Moorim Pochang - Chapter 94

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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 94. The Second Sortie (1).

As they entered the village, people recoiled in alarm, parting to let them pass.
Kang Jo, caked in dark blood from head to toe, scarcely resembled a man at all.
Even his face was crusted with dried blood, rendered unrecognizable as human.
And with that crimson sword gripped in his hand, fear was unavoidable.
A long breath escaped him.
Kang Jo paused to steady his breathing, then resumed his stride.
“Wouldn’t it be better to rest if you’re exhausted?”
Dok-go Eun watched him with concern.
He was a man the world would never see again—so relentless in his suffering.
Blood seeped from every inch of his body, yet he never once broke his pace.
He went without food, simply walking, one step after another.
She continued speaking to him, hoping to ease his pain somehow.
“When was the hardest time of your life?”
She expected him to say now.
But a different answer came from Kang Jo’s lips.
“I think it was when my home burned and my parents passed away.”
“Then… what was the second hardest time?”
“When I was captured and held by bandits.”
Kang Jo answered flatly.
It was the distant past.
Yet that memory remained vivid, as though it had happened yesterday.
“And the third?”
“Beyond those, I can’t say I’ve suffered greatly.”
Even training in martial arts under my master was bitterly painful.
But compared to those two memories, that was something I could endure.
“What sort of man was your master?”
“Stern yet whimsical, whimsical yet warm.”
“What made him so whimsical?”
“He was obsessed with things that were good for the body. He was particular about food. My master could cook, though I realize now he wasn’t particularly skilled at it. Still, he saved me and taught me—he was like a second father to me.”
A forest came into view in the distance.
Dok-go Eun continued her questions.
“What sort of woman do you like?”
“A beautiful woman with an open heart—one with generosity of spirit, I suppose.”
A soft, seductive laugh escaped her.
She laughed with a charm that seemed to shimmer in the air.
“That’s exactly me.”
“I don’t think Dok-go Eun quite fits that description.”
“You’ll change your mind about that soon enough.”
“I doubt it.”
Dok-go Eun’s mood began to sour.
But she did not let it show.
“Have you ever loved a woman?”
“I lived alone with my master in the mountains—how could there have been a woman?”
Kang Jo posed the question as a counter, yet it was not entirely true that there had been no woman.
When he occasionally came down to the village, there was a woman his eyes sought out.
But once he had returned with Sam-ryong, he never saw that woman again.
He did not ask, nor did he wonder.
She had likely married someone and gone away.
As they drew near the forest, Baek Won-yeong, Dok-go Il, and Yeon Ja-seol rushed out to meet them.
Laughter burst from Baek Won-yeong first.
He laughed aloud at the sight of them.
Yeon Ja-seol smiled as well, while Dok-go Il greeted them with quiet composure.
“Thank the heavens you’re safe.”

*

“Stubborn bastard. How did you manage to walk here in that condition?”
The Old Physician examined Kang Jo’s body and shook his head in disbelief.
For a man whose body should have been immobilized, the fact that he’d walked this far was utterly astounding.
Sob… sob…
Yang Jung, lying on the mat beside him, wept.
“You’re safe… thank heavens you’re safe…”
As Yang Jung wept, the Old Physician reached into his bag and drew out some Fo-ti.
“I’ll give you something good. Wait a moment.”
The Old Physician unsheathed a short blade and sliced the Fo-ti into thin pieces.
Kang Jo, watching this, glanced back at Yang Jung.
Yang Jung’s tears stopped mid-flow, and he quickly turned his gaze elsewhere.
“Sam-ryong needs to recover soon…”
“I can’t even stand right now. I fear I’ll have to lie here for quite some time…”
“Stop your whimpering and eat this.”
The Old Physician placed a thin slice of Fo-ti into Kang Jo’s mouth.
Munch… munch…
Kang Jo chewed and swallowed.
“Now I’ll begin the treatment. Bear the pain, you wretch. Though knowing you, you wouldn’t cry out even if I scraped your bones bare.”
The physician stepped outside, then returned with a large bowl of steaming water and entered the room.
He stripped away Kang Jo’s garments.
“First, I need to clean away the blood from the wounds.”
As he wiped away the blood, Kang Jo kept his eyes fixed on Yang Jung.
“Didn’t I tell you those weren’t men to face with clumsy Concealment and Ambush?”
“The Concealment and Ambush worked on a few of them.”
“So that makes it well done?”
As Kang Jo’s face twisted further, Yang Jung’s voice grew smaller.
“But… at the end, I still helped you.”
“When? I remember nothing.”
“There was that man… the one throwing the Two-Edged Sword.”
Kang Jo remembered him as well.
Among those who’d attacked, he was the strongest after Hyeol Je.
Not as formidable as that man Gwang Ak from before, but no one to dismiss lightly.
“Pathetic fool. You tried to Ambush a man skilled enough to throw a Two-Edged Sword?”
Yang Jung nodded, his face downcast.
“…Yes.”
“Do you think yourself the King of Slaughter?”
“I apologize… I’m sorry.”
As Kang Jo and Yang Jung continued their bickering, the Old Physician suddenly lost his patience.
“The both of you, be quiet…!”

