Murim Troubleshooter Dan Mujin

Chapter 55: Drawn by the Stars

Every dawn, as soon as I opened my eyes, the cudgel beating disguised as training would begin.

Hwang Geolgae had only taught me the basic forms and chants of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique, along with a simple method of application. The rest, he said, I had to learn through “actual combat”-like training.

There was no such thing as a structured training regimen. My cheeks burst open under the killing intent-laden beatings, and blood gushed from both nostrils. In order to survive, I had no choice but to master every movement.

At first, I was overwhelmed by the erratic and wild technique, like that of a rabid dog, but over time, I began to read its trajectories.

At some point, I managed to steal the Dog-Beating Staff Technique from Hwang Geolgae and even counterattack with fluid motion.

Just like right now.

Tatatatak-!

I parried a flying axe, cleaver, and cudgel in quick succession, all laced with killing intent.

Through the opening I created, I drove in the fourth form of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique: Strike the Twin Dogs.

Papak!

A series of dull thuds rang out. The blunt tip of the staff shattered a jaw joint and broke one of the legs that had been flying toward me.

“Gah!”

With wheezing screams, two bandits collapsed on the spot.

As a thick killing intent clawed up my back, I spun the long staff around my waist and struck down the charging bandits one after another.

Bandits recoiled in terror at my movement, as if I had eyes on my back.

“You bastard…!”

“You were staggering just moments ago!”

“Were you playing with us…?!”

I wasn’t toying with them. It’s just that, in each moment saturated with killing intent and weapon clashes, my proficiency in the Dog-Beating Staff Technique had surged dazzlingly.

My first real combat where blood sprayed. My first time using the Dog-Beating Staff Technique against a crowd—and it was finally zeroed in and unleashing its full power.

The flaming staff rampage that tore through the battlefield.

Thwack! Crack!

I had always fought by taking a few hits and claiming bones when ganged up on, but now that I’d mastered a proper long-range weapon and staff technique, the situation had changed entirely.

The chants and forms I had recklessly crammed into my head now revealed their shapes and patterns through my limbs.

The bandits who had surrounded me crumbled helplessly before the ever-changing, secret martial art of the Beggars’ Union.

“That wanderer swings that staff quite impressively.”

Watching from the protection of his guards, Trading Lord Jo muttered a brief word of admiration.

His children, too, looked slightly surprised by the unexpected performance.

“Not quite the skill of Luck Nine, One Hero. More like Luck Seven, Three Heroes.”

“You can’t even claim one hero, Hyungnim. What’s with the judgment?”

“Shut it, you little brat.”

And among the murmuring entourage of the Jo Family, Jo Harang stood silently, her eyes gleaming with interest.

Chaaang!

One of the bandits suddenly hurled a dagger at me, but I deflected it with the Dog-Beating Staff.

Once the Heaven-Slaying Eye activated, it became impossible to be ambushed, for I could sense all murderous intent around me.

What troubled me most were sword strikes so overwhelmingly fast that my body couldn’t react.

Thwack! Whump!

A form to scold mad dogs—Kick-Dog-Toward-Heaven.

The tip of the staff caved in the skull of a cowardly bandit who had been flinging daggers.

All that remained was the one who appeared to be the leader of the bandits.

“Damn it!”

Realizing he was the only one left standing, he cursed with a bitter expression.

Pointing a cleaver stained with someone’s dried blood at me, the leader pulled the classic “How about we call it a draw?” move.

“W-Wait! I’m with the Eighteen Mountain Strongholds of the Green Forest! If you lay a hand on me, the whole mountain will…!”

“Screw that!”

I’ve fought against the Second Prince’s faction, faced off with the Assassin Guild, and even killed the Soul-Stealing Demon Lord. Why would I be afraid of mere bandits now?

Whump!

Why do you think the Dog-Beating Staff is better suited for beating people than dogs? It’s made to thrash the beast-like creatures lurking at the edge of humanity.

“Ghak!”

With a strike to the back of the head, the bandit leader’s eyes rolled up as he collapsed flat.

Amidst the thirteen bodies already on the ground, another unconscious one joined the pile.

“No Dogs Under Heaven, for no mutts are left barking.”

The final form embodying the essence of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique.

