Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 57

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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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#057

After giving money to Se-hwa, Geom U-bin’s footsteps carried him out of the Estate and toward the Riverbank.
Gong Seong-tak had resolved his bathing and laundry in one go at the river, so all he wore now was a single undergarment.
White scars writhed across his entire body like maggots, a living chronicle of the fierce life he had endured.
“Uncle, thank you for today.”
“For what?”
“For saving that person at the Pavilion.”
“I only did what was right. Hearing thanks for it makes my face burn.”
Not many people believed that risking danger to save another was simply the right thing to do.
Geom U-bin smiled softly and spoke.
“Uncle, you’re truly a knight-errant.”
“Pah, a knight-errant indeed.”
Gong Seong-tak, embarrassed and flushing red, asked,
“Did you come here to mock me?”
“No. It’s just that I think I need to settle things between us quickly.”
“Settle? How?”
“What if I could become a blacksmith right away?”
“No! We must first find a suitable successor for our school’s Jinchan Thunderclap.”
“I’ll learn that martial art.”
“What?”
“Of course, I can’t become your disciple. And though I’ll study the martial art, once a suitable person appears, I’ll transmit it to them instead—who will then become your true disciple. One more thing: I can’t devote myself solely to your art. In fact, it will take the lowest priority. The martial arts I’m currently learning require ten bodies, let alone one. But I promise I’ll practice with whatever time I can spare.”
Somehow, Geom U-bin’s promise carried conviction even to strangers.
“But what do you mean by ‘become a blacksmith’?”
“I’ll have a blacksmith’s forge built behind the Estate. Teaching martial arts only takes half a double hour a day, doesn’t it? With the rest of your time, create whatever you wish.”
This was the best solution Geom U-bin could devise.
Learning the Jinchan Thunderclap so carelessly, he might truly fall into Demonic Qi Deviation.
Even yesterday, while cultivating his internal energy, the verses of the Jinchan Thunderclap that had been forced into him suddenly surfaced, nearly twisting his meridians.
Gong Seong-tak’s face shone with an emotion so moved he seemed on the verge of tears.
“Thank you. This is—there’s no better solution than this. But… half a double hour feels a bit short. What if we made it two double hours?”
“Should I reduce it to a quarter hour instead?”
“Ah, no! Half a double hour is plenty. That will be enough! What does it matter if it takes ten years or twenty? I’ll have a forge. Ha ha ha!”
Though he’d ended up learning martial arts he hadn’t sought, Geom U-bin tried his best to feel glad that he could fulfill kind Gong Seong-tak’s wish.
‘This is going to get much busier.’
As Geom U-bin turned to head back to the Estate, he met Se-hwa coming out.
“Shouldn’t you rest today? Where are you off to now?”
“There’s no time to rest. I need to find a designer and carpenters quickly if we’re to build the Pavilion.”
“Don’t strain yourself too much.”
“If I stay at the Estate like this, I think I’ll fall ill instead.”
“If that’s Se-hwa’s nature, then be it. While you’re looking, find someone to build a blacksmith’s forge too.”
“A blacksmith’s forge?”
“We’ll need one built in the empty space behind the Estate. I’ll explain the details later.”
“Yes, understood!”
Se-hwa answered briskly, then turned back to add,
“Master, I have a request.”
“What is it?”
“Please look after Teacher Yeon. She seems lonely while I’m out every day.”
The other three were spending their time teaching martial arts to Gang Seo Samak, but because Se-hwa was opening the Pavilion, Yeon Geum-hong alone had much time left over.
Geom U-bin was grateful for Se-hwa’s thoughtfulness, even noticing such things.
“Understood. Don’t worry—focus on the Pavilion.”
“Yes, I’ll be back soon!”

