Murim Login - Chapter 717

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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 717
Seven days and nights—a span of time that could feel long or short depending on the person.
Yet considering the current state of the Southern Beast Palace, it was woefully insufficient to repair all the damage they had sustained.
Even though the demonic energy flowing from the Rift had ceased, its aftermath remained vividly present.
Countless lives had been claimed, families and homes lost, and fear of a calamity that might return at any moment gripped their hearts.
‘But in a situation like this, the Palace Master Beast King Miao Wang has vanished?’
I furrowed my brow in contemplation before speaking heavily.
“Tell me more details.”
Hyuk Moo-jin scratched the back of his head as he answered.
“Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t know that much. If I had to add something, it’s just what I mentioned before—the Southern Barbarian leadership is in chaos, and they’ve even discussed deploying the Heavenly Net to search for Ya-ryul Mok.”
For the Southern Barbarians, it was only natural.
Their Palace Master, who should be the pillar holding them together in such dire circumstances, had disappeared.
And within their concerns lay the possibility that Dark Heaven had struck once more.
‘Assassination, perhaps. Or abduction.’
It seemed far-fetched, but it wasn’t impossible.
Beast King Miao Wang had suffered considerable injuries from his battle with the Nantian Demon Empress.
Though his martial prowess was exceptional and he had received Jeok Cheon-gang’s aid in time, he was hardly in a state to recover fully within mere days.
“So, what were the search results?”
At my question, Hyuk Moo-jin tilted his head.
“What search?”
“…Did you really hit your head? You don’t even remember what you just said?”
“Oh, the Heavenly Net.”
Hyuk Moo-jin slapped his forehead and continued.
“I only said it was being discussed.”
“Huh?”
“It fell through.”
What? Fell through? On such a critical matter?
I blinked for a moment before asking.
“Did the Southern Beast Palace get swallowed by Dark Heaven while I was asleep?”
“The leadership? That’s not it.”
“Ah, so they’re conducting a secret search to avoid causing panic among the tribe members?”
“That’s not it either.”
“Then what are these bastards doing that they’re not searching for their Palace Master?”
“Why are you asking me that? He’s not even my Palace Master.”
Smack!
Hyuk Moo-jin, having finally earned another hit to the back of his head, collapses with a silent scream.
Watching him writhe, Nam Ho clicks his tongue softly and turns to face me.
“Normally, the leadership would have done something. Whether deploying the Heavenly Net or secretly sending warriors to conduct a search.”
I lowered my fist as I replied.
“But they’ve backed off?”
“To be precise, I had no choice but to let go. Someone else forced my hand.”
“Someone else….”
“What does it matter? It’s not like some stray dog bone that rolled in from who knows where. The Fire King himself ordered everything abandoned. What more is there to say?”
“…!”
“If you don’t show up after midnight two days from now, he said he’d step in personally. Keep quiet and stabilize the people’s hearts first, he told them. Even the Xiaogong Master, who was agonizing over it, ultimately heeded the Fire King’s words. The other tribal chiefs didn’t even need to be asked.”
Ya-ryul Mok at the Red Sky River?
But my surprise was fleeting. After a moment’s thought, I nodded calmly.
“Two days from now at midnight means today, then?”
“That’s right.”
“I see.”
“I see? Is that all the reaction you have?”
“What more is needed? If Master ordered it abandoned, then it must be abandoned.”
Nam Ho, who had been watching me silently, smacked his lips.
“My, the bond between master and disciple is quite strong indeed.”
“He has a foul temperament, but there’s always a reason behind such actions, wouldn’t you say?”
“Would that bond remain strong if I told him you called his temperament foul?”
“…It might get a bit heated. Do you want to see him wake up furious in Hanan?”
“Is that what you call speaking? Of course….”
Just as those words came without a shred of hesitation, Nam Ho glanced sideways at someone and continued with a somber expression.
“Of course it has to stay secret. Yes, absolutely.”
“…?”
What was that? I could have sworn Ju Hwa-ran just gave me a sharp look.
But seeing her eyes curved like a crescent moon, it must have been my imagination. She probably just hadn’t fully woken up yet.
Slap.
I tapped my cheek audibly and stretched luxuriously. My stiffened bones cracked and loosened, my body feeling lighter.
‘My physical condition is optimal.’
The level up and seven days of rest have left nothing to be desired.
The nightmare I had was making my mood slightly foul, but that’s something time will fix.
‘I imagine others feel the same way.’
Muttering to myself, I put on a drowsy expression for the others.
“Ah, talking so much after so long has made me quite tired. Would you all mind stepping out for a bit?”
Being a patient is quite advantageous in its own way. No matter what I say, people accept it without suspicion.
And after everyone had left, I slipped out of the Pavilion through the window.
* * *
It was merely a simple guess.
If not, so be it. If yes, then fortunate. Just that level of feeling.
But the moment I stepped into that remote grass field no one else would search, my guess transformed into certainty.
“Ah, here it is.”
Whoosh.
At my casual greeting, the grass leaves trembled faintly. Simultaneously, a flash of light shot toward me.
Clang, crack!
She caught the dagger flying straight at her forehead without hesitation. The blade of the dagger, unable to withstand the heat of the Yeol-Yang-Ji-Gi in her hand, glowed red-hot.
