Moorim Pochang - Chapter 6

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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 6. Opening the Inn.

Shring…
As the blade left its scabbard, the dark steel gleamed with a dull luster.
Whoosh…
In the instant that murky radiance flickered, a massive tree tilted sideways.
Crack-crack-crack… Thud…!
Several thick trees fell to the ground with a tremendous noise.
Once half a dozen trees had been felled, the view beyond opened up clearly.
‘Better than it looks.’
Gang Jo examined the blade anew, studying its surface with fresh eyes.
The color of the steel was dark and dull like a fireplace poker, yet the edge of the blade gleamed with a cool, sharp light.
Whip…
Gang Jo, finished inspecting the steel, carelessly hurled the sword in front of the Inn.
Then he embraced a massive log in both arms.
Hnngh…
With a single exertion of force, the thick log slowly lifted into the air.
Once Gang Jo had moved the log in front of the Inn, he picked up the sword again.
Slash… Slash…
As the blade swept through, the log was cleanly severed to a length of about two feet.
Just then, Yang Jeong, returning from the Village, asked a question.
“What are you doing, brother?”
“Making chairs, what else?”
“Chairs made from logs like that? How much could they possibly be worth…?”
Yang Jeong was exasperated, but Gang Jo didn’t care in the least.
“They’re sturdy and good. You brought the strongest spirits, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I brought the strongest spirits available in the Village. The brewer’s wife even gave me an extra barrel as a gift.”
Gang Jo paused mid-swing and stared at his face intently.
Where in this world was anything truly free?
Yet a handsome man had a way of acquiring things for nothing simply by walking down the street.
“You’ve got it easy, you bastard.”
Yang Jeong laughed heartily and carried the barrel and meat toward the kitchen.
Once he’d set down the barrel and meat, he sat upon one of the log chairs.
Sitting in the chair and turning his gaze outward, the world beyond the collapsed walls lay visible and open.
“Brother, I think we’ll be ready to open the Inn starting tomorrow.”
At his words, Gang Jo nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. We start tomorrow.”

*

Gang Jo opened his eyes to the bright morning sun rising on the horizon.
Today was the beginning.
While he wasn’t confident about other dishes, he was certain of his Dongpo Pork, Pork Noodles, and Chicken Noodles.
‘Let’s hope it goes well…’
Turning his head, he saw Yang Jeong still absorbed in Breath Cultivation.
Gang Jo quietly rose from his place and headed toward the Inn.
By the time he’d washed the rice, set it in the pot, and begun roasting the meat, Yang Jeong emerged from his Breath Cultivation.
“Can you really afford to leave your home empty for so long? Doesn’t your family come looking for you?”
Yang Jeong offered a wry smile.
“My father says that going out and gathering Spiritual Medicine is hundreds of times better than transporting goods for the Merchant Transport Guild. He doesn’t even worry if I’m away from home for a long time.”
Sigh…
Gang Jo exhaled a long breath and set the Dongpo Pork on the table.
When Yang Jeong had gone back to fetch his cart, the one thing he’d brought with him was a single root of Snow Ginseng that was over a thousand years old.
Selling just that alone would have allowed his entire family to live in comfort for the rest of their lives.
Yet when he’d gone to retrieve the cart, he’d also dug up five to six hundred-year-old Fo-ti Root.
Given such circumstances, it was obvious that his family would be eager to send him out again.
“If I’m going to inherit the Merchant Transport Guild someday, I’d better study properly.”
Hehe..
“It’s fine because I have my younger brother. He’s quite clever—sharper than me, actually.”
Yang Jeong chuckled softly as he lifted the lid from the pot and began scooping out rice.
Once the meal was laid out, he picked up his chopsticks and reached first for the Dongpo Pork.
Munch, munch..
“Ah… brother. It feels like… pigs are just leaping and dancing around in my mouth. Your master, who ascended to the heavens… even he would surely come back down to this world just thinking of this Dongpo Pork. How do you draw such flavor from mere pork……”
Gang Jo fixed Yang Jeong with a look of displeasure as he continued chattering away.
This happened every time the man ate.
At first, Gang Jo had enjoyed the praise, but not anymore.
Compliments were fine once or twice, but hearing them constantly had begun to grate on him.
“Eat quietly, will you? Quietly.”
“Yes.”
“When you’re done eating, go out into the street and drum up some customers.”
The moment Gang Jo finished speaking, Yang Jeong’s eyes went wide as he swallowed the Dongpo Pork that had been in his mouth.
“Ah… brother. What are you saying? Surely you’re not… asking me to solicit customers, are you?”
Flustered, he could barely string words together.
Yet Gang Jo regarded him with an impassive gaze.
“Don’t you need customers to run a business?”
This man was the very figure that even the legendary beauties would weep to behold.
If he took to soliciting customers, the vacant-minded women would surely flood into the inn.
At this, Yang Jeong let out a wail and shot up from his seat.
“Brother! An inn competes on cooking skill, not on looks!”
“What’s this? You dare shout at me? Even if you want to compete on cooking, you still need customers in the door, don’t you?”
When Gang Jo’s eyes flashed, Yang Jeong’s spirit crumbled instantly.
“That’s not what I meant, brother. If I should happen to run into someone who knows my face… my father will beat me to death.”
“Fine. Just do it for a few days. Once word spreads, customers will come pouring in without you having to solicit at all.”
“Very well, brother.”
With his head bowed, Yang Jeong sat back down and finished the meal he hadn’t completed.
Then he stepped outside the inn.
“Work hard.”
“……………….Yes.”

