Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 162

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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 162

But before Kang Chan-sik’s club could cleave through the air, something appeared and snatched the wolf away.
At first glance, it was as large as a tiger, though it seemed to lack the creature’s characteristic stripes.
Yowl!
The scream came not only from the wolf that had lunged at Kang Chan-sik. Suddenly cries erupted from all sides, and Kang Chan-sik was able to make out what the tiger-sized beast was.
“A dog?”
It was unmistakably a dog. Five massive hounds, each the size of a calf, tore into the wolves with savage efficiency, killing them without mercy.
The surviving wolves fled with their tails between their legs, and the enormous dogs made no effort to pursue them.
The wolves had been terrifying, but these five enormous beasts inspired far greater dread.
The dogs turned slowly toward Kang Chan-sik.

***

Kang Chan-sik didn’t even think of swinging the club in his hand. One of the dogs that had drawn near sniffed at him.
It seemed to be testing whether he was edible, what he might taste like.
Woof!
The bark was as loud as the beast was massive. A voice rang out, cutting through the dog’s howl.
“That one’s named Ki.”
He turned his head, and the very face he had feared so deeply came rushing toward him with joy.
“Master Ho-yeom!”
“You look barely alive.”
The voice that followed was Yeon Geum-hong’s, and Jang Man-dok and Seo Seok-san appeared in turn.
“You fool, do you have any idea how hard we’ve been running around searching for you?”
With relief, Kang Chan-sik’s legs gave out and he collapsed where he stood. If these people were protecting him, not even the messengers of hell itself could drag him to the underworld.
“Why have you taken so long?”
With those words, Kang Chan-sik lost consciousness.

***

Jegal Jong-ryeo gazed out into the courtyard through an open window. Guests arriving to celebrate her sixtieth-year birthday were streaming in.
“What do you think of that person?”
Jegal Hoon glanced out the window and asked.
“Who?”
“The one in the blue robe with a sword across his back.”
“That’s Hwang Deok-in, the lord of the O-ryong Family.”
“A lord like that would suit me just fine.”
“He married twenty years ago and has three children!”
“Is that so? Then what about that person?”
The man Jegal Jong-ryeo pointed to was older than Hwang Deok-in, his hair shot through with gray.
“Sister, what are you doing?”
“I’ve been rejected by U-bin and the time for marriage has come anyway. I just want to marry anyone. That man doesn’t appear to be married yet.”
“He works in the Jegal Family’s stables.”
“Is that so? Is he married?”
Jegal Hoon let out a long sigh.
“I understand that your shock and heartbreak, but you can’t just marry anyone because of it.”
“Then who should I marry? The Mudang Faction is finished, U-bin says he doesn’t like me—am I supposed to become a spinster ghost like this?”
“Sister, if you lined up all the men who speak highly of you, they’d stretch in a single line from Beijing to Nanjing.”
“Most of those men are ones I’ve already rejected.”
“Well, the line might be shorter then, but that won’t stop you from getting married, so wipe that look off your face like the world’s come to an end.”
“I want to marry someone I love!”
“I read somewhere that men should marry the women they love, and women should marry the men who love them.”
“What kind of books are you reading anyway?”
“In any case, U-bin is not an option.”
“Why doesn’t U-bin like me? I’m beautiful, aren’t I?”
“You’re also five years older than him.”
Jegal Jong-ryeo’s shoulders sagged.
“Age is a punishment. I’m already old.”
“Which is exactly why you should give up on U-bin and find another man before it’s too late.”
Done with the conversation, Jegal Hoon left the room and went to find Geom U-bin.
Geom U-bin was in the back yard talking with Namgung Hye-yeon. When Namgung Hye-yeon first arrived at the Jegal House, she’d worn the same melancholic expression as Jegal Jong-ryeo now did, but now she couldn’t wipe the smile from her lips.
Once the rumor of Geom U-bin and Jegal Jong-ryeo marrying proved false, one of them had sunk into the earth while the other soared through the sky.
Though Namgung Hye-yeon wore her smile now, who would emerge as the final victor remained uncertain.
As Jegal Hoon approached, Namgung Hye-yeon greeted him warmly. Her kindness—sharper than before—seemed crafted not merely for him, but for being the friend of Geom U-bin.
“Could I borrow U-bin for a moment?”
“Of course. Just make sure to send word before you leave.”
Namgung Hye-yeon left those words with Geom U-bin and walked away.
“You didn’t turn away my sister because of Hye-yeon, did you?”
Geom U-bin laughed.
“That’s not possible. Namgung Hye-yeon is just a friend.”
“Friendship between a man and a woman is as fragile as thin ice in early spring.”
“You look like you want to ask something.”
“What about the Daseong Merchant Association?”
“What do you mean, what about it?”
“You’re not actually planning to collect all six hundred twenty thousand taels, are you?”
“Doesn’t the Daseong Merchant Association have that much money?”
“Of course they do. But unless you’re the wealthiest man in all Zhongyuan, nobody holds that kind of silver in cash.”
“What kind of place is the Daseong Merchant Association?”
Jegal Hoon furrowed his brow, thinking before he answered.
“They started with usury and grew into the richest family in Shaanxi Province. Their main income stream is still the usury business. Truth be told, they don’t have a very good reputation.”
“Then no one would fault them for extracting six hundred twenty thousand taels.”
“The question isn’t whether they can pay—it’s whether they will. If the rumors are true, Gam O-heung, the lord of the Daseong Merchant Association, would sooner kill his own son than hand over six hundred twenty thousand taels.”
“So he values money more than his own child?”
“It’s more accurate to say his obsession with money is that extreme.”
“For now, we’ll just have to wait until the promised date.”

