Murim Login - Chapter 330

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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 330
Around midnight.
The figures of the four who departed from Yongbong Escort Agency vanished in an instant.
The staff of Yongbong Escort Agency who had come to see them off trembled in the biting wind, yet Ju Hwa-ran stood motionless in that spot.
As if waiting just a moment longer might bring someone back.
It was then, while gazing into that thick darkness.
“They’ve gone.”
The escorts, startled by a voice that came without warning, parted to either side. Yet Ju Hwa-ran remained unperturbed.
“Yes, they have.”
“Do you regret it?”
“It would be a lie to say I don’t.”
“There’s no help for it. Those who must leave will leave, and those who must stay will stay. That is the natural order.”
“The natural order….”
Ju Hwa-ran murmured softly, then turned slowly around.
“Which are you, Song Pyo-du?”
“Me?”
Song Il-seom chuckled and deliberately shook the travel pack slung across his shoulder.
“What do you think?”
“Is that why you pretended to be drunk and asleep?”
“A full decade. I’d say my duty is fulfilled by now… or is it still not enough?”
“Yes.”
“…!”
“It is not enough. You have not yet fulfilled your duty.”
At Ju Hwa-ran’s unhesitating answer, Song Il-seom’s brow furrowed.
“Not enough? Even after I’ve protected Yongbong Escort Agency and you for ten years?”
“Can it compare to the debt of life your grandfather bestowed upon me?”
“You…!”
Song Il-seom raised his voice and took a step forward, causing the nearby escorts to flinch and grip their sword hilts.
To those who had not heard the hidden truth behind his origins, Song Il-seom remained a figure of caution. In particular, the other two heads of the Yongbong Three Escorts who stood with him made no effort to hide their hostility.
“Lower your voice. It won’t serve your interests.”
“The Agency Master may think otherwise, but we do not. No matter how we consider it, something about you seems deeply suspicious.”
It was then that the two escort heads blocked Song Il-seom with stern expressions.
“Enough. Step back.”
At Ju Hwa-ran’s calm voice, the two escort heads faltered.
“A-Agency Master.”
“But this man has yet to fully clear himself of suspicion…!”
“I said step back. I have urgent matters to discuss with him. Return to your posts and attend to the remaining duties.”
“Hmm….”
“Y-yes, understood.”
The two escort heads, whose lips moved as if they had more to say, nodded heavily.
Song Il-seom watched their retreating figures as they slowly departed with the other escorts, then clicked his tongue toward Ju Hwa-ran.
“I can’t tell if they’re loyal or just stupid. Even at this point, they can’t distinguish between ally and enemy.”
“Your premise is flawed.”
“What?”
“They’re neither as loyal as Song Pyo-du thinks, nor are they foolish.”
In that instant, a question flashed through Song Il-seom’s mind.
‘Could it be?’
Understanding struck like lightning.
Though he was a born fighter and natural warrior, that didn’t mean his mind was dull.
Having grasped the situation, Song Il-seom muttered softly.
“This is a hall of mirrors if I’ve ever seen one.”
Ju Hwa-ran nodded.
“They deliberately sabotaged the escort contracts, embezzled funds under the cover of chaos, and skillfully falsified the ledgers. Heo Uncle couldn’t have done all this alone.”
“How far does this conspiracy extend?”
“I’ll need to determine the exact figures and identities from here on, but at minimum, two more people are involved.”
Ju Hwa-ran’s gaze swept across the receding silhouettes of the two escorts before settling on Song Il-seom.
“I intend to root them out entirely.”
“Why not expose it all right there where the Chief Escort was killed?”
“The chaos would have deepened. And if I can’t accomplish even this on my own strength, I have no right to become the next master of Yongbong Escort Agency.”
“You’re confident?”
Ju Hwa-ran fixed Song Il-seom with an unwavering gaze.
“What if you set down that bundle you’re carrying and pick it up again a year from now?”
“You’d use me to eliminate the root and seal the source?”
