Murim Login - Chapter 673

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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 673
This was the first turbulent period to arrive since the conclusion of the Heavenly Demon’s Great War.
It swept across the Central Plains, hailed as the center of the world, and reached the distant Southern Wilderness thousands of leagues away.
“Gasp, huff. Did you all hear the news?”
“Catch your breath before speaking. What is it this time?”
With rumors spreading anew each passing day, the people of the Southern Wilderness no longer reacted with the same shock as before.
Or rather, they believed there was nothing left to be shocked about.
In the span of merely a month, the events that had unfolded were a relentless cascade of upheaval far greater than all the incidents that had occurred in the Southern Wilderness since the Heavenly Demon’s Great War had ended.
The complete annihilation of Miao Clan villages by the Han Clan.
The sudden assault by the Thousand Year Spider, which had remained dormant on Ai-nao Mountain for decades.
Not only had a young Han Clansman entered the Inner Palace for the first time in the history of the Southern Beast Palace, but he had also attended the Grand Council, where only thirty-two Tribal Chiefs could sit.
Had the cascade of new incidents ended there, it might have been bearable.
But merely four days prior, over a hundred Yao Tribe warriors were brutally slaughtered in the Yao Seo Tribe, and with two great Tribal Chiefs of immense symbolic importance vanishing, the situation began to spiral into chaos.
‘Hyung Soo! The culprit from the Yao Seo Tribe has been revealed! It was that young Han Clansman! Jin Tae-kyung!’
‘Wait. Wait just a moment. Did you already forget how Jin Tae-kyung saved the warriors on Ai-nao Mountain the day before? Nothing has been confirmed yet. It is premature to judge so hastily….’
‘Premature? Ever since those Han Clan bastards arrived, nothing but misfortune has befallen us. There is nothing more to consider!’
‘Agreed!’
Though reason alone could overcome anger, the voices of a few were drowned out by the cries of many whose reason had already been paralyzed.
‘Drag the Han Clansmen to the street market and execute them!’
‘Great Tribal Chief Baek Sang! You must punish these wretches!’
The festive music and laughter that had once carpeted the streets during the Grand Council each year were nowhere to be found.
Cries filled with rage echoed from all directions, and two names were always woven into their shouts.
Jin Tae-kyung. And Baek Sang.
Their standing differed as much as their origins, ages, and names.
This was only natural for the people of the Southern Wilderness.
One was a foreigner from the distant Central Plains—a criminal who had committed an unforgivable atrocity—while the other was a Great Tribal Chief leading the White Tribe, the second most powerful force in this land after the Miao Clan.
The people of the Southern Wilderness still revered and loved their Palace Master, who possessed martial prowess worthy of renown throughout the world and an unpretentious character, yet the incident at the Western Yao Tribe had inevitably cracked their trust.
It was none other than the Palace Master, Ya-ryul Cheok, who had admitted the Han Clansmen—the source of all recent calamities—into the Inner Palace.
Yet even those who had cheered for Great Tribal Chief Baek Sang could not help but be bewildered when new tidings spread with the break of dawn.
“What, what did you say?”
“Did I mishear something?”
Trembling eyes and faces clouded with confusion.
All who received the news could only continue to murmur this unbelievable tale within their hearts, their eyes and expressions identical.
‘The Palace Master… attempted to kill Great Tribal Chief Baek Sang last night, and upon failing, he fled?’
At first, all believed it to be an absurd rumor. The Palace Master they knew, the Miao Clan’s Great Tribal Chief Ya-ryul Cheok, was not such a man.
Before being an excellent Palace Master, he was a good person, and more than anyone, he was a native of this land who cherished the Southern Wilderness.
Yet such thoughts paled in comparison to the news that soon followed, which was sufficient to plunge the people’s faith and doubts into an abyss.
“Great Tribal Chief Baek Sang has assumed the position of interim Palace Master? What does this even mean!”
“I, I am not certain either. However, a proclamation was issued from the Inner Palace. It was written exactly as we had heard before.”
“This makes no sense! How can this possibly be!”
“It’s far from over. In fact, the Palace Master mobilized dozens of elite warriors under the Young Palace Master and launched a raid on the Underground Prison. He freed Hyung Soo, Jin Tae-kyung, and the Han Clan members.”
“…!”
