Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 5

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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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#005

Namgung Hye-yeon paid no mind to her companion’s objections and made her way to the Cheonha Jeil Guesthouse.
The moment she stepped through the door, Geom U-bin’s voice greeted her.
“Welcome!”
During the carriage ride, she’d wavered a dozen times — should she turn back, go home?
The Namgung Clan ranked among the Five Great Houses, rivaling even the Gudaemun Faction in renown, and her father was its Clan Head. For someone of her station to call on a mere server was beneath propriety.
Geom U-bin had made a striking first impression, but that hardly justified this venture.
Yet here she was, standing before the Cheonha Jeil Guesthouse.
‘It’s just that my days feel so hollow. Perhaps that’s all this is.’
When she saw Geom U-bin again, she might be nothing more than a serving girl — no more, no less.
Do Yang-sik, who had accompanied Namgung Hye-yeon as her escort, was a taciturn man of thirty-five.
He seated her in a quiet corner and took the place beside her. Soon Geom U-bin came scurrying over.
“What may I bring you, miss?”
“What’s good here?”
Geom U-bin rattled off a list of dishes, and Namgung Hye-yeon selected one at random.
Do Yang-sik ordered dumplings and thin noodles.
After placing their order in the kitchen, Geom U-bin darted about the restaurant with practiced efficiency. She greeted patrons and welcomed newcomers with an ease that seemed impossible for someone who’d been working there less than two months — yet there it was, a seasoned competence radiating from her every movement.
And the customers, without exception, adored her.
Geom U-bin possessed a rare combination: a commanding presence paired with natural warmth.
Namgung Hye-yeon asked her during one of her trips with food.
“When do you finish your shift?”
“Pardon? In one double hour, but why do you ask?”
“Never mind. Go back to work.”
Namgung Hye-yeon ate without much appetite, her eyes following Geom U-bin’s tireless figure. The girl never seemed to rest, always moving.
Even the owner had taken to telling her to ease off occasionally.
“I work faster when I’m busy. Hehe!”
One double hour was considerable time, yet watching Geom U-bin made it vanish in a heartbeat.
“A diligent one, then,” Do Yang-sik observed, speaking at last.
He had been quiet until now.
“That’s all you noticed about Geom U-bin?”
“What else could there be?”
“Despite the mild weather, she perspires heavily. Her movements are quick, but her hands and feet are heavy — not illness, but profound fatigue. She hasn’t been doing night labor, so perhaps she’s training in the martial arts?”
“Even if you were right, that seems rather a leap, miss.”
“Perhaps. It’s only one possibility among many.”
Or mere fancy.
She couldn’t explain why she wanted Geom U-bin to be training in martial arts, but the hope persisted nonetheless.
At last, Geom U-bin bid her employer goodbye, promising to return tomorrow.
“We should go,” Namgung Hye-yeon said.
She hurried out and caught Geom U-bin as she was leaving the restaurant.
“There’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“What?”
Geom U-bin’s casual tone made Do Yang-sik frown.
“Mind your manners, girl.”
Despite Do Yang-sik’s cold rebuke, Geom U-bin remained unruffled.
“I don’t think I’m being discourteous.”
“This lady before you is——!”
Namgung Hye-yeon raised her hand, silencing him.
“Earlier you spoke respectfully to me. Why the casual tone now?”
“Because then I was a server and you were a guest. But the moment my shift ended, I hung that role at the guesthouse door. So now we’re just two people of similar age.”
Namgung Hye-yeon had been told since she was eight that she was mature for her years. But Geom U-bin seemed even more so — far beyond what Namgung Hye-yeon had been then, perhaps even now.
“I’m three years older than you.”
“So?”
Laughter burst from her instead of anger.
It caught her by surprise.
“Do you know who I am?”
“A child from some noble household, I’d wager.”
“What makes you think that?”
“You’ve got a bodyguard trailing after you.”
“How did you know he’s my bodyguard?”
“At an inn, people usually sit across from each other. But that man—he positioned you toward the wall and took the seat beside you where he could protect you more easily.”
Such a perceptive little thing.
“Actually, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen you. A few days ago…….”
“You were in a carriage.”
Namgung Hye-yeon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You saw me?”
“I also know you tried to help a beggar child.”
“Then why did you interfere? If I’d helped, it would have ended without anyone getting hurt.”
“That’s true. You would have left feeling proud of yourself for helping the weak, and soon forgotten it entirely. But that beggar child left behind would have suffered far worse at the hands of those Martial Arts School ruffians for a long time afterward.”
It was a consideration Namgung Hye-yeon hadn’t thought to make.
“But since you drove them away, the result is the same either way.”
Geom U-bin scratched his head.
“That’s strange. I don’t understand why those Martial Arts School thugs just left. I was ready for a proper fight.”
Geom U-bin had no idea of the sheer magnitude of the aura he radiated.
“Do you study Martial Arts?”
“Why do you ask?”
“If you have any interest in it, I could introduce you to a fine place.”
It was an impulsive decision, but someone of Geom U-bin’s caliber would make an excellent disciple of the Namgung Clan.
“I already have a fine teacher.”
