Moorim Pochang - Chapter 33

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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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Episode 33. After the Night of Madness Ended.

“I’ve received an immense favor from you, brother.”
Baek Won-yeong bowed deeply toward Kang Jo.
His entire body still ached and throbbed, yet strangely, strength seemed to surge through him.
Had the situation not been so urgent, he would have wanted to practice his Yun-gi Haeng-gong.
But he needed to return to the Moo Lim Maeng immediately.
“Once your body has recovered, come by for a meal.”
“Of course. I’ve also received a great favor from you, Warrior Yang.”
He bowed to Yang Jeong as well.
In truth, most of their survival was owed to his efforts.
Ak Hwan and the others seemed to understand this too, for they bowed as well.
“Thank you. I won’t forget this kindness.”
“Thank you so much, Warrior Yang.”
Baek Ha-yeong crossed the Stone Bridge, her expression tinged with reluctance.
“Thank you, Warrior Kang.”
There was something unusual in her eyes as she bowed.
Having greeted Kang Jo, she then bowed quietly to Yang Jeong as well.
Yang Jeong returned the bow with a faint smile.
“Travel safely.”
Once all of them had departed, he collapsed into his seat.
Phew…………
“That was close.”
Kang Jo looked down at him with a steady gaze.
“Well then. Why does the world’s greatest Righteous Warrior sigh so heavily?”
“Don’t tease me, brother. You have no idea how exhausted I was.”
At his response, Kang Jo’s expression began to twist slightly.
“And what has worn down the world’s greatest Righteous Warrior so?”
“Didn’t I stand at the Stone Bridge and hold back the enemy? At times like these, a cup of drink seems like the greatest remedy. Shall I fetch a bottle from the kitchen?”
“This bastard…………So that was your true purpose all along?”
Bang! Whoosh———
Before Kang Jo’s words even finished, Yang Jeong shot forward, tearing through the air.
Whoosh———
“Wait, you bastard——”

*

Cheol-goe’s form passed through the forest, vaulting over the fence as if riding the wind.
Whoosh———
A blurred figure ahead of him, perhaps twenty lengths away, streaked past.
Its speed was so tremendous that even he gave a start.
“Wait, you bastard——!”
Another form came rushing toward him in pursuit.
But this second figure did not pass him by.
“Why did you cross the fence without permission?”
Kang Jo moved to block his path, a subtle killing intent emanating from him.
At this, Cheol-goe felt genuinely flustered.
If he was to reach this Inn from where he had fought with the leader, passing through the forest was the fastest route.
So he had moved that way, but it seemed that choice had been a mistake.
“I did not cross the fence intentionally.”
“Then you have come as a guest?”
Kang Jo bowed respectfully.
“I shall grant you an audience. Please come in.”
Huh…
An audience? Him?
Even Baek Moon-do, leader of the Moo Lim Maeng, would not speak such words.
Cheol-goe was exasperated, but he accepted the words without resistance.
“Much obliged. But there’s still no pheasant today?”
“Please tell me when you’ll visit next. I’ll have it ready by then.”
“I don’t expect to come by for a while. I have business with the Blood Cult. When I return next time, I’ll bring the pheasant myself.”
He spoke the ominous words as though they were nothing at all.
His mention of visiting the Blood Cult—wasn’t that the same as saying he would do to them what he’d done to the Moo Lim Maeng?
Yet Kang Jo betrayed no particular reaction.
“Please come inside the Inn.”
“I’ll lead the way.”
Cheol-goe turned his back without ceremony.

*

Slurp…slurp…
Cheol-goe ate in silence, concentrating entirely on his meal.
Though it was only his second time eating here, it felt as fresh and new as the first.
‘The taste is truly exquisite.’
After cleaning his bowl down to the last drop of broth, he placed a silver coin on the table.
“That was excellent.”
Kang Jo had been watching him quietly, and now he spoke.
“There’s a bit of braised pork belly left. Would you care for some? Of course, I couldn’t accept payment.”
Though this man was surely a villain without equal in all the world, something drew Kang Jo’s heart toward him.
“No need. The finest things are best savored sparingly—that’s how their pleasure endures.”
He rose and left the Inn without hesitation.
“Please come again next time.”
“If I live, I’ll return with pheasant in hand.”
Kang Jo watched the man called Cheol-goe disappear into the darkness until he was gone from sight.
‘Truly, the world holds many remarkable people.’
Both the League Master and the Cult Leader were exceptional individuals, yet this man was their equal.
As Kang Jo drifted in thought, he sensed a presence in the darkness.
It was likely Sam-yong.
“Even now, if you beg my forgiveness, I’ll reduce your punishment from ten strokes to five.”
Whoosh…
The moment those words left his lips, the presence vanished without a trace.
“Very well. Take your beating.”
Whoooosh…………..

