Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 53

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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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#053

Geom U-bin comforted Gang Seo Samak, who was drowning in self-reproach.
“Your disciples aren’t slow. It’s stranger to expect them to shed lifelong habits in a single morning.”
The very man who had dealt despair now offered solace in return.
In ordinary circumstances, someone might have mocked the injured with a blade or two, but whenever Geom U-bin spoke, sincerity always rang through.
That was why Hang Ju-sa-byeon felt comforted in his heart.
“Wait a moment!”
Geom U-bin dashed toward the warehouse and returned a quarter hour later with a vessel of ink.
“The body needs marks to remember by.”
Geom U-bin coated his sole with ink and demonstrated the Hyeonhyeon Samsibyuk Bo.
“Ah! I never thought of that. How did such an idea escape me?”
Seo Seok-san gasped in admiration while Do Pyeong-su and Jang Man-dok nodded with expressions that said ‘That’s our master!’ between them.
Geom U-bin left footprints in three locations so that Gang Seo Samak could practice alone.
“See where those footprints only mark one side?”
Now that he mentioned it, impressions appeared only on the right or left.
“The center of gravity differs from the standard Hyeonhyeon Samsibyuk Bo your disciples learned. Shift your weight toward the marked side, and you’ll feel the difference clearly.”
How meticulous our master is!
“Thank you so much!”
Geom U-bin broke into a wide smile.
“I’m glad it helped. But where’s your disciple Se-hwa?”
“She went to the market to buy provisions.”

