I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 103

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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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It was foolish to join the Murim Alliance — Episode 103
“U-rin!”
“Our youngest has arrived!”
Deputy Commander Jang Hye-in of the Murim Alliance Patrol Unit and his team welcomed Sa U-rin with genuine warmth.
It had been nearly a year since they’d last seen each other.
Sa U-rin was equally glad to see his teammates again.
“How have you all been?”
“Don’t even ask.”
“I thought we were done for.”
“What do you mean, done for? We actually were.”
“Ha, ha, ha. Right. That’s true.”
“Still, everyone’s grown stronger.”
The aura emanating from Jang Hye-in and the team had sharpened considerably.
Jang Hye-in spread his arms wide and drew Sa U-rin into an embrace. It had been so long — surely one hug was in order.
“I tell you, nothing beats being held by our U-rin.”
Jang Hye-in’s expression slipped into rapture, but one of the team members behind him, unable to bear the sight any longer, finally spoke up.
“Uh? Isn’t that I-ryeong over there?”
At that, Jang Hye-in jumped back in alarm, slipping free from Sa U-rin’s embrace.
“What? Where?”
“I thought she was coming, but she’s not here.”
The team members burst into laughter.
“……You bastards.”
Jang Hye-in caught on to the prank a beat too late, and let it out.
“Want to die? Huh?”
“That’s weak.”
“Weak.”
“It pales compared to someone else’s.”
The Witch Jang Ryeo, that is.
“I’m telling you, not just anyone can pull it off.”
The art of striking genuine fear into someone’s heart with just those two words — ‘Want to die?’ — was something else entirely.
But then, a moment later, a beautiful woman caught Jang Hye-in’s and the team’s attention.
So Jang Hye-in asked.
“……Who is that?”
His mood soured instantly.
First of all, the woman was strikingly beautiful.
And she was younger than Jang Hye-in himself.
Moreover, hadn’t she come with Sa U-rin?
That suggested some kind of connection.
The team members’ faces, on the other hand, brightened considerably. First, because she was lovely. Her skin was firm and taut — quite the contrast to Jang Hye-in. Of course, Jang Hye-in, being a martial artist, had maintained his beauty and his complexion was no worse than the younger women around him, but in the team’s eyes, Jang Hye-in was past his prime, and he simply didn’t catch their attention anymore.
Not to mention his volatile temperament.
But now, suddenly, a young and beautiful woman stood right before them.
“U-rin, who is this person? Shouldn’t you introduce her first?”
Jang Hye-in’s lips pouted.
“An introduction? For what?”
Wasn’t it obvious?
She was probably one of those women chasing after Sa U-rin.
So Sa U-rin opened his mouth.
“Let me introduce her. She’ll be joining our unit from now on.”
Jang Hye-in’s expression contorted.
“……What?”
Joining their unit, just like that? And with someone so young and beautiful, no less!
Absolutely not. He wouldn’t allow it!
For Jang Hye-in, this was utterly unacceptable.
But the team members’ faces lit up.
“Really?”
Even if they were sent back to hell itself, they felt they could endure it now.
“Yes.”
Sa U-rin turned to So Seol-ru and spoke.
“You introduce yourself.”
And so, So Seol-ru bowed respectfully and began to speak.
“Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m So Seol-ru. I’m twenty-five this year. For my age, I’m rather strong. So I’m confident I won’t be a burden to you seniors. I look forward to working with you all.”
At that, the unit members lit up with excitement.
“Whoa!”
“Wow!”
“The youngest is here!”
But Jang Hye-in remained thoroughly dissatisfied.
“Sa U-rin, this isn’t right.”
Bringing a pretty woman to his side so abruptly like this.
“We’re just getting stronger, aren’t we?”
“Even so, that’s beside the point. But what is she to you?”
A woman could tell these things when she saw another woman, couldn’t she?
The way So Seol-ru looked at Sa U-rin felt unmistakable to Jang Hye-in.
No—Jang Hye-in was certain of it.
That woman’s eyes fixed on Sa U-rin were the eyes of someone prepared to throw her body away for him without hesitation.
Jang Hye-in could never cast such a gaze toward Sa U-rin. She had no such heart.
