Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 111

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#111

The third Iron Door shattered under Do Pyeong-su’s Palm Strike.
“Another door? How much treasure did he stash in here anyway?”
Seo Seok-san was about to step forward and unleash his own Palm Strike when a dull thunk sounded from within, and the Iron Door swung open.
“Idiot. Why would I stay here until tomorrow? He’s taken me for a fool, but I’m grabbing my share while I can.”
Deok So-pal pushed through the Iron Door with his back, emerging into view.
Four boxes hung from the end of a rope he gripped in both hands.
“Ugh! But this is damn heavy. Did I pack too much? Well, I had to take at least this much…….”
Deok So-pal, struggling to drag the boxes forward, collided with Seo Seok-san.
“Huh?”
Deok So-pal turned his head and saw Geom U-bin and the Hyeolpung Saja, his face going blank.
“Who……are you?”
“Who are you?”
“Ji Cheol-seok, sir.”
Even in this situation, Deok So-pal faithfully carried out what Ji Cheol-seok had instructed him to do.
A tremendous pressure exploded outward.
Deok So-pal fell flat on his backside under the force of Jang Man-dok’s aura. Seo Seok-san moved to calm the enraged Jang Man-dok.
“He’s not Ji Cheol-seok. Look.”
Seo Seok-san grabbed Deok So-pal by the collar and hoisted him before Jang Man-dok’s eyes.
“P-please…….”
The weight of Jang Man-dok’s presence was more than Deok So-pal could bear.
“Look here. His ears are perfectly fine, and his jaw is just a typical strong jaw. He’s not Ji Cheol-seok.”
“Man-dok says: who are you then?”
“Sir?”
“Who are you?”
The terror conjured by the name Ji Cheol-seok was such that he could not bring himself to speak it again.
“I’m D-Deok So-pal, sir.”
“Where’s Ji Cheol-seok?”
“Who is Ji Cheol-seok?”
“Your toll master.”
“I don’t know. I was just here doing what the toll master told me to…….”
Without further questions, Ji Cheol-seok had constructed layer upon layer of obstacles and fled with ruthless haste.
“When did you come in here?”
“A little over two double hours ago, sir.”
Deok So-pal looked ready to cry at any moment.
Geom U-bin spoke.
“He wouldn’t have escaped through the Main Gate, so let’s check the back.”
When they went to the rear of the Estate, they found the Back Gate without difficulty and discovered traces where a carriage had departed.
Two double hours would have carried him quite far, but with their Lightness Technique, the distance was not as great. Yet the hope they felt of catching him quickly evaporated the moment they arrived in Dongryeo County.
Following the carriage tracks, the marks became meaningless once they entered the town.
Since they didn’t even know what kind of carriage it was, the situation grew only more vexing.
Time is the lifeblood of pursuit. The quicker the decision, the better.
“There are six roads out of Dongryeo County to other regions. There are more if you count the back routes, but a carriage can’t use those. So six is the right count.”
Seo Seok-san asked Geom U-bin.
“If we split up to search, we’ll still have one road left over?”
“We abandon the road toward Hangju. He wouldn’t have gone that way. That route requires going up the Dongryeo Canal, and he would’ve been spotted by us.”
“Then we scatter across the remaining five roads. Even though the carriage has a two double hour lead, we should find him within three double hours if we pursue.”
“Let’s give ourselves a bit more time. There’ll be branching paths along the way, and accounting for asking around…… five double hours. If we can’t catch Ji Cheol-seok within five double hours, we regroup back here.”
“There’s a chance we might not catch him.”
Yeon Geum-hong, who had spoken, glanced sidelong at Jang Man-dok.
Anyone could read the iron determination in Jang Man-dok’s eyes—this man would not accept failure.
“Master Jang, don’t worry. We’ve come this far. We won’t let him slip away.”

