Moorim Pochang - Chapter 3

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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 3. Uhhwa Deungseon (1).

Crack… crack…
Gang Jo was splitting dried pine into fine slivers with his bare hands.
As he twisted a thick branch apart, white flesh tore away like tender meat, exposing the pale wood beneath.
It was nothing short of terrifying grip strength.
“To mask the smell.”
Gang Jo gathered the finely split pine pieces and made for the kitchen.
“Get a fire going for me, will you.”
Yang Jeong slipped cautiously into the kitchen, gauging the mood.
‘He must like me, after all. There’s no doubt about it.’
His best quality, despite his filthy temperament, was his lack of lingering resentment.
Even after pummeling him senseless, he always made sure to feed him.
Gang Jo lightly seared the meat, then pulled out dried mushrooms and began his work.
Yang Jeong, watching quietly, finally spoke.
“After the master performs the Uhhwa Deungseon, do you mean to stay here? Or…”
Tap… tap…!
Gang Jo drew noodles fine and thin between both palms as he answered.
“Lost your mind? Stay here? I’ll run without so much as a backward glance.”
“Then come to my home. I’ll serve you all my life.”
It was devotion of the most sincere kind.
Yet Gang Jo laughed at him.
“Keep me in your inn just to cook? You think I don’t know what’s really in that black heart of yours?”
Hehehehe…
Yang Jeong laughed awkwardly.
In truth, such designs weren’t entirely absent.
He’d eaten at countless inns throughout his travels, but nowhere had he tasted food like this.
Even if it was only noodles, rice, and Dongpo pork—
And the Dongpo pork wasn’t even authentic, just a rough approximation.
Yet those dishes possessed a flavor he’d found nowhere else—heavenly, beyond compare.
“You misunderstand my sincerity, I think.”
“Quiet, you wretch.”
As Gang Jo and Yang Jeong bickered, the master appeared.
“Is it ready? I’m starving. Bring it out.”
The master didn’t wait for an answer, simply taking a seat at the table.
At his impatience, Gang Jo flared up.
“Sit still and wait, will you, master!”
When Gang Jo’s temper rose, the master’s mouth watered.
Smack…
“Ah, that stubborn fool…”

*

Yang Jeong lifted rice glistening with fat and brought it to his mouth with chopsticks.
Ah…
The moment the rice dissolved on his tongue, admiration spilled forth unbidden.
Even the rice here tasted different from anywhere else.
The supple texture, the tender give as he chewed, the subtle sweetness—none of it could be found elsewhere.
After savoring the rice, he placed a morsel of Dongpo pork in his mouth, and again praise escaped him.
Ah…
The crisp skin, the burst of juice within, the tender yet springy texture—it was rapture itself.
“Eat quietly, will you.”
When Gang Jo snapped at him, Yang Jeong quickly fawned.
“It’s been so long since I’ve tasted anything like this—I can’t help myself.”
“Long? You were here last month.”
Hehe…
“That’s true enough.”
He smiled wryly and picked up noodles with his chopsticks.
From the mere feel of them between the sticks, he could sense how extraordinary these noodles were.
Slurrrp….
Yang Jeong wolfed down the noodles without thinking.
The broth was delicate yet carried a subtle pine scent, and the noodles themselves had a perfect chew to them.
While he ate with singular focus, his master opened his mouth.
“Tonight, I’m in the mood for eel.”
Clink.
Gang Jo, mid-meal, stared at his master with an expression of utter disbelief.
A sizeable stream flowed through the valley beside the mountain, and it teemed with rather large eels.
But after catching and eating eels for more than a decade, it had become nearly impossible to find ones with any real size left.
“Master, you said you were practicing Uhhwa Deungseon, so why do you need eel? Shouldn’t someone who practices Uhhwa Deungseon eat only pine needles or grass leaves?”
The master took the remark without concern.
“I’d starve to death before I achieve Uhhwa Deungseon, you fool. Who in their right mind practiced Uhhwa Deungseon eating nothing but pine needles and grass leaves?”
Gang Jo could find no adequate response.
He’d simply overheard such talk in passing and assumed it was true.
When Gang Jo fell silent, his master wore a teasing smile.
“This master will taste everything he wishes to before he achieves Uhhwa Deungseon.”

*

Once the meal was finished, the master brought out a large chest from the inner room.
Inside lay several swords and a single document.
The master took out a Long Sword and handed it to Gang Jo.
“This sword is yours.”
A Long Sword passed down by a master to his disciple was an inheritance that could never be refused.
“I cannot accept it, Master.”
Yet Gang Jo firmly rejected his master’s inheritance.
He knew exactly what that Long Sword looked like.
“You dare refuse your master’s inheritance?”
The master scowled and flew into a rage.
Gang Jo then seized the Long Sword as though wresting it away and drew it from its scabbard.
Ching…!
As the blade emerged, a straight, pitch-black sword gleamed in the light.
The Long Sword’s exterior was no different from any other sword—pristine.
But the blade itself bore a charred, dark luster as though it had been scorched by fire.
“How am I supposed to use a sword like this, Master?”
Gang Jo held the sword up and questioned sharply, at which his master adopted a solemn expression.
“That blade is an ancient Divine Treasure that Tae Sang No Gun once wielded when he tended the flames of Palgyara.”
“Tae Sang No Gun? That’s just a poker stick for rummaging through the furnace, isn’t it?”
“You wretched boy………..”
The master, ready to bristle in anger, merely waved his hand dismissively.
“Regardless, since this master gives it to you, use that blade well and then pass it on to your own disciples or sons.”
Tsk……
Gang Jo was irritated, but he accepted the sword.
“Is there nothing for me, Master?”
At that moment, Yang Jeong, who had been quietly observing, suddenly interjected.
In response, the master picked out a very impressive-looking Long Sword and handed it over.
“There you are, boy.”
Upon receiving the Long Sword, Yang Jeong’s grin stretched from ear to ear.
The outer appearance was quite ornate, making it look like a famous blade.
Ching…..!
As he drew the sword, a pristine white blade flashed and gleamed brilliantly.
“Thank you, Master. I shall use it well and pass it down as a family heirloom.”
The master nodded and gestured to the remaining two swords and one saber.
“These swords and saber—pass them on to those bound by karmic connection. If none such appear, give them to your own children or disciples.”
Finally, the master drew out the document.

