Murim Troubleshooter Dan Mujin

Chapter 53: To the Murim Alliance

Soho Blade, Jo Harang.

She was a woman with a peculiar cheerfulness and a subtle mischievousness.

Her long black hair flowed smoothly down her shoulders, and beneath her neatly trimmed bangs, her amethyst eyes glimmered faintly with a mysterious aura.

Given her epithet “Soho (Small Tiger),” I expected a small and nimble martial artist, but in person, she had the build of an average woman from the Central Plains.

About the same height as me, with a well-toned, lean body. She likely earned the nickname “Small Tiger” because of the massive broadsword strapped to her back.

It was large enough to make even a grown man look small when carrying it, and she was swinging it with that female frame of hers. No wonder she ended up with such an ironic epithet.

“Hey, is this Jo Harang bothering you, little hero?”

On the way to meet the client bound for Shanxi, as per Chairman Gam Un’s request.

Some woman began poking my shoulder.

“Hello? Hey? Hey, answer me. Answer.”

Chewing on jerky, Jo Harang finally broke the silence, apparently frustrated by our quiet walk.

“What is it now?”

She talked more than Ilhong.

I rubbed one ear, as if tickled, and replied.

“What iiis it?”

“Geez, I didn’t know you were listening right next to me.”

“So not knowing means it’s fine? Like it’s okay to badmouth someone when they’re not around?”

“Well, even the emperor gets cursed at when he’s not around. What can you do.”

I’d already cursed out the Beggars’ Union plenty of times over their access ban.

Not even worth mentioning anymore.

“Ha, you must have nine lives or something.”

“I do come off pretty macho, don’t I?”

“That’s not a compliment. It’s a serious problem. Even a hundred wouldn’t be enough for you.”

This was another line Hwang Geolgae always used.

I’m practically walking around with a ticking time bomb in my skull. Living a bit honestly won’t kill me.

“Anyway, why did you call me?”

We hadn’t even known each other long, yet the distance between us already felt thin.

And the more we talked, the more I felt like I was getting drawn in somehow.

She was a woman with a peculiar aura.

“I’m telling this senior wanderer to introduce himself. Come on, rookie wanderer.”

Her amethyst eyes shimmered with a bored look.

Just what kind of martial arts had she trained in to have eye color like that?

“Chairman Gam Un didn’t tell you anything about me?”

Walking alongside a beauty armed with a massive broadsword, we were getting glances wherever we went.

Wouldn’t you normally say something about who you’re traveling with?

“Said you’re insanely lucky and will do anything you’re told.”

Seriously? After all I’ve done, that’s the description?

I’ve cleaned up after so many of those stinking requests.

“I’m Dan Mujin, this guy’s Ilhong. We just turned fifteen and fourteen this year. Once we finish this request safely, we’ll be promoted to regular-grade wanderers.”

That’s right, I almost got cut off at the guesthouse entrance for being a lowly bottom-grade wanderer, but this request would bump me up.

Considering the record I’ve built handling jobs others wouldn’t touch and my guanxi with Trading Lord Eun Hwaran, the promotion was already practically settled.

‘It still bugs me—why are regular-grade wanderers treated so harshly?’

Didn’t they take about thirty percent in brokerage fees? They say it’s like insurance because a lot of people at this level flee or mess up, ruining credibility.

Still don’t get why I have to clean up other people’s mess. It’s filthy and disgraceful. I need to become independent soon.

My modest dream was to build a reputation and gain a flashy epithet, open an office where clients come to me on their own.

But to open an office in Beijing, I’d have to survive the murderous real estate prices...

“Right, they said even as a regular-grade, you’ve got an epithet now, right? What do they call you?”

She claimed to have overheard Chairman and staff discussing it.

“...Luck Nine, One Hero.”

If misheard, it could sound like “Lucky Dog,” so I added an explanation.

“Pfft!”

She immediately covered her mouth.

What the—did she just laugh right in my face?

Mocking a guy’s first ever epithet?

