Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 44

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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 44. The Virtue of Transactions (4)

 

Murmur murmur.

 

Even though it was morning, there were quite a lot of people around.

 

Since the marketplace didn’t only have taverns, there were many merchants trying to start their dawn business.

 

Naturally, there were people who stopped by restaurants to cure their hangovers, and quite a few people who had lodged at the taverns.

 

All those many people were looking at one place.

 

“It’s cold.”

 

Moyong Bi, who had crossed his arms to hold his wooden staff, sniffled.

 

“Should I have worn thicker clothes?”

 

Jin Gwang spoke carefully.

 

“Shall I get you an outer garment?”

 

“It’s fine. I might be sweating soon anyway.”

 

“Then I’ll get you a chair at least.”

 

“What chair?”

 

Jin Gwang gave an order to Woong Pae.

 

After a moment, Woong Pae brought back a fairly sturdy-looking chair.

 

“Please sit here.”

 

“Oh, thanks.”

 

Moyong Bi, who sat down on the chair placed in a spot slightly away from the center of the marketplace, glanced at Moyong Su Hyang.

 

“Aren’t you cold?”

 

“The coolness feels nice.”

 

“Want to sit on the chair?”

 

“Do I look as frail as you?”

 

“Even when I talk to you, really.”

 

Grumbling, Moyong Bi now looked down at the ground to his right.

 

Hwang Ji Hwa was glaring at him as if she wanted to kill him. But perhaps unable to shake off the memory of being severely beaten, her face was filled with unmistakable fear.

 

“Why are you looking so desperately? Need to take a dump?”

 

“Grr!”

 

“Remove the strength from your eyes before I pull out all your front teeth and release you into the field with flowers stuck in your ears.”

 

At the brutal threat of turning her into a madwoman like the ones found in every rural village, Hwang Ji Hwa instinctively lowered her eyes.

 

Moyong Bi chuckled and turned his head, then complained about being cold again.

 

Moyong Su Hyang’s face, watching such an elder brother, was more serious than ever.

 

‘I really don’t understand.’

 

Can a person’s personality change this drastically?

 

She recalled the conversation she had with Elder Sister before coming here.

 

‘He learned the real martial arts of the Main Family?!’

 

‘That’s right.’

 

‘That’s impossible! That place called the secret place was just nonsense Father spouted while he was ill…’

 

‘I thought so, but apparently Bi Ah didn’t. In the end, she really did find it.’

 

‘I can’t believe it until I see it myself. She didn’t even say where that place was, did she?’

 

‘But Bi Ah’s martial arts are real. You saw it too, didn’t you?’

 

‘…!’

 

‘They said his body ended up in that state because he tried to learn martial arts alone without anyone to teach him.’

 

Elder Sister said that Elder Brother had apparently tested the Main Family’s real martial arts on his own body, even experimenting to see if they were genuine or not.

 

If that was true, then it was only natural that his body ended up in this state. No, it would be strange if he hadn’t died.

 

‘This fool really did that?’

 

Then why did he drink heavily and cause trouble?

 

Did he lament his lack of talent and want to borrow the power of alcohol? Or was he afraid that obtaining such treasure might be discovered, so he deliberately caused trouble to hide it?

 

‘Even so.’

 

Even if that were the case, there was no reason to cause a ruckus even at home.

 

‘If he thought to deceive his family first in order to deceive everyone….’

 

Would that really be an easy thing to do?

 

They say it’s like having honey on your lips and a sword in your belly. I heard that people who smile on the outside while harboring a blade within are common in this world.

 

If Elder Sister’s words were true, then Elder Brother was also that kind of person, though in a different way.

 

‘But….’

 

It was hard to imagine easily.

 

The Elder Brother I had seen since childhood wasn’t the type to hide his true feelings. If anything, he simply wouldn’t speak rather than lie.

 

Rather, as the eldest son and second child, wasn’t he someone who knew how to endure silently for the sake of his elder sister and younger sister?

 

‘Even if that’s true, there’s no excuse for making Elder Sister’s illness worse because of you.’

 

Perhaps he thought that if he learned the Main Family’s true Supreme Arts, he could cure Elder Sister’s illness too?

 

‘That can’t be. Even if that were the case, it doesn’t erase the wrongs he committed in the past.’

 

Elder Sister aside, how much verbal abuse had he inflicted on me? How many times had he disappointed me?