*

So many had died.
Bodies lay strewn outside the Moo Lim Maeng, and more still filled the interior.
And the fire in the main hall still raged on.
“Bring water quickly…!”
The Moo Lim Maeng’s martial artists moved about frantically, pouring water onto the blazing flames.
While the survivors extinguished the fire and collected the corpses, Shin Pung-gae crouched on the ground, examining a body.
Sniff…sniff…
“The stench is truly foul.”
The reek emanating from the corpse was far worse than the stench from his own body.
When he loosened his martial robe, old wounds still seeping pus were laid bare.
“How could this body have moved at all?”
Baek Moon-do approached his side.
“It’s the Blood Cult’s Sorcery.”
In the past too, such creatures had caused the One Hundred Heroes no small amount of suffering.
Those pale eyes weren’t pupils rolled back—the dark pupils had simply retreated inward and vanished.
Dae-hyeong had called them eye-flippers.
That’s what the One Hundred Heroes had called them too.
“This old man agrees with the League Master. But back then, they didn’t reek like this, did they?”
“They must have employed even more vicious Sorcery.”
“For all their viciousness, looking at the state of things now, doesn’t this one seem to have been dead for a very long time already?”
Shin Pung-gae examined another corpse—this one covered entirely in facial tattoos.
“Strange characters indeed. I’ve never seen writing like this before……….”
While he examined the corpse, Baek Won-yeong and the others approached.
“Are you unharmed, Father?”
“You and Ha-yeong are safe. That’s good.”
Baek Moon-do released a breath of relief inwardly.
Though it was sorrowful that so many Martial Artists had fallen, he found solace in knowing his son and daughter had survived.
Yet Baek Won-yeong bore visible wounds from the ordeal.
“Yang Jeong and Kang Jo from the Inn protected us.”
At his words, Shin Pung-gae, who had been examining the corpse, snapped his head around.
“Did you just say Yang Jeong?”
“Yes. His martial skill appeared far from ordinary.”
Baek Ha-yeong added her own words.
“Father, Yang Jeong must be a talented prodigy of the Martial World.”
Even amid the sorrow and regret, Shin Pung-gae’s face brightened with a smile.
“Surely… the successor to Gae-bang.”
“Why should Yang Jeong become the successor to Gae-bang?”
Baek Ha-yeong looked appalled.
Did that mean he’d end up wandering into Gae-bang—filthy, with nothing to his name—simply because he had nowhere else to go?
“Being the most handsome man under heaven, he’ll never go hungry, will he?”
“What are you saying, Patriarch? Why would Yang Jeong be a beggar?”
Baek Moon-do cut short the conversation.
This was not the time for such curiosities; the urgent matter was handling the aftermath.
“Help collect and arrange the bodies.”
“Understood, Alliance Leader.”

