Murim Login - Chapter 309

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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 309
It had already been four days since we departed Luoyang with the Bermuda Triangle.
I suddenly opened my mouth.
“Moo-jin.”
“Huff, huff. Yes?”
Hyuk Moo-jin, who had been sprawled across a boulder near the stream, was on the verge of gasping his last breath.
Though he had made tremendous strides over the past year, the limits of an individual’s internal energy and martial prowess had revealed themselves all too quickly.
‘Gung Ki-bang is keeping up reasonably well too, but he’s still lacking.’
Gung Ki-bang, true to his lineage as a member of the Beggar Clan’s second generation, possessed one of the most exceptional movement techniques among his peers, yet he could not match Chung Poong and me.
What good was mastering the Beggar Clan’s supreme speed technique, the Ten-Thousand-Mile Pursuing Wind Movement, when it only reached the fifth realm anyway?
“Gung Ki-bang.”
“Huff, why did you call?”
Ragged breathing.
His condition was better than Hyuk Moo-jin’s, but he too was struggling.
And the last one…
“Benefactor, would you like some dumplings?”
“You eat plenty yourself.”
“I ate a lot on the way. I’m full.”
“Then go take a shit and eat some more.”
“Wow! That’s a method!”
“…”
Of course it was Chung Poong.
Seeing him devour dumplings contentedly while employing his movement technique spoke volumes—a monster was indeed a monster.
Though I had no room to judge, carrying the Red Sky River on my back while maintaining a state similar to Chung Poong’s.
I scratched the side of my head while observing the three of them.
‘Hmm. This won’t do.’
From Hanan through Shaanxi Province to Sichuan.
A journey spanning thousands of miles that would require at least a month even with horses.
But the time allotted to us was not so generous.
To drastically shorten this timeframe, extraordinary measures were necessary.
“Huff, Team Leader. Why did you call?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much.”
I turned to Hyuk Moo-jin and asked.
“Do you still have what I entrusted to you last time?”
“Entrusted? What do you mean?”
“The chains.”
“What are you… oh, those things you used to wear dangling everywhere?”
“Yes.”
The eternal iron chains specially forged by the Yeolhwa Sect.
I had removed them along with the iron ball just before the Seongnae Daeyeon began, and Hyuk Moo-jin, whose eyes had widened at the mention of eternal iron, had swiftly claimed them.
“You brought it?”
This fellow’s instincts were sharp as a blade.
Hyuk Moo-jin, sensing something amiss, rolled his eyes nervously before answering.
“No, sir. I left it elsewhere.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Then here’s what we’ll do. If it turns up during a search, you’ll be searched along with it.”
“Oh goodness, what was I thinking? Now that I think about it, I did bring it.”
Clang.
Only then did Hyuk Moo-jin begin unwinding the iron chain coiled beneath his garments.
Eternal Cold Iron was impossibly durable and light—he’d wrapped it around his body like makeshift armor.
Such a material, usable as temporary armor or weapon and possessing immense value in itself, was precisely what Eternal Cold Iron represented.
Perhaps for this reason, reluctance dripped from Hyuk Moo-jin’s eyes as he handed the chain to me.
“Didn’t you give this to me to use? I’d been saving it to forge a weapon later…”
“I told you to safeguard it, not to keep it.”
“How is taking back what you gave me any different?”
“I’m borrowing it myself. This belongs to the Yeolhwa Sect. What do you think Noya’s reaction will be when he awakens and finds you holding this?”
“…Please, take it with you. Hide it where my eyes won’t find it.”
“Good thinking. Ki-bang!”
I seized the chain and called over Gung Ki-bang, whose expression had grown bewildered, and set to work.
The two of them stared blankly, their faces asking what in the world was happening, before speaking in unison.
“What exactly are you doing?”
“What nonsense is this?”
Whoosh.
I answered calmly.
“Can’t you see? I’m tying knots with the chain.”
“But why are you wrapping it around my waist…?”
“Wait. Loosen this.”
“There. Done.”