 

It wasn’t a matter of pride.

 

The wounds I had received over the years were too great to forgive this scoundrel.

 

Because I had trusted and followed him even more than Elder Sister, because Elder Brother was the only person in the world I could trust and follow, I couldn’t forgive him even more.

 

“You’re going to bore a hole through my face.”

 

“What?”

 

“Got something to say? Why are you staring at me like that?”

 

Moyong Su Hyang let out a hollow laugh.

 

“The only thing I have to say to you is curses, you damn bastard.”

 

“If I’m damned, then the Main Family is damned too. You can curse all you want, but don’t call me a damn bastard.”

 

“Fucking bastard.”

 

“….”

 

“You said to curse, didn’t you?”

 

Moyong Bi couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

Our Su Hyang, she sure has a sharp tongue.

 

At least it’s a hundred times better than being weak.

 

“I’m curious about something—where did you learn to curse like that?”

 

“Mind your own business.”

 

Moyong Bi grumbled inwardly.

 

Still, there are so many people around, she could at least save me some face…

 

‘No, I need to understand.’

 

How much trouble must that Great Grand Nephew bastard have caused for Su Hyang to be like this? I have to endure it all.

 

Turning her head to look at the sky, Moyong Su Hyang felt an inexplicable melancholy.

 

‘Where did I learn it?’

 

Where else would I have learned it? I learned it all from you.

 

I don’t know what kind of guys he hung around with in the Market Street, but he came back having learned all sorts of creative curses.

 

And she had inherited that.

 

‘Damn, am I really using the word “inherited” for something like this?’

 

Grumbling inwardly, Moyong Su Hyang suddenly asked as a thought occurred to her.

 

“But are you confident?”

 

“Confident about what?”

 

“There are many people watching and public opinion is on our side, but honestly, what if they go crazy and foam at the mouth and charge at us? Can you handle it?”

 

“If I can’t handle it, I’ll have to run away.”

 

“…Run away?”

 

“What, should I stand there like an idiot and fight? When it’s obvious I’ll die?”

 

“Aren’t you saying something shameful too confidently?”

 

Moyong Bi frowned.

 

“Why is that shameful?”

 

“Of course it’s shameful. If you run away in front of the enemy, who will respect us…”

 

“The real shame is knowing how to solve things but stubbornly holding out and getting not only yourself but also my people killed.”

 

“…!”

 

“As you said, there are times when you have to hold out even at the cost of your life. But this isn’t one of those times. Why be stubborn against these scoundrels who suck money from common people and increase their power? Just torment them plenty.”

 

It seemed to make sense somehow, yet the words seemed too smooth.

 

“Don’t worry. It’ll work out.”

 

Could he really trust this…?

 

‘Sigh.’

 

Time passed like that.

 

More and more people gathered in the marketplace.

 

The rumors that had started circulating after midnight had snowballed. And from morning, one of the main characters of those rumors had appeared in the marketplace.

 

Rumors called for more rumors, and people called for more people.

 

By the time the morning air cleared, the murmuring sounds in the marketplace had grown three times louder.

 

And when it was exactly the hour of the Snake.

 

Whoosh.

 

The cool air of the marketplace suddenly stirred on its own.

 

Moyong Bi, who had been enthusiastically gnawing on a duck leg bought from a nearby inn, smacked his lips and said.

 

“Now it’s getting serious.”

 

The murmuring sounds suddenly decreased.

 

The atmosphere had changed. Even without loud noises, the murderous air that crept through silently put a lock on the crowd’s mouths.

 

Jin Gwang and the five squad members unconsciously swallowed their saliva. Moyong Su Hyang also gritted her teeth as she stared straight ahead.

 

And finally, they appeared.

 

Behind a middle-aged man wearing a splendid white robe followed an old swordsman with white hair who seemed well over fifty.

 

And behind the two men, nearly a hundred swordsmen were walking in formation, keeping their ranks and files.

 

“White Dragon Squad…”

 

Someone’s trembling voice revealed their identity.

 

White Dragon Squad.

 

If the Hong Clan Sword Family had the Red Sword Corps, then Ten Swords Gate had the White Dragon Squad.

 

In other words, they were Ten Swords Gate’s finest elite. Though the Red Sword Corps with fewer numbers was said to be Wuhan’s top organization, that didn’t mean the White Dragon Squad was weak.

