Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 116

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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 116

Seo Seok-san and Do Pyeong-su waited outside the Underground Cultivation Chamber for Yeon Geum-hong to emerge.
“She’s come to her senses?”
“Yes.”
“What started a fight with those Orthodox Faction people?”
“I didn’t ask.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re not going to help with it anyway. So what’s the point?”
“I’m curious.”
“Monk, at your age you still haven’t grasped the truth that ignorance is bliss?”
Seo Seok-san wedged himself between the two of them.
“Either way, she’s alive. Shouldn’t we tell the elder?”
Keeping secrets from Geom U-bin left an uneasy gnawing in the chest.
“I hate deceiving the elder too, but let’s not tell him about this.”
“You’re not going to kill them anyway, so why?”
“She has a conflict with the Orthodox Faction. What if those bastards did something wrong — their true nature showing? And then the elder wants to help? What will you do then?”
Seo Seok-san and Do Pyeong-su’s heads nodded simultaneously.
“Very troublesome business would emerge.”
“There’s no point in inviting trouble. And it won’t be as simple as sweeping out the Remnants of Blood Cult.”
Do Pyeong-su spoke.
“That wasn’t simple either.”
“It got complicated because you sank that ship!”
Yeon Geum-hong’s loud voice reached Geom U-bin’s ears as he rounded the building.
“Is Do the disciple still being scolded for destroying that ship?”
“Yes! Geum-hong keeps scolding me!”
Yeon Geum-hong, who had kicked Do Pyeong-su’s backside, frowned when she saw Noh Dae-sul following behind Geom U-bin.
“You’re still here?”
“I’ve earned my keep — my food and drink. Don’t be so harsh.”
“Chasing away one wretched pest. That’s hardly something to boast about.”
Gal Ma-pyeong came rushing over, calling to them.
“Lord! Master!”
Yeon Geum-hong let out a long sigh.
“What is it now?”
“Someone from the Murim Alliance has come!”
The Bloodwind Saja’s expression darkened, and his displeasure bore down squarely on Noh Dae-sul.
“You said you chased the pest away. You didn’t pay your tab properly?”
Noh Dae-sul, taken aback, quickly frowned.
“This money-grubbing bastard acts like beggars scare him…….”
“It’s not the one who came this morning.”
“Then who?”
“Someone from the Chuuyeongdan, they say.”
Noh Dae-sul’s face went rigid.
“The Chuuyeongdan? Why would they come here?”
“I don’t even know what the Chuuyeongdan is.”
Even the Bloodwind Saja, who knew quite a bit about the Murim Alliance, was hearing this name for the first time.
“What kind of place is it?”
“An organization within the Murim Alliance that was suddenly formed five years ago — they hunt down public enemies of Murim.”
“Public enemies of Murim?”
In that instant, the Bloodwind Saja exchanged glances.
“Did the Murim Alliance mark us as public enemies of Murim?”
Noh Dae-sul waved both hands.
“No, no, that can’t be. The things you’ve done — they’d deserve that label, but would the whole Murim Alliance go mad and do such a thing?”
“But then why would the Chuuyeongdan, who hunts public enemies, come here…….”
Geom U-bin cut off Do Pyeong-su’s words.
“Let’s go find out.”
Yeon Geum-hong caught Seo Seok-san as he tried to chase after Geom U-bin.
“It’s probably because of that girl in the Underground Cultivation Chamber.”
“That woman is a Murim fugitive?”
“Fugitive or not, she has to be the target. Hmm, what do we do?”
“If we just hand her over, it’ll expose that we deceived the senior. We have to hide her.”
Having reached their conclusion, the two hurried after Geom U-bin.
Sixteen members of the Chuuyeongdan had come to Oseong Jang-won. Among them, all in their thirties and forties, were three women.
Noh Dae-sul stepped forward as if he belonged to Oseong Jang-won.
“What brings the Chuuyeongdan here?”
The Chuuyeongdan was equally startled.
“Bang-ju, why are you here?”
The one asking was Du Baek-jin, the youngest elder of the Jongnam Sect and the current lord of the Chuuyeongdan.
“It’s a brewery run by an acquaintance of mine. The old fool here likes his drink, so that’s why I’m here. Why has the Chuuyeongdan come to a place that makes liquor?”
“We were pursuing traces of an evil-doer and ended up here. I heard that someone from this estate pulled a drowning man from the water.”
It seemed someone had witnessed Go Seo-bang and Gal Ma-pyeong pulling Jeon Mi-ryeo out.
“Is that so?”
Geom U-bin, catching Noh Dae-sul’s gaze, spoke.
“If such a thing had happened, I would have known of it. It seems someone saw it wrong.”
“So one of the masters here says otherwise.”
“If it’s no trouble, I’d like to look around the estate.”
These were not the sort to simply step aside if asked — the Bloodwind Four Lions would never allow such a thorough search.
