Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 99

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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 99. Counter Greater Force with Even Greater Force (4)

The preliminaries of the Late-Stage Expert tournament are held over two days.

Despite having nearly three hundred participants, finishing everything in just two days was seen as the organizers’ judgment that truly elite warriors would easily advance to the main tournament.

Naturally, many contestants expressed dissatisfaction. They should be able to fight after fully recovering their stamina, but the rule requiring them to fight again without any time to prepare after finishing one match was unacceptable.

Conversely, there were also many who preferred the quick preliminaries.

Dragging things out would only make bodies sluggish. Those who would rise would rise anyway, and those who would fall would fall.

The real matches were in the main tournament, and since the audience was also waiting only for the main tournament, some defended it as a rational decision.

Whatever the case, to weed out the three hundred or so contestants in just two days required many duel stages and judges.

Fortunately, there were as many as fourteen preliminary duel stages, and about twenty judges with decent reputations were selected to oversee the proceedings.

Thanks to this, the preliminaries proceeded at a terrifying pace.

As the sun set over Western Mountain.

The first day’s preliminary matches came to an end.

* * *

“Ugh.”

Moyong Su Hyang, who had been staggering, plopped down on the floor with a thud.

Moyong Bi clicked his tongue.

“Are you alright?”

Leaning against a tree, she silently waved her hand dismissively. It meant not to even talk to her.

“That’s what you get for drinking so much alcohol.”

“Ugh.”

Even though the sun had set and the moon had risen, Moyong Su Hyang was still suffering from intoxication.

It was understandable. After wailing about losing her drinking companion, she had gone into her room and apparently drank alone until dawn.

At sixteen years old, and even drinking for the first time, she could be called a natural drinker, but the problem was that this was her first time drinking in her life.

“Should I help expel it with internal energy?”

“No need…”

At Moyong Su Hyang’s level, expelling alcohol toxins through qi circulation was difficult.

Of course, practicing energy circulation methods would activate her qi and make her feel much better, but if she dozed off from the hangover during cultivation, her internal energy circulation could go awry and she might even suffer internal injuries.

In the end, she had to overcome it on her own.

“So hangovers are incredibly painful…”

“If you drink like that, it’s not just painful but life-threatening, you fool.”

It’s true. I actually heard that in the past, there was even torture involving forcing people to drink until they died.

I don’t know why they’d waste precious alcohol on torture, but excessive drinking is definitely harmful to the body.

“By the way, why did you come? Why aren’t you going back to sleep more?”

“Well, that’s…”

She hesitates even while tired.

Moyong Bi closed his eyes and said.

“You didn’t get eliminated, so go rest.”

“Really?”

Moyong Su Hyang’s face brightened.

“They were all mediocre guys. It would be harder to get eliminated.”

“You’re mediocre too.”

“Try landing even one hit on me before saying such things.”

“Hmph!”

Still, hearing that she had won all her matches, she seemed inwardly relieved as vitality returned to Moyong Su Hyang’s face.

“By the way, they’re finishing the preliminaries in just two days? Is that possible with so many people?”

“There are many duel stages and many judges. If a match doesn’t conclude within a moment, they decide the winner by judgment, so it moves faster than expected.”

“I-I see. Then how many times did you fight today?”

“How could I remember such details one by one? They were all one-hit knockouts.”

Terrifying confidence.

What’s scarier is that it seems to be true.

“Damn, I should have gone to watch.”

“The Namgung Family daughter was watching just fine.”

“So So?”

“Did you two talk?”

“I think I remember doing so.”

“…”

“Tch, only I couldn’t go.”

The way she kept glancing around, it seemed she was checking if he might be feeling left out.

Moyong Bi chuckled and stood up from his seat.

“If I stay with you, I won’t be able to meditate. Did you cure your hangover?”

“Yeah, Elder Zong got me some honey water.”

“Let’s go eat. For hangovers, rice in soup broth is the best.”

“Really? Then shall I follow the expert’s opinion?”

Thus, the two returned to Juru.

Moyong Su Hyang’s ears twitched.

‘Hm?’

There were countless people inside Juru, so naturally it was noisy.

But most of them were whispering while looking at Elder Brother, and perhaps because they were quite drunk, they didn’t even think to lower their voices.

“Is that the young man? The rising star of Group A who knocked down everyone he faced today with one hit?”

“He even finished Myeong Ho Lim with one hit.”

“My goodness… the Grand Young Master of the Nine Sword Myeong Family?!”

“Not only that? He also sent the Deputy Gang Leader of the Iron Fist Gang flying with one kick.”

“Terrifying.”

Moyong Su Hyang proudly straightened her shoulders.

Though I didn’t win, I somehow felt proud.

Then, another voice was heard.

“His name is Moyong Bi, Bi.”

“Moyong? Surely not that Moyong?”

“That’s right. The Moyong Family that was driven to Hubei.”

“There were widespread rumors about them being a family of swindlers… I guess that’s not the case now?”

“A lot of time has passed, hasn’t it?”

Moyong Su Hyang’s face hardened.

A family of swindlers. Even if she wanted to just endure and let it pass, it was a phrase that made her blood boil.

She unconsciously flared up in anger, but she took a deep breath and controlled her emotions.

“But why was the Moyong Family driven out? I only heard bits and pieces.”

“You still didn’t know about that? It was a famous incident.”

“How vast are the Central Plains? Every day all sorts of incidents happen everywhere.”

“Still, that incident was famous. Wasn’t it the family that swindled the Ho Yeon Clan and even stole their surname?”

“I heard about that. Come to think of it, their audacity was impressive. Did they think they wouldn’t get caught?”

“Time really is medicine. These days, many young people don’t even know about that incident. In the old days, they would have been too ashamed to even hold their heads up.”

