Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 135

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

#Chapter 135

Go Shin-ji startled as she stepped into the courtyard. Someone was crouched atop the wall.
The woman, who appeared to be in her early twenties, surveyed the grounds of Oseong Jang-won before noticing Go Shin-ji—and offered no reaction whatsoever.
“What are you doing up there?”
“Seems everyone’s gone out.”
“Everyone who?”
“The lords.”
“Yes. They left on urgent business.”
Disappointment flickered across the woman’s face.
“My new name’s Bok Seon-nyeo, by the way. Not too provincial, is it?”
It was an abrupt question, but Go Shin-ji answered honestly.
“Whoever named you needs to be hunted down and forced to change it to something sensible.”
Bok Seon-nyeo broke into a grin.
“I like you.”
“The gates of Oseong Jang-won are always open—why not use the door instead of the wall?”
“Nothing in particular to see. Just thought I’d drop by.”
Bok Seon-nyeo continued speaking casually, yet somehow Go Shin-ji didn’t mind. She’d learned long ago—watching Yeon Geum-hong day after day—that Murim martial artists could never be judged by appearance alone.

“Do you know when the lords will return?”
“No.”
“I’ll be stopping by often, then.”
Bok Seon-nyeo vanished before Go Shin-ji could even see her go, as though she’d simply dissolved from view.
“One day, an ordinary person will surely visit Oseong Jang-won as well.”

