Murim Login - Chapter 241

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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 241
The Seongnae Daeyeon.
When the greatest martial masters under heaven gathered in one place to test their skills, the name—a banquet of stars—was indeed fitting.
The Old Master, his eyes creased with age, tamped tobacco into his long pipe as he spoke.
“One might call it a festival of victory.”
The setting was a grand inn located in the southern reaches of Henan Province.
From among the crowd surrounding the Old Master, a voice posed a question.
“Why is that, sir?”
“Why? If the Central Plains martial world had lost, would the Seongnae Daeyeon even exist? The Demon Cult would have conquered all under heaven by now, and the Seonma Daeyeon would be underway instead.”
“Ah yes, that is indeed true.”
“But because we prevailed, the Seongnae Daeyeon is held, and the finest sects across the land gather in one place to strengthen their bonds. Still….”
The Old Master, patting his robes, gestured with his pipe.
“Does anyone have a light?”
A middle-aged man beside him quickly produced flint and kindled a flame.
Crack, crackle! Hisssss.
As dry grass burned, the Old Master’s lips worked rhythmically. After exhaling smoke several times, he settled back against his chair with leisure.
“If you have any questions, ask away. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
The crowd, eyes gleaming with curiosity, thrust their hands upward eagerly.
“Me! May I ask first?”
“Song, could it be….”
“Hey, didn’t you hear what I just said?”
“I didn’t. You heretical scum!”
Crack! Crash and tumble!
Fists flew in an instant, and a table shattered. The onlookers cheered at the sudden brawl.
Guests who had kept their distance from the start shook their heads in disapproval.
“Tsk tsk. Martial artists.”
“What can you do? We’ve seen it countless times.”
“There’s no peace for a moment. With the Seongnae Daeyeon so near, all manner of ruffians are flooding into Hanan.”
“Our business is finished anyway. We might as well watch the spectacle and eat some pastries.”
Two merchants conversed in low tones.
Dressed in fine blue silk robes, they were exchanging wine cups when a voice suddenly interjected.
“Is that Yeohong wine?”
“Huh?”
The merchants turned with bewildered expressions toward the speaker.
A Young Man stood beside their table—when he had approached, none could say—his nostrils flaring as he stared intently at the cups in their hands.
“Not Yeohong? Though it seems like it….”
“Y-yes, it is. Yeohong wine.”
“Just as I thought.”
The Young Man, as if struck by sudden enlightenment, slapped his knee and dragged over an empty chair.
“But the color looks a bit pale. How much did you pay for a bottle?”
The Young Man’s movements were so fluid and natural that the merchants exchanged bewildered glances with one another.
“H-how much was that?”
“W-two silver taels.”
The Young Man sighed.
“What a pity.”
“A pity? What do you mean by that?”
“This is mixed with water. Can’t you tell at a glance? The innkeeper seems to have played a little trick.”
“What?”
The merchants’ eyes widened. Was Yeorohong ordinarily such an expensive liquor?
Two silver taels was enough to buy two measures of rice or drink cheap wine like water for months—a considerable sum. To dilute it with water was simply infuriating.
“I’m going to—”
One of the merchants started to rise, but his companion restrained him.
“Leave it be. Causing trouble won’t help us. In times like these, aren’t we all cutting corners a little to make ends meet?”
“Ugh.”
The merchant groaned and sat back down.
Meanwhile, the Young Man was filling his cup to the brim with Yeorohong and draining it.
Gulp, gulp, thud!
“Ahh, excellent.”
The merchants, who had been staring blankly, finally snapped back to their senses.
“What are you doing?”
“That’s our liquor—”
“My throat was parched, so I had a cup. Is there a problem?”
Stunned by his brazen reply, the two men could only find their voices after the Young Man had drained his third cup.
“Do we perhaps know each other?”
“Of course.”
“When? Where?”
“Today, here.”
“…”
“They say even brushing sleeves is a bond of fate. Let’s be friends from today on.”
“Friends?”
The merchants glared at the Young Man with exasperation.
A lanky frame, a plain countenance. He couldn’t have been more than his mid-twenties—a fresh-faced boy barely old enough to shave.
Friends? What kind of absurd notion was that?
Just as they were about to unleash a tirade, their eyes caught sight of an iron sword hanging at the Young Man’s waist.
‘A martial artist!’
Since ancient times, it was said that ruffians and martial artists differed by only a hair’s breadth.
Separated from their caravan guards and with trouble brewing, they would lose no matter what.
The merchants swallowed the curses that had nearly burst forth.
“If I may, Young Brother.”
“Young Brother, is it? I quite like that form of address.”
“W-well, that’s fortunate then.”
