Murim Login - Chapter 491

“Oh, Leader, you’re still awake…?”

In the dim light of dawn, Hyeok Mu-jin entered my temporary barracks and froze like he had just seen a ghost.

“…Why?”

“Well, it’s just…”

“Speak.”

“It’s nothing. You just look unusually tired today.”

“…Sigh.”

Tired. Just tired. Could you even call this mess “tired”?

I glared at the bronze basin of water. Tangled hair, bloodshot eyes. When I raised my head and looked around, the entire place was a wreck.

Hyeok Mu-jin’s eyes darted around, registering the chaos a little too late. His pupils trembled as if shaken by an earthquake.

“What… happened here?”

“What happened? Something did happen.”

The voice slipping past my lips didn’t even sound like my own. Rubbing my haggard face, I muttered.

“That damn assassin…”

Though it was a small murmur, it wasn’t quiet enough to go unheard. Hyeok Mu-jin flinched at the word “assassin.”

“Sorry? Assassin?”

“What?”

“No, I clearly heard you say assassin just now.”

“You misheard.”

“I heard it loud and clear. With my own ears.”

“I said you misheard.”

Of course, it was true.

Some insane assassin had rigged my barracks with over a dozen traps, and I managed to step into every single one of them with a perfect 100% success rate, leaving me battered and bruised.

But there was no way I could explain this to anyone.

“L-Leader…”

“It’s nothing! You misheard!”

“That’s not it. You’re bleeding… from your rear.”

“…What?”

Damn it. So that’s why my backside felt warm earlier.

While internally cursing every deity I could think of, I started tending to the wound on my rear. Hyeok Mu-jin, watching with an awkward expression, said:

“Pretty sure it ‘was’ an assassin.”

“It’s from training.”

“Really?”

I nodded weakly.

It ‘was’ training—if you could call spending the entire night detoxifying yourself without sleep a form of training. Somehow, it counted.

“It’s real training. I swear on both of your balls.”

“As I’ve told you before, please stop swearing on my balls. But if you’re being threatened by an assassin right now, just blink twice.”

“…Mu-jin, wouldn’t you normally ask that through telepathy?”

“I haven’t learned telepathy yet.”

“Then why not use writing?”

“Oh, true.”

“Unbelievable.”

Seriously, why did I even expect better from him?

I let out a deep sigh and looked him up and down. Judging by his neatly dressed martial robes this early in the morning, he clearly had a reason for coming.

“So, what’s the matter?”

“Ah, Zhuge Daehyup is asking for you. Everyone’s gathering right now.”

“Everyone? Why?”

“Well, you know…”

Hyeok Mu-jin glanced around nervously before lowering his voice to a whisper only I could hear.

“The Imoogi. The dead Imoogi.”

“Ah.”

“Only a very select few are going in secret. Even the Wudang Sect’s Hyun Gong Jin-in is waiting.”

“Hyun Gong Jin-in too? Well, that makes sense.”

Hyun Gong Jin-in was the only peak-level master who had stayed behind in Dongjeongche during this incident.

As the disciple of the Wudang Sect’s headmaster and an elder of the martial world, he was more than qualified to represent the sect.

Even though the Water Dragon’s existence was classified, it wasn’t something they could keep secret from the Wudang Sect.

‘Still, considering the gravity of the matter, you’d think the sect leader himself would come instead. Why Hyun Gong Jin-in?’

The thought crossed my mind but was quickly pushed aside by another realization.

“Hey, among the people going… is there someone…”

Just as I was about to finish my sentence, a quiet voice came from outside the barracks.

“Jin Gongja, everyone is waiting for you.”

“If you’re ready, please come out.”

The moment the voice faded, I froze in place like a stone. Hyeok Mu-jin tilted his head, puzzled.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Why is ‘he’ coming with us?”

“Who? Oh, you mean Moon Kyung? Well, since he’s a direct disciple of Shin-ui, he’ll probably be useful for analyzing the Imoogi’s body structure and related matters… But why do you ask?”

Why? Because who knows what that lunatic might do.

Swallowing the words stuck in my throat, I took a step forward. Then I hesitated, turned back to Mu-jin, and said:

“Mu-jin.”

“Yes?”

“Lead the way. I’ll just follow behind you.”

“…What?”

I could almost hear a system notification ringing in my ears.

‘Ding!’ [You have acquired the skill: Human Shield!]

—

As I boarded the small boat prepared for the mission, familiar faces came into view.

Wearing a patched-up robe and carrying an ancient pine-patterned sword at his waist, Hyun Gong Jin-in greeted me with a soft smile.

“Young Daoist, it’s good to see you again.”

“Greetings, Hyun Gong Jin-in.”

Trying my best to act like a proper martial artist, I clasped my hands and gave a polite bow. Beside me, Zhuge Pung fanned himself and chimed in.

“But your expression…”

“Nothing happened.”

“For nothing, you don’t look too good, don’t you agree, Jin-in?”

“I must agree with Zhuge Pung. You look as if you spent the entire night being tormented by an assassin.”

“An assassin? Jin-in, you do have quite the sense of humor. Haha.”

“Hahaha.”

Don’t laugh. Don’t even show your teeth.

If it weren’t for the [Mandokji Ring], I doubt I’d even be standing properly right now.

The level of poison I endured made me wonder if I should change my nickname from “Blazing Fire Dragon” to something like “Poisoned Pickle.”

‘And look at him, sitting there all smug.’

I glared at Moon Kyung, who had comfortably taken a seat on the ship. Feeling my piercing gaze, the boy turned his head toward me.

– Lower your eyes.

If I say lower them, you lower them.

As I averted my gaze slightly, Moon Kyung sent a series of telepathic messages.

