Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 177

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

#Episode 177

Kang Chan-sik tumbled across the ground. Then again. And again. With each impact, Jeon Mi-ryeo’s laughter deepened.
“Huff! Huff!”
Covered in dust, Kang Chan-sik sprawled flat, breathing in ragged gasps. He wanted to push himself up out of sheer stubbornness, but not a single finger would obey him.
Seo Seok-san’s face swam into his vision.
“Giving up already?”
He should never have accepted a sparring match in the first place. But Jeon Mi-ryeo had looked like the easiest target at Oseong Jang-won, and when Seo Seok-san dangled the invitation, he’d leaped at it like a fool.
As the head of a Triad, and having thrown himself into cultivation practice these past weeks—brutal sessions that bordered on torture—he’d believed he could at least match her skill.
That belief shattered in the blink of an eye. The half hour that followed was nothing but regret.
Even his stubbornness had its limit.
“You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”
Instead of answering, Seo Seok-san called out to Jeon Mi-ryeo.
“Mi-ryeo.”
“Yes?”
“With hands as weak as that, how do you expect to take revenge?”
“But I’m not the one you want to take revenge on!”
“Sparring should resemble real combat, and real combat should resemble sparring. Try again.”
“Yes. I’ll do better this time.”
Kang Chan-sik let out a sharp cry.
“What do you mean ‘again’? What do you mean ‘better’? Oh, crying out like that just made my chest—”
Jeon Mi-ryeo spoke up.
“If we’re fighting like it’s real combat, shouldn’t I finish an opponent once they’re down?”
“If you’ve knocked them down, finish it properly.”
“W-wait, hold on a moment—”
As Kang Chan-sik wheezed to his feet, Go Seo-bang appeared.
“Master, suspicious visitors have arrived.”
“Suspicious visitors?”
“They appear to be officials from the government, come looking for Lady Go. Even Master Seo has gone out to meet them.”
The sudden arrival of government officials had rescued Kang Chan-sik from his predicament. As Seo Seok-san disappeared with Go Seo-bang, Jeon Mi-ryeo approached him.
“Are you all right? That must have hurt.”
“Well, yes—”
“Master had to be there, so I couldn’t hold back. Next time I’ll go easier.”
“Let me make one thing crystal clear: there won’t be a next time. Absolutely not. Oh, I’m exhausted—”
Kang Chan-sik limped toward the Main Gate. While being thrown around, he hadn’t noticed, but now that it was over, every part of him ached.
‘I swear I’m never sparring again.’
Making this silent vow, he noticed a substantial crowd gathered at the Main Gate as he approached.
Apart from the three who’d departed for the Northern Ice Palace, it seemed all the important figures of Oseong Jang-won had turned out.
‘Who could have arrived to cause such a stir?’
The five visitors who’d come from the government weren’t wearing official robes—just fine everyday clothes.
‘High-quality silk, excellent tailoring. They’re no minor bureaucrats.’
Then Kang Chan-sik’s ears caught three words: “Imperial Guard.” He stopped in his tracks, startled.
‘The Imperial Guard? Are you serious?’
The Imperial Guard was a place where one could only enter with an impeccable background and mastery of both civil and martial arts.
It was where the nation’s finest talent gathered, and it was the only organization that could stand against the Dongchang, the secret imperial eunuch agency within the palace.
He’d heard vague rumors that Go Shin-ji came from imperial blood, but he never expected the Imperial Guard itself to visit Oseong Jang-won.
‘Could Master have done something wrong? Is the Imperial Guard here to arrest him?’
Kang Chan-sik leaned against a tree and listened to the conversation passing back and forth.
“As I’ve said, I don’t need any escort.”
At Go Shin-ji’s firm words, Ga Yeon-gil’s expression turned troubled.
“Of course, but please consider the position of the Imperial Guard officers who’ve been dispatched.”
“As I’ve already said, I find this place comfortable and also the safest. I don’t understand why the Imperial Guard is suddenly sending an escort now.”
“The truth is, something urgent has arisen. Perhaps we should discuss the details somewhere with fewer ears—”
Go Shin-ji cut off Ga Yeon-gil’s words.
“You can speak here. Oseong Jang-won has no secrets, and even if it did, they wouldn’t be kept for long.”
Oseong Jang-won was the kind of place where any secret, whether anyone dug for it or not, eventually came to light.
“It’s top secret…”
“Are you trying to convince me, or are you just going to leave?”
Faced with Go Shin-ji’s unyielding stance, Ga Yeon-gil had no choice but to retreat.
“The truth is, not all of the treasonous conspirators who endangered the Princess have been dealt with.”
“What?”
“We thought everything was settled, but a powerful enemy we believed had fled has crossed from Sae-oe into Zhongyuan.”
“I think you’d better explain in detail.”
“It’s rather a long story…”
Geom U-bin granted Ga Yeon-gil’s unspoken wish to step inside and continue the conversation properly.
“Let’s go in first. It does look odd, standing here at the gate discussing such matters.”
For Kang Chan-sik, who had been eavesdropping, it was equal parts regret and relief—regret that his natural human curiosity would go unsatisfied, and relief that if the Imperial household and the Imperial Guard were entangled, ignorance was almost certainly the safer path.
Such affairs could scatter sparks of disaster from any shadow, at any moment.
Once everyone had gone inside, Kang Chan-sik finally left the Main Gate of Oseong Jang-won.
He stopped mid-stride and turned to regard the Estate anew.
There were Lords who were undoubtedly Supreme Martial Masters, and their disciples wielded martial arts capable of making first-class experts look like novices.