“That’s too much trouble. You nameless lot coming here to ransack your elders’ home? Get out quietly.”
The Chuuyeongdan found Do Pyeong-su’s words baffling.
“We clearly revealed our identities.”
“I said no.”
Noh Dae-sul quickly stepped between them.
“It seems the witness saw something wrong. The people living here aren’t the sort to lie. So why not turn back now?”
“Respectfully, Bang-ju, we cannot follow that instruction.”
The Chuuyeongdan was fundamentally different from someone like Jeung Seok-pil.
If Jeung Seok-pil was a catfish muddying the waters of the Murim Alliance, the Chuuyeongdan was a pillar supporting it.
The Chuuyeongdan possessed the strength to oppose even the authority of Bang-ju Noh Dae-sul himself.
“I stake my honor that there is no one here you’re pursuing!”
With his honor—worth less than a cup of wine—he could have bet a hundred times to prevent war between the Bloodwind Four Lions and the Murim Alliance. But the Chuuyeongdan would not accept the honor of Noh Dae-sul, worth no more than wine.
“No matter what, we must search this estate. Either stop us, Bang-ju, or let us pass.”
‘These stupid fools! If I let them pass, their heads will roll!’
The moment the Chuuyeongdan died at the hands of the Bloodwind Four Lions, war became inevitable.
“Who is this evil-doer that he should be so stubborn about?”
“Remnants of the Blood Cult.”
The shock of the name Blood Cult was so great that the surroundings fell into sudden silence.
“Did you just say… Blood Cult?”
“Yes.”
“How long has it been since the Blood Cult was destroyed? Remnants still linger?”
“Evil is like a weed—it clings to life with stubborn persistence. We fight now with our lives on the line to root out what remains.”
“If it’s the Blood Cult, which has caused so much harm to Murim, it should certainly be eradicated. But searching someone’s home without evidence is hardly the conduct of the Orthodox Faction, is it?”
“A witness is sufficient evidence. If you obstruct the eradication of Blood Cult remnants, you too will be considered complicit with the Blood Cult.”
With the name Blood Cult added to the Chuuyeongdan, there was no longer any possibility they would back down.
Glancing at the Bloodwind Four Lions, Noh Dae-sul felt despair wash over him.
If the Chuuyeongdan wouldn’t retreat, the Bloodwind Four Lions wouldn’t either. Had Noh Dae-sul not stepped forward himself, the Chuuyeongdan would already have been wiped out.
‘If only I revealed the identity of the Bloodwind Four Lions!’
At the very least, the Chuuyeongdan wouldn’t be slaughtered here.
Hangju would become turbulent, certainly, but if done well, war might be avoided.
In this situation, he had no choice but to choose the lesser evil over the worst.
“You don’t know this, but this Oseong Jang-won is——”
“That’s fine.”
“Blood—— Fine? What do you mean, fine?”
Noh Dae-sul looked at Geom U-bin, who had spoken.
“Search. But if no Blood Cult remnants appear, you’ll have to answer for that error.”
Du Baek-jin asked.
“Answer for it?”
“Doesn’t wrongdoing always carry responsibility? Or is the Murim Alliance made up of people who can do wrong without consequence?”
Geom U-bin harbored no fondness for the Murim Alliance, regardless of the circumstances.
“We seek to establish justice in Murim.”
“I have no desire for further argument. Speak only of how you intend to take responsibility.”
Noh Dae-sul interjected swiftly.
“Indeed! One who has erred must know how to bear responsibility before they can claim to walk the Orthodox path. Otherwise, what separates them from one who walks the Evil way?”
The Chuuyeongdan could not abandon the thread they had grasped with such effort.
Though they might have blocked unconditionally, since they had granted permission on condition, they had to at least hear what those conditions were—if only out of respect for Noh Dae-sul.
“What is it you want?”
“I hear there are marriage negotiations underway between Jegal Jong-ryeo and disciples of the Mudang Faction. Break off that engagement.”
Geom U-bin’s condition was one that neither the Chuuyeongdan nor even the Bloodwind Four Lions had anticipated.
Du Baek-jin, his expression bewildered, turned to the vice-master Na Chang-dong.
“Is such a thing occurring in the Mudang Faction?”
He asked because Na Chang-dong served as the faction master of the Mudang Faction.
“I have heard whispers of it, but such matters are not within my purview.”
Geom U-bin spoke.
“This is important work—the eradication of the Remnants of the Blood Cult. I doubt anyone would fault you for involving yourself in such a trivial matter.”
“Whatever the connection to the Jegal Family’s daughter, this is hardly a reasonable condition.”
“Neither is entering another’s estate to conduct a search without warrant.”
At an opportune moment, Noh Dae-sul stepped forward.
“The Oseong Jang-won has shown the utmost sincerity. If you will not accept even this gesture of goodwill, then you shall have to go through me before you search the estate.”
‘That should be worth five bottles of Oseong Wine at least.’
