Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 237

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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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#237

A gaunt, irritable old man with a goat beard came to mind.
“You nearly died getting beaten by that man.”
“Elder Kang said it was a mistake. Anyway, when the Baeklim Sect was destroyed, I managed to survive because Elder Kang and I had left the sect together.”
“So Elder Kang would still be alive, then?”
He’d been around sixty at the time and was the type who despised danger, so naturally he should still be living.
But Yeo Po-sul shook his head side to side.
“No, he died eight years ago.”
“Eight years ago? That’s when the Baeklim Sect was destroyed, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I returned to the Baeklim Sect and found everyone dead. I fled immediately. After that, Elder Kang left me at a cloth shop or somewhere like that, but three days later the cloth shop owner told me Elder Kang had died.”
“You’re certain?”
“Of course. I even confirmed it by seeing his grave with my own eyes.”
“Why did he die?”
“I don’t know that much. He just died, I was told.”
It was possible Yeo Po-sul was telling the truth. But the fact that he’d only heard of the death by word of mouth after being left at the cloth shop felt unsettling.
The crucial matter was that Kang Chu-seom was the only person who could explain how the Baeklim Sect had captured Ma Gun-ja.
No matter how much he thought about it, it made no sense that a minor sect like Baeklim could have captured Ma Gun-ja alive.
‘Something must have happened in between.’
To learn what that ‘something’ was, he needed testimony from a living person. So he would have to verify Kang Chu-seom’s death with his own eyes.
“What do you think, Master?”
Seo Seok-san, who had been listening beside him, spoke.
“It does seem suspicious. There’s always a story behind a Murim martial artist’s sudden death.”
“I should investigate.”
“Shall I go at once?”
“No, you have important matters here.”
Geom U-bin cast his gaze toward the rear of the Hyeolpung Saja, where the people he’d brought were standing.
Seo Seok-san spoke toward them.
“Come and bow to him. He’s our master.”
Seo Jo-sang, the pickpocket brought by Yeon Geum-hong, pointed at Geom U-bin with his forefinger.
“That kid is your master? Do you really believe that?”
The person Seo Jo-sang addressed was Na Bun-dae, a street performer who had come with them. Having been expelled from the sect together, they’d grown even closer.
“There’s no way that brat is our master. They must be messing with us or testing us somehow.”
Do Pyeong-su walked toward them with heavy steps. Yeo Po-sul was Geom U-bin’s friend and couldn’t do anything about the finger-pointing, but these two were different.
“Calling your master a brat and pointing at him like that. How considerate of you to work so hard at easing my anger.”
“What? What did we…… Ahhhhh!”
Seo Jo-sang and Na Bun-dae soared through the air. They vanished from sight in an instant, launched into the distance.
When they fell to the ground after flying that far, they would surely die unless they were an exceptional master, and these two were far from masterful.
‘He killed them for pointing and calling him a brat?’
Everyone gathered in the courtyard froze completely. Getting to Oseong Jang-won hadn’t been easy, but these people hadn’t seemed particularly frightening.
Yet if they died for such trivial reasons, they could never survive for long.
‘We have to escape right now!’
Seo Seok-san’s voice pierced through their thoughts.
“Tong-su, go fish out the kids who fell in the river.”
At that, O Tong-su, who had been lingering near the gate, answered and disappeared.
When O Tong-su returned shortly after, both his hands held the soaking-wet forms of Seo Jo-sang and Na Bun-dae.
They shivered but showed no obvious injuries. Everyone knew the river was at least thirty paces from the gate.
That he’d thrown the two of them directly into the river was unbelievable even to see, but since Seo Seok-san had ordered them rescued, it was certainly no accident.
Sang Jin-ye, a courtesan by trade and naturally curious, asked.
“You threw them into the river on purpose?”
Do Pyeong-su’s gaze turned toward Sang Jin-ye.
“Would you like me to throw you in a hundred times?”
She frantically waved both hands.
“No, no, that’s not it. I believe you. Of course I do.”
Yeon Geum-hong raised her voice so everyone could hear.
“They committed their offense unknowingly at first, so it is ended as lightly as this.”
Watching the two men still trembling, unable to gather their wits, it struck Geom U-bin that the matter was far from light.
“However, if I see further disrespect toward me—whether in word or deed—I will not let it pass so easily.”
Someone among those frozen in place raised a hand. It was Yeon Hye-hyang, whom Seo Seok-san had brought from the mountain estate. So Seo Seok-san asked her.
“Do you have a question?”
“Are we being held prisoner here?”
“No, you are not.”
“Then we can leave whenever we want?”
“Do you wish to leave?”
Yeon Hye-hyang, observing the two men drenched through and through, spoke.
“How could I know when I might want to leave? Besides, right now I have nowhere particular to go anyway.”
“Then tell us when you wish to depart.”
Someone from the back asked.
“So we can leave anytime we want? Even now?”
Before Hyeolpung Saja could answer, Geom U-bin spoke first.
“Of course. Oseong Jang-won is not holding you captive. After one month, you can leave whenever you wish.”
“Why one month?”