*

The Old Physician’s eyes opened. He rose quietly from his bedding.
With each passing year, his hours of sleep dwindled.
Perhaps he clung to this life, hoping to hold just a little more in his eyes before departing.
The brothers slept on the bedframe, but he, lacking one, had spread a blanket on the floor.
A long sigh escaped him.
As he stepped outside, cool night air swept across his entire frame.
Yet it felt refreshing rather than cold.
The Old Physician gazed up at the night sky and wore a faint smile.
‘Life is indeed short. But it has been a good one.’
The men of Gangho spent their strength taking lives, but he had devoted all his to saving them.
How could such a life be anything but good?
“Have you been up long?”
Kang Jo emerged outside and spoke to him.
“Why are you moving about already? If your wounds reopen, this old man will bear the burden.”
Ha, ha…
“I’m moving slowly, so don’t worry.”
As Kang Jo smiled, the Old Physician’s expression soured.
“I’ve cared for countless patients, but I’ve never seen one as stubborn as you.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Kang Jo stepped into the kitchen and retrieved a small cup.
Then he tilted the gourd bottle over it.
Drip… drip…
Exactly two drops of Gongcheong Stone Oil.
“Please, take this.”
“What is this?”
“Gongcheong Stone Oil.”
The Old Physician drew a sharp breath.
“Why give it to this old man when you won’t give it to the others?”
The Old Physician asked in surprise.
“You saved Sam-ryong’s life, didn’t you?”
“I only did what any physician should do.”
“Even so, please accept it.”
Kang Jo pressed the cup into his hands.
The Old Physician no longer refused and took it.
“It seems I’ll be lingering in this world a bit longer thanks to you.”
“Next time, please save Sam-ryong’s life again.”
“Clever wretch.”
The Old Physician tilted the cup and drank the Gongcheong Stone Oil.
The moment a single drop touched his tongue, he licked the rim of the cup.
He couldn’t bear to waste even a trace of the precious substance.
“That was exquisite.”
Kang Jo took the cup back from him and carried it to the kitchen.
Once dawn broke, he thought, this place would be the first thing he’d need to repair.

*

The Training Ground blazed with torchlight as members of the Jamryong-hoe and Seong Ma Dan lined up.
Flanking them were two middle-aged men, guides of the Geol-gae.
Cho Yak surveyed them all and spoke.
“We move to Hunan.”
The Cheonsa-gyo still maintained branches in Hubei.
But those would be well-guarded, so they’d chosen to strike a more distant target instead.
As she took the lead, the waiting middle-aged guides moved ahead of the group.
They were pathfinders for the Jamryong-hoe and Seong Ma Dan.
Creak…
The moment the Murim Alliance’s gate swung open, the guides deployed their Body Technique.
Whoosh…
Cho Yak and the members of the Jamryong-hoe and Seong Ma Dan followed, unfolding their Light Body Technique as they slipped out of the Murim Alliance.
Baek Moon-do and Shin Pung-gae watched them vanish into the night.
“I pray they return safely…”
Baek Moon-do seized on Shin Pung-gae’s worry to ask something else.
“What would you have us do about the Moyong Se Family?”
“I will go there myself. Wait for my return.”
“We’ve already sealed the gate, so they won’t let any outsiders in.”
Hmph.
Shin Pung-gae snorted.
“If those dogs won’t open their doors, I’ll scale the wall and scout the interior myself.”
“Be careful.”
“No need for concern—I already know them as enemies.”
He spoke with complete confidence.
Most of the family heads and elders had already fallen, leaving no true masters in the Moyong Se compound.
The Chief Administrator might yet be there, but he posed no real threat to Shin Pung-gae.
‘If anyone in that household draws a blade against me, I’ll kill them all.’

