Moorim Pochang - Chapter 96

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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 96. Seven.

“Welcome.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Sect Leader.”
Yang Jung bowed alongside Kang Jo without being asked and crossed the Stone Bridge.
Dok-go Yeop and Kang Jo watched him go in silence, then stepped into the Guest Inn.
“You haven’t finished the repairs yet?”
“No, sir. If you find it tedious, you’re welcome to fix it yourself.”
If his body had been sound, he would have rebuilt the Guest Inn from scratch by now.
But his recovery was still incomplete, and Sam-ryong had been making such theatrical complaints that the work dragged on endlessly.
At Kang Jo’s retort, Dok-go Yeop fell silent.
‘The inn was shabby enough before. Now it’s fallen into complete ruin.’
He took a seat at the dining table, looked around the inn for a moment, then rose to his feet.
He began gathering the scattered branches that lay about.
Kang Jo, who was in the kitchen, watched him intently.
‘What’s gotten into him?’
“Bring me some kindling.”
A man of Dok-go Yeop’s station—a sect leader of Ma-gyo—would hardly be ignorant of the Yanggang Ki-gong technique.
Yet he deliberately asked for kindling to be brought.
Kang Jo quietly fetched the fire from the stove and lit the branches Dok-go Yeop had gathered.
“Who else was there besides Moyong Se?”
“I don’t know of Moyong Se. But there was a man who wielded the Igi Eosgeom and someone called the Blood Emperor.”
Dok-go Yeop already knew, at least in broad strokes, what had transpired at this inn.
He had been told that roughly sixty assailants had struck, and that an expert of tremendous skill had punched a hole through the inn’s wall.
‘If the Blood Emperor made that hole in the wall, then the one wielding the Igi Eosgeom must be Moyong Jag.’
Moyong Jag, the head of the Moyong Se clan, had a reputation for high martial skill and great strength.
But he was unlikely to wield the Igi Eosgeom with such freedom.
No matter how much one had opened the upper dantian, manifesting the Igi Eosgeom required a deep understanding of martial arts.
‘It must be sorcery from the Hyeol-gyo. It might be connected to someone named Mun-sin.’
He glanced at Kang Jo and broached the subject.
“You used one hundred thousand silver coins very effectively.”
Kang Jo stared at him directly.
“Your intelligence seems remarkably swift.”
Hmm.
“Have you forgotten that the Seongma Group exists within the Murim Alliance?”
“Even so, there shouldn’t be anyone to carry such news to Ma-gyo.”
“Why are you prying so intently?”
When he declined to answer further, Kang Jo pressed no more.
“Don’t resort to such tricks again. From now on, even if you brought ten million silver coins instead of one hundred thousand, it wouldn’t work.”
Dok-go Yeop smiled faintly.
No matter how much he was the Sect Leader of Ma-gyo, he could not command his skilled subordinates to refuse alcohol distilled with exotic herbs and rare ingredients.
The decision belonged to the owner, whether offered one hundred thousand or ten million silver coins.
Had he sold that liquor to the imperial palace, he might have received not merely tens of millions of silver coins but a position of rank.
He had merely put forth one hundred thousand silver coins without selfish motive.
Even if that man were to wipe his mouth clean afterward, he would have said nothing different.
Yet that man accepted only one hundred thousand silver coins and gave that precious liquor to his skilled subordinates.
‘He’s a bit ruthless, but he understands loyalty. A man like that, once corrupted, becomes impossible to deal with.’
“In any case, I’m grateful.”
Tap—tap.
Dok-go Yeop patted Kang Jo’s shoulder lightly.
‘That’s strange.’
Kang Jo returned to the kitchen, tilting his head.