*

Yang Jeong stared blankly down the wide road leading toward the Murim League.
Being early in the morning, there were yet no martial artists or guests headed to the Murim League in sight.
‘I’m not a courtesan, and yet he wants me to peddle my face to drum up customers….’
In truth, it wasn’t impossible.
Inn servers did this sort of thing all the time, so if he just closed his eyes and steeled himself, it wouldn’t be so difficult.
Just then, an elderly martial artist came walking from the distance.
From the robes they wore, they looked to be elders or members of a Noble House.
Yang Jeong shuffled nervously toward them.
“If you haven’t yet had breakfast this morning, I could direct you to a very fine inn.”
The aged martial artists stopped and looked him up and down.
Ahhh……..
And then they let out a soft sigh.
They had seen countless beautiful young men over the years, but never one quite this striking.
“You are truly handsome—remarkably so. That one so strikingly beautiful should work as a customer solicitor at an inn… what a waste, what a waste indeed.”
The elderly martial artists shook their heads regretfully and moved on.
Yang Jeong watched them pass, his face flushed crimson.
‘Should I just run home instead?’
But he pushed that thought away just as quickly.
His father would examine his hands the moment he walked through the door.
Since he had always returned home carrying precious Spiritual Herbs, his father was surely expecting him to do so again.
With slumped shoulders and eyes rolling about, he surveyed the inn.
Beyond the crumbling wall in the distance, he could make out the veranda of the inn and the gaping hole of the kitchen.
‘I’ll slip away and come back at lunch.’
Yang Jeong began shuffling toward where the village lay.
Once he had put some distance between himself and the inn, he unfurled his Lightness Skill.
Wheeeesh………………

