Murim Troubleshooter Dan Mujin

Chapter 24: That's How It Went

My whole body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton.

I didn't even have the strength to move a finger.

I was only standing upright thanks to sheer stubbornness.

Blood from the gash on my forehead had streamed into my eyes, dyeing the entire world a crimson red.

"Did I finish him off...?"

The technique that ignored lineage or mercy, Groin Chaos Dance.

No one gets up after their balls burst. So I even recited that forbidden incantation with full confidence.

But maybe I underestimated the durability of Murim people—beings beyond human.

"Grhh..."

The Heaven-Violating Yin Fiend struggled, groaning in pain, trying to rise like some writhing bug.

It was a scene I couldn't believe even while seeing it. Were Murim men's testicles made of iron?

This was getting dangerous. I had to do something before he recovered, but I could barely even take a step.

And then—

Thwack!

Ilhong slammed his club into the Heaven-Violating Yin Fiend's skull.

The squirming bastard froze like a worm under salt. His chest, rising and falling moments ago, now stayed still.

It looked like his life had been snuffed out.

"...Did we really finish him?"

Seemed like Ilhong had stolen the final blow. But I decided to let it slide. It’s not like we were gaining experience points anyway.

"He, he’s dead, I think. He’s not breathing. What should we do?"

Ilhong spoke with a trembling voice as he lowered his club.

His voice—and the club—shook like aspen leaves.

It was kill or be killed. But even knowing that, for a kid like him, it must’ve been a huge shock.

I tried to steady my blurring mind to calm Ilhong down. That poor kid must be terrified.

"We, we should’ve asked him more before killing him."

"..."

Didn’t seem like he was all that shocked.

This was Murim, after all. Nothing here played by the rules of a modern weakling's logic.

People here were more or less familiar with death. Especially him—probably because he was from a Murim sect.

"Ugh."

Anyway, with the danger completely gone, all the tension drained out of me, and overwhelming fatigue hit me like a flood.

My consciousness faded again. My body staggered like a drunkard.

"Boss, are you okay?"

Ilhong looked at me with deep concern.

"I'm fine. This much won't kill me."

Troubleshooting was, by nature, a freelance gig that doubled as self-advertising.

If you came off as weak or incompetent, you'd lose clients instantly. So I’d gotten into the habit of bluffing and putting on airs in front of clients.

"It’s just a scratch."

"But the sword went right through your belly."

Ilhong looked at me with a stunned expression.

It’s not like I haven’t been stabbed before.

Besides, as long as the Evil Star burned bright like now, this body wouldn’t die so easily—

Spurt.

"...Huh?"

Blood spurted again from my abdomen. The red energy that had been rising off my skin had faded.

Now that the risk of beheading had passed, the Evil Star had quietly withdrawn the mysterious power that kept me moving even on death’s door.

"This time... I might really die..."

My mind spun. The world started to tilt.

No, maybe it was just my vision tilting.

"Huh? Boss? Boss! Stay with me! No!"

I saw Ilhong rushing over, panic all over his face.

And then, my consciousness blinked out completely.

Thud.

In the medical ward of Eunseong Trading Company, reeking of foul herbal medicines—

A boy lay snoring on a snowy white bed.

"...Scared us half to death, and now he’s sleeping like a baby."

Ilhong grumbled near the bed, watching the boy toss and turn like he was sleep-talking.

At first, when he started muttering "Huh? Am I gonna die?" and vomited blood, I thought he really was going to die.

Panicking, I rummaged through the Heaven-Violating Yin Fiend’s pouch and found a bottle of Gold Wound Medicine. That saved us.

And on the way here, I also found a certain herb that helped stop the bleeding when chewed and applied, thanks to its sticky properties.

Of course, I couldn't carry him alone, so I got help from Ochil’s group.

After all that trouble, I finally brought him here, barely clinging to life.

"Ugh..."

Eventually, Dan Mujin opened his eyes.

And the first thing out of his mouth—

"...See? Told you I wouldn't die."

Ilhong narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

"You almost died. What a reckless stunt."

"But I didn’t die, did I?"

"Your breath barely held on... With wounds that deep, you’ll need at least half a year of rest—huh?"

Mid-sentence, Ilhong widened his eyes. The grave wounds had somehow healed.

Only minor bruises remained. The deadly slashes from the sword had mostly closed, leaving just faint scars.

"Boss, what the heck are you...?"