“Song Pyo-du. Right now, I need a blade sharp enough to cut anyone. And by fortune, the perfect candidate stands before me.”
“I refuse. And stop calling me by that title.”
“Then what about hiring a Soul Pursuer?”
“What?”
Ju Hwa-ran shrugged lightly.
“The finest Soul Pursuer under heaven would demand a considerable fee, but given our past connection, you’d offer some consideration, wouldn’t you?”
“You’d repay a life-saving debt with that?”
“If that were my intent, I’d have asked for something greater.”
“Yet earlier you said the Escort King hadn’t fulfilled his obligation for the life-saving grace?”
“That was because too many eyes were watching. My grandfather also told me—one person saving another is simply that, nothing more.”
“Ha!”
Song Il-seom burst into laughter despite himself.
He recalled the words that the Gentleman Swordsman Ju Ho-gun had spoken to that young man who came seeking him ten years ago, carrying a faded jade hairpin.
‘Though we met across a generation, you have come to find me now, and that is enough. Do not be bound by the ties of the previous generation—live your own life.’
‘Yes?’
‘Your father once told me that what he did was simply one person saving another. I share that view. And I am grateful that you have grown so splendidly.’
It was a shock.
From childhood, Song Il-seom’s life had been an unending struggle. His parents died young, and when his grandmother—his only pillar of support—passed away, he had to navigate the world alone, with no one to help him.
He scavenged weapons from corpse heaps and stole them, cut down Bandits who tried to rob him of his rightful earnings, and proved himself through countless life-and-death battles.
‘I thought he would demand something.’
For Song Il-seom, who had lived as a Bandit, that would have been natural.
Even if Ju Ho-gun had wanted someone eliminated, he would have done it gladly. It would have left a bitter taste, but it was work he had always done.
Just one among the countless requests he had fulfilled over the years.
But… Ju Ho-gun was different.
He was the first ‘adult’ Song Il-seom had met after becoming a parentless orphan.
Perhaps that was why the words had tumbled out so unexpectedly.
‘Ten years.’
‘Pardon?’
‘I will leave ten years from now. Though all I have learned is how to kill, should anything happen, I swear to protect you and your child as the Escort King once did decades ago.’
Song Il-seom had kept that oath.
He became an escort of the Yongbong Escort Agency and faithfully followed orders, and while there, he shadowed and protected the lord’s daughter at his request.
As years passed and the child grew into a beautiful woman, strange rumors circulated about him, but he paid them no mind.
Whether the lord fell ill or the Escort Agency crumbled, Song Il-seom silently remained at his post.
‘I am merely fulfilling my duty.’
Song Il-seom opened his eyes, which he had kept tightly shut. Then he suddenly spoke to Ju Hwa-ran, who was watching him.
“I will leave in a month.”
“…!”
“Once you uncover the identities of the traitors, I will personally eliminate them. A month will be sufficient.”
Song Il-seom spoke bluntly, having seen the expression on Ju Hwa-ran’s face.
“There is no need for that look. I am merely going to Hamyang to obtain a divine elixir.”
“A divine elixir…?”
“Yes. With it, I can treat the lord’s condition. The Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng was too potent and could have backfired, but this divine elixir will certainly prove effective.”
“H-how did you manage to obtain such an elixir…?”
“Enough. Stop asking—it hurts my mouth.”
Song Il-seom waved his hand dismissively.
After more than a year of searching, he had finally obtained this divine elixir. Though not as legendary as the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, it was the perfect remedy to restore the lord from his descent into demonic cultivation.
As a result, he had poured every last coin of the vast fortune he had accumulated as a funeral escort into acquiring it, but wealth could always be earned again.
“Do you know something?”
Song Il-seom’s calm voice continued.
“There is no harder task than saving a life. What seemed natural to you… was the most difficult thing I have ever done.”
Song Il-seom had made his living by taking lives.
Only after joining the Yongbong Escort Agency had he begun to protect someone.
