Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 238

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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 238

“But… why were you at Baekrim Moon?”
The moment Do Pyeong-su posed the question, the chopsticks of the other three came to a simultaneous halt.
All this time, they’d wanted to ask Geom U-bin directly—why he’d been at Baekrim Moon, and how he’d become a disciple of Ma Gun-ja.
But somehow time had slipped away, and now that Geom U-bin had become their leader, they couldn’t bring themselves to ask, afraid it might pain him to dredge up the past.
“You’re curious about my childhood?”
All of them answered with bright, eager eyes.
“So the disciples were wondering?”
They all nodded.
“I’ll tell you. It’s just an ordinary tale of an ordinary boy.”
“But it’s your story, so it can’t be ordinary.”
“Is that so?”
Geom U-bin’s eyes grew distant as he reached back into memory.
“As far as I can remember, I was always an orphan.”
“Sniffle!”
Do Pyeong-su had gotten emotionally invested far too quickly. Yeon Geum-hong scolded him for the noise, and Geom U-bin continued his story.
“I have fragmented memories from back then—but from around age three, I survived by begging.”
“Sniffle!”
This time, no one said anything to Do Pyeong-su.
“Then I heard that Baekrim Moon was looking for a child to work. They originally wanted someone at least ten years old, but I managed to get that job when I was six. I kept insisting I was ten, and I think they took me in out of pity.”
Geom U-bin set down his chopsticks, took a sip of water, and continued.
“At first I did dishes and carried water for about a year, but then I was assigned to feed the prisoners locked in Baekrim Moon’s dungeons. They must have chosen me because I was the smallest. There were rules—I wasn’t allowed to speak, and I wasn’t allowed to look inside the iron doors. All I had to do was leave food in front of the gates and leave. But one day I heard someone being beaten terribly. That’s how I met my Master.”
Of course, he hadn’t known who the old man was then. To Geom U-bin, he was just a skeletal, withered elder—and a pitiful one at that, suffering such a beating.
Seeing an elder who looked as though he might die at any moment, Geom U-bin broke the rules.
―Stop it!
The cry burst from his lips before he even knew it. But the beating didn’t stop—not only did it fail to save the old man, but Geom U-bin himself took a merciless thrashing.
“I thought they would kill me. They said they’d kill me if I broke the rules. But it was strange—I didn’t die. And from that day on, I was allowed to bring food directly inside the iron doors.”
The bond between Geom U-bin and the old man deepened after that incident. Geom U-bin would scrape together a piece or two of meat to add to the meager elder’s meals, and sometimes when it was discovered, he’d be beaten for it.
Still, whenever he had the chance, Geom U-bin showed the old man kindness.
As such moments accumulated, the elder finally opened his heart to the boy.
Not that they exchanged much. Space was limited, and the old man wasn’t one for many words.
―Will you become my disciple?
Geom U-bin hadn’t harbored any particular hope of learning something from the old man. He’d agreed to become his disciple because the elder moved him to pity.
And a few months later, the old man made a request of Geom U-bin, and that’s how his meeting with Hyeolpung Saja came about.
“The day I left Baekrim Moon, a massive explosion echoed from the dungeons. All the guards on watch rushed toward the prison, which allowed me to escape safely. My Master must have created that opportunity for me. After that, I just ran for my life.”
Geom U-bin’s story ended there.
“Meeting my disciples was the greatest fortune of my life, but the path to it was rather plain, wasn’t it?”
Yet no one found it plain at all—every member of Hyeolpung Saja had tears glistening in their eyes.
Seeing them, Geom U-bin felt his own chest tighten with emotion.
“It seems my disciples and I are alike in many ways. Perhaps that’s why I hold you all so dear.”
“We simply love you unconditionally, that’s all.”
Yeon Geum-hong came forward and embraced Geom U-bin gently.
“We will never part from you, not until death.”
Do Pyeong-su also embraced him.
“As long as we have you, we need nothing else.”
Seo Seok-san embraced him from behind as well. But Jang Man-dok found no space left to join.
Jang Man-dok shoved Do Pyeong-su aside and took his place.
“What are you doing! What? You love him more than me? Don’t be ridiculous! No one loves him more than I do! Bi-yeon? I love him more than Bi-yeon! Move aside!”
“Uhhhhh!”
“Oof! Watch it!”
“Disciples, please… just a moment……”
The building, which had only been rebuilt not long ago, collapsed once more.

