Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 120

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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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#120

“Are you really the Hyeolpung Saja?”
“Don’t look like it to you?”
If it was the martial arts Do Pyeong-su had briefly demonstrated earlier, she could certainly believe it.
“But why are you all so kind?”
Hyeolpung Saja, who had been watching Jeon Mi-ryeo intently, suddenly burst into raucous laughter.
“We’re kind, she says! Hahahaha!”
“I’ve lived nearly a hundred years and never heard such an absurd joke! Kahahaha!”
“Hohoho! The Hyeolpung Saja are kind! Hohoho!”
“Kyahahaha!”
After laughing for a long while, Hyeolpung Saja scattered in all directions. Geom U-bin, watching their departing figures, let out a quiet smile.
“Your disciples seem quite embarrassed.”
“Really? They don’t look that way to me.”
There was no need to voice the honest thought: they just looked insane.
“But how did you become the senior brother of the Hyeolpung Saja, my lord?”
“My late master took me as his first disciple.”
“What? Ma Gun-ja has passed away?”
Geom U-bin nodded, and Jeon Mi-ryeo asked nothing further.
“The inn generates quite substantial revenue.”
It was double what Geom U-bin had anticipated.
“The name Oseong Jang-won carries absolute authority here in Hangju. Even if prices are slightly higher, people place boundless trust in anything bearing the Oseong name.”
As he explained, the one-armed Bae Do-sang’s voice carried a note of elation. Even he had not foreseen the business running so smoothly, like a ship with full sails in a favorable wind.
“Is this the first harvest of Longjing Tea?”
“Yes. It will be supplied to all the tea houses in Hangju, as well as to the inns, wine houses, and pleasure quarters.”
Beyond that, silk cultivation and crop farming were also progressing smoothly.
There was no need for Geom U-bin to involve himself directly.
“It’s better than I expected. Now that people have employment again, the aftermath of the Jo Hwang Clan’s collapse has truly passed, hasn’t it?”
“Once the silk operations reach full capacity, there will be even more jobs than before. And there’s one more thing I’d like to suggest.”
“What is it?”
“How would you feel about establishing a merchant’s guild?”
“Wouldn’t that create conflicts with the Seo-yang Pyoguk?”
There was a bond of obligation with the Seo-yang Pyoguk from their past dealings, making it impossible to sever ties easily.
“True, but didn’t we just take over the Dongryeo Unhwa?”
The word “take over” wasn’t quite precise, but no one could deny that Oseong Jang-won’s power had been decisive in the Dongryeo Unhwa’s reconstruction.
“The Dongryeo Unhwa has the geographic advantage of connecting to the sea. Using it, we can transport goods cheaply and quickly. Since we’d be using waterways, there would be little overlap with the Seo-yang Pyoguk.”
“Then proceed at once.”
After Bae Do-sang departed following another half hour of discussion, Geom U-bin made his way toward the Back Garden.
There, Hang Ju-sa-ung and Jeon Mi-ryeo were deep in their cultivation practice.
Jeon Mi-ryeo no longer minded the eyes of others, and whenever she encountered a barrier, she pestered Hyeolpung Saja relentlessly.
“It’s the Sae-oe Five Kings Martial Art! Why are you asking me!”
“The lord said that since it’s the Manryu Gwi-jong, I should ask the Hyeolpung Saja whenever I hit a wall.”
“The senior brother really does say unnecessary things.”
Seo Seok-san grumbled even as he pinpointed exactly what Jeon Mi-ryeo was struggling with.
“Stop right there. Your left foot is turning out too far, so your hands and feet are moving in crossed patterns. Anyway, that’s always the problem with people who learned martial arts from books.”
“I didn’t learn it from a book, though.”
“You said you learned it from a book.”
“I’ve memorized it all now. It’s all in this head of mine.”
“That’s the same thing!”
“But it’s not really from a book.”
“Anyway, don’t move so roughly. Keep your feet pressed close to the ground and shift them smoothly, like brushing against it. It looks natural that way, but the way you’re stomping on them like you’re crushing a snake makes the next move slow and tangled.”
“I run away when I see a snake.”
“You don’t lack talent in martial arts—it’s that smart mouth of yours that’s the problem.”
Geom U-bin watched Seo Seok-san and Jeon Mi-ryeo bickering with an amused smile, then circled around the building toward the Central Courtyard.
“That’s it! That’s it! Our Jangsu is a genius! A natural! Bring it back again!”
Do Pyeong-su was completely absorbed in a game of fetch with the beast.
“So you’ve finally found a friend who’s actually your equal?”
As always, when Do Pyeong-su was around, Yeon Geum-hong couldn’t let a comment like that pass.
Do Pyeong-su shot her a glare before shouting at Jangsu.
“Attack! Bite him! Just clamp down hard!”
But Jangsu only let out a whimper and stood frozen, not daring to make a move.
“I was wrong. Jangsu’s far more intelligent than you are.”
Woof! Woof!
Over the sound of Jangsu’s barking, Go Seo-bang came bounding over in a frenzy, clutching no fewer than five thick notebooks in his hands.
Do Pyeong-su asked him.
“What are all those notebooks for?”
“They’re for Master.”
“For Master to do what?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Seo Seok-san occasionally composed verse and wrote music, so Do Pyeong-su thought nothing of it. But after finishing lunch, Seo Seok-san had barricaded himself in his room with no sign of coming out.
“Seok-san, I’m bored. How about a game of janggi?”
