Moorim Pochang - Chapter 93
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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 93. Return.
In all his years as a physician, the Old Doctor had never handled Shen Shen and He Shou Wu of such thickness and magnitude.
The He Shou Wu was thicker than his forearm, and the Shen Shen thicker than his wrist.
‘Are these really Shen Shen and He Shou Wu?’
He doubted his own eyes.
Once, he had worked with Shen Shen and He Shou Wu said to be over five hundred years old.
Yet those had been far more slender than these.
The Old Doctor fished out a smaller He Shou Wu from the pouch, along with a small gourd bottle.
‘This one looks to be about five hundred years old.’
As he examined the He Shou Wu, he shook the small gourd bottle.
Slosh… slosh…
‘What is this? Wine?’
The gourd bottle was too small for wine.
It didn’t seem like it would yield even two cupfuls.
In any case, what mattered now was saving the patient lying in the room.
‘I’ll need to extract the juice and have them drink it.’
The Old Doctor entered the kitchen.
The kitchen was in disarray, but he managed to find a knife and a cutting board.
He cut off a section of the He Shou Wu and placed it on the board.
Tap-tap-tap-tap………..!
Then he began slicing it into fine julienne.
Once he wrapped this in clean cloth and twisted it, the juice would come out.
*
Baek Won-yeong, Yeon Ja-seol, Dok-go Il, and Dok-go Eun scattered in all directions to search for Kang Jo.
Yet after more than four time units had passed, they found not a trace.
‘Should we turn back?’
Dok-go Eun hesitated briefly, then moved her Body Technique again.
They had promised to search for about three time units before returning, but they had already exceeded that by one, so the promise was effectively broken.
As she moved swiftly, she suddenly stopped her Lightweight Skill and looked ahead.
A blood-red figure was rushing toward her down the middle of the road.
From head to foot, the figure was drenched in blood-red.
“You………..?”
His face was caked with dried blood, making him hard to recognize at first.
But from his presence alone, she quickly understood that the approaching figure was Kang Jo.
“Miss Dok-go.”
The moment she heard his voice, her heart flooded with relief.
“What happened to Sam-ryong?”
At Kang Jo’s question, Dok-go Eun burst out.
“You’re worried about Sam-ryong now?”
There was scarcely a single unblemished spot on his entire body.
Blood caked his neck, with raw flesh visible where his shoulders, chest, ribs, and thighs had split open.
It was a wonder he could move at all in such a state.
“What happened to Sam-ryong?”
Kang Jo asked again.
He had survived, but he still didn’t know if Sam-ryong lived.
“He’s not dead.”
Sigh…….
At her words, Kang Jo exhaled in relief.
“Let’s hurry back.”
As Kang Jo tried to move forward, Dok-go Eun quickly blocked his path and turned her back to him.
“Let me carry you.”
“I can still move. Besides, my chest is split like this—if you carry me on your back, the wounds will only tear further.”
“Is this the time for jokes?”
“It’s not a joke.”
Kang Jo quickly stepped aside to avoid her.
Part of him wanted to unfold his Lightweight Skill and move faster.
But if he did, his wounds would split open completely and he’d bleed out.
Dok-go Eun seemed to give up pursuing and fell into step beside him.
“Were you chasing after that man Hyeol Je?”
“How did you know?”
“There’s a huge hole in the wall of the Guest Inn. He even took shots at you more than once.”
“I missed him.”
Dok-go Eun offered a smile.
“Next time I’ll kill him.”
“Even next time, it won’t be easy.”
She was rather taken aback.
She had never imagined such words coming from Kang Jo’s mouth.
“Was he that strong?”
The sheer power of Hyeol Je was evident enough from the arrows alone that he’d unleashed.
But she hadn’t clashed with him directly.
Kang Jo nodded.
“Indeed. If you ever face that man, retreat without hesitation.”
He was truly a formidable opponent.
Even if she threw all her strength at him, the chances of victory were slim.
“Still, he did run away, didn’t he? You chased after him.”
“I’m curious myself why he fled.”
*
“Your father and all the elders—they’re dead.”