***

After receiving treatment from Jang Man-dok, Kang Chan-sik barely crawled back from death’s door. Between the snake poison and days spent wandering weakly through the mountains, his body was so depleted that even without the wolves, he would have been lucky to survive another two days.
With Kang Chan-sik now treated and the bandit problem still unresolved, they returned to Guwang Chae.
They could have simply gone back to Hangju, but leaving the Nogrim issue as it was risked another raid on the Oseong Merchant Association.
They’d made promises to Do Pyeong-soon, so they decided to handle both matters at once.
“Can’t we just… not do this?”
Do Pyeong-soon’s question, heavy with fading hope, was cut short by Do Pyeong-su’s refusal.
“No.”
While they were away searching for Kang Chan-sik, bandit leaders had arrived at Guwang Chae for the assembly to choose a supreme chief—the gathering known as the Charong Meeting.
The six base chiefs already present had been easily subdued by the Bloodwind Four Lions, and the ten who arrived next met the same fate.
Those fortunate enough to survive were quick to accept reality, while those who had boasted of Nogrim’s strong backbone found that backbone snapped and buried.
Though not every chief of the Nogrim Seventy-Two Bases had gathered, there were enough present for Do Pyeong-soon to be recognized as supreme chief.
“Any who refuse to acknowledge Do Pyeong-soon as supreme chief are welcome to come find me at the Oseong Jang-won in Hangju.”
Do Pyeong-su’s declaration was transmitted by carrier pigeon to every base of the Nogrim Seventy-Two across the land.
Naturally, it was expected that no madman would ever show up at the Oseong Jang-won. Everyone knew the Bloodwind Four Lions had obliterated twenty-two of the Nogrim bases.
Instead, it was decided that in three years’ time, the Suryong Meeting would be held to choose a supreme chief. Do Pyeong-soon had been granted three years.
If within that span he failed to develop the strength to lead the Nogrim Seventy-Two Bases, the best that could happen was he’d be cast out—or he might simply be dead.
The Bloodwind Four Lions couldn’t protect him from that. All that could be given to Do Pyeong-soon now was a single book.
It was a martial manual that Seo Seok-san, a master calligrapher, had written in roughly one double hour.
“Study it well. Master just this, and becoming a bandit leader will be child’s play.”
It wasn’t Seo Seok-san’s True Mountain Absolute Technique that was recorded. He had merely selected a few sword techniques from his arsenal that were worth teaching and written them down.
To most Murim martial artists, those techniques without a name would seem like an art beyond measure.
“I’ll have someone send spirit medicine to boost your internal power. Guard your post well, and whatever you do, don’t touch the Oseong Merchant Association.”
“Of course not. I’ll make sure word reaches even the unaffiliated bandits roaming the hills. But… well…”
“But what?”
“Could I… maybe just go do chores at the Oseong Jang-won instead?”
“You hate banditry that much? Then why did you become a bandit in the first place?”
“Back then I had no choice, but now there are other paths, aren’t there?”
“Other paths? Where? As I see it, every other road besides becoming a bandit chief is a cliff’s edge.”
Do Pyeong-soon let out a long sigh and nodded in agreement.
“Yes. Please visit occasionally and check on how I’m doing. You should know whether I’m alive or dead among these vicious bandits.”
“From now on, you are the leader of those vicious bandits.”
Having settled the matter, Hyeolpung Saja carried Kang Chan-sik back to Oseong Jang-won.
Kang Chan-sik screamed at the top of his lungs for the first double hour, but like a man proving that humans are creatures of adaptation, he eventually grew quiet and entrusted his life to Do Pyeong-su’s hands.
“Master should have arrived by now, shouldn’t he?”
