Murim Login - Chapter 166

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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 166
Old Master Jang’s daily routine was simple: eat, sleep, and relieve himself.
Occasionally he would stop by Giru or an inn to drink wine or join a gambling game of bone tiles, but he spent most of his time at home.
The villagers, now quite accustomed to him, would often ask Old Master Jang this question.
“Don’t you find it lonely?”
Yet Old Master Jang’s answer was always resolute.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
People whispered that the solitary old man was simply proud, but it was the truth.
“Nothing could be more comfortable than this.”
When drowsy, I sleep. When hungry, I eat. When nature calls, I answer.
Some might mock such a bestial existence, but Old Master Jang had every right to live this way.
In fact, even this felt insufficient.
“Look at how I’ve lived.”
I spent ten years before bubbling molten metal.
My nature was to see things through to the end, so I forgot people and love alike. The anvil and hammer were my companions and my beloved.
“I lived like a man possessed.”
Then one day I came to my senses—my hair had turned white and my vision had grown dim.
I became one of the finest metalworkers in the realm and the master of the Iron Technique House, but that was all.
No matter how many times I swung the hammer, the emptiness in my heart never filled.
In the end, I chose to retire, and so the Iron Technique House master Jang Tae-bo became Old Master Jang.
“Grandpa!”
“Huh? Yes?”
Old Master Jang, who had been crouching in the yard staring blankly into the void, suddenly came to his senses.
The Little Girl from the neighboring house was gazing at him with wide eyes.
“What were you thinking about?”
“I was thinking that if you spoke respectfully, I might give you a candy.”
“What were you thinking about, sir?”
“…You clever little thing. Here.”
“Thank you!”
Old Master Jang watched the Little Girl contentedly sucking on the candy.
I’d known her since she was a newborn. At first, her constant calls of “Grandpa, grandpa” and clinging to me were bothersome, but at some point I noticed myself carrying snacks in my pocket for her.
“Well, this isn’t so bad either.”
For the gruff and prickly Old Master Jang, this Little Girl was his only companion to talk to.
Watching her sometimes made me wonder what it would have been like if I had a family of my own.
“Would you like another?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Ah-ah. Respectfully, now.”
“Yes!”
“You mustn’t damage your teeth. Eat slowly, understand?”
“Yes!”
“…Well, that formal speech didn’t last long.”
The Little Girl, who had licked up the candies as quickly as a cat closing its eyes, suddenly opened her mouth.
“Oh, that’s right. Grandfather.”
“What is it?”
“What’s your name, Grandfather?”
“You should say ‘given name’ when speaking to an elder… No, never mind. But why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Well, I’m just curious.”
“Hmm.”
“I asked Mom and Dad too, but they said they don’t know Grandfather’s name. Nobody knows it.”
Though I had settled in this place for over a decade, I had never revealed my name to anyone.
I had been concerned that unwanted attention might follow. Or rather, unwanted attention would be the least of my worries.
Skilled blacksmiths were needed everywhere, and even more so by martial sects that staked their lives on weapons. If my identity became known, my remaining years would be fraught with trouble.
“Grandfather, won’t you tell me your name?”
I gazed into the Little Girl’s large, innocent eyes and pondered.
Yes, with this child, it might be acceptable to reveal a little.
At her age, what does she understand? Besides, once I give her a few more candies, her mind will wander and she’ll forget soon enough.
I simply need to conceal things appropriately without revealing my true identity.
“I’ll tell you just one character of my name. Bo (甫).”
“Since your surname is Jang… Jang Bo?”
“No. My name ends with Bo, that’s all I’m saying.”
“What about the other character?”
“Are you curious?”
“Yes!”
“Good. If you use formal speech consistently for the next month, I’ll consider telling you.”
“Ugh, that’s mean.”
It was just as I let out a quiet chuckle at the sight of the Little Girl puffing out her cheeks.
“Whine. Can’t you just tell me? Then I can get something delicious to eat.”
“…?”
“Sigh, I suppose there’s no helping it.”
What does she mean by that?
As I stood bewildered, the Little Girl let out a sigh like an old woman and sprang to her feet.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll come back later!”