Hyeol Je announced the deaths of Moyong Jak and the elders in an emotionless tone.
It wasn’t only the family head and elders who had perished.
Dozens of subordinates marked with the Tattooing Art had also lost their lives at the Guest Inn.
Moyong Se fell silent for a moment, visibly shaken.
But unlike Won-yeong, he shed no tears.
“Who……..killed them?”
“A man at the inn. One with an excessively handsome face launched a surprise attack, and another got his neck severed.”
At Hyeol Je’s words, Moyong Se recalled what had happened before.
Yes. There had been two handsome men at that inn.
One of them was extraordinarily strong, and the other was so beautiful he could be called the most handsome under heaven.
And that man had cursed at him without any fear.
“I thought highly of your father and the elders, but I’m deeply disappointed.”
Moyong Se bowed his head low.
“I apologize, Master.”
“I suppose I’ll have to kill him myself now.”
Hyeol Je spoke words he didn’t truly mean.
He wanted to kill the owner of that inn, but couldn’t.
Strangely, whenever he saw that man’s face, his throat ached and his body trembled.
What kind of curse was this—why would his body shake and his throat burn at the sight of a man reeking of killing intent?
“You must not do this, Master. I will capture them with my own hands and skin them myself.”
Kee-kee-kee…………
At Moyong Se’s answer, Hyeol Je let out a satisfied laugh.
“If you kill that man, I will teach you the Tattooing Art. Then you’ll be able to command tens of thousands of subordinates directly.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Hyeol Je turned his body and headed toward his quarters.
The moment he sat down in his room, he touched his throat.
‘I’ll have to summon Gu Ya. That woman can kill him.’
Moyong Se would undoubtedly become as strong as that man someday.
But he couldn’t wait that long.
He had to kill that man as soon as possible—only then would this wretched agony fade.
*
Cough…………
Yang Jung’s eyes opened with a faint groan.
“Are you awake?”
The Old Doctor, who had been watching over him quietly, asked.
Yang Jung turned his gaze around the room.
It looked like his own chamber, but there were holes scattered throughout the walls.
“Where… am I?”
“You don’t even recognize your own room?”
Ah…
Only then did Yang Jung seem to recover his full senses, letting out a deep sigh.
As he tried to sit up, the Old Doctor pressed down on his shoulder.
“You’re badly hurt. You won’t be able to move for some time.”
“What of him… what has become of him?”
“The young ones have gone to search. They’ll return soon.”
The Old Doctor spoke the lie with casual ease.
Baek Won-yeong, Yeon Ja-seol, and Dok-go Il had returned empty-handed.
The only young person who had not yet returned was Dok-go Eun.
“Fortunately, there was a precious Spirit Herb in this house, which saved your life.”
Even as death had hovered near, Yang Jung had remembered the Spirit Herb and Gong Qing Shi Oil he had brought.
‘How did this doctor know about those?’
In his haste, he had simply thrown the sack containing the Spirit Herb and Gong Qing Shi Oil under the table.
Yet how could this old doctor have known of it?
His eyes widened in surprise, and the Old Doctor smiled.
Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle…
“Don’t worry. The Spirit Herb is safely stored in the corner of the room.”
His smile faded as his eyes filled with curiosity, and he posed a question.
“But… I understand the other items are He Shou Wu and Shen Shen, but what is the small gourd bottle?”
Yang Jung quickly spun a lie.
“Liquor… it is liquor.”
Hmm…
“Is that so? Then I may drink it, yes? Since I have saved your life, surely you won’t begrudge this old man a sip of your spirits?”
The old ginger root was indeed sharp.
In the end, Yang Jung had no choice but to confess the truth.
“It is… Gong Qing Shi Oil. Please keep it a secret from others.”
The Old Doctor’s face went rigid in an instant.
Shen Shen and He Shou Wu that appeared to be over a thousand years old, together with Gong Qing Shi Oil?
In particular, the Gong Qing Shi Oil was something he had never even laid eyes upon despite his vast experience.
It was so rare that there was a saying—a single drop of Gong Qing Shi Oil could turn one into an Immortal.
He Shou Wu and Shen Shen were treasures beyond price in this world, but Gong Qing Shi Oil was a treasure of treasures that should not exist at all.
