Murim Login - Chapter 111

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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 111
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Four thoroughbred horses thundered down the Official Road. Though the steeds—exhausted from insufficient rest—gasped for breath with every stride, I could not afford to slacken the reins.
Time Remaining
: 16:25:32
31, 30. The seconds continued their relentless countdown.
Three time periods had already elapsed—a full six hours. On the way here, I’d stopped at a small village hoping to procure fresh mounts, but found only sluggish pack animals fit for hauling cargo.
‘I need to rest, but…’
There was no way around it.
I was already pushing hard enough, yet the time limit remained perilously tight. If I continued at this pace, the horses would collapse.
‘There’s no choice.’
I was about to suggest to Wol-hwa and Jin Moo-kyung that we take a brief respite.
“Huh?”
“Young Master Jin! Ahead!”
I had already spotted them before Wol-hwa’s cry. Dozens of paces forward, a cluster of dark-clad men blocked the Official Road.
All wore tattered clothing, and curved swords jutted from their belts. There was no mistaking what they were.
‘The Red Wind Gang.’
The bandits who had been circling and intimidating what appeared to be ordinary travelers suddenly turned their heads at the sound of our hoofbeats.
Spotting me riding ahead at the front, the Horse Bandits bared their yellowed teeth in grins.
“Well, well, another customer arrives. Halt!”
“Right, then.”
They demanded I stop, so I had to oblige. What choice did I have?
Crash!
“Gahhh!”
“Ack!”
My thoroughbred trampled the two or three men blocking our path before finally coming to a stop. The bandits—and even the captive travelers—stared at me with wide eyes.
“You, you bastard!”
I dismounted swiftly from the saddle.
“Just checking—you’re the Red Wind Gang, right?”
“Who the hell are you?”
“Your reaction confirms it. I’m short on time, so let’s finish this quickly.”
Without hesitation, I swept a kick at the nearest man’s leg.
With a sickening crack, his shin shattered and he crumpled to the ground.
The sudden violence snapped the bandits from their stupor, and they hastily raised their curved swords and spears.
“Kill him!”
“Always watch your rear when facing men.”
“What?”
“Watch your backs.”
The moment ten pairs of eyes turned to look behind them at my words—
Crash-crack! Thud!
Three thoroughbred horses at full gallop swept through them like a scythe.
* * *
The battle ended before it even began. Those struck by the horses lay sprawled like bowling pins, while the rest were subdued with ease.
“P-please, spare us!”
“I won’t kill you. Though I’ll need to fix a few things.”
“Aahhh!”
As Jin Moo-kyung methodically broke the limbs of the surviving bandits, Hyuk Moo-jin led the horses that had been tethered by the roadside.
“These vigorous ones should work well as replacements, don’t you think? There are at least ten of them, so we can take them all and swap whenever we tire.”
I agreed completely. Unlike the last group, these horse bandits fortunately each possessed their own mounts.
‘Still….’
Just how many members does this Red Wind Gang have?
According to the information obtained from the Ancestral Shrine, over a hundred remnants had scattered across northern Shanxi.
Some hid in mountain valleys, others in remote villages or bustling towns, waiting to converge at assembly points upon command.
‘These aren’t stragglers.’
They were reserve forces executing a strategic operation. The Red Wind Master was recruiting reinforcements from the highlands while simultaneously sending his remaining subordinates northward.
I now fully understood why Wol-hwa had called the Red Wind Master such a formidable figure.
‘The judgment to retreat swiftly when the situation turns unfavorable, the meticulous preparation of contingency plans even amid retreat, and the drive to execute those plans.’
Beyond that, he was said to possess considerable martial prowess himself.
At this point, it felt almost disrespectful to treat him as a mere bandit.
‘This situation has become considerably complicated.’
Now I understand why the Quest rank changed to Peak. As it turns out, the Red Wind Master isn’t a Peak Master or anything like that, right?
I asked Wol-hwa just to be sure, and she nodded immediately.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“…Ah.”
“There’s always a reason for such rapid prominence. While not widely known, according to our sect’s information, the Red Wind Master is indeed a Peak Master.”