***

“Isn’t making an enemy of Hang Ju-o-seon too dangerous? The managers alone at Oseong Jang-won are capable enough to dispatch both Baek Ryeon-gwang and Dok Jeong-ssang-gwoe in a single stroke.”
Wang Seong, who had served as a loyal subordinate for the past decade, heard Bae Cheong-uk respond with a thin, mirthless laugh.
“You actually believed my claim that Hao-mun would shoulder the entire blame? Hah! My talent for deception runs deeper than I thought.”
“Then…?”
“Geumryong Merchant Association is merely a pawn on my game board. Their usefulness ends once they capture those managers—extract the formulas for Oseong Wine and Saegiuju, and Geumryong can fall to ruin for all I care.”
“So the attack on Oseong Jang-won today wasn’t carried out by Hao-mun?”
“Of course Geumryong did it, so Geumryong bears the blame. Best case, Hang Ju-o-seon and Geumryong destroy each other—that’s the picture I’m painting. Hah hah….”
Just then the door flew open and a Hao-mun member rushed in.
“We’re under attack! You must flee at once!”
“Attack? Who?”
“By the look of it, four—they appear to be managers from Oseong Jang-won!”
“Damn! How did they find this place?”
There was no time for questions.
Bae Cheong-uk surged to his feet and lifted the table—revealing the floor beneath flipping open to expose a staircase descending into darkness below.
He descended the hidden passage underground and emerged some thirty paces later through a warehouse belonging to another house.
“With your skills, you’ll be old and dead before you ever catch me.”
Bae Cheong-uk stepped out of the warehouse with a smile—then froze.
“A raccoon, frightened by smoke, crawls from its den.”
Se-hwa alone had initially confronted him, but Gal Ma-pyeong soon joined her.
“So you’re the rat-faced brat who’s been troubling us—the new disciple of that Hao-mun master.”
He couldn’t deny looking like a rat, or being young.
But how did they know about the secret passage?
“Your Hao-mun men talk cheap. I expected to break a few bones, but they started spilling secrets the moment I balled my fists.”
Loyal as cornered vermin.
“Are you the managers of Oseong Jang-won?”
Bae Cheong-uk asked, steadying his trembling resolve. For all that he’d been caught, the sword was still in his hand.
Thud!
Gal Ma-pyeong’s fist struck his abdomen without warning.
“Ugh!”
A stifled cry escaped him as he fell to his knees, and O Tong-su’s voice dropped onto the back of his head.
“Why ask when you already know? You’ve only got one thing to say. Where is the Hao-mun main headquarters?”
Through pain that felt like his intestines were being shredded, Bae Cheong-uk forced his mouth open.
“Right now, while we’re here… it couldn’t be…?”
“If we weren’t here, you’d be happy, wouldn’t you?”
“Heh, heh… Agh! The Oseong Jang-won must be burning…”
“What nonsense is this?”
“The fact that you made it this far means you know the connection between me and the Geumryong Merchant Association. So where do you think they are now?”
“Did those bastards go to Oseong Jang-won?”
“If I don’t lift a finger, everyone at Oseong Jang-won will be dead by tonight, and the estate will be nothing but ash. Feeling like making a deal now?”
Go Seo-bang crouched down to meet Bae Cheong-uk’s eyes.
“Not that I’m curious about anything, but I’ll ask anyway. What sort of deal do you want to make with us?”
“The formula for Oseong Wine and Saegiuju. Give me that, and I promise Oseong Jang-won will be safe.”
Go Seo-bang let out a soft laugh and turned to the three others.
“Who’s at the estate right now—just Gong Seong-tak and Nam-jae?”
Se-hwa spoke up.
“We can’t leave out Jeon either. Gwak Bong should be at the Oseong Pavilion.”
“I think I heard the Geumryong Merchant Association’s elite numbers around thirty?”
“That’s right. Even if a hundred came, they’d be nothing but snacks for those three.”
Bae Cheong-uk couldn’t follow the conversation between the four of them.
“I think you’re all mistaken about something—the Geumryong Merchant Association has cultivated the Gwimyeon Mado-beop. They’re qualitatively different from common assassins.”
Gang Seo Samak had heard of the Gwimyeon Mado-beop before.
“Those fools. They’re destroying their own lives.”
Those who master the Gwimyeon Mado-beop develop bumps all over their bodies, their faces becoming grotesque—the name “Ghost Face” didn’t come from nowhere.
On the other hand, reaching full mastery was so impossibly difficult that few had ever achieved it, making it a mysterious art shrouded in legend.
“At best, their leader probably reached around the seventh or eighth stage of cultivation, and his subordinates are maybe half of that?”
Bae Cheong-uk was startled by Go Seo-bang’s precision.
“H-how could you possibly know that?”
“If anyone had achieved full mastery, they’d have surfaced in the world by now. Throughout history, that’s been the limit for madmen who’ve learned the Gwimyeon Mado-beop. Even so, at that level those three should get a taste of some real combat. Shame! We could’ve seen it ourselves.”
“But the Geumryong Merchant Association has mastered the Gwimyeon Mado-beop—they’ll kill everyone at Oseong Jang-won and burn it to ash!”
O Tong-su struck the back of Bae Cheong-uk’s head.
“Are you a broken record? Why repeat yourself?”
“I, I just thought you weren’t understanding…”
“The one who’s not understanding the situation is you.”
Crack!
O Tong-su snapped his fingers, producing a sharp, clean sound.
“From now on, I’m going to torture you, so try to hold out as long as you can.”
“The Geounyang Estate in Hunan Province Soyang County!”
“Hmm?”
“If you head north and pass through Soyang County’s main street, it’ll be at the far edge—shouldn’t be hard to find. That’s the Hao-mun main headquarters, and the sect master is there too.”
O Tong-su’s face twisted violently.
“You bastard! You should’ve at least let me break one bone!”

