Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 4

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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 4. Moyong Noble Family (3)

“….”

Moyong Cheon’s face as he stared at the main gate was dazed, as if his soul had left his body.

But that was only for a moment.

“Hey.”

“Yes!”

“You came to the right place, right?”

“Y-Yes, I did!”

Moyong Cheon’s face contorted as much as possible as he spoke in an ominous voice.

“This is the Main Family House?”

“…Yes, it is.”

“If I catch you spouting lies, your wrists will fly off. You’re sure this is the Moyong Noble Family?”

“H-How could I dare tell you lies? This is definitely Young Master’s home!”

Jang Gu screamed internally. You should know that better than anyone!

In truth, he couldn’t understand why this scrawny debtor had asked to be guided to his own home. He had simply come this far without thinking because he was too terrified of the other party.

Moyong Cheon stared at the main gate with bulging eyes.

‘This is the Main Family House?’

Even a Branch House of the Moyong Noble Family wouldn’t have been built so carelessly.

The Moyong Noble Family he was looking at now had the form of a truly, devastatingly ordinary manor. If there had at least been spider webs filling the door cracks or cracks running all over the outer walls, it might have snapped him back to his senses.

‘This is too ordinary!’

A manor that could truly be seen commonly anywhere, the kind that would exist in any region.

That made it even more shocking. He strongly felt that the Moyong Noble Family clan itself had become no different from any common Small-Medium Martial Family.

For Moyong Cheon, who had grown up seeing the appearance of a family clan that had once been the established power of Liaoning Province, overflowing with magnificent spirit, this current manor seemed like a curse in its very existence.

“This is absolutely ridiculous!”

As his heart pounded and all kinds of emotions flooded in, the faces of descendants he didn’t even know came to mind.

If I’m like this, how devastated must those nameless descendants have been who had to relocate as if being driven out. They must have felt much more heartbroken than I do.

Yes, that must be it. But….

But!

‘Still, this isn’t right!’

Moyong Cheon, clutching the back of his neck, suddenly looked up at where the name plaque should be.

‘Good heavens… there’s not even a name plaque.’

Any manor would at least display a sign showing what place it was, and naturally that role was fulfilled by a name plaque. But here, even the name plaque that should obviously be there was missing.

A household with no magnificent spirit, no glory, and no name plaque.

Jang Gu, who had been glancing at Moyong Cheon who was completely out of it, spoke in a crawling voice.

“Young Master.”

“….”

“Th-That is… may I return now?”

“….”

“Young Master?”

“Go.”

“Pardon?”

Moyong Cheon shouted angrily.

“Stop making noise and get lost! Go! Scram!”

“Gasp! Understood!”

Startled, Jang Gu stumbled and ran back the way he came. With each step he took away, the forgotten pain began to creep back up.

At the same time, his anger toward Moyong Cheon also began to slowly revive.

‘Just wait and see! I’ll strip you down to your very skin!’

After sending Jang Gu away, Moyong Cheon clutched his head.

“Damn it! This isn’t a dream?”

In some sense, perhaps I should be grateful. At least it doesn’t seem like I’ve become a cripple. Though that made it even more shocking…

Moyong Cheon released his hair that he had been gripping as if to tear it out and took a deep breath.

“Calm down, calm down.”

This is reality.

No matter how much I tear at my hair and chew my lips until they’re ragged, reality won’t change.

Moyong Cheon glared at the main gate with bloodshot eyes and took another deep breath.

It really was a day of taking many deep breaths.

‘Let’s go in.’

Let’s stop being shocked by everything. The very fact that I’ve moved to Hubei is already shocking enough.

‘Maybe it’s not the Main Family House. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.’

Moyong Cheon knocked on the main gate with a somewhat tense expression.

After a moment.

“Who is it?”

The hoarse voice carried the frailty that years had carved into it.

Moyong Cheon cleared his throat a few times and was about to speak when he suddenly hesitated.

‘Wait.’

Come to think of it, what’s this guy’s name?

‘Damn! I should have asked that bastard for the name first.’

The reality was so shocking that I didn’t even think to ask what the name was.

Then, the hoarse voice came again.

“By any chance, are you Young Master?”

“Huh? Ah… Yes.”

Formal speech came out without me realizing it.

Clank!

The main gate opened and an old man popped out.

He was an old man with a hunched back and gaunt frame. Despite his appearance that suggested he couldn’t even lift a hoe, his face bore a fairly deep scar carved diagonally across it.

The old man made a fuss.

“Young Master! Why have you returned so late?”

“…”

“Please come inside first. You haven’t been drinking, have you?”

“Ah…”

“Please go inside and rest. I’ll bring your meal right away.”

Led by the old man’s hand as he crossed the main gate, Moyong Cheon unconsciously spoke.