“Aren’t you curious what’s inside?”
“No, Master. I’m not curious.”
The old man’s expression twisted slightly at Gang Jo’s firm reply.
“Why aren’t you curious?”
Gang Jo set down his chopsticks and met the Master’s gaze.
“Have you forgotten yourself, Master? You’ve told me countless times that there’s a Land Deed inside.”
The Master had made something like a deathbed declaration half a year ago, and repeated the exact same words two months later.
He’d mentioned many times that the Land Deed was given to him as thanks by an old man whose life he’d once saved, and that it was located near the Murim Alliance.
Harrumph!
Embarrassed, the Master stuffed the document back into the chest.
“This evening, I’d like to drink some wine with eel.”
Yang Jeong quickly seized on his words.
“Of course, Master. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the moment you’d say that.”
The wine served here was no ordinary drink.
Nor was it something as expensive as the Yoja Seol Gok.
The wine here was a Divine Medicine without peer in all the world.
But Gang Jo’s voice cut through his longing.
“Master, are you drinking that wine again before practicing the Uhhwa Deungseon? Or are you planning to practice the Banro Hwandong instead?”
Sigh…
Yang Jeong collapsed into his seat with a sigh that made the world seem to darken.
Gang Jo turned to him and rebuked him sharply.
“You fool—your medicine’s already worn off. How much of the Divine Medicine have you been secretly stealing all this time?”
“…I apologize, brother.”
Yang Jeong had no choice but to bow his head deeply.
Brother was right—even when he drank the Divine Medicine now, it only gave him a brief surge of strength.
In the two years he’d been here, he’d stolen herbs and wine six times over, and now the medicine had lost its potency.
“Brother, but the Master wants to drink it, so…”
“Do you want to die, San Ryong?”
“I’m not San Ryong—I’m Yang Jeong.”
Yang Jeong pouted.
Being called San Ryong instead of his real name was entirely the Master’s doing.

*

Yang Jeong had been sickly as a child.
Worried about this, his father summoned a skilled tattoo artist and had three Dragon Tattoos inscribed on the boy’s body.
It was a father’s prayer—that he grow as strong and long-lived as a dragon.
His fervent wish seemed to work, and the boy grew without serious illness.
But when he left home, he encountered bandits and nearly died.
Fortunately Gang Jo saved his life, but his mind was so scattered that he couldn’t even give his name.
The only thing he remembered was an old man’s voice.
“Didn’t I tell you not to bring anything from outside?”
“I apologize, Master.”
The moment Yang Jeong heard the old man’s voice, he lost consciousness again.
When he opened his eyes again, the first face he saw was Gang Jo’s, and the second was the Master’s.
“It seems you’ve come to your senses at last. What is your name, and where do you live?”
Yang Jeong tried to open his mouth and answer the Master’s question.
But despite his intention, his lips would barely move.
Uuuh…
All that escaped his mouth was a groan.
Tsk, tsk.
The Master clicked his tongue and spoke.
“Since you have three dragons on your body, I’ll call you San Ryong for now.”
And so he became known as San Ryong instead of Yang Jeong.
The Master turned to Gang Jo with an unnaturally solemn expression.
“This old man may never drink wine again in this lifetime, yet you scold me like this?”
Gang Jo did not back down.
“That’s already the tenth time you’ve said that.”
At this, the Master’s expression grew urgent.
“Just three cups. Let me try once more.”
With his master speaking like that, Gang Jo’s resolve weakened.
“Understood. But only three cups, exactly.”
As Gang Jo relented, Yang Jeong, who had been sitting quietly, interjected.
“Brother, I’ll have just one cup.”
Sigh…
“Disgusting little thing.”

*

Four more days had slipped away in much the same manner.
“Truly, what a radiant day this is. If I do not practice the Uhhwa Deungseon today, when shall I ever practice it again?”
His master, who repeated the same words each day, suddenly looked up at the sky.
Yesterday it was clear and blue, the day before the same—but today it seemed far higher and far bluer still.
Indeed, it was so blue that it felt as though his very body were being drawn into it.
‘How fine.’
A faint smile crossed his master’s face as he called for his disciple.
“Jo.”
“Yes?”
Gang Jo appeared with his usual gruff reply.
On any other day, his master might have shown displeasure at such a tone, but not today.
With a gentle smile, he spoke in a soft voice.
“That fierce young thing who once breathed only killing intent—you’ve become a fine youth now. What will you do after this old master is gone?”
His master was concerned for Gang Jo’s future.
Perhaps that very concern had weighed on his heart, delaying his practice of the Uhhwa Deungseon.
“Since I have some talent for cooking, I thought I might run a guesthouse.”
Only then did his master’s face brighten with relief.
His disciple was different from other people in many ways.
No matter how vicious a man might be, he would still hesitate before harming another.
But his disciple harbored no such reluctance.
“The memories we most wish to forget are the ones that linger longest. I only hope you gather happy memories from this point forward.”
His master’s words were unlike his usual rambling today.
Gang Jo found that odd.
“I will not draw my sword again, Master.”
Satisfied with this answer, his master smiled and nodded.
“That is enough.”

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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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