I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 57

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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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For no good reason, Sa U-rin entered the Murim Alliance — Episode 57
Sa U-rin was dumbfounded. Of course, Jang Hye-in standing beside him felt much the same.
Who could have imagined it?
No matter how blind to power one became, even if the Murim Alliance was rotting from within, he’d never have dreamed it had decayed this far.
A Murim Alliance warrior was part of a human trafficking ring?
And was this the only time?
Unlikely. This was proof enough that an invisible hand had spread throughout the Murim Alliance, deep into its core and across its entirety.
Still, whether it rotted this way or that, rot was rot—there was nothing particularly shocking about it anymore.
So Jang Hye-in’s bewilderment fell to the ground, and Sa U-rin picked it up instead. Because there was something even more alarming.
“But U-rin.”
“……What is it?”
“They kidnapped children too.”
What could they possibly want to sell a child of only ten years old for?
“Children?”
“Yes. Ten years old, they said.”
Something flickered through Sa U-rin’s mind in that instant.
“……Ten years old?”
“Yes. But why do you look so surprised?”
Sa U-rin rarely showed surprise.
Yet he was surprised now. And for good reason.
Seol-hwa came to mind—someone he’d lived near as a child, long ago. And he found himself wondering if the kidnapped ten-year-old child could feel the Primordial Energy the way Seol-hwa and Sa U-rin himself could.
If by any chance……that child could sense the Primordial Energy too…….
Perhaps…….
The true purpose of the human trafficking ring was to kidnap children who could feel the Primordial Energy. Human trafficking was merely the façade.
“But someone had already taken that child away.”
“……Is that so?”
That was a shame.
Still, he was convinced that the child had been kidnapped the same way Seol-hwa was, long ago.
The fact that they’d taken just that one child suggested it.
“Ah.”
“Deputy Chief.”
“Hmm?”
“Please take the four on the right. I’ll handle the five on the left.”
“Sure. But when are you going to pull that blade out?”
A bandit he’d already killed was still dangling from Sa U-rin’s sword.
“Ah.”
Only then did Sa U-rin wrench the blade free from the bandit’s heart.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes.”
With that, Sa U-rin charged at the bandits, while Jang Hye-in attacked those who weren’t bandits—rather, the warriors belonging to the Murim Alliance’s Outer Sect.
Seven or eight minutes passed, and Jang Hye-in finished first. He turned his gaze toward Sa U-rin.
“What are you doing?”
He was still fighting. Unexpectedly so.
“Just a moment.”
He cut through the bandit leader’s heart and killed him. Now only Chae-ju Son-geun remained.
Chae-ju Son-geun stood gasping for breath, his eyes wild with panic.
“……Damn it. Who the hell are you two?!”
“Who? You bastard. I’m here to kill you……or rather, I’m a woman!”
Jang Hye-in answered his words by swinging her blade toward Chae-ju’s neck.
But then.
Clang.
Clang?
How could a sword make that sound when striking a man’s neck?
Jang Hye-in stared at Sa U-rin with utter disbelief.
“……Why are you blocking? Have you lost your mind?”
Sa U-rin had raised his blade to stop Jang Hye-in from striking Chae-ju’s neck.
“There’s something I need to know.”
“……What could you possibly need to know?”
“About that child.”
“Why?”
“Just a nagging feeling.”
“I see.”
Sa U-rin directed his question at Chae-ju Son-geun, who was now reduced to a pitiful wreck.
“Who took the ten-year-old child yesterday? Why did you kidnap the boy?”
“Kheh-kheh-kheh. I’m going to die anyway—why should I answer your questions?”
It wasn’t wrong. Where there’s a way out, there must be a way in.
Jang Hye-in sheathed his sword and rolled up his sleeves.
“Hold him.”
“Why?”
“He won’t talk. So we’ll make him talk by force.”
“Ah.”
With that, Sa U-rin pressed Chae-ju Son-geun’s Pressure Point, rendering him immobile.
