Murim Troubleshooter Dan Mujin-Chapter 127 : Possibility of Work

Chapter 127: Possibility of Work
When I came to my senses, I was in the Murong Clan’s clinic, thick with the scent of medicinal herbs.
Physicians carefully ground rare medicine and gently poured it into her mouth.
Perhaps it was because Murong Cheon had warned that they’d be held accountable if anything went wrong—every movement the physicians made was excessively cautious.
And amid the commotion in the surroundings, quietly treating her internal injuries was Murong Cheonghye.
The process of calming the surging internal energy within and realigning each twisted meridian was by no means easy.
However, the medicine the physicians had administered transformed into a cool energy, aiding the recovery of her damaged meridians, and gradually, her internal wounds began to improve.
After several full days, Murong Cheonghye had managed to stabilize the internal injuries inflicted by Gwang Hyeolso to some degree.
She slowly lifted her heavy, water-logged eyelids.
The first thing to enter her field of vision was the clinic.
The first she saw were the physicians, brewing medicine with tired faces.
“Noona...? Noona! You're awake?”
Next was her younger brother, Murong Hui, who shot up in surprise.
Having spent several days here, his hair had gone greasy, and he looked visibly worn out.
As her younger brother, he should’ve been cared for, but unable to do so, she had both resented and longed for him—her aching little brother.
“...Hui.”
Murong Cheonghye called him in a cracked voice.
At that, Murong Hui brought his face close, as if eager to hear her next words.
“That young master...”
“Noona, what do you mean, young master all of a sudden?”
That being her first words upon waking, Murong Hui asked back with a confused look.
“The young master I saw on the cliff...”
“Ah, the one who brought you back? Don’t tell me something happened there?”
Something had happened.
At the final moment of consciousness, it felt as though a lightning bolt had struck her mind.
“Bring him to me... I need to see his face...”
Though tilting his head at the odd request, Murong Hui went outside and quickly brought him to the clinic.
Then, pointing to the bewildered troubleshooter who had been dragged in, he asked again.
“Is this the young master you were talking about?”
But Murong Cheonghye’s gaze subtly trembled, as if sensing something different.
It wasn’t the face of her brother she had seen before losing consciousness.
The Cheongjin she had seen back then, though having matured somewhat over time, still retained a childlike innocence in his expression.
“Dan Mujin, young master...?”
“Uh, hmm... I came because you called. Are you all right?”
The spirited youth who hadn't backed down an inch even against the Soul-Stealing Demon Lord and the Blood Cult.
And the same youth who had unexpectedly shaken her heart by calling her “Noona”... now stood before her with an awkward smile.
“Dan Mujin, young master.”
“Yes, Vice Captain Murong Cheonghye.”
The young troubleshooter responded in a voice that seemed deliberately stiff.
Though he spoke as if to a stranger, the subtle tremble in his voice couldn’t be hidden.
“Was it you?”
“...Pardon?”
They say repeated coincidence becomes inevitability.
Murong Cheonghye, who had already reached a tentative conclusion inwardly, asked, and Dan Mujin flinched noticeably.
***
Life is ever fickle.
As we live, crises come knocking naturally a few times.
Only by navigating them wisely can we hope to see the next sunrise.
It seemed that the current moment was exactly that sort of crisis in my life.
“What do you mean, was it me? Ah, ha, ha... I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”
Some level of acting skill was essential in the troubleshooter business. Whether it be infiltration, disguise, or undercover work—it was only natural.
But today, in response to Murong Cheonghye’s question—deliberately omitting the subject as if she knew everything—I was fumbling more awkwardly than ever.
‘Idiot.’
The Salsung sneered at me for acting weird at the risk of revealing my identity.
But there was little I could do. Murong Cheongjin, who made up a part of my psyche, had been severely shaken for a while now.
Resentment, longing, love, and hate surged from within, but I had to stuff all that down and first get through this moment.
“Hey, you brat. Why are you so shaken? Acting like you committed some crime.”
Even Murong Hui, who was usually indifferent to others' emotions, had picked up on it and pointed it out.
If even he noticed, there was no way Murong Cheonghye—who had long suspected my identity—hadn’t caught on.
‘Yeah... I’m screwed.’
That was the conclusion I reached after careful thought.
If she considered something a threat to the world, the Evil-Slaying Demoness would cut it down without hesitation—even if it were her own sibling.
And now, she was on the verge of uncovering my identity.
“Vice Captain Murong Cheonghye, what are you trying to get at by asking that...?”
When I asked her intent, she made an indescribably complex expression.
Murong Cheonghye chewed her red lips several times before making this request:
“Could you... could you call me noona just once more?”
“...”
Yep, I was definitely screwed.
If I said it, she’d figure it out a hundred percent.
To me, it felt no different from a finishing blow.
“Please, young master.”
“Ha...”
Murong Cheonghye looked straight into my eyes and begged earnestly.
Though her face was gaunt from hardship, her eyes sparkled more brightly than ever.
People around us wore puzzled expressions, not understanding what was happening between us.
Murong Hui glared at me as if saying, How dare you hesitate when my sister is asking so sincerely?
“Ahem, still, we’ve only met a few times... Isn’t that a bit too soon for such a title?”
“Please. Just once is enough.”
She clasped my hand tightly and pleaded.
The warmth from her grip was comforting—yet the pressure made it impossible to pull away.
No escape, huh? Whatever. Let fate take its course.
“...Noona.”
Because she was the eldest daughter of the family, everyone had been cautious with how they addressed her, but I, being an outcast from the clan, never cared about such things.
So I used to call her quite casually, even affectionately.
“Ah...”
