The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Instructor - Chapter 177

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 177. Please, Go Ahead and Eat

 

 

The faces of those who approached closely were extremely menacing.

These were people with sword marks and scars scattered across their faces.

At their fierce appearance, Ha Seol-ran quietly hid behind Han Seol-bing.

“Move! Move! We’re in a hurry!”

They seemed to not even see the line.

Then they ignored the Maengryong Corps Cadets waiting for their turn at the entrance and went straight into the inn.

“Uh…”

Dan Mok Un-rae was about to say something at that sight, but Dang Jin-san stopped him.

Dan Mok Un-rae’s questioning gaze turned to Dang Jin-san.

“Just leave them. This isn’t an ordinary inn.”

Dang Jin-san spoke as if it was nothing.

Loud voices could be heard from inside.

“The Ten Heroes of Dongting have arrived, so why aren’t you quickly preparing seats!!!”

“Hurry up and bring out the fried chicken!”

“I want dumplings! Dumplings!!”

Arrogant shouting.

Exactly ten people had rushed in, calling themselves the Ten Heroes of Dongting.

“Just common black path ruffians.”

Dang Jin-san said dismissively.

Such black path ruffians existed anywhere there was a bustling city.

There were quite a few in the Capital City too.

They were like cockroaches, impossible to completely exterminate.

‘Ah, weren’t there none in Blood Cult or Demon Cult territories?’

Stories from the recent war suddenly came to mind.

While Dang Jin-san was briefly lost in thought, the commotion inside seemed to grow louder, then.

“Huk.”

“Aaak!”

“Wha, what. Urk!”

Screams and groans could be heard, then ten large men were thrown outside.

Following them came five warriors and one middle-aged man.

“If you wish to eat at this inn’s food, you must wait your turn.”

The middle-aged man spoke in a calm voice.

“You, you bastards dare treat us Ten Heroes of Dongting like this and think you’ll be safe!!”

The largest among them shouted with an enraged face.

A small sneer seemed to cross the middle-aged man’s face as he gestured to the warrior beside him.

At the silent command, the five warriors approached those calling themselves the Ten Heroes of Dongting.

They held clubs in their hands and had swords at their waists.

The Ten Heroes of Dongting saw the warriors approaching them and seemed to hesitate and back away, then turned and ran.

But not everyone fled. Two people actually approached the inn again.

“Dumplings, I want to eat dumplings… du, dumplings!!”

It was truly a pitiful cry.

However, what returned to him was only the warriors’ merciless punishment.

The other person was the same.

Even while being beaten, he desperately moved toward the inn. Crawling on the ground.

“Fr, fr, fried chicken… please… I feel like I’ll die without it…”

It was a sight that was eerie in a way.

Bleeding, being beaten and crawling, yet only seeking food.

After a while, the commotion was settled by the warriors.

 

The middle-aged man’s gaze turned to the Maengryong Corps Cadets.

“I apologize for showing you such a disorderly scene. I am Dong Gye-reung, the General Manager of Wolryong Inn. Your seats should be ready soon, so please wait just a little longer. Well then.”

The General Manager bowed his head and went back into the inn.

Dan Mok Un-rae watched that scene with a dazed face.

“When I came before, there were about two guys like that, and they dealt with them the same way.”

Dang Jin-san spoke as if it was nothing special.

“But what kind of dumplings and what kind of fried chicken could make people go crazy like that?”

Yeon Ha-min muttered with a slightly disgusted face.

Everyone felt the same way. Because of that, their curiosity about Wolryong Inn’s food grew even more.

 

“Hmm.”

Ha Mu-baek watched all of this and tilted his head.

“Something feels a bit unsettling…”

Nothing in particular caught his Ki Sense.

Nevertheless, the fact that such inns had suddenly appeared throughout Muchang seemed suspicious.

After a while, when it seemed there would be no more disturbances, Ha Mu-baek used Contemplation on his interior.

There was still nothing abnormal.

After finishing lunch, Ha Mu-baek examined his interior every moment.

People going crazy wanting to eat food was not a normal situation.

‘Poisoning.’

That was the first thing that came to mind.

However, no poison was found in the food. Clearly there had been no particular reaction when he secretly pricked it with a silver needle.

Still, since it showed symptoms similar to poisoning, there must be some reaction happening inside.

Ha Mu-baek continued to contemplate his interior.

At first there was nothing special.

‘Hm?’

But suddenly he felt a strange energy near his tongue.

So subtle that he would have missed it if he hadn’t been concentrating and examining carefully.

It was an energy as small as a speck of dust.

Only because he examined every moment could he barely notice the change.

‘What is this?’

Ha Mu-baek moved his internal energy to carefully touch that energy.

Then the energy consumed part of his internal energy and grew slightly larger.

Slowly repeating that process.

The moment it grew to about the size of a millet grain.

He felt taste on his tongue. It was the taste of the food he had eaten at lunch.

