Murim Login - Chapter 660

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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 660
“We’ve subdued them all. I struck the Sleep Acupoint, so they won’t regain consciousness for at least a day.”
“…Well done.”
The Jang Tribal Leader nodded with a troubled expression upon hearing his subordinate’s report.
In his eyes lay the motionless forms of Song Il-seom and Hyuk Moo-jin, collapsed without a shred of resistance.
“Keep a close watch in case something unfolds. We’ll rest for two hours, then move again.”
“Surely you don’t mean…?”
“Yes. We’ll move together with them.”
“Forgive my presumption, but wouldn’t it be better to dispatch a few warriors separately to escort the prisoners to the Inner Palace?”
The warrior who had mustered the courage to ask immediately regretted his words. The Jang Tribal Leader was staring at him in complete silence.
“I shall obey your command.”
After hastily responding and watching the warrior’s retreating figure, the Jang Tribal Leader suddenly exhaled a long sigh. The contents of the message he had received through the Messenger Hawk had surfaced in his mind once more.
‘Hyuk-ung and Yo-hee—two great tribal leaders have vanished, the Yao Seo Tribe is annihilated, and Jin Tae-kyung has been named as the culprit.’
He had read it several times, unable to believe his eyes.
Yet no matter how many times he read it, the characters on the message did not change, and the Jang Tribal Leader was left with only one choice.
‘I’m sorry, all of you.’
The Jang Tribal Leader silently offered an apology that would never reach them. But soon enough, they would understand. That in the current situation, this was the best course of action.
‘This is a meticulously orchestrated conspiracy. He was merely caught up in it by misfortune.’
The Jang Tribal Leader did not believe the message’s contents.
Everything Jin Tae-kyung had shown thus far resembled the Great Heroes spoken of by the Han people of the Central Plains, and had he not risked his life fighting in the Poison Blood Land, two hundred of his warriors would never have returned to their families.
And among those who did return alive were warriors and blood relatives of the Jang Tribe that he himself led.
‘Moreover, aside from the debt I owe him, there isn’t even a proper justification.’
Though the Southern Wilderness and the Central Plains had grown distant since the Great War, it was more akin to one-sided hostility born of tremendous sacrifice.
So what possible reason could Jin Tae-kyung, dispatched to the Southern Wilderness as the representative of the Martial Alliance, have for committing such atrocities?
‘Unless he intends to make enemies not just of Dark Heaven, but of the Southern Wilderness as well…’
But there was nothing to be done. The flow of this incident had already fallen into the hands of Baek Sang and his faction.
Only the Palace Master, Beast King Miao Wang, had secretly conveyed his will through the Messenger Hawk.
[Detain the Han people within the Scouting Party, but do not escort them to the Inner Palace.]
And the Jang Tribal Leader understood precisely what Beast King Miao Wang meant to convey.
‘If they were escorted to the Inner Palace, they would undoubtedly become hostages.’
Fortunately, the other tribal leader who led the Scouting Party alongside him also followed Beast King Miao Wang, and with their thoughts aligned, they had their warriors subdue the three men.
Not as hostages, but to keep them under their own protection, come what may.
The timing had worked out perfectly. They were in the midst of moving to guard against an old monster called the Blood Monk.
It was a sort of wartime situation, so even if Baek Sang’s faction learned of this, there was nothing to fault them for.
‘So just bear with it a little longer. Until this matter is resolved.’
Muttering to himself, the Jang Tribal Leader took a step toward the two unconscious men being carried by his warriors.
He intended to loosen their bonds somewhat, as a gesture of his apology.
“Wait a moment. Aren’t those ropes tied far too tightly?”
“Tribal Leader! That won’t do!”
“Won’t do? It’s fine—”
Whoosh.
Ignoring the warriors’ cries, the Jang Tribal Leader brought his hand behind Hyuk Moo-jin’s back, and his brow suddenly furrowed.
‘What is this?’
A damp, sticky sensation.
Followed by a foul stench and the warrior’s voice that came after.
“Ah, well… there was filth smeared on his back.”
“…!”
“That’s why I told you not to approach….”
His words trailed off. The Jang Tribal Leader, who had been silently alternating his gaze between his hand and Hyuk Moo-jin, opened his mouth with a subdued voice.
“The criminal might struggle, or worse, escape. Tighten the restraints further.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
In the modern world, I was an exemplary citizen armed with a strong sense of law and order.
Until middle school, whenever the traffic light turned green, I would raise my hand and cross at the crosswalk, and after becoming a Hunter, I diligently paid all sorts of insurance premiums and taxes without any delinquency or evasion.
I didn’t even complain much about the national pension that I wouldn’t receive much of even in old age.
‘In short, I had no connection to prison.’
But why was it that in Murim, despite committing no crime, I had become strangely familiar with a place called the Underground Prison?
It happened at the Taewon Jin Family during my early days in Murim, and at the Sichuan Tang Family, I once stayed for several consecutive days beside Jeok Cheon-gang.
And this third visit to the Underground Prison was quite different from the previous two incarcerations.
‘At the Taewon Jin Family, it was essentially more like the Training Pavilion than an actual prison, and at the Sichuan Tang Family, it was for Jeok Cheon-gang’s treatment.’
But this time was different.
Not only was I confined against my will rather than by choice, but if anyone were to have over a thousand pounds of iron spheres dangling all over their body like accessories, they would think like me.
Clank.
“…Damn it, this is ridiculously heavy.”
