Murim Login - Chapter 671

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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 671
Here in the Murim where I currently reside, there exists neither the dazzling scientific civilization possessed by the Modern World, nor mechanical engineering, nor magic.
Yet this world too is imbued with wonders no less remarkable than magic itself.
Martial artists of the Murim who accumulate inner force to wield power exceeding that of Hunters. Countless martial techniques unseen in the Modern World, along with mysterious and grotesque spiritual entities and elixirs.
And… Tracking Incense is one of them.
Ding.
Sudden Quest,
[Yo-hee’s Tracking Incense]
has been generated!
Would you like to open the Quest window to confirm the details?
Y / N
The system notification rang out abruptly. Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, I found myself nodding as if entranced.
Ding.
Quest
[Yo-hee’s Tracking Incense]
A new path appears before you as you flee from pursuit.
Now you must choose once more.
Yet what lies at the end of these two diverging paths before you remains unknown, and only the consequences and responsibility of your choice shall exist.
Rank
: Transcendent
Restriction
: Jin Tae-kyung
Objective
: Choose a direction to move (Incomplete)
Reward
: Linked Quest
???
Failure
: ???
Damn it. What is this now?
Holographic windows filled the empty air.
Simultaneously, fragmented memories from barely a day ago flashed through my mind like lightning.
‘It seems a proper battle took place.’
‘When I received the report, everything was already over. What remained in the Yao Seo Tribe was blood and corpses. And… only those.’
I remember everything from that day clearly. It was the only clue left behind by Hyuk-ung and Yo-hee, the two tribal leaders who vanished without warning.
‘Hyuk-ung’s wrist was severed, and Yo-hee….’
Yes, she had left behind a fragrant sachet.
But when I had just arrived at the Yao Seo Tribe, I focused on the wrist Hyuk-ung left behind rather than the sachet.
By analyzing the scars remaining on the severed surface of the wrist, one could roughly deduce the opponent’s martial techniques and their level.
‘In comparison, Yo-hee’s fragrant sachet did not seem particularly important.’
Moreover, the sachet itself was not in pristine condition. Made of silk, it had already been damaged, and with long tears allowing the fragrance to escape, it was nearly odorless.
But I didn’t know. Or rather, with the cascade of events that followed, no one would have had the presence of mind to notice.
It was the most crucial clue in the Yao Seo Tribe, a tracking fragrance that Yo-hee had deliberately left behind so someone could find her.
‘The fragrance hadn’t escaped. It was simply never there to begin with.’
From what I understood, a tracking fragrance was, as the name suggested, a mystical artifact created to pursue someone’s trail.
While not something commonly found, it wasn’t entirely unused either.
Among the Orthodox Sects, for instance, the Haowen Sect and the Beggar Clan.
And the fact that I had spent considerable time with Hu Gae, who commanded the vast resources of the Beggar Clan, exchanging numerous stories, was an unexpected stroke of fortune for me.
‘A tracking fragrance. The effect is certain, but it’s extraordinarily rare. The manufacturing method is shrouded in secrecy. Few in the Martial World can even make it.’
‘A Ten-Thousand-Li Tracking Fragrance? Something like that?’
‘A Ten-Thousand-Li Tracking Fragrance, you say? Hmm, so you picked up some hearsay somewhere, did you?’
‘In a moment, I’d wager about five of your teeth will fall out. Want me to pick those up for you too?’
‘Ah. Aah….’
‘Clean your mouth first.’
‘Ahem. Truth be told, I’ve never actually seen a Ten-Thousand-Li Tracking Fragrance myself. The name sounds impressive, but ten thousand li is a vast distance—I’ve always wondered if any fragrance could actually persist across such a journey.’
‘What? So it was a scam all along?’
‘Not entirely. While the Ten-Thousand-Li Tracking Fragrance you heard about secondhand doesn’t exist, the varieties of tracking fragrances actually used in the Martial World are quite extensive. The highest grade is commonly called the Thousand-Li Tracking Fragrance.’
‘A Thousand-Li Tracking Fragrance?’
‘It has several defining characteristics. First, the manufacturing process is damnably complicated. Second, the manufacturing cost is damnably expensive. Third, acquiring such a Thousand-Li Tracking Fragrance requires a damnably enormous sum of gold.’
‘Only someone as wretched as you would keep inserting “damnably” into every other sentence.’
‘No matter how wretched I am, your character is… I apologize. That was uncalled for. In any case, such a premium-grade tracking fragrance is worth dozens of times more than an equal weight of gold. Of course, its efficacy is equally certain.’
‘For example?’
‘Unlike the unverified Ten-Thousand-Li variant, the Thousand-Li Tracking Fragrance genuinely leaves a scent trail for about a thousand li, and it’s so nearly odorless that even beasts with extraordinarily developed olfactory senses cannot detect it. Humans need not even be mentioned.’
‘What? So once you apply a tracking fragrance, everything goes smoothly?’
‘The downside is that a tracking fragrance lasts at most seven days. If the target burns their clothes or immerses themselves completely in water or similar extreme measures, the fragrance won’t disappear, but the duration will be significantly shortened.’
‘Still, the target would need to realize they’ve been marked with a fragrance before attempting such measures. And you said even ordinary beasts can’t properly smell it?’
‘That’s true. But spiritual beasts are different.’
‘Ah.’
‘So there are only two methods to track a target using a tracking fragrance. Either you have someone skilled in advanced tracking techniques, or you deploy a spiritual beast capable of detecting the fragrance.’
Recalling a conversation I’d once had with Gung Ki-bang, I couldn’t help but acknowledge the truth. Everything that creature had said was accurate.