But it was different.

It felt much more delicious than what he had actually eaten.

That fiercely stimulated his mind.

‘So this is it.’

An impulse to go in and eat right away truly arose.

Ha Mu-baek endured the impulse and continued to touch that energy with his internal energy.

When it grew from millet grain to rice grain size, it became very difficult to suppress the impulse.

But that was only for a moment.

The energy didn’t grow beyond a certain size and disappeared on its own.

At the same time, the impulse also vanished.

Ha Mu-baek’s eyes sharpened at that reaction.

Each person has different internal energy and different qi.

Seeing that even those who hadn’t learned martial arts felt the impulse, this poison might purely feed on people’s innate true qi.

What was certain was that Wolryong Inn, that place had done something to the food.

He couldn’t know exactly what method they used yet.

He didn’t think they would use such complex and secretive methods simply for business.

The moment he finished confirming, Ha Mu-baek moved his steps.

Meanwhile, the Maengryong Corps Cadets had entered the inn and taken their seats.

 

***

 

“That child has come, you say?”

Every time he spoke, his plump cheeks jiggled.

Hyeong Ui-cheon, the Dan-ju of Danan Trading Company, nodded slightly at his subordinate’s report.

Wolryong Inn was visible right from the window of his room.

They said the child from the Dan Mok family was there now.

He had been thinking of making a move soon anyway.

He had been putting it off day after day because of his heavy body.

Hyeong Ui-cheon lowered his head to look down at his own body.

Only his belly, as large as Mount Tai, was visible.

Irritation flickered in his eyes.

“Because of those damn beggar bastards…”

Hyeong Ui-cheon’s muttering. His subordinate remained there as if he hadn’t heard anything.

“How is the experiment with the Soul-Lurking Poison?”

“It’s proceeding smoothly. However, since most subjects are ordinary common folk, it will take some time to determine the proper mixing ratio and dosage for martial artists.”

The subordinate bowed his head and answered Hyeong Ui-cheon’s question.

“It doesn’t matter. As we take control of Muchang’s commercial rights, martial artists will also visit Wolryong Inn and the pleasure houses. We didn’t come to Muchang for nothing, did we?”

Muchang, where Gyoryong Hall was located, was not only large in scale but also had many martial artists.

It was incomparable to Changsha.

“Yes.”

The subordinate answered briefly.

“How much of Muchang’s commercial sector have we taken control of?”

“We’ve taken control of about fifteen percent of the inns and pleasure houses belonging to Geumryong Trading Company.”

“Then stop with the inns and pleasure houses and look into the escort agencies as well.”

“Yes.”

Hyeong Ui-cheon turned his gaze back outside the window.

“I wonder where it could be?”

At the end of where his gaze was directed lay the place where Dan Mok Un-rae’s house was located.

Strong longing and greed resided in his eyes.

‘Surely Yeo Hwa must be holding the key to the secret vault. We searched thoroughly but it didn’t come out…’

The site of the Dan Mok Family Estate in Changsha where Danan Trading Company’s estate now stood.

How many years had he spent secretly searching that place?

He had even established a trading company and purchased all that land to avoid the Beggar Sect’s attention.

The time to receive reward for that devotion was approaching.

“Ah, tell Manager Dong. Tell him to pay some attention to that child.”

 

***

 

The large round table had room to spare even with Han Seol-bing and all seven Maengryong Corps Cadets seated.

It seemed to have taken more time to prepare a seat of this size.

After the entire group was seated.

The shopkeepers carried dishes without rest.

Food that filled that large round table completely without gaps.

At that sight, the cadets’ eyes widened in amazement.

It was a scene they had never witnessed before.

Han Seol-bing looked over the round table with incredulous eyes.

“Hah. Spending befitting a direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Family. So you’re saying Dang Jin-san ordered all of this?”

At Han Seol-bing’s question, Dang Jin-san shook his head vigorously.

“I, I did order a lot, but… some of these aren’t what I ordered.”

In truth, Dang Jin-san also seemed a bit flustered.

Several appetizing-looking dishes were not what he had ordered.

No, actually he had wanted to order them but couldn’t due to several constraints.

Take the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall tempting him from the center – it was known to take a full day to prepare.

That wasn’t all.

There was also Dongpo pork.

It was a dish he had tried to order earlier, but they said all the prepared ingredients were sold out.

Yet here it was, sitting right there.

Honestly, Dang Jin-san was bewildered too.

“I took some care to apologize for the unpleasant incident at the entrance. So please enjoy the meal to your heart’s content.”

The general manager who had appeared at some point spoke with a gentle smile.

“Oh, so this one and this one, and this one, that one, that one are…”

Dang Jin-san pointed to all the dishes he hadn’t ordered.

“Yes. I’m treating you as an apology, so please enjoy without burden.”

In other words, it was free.

All dishes that were incredibly expensive.

