Murim Login - Chapter 65
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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 65
Jin Moo-kyung pondered.
‘What in the world happened over these past three years?’
It was a bewilderment he hadn’t felt in ages. And even now, that bewilderment swelled like a snowball gathering mass.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Boom! Crash!
The air erupted outward, and not just the furniture in the bedroom but the walls themselves shattered into fragments.
Yet that was all. Tae-kyung was narrowly evading his attacks.
‘He dodged that? That bastard?’
A sight that defied belief even as I witnessed it.
I knew Tae-kyung well. A so-called martial family heir whose spirit and body were both pathetically weak.
When he was younger, I let it slide, but Tae-kyung’s trajectory had grown increasingly absurd with each passing year.
‘I used to wonder how such a wretch could be my younger brother.’
Was it when he was fifteen? The day he brought a chair to the Training Ground remained vivid in my memory.
‘Brother, what is that?’
‘A chair.’
‘You’re missing a character at the end.’
‘A chair, sir…’
‘Why did you bring it?’
‘To use it during Horse Stance training.’
‘Ah, because Horse Stance training is tiring?’
At that groundbreaking notion, I had slapped my own forehead.
Simultaneously, I understood. Ah, this fool cannot be reasoned with through words alone.
‘Get down.’
Thus was born the Beating Fist.
‘And now that same wretch is what? The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi?’
When I first heard that tale at the Inn, I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even muster a scoff. Had the Story Merchant been twenty years younger, I would have thrashed him soundly.
The reason I sought out Tae-kyung’s room the moment I arrived at the estate was because of that very rumor.
‘Now you’re even fabricating rumors?’
I didn’t need to see it to know. The Three Calamities Sword Technique. The picture was clear enough.
A wretch whose only skill was chasing skirts, now pretending to be a supreme master just to taste a bit of fame.
You’ve picked the wrong day, brother. That was the mindset with which I charged in.
But then…
‘It’s different.’
I recognized it the moment I saw him. Enlarged and hardened bones. Sharp killing intent lurking deep within eyes that once gleamed like a third-rate vagrant.
And when our hands clasped, they were rough and possessed genuine power.
‘Supreme realm? No, no. Not yet. Still first-class.’
I could tell because I had walked that path myself. Tae-kyung remained unrefined. He merely stood before the wall of the supreme realm.
Which made it all the more astonishing.
‘How in the world?’
Not all things grow simply because water and sunlight exist. Just as buds only sprout when spring arrives, there is a proper time to master martial arts.
Jin Tae-kyung possessed decent bone structure befitting his bloodline in the Taewon Jin Family, but he had squandered that critical period through idleness.
That such a man could grow to this extent in merely three years.
‘It defies explanation unless he underwent a complete metamorphosis….’
Screech!
A sharp cutting sound shattered Jin Moo-kyung’s thoughts. His face hardened as he barely evaded Jin Tae-kyung’s fist.
‘He’s growing faster by the moment.’
It was no illusion. With each passing second, the man was accelerating.
Whoosh!
Even now.
Thud!
Jin Moo-kyung’s heart filled with bewilderment as he raised his arm to block the attack. Watching his expression, Jin Tae-kyung chuckled.
“Thought you couldn’t dodge it? So you blocked instead?”
“…You.”
“I told you. I’d catch up.”
“What’s happening? Did you drink some miraculous elixir?”
“Why would I drink that? You’re completely insane.”
“…!”
Jin Moo-kyung’s body trembled at hearing such crude language for the first time.
Who was he? A peak master of the Crimson Flame realm, a genius of martial arts! Even the jealous scions of renowned families across the Central Plains dared not hurl such vulgar insults at him.
Yet here he was, hearing himself called insane by his own younger brother, three years his junior.
“You’re dead.”
Jin Tae-kyung, who had flinched momentarily at the ominous aura, laughed softly.
“Your words are too few?”
“What?”
“Didn’t you say if I held out for a moment, you’d acknowledge me as your elder brother? A moment has passed. Isn’t that right, Moo-jin?”
Hyuk Moo-jin, who had been crouched in the corner barely able to breathe, answered while gauging the situation.
“Yes, well, it seems that way, I suppose.”
But then, meeting Jin Moo-kyung’s murderous glare, he nearly wept as he spoke again.
