Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 160

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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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#160

But Geom U-bin had no intention of letting this pass. The Oseong Jang-won that So Gi-cheon worried about was not a place the Huashan Faction could simply overcome.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it myself. Just focus on getting your strength back.”
Leaving the clinic, Geom U-bin went straight to find Jegal Hoon.
“Is So Gi-cheon all right? You should have brought him to the Family compound. Our physician is quite skilled.”
Though Jegal Hoon had never met So Gi-cheon, the fact that he was Geom U-bin’s brother was enough to stir his concern.
“Fortunately, the physician there is quite competent.”
“That physician does have a reputation as a renowned doctor throughout Yangyang County.”
Jegal Hoon probed gently, noticing Geom U-bin lost in thought.
“You’re not planning to let this slide, are you?”
“Things might get complicated.”
“How complicated?”
“I won’t know until time passes. Do you know where they are?”
Jegal Hoon had kept careful track of all the important guests who had come to the Family compound.
“They’re still in the city—they haven’t left yet to attend the banquet this evening.”
As Geom U-bin stood, Jegal Hoon asked him.
“You’re going now?”
“We can’t fight at the compound.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“No. I can’t drag the Jegal Family into this.”
“But wouldn’t things be easier for you if the Jegal Family was behind you?”
Though Geom U-bin’s scheme remained unclear, the weight of the Jegal Family name would certainly be an asset.
“That’s true.”
“Then it’s settled. Let’s go. We were there at the beginning, so we should see it through to the end.”

