Moorim Pochang - Chapter 42

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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 42. Three Dragons and a Woman (1).

Ha ha…
“Look at these ornaments, Yang Jung.”
Baek Ha-yeong gestured toward the ornaments on the stall, her delight plain.
But Yang Jung felt no such joy.
The jealous glances from the women around them cut like knives.
‘I shouldn’t have come into town with her.’
He regretted his hasty decision.
Ha ha…
“This one would suit you beautifully, I think. How much?”
Yang Jung quickly snatched up an ornament to escape the oppressive stares.
But Baek Ha-yeong was not about to make this easy for him.
She too felt the weight of the jealous eyes pressing down.
Hmph.
‘Let those lesser creatures glare all they like—they don’t hold a candle to me.’
Masking her thoughts, she picked up another ornament.
“Actually, I think I prefer this one, Yang Jung.”
“Then let me buy it for you as a gift.”
Yang Jung hastily pulled out his purse, ready to pay.
But Baek Ha-yeong reached for yet another ornament.
“On second thought, I like this one better.”
“Then that one it—”
“Wait a moment, Yang Jung. I’d like to look a bit more carefully.”
Baek Ha-yeong settled herself on the ground in front of the stall.
Ha ha ha…
Yang Jung laughed awkwardly to mask his growing impatience.
Finding no ornament to her satisfaction, she rose and moved toward a different shop.
“Let’s go down that alley. I heard a rumor before—there’s a craftsman who makes ornaments in there.”
“Yes… let’s go.”

*

Eon So-ryong crossed the Stone Bridge in a foul mood.
He had invested considerable effort in courting Peng Wu-ho, only to watch him grow close to Ak Hwan—a man Eon So-ryong had never cared for in the slightest.
‘That worthless dog…’
Fury roiled in his chest like a boiling cauldron.
“Welcome.”
As Kang Jo bowed respectfully, Ak Hwan’s eyes blazed with killing intent as his voice rose.
“Bring wine.”
“One moment, please.”
Kang Jo disappeared into the kitchen, emerging with a wooden plate of seasoned vegetables and a wooden flask of wine.
“Here you are.”
Eon So-ryong drained the flask in long gulps.
Glug… glug…
Ahhh…
The strong liquor burned his throat as it went down.
“Why is this wine so harsh? Don’t you have anything else?”
He vented his roiling frustration on Kang Jo.
“We have nothing else.”
But Kang Jo met his anger with an unruffled voice.
“If you have no other wine, shouldn’t you go fetch some? Do you know who I am?”
Eon So-ryong’s face flushed crimson as he bellowed.
‘This damned bastard…’
Yet Kang Jo calmly absorbed his rage without flinching.
“There is only myself at the inn, so I cannot leave my post.”
“Shut your mouth…! If you don’t want to die, get me another bottle of wine right now…!”
Eon So-ryong dug in his heels.
Kang Jo had no more patience for him.
“We’re out of wine. You’ll have to leave now. There’s no charge.”
Who in the world would dare throw out a blood relative of the Eon Family?
In Kangho, no such man existed.
At last, fury boiling over, Eon So-ryong pushed himself upright and drew the sword he’d propped against the table.
Shring…!
In that instant, Kang Jo seized his wrist with one hand and slashed across his face with the other.
Crack…!
Unghhh…!
Eon So-ryong cried out and crumpled to the floor.
Crack…! Crack…! Crack…!
Kang Jo began stomping on him where he lay sprawled.
Gahhk…! Hack…! Gahhk…!
“So here’s someone even ruder than Samryong.”
Eon So-ryong curled into a tight ball under the rain of kicks.
But the pain was so severe he feared he’d be beaten to death if this continued.
He abandoned his sword altogether and began crawling away on his hands and knees.
“Take your sword with you, you bastard…!”
Kang Jo raised his voice, but Eon So-ryong couldn’t bring himself to retrieve it.
Yet his pride still burned—even as he fled, his voice carried.
“You wait, both of you…! I’m coming back for this…!”