Do Pyeong-su flung the door open, and Seo Seok-san hastily covered the notebook he’d been writing in.
“Hey! You’re supposed to announce yourself before you come in!”
“Since when do we need such formalities? Anyway, what’s that?”
Seo Seok-san quickly slipped the notebook into his robe.
“Nothing at all.”
“Nothing, my foot. What is it? Let me see.”
“What would an illiterate like you understand anyway?”
The matter devolved into a loud argument about Do Pyeong-su’s supposed illiteracy, and the notebook was forgotten in the commotion.
Of course, since Do Pyeong-su was every bit as clever as Jangsu, it wasn’t long before the notebook resurfaced in his mind.
“Strange. What could he possibly be hiding from us?”
Yeon Geum-hong, whom he ran into in the courtyard, had no intention of letting his muttering pass unnoticed.
“Strange how? What trouble are you cooking up now?”
“It’s not me—it’s Seok-san.”
Do Pyeong-su recounted what had happened in Seo Seok-san’s room and added his thoughts.
“He was startled like some scholar caught sketching spring pictures.”
“Spring pictures, really?”
“If they were, he’d have finished them and made me admire his work. Come to think of it, he hasn’t done anything like that lately.”
“Don’t go prying into other people’s secrets. Did you learn nothing from that incident with your senior brother?”
“Learn? I made myself a treasure box too.”
“That was just copying what you saw. That’s hardly a lesson. In any case, don’t go digging into others’ secrets and cause unnecessary trouble.”
“Aren’t you curious?”
“Not at all.”
“Seok-san has a secret from us?”
“I can see everything in his head anyway. He ought to have at least one secret to his name.”
Yet even as she said it, Yeon Geum-hong felt a flicker of curiosity.
These weren’t just any companions—the Bloodwind Four Lions shared secrets the way other people breathed. Given that even Yeon Geum-hong’s own secrets had been exposed, what could she possibly be hiding?
Do Pyeong-su, who had no sense of proportion and couldn’t resist his own curiosity, brought it up again during dinner.
“What were you writing in your room earlier?”
Seo Seok-san, in the middle of savoring some jellyfish appetizer, flinched at the question.
“Writing? What makes you think I was writing?”
“Ah, so now you’re not just hiding the notebook—you’re denying you wrote anything at all. That only makes it more suspicious.”
“Stop talking nonsense and eat your meal.”
“Come on, tell me. Are you keeping a diary?”
“Fine, I’m keeping a diary. So what?”
“A diary? Like some girl?”
The moment the word “girl” left his lips, Yeon Geum-hong couldn’t possibly remain silent.
“Are you mocking girls, or are you mocking diaries?”
“Both.”
“You say that right to my face? Is that a challenge?”
“When did I say anything so blatant?”
“You just said you mock girls.”
“Yeah—so where’s the girl here to be offended?”
Do Pyeong-su spoke without hesitation, never having seen Yeon Geum-hong as a woman in the first place.
“Fine, I concede. You win.”
Having secured an inexplicable victory, Do Pyeong-su still couldn’t let go of Seo Seok-san’s secret.
Do Pyeong-su wanted to search Seo Seok-san’s room, but the man rarely left it except when Yeon Geum-hong was teaching him martial arts.
After four days of this, even Jang Man-dok caught the contagion of Do Pyeong-su’s curiosity.
“Man-dok, that bastard Seok-san definitely has something going on, I’m telling you. That fool who loves to flit around restlessly—him holing up in his room like this? Something’s definitely afoot.”
The opportunity to uncover that “something” was slow in coming. The only time Seo Seok-san was certainly absent from his room was during his cultivation practice.
Do Pyeong-su had just watched Seo Seok-san leave for the Back Garden, yet he still deployed all five senses to confirm the room was empty before opening the door.
The Hyeolpung Saja’s quarters were all austere, and Seo Seok-san’s was no exception.
When he opened the second drawer of the desk where brush and ink lay, he found what he was looking for.
“Found it?”
“Ahhh!”
Do Pyeong-su let out a shriek of surprise. Yeon Geum-hong, peering around the doorframe, spoke up.
“Your courage is the size of your little finger.”
“Give me some warning before you creep around!”
“Warn you while sneaking into someone else’s room?”
“Either way!”
Behind Yeon Geum-hong, Jang Man-dok’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.
“Hurry and open it.”
Do Pyeong-su withdrew a notebook and began turning the pages.
But no matter how many he flipped through, he found only blank space—not a single mark of ink.
Four empty notebooks disappointed them considerably.
“There’s nothing here. What in the world has this bastard been writing all this time?”
Do Pyeong-su glanced at Jang Man-dok, his brow furrowing sharply.
“What? You’re saying Seok-san’s chest was bulging earlier? That he seemed to have a notebook tucked there? You should have said so from the start!”
“Why would he keep something so important on his person at all times?”
“It’s not actually a diary, is it?”
“Seok-san isn’t the type to keep one. Besides, what do we have to write about these days? Yesterday is the same as today, and tomorrow will be the same as today.”
Do Pyeong-su snapped his fingers.
“I have a good idea.”
“Don’t expect much, but let’s hear it.”
“Take it by force! There are three of us and only one of him.”
“You never disappoint my expectations. If we use a little strength, five of my jade pendants will shatter—can you calculate how much we’d have to earn to replace them? You want to see Yeon Geum-hong that angry?”
“Then what do we do? What if this bastard is plotting to become our senior brother?”
“That can’t happen!”
They both shouted at once.

