Murim Login - Chapter 149

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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 149
Xi’an’s history runs deep. For centuries before dynasties shifted, it was called the center of all under heaven.
Vast populations, abundant resources flowing from plains and mines, and the historical landmarks left behind by three unified dynasties swept away by time—these remain the reasons countless people seek out Xi’an.
In a bustling inn within Xi’an, two scholars dressed in thick fur coats were among those very visitors.
“Come now, let’s hurry. We’ll be pressed for time if we want to return to the inn before sunset.”
Unlike his eager companion, the other scholar shook his head with a weary expression.
“Again?”
“Again? What do you mean by that?”
“Can’t we rest today? My legs feel like they’re about to break after wandering around for days.”
“Don’t be such a baby. We walked a thousand li to get here—how can we just leave? Do you really think we’ll have another chance to visit Xi’an at our age?”
“Oh heavens, I’m going to end up seeing Beimang Mountain instead of Xi’an. Just leave me be.”
“Now, now—regardless of other places, we absolutely must visit the Western Peak. If you miss that magnificent scenery, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
“The Western Peak, you say…”
The five most renowned mountains under heaven are collectively called the Five Peaks.
Among them, the Western Peak referred to Huashan, which lay close to Xi’an.
“Just imagine standing atop Huashan, gazing down upon all under heaven. Doesn’t the mere thought stir your spirit?”
“Well… I suppose it does.”
The scholar reluctantly nodded at his companion’s fervent persuasion.
He already knew well enough that Huashan was renowned for its breathtaking beauty as much as its treacherous peaks.
“A famous mountain didn’t earn its reputation for nothing. If we absorb plenty of auspicious energy there, perhaps next year’s examination will bring good news. How many times have you failed already?”
“Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden!”
“Don’t be so touchy. Anyway, let’s go to Huashan, absorb some spiritual energy and fortitude. That’s what they say.”
Seeing him still hesitant, the scholar added in a gentle voice:
“I won’t ask you to visit anywhere else. We’ll just reach Lotus Peak and come straight back down.”
At this point, even the stubborn scholar’s heart wavered. Who knows—perhaps he really would pass the examination next year.
But one rumor troubled his mind.
“Though I’ve heard that the Martial World is crawling all over Huashan…”
“If you mean the Huashan Sect cultivators, that’s fine. An acquaintance of mine visited once several years ago and said there were no problems whatsoever.”
“Hmm. Then perhaps we should go?”
Just as the scholar was rising from his seat with feigned reluctance, he suddenly lost his balance and staggered. His trembling legs gave out completely.
He was about to strike the back of his head against a table corner scattered about the inn.
“Ah, ah!”
In the instant he cried out and began to fall, a rough, solid palm caught his back.
“Ugh, I barely made it.”
Once the scholar had steadied himself, he let out a sigh of relief and looked toward the owner of the hand.
Perhaps around thirty years old, a young man in an ordinary white robe smiled gently at him.
“Are you all right?”
“Th-thank you.”
“Think nothing of it.”
The scholar, having narrowly escaped disaster, gazed at the young man with wonder in his eyes.
‘Looks rather ordinary.’
Of average height with a lean build, yet this person was supporting my body—which weighed dozens of pounds more—with just one hand.
I glanced at their side to see if they might be from the Martial World, but finding no sword there, I dismissed the notion.
‘Deceptively strong, it seems.’
In any case, I owed my life to their intervention. The ancient sages taught that repaying kindness is the duty of all people.
“My gratitude once more. Thanks to you, I’ve avoided a terrible fate.”
“I merely did what was necessary. Please think nothing of it.”
“But I’ve received such considerable aid—I cannot simply let this pass with mere words. Allow me to treat you to a meal. Please, join us.”
At this, my fellow scholar interjected with a bewildered expression.
“What are you saying? Huashan? Lotus Peak?”
“Did you not see we nearly went over the cliff just now? This is a sign we should rest at the inn. Besides, this gentleman saved me—I must repay that debt. Is that not right?”
The young man waved his hand with a smile.
“I truly appreciate it, but I have companions waiting for me.”
“Companions? From what I’ve observed, you’ve been alone here for over an hour.”
“Haha, they must be delayed by some matter. I’ll simply wait.”
Waiting over an hour already, yet still willing to wait longer? A good-natured fellow indeed.
Yet with companions supposedly on the way, I couldn’t very well insist. The scholar smacked his lips with regret.
“Then so be it. May your household know peace throughout your days, and may you enjoy long life in good health.”
“Huashan! Lotus Peak!”
“Yes, yes, we’re leaving now—do close that remarkable mouth of yours.”
“I knew I could count on you.”
“I’m half-tempted to push you off Lotus Peak’s summit.”
Just as the scholar turned toward his companions with a fierce glare, about to take his first step—
Crash!
A deafening boom shattered the inn door, and with a thunderous cry, a man and woman appeared in the entrance.
