Moorim Pochang - Chapter 47

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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 47. The Shattered Guest Inn.

Fifty Late-stage Practitioners of Jamryong-hoe waited for the Alliance Leader.
The attack on the Murim Alliance by Hyeol-gyo had claimed many of their skilled personnel, and Jamryong-hoe needed to replenish its ranks.
Among the newly recruited talents were the siblings of the Paeng family.
When the Alliance Leader appeared, the members of Jamryong-hoe bowed in unison.
“We greet the Alliance Leader.”
“We greet the Alliance Leader.”
Baek Moon-do surveyed the Late-stage Practitioners before him.
Long ago, when he first began his conflict with Hyeol-gyo, he too had been this young.
And in those days, he’d been clumsy, prone to mistakes.
It was Dae-hyung who had corrected those errors for him.
Now it was his turn to play that role for them.
“From now on, five of you shall come to my quarters each day. I will personally assess your martial skills.”
Having spoken, he pivoted sharply into his Body Technique and departed.
The faces of the Late-stage Practitioners shone with inexpressible joy.
Whatever others might say, the Alliance Leader was the Greatest Master in Gangho.
Though Ma-gyo might scoff, the martial world of Gangho recognized him as such.
To receive instruction from the greatest master in Gangho—it was something one could only dream of.
While Jamryong-hoe basked in their elation, Baek Won-yeong hurried after Baek Moon-do.
“Father, Moyong Se seems to be running quite late.”
In truth, Baek Moon-do had been troubled by the same concern.
The family had said he departed long ago, yet he still hadn’t arrived.
“Something may have delayed him on the road. Let us wait a while longer.”
“Understood, Father.”
As Baek Won-yeong withdrew, Baek Moon-do made for his quarters.
But at the entrance to the pavilion, Shin Pung-gae stood waiting, his expression grave.
“Has something occurred, Alliance Leader?”
Shin Pung-gae hesitated before responding, which was unlike him.
“Please, speak freely.”
As Baek Moon-do pressed him, he finally found his words.
“Geol-gae came by a moment ago… It appears something unfortunate has befallen the young master Moyong.”
“Something unfortunate?”
“Yes, Alliance Leader. Savage beasts attacked a merchant caravan and were plundering it, when it seems the young master Moyong attempted to save them. He defeated the beasts, but then a man wielding a Long Spear suddenly appeared. After that, the merchants lost consciousness.”
Baek Moon-do’s face clouded with worry.
“You are certain it was Moyong Se?”
“While slaying the savage beasts, he openly declared his name as Moyong Se. When the merchants regained consciousness and looked around, the corpses of the beasts remained, but several of the caravan’s guards and the young master Moyong had vanished.”
The Alliance Leader’s expression grew heavy and grave.
The man with the Long Spear was almost certainly Jo Bi-ja.
And Moyong Se—he had undoubtedly been taken by him.
Shin Pung-gae seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
“The one who took the young master Moyong was likely Jo Bi-ja.”
“That seems probable. But I cannot fathom his reason for taking Moyong Se.”
Since the body was not among those left behind, they had surely taken him alive.
“Should the Moyong family not be informed, Alliance Leader?”
“They must be.”

*

Long years had passed.
He had endured his resentment, waiting upon the divine will.
And now, at last, that will had been granted.
Cheol-goe was a fool.
Why had the divine one allowed such a man to live, and given him power besides?
With the power bestowed upon him, he could not even topple Ma-gyo, let alone the Murim Alliance.
As the man walked, even those passing by kept their distance, as if the path itself rejected his presence.
His face was covered in hideous tattoos, his frame massive, and a sword hung at his waist.
‘Insignificant things.’
Once, he would have slaughtered such creatures without hesitation.
But now, he felt no desire to kill them at all.
What purpose was there in crushing insects crawling across the earth?
A whistle rang out…
The moment the people who had scattered tried to glimpse his face again, a whirlwind erupted, and he vanished.
The onlookers doubted their own eyes.
“What… what was that? Did I imagine it?”

