Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 4

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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 4

“Hehe! Actually, this is both a gift from your teacher and a gift from me.”
“Pardon?”
“There are so many characters I don’t know either. So how about we study together?”
Of course, not a single person in all of Zhongyuan knows every character. Hence the saying that all people from Zhongyuan pass from life without accomplishing three things.
The first is that no matter what other food they eat in their lifetime, they cannot taste all the cuisine of Zhongyuan; no matter how much they travel, they cannot see all of Zhongyuan; and no matter how much they study, they cannot learn all of Zhongyuan’s characters.
Yet Do Pyeong-su knew that at least when Geom U-bin read the Thousand Character Classic, that was not the case. He had seen Geom U-bin reading books at the guest inn far more difficult than the Thousand Character Classic several times over.
‘So the reason he didn’t read books at home was because of me.’
Geom U-bin had been pretending not to know all along, harboring the intention to teach Do Pyeong-su from the start.
‘I don’t want to disappoint him.’
For Do Pyeong-su, who had abandoned learning characters several times before, it was a burdensome gift.
“Such a thing happened?”
After finishing dinner and sitting around drinking tea, Do Pyeong-su recounted an incident that had occurred in the city that afternoon.
“If that’s the case, should we just kill all those martial arts hall bastards?”
Yeon Geum-hong offered a rebuke.
“If you commit murder over something like that, I’m sure my brother would be delighted.”
Once, she would have acted on impulse. Now the first person she considered was Geom U-bin.
“Actually, more than the martial arts hall fellows, there’s someone—some man—who seemed to be watching my brother closely.”
“Some man? Who?”
“Do you know someone called Jang So-myeong?”
Seo Seok-san rolled the name around in his mouth, then slapped his knee.
“Ah! The lord of the Seoyang Express, the largest courier house in Hangju!”
“That’s right. And from the way that girl calls him uncle, she must be a daughter of the Namgung Clan, probably around ten or eleven years old.”
Yeon Geum-hong spoke up.
“Namgung Hye-yeon then. I’ve heard rumors that the youngest daughter of the Namgung Clan is so talented she could outshine her three older brothers.”
Seo Seok-san asked:
“They were watching my brother closely, you say?”
Do Pyeong-su relayed the scene exactly as he had witnessed it. At that, Seo Seok-san broke into a sly grin.
“Hehehehe! That reckless little girl’s fallen for our brother, she has, she has.”
“Aw, but she’s still just a child….”
“Fool, does affection not bloom in the young? Even dead trees bear flowers—a young sapling blooms twice over, naturally. With a face like our brother’s, it’s no wonder women flock to him like iron filings to a magnet.”
“Haven’t we got enemies among the Namgung Clan?”
The four of them looked at each other’s faces, their eyes merely blinking.
Even if such enmity existed, unless it were something very particular, there was no reason it would be remembered.
“In any case, we should be careful. If they find out she’s with us, unnecessary trouble might spill over onto my brother.”
Yeon Geum-hong, who had been thinking it over, continued.
“We need to make my brother strong faster than planned. The Murim is a place where you never know when trouble will strike.”
“Yes? But he’s already learning martial arts, isn’t he?”
At Geom U-bin’s words, Do Pyeong-su shook his head.
“Right now, he’s studying far too casually.”
“But I’m making a genuine effort….”
“Of course you are, truly. And we shall add our own earnestness to it. Today, first, we’ll begin with the physical conditioning necessary to master Jang Man-dok’s Iron Blood Technique.”
“The Iron Blood Technique?”
