Moorim Pochang - Chapter 66

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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 66. A Memory of Terror.

The man was clearly weaker than him.
Yet before he could cut him down, his own neck felt like it would be severed first.
Crash! Crash! Bang…!
Hyeol-je swung his blade at the flashing sword that kept appearing before him.
“Worthless fools!”
His subordinates had said the man was dead.
But how could this be a corpse?
The man moved with far more vitality than before, alive and present in every moment.
When he returned, he would have them killed.
They were utterly useless.
Slash…!
The blade came at his throat again.
Hyeol-je raised his sword to block the incoming edge.
In that instant, the blade that had once severed his throat rose vividly in his memory.
That blade had gleamed with brilliant silver.
But this blade bore a dull, murky shade.
The swords were different, yet why did that old blade come to mind?
Crash…!
Hyeol-je barely managed to swing his blade in response.
The moment he swung, his neck ached and his entire body trembled.
The blade cut mercilessly into his side.
Crash…!
As Hyeol-je retreated with his sword drawn, his hand moved unconsciously to his throat.
‘This is… maddening.’
He felt he should be able to kill the man, yet he could not.
Again, the brilliant blue eyes flashed before him.
And with them, the pain in his neck grew sharper.
Crash! Bang…!
Whoosh…!
A whirlwind erupted around Hyeol-je as he swung his blade.
Slash…!
Kang Jo’s sword tore through the whirlwind and split the walls of the Guest Inn.
Crash! Crash! Bang…!
“Fleeing…?”
Kang Jo pursued the receding energy in an instant.
Then Yang Jung’s voice reached him.
“Elder brother…!”
Haah… haah…
Kang Jo halted his Body Technique and caught his breath.
As he steadied his breathing, the raging Killing Intent slowly subsided.
“Elder brother. Yeon Ja-seol is in a strange state.”
At Yang Jung’s words, Kang Jo turned his attention back.

*

Blood flowed from Yeon Ja-seol’s abdomen.
It seemed the stray Qi had pierced clean through her midsection.
After laying her on the bed, Kang Jo turned to Yang Jung and shouted.
“Run to the Murim Alliance and bring back a physician…!”
The wound was too deep for him to do anything about it.
“Wait just a moment, elder brother.”
Yang Jung did not hesitate.
Whoosh…!
In an instant, he vanished from sight.
Kang Jo removed her clothing and examined the wound on her abdomen.
Then he brought his ear close to her nose and mouth.
Her breathing was labored, which suggested her condition was grave.
‘What am I to do?’
If such an injury had occurred within the Murim Alliance, it would be their responsibility.
But the place where she’d been attacked was his own Guest Inn.
Kang Jo hurried outside and made for the kitchen.
The kitchen wall had split open, and not only the cauldron and dishes but even the Wine Jar lay shattered.
Kang Jo searched through the inner corner and found another Wine Jar.
Fortunately, that one remained intact.
He retrieved the jar and poured the liquid into an unbroken bowl.
As he stepped back into the room with the bowl, Yeon Ja-seol’s eyes fluttered open with difficulty.
“I’m… I’m fine.”
Her voice was hollow, belying any claim of wellness.
Kang Jo cradled her against his chest.
“Please drink this.”
“What… is this?”
“It will give you strength.”
As Kang Jo brought the bowl to her lips, she opened her mouth without hesitation.
Glug, glug…
The liquid passed through her throat in one long swallow.
“A physician from the Murim Alliance should arrive shortly.”
Kang Jo set down the bowl and laid her back carefully on the bed.

