Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 65

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

#Episode 065

Je Bong-su, one of the Geom Do-ssang-hyung pair, spoke up.
“Looks like you came alone.”
“That’s right.”
“What’s your connection to Gang Seo Samak?”
“If I explain that, the story would get too long. Just wait a little longer, please.”
“You want me to simply wait on your word? I’m curious who else you’ve summoned besides Gang Seo Samak.”
The Geom Do-ssang-hyung could speak with such confidence about helpers because they possessed the certainty that they could defeat anyone.
“Only Gang Seo Samak will come. Though things may be a bit different from how they were before.”
“A Gang Seo Samak different from before. How intriguing.”
The Geom Do-ssang-hyung had always been stronger than Gang Seo Samak, more vicious than Gang Seo Samak, and crueler than Gang Seo Samak.
That truth would likely remain unchanged, eternal as law, no matter how many years passed.
“What will you do when Gang Seo Samak arrives?”
“If they kneel and beg for forgiveness, I might be lenient enough to sever only an arm and a leg.”
“Is it such a grave offense?”
Je Bong-su, who had been watching Geom U-bin intently, rolled up his sleeves and spoke.
“Since you seem eager for conversation, it looks like it’ll take some time for Gang Seo Samak to arrive. Let me ease your boredom a bit. See this scar on my forearm?”
“It’s not very large.”
“The man who gave me this wound died for it. His wife too. And the one who scarred my elbow—what happened to him? Dead as well. Along with his two children. I’d rather not lower my trousers to show you the others. Among all those who have ever wounded us, not a single one has survived. Whether it happened immediately or ten years later, anyone who harms us inevitably dies.”
“It seems Gang Seo Samak must have wounded you.”
“A wound to the heart, rather. I could have simply forgotten it, but lately I’ve found myself with unusual leisure, and old memories have begun to resurface. I heard there was much to see in Hangju, so I came touring.”
Dong Wa-seong, who had remained silent until now, opened his mouth.
“They’re here.”
Geom U-bin had already sensed the approach of Gang Seo Samak. Though slower than Geom U-bin’s perception, the fact that he could detect them at this distance meant—just as So Gi-cheon had said—he was well worthy of being called a First-class Master.
Geom U-bin stood and brushed the dust from his backside.
“Thank you for the conversation. You two are truly wicked people. I think I can convey that clearly to Gang Seo Samak.”
“Convey what?”
Before Geom U-bin could speak, Gang Seo Samak came rushing in.
“Master! Are you alright?”
In O Tong-su’s voice, which asked this while breathing hard from his full-speed run, a note of genuine concern was evident.
“O Tong-su—were you really worried about me?”
O Tong-su scratched his head with a sheepish expression.
“Well, those creatures are so vicious, after all…….”
“They do seem to be.”
“I’m sorry to have caused you trouble.”
“No. It was interesting. Rather, I’d like those vermin disposed of cleanly. Permanently. So they never spread their stench again.”
“That word…….”
Geom U-bin stepped outside and spoke.
“Mercy is something you show to people.”
All three answered in unison.
“We’ll handle it right away.”
O Tong-su’s question was directed at Geom Do-ssang-hyung.
“What brings you to seek us out?”
Je Bong-su, scanning Gang Seo Samak from head to foot, asked.
“What’s this shabby getup? Are you working as servants somewhere?”
Compared to when they had earned their reputation under the name Gang Seo Samak, their appearance was certainly subdued.
“Skip the useless remarks and state your business.”
“Fifty taels.”
Gal Ma-pyeong exhaled a thin sigh.
“I told you so. They came to collect that debt.”
The primary reason they had accepted Se-hwa’s commission was precisely this debt of fifty taels owed to Geom Do-ssang-hyung.
“With interest, it’s now around five hundred taels. Pay that, and as I told the boy, I’ll be merciful enough to sever only an arm and a leg.”
The Gang Seo Samak of old would have been tense, but now they remained utterly unmoved.
“Why don’t you just go home? And don’t come back.”
At Gal Ma-pyeong’s words, Je Bong-su, who had been wearing a flabbergasted expression, let out a short laugh.
“Is that your final word?”
“I knew you wouldn’t listen. I just wanted to say I gave you a chance.”
O Tong-su caught Gal Ma-pyeong as he stepped forward.
“What are you doing?”
“We need to settle this with them.”
“That Dong Wa-seong is the one who scarred my ribs. So it’s my turn to finish it.”
Go Seo-bang moved forward.
“I’ve taken blows to the face from these bastards. I won’t step aside for anyone.”
“What are you three doing?”
“Just wait. We’ll decide in a moment which of us fights you.”
Geom Do-ssang-hyung stood speechless.
Three against one wouldn’t be enough, yet they spoke of fighting alone. He couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
As they talked, Gang Seo Samak crouched down and drew lines on the ground—three vertical lines crisscrossing with horizontal ones in tangled confusion. A ladder drawing.
“I’m curious what made you decide on suicide.”
O Tong-su, still drawing the lines, broke into a grin.
“If all three of us fight, it’s foul play.”
“Foul play?”
“You’re simply too weak to handle all three of us.”
“Stop wasting time. Let’s begin.”
Go Seo-bang’s finger, tracing the lines, stopped at O Tong-su’s name.
“Damn!”
As O Tong-su threw both arms up, the other two sighed deeply from either side.
“It would’ve been a good chance to see how much his martial arts have improved.”
“Our levels are similar anyway. Judge through me.”
“Is that the same as fighting directly?”
“No, which is why I prefer it and you’re disappointed. Hmph, hmph, hmph……”
O Tong-su stood and waved his hand dismissively.
“Go on, then. Master must be getting bored, so do her the courtesy of some conversation.”
Go Seo-bang turned and asked.
“Are you really sure you can manage alone?”