Of course, as a colleague she was prepared for sacrifice, but she was not the sort to throw away her life for a single man.
Not even if that man was Sa U-rin.
“We’re colleagues,” Sa U-rin said.
“No, that’s not what I was asking you.”
At that, So Seol-ru stepped forward.
“Sa U-rin saw my body, Deputy Commander. And we’ve kissed.”
At So Seol-ru’s words, Jang Hye-in’s and the unit members’ eyes went wide as lanterns.
“……Damn.”
“……Of all people, it’s U-rin again.”
“……Well, I suppose that makes sense.”
“……What are we supposed to—”
“……What about our Miss Dok-hwa?”
“This is going to be trouble.”
“……He’s going to die for this.”
Dok-hwa would certainly poison him for it.
“U-rin, I keep telling you—being near her is always dangerous.”
Yes, it had always been that way.
And so the unit members’ disappointment pierced the heavens. Jang Hye-in was no different.
“……U-rin, what are you saying?”
“……It’s not what you think.”
“Not what we think? That woman just said it herself. She saw your body and kissed you.”
Wasn’t that saying he’d seen everything there was to see?
“……You don’t mean—”
That far?
“No, it didn’t happen like that.”
“It didn’t?”
“It didn’t, I’m telling you.”
“Then what was it? The way you’re talking makes it sound like something definitely happened.”
“It was just… a necessary situation. We had no choice.”
“A necessary situation?”
Jang Hye-in was curious what kind of situation that could be. And she wanted to know. She herself wished she could create such a situation.
“Such situations exist. In any case, we all get along well.”
“Are you really one of us?”
“Yes.”
“By whose decision?”
“By my own. Is there a problem with that?”
“……No problem at all.”
How could there be an objection when Sa U-rin had decided it?
And Jang Hye-in thought she understood now. This woman called So Seol-ru was in a situation similar to Jang Hye-in herself and to Dok-hwa.
Of course, since Jang Hye-in had let it go, she had little cause for heartache, but Dok-hwa and So Seol-ru seemed different.
One look at their eyes showed that their hearts had already been completely stolen.
‘……What a bastard.’
How could he shake a woman’s heart so utterly…….
Of course, Sa U-rin wasn’t wagging his tail to seduce women.
She knew that.
Yet to her eyes, everything about Sa U-rin seemed to blur her vision, to cloud her judgment.
A single gesture.
A single movement.
A single glance.
And what fanned the flames of her heart even more was…….
That particular indifference unique to Sa U-rin…….
The strength that flowed from that indifference.
The confidence that arose from that strength.
A will so resilient it never wavered, no matter what.
Most of all, it was the power that grew even more formidable before death itself, the mind that hardened in the face of the abyss.
Everything that flowed from Sa U-rin hollowed out her heart. So even she, Jang Hye-in, older though she was, found herself shaken every single day.
Despite having let him go.
‘……Damn him.’
What was he so confident about…….
And surely he’d grown stronger again, hadn’t he?
How much more did he mean to shake the Gangho?
How much more did he intend to grasp and shake the hearts of women like a bird in his hand?
It was plain as day.
His relentless training was so tiresome to witness that one needn’t actually see it — the conclusion was foregone.
And that made it all the more magnificent.
But…….
‘What am I thinking now…….’
Falling back in again, aren’t I?
Damn it all.
Jang Hye-in resumed speaking.
“But what exactly happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“The whole Gangho’s been talking about you and nothing else.”
“Ah. There was a problem at Guizhou Fortress, so I had to resolve it that way.”
If things had gone according to the original plan, he wouldn’t have moved so quickly. Both Jang Hye-in and the rest of the unit had understood that.
Yet they weren’t greatly surprised, since it would have happened eventually anyway. They’d only been caught off guard by the speed.
“Could it be because of that new recruit?”
“As expected of our Deputy Commander.”
At Sa U-rin’s prompting, Jang Hye-in’s shoulders trembled slightly.
“Nothing much to it, really. But what exactly went down?”
“It’s a long story. How about we drop this and have some drinks instead — it’s been ages since everyone was together. It’s been forever since we’ve been to the Cheolgang Inn.”
“Let’s do it.”