***

They had settled themselves at the Yangyang Daru. The establishment served both wine and tea, its three-story building furnished with elegant, antiquated charm.
Seo Do-myeong poured wine into Byeon Jae-yong’s cup as he spoke.
“Do you think he doesn’t know we’re here?”
“Jegal Hoon is the leader of Homildang. There’s no way he wouldn’t know.”
Bok Cheol-bang posed the question.
“Even if he knows we’re here, will Geom U-bin actually come?”
“He’ll come. I may not know much else, but I’m quite good at reading people.”
Byeon Jae-yong continued, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“The powerful easily believe they can do anything without difficulty. With dice, you can employ tricks, but with martial arts, you cannot cheat.”
“It’s possible Geom U-bin will want to settle this through martial arts rather than gambling.”
“Then we must guide things carefully. Just as Geom U-bin maneuvered Gam Il-cheon into a dice wager.”
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
A familiar sound came from the open door. Everyone’s gaze turned toward the entrance, where the noise of wheelchair wheels rolling across the floor echoed.
Geom U-bin entered slowly beside Jegal Hoon, rolling through the spaces between tables as he approached them.
His expression had been rigid as stone, but as he came near, his face twisted into a grin.
“Here gather all the debt-ridden fools.”
Jegal Hoon spoke up.
“There’s only one debtor among them.”
“Two. A Huashan Faction disciple is a potential debtor as well.”
Geom U-bin’s gaze fixed on Bok Cheol-bang, who had fought So Gi-cheon, as he continued.
“If this wealthy young master can’t repay his debt, the Huashan Faction will come to collect it.”
“How?”
“Hoon.”
“Yes?”
“If I wager money on one of two outcomes—whether I can collect from the Huashan Faction or not—which side would you bet on?”
Jegal Hoon answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“I could stake my entire fortune on you collecting it.”
“As a friend? Or as the leader of Homildang and the Jegal Family?”
“Both of them.”
“Three hundred and ten thousand taels would shake the very pillars of Huashan Faction.”
Bang!
Bok Cheol-bang shot to his feet, slamming his fist against the table.
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting! The Daseong Merchant Association will pay it!”
“Will they? If I go to the Daseong Merchant Association and ask them for the three hundred and ten thousand taels your second brother lost in our wager, will they hand it over willingly? Or will it fall to someone else?”
Geom U-bin’s gaze shifted toward Gam Il-cheon.
“Will Gam Il-cheon bring three hundred and ten thousand taels from the Jegal Family within five days?”
No one spoke—because they all knew both scenarios were unlikely.
Byeon Jae-yong posed the question.
“If the Daseong Merchant Association refuses to pay, how exactly does Huashan Faction plan to collect?”
“We’ll see when the time comes. Something quite entertaining is bound to unfold.”
The warning echoed back—never underestimate Oseong Jang-won.
And the name Jegal Family carried no small weight either. Even for Huashan Faction, dismissing them lightly was far from simple.
“Are you truly blackmailing our Huashan Faction?”
“Our Huashan Faction? Are you qualified to speak on its behalf?”
“The sect leader chose me as his disciple!”
A sneer twisted Geom U-bin’s mouth.
“A disciple of the Orthodox Faction who resorts to cowardly tricks—that’s nothing but shame.”
“You dare speak so freely with that loose tongue of yours!”
“Why? Are you trying to make me like Gi-cheon?”
“If I use my hands on you, it won’t end so lightly!”
“That’s only something you can say if you can defeat me.”
“You impudent brat!”
Though Geom U-bin was still the taller of the two, the age gap was vast—hence the cutting epithet.
“Shall we make another wager then? A chance to wipe clean your debt.”
“Agreed!”
He accepted without even hearing the terms. In truth, the five of them had been orchestrating a scheme to wager against Geom U-bin using martial arts.
Since Geom U-bin had clearly learned martial arts, they intended to exploit that fact.
But with Geom U-bin proposing first, it was as if heaven itself answered their prayer.
“Hoon, do you carry brush and paper?”
“Always.”
Jegal Hoon opened a compartment beside his wheeled chair and produced a brush, paper, and ink in succession.
“Shouldn’t we put this in writing this time? These folk seem to have no regard for the weight of words.”
Bok Cheol-bang cried out eagerly.
“A hundred times over—I’ll do it!”
“Then we should establish the rules first. Will everyone here bear responsibility for this match, or is it you alone?”
“It makes no difference. Say what you wish.”
“Just as we rolled the dice five times, so shall we fight five matches. Starting with ten thousand taels per match. If it’s not five matches but you fighting alone, then it becomes a single match worth three hundred and ten thousand taels.”
Bok Cheol-bang was about to declare he would fight alone, but Byeon Jae-yong was faster.
“Five matches would be best this time.”
“I alone am sufficient.”
“It’s not a matter of doubting you, but of matching numbers with the dice. What happens if you lose the first round to Bok Cheol-bang and find yourself unable to continue to a second match?”
“A concession naturally counts as a defeat.”
Everyone thought Byeon Jae-yong had done well to restrain Bok Cheol-bang. If he won, victory and debt forgiveness came at once; even in defeat, he’d have more chances to compete.
Among the five of them, discounting Gam Il-cheon who knew no martial arts, Bok Cheol-bang and Mo Yong Seol-yeong were the weakest in skill.