The Young Man’s smile carried an inexplicable ease. Forced grins appeared on the merchants’ faces.
“Are you also a martial artist, young brother?”
“Hmm. I’ve learned what they call martial techniques, though it’s just a trifle.”
What? Learned what they call martial techniques?
The boy was already putting on airs. The merchants cursed him inwardly before opening their mouths.
“You must be a promising talent of the martial world. If I may ask, which sect do you belong to?”
“What does that matter between friends?”
The Young Man dodged the question with a vague response, and the merchant revealed their identities.
“We are merchants affiliated with the Geumwa Trading Company.”
“The Geumwa Trading Company?”
“No boasting, but we rank among the top three trading companies in Zhejiang Province. We’ve traveled far to supply goods for the Seongnae Daeyeon opening in four days.”
The other merchant beside him, who had been nodding along, eagerly chimed in.
“We even brought a hundred company warriors with us.”
“Fierce and valiant warriors, like tigers.”
We are not alone. It was an unspoken threat to leave before getting beaten, but the Young Man paid no mind.
Or rather, he was lost in thought, letting their words go in one ear and out the other.
“The Geumwa Trading Company… I’m certain I heard that name this morning.”
The Young Man, pondering for a moment, suddenly exclaimed.
“Isn’t that the place? The one that captured hundreds of bandits?”
“That’s right.”
The merchant who had answered with his chest puffed out added in a hesitant voice.
“To be precise, we didn’t capture them—we picked them up.”
“Picked them up? What do you mean by that?”
As the Young Man showed interest, the merchants lowered their voices.
They were far more concerned with what they had experienced than this green youth before them.
“Well, you see, when our company passed through an alley, there were bandits—all of them with broken legs, groaning in pain. Turned out they were from the notorious Black Mountain Stronghold nearby.”
“Their leader, Heuk Jong-pil, was found as a headless corpse.”
“Oh my.”
The Young Man rubbed his smooth, hairless chin.
“So what did you do?”
“What could we do? Killing them all seemed wasteful, and leaving silver scattered on the road would be foolish, so we bound them all up and dragged them along.”
In the end, the Geumwa Trading Company handed over the remnants of the Black Mountain Stronghold to the authorities and pocketed a substantial bounty. News of it spread rapidly.
“There’s been all sorts of talk. Some say a hidden master was involved, others claim a war broke out between strongholds…”
“It must have been a hidden master. How often do you find someone capable of killing a peak-level expert like Heuk Jong-pil in a single strike?”
The Young Man listened quietly to their words, then asked with keen interest.
“A peak-level expert in a single strike?”
Both merchants nodded together.
“Indeed. Since you’re a martial artist yourself, young brother, you must understand how extraordinary that is.”
“What was it they said—the lackeys mentioned seeing metal objects hanging all over this person. It was so deep into the night that they couldn’t see the face clearly, but then there was a flash, and Heuk Jong-pil collapsed, they said.”
“Hmm.”
The Young Man, who had been silent in thought for a moment, suddenly opened his mouth.
“That reclusive master is certainly far younger than I expected.”
“Ah, do you have some idea who they might be?”
“Roughly. Probably shabby clothes and disheveled hair.”
“Oh! Who is this master?”
“I don’t know their name, though.”
“…?”
“Well, we’ll find out gradually from now on. The wine was excellent.”
It happened in an instant.
The Young Man tossed out a single remark and rose from his seat, disappearing into the throng of patrons.
Soon after, the inn’s door closed with a tinkling bell.
“What was that just now?”
“He left? After drinking all that Yeahong wine by himself?”
“He said he was a friend. Damn it.”
It was then that the two Merchants stared at each other with blank expressions.
“Excuse me, gentlemen.”
“What is it?”
Jeom So-i, whose frame was impressively sturdy, extended a wooden bill with an impassive face.
The scars crisscrossing his face made one suspect he moonlighted as a Black Path swordsman.
No, with a visage like that, it was almost certain.
“The gentleman who just left didn’t settle his bill. From what I gathered, he seemed to be your friend.”
“What?”
“Two roasted ducks and five bottles of Yeahong wine. That comes to ten silver taels and twenty copper coins in total.”
“…!”
The Merchants’ jaws dropped as if they’d been struck from behind.
‘What a damnable situation.’
‘He drank five bottles of Yeahong wine?’
But what could they do? As the saying goes, one instance reveals ten truths—and judging by Jeom So-i’s appearance, this establishment was definitely run by the Black Path faction.
Just as the crestfallen Merchants began rummaging through their coin purses to pay, it happened.
“I’ll pay for it.”
Thud, clink.
A silk pouch flew from somewhere and landed on the table.