“Though it also seems like it might not be… Could I perhaps step outside?”
“No.”
Jin Moo-kyung muttered in an ominous voice as he drew upon his inner power.
The qi of a peak master pressed down upon the atmosphere. The floor cracked beneath the weight, and the air seemed ready to rupture.
Crack.
The smile vanished from Jin Tae-kyung’s face.
“Elder Brother. That seems inappropriate.”
Conversely, his brother’s face bloomed with a wide grin.
“Just do as you were. You bastard.”
Boom! Crash!
Deafening thunder. And collapse.
Jin Wi-kyung arrived late and collapsed in front of the crumbled Pavilion.
“Youngest brother!”
Scrape, thud!
A figure emerged from the debris, brushing aside the wreckage. Clad in blood-stained robes, he hurled something that looked like a lump—impossible to tell if alive or dead—like a piece of cargo.
“Still not dead.”
After a moment’s thought, he continued.
“Though one of them might be.”
As if in response, a groan echoed from within the pile of debris.
“Uuuughhhh.”
“It’s the Gate Guard Unit Commander!”
“Save him! Get him to the Medicine King Hall!”
Jin Moo-kyung gazed up at the sky with a serene expression.
“Ah, beautiful weather.”
My shameless younger brother needed a dose of his own medicine.
* * *
The distinctive scent of medicinal herbs pricked my nostrils. I slowly opened my eyes.
A pristine room. Beyond the door, the sounds of a dozen people moving about busily. Beside me, Hyuk Moo-jin lay sleeping, his body wrapped in bandages.
‘The Medicine King Hall.’
At this point, it’s practically my second home. Come to think of it, I’ve woken up here more often than I’ve woken up at the Pavilion.
Ah, the Pavilion collapsed too. Right.
“Damn it.”
That idiot Jin Moo-kyung. Where am I supposed to sleep now? As I stared blankly at the ceiling, something squirmed beneath the blanket.
‘What is this?’
I lifted the blanket, and a small, white, round creature clinging to my side revealed itself.
A moment of silence passed before I spoke.
“What are you doing here?”
“Shh. Be quiet! Quiet!”
So-yul, So-cheon’s younger sister. The five-year-old looked up at me with the most desperate eyes in the world.
“What are you doing?”
“Be quiet!”
“Your voice is the loudest one here.”
“Shh!”
I don’t know what she’s up to, but she certainly lives life with enthusiasm.
I sighed and pulled the blanket over myself. But that didn’t last long.
Squirm, squirm.
“Poof!”
So-yul popped her face out and spoke with a huff.
“Can’t breathe!”
Is this really the Medicine King Hall? Do patients just let anyone wander in and out of a hospital room that’s supposed to be quiet?
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to!”
With just a small hand, she tapped my chest rhythmically, her expression growing quite stern.
“So, what were you doing here?”
“Playing hide-and-seek.”
“With whom?”
“With Elder Brother!”
So-yul broke into a bright smile.
“I never would have guessed So-yul was hiding here.”
“Who knows.”
I glanced at the closed door. I’d been sensing someone lingering outside it for a while now. It was obvious who it was.
“Come in.”
“….”
“It’s fine, come in.”
Only then did the door open cautiously. So-cheon entered with an apologetic expression.
“Forgive my intrusion, Benefactor.”
At her brother’s appearance, So-yul’s face registered shock as she stared at me.
“You betrayed me!”
I answered with a benevolent smile.
“Life is nothing but a series of betrayals.”
“This is invalid! A despicable conspiracy!”
“…Where did you learn such words?”
At my Younger Sister’s surprisingly sinister vocabulary for a five-year-old, So-cheon’s face flushed red.
“Yul, you can’t say things like that!”
“You’re just as bad, Elder Brother!”
“Then we’re partners in crime.”
With things as they were, rest was out of the question.
I inwardly sighed and pushed myself up onto my elbows.
“Ugh.”
“Benefactor, are you alright? Your body still isn’t fully recovered….”
“It’s nothing serious. Just some bruises.”
I’d taken quite a beating—more than quite a bit, actually—but it was only bruises covering my entire body and aching bones.
Still, she was my only Younger Sister, so I let her have her way. I’d gone out knowing that much.
“Ah, I see. That’s a relief.”