***

“No. I’ll take that one instead.”
The elderly apothecary set down the medicine he’d been about to wrap, and spoke.
“That one’s efficacy is somewhat inferior…….”
U-hyang’s voice came out thin and faltering.
“I’m a bit short on money.”
“Shortage or not, that’s no excuse. Good medicine heals quickly.”
“Then give me the good medicine.”
U-hyang turned at the voice from the entrance and started with surprise.
“Sister!”
It was Se-hwa, whom she had spent time with at the Hang-ho Pavilion, though only briefly. Se-hwa held a stake in the establishment and stood in a different station, yet they had come to know each other as sisters without restraint.
Se-hwa entered the apothecary and asked.
“Do you need more medicine?”
When U-hyang hesitated, Se-hwa pressed again.
“Quite a bit of medicine is needed, actually.”
“Who’s ill?”
“Some people you know, some you don’t.”
Se-hwa sensed the conversation would be better held elsewhere, so she simply purchased all the medicines U-hyang required.
The varieties and quantities were considerable, but the total came to less than three silver coins, well within her means.
“Where are these patients?”
U-hyang, who had been wavering, led Se-hwa toward the slums.
Narrow alleys held the vomit of drunks left for days, and scattered refuse reeked of filth.
U-hyang guided Se-hwa to one of the cramped wooden hovels clustered together.
U-hyang was no premier courtesan, but she had always pulled her weight wherever she went. Such poverty sat ill with a girl of her station.
Screeeech!
The rusted door hinge shrieked as the door opened.
Across the narrow courtyard, which had no well, stood a dilapidated wooden shack, small and weathered.
“What in heaven happened here?”
Before U-hyang could speak, the door opened and a face appeared.
“What? Sister Se-hwa?”
Only then did Se-hwa recognize Jin-ha, whose sickness had marked her features, from her time at the Hang-ho Pavilion.
“Why do you look like that?”
A bitter laugh caught at the corner of Jin-ha’s cracked lips.
“This is how a courtesan’s life ends, isn’t it.”
“A courtesan? But you were an entertainer.”
Tears welled up in Jin-ha’s eyes in an instant, then fell like chicken droppings, one after another.
“You wretched thing! Do you still have tears left to shed? Don’t waste your strength—just lie there. I’ll brew the medicine and bring it.”
U-hyang pulled Se-hwa’s hand toward the Kitchen.
The Kitchen, windowless even in broad daylight, was dim and gloomy.
Scratch-scratch!
A rat was eating something in the middle of the Kitchen, and it showed no sign of fleeing even as they entered.
Rather, U-hyang was the one who jumped—she could only manage a single step inside before freezing.
“If you fail to fear what you ought to fear, you deserve to die,” Se-hwa muttered.
Spit flew from her fingers, and the rat with the punctured throat convulsed once, then went still.
“Uh… sister…?”
“What? First time seeing someone kill a rat with spit?”
“Yes.”
“First time for me too. Ugh! I need to wipe this off properly.”
After disposing of the rat, Se-hwa began unwrapping a bundle of medicine and asked carefully.
“What happened? The medicine bottles, and looking at Jin-ha’s face… it looks like tuberculosis. Did she really become a courtesan?”
“Hunger knows no master, and neither does the whip.”
“What are you talking about? Who’s starving and who’s beating them?”
“You know as well as I do—the Hang-ho Pavilion collapsed.”
Because Saegiuju was supplied exclusively to the Wol-ha Giroo, countless pavilions had shuttered, and the Hang-ho Pavilion was one of them.
The three-tenths share of the Hang-ho Pavilion that Se-hwa owned had become worthless overnight.
“Girls like me and Jin-ha were at least able to enter the Wol-ha Giroo. Our music is impeccable, and our looks……”
So she had thought they would do well enough.
“It wasn’t bad at first. But after Hwang Gong-pil, the original owner of the Wol-ha Giroo, died, things started to turn strange. Now it’s become a truly awful place.”
“Because of that delinquent who became the new owner?”
“That one’s certainly a delinquent, but the real problem isn’t him—it’s the new manager and his friend. When Ha Seok-mun was here, he at least protected us, but in the end even he couldn’t bear it and left.”
She’d heard as much from Geom U-bin in passing.
“The new manager is just as bad, but the one they call his friend… that’s not even a human being.”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
Se-hwa asked urgently.
“We’re entertainers, sister.”
U-hyang’s eyes trembled slightly.
“We’re not courtesans. But……”
“But?”
“The new manager completely disregarded that distinction. The rule was that we should never be forced to do anything we didn’t want to. And then that friend of his……”
Finally, U-hyang’s tears began to fall.
“He started beating those of us who refused to become courtesans.”
“He… he hit them with his fists?”
“It was worse than that. There’s a girl who had her ribs broken from his beating.”
“And there are still girls working there?”
“You know as well as I do—many entertainers are in debt to the pavilion. I could leave because I have no debt, but the ones who do are trapped. They can’t escape, and besides… if they leave the Wol-ha Giroo, there’s nowhere else to go, no way to eat. There are so many like that.”
In the past, Hangju had been overflowing with pavilions, but now that so many had vanished, there were few places to work.
Listening to U-hyang’s story, Se-hwa found herself feeling almost grateful that her days were consumed by martial training.
Se-hwa gave U-hyang all the silver coins she had.
U-hyang, who hated being indebted, refused firmly, but Se-hwa forced the coins into her hands and fled the house like a fugitive.
Living at the Oseong Jang-won, money had seemed like something irrelevant to her. Yet the world still turned on money, and happiness and misery were still determined by it.
As she entered the Oseong Jang-won with a heavy heart and heavier steps, Yeon Geum-hong gazed at her intently.
“Master, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Your hands seem unusually light.”
“That’s……”
Only then did it dawn on her. The reason for going out was supposed to be buying groceries.
“I-I went into town, and I ran into someone I know, so I stopped by a medicine shop and bought medicine, and ended up preparing it and……”
Yeon Geum-hong cut off Se-hwa’s stammering words.
“It seems you prefer training to going into town, hmm? What a remarkable child. The night is long and time for training is plentiful, so I suppose that’s all the better.”
Se-hwa let out a small yelp.