The man reappeared on a broad road that led toward the Murim Alliance.
The whistle sounded again…
But his form vanished once more, swept away in that same whirlwind.
He materialized again near the forest where the Guest Inn stood, though not too close.
He walked toward the Murim Alliance, ignoring the forest entirely.
Yet something eerie emanated from the woods.
A low, chittering sound…
The man could only laugh at the absurdity of it.
In this world, there were only two things that could inspire fear in him.
One was the god he served; the other was the one who had brought him to death’s door.
With a grotesque grin spreading across his face, he changed direction and stepped into the forest.
“Fix the rafters, you bastard…!”
“I’ll feed the horses first, brother.”
“You’re just going to feed them all day?”
From within came a mixture of two voices—one irritated, the other languid and yielding.
As he crossed the Stone Bridge and vaulted over the crumbled wall, a young man looked up at him with startled eyes.
But the instant they met, something in his chest sank with a heavy thud.
It was an instinctive terror.

*

Kang Jo stared at the man with alarm.
He hadn’t noticed the guest vault over the crumbled wall and enter the inn until that moment.
And the guest’s face was covered in tattoos.
“Welcome.”
Unlike usual, Kang Jo greeted the man from a distance, keeping his space.
But the guest was staring at him with a terrifying gaze.
Those abyssal black eyes met Kang Jo’s own.
“Who… are you?”
A dry, rasping sound escaped his lips…
In that same instant, a sword flew from the kitchen.
Kang Jo moved with his Body Technique, snatching the blade from the air.
The man had already drawn and was slashing toward Kang Jo’s waist—a move of startling speed.
A tremendous crash—!
The two swords met only once.
From that single collision, the pillars of the inn shattered and the roof caved in.
A sickening crunch… and thunder—!
Kang Jo activated his Body Technique to evade the collapsing roof.
The hand gripping his sword trembled violently from the impact.
His entire body was shaking with terrible force.
Who in the heavens was this man?
“Brother…!”
Yang Jung cried out in shock.
“Fall back…!”
At Kang Jo’s shout, he hastily moved with his Body Technique.
It was the first time he had ever heard his brother’s voice so taut with urgency.
The man posed another cryptic question.
“Who are you?”
“Then who are you?”
Kang Jo shot back, and the man’s face twisted into something grotesque. He tilted his head to the side.
In that instant, a sword scar became visible across his neck.
It wasn’t fully exposed, but the wound ran all the way to the back of his neck.
“Why…………..?”
The man’s eyes filled with questions as he glared at Kang Jo.
“You destroyed the inn. Pay with your life.”

*

Why did his neck hurt so much?
Why was his body trembling like this?
What in the heavens was this young bastard that he should feel such terror?
“You destroyed the inn. Pay with your life.”
The moment those words reached his ears, the man’s instincts took over and he swung his blade.
Clang…….! Crash……….! Clang-crash………….!
Steel met steel in a violent collision, and Ki Waves rippled outward in all directions.
Crash……Crack!…Crack…!
Roof tiles tumbled from the eaves, and branches and leaves splintered apart.
As Kang Jo was driven backward, the man too retreated with a quick Body Technique.
His blade was pushing past Kang Jo’s guard.
But he couldn’t follow through with the strike.
Gasp….wheeze….
He was breathing in ragged, violent gasps.
The more he gasped, the sharper the pain in his neck became.
“Next time……….I’ll kill you next time.”
Unable to bear the agony any longer, he activated his Body Technique.
The moment he moved, his body scattered like mist into the empty air.
A shriek….
And in that same instant, Kang Jo’s blade pierced straight through the dispersing form.
Kang Jo caught his dark sword as it returned, dripping.
“Destroy an inn, will you? Bastard.”

