Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 240

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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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#240

In the chaos, the sailors were left stranded.
“We… what are we supposed to do…?”
“Still here?”
The sailors prostrated themselves flat before the Bloodwind Four Lions, who answered with indifference.
“We committed a grave sin, tempted by the promise of generous payment! Please, spare our lives!”
“Who said anything about killing you?”
“But if we stay like this, we’ll die for certain!”
“Looking at you, you don’t seem suited for learning martial arts… I suppose we’ll put you to work cooking and washing clothes.”
“What? But you should take us back to the mainland……”
“Do we look like we have time for that? You brought this on yourselves, so choose: find your own way back, or stay and work here.”
Though told to find their own way back, there was no way to do so with their ship destroyed.
In the end, they found themselves with no choice but to await their chance to leave while doing chores on the island.
The sea’s temperament was fickle—the storm that had raged so savagely subsided in an instant, and the rain ceased.
The Oseong Chungin Association emerged into the sunlight streaming through the clouds. Seo Seok-san called forth five young boys among them who had learned the Gui-myon Ma-do Technique.
“From today on, you are instructors. We’ll call you the Gwimyeon Ogin Group.”
Though their twisted faces had been cleaned, since the martial art they’d mastered was the Gui-myon Ma-do Technique, they simply kept that name.
The remaining thirty-five were divided into five squads of seven each.
Seo Seok-san addressed the Oseong Chungin Association standing in five lines.
“There is only one way for you to leave this island: impress us.”
Hwang Yeon-sim, who had been the third concubine of the proprietor of the Nok Hwang Trading House before being summoned by Do Pyeong-su, quietly raised her hand.
“How do we impress you? Could it be……”
As she spoke, her hand drifted toward her garment ties.
“Sometimes there really are lunatics like that.”
Yeon Geum-hong muttered under her breath and flicked her hand. Hwang Yeon-sim flew into the forest with a scream. Judging by the continued screams, she had caught on some branches.
“If you can do what you just saw me do, then you’ll definitely impress us.”
“You mean we have to flick our hand and send someone flying?”
At someone’s question, Yeon Geum-hong nodded.
“In other words, you need to reach that level of mastery.”
“Is that even possible?”
Seo Seok-san flicked his hand, and the twenty-year-old youth who had asked the question let out a cry identical to Hwang Yeon-sim’s and soared through the air, landing in much the same place and screaming anew.
“Simple, isn’t it?”
Everyone was left speechless.
“All right! Now let’s begin cultivation training!”
Do Pyeong-su shouted, and Eun Bi-yeon jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.
“Before that, we need to move the weapons and provisions from the ship. It would be better to start cultivation training tomorrow.”
At least Eun Bi-yeon seemed the most practical of them all.
“Right, then! Everyone, go fetch all the cargo from the ship! Cultivation training begins tomorrow!”
Seo Seok-san murmured, watching the Oseong Chungin Association rush off.
“To live alongside my senior brother, I have to make them into masters of the highest caliber within three years, no matter what.”