***

Geom U-bin turned to look back.
She felt as though someone were watching her, but each time she glanced over her shoulder, only the familiar forest filled her vision.
As she walked, Geom U-bin deployed her Lightness Technique.
She knew well that intuition could be more reliable than sight.
Gong Seong-tak, who had been tracking Geom U-bin for days, was caught off guard when she suddenly accelerated.
‘This girl’s senses are sharp!’
He had never imagined that a mere thirteen-year-old could detect his tail.
He deployed his Lightness Technique in pursuit, but lost her in a winding forest path.
“That girl’s got decent technique. Truly a tempting prospect.”
“What exactly tempts you?”
Startled by the voice from above, he looked up to find Geom U-bin perched on a branch.
“So you shook me off, only to turn the tables and catch me? Remarkable indeed!”
Geom U-bin descended and stood before Gong Seong-tak.
“Why were you following me?”
“Much like a woodcutter selecting good timber. Though come to think of it, a woodcutter must fell the trees, so perhaps that’s not quite right. In any case, you’ve passed. Rare bone structure, a good heart, and sharp intelligence besides. The only question is whether you can endure suffering well. But who is perfect in this world? I shall help with that. Now, offer me the proper courtesy of a disciple.”
The true purpose was revealed only in those final words.
“You’re asking me to become your disciple?”
“I assure you, this is an opportunity you’ll never see again in your lifetime.”
“I assure you, I have no intention of becoming your disciple.”
In Gong Seong-tak’s experience, Murim martial artists lived for high martial prowess. Yet already two had spurned the favor he had offered.
“You don’t yet know how skilled I am. Watch closely.”
Gong Seong-tak’s foot swept in a low arc, and the tree before them toppled root and all. Geom U-bin, whom he regarded with such satisfaction, simply stared with perfect indifference.
“Is your business finished?”
“It is, but——”
“I appreciate the offer. However, I must decline.”
Geom U-bin hurried toward the Cheonha Jeil Gaekjan.
Being waylaid by this strange man had already made her late to meet Ha Seok-mun.
“Wait! Think it over carefully. You don’t know this, but our Jincheon Ilmun is a very famous sect throughout the Murim.”
“I already have a master.”
“One can always change masters.”
“I have no intention of changing.”
Why were there so many loyal-hearted children in this neighborhood? Gong Seong-tak pursued Geom U-bin with complete certainty.
‘Three years—that’s all she needs to master the Jincheon Noeigak.’
Three years was far too little to reach true mastery, but enough to grasp the profound secrets.
What she achieved after that was her own responsibility; Gong Seong-tak need not concern himself further.
Gong Seong-tak cajoled and coaxed as he followed along, but nothing penetrated.
“I have an appointment with a guest. I must go.”
Geom U-bin slipped into the Cheonha Jeil Gaekjan.
She had made no formal appointment with Ha Seok-mun. She had simply heard he was drinking alone and came looking.
“Chief Administrator Ha.”
“Eh? How did you know I was here? Sit.”
As Geom U-bin took the seat across from Ha Seok-mun, Gong Seong-tak claimed a table nearby.
Ha Seok-mun sighed.
“What troubles you?”
“Nothing. Rather——”
He didn’t look like the type to surrender easily.
“I’ve heard the rough tale of the Wol-ha Giroo.”
“Those upstart fools from Beijing have made a complete disaster of the establishment.”
Ha Seok-mun’s complaints spilled forth.
“They’ve hiked the price of Saegiuju so high now that only the truly wealthy can afford a taste. Those money-grubbers care only for immediate profit.”
Geom U-bin listened to Ha Seok-mun’s words in patient silence.
After nearly half an hour of unbroken talk, Ha Seok-mun laughed to himself, realizing how much unnecessary chatter he had inflicted on her.
“In fact, I’ve been thinking of halting our Saegiuju deliveries to the Wol-ha Giroo.”
“Truly?”
“Since you’ve stepped away, there’s no loyalty left to honor.”
“Do you have other pavilions to supply?”
“I’ll need to look into it. I don’t want to sell Saegiuju to any place that mistreats its workers.”
“Would you like me to help with that?”
“I would appreciate it. Though from now on, no exclusivity.”
“Understood. There may be fewer high-class establishments these days, but plenty still want to carry Saegiuju.”
After talking for another quarter hour or so, Geom U-bin left the inn.
He ignored Gong Seong-tak, who trailed behind him.
Gong Seong-tak, who had been following him for some time, suddenly dropped into a blocking stance directly in front of him—no more than a zhang away.
“Alright. Let’s make a wager. If you can get past me, I won’t force you to become my disciple anymore.”
“What? A bear?”
Geom U-bin glanced left with a startled expression, and Gong Seong-tak’s eyes followed his gaze.
Just as he’d suspected—a simple man indeed.
Dodging the distracted turn of his attention was effortless. Using the Ihyeong Hwanwi technique, Geom U-bin claimed the space behind Gong Seong-tak in merely two strides.
Gong Seong-tak, realizing too late that he’d been tricked, bellowed in outrage.
“That’s foul play!”
“I’ve won. Stop following me.”
He didn’t seem malicious, but Geom U-bin found him tedious regardless. Gong Seong-tak stood fuming, staring after him, then cried out.
“I’ll never give up! You’ll see how relentless the Jincheon Ilmun can be!”

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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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