Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 6

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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 6

Do Pyeong-su asked.
“The Seongin Yuhyeong Needle—isn’t that what you spent twenty years searching for? If your master hadn’t gone missing, you’d probably still be out there looking.”
“How old do you think this book is?”
Seo Seok-san glanced up from examining the volume.
“Can’t be more than three years, I’d say. Man Baek Seonin probably died last year—this looks like the final thing he left behind before he went.”
“If this is accurate, the Hyeol-yeong Mun’s sect leader should have it.”
“We’ll have to go and check for ourselves.”
Do Pyeong-su leaned forward.
“Is the Sura Blade there too?”
Yeon Geum-hong’s fingers stilled as she turned the pages.
“Here it is.”
Do Pyeong-su’s Adam’s apple bobbed hard.
“Who has it, and where?”
“The Oseong Doomun? Ever heard of them?”
Though they all knew most of the major Murim sects, the Oseong Doomun was a name entirely new to them.
“It says they’re located in Pingyao County, Shanxi Province.”
Do Pyeong-su was already shifting in his seat, eager to depart.
Seo Seok-san placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.
“Hold on. You’ve been searching for this for fifteen years. What’s a few more years going to hurt? It’s not going anywhere.”
“I suppose… you’re right.”
“First, let’s verify whether the treasures listed in the Manbo Chongram are where this book says they are.”
Seo Seok-san pointed to a passage.
“Here—Gongcheong-seok-yu. In Fojiang County, Zhejiang Province, there’s a man named Go Tae-bang who runs the Gu Family Medicinal Trading House. He apparently has about fifty milliliters.”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“Fifty milliliters? That’s quite a lot.”
“It is. That much, used wisely, could grant a full decade of advancement. Fojiang County is only two hours’ travel from here—we should verify this first.”
Yeon Geum-hong nodded at Seo Seok-san’s logic.
“If Go Tae-bang truly possesses the Gongcheong-seok-yu, then we can trust the contents of this book. It’s a reasonable plan.”
“Jang Man-dok mentioned that the Gongcheong-seok-yu would be necessary for Hang Ju-sa-ung to master the Cheolhyeol Gong.”
The Gongcheong-seok-yu was a miraculous medicine that could elevate one’s internal power in a single session—not merely for the Cheolhyeol Gong, but for any pursuit under heaven.
“Who will go?”
“I’m the fastest. I’ll go and come back.”
No one objected to Yeon Geum-hong’s declaration.
“Since we’re on the subject, I’ll leave immediately.”
“But we don’t even know where the Gu Family Medicinal Trading House is located in Fojiang County.”
“It’s not a large place. A few inquiries and it’ll turn up. While I’m gone, I trust you won’t tamper with my liquor.”
“What do you take us for!”
“I don’t doubt your honor among yourselves—I know you wouldn’t resort to treachery with one another. But the batch we’re making now is far too important. Isn’t it?”
Everyone had to acknowledge that Yeon Geum-hong was right.
“I’m going to mark my brewing house with a special sign before I leave—so that if anyone enters, it’ll be immediately obvious. If that happens, I won’t be gentle about it.”
“We’ll guard it so thoroughly that not even a fly can slip through.”

