Moorim Pochang - Chapter 12

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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 12. King of Beggars.

“I’m here! I’ve arrived!”
Yang Jeong vaulted over the wall and called out in a bright, carrying voice.
But when no one answered, he glanced toward the kitchen first, then opened the door to the main room.
Inside lay some twenty weapons he’d never seen before, stacked carelessly.
What caught his eye was a single blade—broader than a man’s thigh.
Shing—
The moment he drew it, the snow-white steel dazzled his vision.
Even at first glance, the blade looked like a treasure rarely glimpsed in the world.
“Ah… what a fine blade. Where did this come from?”
Lost in admiration, he set the sword down on the floor and stepped back outside.
“I’m here! I’ve arrived! Brother, I—”
Yang Jeong called out, searching for Gang Jo, then tilted his head back to gaze at the roof of the pavilion.
“What are you doing up there, Brother?”
Gang Jo looked down at him, his voice low and measured.
“Why are you so late?”
Ha ha ha…
“Forgive me, Brother. Mother kept holding me back—I couldn’t escape the house.”
“Where’s the cart?”
Yang Jeong’s bright laughter turned awkward.
Ha ha… ha…
“It was so old, Brother… it fell apart on the way here. But I brought the Heshouwu Root, the Setshenshen, and the Gongqing Stone Oil for you.”
Yang Jeong quickly produced a bundle and a wooden bottle, hoping to redirect Gang Jo’s attention.
Yet Gang Jo wasn’t looking at the bundle or bottle at all.
His gaze was fixed, instead, on a stallion calmly grazing and the mare pressed against its side.
The stallion was still thin, but its bearing looked far more majestic than any warhorse from the battlefield.
The mare seemed smitten with it, constantly rubbing her head against the stallion’s neck.
“Um… Brother. Look at this, please. This is Heshouwu Root and Setshenshen that’s a thousand years old. I’ve also brought Gongqing Stone Oil in this small flask.”
Yang Jeong spared no effort to turn Gang Jo’s gaze away.
“You… what did you feed that horse?”
But Gang Jo had already made up his mind.
“Feed it? Brother, what could I possibly feed that stallion?”
Yang Jeong feigned complete innocence.
“I didn’t mention it was a stallion, did I?”
Ha ha ha… ha ha…
Meeting Gang Jo’s icy stare, he laughed awkwardly.
“Do you want to die?”
“W-well… the stallion looked so weak and sickly that I gave it a little Heshouwu Root to eat.”
In the end, Yang Jeong confessed what had actually happened.
“And the cart?”
“That beast… ran wild like a madman and smashed it. And whenever it had the chance, it would leap onto the mare’s back—”
“You ate some too, didn’t you?”
As Gang Jo’s voice turned bleak, Yang Jeong flailed his hands desperately.
“No, no! I absolutely didn’t eat any. The stallion ate it all.”
Gang Jo’s icy gaze softened, and his voice grew gentler.
“I’ll forgive you, so tell me the truth.”
Yang Jeong pulled out a half-eaten Heshouwu Root from the bundle.
“Brother, look at this. If I’d stolen it and eaten it, I would have eaten the whole thing. But as you can see, half of it remains.”
“Come clean right now, unless you want to die.”
When his lie failed to convince, Yang Jeong grew desperate.
In truth, because he’d lied every time he’d stolen and eaten Spiritual Herbs before, there was no way his brother would trust him now.
He asked with a suspicious expression.
“You really will forgive me?”
“I said I’d forgive you, so stop asking. What’s done is done—there’s no undoing it.”
As Gang Jo cajoled him gently, Yang Jeong finally broke down and confessed everything.
“I ate half of one half. Originally I was going to feed the other half to that beast, but when I came to my senses, that other half had somehow made its way into my own mouth.”
“Well done. Very well done indeed.”
Hehehehe……………
“And I nearly ended up mounting that female beast myself, my strength was surging so.”
Gang Jo studied Yang Jeong’s face carefully.
Was he joking about this?
“You nearly mounted her?”
“A man would never commit such a bestial act. I was only jesting, brother.”
At his words, Gang Jo released the long sigh he had been holding back with great effort.
Whoooosh………………
In that same instant, Yang Jeong’s body movement flicked like a released spring.
Bang….! Whiiiiiii……………
His Lightness Skill, which split even the very air, carried him out of the Residence in a heartbeat and over the wall beyond.
Gang Jo, who had begun to give chase, stopped short.
“The instincts on that one are supernatural.”
He’d be back within half a hour anyway.