I muttered curses under my breath. The massive chains and iron spheres binding my limbs possessed truly tremendous weight.
Even I, who possessed strength that far exceeded human limits, could not move easily.
‘If I could only use my inner energy, I could think of some way….’
Should I not have struck him at the end?
Such thoughts crossed my mind out of regret, but if Baek Sang were such an easy man, I would be in my quarters by now, not the Underground Prison.
Moreover, despite having his nose broken from a single punch to the face, he didn’t bat an eye, and after personally restraining me without resistance, he issued this command to his subordinate tribal leaders.
‘Imprison the Han Jin Tae-kyung in the Underground Prison, and bind him with ten thousand pounds of weight.’
This is the result of that order.
I was immediately locked in the deepest part of the Southern Beast Palace’s Underground Prison, and after consuming a special medicinal pill, my body became unable to use inner energy for several days.
‘Should I be grateful they didn’t seal my pressure points?’
The reason they couldn’t locate my meridians was simple.
They kept coming loose.
My perfect body, which had been acknowledged as possessing a Heavenly Physique by countless masters including Jeok Cheon-gang, was performing its function to the fullest.
Of course, even so, every attempt to reignite my inner energy ended in failure.
“Hngh.”
I poured all my strength throughout my body, and with a deep breath, I concentrated my mind on my lower dantian just as I had done hundreds and thousands of times before.
And in the next moment, the system notification that I had been forced to hear repeatedly over the past half day pierced my ears once more.
Beep.
–
[Gold Force Seal]
is blocking your dantian!
–
[Martial Power]
cannot be used!
“Ah.”
I’d lost count of how many times I’d failed by now.
After it passed fifty attempts, I gave up counting altogether.
“…Damn it.”
As I stretched my body out with a curse-laden sigh, footsteps echoed from somewhere in the distance, drawing closer.
Thud, thud.
The sound reverberated through the damp, dark space.
Though the seal prevented me from using martial power immediately, my physical senses remained sharp and vivid.
I lifted my head and peered through the iron bars into the murky darkness beyond.
Clang.
Footsteps halted before the metal bars. Simultaneously, filthy water pooled on the floor splashed up onto my knees.
Though there was no light in this absolute darkness, my exceptional vision—sharp enough to rival a Mongol’s—was sufficient to distinguish the figure before me.
“What, a new guard?”
“…”
“No basic courtesy. Splash filth on someone the moment you arrive. Won’t even answer when spoken to.”
The uninvited visitor, Baek Sang, who had been silently looking down at me, replied in a low voice.
“A criminal complaining? How pathetic.”
“Well, honestly, this much is cute compared to what it could be.”
I tried to shrug, but flinched at the weight of the iron shackles as I continued.
“Some people endured even with their nose bridge caved in. Isn’t that right?”
I could see Baek Sang’s brow furrow in the darkness, along with the bandages wrapped around his straight, prominent nose.
“That must have hurt quite a bit. You held up better than I expected. Honestly, after I sent you to the Underground Prison, I shed a tear or two.”
But the disturbance was fleeting. Baek Sang’s calm voice returned.
“It tickled. Perhaps I read fear in your fist strike.”
“What?”
“There was no martial power behind it, and it wasn’t your full strength either. It was merely a child’s tantrum.”
“…”
“I understand. You were afraid. If you’d gone all out then, neither you nor your subordinates would have remained unscathed.”
Damn. He hit the mark perfectly.
His words struck the exact nerve, and I closed my mouth, unable to muster a response.
And Baek Sang’s eyes, as he regarded me, remained unwavering and composed.
“Why didn’t you flee that place? If you alone had escaped, you could have at least saved your life.”
I responded with an absurd expression on my face.
“You said you’d deploy the Heavenly Net, you bastard.”
“Of course, that’s likely what happened. But there was also sufficient possibility otherwise. At least the Palace Master wouldn’t have chased you. Or perhaps he even sabotaged your efforts.”
Baek Sang’s conjecture wasn’t baseless.
At least based on what I’d heard from Jeok Cheon-gang and what I’d witnessed of Beast King Miao Wang thus far, he was more than capable of such a thing.
The kind of man who would extend a lifeline of salvation even in the worst circumstances.
But I wasn’t foolish enough to nod along straightforwardly.
Perhaps it was already too late, but if I admitted that fact openly before Baek Sang, his wariness toward Beast King Miao Wang would only intensify.
“I’m not sure, really. We’re not that close, to be honest.”
“You’re quite the schemer. But still far too inexperienced.”
“Believe what you want. Be grateful Old Master Noya isn’t here. In a few months, your head will be rolling around this place.”
“Certainly, you haven’t escaped being a reckless child either.”
I let out a snort of laughter.
“Your mouth reeks of shit. Why don’t you suck on Dark Heaven’s asshole instead. At least I’m here to protect my people.”
“….”
“Since we’re alone, let’s be honest. You know it yourself. What you’re doing right now.”
This time, it was Baek Sang who fell silent.
It was only natural. His cooperation with Dark Heaven amounted to handing over the entire Southern Wilderness to the Heavenly Master.
“You’ve betrayed sworn brothers you’ve walked alongside for decades. You’ve deceived more than thirty tribal leaders and countless people of the Southern Wilderness. No excuse could ever justify that.”
In that moment, Baek Sang, who had been staring at me with cold eyes, suddenly opened his mouth.
“Two days.”
“What?”
“Two days. At noon two days hence. You will be executed before all eyes.”

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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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