Moorim Pochang - Chapter 73

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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 73. The Form of a Goddess.

It was no contest.
The surviving tenant farmers had no choice but to retreat, tears streaming down their faces.
The uprisings were not isolated to one or two places.
The landowners were ruthless.
They unleashed the martial artists they’d kept as guest-house retainers, driving them out to hunt down the rebels.
Moreover, they sent messengers to other landowners, pooling their strength.
As affairs unfolded, innocent lives withered away in vain.
Corpses littered the streets, and the wails of children never ceased.
Unable to bear it any longer, the region’s chivalrous martial artists took action.
With swords drawn, they cut through the landowners’ retainers without hesitation.
“How can those born human be so cruel…………?”
It was not the chivalrous martial artists alone who rose up.
Taking the opportunity, bandits began mimicking the martial artists, plundering the landowners’ estates.
Those chivalrous martial artists who had drawn their swords for righteousness and honor soon found themselves indistinguishable from bandits.
Both the chivalrous martial artists and the bandits carried sword and saber, making it impossible to tell them apart.
Once the bandits joined in, the authorities moved.
As soldiers mobilized in great numbers, both bandits and chivalrous martial artists were forced to retreat.
Unlike those moving in disorganized chaos, the soldiers formed an encirclement, picking them off one by one.
Whoooosh……
Wind swirled through the air, and Yeohwa appeared at the estate.
The stench of decay hung heavy over the manor, born of corpses.
There were bodies of bandits, bodies of martial artists, and bodies of women and children.
“Search the estate…………!”
As she moved forward with a grimace, the soldiers’ voices reached her ears, and she departed from that place.
Whoooosh…………

*

“What do you suggest we do now?”
At the middle-aged man’s question, another middle-aged man let out a sigh.
Sigh……
“I don’t know myself. How did things ever come to this?”
He looked around at the martial artists following them.
Most of the forty or so martial artists were bandits.
In fighting the landowners’ retainers, they had somehow become allies.
The middle-aged men were masters known by the aliases Eun Seom-geom and Gwang Do-gaek respectively.
Yet now they had been reduced to bandit leaders.
Heh……
“So you were here?”
As they continued their laments, a voice echoed through empty air.
Whoooosh……
At the same moment, wind stirred and Yeohwa emerged into view.
Eun Seom-geom and Gwang Do-gaek quickly drew their weapons.
Clang…………!
“Quite swift, aren’t you?”
Her eyes flashed with interest as she turned her gaze to the bandits.
“I see a few among them worth using, at least.”
The bandits merely gripped their weapons at her arrival.
“Who are you?”
Eun Seom-geom raised his sword and asked coldly.
In that instant, Yeohwa’s body technique scattered.
Whoosh…
She was now standing behind Eun Seom-geom and Gwang Do-gaek.
“Will you not follow me?”
Gasp…..
Eun Seom-geom and Gwang Do-gaek spun around in shock, pivoting their bodies.
Had the tattooed woman decided to move, they would already be cold corpses.
“What do you want from us?”
“I drew my blade for righteousness and honor—to die like this, without a fight, feels unbearable, doesn’t it? I will give you strength.”
“How… how would you grant us strength?”
Ho-ho-ho………!
Yeohwa laughed wildly, her whole frame shaking.
“I could show you here and now, but the place isn’t suitable. Let’s move somewhere else.”
As she began to walk, others bearing tattoos across their faces emerged from the shadows.
They followed her like obedient servants.
Eun Seom-geom and Gwang Do-gaek, who had been staring at each other moments before, hurried after them.

