Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 195

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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 195

“Irregular? I’m not sure what you mean.”
Eun Bi-yeon let out a weary sigh.
“If you don’t even understand your own Qi flow, then your martial arts are truly in dire condition.”
Do Pyeong-su extended his hand toward the dejected Eun Yi-seol.
“Let me try holding a young woman’s hand for once. Not just looking young, but actually young——”
Crack!
The moment Eun Bi-yeon’s palm struck his back, Do Pyeong-su—who had been about to voice his complaint—suddenly assumed a serious expression.
“It’s not just irregular. There’s something clogged inside. Something accumulated over quite a long time. It almost looks like someone deliberately did something to her.”
Cheong-yeong and Hong-yeong, who had been watching from the side, gasped in alarm.
“Has the Palace Lord been poisoned?”
“If Jang Man-dok were here, we could be certain. They say even worthless things have some use in medicine.”
Do Pyeong-su, having reduced Jang Man-dok to the status of a cipher, continued.
“For now, I’ll use my Internal Power to adjust the irregular Qi flow and remove the impurities.”
“Is that possible?”
In response to Eun Yi-seol’s question, Eun Bi-yeon withdrew an Ice Stone from her robe.
“Since you’ve learned the Yin-Cold Breath Technique, it should be possible with the Ice Stone’s aid.”
“Then my martial arts haven’t improved because I’m not talented, not because I’m dull-witted?”
“Of course not. Our household has no dull-witted martial practitioners. But what level is this Baek Kang girl’s martial arts?”
Cheong-yeong spoke up.
“She’s strong. Even if Hong-yeong and I combine our efforts, it’s hard to win against her.”
“Then I need to see what level your martial arts are first. Let’s go to the Yongbong Chamber.”
The Yongbong Chamber was a space traditionally used by successive Palace Lords for cultivation practice.
“Gal Ma-pyeong. You’ll spar.”
Gal Ma-pyeong, who had been standing as a spectator off to one side, was taken aback.
“Me? Why?”
“From now on, you’ll be instructing Yi-seol in martial arts, so you need to understand her level from the start.”
“But why should I be the one instructing her?”
“You’re her betrothed.”
“We’re not actually betrothed!”
Do Pyeong-su asked.
“Do you want a match or not?”
“You’re going to…… hit me?”
“What do you think?”
“I’ll do it. Yes, of course I should help my betrothed.”
The Yongbong Chamber was spacious enough that one side stretched some twenty paces. Gal Ma-pyeong stood facing Cheong-yeong and Hong-yeong, who stood in the center, at a distance of one pace.
Eun Bi-yeon spoke to them.
“Cheong-yeong, Hong-yeong—give it everything you have. Think of Ma-pyeong in front of you as the man who assaulted Yi-seol.”
“Why specifically an assailant?”
At Gal Ma-pyeong’s disgruntled question, Eun Bi-yeon replied, “Because those two especially hate that type.”
“Sister, will it be alright? We’re not who you knew before.”
“Two of you combining your efforts still can’t beat one Baek Kang…… Though Baek Kang isn’t male, right?”
It was an iron law that the Palace Lord of the Northern Ice Palace must be female.
“Of course not.”
“Still, what kind of name is Baek Kang. Anyway, start now.”
Cheong-yeong grinned at Gal Ma-pyeong and spoke.
“Well-built fellow—better watch yourself.”
“Let’s begin.”
Cheong-yeong and Hong-yeong leveled the Dragon-Head Palms at Gal Ma-pyeong. Cold air suddenly filled the Yongbong Chamber.
Though they said two of them couldn’t defeat one Baek Kang, their martial arts were by no means weak.
Boom!
A heavy sound rang out beneath their feet as they advanced. The Dragon-Head Palms targeted Gal Ma-pyeong’s chest and abdomen simultaneously.
They deliberately avoided his head, the fatal target, just to be safe.
Because the two moved as if they were a single attacker, their speed was exquisitely coordinated.
Gal Ma-pyeong brought both arms toward the center, then spread them outward, pushing the two Dragon-Head Palms away to either side.
Then he stepped forward and aimed his palms at Cheong-yeong and Hong-yeong’s chests.
“Gasp!”
Startled, they scrambled backward in alarm.
“You shameless dog! Targeting a woman’s chest! So you really are a rapist!”
At Hong-yeong’s sharp cry, Gal Ma-pyeong spoke with a bewildered expression.
“I meant to stop before contact.”
“Silence!”
The shadow of the Dragon-Head Staff fell over Gal Ma-pyeong.
Gal Ma-pyeong had no choice but to retreat. In truth, unless a fight was meant to end in death, giving up chest attacks against an armed opponent left precious few options to choose from.
And yet striking the head risked killing him outright.
‘Injury is unavoidable.’
Gal Ma-pyeong drew up his martial force and struck the Dragon-Head Staff as it came for his shoulders and ribs.
Bang!
With a deafening crack, the wooden Dragon-Head Staff shattered, and Cheong-yeong and Hong-yeong were sent flying backward.
Throughout his time at Oseong Jang-won, Gal Ma-pyeong’s internal power—cultivated with Spirit Medicine—had already surpassed four decades of practice.
In all of Murim, fewer than ten people possessed greater internal power than Gal Ma-pyeong, aside from those within Oseong Jang-won itself.
“Nngh!”
Cheong-yeong and Hong-yeong clutched their chests and gasped in pain. Eun Bi-yeon went to them and patted their backs gently.
With their tangled qi meridians cleared, Cheong-yeong and Hong-yeong stared at Gal Ma-pyeong in astonishment.
He didn’t look like a master at all.
Watching him face off against Do Pyeong-su and Eun Bi-yeon made it seem even more so. Yet judging by the attack they’d just endured, he was certainly no inferior talent—far better than the previous Palace Lord.
“Next is Yi-seol.”
At Eun Bi-yeon’s call, Eun Yi-seol startled and asked.
“Me? I have to spar too? He’s that strong?”
“If you were strong enough to beat Ma-pyeong, you’d already be Palace Lord. I’m assessing your level, so just attack freely. And Ma-pyeong.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“I permit chest attacks. Since he’s your betrothed, there’s no harm in touching your chest.”
“I don’t need chest attacks!”
“Don’t be coy. Begin.”
It ended in exactly three seconds—and only because Gal Ma-pyeong let her win. Eun Bi-yeon released a heavy sigh.
“Truly weak.”
Because of the damage to her qi meridians, her internal power had never accumulated, and of course she couldn’t manifest the subtle techniques of Northern Ice Palace Martial Arts.
“You have no objection to Ma-pyeong helping you train your martial arts at this level, do you?”
In Murim, strength speaks for everything.

