Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 114

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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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#Chapter 114

Se-hwa had barely stepped into the room when Jeung Seok-pil’s face darkened.
“Why is there a courtesan coming in here now?”
“She is the proprietor of the Oseong Pavilion, my lord.”
Dong Baek-jae’s explanation made Jeung Seok-pil’s expression shift to one of surprise.
“I’ve heard the proprietor is young, but I never imagined she’d be this young. How about you sit beside me tonight?”
A blue vein pulsed across Gwak Bong’s forehead.
Without Se-hwa’s warning, she would have exploded right then.
“It has been quite some time since I sat in a guest’s place. It would be improper of me to move now.”
“It’s fine. All is forgiven if you’re beautiful. So let’s move your seat, shall we?”
Jeung Seok-pil was about to stand when Se-hwa spoke.
“I am afraid we have no VIP rooms prepared at this moment. Please enjoy yourself here today, and if you return, I shall have our finest chamber ready for you.”
“You expect the Faction Lord of the Murim Alliance to spend the evening in this shabby room?”
“We have no choice in the matter at present. I beg your understanding.”
Bang!
Jeung Seok-pil’s palm came down hard against the table.
“I am the Faction Lord of the Gold Line Faction of the Murim Alliance! If you treat me like this, how do you expect the Oseong Pavilion to stay in business?”
Of everyone in the room, Dong Baek-jae was the most uncomfortable.
“My lord, perhaps we ought to visit another establishment tonight? The Oseong Wine is served at…….”
“Are you telling me to slink away like a dog after receiving such treatment and go somewhere else?”
Jeung Seok-pil’s fierce gaze turned toward Se-hwa.
“Running some cheap pavilion has made you blind to proper standing, I see. To disrespect the Murim Alliance so—I promise you, within a month I shall have this establishment’s doors closed for good.”
Se-hwa smiled radiantly as she spoke.
“If you’re capable, do your worst. You’re not even the Alliance Lord, just some faction lord spouting empty threats. How amusing.”
Gwak Bong whispered in astonishment.
“You just told me to control my temper, so why are you……?”
“Because I heard this bastard threatening me! A faction lord threatening someone—what nerve! Eyes front, you cur! Eyes!”
Jeung Seok-pil shrank back under the force of Se-hwa’s presence.
For someone like him, who had never even practiced diaphragmatic breathing, Se-hwa’s aura was utterly terrifying.
“I, I am the Faction Lord of the Murim Alliance…….”
“Faction Lord or Alliance Lord, without a reservation you get no room. Either sit down and behave yourself here, or—actually, I don’t even want guests like you. Get out. Now.”
Se-hwa’s eyes then turned to Dong Baek-jae.
“I never thought the Dongsi Doga would bring such a disrespectful guest. Please leave us for the night.”
The incident had unfolded with such sudden fury that Dong Baek-jae couldn’t find a word to say.
Se-hwa, having swept from the room like a cold wind, soon found herself regretting her actions.
‘What’s happened to my temperament?’
When she had been called the finest courtesan in Jiangxi Province, her nickname was the Bodhisattva.
Se-hwa was famous for never losing her smile, no matter how difficult a guest became. Yet after spending years with the Bloodwind Four Lions, her nature had transformed into something raw and terrible.
“You did well,” Gwak Bong said with satisfaction.
Se-hwa shot back at her.
“Well? What nonsense! What kind of pavilion proprietor treats guests that way? You’re supposed to smile through everything, sell your very essence if needed. Ugh, what’s become of me?”
“A disciple of the Bloodwind Four Lions shouldn’t grovel before some Murim Alliance faction lord.”
“I’m a disciple of the Bloodwind Four Lions first and foremost, but…….”
Se-hwa trailed off, then suddenly understood.
Before she was the proprietor of the Oseong Pavilion, she was a disciple of the Bloodwind Four Lions. To cower before someone wielding the name of the Murim Alliance like a club—that was something unthinkable for a disciple of that master.
“Still, we should reach out to the Dongsi Doga separately to smooth things over. They’re an established force in Hangju, after all.”
Se-hwa had already left the incident in that room behind, but Jeung Seok-pil could not do the same.
“A mere courtesan dares treat me this way? Dong Zong-sa, you don’t intend to let this pass, do you?”
“Of, of course not, my lord.”
Though he gave that reply, Dong Baek-jae had no idea what he could actually do.
The Oseong Pavilion was not merely one among many establishments in Hangju—it was operated by the Oseong Jang-won. If the Dongsi Doga moved against it, they would have to face the Oseong Jang-won directly.
Such a confrontation over a matter like this would bring the Dongsi Doga no benefit whatsoever.
‘Jeong Chung just fleeced money from us and stirred up trouble.’
Dong Baek-jae couldn’t allow his organization to suffer damage because of Jeung Seok-pil’s recklessness.
“In truth, the Oseong Pavilion is operated by the Oseong Jang-won. That the proprietor carries herself with such pride is entirely because the Jang-won backs her. As you yourself know, my lord, the power of the Oseong Jang-won in Hangju cannot be dismissed. Their reputation has even come to exceed that of our own Dongsi Doga.”
“So Dongsi Doga can’t do anything about a mere pavilion like this?”
“If we were blood-sworn members of the Murim Alliance, perhaps. But clashing with Oseong Jang-won right now is a bit…….”
“You’re saying Dongsi Doga is nothing but a brewery?”
Dong Baek-jae had no choice but to swallow Jeung Seok-pil’s sarcasm.
“I understand. I’ll handle it myself.”