Hyeolpung Saja, thrilled at the prospect of seeing Geom U-bin soon, was bewildered when Eun Bi-yeon said, ‘The lord still hasn’t come.’
“He still hasn’t come? It’s been at least five days since the Jegal family head’s sixtieth birthday celebration ended, hasn’t it?”
Eun Bi-yeon, who had returned early with five dogs, held out a letter that had arrived by carrier pigeon.
“It’s from the lord.”
The letter, which had passed through Do Pyeong-su’s hands, was opened by Yeon Geum-hong.
“He says he has business and is going to Shaanxi Province? What sort of business could it be?”
There was nothing that should have come up for Geom U-bin after going to the Jegal House at Jegal Hoon’s invitation.
“Should we go to the Jegal House and find out?”
Eun Bi-yeon caught Do Pyeong-su’s meaning.
“I don’t think that’s necessary. As it turns out, a disciple from the Sect named So Gi-cheon went to the Jegal House with the lord. They say So Gi-cheon returned yesterday, so wouldn’t it be better to just ask him?”
The task of fetching So Gi-cheon fell to Go Seo-bang. Taking advantage of the moment when Go Seo-bang had gone to bring him, Kang Chan-sik spoke.
“I think it’s best that I return to the Heuksahoe now.”
He had been grateful when his life was saved, but such gratitude would be the first and last of its kind in his life.
He wanted to avoid being in the same place as Hang Ju-sa-byeon as much as possible. It was like the instinctive fear a frog feels before a snake.
“Fine. Go ahead.”
Fortunately, permission was granted without resistance. As Kang Chan-sik bowed and turned to leave, Seo Seok-san spoke.
“Come early tomorrow morning.”
Kang Chan-sik stopped in his tracks and asked.
“Why?”
“You need to learn martial arts.”
“What? I’m to learn martial arts?”
“It’s a disgrace to Oseong Jang-won if the society head of Oseong Merchant Association is so weak he gets killed by bandits.”
“No, sir. I won’t leave Hangju anymore. There’s no one in Hangju who would dare endanger me.”
“Are you stronger than the Dongsi Doga family head?”
“How could I possibly be stronger than such a master?”
“Then why is there no one who’d endanger you? Stop the empty talk and learn martial arts.”
It wasn’t that Kang Chan-sik would refuse to become stronger. The problem was that the person making this suggestion was Hang Ju-sa-byeon.
“Are you lords going to teach me directly?”
“You fool, do you think we have time to teach someone like you?”
The thousand-pound stone that had suddenly been placed on his shoulders seemed to lift.
“Then who?”
“Ah, she’s here just in time. Se-hwa!”
“Yes!”
At Yeon Geum-hong’s call, Se-hwa bounded over with a bright face.
“Starting tomorrow, teach this Kang Chan-sik some martial arts.”
“What? Me?”
“You and Hang Ju-sa-byeon—no, Hang Ju-sa-ung will take turns teaching him.”
“I’ve never taught martial arts before…”
“Just teach him the way we taught you.”
Se-hwa, lost in thought for a moment, broke into a smile. Kang Chan-sik didn’t understand why that smile sent a chill down his spine.
“I understand. I just do exactly the same way, right?”
“Do you know any other method?”
“Ho ho ho! I only know what I learned from my teachers. But why hasn’t Master returned yet?”
It seemed Eun Bi-yeon hadn’t told Hang Ju-sa-ung about Geom U-bin.
“I need to leave the estate for a few days to go look for him anyway.”
“Again?”
Yeon Geum-hong leaned close to Se-hwa, who was asking, and studied her face.
“I can’t tell if you’re sad or happy about it. You really should be more careful with your expressions.”
“I’m sad about it, Master.”
While they were talking, Go Seo-bang arrived with So Gi-cheon. From the sight of So Gi-cheon with a splint on his arm and limping on one leg, everyone sensed that something had happened.

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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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