Murim Login - Chapter 686

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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 686
Jin Tae-kyung’s descent into deep unconsciousness and Mu Ya-ho’s wind-swift footsteps came to a halt nearly simultaneously.
Thud.
His head drooped weakly as his back rested against the shattered boulder.
The moment Yo-hee witnessed this sight and swallowed a sharp breath, Hyuk-ung, who had dismounted from Mu Ya-ho’s back a step faster, checked Jin Tae-kyung’s pulse and exhaled deeply.
“Phew. Fortunately, he still lives.”
Though it was good news, Yo-hee’s complexion remained dark.
“Still, you say?”
Hyuk-ung, realizing his slip of the tongue, corrected himself.
“I spoke carelessly in my haste. He is not at death’s door, so there should be no need for excessive worry.”
“Not at death’s door? In that condition?”
Yo-hee’s doubt was far from unreasonable.
Currently, Jin Tae-kyung was drenched in blood from head to toe, his garments torn and slashed throughout, and the mysterious armor spanning his upper body had its chest section shattered as though pierced by something.
It was almost absurd to believe he remained alive at all.
Yet just as Yo-hee’s skepticism was justified, so too was Hyuk-ung’s assessment an undeniable truth.
“From my direct examination, the injuries he sustained are not as severe as we believe. However, these marks… I myself find them difficult to accept even as I observe them.”
Though their martial power was currently sealed, both were masters who had reached the pinnacle of their craft.
The two tribal chiefs questioned the discrepancy between the wounds they had assessed and Jin Tae-kyung’s actual condition, yet they breathed sighs of relief knowing he was not in immediate danger.
Before that relief could fade, they discovered a figure embedded in the massive boulder against which he rested, and gasped in shock.
“Hah.”
Yo-hee stifled a short cry, and in the next moment, understood: the mysterious old man with eyes wide open and frozen in place had already ceased breathing.
Blood still flowed from the neck pierced by a pristine spear blade.
Thud. Pitter-patter.
Yo-hee, gazing at the old man whose appearance matched Jin Tae-kyung’s bloodied state, suddenly murmured.
“That person…”
“Who do you mean?”
“Huk Soo—the owner of that voice who treated this old man like a subordinate.”
“Ah.”
“And if my suspicion is correct…”
Where Yo-hee’s rapidly scanning gaze halted lay the corpse of the Black Hand Fist Demon.
He who had slaughtered the warriors of the Yao Seo Tribe with martial prowess as demonic as an evil spirit itself now lay dead, his chest torn open.
‘This makes no sense.’
Yo-hee’s brows trembled.
From the moment she discovered the corpse of the nameless old man, she had harbored suspicions, but this present situation far exceeded her expectations.
Yet this was not Yo-hee’s thought alone.
“How on earth…”
Hyuk-ung, muttering low, swallowed the rest of his words.
Though utterly incomprehensible, the scene unfolding before their eyes was undeniable reality.
All directions laid waste by unprecedented force. Two old men lying dead and a single youth lost in profound slumber.
The conclusion drawn from this was unmistakable.
Jin Tae-kyung had fought and emerged victorious—against two supreme masters who had devoted lives several times longer than his own to the martial path.
“…Yeolhwa Shinryong.”
Four characters flowed from between crimson lips like a whispered prayer—a legendary epithet. Reverence kindled in Yo-hee’s eyes as she beheld Jin Tae-kyung.
Whether such a thing was possible no longer mattered.
Jin Tae-kyung had transformed the impossible into reality, and he had willingly staked his life to save them—mere southern barbarians.
Now it was their turn to move for him.
‘It may already be too late, but even now.’
Certain venomous creatures of the Southern Wilderness shed their skins at specific intervals.
This act, known as molting, was their means of renewal.
Yet how could acquiring a new body be simple? Should the molting succeed, one would gain a form more beautiful and powerful; but should it fail, one would slowly perish in an aged and sickly shell.
And Yo-hee had chosen the former path.
‘If I delay any longer, all will be lost. I must reveal this truth to everyone, no matter what.’
She had to expose Baek Sang’s conspiracy and stop Dark Heaven before it was too late.
In doing so, her own transgressions would also come to light, but she had already steeled her resolve.
She would bear every consequence of the path she had chosen.
‘I should never have done it.’
Looking back, there was only regret.
Baek Sang had laid before Yo-hee a broad and beautiful silk road, and she had walked it to this place, turning a blind eye to all that transpired around her.
But upon reaching the end, when she finally looked down, her feet were drenched in blood.
Not her own blood, but that of other Southern Wilderness people.
Now… she wanted to wipe away that blood. If she could not, she would sever her own feet to do so.
And in reaching this resolve, one person’s existence had profoundly influenced her.
‘Jin Tae-kyung.’
A stranger from a distant land.
Yet he had fought for the Southern Wilderness more fiercely than anyone—just as the ancient sect master of Yeolhwa had done centuries ago, now remembered only as legend.
‘I call myself Tribal Chief, yet I cannot fall short of a Han Clan member.’
If even someone like me can bear the title of Tribal Chief.
Yo-hee swallowed her self-deprecating remark and sprang into action.
Rip. Her delicate, snow-white hands tore away her ornate palace robes without hesitation.
She stripped away the gold and silver ornaments adorning her body, baring her arms and legs—and Hyuk-ung’s eyes widened at the sight.
“Yo-hee.”
“There’s no time for words. We must move now.”
Hyuk-ung, who had been silently regarding her, gave a slow nod.
“You speak true. We know not when other enemies might arrive.”
“Given how quiet things have been, I doubt there are others. With two supreme masters present, Dark Heaven likely deemed further reinforcements unnecessary.”