A low growl rumbled, followed by sniffing sounds.
A damp nose pressed against my palm, twitching repeatedly.
I gazed at Baek Ho, who was licking my fingers with a slightly rough tongue, and murmured.
“…Right. You were here all along.”
A spiritual beast capable of detecting a tracking fragrance.
Exactly as Gung Ki-bang had described. This white tiger, Mu Ya-ho, was a spiritual beast of extraordinary intelligence, capable of understanding human speech and forming bonds since childhood.
‘The intellect befitting a spiritual beast, and senses far sharper than those of an ordinary predator.’
Now that I thought about it, the nearly odorless sachet must have been a Thousand-Li Tracking Fragrance.
A premium-grade tracking fragrance that, if the target remained within a thousand li, would persist for seven days under normal circumstances.
This much was evident simply from observing the two tigers standing idle, waiting—unlike Mu Ya-ho.
Growl. Growl.
Mu Ya-ho, emitting low rumbling sounds, seemed to be asking me a question.
Where should he go? Which path should I choose for him?
His massive head, covered entirely in fur as white as snow, alternated between two directions even now.
One was northwest, toward where the Scouting Party headed. And the other was.
‘…southeast.’
A sharp intake of breath.
My fist trembled involuntarily as strength flooded into it. Tae-san, who had been watching me, blinked his bulbous eyes.
“Each one. What’s wrong?”
I wanted to tell Tae-san that it was nothing. That there was no problem, and we should just continue on our way.
But no words escaped my lips, which merely quivered.
‘Damn it all.’
The curse I couldn’t quite voice lingered in my mouth.
There was no reason to hesitate. The path was already decided, and the beasts’ speed of movement was far swifter than I had anticipated.
Even if the Heavenly Net of Heaven and Spider Web were deployed right after dawn, with my current condition, I felt I could somehow escape the Southern Wilderness.
But… why did I still hesitate?
‘If I leave the Southern Wilderness with them now? What happens after that?’
I already knew the answer to the question I posed to myself. Perhaps it had been since the moment I climbed onto Baek Ho’s back.
‘Even if I return again… by then it will already be too late.’
Even if I shake off the pursuers at maximum speed and escape the Heavenly Net deployed under Baek Sang’s command, it would take days. Adding the time to return would be seven weeks.
Would those who set out to rescue us still be there by then?
No, if the Beast King Miao Wang himself has been endangered by this incident, would Dark Heaven have any reason to hesitate in executing their sinister plot?
‘They’ll die. Tens, hundreds. Perhaps even thousands.’
I blinked slowly. Whether my eyes were closed or open, the world remained shrouded in darkness, and there was no sign of dawn breaking.
‘Damn. It was like this when I first entered the Training Facility.’
The sudden memory made me let out a hollow laugh.
Now that I thought about it, those days at the Training Facility seemed like the best times.
Back then, I could be forgiven for any mistake, but now everything had changed.
I had faced death countless times, and there were instances where I survived while comrades died behind me.
For days I had locked myself away in a corner, crying pathetically, swearing I would never lose my people again.
Then one day I obtained the system, and when I came to my senses and looked around, I had so much to take responsibility for.
Every event in the world seemed like my fault, and in that process, I felt pity for those who lost their lives innocently.
And each time, I thought.
‘If only I had been there.’
But now only hollow laughter comes out.
All those thoughts of mine were nothing but pretense and hypocrisy, a cosplay of trying to resemble the shell of a hero.
That’s right. I am neither a chivalrous wanderer nor a hero from a movie.
But today, those who watched my fleeing figure until the very end were the real chivalrous wanderers, the real heroes.
‘There’s no need to thank us.’
‘Well then. We’re simply repaying the debt the Southern Wilderness owes to you.’
‘My Elder Brother was on Ai-nao Mountain. Thanks to your kindness, I was able to see him again.’
‘Please look after the Palace Master.’
Dozens of faces flickered through the darkness. Among them were young men and weathered middle-aged guards.
Their strength? If I decided to act, I could strike them all down in mere moments.
Yet that made it all the more remarkable.
They came not to win, but to die.
Even if this were like an egg striking a stone, they would not retreat. Though their bodies would shatter against that unyielding rock, they would not turn back.
‘Perhaps even now.’
And I… left them behind. Even as I sensed the final fate of those who remained, I made a hollow vow to return.
Sigh.
When the oppressive heat had lingered, now with a single deep breath, white mist poured from my lips.
Feeling it once more, the Southern Wilderness truly is a wretched land. As wretched as my mood right now.
– Please select a Quest objective.
I stared silently at the holographic window floating in the air, then suddenly opened my mouth.
“Tae-san.”
“Yeah?”
“From now on…”
At the words that followed from my lips, Tae-san’s eyes widened greatly.
* * *
The Old Master’s eyes suddenly snapped open.
How long had he been unconscious? His joints ached throughout his body, and his form, bound atop the massive beast’s back, jolted ceaselessly with each stride.
‘A tiger?’
Patter-patter-patter.
As the Old Master, Nam Ho, surveyed his surroundings, he realized that Ya-ryul Mok’s plan had succeeded. And then he noticed something strange.
“…Why. Why isn’t he here?”
At the weathered voice tinged with confusion, Tae-san, who had turned his head, responded.
“Nam Ho. You’re awake?”
But Nam Ho asked instead of answering. An ominous premonition pressed down upon his chest.
“Where is he?”
“…Nam Ho.”
“Where is he, Jin Tae-kyung, you bastard!”
Watching Tae-san’s expression darken as the eastern sky grew dimly bright, Nam Ho understood.
The ominous feeling he had sensed was no mere groundless worry.

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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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