Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 175

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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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#Chapter 175

After finishing her cultivation, Jeon Mi-ryeo was exhausted as always. She wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed, but after bathing, she sought out Geom U-bin’s quarters instead.
Geom U-bin had just completed his own day’s training and was attending to matters concerning Shaanxi Province.
The Oseong Merchant Association was settling into Shaanxi Province smoothly, thanks to the support of the Jegal Family.
The Daseong Merchant Association, while Gam O-heung had been released from imprisonment, was withering day by day. If things continued as they were, in three months the Oseong Merchant Association would absorb the Daseong Merchant Association’s business without any complications.
Jeon Mi-ryeo knocked on the door just as Geom U-bin was reaching for his brush to write a letter to be sent to Shaanxi Province.
“Come in.”
From her footsteps and breathing alone, he could tell the visitor was Jeon Mi-ryeo. She entered with her hair still wet and gleaming, asking if she might speak with him for a moment, and Geom U-bin gestured to the chair across from him.
“Please, sit.”
“I felt I should explain myself about my late-night outings.”
“There’s no need to burden yourself with that.”
“No, I think it’s best not to keep secrets as a member of Oseong Jang-won. Besides, there’s nothing I really need to hide.”
“If it puts your mind at ease, then by all means.”
Jeon Mi-ryeo collected her thoughts and then spoke.
“I’m still part of Sae-oe. Though I was driven out and came all this way, Sae-oe is still my homeland.”
“No one would fault you for that.”
“So I’ve been maintaining contact with Sae-oe. My monthly outings are because of those communications. Of course, I’ve never said a word about Oseong Jang-won.”
“I believe you.”
“You really do trust me?”
Geom U-bin regarded her with a slight smile.
“I can tell when someone is lying.”
Jeon Mi-ryeo shrugged.
“If that’s what you say, then I’ll take it as fact.”
Everything she had experienced of Geom U-bin up to now had proven he was never one to exaggerate, that he had achieved martial accomplishments impossible for his age, and that he possessed unbelievable abilities.
If Geom U-bin said he had mastered Mind Reading, Jeon Mi-ryeo would believe him.
“Just be careful. If it becomes known that Oseong Jang-won has disciples, the peace of this place will be shattered.”
“I want the peace of Oseong Jang-won disturbed least of all. I will be cautious, very cautious.”
“That’s all I ask. If you ever need my help, let me know.”
Now that Jeon Mi-ryeo had unburdened herself, she felt lighter.
“And there’s one piece of information I should share. I wouldn’t know about other matters, but regarding the Northern Ice Palace…….”
Matters concerning Eun Bi-yeon were no secret at Oseong Jang-won.
“The Northern Ice Palace? What about it?”
“I heard their Palace Master died recently.”
The Northern Ice Palace lay so far from Zhongyuan and was such a secretive sect that news from that place rarely reached the outside world.
“The Sae-oe Five Kings have had frequent dealings with the Northern Ice Palace since long ago. That’s how we learned of the Palace Master’s passing. The problem is that a successor for the next Palace Master has not yet been decided. The Palace Master died before a heir could be chosen.”
“It’s rare for a master of the Murim to die so suddenly. What happened?”
“Word is that he fell into Qi Deviation during his cultivation practice. Even with our connections, the Sae-oe Five Kings cannot know every detail of their inner affairs.”
“Isn’t the order of disciples usually already established?”
“Apparently two are competing for the position. The Palace Master’s daughter and his first disciple are the two in question. The disciple is slightly superior in martial skill, while the daughter has more influence. The problem is that neither of them is willing to yield the Palace Master’s seat.”
“Surely it can be resolved somehow?”
Jeon Mi-ryeo shook her head.
“It’s not that simple. Given their characters, neither will back down, and in the worst case, the Northern Ice Palace could collapse from within.”
There could be no greater tragedy than a sect destroying itself over a power struggle.
“Since there is someone connected to the Northern Ice Palace in this residence, I thought you should know.”
“Thank you.”
After Jeon Mi-ryeo left, Geom U-bin pondered for a moment, then summoned the Bloodwind Four Lions and Eun Bi-yeon to the Pond Pavilion.
“Being called out in the dead of night must mean something serious has happened.”
Do Pyeong-su’s face was full of anticipation—the hope of gaining real combat experience. The same eagerness shone in the other three as well.
“It could be serious, or we could choose to ignore it. Senior.”
The title “senior” had been the conclusion of long back-and-forth discussion. Originally they had called Eun Bi-yeon “aunt,” but that met with fierce opposition from Hyeolpung Saja.
An aunt to his senior’s younger brother was inappropriate, and truthfully, it was a fair objection.
Moreover, now that Eun Bi-yeon had taken it upon herself to become Do Pyeong-su’s lover, the title “aunt” fit even less.
So “senior,” arrived at after careful consideration, had proven a satisfactory solution.
“What does the Northern Ice Palace mean to you, Senior?”
At the sudden question, Eun Bi-yeon’s perpetually icy expression wavered.
“Why would you ask such a thing all of a sudden……?”
“Something has happened at the Northern Ice Palace. It might be something grave enough to shake the very foundation of the place.”
“What sort of thing?”
The quickness of her question and the pitch of her voice told Geom U-bin just how startled Eun Bi-yeon was.
Geom U-bin recounted what Jeon Mi-ryeo had told him.
“My younger sister…… she’s dead?”
Had things gone as they should have, Eun Bi-yeon would have become the Palace Master of the Northern Ice Palace. But because of her foolish decision, her sister—twenty years her junior—had taken the position instead.
“Given both your sister’s death and the chaos at the Northern Ice Palace, shouldn’t you go back and see to it yourself?”
Eun Bi-yeon slowly shook her head.
“My ties to the Northern Ice Palace were severed long ago.”
Yet the tremor in her voice, fine and deliberate, betrayed that her heart spoke otherwise.
“If that’s truly your wish, then so be it. But think on it once more. They say that heavenly bonds cannot be cut by will alone, don’t they?”
The gathering that night ended as abruptly as it had begun. And early the next morning, the Bloodwind Four Lions came to find Geom U-bin.
“Why did you call us all last night? You could have spoken to Bi-yeon alone, couldn’t you?”
The question from Yeon Geum-hong was what they had all been wondering.
“I thought the disciples ought to consider it as well. It’s not as though Bi-yeon’s troubles have nothing to do with us, is it? Especially you, Do Pyeong-su.”
Do Pyeong-su, who had been reaching for his teacup, flinched at the words and asked, “Me? Why?”
“Me? Why?”
“Because you’re officially her lover, aren’t you?”
“Am I……?”
Seo Seok-san gave him a sidelong look.
“What’s with that wishy-washy answer?”
“Well…… it still doesn’t quite feel real.”
“Doesn’t feel real? Don’t tell me you and Bi-yeon still haven’t…….”
Crack!
“Ugh!”
Yeon Geum-hong struck Seo Seok-san across the back, cutting off his words.
“Our senior is right here.”
“But the senior is already at an age where he knows such things. Isn’t that right, senior?”
Saying as much, Yeon Geum-hong delivered another blow to Seo Seok-san’s back.
The bickering between Seo Seok-san, who complained he wasn’t a punching bag, and Yeon Geum-hong, who insisted he should act his age, was only brought to an end when Geom U-bin stepped in to mediate.
“What do you disciples think? Should Bi-yeon go to the Northern Ice Palace?”
“What does the senior think?”
“In truth, what does our thinking matter? It’s entirely a matter for her own decision. But if I were in her position, I would go.”
“Why?”
“In the end, family is the only place one truly returns to. Imagine if I and the disciples had quarreled and parted ways.”
Do Pyeong-su spoke with conviction.
“That would never happen.”
“Of course not. Why would we ever quarrel with you, senior!”
“There’s no world in which we would part from you.”
“Hear, hear!”
Though Geom U-bin had only posed a hypothetical, the Bloodwind Four Lions’ response was so resolute that he found himself smiling.
“I feel the same way. Either way, Bi-yeon needs a place to return to. Oseong Jang-won is a fine home for us, certainly, but I suspect the Northern Ice Palace still weighs on her heart like an unpaid debt.”
Yeon Geum-hong asked, “Are you hoping we’ll persuade her?”
“It won’t take much convincing. Bi-yeon wants to go to the Northern Ice Palace—she’s simply waiting for permission to want it.”