“Come back? The sun has already set, you rascal. Go home and get some sleep!”
“No!”
Despite her short legs, the child was brimming with energy, scampering away quickly—in the opposite direction of her home.
“That child never listens, I tell you.”
I muttered to myself as I rose from my aching body.
Even ten years ago, I could manage well enough, but as my muscles have begun to atrophy, my joints ache here and there.
“Ah, I should warm up my room properly.”
I stuffed firewood into the stove and lit the brazier.
After whiling away some time, the moment I stepped outside to use the outhouse before retiring for the night—
“Grandfather!”
An innocent cry. Yet Old Master Jang did not hear it.
His keen gaze was fixed upon the three imposing figures standing behind the Little Girl.
‘A martial artist?’
Though the sun had already set and their faces remained obscured in shadow, the sword hilts bulging distinctly at their waists were unmistakable.
After all, I had crafted such things countless times.
Old Master Jang gestured toward the Little Girl without taking his eyes off them.
“Come here, child.”
“Okay!”
The girl was cradling a large bundle in her arms. Warmth and an appetizing aroma wafted from it.
Grasping the situation at once, Old Master Jang narrowed his eyes at the shadowed figures.
“Who are you?”
Crack—sparks flew in the darkness, then flame ignited. Someone’s flint striker illuminated the three men’s faces.
All of them youths in their prime. One stepped forward.
“Ah, greetings to you.”
A handsome face with a smooth, ingratiating smile.
Old Master Jang stared intently at that vaguely familiar visage and opened his mouth.
“The Shanxi Sleeping Dragon?”
That face I had glimpsed from a distance half a month ago. The youth, Jin Tae-kyung, broke into a wide grin.
“Ah, you know of the Shanxi Sleeping Dragon. That’s right. Hahaha.”
* * *
“An Old Master Jang, you say?”
“Yes. I heard he lives in this Village.”
“Well, there are so many. There must be at least twenty old men with the surname Jang.”
“He’s around eighty years old…”
“They all suffered hardship in their youth and aged similarly. Even our neighbor, Master Jang, is only fifty but looks a hundred and fifty by his face.”
“…”
“Anyway, they’re all like that.”
“Hmm, he lives alone, and his name is…”
“Who remembers everyone’s name? Once they’re old, they’re all just Old Master Jang. And there are plenty of people living alone too. War, drought, plague… Sigh.”
“…”
Damn it. We arrived before sunset but ran straight into trouble.
I wondered why there were so many Old Master Jangs in such a tiny Village, only to learn it was a Clan Settlement. Half the people we met on the road had the surname Jang.
“Do you know where he lives?”
I waved the letter containing the information at the frustrated Hyuk Moo-jin.
“No. It just said he lives here. I thought we’d find him quickly since it’s such a small Village.”
Chung Poong pulled meat from the bundle and began eating.
“Munch, munch, munch.”
“Then how do we find him? It’s such a common surname.”
“We’ll have to search in person. There can’t be more than a few hundred people living here, and since he’s an elderly man, we should find him quickly enough.”
“Munch, munch, munch.”
“….”
“….”
That bastard Chung Poong just keeps eating without pause.
Though I suppose that might actually be helpful. Just as I was about to swallow my pride and ask for a piece of meat myself, it happened.
“Oh, the grandfather living a few houses over from us is also a Jang.”
It was a little girl, barely reaching my waist. The child had remarkably large eyes and a rather endearing appearance.
I ruffled the little one’s tousled hair affectionately.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Grandfather Jang.”
“Is that so?”
I responded, though without much hope. The vegetable vendor at the roadside stall was also a Jang, and so was the butcher over there. In a clan settlement teeming with Jangs, what could one expect?
The little girl sniffled and continued speaking.
“Grandfather is always alone. He has no family, so I go keep him company.”
“Oh, what a good child… wait, he has no family?”
“Yeah! I asked Mom, and she said it was like that from when he first came.”
“From when he first came? So he’s not originally from here?”
The little girl nodded vigorously.
“Dad told me that Grandfather came from outside. He came from outside and has no friends or family.”
