Murim Login - Chapter 147

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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 147
Jin Wi-kyung exhaled a deep sigh.
“I have to work the moment I return to the family.”
“You haven’t been away for more than a few days, have you?”
“That was unavoidable!”
“Getting angry like this won’t reduce the workload.”
“Wi Paeng, have mercy on me. At this rate, I’ll truly work myself to death.”
Despite his earnest and pitiful plea, Wi Paeng answered coldly.
“Complete your work before you die. I’ll ensure your funeral is held with great ceremony.”
“…You’re worse than a demon. Are you even human?”
What awaited Jin Wi-kyung, who had returned to the Taewon Jin Family half a day earlier, was a mountain of accumulated tasks.
Having been away for nearly ten days, hundreds of bamboo tablets were scattered not only across the desk but also across the floor.
“How am I supposed to handle all this alone!”
“You’re capable of it. You’ve done well until now, so why the sudden complaint?”
“Are there really so few people at the Main Residence? Or is there such a shortage of capable individuals in Shanxi Province?”
“Have you never considered lowering your standards for evaluating people?”
“Are you saying it’s my fault?”
“Over a dozen scholars have come and gone. In my assessment, they were all decent young scholars, yet you only selected two. That was your mistake.”
“Decent scholars? Do you have no eye for talent?”
I couldn’t simply accept anyone merely because they had studied.
The Taewon Jin Family was a legitimate Murim faction. How many passages from the Four Books and Three Classics one had memorized, or under which renowned scholar one had studied, was irrelevant.
The talent I sought was a pragmatist with flexible thinking—not a rigid scholar who constantly quoted Confucius and Mencius.
“Those two were the only ones worth employing among them.”
I still didn’t regret that choice. At my firm response, Wi Paeng’s ears perked up.
“Ah, is that so? Then where are those two now, and what are they doing?”
“…Well, that is…”
As Jin Wi-kyung’s words faltered, Wi Paeng continued in his stead.
“They fled after four days of continuous all-night work.”
“F-fled? Who said they fled! One of them had his mother gravely ill…”
“I looked into it after that friend disappeared. His mother passed away ten years ago.”
“…Is that so?”
“The other one said he was going to the privy and vanished on the spot. Am I wrong?”
“Ahem, ahem!”
“You’ve mastered martial arts, so you can go several nights without sleep unscathed. But those friends cannot. They’re commoners who’ve never read a single line of cultivation scripture in their lives.”
“Ah, I know. That’s why I paid them generously.”
“If they’d lasted just two more weeks, that silver would have gone to their families.”
“…”
“Do you have anything else to say?”
“…Nothing.”
“Then start working now. From next time, accept any scholar who seems capable.”
Jin Wi-kyung nodded with a gloomy expression as he picked up a bamboo slip.
One of the guards waiting outside the Office carefully entered and delivered unexpected news.
“Who did you say?”
Wi Paeng answered Jin Wi-kyung’s question.
“A Messenger sent by the Provincial Commander of Shanxi Province, sir.”
“I’ve heard that much. But the Provincial Commander… isn’t that the one said to be the Sangshan King’s closest confidant and true power broker?”
“Yes. There was much talk of how he, a mere eunuch, seized high military positions.”
“Right, there was.”
Jin Wi-kyung too had heard the rumors—whispers of an eunuch sitting atop the military hierarchy, manipulating the young king at will.
“We have no prior acquaintance with him. What could this sudden visit be about?”
“What else could it be?”
“Could it be about the Third Young Master?”
“Given the circumstances, that’s highly probable. First, bring the Messenger inside.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And just in case, summon Moo-kyung as well.”
“Understood.”
Not long after Wi Paeng nodded to his subordinate, a man entered the Office.
His movements were precise and disciplined, clad in light armor.
At a glance, one could discern he was military—this was the Messenger sent by Hong Jin.
“Are you the Young Master of the Taewon Jin Family?”
Jin Wi-kyung nodded.
“I am Jin Wi-kyung. Let us dispense with tedious formalities. What brings you here?”
“I have come to convey the Provincial Commander’s words.”
“Does this concern my younger brother?”
“Yes. He is currently traveling here with the Provincial Commander.”
“Together?”
