Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 13

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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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#013

Do Pyeong-su was about to leave the house when Ma-o-ryang’s grumbling came to mind.
He could suppress the man with a threat again, but if he happened to snap and go mad, that would be troublesome.
Before, he wouldn’t have minded killing him, but going forward, there would be occasions when he’d need to send Ma-o-ryang to steal things for him.
“Blast it! Who’d have thought I’d ever need something from a wretch like him? What am I supposed to do?”
Then he remembered the four hundred silver coins he’d scattered carelessly in his room.
Trading silver coins he had no use for and the Thousand-Year Polygonum would leave him with a profit.
Clink!
Ma-o-ryang, whose expression had darkened the moment he saw Do Pyeong-su, grew bewildered at the sight of the purse flung onto the table.
“What is this?”
“Weren’t you asking for money?”
‘Looks like he brought a few hundred coppers.’
Judging by the purse’s size, it could hold at most five hundred coppers.
To receive money that wasn’t even worth one silver coin and still be expected to take on another job—
‘Damned bastard!’
Ma-o-ryang cursed inwardly and opened the purse’s mouth, then gasped. What a brilliant silver gleam poured forth from within!
“This… what is the amount of this?”
“I didn’t count it, but my senior said it was four hundred silver coins, so it should be four hundred.”
“Your senior?”
“You don’t need to know. Is that enough?”
Ma-o-ryang bent at a ninety-degree angle.
“Master! Just name it! I will steal it swiftly, accurately, and courteously!”

