Moorim Pochang - Chapter 51

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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 51. A Sinister Plot (2).

A stranger from Gangho—someone he’d never seen before.
That an unknown wanderer would set fire to this place without the slightest grudge meant someone had given the order. There was no doubt about it.
Whisht—
The moment he drew his blade from his thigh, wind stirred.
At the same instant, Baek Moon-do emerged from the shadows.
“What’s happened?”
His expression was grave.
Kang Jo answered in an even tone.
“Gangho wanderers breached the compound and set it ablaze.”
“For what reason?”
“I’m investigating that now.”
The moment Kang Jo finished speaking, the Murim Alliance’s late-stage practitioners came rushing out.
“What’s going on?”
“Where is the associate leader?”
Baek Won-yeong and Baek Ha-yeong called out in urgent voices.
Baek Moon-do pointed toward the pavilion engulfed in flames.
“Extinguish the fire first.”
Kang Jo shook his head.
“Leave it be. It’s too late already.”
“I’ve brought them, sir.”
Yang Jung emerged next, dragging captured wanderers under each arm.
“How many did you catch?”
“More than ten, sir.”
“Bring them all here.”
Yang Jung hurled the wanderers onto the ground.
Thud—
Ugh… ugh…
The fallen wanderers let out thin, pained cries.
By the way their legs bent at unnatural angles, it was clear Yang Jung had shattered every one of them.
Kang Jo turned to the wanderer missing an arm and questioned him again.
“Why did you set fire to this place?”
Ugh…
Again, the man only groaned, offering no answer.
“We should drag them to the Murim Alliance and interrogate them there—”
Slice—
Before Baek Won-yeong could finish, Kang Jo severed the wanderer’s throat.
His blade turned toward another captive.
“Why did you set the fire?”
Ugh…
The wanderer only whimpered in response.
Slice—
Without hesitation, Kang Jo carved off the man’s arm.
Aaaaagh—!
The faces of the watching practitioners, and even Baek Moon-do’s, grew dark with dread.
“This is too cruel—”
When one of the practitioners tried to speak up, Baek Moon-do raised a hand to silence him.
“Stand back.”
Kang Jo paid them no mind.
“I’ll ask again: why did you set fire to this place?”
This time, an answer came.
Ugh…
“Someone… ordered us to.”
“Who?”
At Kang Jo’s question, the man could not answer.
Clang.
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Yang Jung hurled two more Gangho martial artists into the darkness and vanished after them.
“There are still plenty more who need answering for.”
Scrape.
Kang Jo severed a martial artist’s neck without hesitation.
Ugh…
The remaining Gangho martial artists trembled with fear.
“Who sent you?”
One of the martial artists answered Kang Jo’s question.
“I… I don’t know who he was. But the clothes he wore… they looked incredibly expensive. He gave us twenty Silver Coins and ordered us to set fire to this place.”
“You truly don’t know his identity?”
“Y-yes… yes… I really don’t.”
Scrape.
Kang Jo slashed another martial artist’s arm clean off.
Aaaaagh!
“Still nothing?”
The man shrieked desperately.
“Really… I don’t know! He looked to be middle-aged… his eyes were sharp and piercing… and he wore a sword at his waist!”
Scrape.
Kang Jo cut the armless man’s throat.
“Tell me anything else you know.”
“There’s… there’s nothing else. Ah… there were other men with him, and they all wore swords at their waists too.”
Tsk.
Only then did Kang Jo still his blade.
Clang.
More bodies were hurled to the ground.
Kang Jo waited for Yang Jung to bring in the remaining martial artists.
As Baek Moon-do watched in silence, the Late-stage Practitioners of Jamryong-hoe remained wordless as well.
Baek Won-yeong opened his mouth to speak several times but finally held his tongue.
Thud.
“That’s all of them.”
“You did well.”
“No, sir.”
Yang Jung, sharp-eyed, could feel just how furious Kang Jo truly was.
This was not how he normally looked when he beat them.
In those times, even when he raged, his hands held back.
So no matter how badly they were struck, no bone-deep illness would set in.
But now it was different.
In times like these, the wisest course was to stay as quiet as possible.
Baek Moon-do, who had maintained his silence, finally spoke.
“Do you have any sense of who might be behind this?”
At his question, Kang Jo glanced at the Late-stage Practitioners.
“I have suspicions, but without proof, shouldn’t we leave matters here?”
“Tell me your suspicions.”
“They wore fine clothes and swords at their waists—they must be people from a renowned martial family.”
Baek Moon-do nodded and asked again.
“If you obtain evidence, what will you do?”
“Kill them all.”
“Even if they are from a renowned martial family?”
Kang Jo smiled coldly.
“They tried to burn down our halls and kill me and my brother. Isn’t that reason enough?”
Yang Jung, reading the room, chimed in.
“They tried to kill our men too, sir. They even poisoned the stables.”
Ha ha.
“That’s right. They tried to kill the horses too.”

