Murim Login - Chapter 236

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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 236
The man gazed at the neatly arranged Four Treasures of the Study.
The brush was crafted from marten fur, the inkstone a bluish jade, while the ink and paper were tribute items used by the royal court of Haedong, thousands of leagues away.
Each piece was of such supreme quality that only a man of considerable wealth could afford to use them.
“Excellent, truly excellent.”
A satisfied smile bloomed naturally on his face. For a man renowned for his frugality, these Four Treasures were his sole indulgence.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
Just as the man was grinding the ink with evident pleasure, the door swung open and a figure approached with unhesitating strides.
“Anyone seeing you now would mistake you for a Hanlin Scholar.”
The uninvited guest was a martial artist, covered in dust from travel.
With his sharply narrowed eyes and a well-worn sword at his waist, the man’s expression hardened at the sight of him.
“A Hanlin Scholar? I’d rather you call me the Great Master of Painting.”
“Do you still paint, then?”
“It is my sole pleasure in life.”
“I’m afraid your appearance hardly befits a Great Master of Painting. Would you not care to learn some martial techniques from me?”
“I must respectfully decline. As a martial artist, my limits are precisely where they stand.”
“How unfortunate. You seem to lack the refinement a true martial artist should possess.”
“It matters not. Among my subordinates, there is one who wields the sword with extraordinary skill. Why else would his epithet be the Precious Sword?”
At the man’s glib response, the visitor’s expression softened.
In the next moment, both men let out a quiet chuckle, as if they had arranged it beforehand.
“You remain unchanged, my lord.”
“And you as well, Wi Paeng.”
It had been a full four months since they last met, making the joy of reunion all the greater.
Jin Wi-kyung, the young master of the Taewon Jin Family, patted Wi Paeng’s shoulder with a smile spreading across his face.
“What brings you here without notice? The dispatch said you wouldn’t arrive at the Jeonseoggu until noon tomorrow.”
“The Jinryong Squad runs smoothly enough without me.”
The Jinryong Squad was currently the martial force that represented the Taewon Jin Family.
Though it had been established only a year ago, each member possessed exceptional martial prowess, and their loyalty to the clan was even greater.
The very fact that Wi Paeng, Jin Wi-kyung’s trusted aide, had assumed command of the Jinryong Squad spoke volumes of its status.
“As the commander, you slipped away without a word? That doesn’t sound like you.”
“Of course not. I left it in the hands of that Hyuk fellow, so it will be managed properly.”
“The temporary vice-commander, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“This was his first assignment. How did he fare under your observation?”
Wi Paeng’s brow twitched momentarily. He had thought himself accustomed by now, yet merely thinking of that man brought a headache.
Still, merit was merit and fault was fault. He answered with a sigh.
“Competent enough, I suppose. Save for his incessant prattling without pause.”
“I had my suspicions, but it seems he’s quite the cheerful fellow.”
“Cheerful to the point of absurdity—that’s the problem.”
“What of his other qualities?”
“…If someone teaches me one step at a time, I learn rather quickly.”
“If you’re saying that, it means you possess considerable martial talent.”
A year ago from now, Hyuk Moo-jin had earned the honor of joining the Jinryong Squad in recognition of his past contributions.
Of course, Jin Tae-kyung’s influence had played no small role in that personnel decision.
‘That fellow is better than I expected. Give him a chance to develop.’
Jin Wi-kyung was the type to melt at a single word from his younger brothers.
On a whim, he placed Hyuk Moo-jin in the Jinryong Squad and assigned Wi Paeng to teach him, and his skills improved by leaps and bounds with each passing day.
His affable nature made him fit in well with the other squad members, and his loyalty was beyond question.
“Hahahaha! As expected, our youngest has an eye for talent.”
Jin Wi-kyung laughed heartily, a wine bottle appearing in his hand as if by magic.
After pouring a full cup and handing it over, he spoke.
“In any case, you’ve worked hard. So, is the Northern Plateau situation completely settled now?”
“Yes. At least for the next decade, there should be no problems.”
The stabilization of the Northern Plateau.
That was the reason Wi Paeng had been away from the Taewon Jin Family for the past four months.