“That do it?”
He’d forgotten such a simple method existed. Of course, sealing a master’s Pressure Point was far from easy in practice, despite how it sounded in words.
Yet when Sa U-rin did it, the whole thing looked effortlessly simple.
“…Yes.”
“You’re planning to torture him, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
At the mention of torture, Chae-ju Son-geun let out a raspy laugh and hurled words at them.
“You think I’d break under mere torture? Fools.”
So Sa U-rin pressed deeper into another of Chae-ju Son-geun’s Pressure Points.
“…What is that?”
“It heightens the senses. Makes everything more acute.”
“…Really? There’s a Pressure Point like that?”
Jang Hye-in had never heard of such a thing. He’d never studied Pressure Points deeply enough to know if humans possessed one. In truth, he’d never delved that far into the subject.
“It exists, so I used it.”
“So how much sharper do the senses become?”
“This is my first time trying it, so I’m not entirely sure.”
“Is that so?”
Curious, Jang Hye-in pinched Chae-ju’s flesh hard—the man who lay immobilized by the Pressure Point.
And then—
“AAAAAAHHHHH!”
Chae-ju shrieked like a madman.
Jang Hye-in’s eyes widened in surprise.
“This isn’t a joke.”
The effect was extraordinary.
“…It is.”
Sa U-rin himself hadn’t anticipated such potency.
Chae-ju Son-geun was equally astonished. All that had happened was a pinch—yet the pain was unbearable.
‘…Damn it.’
Fear crept in.
“Shall we begin in earnest then?”
At that moment, Chae-ju Son-geun’s trembling lips parted.
“…Wait. Just a moment.”
“Shut it.”
“No. I’ll tell you everything.”
“I said shut it.”
Jang Hye-in leaned close to Son-geun. But though torture hadn’t even begun, a tremendous shriek tore from the man’s mouth.
“AHHHHHHHHH!”
Exasperated, Jang Hye-in stared at Son-geun as if he were insane.
“…What’s wrong with you?”
Son-geun didn’t know why he’d screamed. The mere thought of Jang Hye-in torturing him was agony beyond measure.
“…I’ll t-tell you everything. Please… just don’t torture me.”
“Will you now?”
Sa U-rin answered as well.
“Yes.”
Then Chae-ju Son-geun’s mouth moved without pause.
“About that child you mentioned—I don’t know much. But this much is certain: that child possesses a special ability. In fact, the reason we’re holding this gathering tonight is to safely hand over the child and receive a large sum of money in return.”
Sa U-rin asked Chae-ju Son-geun a question.
“Do you know what that special ability is?”
“I don’t know either. But one thing I know for certain.”
“Tell me.”
“This human trafficking ring exists to gather children with special abilities.”
‘Just as I thought.’
Sa U-rin’s suspicion had been exact.
Jang Hye-in noticed Sa U-rin’s composure—as if he’d already known—and asked him.
“……What? You already knew about this?”
“I merely made an educated guess.”
“How?”
“I’ll explain that later.”
“……All right.”
This time, Jang Hye-in turned his questions toward Chae-ju Son-geun.
“So, does this trafficking organization have a name? Or something they call themselves?”
“No official name. But we have what we call them. We call them Nok-rim.”
“Nok-rim?”
“That’s right.”
“Neighbors? That’s absurd.”
“Thanks to those people, we lowlifes manage to live comfortably. That’s why we call them that.”
Jang Hye-in didn’t stop there. He continued pressing for answers.
“So those corpses I left behind—the Murim Alliance ones—they always work together, then?”
Chae-ju Son-geun studied Jang Hye-in for a moment.
“Are you one of the Murim Alliance yourself, then?”
“You bastard, just answer the questions. Unless you’d prefer to die hard.”
“……I understand. I’d say it happens that way every time.”
“This is infuriating. Absolutely infuriating. So the Murim Alliance joined hands with the bandits, is that it?”
“……I can’t say for certain. But it seems likely. Similar things happen not just in our bandit den, but in others too.”
