Murim Login - Chapter 162

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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 162
There are moments like this—when the cacophony of noise suddenly vanishes, leaving behind an eerie silence. This was precisely such a moment.
Creeeeak.
The sound of an ancient door opening silenced the raucous Inn in an instant.
The four leaders who had been raising their cups to toast their plan to overturn Shanxi Province, along with the two hundred Horse Bandits and nomadic tribesmen, all turned their gaze toward the entrance.
Step. Step. Step.
‘That is….’
Heuk-sa’s eyes narrowed as he observed the uninvited guest approaching them slowly.
‘Who is this old man?’
The uninvited guest was none other than the Old Master—literally, an elderly person.
Yet Heuk-sa had never seen anyone older than this man approaching them now.
‘He’s practically a corpse.’
His gait wavered as though he might collapse at any moment, his wrinkled skin was frozen stiff, and his breath came in shallow gasps.
Temur, Chinggis, and Ren Dou, who had been quietly observing the Old Master, exchanged words.
“I’ve never seen anyone so ancient. He’s even older than our tribe’s shaman.”
“But what brings such an old man here? And why does he look like that?”
“Perhaps he encountered some Horse Bandits.”
Indeed, the Old Master’s appearance was utterly wretched. Whether he had suffered some misfortune, his clothes hung in tatters, and his skeletal frame was plainly visible beneath.
“Unlucky old fool. To have survived only to stumble into a bandit den.”
Ren Dou clicked his tongue.
“An old man like that doesn’t even stir the desire to kill. Dispose of him.”
“Yes.”
It was just as Ren Dou’s subordinate was about to step forward.
“Wait.”
It was Heuk-sa who raised his hand to stop them. His brow furrowed as he stared at the Old Master.
‘Something is amiss.’
This Inn where they were staying had been built by the Horse Bandits. Therefore, the proprietor, the staff, and Jeom So-i were all bandits or former bandits.
Being the only neutral ground on the Northern Plateau, it had become a place for unity and reconciliation like today.
‘Yet he crawled here on his own two feet? And an old man at that?’
Anyone who set foot on the Northern Plateau would naturally know of the Inn’s existence.
Ordinary commoners who entered would be as good as dead.
“What troubles you?”
“Hush, wait a moment. Something feels wrong.”
At Heuk-sa’s reaction, the others too began to sense something amiss.
“Now that you mention it, how did he get here?”
“He seems like an outsider….”
“No, he’s not an outsider. There’s no way such an old man could have made it here intact.”
Hundreds of Bandit Gangs and Nomadic Tribes were scattered across the Northern Plateau. None would dare traverse the Highland alone without considerable audacity.
The four men, including Heuk-sa, fell into contemplation.
‘Could it be…?’
‘If they’re from the Murim, it’s possible.’
‘The Murim? That old man?’
‘This bothers me. I should kill him.’
For Ren Dou especially, murder was no different from breathing. Heuk-sa watched as he reached for his sword hilt without hesitation.
Then a whisper of transmission energy pierced Ren Dou’s ear.
– Wait, I said. We can move later after observing more. Haven’t you heard the saying in the Murim—beware of women, children, and the elderly?
– Your caution is excessive. That pathetic old codger?
– Don’t act recklessly. In the Murim, you never know what might happen.
He looked like he’d collapse if you so much as poked him. Yet Heuk-sa’s warning was impossible to ignore.
Ren Dou lowered his sword hilt with an irritated sigh.
– Good thinking.
In the meantime, the mysterious old man had shuffled forward until he stood before all four of them.
As an eerie tension settled over the group, the old man looked around with clouded eyes and opened his mouth.
“W-water, please….”
At his parched, rasping voice asking for water, the men exchanged knowing looks and shook their heads.
But Heuk-sa was different. Meticulous and cautious by nature, he never fully lowered his guard.
“It seems the elder’s throat is parched. Bring him some cool water.”
“Understood.”
The old man took the cup from one of the bandits and gulped the water down desperately. He drank so urgently that they worried he might collapse.
Only after draining five or six cups in succession did the old man lift his head.
“Ahhhh.”
“Do you feel better now?”
A broad smile spread across the old man’s wrinkled face.
“Yes!”
“…?”
“Thank you so much, mister!”
Mister? Heuk-sa jolted upright in shock and grabbed the old man’s wrist.
There was no resistance, no strength at all. The skeletal bone felt as though it would snap if he applied even the slightest pressure.
“Excuse me, elder?”
“Yes? What is it?”
