Moorim Pochang - Chapter 84

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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 84. A Death Without Shame.

Hack… haack…
Eon Ju-gwang’s mouth released nothing but ragged, labored breathing.
His entire trembling frame was stained with the blood he had shed.
Entering the town, Eon Ju-gwang raised his voice and cried out.
“I am Eon Ju-gwang of the Eon Family in Jinju…! Help me at once…!”
The people in the street merely stepped aside.
Who would help a man drenched in blood from head to toe, gripping a sword in one hand?
“Are you not hearing me…?”
A chilling killing intent emanated from Eon Ju-gwang’s entire body.
The Eon Family of Jinju.
A name like that should have summoned people, even strangers, to his aid.
Yet these people rushed only to flee.
“What is your name?”
That voice came again from behind him.
He understood far too late.
The man was savoring his death.
Keke keke…
Eon Ju-gwang laughed.
As the Family Head of the Eon Family, he could not kneel before an enemy and beg for his life.
Slowly, he turned his body and raised his sword.
He would not flee anymore.
“Come then. As the Family Head of the Eon Family, I shall meet death with dignity.”

*

Hahaha…
Kang Jo laughed.
What arrogance—launching a night assault and yet speaking with such confidence.
But he had to acknowledge the pride of a man who refused to kneel even at the end.
“Have you any final words to leave behind?”
At Kang Jo’s question, Eon Ju-gwang raised his voice.
“The Eon Family will stand and fight until the very last soul falls…!”
The moment his words ended, Kang Jo moved.
Whiiiish…
In the instant a whirlwind rose, the Black Sword was already cleaving through Eon Ju-gwang’s chest.
Eon Ju-gwang raised his blade diagonally to parry.
Clang…!
The swords collided, and the force of impact rippled outward in all directions.
Unable to withstand the shock, his blade and body shook.
Scritch…
In that same instant, a line was drawn across Eon Ju-gwang’s neck.
Blood spurted from the wound as his head rose into the air.
Thud… thump.
His head rolled across the ground first, followed by his lifeless body crashing down.
Kang Jo sheathed his sword, bent down, and pulled the weapon from Eon Ju-gwang’s hand.
‘Should I go to the Eon Family?’
His instinct was to rush there at once and finish them all.
But what nagged at his mind was Sam-ryong, waiting at the Guest Inn.
If not for Hyeol-gyo, he would have no concerns—yet he could never know when another of their masters might arrive.
Sam-ryong and the inn were obstacles.
Without them, he could have killed freely.
‘They’re not entirely distasteful, though.’
Kang Jo shifted his body using his Body Technique.
Whiiiish…
In that moment, wind stirred and Kang Jo vanished from the street.
The moment Kang Jo vanished, people surged forward.
Among those who came rushing over, someone was rifling through Eon Ju-gwang’s clothes.
It was Geol-gae of the Gae-bang rummaging through them.
“Stand back…!”
As the magistrate’s officers arrived in force, the spectators scrambled to clear a path.
The magistrate looked down at the corpse and frowned deeply.
Fights among Gangho people happened often enough in this town.
But beheading someone in the middle of the street—this was a first.
“Honestly, everyone who lives in Gangho is a shameless brute. Collect the body.”
He turned to the onlookers after giving the order.
“Does anyone know the identity of this man?”
The spectators answered in unison.
“They say he was Eon Ju-gwang of the Eon Family.”
The magistrate started in shock.
The Eon Family—even he knew of them as one of the more famous families in Gangho.
“You say he truly was Eon Ju-gwang of the Eon Family?”
“Yes, sir. We heard those very words shouted clearly with our own ears.”
The magistrate’s face drained of color.
‘Eon Ju-gwang is the Family Head’s name, is it not? This is grave trouble indeed. A storm of blood will sweep through Gangho.’

