Murim Login - Chapter 539

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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 539
Sal-sung (Kill Star).
An assassin despised by all who emerged onto this land and finally became a star illuminating the heavens.
A living witness who shattered the barriers that only the chosen could enter, and personally proved the four characters ‘Supremacy of the Strong’.
Yet most people knew neither his age, appearance, nor even his name. For assassins operate in extreme secrecy, never revealing themselves.
The veil that hung before the name Sal-sung never lifted, even after decades had passed.
Sal-sung vanished abruptly after the war’s end, never showing his face once during all those long years, and the whispers that spilled from people’s lips spread a thousand, ten thousand miles without footsteps.
Sal-sung was dead!
Half true, half false.
On the day when Mu-shin defeated the Heavenly Demon and one hundred thousand demon cavalry fell.
What an old man in a bamboo hat buried on a nameless hillside and left behind was not merely a blood-stained flute. The alias Sal-sung was buried alongside it.
Thus Sal-sung died, and Moon-kyung emerged into the world. And the world began calling him by another name.
‘Divine Physician’.
The tributaries of the Yangtze River branch into many streams, yet ultimately their currents converge into one.
In that sense, Moon-kyung too was a single river. A river bearing two names—the greatest assassin of all ages and simultaneously the finest physician under heaven.
To summarize it simply….
‘Top priority recruitment target’.
This alone more than qualified him to board my Go-ing Murim Fleet.
Of course, traveling together meant I’d face assassination attempts with some regularity, but my philosophy was that getting poisoned a few times was far preferable to dying when encountering a monster like the Western Heavenly Demon Lord.
Black cat or white cat—as long as it catches mice well, it matters not.
The fact that my first recruitment target wasn’t a cute horned deer but a former assassin who wanted to kill me three times a day was considerably unfortunate, yet this wasn’t a matter of choice.
‘What does personality matter? He has maximum damage output and healing abilities.’
Yes, that’s all that matters. Nothing else.
To survive in this harsh Murim without a single cheap potion, I desperately needed Moon-kyung.
Even if not for me, when someone traveling with us faced grave danger, he could save their life at least once.
The greatest problem was that I, so confident, had overlooked one person’s existence.
“Hehe.”
“…?”
“Hello, my benefactor.”
“…!”
Hello, my ass. What in the world was happening?
‘Could it be?’
I stared at Chung Poong with trembling eyes and barely managed to squeeze out my voice.
“…Why are you coming out from there?”
“Well, you see. I was just passing by earlier…”
“No, I understand how you got here. It’s just that…”
This is driving me insane. Seriously.
I was so flustered I could barely speak, stammering helplessly. Moon-kyung, who had been watching me with an expressionless face, drew the conclusion for me instead.”I told you. You were one step too late.”
“Didn’t I tell you? You’re one step too late.”
Chung Poong laughed brightly and responded.
“Hehe. That’s how it turned out, benefactor.”
A single blow that transforms conjecture into certainty. I, who had been alternating my gaze between the two in silence for a moment, forced my lips open with difficulty.
“Is this really happening?”
Moon Kyung-i nodded.
“It’s not a legend, at least.”
“So, truly?”
“Yes. Truly.”
“What’s the reason?”
“There’s no reason I need to tell you.”
“That may be true, but I feel like I need to hear it directly so I can give up cleanly.”
Moon Kyung-i clicked his tongue softly.
“You’re being quite messy about this.”
“Even if it’s messy, I’d still like to hear it?”
“I’ll have to find a cleaner method.”
Sling.
Something glimmering with silver light emerged from the end of his elongated sleeve.
Upon confirming the small blade that popped out like a jack-in-the-box, I blinked my eyes.
“Have my eyes gotten worse because I’ve been tired lately? Why does that appear at this moment?”
“Using this makes things clean.”
“That may be true, but wouldn’t the surroundings become messy?”
“It doesn’t matter. I know various methods.”
“….”
It seems he had accumulated considerable expertise from years of work as an Assassin.
And I had absolutely no intention of personally verifying the excellent methods Moon Kyung-i had mastered.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Go. Forever.”
“See you later, benefactor!”
As I turned away with the greetings of these two whose temperature difference was extreme, I muttered inwardly.
‘Wow, this is driving me crazy.’