“I see, I understand.”
Hyuk Moo-jin and I exchanged glances. It seemed like there might be a possibility, yet also like there might not be…
“Little one, what is his name?”
“Do you happen to know anything else?”
“I don’t know his name? He’s just Grandfather Jang?”
It seemed the little girl’s knowledge ended there. Hyuk Moo-jin smiled with an unsettling gentleness and asked.
“Little one, do you happen to know where he lives?”
“Um, toward the end of the village.”
Such is the continent. This village’s area was absurdly vast compared to its population. Hyuk Moo-jin, gauging the distance with a rough eye, spoke to me.
“It would take about an hour or so, wouldn’t it?”
Even on horseback, that’s about right. I shook my head.
“What’s the point of going all at once? Let’s search the nearby areas first and work our way up gradually.”
“Yes, that would be the better approach. Aside from him being from outside, there’s nothing particularly distinctive to go on.”
Chung Poong nodded as well.
“Munch. Munch. Munch.”
“….”
“….”
I was contemplating hurling his food bundle away when the little girl suddenly thrust out her small hands toward Chung Poong with surprising confidence.
“Huh?”
“Old Master Jang said it—there’s no such thing as a favor without a price.”
The little one already understood the world.
She’d given information and now wanted a bite in return. Old Master Jang or whoever—teaching such lessons to a child barely six years old was quite the move.
“Wow, my grandfather said something similar too. Here.”
“Wow! Thank you!”
Grandfathers united in purpose, it seemed.
Chung Poong casually handed over a generous chunk of meat. Using the Yeolyang Technique as a foundation, he’d warmed the food with his Ja Ha Divine Technique at intervals, so the meat was still piping hot.
‘What kind of person uses divine technique to cook meat?’
The little girl tore into the lean meat eagerly, her eyes gleaming with barely concealed longing as she looked at us.
“Say, I need to head home anyway. On the way back, I’ll be passing by Old Master Jang’s place next door.”
“Oh, really?”
I understood immediately. When time was pressing, one borrowed even a cat’s paws—surely I could borrow a child’s.
“Then could you ask Old Master Jang’s name and come back here? Let’s meet again in half an hour.”
“Mm. I think I’ll be even hungrier by then.”
“See those food bundles over there? I’ll give you one whole bundle.”
“Really?”
The little girl’s eyes sparkled, then suddenly she hesitated.
“But why are you looking for Old Master Jang?”
“It’s nothing much—I just need to ask him for something.”
“You’re not bad people, right?”
Mentioning the Taewon Jin Family’s Shanxi Sleeping Dragon would only draw crowds. I smiled benevolently as I answered.
“We’re really not.”
“Ugh, why do you smile like such a bad person?”
“….”
Maybe I should just flick her forehead and send her off.
Hyuk Moo-jin stepped in on my behalf.
“I’ll give you two bundles.”
“You really are good people! I’ll be back!”
The child was already becoming a monster born of capitalism.
Hyuk Moo-jin shrugged.
“Where should we start searching?”
“From the nearest entrance, systematically.”
“That’ll take half an hour.”
Hyuk Moo-jin was wrong. It took more than half an hour to sweep through half the village before the little girl returned.
With a truly invaluable clue.
‘A name starting with Jang and ending with Bo….’
Former Iron Technique House Master Jang Tae-bo. That was him.
* * *
“Shanxi Sleeping Dragon?”
“Ah, you know of the Shanxi Sleeping Dragon. Yes, that’s me. Hahaha.”
Knowing me is a good sign. It feels odd saying this myself, but isn’t Shanxi Sleeping Dragon the idol of Shanxi Province?
If this were a world with internet, fan clubs would have already sprouted up everywhere.
“I apologize for visiting at such a late hour. The truth is, I’ve come to ask for a favor….”
“No need to ask.”
“Pardon?”
Jang Tae-bo. Despite being over eighty years old, the sturdy-framed old man fixed me with a stern gaze.
“I won’t be accepting any requests anyway.”
“Well, still, you should at least hear what it is….”
“No!”
His refusal was absolute.

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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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