Murim Troubleshooter Dan Mujin-Chapter 140 : Delicate Jade Hands

Chapter 140: Delicate Jade Hands
Where does a person's sense of guilt come from?
Killing an enemy who comes charging at you versus cutting their throat to silence them after they've already been completely subdued.
The two were clearly different. Even in the modern world, the former was classified as self-defense, and the latter as involuntary manslaughter.
Thud, roll.
A head, still frozen in a horrified expression, rolled across the dirt floor.
There was no other choice. He had tried to shout a secret that would’ve caused massive trouble if overheard by the Murim Alliance members rushing in.
“He did deserve to die, but still...”
Even so, the unpleasant feeling creeping in was likely because I had a bit of a guilty conscience myself.
As Hwang Geolgae once said, in the end, deciding what’s good or evil lies in my own heart.
Ironically, perhaps the very fact that I could feel this sting of conscience was why Hwang Geolgae hadn’t killed me and chose to spare my life.
Anyway, since I had taken a life for my own safety, I figured I should do some serious soul-searching and reflection...
“Eh, fuck it. Things happen.”
...but I decided not to.
Come to think of it, this was the Central Plains Murim, where people’s heads flew off like bundles of straw on the daily.
Other martial artists were lopping off heads and spraying blood all the time anyway.
“Yeah, sometimes it be like that.”
Besides, killing someone dangerous enough to unleash the Blood Meridian might not have been a bad choice for the peace of the Central Plains.
I nodded to myself, coming to a rough compromise.
“Satisfied.”
Though the fact that this damned bastard was satisfied with the outcome still irked me.
But it was already over. Nothing I could do now.
I gathered the blazing white qi and swept his remains out of sight.
“Master Dan Mujin! Are you alright? I heard you fought Gwang Hyeolso... Oh my god, your arm!”
She covered her mouth and grimaced upon seeing my slightly dangling arm.
“If only I had arrived just a bit sooner...”
“It’s fine. I’ll sleep a few nights with some spit on it, and I’ll be good.”
“...That’s ridiculous. Let me give you the emergency medicine from my clan. It’s effective.”
She pulled out a round pill from her robe.
“Not for me—give it to Jo Harang over there. She doesn’t look good.”
I gestured toward her, her face having turned an unhealthy shade of gray, probably from internal injuries.
“But your condition right now—”
“I’m really fine. Please help her, Vice Captain.”
“...Alright.”
It had been a while since we last met, and she seemed strangely more worried about me than usual.
Seeing Jo Harang groaning, I had to ask multiple times for her help before Murong Cheonghye reluctantly moved her feet.
Ah, come to think of it—I didn’t get to ask why she called me Mujin-ah earlier.
“Tch, seeing the face... he really was that demonic Gwang Hyeolso, huh? Master, do you realize who you just caught?”
Then, Captain Jeok Unyeop, who seemed to have followed the vice captain, looked over Gwang Hyeolso’s face and spoke to me in disbelief.
“Truly incredible. And now he’s the Left Blood Law of the Blood Cult, isn’t he? That’s a huge accomplishment, Master.”
Apparently, I had done something amazing for the peace of the Murim.
He always seemed to be suffering from the Evil-Slaying Demoness, but it turned out this old man actually had a sense of justice and cared for Murim’s well-being.
“But how did you catch him? Don’t tell me you reached Peak Mastery while we weren’t looking?”
“No, I just got lucky.”
“Heh, come now. How does someone catch such a big shot just by getting lucky? Whisper the real story to me.”
If I actually whispered the truth, we’d have one more headless body lying around.
“Jo Harang of Divine Wind helped a lot. Plus, the guy seemed off—so yes, I really was lucky.”
Trying to gloss over it with humility and sharing credit, I noticed Jeok Unyeop giving me a look that said, Oh really?
“Usually folks try to hog the glory in moments like this, but just like Vice Captain Murong Cheonghye said—you’re different.”
Praising my character, he patted me firmly on the shoulder, as if I were some commendable youth.
“Why not join the Demon-Slaying Unit? I’ll personally take care of your promotion.”
“Ah, that’s a bit...”
Having to stay with that suffocating sister figure all the time? That’d be the death of me.
“Then how about the Chivalrous Unit?”
A martial artist in Chivalrous Unit attire chimed in, asking what I thought of joining them.
Apparently, he’d been impressed by my actions since the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament.
“No thanks, that too.”
The thing with the Murim Alliance’s combat divisions was... they mostly involved cutting people down.
Smaller matters were handled by the respective sects themselves, and they only stepped in for major incidents.
