Murim Login - Chapter 131

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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 131
“Fresh pork, just caught! Twenty wen per jin! Bargain prices, bargain!”
“Oh my, how wonderful. This ring suits your finger perfectly. It’s normally worth a silver tael, but since your fingers are so delicate, I’ll take half a tael. What do you say?”
“Regarding these elixir pills, I must tell you—consume just one and your mind becomes crystal clear, your strength surges forth like….”
The street overflowed with countless stalls and the raucous cries of Merchant Si-jeon and his peers hawking their wares.
Observing the densely packed streets of Taewon for the first time, I let out a low whistle.
‘Quite the crowd indeed.’
The faces were remarkably diverse as well. Market Street merchants mingled with quack medicine peddlers and those draped in fine silk, while beggars with tattered clothing shuffled through the throngs.
Murim practitioners with swords at their waists were not uncommon, yet the people paid them little mind and continued about their business.
‘The capital of Shanxi Province, they say.’
Though Shanxi Province contained dozens of towns and cities, Taewon held a particularly distinguished position among them.
Blessed with numerous advantages, it had even served as the capital of a certain dynasty in the distant past.
Of course, that dynasty had long since fallen, but Taewon continued to flourish afterward…or so Hyuk Moo-jin had told me.
‘That must be why the Taewon Jin Family could endure for three centuries.’
Abundant resources and manpower. Economic strength.
When I thought about it, some reckless fool had squandered the family treasury at Giru, yet they still possessed the capacity to wage war against the Hengshan Sword Sect.
Had it been the Hangsan Jin Family instead of the Taewon Jin Family, they would have been ruined long ago.
‘One cannot pass through Taewon without treading upon the Taewon Jin Family’s lands.’
As I recalled something I had heard before, Hyuk Moo-jin posed a question.
“What occupies your thoughts so deeply?”
“Land speculation has its merits. Just pondering such things.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s something like that. You….”
“I need not understand?”
“You grasp things quickly.”
“I’ve grown weary of that remark.”
“Yes, I’m weary of you as well.”
“Then why did you bring me along?”
“Let’s speak plainly—I didn’t bring you. My Elder Brother assigned you to me.”
Jin Wi-kyung had sent me ahead in preparation for tomorrow’s luncheon with the Provincial Governor of Shanxi. He seemed intent on accommodating my capricious nature without incident, as one would with a temperamental child.
In any case, that was why Hyuk Moo-jin accompanied me. As a native of Taewon, he proved ideal as an attendant in many respects.
“Speaking of which, isn’t this your hometown?”
“Yes, it is.”
Hyuk Moo-jin gazed at the street with complex emotions in his eyes.
“Only five years have passed, yet it’s changed so much.”
“You must have visited several times in between.”
“No. I haven’t returned even once during all this time.”
I was taken aback by this unexpected revelation.
“Not even once in five years?”
“I began my martial training quite late. To catch up with others, what choice did I have but to exert myself ten, twenty times over?”
“Hmm.”
“I never expected you to return like this.”
It was rare—almost the first time I’d seen Hyuk Moo-jin wear such a serious expression.
When I thought about it, despite his usual frivolous demeanor, this fellow was a first-rate master who excelled at what he did. It was only because monsters surrounded us so densely that his true caliber went unnoticed, but his cultivation was far from shallow.
Such achievement was only possible through blood, sweat, and tears. And beyond that….
‘He seems to possess considerable talent as well.’
[Lv.48 Hyuk Moo-jin]
His rapidly ascending level was proof of that.
At this rate, could this fellow suddenly become a peak master?
Hyuk Moo-jin, visiting his hometown for the first time in ages, was too absorbed in nostalgia to notice my renewed gaze.
“Ah, that auntie is still here.”
His voice carried both warmth and a distant longing.
Where Hyuk Moo-jin pointed, a middle-aged woman with graying hair was selling various snacks from a small stall.
“Do you happen to like candied haw skewers?”
Normally I would have told him to stop spouting nonsense and keep moving, but something about the atmosphere felt different. I responded with deliberate kindness.
“I’ve never eaten one in my life.”
“When I was young, I wanted candied haw skewers so badly. I’d squat in front of her stall, sucking on my fingers, and she’d give me one or two.”