***

Jeon Mi-ryeo couldn’t tell if consciousness had returned to her or if she was still thrashing about in the sea of nightmare.
Her eyes seemed open, yet her vision wandered through absolute darkness.
She tried moving her limbs, but nothing felt like it belonged to her body.
Then, from her parched throat, a sound like a whimper escaped—and suddenly the world before her blazed with light.
It was only a candleflame, yet emerging from such utter blackness, it seemed to burn impossibly bright.
‘Is this…… the afterlife?’
She’d harbored no hope of survival from the moment she fell from that cliff. And then a dark-skinned man’s face thrust suddenly into view.
Jeon Mi-ryeo, startled out of her wits, lost consciousness again.
“If you shove your face at someone like that all of a sudden, you’ll knock them senseless.”
At Yeon Geum-hong’s rebuke, Jang Man-dok’s expression shifted—though his face was still the same grotesque visage.
“In any case, she’s come to, so we’re past the worst of it. Troublesome business, this. My medical skill is wasted on such matters.”
Emerging from the Underground Cultivation Chamber, Yeon Geum-hong stretched luxuriously in the warm morning sun.
“Must be age creeping in. My body feels stiff lately.”
Yeon Geum-hong greeted the workers bustling about their morning tasks, but her steps halted as the Main Gate came into view.
“There’s an unpleasant stench wafting from somewhere.”
She sniffed the air, casting about, and made her way toward the Brewery. There, loitering before the door, she found Noh Dae-sul.
“Hey! Beggar King! What are you doing here! You thieving wretch!”
Noh Dae-sul, startled, broke into a subservient laugh.
“Heh-heh! The scent drifting on the wind was so sweet I couldn’t help myself wandering here.”
“I don’t know where you picked up the smell from, but I’ve no wine for you.”
“Word of Oseong Wine’s praises has spread across Zhongyuan—I can’t very well miss a taste of it.”
“Then buy it.”
“Ah, where would a beggar get coin? A beggar’s duty is to beg, after all.”
“Why? Planning to steal again like last time? I should have broken your legs then and there.”
“Don’t say such dreadful things. I came today because I had business with Geom U-bin.”
“Don’t go throwing his name around carelessly.”
“I’m ninety-five years old myself, and I’m the proprietor of my sect.”
“Still, he’s the senior brother of our Bloodwind Four Lions, who are older than you. Address him as Lord.”
“Ah, do we really have to go that far…….”
Pfft!
It paid no dividends to fall out of favor with the Bloodwind Four Lions.
If he wanted to cadge even a sip of Oseong Wine, he had to butter her up—that much was obvious.
“Of course I should address him as Lord. Even so, there’s such a thing as hierarchy in Murim. Ah!”
“So what business do you have with him? What could you possibly need from him?”
“It’s a secret.”
“A secret? You want to die?”
“It’s not my secret—it’s the Lord’s. If you want to know, ask him yourself.”
‘The senior brother’s secret?’
The incident with the secret box suddenly came to mind.
But that had been mere misunderstanding back then; now it came directly from Noh Dae-sul’s mouth.
No matter how lightly the Bloodwind Four Lions regarded him, the words of a sect proprietor carried a different weight entirely.
‘Should I ask my senior brother about it?’
As she pondered this, Geom U-bin appeared.
“Oh? Master Noh. You’re here early this morning?”
“Ha! Geom, the Lord! It’s been ages!”
“Please, such formality—just call me by my name comfortably.”
“I can’t do that. You’re the senior brother of the Bloodwind Four Lions.”
“Even so, there’s hierarchy in Murim, after all.”
“That’s not really the point. What brings you here?”
“Oseong Wine…… well, the matter you asked me to look into—I came to report on that, and figured I’d stop by.”
Geom U-bin asked casually.
“Care for a drink to clear your head?”
“Hehehehe! How do you read this old man’s heart so well?”
Yeon Geum-hong tilted her head, watching Geom U-bin and Noh Dae-sul disappear inside.
“What is it, exactly?”
“What are you talking about?”
Yeon Geum-hong spoke without even looking at Do Pyeong-su, who had appeared behind her.
“There’s something between him and the Beggar King.”
“The Beggar King? Noh Dae-sul came here?”
“Yes. It looks like he ordered Noh Dae-sul to investigate something.”
“What?”
“According to Noh Dae-sul, it’s a secret.”
Do Pyeong-su let out a soft laugh.
“Is it another treasure box or something?”
“Noh Dae-sul’s involved, so there’s definitely something going on this time.”
“Should we ask him directly?”
“If he wanted us to know, he would have told us. It would be rude to pry.”
Clouds of curiosity began billowing up again in her chest.
She desperately wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation between Geom U-bin and Noh Dae-sul, but she couldn’t bring herself to do such a thing.
“Let’s not worry about it. If there’s something we need to know, he’ll tell us.”
Yeon Geum-hong resolved to let it go.
Geom U-bin and Noh Dae-sul, having thoroughly piqued their curiosity, sat facing each other across a table.
After drinking a cup of Oseong Wine, Noh Dae-sul fell silent for a long time. For the first time, he felt the limits of his own powers of expression.
“I give up. How could anyone describe such wine in mere words?”
Then, suddenly, he brought his hand down hard on the table with a sharp crack.
“If you could make wine like this, why in the heavens haven’t you been making it all this time! If you’d made it thirty years ago, my joy over these past thirty years would have been ten times greater! Blast these old bones!”
Geom U-bin spoke, suppressing a smile.
“Since you’ve come to Oseong Jang-won, it seems you’ve discovered something about the ink token I gave you?”
“Hm? I just came for the Oseong Wine.”
When Geom U-bin’s smile didn’t falter, Noh Dae-sul thought ‘Tch! Not fooling anyone, am I?’ and opened his mouth.
“I didn’t discover much. It’s fairly distinctive, but not information I’d call wholly satisfying.”
“That’s better than finding out nothing at all. What is that ink token?”

