Murim Login - Chapter 326

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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 326
The negotiations proceeded smoothly.
“First, looking at just the year before last, the damages Yongbong Escort Agency suffered due to Zhongnan Sect’s schemes amount to twenty-five thousand silver taels. Do you acknowledge this?”
“Twenty-five thousand taels? Absolutely not! I will never acknowledge—”
“Ah, here goes this old fool again.”
Whoosh!
“Cough! I acknowledge! I acknowledge it!”
Of course, there were moments when negotiations didn’t proceed smoothly, but making them smooth was all that mattered.
The Beggar Clan organized the mountainous pile of information, and the Haowen Sect used it as the basis to calculate damages on their abacus.
“Let’s see here—the contract breach with the Nakcheon Trading Company on the seventeenth of the first month last year. Zhongnan Sect was involved in this incident too, it seems.”
“The amount of damages?”
“In silver taels, six hundred and thirty-two taels.”
I, who had been quietly listening to the exchange between the Beggar Clan member and the Haowen Sect member, suddenly spoke up.
“Seven hundred taels.”
“Pardon?”
“Seven hundred taels.”
“…Yes, sir.”
The middle-aged Haowen Sect member, seasoned from years of battlefield negotiations, scratched out the character for six and changed it to seven.
As I carefully observed their work, I suddenly picked up a bamboo slip that had been set aside.
“What is this?”
“Ah, that’s an incident from the sixth day of the fifth month last year…”
“Skip the date. Just the damage amount.”
“Nine hundred and twenty-six taels in silver, sir.”
“Nine hundred? What?”
The Haowen Sect member, seeing my expression, quickly corrected himself.
“One thousand taels, sir.”
“One thousand taels? They’ve devoured quite a lot. There’s nowhere they didn’t stick their fingers in.”
Two silver taels could feed a family of four for a month. No matter how severe the wealth gap, one thousand silver taels was a fortune that would allow ordinary commoners to live comfortably for three generations.
As I clicked my tongue in disbelief, the Haowen Sect member spoke.
“Well, Young Master So-hyup, that incident was not actually Zhongnan Sect’s doing.”
“It wasn’t? Then why is it here?”
“That’s because, Young Master.”
A long finger poked my forearm. It was Wol-hwa, who had been standing behind me all this while, emanating a subtle fragrance.
“We brought all materials that seemed even slightly suspicious. When we cross-referenced information here, we found quite a few cases that turned out not to be Zhongnan Sect’s work. You should know this well, Miss Ju Hwa-ran, the escort agency owner.”
“Ah, is that so?”
Ju Hwa-ran was already examining the bamboo slip. After quickly scanning its contents, she nodded.
“That’s right. The loss was so significant that I remember it clearly. This was a failure on our side—the escort mission went wrong. Isn’t that correct, Uncle Heo?”
Under everyone’s gaze, Chief Escort Heo Jun coughed awkwardly and replied.
“That’s correct. I personally took charge of the escort mission, and Song Pyo-du here accompanied me. Unfortunately, due to several unfortunate circumstances converging, we failed to meet the deadline. In the end, we had to pay a penalty of one thousand silver taels.”
His face was filled with shame.
But I didn’t miss it—the suspicious glint in Heo Jun’s eyes as he glanced sideways at Song Il-seom.
And Song Il-seom himself, standing casually against the wall at a distance, as though utterly uninvolved in the matter.
“Hmm.”
“What’s wrong, Young Master Jin? Is there a problem?”
“No, nothing. Let’s move on.”
“Very well, then we’ll set this one aside.”
At that moment, a hand intercepted Wol-hwa’s pale, slender fingers as she reached toward the bamboo slip—not the delicate hand of a woman, but the calloused grip of a martial artist.
The owner was none other than Ju Hwa-ran.
“Just a moment, please.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“I’ve given it considerable thought, and I’m quite certain this is the work of the Zhongnan Sect.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“…What?”
Ignoring the bewildered stares of everyone present, Ju Hwa-ran seized another bamboo slip and thrust it toward Ha-o Gate Member, who had been calculating the damages.
“Please add this to the total as well.”
“M, Miss Ju.”
I’ve seen this scene play out before somewhere.
Ha-o Gate Member, glancing nervously between me and Wol-hwa, squeezed his eyes shut and wielded his brush.
With just a few strokes, Ju Hwa-ran had added another thousand silver taels to the damages—a staggering sum—and picked up another slip.
“Now then, shall we examine the others as well?”
“….”
“….”
“This one too, and that one, oh, and the one in that corner over there. Yes, that one.”
Ju Hwa-ran examined the slips with lightning speed, confirming amounts with each glance. And with each confirmation, the damages multiplied like rabbits.
Her mental calculations were flawless, and her audacity was breathtaking.
“This section also seems suspicious.”
