Chapter 442

Like the majestic waters of the Yangtze, time flowed slowly but steadily onward.

It was late afternoon on the fourth day since we had left Sichuan by Murim reckoning. As I sat on the deck, a familiar presence approached.

“What are you doing?”

I knew who it was just from his footsteps.

Without taking my eyes off the Yangtze, I answered, “What does it look like I’m doing?”

Hyuk Mujin limped over and answered without hesitation.

“Looks like you’re just sitting there.”

“I’m thinking.”

“About what?”

“The peace of Murim.”

After a brief silence, hearty laughter burst out.

“Puhaha! That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all year. That’s our Captain.”

“No. Forget it. I just thought of something else.”

“What?”

“There’s a certain bastard who always takes everything I say for dog shit. But maybe because he’s been feeling better lately, he doesn’t seem able to control his mouth. So I’m wondering whether I should beat him a few times. What do you think?”

Hyuk Mujin considered the question for a moment.

“It isn’t the person I’m thinking of, is it?”

“Probably.”

“Who is it?”

“Someone named Hyuk Mujin.”

“…”

“Be quiet unless you want another taste of the Yangtze.”

Hyuk Mujin nodded frantically, practically having a seizure.

“Please, anything but that…!”

A few days earlier, I had sentenced him to a Yangtze dunking and immediately logged out, leaving him to spend an entire shichen¹ sightseeing at the Yangtze Aquarium.

The moment Mungyeong’s superb medical skills had restored him to reasonable health, he had even cast a fishing line, declaring that he would catch every last bastard that had bitten his nose and slice them into sashimi.

“Fine, calm down. Why are you here?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking what you want. There must be a reason.”

Hyuk Mujin asked in a wounded voice, “Do I really need a reason to come see you? Between us?”

“If you don’t have one, you get a taste of the Yangtze.”

“I have one! I do!”

“Then spit it out.”

“This might just be me, but…”

Hyuk Mujin hesitated before continuing.

“Is something bothering you lately?”

“Why?”

“No reason. It’s just that whenever I look at you these days, you seem to have a lot on your mind.”

“Me?”

“Yes. And, well… To be honest, not much has happened lately compared to before. But somehow, you’re the only one who seems tired and busy. I guess that’s the best way to put it.”

“Hmm…”

“You seem to be sleeping more often, too.”

When had this bastard gotten so perceptive?

Under my strange gaze, Hyuk Mujin scratched the back of his head.

“Well, that’s just the impression I got. Am I wrong?”

“Yeah. You are.”

Naturally, my answer was a lie. Hyuk Mujin’s guess was exactly right.

Since first setting foot in Murim, I had never traveled between the two worlds as often as I had lately.

Looking back, though, every one of those trips was my own choice.

Sometimes a Quest had blocked the Logout function, but most of the time, I had made the decision myself.

If I had crossed over to the other world and spent time there while walking across thin ice, my tension would have collapsed, and I would have been unable to overcome the crisis.

But recently, the situation had changed.

Both the modern world and Murim have made it over a mountain.

How long had it been since both worlds had fallen quiet at the same time?

Murim had been a minefield of constant upheaval from the very beginning. Even the relatively peaceful modern world had started growing turbulent after my conflict with Lee Jungryong.

For the first time in ages—no, for the first time since I had obtained the System—I had found peace in both worlds.

But deep down, I had a suspicion bordering on certainty.

This peace would not last long.

The calm before the storm. The brief peace I had been given was like the stillness of the night before a storm broke.

That was why I was busily traveling between the two worlds, preparing for the storm soon to come. It was also why, even with the breathtaking scenery of the Yangtze spread out before me, I was still hunched over a mystery that refused to yield.

What the hell is this?

I stared at the paper in my hand.

The not particularly high-quality xuan paper² was covered with strange patterns and symbols I had drawn myself.

There were all kinds of them, each subtly different in shape. They looked like some mysterious script out of a detective novel.

No. I almost wished that were all they were. Then I wouldn’t have to worry so much.

“What’s that?”

“A storm.”

“Huh?”

“Honestly, I don’t really know either.”

Or perhaps I already knew and simply didn’t want to believe it.

These patterns and symbols were the sole point of overlap between two worlds with different flows of time, different histories, and different cultures.

In the modern world, they had been found in the Arch Lich’s magic circle. In Murim, they had appeared in Dark Heaven’s formations.

And now, deep in my heart, I was turning over a single word.

Black magic.

I had no idea how bizarre or far-ranging Murim’s demonic, heterodox arts—commonly called demonic martial arts—could be.

But the more I looked back on everything I had personally seen and experienced, the more it resembled black magic.

The Blood Lord. The Western Heaven Demon Lord. Even the formation we found in the cave.

The Blood Lord’s recovery after being struck by Jeok Cheongang’s Dance of the Fire God and Demon had resembled a Troll’s regeneration more than anything human. The Lord of Heaven, whom the Western Heaven Demon Lord worshiped so fervently, had appeared before me through the body of a subordinate who was already dead.

On top of that, the formations used by the black-robed men who had followed their respective leaders and drenched Shaolin and Sichuan in blood were astonishingly similar to what the modern world called Warp Gates.

At this point, it would be stranger not to suspect anything.

At the same time… the fact that I did not want to believe it easily was my reality.

Black magic in Murim.

This was more serious than having a female friend I secretly had a crush on use the bathroom at my house, only to find the toilet seat left up afterward.

Where did it come from? How? Why?

My head was full of question marks. An investigation was already underway in the modern world, but I felt as though I were wandering through endless fog.