“But how did you find out? Has the news already spread?”
“There’s no one in the family who doesn’t know of this matter.”
It was only natural—the Pavilion on this floor had collapsed since early morning.
I asked, curious to see what they were saying.
“So, what are people saying?”
The Shanxi prodigy got beaten like a dog by the True Sword of Taewon. Turns out that guy was all smoke and mirrors. That’s the kind of rumor spreading around.
Exactly as expected….
“Everyone is furious. Such a vicious and treacherous plot!”
“Huh?”
A vicious scheme? What is he talking about? Did Jin Moo-kyung poison me without my knowledge? Was I poisoned this whole time?
As I stood there dumbfounded, racking my brain for memories, So-cheon ground his teeth with fury etched across his face.
“Had I caught wind of it, I would have torn him to shreds even at the cost of mutual destruction.”
“…I appreciate the sentiment, but isn’t that a bit extreme? Calm down, please.”
If Jin Moo-kyung heard that, he wouldn’t simply laugh it off.
Yet despite my attempts to restrain him, So-cheon’s fury showed no signs of abating.
“How could I not be enraged? The Family Head himself has decreed immediate execution.”
“….”
What? That’s terrifying.
So this was a place where hitting your younger brother meant execution?
‘Is this truly the Murim?’
I asked with a trembling voice.
“Did you kill him?”
So-cheon shook his head with a regretful expression.
“He fled. By now, the pursuit squad should be tracking his trail.”
“Insane.”
They’d actually mobilized a pursuit squad. I fought the urge to crack open Jin Wi-kyung and So-cheon’s skulls to examine their brains.
“Is it really necessary to go that far?”
“Sir?”
“I mean, even though he was rough with me, he doesn’t seem like a bad person.”
“He attempted to harm his benefactor!”
“That’s possible. I understand.”
I have a younger sister myself, so I understand well. Sometimes I even wish Ha-yeon were my younger brother instead. Then I could beat him senseless without social criticism or pangs of conscience.
“Look, he’s not even badly hurt. A little salve and a day or two of rest will fix everything.”
At my words, So-cheon’s eyes blazed with intensity.
“Your grace is truly that of a gentleman. I am genuinely moved by your magnanimity.”
Thump.
I’m going crazy.
I pressed my forehead at the sight of So-cheon suddenly performing a deep bow.
“Enough. Go call off the pursuit squad. Actually, it’ll be faster if I go myself. Where is Elder Brother right now?”
So-cheon answered immediately.
“The Family Head should be in the Office with the Second Young Master.”
“Huh?”
“Sir?”
“What did you say?”
“The Family Head is in the Office with the Second Young Master.”
My mind grew muddled. I barely managed to open my mouth.
“Then who is the pursuit squad chasing?”
So-cheon tilted his head in confusion before answering.
“Of course, an Assassin.”
“An Assassin?”
“What Assassin?”
Another voice suddenly interjected. Hyuk Moo-jin, who had just awakened, spoke as if this were complete nonsense.
“What is he talking about?”
I ignored Hyuk Moo-jin and gestured to So-cheon to continue.
“I suspect he may be a hidden disciple of the Grand Elder. His martial prowess is extraordinarily formidable—had the Young Master not arrived when he did, our benefactor would surely have suffered grave consequences, would he not?”
Hyuk Moo-jin’s jaw dropped at this utterly unbelievable account.
“Are you insane? Do you know what happened to me?”
Just as the shrimp caught between warring whales was about to speak the truth—
“Ah, I nearly forgot about Warrior Hyuk. I heard you fought valiantly against the Assassin.”
In an instant, Hyuk Moo-jin’s ears perked up.
“Me? Who said that?”
“The Family Head himself. Everyone was envious, saying you’ve earned considerable merit this time, and that your reward will be tremendous given the grave wounds you sustained protecting our benefactor. They’re saying the position of next Gate Master is as good as yours.”
“G-Gate Master!”
“But what was it you wanted to tell us?”
“That is…”
Hyuk Moo-jin, who had flinched for a moment, continued with a resolute voice.
“About the Assassin.”
“Yes, yes!”
“He was formidable. Even I, the next Gate Master, exchanged over a hundred blows with him without determining a victor…”
Lies were flourishing abundantly.
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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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