“Indeed. He should arrive within half an hour.”
Jin Wi-kyung stroked his chin thoughtfully at these words.
Hong Jin was effectively the second-in-command of Shanxi Province. He was not a man who moved without reason.
It would have been surprising enough had he merely sent a letter without any prior contact, but to come in person was utterly bewildering.
“I have no recollection of arranging such a meeting.”
Wi Paeng added a remark, his expression dripping with cold intent.
“No matter how high an official the Provincial Commander may be in service to the state, this is a clear disrespect to the Main Residence. Do you understand?”
“That is… well…”
Beads of sweat formed on the Messenger’s brow.
Though he had learned martial arts from the Military Gate, his heart sank beneath the piercing gaze of the master known as the Precious Sword.
“What is the purpose of this visit?”
“I… I was merely ordered to deliver the message…”
“Quite the master you serve.”
It was Jin Wi-kyung who rescued the increasingly flustered Messenger.
“Wi Paeng, that’s enough. So what exactly did the Military Commander say?”
“The Military Commander instructed me to convey his apologies in advance for the sudden discourtesy. And….”
The Messenger withdrew a cylindrical object from his robes and handed it to Jin Wi-kyung. Inside the palm-sized cylinder lay a rolled sheet of white paper.
“What is this?”
“I myself have no knowledge of it. He simply said you would understand once I delivered it.”
“Hmm.”
Just as Jin Wi-kyung furrowed his brow and unrolled the paper, the office door opened and a second visitor entered.
“You called for me?”
“….”
“Elder Brother?”
After staring silently at the paper in his hand for a moment, Jin Wi-kyung lifted his gaze.
“You’ve come?”
“Yes. I heard you were looking for me while I was training… But what is this about?”
“A distinguished guest is arriving. We must prepare to receive them.”
“A distinguished guest, you say?”
“My lord. A distinguished guest? Is it necessary to go out to receive them?”
Wi Paeng objected with a furrowed brow.
“They arrive without warning—what makes them distinguished? They’re uninvited guests.”
Despite the Messenger standing right before him, Wi Paeng spoke without restraint. Considering the position the Taewon Jin Family now held in Shanxi Province, his words were not without merit.
Yet Jin Wi-kyung quietly handed over the paper.
“Look at this and reconsider.”
“What is it?”
“A picture is worth a thousand words.”
“You could simply tell me directly instead of being so….”
Wi Paeng’s voice grew quieter until it ceased entirely. His eyes trembled, darting ceaselessly across the paper.
It was only moments later that his lips parted.
“The distinguished guest is coming.”
“Isn’t that right?”
“Yes. Indeed.”
Both men’s gazes turned toward Jin Moo-kyung, who still stood bewildered.
“Moo-kyung.”
“Young master.”
“Yes?”
“You came straight from training, didn’t you?”
“You reek of sweat.”
“It’s natural to perspire during training, isn’t it?”
“Go wash yourself.”
“Go wash up at once.”
Confused by the inexplicable reactions of the two men, Jin Moo-kyung asked with a puzzled expression.
“Who exactly is arriving that you’re acting this way?”
Jin Wi-kyung and Wi Paeng answered simultaneously.
“A big spender.”
“And quite the generous one at that.”
Wi Paeng waved the paper in his hand. It was a thousand-tael note issued by the Gold Star Bank, usable anywhere under heaven.
“This isn’t just a thousand taels. It’s a thousand taels in silver.”
A thousand taels in silver converted to iron coins meant one hundred thousand taels. For the Taewon Jin Family, already scattering money in all directions, it was a windfall blessing in a drought.
Jin Wi-kyung grew serious with his younger brother for the first time in ages.
“Moo-kyung, now wash up.”
….
* * *
The moment I stepped down from the carriage, a curse tumbled from my lips unbidden.
“Damn….”
There was no avoiding it. Atop the towering walls, a fluttering banner displayed characters as large as the gate itself, proclaiming:
The Day the Regional Commander Jin of Taewon Arrives
This wasn’t even Buddha’s Birthday. What was this?
Mortified, I couldn’t lift my head, but Hong Jin, who had descended behind me, clutched his belly and laughed uproariously.
“Wow, this is beyond what I imagined.”