The Sect Leader seemed to have suddenly softened in temperament—as if he’d eaten something that disagreed with him.
‘I’d better not let my guard down today.’
A man changed like this only when he was dying or when he desperately wanted something.
The Sect Leader was unlikely to be dying, so it seemed he desperately wanted something.
Whether Dok-go Yeop knew Kang Jo’s thoughts or not, he continued to speak.
“I’ve prepared a gift for you. Are you interested?”
“I’m not.”
“You give such a firm answer without even knowing what I’ve prepared for you?”
“Whatever it is, I have no interest.”
Dok-go Yeop’s gaze turned cold in an instant.
But as quickly as it had frozen, it thawed again into gentleness.
“What will it be today?”
“Chicken noodles.”
“Bring wine as well.”
Kang Jo, who had taken the order, beat the dough on the cutting board and pulled the noodles.
Thwack……! Thwack………! Thwack………!
Just then, Yang Jung, who had just returned from the Murim Alliance, stepped into the Guest Inn.
“How are you feeling?”
At Dok-go Yeop’s question, Yang Jung froze in place, and Kang Jo also stopped and turned to look at him.
‘Why on earth is he doing this?’
He never thought he’d see the Sect Leader showing concern for another person.
Yang Jung gave Kang Jo a bewildered look.
Kang Jo shook his head.
‘I’ll handle this, so just pretend you don’t know anything.’
But Yang Jung took it to mean something else.
“I’m not doing well. It still hurts quite a bit.”
“You’re tougher than the others, so you’ll be fine soon. I’ve prepared a gift for you. Are you interested?”
Yang Jung looked at Kang Jo again.
When Kang Jo shook his head side to side, Yang Jung opened his mouth with difficulty.
“I have no interest.”
In truth, even if it weren’t for what Kang Jo wanted, he had no intention of accepting anything the Sect Leader offered.
“Are you truly uninterested?”
Dok-go Yeop’s eyes and voice suddenly turned sharp.
Yang Jung swallowed hard.
‘Even now it’s this frightening—what am I walking into later?’
“………..Yes. I have no interest.”
“You’ll regret it, I’m certain. The gift I’ve prepared might be something you desperately desire, even if you don’t know it yet.”
Dok-go Yeop’s words shook his resolve slightly.
“How could you know…..what I desire, sir?”
Dok-go Yeop smiled faintly.
‘I dangled the bait and he bit immediately.’
One of them would never bite no matter how much bait was offered, but the other would snap at it every time.
They were truly amusing brothers.
“Since it has nothing to do with the sect, I’ll have no reason to hold anything over you.”
With those carefully masked words, Yang Jung was hooked like a fish on a line.
“Is that truly so, Sect Leader?”
Sigh……
“Hey, you fool…!”
Finally unable to bear it, Kang Jo shouted at Yang Jung.
“But you just said it has nothing to do with the Ma-gyo, didn’t you, brother?”
Yang Jung’s eyes lit up as he looked at Kang Jo.
Chuckle chuckle chuckle…
Dok-go Yeop smiled and drew a manual from his robes.
“Since it’s not a technique of the sect, use it as you wish. But never think of selling it. It would be better if it didn’t fall into another’s hands.”
Yang Jung carefully picked up the manual he had produced.
Nothing was written on the cover.
When he turned the first page, small characters reading “Wumi Salgong” were inscribed within.
“What is Wumi Salgong, Sect Leader?”
“Ask your brother.”
At the Sect Leader’s words, Yang Jung turned to Kang Jo.
“What is Wumi Salgong, brother?”
“How would I know? You fool.”
Kang Jo had never heard of the technique called Wumi Salgong before.
From what he could guess, it seemed to be an assassin’s martial art.
Yang Jung turned the pages of the manual as he stepped into the kitchen.
“What kind of handwriting is this small? My eyes are about to pop out.”
Every page of the manual was crammed with tiny script.