*

The martial artists stared blankly at Eon So-ryong as he came racing toward them.
His face was swollen and red, his robes caked with dirt.
“What happened to you, Eon?”
Eon So-ryong ignored their questions and rushed inside the Martial Alliance compound.
What mattered now was to gather the Junior Members and take his revenge on that bastard.
When he reached Jamryongwhoe’s training ground, the Junior Members practicing their arts surrounded him at once.
“What happened to your face? Eon?”
“Did something occur?”
Among the Junior Members of Jamryongwhoe was Baek Won-yeong.
“Where’s your sword? Why does your face look like that?”
At his question, Eon So-ryong clenched his teeth.
“I was drinking at an inn when…I was ambushed. The innkeeper suddenly threw a punch from behind, and I couldn’t dodge.”
Baek Won-yeong pressed further, a doubt forming in his mind.
“An inn, you say…?”
“The new inn across from the Martial Alliance! The owner there is absolutely vicious! He stripped my sword from me, so I had no choice but to come back!”
His raised voice dripped with grievance and rage.
But to Baek Won-yeong, Eon So-ryong’s words sounded like pathetic excuses.
The Kang Jo he knew was a man who even received enemies as guests.
And wasn’t the foundation of martial arts the Fist and Foot Technique?
Even if his sword had been taken, he wouldn’t have lost so completely.
“That can’t be right. There must have been some misunderstanding.”
At Baek Won-yeong’s flat denial, Eon So-ryong’s face flushed with shame.
How could the future Society Leader of Jamryongwhoe refuse to believe a Junior Member and side with an innkeeper instead?
“Why won’t you believe me, Baek? Why do you defend that man? Do you hold me in such contempt?”
As he lashed out, Baek Won-yeong grew uncomfortable.
“Regardless, the innkeeper attacked one of Jamryongwhoe’s outstanding talents. Shouldn’t he face proper consequences?”
“Exactly. To assault one of Jamryongwhoe’s outstanding talents is to mock the Martial Alliance itself.”
The Junior Members raised their voices in unison.
Among them, only Baek Won-yeong, Ja Seol, Ak Hwan, and Peng Wu-ho remained unmoved.
‘That doesn’t make sense.’
Watching Eon So-ryong, Ja Seol’s eyes grew cold as frost.

*

A dozen furious Junior Members bolted out through the gates of the Martial Alliance.
Baek Won-yeong moved with them, but unlike the others, he wanted to know what was really going on.
Yet the Junior Members caught the eye of the Chief Inspector.
“What’s the matter?”
The Chief Inspector was a man in his early forties with a hooked nose and sharp, piercing eyes. His long face gave him a fearsome, almost savage appearance.
Baek Won-yeong quickly halted his movement and explained the situation.
“Eon So-ryong was reportedly ambushed at the Inn. We’re heading out to investigate.”
“Who would dare ambush a Junior Member of the Martial Alliance? I’ll need to look into this myself.”
The Chief Inspector, his anger visible, set off toward the gates with swift movement.
Baek Won-yeong was taken aback, but he had no choice but to follow.
Then Shin Poong-gae blocked their path.
“Using Lightness Skill inside the Martial Alliance—has something urgent happened?”
Baek Won-yeong repeated the same explanation once more.
“Eon So-ryong was reportedly ambushed at the Inn. We’re heading out to investigate.”
“Who ambushed Eon So-ryong?”
“According to Eon So-ryong, it was the owner of the Inn.”
At this answer, Shin Poong-gae’s eyes lit up with sudden brightness.
If his brother was brought here, only that man would remain at the Inn—a better opportunity couldn’t present itself.
“This old man will come along too.”
With Shin Poong-gae joining in, Baek Won-yeong’s predicament deepened.
The bigger this grew, the worse it was for Kang Jo.
There would inevitably be those who took Eon So-ryong’s side, regardless of the facts.
“Is this Inn perchance the same one where that man Yang Jung stayed before?”
Baek Won-yeong answered the Chief Inspector’s question.
“Yes, it is. But neither Kang Jo nor Yang Jung are men who would ambush someone without cause.”
When he defended Kang Jo and Yang Jung, the Chief Inspector’s expression grew grave.
“To render a fair judgment, one must cast aside personal feelings.”
“I shall remember that.”
Baek Won-yeong bowed respectfully.
The Chief Inspector and Shin Poong-gae, along with the Junior Members, left the Martial Alliance and deployed their Lightness Skill at swift speed.