“We’ve arrived!”
“Eun-hyang is here too!”
Every patron in the inn fell silent, their jaws dropping.
They were stunned by the man’s enormous frame and the girl’s striking beauty.
‘What manner of pair is this?’
‘In all my days, I’ve never seen a person so massive.’
In the sudden silence of the inn, one person alone remained unperturbed—the ordinary-looking young man who had aided the scholar moments before.
“You’re late.”
The man, whose head towered several heads above the rest, scratched his scalp sheepishly.
“My apologies. We encountered a small dispute on the way.”
“What could have delayed you for over an hour?”
“Well, you see…”
As the man fumbled for words, the girl who identified herself as Eun-hyang cut in with a smirk.
“Elder Brother, have you ever heard of the Black Snake Sect?”
“The Black Snake Sect? I can’t say I have. The name alone doesn’t inspire confidence.”
“That’s right. There’s a Black Path gang managing a gambling den just ahead, and their leader saw Elder Brother Chul-woo and asked if he’d be interested in working together… Mmph! Mmph!”
“No, it’s not true! Do I really look that innocent?”
Chul-woo clamped his hand over Eun-hyang’s mouth and protested, but no one in the inn believed him.
‘Just look at that face. He’s already Black Path material.’
‘I would’ve made the offer too if I were the Black Snake Sect Leader.’
‘He’s recruitment priority number one. Number one.’
The reason everyone only muttered to themselves was because Chul-woo glared around the room with wide, fierce eyes. Faced with the gaze of an enraged beast, people could only swallow hard.
Of course, this time too, there was one exception.
“So, what happened?”
The young man asked, and Chul-woo answered quickly.
“I simply told them no and sent them away.”
“Is that the truth?”
Chul-woo’s gaze shifted away as he answered.
“Y-yes, it is.”
“You have blood on your knuckles.”
“Gasp. Really? I could’ve sworn I wiped it clean!”
“….”
“….”
“Mmph. Mmph!”
The young man exhaled a long sigh.
“Let Eun-hyang go.”
“…Yes.”
“Mmph, phew!”
Eun-hyang, finally freed, scrunched up her face and spat repeatedly.
“Ugh, gross. When did you last wash your hands, Elder Brother?”
“Yesterday.”
“What? I’ve seen you go to the outhouse five times just between yesterday and today. So that means… Ugh!”
“Don’t worry. Even if I bathe once every fortnight, I still smell fragrant.”
“You must be insane. No wonder the women hate you.”
“What did you say!”
Watching the two of them growl at each other, the young man rubbed his eyes wearily.
These two were notorious troublemakers even within the sect. He’d anticipated something like this might happen eventually, but he never expected them to cause problems before they’d even left Xi’an.
‘It’s the Sect Leader’s orders, so I can’t refuse.’
What could he do? He could only accept this as his own karmic retribution.
Already half-drained of energy, he spoke.
“Do you both want to return? Should I report this to the Sect Leader and have you undergo wall-facing meditation until you regain your senses?”
“Gasp, no sir.”
“I’m fine too, Elder Brother.”
The young man deliberately hardened his expression.
“Ahem. Not Elder Brother—Senior Brother.”
“Yes, Elder Brother.”
“Eun-hyang, you… sigh, never mind.”
“Hehe.”
How potent is the laughter of a beautiful woman? The moment Eun-hyang smiled brightly, the chill that had pervaded the Inn moments before dissolved into warmth.
It was then that the Innkeeper, who had been watching our every move, approached us.
“Ahem, gentlemen.”
The young man recognized the proprietor and spoke with an apologetic expression.
“Ah, I sincerely apologize for the disturbance. I shall leave at once.”
“No, that’s not it…”
The Innkeeper, his eyes trembling with fear as he glanced at Chul-woo, continued with difficulty.
“Compensation, if you please.”
“Ah.”
Only then did I notice the shattered door. As the young man sighed once more, Chul-woo swiftly withdrew silver coins from his heavy purse.
“This should suffice.”
“Where did those silver coins come from?”
Eun-hyang answered with a radiant smile.
“The Black Snake Sect.”
Chul-woo cried out in alarm.
“Hey!”
“What? I did nothing wrong.”
“You took that jade hairpin too!”
“Oh. How did you know?”
“…”
It seemed they had not only demolished the Black Snake Sect but stripped it of its treasures as well. My temples throbbed.
“Return it at once.”
“Elder Brother, those villains would only use such wealth for wickedness.”
“That’s right. Since we’re already here, we might as well enjoy some good food on the way to our destination…”
I cut them off with a stern voice.
“Since when did managing gambling houses become wickedness? Or have you personally witnessed such deeds with your own eyes?”
“It’s obvious without seeing. They’re the Black Path, after all.”
“In this vast Martial World, can there be only one shade of black? And if the Black Snake Sect were truly villains, the headquarters would have taken action long ago.”