“Ah, sorry. I shouldn’t laugh. Ahem, it’s, uh... very profound... ngh, pffft!”

Jo Harang finally burst into laughter. What a rude first impression.

‘Kill (殺)!’

‘Kill (殺)!’

‘Kill (殺)!’

For once, my mind was perfectly in sync with Heaven-Slaying Star.

She tried to stifle her laugh, shoulders trembling.

Seriously, what a shitty world. Some get cool epithets like “Tiger,” while others end up with weird joke epithets.

Whoever came up with that name—just wait until I find you.

“Ah, I’m done laughing. Thanks.”

She said it was nice to laugh again after a long time.

Didn’t feel great hearing it, though.

“Wait, you’re fifteen? Just two years older than me. Then let’s drop the formalities. We’ll be traveling together anyway.”

Most people around her age, once they gain social standing and power, tend to get cocky without realizing it.

But with a bright face, she smiled and offered friendly terms.

“Should we?”

Great martial arts, and a kind, easygoing personality.

It was the moment when my internal rule ‘master = jerk’ got shattered.

“...I was the one who said it, but you really switch fast.”

I’m also not the type to turn down an open invitation.

And considering the age I lived up to in my past life, I’m technically way older.

“So what? Cuts through awkwardness quicker.”

“...You’re really funny, you know? This trip won’t be boring.”

Jo Harang smiled, intrigued.

She turned with a spin and began striding ahead with light steps.

“Then let’s go meet the people from the Jo family’s side. It’s almost noon, the promised time.”

Her black hair swayed with her footwork. Come to think of it, a lot of time had passed preparing this and that.

She waved and disappeared, saying she’d go greet them first.

“She’s a lot different from the rumors, boss.”

“Yeah.”

Ilhong, who always fell silent around masters, finally spoke.

“Soho Blade Jo Harang. According to the Hao Sect’s intel, she’s been active since three years ago, her origin sect is unknown, and her level is known to be just short of the Peak Master Level.”

Just short of the peak, huh. Even among talented disciples from prestigious orthodox sects raised on spiritual elixirs, very few reach that level at her age.

"By the way, what kind of place is the Jo family?"

They say birds hear day-time talk, and the Hao Sect hears night-time whispers.

Since the wanderers' guild Chairman was a guy who only threw out rough details, I had no choice but to get the finer points through Ilhong.

"They used to be a regular civil official family that ran a few businesses and studied literature."

As expected of Ilhong, who seemed to know everything except what he didn’t—he smoothly rattled off the information.

"After producing a few officials through the local exams, they expanded their businesses using that power and eventually became a powerful family with considerable influence throughout the Beijing area."

"…Ah."

After all, the Central Plains was a place where collusion between government and business was done openly. If family members gained government positions, it was only natural that the clan would get to suck on that sweet honey too.

That’s probably why they drilled their children for the local exams, eyes blazing with ambition.

"So in short, they’ve got both money and power?"

"Yes, exactly."

Most of the moneybags who came to me after I got famous were like that.

They’d eventually become solid connections later, and it never hurt to stay on their good side.

"Let’s head out too."

So I couldn’t afford to be late just because I was carrying heavy baggage.

I picked up the heavy load and the flailing fugitive across my shoulders and started walking quickly.

In this era, traveling was a rare thing.

With the lack of transport making journeys long, commoners had to give up their income for extended periods, and the mountain bandits infesting the hills meant expensive guards were a must.

So most people just lived and died in the place they were born.

In that sense, for the Jo family to form a tour group just to visit the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly—how luxurious could they be?

Two grand carriages and three baggage carts. Five attendants and ten bodyguards with noticeable martial presence.

Feeding them over long distances would be burdensome enough. Just in case, the man named Manor Lord Jo even hired three wanderers.

"Feels like a revolution’s brewing."

Watching them throw around money like water made something in me twitch.

I, too, once had to brew grass roots just to get by during my beggar days.

"What’s that, boss?"

Ilhong tilted his head again at my mysterious muttering.