***

Oseong Jang-won hunched in the darkness, sprawling across an enormous expanse of land.
Bang Tae-wang called for Byeok Seo-il, the sect leader, and spoke.
“There should be stacks of Oseong Wine and Saegiuju in the brewery at Oseong Jang-won. Banknotes and silver coins are hidden somewhere too. After you’ve collected all of it, set the fire.”
“What about the people?”
“Give me one reason to let them live.”
“There is none.”
“Don’t leave a single witness behind.”
They were faces that would be impossible to forget.
Byeok Seo-il issued his orders to his subordinates, and thirty-one men, including Bang Tae-wang, vaulted over Oseong Jang-won’s wall.
Sang Nam-jae, jolted awake, grabbed the sword he’d fixed beneath his bed—almost by instinct.
His sudden movement roused Go Shin-ji from sleep, and she asked.
“What is it?”
“I think it would be best if you and Ji-u stayed hidden under the bed for a while.”
Though darkness obscured Sang Nam-jae’s face, his voice alone conveyed the gravity of the moment.
“Is it dangerous?”
“It is dangerous. There’s no sense in inviting needless peril.”
“At least I’ll earn my keep for once.”
Go Shin-ji, speaking in jest, addressed Sang Nam-jae as he left the room.
“Be careful.”
Sang Nam-jae’s white teeth flashed in the darkness. Once outside, he made straight for the Back Garden.
With both Hang Ju-o-seon and Hang Ju-sa-byeon away from the Estate, only he and Gong Seong-tak remained to guard Oseong Jang-won.
Jeon Mi-ryeo was present, but her martial prowess fell short of absolute confidence.
Still, since her room lay along the way, he knocked on her door.
“Who is it?”
Her voice was thick with sleep.
The Killing Intent pricked at the skin so acutely, yet she hadn’t sensed it—which raised questions whether she could even protect herself.
“An enemy attack.”
“What?”
“Don’t involve yourself. Protect the workers instead.”
How a disciple of the Saeoe Five Kings could be so weak was a mystery. As Sang Nam-jae descended into the Back Garden, Gong Seong-tak emerged with a long stretch.
“What’s all this sordid Killing Intent doing here?”
“It appears to be an enemy attack.”
“You don’t know who?”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
“With this much Killing Intent pouring out of them, we can kill them without issue, yes?”
“By the Killing Intent, they don’t seem to be mere Triad rabble.”
“If we want to show the Lords a little spine when they return, we’d better handle them properly. Let’s see what they look like.”
And upon seeing their faces, Gong Seong-tak’s first words were, “Ugly bastards.”
Two men, their faces covered in warts, rushed at him with bared swords. They were certainly not Triad rabble, but neither were they particularly formidable.
Dodging the twin blades, a body flattened parallel to the earth spun like a top through the air.
Two chins caught by Gong Seong-tak’s feet flew clear and sailed far across the garden.
As Gong Seong-tak landed, he rolled his right foot across the ground.
Boom!
The sound was so thunderous it echoed throughout Oseong Jang-won.
“All you death-seekers—come at me!”
The best way to protect sleeping workers was to draw every enemy toward yourself.
Gong Seong-tak chose the Direct Combat Technique, while Sang Nam-jae remained true to his trade as an Assassin.
Sang Nam-jae was no weakling in frontal combat either.
But what truly terrified his enemies was his movement in darkness.
And this place—he knew it as intimately as his own palm. For an assassin, there was no better hunting ground.
Slash!
Two men racing into the corridor never screamed; their throats were slit clean. Seeing their faces, Sang Nam-jae’s brows furrowed.
‘They’ve mastered the Gwimyeon Mado-beop.’
Moving like a spider across the ceiling, Sang Nam-jae dispatched five more with practiced efficiency. He slit their throats clean.
Eliminating enemies who lay fully exposed, their Killing Intent pouring out in streams, was almost too easy for Sang Nam-jae.
Meanwhile, Gong Seong-tak was making deafening noise on his end, drawing all the attackers’ attention.
From the rooftop, Sang Nam-jae spotted seven men heading toward the Brewery and gave chase.
Bang! Bang!
Using his sword as a hammer, he shattered the padlock to pieces. As he did so, Sang Nam-jae made a mental note: ‘I’ll need to upgrade to a sturdier lock.’ He then carefully peeled away the roof tiles above the Brewery.
Without a sound, he slipped through the opening and slit the throats of the seven intruders one by one.
They didn’t notice their comrade’s neck being severed as they stood shoulder to shoulder. Only when blood sprayed and soaked their clothes did they realize a companion had fallen—and by then, their own throats were already cut.
While Sang Nam-jae disposed of the intruders in silence, Gong Seong-tak was making an ungodly racket.
Bang!
The sword blocking Gong Seong-tak’s leg shattered into pieces, and the foot that had crushed the blade went on to shatter the attacker’s skull.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————