Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 127

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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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#Episode 127

“My work resolved all the turmoil. Now we should discuss our agreement, don’t you think?”
Yeon Geum-hong spoke.
“Is there anything left to discuss?”
“You found the Ungdam-ju for me, didn’t you? So you need to return the ten bottles of Oseong Wine and the Tagu-bong I entrusted to you!”
“I found it, yes. Though later than you promised.”
“Well, finding it late is better than not finding it at all, isn’t it?”
“Better, perhaps, but that doesn’t mean you kept your promise. Since you didn’t keep it, there’s no wine or Tagu-bong for you.”
Noh Dae-sul’s face flushed at Yeon Geum-hong’s words.
“Is there anywhere in this world so heartless? They say even the law has tears…….”
“Surely you weren’t hoping for tears from the Bloodwind Four Lions? Tsk, tsk, tsk!”
There was nothing Noh Dae-sul could resolve through anger before the Bloodwind Four Lions.
In the end, the only thing that could work was a plea, and the only person it could work on was Geom U-bin.
“Hehe! Great Lord, since I found the wine and the dispute was resolved because of that, does the speed or slowness of time really matter so much? Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Of course. Didn’t I thank you, Bang-ju?”
“I haven’t heard it yet, but let’s say you did.”
“I haven’t given you the Oseong Wine and Tagu-bong either, but let’s say I did.”
“Hmm?”
“I understand roughly how things unfolded. You made a wager with Bang-ju, and you lost, didn’t you?”
“If you want to be blunt about it, that’s not entirely wrong, but…….”
“I can’t overturn a wager the disciples won.”
Noh Dae-sul, who had been staring at Geom U-bin blankly, suddenly bellowed.
“Even they say a crab’s children are crabs, but I never thought you’d turn out like this!”
“Did you just raise your voice to our senior?”
“Seems like you’ve grown quite angry.”
“You want to be beaten with the Tagu-bong like a stray dog on a summer day?”
The Bloodwind Four Lions’ threat, delivered in turn, didn’t sound like it would remain merely a threat.
“Ah, no, that’s not……. I just lost my temper for a moment……, it’s all my lack of discipline.”
Noh Dae-sul looked at Geom U-bin with the expression of a hungry cat.
“Master Noh’s situation seems rather pitiful. Couldn’t you at least give him the Oseong Wine?”
He had clearly meant to say Tagu-bong.
But Noh Dae-sul’s lips betrayed the true yearning deep in his heart, and out came Oseong Wine instead.
“No, not Oseong Wine, but……Oseong Wine! Blast it!”
Geom U-bin let out a light sigh with a helpless expression.
“We’re hardly strangers, and you’re the master of a friend, so I can’t be cold-hearted either. This is quite troubling.”
“Isn’t it? How desolate the world would be without warmth? Our bond is no ordinary karma, after all.”
“Even so, I can’t break the disciples’ promises on my own. It seems there might be conditions that would satisfy the disciples too…….”
Geom U-bin trailed off and looked at Noh Dae-sul. The eager Noh Dae-sul asked eagerly.
“Those conditions would include the Oseong Wine, or rather the Tagu-bong, or rather the Oseong-bong too, wouldn’t they?”
Noh Dae-sul’s yearning had spawned a new name, “Oseong-bong,” but everyone wore an expression of understanding.
“The Oseong Wine is something we make, so presenting it isn’t difficult, and the Tagu-bong is a treasure to Bang-ju, but to the disciples it’s merely a sturdy stick, isn’t it?”
Do Pyeong-su spoke.
“It has the touch of combat experience from stirring wine.”
Noh Dae-sul sprang to his feet.
“You mean you’ve already stirred wine with it?”
“It must be soaked with the scent of Oseong Wine?”
“Hehehehe……! That’s really quite excellent……no, rather the precious thing of Bang-ju, lord of the Sect!”
“What’s this about Bang-ju of the Sect that even dogs won’t bite.”
Noh Dae-sul, about to say something, abandoned the pointless bickering and asked Geom U-bin instead.
“Lord, what must I do for you to give me the Oseong-bong?”
The Bloodwind Four Lions, upon receiving Geom U-bin’s gaze, spoke.
