Moorim Pochang - Chapter 72

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 72. Evading Disaster.

“I’ll begin.”
The moment Gi Jae finished speaking, his body technique blurred into motion.
Whoosh—
In an instant, Gi Jae’s face rushed toward him, and the blade thrust deep toward Yang Jung’s shoulder.
Clang!
Yang Jung parried the incoming sword and shifted his body technique.
The opponent’s blade was fast, but not compared to Kang Jo.
‘If things go well… I might actually win this.’
As the blade bounced away, Gi Jae spun his body and swept his leg across.
Clang!
But again, Yang Jung’s sword knocked his blade back.
‘Just as the rumors said—a truly formidable master.’
Gi Jae clenched his teeth.
If he lost this time, there would be no second chance.
He retreated a step, then surged forward, slashing the space between them in wild, crisscrossing patterns.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Blade met blade, sparks erupting with each strike.
As Gi Jae pressed forward recklessly, Yang Jung’s sword began to waver.
Clang-clang-clang! Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Yet somehow he managed to block every attack.

*

“Timid bastard.”
That man believed himself weak only because of his own cowardly nature.
Baek Won-yeong smiled, hearing Kang Jo’s murmur.
“Sam-ryong will win, won’t he?”
“Unless something unexpected happens, he won’t lose.”
“Then what now? Even if he wins today, it looks like the Seongma-dan’s skilled fighters will keep challenging him to Life-or-Death Duels.”
That was Baek Won-yeong’s very concern.
Even if they won today, the Seongma-dan seemed determined never to surrender the short sword.
“For him, it’s actually fortunate. He was only wasting time at home practicing his Concealment Art.”
“Concealment Art?”
“Running has its limits, so apparently he wanted to disappear altogether.”
Hahahaha!
Baek Won-yeong burst into laughter without realizing it.
To laugh like this, here where death hung in the balance.
What amusing brothers they were.
At that, the skilled fighters of Seongma-dan shot him looks of deep displeasure.
Hmm.
He quickly suppressed his smile and whispered softly.
“Father possesses the secret manual of assassins. Shall I bring it?”
“Leave it be, sir.”
Baek Won-yeong nodded while watching the Life-or-Death Duel.
Yang Jung continued to do nothing but block, while the Seongma-dan fighter kept up a relentless, savage assault.
“Are you mocking me now…?”
As Yang Jung merely parried, the Seongma-dan’s fighter grew increasingly furious.
But Yang Jung was just as frustrated.
He was so flustered that even when openings appeared, he couldn’t thrust his blade cleanly.
The Seongma-dan fighter renewed his momentum and slashed with vicious intensity.
Clang-clang-clang-clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Watching this, Baek Ha-yeong smiled.
“It seems Young Master Yang does have a generous heart, brother.”
Love had blinded her eyes quite thoroughly.
Sigh…
‘Well met. Truly, well met.’
Kang Jo exhaled silently and raised his voice.
“Where the heart goes, the sword follows!”
Most of the skilled personnel didn’t grasp the meaning.
But Baek Won-yeong and Dok-go Eun alone understood.
Since childhood, it was a goal their father had taught them—the measure of true mastery.
‘Jo is truly remarkable.’
‘Why did Mother give the blue silk to that one instead of this one?’
As they harbored such thoughts, Yang Jung’s sword trembled.
No—it didn’t tremble. In an instant, it had pierced the skilled one’s shoulder.
Thud.
The blade barely grazed the shoulder before withdrawing.
The Seongma-dan expert stared at Yang Jung with vacant eyes.
Until now, he’d believed he held the advantage. He was wrong.
He hadn’t even seen how the sword reached his shoulder.
“I… am defeated.”
He reversed his grip on the blade and bowed.
He longed to sharpen and polish his sword, and when the chance came, to challenge again.
Yang Jung hesitated even after driving his blade home.
He didn’t understand how he had won.
There was only one thought that had guided him—a refusal to take his opponent’s life.
To claim the life of a Seongma-dan expert would make him an irreconcilable enemy to Ma-gyo itself. That, he wanted to avoid at all costs.
“I… thank you for your mercy.”
He too quickly reversed his grip and lowered himself in respect.

