Murim Troubleshooter Dan Mujin-Chapter 136 : The Red One

Chapter 136: The Red One
“By now, they’re probably all dead, right?”
A man muttered to himself as he habitually bit at his fingernails with a snap, stepping into the dim basement.
His fishy eyes swept over the coffins with opened lids scattered throughout. He was certain the Troubleshooter party had been wiped out.
He slowly traced the place, still thick with the aftermath of battle.
“If that jiangshi woke up… even the cult’s top masters wouldn’t stand a chance, after all.”
Its body was impervious to blades and cold, immune to poison due to already being dead, and incapable of fatigue. A pure killing machine that relentlessly slaughtered any living being.
The Blood Cult Leader had passed down this forbidden art, saying exactly that.
Once this jiangshi opened its eyes, mounds of corpses would rise across the land, and the Central Plains would be soaked in rivers of blood—like the return of some Evil Star.
Thus, even within the Blood Cult, this jiangshi was given a special name:
Blood-Asura Heaven-Slaying Jiangshi.
The expectations placed on it were tremendous, even within the Blood Cult. That was why this man, too, had poured himself wholly into forging this jiangshi with unwavering purpose.
And yet now, of all times, outsiders had been called in, and the basement was to be investigated from top to bottom.
In the end, he had no choice but to awaken the jiangshi mid-ritual and make his move.
“Well, I suppose it’s a small mercy that I’ll have fresh corpses from new experts to work with.”
A blood-colored talisman appeared at his fingertips—a charm imbued with forbidden arts to control the souls of the dead.
Even if only a half-baked Blood-Asura Heaven-Slaying Jiangshi had emerged, as long as he could secure the corpses of two or three high-level martial artists, it wouldn’t be a bad trade.
And so, chuckling to himself and hastening his steps, the man prepared to settle the price of the disrupted ritual in corpses.
But just then—
“Corpses, huh… you talkin’ about us?”
A voice echoed from the shadows.
And then, out of the dark stepped a young man, eyes cold and sharp.
“…!”
The man from the Jinju Eon Clan instantly grasped the situation and twisted his body to flee.
“Where do you think you're going, you bastard!”
A long Dog-Beating Staff came crashing down on the man’s crown.
Crack!
“Gurk!”
Long ago, in an era more plagued by war than now, when human life was cheaper and death more prevalent—
Back then, oddly enough, jiangshi arts were often used on the battlefield.
They were techniques used to transport the corpses of fallen soldiers back to their distant families, or so they said.
But over time, the purpose of these techniques gradually warped. Eventually, they were used to kill the living with the dead.
The righteous factions of the Murim could not stand idly by. They denounced jiangshi arts as vile sorcery that desecrated the dead, and moved to eradicate them.
Facing the threat of his clan being branded a demonic sect, the former Clan Head of the Jinju Eon Clan burned all of the manuals with his own hands, vowing to erase jiangshi arts from the world.
And so, the art was thought to have vanished long ago.
But now that jiangshi arts had reemerged in the world—
“A jiangshi? That can’t be! I heard the former head personally erased all traces!”
“For such a wicked sorcery to surface again!”
The blood relatives of the Eon Clan immediately fell into chaos.
Especially since it was in their own basement—and the jiangshi that had appeared was of a form not recorded in any texts.
Key figures and elders of the clan were quickly summoned, and an emergency meeting was convened.
Naturally, our party, being central to the incident, was included as well.
“It’s the end times, truly.”
“If this gets out, chaos will erupt in the Murim…”
As more and more elders poured in, their faces full of concern, the meeting room quickly turned into something like a market square.
“Why are there so many blood relatives in this town?”
“Boss, it’s a clan village. The whole place is basically one big family.”
“Still, come on.”
Getting caught up in someone else’s clan meeting again… was this the second time since the Tang Clan of Sichuan?
At least this time, it was a request arranged by Eun Hwaran. I really thought it would pass uneventfully.
At this point, it felt like fate was just messing with me. As if to say I’d never live an easy life.
“So, this guy is the culprit?”
An elder, whose mastery of Jiangshi Arts rivaled Eon Wolyeong, asked while pointing to the Blood Cult agent.
She nodded in confirmation.
“Yes. Upon checking his pulse, we found traces of blood sorcery. We believe he succumbed to sinister persuasion and defected to the Blood Cult…”
“You damn bastard!”
With that, fists and kicks flew at the unconscious cultist.
Unable to hold back their fury, the elders took turns beating the man with their old but firm hands and feet.
“Filthy scum!”