*

“Yeon Ja-seol is gravely wounded. Please summon a physician at once!”
Yang Jung shouted before even the Murim Alliance warriors had come into view.
Whoosh—
By the time he’d finished speaking, he was already standing before them.
The warriors of the Murim Alliance stumbled backward in shock.
“Y-Yeon Ja-seol is wounded? What do you mean?”
“Some madman’s split the Guest Inn in half! So get me a physician—now!”
Yang Jung spilled the words out in a desperate torrent.
What lunatic would cleave an inn asunder in the middle of the night?
And what possible connection could there be between a bisected inn and Yeon Ja-seol’s injury?
“Please, wait a moment—”
“Bring the physician here! Every moment counts!”
The warriors set aside their confusion and hurried to report to the Chief Administrator.
They could not ignore the words of this man Yang Jung.
“Sir, Yang Jung has arrived in urgent distress. He says the Guest Inn has been split in half and that Yeon Ja-seol is gravely injured.”
Groan…
The Chief Administrator, roused from sleep, immediately frowned.
The old saying about troublemakers calling at midnight seemed less folklore and more prophecy.
Yet the situation clearly demanded urgency.
“Bring the finest physician in the Murim Alliance. And inform Baek Won-yeong as well.”
“As you command, sir.”
As the warrior departed, the Chief Administrator rose from his bed and dressed.
“I thought I might finally get a proper night’s sleep.”
Seated at his desk, he stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment.
Then he unrolled the scroll that lay before him.
The scroll was filled densely with accounts of the Hubei Yu Family’s destruction.
‘A Savage Beast was never found? What force other than Hyeol-gyo could have brought down the Hubei Yu Family?’
The Chief Administrator kept a candle burning even as he slept.
One never knew when calamity might strike.
‘The great confrontation with Hyeol-gyo has begun. How I long to trade my brush for a sword.’

*

Baek Won-yeong appeared at the main gate of the Murim Alliance before the physician.
“Yeon Ja-seol is hurt? What are you saying?”
“Please go to the Guest Inn at once. Some madman split the inn clean in half.”
At the sight of Yang Jung’s urgent expression, Baek Won-yeong didn’t hesitate—he activated his Body Technique.
Whoosh—
Only after Baek Won-yeong vanished into the Lightness Kung Fu did the old Physician emerge from the side, his medical kit tucked under his arm.
“Who’s been hurt?”
“Yeon Ja-seol is injured. Please hurry.”
“I see. Then let’s be on our way.”
The old Physician quickened his pace.
But to Yang Jung’s eyes, that pace looked like crawling across the ground.
“Can’t you move any faster, sir?”
“This is quite fast for me, I assure you.”
“This is maddening. Forgive me, but I must take my leave.”
Yang Jung scooped the old Physician into his arms.
Whoosh—
And then he unfurled his Lightness Kung Fu with urgency.
Gasp—
“I… I can’t breathe. P-please… slow down a bit.”
The speed was so great that the wind battered the Physician’s face and rushed into his mouth.
“Just bear with it a moment longer, sir!”

*

After examining Yeon Ja-seol’s body, the Physician cleaned the wound and stitched it with needle and thread.
Then he applied medicinal salve and wrapped the wound with clean cloth.
“How is he, sir?”
The moment the Physician stepped out of the room, Baek Won-yeong asked.
“Fortunately, his internal organs appear unharmed, though we should observe him carefully for a few days. Even if the Murim Alliance were to care for him, any strenuous movement could cause complications. It’s best to keep him here and let him rest.”
Exhale—
Baek Won-yeong breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you for your trouble, sir.”
Kang Jo bowed deeply to the old Physician.
The old Physician nodded, then turned to Yang Jung.
Yang Jung bowed as well.
“We’re grateful for all your care, sir.”
“It was no great trouble. Now be on your way.”
“I beg your pardon? Where am I to go?”
Yang Jung tilted his head in confusion.
It made sense for the Physician to return to the Murim Alliance, but why should he go back there again?
“Since you brought me all this way, shouldn’t you take me back?”
Only then did Yang Jung grasp the Physician’s meaning.
Oh, no—
‘I’m not a carriage, for heaven’s sake—’
With a resigned sigh, Yang Jung lifted the old Physician into his arms again.
“This time, go a little more slowly, will you?”
“……………………..Fine.”
Whoosh—
Once Yang Jung disappeared, Baek Won-yeong smiled.
He’d been worried so deeply that now his heart could finally ease.
Ha ha ha—
His laughter faded as he surveyed the ruined Guest Inn and kitchen.
The inn had collapsed entirely, and the kitchen was split in two, its interior exposed wide open.
“Who was it?”
“The archer.”
At Kang Jo’s answer, Baek Won-yeong nodded and turned toward the Murim Alliance.
“I’ll come back tomorrow morning.”
“Sam-ryong and I can handle the repairs.”
“I’ll come anyway.”
Baek Won-yeong spoke those words and faded into the darkness.
Left alone, Kang Jo opened the door and stepped inside.
But then a surge of powerful Qi began pouring from Yeon Ja-seol’s body.
“This is…”
Kang Jo’s face went pale.
He’d fed him wine from a bowl to recover his Qi, but it seemed he’d given far too much.
‘Master would have handled this easily.’
Kang Jo had received his master’s help when breaking through the Upper Dantian, and Sam-ryong had been aided by their master when opening both the Middle and Upper Dantian.
But now their master was not beside him.
“Gather yourself, Yeon Ja-seol.”
Kang Jo shook him forcefully to rouse him from the overwhelming sensation.
The moment his eyes fluttered open, Kang Jo pulled him upright and wrapped his arms around him from behind.
“I—my body—why is it burning like this?”
“Focus, Yeon Ja-seol.”
Kang Jo placed a hand over his palm center.
“Close your eyes and channel the Qi down into your Dantian.”