“Song Pyo-du…”
Ju Hwa-ran, whose eyes glistened with tears as she looked at him, noticed his furrowed brow and hurriedly corrected herself.
“Ah, Song the Great Swordsman.”
“How long will you keep confusing it?”
“My apologies. I was so startled that I misspoke for a moment…”
“Then let’s create a new position for this occasion.”
“Pardon?”
“I dislike the title of Chief Escort. Being an escort master is tedious, and it requires managing people.”
“Yes, yes?”
“Guardian of the Escort House. Yes, that would suit me well.”
As Ju Hwa-ran uttered a faint protest, Song Il-seom turned on his heel and departed.
Not toward the darkened street beyond the door, but toward his own quarters.
“I shouldn’t have packed my travel bag.”
Watching Song Il-seom’s receding figure as he murmured those words, dimples formed at the corners of Ju Hwa-ran’s lips.
* * *
Whoooosh.
Taut sails and a stern cutting through the water.
On the swift vessel racing forward like the wind, bronzed men with bare chests hauled ropes and rowed. The number of those visible on deck alone reached fifty.
With five such swift vessels, they commanded a force of nearly three hundred.
“Faster, faster!”
“You dogs! How dare you call yourselves members of the Water Dragon Stronghold if you move so sluggishly!”
The Water Dragon Stronghold was a major water stronghold belonging to the Yangtze River Water Bandit Alliance.
They called themselves heroes of the Yangtze, boasting of their prowess, but the name the common folk gave them was far removed from heroic.
“Water bandits! They’re water bandits!”
“Damn it, why are those bastards here!”
Upon spotting the five swift vessels, the ship captain collapsed into his seat.
The opposition was no rabble—they were the Water Dragon Stronghold of the Yangtze River Water Bandit Alliance. Their vessels could not be outrun, and combat was unthinkable.
‘My luck has truly turned sour.’
Wrong. Now there was only one way to pass through quietly.
The captain, his face downcast, called over the youngest crew member passing by.
“You there!”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Tell the passengers to hand over some money.”
“What?”
“Collect the money! They need to pay the passage toll!”
That the opposition was the Yangtze River Water Bandit Alliance was both misfortune and fortune. Once caught, there was no escape, but they did not swing their blades indiscriminately.
The Yangtze River Water Bandit Alliance claimed to be of a different caliber than the common rabble bandits scattered throughout the realm, but in truth, they were all the same.
“Sigh… Today’s business is completely ruined.”
Just as the captain was releasing a heavy sigh, someone tapped his shoulder.
“Excuse me.”
“Gasp! You startled me! Who are you?”
“I’m a passenger.”
“Well, I know that much.”
The captain regarded the young man who had suddenly appeared. From the sword at his waist, he seemed to be a martial artist, but….
‘For some reason, he looks rather dull-witted. With that protruding mouth, he’ll probably talk a lot.’
Third-rate martial artists were a dime a dozen throughout the world.
What was one or two more encounters? The boatman sighed and opened his mouth.
“Why have you come? If this is about the money I collected, I have nothing to say—return to your seat. Don’t invite trouble and end up not crossing the River of Three Paths.”
The young man watching the rapidly approaching fast boat asked a question.
“Are they bandits?”
“Can’t you see for yourself? They’re from the Water Dragon Stronghold of the Yangtze River Water Bandit Alliance. There’s no one in Sichuan who doesn’t know of them.”
“The Yangtze River Water Bandit Alliance….”
“Running won’t help. Their fast boats are impossible to escape from. Once they spot you, it’s over—finished!”
“That boat. It seems quite fast.”
“Did you really just say that….”
The boatman, about to answer with an irritated expression, swallowed hard and fell silent.
A shadow even larger than the young man’s had risen behind him.
Shaggy hair, and atop the A-frame carrier he bore, a towering pile of leather goods rose high.
Geo Han, who had been staring blankly at the boatman, opened his mouth toward the young man.
“Moo-jin.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s take that one.”
The boatman doubted his own ears.

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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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