“Our ancestors buried those cursed arts for a reason!”
“Rip him apart!”
They were spirited elders, despite their age.
The Blood Cult’s agent was getting beaten so badly, it seemed the rain itself would rise in dust.
Perhaps fearing he might actually be beaten to death, the man suddenly regained consciousness, his eyes flying open.
“Gurk… W-what is going on…?”
He rubbed at the slightly sunken crown of his head and shot up.
His face was dazed, trying to grasp what was happening.
And then, the moment he saw the severed jiangshi head placed at the center of the room—
His eyes widened so far, they looked like they might split.
“H-How is the Blood-Asura Heaven-Slaying Jiangshi’s head… severed?! Who the hell did this…?!”
Who did this, huh?
At that question, Ilhong, Jo Harang, and Eon Wolyeong all turned to look at me.
And just like that, my eyes met those of the Blood Cult agent.
His face began to fill with deep disbelief.
“That’s impossible! That jiangshi couldn’t be handled even by the greatest experts of the Murim! You… who the hell are you?! What trick did you pull to defeat the Blood-Asura Heaven-Slaying Jiangshi?!”
Thwack!
He wouldn’t stop yapping about ‘Heaven-Slaying,’ so I made his crown cave in again.
With a croak, he collapsed like a knocked-out frog.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just check his blood meridians?”
Jo Harang looked at me, puzzled as to why I went through the trouble of using the Hell-Piercing Demon-Slaying Staff.
“No satisfaction in that.”
What mattered was the zing in the fingertips.
“Hmm. I’m merciless with villains too, but… you’re kind of a weirdo.”
A disciple learns from their master.
I guess I’d been influenced by Hwang Geolgae more than I thought.
“A Blood-Asura Heaven-Slaying Jiangshi… not a single record of that kind of jiangshi exists in our clan’s ancient texts.”
“No doubt the Blood Cult made it. Even the name reeks of ill omen. Heaven-Slaying, really!”
Eon Clan members who’d overheard our conversation began murmuring among themselves.
Tch. Careful what you say, you’re gonna offend Cheonsalsung.
“Wolyeong, do you know anything about this jiangshi?”
It was a question from the Eon Clan Head, who had been silently observing.
She began nodding and sharing the information she had uncovered by examining the official seals, talismans, and the jiangshi.
“When I dissected the jiangshi and examined the talisman, it turned out it was indeed crafted with the Blood Cult’s secret arts… Still, if there’s one bit of relief, it’s that it was awakened before the technique was completed. There were signs of it being unfinished.”
She told us that, likely due to our intrusion, they had failed to complete the final step.
Which was filling the jiangshi’s body with fresh blood.
Had that final process been completed, a catastrophe might have occurred beneath the Eon Clan's compound, she said, expressing relief.
“Not sure I’d call that ‘relief’. I mean, the fact that something this horrifying was happening under the Eon Clan’s basement…”
“And this jiangshi, capable of handling two or three top experts with ease—was incomplete?”
“Even took a direct hit from that supreme-level woman with the broadsword and only got scratched? That’s insane.”
A resurrected forbidden technique from ages past. Blended with blood sorcery by the vengeful outlaws of the Blood Cult.
The result of that dark union now lay before us, and the people of the Eon Clan seemed at a loss for what to do.
“By the way, you said your name was Dan Mujin?”
I nodded in response to the question from the Eon Clan Head, whose face was as pale as a corpse.
“Yes, I am Dan Mujin of the Dog-Beating Dragon.”
“When my daughter said she called for a troubleshooter, I wasn’t sure what she was thinking…”
He had been full of doubt at first, but his expression shifted oddly—perhaps he’d heard I had felled that vicious jiangshi.
“Let me ask, how did you manage to behead that jiangshi?”
He seemed extremely curious how a mere peak-level martial artist like me had succeeded where even Jo Harang had failed.
“I just gave it a little slice and the head came right off, you know?”
“……”
But how could I explain it? I had simply traced the red line with my sword.
If I had to guess, I think the only reason I was able to cut it was thanks to the synergy of Heaven-Slaying Star’s talent and the martial prowess of the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method.
“You just cut it and the head came off…? And the sword you’re holding isn’t even some legendary spirit-infused peachwood blade or anything. How’s that even possible?”
They looked over the slim sword Ilhong had lent me as they said that.
Anyone could tell it was just a regular iron sword Hwang Geolgae had bought at a smithy for Ilhong.
“Sometimes I get into this sword groove, you know? I guess today was one of those days.”