Thud. Sizzle.
Molten metal dripped onto the ground. Only then did I realize I still wore my mask, so I raised both hands high.
“I yield, Jin Tae-kyung.”
And in the next moment.
Whoosh.
With a faint sound of air splitting, several silhouettes descended into the dense grass field.
‘One, two, three. Seven.’
That was right. The count I’d made, and their identities as well.
“The Seven Miao Tigers. Am I correct?”
Step.
“Please forgive our rudeness.”
The leading figure stepped forward and removed his mask, revealing the face of a man with an affable disposition.
The very same face I’d seen in the Underground Prison.
“At last we exchange names properly. Won-hu of the Seven Miao Tigers greets Jin Dae-hyeop, the benefactor of the Southern Barbarians.”
“We greet Jin Dae-hyeop.”
Following Won-hu’s lead, the others performed respectful fist salutes, albeit awkwardly, and I chuckled in response.
“Benefactor? Hardly. I should be thanking you instead. I owe you greatly from that day.”
At my mention of the Underground Prison, Won-hu’s smile deepened.
“Say no more. Without Jin Dae-hyeop, we would all be as good as dead. Or perhaps we would have become monsters stripped of reason.”
His smile faded along with the bitter words. He sighed, then suddenly wore an expression of difficulty.
“But how did you know of this place?”
“I’ve been here once before. To meet Ya-ryul Dae-hyeop.”
Won-hu nodded as if he’d guessed as much.
“That must have been the day. You disappeared without a word to us, your direct guards, which caused us considerable alarm.”
“Yes. I came with the guidance of Ya-ryul Mok—or rather, the Master of Xiaogong.”
“Now that no one seeks this place, it is ideal for secret discussions.”
“Indeed, returning here, I can see that much is true.”
The Outer Palace’s expanse alone was enormous. It could easily be called the capital of a small nation, so there was no reason for anyone to venture into this remote grass field where even the paths had vanished.
“Then Jin Dae-hyeop, perhaps….”
“Yes. I came to see Ya-ryul Dae-hyeop. I had a feeling he might be here.”
“Mm.”
Won-hu let out a small sound and gazed at me intently. Then, contrary to my expectations, a quiet word escaped his lips.
“Clear the path.”
The Seven Miao Tigers arrayed behind him flinched simultaneously.
“Elder Brother.”
“But our lord commanded that no one be allowed through….”
“I won’t repeat myself.”
At Won-hu’s firm voice, the Seven Miao Tigers, who had hesitated briefly, sighed deeply and parted to both sides.
“I trust you already know the exact location. Then I shall take my leave.”
Won-hu turned, adopting that awkward fist salute once more.
No—he started to turn, then suddenly pivoted his head to gaze at me.
“By heaven and earth, I swear that all of us Southern Barbarians, myself included, shall remember the aid of Jin Dae-hyeop.”
The sentiment was mine as well. I would carry the memory of their help until my dying breath, and I was grateful simply that they lived.
I acknowledged the Seven Miao Tigers with a nod of respect, then pushed through the dense grass field and continued onward.
Perhaps only moments had passed. The crumbling Abandoned Shrine finally revealed itself.
Crunch.
I made no effort to conceal my approach, drawing near without stealth. Through gaps in the weathered door—its edges crumbled by countless years, riddled with holes—I glimpsed the broad back of someone seated within.
“May I enter?”
No answer came to my question, so I stepped inside the Abandoned Shrine.
Screeeeak. The ancient floorboards shrieked the moment my feet touched them.
“My, this really could use some oil.”
As I jested and surveyed my surroundings, a low voice emanated from the broad back of the figure sitting in lotus position.
“It’s fine. It’s been like this for a long time.”
“True enough—Ya-ryul Dae-hyeop would know better than anyone. You once told me that whenever you caused trouble as a child, you always hid in this place.”
“…Did I?”
“Have you forgotten already? You told me about it the last time we spoke.”
“I seem to have said many things.”
He spoke this way not from lack of memory, but from the anguish of someone no longer in this world—someone whose death weighed upon him.
That one person who had always hidden in this Abandoned Shrine alongside him.
As I gazed silently at Beast King Miao Wang’s back, I suddenly opened my mouth.
“Why did you conceal yourself? You should have at least spoken before departing.”
“I simply wished to.”
“Everyone is anxious since you left. They ask where our Palace Master has gone.”
“So you came searching yourself?”
“I took a walk and thought I’d check. Our Palace Master must return before becoming your Palace Master.”
“Palace Master.”
Beast King Miao Wang let out a quiet, hollow laugh as he murmured the words.
“Do you think I have the qualifications to be a Palace Master?”
“Hmm. I suppose it depends on why you came here.”
“Why?”
“If you’re going to brush it off with an answer like you just gave—that you simply wished to—then you should abandon the title of Palace Master as well. Not that it’s my place to say, given I lack the qualifications myself.”
After a brief silence, Beast King Miao Wang spoke.
“It was agonizing. Unbearably so.”
“What caused you such pain?”
“Because I could not protect them. The countless tribespeople who followed me, and my one and only sworn brother who suffered closest to me.”
“….”
“Do you know what tormented me most of all?”
I did not answer, and Beast King Miao Wang’s voice continued.

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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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