I gazed upon the fruits of my labor with satisfaction.
Hyuk Moo-jin, Gung Ki-bang, and myself—the three of us were bound together by the iron chain like dried fish strung on a line.
“Everyone rested well?”
“Rested? We haven’t even had a moment’s peace.”
“Release us at once!”
I shook my head with a radiant smile.
Simultaneously, my dantian surged as nearly ninety years of accumulated inner force flooded toward my legs.
“Now, let’s run.”
Screeeeeech!
“Ahhhhhhh! You madman!”
“The captain’s lost his mind! He’s trying to kill me!”
Gung Ki-bang and Hyuk Moo-jin, bound to me by fate, bolted forward like wild boars with their tails on fire.
At the sound, Chung Poong—who had been squatting in the nearby grass to attend to his needs—came scrambling out and followed in our wake.
“Benefactor! Let me come with you!”
“….”
That bastard probably didn’t wipe. No, surely he did.
I pushed away the thought that had just surfaced and unfurled my divine technique.
Time flowed as swiftly as the blurred landscape rushing past us, and in just two days, we reached the boundary between Hanan and Shaanxi Province with a display of extraordinary speed.
* * *
Thud. Thud.
Scattered formations. Exhausted faces. Dozens of people trudging forward with labored steps—all of them belonged to the merchant caravan.
Yet even the guards bearing weapons and the servants in thick garments driving horses and carts were all worn down.
It was not merely the result of four months of merchant travel.
“Hwa-ran.”
At the voice that pierced her ear, eyes that gleamed with subtle darkness turned to the side. Soon a clear, crystalline voice rang out.
“Yes, Uncle Heo.”
“The thing is…”
The man who had quietly approached the front was a middle-aged figure with graying whiskers. He hesitated before exhaling a sigh and spoke.
“Seok Pyo-du has breathed his last.”
“…!”
The slender frame that had been gently swaying atop the horse’s saddle suddenly went rigid. It was only moments later that a trembling voice escaped.
“So it has come to this after all.”
“The poison had penetrated to the marrow—there was nothing more to be done. I am sorry.”
“Uncle, there is nothing for you to apologize for. Seok Pyo-du’s death—my brother’s death—is my fault alone.”
Ju Hwa-ran bit her lip hard beneath her veil.
Yes. It was all because of her own inadequacy.
The death of Seok Pyo-du, whom she had grown up with like a true sibling since childhood, and before that the deaths of thirty-two others—all were consequences of her own flawed judgment.
‘Father. What should I do?’
Ju Hwa-ran lifted her gaze to the heavens.
An ink-black sky. Above the stars scattered across it, the face of one person emerged in her mind. Her father, Ju Ho-gun, who two years ago had fallen into demonic cultivation during his training and now hovered at death’s door.
‘To have such a beautiful and talented daughter—I could ask for nothing more. Haha!’
These were the words Ju Ho-gun had spoken as a matter of habit.
Had he been another man, he might have taken a son-in-law to continue the lineage, but he loved his beautiful and gifted only daughter and forever took pride in her.
‘The one to succeed me is you alone. The past fifty years of Yongbong Pyo-guk are nothing compared to what you will accomplish hereafter.’
It was common knowledge throughout Shaanxi Province how deeply Ju Ho-gun loved his daughter.
Yet as Ju Hwa-ran grew, people came to understand. He was no mere doting father.
Before even reaching adulthood, she possessed a mind sharp enough to see through the caravan’s ledgers, and beauty renowned as one of the Three Flowers of the North—
And beyond that, she was Ju Hwa-ran herself, a master of martial arts so exceptional that she was counted among the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, the greatest prodigies of the Orthodox Martial Arts World.
And yet….
‘Where did it all go wrong?’
Ju Hwa-ran swallowed the sigh that rose from the depths of her heart.
Right now, everything surrounding her was crumbling. It had been merely two years since she began leading the Yongbong Pyo-guk in place of her fallen father.
“Hwa-ran, are you alright?”
