Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 138

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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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#138

Seo Seok-san ransacked his memory, trying to dredge up the name Sa Gong Jeong-yun from among the countless women of his past.
Some women were easy to recall, while others required him to rack his brains for what felt like an eternity.
But Sa Gong Jeong-yun—no matter how hard he squeezed his mind—remained a stranger to him.
“I don’t know who Sa Gong Jeong-yun is.”
“You really are without conscience. You can’t even remember the name of a woman who died because of you.”
Three of the Bloodwind Four Lions fixed him with reproachful stares, and even Geom U-bin’s eyes held a flicker of disapproval.
True, Seo Seok-san had cultivated affections with many women and had drawn tears from their eyes before, but he had never lived so recklessly as to forget a woman who had perished on his account.
“Tell me when it happened. How. Why.”
“From what I gather, it was roughly fifty years ago.”
“Fifty years?”
“Yes. Back when you were basking in the glory of being the Flowery Prince in Murim.”
“That was the golden age of my life. But what of it?”
“Sa Gong Jeong-yun was one of the countless women caught in your net during those days. You can hardly be blamed for not remembering all their names—I myself don’t remember the names of everyone who has sought alms from me.”
“Just tell me who Sa Gong Jeong-yun is!”
“Do you remember Deng Zhou County in Haenam Province?”
“I do. Deng Zhou Lake there had quite a bit of charm to it. I only went once, but come to think of it, that must have been around that time.”
“That’s where Sa Gong Jeong-yun met you—at Deng Zhou Lake.”
Seo Seok-san’s memory narrowed to that time, that place.
“I went there to meet Jeong Hye, who had earned a reputation as the Beauty of Haenam. Her face was every bit worthy of that title, but I was disappointed—her calligraphy and painting fell short of her renown. I remember that clearly.”
“Besides your disappointment with the Beauty of Haenam, was there nothing else?”
“Hmm… Ah! There was a girl playing the guqin by the lake. Her technique was rather lacking, so I gave her some instruction. She must have been eighteen or nineteen. Her skill was incomplete, but at her age, her emotional depth was remarkable. Music is feeling before technique, after all.”
“That girl you’re describing—that was Sa Gong Jeong-yun.”
Yeon Geum-hong asked quietly.
“What did you do to her?”
“I taught her some technique.”
“And?”
Seo Seok-san groped through his recollection. So many years had passed that his memory lay hazy as paper daubed with too many layers, yet it hadn’t completely faded away.
“Nothing else happened. I can’t remember exactly how long it was, but I didn’t teach her for very long. She had feeling, but she wasn’t particularly gifted. That much I’m certain of. She wasn’t worth investing years of effort into.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes.”
“Is Seok-san lying?”
The question came from Yeon Geum-hong, aimed at Noh Dae-sul.
“Well, I wouldn’t quite say he’s lying.”
“A lie is a lie, and the truth is the truth. What do you mean you wouldn’t ‘quite’ say it’s a lie?”
“Just what I said. It’s hardly fair to blame him for failing to read the depths of Sa Gong Jeong-yun’s heart.”
Noh Dae-sul sighed as he spoke.
“That day, it seems Sa Gong Jeong-yun fell head over heels for you. Unable to forget you, she languished with longing. She even ran away from home several times, taking family treasures with her. She wandered across Zhongyuan for months, searching for you.”
“And?”
“In the end, she died away from home. Lovesickness is truly a terrible thing, isn’t it?”
Yeon Geum-hong’s expression turned fierce.
“Do you think lovesickness is the only terrible thing here, you vagabond king? Is that really all there is to it?”
“Well, that is all of it, but from her parents’ perspective, it was maddening. Their daughter wasn’t just infatuated with you—she fell under the spell of a Heavenly Yin Demon and met a mysterious sudden death.”
“So she became obsessed with you alone, searched for you alone, died alone away from home—and now this Sa Gong whoever expects to avenge his daughter by hunting down the Heavenly Yin Demon?”
“That’s roughly the situation.”
Unable to contain himself any longer, Do Pyeong-su bellowed out.
“That’s madness! How is any of that his fault?”
