Murim Login - Chapter 528

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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 528
Creak.
It didn’t take long to discern the identity of this uninvited guest.
Upon confirming the familiar face entering through the door, I spoke without hesitation.
“Hey, Hyuk Moo-jin. Who told you to let a beggar in?”
“I was doing well… look at the nerve on this wretched bastard.”
Gung Ki-bang, whose face was grimy with dirt, furrowed his brow sharply despite his bright smile.
“I made time to stop by, and this is what I get?”
“I called a beggar a beggar. What’s the problem?”
“Don’t you think about how it feels to hear that?”
“No. Not for a single moment.”
“…You’re worse than a scoundrel. One day you’ll find yourself surrounded by a hundred thousand Beggar Clan members getting beaten to a pulp.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“That won’t happen. Even like this, I’m quite a valuable asset to the Martial Alliance.”
“I swear by my beggar’s bowl. When the time comes, I’ll be the first to rough you up.”
“That’s fine too. Because when that time comes, this war will be over.”
“Do you mean that?”
“Yeah. Promise.”
Gung Ki-bang, who had been glaring at me silently as I answered so naturally, relaxed his eyes. A faint smile was already forming at the corners of his mouth.
“Damn it. The war has barely started, and I’m already wishing it would end.”
“Why, you want to hit me?”
Gung Ki-bang chuckled and shook his head.
“I may be cursed to beg my whole life, but I’m not thoughtless enough for that. No matter what, this war shouldn’t happen.”
“But you could earn merit and become a hero?”
“What would a beggar like me do becoming a hero?”
“Wow.”
A profound answer to a foolish question.
Though I’d asked it partly to understand what he was thinking, I applauded him sincerely.
Clap, clap, clap.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just thinking our Ki-bang has really grown up. Seeing you think like that.”
“…How exactly do you see people? And you’re younger than me, yet you’re shameless beyond measure.”
“If everyone who lived long enough became mature, the world would be far more livable than it is now. Time passes without any effort on our part.”
In that sense, Gung Ki-bang’s thinking was indeed sound for someone his age in the martial world.
This wasn’t the twenty-first century of the modern world, but the Murim where the primal law of the strong preying upon the weak held sway.
It was best not to harbor the naive notion that all the martial artists now flooding Hanan had joined the Martial Alliance purely out of righteous spirit.
‘Especially the younger ones.’
Wasn’t this the age when blood boiled hottest?
Even a middle-aged martial artist in his forties wasn’t much different. For them, the Great War was merely a relic of the past, something that happened before they were even born.
Among those who had never experienced war, there were no shortage of those harboring ambitions to earn merit and become heroes rather than being driven by righteous spirit.
Whether it’s the Bandits who live as if they only have today, or the disciples of the so-called prestigious sects and noble families—they’re all the same.
‘The times are what they are, and given the social customs of the Murim, there’s nothing to be done about it….’
No matter how charitably I try to view them, I can’t help but see them as cripples in my eyes.
Moreover, I find it a blessing that there are far more people who joined the Martial Alliance out of righteous spirit than such cripples.
‘Come to think of it, the fellows around me are quite decent sorts. Hmm.’
As I was thinking this, Chung Poong’s body undulated like a serpent before suddenly materializing in front of Gung Ki-bang.
Whoooosh!
“Ugh! What the—you bastard!”
“Hehe. This is a new stepping technique I created—the Mi-mi Step. Doesn’t it look just like Mi-mi?”
“Like Mi-mi my ass! It looks like a dog! Like a beggar!”
At Gung Ki-bang’s shriek, Hyuk Moo-jin wore the happiest expression in the world as he spoke.
“Chung Poong. Would you mind doing that just one more time later?”
“Of course! Absolutely!”
“Absolutely nothing! Absolutely not! Don’t you dare!”
….
Decent, my ass.
Put them all in one place and it’s not easy to find a more ridiculous bunch.
‘Ah, my head.’
I rubbed my throbbing temples and posed the question I’d been putting off.
“So what brings you here?”
Gung Ki-bang glanced at Chung Poong with cautious eyes before answering.
“There are some people who want to meet you and Chung Poong. I stopped by to make a request, just in case.”
“Of course there are plenty of people who want to meet me.”
“…Annoying as it is, I can’t exactly argue with that.”
“So who are these people who supposedly want to meet me?”
Gung Ki-bang sighed and continued.
“The Ten Dragons and Phoenixes.”
“The Ten Dragons and Phoenixes?”
“Yes, the ones you know. Not all of them have gathered, but about half.”
Then it’s naturally the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes. Is there another group by that name?
And the moment I heard those three words, my mind was already made up. I answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“No. What would I do meeting them?”
“Build connections. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining strong bonds between those of the later generation.”
“That doesn’t seem particularly beneficial either. And what do you mean by later generation? Don’t lump me in with you lot.”
Gung Ki-bang’s face filled with bewilderment.
“…How can you say something so unpleasant so confidently?”
“Because it’s common knowledge.”
“Well, that’s true, but… Damn it. Fine. What about Chung Poong then?”
Realizing his words would fall on deaf ears, Gung Ki-bang quickly shifted his target.
Chirp chirp chirp.
Chung Poong, who had been observing Mi-mi—the thousand-year-old Solitary Fang who had somehow become a point of interest to everyone around her—answered without even turning his head.
“No, I don’t feel like going.”
“But I’ve prepared a lavish feast for Cheong So-hyup.”
“I ate dumplings earlier and I’m full. Even if I were hungry, I don’t think I would have gone.”