*
Yeohwa etched black tattoos onto the naked body of a Gangho master lying before her.
The tattoos were meaningless to the eye—characters unlike any ever seen.
Tsk..
‘The tattoo marks take best in the blood channels.’
The black tattoo was not a character at all, but the form of a divine entity composed of one hundred and eight parts.
And that form inscribed most cleanly through the blood channels.
The power granted varied depending on the tattoo marks carved into the body.
Thus masters with superior martial power had to invest utmost care, while those weaker carved theirs carelessly.
Yet even careless work granted Immortality itself, and a strength beyond measure.
When Yeohwa withdrew her thick, sharp needle, the tattooed man accepted both needle and jade bottle from her.
“Rise.”
At her command, the Gangho master slowly pushed himself upright.
Nngh…..
A thin whimper escaped him—then suddenly he let out a primal scream.
Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh……………!
He could not contain the immense power surging through him.
Still crying out, he clenched his fists several times before prostrating himself before Yeohwa and bowing his head.
“I will offer my life in service.”
Yeohwa’s smile turned satisfied.
Ho-ho-ho……
She turned her gaze toward Eun Seom-geom and Gwang Do-gaek.
“Do you not crave Immortality and Absolute Power?”
Immortality and Absolute Power.
If such abilities could be gained merely by etching tattoos across one’s whole body, they would submit a hundred times, a thousand times over.
“You there—step forward.”
Yeohwa selected and summoned about twenty Gangho masters.
As they approached, the tattooed man standing behind stepped forward with a different jade bottle.
“Kneel and open your mouths.”
The twenty Gangho masters knelt in unison and opened their mouths.
The tattooed man let a squirming black liquid drip into each of their mouths.
These men were not worthy of receiving tattoo marks.
But they would fear no death and fight with every ounce of strength.

*

The Seongma-dan’s skilled personnel raised their voices at Stone Bridge.
“We challenge Yang Jung to a Life-Death Duel!”
Sigh………
The moment Kang Jo heard those words, a sigh escaped his lips unbidden.
That cursed fool had not shown his face since yesterday.
“If only he’d come back, I’d beat him to death.”
In the end, Kang Jo had no choice but to go to Stone Bridge in Yang Jung’s place.
“I greet you as representative. It is Kang Jo.”
The Seongma-dan’s skilled personnel bowed respectfully, but their faces burned with shame and their words came haltingly.
“…Forgive us. He has fled.”
The Seongma-dan’s skilled personnel stared at Kang Jo with stupefied expressions.
No, that Yang Jung character—does he have no pride as a martial artist whatsoever?
“Surely… you’re not lying… I misspoke, so pay it no mind.”
Those who had been watching him with suspicion immediately bowed.
Kang Jo had consented to the Life-Death Duel without the slightest hesitation.
Yet there was no reason he would suddenly hide Yang Jung and refuse the duel.
“Never mind. I’m exasperated myself.”
At Kang Jo’s reply, the skilled personnel of Seongma-dan could be certain.
Yang Jung was not at this Guest Inn.
Absurdly, he had fled to avoid the Life-Death Duel.
They turned to leave, disappointment hanging heavy in their hearts.
“He’ll certainly return within a few days, so come back then.”
“Thank you, Master Kang.”
After sending Seongma-dan away, Kang Jo returned to the Guest Inn.
Thwack…! Thwack…!
He was pounding dough on a cutting board to prepare lunch when suddenly he felt a peculiar presence.
‘Doesn’t seem like an assassin… or does it?… No, that’s not it.’
Kang Jo reached out and seized his sword.
Then he hastily left the kitchen.
The moment he entered the estate, the presence grew even more concealed.
Ha ha…
Finding the whole thing so absurd, laughter escaped his lips unbidden.
To hide one’s presence merely by mimicry to this degree—remarkable.
This man was certainly talent among talents.
If such a man properly cultivated his martial art, he would swiftly become a master.
Yet he was expending his efforts on such useless pursuits.
As Kang Jo moved through the estate, his Body Technique grew faint.
Whoosh…
At that moment, the presence flinched.