*

Tap tap tap….
Kang Jo and Yang Jung were rebuilding the Wooden Pavilion again.
“How did we even build this inn in the first place? How is this even possible? Brother.”
“How did we build it? We threw it together.”
“Threw it together? Who would say we threw it together? I was so meticulous and built it so solidly.”
“You were so meticulous that water poured in every time it rained, you idiot.”
As the two bickered back and forth, Baek Won-yeong, a horse, Yeon Ja-seol, and Baek Ha-yeong crossed the Stone Bridge.
After scaling the wall, they stared at Kang Jo and Yang Jung in stunned silence.
“The inn………..why does it look like this?”
Ordinarily, Yang Jung would have greeted them with his usual bright laughter and gentle voice.
But now his fury was so consuming that he couldn’t even see Baek Ha-yeong and Yeon Ja-seol.
“Don’t even mention it, brother! Some madman came into the inn, drew his sword, and fled!”
“Who……….would do such a thing?”
“Who else? A fat pig of a man covered in tattoos.”
At Yang Jung’s words, they all gasped.
“Cheol-goe……….came here?”
“No. It was someone else. A bloated pig of a man.”
“Are you alright, Young Master Yang?”
At the sound of Baek Ha-yeong’s voice, Yang Jung quickly composed his expression.
“I’m fine, Miss Baek. I apologize—I raised my voice in my anger.”
He descended from the roof and bowed respectfully toward Yeon Ja-seol and Baek Ha-yeong.
Then Kang Jo shouted from the rooftop.
“Bring me some roof tiles—now!”
Ha ha…
“It seems brother is rather busy at the moment.”
He laughed brightly and stepped into the inner courtyard of the residence.
Baek Won-yeong examined the severed pillar of the Guest Inn.
‘This is no ordinary handiwork.’
A pillar of such girth had been cut cleanly in two—which meant a human body would have been cleaved just as neatly.
Yet on the cross-section of the severed pillar, there were traces as if something had been scorched.
This meant the pillar had been cut not by sword or blade, but by a Ki Wave.
‘To cut so cleanly with a Ki Wave? I couldn’t do it like that myself.’
Yeon Ja-seol’s eyes gleamed as he too examined the pillar’s face.
‘A master far superior to me. By my current skill, I couldn’t even begin to fathom this.’
Baek Won-yeong steadied his startled heart and rose to his feet.
“Any more hammers?”
Clink, clink….
“Never mind, sir. Sam-ryong here is quite skilled at this sort of work.”
Kang Jo replied while continuing to swing his hammer.
“Still, three hands work better than two.”
Baek Won-yeong led the horse toward the stable.
Once he’d vanished, Baek Ha-yeong asked in a thin voice.
“Why do you keep making Yang do these kinds of chores?”
“He may be lazy, but he’s good at this sort of thing.”
Kang Jo answered without concern.
“All the same, Yang is a master both my brother and father have acknowledged. A chivalrous martial artist of Gangho, no less.”
She wanted to draw Yang into the Murim Alliance.
If that came to pass, he could receive instruction from her father and one day become a hero of Gangho’s martial world.
Just then, Yang Jung and Baek Won-yeong returned, their arms laden with roof tiles.
Kang Jo looked down at Yang Jung and asked.
“Miss Baek says I shouldn’t give you work. What do you think?”
Before answering, Yang Jung studied Kang Jo’s face.
His eyes held something unsettling—one wrong word here and another beating was inevitable.
“Your affairs are my affairs, are they not? Miss Baek, please don’t trouble yourself. I’m quite content.”
Baek Ha-yeong felt hurt that Yang Jung didn’t understand her true feelings.
“Brother, please say something.”
Whoosh…
At her words, Baek Won-yeong launched himself onto the roof with his Body Technique.
Hahahaha…
“Sam-ryong, hand up some tiles.”
Laughing, he looked down at Yang Jung and extended his hand.
Yang Jung smiled awkwardly.
“You really do joke heavily, brother.”
Only then did Yeon Ja-seol and Baek Ha-yeong find their manner of speech peculiar.
“When did your senior become your older brother?”
At Yeon Ja-seol’s question, Baek Won-yeong’s expression grew wistful.
He hadn’t spoken of it to others, but these two seemed trustworthy enough.
“It’s been quite some time. I’m the eldest, Jo the second, and Sam-ryong the youngest.”
At his words, Baek Ha-yeong couldn’t hide her joy.
Now that they were brothers, she could visit Yang Jung without reservation or worry.
“You’ve done well, brother.”
Baek Won-yeong looked at her with a meaningful gaze.
“So Ha-yeong likes this the best, does she?”

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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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