Moorim Pochang - Chapter 16

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 16. A Man’s Heart Moves for Another Man (2).

If there had been only two horses, it wouldn’t have mattered, but the back courtyard also held the guest’s mare.
Kang Jo asked the guest with growing unease.
“The horse you brought with you—is it a mare, by chance?”
Baek Won-young, savoring his meal, gave him a puzzled look.
“Yes, it is a mare. But what’s the matter?”
Kang Jo, startled, rushed toward the back courtyard at once.
Yang Jeong only then realized the situation had taken a grave turn.
“Ah…Form…!”
When the two men suddenly bolted toward the courtyard, Baek Won-young rose from his seat.
‘What on earth is happening…?’

*

Baek Won-young could not close his mouth.
The moment he reached the back courtyard, he saw two horses mating.
But one of the two horses was the mare he had brought with him.
Ah…
He stood transfixed, watching the sight unfold.
“You should have tied the reins to a tree…!”
Kang Jo shouted in fury.
“My sincerest apologies, sir. I thought that beast had lost all his strength, but it seems he still had plenty left for… this.”
Yang Jeong, flustered, didn’t know what to do.
His own horse violating the guest’s mare?
Even if the guest drew his blade right then and there to execute his horse, he’d have no grounds to protest.
‘In a moment like this, fleeing would be…’
Yang Jeong made to deploy his Light Qinggong and escape.
But before he could move, Kang Jo’s hand shot out and seized him by the nape of the neck.
Crack—thud!
Kang Jo grabbed Yang Jeong by the scruff and hurled him to the ground.
Then he began to stomp on him.
Thud! Thud!…Thud…!
Oof—! Ack—! Argh—!
“Sir! I—I’m dying! Please stop hitting me!”
Yang Jeong clung to Kang Jo’s pant legs, wailing.
“You deserve to die, you bastard…!”
Baek Won-young stood watching the scene in a daze.
Then, struck by some thought, he suddenly burst into laughter.
Ha-ha-ha-ha…!
Never in his life had he encountered anything so amusing and astonishing at once.
At first he’d been taken aback by the dingy inn, and next by the innkeeper—a handsome young man with deep, clear eyes.
The third shock had been that he’d failed to sense the innkeeper’s presence, and the fourth was the man’s culinary skill.
And the fifth shock was another young man, so devastatingly handsome that even such legendary beauties as Ban An or Song Ok would weep in envy.
Now came the sixth shock: the mating of stallion and mare.
He’d been astonished how many times in so short a span at this inn.
No doubt his father had instructed him to bring the mare for precisely this purpose—to breed with that stallion.
When Kang Jo heard the laughter, he lowered his head in shame.
Surely the guest was so exasperated by the absurdity that he could do nothing but laugh.
“My sincere apologies, guest.”
At a glance, the mare was clearly descended from noble bloodlines—her frame was massive, her coat gleamed with vitality, all the marks of a superior breed.
But that lunatic of a stallion was violating her, and there was simply nothing more to be said.
“Not at all. Please, think nothing of it.”
Baek Won-young shook his head, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Yet Kang Jo’s unease lingered.
“I don’t know how to apologize. If you’re angered, you’re welcome to behead the beast.”
“No, rather I am the grateful one.”
Baek Won-young bowed in return.
His father had a keen eye not only for judging people, but also for assessing their character.
For such a man to desire the bloodline of that unremarkable stallion, it was certainly a Myeongma beyond doubt.
‘A man of truly generous spirit.’
Kang Jo spoke with a measure of relief.
“Thank you. I will not accept payment for today’s meal.”
The moment those words left his lips, Yang Jeong, who had been squirming on the floor, quietly rose to his feet.
Heh, heh……
“My apologies, guest.”
Ha, ha, ha……………!
Baek Won-young laughed heartily once more.
What a delightful pair of brothers these were.
Contrary to his sister’s warning, the young innkeeper was no swindler at all.
The cooking was worth far more than a single silver tael, and his nature was straightforward yet unpretentious.
“Then I shall enjoy it without restraint.”
At his words, Kang Jo smiled as well.
“Please do so.”

