Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 227

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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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#227

“The truth is, I came to Hubei Province because of the Oseong Merchant Association.”
“So what you mentioned to Father just now wasn’t the whole story?”
“I want to expand our operations more aggressively.”
“The Oseong Merchant Association is smaller than the two other merchant houses that control Hubei Province.”
“Just like in Anhui Province, if the Oseong Merchant Association grows stronger here, it’s bound to create friction with the existing houses.”
“Given your character, I wouldn’t expect the Oseong Merchant Association to resort to underhanded tactics.”
“Of course not. We’ll do everything a merchant house should do, fair and square.”
“If the Oseong Merchant Association acts honorably, the Jegal Family will stand with you without question. But why suddenly expand? You’ve never been driven by money.”
“There’s someone I need to beat with money.”
“Who?”
“Now isn’t the time to speak of it. I’ll tell you once things become clearer.”
Geom U-bin had to be cautious about everything. He trusted Jegal Hoon and genuinely hoped the Jegal Family remained clean, of course.
But now that it was certain the Murim Alliance was connected to the Demonic Cult, he couldn’t reveal all the facts to Jegal Hoon.
Jegal Hoon made no attempt to pry Geom U-bin’s mouth open.
He trusted Geom U-bin’s wisdom in knowing what should and shouldn’t be spoken aloud.
“Shall we take a walk? It’s been a while.”

***

“You were in Shandong Province during the Daerim Valley incident, weren’t you?”
“That’s right. I had nothing to do with the incident in Yingzhou County, Hunan Province, or the one in Taiyuan, Shaanxi Province either. Of course, no one believed me.”
“Does the Murim Alliance hold some grudge against Uncle Maeng that made them do such things?”
So Gi-cheon, affable by nature, called Maeng Mang-do uncle, and Maeng Mang-do didn’t dislike the address.
“I have my suspicions, but it’s not yet time for you to know. You’ll only put your life in danger by finding out. What you really need to know is something else. Once you tell your master this much, you’ll earn yourself considerable favor. Hehehehe…….”
“What is it?”
“It concerns malfeasance by the Mudang Sect’s faction leader—something your master has been working tirelessly to uncover for a long time.”
“What kind of malfeasance?”
“Well, that is…….”
Maeng Mang-do’s head suddenly snapped to one side.
In the quiet forest, nothing stirred but the call of an unidentifiable bird.
“What is it……?”
“Hush! Someone’s approaching.”
Tension flashed across Maeng Mang-do’s face.
That an expert who could stand against anyone save the Bloodwind Four Lions would tense like this spoke volumes about whoever was coming.
As Maeng Mang-do’s hand slipped behind his back to grip his sword hilt, two figures suddenly materialized before them.
So Gi-cheon couldn’t tell whether they’d fallen from the sky or sprung up from the earth.
But he knew exactly who they were.
“Masters!”
The arrivals were Jang Man-dok and Do Pyeong-su.
“Where’s our senior……ugh!”
Jang Man-dok suddenly drove his elbow into Do Pyeong-su’s ribs, sending him crashing through two trees before he could regain his footing.
“Are you insane? Why’d you hit me all of a sudden!”
Do Pyeong-su, not one to take a blow lying down, lunged forward with fists raised, but when he caught sight of Jang Man-dok’s expression, he lowered them.
“Ah, that’s right. Hmph. Haven’t you seen our U-bin?”
“U-bin? No, haven’t seen him.”
“Really? Then you’re not here looking for us, I take it.”
Jang Man-dok spoke to Maeng Mang-do.
“Why does your face look so haggard?”
“At my age, this face is normal. You seniors are the ones who look strange.”
So Gi-cheon put on a startled expression.
“Ah, do you know each other?”
“Must be about thirty years since we last met.”
“About that long ago.”
“You’ve managed to stay alive despite being hunted by the Murim Alliance.”
“I haven’t been training to the point of death against them.”
Do Pyeong-su turned to So Gi-cheon with a question.
“Looks like you’ve been taken hostage. Want me to rescue you?”
So Gi-cheon waved his hands urgently.
“No, sir. I’m not a hostage, and there’s no need for a rescue.”
“Come to think of it, your master did say there was no real need to save you.”
“You’ve met my master?”
“How else do you think we found this place?”
Maeng Mang-do opened his mouth.
“But the Bloodwind—”
—Don’t speak that epithet!
A wave of Killing Intent that stretched to the edge of heaven erupted without warning, and Maeng Mang-do bit his tongue in shock.
—Breathe a word of who we are, and you die!
Whatever his reputation as the Great Demon Master of All Under Heaven, the Blood Sword Master was still far from the Hyeolpung Saja.
Touching the Hyeolpung Saja’s temper was something you only did when you wanted to die, and he had no such desire.
Do Pyeong-su spoke to Maeng Mang-do.
“Just so you know—don’t hurt the boy. If he’s harmed, we might have to kill you, depending on circumstances.”
Mercifully, the two of them left after speaking those words.
Maeng Mang-do stared at the place where they’d vanished for a long time before asking So Gi-cheon a question.
“How do you know those men?”
“They’re famous in Hangju as the Hangju Seonins, sir.”
“Seonins? As in immortals?”
“Yes—they do many good deeds and are truly like immortals. But Master Maeng, how do you know the Hangju Seonins?”
Maeng Mang-do exhaled a deep sigh and rose.
“Kind? Those old devils? The world’s gone mad.”

