Murim Login - Chapter 343

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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 343
The wind howled fiercely.
“This damned wind is relentless. Bloody hell.”
My body trembled as the bitter cold pierced through my leather garments. So much for immunity to heat and cold—it was more like vulnerability to both extremes.
“Achoo!”
Wondering what strange sound that was, I turned to see Hyuk Moo-jin rubbing his pale, reddened nose.
When our eyes met, his pupils curved into crescent shapes.
“What? What is it?”
“….”
“What are you looking at?”
“Oh, it’s just… I found your sneeze fascinating….”
“Good grief, you find the strangest things remarkable. If you have time for that, why not dig up another medicinal herb instead?”
“…I understand. I’m sorry.”
Averting my gaze, I glanced around for nearby herbs.
Five days had passed since I took this job as a Han Bing Ji herb collector, and the hierarchy between us had long since reversed.
“Hey, what are you doing? There’s one over there. Over there!”
“Ah, you’re right.”
“Focus properly!”
Sigh, I couldn’t even throw a punch at him.
If I’d followed a friend to Gangnam, at least land prices would have risen, but Hyuk Moo-jin, who came to Han Bing Ji following me, was enduring hardship of epic proportions.
The fact that he was now glaring at me with fierce determination, despite his usual habit of complaining only a few times even when caught up in all manner of conflicts, said everything.
“I’ll be collecting herbs beyond that hillside over there. Don’t rest—keep working. I’ll check in on you from time to time.”
“…Understood, you tyrant.”
Reminding myself of the virtue of patience, I carefully dug through the soil and pulled up a single herb.
I placed it into the sack that the exploitative employer—no, the Divine Physician—had distributed to all the herb collectors, and a system notification chimed.
Ding.
–
[Han Bing Herb]
has been collected.
– Remaining quantity
[100 / 100]
.
–
[Han Bing Herb]
collection is now complete!
“Phew. Finally finished another one.”
Seeing the end in sight was a small consolation.
As I checked my Quest window to assess the remaining quantity, Gung Ki-bang approached me, shivering.
“How much is left?”
“About two hundred roots. If we’re lucky, we might finish today.”
“Two hundred roots left?”
“Only two hundred roots remaining. Just hold on a bit longer.”
“No. Two hundred roots is far too many. By that time, I’ll be a frozen corpse buried somewhere in this snow.”
“….”
What nonsense.
Gung Ki-bang, trembling violently, pulled a fire striker from his pocket and lit a flame.
The man brought his face close to the feeble flame and muttered in a distant voice.
“I miss Master. Those days begging in the alley outside the warm inn….”
Like a match girl from a fairy tale.
I was so exasperated by his behavior that I muttered under my breath.
“You were a beggar back then too.”
“At least I was a warm beggar then. A hundred times better than a cold one.”
“…That’s true.”
“I wish I could go back to those days. The languid noon, the blazing sun. That appetizing yellow dog walking by….”
Appetizing yellow dog? What in the world was that.
Gung Ki-bang’s eyelids, speaking words that would horrify animal welfare organizations, slowly began to droop downward.
Surely not this bastard?
“Hey, hey!”
I urgently sent a stream of warm qi through his body.
He had to stay conscious somehow….
“So warm….”
“No, wake up, you crazy fool!”
Smack! Smack!
It was useless. No matter how hard I slapped his cheeks, his closed eyes showed no sign of opening.
I continued sending warm qi while shouting desperately.
“Is anyone there! Someone come quickly!”
At my desperate cry, a figure came running from the distance.
“Benefactor! Benefactor!”
“Nice work, Chung Poong! Quickly take this bastard outside….”
Chung Poong, who came running like the wind, smiled brightly and held out what he was carrying.
“Benefactor, look at this! It’s the first snowman I’ve ever made!”
“You damned idiot!”
* * *
The Divine Physician nodded after confirming all the medicinal herbs in the sack.
“This should be sufficient.”