*

As the Seongma-dan expert withdrew, another stepped forward.
“I request a Life-or-Death Duel.”
But Dok-go Eun blocked his path.
She turned to Yang Jung with a smile both eerie and alluring.
“It wouldn’t be fair. We’ll stop for today and resume tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’ll face you myself.”
Yang Jung, who had barely caught his breath, was so startled he could scarcely move his lips.
Dok-go Eun continued speaking.
“If I lose tomorrow, I’ll become your wife. But if you lose, you’ll have to surrender your head.”
“I… I… there’s no need… for that…”
Yang Jung’s words faltered.
Cold sweat already streamed down his back.
Yet Dok-go Eun turned her body with a chill in the air, her form shifting like the wind.
As she moved, the Seongma-dan experts followed in her wake.
The one most taken aback was not Yang Jung, but Baek Ha-yeong.
“What… what will you do now, Young Master Yang?”
It wasn’t that she doubted his victory.
But if he won the Life-or-Death Duel, he would have to accept Dok-go Eun as his wife.
And he couldn’t afford to lose—not when the price was his own head.
Baek Won-yeong too showed his discomfort.
He hadn’t imagined Dok-go Eun would push so boldly.
“I’ll speak with the young lady Dok-go. Don’t worry too much.”
“But you already know her stubborn nature well enough, don’t you? Whatever she says, she’ll stand by it.”
Yang Jung, his complexion now ashen, drew out the short sword and offered it.
“This… this short sword was originally yours, wasn’t it? I’m… returning it to you now.”
At that, Baek Ha-yeong’s face brightened at once.
“It was originally mine?”
But Kang Jo had no intention of accepting it.
“Nonsense. You took it because you liked it—why give it back now?”
“But isn’t Young Master Kang the original owner of the blade?”
The short sword had been Kang Jo’s to begin with, so its return to him was only natural.
Yet Kang Jo’s thoughts ran differently.
He desired little in this world.
Yang Jung merely hoped that he could at least protect himself.
Surrounded as he was by martial masters, he couldn’t help but feel perpetually uneasy.
Most troubling of all, if Cheol-goe spoke true, this Hyeol-je was the most formidable opponent he’d face.
‘That charlatan of a master, boasting about the world’s greatest martial power.’
“Since I handed over that short sword to you, its owner is no longer me—it’s you.”
“Kang Sohyeop…!”
Baek Ha-yeong’s face flushed crimson as she cried out.
“Jow has his own thoughts on the matter. Let’s leave it at that and go back.”
Baek Won-yeong forcibly dragged her toward the Murim Alliance.
“Please let go, older brother. Just please…”
Tears glistened in Baek Ha-yeong’s eyes, yet he did not release her.
Once the skilled personnel from Jamryong-hoe had all vanished, Yang Jung reverted to his true self.
He immediately threw himself upon Kang Jo in a pathetic display.
“Brother, I beg you—spare my life, just this once.”
“Spare? What’s there to spare? This works out perfectly. From today on, focus on your martial training.”
Kang Jo brushed him off coldly and disappeared into the Guest Inn.
‘What do I do? How can I escape this crisis unscathed?’
Left alone, Yang Jung stood in the grass, lost in thought.
‘If things go on like this, there’s no way out except to run. Hell, I have no idea what to do.’
After surveying the Guest Inn, he shifted his Body Technique toward the village.
Whoosh…