***

Geom U-bin had always believed that life was an endless sequence of unexpected occurrences. His short life had always been marked by just such surprises.
He entered the Baek Rim Moon, met Ma Gun-ja and became his disciple, and through that became part of the Bloodwind Four Lions as his masters.
Even after meeting the Bloodwind Four Lions, it had been one unexpected turn after another. So how many incidents would he encounter during his first venture into the Murim?
He was certain the journey would be chaotic. And yet!
Nothing happened. From what he heard from Yeo Po-sul about reaching Kang Chuseo’s Tomb to the long journey from Hangju to Changsha in Hunan Province, he did not encounter a single bandit.
His initial thought of ‘I hope nothing goes wrong’ had shifted to ‘Perhaps things really can go without incident.’
He did not simply dash toward his destination like the Bloodwind Four Lions would. Of course, he had used his Lightness Skill in places without people, but he had walked like an ordinary traveler as well, and so Geom U-bin was able to arrive at Kang Chuseo’s Tomb around noon.
“It’s better when nothing happens.”
So far nothing had, but now he would have to disturb the grave.
Kang Chuseo’s tomb, tended by no one, had weeds growing two feet high. Ordinarily, one would struggle to find a grave with no stone marker, but Kang Chuseo’s tomb had clear markings.
It was rare to find a crossroads in the mountains, and at each of the four corners there stood a large rock.
Such a mountain path was unique not only in Changsha in Hunan Province, but likely in all of Zhongyuan.
About ten paces north from that intersection, then some five paces into the forest on the left, there stood a tomb beside an old pine.
Had one not known of the tomb’s existence, it would have seemed merely a common earthen mound scattered about the mountainside.
Geom U-bin picked up a branch and began to dig. If a corpse appeared, it would be a true insult to the deceased—but there was no other way to confirm Kang Chuseo’s death.
Fortunately, no such insult came to pass. Despite digging a full pace deep, no body lay within.
To be certain, Geom U-bin dug another five feet further before casting down the branch.
Kang Chuseo’s faked death meant only one thing: he lived somewhere still.
“Then I must seek out the silk merchant’s shop.”
The information Geom U-bin had obtained from Yeo Po-sul amounted to merely two pieces: the location of Kang Chuseo’s tomb and the silk shop’s address. Yeo Po-sul knew nothing beyond that.
Geom U-bin drew out disguise materials from his bundle and altered his face. With wrinkles drawn around his eyes and a false beard attached, he appeared to be well into his mid-twenties.
Since the secret surrounding Ma Gun-ja had to be unraveled, the identity of “Geom U-bin” had to be carefully concealed. Though few in Murim knew his face, caution in all things was never amiss.
The silk shop stood on So Jae Street, one of the bustling thoroughfares in Changsha, Hunan Province.
That dull-witted Yeo Po-sul could recall the name “So Jae Street” and “Jangbu’s Silk Shop” at all was because the memory of facing death had burned so fiercely into his mind.
Yet even after circling So Jae Street twice, no silk shop bearing the name Jangbu appeared.
Geom U-bin entered a worn-looking restaurant and inquired about Jangbu’s Silk Shop.
“That name changed hands about seven years back, didn’t it? You see that Wang’s Silk Shop over there?”
The restaurant owner, appearing to be around sixty, pointed to a shop diagonally across the street, some ten paces away.
“That’s where Jangbu’s used to be.”
“Did the owner change as well?”
“Of course.”
“Where did the original owner go?”
“No idea. He was a regular customer of ours and we were fairly close, but he just vanished without a word, coming and going. That Hwangkil fellow—he was truly heartless about it.”
“Hwangkil?”
“Jeon Hwangkil. That was the name of the man who ran Jangbu’s Silk Shop. But what business do you have with him?”
“I have urgent matters to discuss. Do you happen to know anyone who might know where he is?”
“Well, for a silk merchant, he was rather rough-mannered and didn’t have many friends. Though he did spend time with the local ruffians quite often…….”
The owner trailed off and disappeared into the kitchen. Geom U-bin ventured to Wang’s Silk Shop anyway and asked about Jeon Hwangkil, but that owner knew nothing of the previous proprietor being called Jeon Hwangkil.
With such an unremarkable man vanished without a trace, there seemed no way to find him.
‘What am I to do?’
As he pondered, his stomach rumbled audibly. Geom U-bin returned to the restaurant where he’d asked about Jeon Hwangkil to get something to eat.
After ordering thin noodles and dumplings, he was waiting when a completely bald middle-aged man abruptly sat down across from him.
His fierce-looking face announced without words: “I am a local ruffian.”
“What business do you have with Hwangkil?”
Geom U-bin quickly assessed the man. He was clearly a ruffian, well over forty years old, yet he spoke to the twenty-something youth before him without condescension.
