Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 163

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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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#163

“Senior…… no, what happened to U-bin?”
At Seo Seok-san’s question, So Gi-cheon launched into a lengthy account of what had transpired at the Jegal Family estate.
“The Dacheng Merchant Association is tangled up with the Huashan Faction?”
“Yes. U-bin went to Shaanxi Province to collect payment, but I’m not sure he’ll be able to get it.”
“Mm, I see.”
After sending So Gi-cheon away, the Hyeolpung Saja convened together.
“What should we do?”
Do Pyeong-su answered Seo Seok-san’s question.
“What do you mean what should we do? We head to Shaanxi Province at once.”
“If we go, our senior won’t be pleased, will he?”
At the mention that Geom U-bin would dislike it, Do Pyeong-su’s face darkened instantly.
“You think so?”
“Why else would he tell us to expect a delay? He’s telling us he’ll handle it alone and not to come.”
“But we can’t just sit here twiddling our thumbs waiting. If we’re not careful, we’ll end up facing the Huashan Faction too.”
While the four of them huddled in the room, lost in deliberation, a fifth voice suddenly cut through.
“You could go in secret.”
Do Pyeong-su jumped at the sound of Eun Bi-yeon’s voice from behind him.
“When did you get here?”
“I’ve been here from the start.”
“Without a sound?”
At Eun Bi-yeon’s knowing smile, a chill ran down Do Pyeong-su’s spine.
The Assassin Technique she had been learning from Sang Nam-jae was finally bearing fruit.
“Looks like if Bi-yeon wanted to kill you, it’d be nothing at all,” Yeon Geum-hong remarked lightly.
“Why would Bi-yeon want to kill me?”
It was said as a jest.
“Think about Bi-yeon’s past.”
There was a reason Do Pyeong-su’s spine had chilled.
“Sister, you know U-bin wouldn’t betray me.”
“We don’t have enough between us to even speak of betrayal.”
Eun Bi-yeon’s expression hardened.
“There’s nothing between us?”
Bang! Bang!
Seo Seok-san rapped the table to clear the air.
“This isn’t the time for you two to bicker. We need to decide how to help our senior.”
Yeon Geum-hong spoke up.
“Let’s go quietly and assess the situation first.”
As they were about to depart, O Tong-su came rushing in, gasping for breath.
“A message has arrived from the Mantong Association!”
Though they hadn’t revealed that the Hyeolpung Saja was at Oseong Jang-won, they had set up a relay point in Haemun County, Jiangsu Province, just in case.
If Baek Dong-pal sent word to Haemun County, then Haemun County would dispatch a carrier pigeon to Oseong Jang-won.
“Baek?”
Yeon Geum-hong quickly took the letter that O Tong-su offered her.
―Request your visit to the Mantong Association.
“Arrogant bastard, ordering us around like this.”
“If he’s trying to meet us despite knowing we’d rather avoid him, he must have learned something.”
Yeon Geum-hong paused to think for a moment.
“Senior’s situation is important, but Master’s affairs are no less pressing. Let’s stop by for a moment.”
Though it would take them somewhat out of their way, it amounted to only about one double hour of travel. The Hyeolpung Saja arrived in a single breath, and Baek Dong-pal greeted them warmly.
“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Is something troubling you? You look thinner.”
Baek Dong-pal heaved a long sigh.
“I lost two valued subordinates at once. It all happened while handling your affairs. But who is this person you’ve brought……?”
Do Pyeong-su asked in bewilderment.
“Brought with us?”
Baek Dong-pal pointed to Eun Bi-yeon, who stood with her arms folded across her chest at the threshold.
“That person right there.”
“Hss!”
Eun Bi-yeon hadn’t been asked to come along, yet she had followed them in secret.
Her Concealment Art had reached such a pinnacle that none of the Bloodwind Four Lions had noticed her presence.
“She’s traveling with us, so don’t worry about it. Speak freely.”
At Yeon Geum-hong’s words, Baek Dong-pal drew back the cloth hanging on the wall. On one side lay a map of Shaanxi Province.
“I’ve found no traces of Ma Gun-ja’s whereabouts yet, but I have uncovered a clue regarding the hidden seal that Mei Jing-fang brought to us before. It turns out that seal belonged to the Miao people living in the remote regions of Yunnan Province.”
“Tell us what we don’t already know.”
“You were aware of that, I see. But this you won’t know—the hidden seal Mei Jing-fang gave us belongs to the Heiyuan Clan among the Miao, and they are all known to be dead now.”
“So you’re saying that seal belonged to a dead Miao?”
“That’s uncertain. The seal’s owner left the Heiyuan Clan about fifty years ago. Her Miao name is Sao-sao-lam, but by Zhongyuan reckoning, she would be called Mei Jing-fang.”
“Remarkable that you uncovered this much.”
“What’s peculiar is that this Miao woman left her tribe when she was about ten years old, following a martial artist who came from Zhongyuan.”
“She came to Zhongyuan?”
“Yes. Several of the Heiyuan Clan came to live in Zhongyuan, and I learned this from one of them. According to what that person remembered, when the master departed with Mei Jing-fang, he said, ‘I never imagined such a martial talent existed in this remote place.'”
Seo Seok-san, who had been considering this quietly, asked a question.
“If Mei Jing-fang left like that, how did her hidden seal turn up again in the remote regions of Yunnan?”
“I haven’t yet determined the answer to that. The two men under me who were pursuing that question both died.”
Baek Dong-pal pointed to a spot on the map hanging on the wall.
“This is where my men died.”
Baek Dong-pal’s thick finger indicated the center of Shaanxi Province.
“Xi’an.”
“You’ll need to seek out the Hao Mun branch in Xi’an first.”
“Hao Mun?”
“In their final message to me, my dead men said they would obtain more detailed information with the help of Hao Mun. That was their last word.”
Do Pyeong-su asked a question.
“How did your men die?”
“The house where they were staying caught fire. They were both skilled in martial arts—for them to die in a blaze is suspicious. That’s why I contacted you so urgently.”
He meant that he didn’t want to lose any more men and wanted them to investigate directly.
“So we should make for the Hao Mun branch in Xi’an?”