Jin Wi-kyung believed that to become the true hegemon of Shanxi Province, he needed to suppress the bandits of the plateau, and after months of covert and meticulous preparation, he wielded his sharpest weapon against them.
The Ghost Sword—Wi Paeng.
“When we attacked from seven directions, they crumbled without resistance.”
The martial sects and merchant guilds of Shanxi, particularly those in the Northern Region which suffered the most damage, expressed gratitude for the Taewon Jin Family’s decisive action and cooperated actively.
With Wi Paeng and the Jinryong Squad at the vanguard, the so-called Seven Path Army was born, and they were equipped with quality weapons and war horses under the full support of the merchant guilds.
Beyond that, powerful reinforcements also joined the campaign.
“The Haowen Sect is formidable. I truly realized once again the terror of information.”
The Haowen Sect, which had received a substantial portion of the Northern Region’s interests after the war, welcomed Jin Wi-kyung’s decision with both hands raised.
Like skilled information merchants, they monitored every move of the bandits while spreading false information and laying traps.
Jin Wi-kyung was so impressed by their thoroughness that he could only shake his head in admiration.
“Everything in this world has different uses depending on its master. What is truly terrifying is Wol-hwa. She is not a vessel meant to remain confined to Shanxi Province alone.”
“Is that so?”
“Can’t you see from the results? Her true weapon is not her beautiful appearance, but her strategic mind.”
Two thousand.
That was the number of bandits killed or captured in the Northern Plateau that single day.
Seven battles erupted in seven different locations, and having grasped seven victories, they advanced without hesitation.
“After that, we killed and captured indiscriminately.”
Hundreds of crows circled in the sky, and beneath them lay corpses numbering ten times that amount.
By the time the Seven Path Army’s hoofbeats ceased, five major bandit gangs had been annihilated and more than ten bandit groups had surrendered.
“We had essentially already achieved our objective.”
“I understand there is still a story left untold.”
“Ah, you mean the Nomadic Tribes?”
“Exactly right.”
Thanks to the swift mobile strikes, casualties were light, but the Seven Path Army had accumulated considerable fatigue from consecutive battles.
At that very moment, thousands of nomadic tribesmen appeared amid a massive cloud of dust.
“To be honest, my vision swam at that moment as well.”
Each and every one of those nomadic tribesmen was a master of mounted combat—and there were thousands of them.
No matter how accomplished Wi Paeng was as a peak-stage expert, there was no way for him alone to overturn the tide of battle.
“That was when the matter I had previously reported to you unfolded.”
“You mean those who called themselves Khan?”
The vast nomadic empire that once dominated the Central Plains had long since faded into distant history. Yet the bloodline of the conquerors remained unbroken, and the title of Khan endured just the same.
“There were two of them. They stepped forward first and introduced themselves as….”
“Temur and Chinggis—descendants of the Great Khan and members of the Golden Clan.”
“Precisely.”
Wi Paeng nodded in acknowledgment.
The young tribal lords from the Steppes, each commanding two thousand mounted warriors, were neither aggressive nor arrogant.
Rather, they had attempted conversation cautiously in broken Central Plains tongue.
‘Is there anyone here from the Taewon Jin Family?’
The battle I had anticipated never came to pass. It was all thanks to the name of Fire King Red Sky River.
“Word had already spread even to the Highland. They already knew of the relationship between the Red Sky River Master and Sam-gong-ja, and said they had no wish to become our enemies.”
“That is precisely what puzzles me. It seems too convenient that they would withdraw based solely on the Fire King’s reputation.”
“Ah, you mean that? I was equally unsettled, so I interrogated some of the bandits we had captured.”
Wi Paeng continued with a wry smile.
“They had suffered a defeat last winter. Two notorious bandit chiefs from the Highland—Heuk-sa and Indra—were slain in a single encounter by the Red Sky River Master. These two were present at that very moment.”
“They were frightened into submission.”
“On the other hand, we benefited as well. When the leaders fell into chaos, we absorbed the remnants of the bandit gangs and grew to this point.”
Temur and Chinggis had been fortunate.
When Heuk-sa and Indra fell in that single place, and shortly thereafter the Cheon Poong-dan was annihilated by Red Sky River’s hand, a power vacuum emerged.