I was left speechless and asked.
“But why would a Peak Master resort to banditry?”
“Among mountain and water bandits, there are even Transcendent Masters. What’s to stop a Peak Master from banditry?”
“Transcendent Masters? Among bandits?”
“Ask the Green Forest Alliance Master or the Yangtze River Water Bandit Alliance Master when you meet them. Though I doubt that will happen.”
“…I sincerely hope it doesn’t.”
Transcendent Masters—I genuinely hoped never to encounter one.
I shook my head and mounted the newly acquired horse. Jin Moo-kyung and Hyuk Moo-jin, having bound the Red Wind Gang bandits and handed them over to the common folk, followed behind.
Time Remaining
: 15:59:13
Even now, the countdown continued. We kicked our horses’ flanks and rode on, leaving behind the grateful bows of the common people.
“Hyah!”
* * *
Deep within the Inner Court of the Hangsan Inspection Bureau existed a flower garden accessible only to a select few. Chul Moo-baek of Hangshan Lake was the only outsider ever granted such privilege.
“So this is my first time visiting this place.”
“It was a special place. Father would visit the Flower Garden whenever he had something troubling him.”
Eun So-wol walked slowly through the snow-covered Flower Garden when she discovered a single frost-kissed bloom and came to an abrupt halt.
“It was Mother’s favorite flower.”
“Was it?”
“Yes. Whenever she tended the garden, she would always bring me here and teach me the names of the flowers.”
Eun So-wol fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, before continuing.
“But now I can’t remember its name.”
“It was long ago. Don’t trouble yourself over it.”
“Uncle Chul.”
“Hmm?”
“I… I actually dislike flowers. I only came because Mother loved them. I never had any real interest in them. It’s the same reason Father sought out this garden.”
Eun So-wol slowly surveyed the snow-blanketed Flower Garden. The flowers had withered, and the burial mounds arranged in the garden’s center had grown from one to four.
Her gaze grew distant as she silently beheld the mounds where her family lay sleeping.
‘Whose fault is this?’
Perhaps it was her own—the fault of being born as the daughter of a Murim master.
That was why she had to lose Mother ten years ago, followed by Father and her two older brothers, one after another.
‘I should have stopped him to the very end…’
Suddenly, a memory from two months ago flooded her mind, obscuring her vision.
It was a conversation between father and daughter on a certain late night, just the two of them.
‘I must entangle you with the third son of the Taewon Jin Family.’
‘The third son? Surely you don’t intend to bind me to that reckless fool?’
‘No. But it will become a scandal you will find difficult to endure.’
‘I see.’
‘Is that all you have to say?’
‘What can I do? It is my misfortune to have such a ruthless father.’
‘You are a puzzling child. Are you truly unaffected?’
‘If I said I opposed it, would you reconsider?’
‘At least I would seek another way.’
‘Then war with the Taewon Jin Family is inevitable.’
‘Now is the opportune moment, with the Shanxi Sleeping Dragon and the Sword of Heaven absent. This chance will not come again.’
‘Even without the Family Lord and the Second Young Master, the Taewon Jin Family is formidable. Please reconsider.’
‘Impossible. My decision is final.’
‘Then you must achieve victory. Become so dominant in Shanxi that no one dares whisper a word of scandal about me.’
‘…Had you been born a man, I would have made you my successor.’
‘I am grateful to have been born a woman. I have no interest in such matters of succession.’
Her fears soon became reality.
Within a fortnight, Lee So-gun returned as a cold corpse. Not long after, Lee Cheon-baek fell, and eventually even her eldest brother Lee So-gwang was lost.
‘Now I am alone.’
Thus, the last remaining blood of the Blood Wolf Sword Lee Cheon-baek became the new sect leader.
A warm palm gently caressed Eun So-wol’s shoulder as she stood in silent vigil before the burial mounds.
“I apologize. I should have arrived sooner….”
“Uncle Chul, please don’t say such things. If you hadn’t come, our sect would never have endured until now.”
The Hengshan Sword Sect was being pushed back relentlessly by the Red Wind Gang’s fierce assault. Without Hangshan Lake, a supreme master who had rushed here upon learning of Lee Cheon-baek’s crisis, the enemies would never have retreated.