***

Oseong Jang-won was in turmoil as an unexpected flood of guests arrived.
Three hundred and fifty people had overwhelming need for lodging, far exceeding the estate’s available rooms.
The patients received proper chambers, but those whose conditions were stable made do with hastily erected canvas tents instead.
Even so, compared to where they had come from, Oseong Jang-won was paradise.
They received proper treatment, and the meals were abundant.
The shortage of hands was filled by hiring workers from outside.
Kang Chan-sik came to find Hang Ju-sa-byeon, who was frantic with caring for the refugees.
His steps were cautious as he entered the quarters of Hang Ju-sa-byeon of Oseong, a figure as fearsome as the angel of death itself.
Kang Chan-sik approached a woman hurrying past with a tray in hand.
“I’ve come to see the director.”
Though he was the man who ruled Hangju’s night, even he moved carefully here, speaking deferentially to the serving women.
“And who are you, sir?”
“Please tell him Kang Chan-sik has arrived.”
“Just wait a moment.”
After waiting a quarter hour, Go Seo-bang and Gwak Bong found Kang Chan-sik.
There could be only one reason for Kang Chan-sik’s visit, so Gwak Bong asked directly.
“Found them?”
“Yes. It seems to be the Maengho Gang—though they’ve cleaned up their act now, they used to run gambling dens and human trafficking. They were also dealing medicine, I hear.”
After receiving a letter from Geom U-bin that those cooperating with the Dongryeo Water Headquarters were active in Hangju, the task of rooting them out had been assigned to Kang Chan-sik.
With his intimate knowledge of every dark corner of Hangju’s night, Kang Chan-sik had little difficulty uncovering the Dongryeo Water Headquarters’ operatives.
“Where are they now?”
“We’ve shut down their gambling dens and human trafficking operations, so they can’t openly engage in those anymore, but they’re quietly dealing medicine. Right now they’ve set up operations on Chunhwa Street and Seoun Street as well.”
“Hangju’s most notorious red-light district.”
“Precisely. Though the Maengho Gang’s reach isn’t what it once was, they still have many operatives active. There’s a chance a few of them may have slipped in here among the newly hired staff.”
With so many new workers hired because of the refugees, if they’d mixed in among them, there’d be no way to identify them.
“If they dare to pull such schemes under Oseong Jang-won’s roof, they’ll learn this place is hell itself.”
Kang Chan-sik asked,
“What about the Maengho Gang? I could handle it at my level.”
Gwak Bong replied,
“It’s the masters’ affair, so it must be handled with certainty. I’ll move as well.”
“I said it’s the masters’ business. We need to be absolutely thorough. The three of us will act together.”
“The directors too? That’s like using a dragon-slaying sword to kill a chicken.”
“There can be no margin for error.”
Gwak Bong asked,
“But what if Dongryeo Water Headquarters spies have infiltrated the estate itself? Who will catch them?”
“There are two people who can handle that. Just wait here for a quarter hour.”
Go Seo-bang made his way around the courtyard full of refugees and summoned Gal Ma-pyeong and O Tong-su.
While the two men went to their quarters to change into outdoor clothes after hearing the broad outlines of the situation, Go Seo-bang sought out Se-hwa.
“Spies, you say?”
“I’d like for Saja and Nam-jae to handle it.”
“Understood. Finding people like that is hardly difficult.”
With the task of rooting out spies entrusted to two people, Gang Seo Samak and Gwak Bong headed toward Hangju’s streets.
“I’ve identified all the ruffians belonging to the Maengho Gang.”
Kang Chan-sik’s meticulous work was exactly what Go Seo-bang wanted.
“Just keep them from escaping. We’ll handle the apprehension.”

