Murim Login - Chapter 152

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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 152
“Yaaaawn.”
A middle-aged martial artist stretched his jaw wide before glancing sideways.
Just a few paces away, the newly assigned Rookie stood at rigid attention, eyes fixed forward.
‘That kid’s got some impressive build, I’ll give him that.’
Those limbs like iron rods, those broad shoulders perfectly squared.
Looking at his frame alone, I couldn’t help but wonder if he hailed from the Hebei Peng Family, renowned for their exceptional physiques.
‘Come to think of it, I don’t even know his name yet.’
The day was bitterly cold, and I still had three more hours of duty ahead.
On days like this, a bit of conversation warms both the body and passes the time. The middle-aged martial artist opened his mouth.
“Say there.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Heh, did you swallow thunderballs whole? Why such a loud voice?”
“My apologies!”
“No need to apologize. Is it because you’re new? That spirited demeanor looks good on you.”
“Ah, thank you!”
“Mm, yes, yes.”
The middle-aged martial artist smiled warmly. Despite exchanging only a few words, the kid seemed decent. His movements were straightforward, and unlike most young people these days, his manners were impeccable.
For someone like me, increasingly relegated to the back rooms with the old-timers, this was quite a pleasant companion.
“By any chance, is your family name Peng?”
“No, sir. It’s Jang.”
“Just wondering. Your physique is quite impressive. I thought perhaps you might be a distant branch of the Hebei Peng Family.”
The Rookie scratched the back of his head.
“I’ve had considerable strength since childhood, sir.”
“I see. Your muscles are quite firm and well-developed. You remind me of myself in my younger days.”
Of course, that was hardly the truth. But the Rookie, perceptive despite his appearance, bowed respectfully at the waist.
“I cannot compare to you in your prime, Elder Brother.”
“Heh, Elder Brother? From now on, that’s what you’ll call me. I’m Hong Ga.”
“Yes, Elder Brother!”
“Haha, I’ve gained a fine younger brother. So, when did you join the Main Residence, Jang?”
“It’s been several years now.”
“What? That can’t be right. If someone of your caliber had joined, I would’ve heard about it long ago…”
I’ve served the Taewon Jin Family for nearly twenty years now. As something of a fixture here, I know precisely who comes and goes among the martial artists.
“Ah, I only became a martial artist less than a month ago. Before that, I worked as a Servant doing odd jobs. Since I was in an inconspicuous position, you might not have noticed.”
“Ah, I see.”
The middle-aged martial artist regarded the Rookie with renewed interest.
From Servant to martial artist—it wasn’t unheard of, but it certainly wasn’t common either.
“You must have good backing.”
“Sir?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. Do you think it’s easy for a Rookie to get assigned to a post like this?”
The middle-aged martial artist chuckled and jabbed Rookie in the ribs repeatedly.
“Who sent you? It can’t be the Chief Steward—he’s far too meticulous for that. Did you manage to grab hold of someone important in the upper ranks?”
“Well, that is….”
“I won’t tell anyone, so go ahead and whisper it to me. Was it the External Lord? Or perhaps the Iron Sword Commander?”
No, sir. The Young Lord sent me.
Jang Chil-deuk, the rookie martial artist, swallowed the words that had nearly escaped his lips.
How loose people’s tongues could be—if he spoke carelessly, the rumor would spread before sunrise tomorrow.
‘I cannot bring shame upon the Young Lord!’
When it came to loyalty toward the Taewon Jin Family, Chil-deuk was no less devoted than any martyr.
He averted his gaze from the middle-aged martial artist’s eyes, which burned with curiosity, and opened his mouth.
“But is this place really so difficult to access?”
The middle-aged martial artist clicked his tongue in disappointment at Chil-deuk’s change of subject. There was little point in pressing further when someone clearly didn’t wish to speak.
“Tsk. You said you spent several years at the Main Residence, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir. Though I was a servant.”
“Then how many times did you visit the Training Pavilion during those years?”
“Only twice, sir.”
“Exactly. Now, take a quick look around from where you’re standing.”
“Right now?”