“Mr. Guo?”

The old man, Guo Lao, smiled.

“It’s been quite a while since I’ve heard the title Mr. Guo. Hehe.”

Moyong Cheon opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

‘Really Mr. Guo?’

Guo Ho Gyun.

A man who was the personal servant and bodyguard of Moyong Heon, who was like an elder brother to Moyong Cheon, known as the most loyal retainer in Yolyeong due to his tremendous devotion.

Naturally, as the family head’s personal guard, his skills were also exceptional. That same man had now appeared as a bent-backed old man.

‘His martial arts…?’

Guo Lao’s limping gait caught his eye.

Far from being a master, his walk was worse than that of an ordinary person. His right leg seemed severely injured, and he couldn’t even sense the unique aura of a master.

‘He has no internal energy either.’

Moyong Cheon, who had been watching Guo Lao with trembling eyes, stopped walking.

“What’s wrong, Young Master?”

“Mr. Guo.”

“Hehe, just call me Guo Lao. That’s sufficient.”

Moyong Cheon asked hesitantly.

“Your leg…”

“Yes?”

“I mean, how uncomfortable is it?”

“Oh my, please speak comfortably. Why are you being so formal with me?”

“…Right.”

Guo Lao laughed and patted his thigh.

“I’m perfectly fine without any pain.”

Of course it doesn’t hurt when you pat your thigh.

‘It’s his calf.’

He was clearly severely injured from his ankle to his calf. Though he couldn’t examine it closely, there was probably still pain with every step he took.

Moyong Cheon, who had been quietly watching Guo Lao, unconsciously lowered his head.

‘This man.’

He didn’t know what circumstances led to this, but not only had they moved to Hubei, but the family clan had shrunk to its smallest size.

Even with such a family clan, Guo Lao seemed to still consider himself a servant. Though he had aged, his eyes remained the same as back then.

Loyalty that remained unshaken even as generations changed.

‘Damn it.’

Moyong Cheon, who had been sighing with bitterness, raised his head again.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Moyong Cheon’s pace became somewhat slower. It wasn’t just due to his stamina, but he was instinctively being considerate of Guo Lao.

‘Now it feels real.’

Looking at Guo Lao’s aged and weakened appearance, Moyong Cheon could finally completely accept that he had truly fallen into a world twenty-some years later.

‘Pull yourself together. I’ve returned to the family clan. From now on, this is real reality.’

Guo Lao, who had been glancing at Moyong Cheon, asked cautiously.

“Young Master.”

“Mm?”

“You seem to have changed somehow.”

Changed? This damn family clan and you have changed far more.

“I was thinking that reality feels like a dream. And that life doesn’t go as I wish.”

Though it wasn’t something a young man who hadn’t even reached adulthood should say, Guo Lao responded seriously.

“The world is originally like that. The Jianghu Martial World is even more so. It’s a place crawling with villains who kill people out of boredom or bad mood, even without any grudges. Parents abandon children and children kill parents.”

I know.

Rather, I learned that harshly before becoming the Martial Alliance Leader. Right from childhood, this very family clan used me as a test subject to cultivate Secret Arts.

Even if I was an illegitimate child, blood is still blood, yet they used a child who had only lived ten years as a test subject for incomplete martial arts. That’s exactly what the Martial World is.

It was Elder Brother and I who changed that damned family clan from its very roots.

And now, I was looking at the remnants of a family clan that had begun to walk the righteous path.

Guo Lao smiled and continued speaking.

“It’s been so long since we walked together like this. Since we’ve come this far, shall we go see Miss Su Jeong together with this old servant?”

Moyong Cheon hesitated for a moment.

“Who?”

“Miss Su Jeong. You know she always worries about you even while busy with acting as family head, don’t you?”

Where have I heard that name many times before?

‘Su Jeong, Su Jeong… Huh?!’

After mulling over that name several times, Moyong Cheon unconsciously said.

“That Su Jeong?”

Guo Lao whispered in surprise.

“Still, she’s your elder sister, so you shouldn’t address her so carelessly, Young Master.”

Guo Lao’s voice didn’t reach Moyong Cheon’s ears.

‘Dae Ho’s daughter?’

Moyong Su Jeong.

She was the daughter of Moyong Dae Ho, son of his elder brother Moyong Heon, making her his great-grandniece.

Before falling ill and bedridden, the last time he had visited the family clan was just a year ago. He had seen Moyong Su Jeong as a newborn baby then.

‘No way?!’

He said Moyong Su Jeong was his elder sister. Then the owner of this body was also his great-grandnephew.

That would mean he was Elder Brother’s bloodline.

“Elder Brother, no.”

“Yes?”

“Grand, grandfather?”

