Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 161

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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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#161

Bang!
A sound like dynamite detonating near his ear, and then he flew through empty air.
With a dull thud, Byeon Jae-yong crashed against the wall and lost consciousness before he even hit the ground.
It had taken only one strike—not even a direct hit, but a blow delivered against the arm he’d raised in defense.
Yet that single attack had been enough to send Byeon Jae-yong into oblivion.
Such was the power of the Jincheon Leogak.
Geom U-bin’s eyes turned toward Seo Do-myeong.
“Your turn now.”
Gam Il-cheon, who knew no Martial Arts, couldn’t fight, and Mo Yong Seol-yeong had forfeited—so this was the third match, but it would be the last.
And Seo Do-myeong, the final opponent standing, had no confidence in defeating Geom U-bin.
His Martial Arts were the strongest among the three, certainly, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe he could fell Bok Cheol-bang and Byeon Jae-yong as swiftly as Geom U-bin had.
‘What kind of Martial Arts has this bastard learned?’
If he’d at least seen the form, he might have made an educated guess, but Geom U-bin hadn’t even displayed a proper stance.
He couldn’t afford to stand here in contemplation. Geom U-bin was already three paces ahead, ready to fight.
“Shall I come in first?”
He felt no displeasure even as a boy ten years his junior spoke to him without respect. In Murim, everything came down to strength.
“Let’s finish this and get back. It’s time for Father’s sixtieth birthday celebration.”
Jegal Hoon’s voice carried the weariness of watching the same opera for the third time.
“Shall we?”
The moment the exchange ended, Geom U-bin moved. Seo Do-myeong had sworn he’d never seen movement so swift.
His instincts barely allowed him to block the strike aimed at his chest. The impact that traveled through both arms felt like being hit with an iron club.
“Gah!”
Through the involuntary cry that escaped him, Geom U-bin’s fist came flying toward his face. Taking that same blow to the head would mean death.
As he bent his waist backward, his legs suddenly exploded with pain. He couldn’t fathom how Geom U-bin had struck his legs while attacking his face.
Geom U-bin’s movements defied all logic, while Seo Do-myeong moved as logic dictated.
His lifted body rotated once in the air before crashing hard to the ground.
A sharp pain pierced his chest, and his breath came in a strangled gasp—Geom U-bin’s foot had struck him there.
“Cough, cough!”
He hadn’t properly defended against a single move. He couldn’t comprehend how such an overwhelming gap in martial power could exist.
The boy was barely fifteen years old. However excellent his master, however many Spirit Medicines he’d consumed while training, it should have been impossible to reach such strength.
That was what Seo Do-myeong’s mind insisted, yet the reality of Geom U-bin loomed over him like a shadow.
Seized by the collar, Seo Do-myeong was lifted as lightly as if he were made of straw.
“Unless you’re the strongest under heaven, you should be more careful with that power.”
Geom U-bin had barely pushed—yet Seo Do-myeong flew three zhang backward, struck the wall, and fell.
Now only Gam Il-cheon remained standing. When Geom U-bin’s gaze fell upon him, he flinched as if pierced by a blade.
“How much do you owe me?”
Gam Il-cheon’s answer came reflexively.
“Six hundred twenty thousand taels!”
“Good, you remember. Five days. If you don’t bring that money to the Jegal Family within that time, I’ll come looking for you at the Daseong Merchant Association.”
Geom U-bin pushed past Jegal Hoon and disappeared among the crowd. Byeon Jae-yong, who had regained consciousness moments before, helped the fallen Seo Do-myeong to his feet and spoke.
“It seems we’ve grabbed a tiger by the tail.”