*

‘This swordsman abandoned his blade and fled like a coward.’
Kang Jo placed Eon So-ryong’s sword on the dining table.
He expected that man, or someone close to him, would come searching for it soon enough.
Entering the kitchen, Kang Jo trimmed vegetables and peeled the skin from a bellflower root.
As he passed the time this way, a dozen or so Kangho figures were approaching the Stone Bridge.
‘What kind of day is this?’
Kang Jo stepped outside with a pleased expression.
But the faces of the Kangho figures crossing the Stone Bridge were deadly serious.
Among them, Baek Won-yeong’s face was visible, and Shin Poong-gae was there as well.
‘What?’
Kang Jo’s expression turned grave as he approached them.
He could have welcomed the other Kangho figures, but not Shin Poong-gae.
“What’s this about now?”
Before he could finish speaking, the younger Kangho figures all drew their weapons at once.
Clang—
‘So this is how it is?’
Kang Jo fixed them with a cold stare.
Since they had drawn their blades first, whatever happened next was entirely their fault.
“Lower your swords.”
Baek Won-yeong quickly stepped forward and blocked the Junior Members.
The Chief Inspector followed, stepping forward as well.
The first thing to strike Kang Jo’s eyes was the excessively crooked hook of the Chief Inspector’s nose.
Combined with his sharp gaze and long face, his appearance was formidably severe.
‘What an unpleasant face.’
As Kang Jo was thinking this, the Chief Inspector spoke.
“I am the Chief Inspector of the Martial Alliance. You are said to have ambushed Eon So-ryong of the Martial Alliance, which is why I’ve brought all these warriors here.”
Hm…
“What kind of man does such a thing?”
Kang Jo couldn’t help but let his true feelings slip out in amazement.
At that, the Junior Members let a subtle killing intent show through.
Baek Won-yeong raised his hand to block their murderous aura.
“Tell me the details of what happened. That way there won’t be any injustice, will there?”
His expression and voice were stern, unlike his usual manner.
Kang Jo felt no resentment toward him for it.
After all, wasn’t Baek Won-yeong also a Junior Member of the Martial Alliance like them?
Moreover, he was the Alliance Leader’s son.
“He was drunk and causing trouble, so I told him to leave. But he drew his sword, and I had no choice but to use my fists.”
The moment Baek Won-yeong heard this, a faint smile crossed his face.
So Kang Jo was not at fault after all.
But the Chief Inspector was different.
He couldn’t judge the situation based on hearing only one side of the story.
“You’re telling quite a different tale from Eon So-ryong. I think I’ll need to escort you both to the Martial Alliance. If you want to clear up this misunderstanding, shouldn’t you face each other directly and sort it out on your knees?”
What he said was right.
His appearance was rough, but his words were measured and fair.
Yet Kang Jo had no desire to be drawn into such tiresome business because of this crude fellow.
“Couldn’t you just bring Eon So-ryong here instead? There was no one at the inn anyway.”
Shin Poong-gae was half-listening to the exchange between Kang Jo and the Chief Inspector.
His attention was fixed solely on Yang Jung.
‘If he’s been caught up in false accusations, he can’t possibly stay hidden. Where on earth has this fool really gone?’
Just as Shin Poong-gae was growing anxious, the Chief Inspector spoke again.
“Your point has merit, but I am a man of the Martial Alliance. Until right and wrong are determined, I have no choice but to trust Eon So-ryong’s account a bit more.”
This too was a reasonable thing to say.
Baek Won-yeong stepped forward to support him as well.
“Won’t you trust me and come to the Martial Alliance? I swear there will be nothing unjust about it.”
A sigh escaped him.
Kang Jo let out a long breath.
‘I said I didn’t want to become sworn brothers for this very reason.’
Now that they were brothers, he couldn’t refuse his request.
“Fine. But I’d like to take my sword with me—is that all right?”
The Chief Inspector was about to refuse.
But Baek Won-yeong granted permission first.
“Of course you should take it.”

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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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