***

Angil County sat at the boundary between Zhejiang Province and Anhui Province.
Geom U-bin had to stop using the Lightness Technique there. Both branches of the split road were wide enough for two carriages to pass easily. Though there was no large market town nearby, there were many travelers, and two inns could be found in the area.
When Geom U-bin inquired about a carriage at one of the inns, he received no satisfactory answer.
With dozens of carriages passing through daily and no description of the carriage he sought, finding it was as difficult as locating a needle dropped on a vast beach.
“This way of searching won’t be easy.”
If he lost track of Ji Cheol-seok here, Jang Man-dok’s disappointment would be considerable.
‘How could I face him then?’
Just as Geom U-bin was about to turn back with a furrowed brow, he heard a man’s shout.
“Hey! You said you were heading to Jeongdeok County, right?”
A man who appeared to be an innkeeper was shouting at the carriage driver sitting in the vehicle.
“What of it?”
“Then don’t go that way—cross over Unhyeon Pass! The tolls are cheaper at Guwang Tollgate! The Samrang Tollgate at Baekro Pass is run by vicious bastards who’ll draw their blades if things go wrong!”
“Damn it! What are the official troops doing if not suppressing bandits? They squeeze us until our spines bend for taxes, but where does all that money go?”
The man drove the carriage toward Unhyeon Pass, following the directions the toll keeper had provided.
If Ji Cheol-seok had come this way, how would he have acted?
Geom U-bin gave the man directions and stopped the toll keeper as he turned to leave.
“Did a carriage pass through here about an hour ago?”
“Carriages? There are plenty of them.”
“They would have asked which pass to take.”
During today’s pursuit, Geom U-bin had come to understand that Ji Cheol-seok was a remarkably cautious man. In a place like this, he would certainly have asked before proceeding.
The toll keeper answered with an expression of mild irritation.
“There were three altogether. One went to Baekro Pass even after I gave directions, but the other two headed to Unhyeon Pass.”
“Did any of them happen to be missing part of an ear and have a cleft chin?”
“How should I know? Hundreds of people pass through here daily—I can’t remember everyone’s face.”
Geom U-bin asked the same question at another inn.
“Two people asked about the route, and both took Unhyeon Pass.”
One carriage had gone toward Baekro Pass, but that appeared to be a courier service. If so, the direction was clear.
Geom U-bin leaped toward Unhyeon Pass.
The mountain was gentle enough that the path was broad, yet the road was far from ideal for carriages to traverse. There were so many ruts and holes that if rain fell, no carriage could pass for days.
After overtaking two travelers and one carriage, when Geom U-bin reached the summit of Unhyeon Pass, six bandits emerged from both sides of the mountain.
“Every path has its master, so a wayfarer like yourself—”
A bandit with a thick, unkempt beard spoke as he habitually did, running his eyes up and down Geom U-bin.
“You don’t look like the right age to cross a mountain path alone. How old are you?”
“Fourteen.”
“Hmm, you look older than that.”
“What does age have to do with it?”
“Well… we don’t collect tolls from anyone fifteen or younger. Even if we’re bandits, we can’t bring ourselves to rob children of their meager coins.”
“I’ll pay the toll.”
“What? A guest willing to pay so readily—that’s a first.”
“But I’d like you to tell me something in return.”
“Not a chance.”
“You won’t even hear me out?”
“We’re bandits, not an information bureau.”
Geom U-bin drew a silver coin from his pouch.
The clinking sound revealed that the pouch held quite a few coins. Yet worry, rather than greed, appeared on the bandit’s face.
“Child, you shouldn’t flash money around like that. You don’t know how dangerous the world is these days.”
Geom U-bin laughed in response.
“What kind of bandit worries about a wayfarer? If you were like that, you shouldn’t be a bandit at all.”
“Well, that’s true enough, but a man’s got to eat, so what can you do?”
The bandit caught the silver coin Geom U-bin tossed without thinking.
“I’m looking for someone who passed this way. Missing part of one ear, with a cleft chin on both sides.”
Geom U-bin was almost certain Ji Cheol-seok had crossed Unhyeon Pass, but there was a chance he might have chosen Baekro Pass instead.
Geom U-bin added, “He would have been in a carriage.”
The bandit turned the silver coin over in his hands for a while before speaking.
“A man with a face like that did pass through here, maybe half an hour ago.”
“Thank you.”
As Geom U-bin moved to leave, the bandit tossed the silver coin back.
Confusion crossed Geom U-bin’s face before hearing the words, “Rules are rules.” The bandit’s expression was full of regret at losing a silver coin, yet something about him—his determination to keep his word—struck Geom U-bin as remarkable.
“What’s your name, sir?”
“What good would it do you to know my name?”
“I could report you to the magistrate.”
At Geom U-bin’s jest, the bandit let out a soft chuckle and replied.
“Yang Dae-gong.
“I’ll see you again soon.”
“What?”
Before the confusion on Yang Dae-gong’s face could fade, Geom U-bin vanished before his eyes.
Only a deep footprint in the earth remained, testament to the Lightness Technique deployed there.
“A Murim master?”
On a mountain path this difficult for carriages, half an hour’s distance would not be far.
Geom U-bin passed two carriages and finally, at the third, laid eyes on the face he sought.
When Geom U-bin dropped down in front of the carriage, Ji Cheol-seok, sitting at the reins, startled and brought the vehicle to a halt.
“What—what is it?”
Geom U-bin broke into a thin smile.
“Well, fortune smiles on us. I’ve finally seized the chance to settle Master Jang’s thirty-year grudge.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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