Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 187

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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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#187

“The more money the Oseong Jang-won contributes, the greater the compensation the victims will receive.”
Mo Yong Gang-seok dug in with peculiar logic. He was banking on the Oseong Jang-won to give generously, or perhaps—just perhaps—he was hoping to use them as cover to donate far less than he should.
‘Digging his own grave.’
Gal Ma-pyeong withdrew an envelope from his robes.
“How much?”
“Let’s see.”
Mo Yong Gang-seok’s expression hardened as he drew out the banknotes from the envelope. Though he didn’t count every last one, the figure of ten thousand taels marked on each note gave him a rough sense of the sum.
One note, another note—as Mo Yong Gang-seok counted, his face grew grimmer.
“Two hundred thousand taels, then.”
“Indeed.”
“This is genuine?”
An absurd question.
“Would the Oseong Jang-won present counterfeit notes as a donation?”
“That wouldn’t make sense.”
“Two hundred thousand from the Oseong Jang-won and four hundred thousand from the Moyong Clan—together, that should be more than sufficient to restore what was lost.”
Even for the Moyong Clan, hegemon of Liaoning Province and wealthiest house in the land, four hundred thousand taels was no trifle.
There was something almost satisfying about it—as though he’d stolen back a gift meant for Geom U-bin.
“Then I shall trust the Moyong Clan and take my leave.”
“We will put the Oseong Jang-won’s generosity to good use.”
After Gal Ma-pyeong departed, Mo Yong Gang-seok remained in the reception hall, unable to move. He’d expected perhaps a thousand taels at most—yet he’d handed over two hundred thousand.
And without realizing it, he’d promised twice that amount. The predicament was hardly a small one.
“Four hundred thousand taels—that’s what the Moyong Clan spends in a decade.”
When word of this reached Mo Yong Cheong-gwang after he emerged from seclusion tomorrow, the elder would have harsh words indeed.
“Elder brother, are you here?”
It was Mo Yong Seong-baek, the second son.
“Come in.”
As Mo Yong Seong-baek entered the reception hall, he caught sight of the banknotes on the table and started.
“Where did all this money come from?”
Mo Yong Gang-seok recounted Gal Ma-pyeong’s visit.
“So you have to give four hundred thousand taels?”
“I gave my word. What choice do I have now?”
“Elder brother, really—promises are made to be broken. Why give four hundred thousand taels to dogs and pigs? It makes no sense.”
“Break faith with the Oseong Jang-won?”
“Why not see it as a windfall? We’ll say the Oseong Jang-won donated five thousand taels—or perhaps ten thousand at most—and the Moyong Clan will add forty-five thousand to make fifty thousand total. That’s still a generous sum. Thirty thousand would be more than adequate.”
“And if the Oseong Jang-won finds out?”
“How would those distant folk ever learn of it? And even if they did—what of it?”
In Liaoning Province, after all, the Moyong Clan was the law.
“Perhaps we’ll simply donate thirty thousand, then?”
Gal Ma-pyeong, having delivered the Moyong Clan’s funds, returned to the inn. There he found Do Pyeong-su and Eun Bi-yeon already prepared to depart.
“You’re leaving now?”
“What’s the point in staying longer?”
Do Pyeong-su had no desire to linger in Shenyang after the calamity that had unfolded.
“You haven’t slept in days, not even on the journey to and from Beijing. You ought to rest.”
“A few nights without sleep—what of it? We can make camp somewhere along the way and rest there. Go find a craft or ornament to bring back for your brother.”
Unable to speak the truth, he had prepared an excuse.
“Actually, I ran into the proprietor of a crafts shop earlier. He said the fire prevented him from finishing his work, and some of the pieces were damaged. He asked for a few days’ grace and said we could collect them a month hence.”
Since the cause was the fire and Do Pyeong-su could hardly justify staying longer in Shenyang, it was a plausible excuse.
“Very well. We’ll collect it on the way back.”
Do Pyeong-su’s decision fell exactly as Gal Ma-pyeong had anticipated. And so they left Shenyang—turbulent and chaotic though those two days had been—bound for the Northern Ice Palace.

***

“Guild Master, it’s the Hour of the Tiger—you’re not sleeping? What are you doing?”
Wang Bong-seok had been on patrol when he noticed lamplight in Kang Chan-sik’s quarters and stopped by to check.
“Organizing the ledger. Are you heading out on patrol?”
“Yes.”
“You could leave that sort of thing to the younger members by now.”
“Didn’t you still make patrol rounds yourself until two months ago?”
“I had to set an example.”
“And I’m Vice Guild Master in name, so I should set an example too. Ha! Please don’t work too late thinking about your health, Guild Master.”
“Fair enough. And when it’s just the two of us, call me brother like you used to.”
Wang Bong-seok was closer to Kang Chan-sik than a blood brother could be. A year after Kang Chan-sik had joined the Heuksahoe, Wang Bong-seok arrived, and though they were the same age, he had always addressed him with respectful deference as his elder brother.
He stood by his side without wavering until Kang Chan-sik became Guild Master, and even when he cast off that title and withdrew to the mountains, Wang Bong-seok followed.
He would likely remain Kang Chan-sik’s shadow for the rest of his days.
“I’ll be back soon, brother.”
“Be careful.”
It was merely a customary parting.