In other words, if what I did was like working in a general civil complaint office, they were like the violent crimes unit... no, the national investigation bureau scouring the entire Central Plains.
“I see. Well, let me know if you ever change your mind.”
I nodded as if I understood, then brushed off the persistent recruiters and walked away.
“Jeez, why are they so eager?”
I heard the pay wasn’t even that good. People took those jobs for honor and duty.
“That’s because you keep accomplishing things every time the captains see you. Of course they want you.”
Ilhong suddenly appeared beside me, speaking as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
From afar, I hadn’t noticed, but up close I could see her eyes were a little swollen.
“Wait... did you cry?”
“Wh-what? Don’t be silly. I’m not a kid.”
Maybe by Murim standards she wasn’t, but by my eyes, she definitely still was.
“Then what happened to your face?”
“I don’t know, maybe from running around like crazy.”
Yeah, let’s go with that.
I sniffed slightly.
“Anyway, Captain, promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Don’t ever tell me to run away and then stay behind to fight alone again.”
I had pushed her out in the heat of the moment, but apparently that had left her feeling pretty hurt.
“Hey, I wasn’t alone. Jo Harang was with me—”
“You promised!”
“...Y-yeah. Alright.”
When the Hao Sect was annihilated and she was the only one who survived—maybe something similar happened back then.
Seeing me in that situation probably triggered those memories.
‘But I’m not her family, am I?’
Two people left all alone in this world, with no family or relatives.
After years of sticking together, perhaps we had slowly become something like that to each other.
Maybe that’s why, when Gwang Hyeolso tried to cut down Ilhong, that murderous rage surged within me.
“Aha.”
People always see the speck in others’ eyes but miss the plank in their own.
Maybe I, too, was slowly changing bit by bit.
A few days after the coffin sent from the Eon Clan had been dealt with. At the Murim Alliance’s main office in Shaanxi.
The captain and vice captain of the Demon-Slaying Unit were listening to an autopsy from an inspector.
“It’s quite shocking. The corpse brought in by the Eon Clan’s martial artist and Master Dan Mujin—turns out it really was a Jiangshi.”
It meant the Jiangshi Arts, once thought completely erased by the Jinju Eon Clan long ago, had now returned.
And in the worst possible form—under the control of the Blood Cult.
“And just as the Eon Clan warned, its durability is extraordinary. We don’t know what materials or techniques were used, but it’s hard as... uh, Vice Captain Murong Cheonghye?”
Despite the inspector’s bombshell , Murong Cheonghye stared blankly into space, seemingly entranced.
“Vice Captain, are you listening?”
“Evil-Slaying Demoness, pull yourself together.”
Murong Cheonghye had been gazing blankly at Ilhong, who clung to Mujin like a companion, before finally snapping out of it and turning her head.
“Good grief. Do you have a thing for that young man or what? You’re making it frustrating for everyone watching. If so, just go snatch him already.”
“No, it’s not like that... ugh.”
It wasn’t like that at all. It was just that seeing someone clinging so tightly to a youth who might be her younger brother had caught her attention.
‘Ilhong, was it? She’s clinging like someone who just experienced a major trauma.’
Some people, after going through something traumatic, instinctively cling to someone else.
But aside from that, there was another issue at hand.
‘How are two men that close...?’
Before, she hadn’t paid much attention—who he was close to didn’t matter. She just saw him as a brave young man.
But now, thinking he might be her younger brother made her suddenly anxious.
Moreover, if I recall correctly, that Divine Wind girl—Jo Harang—she too sometimes looked at him with a gaze that went beyond mere trust.
“I need to find a job and visit their office as soon as possible…”
By coincidence, all three of them worked out of the same Troubleshooter Office.
Once the Jiangshi case brought in by the Eon Clan was wrapped up, she found herself thinking she must visit Beijing no matter what.
“Evil-Slaying Demoness, I hate to say it, but you’re looking at him like a sister-in-law right now.”
“…You're misunderstanding.”
Preferably, as soon as possible.
“You always leave a strong impression on me.”
This was a meeting of the high officials of the Murim Alliance, gathered to discuss the recent events and assign merit-based rewards.
The Alliance Leader Namgung Soseon praised the swift ing by the Jinju Eon Clan, then turned his gaze to me and said those words.
As his intrigued gaze fell on me, I could feel everyone else’s eyes turning my way as well.
“Well, I am kind of amazing.”
As I shamelessly accepted the praise, the faces around me shifted into expressions of disbelief.
Those who knew me wore looks that said, “There he goes again.”
“Click-click, always the same with you.”