*

The family members of the Eon Family stood facing Cheol-goe.
“How dare you come seeking this place?”
The chamberlain who had drawn his sword moved to issue orders to the family members at once.
“Is this not the Eon So-ryong family?”
At Cheol-goe’s words, the chamberlain flinched and asked in surprise.
“What has become of So-ryong?”
“He is well, cultivating his Martial Art without worry—you need not be concerned.”
The chamberlain could not believe his words.
Why in the world would So-ryong be cultivating his Martial Art at Hyeol-gyo?
Surely he was being held captive and tortured.
“Do not lie to me, you wretch…!”
“Once one gains the strength to contend for Gangho, ambition naturally follows. Are you the Family Head?”
Cheol-goe asked for the other man’s identity.
The chamberlain then revealed a terrible killing intent.
“The Family Head is away on business for a time. I am the chamberlain of this family.”
Yet even that terrible killing intent felt like a spring breeze to Cheol-goe.
‘That is the level of killing intent such a man should possess.’
The most spine-chilling killing intent in the world was the kind that radiated from the owner of the Guest Inn.
“Eon So-ryong walks with me now. Why not have your family walk with me as well?”
“Spare your nonsense…!”
The enraged chamberlain immediately unleashed his blade.
Crossing the distance of some ten paces in an instant, he went for Cheol-goe’s throat.
Crack!
But Cheol-goe merely flicked his spear slightly and deflected the sword.
Unable to withstand the impact, the chamberlain was driven backward in a shower of sparks.
Cheol-goe spoke without emotion.
“Since you are not my enemy, I spare your life. Return in ten days, and choose wisely.”
Whissshhh…
As he finished speaking, his body technique scattered into the wind like mist.
The chamberlain watched the empty air with trembling eyes.
He had been overwhelmingly strong.
Had he harbored even a hint of cruelty, the Eon Family would not have escaped Clan Destruction Calamity.
Yet he had left quietly.
‘The Family Head must return soon.’

*

“A young man beheaded Eon Ju-gwang in the middle of the street, you say?”
“Yes, sir. Without doubt. I’ve even recovered Eon Ju-gwang’s pouch.”
Geol-gae presented the pouch to Shin Pung-gae with both hands.
Inside the pouch lay bank notes alongside silver coins.
Shin Pung-gae’s vision blurred.
The Eon Family would have to join forces with the Murim Alliance to stand against Hyeol-gyo.
And if he could only win Kang Jo’s heart, it would become an enormous asset.
But now that Kang Jo had severed Eon Ju-gwang’s head, everything had come to ruin.
The Eon Family would exhaust themselves trying to kill him, and he would never leave the Eon Family alive.
No—perhaps the Eon Family was already suffering the Clan Destruction Calamity.
“Where did that bastard go?”
At Shin Pung-gae’s question, Geol-gae waved his hand at the empty air.
“His Lightness Skill was so fast it seemed to scatter into the void itself.”
Shin Pung-gae leapt to his feet and hurled his body toward the Eon Family compound.
Whissshhhhh………….
In his urgency, he’d even forgotten the pouch.
The moment he left, Geol-gae’s men swarmed forward.
“What should we eat? Boss.”
Geol-gae held up the pouch with a wicked grin.
“Dog meat is always the finest delicacy.”

*

Having scaled the courtyard wall, Kang Jo surveyed the ruins of the burnt pavilions.
What remained of the estate now were only the Guest Inn and the stables, along with one small pavilion that had nearly collapsed.
“Brother…….”
Yang Jung approached with his head hanging low.
It was the Eon Family members who had set the fires, yet he felt shame nonetheless.
Kang Jo smiled faintly.
“It’s all right. We can rebuild. Starting fresh might even turn out cleaner and better.”
“Surely you know better than anyone how hard I worked to restore those pavilions?”
They had been built through sweat and blood.
And those bastards had burned them to ash without hesitation.
“I know. Without you, I would have struggled enormously. Still, let’s begin again.”
Kang Jo’s words of comfort seemed to ease Yang Jung’s heart a little.
“But who will build the new pavilion? Brother.”
Kang Jo answered not with words but by fixing his gaze upon Yang Jung’s face.
Haha…………
“You don’t mean I have to rebuild it from the ground up, do you? Brother.”
Yang Jung laughed deliberately at the very thought.
“What happened to the Secret Manual you hid away?”
“Eh? How did you know that? Brother.”
His surprise was natural enough.
Baek Won-yeong had secretly given him an Assassin’s Secret Manual, and he had hidden it in that old, neglected pavilion where brother showed no interest.
He’d checked the hiding place morning and evening, fearing it might be discovered.
Kang Jo looked at him with an expression of exasperation.
“You kept going in and out of that old pavilion constantly. How could I not notice?”
At first, he hadn’t known.
But after seeing Yang Jung emerge from that old pavilion several times, he’d realized something was hidden there.
Yang Jung’s face fell.
“I’d only decoded half of it before it burned away with the pavilion, Brother.”
“I’ll complete the decoding for you. You take charge of rebuilding the pavilion.”
The distress on Yang Jung’s face shifted in an instant.
“Have you already finished decoding that entire Secret Manual, Brother?”
He hadn’t finished decoding it entirely.
But he understood the essential framework well enough; it would be a matter of filling in the details.
“There’s no need to rush. Build it slowly and make it sturdy.”
“Understood, Brother.”
“Let’s go eat first.”