***

At last the Carrier Pigeon arrived. Seo Seok-san caught it himself and untied the letter from its leg.
―The criminal is Zamryongchae. Currently at Go Dong-chae in Cheonghahyeon County, Hebei Province. Planned to stay until tomorrow.
“Zamryongchae? Who are those people?”
Do Pyeong-sun, thoroughly versed in the Noklim, answered.
“A group that’s established themselves in Jiangsu Province.”
“Why would they come all the way to the Hebei region and commit robbery?”
“A tournament is being held to select the Chaejue of Chaejue. Zamryongchae has the right to participate. It seems they’ve been robbing along the way here.”
“Even though it’s not their territory?”
“The entry fee for the Chaejue of Chaejue tournament is quite steep. It appears they didn’t have enough.”
Do Pyeong-su spoke.
“What good does knowing do? Once we grab him and squeeze him, everything’ll spill out.”
Do Pyeong-su seized him by the scruff, and Do Pyeong-sun’s face twisted in dismay.
“Why am I coming along?”
“Just in case.”
“If that’s the reason… Aaaaah!”
He was suddenly airborne, screaming, but he grew accustomed to it soon enough.
To Go Dong-chae took barely more than an hour and a half.
Thud!
When Seo Seok-san landed on the bandit hideout, the hut nearby collapsed with a dull groan.
The reaction was much like any other lair they’d raided.
“Enemy!”
The cry rang out first, and then the bandits—indistinguishable and frenzied—swarmed toward them.
Do Pyeong-su hurled the rushing bandits aside as he questioned Do Pyeong-sun. “Do you see the Zamryongchae leader?”
Do Pyeong-sun, whose vision was obscured by billowing dust, shook his head.
“It’s hard to make out from here. Once the dust settles a bit…….”
Before he could finish, Do Pyeong-su swung both his arms. The hazy dust that had swirled around them was swept rapidly outward.
Of course, what was swept outward wasn’t merely dust. Dozens of bandits, unable to resist that force, tumbled across the ground.
“Can you see?”
Do Pyeong-sun quickly pointed at one of the huts. “That large log cabin—the one just coming out! That’s Jeong Ju-bal, the Zamryongchae leader!”
Before the words left his lips, Do Pyeong-su had already moved. Jeong Ju-bal was seized in his grip in an instant.
As Do Pyeong-su shifted his grip on the scruff, Jeong Ju-bal slid across the ground as though he were on ice, coming to rest precisely at Seo Seok-san’s feet.
Jeong Ju-bal let out a soft groan, struggling to rise onto his elbows, when Seo Seok-san pressed his foot down on the man’s cheek.
“So you’re the one who attacked the Oseong Merchant Association.”
“W-who…….?”
“Ever heard the name Hang Ju-sa-seon? From your expression, it seems not. That’s unimportant. Where is Kang Chan-sik?”
“Who’s Kang Chan-sik?”
Jeong Ju-bal, seized by terror, had the face of a frightened dog of forty-five years old.
“That wretch who escaped from the Oseong Merchant Association when you attacked it!”
The recognition flashed across his face—he knew.
“I don’t know.”
“You bastard, where do you get off lying—!”
“Wait, I do know of him—I just don’t know where he is!”
“But you were chasing after him!”
“We searched the whole area thoroughly, but we couldn’t find him, so we just came back!”
His expression didn’t seem to be deceiving them.
“What place did you miss?”
Kang Chan-sik had barely come to his senses. The snake that had bitten him was indeed venomous, but its poison hadn’t been enough to kill. Either that, or his life force was strong enough to overcome the venom.
In any case, Kang Chan-sik was still alive, still thrashing and struggling to survive.
The raspberries disappeared down his throat without time to taste them. He had no idea how many days had passed.
It seemed like barely two days, yet also more than ten.
He’d wandered through the forest, eating whatever he could find to stay alive. His only hope wasn’t to find his own way out—it was to encounter an herb gatherer or a hunter.
That was the only way to escape this endless verdant nightmare.
After finishing the sparse raspberries he’d found, Kang Chan-sik leaned his back against a tree and then slid down to sit.
The dizziness remained, and his wounds ached with each step in a way that made him gasp involuntarily.
‘Will I survive?’
I will live! I will not die! Such resolve had weakened, and the weight of reality pressed down upon him.
Merely being alive didn’t mean his body was whole. He couldn’t know how much longer he could endure.
And the beasts of this forest—its true rulers—were watching him with hungry eyes.
Wildcats and lesser creatures could be driven off by swinging a branch or two, but tigers and bears? They were beyond what he could handle in his current state.
Kang Chan-sik drew several shaky breaths and resumed walking.
“Hah… hah!”
With each step, his labored breathing left his lips pale and cracked.
As he walked on, the sound of flowing water reached his ears.
When he moved toward the left, he soon came upon a gorge perhaps twenty paces wide.
The gorge waters churned fiercely over rocks and against themselves, frothing white as they rushed through.
Had he fallen into that torrent at the start, he would never have survived to see now.
After wetting his throat, Kang Chan-sik sat on a rock to rest briefly, then resumed walking.
He’d perhaps crossed two hours of forest. He’d had to stop frequently to catch his breath, so he hadn’t covered much distance.