*

Sin Pung Gae was the Sect Master of the Beggar’s Sect and the supreme commander of some hundred thousand beggars.
Of course, not all hundred thousand beggars belonged strictly to the sect, but they obeyed his commands regardless.
Even in his youth, Sin Pung Gae’s Lightness Skill was ghostly quick.
Because his Lightness Skill was so fast, he could travel to many places and saw and heard much.
Seeing and hearing so much, his appetite for meddling was equally vast.
He was trudging along with a wooden Stone Staff in hand when he suddenly froze, his eyes snapping wide.
A distant blur had materialized before him in an instant.
Bang….!
The figure tore through the air and flashed past Sin Pung Gae’s side.
Whiiiiiii………
A fierce wind that arrived too late came whipping across his face and entire body.
Sin Pung Gae stood there bewildered, then turned his head to look behind him.
As he hastened his pace, the moment he heard the Sound of Breaking Air, he stopped his body movement short.
The hazy figure was receding swiftly toward the Village.
‘What on earth did I just see?’
It all happened in the blink of an eye, so he thought perhaps he had seen an illusion.
Yet the point receding into the distance was unmistakably the form of a person.
‘Who in the world was that?’
Bang…….!
Sin Pung Gae himself cleaved through the air, unfolding his Lightness Skill to chase the figure dwindling to a point.
Originally, he had earned the epithet Sin Pung Gae because of his Lightness Skill, and he was among the top five fastest in the entire Martial World.
No—he prided himself on being among the top three.
Yet the Lightness Skill he had just witnessed seemed every bit as swift as his own.
Whiiiiiii…………
Though he exerted himself to the fullest, the distance between them scarcely diminished.
‘Now that is truly remarkable.’
While Sin Pung Gae was unable to suppress his admiration, the figure ahead suddenly halted his body movement.
As the figure stopped, wind came swirling around him.
Whiiiii….
Yang Jeong scratched his head furiously and looked back along the path he had come.
“Ah. I ran away for nothing.”
In that moment, wind came whipping around, and an old beggar materialized some ten paces ahead.
‘Who is this?’
He watched the old beggar intently, every nerve tense.
In other martial arts he could not match his brother, but in Lightness Skill alone he took pride in standing as his equal.
Yet this old man’s Lightness Skill was hardly to be underestimated.
‘A fast-moving old beggar… the Beggar’s Sect?’
Having guessed the old man’s identity, Yang Jeong stepped toward him, feigning ignorance.
As he passed by the old beggar, a heavy, murky voice reached his ears.
“Were you a Courier Agent of the Martial Alliance?”
Sin Pung Gae had asked first about his opponent’s identity.
But Yang Jeong was no easy opponent either.
“Pardon? Who are you addressing?”
He turned the question back on Sin Pung Gae, whose face hardened visibly as he turned away.
“I’ve seen it plainly with my own eyes—don’t think to hide it. Were you a Courier Agent for the Martial Alliance?”
Yang Jeong realized there was no way around it and nodded.
“Yes. You’ve observed correctly.”
Not even the Sect Master himself knew his identity as a Courier Agent, but now was hardly the time to worry about such things.
Better to play along with his assumption if it meant avoiding troublesome entanglements.
“Just as I thought. What is your name, and which family do you hail from?”
“Why do you need to know such things?”
Yang Jeong had no desire to reveal his true identity.
He wanted only to work courier jobs for the Courier Company and wander through the Martial World.
It would be perfect if he could do the work alongside Gang Jo.
His dream was simple: to roam the Martial World eating delicious food every day.
“Do you know what this is?”
Sin Pung Gae held up the Stone Staff he carried with him.
It was the Dragon-Headed Staff, symbol of the Beggar’s Sect Master.
Yang Jeong was far from ignorant of the Martial World.
Only the Elders, Dharma Protectors, and Sect Master could carry a Stone Staff in the Beggar’s Sect.
And the dragon-headed Stone Staff was the Sect Master’s emblem.
The beggars of the Beggar’s Sect possessed exceptionally swift Lightness Skills, as they needed to carry information across great distances.
They often used messenger pigeons, but for matters of importance, the beggars moved themselves.
The pigeons transporting messages had a habit of vanishing as prey, so critical news had to pass through human hands.
‘So this old beggar is the Sect Master of the Beggar’s Sect.’
Just as Yang Jeong grasped Sin Pung Gae’s identity, the old man’s mouth opened.
“Would you have any interest in joining the Beggar’s Sect? Become one of my disciples, and I’ll make something great of you.”
The moment Yang Jeong heard those words, his heart sank.
‘What terrible thing is he saying…?’
He had absolutely no intention of becoming a disciple of the Beggar’s Sect.
“I’ll have to decline. Perhaps you should look for someone else.”
Sin Pung Gae was crestfallen at Yang Jeong’s refusal.
In the entire Martial World, there was probably no one else this young who could display such refined Lightness Skill.
On top of that, his face was so extraordinarily handsome that none could match him in all the land.
The world was not fair.
A beautiful man need only sit idle to beg his meals—he would always have admirers to feed him.
‘The boy is born to be a beggar. No—he could be the king of beggars.’
“Don’t be hasty. Think it over carefully………….”
Whoosh…………!
Before Sin Pung Gae could finish speaking, Yang Jeong sliced through the air and fled.
But instead of heading toward the Martial Alliance or the village, he bolted into a wooded mountain.
Hmm…….
‘Quick on his feet, too. I like him even more.’
Sin Pung Gae found himself increasingly impressed with Yang Jeong.
Whoosh………!
He too parted the air as he deployed his Lightness Skill in pursuit.