If anything remained, it was people.
The fifty years of virtue and benevolence that Ju Hwa-ran’s grandfather and father had built together was the sole pillar sustaining her.
Heo Jun, the chief escort, spoke to her with concern, and Ju Hwa-ran forced a smile.
“You needn’t worry about me, Uncle Heo.”
“Then I’m relieved.”
Heo Jun nodded with a darkened expression.
Ju Hwa-ran was only twenty-one years old.
Though she already possessed much, she was far too young for her heart to have hardened completely.
Yet burdened by such profound guilt, all he could do was watch over Ju Hwa-ran.
Ju Hwa-ran was not unaware of Heo Jun’s feelings. She steadied her voice and spoke.
“The day has grown dark, so we shall make camp here for the night. Prepare the grounds.”
“A wise decision.”
“And… prepare for a funeral as well.”
The thirty-third casualty of this escort mission. It was time to bid farewell to Seok Pyo-du, who had been with Ju Hwa-ran since her childhood.
If they could obtain salt, they might slow the corpse’s decay, but by the time the entire escort mission was complete, the poison remaining in his body would surely reduce his flesh and bones to mere bloody pulp.
“Understood. Rest for a while.”
“How can I rest when everyone is working so hard? Please, don’t worry and go.”
Heo Jun gave a small nod and signaled with his hand, and the footsteps of the people immediately ceased.
Though some chill remained in the air, the broad expanse of land was perfect for camping. Ju Hwa-ran intended to rest here, replenish her strength, and cross the mountain early the next morning.
‘We’re almost there.’
Ju Hwa-ran’s gaze fixed upon the mountain shrouded in darkness.
Once they crossed that mountain, called Heukseok Mountain for its dark stones, this escort mission would enter its final phase.
Though they had suffered considerable losses, if this escort mission succeeded, the Yongbong Pyo-guk would gain a chance to catch their breath.
‘Seven days to Jongnam Mountain now. It won’t be easy, but if we safely cross Heukseok Mountain, we’ll have enough time.’
The problem was… what attitude the master of Heukseok Mountain would take.
Heukseok Fortress was among the strongest mountain strongholds belonging to the Green Forest Alliance, renowned as one of the Eighteen Fortresses, and its fortress master was a supreme expert known for wielding a single spear with uncanny skill.
If the exhausted Yongbong Pyo-guk clashed with Heukseok Fortress, they might have to endure losses far greater than what they had already suffered.
‘Please, let nothing happen.’
It was the very moment Ju Hwa-ran turned her body with such thoughts.
Crackle.
A faint sound pierced her ears. The rustling of dry leaves underfoot—it was not the sound of a beast.
In an instant, a red alarm bell rang in Ju Hwa-ran’s mind.
‘Enemy!’
Whoosh!
Ju Hwa-ran drew the flexible sword at her waist and cried out like thunder.
“Who goes there!”
Her sharp cry echoed through the darkness.
Nearly simultaneously, Heo Jun, the chief escort, sensed the situation and surrounded her with his escort warriors.
“Protect the Young Lord!”
“Yes, sir!”
Clang clang clang!
The razor-sharp blades of spears and halberds glimmered as they caught the faint moonlight.
It was then that the grass fifty paces ahead began to rustle.
“Well, well. So it’s the valiant escort masters of the Yongbong Pyo-guk.”
A towering giant, eight feet tall, with a massive axe strapped across his back—at the sight of him, Heo Jun let out a low whistle.
“The Cheonryeok Bandits….”
“Oh, isn’t this Heo the Elder Brother? I’ve heard you’ve been quite busy lately, tending to that young girl.”
“How dare you!”
Beside the rigid Heo Jun, a graceful figure suddenly stepped forward.
“How fortunate. I was just about to offer you the toll.”
“Is that so?”
The Cheonryeok Bandits leader grinned wickedly and swung his axe.
“First, let me see what you’re carrying.”
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Behind his axe, hundreds of Green Forest Alliance bandits emerged from the darkness.

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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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