“The Namgung Clan?”
She’d expected that name alone would sway him, but his expression remained unmoved.
“I appreciate the offer. Is there anything else? My home is far, so I should be going.”
Namgung Hye-yeon felt flustered.
She thought this must be what it felt like to confess your love and be rejected.
“You fool—throwing away luck that rolled right to your feet!”
She cried out sharply in sudden anger, then turned to leave. But her fury swiftly curdled into urgency.
If they parted now, she might never see him again.
“Geom U-bin!”
Geom U-bin, wearing an expression of utter bewilderment, turned his head at the call.
“Come find me at the Namgung Clan later! I’m Namgung Hye-yeon, the Clan Head’s daughter!”
“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll remember.”
Yeon Geum-hong stood before Geom U-bin, wearing an enigmatic smile.
“Teacher, what’s the matter?”
“A true man of Zhongyuan.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Hehe! Never mind. Today, instead of Martial Arts, I’ll teach you something else. In some ways, it’s more important than Martial Arts itself.”
“What would that be?”
“We’ve known each other for about two months now, haven’t we? In that time, how many opportunities did I have to kill you?”
“Come now, teacher—why would I ever harm you? There’s no reason for such a thing.”
“The affairs of the Murim are unpredictable. It’s a place where today’s friend becomes tomorrow’s enemy more often than not.”
“Still…….”
“In Zhongyuan, there are sons who stab their fathers in the back to become clan head, and women aplenty who murder their husbands to fall into their lovers’ arms.”
“Are you saying there’s not a soul in this world worth trusting?”
“Precisely. Which is why you must always—whenever the opportunity arises—think through the ways you could kill those near you, especially those stronger than yourself. You never know when circumstances might turn. For instance…….”
Yeon Geum-hong held up the ornamental pendant hanging from her belt as she spoke.
“When your elder brother gave me this pendant, I didn’t suspect a thing. But if he’d poisoned it, or rigged it with a hidden blade, the odds of success would have been quite high. Or suppose I pretended to injure my leg when we were alone—if you carried me on your back, there couldn’t be a better opportunity. Or…….”
“Teacher, how would you kill me?”
“What?”
“Tell me right now—what’s a way you could kill me on the spot?”
There were more than a hundred ways to kill someone as comparatively weak as Geom U-bin. But not a single one felt right to speak aloud.
As Yeon Geum-hong hesitated, Geom U-bin broke into a bright smile.
“You see? The very thought of killing me disgusts you, doesn’t it?”
“No. There are simply too many methods.”
“Be that as it may, no matter what happens, I’ll never harm my fellow disciples.”
Yeon Geum-hong’s expression turned grave.
“Don’t make such promises lightly. No one knows what the future holds.”
“No matter how brutal the Murim is, parents and children wouldn’t have this kind of conversation, would they?”
“Well, I suppose not…….”
“I think of my fellow disciples as my family. It’s the first time I’ve ever had something like that…….”
Geom U-bin’s face trembled as though tears might spill at any moment.
“Oh my! Our senior sister has such a tender heart…….”
Yeon Geum-hong embraced Geom U-bin with sympathy. Resting her chin on Yeon Geum-hong’s shoulder, Geom U-bin spoke.
“Does this mean I’ve gotten a chance to kill the junior disciple?”
“What?”
Geom U-bin smiled at Yeon Geum-hong, who was startled.
“Don’t worry. No matter how harsh the world is, I’m not so easy to dispose of.”
Yeon Geum-hong, who had been watching Geom U-bin intently, finally let out a soft laugh.
Geom U-bin left the room, saying, “I’ll go visit the junior disciple.”
“I can’t tell if she’s naive or shrewd. Or whether we were worrying for nothing…….”
Yeon Geum-hong had intended to teach Geom U-bin about the coldness of the Murim, but instead Seo Seok-san gifted her a five-stringed Hyangbi Pa.
“Music has breath, and women have character. For a man, music and women are breath itself—life itself.”
“Junior Disciple Seo, I’m only eight years old.”
“That’s precisely why you must prepare. I understood women at ten. You have only two years left before Senior Sister reaches that age, so you must strive diligently from now on.”
Seo Seok-san began to play his Hyangbi Pa.
The gentle melody subtly stirred something deep within Geom U-bin’s heart.
She had lived barely eight years, and the first two of those were lost to memory altogether. Yet the passing years flickered before her like a lantern show, and memories of time spent with her master, Hwa Jeok-san, rose unbidden—tears threatened to spill.
Seo Seok-san’s playing was so masterful it could move even a child’s heart. When the performance ended, Geom U-bin took a deep breath.
“That was truly beautiful.”
Seo Seok-san regarded Geom U-bin with satisfaction.
“If you can feel that, then you already possess extraordinary talent, Senior Sister. In the years to come, you’ll be able to win the hearts of countless women—or rather, capture their affection.”
“One is enough for me.”
“Hehehehe! You say that now, but in a few years you’ll realize that more is always better.”
“With this music, I could win the hearts of both men and women.”
“Eh? What use is winning a man’s heart? Music should be used to win women. Men—you simply kill them.”
“You can kill men with music?”
Seo Seok-san plucked one of the outer strings of the Hyangbi Pa with force. The teapot behind Geom U-bin shattered into pieces.
“With music, one captures a woman’s heart. With Eumgong, one takes a man’s life.”