“I find it hard to believe myself… but the circumstances are far too clear. It’s undeniable that the Palace Master has long been favorable to the Han Clan, and the whereabouts of Jin Tae-kyung, the Young Palace Master, and the Han Clan members remain unknown. At the Grand Council convened last night, this was deemed a betrayal against all of the Southern Wilderness, and a total mobilization order was issued.”
“What? A total mobilization order?”
“Yes, it was decided alongside the appointment of the interim Palace Master. The Southern Wilderness will pursue and eliminate the traitors who caused this chaos. Naturally, the primary targets are Han Clan Jin Tae-kyung and the Palace Master. Or rather, the former Palace Master.”
“Former Palace Master? What are you saying right now!”
“I don’t know. I’m still confused myself. But how could mere tribespeople like us know the full details? We simply follow the Grand Council’s decision.”
The proclamation bearing the seal of the Inner Palace spread like wildfire, and the people of the Southern Wilderness’s reactions split into three camps.
Those who believed in Beast King Miao Wang’s betrayal. Those who absolutely refused to believe it.
And those who, without any doubt or effort to seek the truth, simply conformed to the new reality thrust upon them.
And within this maelstrom of chaos, some fifty warriors bearing various wounds returned through the West Gate to the Outer Palace.
Their faces trembled like aspen leaves, etched with indelible terror, and in their wavering eyes lingered vivid traces of the colossal flames visible from ten leagues away.
“A m-monster….”
The voice that escaped someone’s lips was frozen solid, rendering the brilliant sunlight pouring down from above utterly meaningless.
It was around noon.
* * *
Baek Sang gazed at his reflection in the large mirror.
A youthful and refined appearance belying his age past seventy, a well-proportioned frame, and garments woven from the pristine fur of a white fox.
Anyone who saw him would marvel at the dignity and bearing of a nation’s ruler, yet Baek Sang’s gaze remained fixed upon his own coldly hardened face.
‘When did I come to wear such an expression? For so very long.’
Even retracing the decades of years past, I cannot remember when I last smiled with genuine warmth.
Now I merely unearth old memories buried beneath dust and gaze upon them once more.
‘Yes, that was the last time.’
A memory of a certain day suddenly surfaces, thawing the frost in my eyes.
After victory in that fierce battle, those precious days of sweet respite granted to us.
The spirited boy who had followed his father to defeat the Demon Cult had become a stalwart young man, and the girl who had always been lively since childhood, forever bearing wounds, had grown into a beautiful woman.
The young man’s name was Hwi. The woman’s name was Hyang.
The two of them shone and carried fragrance as their names suggested. They were a pair of flowers blooming amid the carnage and death of the battlefield, and though they had grown up together since childhood and called each other as incompatible as dogs and monkeys, they often walked together away from prying eyes.
Perhaps the two of them never knew.
That as they carefully slipped away from the crowds drunk on victory and wine, walking together beneath the faint moonlight on the Hillside, there were eyes watching them.
‘…You’ve come again?’
‘…And why have you come again, Elder Brother?’
‘Why ask? Hwi, I came to keep watch lest that wolf-like bastard lay a hand on my delicate and beautiful Hyang.’
‘I’m genuinely curious—are you serious?’
‘Of course I’m serious.’
‘Then you must know that So Jo-gwi died in the battle four days ago.’
‘So Jo-gwi? That bastard who’d slap even the Heavenly Demon if depravity were martial prowess?’
‘That’s the one.’
‘As a father with a daughter, I’ve been meaning to deal with him for some time—good riddance. But why bring that up suddenly?’
‘That man. Hyang killed him.’
‘….’
‘Earlier, Hwi was wounded while facing So Jo-gwi, when Hyang suddenly appeared from nowhere with a pair of double axes and smashed So Jo-gwi’s skull.’
‘….’
‘Even after that, still not satisfied, she crushed the testicles of the already-dead corpse, hurled every curse imaginable, and hacked the body to pieces. According to Hwi’s account, it was like watching the Imperial Palace’s head chef mincing meat with divine skill.’
‘…That’s a lie. My Hyang would never do such a thing.’
‘Excluding Hwi, there are five witnesses. Three of them still cannot speak due to the shock of that day.’
‘Good then. Tell them to keep their mouths shut. Otherwise, I can personally silence them myself… Oh. That won’t work.’
‘I’m not some Demon Master… Gasp.’
That day, the sworn brothers crouched in the distant darkness had witnessed something unintended.
Their two precious children slowly tilting their heads toward each other.
‘Turn your head. Quickly!’
‘You lower your voice first, Elder Brother! And I already turned away!’
