Murim Login - Chapter 458

“Help… me…”

A faint, flickering voice, like a dying ember.

But that was enough. The despair of being unable to save anyone was washed away, and strength surged back into my exhausted body.

I hurled myself in the direction of the voice.

“Inventory open, summon!”

With a flick, the remaining raft fragments brushed against the moonlit surface of the river.

Leaping like a bird through the air, I drew upon my dwindling energy reserves to focus my vision.

Enhanced to its utmost limit, my sharp eyesight captured the scene below with crystal clarity.

‘There…’

Among the wreckage of a ship and scattered bodies.

Although broken beyond recognition, it was undoubtedly the largest and most luxurious ship I had seen on Dongting Lake so far.

‘The survivor is somewhere among that wreckage.’

The problem was the sheer number of bodies and debris.

But there was no time to hesitate.

[Time Remaining: 59 seconds.]

Fifty-nine seconds—a survivor’s life hung in this fleeting time.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and summoned every ounce of energy I had left.

‘Whoosh!’

The Scorching Yang Energy radiating from my body surged outward, coursing over the river’s surface.

Sweeping through the wreckage of ships and the countless bodies floating in the water, I scoured every inch.

And finally…

‘I see it.’ No, I felt it.

Beyond dozens of meters, a faint presence slowly sinking below the water.

I cracked my eyes open.

[Time Remaining: 32 seconds.]

The energy circulating through my body funneled into my legs.

As my compressed strength released, the air beneath my feet erupted with a burst, and a cold wind swept past my entire body.

‘Boom! Whoosh!’

I shot forward like a meteor.

The wind split around me, and the scenery blurred as I focused solely on one point.

Beneath the rippling black water—there was a survivor.

‘Damn it, I can’t even swim.’

The thought flashed through my mind just as the river’s cold surface enveloped me.

‘Sploosh! Gurgle!’

The impact knocked the breath from my lungs.

Without my martial arts training, my bones would have shattered, and my organs would have been severely damaged.

Blowing out bubbles of air, I sank beneath the surface.

Startled by my sudden arrival, schools of fish scattered, revealing the shapes of two figures sinking slowly.

[Time Remaining: 20 seconds.]

“More, more, more…!”

Summoning every ounce of strength, I propelled myself forward and grabbed the limp wrists of the unconscious pair. Then, with a powerful kick, I shot upward.

Ten seconds, nine, eight…

The faint moonlight on the water’s surface grew closer.

My arms and legs felt as heavy as lead, and the two I carried felt like stones tied to my body.

And then—

‘Swoosh!’

“Huff!”

I exhaled the breath I had held.

The biting cold air filled my lungs, but pulling the survivors out of the water didn’t mean it was over yet.

[Time Remaining: 3 seconds.]

At that moment, my instincts told me what to do.

‘Save them.’

That single thought moved my paralyzed body.

I extended both palms toward the survivors and pushed out the faint remnants of my energy.

‘Boom!’

Their bodies jolted, water splashed, but there was no reaction from the two unconscious figures.

The system window’s countdown ticked on.

[Time Remaining: 2 seconds.]

‘One more time…!’

‘Boom!’

[Time Remaining: 1 second.]

Time slowed.

The single digit “1” loomed large, as if pressing down with immense weight.

Staring wide-eyed at the system window, the moment froze.

“Cough! Cough!”

With the desperate gasps of the survivors, the countdown stopped.

Then, like a celebratory chime, a notification resounded.

‘Ding!’

– You have succeeded in rescuing the survivors!
– The sudden quest [The Tragedy of Dongting Lake] is complete!
– You have successfully completed the quest. Appropriate rewards will be given!
– You gained significant experience and renown!
– You have earned the title [Rescue Specialist]!

Listening to the notifications, I muttered to myself.

“Shit.”

The relief and joy of success took a backseat to the exhaustion weighing down my body after the relentless ordeal that began at the Zhuge Family Manor.

‘…Damn it. It’s going to take forever to get back to shore.’

Floating in the water with the two survivors, I briefly considered if I might end up needing rescue myself.

‘Swoosh!’

Then, from afar, something cleaved through the water at incredible speed, stopping right in front of me.

Its white body shimmered with scales, and it had two distinct horns.

“A water snake… no, the Thousand-Year Venomous Horned Serpent?”

‘Ssss. Ssssss!’

“No, don’t go!”

As it flicked its tongue and tried to turn away, I hurriedly called out.