“Who bears responsibility for the stakes in this match?”
At Geom U-bin’s question, all eyes turned to Bok Cheol-bang and Gam Il-cheon.
Gam Il-cheon spoke.
“The conditions remain as before.”
“Hoon, you can document this, yes?”
“Of course.”
Jegal Hoon wrote with such remarkable fluency that he soon filled the paper densely with text.
He left blank space at the bottom for signatures.
Geom U-bin signed first. Jegal Hoon added his name as witness.
After Gam Il-cheon and Bok Cheol-bang signed, Mo Yong Seol-yeong, brush in hand, asked.
“It’s all right if I concede, correct?”
“Of course.”
“Mo Yong Seol-yeong. What are you saying?”
As Seo Do-myeong spoke, Mo Yong Seol-yeong signed her name and replied.
“If Gam Il-cheon loses in a fight, there’s no point in me fighting either.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Really? Do you truly believe that? So why is Jegal Hoon, the schemer of the Jegal Family, so confident?”
Of course everyone had considered the possibility, but they trusted their own martial prowess too much.
Once all their names were written down, Geom U-bin handed the paper to Jegal Hoon and asked.
“Who’s my first opponent?”
“Me.”
Bok Cheol-bang naturally stepped forward. Geom U-bin pushed past Jegal Hoon and headed outside.
Along a street roughly twenty paces wide, a fair number of people were moving back and forth.
Geom U-bin found a spot in the middle, and Bok Cheol-bang took position at a distance of about three paces, just as he had when sparring with So Gi-cheon.
“If you need a blade, grab one now. Don’t struggle with the handicap.”
“Stop talking nonsense and start.”
When two people who looked like Murim martial artists faced off in the middle of the street, onlookers naturally stepped aside.
Few objected — after all, the world’s greatest pleasures were watching fires and fights. A duel between Murim practitioners was a rarity, something one might see only once in a lifetime.
“That physician who treated Gi-cheon was skilled, I’ll admit. I’d recommend him highly. And let me be clear before we start—this isn’t sparring. This is a fight. You understand what that means?”
“All mouth!”
Bok Cheol-bang didn’t make the same mistake of overconfidence he’d made against So Gi-cheon. That careless yielding of the first move had made the fight grueling, and in the end he’d resorted to shamefully drawing his blade.
He didn’t think Geom U-bin’s martial arts surpassed So Gi-cheon’s, but going all out from the start was the surest way to minimize variables.
The space between them vanished quickly. From the outset, Bok Cheol-bang unleashed the Plum Blossom Fist, the signature technique of the Huashan Faction.
A swift, devastating strike drove straight toward Geom U-bin’s chest.
Crack!
Bok Cheol-bang had expected some kind of exchange. Instead, his fist was caught in Geom U-bin’s hand.
It felt as though he’d struck cotton. Bok Cheol-bang stumbled backward, trying to wrench his fist free.
But the fist locked in Geom U-bin’s grip wouldn’t budge.
“You broke my brother’s nose.”
The moment Geom U-bin’s words ended, Bok Cheol-bang’s face erupted in searing pain.
He’d been struck, but all he saw was a dark blur.
“And fractured his ribs.”
Impact slammed into his side, and his breath caught short.
Gasp!
His legs buckled involuntarily, and fresh agony seized him.
“You’ve got a hairline fracture in your leg too.”
Ugh…
Overwhelmed by the cascade of pain, Bok Cheol-bang could only moan, too dazed to offer any resistance.
“Your shoulder’s dislocated as well.”
Pop!
Argh!
When Geom U-bin released him, Bok Cheol-bang collapsed forward. On his left hand and knees, his right arm dangled uselessly from its socket.
“Interest payment, so to speak.”
Geom U-bin’s heel drove into his face, and three teeth flew from his mouth.
Bok Cheol-bang’s face was drenched in blood, and above it, Geom U-bin’s voice fell cold and clear.
“Don’t whimper. Gi-cheon walked to the physician on his own from that state.”
Yet Bok Cheol-bang couldn’t get to his feet until Byeon Jae-yong came and helped him up.
“Next is you, Mo Yong Seol-yeong?”
At Geom U-bin’s call, Mo Yong Seol-yeong’s body stiffened. She had thought it possible that Bok Cheol-bang might lose.
But her expectation was utterly shattered. She had never imagined a match could be so utterly one-sided.
“I concede.”
Geom U-bin was equal to Bok Cheol-bang in martial skill at best—hardly someone she could face.
Since he’d already announced it beforehand, no one challenged her decision.
“I’m taking Bok to the physician.”
And so the next opponent was decided to be Byeon Jae-yong, a disciple of the Cheongseong Sect.
Unlike Mo Yong Seol-yeong, Byeon Jae-yong had no intention of surrendering.
How strong is he really?
Bok Cheol-bang’s fight had been so swift that he’d provided no useful intelligence about Geom U-bin’s true abilities.
Byeon Jae-yong began by attacking with the Heavenly Wind Formless Fist, the most unpredictable of the Cheongseong Sect’s striking arts.
Its variations were extreme and transitions between attack and defense were lightning-fast; he was confident he could counter any style of martial arts thrown at him.
Stepping through his footwork and curling his fingers like hooks to seize Geom U-bin’s shoulder, he suddenly felt something massive come hurtling from his left side.
By the time he realized it was Geom U-bin’s leg, it was already too late to evade.
Byeon Jae-yong frantically raised his arms to block the strike driving toward his face.

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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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