*

Witnessing Kang Jo’s laugh, Baek Moon-do could only swallow his bitter thoughts.
‘To smile like that in a place like this.’
He’d known the boy was confident yet mild-mannered, but he hadn’t imagined him capable of such cruelty.
He’d crossed countless battlefields, but never had he seen killing intent so thick in anyone.
Like Kang Jo, he too suspected who’d orchestrated this affair.
‘It must be the work of the Jinju Eon Family. With their pride running so deep, this is exactly the sort of thing they’d do.’
In Gangho, such incidents were commonplace.
The Jinju Eon Family would surely continue harassing Kang Jo and this inn until they’d salvaged their honor.
‘This is troubling. I’d hoped things wouldn’t spiral further.’
Baek Moon-do, concealing his true thoughts, gazed down at the fallen Gangho martial artists scattered across the floor.
“What will you do with these men?”
“There’s nothing left for them but death.”
The answer was exactly as he’d expected.
“Why not turn them over to the Murim Alliance? We should investigate any connections to Hyeol-gyo as well.”
“What if we investigate here? We’ll have answers immediately.”
“The Murim Alliance has its procedures, and we must follow them. I’ll teach these wretches that there are fates worse than death.”
At his words, even Kang Jo relented.
He’d wanted to kill them outright, but he had to consider the Alliance Leader’s reputation.
“Take them away.”
Baek Moon-do turned his gaze to the Late-stage Practitioners.
“Haul away all the survivors.”
The Late-stage Practitioners bowed in unison.
“Understood, Alliance Leader.”
“We obey your command.”

*

After Baek Moon-do and the Late-stage Practitioners departed, only Baek Won-yeong remained.
“I saw new sides of my brothers today.”
Brutal, yet perfectly coordinated.
Neither the Kang Jo he knew nor the Yang Jung he knew.
They’d shown a cruelty so extreme it seemed as though they’d become different men entirely.
Kang Jo answered his words without hesitation.
“I’m formidable against weaker opponents.”
“Why do you say such modest things? I remember seeing you face off against Yeoh-hwa before, didn’t you?”
“Then from now on, you’ll handle Yeoh-hwa whenever she visits the inn.”
Yang Jung was taken aback.
“But… I’m not free. The repairs to the pavilion keep me occupied.”
Baek Won-yeong, observing the two of them, finally broke into laughter.
Ha, ha…
Yes, this was the form that suited them.
He simply hoped those two would never become entangled in the cruel world of Gangho martial arts.
Only then could he laugh freely without worry.
“Bury the bodies.”
“No, brother. You mean we’re digging another grave in the dead of night?”
Baek Won-yeong asked with a puzzled expression.
“Another? What do you mean?”
Yang Jung dodged the question with laughter.
Ha, ha…
“It’s nothing, brother. I just thought we might bury them in the morning instead.”
“Even if they’re thieves, they deserve a grave. I’ll help, so fetch a spade.”
Yang Jung, suddenly conscripted for grave-digging, answered with a gloomy tone.
“Very well, brother.”