– Judging by your appearance, it seems you triggered every single trap on the first day. How pathetic. Without the [Mandokji Ring] and [Scorching Yang Energy], you’d already be dead.

– …Whether I’d be dead or alive, how would you know?

– Want me to show you?

– I misspoke. My apologies.

Unfortunately, Moon Kyung wasn’t entirely wrong. Every trap he set up had been coated with incredibly potent poison.

I once heard that medicine and poison are two sides of the same coin, and whoever said it was a hundred percent correct. Every poison I encountered had the word “strong” as its prefix, as if that were a given.

Thanks to the [Mandokji Ring]’s exceptional performance and the poison-resisting energy of [Scorching Yang Energy], I’d escaped with just a few stab wounds.

Without those two, though… the thought alone made my blood run cold.

‘They call him Shin-ui, but he’s more like Poison-ui.’

– I know you just cursed me.

“Gah!”

Startled, I gasped, drawing the attention of Hyun Gong Jin-in, who looked at me with concern.

“Why the reaction, young Daoist?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just a habit.”

“Well, that’s a relief. For a moment, I thought you’d really been threatened by an assassin. Isn’t that right, Zhuge Pung?”

“Hohoho! My sides are splitting, Jin-in!”

“Hahaha.”

I swear, I might just rip those sides of yours apart myself.

While I stared daggers at Zhuge Pung, the boat carrying us glided smoothly across the calm waters.

Realizing something too late, I quickly spoke up.

“Wait a moment. My master isn’t here.”

Zhuge Pung tilted his head, confusion written across his face.

“Hmm? Didn’t you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“Master Jeok has decided not to come. He also instructed us not to seek him out until everything is resolved.”

“…Is that so?”

“You didn’t know? Strange. I thought he’d inform you, his disciple.”

It was news to me.

Whatever his reasons, I couldn’t help feeling a little hurt that he hadn’t spoken to me directly. At the same time, I thought I understood how he must be feeling.

‘He must feel conflicted.’

I’ve never raised a disciple myself, but if I were in the same position one day, I’d probably feel similarly.

It must feel like entrusting a beloved family pet to someone else.

No, let me rephrase that. That would make me Jeok Cheon-Gang’s pet.

‘His child. Yes, his child sounds better.’

While I was finding a way to justify my emotions, Cheongpung approached me with a bright expression and extended something toward me.

“What’s this?”

“Candy, benefactor.”

“…I can see it’s candy. Where do you keep getting these?”

It had to be one of two possibilities:

Either Cheongpung was secretly a system user with ten tons of candy stored in his inventory, or there was a candy tree nearby.

“Anyway, thanks. I’ll eat it well.”

Normally, I wouldn’t have touched it, but with my mind preoccupied, candy was a decent source of sugar.

As I bit into the candy, I asked him:

“By the way, how’d you manage to get candy in all this? Oh, did you buy it when we visited the Zhuge family last time?”

“No. I already finished that batch.”

“Then what about this one?”

“Moon Kyung gave it to me. He said this one was especially for you, benefactor. Such a kind person!”

The answer came from somewhere else entirely.

‘Beep!’

– [You have been poisoned with Strong Disabling Poison!]
– [Strong Disabling Poison] temporarily prevents the use of internal energy.
– Your [Energy] is dissipating! Immediate action is required!

Damn it. No wonder the candy tasted unusually sweet. (T/N: Moon Kyung must be having the time of his life tormenting Taekyung. lol)

Quietly, I took out the [Mandokji Ring].

—

It is said that humans leave behind their names, and beasts leave behind their hides when they die.

This also applied to the Imoogi, the mystical creature that had ruled over Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River for centuries.

Though its soul had departed, its body remained, resting where it had drawn its last breath. It retained its majestic form and beauty even in death.

“…Wow.”

Even Hyun Gong Jin-in, a sage known for his wisdom and enlightenment, let out an awed exclamation, rendered speechless by the Imoogi’s corpse.

The awe it inspired was unparalleled.

Even Gong Gi-bang, who had seen the creature before, couldn’t help but gape in amazement.

“Seeing it again, it’s truly incredible, isn’t it?”

In a polite tone, I replied.

“Incredible, indeed. And so is your breath. On that note, could you step back? It’s worse than the poison.”

“Hmm, that’s an easy request. But there’s a condition.”

“What is it?”

“Of the ten silvers you owe me from yesterday, you still haven’t paid five. I knew you were unruly, but I didn’t think you’d stoop to ripping off beggars.”

“I’ll pay. Just stop talking. I’m starting to see hallucinations.”

I begrudgingly handed over five silvers, and Gong Gi-bang grumbled while pocketing the coins.

“Always so dramatic. By the way, speaking of hallucinations, I’ve been having strange dreams lately.”

“Dreams?”

“Yes, dreams.”

Gong Gi-bang smirked and pointed at Moon Kyung.

“In my dream, Moon Kyung was fighting the Imoogi. Sword energy flying everywhere, disappearing and reappearing like a ghost… If someone told me he was the Killing Star, I’d believe it.”

He ‘is’ the Killing Star.

Ignoring Gong Gi-bang’s ramblings, I turned my attention back to the Imoogi’s body.

From its head to its tail, its massive form stretched over a hundred jang (about 300 meters).

The scales, once black, now shimmered with a radiant silver light, and scars marked its body from countless battles.

As I ran my fingers over the deep gashes, I muttered quietly.

“I’m sorry.”

I knew there was no need to feel guilty. Our battle with the Imoogi had been inevitable, and it had even expressed gratitude to us for stopping it.

But still, I apologized because we wouldn’t be able to give its body the burial it deserved.

Its body was no longer the remains of a mystical creature.

It was now… loot.

The raid was over. It was time to deal with the spoils.