Ding.
– Linked Quest,
[Han Bing Ji Medicinal Herb Slave]
has been successfully completed!
– Achievement,
[Herb Gatherer Who Returned Alive from Hell]
Achievement unlocked!
– You have earned 10 bonus points for achieving this achievement!
Look at that achievement title. I don’t even have the energy to be angry anymore.
The Divine Physician’s gaze, which had been observing our exhausted forms, suddenly came to rest on one person.
“Why does Young Master Chung Poong appear so downhearted?”
That’s because I destroyed the snowman that Chung Poong had made for the first time with my Flame Divine Statue.
I glared at the still-dejected Chung Poong as if I could kill him, then asked the Divine Physician a question.
“Does this mean the preparations are complete?”
“Indeed. With this quantity, we should be able to prepare for whatever may come to pass.”
“Prepare, you say?”
The Divine Physician nodded gravely.
“I cannot know what will unfold.”
I realized a fact I had momentarily forgotten: the Divine Physician had never once expressed absolute certainty.
He had only glimpsed possibilities and promised to do his utmost.
‘It is not over until it is over.’
That whispered refrain I had repeated to myself whenever facing crisis now became a dagger, piercing my chest.
In the end, there was only one thing I could say.
“Please do your very best, your very best.”
“This old man will do everything within his power. I promise you.”
Moon-kyung, standing beside the Divine Physician, spoke with conviction.
“I too shall assist my master with all my strength.”
“Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it. It is only my duty as a physician.”
“When will the formal treatment begin?”
The Divine Physician, who had been contemplating something quietly, opened his mouth.
“It will likely be seven weeks from now. Until then, Moon-kyung and I shall gather and refine the twenty-four varieties of medicinal herbs you have brought, preparing them as materials for the Technique of Reviving Life.”
“Is that all of it?”
“This is merely a portion. Fortunately, I already possess the remaining materials necessary for the Technique of Reviving Life, which has allowed us to save considerable time.”
“What exactly is this Technique of Reviving Life….”
The Divine Physician stroked his snow-white beard and answered.
“As I mentioned before, my master was once a martial artist of the Murim. Though he primarily provided medical care to the common people, he was also deeply versed in the principles of controlling inner energy.”
Hearing this, certain pieces began to fall into place.
Hyuk Moo-jin, standing beside me, suddenly interjected with an exclamation.
“A martial artist! The Technique of Reviving Life was created to treat martial artists!”
“Precisely. Ki Hwan Old Master was one such person. Thanks to the Technique of Reviving Life, he recovered from a severe deviation into madness and subsequently installed the Qimen Formation before departing.”
For a martial artist, deviation into madness is tantamount to a death sentence. Inner energy reverses its flow, meridians become twisted, and all the vital channels and energy centers are destroyed.
It would be easier to understand if one imagined a small bomb detonating within a person’s body.
‘Yet he cured deviation into madness.’
If the Divine Physician considered it serious, then Ki Hwan Old Master at that time must have been little more than a walking corpse.
Just hearing about it, I could sense how effective the Heavenly Resurrection Technique truly was.
‘Then Old Master Noya must certainly….’
I naturally brushed away the thought that was beginning to form.
There was no reason to be certain now, nor any need to worry.
“I place myself in your capable hands.”
“While the preparations for the grand technique are underway, no one—and I mean no one—is to approach where the patient lies. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Once the preparations for the Heavenly Resurrection Technique are complete, we shall have a clearer understanding of the patient’s condition as well. Until then, you must wait with patience.”
“I shall keep this in mind.”
“Remember—seven days hence.”
Yet the Divine Physician’s words were not to be kept.
He and Moon-kyung reappeared merely four days later, and the moment I saw their expressions, I could sense something was gravely wrong.
“…What has happened?”
After a prolonged silence, it was Moon-kyung, not the Divine Physician, who finally spoke.
“Formless Supreme Toxin.”
“What?”