***

Ak Cheon-gil and his seven subordinates slipped quietly into the night of Hangju.
Their destination was the Seo-mun Inn, where Ga Yeon-gil was staying. Before killing the imperial princess Go Shin-ji at the Oseong Jang-won, they meant to remove the shield first—a plan both practical and elegant.
From that shield they could learn why Go Shin-ji had not departed for the Imperial Palace, and they could gather intelligence on the Oseong Jang-won itself—two birds with one stone.
At the Hour of Rats—that sliver of time between midnight and three in the morning—Hangju lay mostly shrouded in darkness, with red lanterns lit only in the quarters where courtesans gathered.
Scarcely two quarters of an hour after arriving in the city, they drew within sight of the Seo-mun Inn.
Tap! Tap!
The distant sound of patrol guards striking their staffs carried through the night. Since they had already laid out their plan of entry, words were unnecessary.
At Ak Cheon-gil’s gesture, five men moved to encircle the inn.
Among those five was Nam Yang-bang, who enjoyed the greatest trust of Ak Cheon-gil among all seven subordinates.
Nam Yang-bang rounded toward the rear of the inn. As he stepped into the narrow alley behind the building, he stopped short—startled.
Someone was crouched directly ahead of him, and that person was equally startled, because he had been caught in the act of defecating while trying to avoid the eyes of others.
“Who’s there!”
He had the standing to shout such a question. He was Wang Bong-seok, Vice Guild Master of the Heuksahoe, who bore responsibility for the night of Hangju.
Wang Bong-seok held the authority to demand answers, but that authority could not guarantee his life. As he rose, pulling up his trousers, a blade drove deep into his chest.
“Ugh—!”
Wang Bong-seok collapsed to the side with a strangled cry. Kang Chan-sik’s warning echoed suddenly in his mind—that those hunting the imperial family might arrive in Hangju, and he should take care.
‘Damned bastards!’
As he fell, Wang Bong-seok brought the emergency whistle hanging at his neck to his lips. He spent the last breath of his life blowing it.
Shrill—!
That piercing cry was enough to jolt Ga Yeon-gil awake. He leaped from his bed on the second floor of the Seo-mun Inn like a coil released.
With ministers and imperial family dying one by one since the suppression of the rebellion, each hour had been a stretch of unrelenting tension. A whistle’s call in such circumstances chased sleep away in an instant.
It could have been a mere burglar, but he discarded that possibility at once.
Ga Yeon-gil parted the curtain hanging over his window and looked down toward the source of the whistle.
One man stood with a drawn blade, and before him lay another, fallen. That image alone proved this was no mere burglar.
The likelihood of Ak Cheon-gil’s assault had risen sharply; to remain here would be seeking death.
His own martial skill was considerable by any measure, but it could not compare to Ak Cheon-gil, the finest master in the Military Ministry.
The Seo-mun Inn had undergone extensive renovation to serve as a covert branch of the Imperial Guard, and Ga Yeon-gil’s room had been among those refurbished.
He leaped up and touched the ceiling; the center section swung open, revealing an escape route.
But that was merely a feint. Ga Yeon-gil went to the bookshelf and pulled free one of the Four Classics. The shelf slid silently to the right with barely a whisper of friction.
The space within, roughly thirty square feet, was a secure chamber where he could hide.
Once inside, Ga Yeon-gil shut the shelf behind him. Then he opened a small aperture through which he could observe the room.
Using the Gwisik Daebeop to mask his breathing, Ga Yeon-gil waited for someone to appear.
Creak—!
The door opened, and a figure stepped through the circular aperture.
Though the light was dim, there was no doubt the intruder was Ak Cheon-gil.
Ak Cheon-gil surveyed the room, then soon spotted the hole in the ceiling.
“Rat bastard!”
Ak Cheon-gil launched himself toward the hole in the ceiling. It was only natural he would think Ga Yeon-gil had fled through that passage.
Ga Yeon-gil did not stir from the hidden chamber until daylight came. There was nothing he could accomplish by venturing out in any case.
When dawn broke and a sharp cry pierced the air, Ga Yeon-gil pushed aside the shelf and emerged. The scream belonged to a passerby who had discovered the corpse in the alley.
Ga Yeon-gil’s path led not to the Government Administration, but to the Oseong Jang-won. His reasoning was simple: the Oseong Jang-won had likely not yet come under attack. And indeed, the estate lay bathed in the peaceful morning light of an ordinary day.
Go Seo-bang, a man of some acquaintance with him, greeted Ga Yeon-gil warmly.
“What brings you to us at such an early hour, Minister Ga?”
“Last night, Ak Cheon-gil attacked the Seo-mun Inn. I must speak with the Lord about this matter.”
“Of course. Please, come this way.”
Go Seo-bang led Ga Yeon-gil to the reception room and sent one of his workers to fetch Geom U-bin.
