Moorim Pochang - Chapter 4

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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 4. Oowhae Deungseon (2).

The master sank to the ground and closed his eyes.
Gang Jo and Yang Jeong watched in silence for a moment, then stepped into the Kitchen.
But soon, the master’s voice drifted out.
“It’s………..coming…coming…….”
Gang Jo, sitting in the Kitchen, murmured under his breath.
“Coming? What’s supposed to be coming……..”
“Still, shouldn’t we go check? Brother.”
Yang Jeong’s eyes glimmered with curiosity.
Gang Jo rose slowly and left the Kitchen.
The moment he stepped out, the master came into view, wrapped in a hazy light.
The radiance enveloping his entire body grew brighter with each passing moment.
Ah…………
Gang Jo sank to his knees, a sigh escaping him.
‘I thought it was just the master’s playful jest………’
The master had always been both terrifyingly strict and strangely lighthearted.
So Gang Jo had assumed even the Oowhae Deungseon was merely a diversion to pass the time.
But this was no joke.
The master was truly performing the Oowhae Deungseon.
“Thank you for all your care and kindness, Master.”
Yang Jeong knelt beside him and bowed his head to the ground.
“Thank you, Master.”
Wrapped in the luminous glow, the master smiled softly.
And then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the radiance vanished without a trace.
With the light gone, the master came into view—sitting there still smiling.
Gang Jo rose and carefully lifted the master’s body into his arms.
There was no breath. No heartbeat.
The master’s body was impossibly light.
As if all the flesh had dissolved, leaving only a hollow shell.
Waaahhhhh…………ohhhhh………………….!
Gang Jo turned to look at Yang Jeong, who was sobbing uncontrollably.
“We’ll lay him to rest.”

They built the master’s tomb in a place where sunlight fell generously.
Since he had always favored brightness in life, Gang Jo wanted to bury him where the sun could find him.
Yang Jeong gazed down at the tomb and asked quietly.
“What will you do now, Brother?”
“Go out into the world. Cooking is all I have to show for myself, so I thought I’d open an inn.”
“But who will guard this place? If the world learns what’s here, there will be chaos.”
Chaos alone?
Jianghu warriors would swarm in droves, slaughtering each other in bloody warfare.
“As long as you keep your mouth shut, this place is safe.”
Heh heh…
Yang Jeong laughed awkwardly.
“You know my mouth is sealed, don’t you, Brother?”
Gang Jo said nothing more.
Though Yang Jeong talked endlessly, he knew the difference between words that should be spoken and those that shouldn’t.
When Gang Jo headed toward the Herb Garden, Yang Jeong followed close behind.
They passed through the Herb Garden, where fresh shoots were just beginning to emerge, and found themselves surrounded by vines and tender sprouts.
But the shapes of these vines and leaves were peculiarly striking.
The vine’s young leaves were round with pointed tips, while the sprouts bore five round, pointed leaflets along each divided stem.
Yang Jeong’s eyes blazed with fierce light as he gazed down at the vines and plants.
Gone was any sign of the grief he’d shown mere moments before over the master’s death.
These were He Shou Wu and Snow Ginseng—some at least two or three hundred years old, some as ancient as a thousand.
“Brother, my mother is in frail health. Would it be all right if I dug up just one root?”
“What did you do with what you dug up last time?”
Gang Jo turned the question back, and the young man’s eyes darted about nervously.
He’d once snuck away with He Shou Wu and Snow Ginseng, and when caught, he’d been beaten so severely he could barely walk for days.
“That was… Father dug it up himself, sir. He said the inn was struggling so much…”
“Take just a small one.”
He grinned widely.
“Thank you, Brother. Thank you so much.”
Yang Jeong bowed deeply and found a wooden stick to begin digging at the earth.
Thunk… thunk…!
Though he could have used something else to break the soil, a single broken rootlet would be disastrous.
“Just pull it up already.”
Gang Jo, unable to bear watching any longer, spoke up.
“How could I be so careless with something this precious, Brother?”
At his reply, Gang Jo shook his head as if to say he’d given up.

*

The master’s inheritance was not abundant.
A few swords, three or four sets of clothing, and the pots and bowls from the Kitchen—that was everything.
The sole remaining item was a half-full barrel of wine.
Gang Jo began to pack his things.
But moving was no simple matter.
Though the luggage itself was light, the burden his heart carried was far heavier.
Noticing this, Yang Jeong spoke first.
“Brother, let me return home and bring back a cart. Please wait a few days.”
The terrain here was too treacherous; not only carts but even horses could not pass through.
But they could carry the luggage to a distant point where a cart was stationed and load it there.
“How many days will it take?”
“About four days, I’d say.”
“Go quickly, then.”
Yang Jeong bowed and immediately set off down the path.
In his breast, he carried Snow Ginseng that was five hundred years old.
Whooooosh…
The moment he unfurled his Lightness Skill, Yang Jeong’s figure vanished before Gang Jo’s eyes in the blink of an instant.
Left alone, Gang Jo prepared wine and made his way to his master’s grave.
“Master, now that you are gone, I must leave this place. I may never return here again. Yet someday I will come to pay my respects.”
When he finished speaking, Gang Jo raised the cup and poured wine over the grave.