***

He’d truly sworn never to return.
True to that vow, he hadn’t even pissed in the direction of Oseong Jang-won.
But he couldn’t bear it.
Every time he went to the privy these days, water poured out freely, and the pain that came repeatedly felt like his intestines were being wrung dry.
Jang Man-dok wouldn’t be trying to kill him. But mistakes could happen. To Jang Man-dok, Kang Chan-sik was nothing but an insignificant speck wheeling endlessly at the bottom of the heap.
The hastily made medicine had clearly gone wrong.
As he drew near Oseong Jang-won, his belly began acting up again.
Kang Chan-sik dismounted and tightened his sphincter as he hurried into Oseong Jang-won.
A laborer sweeping the courtyard bowed at the sight of Kang Chan-sik.
“Provincial Governor, you’ve arrived?”
“The, the Chief Stewards—where, where are they?”
Though he held the highest rank among Hangju’s officials, he still spoke with respect even to the servants here at Oseong Jang-won.
“They’re all in the back garden, sir, but you shouldn’t—”
Kang Chan-sik only heard “back garden” before quickening his pace. He’d hurry a few steps, then stop to catch his breath and clench, then hurry again—a pattern he repeated frantically.
With each step, his body trembled with cold.
“Now I’m getting chills too. The medicine’s definitely wrong.”
As he rushed forward, a sharp crack sounded beneath his feet.
“What? Ice?”
His breath was visible in the air.
It wasn’t his body failing him—it was genuinely cold.
“Winter’s been over for weeks now. Damn, it’s freezing—”
The farther he went toward the back garden, the colder it became, but the cold couldn’t stop him. Compared to the agony he was enduring now, this bitter chill was nothing.
Yet after only five more steps, that “nothing” transformed into the terror that he might freeze to death.
“What in heaven is happening?”
As he rounded the building, Go Seo-bang came into view.
“Chief Steward Go—”
Before he could speak his business, Go Seo-bang shouted.
“Provincial Governor Kang! Don’t come any closer!”
“What?”
White frost clung to Go Seo-bang’s hair and eyebrows as he shouted.
It wasn’t just Go Seo-bang.
The five dogs standing before him were likewise trembling and locked in white ice despite their thick fur.
And standing before them was a single figure.
“Come on, eat. Why aren’t you eating? Do you all dislike me too?”
The person speaking kindly to the dogs was Eun Bi-yeon.
The dogs wanted to eat, but couldn’t—the rice and bowl had frozen solid together.
“Sigh! So that’s how it is. Do Pyeong-su came all this way but didn’t even come to see me and just left, and now you all dislike me too…….”
The cold Qi deepened until it felt like icicles were piercing her chest. Kang Chan-sik found himself backing away, certain he would freeze to death if he stayed any longer.
Eun Bi-yeon’s gaze fixed on him.
His body went rigid of its own accord.
“The Provincial Governor arrives. Backing away like that—do you dislike me too, Provincial Governor?”
His lips were too frozen to speak.
‘If I ever return to Oseong Jang-won, I’m changing my name. Changing it!’
At least Kang Chan-sik had the choice not to come back; but Hang Ju-sa-ung and the others were residents of Oseong Jang-won.
Once the Hyeolpung Saja had all departed and they’d even danced about merrily, they now hung from the winter clothesline like frozen pollock, lamenting their fate.
‘Does spring ever come to so forbidding a place as Oseong Jang-won?’