*

Ha, ha, ha, ha……………!
Laughter poured from Baek Won-young’s lips as he rode back toward the Murim Alliance.
‘Truly remarkable brothers.’
The experience at the inn had been so pleasant and amusing that mirth flowed naturally from him.
In high spirits and well at ease, he led his horse into the Murim Alliance grounds.
“Where have you been?”
A gruff voice came from ahead, and Baek Won-young bowed respectfully.
“I greet you, Alliance Lord.”
Shin Pung-gae accepted the greeting with a smile.
“You appear to be in exceptional spirits.”
“Yes. I took some drink at an inn.”
“Was it perhaps the inn situated midway between the village and the Murim Alliance?”
He asked with a hint of curiosity.
“Yes. The cooking was so skillfully prepared that I found myself eating far more than I intended.”
“I see… then go inside at once.”
The moment Baek Won-young finished speaking, Shin Pung-gae hastened his pace.
“Wait a moment, Alliance Lord.”
With that, Baek Won-young drew a money pouch from his robe.
“Should you be heading to that inn, please take this silver.”
He withdrew five silver taels from the pouch and offered them.
Hah, hah, hah……
But Shin Pung-gae would not accept the silver.
No matter how much of a beggar he was, he had no wish to accept charity from a pillar of the Gangho martial world.
Baek Won-young was now leading the rising talents and would become the greatest talent of the Gangho martial realm, destined to protect it in years to come.
Moreover, he had never paid for a meal with silver anywhere.
“Have you ever seen a beggar pay silver and buy his own meal? Keep it.”
“Understood.”
Baek Won-young put the silver away again.
“I shall return soon.”
Shin Pung-gae hastened out of the Murim Alliance, while Baek Won-young led his horse toward the main hall.
When he arrived at the front of the hall with his horse, his father opened the door and stepped out.
“I have returned, Father.”
“Did you obtain the seeds?”
Baek Mun-do asked this first upon seeing his son.
“Yes. Fortunately, I received them without issue.”
“Excellent. And what was your impression of the inn?”
Baek Won-young conveyed what he had observed.
“The cooking was delicious beyond what one could taste at any other inn, and the brothers who run it possessed upright yet pleasant dispositions.”
At his answer, Baek Mun-do nodded in approval.
His son had inherited his father’s keen eye for reading people.
“What kind of alcohol did you drink?”
“Strong liquor, sir.”
“A pity. It would have been better if you’d had the mild variety………….”
Baek Won-young gazed at his father with a puzzled expression.
Baek Mun-do then offered a faint smile.
“There is such a thing. Visit that Inn often.”
Even without his father’s words, he had already planned to visit the Inn frequently.
It was not merely the skill of the cooking, though that was excellent—it was the young proprietor of the Inn who had captivated him entirely.
“I understand, Father.”
“Next time you visit the Inn, bring a different mare.”