***

“That fool Pyeong-su went to the Northern Ice Palace and hasn’t sent word since.”
Yeon Geum-hong picked up Seo Seok-san’s words.
“No news is good news. Any word we get is bound to be about some disaster he’s caused. He burned half of Shenyang in a massive incident—how would I know what catastrophe he’ll unleash next?”
No one had openly named Do Pyeong-su and Eun Bi-yeon as the culprits, yet if they weren’t responsible, there would be no reason for them to contribute to relief funds for that disaster.
The fact that the fire broke out while they were there and they made such generous donations was as good as proof of their guilt.
“When he comes back this time, you should scold him properly and tell him to stop causing trouble.”
Geom U-bin spoke with a laugh.
“At least no one died this time. And we compensated generously.”
“You’ll still scold him though, won’t you?”
There was something amusing about watching Geom U-bin scold him, and seeing Do Pyeong-su hang his head in chastened silence afterward was quite the entertainment.
“Nearly many people died, so we need to have a serious talk about it. Yes? You want me to scold him until tears stream down his face?”
Jang Man-dok nodded enthusiastically, and Geom U-bin could only laugh.
“You’re all here.”
Geom U-bin pulled out an empty chair for Go Shin-ji, who had arrived at the Pond Pavilion.
“Please, sit. Would you like some Oseong Wine?”
“My Ji-u will get drunk. I’ll just have some tea.”
Yeon Geum-hong poured tea into a cup and asked.
“You look like you have something to say.”
“How do you always read people’s hearts so well, Lord Yeon?”
“What is it?”
“His Imperial Majesty has bestowed a reward upon us.”
Everyone’s expression grew puzzled.
“Why would the Emperor reward us?”
Yeon Geum-hong didn’t even attach the title “Your Majesty” to her words.
“You’ve captured Ak Cheon-gil this time, haven’t you? Since you’ve removed such a grave threat to the throne, you deserve to be rewarded.”
“That’s a merit my senior brother established. What sort of reward are they talking about?”
“That much, I don’t know yet.”
Seo Seok-san spoke with indifference.
“Probably just material goods or something like that.”
To a man of vast wealth, adding another sack of rice stirred no particular emotion.
“That would be it, I suppose.”
“Even so, there’s meaning in receiving something from the Emperor himself, isn’t there?”
At Geom U-bin’s words, Seo Seok-san snorted.
“What’s so great about an emperor? I’ll take what he gives, but why does Ji-u’s mother look like that?”
Go Shin-ji wore the expression of someone about to make a difficult request.
“It’s just that…… one must kneel when receiving the gift.”
“What? Is the Emperor coming himself?”
“No. An envoy will come, but when receiving something or a letter sent by His Majesty, you must show proper respect as if the Emperor were present before you.”
“Kneel to an object when the Emperor isn’t even here? Our senior brother? Absolutely not! Even if the Emperor himself came, it couldn’t happen!”
The Bloodwind Four Lions were not the sort to kneel even before an emperor. The only person they had ever knelt before was already gone to the other world.
“Don’t mind the disciples. I alone will receive it.”
At Geom U-bin’s words, Yeon Geum-hong and Seo Seok-san, as well as Jang Man-dok, all made strange sounds of protest.
“Rather than watch our senior brother kneel before some mere object, we would bite our tongues and die! What is such a gift? Go Shin-ji!”
At Seo Seok-san’s call, Go Shin-ji startled and straightened her posture.
“Yes!”
“Tell them not to send the gift. If anyone comes bearing it, I’ll kill them on the spot.”
That Geom U-bin and the Bloodwind Four Lions would not kneel had been anticipated.
This was why Go Shin-ji had broached the matter with such difficulty.