*

Gang Jo, who had been trimming dried mushrooms, suddenly felt a strange emptiness and turned his gaze toward the world beyond the Inn.
‘Where the hell did that bastard go?’
Whoosh….
He bolted from the Inn in a flash, but Yang Jeong was nowhere to be found.
“That little shit…………”
Gang Jo ground his teeth together.
He’d run away.
Asked to solicit customers, and the idiot had fled rather than do it.
“You’d better show your face when you come back.”
After stewing in anger for a while, Gang Jo turned his steps back toward the Inn.
He wanted nothing more than to catch that fool and beat him senseless, but there was too much work to be done.
Returning to the Inn, Gang Jo picked up a worn sack and headed into the forest.
The fortunate thing was that everything around them was forest.
The forest always held wild greens, and while his master loved them, Gang Jo did too.
The forest was far wider than it appeared, and the greens were plentiful.
When he returned to the Inn with a full sack of foraged vegetables, Yang Jeong was busy constructing something with a hammer in his hands.
And beside him, some twenty live chickens were tied to a rope.
Tap-tap…….tap-tap……..
Yang Jeong sprang to his feet the moment he saw Gang Jo.
Heh-heh…
“Brother. I went to the Village and bought some chickens. If we raise them at the Inn, we’ll have both eggs and meat, won’t we?”
His mouth smiled widely, but his eyes trembled with visible alarm.
“Let’s settle this once and for all.”
Whoosh………..
The moment Gang Jo raised his voice, Yang Jeong swiftly deployed a Body Technique.
But this time, things didn’t go his way.
Ping…!
A stone flew through the air in an instant, striking Yang Jeong’s thigh.
Aagh……..!
As he cried out and fell, Gang Jo’s Body Technique moved into action.
Whoosh……..
Closing the distance in a single bound, Gang Jo pinned down Yang Jeong as he frantically tried to rise.
Thwack….! Thwack! Whack-whack…..!
“Oh my lord, brother! Spare me! Please forgive me just this once!”
He clung to Gang Jo’s leg, hanging on desperately.
“This is what you get for your foolishness, absolutely what you deserve.”
When the beating finally ended, Yang Jeong lay sprawled on the ground, emitting thin whimpers.
Ughhhh…….owwww…………
“Stop your whining, you wretch.”
“I’m serious…….I think I’m going to die from the pain, brother.”
Gang Jo left him there groaning and returned to the Inn.
*

Tap..! Tap….!
Around the time Gang Jo began kneading dough, Yang Jeong appeared with his face blooming purple with bruises.
“Brother…….please ask me to do something else. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to solicit customers.”
Hearing him whimper, Gang Jo’s heart softened.
The Inn was purely his own stubbornness, and this fellow was helping him out of genuine affection.
“Fine. Build a chicken coop instead.”
Truth be told, Gang Jo felt lonely when Yang Jeong wasn’t around.
Even when he was with his master, the days Yang Jeong came to visit always seemed somehow brighter.
The moment Gang Jo yielded, Yang Jeong’s expression brightened as though his gloom had never existed.
Heh-heh…
“Thank you, brother.”
“Once you finish the coop, go home and bring me one root of Snow Ginseng, one root of Fo-ti Root, and ten drops of Stone Oil.”
Yang Jeong asked with a startled expression.
“What are you planning to use that for?”
“Before the wine barrel runs dry, we need to start brewing more, don’t we? Go on and be back soon.”
He accepted Gang Jo’s words with good humor.
“Brother, would it be possible to stop by the main house for a moment?”
“Don’t tell me you’re trying to dig up Spiritual Herbs on the sly?”
Ahahaha…………
Yang Jeong laughed awkwardly.
Yet such cunning didn’t look particularly offensive to him.
“Get something that’s been growing for about a hundred years.”
“Understood, brother. Thank you.”
Gang Jo looked down at him with quiet intensity as he bowed respectfully.
This fellow would probably dig up something aged two or three hundred years instead of one hundred.
“I’ll make sure to verify it later.”
“Don’t worry about it.”

*

Four days had already passed since Yang Jeong departed.
During those four days, not a single customer had arrived.
Whoooosh……..
When rain began to fall, Gang Jo surrendered to whatever fate had in store.
The downpour wasn’t so heavy that he couldn’t see ahead, but it was quite a steady rain.
“Have it your way, have it your way.”
When it rained, people stayed indoors, so even the travelers on the roads had vanished.
‘Heaven truly wants me dead, doesn’t it.’
Gang Jo, sitting with a blank expression, began shaking his fist at the rain-pouring sky.
“Is this how Heaven repays a disciple? Isn’t this going too far? Master!”
After venting his frustration, the rain showed no sign of letting up.
“Ugh…..!”
Annoyed, Gang Jo settled down and picked up some dried mushrooms lying nearby.
Then he began slowly preparing the vegetables.
“What will I eat if the Inn fails?”
He still had reserves to hold out even without customers.
He had leftover wealth from defeating Buk Yeom-na the last time.
‘Maybe I should just head into the martial world and make my living hunting down bandits?’
As Gang Jo entertained these random thoughts, he soon shook his head.
‘Please, just let one person walk through that door. Just one.’

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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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