***

“I’m sorry—what did you say?”
Se-hwa’s eyes widened to three times their normal size.
“Why so startled? You just take it for a moment.”
“But the thing I’d be taking is Master Seo’s clothes. And the place I’d be taking it from is the bathhouse. And the time I’d be taking it is while Master Seo is bathing. How am I supposed to not be startled?”
Yeon Geum-hong spoke soothingly.
“I’ll teach you a Movement Technique that no one can detect. Just use that technique to slip in and take it.”
“But…….”
Do Pyeong-su cut off Se-hwa’s protest.
“When that bastard Seok-san bathes, he covers his eyes with a towel and hums to himself. So if you deaden your footsteps, you’ll succeed easily enough. If you stay as you are, you won’t become a disciple—you’ll be demoted to one of the Gang Seo Samak’s disciples.”
Though she had no particular objection to that, the expressions of the three Hyeolpung Saja were so earnest that she could not refuse.
“Can I learn that Movement Technique quickly?”
“Of course. Thirty minutes is enough.”
“But why do I have to go instead of you three masters?”
“If we get caught, half of Oseong Jang-won will be destroyed.”
Se-hwa let out a long sigh.
“So there’s still a chance I could get caught.”
“Would Seok-san really attack you?”
Yeon Geum-hong asked the question aloud, but thought to herself: ‘He could certainly kill you.’
“Teach me that Movement Technique.”
Do Pyeong-su held out a pair of shoes.
“Put these on.”
“Pardon?”
“These are the technique. The soles are lined with cotton so they make almost no sound. Wear them and execute the Shipbo Baekryeong you’ve learned, and even a ghost won’t detect you.”
Se-hwa’s face transformed as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
“This isn’t a new movement technique at all—it’s just new shoes.”
Yeon Geum-hong pressed the shoes into Se-hwa’s hands.
“Think of it as a shift in perspective. Change into them quickly. It’s almost time for Seo Seok-san’s bath.”
Se-hwa switched shoes with the resigned feeling of a butterfly caught in a spider’s web from which there was no escape.
“I’ve already exposed the roof tiles and fixed the ceiling. You just go in and grab it. Simple, right?”
“Change into this outfit.”
What Yeon Geum-hong offered was the sort of tight fighting clothes that assassins commonly wore, clinging to the body.
“What about a face mask?”
“Do you want to die? Keep your face as exposed as possible. That way, if anything goes wrong, Seo Seok-san will know it’s you.”
Once Se-hwa had changed clothes and emerged, the three of them made their way to the pavilion where the bathhouse stood. A servant could be seen carrying in a bucket with steam rising from it in thick wisps.
Do Pyeong-su spoke to Se-hwa, who was taking deep breaths in front of the wall.
“Remember this: you must check whether there’s a book in the clothes.”
Se-hwa paused for a moment, then asked.
“The target is a book?”
“That’s right.”
“Then I only need to bring the book, not the clothes, don’t I?”
The three members of the Hyeolpung Saja exchanged looks and nodded.
Unreliable masters, the lot of them.
Of all the advice they’d given her, keeping her face as exposed as possible was the only counsel worth anything.
Se-hwa hurled herself forward and landed on the roof.

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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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