Geom U-bin informed Hyeolpung Saja about his arrangement with Gong Seong-tak during a meal.
“Not a bad idea.”
“More than not bad—it’s quite good. The Jinchan Thunderclap is difficult to perfect, but once perfected, it’s martial art of quality that can rival the arts of the Five Great Houses and the Gudaemun Faction.”
Yeon Geum-hong picked up Seo Seok-san’s thread.
“It can be used for disguise as well.”
“Disguise?”
“If you venture into Murim, you may need to conceal who your Senior Brother truly is. In that sense, the Jinchan Thunderclap would be an excellent mask.”
It was a perpetual worry for the Bloodwind Four Lions, who had so many enemies.
After finishing their meal, the three of them went to the Training Ground to teach martial arts to Gang Seo Samak, leaving Yeon Geum-hong by herself.
At first, teaching martial arts had been something done reluctantly, but now it had become an important part of the Bloodwind Four Lions’ daily routine.
With that one task gone, she felt as hollow as if a tooth had been knocked out.
“Senior Sister.”
Geom U-bin arrived seeking Yeon Geum-hong, with rather large leather pouches hanging from both sides of her waist.
“Could you watch my Hidden Projectile training today?”
“All day long?”
“Yes.”
She could tell that Geom U-bin was being thoughtful toward her boredom.
“You’re too kind, Senior Brother. How do you plan to survive in such a dangerous Murim with such a gentle heart?”
“I don’t have to live in Murim—I can keep living at Oseong Jang-won with my masters and fellow disciples. I really love living like this.”
Yeon Geum-hong found Geom U-bin so endearing that she pulled her into her arms.
“If only my disciples resembled you even a tenth as much, that would be something.”
“Why do you say that? Se-hwa thinks of you so much. Even as we were leaving today, she specifically asked me to look after you.”
“Really? So you brought all those projectiles just to play with me today?”
“It’s training, training!”
“Right! I’ll be ready!”
Though she’d said she would be, both Geom U-bin and Yeon Geum-hong were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Geom U-bin’s Hidden Projectile Technique had already reached a level comparable to that of the renowned masters of the Sichuan Dang Sect.
Yeon Geum-hong tossed fallen leaves into the air and called out.
“If you can’t knock down every single one, you’ll have to sleep in my arms tonight!”
“Oh my, Master! That’s a bit much….”
While they were engaged in what looked more like play than training, the three members of the Bloodwind Four Lions, who had been drilling Gang Seo Samak, appeared.
“Senior Brother! Are you only having fun with Geum-hong?”
Yeon Geum-hong answered with playful teasing.
“This is legitimate training, I tell you, training!”
“Senior Brother! We want to do that kind of training too!”
“You lot! Don’t interrupt!”
“We can’t let you have all the fun!”
As the five of them played under the pretense of training, Gang Seo Samak was completely forgotten.
“Are the masters not coming?”

***

If you travel north from Hangju, you’ll reach Yeohak County.
A little to the east of Yeohak County lies Huigyesan Mountain, whose gentle slopes make it a well-traveled road for merchants and travelers passing from Zhejiang Province into Anhui Province.
Wherever so many people come and go, bandits are almost certain to be found.
And while bandits are indeed plentiful, the profession itself is far from easy—it’s not something everyone can simply take up on a whim.
First, one needs a degree of courage that ordinary people can scarcely imagine, and enough martial strength to overcome even seasoned fighters. Yet the world is not so full of budding bandits with such qualifications.
That was why Kang Chan-sik had come to the mountain.
Had it not been for the Hangju Officials who suddenly descended upon him demanding that he find wanted criminals, he would still be serving as gang leader of the Heuksahoe.
Forced to abandon his position to escape them, he had no other means of livelihood. Having learned the trade of theft, he simply changed locations and pursued similar work.
A man who had once risen to be gang leader of the Heuksahoe found it child’s play to become the chief of these rustic bandits.
Kang Chan-sik, who had grandly named his outfit the Daeryong Bandit Gang and established it halfway up Huigyesan Mountain, soon found himself living quite comfortably.
Kang Chan-sik, gauging the weight of money in his pouch, spoke with a smile.
“Travel safely.”
“May you remain untroubled as well, Bandit Chief.”
The constable of the escort house spoke sincerely and crossed over the ridge. Among all the Seventy-Two Greenwood Gangs and beyond, the Daeryong Bandit Gang collected the lowest toll fees.
“Chief. Don’t you think it’s time we raised the toll a bit?”
Wang Bong-seok, who had been Kang Chan-sik’s subordinate in the Heuksahoe before coming to the mountain to become a bandit, asked with a regretful expression.
“Fool. To eat little and excrete little—that’s the path to long life and peace. I’ve no desire to shatter this tranquility.”
“But surely we should save up some money….”
“If we get greedy trying to hoard, what happens when the Hangju Officials come looking?”
“Come now, how could that possibly happen? A bold fellow like you, Chief….”
Kang Chan-sik suddenly erupted.
“You’ve never had three visits from the Hangju Officials! Every time I think back on when those bastards came calling three times, cold sweat breaks out on my back and my blood pressure shoots up… ugh!”
“C-Chief. Why don’t you sit on this rock here and rest awhile.”
Only after resting for a quarter hour could they climb up to the stronghold.
Daeryong Bandit Gang was situated with a cliff at its back. Between the cliffs ran a rope bridge that could be cut and severed if the official army ever attacked, allowing for a clean escape.
Twelve wooden buildings huddled together haphazardly, encircled by a wooden palisade—the picture of a typical mountain stronghold.
Kang Chan-sik, having finished a profitable day’s work, entered the largest and finest building (though calling that ramshackle hut “fine” was generous).
And he froze.
“Well! It’s been forever!”
The reason he remembered that face as if they’d met yesterday was that it haunted his dreams almost daily.
Do Pyeong-su, with his round eyes and luxuriant beard, smiled wickedly.
“Conquered the plains, and now the mountains. You’re quite the adventurer, aren’t you?”
Kang Chan-sik turned around. Then he walked out the door. And then he stopped in his tracks.
“You’ve recovered in this clean mountain air—time to return to the mortal world, wouldn’t you say?”
Yeon Geum-hong, smiling that wicked smile, looked like a demon from hell itself. From above came another voice he could never forget.
“We’ve got someone to find.”
He didn’t bother lifting his head to confirm the face. Instead, Kang Chan-sik opened his mouth and shouted so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed.
“I’m not going!”