“Hey! Hey! Water snake! Thousand-Year Venomous Horned Serpent!”

‘Sss!’

“You little—are you spitting at me? Wait, hold on…”

Was it sulking?

A sudden thought struck me, and I carefully spoke in a pleading tone.

“Mimi… Mimi-chan?”

‘Ssss! Ssssss!’

At last, the serpent nodded in satisfaction and extended its tail toward me as if telling me to grab on.

Just in time, a voice echoed from afar.

“Mimi! Save the Benefactor!”

‘Ssss!’

‘Damn it, I don’t care what you call it—just get me to shore already.’

—

Sitting on a damp rock, I gazed at the rippling river.

Two people. Just two.

Out of all the countless people who perished at Dongting Lake today, only two survived because of me.

‘…Only two out of so many.’

Though I had suspected it since completing the quest, the reality was far more brutal than I had imagined.

The tragedy of today left countless dead, and with it, immense sorrow.

“Ugh…”
“Sob, sob!”
“My poor child!”
“Which devil could do such a thing?”

By now, the riverside was filled with over a thousand people expressing every emotion imaginable.

A scholar groaned speechlessly, a soldier wept over a comrade’s body, and a woman carrying an infant on her back wailed. A gray-haired elder shouted curses at the invisible perpetrators, shaking a pipe angrily.

The laughter and music that once filled Dongting Lake had vanished, replaced only by grief, despair, and rage.

But nothing would change. The river had returned to its calm state, and the mist rolling in at dawn painted a serene picture.

Was this the image of a paradise where immortals resided?

Staring silently at the scene, I broke the silence.

“Doesn’t this feel like shit?”

It wasn’t a rhetorical question.

Cheongpung, who had stayed by my side, responded.

“Yes. It feels like shit.”

Normally, I might have laughed, but now there was only emptiness.

Turning a pebble over in my hand, I asked, “Since when does a Cheongsu Disciple curse?”

“I didn’t know before, but now I’ve learned. I picked it up from someone.”

“Better not let Ma Jong-hak find out.”

“Why?”

“Imagine if Mimi suddenly called you a bastard one day. How would you feel?”

“Hmm, probably not great.”

“…Forget the swearing—wouldn’t you first be shocked that a snake could talk? Either way, it’d piss Ma Jong-hak off too.”

“I see. Got it.”

Silence fell.

The lighthearted banter was nothing more than an attempt to distract ourselves, but we both knew it wasn’t working.

“Shit…”

I muttered a curse.

The sobs and wails of those grieving filled the air, drowning out even the birdsong.

Clenching the pebble in my hand, I crushed it into powder, which drifted away on the wind, settling softly on the water like ashes carrying someone’s soul.

Cheongpung suddenly asked, “Benefactor, what do we do in times like this?”

“Too many people have died—at Hubei, at Sichuan, at Dongting Stronghold, and today, here.”

His trembling voice continued.

“I keep thinking about the faces of the dead. I’m angry. I hate those who keep killing, and I despise my inability to stop them.”

“…I felt the same. I still do.”

“What do you do when you feel like this?”

“Me?”

Turning, I finally met Cheongpung’s gaze.

His once-clear eyes now swirled with countless emotions, a reflection of his inner turmoil.

‘Was I like this once?’

The sight of him mirrored the younger me—a tumult of anger, sorrow, and helplessness.

But the current me was… calm. Detached.

Not because I didn’t feel anything, but because I had grown accustomed to it over the years.

“Let’s see. What did I do…?”

After a moment of thought, I replied, “Probably the same as you. Curse those bastards endlessly, berate myself for being useless, and finally make a vow.”

“A vow?”

“Yeah, a vow.”

I pointed to the grieving people and the bodies on the shore.

“To kill the ones who caused this. To pay them back in full.”

A cold, foreign voice spilled from my lips as I finished speaking.

“Leader.”

Hyeok Mu-jin approached, his face marked with fatigue.

“The survivors have regained consciousness.”

“That’s good. Both of them?”

“No, just one so far.”

Though disappointing, I wasn’t surprised. The measures I had taken after rescuing them were only temporary.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, this way.”

Cheongpung and I followed Hyeok Mu-jin to meet the survivor who had woken up.

“We meet again so soon, don’t we?”

At my greeting, the stunningly beautiful woman, Hong Ran, greeted me with utmost courtesy.

“It is an honor to see you again, Benefactor.”