Though the food here was uniformly ordinary in taste, those were truly high-class dishes even if they only tasted ordinary.

Dang Jin-san’s eyes lit up.

“Please, go ahead and eat.”

At Manager Dong’s words, Dang Jin-san was about to pick up his chopsticks but hesitated.

“Ah, Instructor should eat first.”

At those words, the cadets’ gazes turned to Han Seol-bing.

Their eyes urged her to eat quickly.

The earnestness that they could only eat comfortably after she ate.

“Well, this is…”

Though she was surprised by the many high-class dishes, Han Seol-bing had the ability to afford this much.

She had saved up quite a bit of money over the years.

She had just been slightly surprised by the level that exceeded expectations.

At the cadets’ urging gazes, Han Seol-bing picked up her chopsticks.

The first place her chopsticks headed was the Dongpo pork.

It was actually her favorite and most enjoyed food.

When her chopsticks pressed the Dongpo pork, it split softly and a fragrant smell stimulated her nose.

She picked up a piece and brought it to her mouth.

At the moment the cadets’ gazes concentrated.

Thud.

A hand that appeared from somewhere suddenly grabbed Han Seol-bing’s wrist.

Manager Dong was startled by the sudden situation.

A person had suddenly appeared without him sensing any presence at all.

“You said you’re the general manager? Sorry about this, but something urgent came up for this group – could you wrap up these dishes for us?”

And the words reaching Manager Dong’s ears.

He was saying something that shouldn’t be said.

“I apologize, but our inn doesn’t provide takeout food. You must eat only within the inn. But who might you be… Are you with these guests?”

Only then did the cadets come to their senses.

“Instructor Ha. What do you suddenly mean by that?”

Dang Jin-san spoke with a resentful expression.

“Just as I said. Everyone follow me.”

Firm words.

Did they feel that qi aura? The cadets got up from their seats without much protest.

Of course, their faces were full of regret.

Ha Mu-baek took out a gold ingot from his chest and handed it to Manager Dong.

“I’m sorry about the food you went to the trouble of preparing.”

The manager didn’t know what to do in this sudden situation.

In the meantime, Ha Mu-baek led his group and left the inn.

The cadets followed behind Ha Mu-baek, looking back at the inn with eyes full of regret.

How could Ha Mu-baek not notice their expressions?

So he led them toward a certain place.

It was one of the inns Head Cook Jo had told him about at lunch.

“Huh…”

The place Ha Mu-baek, who had suddenly appeared and brought them out, was heading to was an inn.

“If, if you were going to come to this place, we could have just eaten back there…”

Ha Mu-baek shook his head at Dang Jin-san’s words.

“First order the food. Jin-san. You can order everything that was back there.”

At Ha Mu-baek’s words, Dang Jin-san first ordered the food. He mentioned Buddha Jumps Over the Wall without much expectation, but was surprised when they said it was available for order.

And so some time passed.

The wide dining table was quickly filled with food.

“Let’s eat first.”

At Ha Mu-baek’s words, everyone picked up their chopsticks.

Ha Mu-baek was already serving and eating the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall that was nearby.

Han Seol-bing had also somehow put Dongpo Pork in her mouth and was chewing.

Following them, the cadets also moved their chopsticks. The moment each picked up a bit of their favorite food and brought it to their mouths!

As if by agreement, everyone stopped moving.

Their eyes widened as much as they possibly could.

“De, de, delicious!”

“How can it taste like this!”

Exclamations burst out from here and there.

Ha Seol-ran was smiling brightly while chewing her food. Her chopsticks kept moving toward the food.

“Wow. This place is no joke, you know? How did you know about a place like this when you always go to Damryong North Hall, Instructor?”

Dang Jin-san spoke while frantically putting food in his mouth.

The regret of not being able to eat Wolryong Inn’s food disappeared with this taste.

“This inn isn’t even on my list of good restaurants.”

Actually, this place didn’t look particularly appetizing from the outside.

A location slightly away from the downtown district.

There weren’t that many people either.

But to have such delicious cuisine.

“Well, I have my own methods.”

Ha Mu-baek spoke calmly while bringing a piece of food to his mouth.

Honestly, Ha Mu-baek was pretending to be calm, but he was quite surprised too.

To think food could taste like this.

He was starting to slightly understand Dang Jin-san’s occasional behavior of going around eating delicious food.

It was quite enjoyable.

 

When the atmosphere had somewhat mellowed with the delicious food.

Ha Mu-baek, who had blocked sound with an energy barrier, opened his mouth.

“Wolryong Inn and Wolryong Pavilion. Don’t eat the food from those places. From now on. Absolutely.”

Words whose meaning was unclear.

“At lunch today, I also ate at that place… but it seemed like there was something unknown in it. Probably some kind of poison…”

At the following words, the cadets’ chopsticks stopped.

Poison.

What did this mean?

Suddenly they couldn’t taste the food anymore.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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