***

“You must eat before you go!”
Jegal Hoon was reluctant to let Geom U-bin leave, so they didn’t set out until after lunch at the Jegal residence.
Since the matters requiring attention were not urgent, Geom U-bin made his way unhurriedly toward Shaanxi Province.
Traveling alone was tedious, yet it also brought a certain sense of freedom.
With so much time to think, he could plan his future with greater depth and care.
That leisurely pace had brought him to the twilight of Ankang County in Shaanxi Province.
Ankang County, with its abundant rivers and developed agriculture, was an ordinary village like any other in Zhongyuan. Yet in a place where most outsiders were merely passing travelers, armed Murim martial artists were unusually conspicuous.
‘Is it because of the Blood Sword Master?’
That was the only reason that came to mind.
If he left Ankang County now, the next major city of Xi’an would be quite far. He could avoid sleeping in the wilderness by pushing his Lightness Technique to its limits, but he felt no need to rush so hard.
So he entered the largest inn in the town.
But strangely, it was not the proprietor or the serving staff who blocked him—it was Mudang Faction Daoists.
“You cannot stay here tonight. Please go to another inn.”
The pressure they exuded was such that adding “or we’ll cut your throat” would have seemed perfectly natural.
Though his mood soured, Geom U-bin decided to leave without argument.
If he clashed with the Mudang Faction over a moment’s anger, he would have no face to show his teachers.
But just as he turned to leave the inn, he found himself face to face with a familiar figure.
“U-bin!”
Jegal Jong-ryeo rushed toward him, calling out his name loudly. He was uncertain whether to embrace her or simply stand there when, fortunately, she stopped just short.
“How do you do.”
“What’s with the stiff greeting? What brings you to Shaanxi Province?”
“I thought I’d look around on Oseong Merchant Association business. I stopped by the Jegal residence and was sorry not to see you there, but here we are meeting.”
“Sorry not to see me? Well, I’m grateful for the sentiment.”
Jegal Jong-ryeo, beaming widely, took Geom U-bin’s arm and entered the inn they had just left.
“It’s still before evening, isn’t it? I hear the food here is quite good. Though I haven’t tried it myself since this is my first time.”
“But they said I couldn’t enter…….”
“You’re with me, so it’s fine.”
The Daoists who had moved to block Geom U-bin’s return withdrew immediately upon noticing he was with Jegal Jong-ryeo.
Jegal Jong-ryeo, claiming a table that could seat four, left the words ‘Wait here for a moment’ and ascended the stairs to the floor above.
Though the lower floor could not see into the upper one, Murim Alliance warriors stood guard both at the foot of the stairs and at their end point.
Clearly, figures of considerable importance occupied this floor.
As Geom U-bin had surmised, the upper floor held three leaders of the Gudaemun Faction.
They were Sam Gong Taesa, abbot of Shaolin Temple—the Taesan Bukto of Murim—Seo Byeok-sang, leader of the Mudang Faction and known as Seonun Jinsa, and Gwan Ho-un, leader of the Jongnam Sect.
The fact that the leaders of Shaolin and the Mudang Faction, the two greatest powers among the Gudaemun Faction, sat together with Gwan Ho-un, who had recently been expanding his influence, suggested that the matter they discussed was grave indeed.
So when Jegal Jong-ryeo reached the upper floor, she intended to offer only a greeting and leave.
It would not do for the daughter of the Jegal Family to fail to greet the leaders of three great sects.
Seo Byeok-sang smiled as Jegal Jong-ryeo offered her respects.
“It has been some time since you left the family to live outside. Have you found life inconvenient?”
“No. I am managing well.”
Jegal Jong-ryeo, wishing not to linger, turned to leave after her greeting, but Seo Byeok-sang called her back.
“I hear the Jegal Family has been in frequent contact with Oseong Jang-won. Is this true?”
“My brother and the young master of Oseong Jang-won are friends, so it appears that is the case.”
“That is not good.”
“What?”

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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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