***

Upon arriving in Xi’an, where the Dacheng Merchant Association operated, Geom U-bin sought out the Hao Mun branch before even choosing an inn.
Though the Hao Mun branch was secretive, Oseong Jang-won knew the locations of nearly every branch in major cities, as if holding them in the palm of its hand.
The Hao Mun branch in Xi’an was an ironmonger’s shop. It sold everything made of metal save weapons—from nails to farm implements—and differed not at all from any ordinary ironmonger.
A man in his early twenties, with a large hairy mole on his cheek, greeted Geom U-bin warmly.
“What are you looking for?”
“Five bricks.”
This was the Black Flower, the code phrase used when one had business with Hao Mun, and the number five signaled that the highest ranks desired information.
The man’s face hardened, and he said, “This way, if you please,” guiding Geom U-bin toward the back of the shop.
After glancing toward the entrance, the man pushed against the wall where a sickle-shaped farm tool hung.
The wall rotated with a creak, revealing a staircase descending underground. The man went down first and lit a torch mounted on the wall.
It was a modest basement—four chairs, a table, and a simple bed.
“Tell me your identity and what information you seek.”
The man spoke thus while opening a ledger placed on the table.
“I’m from Oseong Jang-won.”
The brush in the man’s hand trembled slightly.
“D-did you say Oseong Jang-won?”
“Yes.”
―Grant whatever Oseong Jang-won wants. If they ask for your life, hand over your wife as well.
Such was the order that had come down from the Hao Mun master to all branches. The man, Bang O-byeong, closed the ledger and respectfully placed both hands on his lap.
“What information may I look up for you?”
“I want to know about the Dacheng Merchant Association.”
“It would be easier to answer if you were more specific, but—”
“I’d like to hear comprehensively—their assets and scale, their business dealings, their reputation, and such.”
There was no need to consult any records. Bang O-byeong already knew everything about the Dacheng Merchant Association, Shaanxi’s wealthiest merchant house, by heart.
“The Dacheng Merchant Association began as a humble inn. The business expanded greatly under the previous master, and it became the richest house in Shaanxi thanks to the ruthlessness of the current master, Gam O-heung. Their usury in particular has always been, and remains, brutally excessive. But they feed bribes to officials and have the Huashan Faction backing them militarily, so they walk a smooth and secure path.”
Bang O-byeong spoke about the Dacheng Merchant Association in such detail that it astonished Geom U-bin.
When the conversation drew to a close, Geom U-bin asked the two things that had been nagging at him most.
“Does the Dacheng Merchant Association really possess six hundred and twenty thousand taels in liquid assets?”
“Six hundred and twenty thousand taels?”
Bang O-byeong shook his head firmly.
“Not many people in Zhongyuan keep such vast sums in actual cash—fewer than twenty, I’d wager. But if we’re talking about liquid assets rather than coins themselves, then yes, it’s possible.”
“How close are the Huashan Faction and the Dacheng Merchant Association?”
Bang O-byeong considered this for a moment before answering.
“Like a crocodile and a crocodile bird, I’d say. Who plays which role depends on circumstance, but one thing’s certain—they’re always scratching each other’s itches.”
“A relationship like that wouldn’t drive them to stake their lives for one another, then.”
Bang O-byeong let out a soft laugh.
“The Dacheng Merchant Association won’t risk their lives for anything but money. And the Huashan Faction certainly won’t take on such danger for their sake.”
“I understand. I’m just saying this as a precaution—my coming here must remain secret.”

