Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 137

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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 137

“Aaaaahhh!”
A long, piercing scream tore through the air, and chaos erupted within the Hyeolpung Sect.
“Who is this intruder!”
“An enemy!”
Shouts and screams burst forth together.
Geum Dae-bang froze where he stood. He had imagined the swordsman exchanging a few words before being beaten down by the Hyeolpung Sect’s warriors.
But after the man killed the two guards and stepped inside, the screams never ceased. As long as they continued, it meant he was still fighting.
The screams kept coming without pause.
Among them, women’s voices were woven in frequently enough.
The Hyeolpung Sect had female warriors, certainly, but there were far more screams than Geum Dae-bang could account for.
Geum Dae-bang remained frozen in place, unable to move. It was as though he stood at the heart of his life’s most terrible nightmare.
And then, at last, the screams stopped.
The moment the screams ceased, clarity flooded back into him as if he’d been jolted awake.
“Is the man dead?”
It must be so. It had to be.
But then—creak—the door swung open, and out stepped the swordsman himself.
The man’s right hand gripped a red sword, streaked with what might have been blood or might have been its natural color.
“Come inside.”
The moment Geum Dae-bang saw him, any thought of flight evaporated. He shuffled forward into the Hyeolpung Sect, trembling.
And then he saw the hell painted across the courtyard and vomited.
The corpses lay scattered like pebbles along a stream—a sight unbearable to witness with open eyes.
He glimpsed what looked like the body of a child among them.
‘Not a human—a demon! A demon!’
As Geum Dae-bang trembled violently, the man’s cold voice reached him.
“Write what I tell you.”
“Pardon? What did you say?”
“You can write, can’t you?”
“Y-yes, of course I can.”
The man snapped a branch from the tree planted along the wall, tore a strip of cloth from a corpse’s garment, and wound it around the branch’s end.
He threw it to Geum Dae-bang, but it struck his rigid chest and fell to the ground.
“I am Hyeolpung Saja.”
Geum Dae-bang stared blankly, not understanding, and the man leveled his blood-stained sword at him.
“Are you choosing to die without writing?”
“N-no, of course not!”
He hastily picked up the branch from the ground.
“You want me to write ‘I am Hyeolpung Saja’?”
“That’s right. Write it large on the front gate.”
“But I have no ink.”
The man pointed to the blood streaming across the ground like a river.
“There’s your ink.”
Geum Dae-bang steeled himself through his terror and spoke.
“If you would write it yourself……”
“Do you wish to die?”
He would truly kill him if he refused. No matter how badly he trembled, writing was preferable to death.
The cloth wound around the branch’s end soaked in blood.