Guo Lao’s face darkened.

Even though it was dark, his expression was honest enough to be clearly visible.

“You haven’t forgotten. The memorial service for the great-great family head is in five days.”

“…!”

“You must attend this time.”

Moyong Cheon felt his vision spinning.

‘Elder Brother has passed away?!’

Perhaps he had known it subconsciously all along.

If Elder Brother had been alive, the family clan would never have fallen to this state.

The fact he had desperately tried to deny became a raging torrent of reality that shook his heart. It felt as if someone had struck the back of his head hard with a hammer.

“Young Master? Are you alright?”

“…The Ancestral Hall.”

“Pardon?”

“Where was the Ancestral Hall?”

No matter how much the family clan had declined, how many years of history did it have? At the very least, there should be an Ancestral Hall to honor their ancestors.

Guo Lao was flustered, but seeing the Young Master who seemed to have received a great shock, he couldn’t bring himself to ask why he was suddenly asking about the Ancestral Hall or say things like whether he had forgotten where it was.

“Please follow this old servant.”

A short while later.

“Here it is.”

It was a tiny shrine.

Moyong Cheon opened the door to the Ancestral Hall with enough force to break it and entered.

He could see ancestral tablets lined up in rows. It was dark at night, so he couldn’t make out the names.

“Young Master, just a moment.”

Guo Lao skillfully lit a candle. It seemed he always carried fire tongs with him.

As he lit candles in several places, the interior of the Ancestral Hall became bright.

“Please step aside for a moment.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

After sending Guo Lao outside, Moyong Cheon looked at the ancestral tablet positioned at the Upper Seat.

‘Moyong Hwang.’

The Moyong Noble Family had a unique way of arranging ancestral tablets.

At the very top center, the ancestral tablet of their ancestor Moyong Hwang was placed, and then in the next row, the tablets of the main family heads were arranged in order from left to right.

When one row was filled, they moved to the next row, and when that row was filled, they continued to the next row, placing tablets in succession.

Moyong Cheon, who had been examining the rightmost tablet in the last row with a tense expression, was startled.

‘Dae Ho?!’

Moyong Dae Ho.

Surprisingly, there stood the ancestral tablet of Moyong Dae Ho, his nephew and Elder Brother’s child.

Moyong Cheon suddenly recalled Guo Lao’s words from earlier.

‘You haven’t forgotten. The memorial service for the great-great family head is in five days.’

If Elder Brother was the great-great family head, then his nephew Dae Ho would be the great family head.

‘This can’t be. Why Dae Ho too?’

He was in the prime of his life. In twenty years, he would have been at his peak as a martial artist—so why was Daeho dead?

Moyong Cheon, standing in shock and bewilderment, turned his head to the left.

“…!!”

He unconsciously squeezed his eyes shut.

“Elder Brother.”

The ancestral tablet with Moyong Heon’s name clearly written on it burned itself into his mind even with his eyes closed.

‘So you really did pass away.’

Yes. Elder Brother was dead.

The only person in the family who had treated him as a human being, as a brother, was gone. Even his nephew Daeho.

Moyong Cheon opened his eyes again and looked at Moyong Heon’s ancestral tablet.

“…Hah.”

The sense of emptiness was indescribable.

The fact that this was really the Moyong Family Estate, that the Moyong Noble Family had fallen to such a state in just twenty years, that his beloved elder brother and cherished nephew were dead—all of it drained the strength from his body.

‘I came back to life, so why did Elder Brother have to die?’

To think that one small ancestral tablet was all that remained of his brother—sighs poured out like a waterfall.

He remembered the conversations he’d had with his brother.

‘You rascal, are you that busy? Why don’t you ever think to visit?’

‘You’re right about that. Should I just quit being Alliance Leader?’

‘Hehe, I’d like that, but there are many people who rely on your abilities that revived even the Main Family House.’

‘Elder Brother did all that—what did I really do?’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Of course not.’

‘Uhahahaha!’

That hearty laughter echoed like a distant memory.

‘Elder Brother.’

They said it was twenty years later, but for him, not even a day had passed. It was so absurd he didn’t even know what expression to make.

With a bitter expression, Moyong Cheon stroked the ancestral tablet for a long while, then suddenly realized that Moyong Heon’s tablet was of notably better quality than the others.

‘What’s this? Why is only Elder Brother’s different?’

He turned it sideways and then upright for no particular reason.

And the moment he saw the back of the ancestral tablet.

“….”

A single tear that he hadn’t shed in decades fell with a drop.

On the back of Moyong Heon’s ancestral tablet, seventeen characters were written in bold, heroic calligraphy.

Former Martial Alliance Leader

Radiant Martial Lord Moyong Cheon

Joint Family Head.

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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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