Hyuk Moo-jin continued with a bitter smile.
“I can’t tell you how envious I was of the other children then. They’d all come holding their parents’ hands, buying candied haw skewers and sweets, wandering through Market Street… I can still see it clearly.”
How was I supposed to handle this atmosphere?
I’d suspected there was some backstory, but I hadn’t anticipated the conversation would take this turn.
‘I should have realized it from the fact that he hadn’t come back in five years.’
In Murim, there were unusually many orphans. Just looking around this place, you could easily spot young children in tattered rags wandering through Market Street.
‘He was probably in a similar situation.’
Without family, there was no reason to return. Coming back only stirred painful childhood memories of lingering before the stall, craving candied haw skewers.
Perhaps that’s why he’d devoted himself to cultivation—to forget that pain.
For him, the Taewon Jin Family had become his home, and his companions had become his family.
‘And I didn’t even know… I’ve been far too harsh with him all this time.’
Damn it, my nose suddenly felt tight.
Hyuk Moo-jin immediately noticed this change in me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just. The fine dust is particularly bad today, I suppose—my nose feels itchy.”
“Fine dust?”
“Never mind that. Should we each get a candied haw skewer?”
“I think we should stop by the inn first. If we don’t secure a room before sunset, there won’t be any left.”
“Come on, how long does it take to eat one of those? It’s not even that expensive. Besides, you must have received plenty of travel funds, right?”
“That’s true.”
“Let’s eat everything you want and have a good time while we’re here. Consider it repaying what you got from that auntie when you were young—let’s boost her sales considerably.”
“But the travel funds were given to me for necessary expenses….”
“Spend it, spend it all. If anyone complains later, bring them to me.”
“What would the Second Young Master have us do?”
“…Bring everyone except that man.”
Hyuk Moo-jin chuckled softly, his voice brightening as he spoke.
“Then shall we each have one of those honey candies?”
“Yes, I’ve been watching them since earlier—my mouth’s watering.”
The words were deliberately aimed at Hyuk Moo-jin. Nearly thirty years old, and here I was drooling over fruit candies of all things.
‘If it makes him happy, that’s all that matters.’
That boy had suffered greatly following me all this time. Whenever the chance arose, he faced ridicule, beatings, and every Quest led him to encounter monsters so fearsome he’d brushed with death more than once.
My first meeting with Hyuk Moo-jin was certainly inauspicious, but that was no longer the case.
“Hey, Moo-jin.”
Hyuk Moo-jin, who had been about to head toward the stall, stopped short.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Well….”
The words ‘I’m counting on you going forward’ lingered on the tip of my tongue. Damn it, that was far too sentimental for two dark-faced men to exchange.
After deliberating, only something awkward tumbled out instead.
“Let’s each get two. The big ones.”
“Yes, understood.”
Feeling oddly embarrassed, I gazed toward distant mountains as the conversation between Hyuk Moo-jin and a middle-aged woman drifted into my ears.
“My goodness! Aren’t you Moo-jin? Hyuk Moo-jin, isn’t it?”
“It’s been a long time. Auntie.”
“Heavens, it really is you. I almost didn’t recognize you, boy.”
“You haven’t changed at all, Auntie.”
“Hehe, kind words are appreciated. How have you been, Moo-jin? I heard you became a martial artist.”
“Yes. I’m with the Taewon Jin Family. I’m being promoted to Gate Master soon.”
“The Taewon Jin Family? Gate Master? My goodness, my goodness….”
Whether the promotion to Gate Master would actually happen remained to be seen, but the conversation naturally brought a contented smile to my face.
‘Like some radio drama.’
A kind-hearted auntie who used to give honey candies to the orphan child who lingered about the neighborhood. That impoverished boy, through blood and tears of effort, finally achieved success and returned grown, reuniting with her.
It was a story I’d heard somewhere before, yet its power to move remained unchanged.
“Ahem, something’s gotten in my eye….”
Was it yellow dust or fine particulates? Since factories hadn’t been built yet, it must be yellow dust.
In that moment, my eyes had reddened without my knowing.
“So, have you visited your parents yet?”