***

The destruction of the Hyeolpung Sect sent Eun Si-hyeon into upheaval. The rumor spread especially fast because of the message written on the front gate.
―I am Hyeolpung Saja.
Thanks to the rumor that spread in an instant, Geom U-bin and Hyeolpung Saja learned of the sect’s destruction without needing help from the Sect.
They ran into Noh Dae-sul as soon as they entered Eun Si-hyeon.
But among them, only Geom U-bin could properly recognize who Noh Dae-sul was.
Hyeolpung Saja had used the Yeok Yong technique to avoid being identified.
The fact that Noh Dae-sul had recognized only Geom U-bin didn’t mean he hadn’t recognized the Hyeolpung Saja.
There were no people who could have been with Geom U-bin besides the Hyeolpung Saja, and even their hastily-executed disguise technique wasn’t enough to fool Noh Dae-sul’s eyes.
“Clumsy work,” Noh Dae-sul observed.
Seo Seok-san, who had noticed that Noh Dae-sul had seen through them at a glance, spoke up.
“Sharp eyes.”
“It’s not that my eyes are sharp—it’s that your disguise is poor! What kind of mark do you expect to fool with such sloppy technique?”
“We never intended to fool you. We just needed to keep the fact that we’re the Hyeolpung Saja from being discovered.”
“Who knows your faces?”
“There will be hordes of Murim Alliance members at the scene. One of them might recognize us. If the Sect had provided us with proper information in time, we wouldn’t have needed to go through the trouble of disguising ourselves. But it turns out the Sect is nothing more than a beggar’s nest.”
Do Pyeong-su chimed in as well.
“They say the Sect has the finest intelligence in the Murim, and it was all nonsense! How is it slower than rumor?”
“Still, there’s one piece of information I can tell you with certainty.”
The Hyeolpung Saja looked at Noh Dae-sul with expectant eyes.
“The destruction of the Hyeolpung Sect wasn’t the work of the Hyeolpung Saja.”
After a moment of silence, Seo Seok-san burst out shouting.
“You wretched old dog! What nonsense is this! Do we look like nothing but the Hangju O-seon to your eyes?”
Do Pyeong-su asked Jang Man-dok.
“Man-dok, do you perhaps not need beggars as test subjects? Hmm? A beggar king would be best, wouldn’t it?”
The Hyeolpung Saja were the sort of people for whom even jokes never sounded like jokes.
“If you seize me here, it will go badly for you.”
“What’s to go badly when you can’t even provide timely information?”
“Right now the Murim Alliance has an investigation unit at the Hyeolpung Sect. Without me, it will be difficult for you to go there and investigate…….”
As he spoke, Noh Dae-sul belatedly realized that the one who would be in greater difficulty was the Murim Alliance.
“We can just drive them all out. What’s difficult about investigating?”
Noh Dae-sul suddenly deployed his Lightness Skill, and the Hyeolpung Saja, realizing only too late that he was escaping, gave chase with the fury of hounds on a scent.
“Beggar king! Stop right there!”
The unexpected pursuit ended up saving them considerable time.
There was, fortunately, someone who recognized the rapidly approaching Noh Dae-sul without difficulty.
“Bang-ju, why do you arrive in such haste?”
Na Ik-tae, the chief of Cheongryong-dang, was affiliated with the Mudang Faction and was among the finest knight-errants even by Noh Dae-sul’s measure.
“It’s such an urgent matter!”
Noh Dae-sul spoke before the Hyeolpung Saja chasing him at a frightening pace had even stopped.
“I’ll introduce you to people who can help! You must have heard of the Hangju O-seon, yes?”
Do Pyeong-su reached for Noh Dae-sul’s collar, but Geom U-bin, charging at full speed, quickly blocked the space between them.
“Yes, I seem to recall hearing something about them…….”
The sight of the Hangju O-seon entangled, with Noh Dae-sul darting behind Geom U-bin and dodging left and right, struck Na Ik-tae as a strange spectacle indeed.
Noh Dae-sul, struggling to evade the Hyeolpung Saja’s grasp, shouted to Na Ik-tae.
“Could you show us this estate?”
“The Murim Alliance is still conducting their investigation…….”
“It won’t take long.”
Faced with Noh Dae-sul’s plea, which carried an air of desperation, Na Ik-tae found himself unable to refuse.
“At your word, of course that’s what we should do.”
Na Ik-tae answered with a smile. Only then did Noh Dae-sul cease his movements and speak.
“Then we should prepare ourselves as well?”
“That would be best.”
As Geom U-bin stopped and answered, the Hyeolpung Saja also gave up trying to seize Noh Dae-sul.
Do Pyeong-su growled near Noh Dae-sul’s ear.
“Beggar king, you’d better do this properly.”
This threat, one he hadn’t heard in quite some time, struck Noh Dae-sul as the most credible threat he’d ever received.
In truth, there wasn’t much to examine for long.
The only difference from before was that because they had attacked a great martial family, the assault had been far more violent and more people had died.
Noh Dae-sul furrowed his brow as he spoke.
“Someone destroyed the Hyeolpung Sect alone. At this level…….”
Noh Dae-sul swallowed the words: ‘I have to admit there’s a connection to Ma Gun-ja.’ If he said that in this atmosphere, all his whiskers would be plucked out.
Geom U-bin was studying intently the characters written on the gate: “I am the Hyeolpung Saja.”