The thought of the wine flashed across Noh Dae-sul’s mind, and his mouth watered.
Now that a path to peaceful resolution had opened, Noh Dae-sul was prepared to do whatever was necessary.
With Noh Dae-sul taking such a stance, the one now under pressure was Vice-master Na Chang-dong.
“I have already said—the marriage of my disciples is not a matter for me to decide.”
“No promise, no search.”
The one truly in difficulty was not Oseong Jang-won, but Noh Dae-sul. If Noh Dae-sul used force to block the search, Du Baek-jin would find himself in a precarious position he could not easily resolve.
Thus, persuading Na Chang-dong seemed the simpler course for now.
“Vice-master, you stand so high in the regard of the Mudang Faction that you’re about to be promoted to elder—surely you possess the influence to manage such a thing?”
Na Chang-dong drew a long breath.
“I will earn resentment.”
“This is hardly the moment to worry about incurring resentment.”
“But there is no guarantee it is even here…….”
“Vice-master Na.”
“Very well. I will see to it that the engagement is broken off, however I must.”
Du Baek-jin spoke to Noh Dae-sul.
“Does this satisfy you?”
Geom U-bin, meeting Noh Dae-sul’s gaze, stepped aside.
The Bloodwind Four Lions bore expressions thick with displeasure, yet they could only defer to Geom U-bin’s decision.
“I will grant you one Double Hour. Any longer and it would prove difficult for us.”
“Two Double Hours.”
Geom U-bin nodded. He had always intended to grant them that much time anyway.
“Search even in the mousehole! Leave nothing unturned!”
Watching the Chuuyeongdan enter the estate, Geom U-bin spoke to Hang Ju-sa-ung.
“Have the workers cooperate with the search.”
Hang Ju-sa-ung, having received Geom U-bin’s orders, went inside as well. Then Yeon Geum-hong asked casually.
“Brother, do you have feelings for Jegal Jong-ryeo?”
“What? Oh! Well, I do care for her. She’s my elder sister.”
“Then why did you suddenly make her marriage a condition?”
Noh Dae-sul too watched Geom U-bin with eyes bright as an old man’s could be.
“If we block them, war with the Murim Alliance is certain. Their conduct irked me, so I didn’t wish to simply step aside. I just spoke whatever came to mind.”
Yeon Geum-hong let out a soft laugh.
“It seems Jegal Jong-ryeo is the only one who benefits from this affair. I hope she doesn’t misunderstand your intentions.”
“Will I become a nuisance to her?”
“Undoubtedly you will.”
“It seems I made a mistake. Could I change the condition now?”
Both the Bloodwind Four Lions and Noh Dae-sul shook their heads in unison.
The disruption caused by allowing the search was considerable for those dwelling in the estate.
Not only rooms and warehouses, but beneath beds, inside wardrobes, and even the spaces above ceilings—they combed through everything as promised.
The Bloodwind Four Lions, having parted from Geom U-bin, gathered in the Back Garden. The search had not yet reached the Underground Cultivation Chamber.
“Is that woman really a remnant of the Blood Cult?”
At Do Pyeong-su’s question, Yeon Geum-hong let out a derisive snort.
“Nonsense. When was the Blood Cult ever relevant? It’s been gone for ages. It’s just an excuse for people with something to hide.”
Seo Seok-san cast his gaze toward the distance beyond the estate.
“Blood Cult or not, she’s clearly someone of considerable importance. Don’t you feel it? We’re surrounded.”
Only sixteen members of Chuuyeongdan had entered Oseong Jang-won, yet more than two hundred gathered in the surrounding areas.
“I’m getting curious myself about who this woman is.”
Seo Seok-san repeated to Yeon Geum-hong the very words she had spoken to Do Pyeong-su.
“If you’re not planning to keep her, don’t wonder about her. Once she’s mobile again, the best course is to send her on her way.”
The distant sound of a baby’s cry drifted across the night.
“Why are these bastards making Ji-u cry!”
Hyeolpung Saja bolted forward in a rage, and moments later a Chuuyeongdan member came flying out through a window.
Fortunately, the fall caused no serious injury, so the scuffle didn’t escalate into open combat.
“Control yourself!”
At Noh Dae-sul’s shout, Hyeolpung Saja emitted a low, bestial growl.
“Touch our Ji-u and I’ll kill you, even if it costs me my life.”
“Got it.”
While Hyeolpung Saja stood guard over Ji-u, Geom U-bin ambled casually through the estate.
What was remarkable was that Gong Seong-tak remained absorbed in his work at the Blacksmith Workshop throughout the commotion.
Gong Seong-tak, who had been honing the blade of a scythe against the whetstone, asked Geom U-bin as she entered the workshop.
“Quite a racket out there. What’s the trouble?”
“The Murim Alliance came looking for someone.”
“The Murim Alliance? What’s that?”
“You don’t need to concern yourself with it.”

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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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