“Or would you prefer to do it next year?”
Jang Chil-deuk looked around as instructed. Beneath the steep cliff that wrapped around the Taewon Jin Family’s rear without a gap, there yawned a hollow cavern opening.
That was the entrance to the Training Pavilion, and besides him and the middle-aged martial artist, there was no one else.
“What do you think?”
“It’s quite empty.”
“Right? How many people do you think come here in a day?”
“How many do come, sir?”
The middle-aged martial artist answered flatly.
“None.”
“Pardon?”
“Except for the guards who rotate every four hours, no one comes. Oh, and there’s a servant who brings meals.”
“But… this is the Training Pavilion, isn’t it?”
“It is the Training Pavilion. But people who actually train here? There are none. Sam-gong-ja used to cause trouble and visit occasionally in the past, but that’s it.”
What an absurd thing to say. Now that he thought about it, it was only called the Training Pavilion in name—he had never actually seen anyone training here.
The Training Ground, on the other hand, bustled with martial artists year-round.
“Then why do you guard this place?”
“It’s symbolic.”
“Symbolic?”
“Long ago, this was where our ancestor Jin Moo-ryang, who founded the Main Residence, used to train. According to legend, while meditating on this cliff, he suddenly achieved enlightenment and unleashed his martial prowess—with a single strike, the ground beneath the cliff split open like this.”
Jang Chil-deuk’s mouth fell open.
He had heard legends about Jin Moo-ryang before. Three hundred years ago, he was said to be among the greatest masters under heaven?
But how could such a thing be possible with a human body?
“Is… is that true?”
“It happened hundreds of years ago, you see. Does it matter if it’s true or false? The real important fact is something else entirely.”
“…Pardon?”
“Sit in front of this Training Pavilion for just a few hours a day, and your monthly stipend comes in like clockwork. That’s what matters. The only downside is how unbearably slow time moves.”
The middle-aged martial artist chuckled and patted Jang Chil-deuk on the shoulder.
“Congratulations. You’ve been appointed to the finest position the Main Residence’s warriors could dream of. We call it the cushy job.”
“…”
Jang Chil-deuk’s face twisted. If he were near retirement, it might be different, but he had no intention of wasting his prime years idling away in the Training Pavilion.
The middle-aged martial artist, oblivious to his thoughts, pulled a strip of dried meat from his pouch and began chewing.
“Want one?”
“No, thank you.”
“Why not? It’s salty and good. Time flies when you’re chewing jerky and watching the sky.”
The middle-aged martial artist leaned against the entrance of the Training Pavilion at an angle and tilted his head to gaze upward.
“Ah, what a clear sky. Just looking at it opens the heart right up.”
Jang Chil-deuk reluctantly glanced upward as well.
The weather was indeed clear, just as the middle-aged man said. Wispy clouds drifted slowly across the blue expanse, and a few black specks floated among them.
“What is that?”
“A bird, I suppose.”
Jang Chil-deuk’s gaze, which had been fixed vacantly on the sky, suddenly shifted toward the distant cliff. His eyes narrowed sharply.
“What about that thing clinging to the cliff?”
“The cliff? What’s on the cliff?”
“Yes. It’s quite large.”
“No idea. Must be a pretty big bird. Now that I think about it, I brought a bottle of liquor…”
The middle-aged martial artist didn’t even glance at where Chil-deuk was pointing. Instead, he pulled out a small ceramic bottle from his pouch.
“It seems too large to be a bird.”
“Could be a Heavenly Eagle. Those creatures are the size of a man. They’re no ordinary hawk.”
“Really? It truly is man-sized.”
“It’s a creature of legend, after all. They say its wingspan exceeds ten feet, and I’ve only glimpsed one from a distance myself.”
“But Elder Brother.”
“Why do you keep calling me that?”
“Do Heavenly Eagles fall?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
The middle-aged martial artist, who had been tilting his bottle to drink, suddenly looked toward the cliff in alarm. At that dizzying height, a massive shape was plummeting rapidly downward.
“Aaaaaaahhhhh!”
Jang Chil-deuk marveled.