*

“Welcome.”
The moment Kang Jo stepped out to greet the visitor, Yang Jung quickly tucked the manual away.
Baek Moon-do stepped inside and fixed Dok-go Yeop with a murderous stare.
Because of that man, he alone had been made to look the fool.
After handing over a million silver taels and a gold nugget, even the talented personnel of Jamryong-hoe had come to respect him.
“Is this really how you’re going to act? Dok-go Yeop!”
Dok-go Yeop regarded him with indifference.
He could easily guess why that man was so angry.
“Does it bother you so much that our skilled personnel have grown stronger?”
“Speak properly, you bastard. Their martial power increased because of the million silver taels and the gold nugget!”
“Then why didn’t you offer up the gold nugget and a million silver taels yourself?”
“If I handed over a million silver taels, the Murim Alliance wouldn’t just starve for a year—we couldn’t even pay salaries!”
Baek Moon-do kept raising his voice, but Dok-go Yeop showed not a trace of anger.
“Being poor does have its charm.”
“You little—!”
Baek Moon-do shouted and shifted his glare toward Kang Jo.
“Fetch the drink at once.”
Yang Jung promptly prepared seasoned vegetables and wine, setting them on the table.
Baek Moon-do poured himself a glass and drained three cups in succession.
Ahhh…
“Because of you, we’ve emptied the Murim Alliance’s treasure vault.”
Since the sect leader of Ma-gyo had elevated his martial power, he himself had to offer something—weapons, no less.
He’d finally opened the vault, distributed weapons, and the personnel had chosen what they wanted.
Though their original weapons were decent enough, they didn’t receive any particular praise.
“Well done. What good is saving it? You’re the leader of the Murim Alliance, after all.”
When Dok-go Yeop even offered praise—unusually generous for him—Baek Moon-do felt his irritation ease slightly.
“But what brings you here today?”
“Well… that is… roughly speaking… I wanted to try this inn’s cooking…”
The legendary Dok-go Yeop fumbled with his answer.
Baek Moon-do eyed him suspiciously, and both Kang Jo and Yang Jung stared at him in surprise.
‘Has the man really reached the end of his days?’
“Brother, the sect leader seems extremely off today.”
“Keep quiet, you fool.”
Kang Jo ladled noodles into a bowl, straining to listen.

*

“You. What is it? Come clean. What’s brought you here?”
At Baek Moon-do’s pressing, his face even flushed slightly.
“Why are you being like this? It’s frustrating—just speak up, damn it.”
Dok-go Yeop suddenly filled his cup and drained it in one breath.
Ahhh…
“It’s… I think there’s going to be one more brat.”
Everything in the inn froze in that instant.
Baek Moon-do stared at him with vacant eyes, and Yang Jung—still holding the noodles—stopped mid-step.
Kang Jo’s gaze too remained fixed on his face.
‘So that’s… that’s why he was acting strange. That’s why he was smiling so often today.’
Having regained his wits, Baek Moon-do stammered his words.
“So… you’re saying Gwak is… pregnant?”
Dok-go Yeop wore a proud smile.
“Yes. She said something felt off with her body, so I called a physician. He said she seems to be with child.”
Baek Moon-do’s face began to contort slowly.
“Pregnant at that age? You bastard—!”
At his cry—almost a shriek—Yang Jung finally stirred back to awareness.
‘That’s… incredibly enviable.’
He set a plate of chicken and noodles on the table.
“Enjoy your meal.”
But Baek Moon-do didn’t even look at it.
He seemed as aggrieved as if he’d lost his entire fortune.
“This makes no sense. How is Gwak pregnant……?”
“My wife is pregnant—why are you angry about it?”
Dok-go Yeop picked up his chopsticks and brought the noodles to his mouth.
Slurp…….slurp………
“Ah…….it tastes even better today.”
Baek Moon-do watched him eat with murderous eyes.
Now he understood.
The man had come here to boast.
‘And this is supposed to be a friend……’
He reluctantly picked up his chopsticks and put some noodles and meat in his mouth.
The chicken noodles that had tasted so good just days ago were flavorless now.
Or rather, he couldn’t taste them at all.
“So how many children do you have now?”
“Seven. I’m already dreading how I’ll raise any more.”
“Do you want to die, you bastard?”

*

There was still a good while before sunset.
Cho Yak pointed to the wide open plain ahead.
“We’ll rest here today.”
At her words, the Jamryong-hoe and Seongma Group moved toward the open plain.
They’d already been ambushed three times.
No one had died yet, but four members had suffered serious wounds.
Without Cho Yak, there was no telling how many would have perished in those attacks.
The enemy struck without warning, then withdrew quickly.
Cho Yak forbade pursuit, wary of traps.
Once the skilled personnel had settled in, she began to speak.
“Long ago, we attacked the Hyeol-gyo masters this way. To avoid ambush, you need to position yourselves on open ground like this where you can see in all directions. Don’t pursue retreating enemies. Killing a few who flee won’t change anything. And always hold some strength in reserve against the next attack.”
The skilled personnel listened to her words in silence.
“If there’s no attack, they might be waiting in ambush ahead. They know we’re headed back to the Murim Alliance.”

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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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