“Yes. If you master it fully, you can achieve not only the way of the blade but the realm of All Poisons Immunity. Of course, against my Eumgong….”
When Jang Man-dok glared at him, Do Pyeong-su covered with a cough and pointed to a wooden vat placed before them.
“For now, go into that vat and perform Qi Circulation and Breathing according to the Internal Energy Cultivation Method your teacher taught you.”
Geom U-bin glanced inside the vat.
Above the steaming black liquid rising with white vapors lay unknown medicinal herbs, bobbing gently on the surface.
“The water color looks suspicious.”
“It’s called the Great Star Medicinal Bath, and it will be a great help in learning the Iron Blood Technique.”
In place of the taciturn Jang Man-dok, Do Pyeong-su offered the explanation. Since his teachers would never do him harm, Geom U-bin undressed and stepped into the vat.
But soon the thought that this might kill him came rushing over him.
The water was not merely hot—it was scalding—and he felt as though his entire body were being pricked with countless needles.
“It feels refreshing, doesn’t it, is what Man-dok is asking?”
“Ggggh….”
The heat and sharp pain wrung nothing from Geom U-bin but gasps.
“Now you must employ your Master’s Heaven-Earth Unity Technique. You’ve memorized all the incantations, yes?”
“Of course I have.”
Even through the agony, Geom U-bin focused his mind as much as he could, reciting the Internal Energy Cultivation Method’s incantations.
“The breath ascends to heaven, the breath descends to earth, the Way flows through all things…”
The Qi Circulation Practice he’d performed every day for the past month kept threatening to falter beneath the pain.
“Concentrate! The flow of Qi must never break!”
Do Pyeong-su’s shout, weighted with martial force, cleared Geom U-bin’s mind somewhat. While Geom U-bin continued his Qi Circulation Practice, Do Pyeong-su spoke low to Jang Man-dok.
“You started him at the first stage, didn’t you? What? The fourth? Damn it, you mad fool!”
The Iron Blood Technique was so agonizing to master that only the method had been passed down—no one had achieved full proficiency in three hundred years.
Jang Man-dok had been able to cultivate the Iron Blood Technique thanks to his extraordinary patience and Hwa Jeok-san’s systematic training method.
Hwa Jeok-san had divided the Iron Blood Technique into twelve stages, allowing six months of adaptation between each.
Without the martial genius of Hwa Jeok-san, such a system could never have been devised; and without the exceptional patience of Jang Man-dok, it would never have been mastered despite the agony.
Yet even knowing how agonizing the process was, Jang Man-dok had skipped the first three stages entirely and begun at the fourth.
“No matter how urgent things are, you don’t risk killing him of heart failure!”
Jang Man-dok gestured toward Geom U-bin with a jerk of his chin, his voice strained.
Geom U-bin’s face was twisted in torment and drained of all color, yet he did not stop reciting the incantations.
“Fine, suppose your patience is even greater than his. That still doesn’t justify skipping the third stage. What? You plan to jump straight to the sixth next? If something happens to him, you die by our hands.”
Fortunately, nothing fatal occurred that day.
Geom U-bin did lose consciousness after the cultivation, but his life was not in danger.
Jang Man-dok kept vigil beside him through the night, performing Chugung-gwahyeol on him. Watching the light in Geom U-bin’s window, Do Pyeong-su muttered like a sigh.
“That Man-dok—such care for him, as if he were his own son.”
“He’s always been one to feel things deeply.”
Behind the startled Do Pyeong-su, silhouetted against the moon, stood Seo Seok-san.
“Make some noise before you approach.”
“Your turn comes next—aren’t you worried that Man-dok will set such a standard?”
“Hmph! I won’t be so crude about it.”

