find yourself in the Alliance Leader’s presence far more often than you might expect.”
“Is that so?”
“It seems your Elder Brother has quite captured the Alliance Leader’s favor. The Alliance Leader appears to have decided to formally accept you both.”
Moyong Su Hyang’s face brightened.
“I see.”
“Your Elder Brother likely won’t return until this evening, so rest well at your quarters. If you wish, you may also explore the surroundings. We’ll assign Guard Warriors to accompany you.”
“Ah, that’s not necessary.”
“It’s necessary for us. Besides, if you go sightseeing and wander into unauthorized areas, won’t that only invite unnecessary trouble?”
He meant to assign someone who could serve both as an escort and as a guide to the Martial Alliance.
Thus, Moyong Su Hyang and Jin Gwang made their way to quarters not far from the Alliance Leader’s Residence.
It was clear they intended to treat them well—their quarters were far more magnificent than the Main Family House in Hubei.
* * *
“Do you know where this is?”
“…I do not.”
Though I claimed ignorance, I could not possibly not know.
As my eyes surveyed the surroundings, turbulent emotion stirred within them.
‘It has been far too long.’
This was the Treasure Vault, created by successive Martial Alliance Leaders as a precaution against unforeseen circumstances.
Many knew of its existence. But only the Alliance Leaders throughout history knew its exact location.
More precisely, it had been kept in strict secrecy since the time of Moyong Cheon.
‘People lack integrity.’
Typically, the position of Martial Alliance Leader is held by someone from a prestigious family—someone experienced, powerful, and morally sound.
Yet no matter how exceptional a person might be, they cannot ignore the ties binding them to their sect of origin or their family clan.
Eventually, word of this warehouse’s existence spread quietly, and thereafter, the sects and martial families that produced Alliance Leaders would discreetly pilfer treasures from this place to bolster their own organizations.
“That’s why everyone worked so hard to produce an Alliance Leader from their own faction.”
Meng Ha Sung spoke matter-of-factly.
“This is a place steeped in the loyalty and sorrow of successive Martial Alliance Leaders. Save for the Alliance Leader himself, no one should know of its existence.”
Meng Ha Sung likely understood this already—that many people now knew of the warehouse’s existence.
Yet he spoke thus anyway, probably unwilling to sow unnecessary distrust in one still young and inexperienced.
Moyong Bi feigned ignorance and asked.
“Is it truly acceptable to show me such an important place?”
“Of course.”
“Because I am of the Moyong Clan?”
“Because you are someone who has earned my favor, and you share kinship with the Previous Alliance Leader.”
“If successive Martial Alliance Leaders could not sever that connection, then surely many people know of this warehouse.”
Meng Ha Sung burst into hearty laughter.
“You are indeed perceptive. The truth is, that’s exactly how it is. As the saying goes, the arm bends inward—it is truly difficult for people to live by principle alone.”
“Then are you also attempting to become such a person, Alliance Leader?”
“How could that be?”
Meng Ha Sung, like Moyong Bi, surveyed the surroundings.
“This place was relocated by the Previous Alliance Leader. You may not realize it, but what you and I stand upon is merely an infinitesimal portion. Beyond several gates lies the inner sanctum, where treasures beyond imagination are stored in abundance.”
Imagination could scarcely contain it.
“Yet that remains a problem, does it not?”
“Do not worry. I intend to relocate the treasures here to another location soon.”
Moyong Bi’s eyes widened.
“Relocate them?”
“Indeed.”
I wondered why he would bother, but in that same moment, I understood.
“Those of a shadowed disposition have always possessed a keen sensitivity to the scent of impending conflict.”
Meng Ha Sung turned to regard Moyong Bi.
Moyong Bi tilted his head and spoke.
“Is it not because of the Six Major Sects?”
Meng Ha Sung’s gaze deepened.
“Your intuition grows more formidable by the moment, I must say.”
The Nine Great Sects and the Six Great Families were surely already anticipating that the Martial Alliance Leader would soon draw his blade.
Or perhaps they had sensed such movements long ago. Knowing this, Meng Ha Sung intended to relocate the warehouse.
“A man who fears cutting his own hand cannot wield a knife, and therefore cannot eat meat.”
Meng Ha Sung chuckled softly and nodded.
“You speak truly. Unlike my initial intentions, I have now resolved to make proper use of you. There is no reason to erect walls at this late hour.”
Walls must be erected.
No matter how much one trusts one’s judgment, human relations remain unpredictable. The position of Martial Alliance Leader is precisely the kind of office where the more one trusts, the more vigilantly one must guard.
Meng Ha Sung turned his gaze away.
“Though it will be moved anyway, the reason I show it to you is simple.”
“….”
“Respect for the Previous Alliance Leader, and to place a burden upon you.”
Trust spoken in mere words holds no meaning.
Meng Ha Sung was now demonstrating trust through action—toward a young man he had known for less than a day.
This was precisely what could become a burden for Moyong Bi. For should he betray this trust, the consequences would extend not merely to himself, but to his entire clan.
‘Excellent.’
Despite the gravity of the situation, Moyong Bi recognized that Meng Ha Sung’s pressure was a masterful approach.
‘Such bold and decisive worldly wisdom is indeed necessary.’
When one considered it carefully, Meng Ha Sung stood to lose nothing.
Those who knew of this place already knew it, and since it would be relocated regardless, knowledge of it now held no consequence.
Conversely, Moyong Bi found himself bound hand and foot by the shackles of the Martial Alliance Leader’s expectations.
‘Truly excellent, Meng Ha Sung.’
Rather, this display reassured Moyong Bi. It was proof that Meng Ha Sung was no fool.