The Imperial family even dwelt there—this was Oseong Jang-won, where he came to train every day.
“I’ve truly become bound to an extraordinary place.”
Woof! Woof!
The sound of a dog barking came from inside.
“Not even the dogs are ordinary here. I, the leader of the Heuksahoe, am the most commonplace thing in this place.”
The people who had made Kang Chan-sik ordinary were gathered in a single room.
“One might say this mishap was an oversight on the part of the Imperial Guard, but…” Slurp!
Mid-sentence, Ga Yeon-gil took a sip of tea, and his eyes widened.
“Is this tea, by any chance?”
Geom U-bin answered.
“Yes. We’ve only been able to cultivate it in small quantities so far.”
After drinking his cup, Ga Yeon-gil held out his empty cup with an embarrassed expression.
“Would you mind pouring just one more cup?”
Geom U-bin poured it herself, and Ga Yeon-gil received the cup with both hands, savoring each sip.
“Do they drink this tea daily here at Oseong Jang-won?”
“Whenever one wishes.”
“Come to think of it, there are five guards, not four—I make the fifth.”
Go Shin-ji called out to Ga Yeon-gil in a low voice.
“Let’s stay focused on the matter at hand.”
“Ah, yes—the tea is simply so fine, forgive me.”
Forcing his thoughts away from the tea, Ga Yeon-gil continued.
“Among those who participated in the treason, there was Ak Myeong-cheong, a general of the Left Military Command, one of the highest military institutions in the Five Military Commands. I’m sure you’ve all heard the name.”
Seo Seok-san spoke.
“I think I’ve heard it mentioned once or twice.”
The fact that even Seo Seok-san, who took absolutely no interest in military affairs, could recall it showed how famous the man had been.
“He was arguably this nation’s greatest general. In the end, he was captured and met his end on the execution ground.”
Go Shin-ji asked.
“But what’s the problem?”
“General Ak Myeong-cheong had a son named Ak Cheon-gil. True to the saying that a minister’s son rarely proves mediocre, Ak Cheon-gil was also a formidable commander. His martial arts surpassed his father’s years ago, and he was recognized as the highest master in the military. His promotions came swiftly—by thirty, he had risen to the rank of Military Commandant, a post of the second rank. No soldier in history has ever risen through the ranks with such extraordinary speed.”
Yeon Geum-hong, never one for patience, asked.
“Enough preamble—what about this Ak Cheon-gil?”
“He crossed the Okmu Gate.”
After a moment of silence, Yeon Geum-hong bristled.
“You skipped right over the crucial part!”
“Did I? Well, three years ago, Ak Cheon-gil was suddenly reassigned to become Commander of the Jeonsa 18th Unit in Sae-oe. The Jeonsa 18th Unit is the most dangerous posting, dealing directly with barbarian forces. There has never been a single case of a high-ranking military officer being sent there except as a demotion. Yet Ak Cheon-gil had done nothing to warrant demotion, and it was Ak Myeong-cheong himself who ordered the posting. Looking back, it seems Ak Myeong-cheong arranged for Ak Cheon-gil to be posted there as an escape route should the treason fail. And indeed, Ak Myeong-cheong’s calculation proved correct. We believed Ak Cheon-gil would naturally flee to Sae-oe—but instead, he crossed the Okmu Gate and entered Zhongyuan.”
“All this commotion over one man, Ak Cheon-gil?”
“He brought seven subordinates with him, and they are formidable warriors themselves—easily first-class masters by Murim standards. As they crossed the Okmu Gate, they slew three hundred twenty soldiers stationed there, and they cut off the head of Commandant Jeong Il-han, who had testified against Ak Myeong-cheong. Nor is that all—a member of the Imperial family traveling from Hebei Province to the Forbidden City also met with disaster at their hands.”
Seo Seok-san asked.
“Is he wandering all over Zhongyuan seeking revenge?”
“Yes. He has publicly sworn to kill everyone connected to Ak Myeong-cheong’s death, as well as members of the Imperial family, and ultimately the Emperor himself.”
“Tsk, tsk… to cause all this trouble because you couldn’t capture one man. Pathetic.”
“His martial skill is formidable, and he is equally adept at military strategy, making him difficult to apprehend.”
“Then he’s coming here to try to kill Ji-u’s mother?”
“The possibility cannot be ruled out entirely.”
“How did he find out Ji-u’s mother is here?”
“That’s the problem…… information is leaking from somewhere. Director Jeong Il-han’s location was supposed to be classified, and so was where the late Imperial family member was kept. Yet Ak Cheon-gil found out.”
“Can’t capture anyone, can’t protect anyone. So what does the Imperial Guard think it’s doing here? The way they’re spilling secrets left and right, they seem worse than useless.”
Then one of the Imperial Guards shouted.
“The Imperial Guard is not incompetent!”
The one who cried out so fiercely was Dan Jeong-cheol, a squad leader of the Imperial Guard. Since childhood he’d been called a “prodigy of both pen and sword,” and he’d entered the Imperial Guard—an organization that accepted only the most exceptional talent—at the top of his class.
Dan Jeong-cheol had joined the Imperial Guard at twenty and risen to squad leader, commanding ten Imperial Guards, in merely three years; within another year he would be promoted to captain of a hundred.
His pride and confidence in the Imperial Guard ran so deep that their words struck him as disrespectful.
Had Ga Yeon-gil not been present, he would have dealt these Murim ruffians a harsh blow with his rod.
“Nothing but a loudmouth.”
A Murim rogue daring to speak down to the Imperial Guard and spewing curses so freely—it was unthinkable in Beijing, yet here in Hangju it unfolded as routine.
Watching Ga Yeon-gil brush past such insults without concern made clear that this was indeed the daily state of things.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————