‘Oh, please. Heavens. What did I just see?’
‘What did you see? Did you leave your eyes in the Southern Wilderness? Lips touching… Mmph. Mmph.’
‘Baek Sang, you cunning bastard. You sent your wolf-like son to orchestrate such a scheme? Do you desire the position of Palace Master so badly?’
‘Mmph. Pfft! Me, Palace Master? What madness is that? Only after you and I are dead.’
‘Ah, so that’s it. The dream you couldn’t achieve, you’ll accomplish through your son? If this continues, Hyang could become the next Palace Master, so you’ll quickly snatch her up and put her to household duties. Is that it?’
‘This is driving me insane, truly.’
‘This is your last chance. Confess now.’
‘No. I say no!’
‘Really not? Swear by the heavens?’
‘I swear by the heavens!’
‘Fine, I’ll trust you. Then prepare for the wedding ceremony before year’s end.’
‘How many times must I say no… What? What did you just say?’
‘Stop with the casual speech. Just prepare the wedding for those two children who are madly in love.’
‘….’
‘Why are you staring at me with that vacant expression? You’ve already suspected as much. Or do you dislike it?’
‘D, dislike it? As you said, Elder Brother, I’ve already suspected it. But this is… how do I put it. Sigh.’
‘Then that settles it. No need for long speeches. If the Western Front stabilizes before winter, we’ll hold the wedding and send them back to the Southern Wilderness. And though the very thought makes me feel strange… if she bears a child, those two stubborn ones will finally relent and return willingly.’
‘A child. Ha, haha. Has time already passed so much?’
‘A younger man acting like an old fool. Enough. Promise me one thing.’
‘A promise? What kind?’
‘That child Hyang—she is more beloved and pitiful to me than anyone. She lost two elder brothers because of her worthless father and has suffered greatly.’
‘Elder Brother….’
‘Damn it. What I’m trying to say is… blast it.’
‘Say no more. I understand what you wish to convey. That she is a precious child and should be treated as such, yes?’
‘….’
‘Have no fear. Hwi will surely do so. Not as a woman, but as a companion, and sometimes as a friend, growing old together.’
‘If it’s Hwi, I can trust him.’
‘If you cannot trust Hwi, Elder Brother, then trust Hyang.’
“What?”
“Hyang, do mind your temperament. If Hwi feels even slightly slighted, he’ll end up like So Jo-gwi…!”
“Baek Sang, how dare you treat my Hyang that way!”
That final outburst was clearly a mistake.
The young couple who had been sharing their first shy kiss hastily pulled apart, and the two sworn brothers had to flee with all their might.
And when they arrived at a secluded stream, they turned to each other to speak a word, but….
“Yes, we laughed. So hard the world seemed to shake.”
I no longer remember why we laughed so loudly. Though it was surely not merely because their panicked faces were amusing.
Perhaps it was the joy of seeing two children who had grown up together since childhood finally bound as one, and two sworn brothers who had spent their entire lives together at last becoming one family.
“Hyang, if that child had not departed then. If only….”
Everything might have changed. Yet at the same time, Baek Sang knew.
This thought echoing through his heart was nothing but a hollow wish.
That winter, as all awaited the wedding that would bring joy to all of the Southern Wilderness.
Contrary to everyone’s hopes, the Western Front remained unstable, and an army of ten thousand from the Demon Cult descended with the cold wind.
And… the flower withered.
Yalü Hyang. Beautiful as a flower and firm as steel—from the day she withered on the battlefield, the light vanished from Baek Hui’s eyes.
It must have been for that reason.
On that day when the final battle at the Great Snow Mountain unfolded. The way he slashed at enemies as if possessed, cutting again and again, stepping into ever greater danger.
Baek Sang often thought of it afterward. Perhaps that child had glimpsed a single flower blooming somewhere within the narrow gorge.
“Was it truly so?”
As always, Baek Sang gazed at the murky mirror after asking a question that would receive no answer.
No—the entire world he now beheld was thus.
Patter. Pitter-patter.
A cloudless, clear sky. Yet raindrops falling from somewhere.
And in the next moment, a voice piercing Baek Sang’s ears.
“Oh my, should I come back later?”
Baek Sang turned slowly. In his bloodshot eyes, a woman appeared like a phantom.
“…Nantian Demon Empress.”
At Baek Sang’s call, the woman—the Nantian Demon Empress—laughed brightly. A smile as radiant as a flower, yet as sinister as a viper.

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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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