Murim Login - Chapter 105

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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 105
Crack!
The moment my fist drove into that foul-smelling snout, I knew instinctively—all this creature would ever eat again was liquid nutrition through a tube.
Boom! Crash!
The first one flew backward in a straight line and lost consciousness before his body even touched the ground.
Level 31. A martial artist who’d just entered the first rank, but he couldn’t evade my fist.
“You filthy bastard, where’s that stench coming from? You’re ruining my appetite.”
In that instant, every sound in the Inn ceased. But it lasted only a moment.
“Gwang-su’s down!”
“This little punk!”
“Kill him!”
Screech, screech, screech!
Five curved blades drawn in unison. Five pairs of eyes gleaming with murderous intent. The Inn’s patrons scattered with screams.
I suddenly remembered the metallic stench of blood emanating from the one who’d just collapsed.
‘Heh, look at these bastards.’
They were accustomed to killing. You could tell just from how they didn’t hesitate to draw their weapons despite being the ones who’d started this.
“Who the hell are you people?”
“Reapers.”
The moment they answered, they rushed at me. Four curved blades aimed precisely at my limbs, the fifth driving straight for my chest.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Slow. One first-rank among the five, four second-rank.
Their intent to take me down was solid, but their footwork was sluggish and the net of blades they spread before me was full of gaps.
“Next time, at least try to surround me.”
With that helpful advice, I flicked both hands toward them. In the briefest instant, two short daggers summoned from my inventory sliced through the air.
Whoosh!
Dagger throwing. In Murim, they call it the flying blade technique, don’t they?
I’d never trained it for actual combat, but it works fine. Whether it’s the blade or the hilt—as long as it connects, that’s all that matters.
Smack! Thud.
Yes, just like that.
One of them took the dagger hilt to his forehead, cracking it open, and collapsed without even a scream. What about the other one?
Clang!
“Cheap tricks!”
Whether by luck or surprisingly good eyesight, he managed to block it.
I flashed him a bright smile.
“Is that dagger yours now?”
“You threw it, you bastard! What nonsense are you spouting!”
“An honest one, I see. I’ll give you both as a reward.”
Thwip, thwip!
“Gack… my hands were definitely empty…”
Thud.
“My short sword has infinite reproduction.”
I was right to stop by the weapon armory before departing from the Taewon Jin Family.
I’d entered empty-handed and left empty-handed, yet my inventory now overflowed with dozens of seized weapons as spoils of war.
“What… what is this?”
In the blink of an eye, everything had transpired. The remaining three hesitated mid-charge and retreated a step.
“Not coming? Then I’ll come to you?”
“W-wait, Young Master! We’ve been rude. Please accept our sincere apologies and compensation—”
Look at how fast they switched tactics.
These bastards were just calling me a brat moments ago, and now it’s “Young Master.”
“Apologies?”
“Y-yes!”
“Not needed!”
I clenched my fists and charged at them. Dealing with scum like this required no martial arts.
“Damn it, strike!”
Whoosh!
A step to the side.
I dodged the curved blade slashing straight down at my crown, then drove a punch into the exposed ribs beside me.
Crack.
A stifled groan and the man crumpled. I turned to the next opponent. A system window floated above his head displaying “Level 35.”
“You!”
Screech!
True to his rank as a first-class master, his martial arts were refined. His movements were economical, his curved blade aimed with precision at vital points.
But…
‘Overwhelming strength and speed render technique meaningless.’
My level and internal energy were low, yet my stats far surpassed first-class masters by a vast margin. Add to that the combat experience I’d accumulated in Murim, and this man was no match for me whatsoever.
Crack!
His eyes lost focus. The curved blade, unable to complete its swing, slipped from his grasp.
Clang.
The last remaining man, witnessing everything, stood half-dazed.
“The… the captain fell in just one exchange… who are you?”
“Introductions? You’ll have to make them with my fist. This one here is my right hand. What about you?”