When Murong Cheonghye heard me call her noona, she slowly closed her eyes.
As if she had finally attained a long-awaited peace of mind, a faint smile spread across her lips.
I had altered my voice as much as I could, but it seemed she had realized something from what I’d just said.
I began preparing to slip away quietly, bracing for what might follow.
“Thank you, Dan Mujin, young master... Thanks to you, I was able to survive that cliff.”
Yet, despite seeming certain, Murong Cheonghye didn’t press further. Instead, she simply let it go with a gentle smile.
‘What’s this…?’
I paused mid-turn and tilted my head.
Maybe, just maybe, this might pass without incident.
“If you hadn’t shown up that day, I’d have likely woken up not here, but at the Blood Cult’s base. So once again, thank you, Dan Mujin, young master.”
In response to Murong Cheonghye’s thanks, the young man scratched his head awkwardly.
He looked puzzled, but also as if he were silently thinking, I’m alive.
His face was different, as were his speech and voice—but from his earlier words, she had become nearly certain of his identity.
That young man who had grown upright over time… was most likely her younger brother, Murong Cheongjin.
The rest of the confirmation—well, they’d have to peel off that presumed human-skin mask to be sure.
She had unconsciously extended her hand toward his face, but withdrew it with a sorrowful expression.
‘Do I even have the right…?’
Why else would he have come before her with such a meticulous disguise?
Because he couldn’t trust her—thus hiding his true self.
‘……’
And rightly so. After all, it was she who had stabbed and cut him down at that cliff, despite his desperate cries for her to believe in him.
Which is why she now chose not to push for the remaining piece of the truth—not here.
If the day ever came when she could regain his trust...
Then her brother would surely lift his own disguise and speak to her himself.
If it was truly the Murong Cheongjin she knew, she had no doubt he would.
“Young master, as I asked before—have you considered joining the Demon-Slaying Unit?”
She still wanted to keep him close until that day came. But perhaps that was her own selfish desire.
“Ah, I appreciate the offer, but I’ve already settled in Beijing as a troubleshooter.”
He shrugged as he spoke, saying he’d even bought a plot of land and a building.
Perhaps, he still found her uncomfortable.
“Troubleshooters... you take on any request as long as you’re paid, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then... would it be alright if I regularly sent some requests your way?”
“Oh, of course. I’m practically starving due to lack of work... you’re always welcome.”
She had wondered when she might see his face again.
Now that she had a pretext to visit Beijing for ‘business,’ Murong Cheonghye allowed herself a subtle smile.
Sure, Vice Captain Jeok Unyeop would scold her again, demanding to know where she kept wandering off to—but what could she do, as his sister?
She couldn’t afford to let go of the fragile thread reconnecting her to her brother.
“Work’s that rough, huh? You’re starving?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started. Bad luck or what, every request I get ends up messy. My reputation hasn’t spread.”
“That so? That’s unfortunate... Would you like some of these sweets, then?”
She casually pushed over a snack plate that had been placed beside the lukewarm tea.
“Oh, I’ll never say no to that. Thank you.”
Dan Mujin picked up a mulberry first among the sugar-coated fruits and bit down with a crunch. His lips quickly turned that familiar shade.
Should I say shameless? Though his character had changed a bit after all he’d been through...
That particular preference of his hadn’t changed at all.
Now that she was pretending not to know and letting things slide, his face finally relaxed and he started munching away indiscriminately.
She wished she could see the smiling face behind that mask.
But if she waited patiently, that chance would surely come.
And when it did, she had so many things she wanted to talk about.
What he had gone through all this time, what hardships he’d faced, and… just who was that woman eyeing him so strangely?
Surely, the day would come when they could catch up on all the years apart.
Murong Cheonghye watched Dan Mujin quietly, smiling as he delighted in gaining both a new sponsor and some snacks.
It had truly been a long time...
Since Murong Cheonghye had smiled so brightly, free of all worries.
I had survived one of the rare crisis moments in my life.
Thankfully, despite having rendered a favor, I didn’t have to run. Instead, we were treated like true benefactors at the Murong Clan.
And when the time came for us to depart, it was Murong Hui who came to see us off.
Apparently, Murong Cheonghye was still recovering in her chambers and couldn’t attend this farewell.
Instead, she had asked him to deliver her regards—whatever that meant.
But that guy, being as twisted as he was, reduced her long farewell message to a casual, “She says take care,” and that was that.
“Take this.”
He handed me something round, like a pill, saying it was a reward for saving his sister.
“It’s a spiritual elixir called Mosangdan. One of the Murong Clan’s treasured possessions.”
At the name, both Ilhong and Jo Horang’s eyes widened in unison.
It seemed to be quite a valuable elixir.
“Can’t you just give me the money instead?”
I asked with a dissatisfied expression.
I’d come back empty-handed on the request, Gwang Hyeolso’s head had long since fled, and I had a mountain of debt to pay off.
“Boss, are you nuts?”
“Mujin, are you out of your mind?”
The two martial artists flinched and shouted in alarm.
Even though I said I didn’t really need internal energy, they were still reacting like that. Truth be told, it wasn’t a lack of internal energy that was keeping me from the next realm—it was a fracture in my spiritual state.
“Well, if you insist.”
Murong Hui, with a casual nod, began to take the elixir back.
Seeing him about to retrieve it with such glee, I quickly snatched it away before it disappeared.
“Tch.”
He smacked his lips in regret.
“Now that I think about it, this isn’t too bad. I’ll put it to good use.”
“Hmph, do whatever you want.”
Still walking around with that haughty attitude. Though I had to admit, he was a bit more personable than before.