Who would have thought Chung Poong would make a preemptive move? This was truly a development I hadn’t anticipated in the slightest.
If this were the Chung Poong I knew, he should be holding meat dumplings and vegetable dumplings in both hands right now, deliberating what to eat first.
‘Did he invest his intelligence stat instead of me…?’
Now that it’s come to this, there’s no helping it. First, I need to quickly recruit the others.
Hyuk Moo-jin, who had been loitering at the entrance of the Medical Hall, spotted me and rushed over in a single bound.
“The matter you attended to doesn’t seem to have gone well, judging by your expression.”
Hyuk Moo-jin, who quickly corrected his words upon seeing my face, blinked his eyes.
“Moon Kyung-i isn’t visible, so surely…?”
“Can’t you tell by looking?”
“Huh, that fellow rejected the captain’s offer. So he’s actually capable of sound judgment despite appearances… no wait. I was joking. Please, I beg you, put your fist down.”
“If you make one more joke, that’ll be your last words.”
Hyuk Moo-jin secured a safe distance by stepping backward, then opened his mouth with a grave tone.
“There is one method, at least.”
“A method?”
“Yes.”
His confident demeanor piqued my interest. I asked, grasping at straws like a drowning man clutching a rotten rope.
“What is it?”
“What if I went and persuaded him properly? Moon Kyung-i would be putty in my hands if I spoke to him.”
“….”
Putty in his hands? No—more like Moon Kyung-i would turn Hyuk Moo-jin into putty.
If Moon Kyung-i so desired, a single breath could reduce Hyuk Moo-jin to a corpse, and another could scatter him to dust.
“Moo-jin….”
“Don’t worry. We’ve built up affection over the years. If Gung So-hyup and I go to persuade him, he won’t refuse us coldly.”
“That’s not the issue, you fool….”
Now this idiot was attempting a murder-suicide pact.
I gazed at Hyuk Moo-jin with sorrowful eyes.
“You really do hate Kihang, don’t you?”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. In any case, don’t you dare try persuasion or anything like that.”
“Why not?”
“Just don’t. You fool.”
Hyuk Moo-jin had no knowledge of Moon Kyung-i’s true nature, so reasoning with him was futile.
Watching the aggrieved expression on his face, I exhaled deeply and spoke.
“Can you write calligraphy?”
“Calligraphy? I’d make Wang Xizhi weep.”
“Before you get beaten and weep yourself, answer properly.”
“…I write reasonably well. Even as a child, I was called something of a prodigy.”
“Then write several large sheets and post a notice of recruitment.”
“A notice of recruitment?”
“Yes. Since we’ve come this far, let’s find ourselves a truly talented individual.”
The world is vast, and masters are plentiful.
And Hanan at this moment was a hidden sanctuary where countless dragons and tigers prowled.
‘What’s a public audition compared to this?’
The imperial examinations were, when you thought about it, the most traditional audition program. With my reputation and discernment, it was certainly worth attempting.
I murmured to myself as I envisioned the flood of applicants that would come.
‘Why not try? Damn it.’
* * *
Shwik, swish-swish-swish!
Movements I had never witnessed before—swift and fluid.
Each time the hands danced and swayed, the tip of the great needle gleamed, and thread sealed the wound.
The swordsman who had been slowly dying from a grievous abdominal wound was given a chance at resurrection in mere moments.
“How is it possible for someone so young to possess such medical mastery…!”
“I have never heard rumors of a physician with such skill in all my years.”
“Remarkable! This is nothing short of divine technique!”
From the bearded middle-aged guard to the white-haired Old Master.
The physicians gathered in one place, their faces pale as they witnessed the spectacle unfold before their eyes, suddenly came to their senses at the voice that rang out.
“It is finished.”
Tap.
The treatment had ended as swiftly as lightning. What was even more astonishing was not merely the speed, but the fact that the execution was flawless.
The physicians, their mouths agape in shock, turned their gaze toward the figure rising from his seat.
“How… how is this possible?”
“You there!”
A person too refined to be called a young man, yet possessing an air too mysterious to be called a boy.
Moon Kyung-i, gathering his belongings and rising from his seat, opened his mouth.
“Are there still patients remaining?”
The physicians exchanged glances and simultaneously shook their heads.