“Put yourself in the parents’ shoes, and you’d understand the resentment. Sa Gong Jin-in’s wife also languished and died from grief, so it’s natural they’d harbor a grudge against the Heavenly Yin Demon.”
Seo Seok-san spoke.
“So teaching guqin for half a watch at most is a capital crime?”
“No, of course you feel wronged in your position. But try to understand Sa Gong Jin-in’s position as well.”
Seo Seok-san, who would normally have erupted in anger, merely sighed deeply.
“Resentment is understandable, but he’s aimed at the wrong target.”
Seo Seok-san said no more on the matter. In the old days, he would have raged and ranted, might even have sworn to slaughter Sa Gong Jin-in’s entire family line. But he left it at that.
“The problem isn’t Sa Gong Jin-in alone.”
Noh Dae-sul spoke with a grave expression.
“News that the Bloodwind Four Lions have appeared is drawing people from all corners.”
“Why?”
“There are quite a few martial artists in the Murim who have grievances against you all.”
Quite a few was putting it mildly—gather them all together and they could easily establish three or four entire sects.
“They want to settle scores with us? Those cowards who used to flee at the mere shadow of us?”
“This time it’s different. The Murim League has stepped in. If it was the Bloodwind Four Lions who destroyed the Hye-geom Sect, the Murim League can’t simply overlook it. Even if we’re not blood relatives, we’ve been steadily sending funds and necessary supplies to the Murim League all this time.”
Do Pyeong-su nodded.
“So they’re using the Murim League as a spoon to stir the pot and seek revenge against us.”
“I’d wager everyone feels that way except Sa Gong Jin-in.”
As darkness fell, Geom U-bin and the Bloodwind Four Lions settled into an inn in the city.
When Noh Dae-sul visited, Geom U-bin was alone in his room.
“Where have your disciples gone?”
“They likely have matters to discuss separately. But what brings you here, Bang-ju?”
“News just came in that I wanted to relay to you. That identity mark you showed me before—remember?”
“Yes, did you find out what it is?”
“Not entirely satisfying answers, but that identity mark originated from the Miao People in Yunnan Province.”
“The Miao People?”
“Yes. The Miao People isn’t a single tribe—it’s a collective term for all the indigenous peoples living deep in the forests of Yunnan Province. Among the Miao, it seems there’s an ancient tradition of proving one’s identity with such marks. It would have been an identity mark held by one of several hundred Miao tribes.”
Even if the scope of the investigation had narrowed, it still wasn’t a definitive clue.
“You mentioned that man who carried the Murong Blade was also from the Miao People?”
“That’s what I heard. But where did that identity mark come from?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you that right now.”
“Can you tell me later?”
“If the opportunity arises.”
“I understand.”
After Noh Dae-sul left, Geom U-bin pondered the identity mark carefully.
In truth, the mark he’d been keeping was a memento of Ma Gun-ja. When Geom U-bin fled the Baek Rim Sect, it was meant merely as proof in case the Bloodwind Four Lions doubted his word—he’d never held it with any other intention.
But he’d happened to meet Noh Dae-sul, and since it was Ma Gun-ja’s memento, he’d made the request on the chance it might yield something.
“The Miao People, then……”
Ma Gun-ja couldn’t possibly be Miao. Yet a Miao connected to Ma Gun-ja had surfaced. Was it mere coincidence that Ma Gun-ja possessed an identity mark like a credential of the Miao People?
At the time, he hadn’t realized it, but a master of Ma Gun-ja’s caliber couldn’t have been captured by a sect like the Baek Rim. It made no sense.
Yet Ma Gun-ja had remained silent on the matter until his death.
That’s why Geom U-bin had said nothing to the Bloodwind Four Lions about the identity mark.
But he couldn’t hide the truth forever.
The Bloodwind Four Lions had the right to know, just as much as Geom U-bin did.
He was thinking, ‘I’ll tell them when the time is right,’ when the Bloodwind Four Lions arrived.
From their darkened expressions, he could tell something was afoot.
“Senior, I think we must settle our past accounts.”
“Yes?”
Seo Seok-san slapped Do Pyeong-su on the back.
“How can the senior understand if you speak so cryptically?”