***

He’d tossed and turned all night in anger, but when he woke in the morning and thought it over, there was no reason to be furious.
He could use Oseong Pavilion as a pretext to visit Oseong Jang-won and secure a tidy sum for himself.
The girls at the pavilion knew nothing and made their bluster, but the people called disciples of Oseong Jang-won had learned martial arts, so they would understand reason.
Money could brighten even Jeung Seok-pil’s foulest mood in an instant.
He set out for Oseong Jang-won early in the morning, accompanied by two subordinates assigned to him by the Murim Alliance for training and protection.
Oseong Jang-won was famous enough that any resident of Hangju could give directions, so finding it was not difficult.
Even after the carriage arrived at Oseong Jang-won, Jeung Seok-pil did not step out.
One of his subordinates knocked on the main gate of Oseong Jang-won to announce their arrival.
Poking his head through the carriage window, he could see the subordinate conversing with what appeared to be a worker.
Soon the great gate opened, and the carriage rolled into the courtyard.
He knew Oseong Jang-won was famous in Hangju, but he hadn’t expected it to be this vast.
In terms of scale, it was easily three times the size of Dongsi Doga, and it was far more magnificent besides—so much so that Dongsi Doga seemed shabby by comparison.
‘At this scale, there’s plenty of money to be wrung out.’
Jeung Seok-pil concealed his satisfaction behind a feigned look of anger as he followed the worker toward the reception hall.

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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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