“Brother, why are you giving this to me?”
“It was always yours. I’m simply returning what belongs to you.”
“Why now, of all times?”
“You know well enough.”
Eun Bi-yeon gazed at the box for a long moment before asking, “Should I go?”
Do Pyeong-su scratched the bridge of his nose.
“Well, I can’t claim to be particularly clever, so I’m not certain. But if you’re going to regret something anyway, isn’t it better to try and then regret it? Not marriage, mind you.”
As Eun Bi-yeon struggled to find an answer, Do Pyeong-su produced his trump card.
“If you go, I’ll come with you.”

Eun Bi-yeon started at the sudden declaration.
“You’re coming with me?”
“That’s such a long journey. You can’t go alone—you’d be bored out of your mind.”
Eun Bi-yeon smiled softly.
“That’s true.”
An opportunity to travel far with Do Pyeong-su might never come again in her lifetime.
“All right. I’ll go.”
Eun Bi-yeon, whose heart was already heavy, nodded at Do Pyeong-su’s proposal.
And so it was decided—Do Pyeong-su and Eun Bi-yeon would journey to the Northern Ice Palace, driven entirely by their own will.
But there was one person they’d never anticipated, and certainly never wanted to come along, who received the news like a thunderbolt.
“I’m sorry—you want me to accompany you?”
Gal Ma-pyeong was the one who looked as though his heart might leap straight out of his mouth. Yeon Geum-hong, seeing his shock, spoke as though his confusion were incomprehensible.
“Your master is embarking on a distant journey. Of course my attendant disciple must come along.”
“That’s… not wrong, exactly, but you’ve rarely taken me with you before, have you?”
“That was only because your lightness technique is slow and would hold us back. This journey to the Northern Ice Palace won’t demand such haste, so you’ll be perfectly capable of accompanying us.”
Gal Ma-pyeong asked, his face as though he might weep at any moment.
“Do I really have to go?”

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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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