“You can just take it with you. You can eat it whenever you get hungry.”
“I don’t know. I just haven’t had much appetite lately.”
“What, what?!”
Gung Ki-bang’s eyes widened as if he’d been struck by a blade.
No, Hyuk Moo-jin and I were equally shocked.
‘Has he lost his mind? Is he truly insane?’
‘Chief, did I mishear that?’
‘No. You heard it correctly. He said he has no appetite.’
‘That bastard isn’t Cheong So-hyup. He’s definitely a spy from Dark Heaven.’
‘That’s… actually convincing!’
Silent conversations passed between us through our eyes in the empty air.
Chung Poong’s sudden remark had dealt an enormous shock to everyone present.
‘Of all people, Chung Poong has lost his appetite.’
This was news as astonishing as the founding of the New Murim Alliance. Yet despite the stunned gazes directed at him, Chung Poong remained unmoved.
“Anyway, I’m fine. Why don’t you go visit your benefactor?”
“Huh? Uh, no. I’m not going either.”
“Is that so? Hehe. Then I’ll just continue with what I was doing. There seem to be some aspects of Mi-mi that need refinement.”
I didn’t know why he was acting this way, but one thing seemed certain.
As time passed and circumstances around us changed, some kind of transformation was beginning to take place within Chung Poong as well.
‘That fellow…’
I, who had been watching Chung Poong in silence, turned my head toward Gung Ki-bang.
“Anyway, you should get going.”
“Right. I should. This conversation dragged on and I’m already late for my appointment.”
Gung Ki-bang, whose eyes still bore traces of shock, turned his body and muttered.
“Still, she must be quite disappointed. Especially that young lady Ju—she seemed to have such high expectations.”
“Disappointed? Well, I’ve already seen a few of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes during the Seonglae Tournament, and eventually we’ll run into each other again sooner or later anyway…”
I was responding curtly when I suddenly stopped. The last remark Gung Ki-bang had added filled my mind completely.
“Wait. Who?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“No, I thought I heard you mention someone who had really high expectations.”
“Oh. Young lady Ju?”
That’s right. I hadn’t misheard.
“Young lady Ju… could it be that…?”
“Of course it’s the young lady Ju you know. Ju Hwa-ran, the young mistress of the Yongbong Escort Agency and Eun Bi-hwa.”
“…!”
A single memory suddenly surfaced in my mind.
In the Murim, it was merely a matter of two or three months past, yet somehow the memory felt impossibly distant.
But ironically, it was also a memory that remained unusually vivid among all the time that had elapsed.
‘The moon is so bright tonight.’
Yes, that day the moon had shone with particular brilliance.
Or perhaps, in truth, it wasn’t the moon that shone so brightly at all, but someone’s face.
For I had not been gazing at the moon that night.
‘Jin Dae-hyeop.’
‘Yes, Young Miss.’
‘Do you think I can do this?’
A voice—trembling and desolate—seemed to echo in my ears as it had drifted through the blooming garden.
What had I answered then?
Lost in thought, I muttered absently.
“…It’s alright even if you can’t.”
“What? What’s alright?”
I suddenly snapped back to awareness.
The soft moonlight vanished, the scent of flowers and that voice faded, and even the face that had wavered before my eyes dissolved into obscurity.
When I lifted my head, all I saw was Gung Ki-bang standing right before me with a bewildered expression.
A small sigh escaped me without my knowing.
“Ki-bang.”
“Huh?”
“Why are you so ugly?”
“…?”
“I’m sorry, but I mean it. Actually, I don’t think I’m sorry at all. Things were going so well.”
Gung Ki-bang’s homely face twisted in indignation.
“This bastard keeps—”
“Enough.”
I shook my head, cutting off whatever he was about to say.
“Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“Don’t ask again. Let’s go meet the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes or whatever. I heard about the feast and suddenly got hungry.”
“Uh, uh-huh?”
Gung Ki-bang, forgetting his anger entirely, simply blinked rapidly before nodding urgently.
“Yeah, yeah. Sure. Everyone will be happy to see you.”
It didn’t really matter who welcomed me.
It was just… how should I put it.
‘I simply wanted to see them after so long.’
Yes. That was all. Besides, I had reason to express gratitude regarding Jeok Cheon-gang, so the justification for going was more than sound.
‘It’s only natural as a person. Only natural.’
Muttering thus to myself, I began to walk. Behind me, Gung Ki-bang’s voice called out loudly for me to wait.
* * *
The three-story Inn was grand and ornate. It boasted a scale and price point that only those with considerable wealth could afford to frequent, and this reputation was well-earned.
In that context, the identities of the three men and one woman occupying the window seats on the Inn’s highest floor—the third story—could hardly be described as ordinary.
“Miss Ju. Won’t you have a drink?”
“Ah, but Miss Ju is not particularly fond of alcohol, is she? Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Ju?”
The handsome men draped in lustrous silk robes and crowned with heroic headgear remained oblivious.
They could not fathom what occupied the mind of the woman before them—Eun Bi-hwa, Ju Hwa-ran.
‘When will he arrive?’
By now, the chatter of those around her had faded into silence.
At some point, her body had tilted toward the window, and her eyes darted restlessly between the half-open shutters and the staircase below.
‘Gung Ki-bang made such bold promises. Should I go check on him now?’
And just as her thoughts spiraled endlessly, one after another, that very moment arrived.
Ding.
With the chime of the Inn’s door opening, Ju Hwa-ran shot to her feet.

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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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