***

“Did you see that kite in the city?”
“Unless you’re blind, you couldn’t miss it. Ten red kites flying up there.”
“Not just Hangju either. I heard from a peddler who came from Qingyang County, Anhui Province yesterday—they saw red kites there too. And the government offices flew them, supposedly.”
Crash!
The two workers talking spun around in alarm at the sharp sound behind them.
Go Shin-ji stood there, her face startled. At her feet lay a scattered mess of broken tray, teapot, and teacups.
But Go Shin-ji seemed not to care about the shattered teapot or anything else.
“Did you just say red kites?”
“Yes.”
“They flew red kites in different places?”
The worker gave the same answer: “Yes.”
“Was there anywhere in Hangju flying a yellow flag?”
“How did you know? The Seokmun Inn on the city’s edge has had a massive yellow flag up since this morning. So huge they say it nearly covers the entire roof.”
“Well, not quite that big.”
“That’s just how people are telling it. Either way, it’s definitely enormous.”
Without another word, Go Shin-ji turned and left them behind.
“At last…… at last……”
Back in her room, she retrieved the bronze plaque with its engraved seal, which she’d hidden deep within her wardrobe, and tucked it into her bosom.
Sang Nam-jae, entering the room with Ji-u in his arms, immediately noticed that Go Shin-ji’s expression was different from usual.
“Is something wrong?”
“The shackles have finally come undone, it seems.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know who I am?”
“The woman I love most in this world, and the mother of my child.”
As always, Sang Nam-jae gave the most honest answer. Go Shin-ji, a smile playing at her lips, kissed his cheek and whispered to him.
“That’s what I’ll always be. Watch over Ji-u while I’m out.”
With her heart racing, Go Shin-ji hired a carriage and headed toward the Seokmun Inn.
The yellow flag wasn’t quite large enough to cover the entire roof as the worker had claimed, but it was undeniably massive—striking enough to make anyone stop and stare.
The Seokmun Inn was an ordinary two-story inn of the sort you could find anywhere in Zhongyuan.
When Go Shin-ji stepped through the entrance to the first-floor restaurant, a young man in his early twenties—Jeom So-i—greeted her warmly.
“I’d like to meet whoever put up that flag,” she said.
“If you’re just curious——”
“I am the reason for that flag.”
Jeom So-i’s expression hardened. He said, “Please wait a moment,” and disappeared into the back.

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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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