Surviving as a Cripple in Murim – Chapter 63

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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Inside Xiaoshao’s room at the Yakbang Inn in Zeshik County…

“Sob… hic… sniffle… Brother… Xiaoshao…”

“There, there, Brother Xiaoshao is here. It’s alright now. Stop crying.”

Xue Yuehua, the proud princess of the North Sea Ice Palace, was sobbing in Xiaoshao’s arms, her older cousin, who had rushed back to the inn after hearing the commotion.

“Sniffle… I… the younger sister of the Ice Dragon… Xue Yuehua, the Snow Phoenix… this humiliation…”

Yuehua, her arms wrapped tightly around Xiaoshao’s slender waist, her face buried in his chest, glared at Mancheon, the cause of her distress… but…

she couldn’t finish her sentence.

“Hmph… If you dare introduce yourself with those ridiculous titles, ‘Dragon’ and ‘Phoenix,’ one more time in my presence, I’ll make dragon-phoenix stew out of you.”

She had been silenced by Sima Mancheon, the Overlord who had awakened the Frost Treading Ice Shattering Palm, his ego inflated to the size of a planet, his gaze as sharp as a blade.

“Whimper… Brother… Xiaoshao…”

“There, there… Brother Xiaoshao is here. It’s alright.”

Overwhelmed by Mancheon’s aura, Yuehua trembled like a baby seal facing a killer whale, burying her face deeper into Xiaoshao’s chest. Xiaoshao patted her cousin’s back, then gently admonished Mancheon.

“Young Master Sima, I know you’re joking, but please refrain from such harsh language. Yuehua is more sensitive than she appears.”

There was a mature, comforting quality to Xiaoshao’s touch as he stroked Yuehua’s snow-white hair.

Perhaps reassured by Xiaoshao’s comforting presence, Yuehua peeked out from behind his cousin and declared,

“Sniffle… I… I’m just Xue Yuehua! I will never forget this humiliation!!”

“Yuehua… you started the fight by insulting Young Master Sima’s ‘friend’…”

The fight at the inn had started with whispered insults.

Fortunately, no one had been seriously injured, and thanks to Xiaoshao’s intervention, the matter had been resolved peacefully.

Or rather, it had ended when Xiaoshao used the King’s Sword to subdue the North Sea Ice Palace bodyguards who had attacked Mancheon.

“Cease this fighting at once. I will not tolerate any further violence.”

Xiaoshao, appearing suddenly, her eyes flashing with a chilling light that could freeze even the moonlight, was the very image of a powerful king.

Thanks to her intervention, one of the two major problems Mancheon currently faced the conflict with the North Sea Ice Palace bodyguards… had been resolved.

Now, only one problem remained.

The cost of repairing the inn wall he had shattered with the Frost Treading Ice Shattering Palm.

‘That was a pretty big hole…’

He sighed at the thought of the expenses.

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“Did you say you received payment for the damages?”

The innkeeper smiled and nodded at his stunned question.

“Yes, a friend of yours paid for everything. Is there anything else you require? Just name it, we will provide it.”

The innkeeper’s amiable demeanor was incongruous with the state of his establishment, which had just suffered significant structural damage.

He had, after all, received a hefty sum from the man who had introduced himself as Mancheon’s friend:

Wu Ming, one of the Three Enemies of the Martial World, and Sima Bu’s senior martial brother.

‘He thinks he can just pay me off and we’ll forget about him destroying my inn?!’

He couldn’t say that, of course. The sum he had received was more than enough to repair the wall, enough to build an entirely new inn.

He actually wouldn’t mind if they broke a few more walls.

But while the innkeeper was delighted by his newfound wealth, Mancheon was bewildered by the mysterious benefactor who had paid for the damages.

“Where is this… friend of mine who paid for the repairs…?”

“He said he had urgent business and left immediately after paying.”

He paid for the damages and left without a word? It seemed too convenient. Suspicious.

“Did he give you his name? Can you describe him?”

“Well… he only introduced himself as a friend, so I didn’t get his name. As for his appearance, he was a man with… rather indistinct features, except for the prominent dark circles under his eyes.”

A man with dark circles under his eyes and no other distinguishing features… he couldn’t think of anyone who fit that description.

“Oh, and he left a message for you.”

Hoping it might offer a clue to the man’s identity, he remained silent, waiting for the innkeeper to continue.

“He said you were using too much force with the Thousand Pound Weight and that you should relax.”

“Excuse me?”

The Thousand Pound Weight was a technique that used internal energy to increase one’s weight. Naturally, using the technique required significant exertion. What did it mean to “relax”?

And why offer unsolicited martial arts advice?

While he always welcomed guidance on martial arts, he would appreciate it if the man would at least introduce himself first.

He briefly wondered if his father had secretly hired a martial arts expert to follow him, but it was just a guess, and he couldn’t be sure.