Stop.

Moyong Su Hyang’s steps halted.

Several people who had been whispering while looking this way flinched and turned their heads, but among them were some who even sneered as if to say ‘So what are you going to do about it?’

Strength entered her fists.

‘Our family is not a family of swindlers.’

If they were a family of swindlers, Great Grand Uncle wouldn’t have left behind even a secret place.

Moreover, Great Grand Uncle was even forced to change his surname to Ho Yeon. If the deceased Great Grand Uncle knew about this fact, how devastated would he be.

‘Damn it!’

Fine, let’s say for argument’s sake that the Moyong Family really was a family of fraudsters.

A full twenty years have passed since then.

The very assumption makes me angry, but even if that were true, is it really justified to be mocked across generations? Is it truly right for children who have no connection whatsoever to those past events to live bearing such a burden?

‘….’

The surging anger soon turned to emptiness.

‘Am I being selfish?’

Is it proper conduct as a descendant to inherit all the martial arts and glory of our ancestors while turning away from the wrongs they committed?

Haven’t I ever done such a thing? Haven’t I ever clicked my tongue at the children of villains? Haven’t I treated them with prejudice, thinking that since their father was a murderer or their mother was a fraud, the children must be the same kind of people?

Have I truly never done such a thing?

Perhaps because the alcohol hadn’t worn off, my thoughts kept spiraling.

Thunk.

“Ow!”

“What are you doing?”

Moyong Su Hyang clutched her head and looked at Moyong Bi with teary eyes.

Her foolish elder brother was shaking his fist with an indifferent expression.

“If you stand there like an idiot, the people behind can’t come up. Stop spacing out and hurry over here.”

“Why did you hit me?”

“A moderate shock helps with hangovers.”

“How ridiculous.”

“Hurry up.”

The two climbed the stairs.

This floor was also crowded, but there was one seat available by the window.

“We can go over there.”

“Aren’t we going to the third floor?”

“There’s clearly a seat here, so why make our legs hurt climbing all the way to the third floor?”

“That’s true too.”

The two sat down with the table between them.

Moyong Bi ordered hangover soup and alcohol from the shop boy, then asked.

“Where are Team Leader Jin and Jong Hweon? Training?”

“That’s what they said.”

“They’re working hard. That’s how it should be.”

“Why did you order alcohol?”

“I’m just going to drink one bottle. Why? Should I give you some too?”

“No thanks, I don’t even want to see alcohol for a while.”

“Since you say ‘for a while,’ it seems you plan to drink again eventually?”

“….”

“Hair of the dog isn’t bad either. It might destroy your liver, but it clears your mind.”

“No thanks.”

Shortly after, the food and alcohol arrived.

Moyong Bi filled his cup and said.

“Why are you so down?”

“A moderate shock is good for hangovers?”

“Hm? Oh, from earlier?”

“I don’t think so? It seems like a tremendous shock would be better for hangovers?”

“Are you asking me to hit you a few more times?”

Moyong Su Hyang sighed.

“You heard it all too, right?”

Moyong Bi, who had drained his cup refreshingly, nodded.

“I heard it.”

“The alcohol buzz completely disappeared. Ah, forget it. Give me a drink.”

Moyong Bi offered the cup he had refilled.

After downing it in one go, a smile played on her face.

“My mind clears the moment it enters my mouth. You really are a professional.”

“Are you getting angry about it all over again?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Of course I am.”

In fact, he might be ten times angrier than Moyong Su Hyang.

“But didn’t you come here prepared for this much?”

“Prepared…?”

“Humans are creatures of forgetfulness. As time passes, they forget past events one by one. My current life is too harsh to worry about each and every such thing.”

“….”

“Conversely, once revived, memories also surge up like a storm. Regardless of whether we’re wronged or not, such talk is bound to come up.”

Moyong Su Hyang, who had been staring at her elder brother, chuckled.

“I’ve been going around with too light a heart?”

“But there’s no need to be serious all the time either, right?”

“Why?”

“Rumors can change, but truth doesn’t change. You and I know that the main family is real. We just need to prove it someday. We can get heated, but when you and I are upright, why should we live watching the world’s reactions?”

“….”

“Don’t worry about every tongue-wagging of ignorant fools. Sometimes you’ll get angry and feel wronged, but if your center doesn’t waver, you’re already halfway there.”

Moyong Su Hyang, who had been quietly listening to her elder brother’s words, snorted.

“Hey! Don’t drink alcohol! You’re going to become trash again!”

“Will I be as bad as you were yesterday?”

“I’m going to control myself now.”

“The alcohol must really suit your taste. I wonder if we’re witnessing the birth of an unmanageable drunkard.”

It was while the two were bickering like this.

“Oh ho, is that so.”

The two turned their heads.

A table with four men and women seated. One of the young men had turned around to look this way.

A distorted face. He even had some kind of bandage wrapped around his forehead.

“No wonder his eyes looked so vulgar from the start, so the Moyong Clan has such a history?”

Surprisingly, it was Myeong Ho Lim, who had been knocked out in one round by Moyong Bi’s wooden staff strike.

Moyong Bi looked at Myeong Ho Lim’s forehead, chuckled, and turned his head away.

“Want another drink?”

“How many have you had?”

“You can’t remember already. Stop drinking.”

Then Myeong Ho Lim stood up from his seat.

His face glistened with slight intoxication as he walked over holding a wine bottle.

“Do you need alcohol?”

Thunk.

The wine bottle shook the table.

“This is expensive alcohol, how about I pour you each a cup?”

At the mention of expensive alcohol, Moyong Su Hyang’s face was colored with greed.

Moyong Bi let out a deep sigh.

‘There are too many fools in this world.’

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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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