“Well, that is not quite the case…”
“Yes, indeed. It is all thanks to you.”
This young physician’s display of marvel was not the first.
Perhaps an hour ago. He had brought in an injured patient, glanced over those lying in their beds, and suddenly uttered a single remark.
“This should be finished shortly.”
Then he proceeded to treat each patient one by one, and his speed and execution were so swift and perfect that the physicians who had approached to drive him out could not bring themselves to leave.
“Is such medical skill truly possible in this world?”
“Who exactly is this person?”
Thus they had waited until now, hoping to inquire of his identity, but the young physician’s response was utterly composed.
“Then that concludes matters. I shall take my leave now.”
“Wait, just a moment! I have countless questions for you!”
“What is your master’s name? Could it be…!”
Faced with the barrage of questions, Moon Kyung-i gave a slight nod.
“Should time permit, I shall stop by before departing to examine the patients’ conditions once more.”
“You may have entered freely, but you shall not leave so easily!”
“Seize that fellow!”
“Forgive us! But we cannot let you go like this!”
Whoosh! Thud!
Yet the hands of the physicians who desperately threw themselves forward only grasped at empty air.
As they tumbled to the ground, unable even to brush his garments, Moon Kyung-i’s voice rang out.
“I have left a prescription suited to each patient at the seat where I was sitting. Review them and administer the treatment accordingly.”
“What, what? A prescription?”
“Where! Where is it!”
A renowned physician’s prescription was to physicians what a secret martial art manual left by a supreme master was to martial artists.
As the physicians, their eyes half-rolled back in fervor, engaged in fierce competition over dozens of prescriptions, Moon Kyung-i quietly stepped outside and began to walk, then suddenly opened his mouth.
“Come out.”
A soft rustle.
Chung Poong emerged from behind the massive pillar where he had been hiding.
“Oh! How did you know?”
“Just did.”
“You’re amazing as always. I thought I could fool you this time, hehe.”
Moon-kyung stared intently at Chung Poong’s radiant smile and asked.
“What martial art is that?”
“A movement technique.”
“I know that much.”
“Ah, I named it Mi-mi Step.”
“Mi-mi Step?”
“Yes. I named it after our Mi-mi. Pretty cool, right?”
The sparkling eyes met with a cold response.
“…That’s an absurdly ridiculous name.”
“Oh. Ah.”
Moon-kyung gazed at the thoroughly deflated Chung Poong with deeply sunken eyes.
‘What kind of monster is this?’
The name Mi-mi Step might be laughable, but the profound principle woven into that movement was anything but.
‘He created a martial art by mimicking a serpent’s movements.’
Most martial artists in the Murim spend their entire lives simply comprehending a single discipline and making it their own.
Yet the boy before me accomplished that seemingly impossible feat without hesitation.
He had made it his own, then completely recreated it.
‘This brat… has the vessel of a Grand Master.’
Jin Tae-kyung was not the only genius. In fact, in some ways, this was a breed of genius that far surpassed Jin Tae-kyung.
‘The Sword Saint has raised a monster.’
Moon-kyung, muttering inwardly, opened his mouth toward Chung Poong, who still wore a dejected expression.
“So, why did you extend your hand to me?”
“Well. Because my benefactor is so extraordinary.”
“Jin Tae-kyung is extraordinary?”
“Yes. Before, I hoped my benefactor would catch up quickly… but now it seems he’s gradually falling behind.”
“I see.”
Moon-kyung immediately grasped the meaning.
A genius who had never been compared to anyone was, for the first time, burning with competitive spirit.
“So you intend to learn martial arts from me?”
“No. You don’t have to teach me.”
“What?”
“I’ll learn by watching from the side. That’s enough. Hehe.”
“…!”
Moon-kyung paused for a moment, then let out a soft chuckle.
Truly, what an absurd fellow. Learning by observation—and of all things, learning my own martial techniques.
Yet I found my mood was not entirely displeased.
“Ah. You smiled.”
“…I did no such thing.”
“You really did. I saw you smile.”
“You insolent brat.”
“Ah. Now you’re angry.”
“…Wretched boy.”
“Would you like some dumplings?”
Moon-kyung, who had been wavering between drawing his sword or not, accepted the dumplings Chung Poong offered and took a bite.
The taste was, in fact, quite pleasant.

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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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