Yeon Geum-hong spoke.
“We mean to meet with those who have gathered to settle scores with us.”
Geom U-bin asked with a worried expression.
“Will you be all right?”
“I looked into them a little. They’re nothing to worry about.”
It might be nothing to the Bloodwind Four Lions, but it could be serious for those who’d gathered.
They wouldn’t have dared come all this way seeking revenge against the Bloodwind Four Lions if they didn’t consider it a grave matter.
Seo Seok-san spoke.
“It’s nothing, so please don’t be too concerned, Senior.”
“Understood. I’ll wait here.”
The Bloodwind Four Lions left the inn, leaving Geom U-bin behind.
Though anxious, he couldn’t stop them from settling their own karmic debts.
“Hmm? Why are you alone?”
Noh Dae-sul arrived about a quarter hour later and asked just that.
Geom U-bin explained to Noh Dae-sul why the Bloodwind Four Lions had gone.
In an instant, Noh Dae-sul’s face contorted.
“He’s pouring oil on a burning house. When enemies meet, things rarely end quietly.”
“Still, what can be done? I have faith in my disciples.”
Noh Dae-sul placed a hand on Geom U-bin’s shoulder and spoke.
“Your life’s been quite turbulent, hasn’t it? With so few people you can truly trust around you.”
“Does that include you, Bang-ju?”
“Of course not! I’m always the most trustworthy person in the world.”
“Then why did you come back so quickly?”
“I arranged to receive information from the Sect here, so I need to stay at my post as much as possible. But those troublemakers won’t let me keep my station. I’ll do what I can to keep the Bloodwind Four Lions from causing any incidents, so if any word comes from the Sect, you receive it and hold it for me.”
Noh Dae-sul left the inn with those words.
Though the Bloodwind Four Lions had boasted there would be no trouble, he couldn’t entirely free himself from Noh Dae-sul’s concern.
Do Pyeong-su asked Seo Seok-san a question.
“Can you really resolve this without any trouble?”
“How can I promise that? Among those men over there—isn’t there someone whose brother you killed?”
“That younger brother deserved to die. And what about you? Didn’t two of that Bok Yang-su’s sworn brothers die by your hand?”
“Those two deserved it as well! They brought the girl I picked and raped her!”
“That’s your claim. But the story that’s actually spread is that you killed them in a jealous rage.”
Yeon Geum-hong rebuked the two of them.
“You two just drag your grudges around everywhere.”
Both men cried out simultaneously.
“You have seven people seeking vengeance against you!”
When Jang Man-dok snorted, Do Pyeong-su glared at him.
“Fine, you have the fewest enemies. Five. But the problem is that among those five is an elder of the Konlun Faction. If you quarrel with him wrongly, you’ll have to fight the entire Murim League. You understand? Just sweep them all away? Hah! Why are we even going to settle our grudges in the first place? This is all because of our master. We need to settle our grudges while we still can, so that when our master eventually retires from the Murim, he won’t suffer any harm because of us. Right? Oh! That’s not a bad idea after all.”
Yeon Geum-hong asked.
“What did Man-dok say?”
“He’s saying we should eliminate everyone who might pose a threat to our master before he retires from the Murim. Isn’t that a reasonable idea?”
“Do you really think that’s a reasonable idea?”
“How many skilled masters could actually pose a threat to our master? Thirty, maybe? Fifty if we’re being generous?”
“Well, it’s not a bad plan. And besides, our master will sever ties with us anyway.”
“Ah! That’s a complication, isn’t it!”
Seo Seok-san patted Do Pyeong-su on the shoulder.
“Your martial arts are definitely stronger than whoever has that Murong Blade.”
“Of course they are. But why are we talking about that now?”
“Just saying.”
They headed toward the Moun Inn, the largest and best-equipped establishment in Eun Si County.
Those who harbored grudges against the Bloodwind Four Lions arrived in Eun Si County one by one, and as they gradually came to know one another, they naturally gathered at the Moun Inn.
They were like herbivores huddling together in fear of a tiger.
When the Bloodwind Four Lions reached the point where the Moun Inn came into view, Noh Dae-sul appeared.

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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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