“Do they hold a grudge against us?” Geom U-bin asked.
Seo Seok-san, stepping up behind Geom U-bin, spoke. Geom U-bin, still examining the characters closely, replied.
“I don’t think this was written by someone who possesses the Murong Blade.”
“Why not?”
“There’s fear in these strokes. Look—the characters weren’t drawn in one continuous motion. They’re broken, stuttering. And far too much blood is smeared on them. The hesitation made the writing stagger, and that’s why more blood was needed than it should have been.”
“Could it be someone from the Hyeolpung Sect?”
“It’s possible—or there could be someone else besides him. Bang-ju!”
Geom U-bin called out to Noh Dae-sul, who was speaking with Na Ik-tae.
“What is it?”
“The Sect is looking for someone traveling alone, aren’t they?”
“That’s right. According to the witnesses, they said it was one person.”
“But it could be two people.”
Geom U-bin shared his thoughts, and Noh Dae-sul nodded in agreement.
“I see. I’ll send word to search that way as well.”
Do Pyeong-su and Yeon Geum-hong returned after examining the scene.
“It doesn’t appear to be purely the Murong Blade, Master.”
“Based on the marks on the body, it seems the killer has mastered the Gwi Young Do Law.”
Geom U-bin’s brow furrowed at Yeon Geum-hong and Do Pyeong-su’s words.
“One way or another, there’s a high chance the killer learned martial arts from our Master.”
“We’ll have to capture him and confirm it.”
“Then that message written on the gate makes sense now.”
Do Pyeong-su spoke up.
“What makes sense about it?”
“You just said the killer has mastered Do’s Gwi Young Do Law.”
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
As Geom U-bin looked at the writing on the gate, Hyeolpung Saja also stared at it intently.
“Hmm, I see.”
“Indeed.”
Jang Man-dok also nodded. But Do Pyeong-su still wore a confused expression.
“What are you all getting at?”
“Let’s go.”
Since Geom U-bin had seen all there was to see, he left the Hyeolpung Sect.
“What do you mean? Why does everyone else look like they understand and I don’t? Man-dok, you explain it. What? I’m just as much of a fool as you? That’s… Oh!”
Do Pyeong-su finally understood and nodded. Seo Seok-san spoke.
“Could he be more foolish than Pyeong-su?”
“They seem about the same, I’d say.”
“Wait, are you saying his martial arts are at Pyeong-su’s level?”
Do Pyeong-su burst out loud at Yeon Geum-hong and Seo Seok-san’s exchange.
“There’s no way that bastard’s martial arts could be as high as mine!”
Seo Seok-san nodded in agreement.
“That may not be the case. But since he’s already gone down the path of folly, we have to assume his level is considerable.”
“I’m a bigger fool than that bastard!”
Do Pyeong-su shouted.
In this case, it seemed that the measure of foolishness had become the measure of martial arts skill.
Yeon Geum-hong patted Do Pyeong-su on the back.
“That’s probably true. It would be hard for anyone to be more foolish than you.”
“Of course!”
Do Pyeong-su, wearing a satisfied expression, tilted his head. Something unpleasant washed over him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
As they left the Hyeolpung Sect and entered the city, someone suddenly called out to them as if they knew them.
“Aren’t you Bang-ju Noh? I thought so!”
The person bowing respectfully to Noh Dae-sul was an old man with completely white hair and beard, his face deeply lined, making his age difficult to judge.
“Ah! It’s Sa Gong Jinin! I’m ashamed—it’s been so long I didn’t recognize you at first!”
“Ha ha ha! Bang-ju Noh hasn’t changed one bit since fifteen years ago!”
“The beggar’s fate is the highest fate, as they say. But what brings you all the way from Haenam Province?”
“When I heard the Bloodwind Four Lions had appeared, I rushed here at once.”
A look of sorrow crossed Noh Dae-sul’s face.
“Still unable to forget the past…….”
“I could never forget. Even if I die and become a ghost, I will surely avenge my daughter’s death.”
“We’re both past ninety years old now—surely it’s time to let it go.”
At Noh Dae-sul’s words, Sa Gong Jinin set his jaw with firm resolve.
“I can never forget the evil deeds of that Cheon Eum Gwi—that monster despised by heaven and earth! If you’re going to talk like that, then don’t even acknowledge knowing me!”
Sa Gong Jinin, his anger kindled, walked away with the stride of a young man.
Noh Dae-sul watched the old man’s retreating figure with sorrowful eyes, then clicked his tongue at Seo Seok-san.
“How did it come to this? Tsk, tsk, tsk…….”
Seo Seok-san, the one actually named as the enemy, wore a bewildered expression.
“What are you talking about?”
Yeon Geum-hong asked.
“What did I do to that old man’s daughter that she’s become a ghost and raging about revenge?”
“Did I force myself on her? No, Seok-san—this fool wouldn’t be capable of such a thing, would he?”
“Who is that man, and who is his daughter? Wait, I should go ask myself…….”
Noh Dae-sul stopped Seo Seok-san, who was about to chase after Sa Gong Jinin.
“If she’s Sa Gong Jinin’s daughter, then it’s Sa Gong Jeong-yun!”
“Sa Gong Jeong-yun?”

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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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