I let out a long breath, exhilarated by the rare taste of live combat.

These were beasts, worse than animals, who claimed ownership over mountains and nature, plundering innocent passersby.

Having beaten those human-like beasts, a white, righteous energy began to stir gently in my chest.

Lately, I’d been worried that I wasn’t building up any good karma while only my Heaven-Slaying Star raged on.

“Well, I finally did one good deed.”

Seeing Trading Lord Jo’s face light up like someone who had found a pearl in the mud, I figured I’d be allowed onto the cart.

Even if the enemies were just third-rate bandits, to take them down so one-sidedly with just a staff—well, it was enough to raise eyebrows.

I’d become too skilled to be treated like a mere porter now.

“This staff’s got an oddly satisfying feel to it.”

I ran my hand along the long, hefty staff. In the past, I would’ve just gotten beat up in a situation like this.

It’s truly a martial art designed by beggars to avoid being bitten by dogs. People really should use long tools.

“Captain, Lord Jo says you can ride in the cart.”

See that? Once you prove your martial skills, your treatment improves immediately.

Such is the natural order of the murim.

“But Captain, what about me?”

“You? You can ride in the carriage with Lady Jo Yeongyeong.”

“...You serious right now?”

Every man for himself—that’s another law of the murim.

I gave the long staff a quick spin and confidently plopped down into the empty space on the wagon I’d claimed.

And right there, smiling brightly beside me, was the bold heroine of the blade.

“So you managed to claim it all by yourself, huh?”

“Yeah, I’m that good.”

I shrugged lightly toward Jo Harang.

“The winner? What a dumb question. Obviously, it’ll be the Evil-Slaying Demoness, don’t you think?”

Jo Family’s second son, who had been mentioning Murong Cheonghye—currently a hot name among gossipers as the next Sword Queen.

Judging from the talk of winners, it seemed the two Jo brothers were predicting the results of this upcoming Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.

A typical scene: whenever three or more people gathered in the Central Plains, the same topic always came up—“Who’s the strongest?”

“You idiot. The Evil-Slaying Demoness was the banner holder last time. She already made runner-up, so she can’t enter again.”

“Oh, ahem. Is that so...? I heard she was young, so I figured…”

“Always so dimwitted. No wonder Father always scolds you.”

“Stop calling me dimwitted all the time!”

Jo Harang ignored the two brothers who had started arguing again and turned her head to quietly gaze at the young man sitting beside her.

Dan Mujin, who must have been worn out from walking for ten days straight, began nodding off as soon as his rear hit the cart.

Then she glanced once at the bandits tied up like dried fish and dragged behind the cart.

In just a few more days, they'd reach a large city, and all of them would be handed over to the magistrate there.

And the one who had readily approved of parading into the city with strung-up captured bandits was none other than Trading Lord Jo, thinking it would make quite a scene.

Thanks to that, they could travel in comfort, though the chill at her back was slightly unsettling.

It was all due to the malice and killing intent continuously radiating from those tied-up bandits.

“If we’d just cut them all down, we could’ve traveled in peace.”

She muttered to herself, fiddling with the hilt of her large sword.

“What kind of violent nonsense is that?”

Whether he had heard her or not, Dan Mujin was now making eye contact with her after seemingly waking from his nap.

“But my Master said this—cutting down one evildoer saves ten innocent civilians.”

“So now you're saying we should slice the throat of everyone we meet? Are you trying to be the Evil-Slaying Demoness or what, huh?”

Dan Mujin shuddered slightly as he mentioned the Evil-Slaying Demoness, as if the very thought repulsed him.

“Wannabe?”

“Yeah, there’s a thing like that.”

He replied casually while sneaking a piece of jerky from the supply cart.

“Besides, once we hand them over to the magistrate, they'll get their heads chopped off anyway. No need to rack up unnecessary Killing Karma.”

Was he undergoing some kind of personal cultivation? Despite having stepped up and subdued the evildoers himself, he seemed to consciously avoid committing acts of killing.

A rare sight in this sword-and-blade murim, where slicing off someone's head was no big deal.

Every now and then, you see martial artists like this.

Those who pursue the Path of Tyranny often mock them as weaklings, but Jo Harang had no such thought.