The inn had grown quiet. Through the parted crowd, an old man limped forward.
Clack, clack. The sound of a wooden prosthetic leg striking the floor pierced everyone’s ears.
“Twenty silver taels. Use that to settle the bill and get us a quiet room.”
Jeom So-i looked between the silk pouch and the old man, then bowed respectfully. He already knew the man’s identity.
“Yes, Song Dae-hyup.”
“Well then, that’s one problem solved.”
The old man draped his weathered hands across the shoulders of the two Merchants.
With strength that belied his seventy years, the Old Master seized both men and hauled them upward.
“The two of you will speak with me. About that friend who just left.”
“Why, why are you doing this?”
“We have no connection to him!”
The Old Master smiled broadly at the two Merchants, who were nearly in tears. Yet the darkness lurking in his eyes could not be concealed.
“Heh heh, that’s hardly for this old man to judge, is it?”
At the words of Song Ho, the Thousand-Faced Fox, the Merchants gasped for breath.
* * *
With the Seongnae Daeyeon drawing four days closer, the streets of Henan Province—indeed, even the Inns—were packed to bursting with people.
The problem was that because of this, I couldn’t find an Inn to stay in.
“No rooms available.”
I’d already been turned away from more than twenty Inns.
With nowhere to retreat and no excuse left, I glared at Jeom So-i and asked.
“Are you sure there really aren’t any?”
“There really aren’t any, I’m telling you.”
“I have money.”
I produced a single silver coin, its surface grimy with age. This was my entire fortune and my last hope.
Had I not secretly hidden it away beforehand, I wouldn’t even have this.
Jeok Cheon-gang had absconded with my entire purse.
‘Damn that old fool.’
Jeok Cheon-gang, who had received a salt baptism from Jeom So-i at the very first Inn we entered, had deliberated between burning down Jeom So-i or the Inn itself before arriving at a peaceful and brilliant solution.
It was called the Shaolin Temple Abbot’s Opportunity.
‘I’m going to Shaolin Temple.’
‘Wow. So that method existed. Could dementia have been the driving force behind becoming a genius?’
‘Should I use that driving force to snap your neck?’
‘My mouth was out of line. Anyway, it’s fortunate. Let’s go to Medadak, wash off the grime with hot water, and eat some Shaolin Temple mountain stronghold bibimbap.’
‘I’m going alone.’
‘What?’
‘A year ago, because you ran your mouth about going to the Seongnae Daeyeon, the old man suffered hardships he was never meant to endure. Since the preliminary rounds will be held in Kaifeng anyway, let’s not see each other’s faces until then.’
‘But that’s not fair!’
‘And hand over your purse.’
‘Why the purse?’
‘The Fire King has his dignity. Should I go looking like a beggar and eat and wash? I should at least offer some alms.’
‘….’
‘And if you come find me at Shaolin Temple, you’re dead. Understood?’
He wasn’t the Fire King—he was a common bandit. A common bandit.
With my eyes wide open as my purse was stolen, I stood dazed for a long while before wandering aimlessly in search of shelter.
And this was the last remaining Inn in the vicinity.
“This is real silver, I swear. Would you like to bite it to test?”
Jeom So-i, whose burly frame was impressive, furrowed her brow.
“…Didn’t you just pull that out from your underclothes?”
“Ah, I was keeping it hidden.”
I quickly wiped the silver coin on my sleeve and offered it again.
“Care to bite it and test it?”
“Get lost! You wretched beggar!”
That bastard….
I wanted to give him a taste of my fist across his face, but instead I turned away listlessly.
Near the Inn, I spotted children huddled together playing with jacks.
“Hey, kids—does anyone here run a boarding house?”
The chubby-cheeked children shook their heads.
“N-no, sir.”
“Our house does take boarders, but we’re already full.”
“Ah, I see. Understood.”
“And, um, my mom said not to let beggars like you stay with us.”
“….”
Listen to the nerve of this little brat.
I wanted to march straight into his house and give his parents a piece of my mind about proper child discipline, but I held my tongue.
‘Where do I go now?’
I was wandering slowly through the streets, wondering if I should find a nearby stream to wash myself, when it happened.
“You there, So-hyup!”
At first, I didn’t realize the shout was directed at me. My current appearance was far too wretched for me to believe someone was calling out to me by name.
Rags masquerading as clothes and hair matted into tangles—I was the very picture of a perfect beggar.
At least Chul-gu had wrapped the chains around his body and covered them with cloth, sparing himself the appearance of a convict.
But who in their right mind would call out to someone like me as So-hyup?
“Me?”
I turned around to see a Young Man with a plain, honest face grinning broadly.
“That’s right, you.”

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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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