Murim Login - Chapter 343
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I will re-publish the earlier chapters to fix those issues with the translation. I apologize in advance if it did not meet your standard. Please comment the chapters you find that is lacking in quality so I can fix them ASAP. Thanks for understanding!
Current re-published chapters (270 - 305)
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Whoooosh.
“Damn, the wind is intense.”
I shivered as the frigid wind pierced through my leather clothes. The saying ‘impervious to cold and heat’ was a joke—this was more like ‘vulnerable to extreme cold and heat.’
“Achoo!”
Wondering what that strange sound was, I turned around to see Hyeok Mujin rubbing his blue nose. As our eyes met, his eyes curved into hooks.
“What? What is it?”
“What are you looking at?”
“I just thought your sneeze sounded funny…”
“Wow, you find the strangest things amusing. If you have time to be amused, you should be digging up more herbs.”
“…Alright, my bad.”
I glanced away and started searching for herbs nearby.
Five days had passed since I became a herb-collecting slave in the Cold Ice Land. The hierarchy between us had long been reversed.
“Hey, what are you doing? There’s one right there. Right there!”
“Oh, right.”
“Get your head straight!”
I wanted to smack him, but I couldn’t.
If I had followed my friend to Gangnam, at least the land value would have gone up. Following me to the Cold Ice Land, Hyeok Mujin was suffering the worst hardship of his life.
Even this guy, who had grumbled through countless battles, now glared at me with eyes like daggers.
“I’ll be over the hill gathering herbs. Don’t rest and keep working. I’ll check on you periodically.”
“…Got it, man.”
Reciting ‘patience’ repeatedly, I gently dug through the snow and pulled out a herb.
I put it in the basket that the Divine Doctor had distributed to us herb-collecting slaves, and the system notification rang.
[Ding.]
– You have collected [Cold Ice Herb].
– Current amount collected: [100 / 100].
– You have completed collecting [Cold Ice Herb]!
“Phew, finally done with another one.”
Seeing the end in sight was a small comfort.
As I checked the quest window to tally the remaining amounts, Goonggibang approached, shivering.
“Hey, how much is left?”
“About two hundred roots. We might finish today if we push through.”
“Two hundred roots? That’s too much. By then, I’ll be a frozen corpse buried somewhere in this snow.”
What a drama queen.
Goonggibang pulled out a firestarter from his pocket and lit a small flame.
Bringing his face close to the weak fire, he muttered in a dreamy voice.
“I miss my master. I long for the days when I begged in the warm alley in front of the inn…”
Was he the little match girl?
I scoffed at his behavior.
“You were a beggar back then too.”
“At least I was a warm beggar. Being a cold beggar is a hundred times worse.”
“…That’s true.”
“I want to go back to those days. The lazy afternoon sun, the delicious-looking yellow dog walking by…”
What did he mean by delicious-looking yellow dog?
Just as his eyelids drooped slowly, I realized he might be…
“Hey!”
I hurriedly infused him with heat energy.
He needed to wake up…
“It’s warm…”
“No, wake up, you crazy guy!”
Slap! Slap!
It was no use. No matter how much I slapped him, his eyes wouldn’t open once they were closed.
I kept channeling heat energy and shouted.
“Is anyone there? Somebody, hurry and come here!”
At my desperate call, someone came running from afar.
“Benefactor! Benefactor!”
“Nice, Cheongpung! Hurry, take this guy outside…”
Cheongpung ran like the wind, beaming, and held something out to me.
“Benefactor, look! I made my first snowman!”
“You little brat!”
The Divine Doctor nodded as he checked the herbs in the basket.
“This should be enough.”
[Ding.]
– You have successfully completed the linked quest, [Herb-Collecting Slave of Cold Ice Land]!
– You have achieved [Herbalist who Survived Hell]!
– You have gained 10 bonus points for your achievement!
Look at the title of the achievement. I didn’t even have the strength to be angry anymore.
The Divine Doctor, who had been looking at our exhausted forms, suddenly focused on one person.
“Why is Cheongpung looking so down?”
That was because I had destroyed his first snowman with a Fire Palm.
I glanced at Cheongpung, who still looked dejected, and asked the Divine Doctor.
“So, is this the end of the preparations?”
“Yes. With this amount, we can be prepared for anything.”
“Prepared, for what?”
The Divine Doctor nodded solemnly.
“You never know what might happen.”
I realized something I had forgotten. The Divine Doctor had never once said he was certain.
He only saw a possibility and promised to do his best.
‘It’s not over until it’s over.’
That phrase, which I had whispered to myself in every crisis, now stabbed me in the heart like a dagger.
In the end, all I could say was one thing.
“Please, do your best.”
“I promise to do everything I can. That’s my word.”
Moonkyung, standing beside the Divine Doctor, spoke firmly.
“I’ll also do my best to help Master.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s what I should do as an apprentice doctor.”
“So, when will the full treatment begin?”
The Divine Doctor thought for a moment before speaking.