Apparently pleased with my bold response, the Alliance Leader gave a strange smile.
“Since the moment you called that Thunder Sword an old man full of greed, I thought you were something special.”
“…Ahem.”
I mean, that time I just lost my temper. Why bring that up now?
“Do you plan to say the same about me someday?”
“…No, I don’t think I will.”
I do have some sense and reason, you know. That guy Murong Cheon kind of deserved it. Usually, I’m respectful to elders and behave with manners.
“No, it’s a good thing. It’s rare to find someone who can speak their mind, even in front of those with more power or martial rank. Keep that spirit going.”
He wanted me to remain the kind of guy who says what needs to be said, regardless of who’s listening.
It’s not like I was burning with righteous indignation or anything, but…
Judging by the smile creeping across his face, I guess he found watching Murong Cheon get roasted rather satisfying.
“Well, anyway. This is for you.”
He pushed over a heavy chest.
He said it contained the reward for everything—taking the Blood Cult head on the cliff, transporting the Jiangshi, and slaying the Left Blood Law.
Click.
“Really, you should open that when no one else is around.”
As I opened it to check the contents, the Alliance Leader scolded me like I was being too carefree.
“Oooh.”
It should’ve glimmered silver, but the chest was full of nothing but a rich, dull yellow glow.
From mounds of gold coins to thick gold ingots.
“Wow, what’s all this?”
It was the harvest moment. Just lifting it told me how heavy it was.
For a second, I considered stopping by a trading post and exchanging it for a promissory note, but I remembered how brutal the brokerage fees get when crossing regions, so I decided to carry it as-is.
“At this weight, I could carry it on my back.”
If it were just luggage, I’d grumble, but a box of money? I’d gladly carry it on my shoulders.
“By the way, about that Blood-Asura Heaven-Slaying Jiangshi…”
“Yes, what would you like to know?”
In this world, the one who gives money is king.
I bowed slightly and said as much.
“How did you cut it down? The coroners were amazed—said not even Sword Qi could penetrate its body.”
Word of the Jiangshi’s abnormal toughness was apparently spreading through the Murim Alliance.
“I just sliced through it gently, and it cut cleanly.”
“…Hmmm.”
I was just telling it as it happened, but Namgung Soseon’s expression turned increasingly complex.
“Well then, that’s it for now.”
Better get out before he digs deeper.
I hoisted the chest and quickly bowed my farewell.
The Eon Clan’s request and the transport to the Murim Alliance were officially completed as of today.
“It’s still hard to believe, Master Dan Mujin.”
So said Eon Wolyeong, smiling in disbelief as she handed me the payment.
“What’s so surprising?”
“Oh, nothing. I just didn’t think you’d say the same thing to the Alliance Leader that you said to the Clan Head.”
That line about “I just sliced it gently, and it came right off,” huh.
To be fair, it wasn’t entirely wrong—aside from seeing the cut line, that’s about what happened.
“Regardless, the Eon Clan owes you a great debt, Master.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I’m just doing my job and getting paid.”
I waved a hand like it was no big deal, stuffing the payment into my robe.
Hmm, this one’s pretty hefty too.
“No, it’s more than just money. Without you, that thing that burst out of the basement that day would’ve…”
The entire Jinju Eon Clan could’ve been wiped out by a single Jiangshi.
Thinking of that, she couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence.
Honestly, even such sincere thanks already filled my heart. She might not know it, but she had more than repaid me already.
“So, in the spirit of gratitude, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
When I asked, she hesitated briefly before mustering up the courage to speak.
“There’s… a certain energy clinging to you. I can’t explain exactly what it is.”
She fixed her gaze over my shoulder and released her spiritual sight.
Like she was engaged in a staring contest with something invisible.
“And for some reason… it seems to have gotten a bit stronger than before.”
“…Huh? What’s gotten stronger?”
What’s with this woman lately? Her face already looks pale enough to spook someone.
Could it be that with high-level Jiangshi Arts, you start sensing things that shouldn’t be sensed?
“Anyway, just be caref—ugh, sorry! I can’t hold it any longer!”
Her face turned completely white.
She broke off her eerie staring contest with thin air and hurriedly turned away, unable to take it any longer.
“What the hell is going on?”
Why does she always leave me feeling creeped out?
Once again, she tossed some cryptic remark and ran off.
And just like last time, the Salsungi twitched and squirmed, as if gloating over its victory.
A red hand waved at the fleeing girl as if to say goodbye.
Not a pale, delicate hand with two slender knuckles like usual.
No, it was a red and beautiful—hand.
“…Huh?”