*

Wheee………..
Shin Pung-gae ran, even employing Light Qinggong to hasten his pace.
Yet when he reached the forest’s edge, he found himself hesitating to enter.
‘It wasn’t me making a scene back then.’
But this was an Inn that the Alliance Leader and the world’s finest cultivator had praised without reservation.
If a beggar failed to taste the cooking of such an Inn, then he had no right to bear that name.
‘In the end, this old man will have a plate set before him.’
Shin Pung-gae crossed a stone bridge and stepped through the crumbling gate into the courtyard.
“What brings you here?”
But before he could even scale the wall, a sharp voice cut through the air.
Hehehehe……….
Shin Pung-gae forced a hearty laugh.
It was not the laugh of a man in good spirits, but rather an attempt to mask his discomfort.
“Have you been well all this time?”
“We saw each other this morning—what nonsense is this?”
Kang Jo turned away his greeting with a cool voice.
At this, Shin Pung-gae tried to inch his way slyly into the courtyard.
“There is a saying: the mulberry fields become the blue sea. Circumstances change in an instant.”
“That saying doesn’t apply to this situation. And you must not cross this wall under any circumstances.”
Ehhehehe……..
“A young man with fine learning, it seems. I may have misspoken this morning, so I hope someone with a generous heart like yourself will understand.”
“There’s nothing to understand. So please, just leave.”
Having spoken coldly, Kang Jo turned his head and shouted inward.
“What are you doing? Come out quickly—”
A groan issued from the room.
“Brother………I fear my leg may be broken. So…..I cannot move at all.”
“Stop whimpering, you bastard……! You’ve cost me four silver coins because of this!”
“I’m serious…….Oh dear…….it hurts…”
‘So the Inn was run by two brothers.’
From the voices within, it was clear that this Inn was indeed operated by brothers.
Shin Pung-gae spoke in a measured tone.
“Brothers are the companions of life. So live together in harmony and affection.”
“Enough. Now leave at once.”
“Grant this beggar just one bowl of rice.”
“I despise beggars more than anything in this world. I would sooner throw rice away than give it to a beggar.”
As the situation reached this point, Shin Pung-gae felt his own anger beginning to rise.
“You are truly bold, young man. Do you know who I am?”
Kang Jo remained unmoved.
“An elder or leader of the Gaebang, perhaps?”
However unversed he might be in the ways of the Gangho, he at least knew of the Murim Alliance and the Gaebang.
Hmm?
“You know my identity and still turn me away at the gate……?”
Shin Pung-gae raised his voice with fury, his words ringing out.
“Your ears work fine, so stop shouting.”
“This………………”
Kang Jo’s composure was so complete that even Shin Pung-gae found himself unable to vent his rage alone.
“Even a beggar has silver—that makes him a customer. Now receive your guest properly.”
In the end, he’d even declared loudly that he’d pay for the meal, though he hardly looked the part.
Of course, Shin Pung-gae carried no money pouch on him.
His plan was simple: eat, then vanish into the night.
But Kang Jo was far from an easy mark, especially as proprietor of the Gaebang.
“One bowl of noodles costs one silver tael. I’ll take payment upfront.”
Shin Pung-gae trembled visibly, glaring at Kang Jo’s face.
This was a counterattack he hadn’t anticipated.
One silver tael for a bowl of noodles? Absurd.
Only then did he understand why Baek Won-young had handed over five taels.
“Did you…did you mix gold dust into the broth?”
“Whether I put gold dust or gravel in my cooking is no concern of yours. Just leave.”
Hah…
A hollow laugh escaped Shin Pung-gae’s lips.
Never, in all his years as Gaebang’s master, had he been turned away so coldly.
At any inn he entered, he could charm his way to a free bowl and cup of wine.
“Your name…it is Kang Jo, then?”
Shin Pung-gae’s gaze and voice had grown measured now.
“It is.”
“I withdraw for now, but when I return next time, I shall not back down so easily.”
“Don’t make promises about the future you can’t keep.”
Guffaw, guffaw, guffaw…
“We’ll see about that, boy.”
Shin Pung-gae laughed heartily, his whole body shaking with mirth.
Then he pivoted and melted into the darkness.
Once he’d vanished, the door creaked open and Yang Jeong emerged, testing the air cautiously.
“Did he go?”
Kang Jo fixed him with an irritated glare.
Yang Jeong immediately began pointing and babbling.
“That old man—he’s the same one I ran into yesterday. He kept trying to recruit me as his disciple! Be careful, or you might end up a beggar yourself.”
“Why didn’t you just become his disciple then?”
“You’re saying that now? How could I possibly live like a beggar unless I’d lost my mind?”
“Since you understand, go wash the dishes.”
Yang Jeong’s cheerful chatter died instantly, and he began rubbing his shoulder with a pained expression.
“I think…I think you hit me in the wrong spot. I can’t move my arm.”
“Want me to actually break it for you?”
“N-no, no! I’ll get to it right now.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————