Before Go Seo-bang could even return with tea, Geom U-bin and three of the Bloodwind Four Lions entered.
“You were attacked by Ak Cheon-gil?”
“Yes. If not for the Oseong Merchant Association, I would have been killed for certain.”
“The Oseong Merchant Association?”
“One of our members on night patrol alerted me to Ak Cheon-gil’s attack with an emergency whistle, allowing me to barely escape. Unfortunately, the member who sounded the whistle……”
“No.”
A cry of anguish escaped Geom U-bin’s lips. He had hoped that no one from Oseong Jang-won would lose their life again, yet now a member of the Oseong Merchant Association had fallen.
Geom U-bin ordered Go Seo-bang to find out the identity of the dead member.
“Since Ak Cheon-gil’s target is now clear, it would be wise for you to remain at Oseong Jang-won until the situation settles.”
To Geom U-bin’s suggestion, Ga Yeon-gil replied that he would consider it. Retreating to Oseong Jang-won out of fear would wound his pride as a member of the Imperial Guard.
“The Ak Cheon-gil matter is no longer solely a government affair. After all, someone affiliated with Oseong Jang-won has been killed.”
“I owe you a debt for that, so I have nothing to say on that account. Yet the Government Administration cannot simply stand idle. Nor is this a matter I can decide unilaterally.”
“What I ask for is one thing: that the Government Administration not obstruct what Oseong Jang-won pursues.”
“I can promise you that.”
“Now tell me in detail about Ak Cheon-gil.”
When it was merely a possibility, they had paid little attention to Ak Cheon-gil.
But now Ak Cheon-gil had come to Hangju and murdered a member of the Oseong Merchant Association. To achieve vengeance, they needed to understand exactly what manner of man he was.
“Ak Cheon-gil is, without question, the finest master in the Military Ministry. He attained that position four years ago at the age of thirty-four. As the son of General Ak Myeong-cheong and blessed with exceptional skill, he was climbing swiftly through the ranks when he was suddenly reassigned to Sae-oe. Ak Myeong-cheong claimed it was to forge his son through hardship, but it is now clear it was a measure to protect his son in the event the rebellion failed.”
“The Military Ministry’s finest master, come to Zhongyuan to avenge his father.”
“For now, I will mobilize all personnel at my disposal to hunt down Ak Cheon-gil. This should aid Oseong Jang-won without bringing any harm.”
As Ga Yeon-gil rose to leave, Go Seo-bang returned. But he was not alone.
The man who came with Go Seo-bang was Kang Chan-sik.
“I heard one of our association members has been killed.”
Only after he had spoken did Geom U-bin notice that Kang Chan-sik’s expression was grave.
“Are you all right?”
Kang Chan-sik’s jaw trembled as if he were fighting back tears, unable to form words. Go Seo-bang, seeing this, opened his mouth with a somber expression.
“The dead man is Wang Bong-seok, the Vice Guild Master—like a younger brother to Guild Master Kang.”
Geom U-bin had met Wang Bong-seok a few times in the company of Kang Chan-sik.
The death of anyone brings sorrow, but the loss of someone close to Kang Chan-sik wounded Geom U-bin’s heart all the more deeply.
“I had been planning to excuse him from night patrols. With his rank as Vice Guild Master, there was no need for him to go out on such duty……”
Kang Chan-sik’s tears finally broke free.
“Damn it! That man has been at my side my entire life. When I was a worthless thug in the Triad, he was always there. When I said I would become a bandit, he left everything behind in Hangju and came to the mountains with me……. He was like family to me. And of all places, he had to be squatting for a bowel movement—why didn’t the fool just go to the outhouse! Stupid bastard!”
For a long time, only the sound of Kang Chan-sik’s sobs filled the hushed room. After the weeping subsided into occasional sniffles, and as his anguished cries began to fade, Ga Yeon-gil spoke.
“I am deeply sorry. This entire situation is due to negligence on our part. Moreover, thanks to your friend’s sacrifice, my life was saved, and I have no face to show.”
“Hiccup. Why blame anyone for what is done? We can only blame his own misfortune. But one thing is certain.”
Kang Chan-sik dropped to his knees before Geom U-bin.
“Master. Please, avenge that poor fellow Do-bong! I wish with all my heart that I could end Ak Cheon-gil’s life with my own hands, but I can only curse my weak martial arts!”
Geom U-bin crouched and placed a hand on Kang Chan-sik’s shoulder.
“I promise you. We of Oseong Jang-won will have our vengeance for Vice Guild Master Wang.”
Kang Chan-sik bowed his head, still trembling.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t say such things—it saddens me. Though you were closer to Guild Master Kang than anyone, Vice Guild Master Wang was family to us at Oseong Jang-won as well.”

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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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