“There exists an unidentifiable, virulent poison hidden within the patient’s body. That was the true reason.”
“Wait, wait a moment.”
My mind twisted and tangled in confusion.
This talk of Formless Supreme Toxin came from nowhere. I stared at the Divine Physician with bewildered eyes.
“What do you mean by this?”
“Exactly as you heard.”
The Divine Physician continued, his face gaunt and withered beyond comparison to four days prior.
“While preparing the grand technique and observing the patient’s condition, I discovered something peculiar—the scorching heat-yang qi, which should have intensified further, was gradually diminishing.”
“Then isn’t that fortunate? Suddenly speaking of poison—what does this….”
“Yet the grand technique has not even been performed. How could the heat-yang qi diminish on its own?”
“That is….”
“Did you notice nothing strange?”
In that moment, a sudden thought struck me.
During my journey from Hanan to Sichuan, I had repeatedly stabilized Jeok Cheon-gang’s qi through true energy cultivation, yet contrary to such efforts, his heat-yang qi had steadily diminished.
‘I had merely thought he was growing weaker.’
The Divine Physician sighed as my expression hardened into stone.
“When one qi ascends, the opposing qi naturally wanes. Yet this patient was different. The cold-yin qi remained unchanged, while the heat-yang qi decreased ever so subtly.”
“You’re saying that…was caused by the poison?”
“I cannot fathom how or when this Formless Supreme Toxin came to reside within the patient’s body, but it was there—a poison so insidious that even I dare not touch it. Whether by fortune or misfortune, the rampaging heat-yang qi happened to envelop the Formless Supreme Toxin, acting as poison countering poison. Had it not done so, the patient would have long since melted away into nothing but blood and water.”
“…!”
I do not know when or how this Formless Supreme Toxin that the Divine Physician spoke of had entered Jeok Cheon-gang’s body.
Yet one thing was abundantly clear—the heat-yang qi was serving as a barrier, preventing the poison’s spread.
“Then, then is treatment impossible even with the grand technique?”
“The Heavenly Resurrection Technique can govern qi and untangle bound meridians, but it is insufficient to detoxify such a Formless Supreme Toxin. If we were to proceed with the technique as planned…the heat-yang qi would be suppressed, but there would be no way to contain the poison.”
I cried out urgently.
“We must search for an antidote! The Sichuan Tang Sect exists, does it not!”
“…Young Master.”
The Divine Physician shook his head, his face darkening.
“I am well aware that the Sichuan Tang Sect reigns supreme in the handling of poisons throughout the realm. However, this toxin….”
As the Divine Physician’s words trailed off, my chest seemed to collapse inward like a stone sinking into an abyss.
‘Even the Sichuan Tang Sect is insufficient?’
Damn it. Truly, this is a damnable situation.
At present, two savage wolves clashed within Jeok Cheon-gang’s body, each restraining the other.
Should one of them perish, the other—now freed—would rampage like a creature possessed.
Yet there exists no method to neutralize the poison.
‘This wretched…!’
Tap. Tap tap. Blood droplets fell from my clenched fist. My throat burned as though I had swallowed molten fire.
Just as curses threatened to burst forth, a voice pierced through my consciousness.
“There is a way.”
Opening my eyes, I beheld the boy’s face. Moon-kyung spoke with unprecedented gravity.
“We must journey to the Sichuan Tang Sect.”
The Divine Physician regarded his disciple with a darkened expression.
“Moon-kyung. As you well know, this Formless Poison….”
“I understand, Master. I remember clearly your words that the Tang Sect’s poison arts are devoted to slaughter, and that their antidote techniques are lacking. However….”
Moon-kyung fixed me with his clear gaze.
“If the Sichuan Tang Sect possesses the legendary treasure passed down through generations—a divine artifact said to neutralize any poison under heaven—then it is possible.”
Ding.
– Quest,
[Ring of Ten Thousand Poisons]
has been generated!

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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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