“A gathering!”
“Excellent!”
“Let’s go!”
* * *
It was rare for the Cheolgang Inn to be as crowded as this on an ordinary day. But lately, it had been packed every single day.
Not a single room sat empty.
The Qinglong Murim Tournament would be held at the Murim Alliance in another month. Though a month still remained, most of those who’d come were arriving early.
Only contestants came to the Qinglong Murim Tournament.
Simply put, the Qinglong Murim Tournament, held every five years, was a festival for the Orthodox Faction alone.
Though it was also a war to boast of one’s martial prowess.
So whenever the Qinglong Murim Tournament season arrived, people always swarmed. And this time, the Jang Family had drawn even more attention, so day and night alike, the area surrounding the Murim Alliance was loud and chaotic.
That’s why the Murim Alliance warriors were always busy at this time of year. For them, it wasn’t a festival but an event that drained them through endless, round-the-clock patrols.
In any case.
The Cheolgang Inn had no empty seats. The interior was so packed with customers that the word “rowdy” barely captured the cacophony.
An Ami Sect disciple, in a state of considerable excitement, asks her senior.
“Senior, senior.”
“What is it?”
“Is it true that this Jade-Face Emerald Dragon is really as handsome as they say?”
“You’ll know once you see him.”
Since a thousand years ago, Ami Sect disciples had been allowed to marry. So they had much interest in men.
In the old days, it would have been unthinkable.
“You don’t seem curious either, senior?”
“I’m curious too.”
“But…?”
“Just because you’re curious doesn’t mean Jade-Face Dragon will give me a second look, does it?”
Truth be told, she wasn’t blessed with a beautiful face. And she was already thirty years old.
“…You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“If you apologize, what does that make me?”
“Ah, I see. I’m sorry.”
“Sigh.”
“All right. I understand.”
A Qingsheng Sect disciple, who had shared their table for lack of seating, interjected.
“By chance—does Jade-Face Dragon refer to the Witch’s son?”
“Yes, that’s right. Do you know of him?”
“I don’t. But though I may not know his face, I think I can guess one thing about him.”
“What’s that?”
“By now, he’s surely floundering under the weight of such sudden fame. I hear he’s barely past his coming of age—but no matter if he’s the Witch’s son, how strong can a youth truly be? And if his face is handsome, how much handsomer could it be? Besides, he’s joined the Murim Alliance—yet the Witch was of the Heterodox Faction. In all she did, in all she said. Why else would she be called the Witch? And if that’s the mother, what of the son? He must be the type who’d tuck tail and run at the first sign of death.”
The Ami Sect disciple’s eyebrows shot up.
“From what I’ve heard, though young, he possesses great martial prowess and conducts himself with the bearing of a true man—righteously. That’s surely why he’s called Jade-Face Dragon.”
“You place too much faith in what people say. Rumors are like that. With each mouth they pass through, they gather flesh. So don’t trust rumors too readily.”
“Hmph. Envying someone you’ve never even seen. Tell me—does Qingsheng stand firm before death? I suspect Qingsheng is little different from anyone else.”
Such is humanity. All grow weak before the face of death.
“What reckless talk is this?”
“Qingsheng spoke recklessly first.”
“How is what I said reckless? Everyone thinks the same when someone at that age gains such sudden fame. Ask any passerby.”
“Hmph! They’re all consumed by inferiority, that’s what.”
“Inferiority, you say……”
Just then, a shout erupted from outside.
“Jade-Face Dragon has appeared!”
In an instant, the clamorous bustle of Cheolgang Inn fell silent. And every eye turned toward the entrance.
And indeed—a face like something the heavens themselves, or the gods, had carved into being stepped through the threshold of Cheolgang Inn.
Yet Sa U-rin paid no heed to the torrent of stares, hot as the summer sun’s burning rays, and walked calmly into the inn.
And then—
Shink, shink, shink, shink!
Guests throughout the inn suddenly began drawing their blades. Not all of them, but nearly—enough that it was almost universal.
And so Sa U-rin turned to the dumbfounded Jang Hye-in and the other officers.
“I told you so. Didn’t I say it was strange?”
Indeed he had.
Just before stepping into the inn moments earlier.

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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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