*

Thunk! Thunk!
Yang Jeong dug the earth with fervor.
He had to bury the enemy he’d cut down.
His face was marked with bruises as he worked.
Kang Jo wandered nearby, gathering wild herbs.
Sigh…
As Yang Jeong paused to catch his breath, Kang Jo spoke up roughly.
“Why aren’t you digging faster?”
“I’m almost done, brother.”
“Dig deeper. Shallow graves stink.”
“Yes.”
Thunk! Thunk!
Yang Jeong resumed digging with the shovel in hand.
“After you bury the corpse, repair the Residence.”
Thunk! Thunk!
“Brother, I’m not a carpenter.”
“Then you plan to keep eating and idling around?”
“Is that… not allowed?”
“Want to die?”
At Kang Jo’s threat, Yang Jeong fell silent.
Having dug deep, he dragged the corpse into the pit and shoved it down.
Then he began shoveling earth over it.
Kang Jo, finding the whole affair tedious as he gathered herbs, offered his commentary.
“You’ve got plenty of cunning for useless things, but when it comes to what actually matters, you’ve got no sense. That’s why your body suffers so.”
“What do you mean, brother?”
“Why are you breaking your back digging a pit?”
“Then what should I use?”
Kang Jo drew the Muk-geom from his belt.
Bang!……!
A single slash of the blade sent forth a thunderous boom and a cloud of dust.
“Isn’t that a pit?”
Kang Jo gestured to the crater with his Muk-geom still in hand.
“That’s something only you can do, brother. I can’t do that.”
“Why can’t you? You’re capable of it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you stubborn fool.”
Yang Jeong, whose face had been clouded with doubt, picked up the sword he’d set aside on the ground.
Shiiing…
Crash!
He drew the blade and struck it against the earth, and just as his brother had promised, a crater opened beneath the impact.
It was smaller than the one his brother had made, but it was unmistakably a crater.
“What? It actually works?”
Sigh…
“Pathetic.”
*

An old man with white whiskers stretching to his chest crossed the Stone Bridge with a young man and woman.
The old man and young man were powerfully built, and the young woman too was tall as her male companion, though her face bore a delicate beauty.
Each carried a broad saber across their back, the blades long enough to reach past their hips and wide as a grown man’s hand.
“Grandfather, Moo Lim Maeng isn’t far. Wouldn’t it be better to take your meal there?”
“Moo Lim Maeng has suffered a grave calamity. Do you think they have the mind to entertain guests?”
The old man rebuked him sternly, and the young man lowered his head.
“My thinking was narrow, Grandfather. I apologize.”
“There’s an inn nearby. Let’s take our meal and then proceed.”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment they climbed over the crumbled wall, Kang Jo hurried out to receive them.
“Welcome, honored guests.”
“It seems we’ve arrived rather early. Can you provide us with a meal?”
The old man asked in a measured tone.
“Yes, please be seated.”
As Kang Jo gestured to the seats, the young man and woman looked around the dining area and chairs.
The table was shabby, and the chairs were made from split logs.
“You wish us to sit here?”
The young man’s voice resonated not from his throat but from deep in his belly, powerful and sonorous.
Ahem…
In response to his question, the old man cleared his throat and untied the saber from his back, leaning it against the table.
The young man and woman, feeling embarrassed, then unbuckled their blades and seated themselves across from one another at the table.
“What is this establishment known for?”
“Today we have pork noodles and braised pork belly.”
“Then bring us the pork noodles, simply prepared.”
Kang Jo asked politely without particular expectations.
“A bowl of pork noodles costs one silver coin. Is that acceptable?”
At this, not only the young man and woman but even the dignified-looking old man showed signs of surprise.
“One silver coin for a bowl of pork noodles? What do you mean by that?”
The young man sprang to his feet and challenged him directly.
‘I’ve done it again.’
Just as Kang Jo was about to give up in his heart, the old man spoke.
“Let’s taste it then. Bring it here.”
With those words from the old man, the young man glared at Kang Jo but returned to his seat.
Thwack! Thwack!
Kang Jo entered the kitchen and began stretching noodles, striking the dough against the cutting board.
While waiting for the food to be prepared, the old man and young man conversed.
“I’ve heard rumors that over six hundred expert martial artists of Moo Lim Maeng have fallen in battle.”
“Does that frighten you?”
“To be honest, Grandfather, it does.”
“Did you not say you wished to follow your uncle’s example? You were the one who insisted on joining Moo Lim Maeng.”
“That resolve remains unchanged.”
Heh heh heh…
The old man laughed warmly.
“Your uncle too knew fear in the face of death. Yet he stood and fought willingly against the Blood Cult alongside his companions.”
“Did Uncle truly… fear death?”
“Who among the living does not fear it? Even now, I see him clearly as he was — tears streaming down his face as he took his leave.”
The young man and woman fought back their tears.
The old man continued with an undiminished smile.
“You must remain steadfast. That way, when you meet your uncle later, you’ll be able to face him with pride, won’t you?”
“I’ll remember that, grandfather.”
Kang Jo brought out meat and noodles in generous portions.
And atop the bowl of noodles, he placed a lavish portion of braised pork belly.

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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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