He was truly baffled.

He sighed and looked at the shattered wall, a gaping hole now letting in a cool breeze.

Well, he was certainly grateful for the man’s generosity in paying for the repairs.

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Seven years ago, the martial world had two rising stars:

Nangong Xian, the young head of the Nangong Family, and Seol Wol-ha, the princess of the North Sea Ice Palace, Xiaoshao’s beloved and respected parents.

Despite his busy schedule managing the Nangong family’s affairs, Nangong Xian always made time for his beloved daughter. And every evening, Seol Wol-ha would entertain Xiaoshao with stories of chivalrous heroes and thrilling adventures.

Therefore, Xiaoshao didn’t mind the whispers behind her back, calling her a seed of treason, or the fact that she had to wear boys’ clothes instead of the pretty dresses she longed for.

She believed her happy life, waking up every morning to her loving parents, would continue, as certain as the sun rising in the east.

But… her happiness was shattered one day by the appearance of a monster.

The Three Enemies of the Martial World – Three criminals who mocked and threatened the laws and order of the martial world.

The Eight Foot Tall Monster, the Swift Blade that Cuts Through Chaos, and the Unregistered Invincible.

No one knew which of the Three Enemies was the strongest. But the most dangerous was undoubtedly the Unregistered Invincible.

Unlike the Eight-Foot Tall Monster, who only stole martial arts techniques without killing, and the Swift Blade that Cuts Through Chaos, who only killed those who challenged him, the Unregistered Invincible was an assassin.

He would kill anyone, for the right price.

It was a common claim among assassins, but the Unregistered Invincible was different. He truly would kill anyone.

Royalty, sect leaders, clan heads… it didn’t matter. As long as he was paid, he would kill.

A monster over ten cheok tall, covered in black fur, its eyes and mouth spewing flames…

It’s a Cap…

The Unregistered Invincible was a man of ordinary appearance and build, his features indistinct. His most distinguishing characteristic was the deep, dark circles under his eyes.

He appeared suddenly, like a natural disaster, like death itself.

“I apologize for the intrusion, but I need to kidnap the head of the Nangong family as bait.”

Xiaoshao, twelve years old, stood frozen, speechless, before the assassin who had extended a hand towards her, the corpses of her bodyguards, their upper bodies obliterated, reduced to mangled piles of flesh, scattered around her.

“My father is the strongest martial artist in the world. He won’t lose to the likes of you. He’ll come and save me.”

Long after she had been kidnapped, Xiaoshao, her tears dried, spoke to the assassin, who hadn’t even bothered to tie her up, simply leaving her unattended.

But the assassin merely nodded, a weary smile on his face, in response to her brave words.

“I hope so. I’d rather not kill a parent in front of their child.”

Nangong Xian and Seol Wol-ha, their beloved daughter kidnapped, had ignored the pleas of their advisors and rushed to her rescue.

And on a beautiful, moonlit winter evening,

the first thing Xiaoshao saw was the Unregistered Invincible’s arm, moving like a demonic dragon, shattering her father’s sword.

The second thing she saw was her mother, who had jumped in front of her father, a crimson fist piercing her abdomen, staining her clothes red.

Xiaoshao… could do nothing…

She looked around desperately, but unlike the stories her mother used to tell her before bed, no hero appeared to vanquish the villain and save her and her parents.

Even as the Unregistered Invincible took her father’s head as a trophy, Xiaoshao remained frozen, helpless.

He had presented his back so carelessly, and yet she could do nothing.

“I imagine it must be distressing to wait while staring at your parents’ corpses, but the Nangong family’s martial artists will be arriving soon, so please remain here.”

With those words, the Unregistered Invincible turned and walked away, into the gently falling snow.

Xiaoshao remained motionless, helpless.

She was weak, useless, a burden, a pathetic child who deserved to die.

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Xiaoshao slowly opened her eyes, waking up on the bed.

She must have dozed off while comforting Yuehua, who had cried herself to sleep.

“Haah… haah…”

A chill ran through her, a lingering effect of the nightmare she had just experienced.

She struggled to breathe.

When she was younger, whenever she woke up from a nightmare, her mother or father would hold her close, their comforting touch soothing her fears.

But… her parents were gone.

She didn’t know whether it had been a rival faction within the Nangong family, or the imperial court, who had hired the Unregistered Invincible.

But they were dead, killed because of her, because of her cursed fate, a child who should never have been born.

Their lives had been taken so senselessly.

“…….”

She unconsciously sought out Mancheon, stumbling out of the room.

She reached the second-floor balcony and saw Mancheon standing on the first floor, his back to her.

Unlike her, a cowardly, pathetic excuse for a human being…

he stood his ground, facing his enemies, no matter how many, or how strong, his back got a reassuring presence…

the back of a true hero.

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Once deceived by the heaven, yet blessed to be seen as a hero😏