***

Se-hwa handed over silver coins to Son Ju-eon, Hangju’s finest carpenter, and spoke.
“It must be finished by the deadline without fail.”
“The timeline is tight. And it’s on an island…”
“That’s why I’m doubling your fee. If you’re not confident, say so now. I’ll find another carpenter.”
“I’m Hangju’s finest carpenter.”
“Then I can hire Zhongyuan’s finest instead.”
“Well, I might be Zhongyuan’s finest myself…”
“Then prove it.”
Yeon Hye-yang, who had been watching the two from the veranda, asked Se-hwa as she saw Son Ju-eon off.
“Why are you giving him so much money?”
“Construction costs for your quarters here.”
“Pardon?”
“We could have built something rough and simple, but the Master insisted on making it as fine as possible. That’s why we’re spending a fortune. The Master’s problem is being too kind about everything.”
“Treating a mere sixteen-year-old as the Master feels…”
“Want to die?”
The chill in Se-hwa’s voice was such that one might truly believe a single careless word could be one’s last.
“I wasn’t disrespecting the Lord. I was just curious.”
“Don’t judge the Master by age. He is simply the finest person in this world. Believe that and follow, and you’ll be fine. Meeting the Master is the greatest fortune of your lives.”
“You feel the same way, Steward?”
“Of course. Without the Master, I’d have been dead long ago.”
She did not voice what she might have added.
Twenty-six talented individuals had been selected, and after a fortnight, still twenty-six remained.
Though it seemed they might leave at any moment, not a single soul had departed—because the real Oseong Jang-won matched perfectly what they’d heard in the rumors.
Never had she witnessed such unexaggerated reputation. Do Pyeong-su, who had once thrown two men into the river for their discourtesy toward Geom U-bin, no longer laid a hand on them.
All they needed do was show respect to Geom U-bin. Since he treated them with courtesy, there was no reason to show disrespect.
And at last, the nine who had left the Greenwood arrived. Not one of them had fallen behind.
Do Pyeong-su’s warning that the Lord would come find them if they fled had made them far too afraid to even consider running away.
Geom U-bin had wanted to immediately unravel the secrets of Ma Gun-ja and the Baekrim Moon, but he waited a month—partly because the work of nurturing talent mattered that much, but mainly because only when Hyeolpung Saja left for the island could he venture out alone into the Murim.
Though Hyeolpung Saja had promised not to follow, that promise had scarcely ever been kept.
So this time, he resolved to send Hyeolpung Saja to the island first, then depart.
Se-hwa returned from meeting Son Ju-eon and made her report to Geom U-bin.
“The Oseong Chungin-dae’s quarters have been completed.”
The thirty-five brought by Hyeolpung Saja, together with the five boys trained in the Gwimyeon Mado, were now collectively called the Oseong Chungin-dae.
Geom U-bin asked Seo Seok-san, who had chosen the island for training the Oseong Chungin-dae.
“Is the island a habitable place?”
“Yes, though it’s somewhat distant from the mainland, it’s quite spacious and poses no hardship for living.”
“Since my disciples will be there as well, there shouldn’t be any trouble.”
Do Pyeong-su asked in a measured tone.
“Senior Brother, if you should change your mind even now, one or two of us could accompany you.”
Had he made such a decision, the nearly completed Oseong Jang-won would crumble to ruins once more.
“No. For now, my disciples should focus on developing the Oseong Chungin-dae.”
“How long could it possibly take to produce capable warriors?”
“Merely capable won’t do. The Oseong Chungin-dae must become so extraordinary that the entire Murim trembles the moment they appear. Only then do they have true value.”
“To that extent?”
“Our enemy might well be the Demonic Cult. According to the intelligence gathered so far, even the Orthodox Faction may have turned toward them. What good would merely capable fighters do against that?”
“Whatever enemy appears, we can handle it all.”