“Indeed. They already knew of the tracking incense you possess, and they meant to use us as bait to draw out the Palace Master. For Dark Heaven, he was the greatest obstacle.”
Yet it was not Beast King Miao Wang who had taken the bait, but Jin Tae-kyung—and the hunters preparing their snare had instead been hunted.
A scenario no one, not even Dark Heaven, could have foreseen.
But as the conversation continued, Yo-hee’s heart grew heavier.
“But what if Jin Tae-kyung didn’t come in the Palace Master’s stead… what if the Palace Master is unable to come?”
“That is….”
“My tribespeople—the entire Yao Seo Tribe has been annihilated. It’s an unprecedented catastrophe, so by now the Inner Palace must be in complete chaos.”
“Shouldn’t we hurry to the Inner Palace as quickly as possible?”
Yo-hee shook her head silently at Hyuk-ung’s words. She had merely closed her eyes and ears to ambition, but she was no fool.
Dark Heaven had spent decades waiting, having brought Baek Sang—sworn brother to the Beast King Miao Wang—into its fold.
She suddenly recalled the words spoken by that mysterious old man lying dead, using a boulder as his coffin.
‘If you act recklessly with the Grand Design within reach, I will not forgive you.’
Grand Design. He had definitely said Grand Design.
Yo-hee sensed an indescribable danger and unease in those two words, and realized that her own abduction was a meticulously calculated move.
The Yao Seo Tribe annihilated. The Inner Palace plunged into chaos. Baek Sang, who had built a support faction comparable to—or perhaps exceeding—the Palace Master’s.
And Dark Heaven orchestrating it all.
Finding the answer was not difficult.
“Yo-hee?”
Snapping from her reverie at Hyuk-ung’s call, Yo-hee bit her lip.
If—if this thought now crystallizing in her mind was correct… the Inner Palace had become nothing less than a Demon Suppression Hall. Teeming with all manner of Evil Demons and sinister schemes.
“We must go west, not to the Inner Palace.”
“West? Could it be…”
“Yes. I intend to go to Bo-san.”
Each tribe was scattered across the entire Southern Wilderness, yet each possessed a stronghold. Among them, Bo-san was a land where thousands of Yao Tribe members had settled.
“By now, Baek Sang—allied with Dark Heaven—will have seized control of the Inner Palace. If the tribal chiefs and the Grand Council have made their decision, even the Palace Master could do nothing against it.”
“Mm.”
“Believe my words. If we head to the Inner Palace now, we’ll be eliminated before we even cross its threshold.”
Hyuk-ung stared at Yo-hee with eyes that had grown deeply sunken.
“And if we head to Bo-san?”
“I am the Grand Tribal Chief of all the Yao Tribe. Is there need for further words?”
“How many warriors can you mobilize?”
“At most, a thousand. Woefully insufficient to stand against Baek Sang backed by Dark Heaven, but I wonder if they would truly follow him once they learn of this situation.”
“The people’s hearts will surely waver, and warriors will defect.”
“I’ll send messenger birds and dispatches to each tribe and village. Within seven days at the latest, all of the Southern Wilderness will know of Baek Sang’s atrocities.”
At Yo-hee’s unfaltering words, Hyuk-ung let out a soft exclamation.
“Truly brilliant. Even more so than the you I once knew.”
At those words, Yo-hee momentarily forgot the situation and let out a quiet laugh.
“It’s strange hearing that from you. You’ve become a completely different person.”
“It was unavoidable. To escape Baek Sang’s notice, I had to conceal my true self first.”
Hyuk-ung answered calmly and handed her something. What lay upon the yellowed paper was a round pill.
“Take this.”
“This is….”
“An antidote that Black Hand Fist Demon possessed. I found it while searching his belongings just now. In your current state with your martial power sealed, you’ll be hunted down by Baek Sang’s warriors before you even reach Bo-san.”
Hyuk-ung’s words were precise. No matter how skilled a warrior, without mastering external martial arts, one cannot shake off pursuers. And Yo-hee’s martial prowess was hardly exceptional.
Gulp.
Yo-hee did not refuse and chewed the pill down her throat.
The bitter taste made her brow furrow involuntarily, but it was infinitely better than dying without putting up a single proper fight.
“How long will it take to reach Bo-san?”
“Since we’re at Ai-nao Mountain right now… I’d say three or four days should suffice. Though first, we need to escape this Poison Blood Land.”
On their way here, they had witnessed poisons unlike anything they’d ever seen before and swamps composed of extreme toxins, and they had already determined their current location.
“By then, he should have awakened.”
“Yes, that’s right. Once he awakens, he’ll be worth ten thousand soldiers.”
As Hyuk-ung answered quietly and hoisted Jin Tae-kyung’s body onto his back, Mu Ya-ho, who had been urinating on the face of the dead Black Hand Fist Demon, came running over and offered his back.
–
A low growl rumbled forth.
Hyuk-ung gazed intently at the pale blue eyes of Baek Ho, who was emitting the sound.
“Isn’t it rather strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“This beast that the Palace Master commands. Whenever I encountered it in the Inner Palace, it would always bare its fangs at me, yet now with Jin Tae-kyung beside it, it’s as docile as a lamb.”
“It must have opened its heart to him. As the saying goes, spiritual creatures have always been able to discern the true nature of people.”
Just as Yo-hee answered without much thought, she suddenly sensed something amiss, and Hyuk-ung let out a low chuckle.
“Yes, that seems to be the truth.”
Splurt! Thud.
Blood sprayed, and the massive silver body tilted. As Yo-hee stared blankly at the sight, Hyuk-ung’s voice reached her ears.
“Did I not say so? I should have hidden even myself first.”

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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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