***

Ha Seok-mun presented four exquisitely crafted ceramic bottles.
“There’s one difficult favor I think I must ask of you.”
“What sort of favor that requires such buildup?”
“The next shipment arrives in five days. When it does, I’d like you to fill each of these with Sagi Liquor and deliver them to the Seo-yang Silver House.”
It was the largest Silver House in Hangju, so Geom U-bin knew of it.
“The Seo-yang Silver House?”
“Yes. Normally our Wol-ha Pavilion should deliver it, but for some reason they specifically requested you as the courier.”
“Why would they specifically ask for me?”
“That’s what puzzles me as well. Can you do it?”
“Of course I can. They’re our largest client, after all.”
“They’re the client who benefits you most. Ha ha ha!”
“Then I’ll see you in five days!”
Geom U-bin left the Wol-ha Pavilion and set out on the path home.
When he stepped beyond the city center onto a quiet road, someone suddenly blocked his way.
“Sniff sniff! What a fragrant smell comes from here.”
An old beggar in tattered clothes with wild, unkempt hair circled around Geom U-bin, sniffing loudly.
“Ah, this is the Human Fragrance that emanates when someone possesses virtue. You must be a truly good person, young heir.”
Even though his counterpart was a beggar, Geom U-bin never abandoned courtesy.
“I’m merely an ordinary youngster, nothing more.”
“No, no! You can’t be merely ordinary. No one who smells this wonderful could be.”
“Isn’t that the smell of liquor, rather than human scent?”
“Huh? Can liquor smell this wonderful? Is there such a drink in this world? Could you show it to me?”
The old beggar wore an expression of feigned surprise, though saliva was already dripping from his lips.
Geom U-bin withdrew four small bottles from his robe.
They were much smaller than the original bottles containing the Sagi Liquor—sample bottles he always carried with him.
“In truth, they’re sealed, so the smell shouldn’t escape, but grandfather’s sense of smell is quite extraordinary.”
“Heh heh heh! My nose rivals that of a hunting hound. Heh heh heh! Now that you’ve shown me, wouldn’t it be only fair to let me taste some?”
The old beggar’s gaze shifted ceaselessly between the bottles and Geom U-bin’s face.
“I can give you one bottle.”
“One… one bottle?”
“Of course. I’m a merchant myself, so I understand. What would you like to drink?”
Four bottles of liquor spread out before him.
The old beggar Noh Dae-sul’s hands trembled.
To choose one bottle from these four—it was a cruel choice indeed.
“Please, couldn’t you just give me all four…….”
Geom U-bin cut off Noh Dae-sul’s words firmly.
“I’m afraid not!”
“Do you truly mean I must choose only one? That’s harder than asking a lover to pick between Yang Guifei, Zhao Feiyan, Xishi, and Wang Zhaojun!”
The Four Beauties of ancient China each had their own merits and flaws, but Sagi Liquor possessed only virtues—not a single fault could be found in any of them.
“Ugh! I’m normally a decisive person, but this paralysis of choice…….”
At last, Noh Dae-sul lowered his head with a sigh.
“Just pick one for me. If I choose myself, I’m certain I’ll regret missing the chance to taste the other three.”
Geom U-bin readily handed over a bottle.
“Pacheon Liquor?”
“Ah? This is Pacheon Liquor?”
Geom U-bin smiled as she checked the label at the base of the bottle.
“Wonderful! How did you know? I just gave you whichever one came to hand. Drinking too much is bad for your health, you know. When you have medicinal liquor, always pair it with good food.”
With a courteous bow, Geom U-bin hurried away.
Noh Dae-sul tucked the bottle into his belt and gazed quietly at her retreating figure.
“Strange. No matter how I look at her, she doesn’t seem to be a disciple of those wicked horse demons.”
Lost in thought, Noh Dae-sul deployed his Lightness Skill and headed toward the City Center of Hangju.
The brighter a place shines, the darker its shadows grow.
In one corner of glittering Hangju lived people who knew hunger more often than they knew a full belly.
Even misery has its gradations; those fortunate enough to find shelter from wind and rain were better off than most.
Noh Dae-sul found one such shelter—a modest lean-to beneath a bridge.
Inside, six beggars sat huddled together, hunting for fleas.
“Wow! Jackpot! Look at the blood on that one!”
“Hey! That’s not even half as big as the one I caught yesterday!”
The young beggars, who’d been chattering noisily, fell silent and stared blankly at Noh Dae-sul as he entered the shelter.
“Who are you?”
They all belonged to the Sect, but not every disciple knew their patriarch’s face. Yet one of them recognized Noh Dae-sul immediately.
So Gi-cheon, startled, scrambled to his feet and fell to his knees.
“Master! I bow before you!”
“Master? You had something like that?”
“Wait—is it true you’re a disciple of our patriarch?”
So Gi-cheon spoke in a small voice that still reached every ear in the shelter.
“Everyone, pay your respects to the patriarch!”
Though the small beggars belonged to the Sect, the word “patriarch” seemed as unreal to them as the Buddha or the celestial spirits themselves.
They stood uncertain, fumbling, when Noh Dae-sul waved his hand dismissively.
“Enough. All of you except Thirty-two, get out of here.”
None of them knew who Thirty-two was, but they all filed outside except So Gi-cheon.
Noh Dae-sul looked So Gi-cheon over carefully, then spoke.
“You’re developing a proper Beggar Demeanor now.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Master.”
“What have I done?”
So Gi-cheon almost answered, “Exactly.”
‘From today forward, you are my thirty-second Unnamed Disciple’—with those words alone, he had become a disciple of this lofty patriarch.
And that was all.
No one else knew So Gi-cheon was the patriarch’s disciple, and so he received no special treatment. Despite being the patriarch’s disciple, he lived no differently from any other child beggar.
“You have a curious look about you.”
He reads hearts with uncanny accuracy.
“Well, sir…… you call me Thirty-two every time you summon me, so I understand I’m your thirty-second disciple. But how many more disciples do you have after me?”
“After you? You mean to say…….”
Seeing Noh Dae-sul trail off, So Gi-cheon understood with certainty.
‘He doesn’t know! He doesn’t know! A master who doesn’t even know how many disciples he has!’
“You’re asking about something that hardly matters.”
“Then why do you take so many disciples if you don’t even teach them a single move of Martial Arts?”
“More disciples are always better. Do you know why one should have many children?”
“Because you’ve got nothing better to do at night?”
Smack!
Noh Dae-sul’s laughter landed on the back of So Gi-cheon’s head as the boy clutched it after the blow.
“Hehehehe! The little brat already knows that much. Sharp mind, sharp mind indeed. But that’s the cause of children, not the reason, you understand.”
“Then what’s the reason?”
“You never know which son will be filial. So you have many children, and if even one turns out dutiful, your old age will be comfortable, won’t it? Disciples are the same. Bring in many at first, and among them those with promise will grow great, and later they’ll contribute to the sect, or serve their master with drink—no, contribute to the Sect. So the more disciples, the better.”
“But then shouldn’t you teach the disciples something?”
“No, no. If you teach the wrong thing to a boy with no promise, instead of contributing he’ll just muddy the waters. So first you take him as a disciple and observe his conduct. Even when it seems I’m not watching, I’m observing all my disciples from somewhere. With eyes like a hawk’s!”
So Gi-cheon stared intently at Noh Dae-sul’s eyes.
They were closer to the eyes of a pollack gone bad than to a hawk’s.
“Then why did you reveal yourself instead of continuing to watch with those hawk eyes?”
“To see if you have promise as a disciple. What is a beggar?”
The answer “a wretched person” was worn thin.
It was the right answer, but he wouldn’t have asked such a question just to hear such an obvious response.
So Gi-cheon swallowed hard before answering.
“A person who possesses a dog’s self-respect.”
“Eh? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“It means one without a dog’s self-respect—someone who should gratefully accept alms even from a child, bowing and scraping, without pride.”
Noh Dae-sul, who had been watching So Gi-cheon, burst into hearty laughter.
“You rascal! What expressive language! I can see the makings of a truly great beggar in you!”
Noh Dae-sul’s laughter cut off abruptly and his expression turned grave.
“I will give you a test. If you pass it, you can become my Named Disciple.”
“If I become a Named Disciple, can I study martial arts under the Master?”
“Of course! That’s why the character ‘Named’ is put before ‘Disciple.'”
“What is the test?”
“There is an eight-year-old boy. Go and beg a single copper coin from him.”
“There must be as many eight-year-olds in Hangju as fleas in your robe, Master.”
“The boy’s name is Geom U-bin.”
“You mean the young lord?”
“You know of him?”
“If you don’t know the young lord these days in Hangju, you’re not a proper citizen of the city.”
You have four days.”