“Not yet. I’m planning to stop by today or tomorrow.”
“Go soon. Your family didn’t move, did they?”
“Move? Where to?”
“To a grand estate on the main road over there. They even keep silk carp in a pond.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“…?”
Parents? Moved? A grand estate with silk carp?
Wait. Something feels off about this. Bewildered, I turned to Hyuk Moo-jin as he returned with the bing tang hulu.
“What are you talking about?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Are your parents still alive?”
Hyuk Moo-jin looked at me as though I were mad.
“Why would you kill off perfectly healthy parents?”
“No, that’s not what I meant… then what was all that you said earlier?”
“What are you referring to?”
“The bing tang hulu. You said you couldn’t eat it, so you spent all day sucking on your fingers instead?”
“I couldn’t eat it. My parents wouldn’t let me because they said it would rot my teeth. All the merchants here know how strict my parents are, so they deliberately wouldn’t sell to me—but that vendor over there would secretly slip me one now and then.”
“…And you were envious of children walking around holding their parents’ hands?”
“Our family business was doing so well that my parents didn’t have much time. I played alone, that’s all.”
“So you’re saying you have family in Taewon but haven’t visited once in five years?”
“I ran away from home. Left a letter because I didn’t want to inherit the family business. The Gate Master at the Main Residence is my father’s sworn brother, so he’s probably known about my whereabouts all along.”
“….”
“They scolded me terribly for the first two years, but then my youngest sibling was born, so I no longer needed to inherit the business. After that, they stopped saying much.”
Hyuk Moo-jin craned his neck, looking around, then pointed at something with his hand.
“Ah, there it is. Do you see it? That building is my parents’… it’s grown even bigger since I’ve been gone.”
I turned my head to follow where Hyuk Moo-jin was pointing.
A towering five-story pavilion came into view, with a large plaque written in bold characters.
[Hyuk Family Fabric Shop]
Hyuk Moo-jin smiled with pride.
“It’s the largest fabric shop in Taewon. We have branches in Hanan and Hebei as well.”
This bastard’s born with a silver spoon too….
Running a chain operation in such a brutal place—that says everything.
‘What have I done.’
A little boy who sucked his fingers because he wanted to eat bing tang hulu?
The truth was his parents, successful merchants, simply wouldn’t let him eat it out of concern for his dental health.
‘Damn it, what is this.’
Standing there with my mouth agape, Hyuk Moo-jin handed me the bing tang hulu he was holding.
“Here, have one. I specially picked the largest and most lustrous one. The vendor here sells the finest bing tang hulu in the area.”
“This color of the hulu….”
I swallowed the curse rising in my throat and bit down on the bing tang hulu with a crunch.
“Let’s hurry and find lodging.”
“Already? We’ve barely spent a few coins….”
“Quiet! Is that even your money? That’s the travel allowance I gave you to use as needed, travel allowance!”
“But you just said we should spend freely and enjoy ourselves before leaving?”
“This is plenty of enjoyment. The sun’s setting soon, and you said rooms fill up fast. If we’re late for breakfast tomorrow because I didn’t sleep well tonight, are you taking responsibility?”
“….”
* * *
Honghua Inn.
As the signboard proclaimed, this establishment was one of the many operations under the Haowen Sect’s reach.
‘By night, the Honghwa House. For lodging, the Honghua Inn.’
Whoever devised this scheme was determined to squeeze every last coin from the drunken patrons.
“Let’s go inside.”
I was about to approach the inn’s entrance, dragging along Hyuk Moo-jin, whose mouth had been running nonstop since earlier.
“Pardon me, if I may be so bold.”
The voice carried an oddly captivating quality—dreamy and ethereal, innocent as a child’s—and it belonged to a youth with a melancholic countenance.
‘This sensation….’
The moment I turned to meet his clear eyes, my breath caught involuntarily.
This was a different caliber of presence than Jin Moo-kyung’s.
[Lv.??? Chung Poong]
Another supreme master had arrived. Tension hung thick in the air as the youth, Chung Poong, parted his lips.
“Would it be presumptuous to ask if I might purchase a single serving of Bing Tang Ho?”
“…?”
What in the world was this fool doing?

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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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