“You're a good person, aren't you?”

“…Me?”

Dan Mujin looked at her with an utterly baffled expression.

“Yeah, I had this vague bad feeling about you for a while, but I guess it was just my imagination.”

Her first impression of him had been good, but the closer she got, the more she felt a visceral unease—just as her Master had warned her to be wary.

That’s why she’d tried to provoke a fight, to draw out his true nature. But seeing him avoid Killing Karma like a monk despite being a martial artist, all her tension had melted away.

“…Maybe it’s better to follow those instincts, though?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

She shook her head with a bright smile.

Despite such an intense fight, not a single person had died—meaning he had been holding back from the beginning.

There’s no way someone like that could be the kind of cruel existence her Master had warned her about.

And she had one more reason for her certainty.

“People prove themselves not with words, but through the actions they've accumulated.”

That confidence came from a special ability only Jo Harang possessed.

An ability to clearly perceive things others could not see.

And right now, she could see it clearly with her own two eyes.

A massive amount of white, blazing Righteous Energy residing in Dan Mujin’s chest.

Even with a city just a day away, if you had to sleep outdoors, then taking turns on night watch was just the way of the Central Plains.

The saying "they’ll steal your nose as soon as you fall asleep" fit this place even more.

In fact, you'd be lucky if it was just your nose—they’d slit your throat instead.

“The stars are bright.”

So, the moment someone mentioned the night watch, I immediately raised my hand to volunteer.

Experience had long taught me that the first and last shifts were the most comfortable.

But as soon as I volunteered, someone else joined in to stand watch with me.

“They really are bright. When I look at the stars like this, it feels like all my worries just scatter away like illusions.”

The crackle of the campfire, the chirping of insects.

It was a good time to get sentimental, and Jo Harang was spouting some romantic nonsense, likely caught up in the mood.

Leaving her to her incomprehensible feelings, I picked up a sweet snack to pair with the bitter tea in front of me.

It was a slightly chewy dried fruit I had received from Ilhong. Chewing it with tea made the rich sweetness spread through my mouth—it was quite a treat.

As I tried to enjoy this midnight snack, Jo Harang kept staring at me from the side.

“Hey, if you want to eat, just say so. Don’t stare holes through me.”

“It’s not like that… but if you’re offering, I won’t say no.”

She took it with a slightly pouty air and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly. She really was one of those people who couldn’t be honest.

“Hey.”

“What?”

I answered shortly, letting the night air cool my tea.

“What’s your dream?”

Ah, this was that kind of thing.

Back in the military, during night shifts with a senior, they’d randomly ask deep personal questions like this.

“To live in wealth and comfort while enjoying the Way.”

“…Don’t you mean to live in poverty and enjoy the Way?”

The latter meant to live peacefully and pursue the Way even in poverty.

“You can’t live peacefully without money. Don’t you know? A generous heart comes from a generous wallet.”

I sipped my tea as I replied.

Jo Harang shot me a quick side-eye with a skeptical look.

No matter what people said or what looks they gave, I had no intention of giving up on my dream.

Even if that bastard stuck in my head persistently tried to interfere.

“I have two dreams.”

She started talking about herself without even being asked.

I tapped into my reincarnated social skills and decided to play along.

“What are they?”

“First is to make a name for myself at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly and spread the fame of my sect and Master.”

A typical martial artist’s dream.

Of course, I had absolutely no such aspirations. Glorify the name of Hwang Geolgae, who used to beat me up? Just imagining it was nauseating.

“What’s the second one?”

I asked again while chewing on my snack.

She ran her hand over her large sword and looked up at the stars as if there was a story behind it.

“The second… is to take down one evildoer. But it might be hard. My Master said their traces have vanished.”

“Why? What kind of evildoer is it?”

A villain being chased by both Master and disciple?

In a murim as entangled as a spider web, such figures weren’t uncommon.

“They exist. A being who burns ominously and brings heaven’s wrath down to earth.”

Whatever that bastard was, she sure described him poetically.

Was she talking about someone like the Soul-Stealing Demon Lord or the Heavenly Demon, beings who transcended an era?

“It’s the Heaven-Slaying Star.”

“Pffft!”

I spat out my tea right then and there.