“Well, that was determined to be an error made by Chief Escort Heo Jun himself, but…”
“No. It’s the work of the Zhongnan Sect, so please add it.”
“Then, then I shall add another one hundred fifty silver taels…”
I let out a soft chuckle and opened my mouth.
“Two hundred silver taels.”
“Pardon?”
“Let’s make it two hundred taels.”
Ju Hwa-ran shook her head.
“Three hundred taels.”
“….”
“….”
She’s doubling my bid without hesitation. Her shamelessness knows no bounds.
Hwang Bo-eom, already half-resigned to his fate, cried out in a voice dripping with anguish.
“Have I ever seen such brazen daylight robbery in my life!”
A bandit like a blade of grass?
It seemed Hwang Bo-eom was eager to eat ancestral rites rice starting this evening.
It was right then that I stepped forward to prepare for the rites.
“Did you just say bandit of the blade of grass?”
Ju Hwa-ran fixed Hwang Bo-eom with a cold expression unlike anything I had seen from her before.
“The Yongbong Escort Agency is merely demanding our rightful dues. If you refuse even this… I shall expose to the world who the true bandit really is.”
“You dare….”
“If all these facts were laid bare for all to see, could the disciples of Zhongnan Sect even show their faces?”
Ju Hwa-ran—who had to lead the Yongbong Escort Agency at an age not yet twenty, in place of her father felled by demonic possession.
The resentment she carried for all she had lost and all she had to let go of, through Zhongnan Sect’s schemes, ran deep in her chest.
“Escort Chief Stone Dae-min, Escort Master Gil Wang-jun, Hong Seok-jung, No Doo-sam, Contender Stone Sam….”
Ju Hwa-ran recited the names of people unknown to me in a trembling voice, her wet eyes fixed upon Hwang Bo-eom.
“Thirty-three in total. Those who met a different fate on this escort mission. Each one of them was family to the Yongbong Escort Agency. Though the Agency’s fortunes declined and we could not even pay them proper wages, they remained steadfast to the end.”
Though no blood bound us, there were people like family.
Just as I had lost my past teammates, Ju Hwa-ran had lost those precious souls who believed in and followed her.
“Expect no further concessions from me. Moreover, everyone in the Yongbong Escort Agency, myself included, shall never forget this.”
“…!”
“Is there anything else you wish to say, Great Martial Master Hwang Bo of the Great Zhongnan Sect?”
Her tightly clenched fist trembled. Hwang Bo-eom closed his eyes instead of answering.
In his stead, Hyuk So-pyung clasped his fists toward Ju Hwa-ran.
“On behalf of the Main Sect Headquarters, I offer our apologies, Miss Ju.”
“Call me Escort Master. And I shall refuse apologies that are mere words.”
At her cutting response, Hyuk So-pyung sighed and spoke.
“Then I shall immediately inform our Sect Leader and the various elders who remain unaware of this matter.”
“I sincerely hope they were unaware.”
I did not know what manner of person Feng Yun Sword Lord, the Sect Leader of Zhongnan Sect, was.
However, since the previous Sect Leader—whom Jeok Cheon-gang had praised as “quite the sage”—had personally designated him as successor, I could only hope he was someone reason could reach.
‘The matter of Yongbong Escort Agency, and my own problem as well.’
As the old saying goes, crabs favor crabs, and arms bend inward.
Though I had killed countless enemies beyond counting until now, Hwang Bo-eom was not merely a single martial artist.
The name Tae-eul Mujeong Sword represented Zhongnan Sect itself, and privately, he was the Sect Leader’s elder martial brother.
‘I could eliminate him easily enough… but that would create problems.’
Zhongnan Sect was a powerful faction worthy of belonging to the Nine Major Sects and One Alliance.
Had I severed Hwang Bo-eom’s head, would they have simply watched in silence?
Hyuk So-pyung, who had stopped me, and everyone in this place surely understood in their hearts. That I would not kill Hwang Bo-eom.
‘I suppose I must settle for leaving him half-crippled.’
The taste in my mouth was bitter, but there was no helping it.
It would take a full year of recuperation for Hwang Bo-eom to recover from the injuries he sustained today.
What mattered was that he lived, and by the time he healed, I would be far stronger still.
‘Since they went ahead and made their own mess, things worked out easily enough.’
Hwang Bo-eom committed two grave mistakes. First was drawing his sword, and second was having the Taeul Sword Squad seal off the tea house.
Drawing the sword was one thing, but the second mistake proved fatal.
‘Now the Beggar Clan, Haowen Sect, and even Huashan Sect are all entangled in this.’
After this incident, Zhongnan Sect’s standing in the Murim would narrow even further. Not just their position, but economically as well.
The numbers inscribed on the bamboo slip, finally tallied in full, proved it.
“The material and human losses suffered by our Yongbong Escort Agency, plus the massive penalty we would have owed your sect had this escort mission failed. Combined, it amounts to four hundred thousand silver taels. Surely Zhongnan Sect’s finances can manage that.”