*

“I should rest a bit now.”
Yang Jung, returning to the Guest Inn, reached for the door.
But a tremendous surge of Qi emanated from the room beyond.
‘What’s happening?’
He cracked the door open and peered in—Yeon Ja-seol and his brother sat facing each other, their palms pressed together.
Yang Jung quietly closed the door again.
‘Ah… so he gave Yeon Ja-seol wine.’
The situation must have been urgent; there was no helping it.
‘Well, if he’s occupied like that, he won’t know what I’m doing, will he?’
He slipped into the kitchen and began searching for a wine jar.
Five or six jars lay shattered on the floor, but one in the corner remained intact.
Crunch…
“I’ll rip that bastard to shreds.”
Yang Jung ground his teeth.
That lunatic had nearly destroyed even this precious jar in his rampage.
‘This won’t do.’
He retrieved the intact jar, drained a cup, and began searching for a spade.
Then he started digging in a corner of the kitchen.
If he buried the jar underground, it would survive even if the kitchen crumbled around it.
After burying it deep in the earth, Yang Jung poured himself another cup.
Ahhh…
“Splendid. Simply splendid.”

*

The throbbing pain in her skull vanished in an instant.
In its place came a sensation of floating, weightless and dreamy.
It was a sleep deeper than any she’d known.
She felt as though she’d been granted a long, profound slumber after ages of wakefulness.
Yeon Ja-seol had no wish to wake from that darkness.
But an urgent voice and an angry shout tore through it.
“I’m telling you it wasn’t me, brother.”
“Don’t lie to me, you wretch! How many cups did you drink?”
Whoooosh…
Even hearing the whisper of wind, she opened her eyes.
The first thing she felt was a crystalline clarity.
Then a surge of boundless strength flooded through her.
‘What is this Qi?’
Yeon Ja-seol recalled the events of the previous night.
She’d heard a cry to dodge and moved her body in response.
Then something had torn deeply into her abdomen.
That much remained vivid in her memory.
But everything that followed was shrouded in fog.
Kang Jo had lifted her into his arms and given her something to eat.
Then her body had grown hot, and a tremendous surge of Qi had seemed to burst forth from within her.
“Close both your eyes and draw the Qi down into your Dantian.”
Yeon Ja-seol recalled Kang Jo’s words, though they were hazy.
‘Kang Jo must have done something to my body.’
She tried to sit up.
But the moment she moved, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen.
A low groan escaped her.
She had barely forced herself upright when a familiar voice came from beyond the door.
“Where are you…?”
The door opened.

*

Baek Won-yeong stepped through the doorway and studied Yeon Ja-seol’s face.
“How are you? Any better?”
“Yes. I’m all right.”
At her answer, he smiled.
“Thank heaven for that. But where are the others? I don’t see them.”
“I… don’t know either.”
“Is that so? I told them this morning I’d come by.”
Baek Won-yeong tilted his head, then offered another smile.
“The Physician said we should observe you for a few more days, so rest easy. Stay in bed.”
“Understood.”
Once Baek Won-yeong left, Yeon Ja-seol lay back down on the bed.
Ah…
Only then did she realize that her Upper Dantian had been completely opened.
‘Kang Jo must have broken through my Upper Dantian for me.’

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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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