***

“The Ilman Gwigye?”
Geom U-bin tilted his head as he looked at the book Seo Seok-san had handed him.
“It contains a comprehensive collection of knowledge essential for living in Murim. Reading it will prove useful.”
Geom U-bin, arms crossed, studied the Ilman Gwigye with a distant expression.
“What’s troubling you?”
“Will I attract many enemies once I venture into Murim?”
Seo Seok-san, about to answer ‘That depends entirely on you,’ closed his mouth instead.
A disciple of Hwahak-san who served as second-in-command to the Hyeolpung Saja would be as conspicuous as a man draped in targets.
“What does the number of enemies matter? If you’re strong enough, there’s no problem. Don’t worry prematurely—start by reading the Ilman Gwigye.”
The dense characters on pages thicker than a finger were enough to induce a headache just turning the first leaf.
So the Bloodwind Four Lions didn’t even bother looking and simply thrust the Ilman Gwigye into Geom U-bin’s hands.
“There are quite a few characters I don’t recognize…….”
Geom U-bin, who had been flipping through the book carelessly, burst into a grin.
“I can study the writing and get some useful information at the same time. Perfect.”
The older brother was a remarkably optimistic little thing.
Yeon Geum-hong, who had gone to retrieve the Gongcheong-seok-yu, didn’t return until evening the following day.
“Why did it take so long?”
“There was an incident.”
“What kind of incident.”
Yeon Geum-hong waved her hand dismissively.
“It’s nothing serious. Don’t worry about it. And…….”
Yeon Geum-hong pulled a black leather pouch from her robes.
“The Gongcheong-seok-yu was really there.”
Jang Man-dok withdrew a porcelain vial no larger than a finger from the pouch and opened the cap. The Gongcheong-seok-yu, which possessed a slight viscosity, was a liquid white as milk with no scent whatsoever.
As Jang Man-dok tilted the vial slightly to examine its contents and nodded, smiles bloomed across everyone’s faces.
Not only had they obtained the Gongcheong-seok-yu, but they had also confirmed that the contents written in the Manbo Chongram were genuine.
“Hehehehe! This treasure hunting is going to be quite the adventure from here on.”
Do Pyeong-su spoke, and Seo Seok-san picked up where he left off.
“What we need to focus on finding is miraculous medicine that can strengthen him. That’s the priority.”
Everyone agreed with that assessment.
That night, they all gathered in the warehouse where Geom U-bin would immerse himself in the Daeseong Rassu.
Geom U-bin, who had been frowning in anticipation of the pain that would soon arrive, wore a bewildered expression.
“Why is everyone here?”
As Jang Man-dok poured the Daeseong Rassu into the tub where Geom U-bin sat, Seo Seok-san spoke.
“We obtained a precious medicine today. Have you ever heard of Gongcheong-seok-yu?”
“No.”
“A single drop is enough for an ordinary person to live free from disease, while a martial artist of Murim can gain decades of inner power. It is a medicine of extraordinary rarity.”
“Really? How did you manage to obtain something like that?”
They knew where it came from, but only Yeon Geum-hong knew the “how.” As the others’ eyes turned toward her, Yeon Geum-hong let out a small cough before answering.
“I saved an acquaintance’s daughter and received it as a gift.”
“That worked out well. Then we can all share it together……—Ughhhh!”
As the Daeseong Rassu rose to his neck, the pain began to creep in. Geom U-bin, who had been releasing soft groans, continued speaking with his brow furrowed.
“We are brothers in the same lineage, so we should divide it equally. Actually, I don’t need any. I don’t really have any inner power yet…….”
Plink-plink-plink!
As Jang Man-dok tilted the small porcelain vial, the white liquid dripped into the Daeseong Rassu.
Seo Seok-san cried out in alarm.
“That’s supposed to be consumed, not bathed in!”
As Jang Man-dok poured the Daeseong Rassu back into the porcelain vial and wrung out every last drop, Do Pyeong-su opened his mouth.
“It will all be absorbed through the skin anyway, right? Actually, this is better. If he consumed all this Gongcheong-seok-yu at once, his body couldn’t withstand it and wouldn’t absorb all the medicinal properties. Over the next six months, it will be absorbed gradually.”
“Really?”
“Don’t ask me—I only know what Man-dok says.”
“How do you know what Man-dok is thinking just by looking at his expression?”
“Why wouldn’t I know? You’re the strange ones for not knowing. It’s not like we’ve only known each other for a day or two.”
“If everyone else doesn’t know, then you’re the strange one for claiming to.”
“Well, you should accept what you don’t know. How could—Man-dok says you’re getting in the way of his concentration, so if you’re going to keep arguing, take it outside.”
Geom U-bin had no mind to spare for his surroundings, absorbed entirely in his struggle against the mounting pain. Simply maintaining his posture was the limit of what he could manage.
But then Jang Man-dok’s Telepathic Communication pierced his mind.
―Use your master’s inner power technique, the Cheonji Hapil Gong.
Jang Man-dok’s voice, which Geom U-bin was hearing for the first time, carried a deep, resonant tone that brought ease to his heart.
Employing the Cheonji Hapil Gong while his entire body felt as though it were being crushed was far from easy as it sounded.
―You must overcome the pain.
Jang Man-dok’s voice settled his mind again, easing the agony even slightly. Geom U-bin recited the incantations of the Cheonji Hapil Gong while striving to gather his true energy toward his dan-jeon.
He felt only a warmth, and had not yet reached the stage where anything that could be called inner power was being formed.
Jang Man-dok’s voice continued to sound in his mind, but the words were incomprehensible—like sutras a monk recites during scripture chanting.
Yet that voice brought his mind to rest and peace.
The pain remained intense, but his mind was at ease—a strange and contradictory state.
Then, at some moment, the region around his dan-jeon began to stir.
The energy he had merely been feeling gathered into a compact sphere.