***

“These days, as Hangju’s money flows through my hands and vanishes, all I can afford is cheap food.”
Geom U-bin held up a dumpling, smiling innocently.
“Your dumplings taste the best of all. But sir, do you happen to know anything about Seo-yang Silver House?”
“Who in Hangju doesn’t know Seo-yang Silver House, the largest silver house in the city? And since the wife of the Namgung Family’s patriarch is the sister of Seo-yang Silver House’s master, they have powerful backing indeed.”
The mention of the Namgung Family naturally brought Namgung Hye-yeon to mind.
‘Was it Namgung Hye-yeon who ordered me to deliver the liquor?’
But he had met her only once, and there was no particular karmic bond between them. Yet he could think of no other reason why Seo-yang Silver House would have sent him to deliver liquor.
“That was delicious!”
“Good! Come back often!”
As Geom U-bin left the restaurant, he encountered a familiar face.
It was the small beggar boy that Geom U-bin had rescued when he was being beaten by martial arts disciples.
“Hehehehe! Young lord, please spare a single copper coin for this beggar.”
In the past the boy had refused even when given coins, but now he begged with humble desperation. At the sight of it, Geom U-bin let out a soft laugh and tossed a copper coin into the beggar’s bowl.
Clink!
The joy that bloomed on the small beggar’s face was as if he had received a hundred silver coins rather than a single copper one.
“Young lord, thank you! You will receive all the blessings in the world for your whole life!”
Watching the small beggar boy bow and retreat into the distance, Geom U-bin tilted his head curiously.
“Did I just gain some enlightenment about beggars?”
And soon enough, the small beggar boy faded from Geom U-bin’s mind.

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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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