Clear throat…
Now the Old Doctor could see everything clearly.
He had heard rumors that the Jamryong-hoe and Seong Ma Dan had greatly increased their Inner Power through the Ma-gyo Patriarch’s liquor.
But now he saw it was not the Ma-gyo Patriarch’s doing—it was thanks to this Guest Inn.
‘They will become Immortals, these wretches.’
No matter how righteous and virtuous a person might be, none were without desire.
Even he himself, with so few days left to live, harbored desire.
Had he been the one to possess such precious things, could he have freely given them to others?
Perhaps he would have spent days in agonizing deliberation.
“Rest now.”
*
Baek Won-yeong, Dok-go Il, Yeon Ja-seol, and Baek Ha-yeong cleared away the rubble of the destroyed Guest Inn.
They set aside anything of value and moved the useless debris to one corner.
The useless pieces would go into the furnace.
Most of the other skilled personnel and martial artists had returned to the Murim Alliance, but these four remained.
Even as her hands worked, Baek Ha-yeong kept glancing toward the room where Yang Jung lay.
“The doctor said he would be fine, so don’t worry too much.”
Baek Won-yeong was concerned about Yang Jung, but he did not show it.
He was far more worried about Kang Jo.
“Do you truly think so? Brother?”
He nodded at Baek Ha-yeong’s concern.
“Yes. I have some skill at reading faces, and Sam-ryong has the countenance of someone who will live a very long life.”
Face-reading, of all things.
Baek Won-yeong had never learned divination or physiognomy, nor did he believe in them.
But with his sister fretting like that, he had no choice but to fabricate reassurances.
“Meals have arrived.”
When warriors from the Murim Alliance brought rice, the three of them stopped what they were doing.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
As they laid out the meal on the ground, the Old Doctor appeared.
“How is Yang doing, Doctor? Is he well?”
The moment he emerged, Baek Ha-yeong hurried to ask.
“His eyes have opened, so he should be fine. He’s asleep again now, so don’t go in.”
“Ah…thank goodness. Thank goodness indeed.”
At the Old Doctor’s words, Baek Ha-yeong collapsed where she stood.
“I don’t know what’s become of Kang, and I still don’t understand why my sister hasn’t returned.”
Dok-go Il’s expression was heavier than it had ever been.
Kang Jo was worried too, but he was equally anxious about his sister.
“Since we’ve found some trace of them, it’s best to assume they’re simply delayed.”
“If only that were so.”
At that very moment, Shin Pung-gae was making his way back to the Murim Alliance.
Walking with dragging, weary steps, he halted his Body Technique and turned toward the Guest Inn.
“Huh? Wait—why is the Guest Inn in that state?”
Startled, he hurried across the Stone Bridge.
“We greet the Master.”
“We greet the Master.”
All the skilled personnel rose and offered their respects.
Shin Pung-gae barely acknowledged their bows, his gaze fixed solely on the ruined Guest Inn.
“Who in blazes turned the Guest Inn into this wreckage?”
His voice rose with fury.
“It was the Moyong Clan, Master.”
Baek Won-yeong answered with a grim expression.
“What? The Moyong Clan? They wouldn’t commit such an act unless they’d lost their minds. What possessed them?”
“The Moyong Clan…they’ve sided with the Hyeol-gyo.”
Shin Pung-gae was so stunned he couldn’t close his mouth.
The Moyong Clan—a household of heroes—turning to the Hyeol-gyo?
It was utterly unbelievable.
His face began to twist slowly.
“What’s become of the brothers at the Guest Inn?”
“Kang’s whereabouts are unknown, and Yang is badly injured—he’s resting in a room now.”
Hearing Yeon Ja-seol’s answer, he moved hastily toward the room.
The Old Doctor stepped in to block his way.
“He just fell asleep. Even if you’re worried, don’t go in.”
Grind, grind.
Shin Pung-gae clenched his teeth.
The Moyong Clan had tried to kill the heir of the Gae Bang.
It was utterly unforgivable.
“The Moyong Clan dares to…mock the Gae Bang?”
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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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