I stepped forward with my clenched right fist, and the man began wildly swinging his curved blade through the air.
“D-don’t come!”
“Requests should be made politely.”
“Please don’t come, sir!”
“He’s actually doing it.”
Still, when someone begs so respectfully, I should oblige.
As I stopped walking, color returned to the man’s face.
“Th-thank you! I’ll live righteously from now on!”
“No need to thank me. And you don’t have to live righteously either.”
“Pardon?”
“Redemption isn’t something that comes so easily, is it? Wouldn’t you agree, Moo-jin?”
Hyuk Moo-jin, who had positioned himself behind the man without my noticing, answered.
“That’s right.”
“Huh!”
I spun around at the sound, but it was already too late. Hyuk Moo-jin was bringing a wooden chair down with all his might onto the man’s skull.
Crack!
With a dull thud, the last of them collapsed. Hyuk Moo-jin set the chair down and muttered under his breath.
“Thank you, and I’m sorry.”
“What could you possibly be grateful for with scum like that?”
“There are such things.”
His gaze was remarkably insolent, wasn’t it.
Just as I was considering whether to land a punch on him for once, Hyuk Moo-jin, who had been searching the fallen men’s belongings, tilted his head curiously.
“Hmm? Chief, these men seem rather suspicious.”
“In what way?”
“Take a look at this.”
When Hyuk Moo-jin rolled up one man’s sleeve, a scar appeared as if branded by a branding iron. No, it wasn’t merely a scar.
It was more like….
“A tattoo?”
Crude and savage though it was, it was unmistakably a kind of tattoo. In the shape of a galloping horse.
“Is it just this one with it?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t examined all of them yet.”
“Check the others too.”
“Yes.”
Hyuk Moo-jin gathered the unconscious men in one place and stripped off their upper garments. Forearms, chests, necks—regardless of location, they all bore the same horse tattoo.
‘They belong to some organization….’
I had already known they weren’t mere street thugs. Not only were there two first-rate masters among them, but a word carelessly uttered by the last one had caught my attention.
‘He definitely said “chief.”‘
Martial artists from a different sect? No. Their bearing was too rough and their clothing too disuniform for that.
It was far more likely they were a bandit organization of considerable scale.
‘Horse tattoo, horse tattoo….’
Then, suddenly, a word flashed through my mind. A name I had first heard during the war with the Hengshan Sword Sect.
“Horse Bandits?”
An answer came from somewhere in response to my murmur.
“There are dozens of Horse Bandit groups in the Northern Plateau, you know. It was quite a mistake for Lee Cheon-baek to hire them.”
I turned my head to find the source of that languid yet bewitching voice. On the stairs leading to the second floor stood a woman with a veil draped across her face.
“It’s been a while, our young master.”
Our young master?
The moment those words reached my ears, I knew the woman’s identity.
‘Wol-hwa.’
That was her.
* * *
Hyuk Moo-jin and I were shown to a guest room on the top floor of the Fenghuang Inn. Though calling it a guest room was generous—we had the entire floor to ourselves, which made it more of a penthouse.
“This is the first time we’ve allowed men to stay here. And two of them at that.”
Wol-hwa’s smile, bathed in the soft lamplight, was dazzling. I’d felt it from our first meeting, but she was a true femme fatale.
Even I, who had met her several times already, felt my stomach flutter. Hyuk Moo-jin was no exception.
“It is… the honor of three lifetimes.”
“….”
Look at this fool with his eyes glazed over. He’s completely smitten.
She flashed a knowing smile at Hyuk Moo-jin before turning her gaze to me.
“How have you been, Young Master Jin? Though I suppose I can’t call you Young Master anymore, can I?”
Seeing the mischievous expression on Wol-hwa’s face, I could easily predict what was coming. I hastily waved my hand.
“Just call me whatever’s comfortable. Like before.”
“Then how about the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi?”