“I’ll leave this matter entirely to you, senior.”
Geom U-bin, who had already thought it through, made a proposal to Noh Dae-sul.
“I’ll declare that you won this wager, Bang-ju.”
Noh Dae-sul’s mouth split wide, and both his hands shot up into the air.
“Showing such kindness to a beggar! You’ll live to a hundred!”
“This beggar’s speaking nonsense. What makes him think our master can only live to a hundred?”
“Curse him with a short life! You’re the king of beggars!”
“Ah, no, I’ve just made a general blessing. Three hundred years, perhaps…….”
Geom U-bin cut off Noh Dae-sul’s words.
“I was hoping you might grant me one request on behalf of the Sect.”
“Hmm? What request?”
“I haven’t thought about it yet. But if I’m going to live three hundred years, won’t I need something within that time?”
“Hmph! That’s far too vague. The Sect could collapse within that span. Can’t you name something you can ask for right now?”
“At the very least, I’ll ask while you’re still alive. I can’t pass such a debt down through generations.”
“So you’re asking it of me personally, then.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Of the entire Sect? You want me to grant a request without even knowing what it is?”
“Yes.”
Noh Dae-sul’s head swayed side to side, but then Geom U-bin’s voice came through.
“Then I cannot give you ten jars of Oseong Wine.”
Noh Dae-sul’s nodding ceased. There was no need to even mention the Tagu-bong.
“Now, let’s make this a personal matter of mine instead. Truth be told, I am the Sect and the Sect is me. Taking on a debt for my personal affairs through the entire Sect feels improper, no matter how much authority I hold as Lord.”
“Since I don’t know what I might need to ask for, don’t I require a more binding promise? That’s why a covenant with the Sect as a whole is more solid than one with you personally.”
Noh Dae-sul’s eyes drifted toward the Bloodwind Four Lions.
If he granted a request to those men, it was something he absolutely must refuse.
The Tagu-bong left in his care was important enough, but he couldn’t stake the Sect’s fortune on a mere tool.
And ten jars of Oseong Wine—well! Yes! He could grit his teeth and let that go!
He’d managed well enough without the wine until now; he’d scrape by somehow in the years ahead. But the one making the request wasn’t the Bloodwind Four Lions.
Noh Dae-sul’s gaze shifted to Geom U-bin.
“You’re the one making the request, aren’t you, Lord Geom?”
“Of course.”
“You’re far more trustworthy than those four old fools.”
Yeon Geum-hong spoke up.
“The first sensible thing you’ve said since we met.”
“I pledge on my name as Lord of this Sect: from this day forward, the Sect will grant Lord Geom U-bin of Oseong Jang-won one request, no matter what circumstance arises.”
“The word will be verified through the proper channels.”
“Within four days, every beggar in Murim will know of it. Now then—bring out the Oseong Wine!”
Just then, Jang Man-dok, who had stepped out, returned.
In Jang Man-dok’s hands was a leather bag containing the Tagu-bong and ten jars of Oseong Wine.
“What? Man-dok, how did you know to bring those? You say he ordered you to fetch them on your way out?”
“What’s the meaning of this, sir?”
Everyone’s startled gaze turned toward Geom U-bin.
“It’s something that had to be returned anyway, isn’t it? Surely you didn’t mean to use the Sect Lord’s treasured tool as a simple stirring stick for wine?”
Do Pyeong-su had indeed been planning to do exactly that, but instead of answering, he posed a question.
“What about the wine?”
“You’ve come all this way with difficulty—of course we should give it. Aren’t we more than mere acquaintances? Isn’t that right, Lord?”
Despite Geom U-bin’s smiling face, Noh Dae-sul’s expression turned sour.
“So you were planning to give the wine even if I hadn’t agreed to the request.”
“Naturally. Though I did think you would agree.”
Noh Dae-sul shook his head slowly.
“An old beggar who’s rolled through this harsh Murim his whole life—and you’ve got me dancing in your palm. I’ll ask one thing of you: never walk the Demonic Path like your disciples do. There’s no greater misfortune in Murim than that.”