By absorbing the bandit remnants and gathering the scattered nomadic tribes, they rose to prominence on the Highland in the span of merely one year.
“From now on, we shall maintain amicable relations. They even loaded us with plundered gold, silver, treasures, and furs.”
“What? Hahahaha!”
Jin Wi-kyung burst into hearty laughter.
It was an outcome beyond reproach.
Through this campaign, the Taewon Jin Family had solidified their reputation and standing in the Shanxi martial world, while simultaneously securing the support of their subordinate sects and the common people.
“You have labored well. Your contributions are substantial.”
“I cannot speak to that, but I can certainly attest that my cup is empty.”
“Ha, drink your fill tonight until you lose consciousness.”
The two exchanged cups and conversed at length.
So much had transpired over the past year that there was no shortage of matters to discuss.
“Ah, by the way, what became of the Seongyun Escort Agency?”
“We brought it to complete resolution shortly after you departed. It should now be called the Jinga Escort Agency.”
Woo Hwang-tae, the director of the Seongyun Escort Agency, fled with only a pittance, having been caught diverting military supplies through bribed officials.
In that process, Sangshan King Ju Pyo, a devoted follower of Jin Tae-kyung, had rendered considerable assistance.
“Our exchanges with other sects proceed smoothly. Escort missions are currently in progress, passing through Songshan and extending as far as Hefei.”
“Songshan and Hefei, you say…?”
“Shaolin and the Namgung Clan. A fine proposal—there was no reason to refuse.”
Shaolin, the towering peak of the martial world, and the Namgung Clan, ranked foremost among the Five Great Families.
Given their enormous scale, I was already satisfied merely to establish trade relations. Yet they approached me first with an offer—and on remarkably generous terms at that.
“It seems the existence of Red Sky River has proven quite beneficial to the Main Residence.”
At Wi Paeng’s words, Jin Wi-kyung smiled silently.
He was a man who firmly believed that in the martial world, there was no such thing as goodwill without a price.
Their favor carried the weight of two debts.
One was Fire King Red Sky River, and the other was a dormant dragon named Jin Tae-kyung.
‘Now that I think of it, a year has already passed since my youngest brother departed.’
It had been an eventful year.
Soon, when the earth greened again, the Seongnae Daeyeon would be held in Hanan, and the brothers would meet again there.
‘I wonder if he’s faring well without trouble?’
As Jin Wi-kyung tilted his wine cup while thinking of his thoughtless youngest brother who had sent not a single word, Wi Paeng suddenly spoke.
“By the way, what were you trying to paint this time?”
“I’m not quite sure.”
“You were grinding ink without even deciding what to paint?”
“It happens often enough. There are times I grind ink for an hour or two only to put it all away again.”
“Goodness, are you trying to become a master painter now?”
“Not yet. But once this painting is complete, I think I’d be content to be called a master painter.”
“But you said you hadn’t even decided what to paint.”
“The form eludes easy visualization. However, I settled on the title long ago.”
“So, what is the title of this grand work?”
Jin Wi-kyung answered with a smile.
“The Dormant Dragon Emerges.”
* * *
He was a young man in shabby attire.
His long, unkempt hair brushed his shoulder blades, and his jaw and upper lip were thick with beard.
The crowning touch was the iron spheres dangling from his limbs—he looked like a convict from a labor camp.
Yet there was one thing that set him apart.
The young man gazed at the pale blue flame with eyes of unfathomable depth, muttering to himself.
“Ah, if only I could grill some meat here. That would be perfect.”
And in the next instant.
Whack! Crack!
A wrinkled palm struck the young man’s back of the head with a tremendous sound of displaced air.
“Have you no manners, you reckless fool! How dare you think of grilling meat over the Sacred Flame of the Main Sect!”
At the sight of the furious old man, the young man grumbled.
“Why not? I’d just put it in for a moment and pull it right back out.”
“What did you say!”
“You don’t know about flame-roasted pork belly? It’s absolutely delicious.”
“You, you’re dead today!”
Crack! Boom-boom-boom!
On an early spring day when the earth thawed and tender shoots pushed through the soil, the once-peaceful Jiuhua Mountain began to stir with commotion.

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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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