*

Kang Jo’s figure vanished before his eyes.
Yang Jung, startled, quickly scanned his surroundings.
But Kang Jo was nowhere to be seen.
‘He must be searching for me.’
While Yang Jung was thinking this, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
“Found you.”
Startled, Yang Jung quickly moved his body, unleashing his technique.
Whoosh…!
He shot forward like a loosed arrow.
Oof…!
But Kang Jo had already seized the collar of his robe.
Thud…!
Yang Jung’s body skidded across the floor with the same momentum that had propelled him forward.
“Ugh… brother. Please… just once more…”
It seemed he’d heard that “just once more” at least dozens of times already.
“Want to be beaten to dust? Or would you rather face the Life-Death Duel starting tomorrow?”
Kang Jo asked quietly, a faint killing intent radiating from him.
At this, Yang Jung answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“I’d rather be beaten to dust, brother.”
“Good. You thought that through well, you bastard.”
Whack…! Whack…!
Setting down his sword, Kang Jo began raining blows with his fists mercilessly.
“Ow! Ow…! Brother…! Please stop hitting me!”
Yang Jung grabbed at Kang Jo’s pant leg and held on.
“Want more? Or ready for the Life-Death Duel tomorrow?”
“I… I want more, brother.”
Whack…! Whack…! Whack…!
“Brother…! Your younger brother’s dying! Brother…!”

*

“Sam-ryong ran away, did he?”
Baek Won-yeong arrived late in the evening, leading a Water Horse by its reins.
“Yes. But he came back today.”
At Kang Jo’s words, Won-yeong glanced around the Guest Inn.
Sure enough, Yang Jung sat before the dining table, his face a sickly shade of blue.
Ha ha ha…………..!
The moment Baek Won-yeong saw him, laughter burst forth.
It was plain that Kang Jo had beaten him until dust rose from his clothes.
“What’s so funny about it, brother?”
Yang Jung, his mouth hanging open a good hand’s width, dragged himself to his feet.
“You all right?”
“Yes. It hurts, but I’ll be fine in a few days. Oh…….you’re back, you wretch.”
The moment he set eyes on the Water Horse, his expression brightened at once.
Baek Won-yeong opened his mouth with an embarrassed look.
“The stable hands insisted I return him at once, so I had no choice but to bring him.”
“You did well, brother. Come on, you beast.”
Yang Jung led the horse toward the stable.
Now, from tomorrow onward, he could ride the creature whenever he went to the village.
Once Yang Jung had vanished, Baek Won-yeong took a seat.
“Has anything stirred at the Murim Alliance?”
At Kang Jo’s question, Baek Won-yeong laughed.
Ha ha ha……….
“The stable hands were calling that wretch a Saekya-cha.”
A Saekya-cha?
What kind of fuss must he have caused at the Murim Alliance to earn such a nickname?
His laughter fading, he continued.
“Among prized horses, the very finest. My father said himself it’s a horse rarely seen in the world.”
“A prized horse? That beast is just like Sam-ryong.”
Ha ha…
Baek Won-yeong could not deny Kang Jo’s words.
Yet the claim about a prized horse was true as well.
“In any case, what do you mean to do from tomorrow onward?”
“I’ve given up on the Life-Death Duel. Brother, would you return this short dagger to Dok-go Eun?”
Kang Jo retrieved the short dagger from where it had been left in the corner and showed it to him.
He had beaten Sam-ryong without restraint, yet failed to break the boy’s stubbornness.
Since he couldn’t kill him either, in the end Kang Jo had surrendered first.
Baek Won-yeong even waved his hand.
“I’d like to oblige, but I can’t simply thrust myself into this. I might yet become a suitor, after all.”
“Then I’ll deliver it myself.”
At this, Kang Jo threw the short dagger back into the corner of the kitchen.
“I’ve prepared braised pork. Do eat before you go.”
“Good.”
As the two men were conversing, a visitor stepped into the Stone Bridge.
Kang Jo quickly went outside to greet the guest.
“Welcome, Dok-go Eun.”
“I hear he ran away with the dagger?”
Dok-go Eun offered the same greeting as Baek Won-yeong instead of a proper salutation.
“He’s back.”
“Is that so? Then the Life-Death Duel can proceed from tomorrow?”
Kang Jo shook his head.
“I have the dagger.”
A faint smile appeared at the corners of Dok-go Eun’s lips, which had been so cold before.
“What becomes of this evening, then?”
The instant she posed the question, Yang Jung, who had gone to the stable, reappeared.
“Brother. I think that beast needs tending to. His legs are trembling………..”

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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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