 

And leading them was Ten Swords Sect Leader Hwang Gyu himself.

 

“Ah, Father!”

 

Hwang Ji Hwa’s face brightened immediately.

 

“Finally!”

 

She had wondered.

 

She thought he might be late because he was observing the situation, that he must have his own plans, but the anxiety that her father might have abandoned her had been real.

 

She was wrong. Her father had not abandoned her.

 

He came personally, leading Ten Swords Gate’s finest elite, all for her sake.

 

Emboldened, Hwang Ji Hwa looked at Moyong Bi and sneered.

 

“From now on, you’re going to taste hell. Even now, if you release my bonds, it would be better for you…”

 

“If we’re going to taste hell anyway, why would we release you?”

 

“What, what did you say?!”

 

“If we’re getting on the hell-bound carriage, how unfair would it be for us to go alone? We should at least take you along for the ride.”

 

You’re still in my hands.

 

With fear welling up inside her, Hwang Ji Hwa swallowed hard.

 

But her reliable father’s presence gave her courage to overcome the fear.

 

“You’re bluffing. Do you think your logic will work in front of the Ten Swords Sect Leader and the White Dragon Squad?”

 

“At least your logic doesn’t work in front of me, so shut your mouth. Before I really pull out all your teeth.”

 

“You, you bastard!”

 

“Huh? Does that sound like a lie?”

 

Shing.

 

Moyong Bi drew a dagger.

 

It was the jeweled dagger that Hwang Ji Hwa had been carrying in her sleeve.

 

“Yeon Pyeong!”

 

It was a resonant voice he had never shown before.

 

That voice was so intense that most of the crowd turned their gaze toward Moyong Bi.

 

“Yes, Young Master.”

 

“Use this to pull out this girl’s teeth one by one. Carefully.”

 

Not only the crowd but also the squad members and even Moyong Su Hyang were horrified.

 

Among them, the most shocked was Yeon Pyeong. To give such a terrible order in front of all these people?

 

But Yeon Pyeong realized why Moyong Bi had deliberately given him the order.

 

‘I mustn’t show any sign of hesitation.’

 

Yeon Pyeong bowed his head.

 

“I accept your command.”

 

“Start with the front teeth. Make her look stupid.”

 

Yeon Pyeong respectfully took the dagger and pressed Hwang Ji Hwa’s jaw down with his knee.

 

Terror filled Hwang Ji Hwa’s face.

 

“Kuk! Kkeok!”

 

His left hand covered her nose and eyes, and she could feel the cold tip of the dagger touching her gums.

 

‘You crazy bastards! No!’

 

That’s when it happened.

 

“Stop!”

 

A booming voice carried powerful internal energy.

 

Unlike Moyong Bi’s voice that had been filled with pure presence, the internal energy in Hwang Gyu’s voice overflowed with intimidation enough to make the crowd tremble with fear.

 

“How dare you commit such cruel acts before me? And a daughter in front of her father!”

 

Though these were words spat out in genuine anger, he deliberately mixed in the expressions of father and daughter. He was stimulating the crowd’s moral conscience to make them perceive Moyong Bi as a cruel person.

 

But Moyong Bi didn’t care about such things in the slightest.

 

“Is only your family a family, and my family not a family?”

 

Wooooooong.

 

The air vibrated strongly.

 

Hwang Gyu, who had tried to overwhelm with his voice, was startled. Moyong Bi’s internal energy spreading through the air was truly remarkable.

 

‘This bastard?!’

 

To be precise, it wasn’t the internal energy itself, but the way he used that internal energy that was remarkable.

 

It completely erased the traces left by the White Sword True Energy.

 

The empty air was filled with Moyong Bi’s will left by his Primordial True Energy. His anger and coldness once again captivated everyone’s attention.

 

“Having back alley trash collect debts, I’ll chalk that up to greed. But sending your daughter and even an elder to slaughter everyone from the main family? Are you even human?”

 

“What?!”

 

“I thought you were just backing the Black Tiger Gang, but did you become relatives or something? Don’t tell me you were planning to make that gang leader your son-in-law?”

 

“What kind of crazy bastard is this!”

 

“If not that, then?”

 

Moyong Bi pulled out a red-covered book from his chest.

 

“Did you want to steal the ledger densely filled with transaction details with the Black Tiger Gang?”

 

Moyong Su Hyang thought.

 

Getting slapped would be better than this.

—————
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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