His laughter and speech were childlike. Heuk-sa’s expression twisted as he stared at the old man.
“Damn. A senile old fool.”
His tension evaporated. He’d definitely sensed something strange, but it must have all been his imagination.
With such an important matter looming, his nerves were bound to be on edge.
Ren Dou sneered at Heuk-sa as he shook his head.
“You said you never know what might happen in the Murim. How right that turned out to be. An old man suffering from senility, no less. Kahahaha!”
“Shut that mouth of yours.”
Heuk-sa was about to release the old man’s wrist when it happened.
“Where am I now?”
His voice was completely different—sharp and clear. The old man’s eyes had suddenly become alert as he surveyed his surroundings and let out a long, heavy sigh.
“Damn it all. When you get old, you ought to just die.”
It was clear the Old Master had finally regained his senses. Laughter rippled through the inn at his grumbling.
Heuk-sa, who had completely recovered his composure, chuckled softly before asking.
“Old Master, are you feeling better now?”
The Old Master replied.
“You little brat, where did you pick up that formal speech? Are you from the Haowen Sect?”
“…What?”
“And why are you still holding my wrist? Do you want to become intimate with me?”
“N-now, listen here.”
“Let go, or not? I’m counting to three. One, two, three.”
Whoosh. Heuk-sa released the wrist in a daze, his mind completely scattered by the sudden turn of events.
‘What in the world is this old man?’
His body moved of its own accord, responding to the crude curses and rapid-fire insults pouring forth.
Surely he was nothing but a senile old fool who knew not a shred of martial arts—yet it felt as though he’d been bewitched by a ghost.
“Kahahaha! You’ve been thoroughly played!”
Ren Dou burst into raucous laughter. He had long resented Heuk-sa assuming the role of leader despite being a step below him in martial prowess.
Watching Heuk-sa lose face to a rambling old man was deeply satisfying.
“The old man’s tongue is quite sharp. Since he’s given us such hearty laughter, I suppose I should spare his life.”
Yet the satisfied smile fading from Ren Dou’s lips did not take long.
It was due to a single phrase that tumbled from the Old Master’s mouth.
“You shameless dog… did your mother and father never teach you anything?”
“…!”
In that instant, a chilling silence descended upon the inn.
Who were Heuk-sa and Ren Dou? They were the titans who dominated the Northern Plateau. Beyond their vast influence, they were supreme masters capable of obliterating entire bandit gangs single-handedly.
The Old Master had shredded these two men—who commanded both respect and fear—with mere words.
“One of you is a sodomite from the Haowen Sect, another grew up without parents and has half his tongue cut off. And the remaining two…”
The Old Master glanced briefly at Temur and Chinggis, who wore their hair in queues, then sighed.
“Young men with your foreheads already scarred. What a pity.”
There was no longer even the strength left to be shocked. Amid an atmosphere of impact and dread, the Old Master clicked his tongue and suddenly noticed the spread of food laid before the four men, his eyes widening.
“Ah, quite the lavish spread you’ve arranged here. I was hungry, so this works out perfectly.”
No one had the chance to stop him.
The Old Master seized a perfectly roasted duck, grabbed a leg, and tore into it.
“Mmm, look at how tender that meat is. It just melts on the tongue, it does.”
Crunch, crunch.
Having devoured both legs as quickly as a crab hiding its eyes, the Old Master suddenly thrust a piece of meat toward Ren Dou, whose body trembled with rage and shock.
“Why is a young man like you shaking so much? Don’t whine about your weak constitution—eat this. I can’t stand the dry breast meat myself, or rather, I can’t eat it. My teeth aren’t what they used to be.”
Snap.
Everyone in the inn heard the same sound.
It was the sound of Ren Dou’s last thread of reason snapping, the death knell of a man.
“You damned old bastard!”
In the next instant, Ren Dou’s body shot upward like lightning, his eyes rolling back in fury. Simultaneously, streams of crimson sword energy poured from the Beheading Saber in his grip, sweeping across the space before him.
“This madman!”
“Get back!”
Boom!
Temur and Chinggis barely managed to dodge before a deafening explosion erupted.
Hundreds, thousands of wooden splinters scattered in all directions as a cloud of dust billowed outward.
“Die! Die! Die!”
Those watching felt their spines turn to ice. Judging by the sheer madness radiating from Ren Dou, the Old Master surely hadn’t left even a scrap of flesh behind.
“You senile fool, how dare you! Krraaagh!”
Boom boom boom!