More frightening still was the unknown something lurking beyond that fog, yet to reveal itself.

If all my fears turned out to be true, then…

“What are you staring at so intently?”

The voice shattered my deep thoughts and brought me back to reality. I frowned.

Not because my train of thought had been interrupted, but because of the rancid stench assaulting my nose.

Suppressing an instinctive gag, I asked, “You haven’t washed again, have you?”

Gung Gibang, who had subtly pressed his butt against the spot beside me, nodded.

“It’s only natural for a beggar not to wash. Is there a problem?”

Hyuk Mujin opened his mouth with a queasy expression.

“Young Hero Gung, are you some kind of poison man? The moment you came within three jang,³ my head started spinning and I began dry-heaving.”

“A Beggars’ Sect disciple washes only three times in his life: when he is born, when he joins the Beggars’ Sect, and when he dies.”

I turned to Gung Gibang, who was spouting this bullshit.

“Then go dunk yourself in the river before I kill you right now. Since you’re going in anyway, scrub off some of that grime while you’re at it.”

“No. I hate water. Especially after that day.”

Ah. Right. He was another victim of the Yangtze dunking.

Gung Gibang answered with a grave expression, then glanced at the paper in my hand.

“Were you looking at that again?”

“Again? Young Hero Gung, you knew about it?”

At Hyuk Mujin’s question, Gung Gibang nodded.

“Of course. A few days ago, he suddenly told me to follow him and showed it to me. Asked if I’d ever seen it anywhere before. Naturally, I told him I’d never seen anything like it in my life.”

“Captain, how could you discriminate against me like this?”

I gave the wounded Hyuk Mujin a warm smile.

“Easily.”

“…”

“I showed it to him because he’s the Successor Beggar. I thought he might know something. Satisfied?”

Having found something to tease Hyuk Mujin about, Gung Gibang snickered.

“He showed it to Mungyeong, too.”

“Hey, that was…”

I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t exactly reveal Mungyeong’s identity, so I closed it again.

It wasn’t only because Mungyeong was watching us from several jang³ away while pointedly stroking a large acupuncture needle.

Seriously.

“See that, you Hyuk bastard? That’s where you stand. Not in his heart, but in his little toe—urk!”

Grab. Whoosh!

Listening to him was getting so irritating that my ears hurt. I grabbed Gung Gibang by the collar and hurled him over the railing.

He flailed in midair, then plunged into the river with a short scream.

Splash!

He must have struck the water fairly hard, because the spray reached the ship’s railing.

The next moment, Cheongpung, who had been giggling at the surprise entertainment, suddenly screamed.

“No! Mimi!”

What now?

I peered more closely to see what had happened, then doubted my eyes.

A horned snake, pure white from head to tail, was thrashing wildly as it swam toward us for dear life.

The clear waters of the Yangtze were turning pitch-black around Gung Gibang, while several fish that had been swimming peacefully nearby floated belly-up.

“…What the fuck?”

Even the Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake was reacting like that. Had Hyuk Mujin been right? Was Gung Gibang really some kind of poison man?

The river bandits who witnessed this absurd case of water pollution unfold in real time began seriously debating whether Gung Gibang belonged to the Beggars’ Sect or the Sichuan Tang Clan.

I let out a deep sigh and gestured to them.

“Get him out quickly. If you want to keep working as river bandits on the Yangtze.”

Realizing that their home waters were under threat, the river bandits sprang into action.

After that, I continued traveling between the modern world and Murim once or several times a day, handling everything I needed to do while continuing my investigation.

News that my Peace Guild and the Wizard Guild led by Magic Johnson had entered into some kind of agreement became a major topic of conversation among Hunters around the world.

But for ordinary people, the bigger story was still me—the individual named Jin Taekyung.

World Hunter Association: “Jin Taekyung is an undeniable S-rank Hunter and a hero who has saved countless lives. The fact that he is still classified as an A-rank Hunter is absurd.” He is expected to visit the Association headquarters for a brief test, after which he will be issued an S-rank Hunter license. The World Hunter Association sends Jin Taekyung a fervent invitation!

Breaking News: Jin Taekyung flatly rejects the Association’s offer. “Circumstances make it difficult for me to go right now. I’ll stop by when I have time.” World Hunter Association left bewildered.

World Hunter Association issues new statement: “This is unprecedented. S-rank Hunter testing and licensing have always been conducted at Association headquarters.”

Jin Taekyung: “I didn’t say I wouldn’t take the test. I said I’d go later. I can take it in Korea, so what’s the problem? Instead of arguing about precedent, let’s try being efficient.”

A senior Hunter Association official, wounded in his pride, issues a threat: “Then we cannot issue you an S-rank Hunter license.”

Urgent Breaking News: Brief social-media post reads, “Then don’t. Who the hell do you think you are, threatening me? Fucking hell.” Account confirmed to be Jin Taekyung’s official social-media account… Public reaction? “That was unbelievably satisfying.” “More refreshing than the soda we drank during the Thousand-Ri March.”⁴

World Hunter Association: “The official’s statement was a personal slip and does not represent the organization’s position. We apologize.” Final decision made to dispatch a testing team to Korea for Jin Taekyung.

Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi: “Jin Taekyung is fun, cool, and sexy. I will make certain that he becomes a naturalized Japanese citizen. Because that is my ‘promise’…”

Leaving behind the countless incidents and remarks surrounding me, I returned to Murim.

And then…

“I can finally breathe again. Damn Yangtze.”

With Jeok Cheongang’s refreshing remark ringing out, the bow of the swift ship finally entered Hubei Province after nearly ten days of sailing.