Others would perform the kowtow, calling it family glory, but for these men, an emperor’s gift was beneath notice.
“But if you refuse to accept the Emperor’s gift, the Imperial Palace won’t let the matter rest.”
To reject a favor specially bestowed by one in power would inevitably be met with anger.
“If they won’t let it rest, so be it? Whether the Imperial Guard comes or any army, I’ll cut off the heads of whoever arrives.”
It was no jest whatsoever. Knowing this, Geom U-bin had no choice but to manage the situation.
“Does it matter who receives it, as long as someone does?”
Go Shin-ji answered with a troubled expression.
“It’s just that…… the gift is being conferred to the Lord of Oseong Jang-won, so it must be the Lord himself who receives it.”
Suddenly Yeon Geum-hong raised her voice and called for Se-hwa.
“Se-hwa! Where is Se-hwa!”
Se-hwa had enough experience to understand what emotion lay in Yeon Geum-hong’s voice.
So before the final note had even faded, Se-hwa dropped from the sky like a stone.
“Master! What’s happened?”
“From today on, you are the Lord of Oseong Jang-won.”
“What? All of a sudden……?”
Geom U-bin spelled out Yeon Geum-hong’s cryptic pronouncement in detail.
“Given the circumstances, Se-hwa, would you receive the Emperor’s gift on our behalf?”
“It would be an honor, but if I claim to be the Lord, won’t the envoy who comes to deliver the gift find it strange? Wouldn’t it be better if one of the older disciples received it instead?”
Se-hwa proposed a practical alternative, but both Yeon Geum-hong and Seo Seok-san objected.
“I have no wish to see disciples over fifty kowtow to some object. You too are young in years, so we shall bear it.”
The arrogance characteristic of the Bloodwind Four Lions showed plainly. Se-hwa turned to Go Shin-ji.
“When will the Emperor’s gift arrive?”
“Tomorrow, or thereabouts.”

***

Dan Jeong-cheol urged his horse forward with a glad heart.
He had long accepted kindness at Oseong Jang-won, and now the Emperor’s gift felt like a small way to repay that debt.
Dan Jeong-cheol and the three guards, now properly dressed in the blue official robes of the Imperial Guard, cut a far more dignified figure than when they had been scrubbing pots and serving in the pleasure quarters.
“Once we round that bend, you should see Oseong Jang-won.”
The envoy in robes of blue was an official of the seventh rank. Behind him followed nearly thirty more government functionaries.
When the Emperor granted a gift, even should it be a single needle, such a grand procession was the standard.
As they rounded the curve and Oseong Jang-won came into view, suddenly five dogs came bounding toward them.
Their tremendous speed and force, their size like young oxen, made Envoy Gwon Man-dong pale with terror.
“Aaahhhhh……!”
The horse startled, rearing up on its front legs and thrashing about.
Dan Jeong-cheol, unskilled at riding, barely caught Gwon Man-dong as he tumbled from the saddle.
Bark! Bark!
“What—what are those things?”
“Ha! As you can see, they’re dogs. Don’t worry, sir. Despite their appearance, they’re gentle creatures.”
“Those are dogs? You know them?”
“They’re kept here at Oseong Jang-won. I’ve grown close to them during my stay as a guest…… or rather, we’ve become quite familiar.”
Dan Jeong-cheol spoke softly to the dogs.
“Since we have a visitor, you should guide us politely to the estate.”
The dogs barked once and, as if understanding human speech, turned their heads toward Oseong Jang-won.
“You see? They’re clever creatures that can even understand people’s words.”
Dan Jeong-cheol helped Gwon Man-dong back onto his horse and followed the dogs toward Oseong Jang-won.

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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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