***

“Ah…….”
He’d returned. To Hangju.
“So you’re telling me to catch whoever set fire to the Hangho Pavilion?”
“That’s right. There’s a prime suspect, so with your skills it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
Kang Chan-sik turned to Seo Seok-san, who had spoken.
“What skills are you talking about? I’m not a constable anymore, and I’m no longer with the Triad either.”
“But you’re still a bad man nonetheless. And bad men understand other bad men best.”
Four demons had clung to him because of all the sins he’d committed. Let’s just think of it that way.
“Who’s the prime suspect?”

***

“The guests are quite upset that we’re out of Saegiuju.”
Seo Bae-bang, who’d once been a clerk at the Wol-ha Giroo and had buttered up the new manager Baek Noh-pal so thoroughly that he’d become his trusted lieutenant, spoke with an awkward expression.
“Any wine will do. How different can one liquor be from another, anyway?”
Baek Noh-pal, who knew nothing whatsoever about the taste of wine, called out to Wang Du-mang, who was entering the back courtyard.
“How much longer until the counterfeit Saegiuju is ready?”
Wang Du-mang made an odd groaning sound while tilting his body back.
“At least another month.”
“Rumor had it you’d perfectly counterfeited some fine liquor bound for the Imperial Palace, but it seems that was all nonsense.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk! A man who can’t tell the difference between drinking wine and wine drinking him should keep his mouth shut.”
“But this old man knows how to make wine, and I’m the manager here!”
“If the Pavilion doesn’t have my counterfeit Saegiuju, then it’s finished.”
“There’s only one place in Hangju that sells genuine Saegiuju—just one, and it has nothing to do with the Pavilion whatsoever. In any case, Saegiuju is no longer the universal cure-all in Hangju. Whether the stuff is here or not doesn’t matter a whit.”
Wang Du-mang moved closer to Baek Noh-pal and lowered his voice.
“So tell me this: who does the Wol-ha Giroo really need—me, who knows how to make counterfeit Saegiuju, or you, a manager in name only?”
“I’m not just a figurehead manager. I’m the one doing things in places you don’t know about, things you could never accomplish.”
“What sort of things?”
“Eliminating the competition.”
Wang Du-mang paused in thought before speaking.
“Hmm! I heard that the Hangho Pavilion, which was preparing to reopen not long ago, burned down…….”
“Keep quiet about it. Unless you want to burn along with the counterfeit Saegiuju.”
Wang Du-mang bobbed his head in exaggerated agreement.
“Yes, Manager. But be careful. From what I hear, the Hangju Officials are no ordinary people.”
“Just some reputation earned from peddling wine in a backwater town.”
As Wang Du-mang withdrew, he muttered under his breath.
“Can’t imagine why they put such a fool in charge.”
“That old codger!”
His insides churned, but Yeo Dong-sul had ordered him to treat the man well, so he couldn’t very well blow his top.
The anger made his hands itch to gamble.
Since the Pavilion needed two double hours to open its doors, there was plenty of time for a round of dominoes.
Like most days, today would not be Baek Noh-pal’s day.
He’d blown through a month’s wages, but it didn’t sting much—the money Wol-ha Giroo siphoned off was several times more.
Seo Bae-bang was waiting at Wol-ha Giroo when he returned, quickening his pace to make up for the late arrival.
“Director! There’s trouble!”
“What is it? Why the fuss?”
“Hangho Pavilion has started construction again!”
“What? How long has it been since it burned to ash?”
“Word is they’re building it bigger and grander this time. The fact that they’ve hired Son Ju-eon, Hangju’s finest carpenter, suggests they have deep pockets.”
“Se-hwa still hasn’t come to her senses, it seems.”

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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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