*

‘Damn it…’
Eon So-ryong gnawed his fingernails with his teeth.
It should have succeeded without fail.
Yet only two pavilions burned—the rest remained intact.
If there was a flaw, it was that those who’d set the fires possessed mediocre martial skill.
If those men had possessed even slightly stronger martial arts, he could have burned not only all the halls but them as well.
The innkeeper was possessed of a cruelty so extreme it was almost inhuman.
Just watching him made the hairs on one’s skin stand on end.
Such a man should be killed early, lest he cause future troubles.
The remaining options were to draw in masters of formidable martial arts or to entrust the work to assassins.
But both methods required an exorbitant amount of silver coins.
Even the wealth of the Eon Family could not justify spending so much coin merely to kill two men.
‘Killing the innkeeper’s younger brother is even harder than killing the innkeeper himself.’
While the innkeeper’s skill in the Kwon-gak Method was considerable, his younger brother’s lightness skill was so swift it made one doubt one’s own eyes.
‘And after all the warnings I gave.’
The family seemed still to regard them as insignificant.
“What are you doing there? Eon So-ryong. Come along now.”
As the voice of a Late-stage Practitioner reached his ears, he finally lowered the nail he’d been worrying at with his teeth.
Eon So-ryong and the Late-stage Practitioners were heading toward the Alliance Leader’s hall.
When the five Late-stage Practitioners arrived, a guard announced them from within.
“Alliance Leader. The skilled personnel from Jamryong-hoe have arrived.”
At the guard’s report, the Alliance Leader opened the door and stepped into view.
Shin Pung-gae, who had come seeking him at that very moment, took his place in a corner of the hall.
Descending the steps, the Alliance Leader examined the Late-stage Practitioners, then pointed to the one on his left.
“You. Start with yourself.”
The first designated Late-stage Practitioner drew his sword and began to unfold his swordsmanship.
Whistle—slash.
Each time the blade carved through the air, a chilling cold swept forth.
The Late-stage Practitioner who had displayed his martial art sheathed his sword and stepped back.
The Alliance Leader extended his hand.
“Give me the sword.”
The Late-stage Practitioner drew it and offered it respectfully.
Taking the sword, the Alliance Leader began to trace a sword move in empty space, then stopped.
“What matters in this move is not extending the blade, but withdrawing it. If you twist the direction slightly as you sheath it and cut, the move will become far more powerful.”
Slash.
Having demonstrated the sword move directly, he returned the blade.
“Thank you, Alliance Leader.”
“Go on ahead now.”
As the instructed Late-stage Practitioner left the Martial Training Grounds, the second Late-stage Practitioner stepped forward.
He was a master of the Dual Sword Technique.
Whistle—whirl—slash.
The dual swords filled the space, then scattered and reformed repeatedly.
The Alliance Leader gave instruction to each Late-stage Practitioner in turn.
At last, only Eon So-ryong remained.
He too drew his sword and unfolded his swordsmanship.
Whistle—whirl.
Baek Moon-do, nodding his head, extended his hand.
“The Eon Family’s swordsmanship is always excellent. If you were to prune away some of the flourishes, it might appear less ornate, but its power would be far greater.”
Having finished speaking, he mimicked the Eon Family’s swordsmanship.
Indeed, once two unnecessary flourishes were removed from the moves, the swordsmanship appeared far faster and more powerful.
Eon So-ryong was filled with gratitude.
This was why one had to study martial arts from masters.
Though the elders of his family were all masters of formidable martial arts, they could not compare to the Murim Alliance’s Alliance Leader.
“Thank you, Alliance Leader.”
The Alliance Leader returned the sword to him and added:
“The Gangho Martial World is a far more dangerous place than you imagine. Moreover, it is a place where a single mistake could cost your family dearly.”
“I understand, Alliance Leader.”
“Do you truly understand?”
Eon So-ryong carefully lifted his gaze to meet the Alliance Leader’s face.
What did he mean by such words?
Could the Alliance Leader possibly know of the Guest Inn affair?
Even if he suspected something, there was no evidence.
“I understand, Alliance Leader.”
“Very well. You may go now.”
As Eon So-ryong withdrew, Shin Pung-gae rose to his feet.
“The Alliance Leader has been working hard.”
He too had heard about what happened last night.
Part of him wanted to rush to the Guest Inn, but the memory of Kang Jo’s face kept him rooted at the Murim Alliance.
Baek Moon-do pretended ignorance and posed the question instead.
“Do you have any sense of who might be behind this?”
Chuckle, chuckle……..
“Surely you’re not trying to fool an old man like me? The Eon Family suffered a grave humiliation before—this must be their childish retaliation.”

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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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