Ilhong asked in a low voice.

"What do you mean, ‘what’? Just a street beggar who used to eat from the same pot."

He clearly had no intention of revealing anything just yet.

Well, I hadn’t pressed him too hard about his background either.

"Born with monstrous strength and toughness, crazy-fast martial arts learning...”

"Yeah, I guess I’m pretty amazing."

"Are you maybe one of those rare bodies like the Heavenly Martial Body?"

"Nope."

Dan Mujin shrugged, denying it.

Ilhong mentally listed off all the rare constitutions he had studied back when he was an heir—like the Supreme Yin Body, Tai Chi Body...

But the boy in front of him dismissed them all and smoothly changed the topic.

"So, did you secure the Hao Sect Leader's Seal?"

Wasn’t that what we spilled all that blood to retrieve?

Ilhong nodded and pulled it out from his inner pocket, showing it to Dan Mujin.

“Is this the Hao Sect’s seal? To me, it just looks like a wooden stamp.”

“...Well, back in the days of the first sect leader, the Hao Sect was really poor.”

Dan Mujin nodded as if he understood the explanation.

They called it the dirt spoon alliance at the beginning.

Now it’s the top intelligence organization, doing well.

And because of the huge money and interests, the Hao Sect split into what it is today.

“Ugh, give me some water.”

Maybe because I barely survived, my throat was extremely dry.

Forcing myself up from a lying position, Dan Mujin tried to sit up.

“Ugh... ughh...”

Then screams started to burst out from his whole body. Apart from not having any fatal wounds, his condition was truly at its worst.

“Ilhong, help me sit up.”

Ilhong, knowing well that this was all because of him, silently helped Dan Mujin.

Dan Mujin let out sounds as if he might die any moment while sitting up on the bed.

“Ah, I’m going to die, really. If I take two requests in a row, I’m done for.”

“...”

“What? Water.”

Without saying a word, Ilhong handed the water cup to the man who looked like he was about to die from the pain.

Dan Mujin gulped it down.

“Boss.”

“What?”

Dan Mujin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he answered.

“You gave that swordsman a chance to escape in the middle.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

Dan Mujin’s whole body was covered in big and small wounds, and the opponent was trembling at the toughness and viciousness of such a kid.

“Why didn’t you run then?”

At that moment, anyone would say Dan Mujin was at a disadvantage. Even mercenaries who received huge bounties would have run.

But Dan Mujin had charged recklessly into the uncertain fight.

Ilhong asked why he risked his life for him.

“What, run away and leave the client behind? If you pull that embarrassing stunt, you’ll never get another request. It’s unacceptable.”

“But no one knows anyway. It’s just inside there.”

If he was captured, no one would speak of it.

The Heaven-Violating Yin Fiend wouldn’t mention the fight with a kid either, embarrassed as he was.

“I know.”

Dan Mujin tapped his chest and said.

That’s going against ‘conscience’.

“...”

At that answer, Ilhong looked stunned.

“So there are people like this.”

Maybe it was because Ilhong had lived in the Hao Sect filled with conspiracies, betrayals, and internal disputes.

To Ilhong, Dan Mujin looked like someone from a different world. Someone who takes the unnatural for natural.

And at that moment, Ilhong was sure.

“I will trust him, completely.”

This person was completely different from those who pretend to be family but betray you in crisis.

Rather, usually mischievous but willing to throw their body in danger at the critical moment.

“Boss, I will definitely... repay this debt of life someday.”

Ilhong clenched both fists as if making a vow.

“All right, become the Hao Sect leader and repay it. That’s a promise.”

Dan Mujin nodded, praising the debtor-like attitude.

“Yes, I will. But to do that, I first need to find the upper spirit and lower spirit.”

“Those mysterious masters? How strong are they that the whole situation flips the moment they appear?”

“I estimate from the records that they are at least Transformation Realm.”

Masters of Transformation Realm.

The ones who have achieved Three Harmonies Aligned and Five Energies Unified and can freely wield Sword Flux—those human weapons.

By the way, Dan Mujin also guessed Hwang Geolgae might be around that level, though he never answered clearly about his exact cultivation stage.

“In Murim, that’s what a master means. Especially masters of Transformation Realm.”

“That’s true.”

Just look at Eunseong Trading Company.

Thanks to an unknown monster, the ten great trading companies are being swayed.

“Without clues, it’ll take a long time. A long-term request, huh?”