“Legendary creatures truly are remarkable. Its screams sound just like a human’s.”
“That IS a human, you madman!”
“Kyaaaah!”
“Move! Get out of the way!”
The moment the middle-aged martial artist cried out, a figure crashed to the ground amid a shower of falling stones and debris.
Crash! Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Stone and dust scattered in all directions. Both men swallowed hard in unison.
“Do, do you think he’s dead?”
“From that height? Even the Jade Emperor would perish.”
What calamity had befallen their peaceful day.
The middle-aged martial artist clutched his trembling chest and stared at the prone corpse.
“What madman threw himself from the Cliff….”
“Looks like a young fellow, doesn’t it?”
“Does it matter if he’s young or old right now? What matters is that he’s dead.”
“Well, that’s true, but….”
“Go flip him over and take a look.”
“Me, me, sir?”
“Who else is here besides you and me? Hurry!”
At the middle-aged martial artist’s command, Jang Chil-deuk hesitantly began approaching the corpse.
Only a month since becoming a martial artist. This was his first time witnessing death before his eyes.
“Huff, huff.”
As he drew closer, the corpse’s form became increasingly clear.
Limp limbs, blood streaming from the back of the bowed head. For a fall from such a height, the body looked almost peaceful.
“May, may you find peace in the afterlife.”
The moment he shut his eyes tight and placed his hand on the corpse—
Suddenly, crack!
His vision flashed white and searing pain flooded through him.
Jang Chil-deuk landed hard on his backside, unaware that blood was pouring from both his nostrils as his mouth gaped open.
“Uh, uh, uh.”
“What suddenly—argh, argh, argh!”
The middle-aged martial artist’s legs gave out and he collapsed.
“The corpse, the corpse is alive!”
“Argh, a jiangshi! A jiangshi has appeared!”
A corpse, a jiangshi.
The dirt-covered creature who had suddenly become a corpse staggered to its feet.
With wild hair and eyes bursting with broken blood vessels, it looked around and gnashed its teeth with a grinding sound.
“Damn it, Tae-cho Village again?”
* * *
Everything hurts like hell.
Head, shoulders, knees, feet, knees, feet—there’s not a spot that doesn’t ache. I’m lucky I managed to slow my fall by driving my dagger into the Cliff, or I would’ve been done for.
Of course, the bone and muscle stats I’d steadily raised also played their part.
“Ugh, my head’s pounding.”
When I touched the back of my head, blood came away wet on my fingers.
I was wiping the blood away with my sleeve when—
“W, who are you!”
“Identify yourself! Reveal your identity, you fiend!”
Ah, these gentlemen were here too.
One of the two men brandishing swords at me looked familiar. So his name was….
“Jang Chil-deuk?”
Jang Chil-deuk, who had been working tirelessly on public opinion manipulation at the Honghua Inn just days ago, stumbled backward in shock.
“Gasp! How do you know my name?!”
“The corpse demon speaks! It bewitches people with words!”
“…Who’s a corpse demon? Can’t you see I’m breathing just fine?”
A middle-aged man with sparse whiskers glared wide-eyed and shouted.
“You wicked creature! Your tricks cannot fool my eyes. If you were truly human, you could not have survived such a fall from that height unscathed. Where were you sent from? The Demon Cult? The Blood Sect? Or perhaps….”
“Tae-cho Village! Elder Brother, that corpse demon definitely said Tae-cho Village!”
“That’s it! A corpse demon sent from Tae-cho Village!”
The middle-aged man, speaking as though he’d solved the puzzle, suddenly paused and asked Jang Chil-deuk.
“But where exactly is Tae-cho Village?”
“I have no idea either.”
“….”
It would be strange if they did know.
I gave up on the conversation and wiped the dirt-caked face with my sleeve.
Even if the middle-aged man didn’t recognize me, Jang Chil-deuk knew my face well enough. This would be faster.
“Gasp, Sam-gong-ja!”
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
“My goodness, Sam-gong-ja? What on earth does that mean?”
“Sam-gong-ja has become a corpse demon!”
“….”
Why did the conclusion have to be like that?

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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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