“Not all of them do this, then?”
“Apparently not all of them. I believe I’ve told you everything now. As promised, let me go painlessly.”
Jang Hye-in raised his own blade to comply—but then.
Whoosh.
A spray of blood.
“……What?”
Sa U-rin had fired a Wind Blade straight through Chae-ju Son-geun’s forehead. The man went peacefully, exactly as he’d wished.
“You can use Wind Blade too?”
“Yes. Is there a problem with that?”
“……No.”
Just jealous, that’s all.
Damn jealous.
What in the world can’t he do?
His face is flawless, his martial skill would rival a Murim Alliance vice-commander despite not even reaching adulthood, and now he casually wields Wind Blade like it’s nothing. What’s next?
He’s quick-witted too. Actually, sometimes he’s remarkably sharp. Sure, there are moments when he seems a bit slow—but that’s just inexperience.
No matter how good a person is, it’s still irritating.
Ah. Right. I almost forgot.
My youngest isn’t even human.
‘……A monster, that’s what he is.’
* * *
Seo-hee was rescued safely, and she and Jong-cheol greeted their reunion with a fervent embrace.
Just as Jang Hye-in had promised.
And Jang Hye-in and his unit returned to the Murim Alliance.
It was early the next morning after they’d returned to the Murim Alliance.
The unit members rose at dawn to begin their day with Energy Cultivation Practice. It was a habit formed back when they were in Sunyeong District. Thanks to it, they’d made tremendous progress.
But everyone’s eyes were shadowed with exhaustion. So Sa U-rin asked.
“What’s wrong with you all?”
U-chan answered bluntly.
“What do you mean?”
“You all look like you didn’t sleep.”
“……Sleep? Ha. Hhh. We didn’t.”
How could they have?
Or rather, he’d thought they could have. But……
Damn it all.
Sleep wouldn’t come. Now that he’d actually gone through with it, fear was flooding in.
Death?
Yes. Living in Gangho, you never knew when or where you’d die. That was true. By now he’d made some peace with it and carried on well enough. So there was no real reason not to go through with this either.
But then……
It wasn’t as though he’d die gloriously in combat with someone.
Not knowing when, where, or how death would come—that was the part driving him mad.
They’d all spent the night awake with the same thoughts gnawing at them.
And yet……
“You slept well, I take it?”
“Yes.”
“……Good heavens……. I mean…….”
“You mean what?”
“……Never mind. It’s nothing.”
Better not to say anything. What was the point of talking to someone who wouldn’t blink an eye even if you told him he was dying tomorrow?
“Let’s train.”
“Very well.”
And so the dawn practice began. Half an hour later, the members headed to the dining hall.
To eat breakfast.
They collected their meals and sat down, but instead of eating, everyone stared blankly at their bowls as if in prayer.
So Sa U-rin asked again.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“……Ah……, well…….”
The food wouldn’t go down. Worry was eating at them.
What if there was poison in the rice right in front of them?
If they died, they died—was that it?
He wanted to tell Sa U-rin: ‘You drop dead instead.’
So Jang Hye-in spoke up.
“Sa U-rin.”
“Yes?”
“From today on, you eat first.”
“Why?”
As if he hadn’t just been griping about the boy’s lack of table manners.
“Can’t you just eat first for me?”
The youngest, Sa U-rin, wouldn’t die even if they poured poison directly into his mouth. That’s why the kid wasn’t quite human.
Anyway.
If there was poison, Sa U-rin would tell them, and then they could eat in peace.
“Understood.”
And so Sa U-rin began to eat. But there he was, silently wolfing down his food without a shred of consideration for anyone else.
The heartless bastard.
“Sa U-rin, is it good?”
“It’s decent enough.”
Decent? What was?
The rice?
Or the poison?
Couldn’t he give them a hint?
They were starving to death.
A sigh.
Jang Hye-in and the other members had no idea how much longer they’d have to endure this.

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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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