“You need to understand what manner of place Oseong Jang-won is. Right now, we cannot reveal much to you all at once. However, I can promise you that Oseong Jang-won means you no harm. During the month you stay here, take the time to learn what this place truly is.”
Geom U-bin’s gaze shifted from those whom Hyeolpung Saja had brought to Yeo Po-sul.
“Come inside. We need to talk.”
“Oh, y-yes. I mean, yes.”
Having taken thirty strokes and been cast into the river for his disrespect to Geom U-bin, Yeo Po-sul’s tone became courteous at once.
“You can speak freely with me. We’re friends, after all.”
As Geom U-bin drew near and whispered, Yeo Po-sul broke into a wide grin.
“We are friends, aren’t we?”
Hyeolpung Saja followed Geom U-bin and Yeo Po-sul into the room.
“Po-sul, tell me in detail what happened at Baeklim Sect that day.”
As Yeo Po-sul’s memory shifted back to that time, tension became evident on his face.
“It was frightening. I went to Jonggu County with Elder Kang to buy goods, and the next day when we returned, everyone was dead. Elder Kang was so startled that he stumbled backward over a corpse and fell flat on his backside.”
Though Yeo Po-sul was not particularly bright, the memory had been so vivid that he recalled it with crystal clarity.
“We were about to flee at once, but Elder Kang suddenly pulled the cart inside and brought out all manner of goods from the underground chamber.”
“What did he bring out?”
“Most of it was in boxes, so I couldn’t see what was inside. But I dropped one of them while carrying it, and something tumbled out of the box—a Gold Buddha Statue as big as my forearm.”
A Gold Buddha Statue of that size—easily two feet tall—would be worth a million silver coins.
Seo Seok-san spoke.
“A shameless wretch, looting treasures from his own sect after destroying it.”
Geom U-bin’s memory of Kang Chu-seom was not favorable either. Of course, Kang Chu-seom would never know Geom U-bin’s name.
“Did he go straight to that fabric shop?”
“Yes, he said he’d return, but after all he died four days later.”
“Why did he leave the fabric shop?”
Given Yeo Po-sul’s nature, he would have stayed if he could have, but there was no chance he would have left of his own accord.
Yeo Po-sul lowered his voice as though sharing a secret.
“They were trying to kill me.”
“What?”
“I overheard the shop owner and one of his workers talking. They said they had to kill a big, stupid child—and that had to be me. They said something about murder… what was it…”
“Murder Extermination?”
Yeo Po-sul clapped his hands.
“Yes! Murder Extermination!”
Having said that much, the chance that Yeo Po-sul had misheard was slim. Geom U-bin turned to Hyeolpung Saja.
“That’s definitely suspicious, isn’t it?”
The heads nodding up and down seemed unusually heavy.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you really going alone?”
“This time I must go alone for a reason.”
“What reason?”
“I need to move in secrecy. It’s the only chance to discover how Master ended up captured by Baeklim Sect. That’s why I’ll also move under a different name instead of ‘Geom U-bin.'”
“We can also use different names and move in secrecy!”
Geom U-bin gazed at Hyeolpung Saja and asked.
“Have any of my disciples ever moved covertly when venturing into Murim?”
Seo Seok-san, Yeon Geum-hong, Do Pyeong-su, and even Jang Man-dok tried to argue back, but no matter how they thought about it, their ventures into Murim had been anything but covert.
In fact, Do Pyeong-su and Eun Bi-yeon had caused a major incident, burning half the city.
“Besides, the masters have weighty responsibilities. How we cultivate talent may well determine the Murim’s fate in the years to come.”
“What concern is it of mine what becomes of the Murim?”
Do Pyeong-su’s indifferent tone drew a serious reply from Geom U-bin.
“It matters to me. Though they are strangers we’ve never met, I won’t stand by while innocent people are killed or wounded. What if the conspiracy unfolding in the Murim right now is the work of the Demonic Cult?”
From experience, there would surely be hundreds of thousands of victims.
“I want to cut down that threat before the Demonic Cult can flourish.”
In Geom U-bin’s resolute expression, the Hyeolpung Saja caught themselves thinking of Ma Gun-ja.
They couldn’t say why Ma Gun-ja had suddenly surfaced in their minds. He had been the supreme martial master of the age, the most unshakeable man alive.
He never bent, never compromised with circumstance, and whatever he deemed right, he accomplished—regardless of the measure of Righteous and Evil.
They recalled Ma Gun-ja because they saw in Geom U-bin’s unwavering spirit and confidence an echo of his bearing.
‘If our leader desires it, what is there we cannot do?’
“Understood. I shall follow your wishes.”
The moment Seo Seok-san spoke, Geom U-bin’s expression softened.
“Thank you. And don’t worry. I’ve built considerable experience in the Gangho over these years.”
Like an octogenarian parent fretting over a sixty-year-old child released to the riverbank, the Hyeolpung Saja’s affection for Geom U-bin was no different.
Still, there was nothing to do but trust. They could hardly follow at her heels forever.
After that, Geom U-bin posed several more questions to Yeo Po-sul, but nothing further came to light regarding Ma Gun-ja, the Baeklim Sect, or Kang Chu-seom.
Yeo Po-sul’s brief life story ended with a tale of flight that, through circumstance, led him to banditry.
After sending Yeo Po-sul away, Geom U-bin and the Hyeolpung Saja settled around the round table.
“I believe we should begin by confirming the death of this Kang Chu-seom.”
Geom U-bin nodded at Yeon Geum-hong’s words.
“Opening the grave would be the quickest course.”
The look the Hyeolpung Saja turned upon Geom U-bin was peculiar.
“Why do you look at me that way?”
“You may emerge into the Murim now, leader.”