Thanks to Jang Man-dok’s all-night Chugung-gwahyeol, Geom U-bin’s morning came bright and refreshed. But that lightness did not last long.
“You want me to wear these on my wrists and ankles?”
“The ankle weights are five pounds, the wrist weights three. And…”
Do Pyeong-su handed over an iron staff weighing ten pounds, wrapped in leather at the grip to prevent slipping.
“You know the Twelve-Direction Sword Cutting?”
“I practice it every day.”
“From now on, perform one cutting form with each step on your way to the Guest Inn.”
Geom U-bin’s face fell.
“But I’ll be late!”
“Then you’ll have to work hard at it.”
“I promised to devote myself to learning martial arts…”
Despite his youth, Geom U-bin held a firm belief that a promise, once made, must be kept. Walking while weighted at wrist and ankle and wielding the iron staff was no small trial.
Watching Geom U-bin leave, Seo Seok-san clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk… said you wouldn’t be crude? You’re drowning in crudeness.”
“It’s all tailored to his level. Man-dok did the Chugung-gwahyeol all night, so he can manage. It’s your turn to look after him today—why aren’t you following already?”
“Poor Master. How did he end up with such wicked disciples to suffer like this?”
All the way to the Guest Inn, Geom U-bin did not waste a single step. Sweat poured from his brow and his limbs trembled, yet he never ceased the practice Do Pyeong-su had commanded.
When the angle of a cut was wrong, he even backtracked to perfect the execution.
‘No one’s watching, yet he refuses to cut corners. With such an unyielding heart, how will he survive in this perilous world?’
That night, four people sat facing each other on their knees.
Geom U-bin, exhausted from relentless training and the Great Star Medicinal Bath that Jang Man-dok had prepared, was already asleep.
“I’ve been thinking about the worry you just expressed,” Do Pyeong-su said, taking up Yeon Geum-hong’s thought. “Our Master has exactly the sort of temperament that invites a knife in the back.”
Yeon Geum-hong’s words were echoed by Do Pyeong-su.
“True. In the Murim, the kindest die fastest—an eternal law.”
“Martial arts are important, but political schemes and cunning cannot be ignored.”
All eyes turned toward Yeon Geum-hong.
That gaze said: ‘There’s no one but you to teach him.’
“Of course, I’m the cleverest among us.”
Yeon Geum-hong brushed aside the unspoken objection and continued.
“But I can only teach the fundamentals. Who in the Murim would dare try to swindle me?”
All four of the Bloodwind Four Lions possessed the overwhelming power to crush anyone’s head.
“Times like this, the Records of Ten Thousand Deceptions that Man Bak Seonin wrote would be perfect.”
Do Pyeong-su spoke.
“Wait, I know where that is.”
“What? You know? You can barely read?”
“I haven’t seen the book myself, but I heard about it. Three years ago, when I was wandering around looking for the Lord—I mean, for my master—I stopped by a place called Seonin Mountain Estate in Seonju County, Anhui Province, and the master there told me he had it.”
“Who told you?”
“The master himself. He said there’s a book called the Records of Ten Thousand Deceptions written by Man Bak Seonin, and that it’d fetch a decent sum if sold.”
Everyone’s eyes went wide as they stared at Do Pyeong-su.
“What exactly did you do there?”
“I ran out of money, and there happened to be a rather large estate nearby, so I went in.”
“Went in?”
“I needed funds. There were a few minor incidents along the way, but nothing serious.”
“You robbed the place. You actually robbed it.”
Yeon Geum-hong asked a question.
“If you go back, could you find it again?”
“My sense of direction is absolutely flawless.”
“Anhui Province, Seonju County—four days round trip should be enough, right?”
“If we hurry, it’s two and a half days’ journey.”
Yeon Geum-hong wrote the names “Man Bak Seonin” and “Records of Ten Thousand Deceptions” on a piece of paper and handed it to Do Pyeong-su.
“Bring back a book written with these exact characters. Can you do it?”
“Will it still be there?”
“Even if you have to break the master’s limbs, find it and bring it back.”
“What kind of book is the Records of Ten Thousand Deceptions?”
“It’s the Art of War of the Murim, you could say. It’s also a book where you can learn poison techniques. Isn’t that exactly what your senior needs right now?”
Do Pyeong-su sprang to his feet.
“I’ll be back around dawn the day after tomorrow.”
“You’re leaving now?”
“My senior needs it urgently, so I should bring it to him quickly.”
Seo Seok-san spoke to Yeon Geum-hong.
“While Pyeong-su is gone, why don’t you and I teach him the fundamentals?”

***

When the boy’s name was given as Geom U-bin, I thought it suited his face well.
“Working at that age? He doesn’t attend school?”
“Seems his family is struggling.”
“What kind of work does he do?”
“I heard he’s a clerk at a guest inn.”
I pictured Geom U-bin’s face and then imagined the occupation of “clerk” overlaid upon it—the disconnect was enormous.
“Really, a clerk?”
“From what people say, he does the work well.”
“Where does he work?”

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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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