***

Haenyeong Harbor was experiencing its most prosperous period since its founding.
Ships arriving from the sea and departing through the canal, endless streams of wagons for water transport—it was utter chaos.
They were hastily constructing new berths to accommodate the vessels, but it couldn’t keep pace with the volume.
“You there! Move that cart quickly! Can’t you see the congestion!”
“I said send it to dock three, not dock one! There’s another ship coming in right behind this!”
“Hurry now! The crew will unload the cargo, so just gather your personal belongings!”
Fishing boats, cargo ships, and passenger vessels crowded the once-dead harbor of Haenyeong, which was dead no longer.
Go Gil-tae, who maintained order by blowing his emergency whistle, wiped the sweat from his forehead despite the chill in the air.
These days there wasn’t even time to take a piss and scratch himself.
“Hey! What’s that man doing lying in the middle of the road! Somebody move him!”
A carriage driver laden with cargo was shouting at the road below. Three men lay sprawled across the middle of the thoroughfare, and every carriage passing through had come to a halt.
Shrill!
Go Gil-tae rushed forward, blowing his emergency whistle.
A drunk passed out in broad daylight was hardly an uncommon sight. But these three men were not drunk at all.
“The sky’s a fine color today. On a day like this, I’d rather be spending it in a pleasure house with a woman and a cup of wine from noon onward.”
As one man in his thirties, lying on the ground, spoke, a bearded man beside him shot back.
“I’d like to, but I’m broke. Who’s going to buy us a drink?”
The third man, appearing to be in his late twenties, glanced at the approaching Go Gil-tae and remarked.
“Sirs, it looks like someone’s coming who might pay us.”
Go Gil-tae sighed at the sight of the ruffians sprawled out before him. Every so often, there were men like this—ones who couldn’t tell their head from their heel.
Wherever people gathered, money followed; and Haenyeong Harbor was one of the few places where people multiplied so rapidly. Inevitably, parasites feeding on the lifeblood of hardworking folk came along with them.
Go Gil-tae addressed the three men.
“Do you know who manages this place, and you’re still pulling this garbage?”
“Manages? Is there even such a thing here?”
“Have you heard of the Oseong Hoeh?”
The Triad organization Oseong Hoeh, which held sway over Hangju’s nights, had become renowned throughout Zhejiang Province and beyond.
A mere Triad might not amount to much, but if the Oseong Jang-won stood behind it, the matter became entirely different.
Long ago surpassing the renown of the Dongsi Doga, the Oseong Jang-won wielded both vast wealth and a peculiar standing in the martial world—one that even the great sects did not dare treat lightly.
It was a name even small-time ruffians knew; these three men certainly would as well.
“Is that so? I’ve heard of those clowns called the Oseong Hoeh—some Triad aping the Orthodox Faction, I gather? What are those idiots doing running a Triad anyway? They’d be better off licking the Orthodox Faction’s behind.”
The bearded man’s tasteless joke drew laughter from the other two.
“So we’ve got one with a weak technique.”
“You’ll beat us? Do you even know who we are?”
“Fools begging for death.”
“Half right. We don’t fear death. That’s what the Hao-mun does.”
At the mention of the Hao-mun, Go Gil-tae’s movements froze.
If asked to name the largest organization in Zhongyuan, eight or nine out of ten would point to the Sect. But one or two out of every ten might name the Hao-mun instead.
It was no exaggeration to say that the Hao-mun gathered every lowborn of Zhongyuan—thieves, fortune-tellers, con artists, courtesans, jesters, and more.
Just as not every beggar in Zhongyuan belonged to the Sect, not every commoner was part of the Hao-mun. Yet it was common knowledge that their numbers rivaled even the Sect’s.
In other words, making the Hao-mun your enemy was much like poking a hornet’s nest.
The Hao-mun, relentless and tenacious in their pursuit of enemies, was not an organization one made an adversary of lightly.
“Can you prove you’re truly Hao-mun members? The world has so many fakes these days…….”
“And if we are genuine Hao-mun?”
“Then naturally, I should show you proper respect.”
The bearded man rolled back his lower lip.
Inside, a dagger tattooed in blue was visible.
Go Gil-tae covertly examined the man’s left neck. The scar there, burned as if by a branding iron, indicated that the original tattoo had been erased.
‘A tattoo on the inside of the lip means he’s of leader rank.’
“How dare you cause trouble here!”
Go Gil-tae stopped the five Oseong Hoeh members who had rushed over, then flicked a silver coin to the bearded man.
“Why not settle matters here for today?”
The man pocketed the silver coin that had fallen on his chest and stood up.
“Not a bad start. I suppose we can find where we’re staying? We’ll see you tomorrow. And if you don’t come find us…….”
The bearded man gazed toward the docks, crowded with moored vessels, and muttered.
“The night could become as bright as midday.”

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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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