No matter how much their martial arts had advanced, facing Geom Do-ssang-hyung single-handedly was still dangerous.
And he wasn’t even carrying a weapon.
Yet there was no trace of fear in O Tong-su’s voice as he answered.
“If I lose here, Master will kill me. So I have to win.”
“I’ll kill you before Master does.”
They left and closed the door behind them. Now only O Tong-su and Geom Do-ssang-hyung remained in the house.
“Why are two of them leaving?”
“O Tong-su alone is sufficient.”
Geom U-bin knew that wasn’t true. A one-on-one match promised victory, but two opponents might bring an outcome he hadn’t foreseen.
“Sounds like stubborn pride to me.”
Though Geom U-bin spoke with genuine concern, neither Go Seo-bang nor Gal Ma-pyeong wavered.
“We understand. But it must be done this way.”
“Why?”
“Because Geom Do-ssang-hyung is our past.”
The words were cryptic, almost riddle-like.
“If we three fought, we could kill Geom Do-ssang-hyung easily. But our past cannot be easy. If it were too simple, we’d convince ourselves it was nothing.”
“You want to painfully extract the nail our past drove in so easily?”
“The scar will remain regardless.”
At last, the sound of fighting erupted from inside the house.
Geom U-bin watched as Go Seo-bang and Gal Ma-pyeong’s bodies trembled.
In one sense, it was foolish—wagering their lives simply to confront past mistakes head-on was surely reckless.
But Geom U-bin found himself wanting to cheer for Gang Seo Samak’s recklessness.
If O Tong-su fell today, the other two would have to carry that wound their whole lives. But if O Tong-su won, not only he but all three of them could shed one layer of their burden.
Thud!
The wall shook as though it might collapse at any moment.
The chaotic sound of blades cutting through air meant O Tong-su hadn’t yet subdued a single opponent.
Just as Geom U-bin longed to rush into that house, so did Go Seo-bang and Gal Ma-pyeong. Just as Geom U-bin’s fingernails dug deep into his palms, so did theirs. Yet just as Geom U-bin remained still, so did they.
O Tong-su’s fight and their vigil were both unbearably difficult.
Occasionally, the sound of someone crashing into the wall made all three of them flinch.
The wall crumbled, one section of roof collapsed, yet the three figures inside remained visible only as dim shadows.
‘This isn’t good.’
Geom U-bin had positioned himself to leap in at any moment.
In a prolonged fight, the disadvantaged party would inevitably be the one standing alone against many.
Go Seo-bang and Gal Ma-pyeong, whom he’d glimpsed, were adopting stances similar to Geom U-bin’s.
Then came a sharp crack—and the dilapidated house finally collapsed.
That three first-class masters could fight in such a ramshackle place and it had held together this long was itself remarkable.
The three men advanced slowly through the dust-choked wreckage. Inside the ruins, nothing moved.
The fact that even Geom Do-ssang-hyung lay motionless meant the fight was over.
“Tong-su!”
Go Seo-bang and Gal Ma-pyeong, neither waiting for the other, hurled debris aside.
As they shifted walls and lifted pillars, a board beneath the rubble shifted.
They all stopped moving, waiting for ‘someone’ to emerge from under the wreckage.
“You bastards—do you want to watch your friend die crushed under a ten-pound plank?”
At O Tong-su’s voice, the two men rushed forward and swept the boards away.
There was O Tong-su.
Covered in billowing dust and drenched in blood, he was nevertheless alive.
They seized him from both sides and carried him out of the rubble. In the meantime, Geom U-bin located Geom Do-ssang-hyung’s presence.
Without movement or breath, the Twins would be lying as corpses somewhere in the wreckage.
“Damn it—those cursed bastards have given me another scar.”
“Keep your mouth shut!”
Go Seo-bang, who had dashed to the river, returned with water-soaked cloth and cleaned O Tong-su’s wounds.
He bore six wounds across his arms, legs, shoulders, and thighs.
None of the injured areas were vital, and fortunately the cuts were shallow. They had to use not only cloth but also O Tong-su’s blood-stained trousers to bind the wounds.
Only after confirming there was no threat to his life did they all exhale in relief.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk! If you lack the skill, you should step back—why throw yourself into this mess?”
“You idiots, you should be grateful I’m the one who fought. If it were any of you, there’d be no chance at all.”
“A blind sword took a cut from him, yet his mouth still works. Can he even stand?”
“Of course.”
Big words, but his movements were quite labored.
“Are you a snail? Get on my back.”
O Tong-su gave Gal Ma-pyeong’s extended back a hearty slap.
“Rather than ride on your back, I’ll crawl. Ugh! The wound in my arm—”
Because of that stubborn streak, they eventually made their slow way toward Oseong Jang-won.
“Master, just go on ahead. This one doesn’t look like he’ll die before the day’s out.”
“No. Let’s take a stroll with the disciples instead. Come to think of it, has it ever happened before—us all walking like this together?”
O Tong-su bowed his head.
“I’m sorry for such a shameful display.”
“Don’t be. I’ve come to respect you. It’s no easy thing to accept the errors of the past with your whole body.”
“It’s merely desperation. The past cannot be changed, after all. Perhaps one day the sins of our past that we cannot bear will come calling. In truth… that frightens me.”
The past that had arrived today, fortunately, they could face with confidence.
But Gang Seo Samak surely harbored a past before whom he must kneel.
A past for which only forgiveness could be sought.
Such a past likely existed not just for Gang Seo Samak, but for the Hyeolpung Saja as well.
What would happen if such a past came to find him?
Without it standing directly before him, he could not even imagine it.
That was why, even though O Tong-su alone had defeated the Geom Do-ssang-hyung who had once been stronger than all of Gang Seo Samak combined, he felt no joy.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————