"Workers of the world uniting to overthrow the existing ruling class."

A concept not yet blossomed in this era where people still called the emperor the Son of Heaven and submitted to authority.

"Interesting. The First Sect Leader once said, if the sky is too high, then drag it down a bit."

"What."

I was just spewing nonsense out of spite.

The First Sect Leader who left behind relics… was kind of dangerous, it seemed.

If he had been born in the Three Kingdoms period, he’d probably have been shouting about toppling Heaven and standing on Earth.

"Are you the wanderer named Dan Mujin?"

A voice weathered with age and authority called out.

It was Manor Lord Jo, who had been talking with rising expert Jo Harang for quite some time, now turning to me.

"Jo Harang the heroine said you were an interesting youth."

"…Did she?"

They say Manor Lord Jo liked connecting with martial artists of high skill. Seeing her take interest in me probably made him curious too.

"And I hear your luck is exceptional? I’ll be counting on you for this journey."

Apparently, I was brought along as both porter and good-luck charm.

Well, I got to use the baggage cart and got paid, so I didn’t mind.

"Is that the Poison-Hoarding Fiend you beat up along with the Ilpung Martial Academy guys?"

He looked at the fugitive bound head to toe with curiosity.

He seemed genuinely fascinated by the process of escorting a criminal to the Murim Alliance.

"Yes, it’s him, but I pretty much took him down by myself."

When I corrected the misconception, he let out a faint laugh.

"Heh heh, young people and their need for fame… All right, all right, I got it."

No, not “all right, I got it.” I’m telling you, I really did beat him down.

This damn regular-grade wanderer badge kept overshadowing my accomplishments.

Maybe I should rise up to second-grade like Jo Harang and make a name for myself.

"As we head to the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, we might encounter several renowned individuals or heroic figures. Would it be okay to show this criminal to them?"

Manor Lord Jo, pointing at the Poison-Hoarding Fiend, looked at me with a face full of expectation.

This wretch who had poisoned hundreds and made entire families paranoid enough to kill each other—was now going to be a spectacle?

"Yeah, sure. It’s not like he’ll wear out."

Come to think of it, humiliating a monster like that might not be so bad.

I could think of it as payment for using the cart.

"Ungh, hey, young man. Listen to me for a second."

The Poison-Hoarding Fiend had come to his senses and was trying to talk.

"There’s a stash of gold hidden in a secret spot. I’ll give you ten times the bounty if you just untie me—"

Thwack!

I struck his crown with the Dog-Beating Staff for spouting nonsense.

If he had gold stashed away, why did he try so hard to devour a mere martial artist?

"Little hero, why knock him out with a stick instead of sealing his acupoints?"

Manor Lord Jo asked with a baffled look at my crude method.

"Feels better, don’t you think?"

Now I understood why Hwang Geolgae always struck my crown.

Once I started hitting his head instead of using acupoints, seeing the guy wake up in terror every time was kind of satisfying.

He couldn’t even think about resisting.

"As expected, every martial artist has something strange about them."

Leaving that comment, Manor Lord Jo shook his head and walked away.

"Manor Lord, we’re not all like that."

His bodyguards protested on behalf of martial artists.

What the—so I’m the weirdo now? Am I slowly joining the club of “masters = maniacs”?

"Ilhong, am I weird? Not normal?"

"…You’re normal, boss. Just a little off now and then."

Maybe I had grown too used to the violent training methods of Hwang Geolgae.

"Look me in the eyes and say that."

"I’ll go load the rest of the luggage on the cart."

Ilhong quietly slipped away, looking weary.

‘Kill (殺)’

The only one who talked to me endlessly now was the insane Heaven-Slaying Star.

With a bitter look, I once again wrote the character “Not Kill (不殺)” to complete the phrase.

‘…!’

The bright red energy flared in protest, as if annoyed.

Watching it, I chuckled. At least the road to the Murim Alliance wouldn’t be boring.

As long as it didn’t try to consume my mind, it was actually a fun little thing.