Ju Hwa-ran’s voice was calm, but those listening felt otherwise.
Gung Ki-bang dropped his bamboo staff in shock, while Wol-hwa clicked her tongue and whispered to me.
“The young lady—or rather, the young master of Yongbong Escort Agency—is no joke, is she?”
“How significant is four hundred thousand silver taels?”
“Well, if I tell you that the annual budget of a prestigious major sect among the Nine Great Sects falls just short of one hundred thousand silver taels, you’ll get the picture.”
“…Huh.”
“If the young master knew, you’d realize that paying this all at once would require uprooting half the foundation of Zhongnan Sect.”
In modern terms, it would be equivalent to trillions of won. Thinking of it that way, the amount finally felt tangible.
As I fell silent at the staggering sum, a soft voice pierced my ear.
“Nice. Beautiful as a nation-toppling flower, sharp mind, and strong resolve. Our young master will have his hands full.”
“Pardon?”
“Hm? What?”
“No, you clearly just said….”
“Me? When?”
What was that? I could have sworn I heard something strange.
Just as I was eyeing Wol-hwa with suspicion, Ju Hwa-ran’s commanding voice rang out.
“Great Hero Hwang Bo, please affix your personal seal to verify this.”
The conclusion was already near.
Hwang Bo-eom’s fury was evident, yet he had no choice remaining.
As if he would curse them all until death, he fixed each person in the room with his gaze one by one before pressing his blood-stained palm against the bamboo slip to leave his seal.
“Is this sufficient?”
“It is. With this, no contract exists between Yongbong Escort Agency and Zhongnan Sect save for the compensation payment.”
Ju Hwa-ran then performed a deep cupped-fist salute.
“We shall not linger. Return safely to your Main Sect Headquarters. I hope we shall never meet again under any circumstances.”
“You…!”
Hwang Bo-eom tried to shake off the hands of the Zhongnan Sect disciples supporting him, but even that had become difficult now.
Instead, after spitting up a few mouthfuls of blood-tinged phlegm, the last person he glared at was me.
“I have one question.”
“You may ask, but think carefully before you speak. Otherwise, you’ll be buried right there.”
Hwang Bo-eom trembled once before opening his mouth.
“Did you truly… truly cross the wall?”
“My, what could you be so curious about.”
“What this old man saw was that your inner force had not yet been perfected. Yet how….”
“My master once told me this: people see only what they wish to see, and believe only what they wish to believe.”
“What do you….”
“Perhaps your age has caught up with you. You’re not grasping the point. As for my realm, feel free to speculate as much as you wish. However….”
I understood perfectly the question that Hwang Bo-eom must be wrestling with at this moment.
But what could I do? I was an existence that could be described by three words in both reality and the Murim: absurd.
That was the system, and that was me.
I stared intently at Hwang Bo-eom and continued.
“Remember just two things. You are weaker than me, and I am stronger than you. And this place… is the Murim.”
The strong reign supreme; the weak are devoured by the strong.
I stood upon the Murim, and standing upon the Murim, I was of the Murim. Hwang Bo-eom, who had lived eighty years as a denizen of the Murim, understood better than anyone what my words meant.
“The Murim, you say. The Murim.”
A murmur like a sigh. His face, crossed by a brief, hollow laugh, was utterly cold.
“We shall meet again. Without fail!”
“I’ll pay my respects at your funeral. Without fail!”
Had this been half an hour earlier, those teeth would have gnashed with fury, but now he had none left to grind.
Hwang Bo-eom turned away, radiating killing intent, brushing aside his disciples’ hands and barking an order.
“Release me. I will walk on my own!”
Hwang Bo-eom, staggering despite grave injuries yet forcing himself forward; Hyuk So-pyung, bowing his head heavily as he departed; and the disciples of the Zhongnan Sect hurrying anxiously in their wake.
Watching their retreating figures, a single word suddenly came to mind.
‘Karma and grudge.’
One of the great gears that turned the Murim.
I did not know what consequences today’s events would bring in the future. But I harbored no regrets. I had already made an enemy of the Zhongnan Sect, and ignoring such transparent scheming would have left a foul taste in my mouth.
‘Pests must be eliminated before they grow.’
Pest extermination. That was all.
Just as I reached that satisfying conclusion, a thought suddenly struck me.
‘Ah, come to think of it.’
There was still one remaining. A pest I had to crush.
A formidable pest that had transformed thousand-year snow ginseng into hundred-year snow ginseng, no less.
And it was not I who had drawn the blade for its extermination.
Shing.
A supple soft sword revealed itself. Ju Hwa-ran of the Eunbihwa. From between her crimson lips flowed a voice devoid of inflection.
“Now only one remains. Is that not so?”
One person was reflected in her gleaming black eyes.

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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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