***

All twenty-six who had come with the Hyeolpung Saja gathered in one room.
“We should leave. With the chance to go, staying would be foolish.”
“Exactly. Did you see what happened to Jo-sang and Bun-dae when they threw themselves? They hit the ground, not the river. They’re dead.”
“If we stay, we won’t last long.”
Most voices aligned thus. Yet the greatest victim(?), Seo Jo-sang himself, spoke against leaving.
“There’s no need to leave right now. We’ve come this far—we should at least learn what this is about.”
Na Bun-dae, who had flown through the sky alongside him, echoed the sentiment.
“According to the promise, we might become masters of martial arts.”
“What good is becoming the Supreme Martial Master if we end up dead?”
“If they meant to kill us, they wouldn’t have brought us here. In any case, I’m not leaving right away. This might be the opportunity of a lifetime—I should invest at least a month in it.”
“Fair enough.”
Once Seo Jo-sang and Na Bun-dae had spoken thus, the atmosphere in the room shifted subtly.
“Is everyone inside?”
At the voice from outside, all their hearts lurched as if they’d been caught plotting treason.
Someone opened the door, and Go Seo-bang appeared in the corridor.
“What are you all doing here?”
“We were discussing whether to leave right away or stay a while longer.”
Seo Jo-sang’s forthright answer oddly put their minds at ease.
“Is that so? Well, that’s your choice…”
Go Seo-bang tossed a purse to a boy standing nearby.
“Each of you takes three coins.”
The purse held seventy-eight silver coins. Twenty-six people divided three coins each, and for more than half of them, it was a fortune they’d never touched in their lives.
“There’s heaven in the sky, and on earth there’s Hangju and Suzhou—now that you’ve come to that Hangju, you must see the city, no?”
Go Seo-bang led them into town. At first they worried he might lure them away with money to some unsavory place, but Go Seo-bang brought them safely to the city streets.
“You know the way back?”
The route was simple enough that they couldn’t fail to find Oseong Jang-won. Go Seo-bang was about to say something more when someone came running up.
“My! Isn’t this Director Go? Why, it’s been ages since you’ve come out to town!”
A middle-aged man told Go Seo-bang to wait a moment, then hurried off and returned with a box of dried bellflower root.
“It’s nothing much, but please accept it for Patriarch Hang of Oseong and Director Go. Simply boil it in water and drink.”
He wasn’t the only one bearing a gift. Word that Go Seo-bang had come into town spread, and people flocked to him, each carrying something in hand.
In a moment, gifts had accumulated in quantities Go Seo-bang alone could never carry.
“This is exactly why I try not to come into town. I’ll have to hire a cart.”
A familiar voice reached Go Seo-bang from behind.
“Isn’t that Director Go?”
He turned to see Kang Chan-sik, flanked by two magistrates’ clerks.
“Ah, the Provincial Governor himself?”
Those who had belonged to the Hao Mun bowed their waists in unison, faltering. In their eyes, magistrates had always been something akin to death’s messengers—formidable people to be feared.
“Provincial Governor, you’re looking well. Haven’t you been around in quite some time?”
The men watched in surprise as Go Seo-bang addressed the Provincial Governor without deference, and saw the governor scratch his head in response.
Here was a mere administrator from a private estate speaking casually to a Provincial Governor—and the governor was accepting it without protest.
“I’ve been rather busy of late.”
“Is that so? You’re not tired of visiting the Oseong Jang-won, are you?”
“If Hang Ju-sa-ung isn’t present, please send word to me. I’ll come running the moment I hear of it, bringing choice meat.”
“I suspect the masters will be departing soon. Along with these people here.”
“Who are they, if I may ask?”
“Murim business—you needn’t concern yourself with it. Now, where are they all? They should see the sights of Hangju. Everyone must return before supper.”
After confirming that twenty-six people had dispersed, Go Seo-bang explained the situation to Kang Chan-sik.
“The Demonic Cult?”
“Yes. Right now, the lord is scrambling to contain the Cult’s movements, though I’m uncertain it will succeed. They’re not ordinarily a gentle sort.”
“The Demonic Cult is hardly a matter wholly separate from the magistracy.”
It was no exaggeration—Murim and the magistracy had joined forces when the Cult was brought to ruin.
“How things will unfold later, we cannot say. For now, we must keep it secret. We cannot risk disturbing the grass and startling the snake.”
“I understand. Should you need the magistracy’s assistance, you need only say the word.”

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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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