An unending torrent of sword energy. Only after a full incense stick’s worth of time had passed did Ren Dou finally sheathe the Beheading Saber.
“Huff… huff…”
Breathing heavily, Ren Dou swung his blade through the air. The pressure from the strike scattered the dust cloud, revealing the ruins below—reduced to powder.
As everyone suspected, the Old Master was nowhere to be found.
“He was the bravest man I’ve ever seen.”
“Old Master, rest well.”
“So why did you have to provoke Ren Dou in the first place…”
“These Han dogs truly are ferociously brutal.”
It was while two hundred Horse Bandits and nomads were murmuring in hushed tones.
Munch munch. Gulp. Cough!
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
At first, they felt only bewilderment. In this tense atmosphere, who was this tactless fool eating food and drinking alcohol?
But it took only a moment for their question marks to transform into exclamation points, for bewilderment to shift into shock.
“Th-the old man! The old man is alive!”
“What! Where?”
“Behind! The sound came from behind!”
Someone’s cry. Then a voice, crisp and clear enough to make everyone doubt their ears, rang out.
“You youngsters these days have no manners. Is my name ‘old man’? Are you my friend?”
“Uh, uh-uh!”
“This won’t do. Today I’m going to teach you ruffians some proper discipline.”
Whoosh whoosh! Boom!
The Horse Bandits and nomads filling the Inn were sent flying in all directions.
With limbs crushed and faces shattered, they bounced away like discarded dolls—a sight that made even the leaders break into cold sweat.
‘Wh-what is this.’
‘How is he even there?’
‘I didn’t even see him move.’
A master.
A master so skilled he could deceive the eyes of peak-level experts like themselves.
As Heuk-sa, Temur, and Chinggis froze rigid, only one man charged toward the Old Master.
“You damned old bastard!”
Ren Dou’s eyes had already rolled back in madness, leaving him without restraint. The Old Master’s brow furrowed as he observed the man’s savage assault.
“You are….”
“Yes, it’s me! This time, I’ll kill you for certain!”
“A wretch without parents, I see.”
“Krraaaagh!”
Screeeech!
Mountain Crushing Pressure. In the instant the crimson blade energy of the True Demon Sword blazed forth, seeking to cleave the Old Master’s crown—he swung something.
Crunch! Thud!
Time seemed to halt. In the silence where not a single breath could be heard, everyone doubted their own eyes.
The True Demon Sword, severed in half, and something small held in the Old Master’s hand.
“This, this is….”
For the first time, clarity returned to Ren Dou’s gaze. He stared at the Old Master with eyes trembling in fear and shock.
“…A chicken bone?”
“A chicken has no waste. The meat is delicious, the bones are boiled and eaten. And occasionally, the bone can channel blade energy.”
Using a chicken bone to channel blade energy—such a grotesque sight had never been witnessed nor heard of before.
Ren Dou understood instinctively.
‘A master. A supreme master of the highest caliber. One I can never oppose.’
The Old Master regarded the stunned Ren Dou and murmured.
“Still… you’re a vicious creature. The stench of blood radiates from your entire body.”
Each word sent shivers down his spine. Though he had lived his entire life as a predator, now he was nothing but a mouse before a tiger.
“A creature like you cannot be left alone….”
Ren Dou suddenly felt a chill. His teeth chattered against the aura of death flowing from the Old Master’s entire being.
“P, please.”
“Hmm?”
“Please spare me. Please….”
Tears streamed down his cheeks. His pants were soaked, and the True Demon Sword slipped from his weakened grip.
A human butcher’s plea for mercy—one who had stolen countless lives throughout his existence. It was a sight no one could believe.
The Old Master, who had been gazing at him quietly, finally spoke.
“Do not be afraid.”
That’s it, I’m saved! I’ve escaped the jaws of death!
Just as Ren Dou exhaled a sigh of relief without realizing it.
Click.
A hand with protruding bone joints. The rough, wrinkled hand of the Old Master pressed against his chest. And that was the end.
“…What?”
Along with a faint question, the world inverted. Blood from his seven vital points pooled across the floor.
‘You said you’d spare me, so why?’
Beyond his dimming vision and fading sounds, the Old Master’s voice reached him.
“Do not be afraid. I will send you without pain.”
The Old Master’s words rang true. There was no pain.
* * *
Ren Dou.
A supreme master whose fearsome reputation had shaken the Central Plains itself—felled in a single stroke.
“Now then….”
The Old Master broke the frozen silence that had gripped the crowd.
“Do you understand where you are?”

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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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