“I will tear that bastard’s limbs from his body and kill him.”
Eun So-wol shook her head at the thought of the Red Wind Master.
In a life-or-death duel between supreme masters, Chul Moo-baek held the advantage.
There had already been one clash between them, and Pung Yang had retreated with minor internal injuries.
‘But such an opportunity will never come again.’
The Hengshan Sword Sect constantly gathered intelligence about the horse bandits of the Northern Plateau and remained vigilant.
Though there were dozens of bandit gangs in the highlands, the Red Wind Gang led by Pung Yang had grown frighteningly strong enough to stand out.
Among the leaders of the plateau, he was particularly formidable and meticulous. That man was Pung Yang.
‘Such a man could never engage in a life-or-death duel with Uncle Chul. If I rashly confronted him, I would be the one who suffered.’
Eun So-wol turned her gaze toward Chul Moo-baek.
“Uncle Chul. Could you tell me once more about Pung Yang’s martial prowess?”
“Early supreme mastery. His Daoist techniques and sword arts had reached enlightenment. However.”
A deep furrow appeared between Chul Moo-baek’s brows.
“Each move was treacherous beyond compare. It seemed he had learned the martial arts of the Demonic Heretics.”
“The Demonic Heretics….”
After the Great Righteous-Demonic War, the Demonic Heretics in the Central Plains became synonymous with death itself. While heterodox sects claiming to be righteous might exist, none dared openly proclaim themselves as heretics.
“It is merely speculation thus far. I will know for certain when we clash again.”
“I trust you, Uncle Chul. But do not underestimate the Red Wind Master. He has plenty of subordinates who can die in his stead.”
Counting the enemies pressing down from above and below, they numbered nearly three hundred in total force.
Meanwhile, the Hengshan Sword Sect, even with all its martial artists gathered from each branch, fell short of half that number.
With the situation as it was, morale among not only ordinary martial artists but also the newly appointed senior members had grown low.
“So-wol. May I speak a word?”
The words of a benefactor who had staked his own life for the sake of friendship with a dead friend. Eun So-wol bowed respectfully.
“I will listen carefully.”
Chul Moo-baek opened his mouth heavily.
“Leave this place.”
A single phrase laden with profound meaning.
Yet there was not a moment’s hesitation in Eun So-wol’s response.
“I apologize.”
“It is not yet too late. You must survive.”
“It is not yet over. I will survive.”
“If Cheon-baek had wanted this….”
“Uncle.”
At her resolute voice, Chul Moo-baek fell silent. In Eun So-wol’s clear eyes burned an unwavering determination.
“This is what I want. As the Sect Leader of the Hengshan Sword Sect.”
“Sigh….”
Chul Moo-baek exhaled a sigh instead of answering.
“I’ve already imposed upon you greatly, Uncle. Even if you choose to leave now, I won’t harbor any resentment.”
“Must you hear my answer to set your mind at ease?”
Eun So-wol shook her head. It was Chul Moo-baek, who had cherished her like a daughter since childhood. In many ways, he was more of a father to her than her own father had been.
“I shall never forget this kindness, Uncle Chul. You are a benefactor to both me and the Hangsan Inspection Bureau.”
“I’ve watched you since you were small… you’ve always been a cunning child.”
“Cunning as a child, and ruthless as a woman now.”
Watching Eun So-wol smile faintly, Chul Moo-baek could only release a series of deep sighs.
“Do we have any chance of victory?”
“Right now, I’d say ten percent.”
“What?”
“But if reinforcements arrive, fifty percent or better.”
“Reinforcements? From the Taewon Jin Family, perhaps?”
“A messenger pigeon arrived two hours ago from the Haowen Sect’s Jeong-yang branch.”
“How many are they sending? A hundred? Two hundred?”
“Four. One of them is Jin Moo-kyung, the Divine Sword. The other is…”
Eun So-wol let out a soft laugh. The bitter history entangled with that person came to mind.
“Jin Tae-kyung, the Shanxi Sleeping Dragon.”

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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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