“It will probably be in seven days. During that time, Moonkyung and I will process the twenty-four types of herbs you brought into materials for the Great Life-Rejuvenating Method.”
“All of them?”
“This is just part of it. Luckily, I have the other materials needed for the Great Life-Rejuvenating Method, so we can save time.”
“What exactly is the Great Life-Rejuvenating Method?”
The Divine Doctor stroked his white beard as he answered.
“As I mentioned before, my master was also a martial artist. He primarily provided medical care to commoners, but he had a deep understanding of how to control energy (qi).”
His words gave me a rough idea.
Hyeok Mujin interrupted with an exclamation.
“A martial artist! The Great Life-Rejuvenating Method was created to treat martial artists.”
“That’s right. The great master Gihwan was one of them. Thanks to the Great Life-Rejuvenating Method, he recovered from a severe case of energy deviation and set up the Qimen Formation before leaving.”
For martial artists, energy deviation is akin to a death sentence. It causes the reversal of internal energy, disrupts the flow of energy and blood, and damages various vital points and the dantian.
It’s like having a bomb go off inside your body.
“But to cure energy deviation?”
If the Divine Doctor said it was serious, then Gihwan Nosa must have been in a near-death state.
Just hearing about it made me realize how effective the Great Life-Rejuvenating Method was.
“Then, No-ya must also…”
I brushed aside the thoughts that naturally followed.
There was no need to confirm or worry about it now.
“Please take good care of him.”
“While preparing the method, no one should approach the patient. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“When the preparation is complete, and we better understand the patient’s condition, you will know. Please be patient and wait.”
“I will remember.”
“Remember, it will be in seven days.”
However, the Divine Doctor’s words could not be kept.
Three days later, he and Moonkyung reappeared, and I could tell from their expressions that something was wrong.
“…What happened?”
After a long silence, it was Moonkyung who spoke, not the Divine Doctor.
“Invisible Supreme Poison (무형지독).”
“What?”
“There is an extreme poison inside the patient’s body that we couldn’t identify before. That’s the real cause.”
“Wait, hold on.”
My mind was a mess.
Suddenly, Invisible Supreme Poison? I looked at the Divine Doctor with a confused gaze.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s exactly as I said.”
The Divine Doctor, looking more haggard than three days ago, continued.
“While preparing the method and monitoring the patient’s condition, I noticed something strange. The heat energy that should have been more rampant was gradually subsiding.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? Suddenly, poison? What do you mean…”
“How could the heat energy subside on its own when we haven’t even begun the method?”
“That…”
“Didn’t you notice anything unusual?”
At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.
During the journey from Hanam to Sichuan, I had been stabilizing Jeok Cheon-Gang’s energy with the True Energy Technique. Contrary to my efforts, his heat energy had been decreasing.
‘I thought he was just weakening.’
Seeing my hardened expression, the Divine Doctor sighed.
“When one energy becomes dominant, the opposing energy diminishes. However, in the patient’s case, the yin energy remained the same while the heat energy slightly decreased.”
“So, the poison was the cause?”
“For some reason, there was an invisible supreme poison inside the patient’s body that even I couldn’t touch. Fortunately, the rampaging heat energy acted as a barrier, preventing the poison from spreading. Without it, his body would have melted into a puddle of blood.”
“Then, does this mean the method won’t work?”
“The Great Life-Rejuvenating Method can control energy and untangle the blood flow, but it’s insufficient to detoxify such a poison. If we proceed with the method, the heat energy will be subdued, but there will be no way to stop the poison.”
I urgently shouted.
“I’ll find an antidote! Isn’t the Sichuan Tang Clan here?”
“…Gongja.”
The Divine Doctor shook his head with a dark expression.
“I know well that the
Tang Clan is the best in the world when it comes to dealing with poisons. But this poison…”
Seeing the Divine Doctor’s hesitation, my heart sank.
‘Not even the Tang Clan can handle it?’
Damn it. This was truly a damned situation.
Right now, Jeok Cheon-Gang’s body contained two ferocious wolves, each keeping the other in check.
If one disappeared, the remaining one would rampage uncontrollably.
But there was no way to detoxify the poison.
‘Damn it…!’
Thud. Thud. Blood dripped from my tightly clenched fists. My throat burned as if I had swallowed fire.
Just as I was struggling to suppress the curses that threatened to burst out, a voice pierced my ears.
“There is a way.”
I opened my eyes to see Moonkyung’s face. With a serious expression, he continued.
“We need to go to the Sichuan Tang Clan.”
The Divine Doctor looked at his disciple with a dark expression.
“Moonkyung. You know that this invisible supreme poison is…”
“I understand, Master. I remember you clearly saying that the Tang Clan’s poison techniques are focused on killing and that their detoxification methods are lacking. But…”
Moonkyung stared at me with clear eyes.
“If there is a legendary treasure in the Tang Clan that can detoxify any poison in the world, it’s possible.”
[Ding.]
– A quest, [Ring of a Thousand Poisons (만독지환)], has been created!