“Of course, with my disciples present, we’ll ultimately prevail. But I and my disciples cannot save everyone. I want the Oseong Chungin-dae to be the ones who save people. For that, they need the strength to suppress unknown threats.”
Geom U-bin’s words were unarguably sound, so Hyeolpung Saja could not argue back.
Yeon Geum-hong spoke through a heavy sigh.
“Building them to that level will take at least three years. Surely you’re not asking us to stay on that island for three years?”
“No, of course not. You’ll need to come and go to the mainland sometimes.”
“Just come and go to the mainland?”
“If something arises, I’ll come find you.”
Hyeolpung Saja’s face darkened rapidly.
“Does that mean I won’t see you unless something happens?”
Geom U-bin sighed much as Yeon Geum-hong had.
“I ache at not seeing my disciples either, but each of us has an important role to fill.”
Do Pyeong-su spoke with finality.
“That cannot be! Three years without seeing Senior Brother—how is that acceptable? Better to be dead than endure that!”
Do Pyeong-su was immovable in his conviction, though Seo Seok-san’s words carried greater persuasiveness.
“I trust in your abilities, but Murim is still an unpredictable place. I cannot bear to spend three years without knowing whether you’re safe.”
“Then I’ll send a carrier pigeon every three months—”
“That’s too long. Please send word of your safety by carrier pigeon once a month.”
Yeon Geum-hong’s blunt words were followed by Seo Seok-san’s voice.
“You must return for the New Year without fail, and we must see you at the Mid-Autumn Festival too. Holidays should be spent with family.”
“But if no one can predict what might happen in Murim, then promising to return for every holiday to Oseong Jang-won—”
“If anything happens to you, we’ll go to you, of course.”
In the end, after much persuasion, Geom U-bin managed to escape the promise of returning for every holiday by agreeing instead to send a carrier pigeon once a month.
And at last came the day when Hyeolpung Saja and Eun Bi-yeon departed the island with the Oseong Chungin-dae.
For Hyeolpung Saja, it was an unutterably gloomy day.
“This parting from our leader is all your fault.”
Do Pyeong-su finally vented his frustration at Seo Seok-san.
“What did I do?”
“You suggested building a training ground on the Uninhabited Island. You said we needed a secret place to nurture our secret weapon.”
“And you agreed to it.”
“If you hadn’t raised that idea, I never would’ve thought of it.”
“Then you should blame your own dullness, not fault me for it.”
“Are you calling me stupid!”
“Then what are you—intelligent!”
Geom U-bin rushed between them in alarm. If this escalated any further, the boat floating on the river would be destroyed and they wouldn’t be able to leave at all.
Perhaps they’d aimed for that very outcome, but such a disaster had to be prevented by any means.
“Please, enough. We’re already prepared—let’s focus on what comes next.”
Yeon Geum-hong and Jang Man-dok sighed inwardly.
‘Those fools! They should have fought before the leader said anything!’
Thievery required coordination, yet when they should have held back, they fought and nearly destroyed the entire estate; but when timing truly mattered, they moved with the speed of a snail.
While Hyeolpung Saja embraced Geom U-bin in turn, the Oseong Chungin-dae had all boarded. It was a generously-sized ship with two sails.
Finally, Geom U-bin spoke to Eun Bi-yeon.
“Senior, please look after the disciples well.”
“Lord, take care of yourself in Murim.”
“You lot. Serve our leader well—though you won’t have much time for it. He’ll be making his Murim Appearance soon. To think we leave without witnessing his grand entrance into Murim.”
Go Seo-bang questioned Seo Seok-san, who had spoken.
“Is it truly the case that the Lord will make his Murim Appearance?”
“A Murim Appearance, not a leisurely Murim tour. Lord, you must be cautious. The world is full of those who smile to your face while hiding blades behind their backs. Trust no one.”
“I’ll remember that.”
Hyeolpung Saja each left a parting word and boarded the ship with reluctant steps.

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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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