*

Back at the Murim Alliance, Baek Ha-yeong decided she could bear it no longer and sought out Dok-go Eun.
“Listen to me for a moment, Dok-go Eun.”
Hehehehe…
“It seems the Alliance Leader’s daughter is quite upset.”
Dok-go Eun greeted her with a mocking smile.
She had already guessed why Baek Ha-yeong had come.
‘She rushed over in panic, afraid of losing the man on whom she’s set her heart.’
Dok-go Eun found that she didn’t entirely dislike Baek Ha-yeong.
The girl was genuinely honest with her emotions, wearing them plainly on her face in a way that seemed rather innocent.
“Upset? I came because I thought I should share something I’ve discovered.”
“Is that so? What important matter could the Alliance Leader’s daughter have uncovered?”
Baek Ha-yeong glared at her with sharp eyes despite the woman’s continued mockery.
‘This woman. I truly despise her.’
As Baek Ha-yeong fixed her with a hostile gaze, Dok-go Eun laughed even harder.
Hahahaha…!
“Don’t hate me so much. We might end up sharing the same husband one day.”
Of course, she meant it only in jest.
But Baek Ha-yeong harbored no such thoughts.
The woman who would become his wife would be no one but herself for all her days, until death took her.
If her future husband dared take another woman as a second wife, she would draw her blade, cut him down, and end her own life at once.
“Stop joking, Dok-go Eun. The reason I came to find you is only to tell you that the owner of that short sword is not Yang Sohyeop but Kang Sohyeop. So from now on, never torment Yang Sohyeop again.”
At her words, not only Dok-go Eun but the skilled personnel of Seongma-dan were taken aback.
“Is what you just said truly the truth?”
Dok-go Eun wore a meaningful smile.
“Yes. Yang Sohyeop said exactly that.”
Hmm…
“So that’s how it is? Very well. You may go.”
“I’ll say it once more—the owner of that short sword is not Yang Sohyeop, but Kang Sohyeop.”
As Baek Ha-yeong withdrew, Dok-go Il, who had been listening quietly, spoke.
“Sister, what will you do now?”
“For now I’ll simply watch and observe. But I must recover Cheongbi.”
After Dok-go Eun stepped back, Dok-go Il turned to the skilled personnel.
“What do you all intend to do?”
The personnel exchanged glances before one spoke up.
“Although the short sword’s original owner was Kang Sohyeop, the one wielding it now is Yang Jung. We intend to request a Life-or-Death Duel.”
“I share that view. That man is disagreeable from his very appearance.”
Dok-go Il made no attempt to stop them.
It would prove no small benefit to his skilled personnel’s martial cultivation.
Yet he appended a warning.
“Though you call it a Life-or-Death Duel, do not harbor thoughts of taking that man’s life.”
The skilled personnel understood his meaning.
“We understand, Alliance Leader.”
“We shall remember it well.”
Whether Yang Jung or by whatever name that man went, the mere sight of him kindled a burning rage.
But Kang Jo was not so moved.
Perhaps because the disciples of Ma-gyo venerated the martial way, something akin to respect had begun to take root in a corner of his heart.

*
For three years now, a pitiless drought had held the land in its grip.
While other regions received adequate rain and their harvests flourished, the Northwestern Region had not seen a single drop fall from the sky.
The rice withered on the stalk, the barley and wheat crops lay ruined, and even the lake bed cracked asunder, leaving the fish to die in masses.
Tenant farmers, unable to endure any longer, sought out the landowner.
They threw themselves prostrate before his estate, their voices trembling with tears.
“My lord. Three years now this drought has raged, and our harvests are beyond ruin. If this continues, our families shall starve to death. We beseech you—please ease our rent, even by a small measure.”
Yet the landowner did not so much as pretend to hear their pleas.
“If you have time for such drivel, why not dig wells and draw water from the river instead, you wretches! What are you standing about for? Clear them away at once—!”
At the landowner’s command, armed men bearing swords and cudgels rushed forth in a tide.
Without mercy or hesitation, they began beating the tenant farmers.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Ughhh…!
Cough…!
The tenant farmers could only flee, bleeding.
Yet even their endurance had limits, and at last it broke.
“Better to die on a full belly for even one day than to starve this way…! Let us storm the landowner’s estate…!”
Roaaarrr…!
The tenant farmers raised their sickles and hoes as one.
They rushed at once toward the landowner’s estate.
But those who guarded the landowner were martial masters trained in the Gangho arts.
Slash…slash…
Ahhhhh…!
Arrrgh…!
Under the blades and sabres wielded by the martial masters, the tenant farmers’ limbs were severed and their chests split open.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————