“…That’s dreadful.”
“Why? The Shanxi Sleeping Dragon sounds impressive. If you’ve earned such a reputation before twenty, shouldn’t you be a bit more proud?”
The Shanxi Sleeping Dragon and the fiery charisma of Tae-kyung were equally ridiculous. Seeing my expression, Wol-hwa giggled and took a drag from her long pipe.
“I’m just teasing. Young Master Jin is always fun to tease, after all.”
“Pardon me for interjecting, but…”
Hyuk Moo-jin, having regained some composure, looked between Wol-hwa and me.
“Are you two… acquainted?”
“Nothing worth explaining.”
The relationship was too embarrassing to elaborate on. I cut it short and gave Wol-hwa a meaningful look—a signal to play along.
She caught on quickly and nodded.
“He was a regular customer at my establishment. Though not anymore.”
“….”
As if he understood anything from that.
Then again, it was amusing that she was being coy now, when she’d been so open in front of Jin Wi-kyung and Wi Paeng.
Meanwhile, Hyuk Moo-jin looked skeptical, as if he hadn’t quite grasped her meaning.
“You mean the Fenghuang Inn is your establishment?”
“This? Oh, this is just a side business. My real profession is something else. Something only a woman as beautiful and charming as I am could do.”
“Then perhaps…”
“You’re probably thinking of the right thing.”
“Giru?”
“Correct.”
Hyuk Moo-jin’s eyes widened.
“So the legendary proprietress of the Fenghuang Inn is a courtesan?”
“Young warrior, you should watch your words. That doesn’t sound very pleasant to my ears.”
“If I’ve offended you, I apologize. However, your own conduct just now doesn’t appear particularly refined either.”
I was more startled by his sudden seriousness than anything else.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
“Team leader, no—Young Master is a direct descendant of the Taewon Jin Family. Even if she were the most beautiful woman under heaven, we cannot treat Young Master with such negligence. As a member of the Main Residence, I cannot stand by and watch.”
“A moment ago you called it the honor of three lifetimes.”
“…In any case, how could a mere courtesan presume to—ugh!”
I delivered a crisp blow to the back of his head and opened my mouth.
“She is the director of the Haowen Sect’s Shanxi branch.”
“Whether she’s the director of the Haowen Sect or whatever—what? What are you saying?”
“Are your ears blocked? The director of the Haowen Sect’s Shanxi branch, I said. She provided absolutely, extremely, critically decisive assistance in this war with the Hangsan Inspection Bureau.”
“I’m fine, Young Master Jin.”
Wol-hwa lowered her eyes sadly.
“After all, I’m nothing but a courtesan.”
Hyuk Moo-jin, who had been silent for a moment, bowed his head.
“Miss, or rather, Director. Please allow me to apologize…”
“Then keep your mouth shut.”
“Yes, sir.”
Wol-hwa let out a soft laugh.
“You have quite the entertaining subordinate.”
They say a cuttlefish brings shame to the fish market, and this fool Hyuk Moo-jin brings shame to the entire Taewon Jin Family. I couldn’t even bear to look him in the face.
“…I apologize for everything.”
“The Young Master has nothing to apologize for. Besides, it wasn’t entirely wrong.”
I was grateful she let it pass so gracefully.
Wol-hwa exhaled a stream of smoke and spoke.
“You’re heading to the Hangsan Inspection Bureau?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask what your purpose is?”
“Don’t you already know?”
She was Shanxi Province’s foremost information broker. There was no need to ask how she knew.
“I was hoping you would tell me directly, Young Master Jin… How disappointing.”
“Public and private matters must remain distinct.”
“How cold-hearted. Then may I make one proposal? You could call it a transaction if you prefer.”
“I’ll hear it and decide.”
Wol-hwa tapped her long pipe to shake out the ash.
“Come with me. To the Hangsan Inspection Bureau.”
“What?”
What was she talking about?

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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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