A ruffian’s failure to look down on a young man meant he expected something from him.
“I have urgent business to discuss.”
The ruffian’s voice dropped lower.
“Since we’ve taken over the work Hwangkil was doing, speak freely with us.”
The work Jeon Hwangkil had done was ostensibly the silk shop, but the ruffian was clearly not speaking of cloth scraps.
‘So Jeon Hwangkil had been engaged in other work behind the scenes.’
Whatever it was, it was clearly something that could not be done in the open.
“It’s difficult to speak to someone whose name I don’t even know.”
“Whose name you don’t know? If you’ve heard of the Sangdu Faction, there’s hardly anyone in Changsha who doesn’t know of it. Whatever merchandise you’re looking to move, I’ll offer you considerably more than that Hwangkil bastard ever did. That wretch must have been undercutting prices terribly.”
The man who was making advances to Geom U-bin was Yang Jo-bang, a ruffian of the Sangdu Faction.
The moment he heard that someone was searching for Jeon Hwangkil, Yang Jo-bang had rushed over to verify—and Geom U-bin was clearly a man worth money.
The noble bearing that emanated from his face and the finest silk garments he wore set Yang Jo-bang’s mouth watering.
“Whatever goods you entrust to me, I shall offer you the highest price.”
Only then did Geom U-bin grasp what work Jeon Hwangkil had truly been doing behind the scenes: he was a fence.
‘So this was why Kang Chuseo sought out Jeon Hwangkil!’
Kang Chuseo had needed someone to dispose of treasures he’d brought out from the Baek Rim Moon.
Geom U-bin allowed his expression to show genuine discomfort.
“Though he was a contact from long ago, I’ve been conducting business with this gentleman for some time now, so dealing with a stranger is rather…….”
“My, my! What a cautious young lord you are.”
“It’s a transaction worth a million silver taels—naturally one must be careful.”
“A, a million taels, you say?”
“Why such surprise? Surely a mere million taels isn’t worthy of that reaction.”
Yang Jo-bang struggled to compose his expression, but the trembling of his lips betrayed him—he had never heard of such a staggering sum.
“W, what exactly are you trying to move?”
“I’m not trying to move anything—I’m looking to acquire something. Do I look like some fence peddling stolen goods?”
Indeed, looking at Geom U-bin, one would hardly mistake him for a thief hawking contraband. Yet a million taels was too fantastical to believe.
“What are you trying to acquire from Jeon Hwangkil that would cost such a sum?”
“I’m afraid there’s nothing I can tell you about that. The only person I can speak with is the former Master.”
While they talked, the food arrived. Yang Jo-bang, his edge worn smooth by years, watched Geom U-bin eat the dumplings and thin noodles before excusing himself with “Wait a moment” and slipping out of the restaurant.
He returned just as Geom U-bin finished his meal.
“Come to the smithy on Yang Gang Street at the hour of Hae. You’ll be able to get what the Master desires.”
Before Geom U-bin could respond, Yang Jo-bang had already left the restaurant.
The path to finding Jeon Hwangkil had seemed hopeless, but now a thread of possibility had emerged.
‘Could Jeon Hwangkil still be here?’
But the odds were slim. If Jeon Hwangkil had lived here, the restaurant owner couldn’t have failed to meet him once in seven years.
‘I hope I can learn something useful.’
Clinging to that hope, Geom U-bin waited until the hour of Hae. He also secured a room at an inn for the night, just in case.
When the time came, Geom U-bin made his way to the smithy on Yang Gang Street. The street lay far from the bustling quarter, already wrapped in dusk’s veil.
As he arrived at the smithy—its location having been scouted in daylight—Yang Jo-bang waved him inside.
“Come in.”
There was a smithy within Oseong Jang-won run by Gong Seong-tak, so the atmosphere and smell were familiar.
Six men waited inside the smithy. They were Triads, including Ha Sang-du, the leader of the Sangdu Faction.
A million taels was money enough to move Ha Sang-du.
Ha Sang-du was a massive man with a large nose and a long jaw. His frame and appearance alone seemed sufficient to make him leader of the Triad without question.
“I hear you’re looking for something expensive.”
Geom U-bin surveyed the room. He had heard a physical description of Jeon Hwangkil from Yeo Po-sul. But among the six men present, none matched.
“I thought I might meet the former Master if I came here.”
“Do you think you can get what you want so easily? First, we need to know if you’re worthy of meeting the Master.”
“And what would that worthiness entail?”
Ha Sang-du formed a circle with his thumb and forefinger.
“This much. If you said a million taels, then we need to verify you have a million taels before the Master will consider granting what you seek, wouldn’t you say?”
“I see.”
Geom U-bin drew from his sleeve a million-tael banknote that Se-hwa had prepared and showed it, then asked:
“Where is the former Master?”

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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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