*

Having patched the gaps between the kitchen and the rooms, Kang Jo began rebuilding the Guest Inn.
Moving with an injured body made the work far from easy.
And having to tend the horses on top of cooking only made matters worse.
Phew…
After catching his breath, Kang Jo entered the room with a bowl of porridge.
Yang Jung lay on the bed in much the same condition as before.
“I’m sorry… I should be helping you with the work instead of lying here…”
His voice held no strength whatsoever.
For the first few days, Kang Jo had even spooned the porridge into his mouth himself.
As Kang Jo settled onto the edge of the bed, Yang Jung forced himself to sit up.
“Please, just give it to me. I’ll eat it myself.”
He reached for the spoon with great difficulty and began to eat the porridge.
Kang Jo watched him quietly.
‘Strange—he seems to grow weaker with each passing day.’
Seven days had already passed since returning to the Guest Inn.
Yet Yang Jung appeared far more listless now than he had then.
His wounds were grave, certainly, but nothing so dire that he should be on death’s door.
‘Could this bastard possibly be…’
Studying him intently, Kang Jo took the empty bowl and left the room.
He gathered branches and kindled a fire in front of the door.
Once smoke began seeping into the room, he raised his voice and shouted.
“Sam-ryong! Fire! There’s a fire!”
Bang!
The moment he raised his voice, the door burst open and Yang Jung came rushing out.
His frightened face fell when he spotted the small campfire in front of the room.
Ah… ah ha ha…
Understanding what had happened, Yang Jung laughed awkwardly.
And the instant he saw Kang Jo raise his fist, he deployed his Body Technique.
Whoosh!

*

Yang Jung couldn’t flee far before being caught.
His body’s poor condition was undeniable.
“What’s this pathetic act about?”
“Oh, brother! I’m truly unwell! Really, I am! Please, I beg you—don’t hit me!”
His voice rose as he wailed.
Kang Jo, who had raised his fist, let out a long sigh.
Sigh…
What was he to do with this wretch’s scheming?
No matter how much he beat him or cursed him, it only lasted a moment.
“Go catch a few chickens. You need to build up your strength.”
Heh heh…
“Very well, brother.”
Kang Jo turned back toward the Guest Inn.
Yang Jung immediately fell in step beside him.
“Say, brother. What if we built the Guest Inn rather hastily?”
“Why?”
“We never know when they might come back and tear it down, do we?”
Now that he thought about it, the fellow’s words made considerable sense.
“Fine. Build it hastily then.”
“Brother, what if instead of building the Guest Inn hastily, we pitched tents?”
Kang Jo stopped and turned to look at him.
“Exactly how far are you going to take this, you bastard?”
Yang Jung quickly tried to salvage what he’d said.
“No, no, brother. Let’s just go ahead and build the Guest Inn hastily.”
“Ugh… my head’s pounding.”
He launched into speech again.
“And besides, we don’t have timber or roof tiles for building, do we? Even if we gathered them from the village, it would take a long time.”
Kang Jo pointed to a small pavilion that was half-collapsed.
Now only that small pavilion remained standing.
“Tear it down.”
“If we demolish that pavilion too, there’ll be nothing left, brother. But we have plenty of silver—why not hire carpenters to rebuild the pavilions instead?”
Yang Jung voiced his objection with a troubled expression.
“They might come back and set fires again. That’s why we tear it down.”
“…Very well.”

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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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