*

Yang Jeong did not return until late in the night.
Grind grind……..
“Look at this guy.”
Gang Jo clenched his teeth as he waited.
Neigh…….! Neigh………!
From the back courtyard came the sounds of a stallion and a mare calling out.
Sigh…….
Hearing those cries, Gang Jo let out an exasperated breath.
‘All they do is eat and mate.’
As the saying goes, speak of the tiger and he will appear—Yang Jeong crept across the stone bridge, keeping his eyes open.
“Brother…………………”
Carefully stepping into the courtyard, he carried a live chicken and a large cut of pork in both hands.
Gang Jo said nothing.
He merely fixed Yang Jeong with a cold, piercing stare.
Thump.
Yang Jeong set the meat down on the table and dropped to his knees, prostrating himself on the floor.
“Forgive me, sir. I swear I will never steal Spiritual Herbs again. If I ever eat another Spiritual Herb, then I am not a man but a dog.”
Seeing him grovel like this, Gang Jo’s anger softened a touch.
“Where have you been all this time?”
Yang Jeong lifted his head and let out a nervous laugh.
Heh heh heh…
He’d caught the shift in Gang Jo’s tone—enough anger had drained away that he could risk a smile.
“A mad old beggar chased me three hundred leagues away. I’ve only just made it back. He’s probably still wandering the mountains looking for me.”
“An old beggar?”
“Yes. Seemed like an Elder from the Beggar’s Sect, talking complete nonsense—wants me to become his disciple, of all things. I was delayed trying to avoid that lunatic.”
Gang Jo stared hard at his grinning face.
Even if this fool became a beggar, he’d never starve—his handsome face would ensure that.
No, some wealthy widow would snatch him up in a heartbeat.
“Remarkable. Absolutely remarkable, you scoundrel.”
“I’m starving, sir. Please, give me something to eat.”
Gang Jo glared at him with disapproval, then set about cooking with the meat Yang Jeong had brought.
Neigh! Neigh! Whinny! Whinny!
As the stallion and mare cried out again, Gang Jo’s pent-up rage finally exploded.
“Do something about those beasts in heat! All day with that noise—I’m going mad, absolutely mad!”
Yang Jeong, unruffled, caught the complaint smoothly.
“You don’t know much about horses, sir. When they’re mating, it’s best to stay away. Get too close and you’ll catch a hoof in the ribs—bones will crack. Unlucky timing and you could die.”
“You bastard…”
Whoosh.
Gang Jo grabbed a kitchen knife and swung it, but Yang Jeong nimbly vaulted over the fence, out of reach.
“They like each other—what do you expect me to do about it?”
Sigh.
Gang Jo exhaled heavily and set the knife down.
Still, with this troublemaker back, the inn was lively again—and that put him in a better mood than he cared to admit.

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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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