*

It was a blessing beyond measure that the Eon Family had not fallen to clan destruction.
Perhaps heaven itself had watched over them.
Shin Pung-gae met the overseer’s gaze with a look that cut like ice.
“Why did you attempt to wipe out the Guest Inn?”
“You’ve come suddenly, and I confess I don’t understand your meaning, sir.”
The overseer dropped all pretense.
“How could a great house of Gangho attempt blood vengeance over such a trivial matter?”
Shin Pung-gae’s face twisted with rage.
His fury ran so deep that even the Dragon Head Staff trembled in his grip.
Only then did the overseer reveal his true thoughts.
“When a family’s honor crumbles, its members lose their pride.”
“You would restore that honor with such foolish schemes? Utterly senseless. Utterly senseless.”
The overseer bowed his head beneath Shin Pung-gae’s condemnation.
“Please understand the family’s circumstances, sir. Such matters are hardly uncommon in the Martial Realm, are they?”
At his words, a terrible light blazed in Shin Pung-gae’s eyes.
“Yet you speak this way even though the family head and all the members are dead?”
“What are you saying…?”
As the overseer began to ask, a commotion erupted from the Eon Family’s estate grounds.
“Overseer…! Overseer…! The family members who went to the Murim Alliance have returned!”
Sensing something amiss, the overseer rose quickly and rushed outside.
The returning members were in a wretched state.
Their martial robes hung torn and tattered, caked with dried blood.
“Where is the family head?”
The members collapsed and wept.
“We don’t know. We attacked the Guest Inn under cover of night, but their martial prowess was far too great. We were forced to retreat. Many of us fell or scattered in the chaos, and the family head… we don’t know what became of him.”
The overseer shut his eyes tight.
Then Shin Pung-gae stepped outside and spoke.
“The family head has already lost his life to that man. He recklessly attacked without understanding his opponent—a fitting end. That man may well come here next. If you wish to preserve your family, run to the Guest Inn, kneel, and beg his forgiveness. And forget all thoughts of vengeance.”
With those words, he left the estate.
The choice belonged to them, and as the master of the Gae-bang, this was all he could do.

*

Kang Jo opened his eyes from sleep and gazed up at the wooden beam above.
“You’re going to keep doing that up there?”
Yang Jung’s voice came from the beam.
“I’m training my Hidden Technique.”
“You could practice the Hidden Technique somewhere else besides perched on a beam.”
“Knowing something and mastering it with your body are different things, brother.”
Now that he thought about it, Yang Jung had a point.
Martial arts were the same—knowledge and bodily mastery were two different things.
“Can’t you train somewhere else?”
“This is the only building left standing.”
Kang Jo closed his eyes again.
“I’m going back to sleep, so do whatever you want up there.”
“Sleep well, brother.”
How long had he slept before something crashed onto the floor below, followed by a yelp of pain?
Thud! Ow…!
Opening his eyes, Kang Jo looked down at Yang Jung floundering on the floor.
It seemed he’d fallen from the beam while sleeping.
“Take it easy, would you? You’re about to make me angry.”
Heh heh…
“I apologize, brother.”
Whoosh…
With an awkward laugh, Yang Jung propelled himself back up to the beam.

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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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