Geom U-bin rotated that energy as if rolling a ball of snow, expanding it in size. It grew at a remarkable pace, making his lower abdomen feel heavy and full.
When he sensed he could expand it no further, Geom U-bin released the energy from his dan-jeon into the Four Limbs Hundred Meridians. He had practiced the Ungi Haenggong before, but had merely sensed it. Now, with his meridians brimming with such fullness for the first time, it felt as though his entire body was being purified.
The pain persisted, yet it did not hinder Geom U-bin’s progression through the Ungi Haenggong.
Jang Man-dok, who had been assisting Geom U-bin’s Ungi Haenggong, was inwardly astonished. He had anticipated that the Gongcheong-seok-yu would provide substantial benefit to Geom U-bin’s internal power.
But the magnitude far exceeded his expectations.
‘Rough as it is, at this level he’ll clear a ten-year cycle without difficulty.’
Currently it was a ten-year cycle, but as continued training progressed, there was no telling how far it might extend.
That depended entirely on Geom U-bin’s aptitude.
Judging by his initial response, Geom U-bin might be walking the path of a martial arts genius the likes of which they had never before witnessed.
‘I could accelerate his progress through the Cheolhyeol Gong.’
Had Geom U-bin heard that thought, he would have voiced vehement protest.
“Thank you for all your help.”
“Sigh! I wish you’d stay longer.”
Regret was written plainly across Seo Pung-sik’s face, but since the original promise had been made from the start, he could not press the matter further.
“You’ll see me often enough—I’ll be coming to the inn anyway.”
“You’re really coming tomorrow to sell liquor?”
“Yes.”
The corners of Seo Pung-sik’s mouth sagged, deepening the lines around them.
The Ilman Gwigye contained methods for reading a person’s mood from the subtlest shifts in expression.
“Don’t worry. If the taste isn’t good, I won’t try to sell it at all.”
“Ha! What would a young thing like you know about liquor?”
“I may not know, but the people making this liquor now are the finest connoisseurs in all the world.”
“All right, all right. Bring it by and we’ll see.”
After exchanging farewells, Geom U-bin left the inn and fastened iron weights around his wrists and ankles. At first he had worn them only during his work shifts, when they weighed three and five pounds respectively, but now they had increased to six and ten pounds, and they never left him even when he returned home.
Yet Geom U-bin’s stride remained light and buoyant.
The Cheolhyeol Gong had taken root, and thanks to the efficacy of the Gongcheong-seok-yu, the depth of his internal power had transformed.
And yet what Geom U-bin was still learning remained confined to Light Step Technique and Fist Technique alone.
“The foundation of all martial arts is the Fist Technique, and without a solid foundation, one can never reach the heights of mastery.”
It was the unanimous view of all four masters.
Upon returning home, Geom U-bin found the masters gathered in the courtyard. Sales would not begin until tomorrow, but today was the day to open the liquor.
The faces of all gathered there bore unmistakable signs of tension.
Having produced hundreds and thousands of jars of liquor over the years, such anxiety seemed difficult to comprehend.
“Why do you all look like that? As if you were about to face a battle for your lives?”
“Because something just as important as life itself hangs in the balance.”
At Yeon Geum-hong’s words, everyone nodded in agreement.
“What’s at stake with the liquor?”
“It’s nothing you need to know, senior.”
Geom U-bin did not press for an explanation that clearly was reluctant to come.
“Are we opening it now?”
“Not yet. We still have half a quarter-hour.”
Yeon Geum-hong pulled Geom U-bin by the arm toward the back garden.
“Would you like to practice the Hidden Projectile Technique while we wait?”
“The Hidden Projectile Technique?”
“Yes. It shouldn’t interfere much with your Light Step and Fist Technique.”
“Why suddenly the Hidden Projectile Technique?”
“There’s nothing quite like it for emergency situations.”
“What emergency would I possibly face?”
“Starting tomorrow you’ll be traveling around selling liquor.”
The masters handled production while sales fell to Geom U-bin’s responsibility.
It was a decision made only because Geom U-bin had insisted he needed to have his own share of work.
“It’s just going around selling liquor……”
“Either way, it won’t hurt to learn it, so you will.”
Yeon Geum-hong fitted a band around Geom U-bin’s wrist, roughly four inches wide. The outer surface was black cloth, yet it was heavier than it appeared.
“This is called a Chim-hyeong-dae, and it holds forty Hidden Needles inside.”
When Yeon Geum-hong pressed the rear section of the Chim-hyeong-dae, a single needle popped out with a soft click.
“Once you become proficient, you’ll be able to release five Hidden Needles with just a wrist movement. You know the technique called Hwahwa Bisan within the Chwihwa Nakssu that you’re currently learning—the method of twisting the wrist like this to unfold it?”
After a brief demonstration, Yeon Geum-hong continued.
“The wrist movement is similar. Channel your internal power through your fingertips as if you’re shooting it, then flick your wrist like this!”
The needle that left Yeon Geum-hong’s hand buried itself more than halfway into stone, not wood.
Yeon Geum-hong spoke to the astonished Geom U-bin.
“Don’t concern yourself with power. At first, just practice hitting your target. Imagine a thread connecting your target to your fingertips. It will be much easier that way.”
Of course, it was not easy.
At first, it was difficult to understand his instruction to channel internal power through the fingertips as if launching it outward. But after practicing the Hidden Needle technique without rest for roughly a quarter hour, the technique gradually began to make sense.
Then Seo Seok-san’s voice rang out.
“Time to crack open the liquor!”

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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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