I shrugged and played it off as a fluke of talent, which made the blood relatives grumble among themselves.
“Geez, that guy sure acts pricey.”
“Even a few more jiangshi like that could turn the entire Central Plains into a bloodbath…”
“Let’s cut him some slack. Martial arts are a martial artist’s bread and butter, after all.”
“Sure, he's skilled, but doesn’t he come off kind of smug? Annoying, right?”
“Ahem, keep your voice down.”
Ah, taking turns badmouthing me, are we?
It’s not that I won’t explain—it’s that I can’t. The result was only possible thanks to the fusion of Heaven-Slaying Star and the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method.
Anyway, the elders murmured with clear displeasure at the current situation.
“This is something we cannot overlook. To think the Blood Cult was plotting such things—we must inform the Murim Alliance immediately.”
He muttered gravely, saying he hadn’t thought people like Heaven-Slaying Star even existed in this era, but now a storm of bloodshed might erupt.
Thus, the Clan Head decided to form a team to deliver the jiangshi’s corpse to the Murim Alliance's armed division.
I quietly stepped back as a new meeting began for that very purpose.
Ilhong looked at me with eyes that said “good work.”
“Still, you’re tangled up with the Blood Cult again. At this point, isn’t this some sort of cursed fate?”
“Haah… Tell me about it.”
I thought I was taking on a mystery case, but suddenly it turned into a horror-action flick with corpses coming back to life and attacking me like mad.
Why do all my cases blow up like this?
It was like fate refused to leave me alone, dragging me into one whirlpool after another.
“This is all because of those Blood Cult bastards and their constant schemes.”
“Captain, I bet the Blood Cult is saying the same thing. That it’s your fault for always getting in their way.”
“What did I do? I never wanted to get involved with them.”
“Too late. You’re already in deep.”
Exactly. It was the kind of nonsense that made you want to jump up and scream in frustration.
All I ever wanted was to complete commissions, earn money, and build some righteous karma.
“So they might be just as exasperated.”
“Whose side are you even on?”
“Hehe.”
I shook my head and returned the borrowed sword to her.
As the deadly weapon left, the Dog-Beating Staff returned—and behind me, I felt a surge of discontent rising.
‘Kill (殺)!’
A red finger traced that character on the ground, demanding I pick up a blade again.
It wanted to unleash its Heaven-Slaying instinct to slice and rip something apart.
But I wasn’t about to let it have its way. I casually wiped out the writing with my foot.
‘No-kill (沒殺)!’
The killing spirit flared up in crimson rage.
Seriously, for something parasitizing someone else’s body, it sure had a lot of demands.
I wrapped the Dog-Beating Staff and unleashed a blast of brilliant white qi across my whole body.
The Starfall Heart Cultivation Method’s energy flared through me—and the killing spirit began to seize.
‘Kieeek!’
I swear it sounded like that.
Soon, peace returned to my mental landscape.
“Should’ve done that from the start.”
A truly tumultuous day.
And the finale of that day seemed to be a mental tug-of-war with the killing spirit.
“I was hoping to just get through the day quietly again.”
Life really isn’t easy.
That early dawn, when the troubleshooter from outside had cut down something monstrous.
A pale face floated silently in the dim air.
Eon Wolyeong, who had stayed up all night poring over records and attending prolonged clan meetings, walked the night with a haggard face.
Unable to sleep from worry, she wandered the grounds out of habit.
She moved through the compound with a vacant, pensive expression.
Then she came to an abrupt halt in front of a certain building.
It was the guest residence where the outsiders were staying.
The reason she stopped was peculiar. Something strange had triggered her senses.
‘…….’
Having handled many corpses and learned Jiangshi Arts in the process, she had developed a partial awareness of the boundary between the living and the dead.
Creeeak.
When she opened the door, there he was—a handsome young man snoring away, his belly bare to the breeze.
The same mysterious youth who’d accomplished anything Eun Hwaran the Trading Lord had asked of him.
And at the same time, she sensed it.
Something uninvited.
There was something near that bed—something watching him sleep in silence.
Her father had once told her:
If there’s something you can’t see or touch, but can vaguely feel—
That presence must surely be a chimimangryang, a demon or monstrous spirit.
The kind that all who dealt with the dead in the Eon Clan were warned to be wary of.
Ssshhh.
The lantern gently lighting the room suddenly went out.
The oil wasn’t low, yet darkness fell. Eon Wolyeong felt a chill crawl up her spine.
And from the empty darkness beyond—she felt something watching her with a chilling grin.
‘……!’