Yet another thought occurred to him.
‘Even one descended from the Previous Alliance Leader’s bloodline, talented as he may be, would not easily reveal such a place. The meaning of that is….’
It meant the situation was that urgent.
Though to call it merely that seemed insufficient given the diversity of what had been revealed, still, a Martial Alliance Leader should normally maintain several such capable individuals in his circle.
‘The situation becomes clearer by the moment.’
Meng Ha Sung clapped his hands together.
“Wait here for now. Of course, you must not touch anything within this place.”
“Understood.”
With that, Meng Ha Sung entered through the leftmost of several doors.
Before entering, he twisted something protruding near the door handle with a squeaking sound, though Moyong Bi knew this held no real significance.
The true mechanism lay in the secret code exchanged through sound transmission with the hidden sentries guarding this place.
‘Even after bringing me this far, he feigns activating the mechanism while conscious of my presence. He does not trust completely.’
Moyong Bi surveyed his surroundings once more.
‘Five years after taking office, was it?’
The memory surfaced of when this place was constructed, when various weapons, spirit medicines, and treasures were hidden away.
Those days had been filled with anger. Though the Brain Gate Heart Technique was the root cause, fundamentally there had been great distrust toward the subordinate sects.
‘Even though I created this place….’
It was a place steeped in the memories of youth.
Yet a strange unfamiliarity pervaded it.
Moyong Bi understood the reason.
‘This place is no longer my space.’
When I died of illness, everything that had come into my hands ceased to be mine.
Now all that remained to me was the will to restore blood relations and clan, and revenge.
‘Meng Ha Sung. I know not what form you will take henceforth, but if you are to navigate this turbulent political landscape well, you must not forget your true nature.’
How much time passed in this manner.
Creak.
The door opened, and Meng Ha Sung emerged.
Turning my gaze back to Meng Ha Sung, I felt a sudden surge of turbulence wash over me.
“You’ve never seen this before.”
The long spear I’d been gripping trembled violently.
“I’ve heard that the Previous Alliance Leader never crafted a weapon he particularly favored. The reason was simple—if a warrior grew too attached to a single weapon on the battlefield and showed an opening, even an absolute master could fall.”
My heart pounded with fierce intensity.
“However, there were a few weapons that he held especially dear. I learned of them much later, but they say his Elder Brother gifted them to him.”
Meng Ha Sung handed me a sword shaped like a pair of blades.
It was slightly longer than the broken sword and had a gentler curvature.
A weapon form rarely used in the Central Plains—not one to be struck downward with force, but rather to be grasped with both hands and drawn in a slashing motion.
With trembling hands, I accepted the sword.
“I don’t know its name. But that sword was certainly one he cherished.”
“…The Beast Blade.”
“Hmm?”
“This is called the Beast Blade.”
Meng Ha Sung’s eyes widened.
“You know this sword?”
Know it? Of course I knew it.
‘Elder Brother.’
A conversation with my Elder Brother from long ago surfaced in my memory.
‘Take it.’
‘If it’s a gift, wouldn’t you choose something more ornate?’
‘Given your nature, you’d only pick something flashy anyway. But this too is a Divine Weapon of considerable merit.’
‘The blade has teeth missing in places. It won’t cut properly.’
‘Whether it was made that way originally or truly suffered damage, I cannot say. But as you noted, those who have been cut by that blade are said to be left in a state as gruesome as if they’d been mauled by a carnivorous beast.’
‘Heh.’
‘I hesitated to give you such a violent weapon because of your temperament, but there’s no one else who could wield it. Despite its appearance, it boasts a strength that rivals any Divine Sword, a formidable weapon indeed—but I’d prefer you not use it unless absolutely necessary.’
I drew the blade from its scabbard.
A sharp, almost twisting sound emanated from it—not the ordinary ring of a normal sword being drawn.
And there, revealed, was the blade itself.
‘Indeed, it’s the Beast Blade!’
From just above the blade’s edge to its tip, the teeth of the blade jutted out irregularly.
Yet even so, it exuded a peculiar, ferocious presence. Like a wounded beast snarling before its enemy, a savage blade-light bloomed forth.
Uuuuuung!
The blade sang out its cry.
Meng Ha Sung’s eyes widened.
“The blade recognizes its master. A blade’s cry… heh heh, I brought it at just the right moment.”
Watching the blade with trembling eyes, I soon steadied my racing heart and sheathed it once more.
Meng Ha Sung held up the pitch-black long spear for me to see.
“It seems your family must possess some sort of historical records. Then, do you know what this is?”
I did indeed.
Moyong Bi grasped the black spear.
“The Demon-Sealing Divine Spear.”
If the Yasudo was a divine weapon gifted by Elder Brother, then this black Demon-Sealing Divine Spear was a divine weapon I had obtained by chance during a skirmish with enemies.
While being pushed back by the enemy’s overwhelming assault and on the verge of death, I had discovered this weapon by sheer fortune in the tomb of a master from the previous generation.
After fortunately using that formidable spear to vanquish the enemies and finally managing to escape, I had named it the Demon-Sealing Divine Spear, vowing to seal away all the demons of this world.
The Demon-Sealing Divine Spear, and the Yasudo.
One was a weapon imbued with my own will, while the other was a weapon carrying Elder Brother’s concern and affection.
Both were divine weapons and strange artifacts of unparalleled rarity.
‘I never thought the day would come when I would wield these spear and blade again.’
To Moyong Bi, who gazed upon the Demon-Sealing Divine Spear and Yasudo with eyes brimming with emotion, Meng Ha Sung spoke in a subdued voice.
“There is a reason I am entrusting these to you.”

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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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