“Could your elder brother perhaps be intimate friends with the local magistrate? How on earth does one receive such extravagant hospitality….”
“Young Master Jin, I have no testicles.”
“Oh, ah. My sincerest apologies. Truly, I am sorry.”
A tremendous blunder. How could there be fertilized eggs without a rooster?
As I writhed in guilt, Chung Poong approached to console me.
“Benefactor, my grandfather once said that people without tact have no friends around them. But worry not. I shall become your intimate friend.”
….
I don’t need that, you bastard.
Swallowing the curse, Hong Jin spoke to me.
“Young Master Jin, do you know what binds people together? Wealth. They say you can even command ghosts with gold and jewels, so what of the living, hmm?”
“So?”
“You said you’d give a gift. It’s a form of bribery, really.”
Money commands even ghosts, as they say.
I agreed to some extent, but the target being Jin Wi-kyung grated on me.
I already thought of him as my elder brother in the depths of my heart, and seeing Hong Jin describe him as a mercenary swayed by bribes didn’t sit right with me.
My displeasure must have shown on my face, for Hong Jin smiled and spoke.
“Was my words too harsh? But it’s only natural. Who doesn’t like wealth?”
“Still, he is our elder brother. Don’t think a mere handful of silver taels has won over the minor lord of the Taewon Jin Family.”
“Young Master Jin….”
At my low tone, Hong Jin’s eyes widened.
“A mere handful? You gave a thousand taels.”
“Just silver taels… how much is that?”
“A thousand taels in silver. In iron coins, one hundred thousand taels.”
By now, I had a decent grasp of the Murim’s prices and currency.
The Separate Annex of the Fenghuang Inn, a premier establishment, cost fifty silver taels per night—nearly double the annual living expenses of a family of four commoners.
‘In modern terms, that’s tens of millions of won.’
A thousand silver taels was twenty times that. So Hong Jin had casually handed over hundreds of millions of won in a single transaction.
“That’s… quite generous, isn’t it?”
“I gave you plenty. This time, I really went all out.”
“Still, it’s far too much.”
“It’s for the sake of our future relationship. Besides, the Taewon Jin Family right now—money is flowing out faster than it’s coming in, wouldn’t you say? Winning a war and occupying enemy territory doesn’t mean the struggle ends.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Help given at times like these hits differently. I’ve learned that from giving and receiving bribes. Of course…”
Hong Jin winked as he continued.
“Young Master Jin has also grown on me quite a bit, so I spent a little extra. You understand my heart, don’t you?”
The moment his words ended, I felt something hard and foreign against my buttocks.
The poking sensation jolted me awake.
‘No, surely this bastard isn’t—?’
I swear, this was the most chilling moment in my entire life.
‘Fine, you die and I die. Let’s have another war!’
I spun around at lightning speed and saw a lump of silver about the size of half a palm. What was it called again? A silver ingot?
“Here, this is your allowance from me.”
Ah, right. He was a eunuch.
I calmed my racing heart and replied.
“Th-thank you.”
“Yeah. Go buy some Bing Tang Hu Lo.”
“Benefactor, couldn’t you take me along when you buy some?”
Just as Chung Poong interjected with a smack of his lips, a familiar voice rang out from behind.
“Haha, I’ll have a word with the cooks, so feel free to ask. Isn’t that right, Wi Paeng?”
“I shall stack the Bing Tang Hu Lo like mountains.”
“Who is this person? Bing Tang Hu Lo—as if he’s still a child, really.”
I didn’t need to look to know who it was. I turned around with a warm laugh and found myself frozen by the sight before me.
Flutter, flutter.
Jin Wi-kyung and Wi Paeng were grinning broadly. And Jin Moo-kyung’s face had flushed crimson.
In the hands of all three, small scraps of cloth—made at some point I couldn’t recall—fluttered in the breeze.
Long live the Great Kingdom! Long live His Majesty!
Sangshan King, may you become a sage ruler!
“….”
“….”
What had I said to Hong Jin earlier?
Had I told him not to think he’d won over the young lord of the great Taewon Jin Family with just a few silver coins?
‘Damn it, won over is putting it mildly.’
At this point, he was completely roasted.

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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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