“That is…”
“Enough. We have far to travel. I shall leave the wealth here. That should be acceptable, yes, proprietor?”
Now everyone in the Inn knew the truth—that these were Martial World practitioners who had made enemies of the Black Path forces in Xi’an.
The proprietor, who despised entanglement with Martial World practitioners, wore the expression of one who had stepped in filth.
“G-Great Warrior, I am deeply sorry, but an old man like me cannot handle such a matter.”
Chul-woo, having lost the fruits of his labor, spoke bluntly.
“Do not worry. Nothing will come of it.”
“I may not know what happens now, but once you leave, I shall be in grave trouble.”
“Tsk, that won’t happen. Even after we depart, not a hair on your head will be harmed.”
“That’s not something you can say so easily, I’m telling you.”
The boy must have muscles for brains—his thinking was appallingly shallow.
While the innkeeper couldn’t bring himself to say such things and merely suffered in silence, the young man laughed calmly.
“When they arrive, simply pass along this letter pouch and deliver a single message.”
“But, honored guests. It seems you don’t understand the situation right now….”
The innkeeper’s words were cut short by the young man’s voice that followed immediately.
“The First Disciple of Huashan Sect, Baek Moo-sung, apologizes on behalf of his disciples’ mistake.”
In that instant, silence fell over the inn.
The weight of those three characters—Huashan Sect—was intimidating enough, but it was the young man’s name, which seemed vaguely familiar from somewhere, that truly caused the hush.
“Baek Moo-sung of Huashan Sect?”
“Baek Moo-sung, Baek Moo-sung… Wait. Could it be?”
Xi’an was practically the front yard of Huashan Sect. It didn’t take long for a few connoisseurs of Murim affairs to recognize the young man’s identity.
“The Solitary Crane of Huashan, Baek Moo-sung!”
A sobriquet earned for his noble and lofty bearing, like a single crane.
Since his entry into Huashan Sect, he had been known for his exceptional talent, and there was yet another epithet attached to his name.
“If he’s the Solitary Crane of Huashan, isn’t he the first of the Three Plum Blossoms?”
The current Sect Leader of Huashan had taken three disciples and cultivated them all into outstanding masters.
It was only natural that they were appointed to the Plum Blossom Sword Masters, a source of pride for Huashan Sect, and they soon distinguished themselves.
“I heard one of them is a woman… So they are?”
“What’s the point in saying it? Didn’t you hear them calling him ‘Elder Brother’ just now?”
“Well, I never thought I’d see all three of the Three Plum Blossoms in a place like this.”
Baek Moo-sung opened his mouth, ignoring the exclamations bursting forth from every corner.
“How could it not be possible?”
The innkeeper answered with a solemn expression.
“I stake my life on returning this wealth to the Black Snake Sect. I swear it!”
“….”
* * *
“Ah, that’s right.”
At Baek Moo-sung’s murmur, his two junior disciples turned their heads.
“What is it, Elder Brother?”
“Did you forget something?”
Baek Moo-sung shook his head.
“I forgot to tell someone that Huashan has been sealed off.”
“Tell whom?”
“I don’t know their name. That person—the one limping with an injured leg, seemed to be on a futile errand.”
Eun-hyang clicked her tongue with a look of pity.
“My goodness. They won’t be able to come for several months at least.”
“That’s true.”
They recalled the incident from a few days ago that had turned the entire Huashan Sect upside down.
While their Sect Leader—their master—slept, an intruder had come and gone without a trace, unseen by anyone.
He had audaciously left a dagger and a handwritten letter at the bedside of the Huashan Sect Leader—a brazen act that defied all convention.
[I’m stepping out for some fresh air. Don’t get complacent just because you’ve become sect leader—use your sleeping hours to cultivate your martial arts instead.]
Under normal circumstances, the sect leader would have immediately deployed a dragnet across the realm, but when the intruder’s identity was revealed to be the Sword Saint Mae Jong-hak, the situation demanded a different response.
The sect leader immediately sealed Huashan’s gates and ordered a search for the Sword Saint’s hideaway, a hunt that continued even now.
“Master really is something. Quite the formidable figure.”
“I’d only heard tales of him. I never imagined he was capable of this.”
“If that messenger hawk hadn’t arrived, we’d still be tearing Huashan apart searching for him.”
In the midst of this chaos, the messenger hawk that had flown in from Shanxi Province became a beacon of salvation.
The Huashan Sect’s leadership, after careful deliberation, decided to dispatch the Three Plum Blossoms—exceptional talents of remarkable caliber.
“But this Chung Poong person… have you ever met him, Elder Brother?”
“Yes, once, ten years ago.”
A disciple whom the Sword Saint Mae Jong-hak had raised like a son, like a grandson.
Ten years prior, at that very gathering, he had been present as well. The eyes of Baek Moo-sung, the Huashan First School’s pride, gleamed with anticipation.
“I’m curious to see how much he’s grown.”

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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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