***

Bang!
Do Pyeong-su returned and set twelve thick books on the table.
“That fellow had an enormous library. I brought all the books labeled Man Bak Seonin and Ilman Guigye.”
Yeon Geum-hong, examining the books, let out a thin sigh.
“Eight of these are just different books with similar characters.”
Seo Seok-san chimed in.
“Still, you did bring four of the right ones. So Ilman Guigye is in three volumes. But what’s this one? The author is Man Bak Seonin, but…… Manbo Chongram? This fellow must adore the character for ‘ten thousand.'”
Seo Seok-san’s eyes sparkled as he leafed through the book.
“This doesn’t look like an ordinary book.”
“What’s in it?”
Seo Seok-san opened the book to a page and showed it to everyone. Do Pyeong-su, who couldn’t read, asked in frustration.
“What is it, then?”
“It lists information about the Thousand-Year Fleece Flower—likely places to find it, who might possess it. There’s Kongcheongsok Youyou and Cheonnyeon Jarantcho too. Not to mention Mannyeon Samhwang.”
As Seo Seok-san turned several more pages, the weapons section appeared.
Swords, blades, spears, bows, wheels—every famous weapon in the Murim was catalogued.
“I didn’t know the Mangeo Sword was with the Byeoksan Jinpa.”
Yeon Geum-hong’s fingers stopped at the section on poisons and toxins. A smile crossed her face as she found the name she was seeking.
“Seongrin Youxing Needle. There you were.”

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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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