Request rewards usually depended on difficulty and time required.

“Right. But while searching, I’ll help you with troubleshooting.”

That was the help he mentioned before, which he had hesitated to confirm.

“Hm.”

“I know a lot of things. Especially I remember the characteristics of wanted criminals. I know so much, I’ll definitely be helpful.”

Back then, he said it for the request, but now it sounded like he just wanted to stick close.

“You want to be my loyal sidekick, is that it?”

“Side... what? Anyway, since you risked being cut by the sword to help me, I’ll take the risk too.”

That was partly for good karma.

Anyway, having a trustworthy loyal subordinate in this barbaric Murim was a good thing.

“All right, stick close to me.”

“Yes, boss. I’ll work hard.”

“Not just hard, do well.”

In the end, only results matter.

“Yes, I’ll work hard and do well.”

Ilhong answered with a sincere face. It’s better to have two people than one to run an office well.

That was the day a loyal assistant officially joined Dan Mujin Troubleshooter.

“Tsk tsk, that guy came back all beaten up. Did you fight with beggars?”

Hwang Geolgae muttered with a very disdainful look, lying on the training ground podium.

“Who got beaten up?”

“Then what are those bruises? I taught you the art of Rising Fist and Divine Technique, and you come back beaten in a fight with beggars?”

He pointed at my bruised body and clicked his tongue, drinking his alcohol.

“I didn’t fight beggars, Noya. I fought the Black Path gang, especially that Heaven-Violating Yin Fiend guy.”

“...What? Heaven-Violating Yin Fiend?”

That seemed to be a known alias. He looked so surprised he stopped drinking.

Hwang Geolgae quickly got off the podium and examined my wounds.

“You fought that trash? The swordsmanship must have been sharp, how did you come back alive?”

His questions poured out rapidly, since his disciple (?) who hadn’t trained long had already defeated a second-rate swordsman.

How should I explain? There were so many incidents and twists, but to explain simply...

“Well, that’s how it went.”

I just charged in and won. Headbutt and groin kick. Even used dirty tricks.

“Heh, what a funny guy.”

When I shrugged my shoulders and replied like that, Hwang Geolgae let out a dry laugh.

“Why did you get mixed up with such a dangerous guy in the first place? I heard you only bring street smart kids.”

At that question, I pointed at Ilhong who was following closely behind me.

“I fought to save him.”

Then Ilhong recognized the old man who had come down from the podium, and recalling the fight in the alley, he panicked.

“Ah, that man is the perverted old….”

Snap!

A lightning-fast flick strike landed on Ilhong’s crown.

“Ack!” Ilhong fell to the floor with a cry.

That really must have hurt.

“That guy’s pretty sharp. What made this kid take on the entire Black Path gang and even such a vicious bastard?”

Hwang Geolgae’s eyes hinted that he didn’t think I would do that just for good karma.

That old man sure sees through people well.

“This kid is the only surviving son of the Hao Sect leader from the Beijing branch incident.”

How’s that? Isn’t it worth betting on him even if it’s a stretch?

A worthless beggar abandoned by his clan, living next to an old man who’s always trying to kill him.

If you want to rise, you have to bet on something sure, especially at a low point.

But Hwang Geolgae made a very strange face after hearing my explanation.

“Hey, is that info reliable?”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

Come to think of it, Hwang Geolgae was the head of the Beggars’ Union intelligence group. He’d probably know a lot about the Hao Sect leader.

“Hey, as far as I know, the Hao Sect leader...”

“Sect leader?”

“I heard he only has one daughter.”

What kind of nonsense was this banging on a sealed gate?

I snapped my head around and looked at Ilhong.

“Well, uh...”

Then Ilhong silently pulled out a cotton ball from inside his clothes.

Maybe it was for posture correction—his slender figure was revealed. No wonder he was so light when I lifted him.

And the more shocking thing—

Ziiiik—

Ilhong ripped off the skin on his own face.

At that grotesque sight, I let out a “Eek!”

“That’s a human-skin mask, brat.”

Hwang Geolgae explained with a smirk beside me.

When all the work was done, in front of me stood a girl with a sharp nose, bright eyes, and a short braided ponytail.

“What the...”

They say when people are embarrassed, they can’t speak properly.

Under my intense gaze demanding explanation, he awkwardly scratched his cheek. That… no, she.

“Uh—”

Her pale pink lips quivered as if she had nothing to say.

“That’s how it went…”