*

Clatter… clatter…
With each turn of the cart wheels, the luggage shifted and swayed.
Gang Jo sat on the cart and enjoyed the scenery while Yang Jeong held the reins from the driver’s bench.
“Brother, shall I tell you an old tale? Once upon a time…”
Yang Jeong, who had been spinning out his story endlessly, fell silent the moment he spotted young women on the road.
He maintained a stern expression and guided the horses onward.
“My, look at that man. I’ve never seen one so handsome.”
“I wish I could have a conversation with someone like him.”
The young women whispered among themselves, stealing glances at Yang Jeong’s face.
His beauty was such that he could rival the legendary Pan An or Song Yu themselves.
Gang Jo was also blessed with striking features, but they did not compare to Yang Jeong’s.
Once the young women had completely disappeared from view, Yang Jeong opened his mouth again.
“Now, where was I… For heaven’s sake, pick up the pace, you beasts.”
As he shook the reins, both horses bolted from the Main Road into the forest.
“Whoa! Whoa, you wretched animals…!”
Yang Jeong shouted in frustration, shaking the reins hard.
But the horses, now deep in the forest, ignored him and grazed on grass.
He exhaled deeply.
He turned his head toward Gang Jo.
“I’m sorry, brother. One of the two horses is a stallion, but he’s sluggish and scrawny.”
What could be done about a sluggish, scrawny horse?
“Let’s rest awhile before we go.”
Gang Jo accepted his words with ease.
“Brother, but will we be able to find the land exactly with just the Land Deed?”
“There should be an Intermediary in the village.”
An Intermediary was a broker who facilitated land transactions.
Yang Jeong nodded and continued.
“If you just open an inn, brother, I’m sure it will be packed with customers. I’ve never seen anyone cook as well as you in all my life. Even the Imperial Palace’s master chefs couldn’t hold a candle to you.”
Gang Jo showed a pleased expression at his praise.
“My cooking skill is decent enough. But I only know how to make a few dishes.”
Since he’d only cooked dishes his master favored, he knew no more than five recipes.
His strongest offerings were pork similar to Dongpo Pork served with rice, along with Pork Noodles and Chicken Noodles.
Beyond that, he had only vegetable side dishes.
But even that was enough for him to make a living running an inn.
“How much are you thinking of charging for food, brother?”
Gang Jo answered with confidence.
“One Silver Coin per bowl of noodles.”
The moment Yang Jeong heard that answer, he burst into laughter.
Ha ha ha ha……………!
“Brother, one Silver Coin is far too expensive. One Silver Coin is the price of a whole bushel of rice. Who would pay that much just to eat a bowl of noodles?”
Gang Jo narrowed his eyes and glared at him.
“So you’re saying one bowl of noodles that I’ve made isn’t worth one Silver Coin?”
Yang Jeong, flustered, quickly wiped the smile from his face.
It seemed his brother had misunderstood his meaning.
“There’s no way that could be true, brother. With your cooking skill, one Silver Coin isn’t enough—you should charge ten times that.”
As Gang Jo’s stern expression softened, Yang Jeong went on.
“In my opinion, at first you should charge about two coppers like the other inns, then gradually raise the price. That way, even if customers complain that it’s expensive, they’ll keep coming back.”
It was a reasonable suggestion.
But Gang Jo had no intention of listening to it.
“One Silver Coin is already a bargain. I won’t go a penny below that.”
“You’ll go bankrupt if you do that, brother.”
“Shut up and just drive the cart.”
Sigh………….
Yang Jeong seemed to give up persuading him, exhaling a deep sigh.
“If it fails, please don’t blame me, brother.”
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”

*

Yang Jeong couldn’t stand boredom, so he chattered endlessly.
“So you know what I did? Brother, I just backhanded the bastard. I barely swung, but three of his teeth broke……………………”
Ah………….
Gang Jo wanted to cover his ears against the endless stream of his words.
He’d been talkative before, but ever since entering Jianghu, it had gotten much worse.
“Stay quiet and let’s go.”
“Yes, brother.”
Yang Jeong answered quickly and shut his mouth, driving the cart.
But it didn’t last long.
“So………..brother. I…………….”
His mouth opened again, and the chatter flowed endlessly on.
“Please just shut up!”
Finally, Gang Jo’s voice rose.
“Yes, brother.”
Yang Jeong shut his mouth again and drove the cart in silence.
But his lips parted once more.
This time, a humming melody poured from his lips.

In Jianghu I’ve wandered and found a friend anew.
We became Sworn Brothers who laughed and wept together.
I came to the Jianghu and met a woman.
My brother fell for her at first sight.
I confessed to her first.
My Sworn Brother drew his blade against me.
Ah……my friend.
My brother vanished, and only resentment remained.
Where has my friend gone, the one with whom I laughed and wept?

What song is that?”
When Gang Jo showed interest, Yang Jeong smiled wryly.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? People nowadays are singing it, and they’ve named it ‘Friendship Reminiscence.'”
“It sounds less like reminiscence to me and more like mockery.”
At Gang Jo’s words, Yang Jeong tilted his head.
“Why would you hear it that way? To my ear, it sounds like someone lamenting a severed bond.”
“The feeling strikes me as mocking the other person.”
Hah……
“That’s only because your nature is twisted, sir. Everyone else says it’s a song yearning for a lost friend.”
As Gang Jo’s gaze grew distant, Yang Jeong hastily corrected himself.
“People don’t seem to grasp the song’s deeper meaning, sir. I share your view, truly.”
He quickly averted his eyes and merely shook the reins.
“Let’s pick up the pace, will you……!”

*

Seated in the cart, Gang Jo gazed toward the Main Road ahead in the distance.
“The Jianghu remains unchanged.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
When Yang Jeong asked in confusion, Gang Jo replied in a flat tone.
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
As Yang Jeong drove the cart further, his complexion too grew cold and grave.
He could sense crude Killing Intent emanating from ahead on the Main Road.
“They seem to be bandits.”
“Handle it as you see fit.”

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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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