Kang Chan-sik stopped abruptly while pushing through the grassland where no path existed. He’d heard something.
In this isolated, overgrown forest, ignoring suspicious sounds was never an option.
He stood still, taking a moment to confirm whether what he’d heard was real or merely his imagination.
It seemed to be just the sound of grass brushing against his trouser legs. He’d nearly convinced himself and was about to move on when it came again.
A low, rumbling growl.
That guttural sound—the kind only a beast could make—sent every hair on his body standing on end.
Kang Chan-sik bent down to pick up a fallen branch, but dizziness forced him to drop onto one knee.
He rose, gripping the branch, and turned toward the source of the sound.
The gray shape was, mercifully, neither tiger nor bear. But it might have been worse for him than either.
One, then two—wolves emerged from the forest.
Three or four he might have managed, but this pack was roughly fifteen strong.
That was only what he could see; there was no telling how many more lurked behind them.
“Damn it all!”
The curse escaped unbidden. He’d wondered why he hadn’t encountered any beasts until now—and somehow he’d stumbled straight into a wolf pack.
But he wasn’t ready to give up. Kang Chan-sik began backing slowly toward the direction of the gorge.
The rapids there made swimming treacherous, but it was better than facing down a pack of wolves.
The cautious wolves followed at the same pace he retreated.
At any moment a gap might appear, and then they’d surge forward as one, tearing into him with their fangs.
He was careful not to stumble. One misstep and the wolves would take it as their signal to attack.
Dodging stones and circling trees as he descended, the wolves gradually closed the distance.
He counted roughly twenty now. The sound of rushing water reached his ears. He couldn’t gauge the exact distance, but hope kindled—escape might still be possible.
The nearest wolf had closed to within three zhang. Its hackles raised, fangs bared, it revealed the malice of a true predator.
He could sense instinctively that the attack was coming. If he kept backing away, he’d be defenseless when they struck.
The roar of the rapids sounded loud enough that he couldn’t be more than thirty zhang away.
All he needed to do was reach the water.
‘Will I have a chance if I run?’
There was only one way to find out. Backing away slowly while under attack was suicide; he had to try.
Kang Chan-sik pressed his back against a massive tree trunk, sidestepped around it, and spun toward open ground.
But he couldn’t take a single step. Three wolves had already cut off his path.
They seemed to say, ‘We know all your tricks,’ and they’d left him no opening at all.
A low, rumbling growl.
The sound deepened, and all the wolves bared their teeth in full fury.
“Come on, you bastards! Let’s go!”
He knew he couldn’t win. But he wasn’t about to stand idle and offer himself up as meat.
If he could drag even one of them with him to the grave, at least he’d die like himself.
A sharp bark.
As if that was the signal, the wolves lunged. Kang Chan-sik raised the branch, ready to swing it at the wolf charging straight at him.

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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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