Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 67

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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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#067

Click!
Though the well-oiled hinges made almost no sound, it thundered in O Tong-su’s ears.
‘Don’t panic! I’m just checking if Master is here!’
O Tong-su crossed the threshold and did one final check.
“Master. O Tong-su is entering.”
No response, even to that final summons. The room was empty, as expected.
Geom U-bin’s chamber was as austere as his character—a bed, a desk, a chair. One table and six chairs. Books were what dominated: they lined three walls of the room.
There wasn’t much to look at.
The box sat on Geom U-bin’s desk, quiet and unassuming.
It was exactly as he’d found it among the rubble, with no lock in sight. All it would take was lifting the lid to glimpse Geom U-bin’s most intimate secret.
O Tong-su found himself drawn toward it as if pulled by invisible hands.
‘Just open the lid, that’s all!’
‘No! You can’t spy on Master’s secrets! Have you lost your mind?’
‘Curiosity is human nature. I’m just following my instinct.’
‘Master didn’t try to pry into our secrets! Of course we should respect his privacy!’
Good and evil clashed in his head until it throbbed with pain. And yet his hand was already reaching toward the box on the desk.
The distinctive texture of wood brushed against his fingertips.
In that instant, O Tong-su’s fingers recoiled as if he’d touched ice.
“I can’t do this! What am I even trying to do!”
Barely coming to his senses, O Tong-su hurried from the room.
His heart hammered as if he’d committed some terrible deed, though he’d looked at nothing.
“Even murder wouldn’t make me shake like this.”
O Tong-su—muttering as if he’d never taken a life in his entire existence—found Geom U-bin in the Blacksmith Workshop, overseeing repairs.
O Tong-su rushed forward and bowed deeply.
“Master, Do Seo-bang and Jang Seo-bang are looking for you in the Medicine Hall.”
His excessive politeness betrayed the incomplete crime he’d nearly committed.
“All right. I understand.”
Geom U-bin replied, then turned to Gong Seong-tak.
“You think you can do it?”
“Of course! Don’t worry. I’ll make you the sturdiest safe in the world.”
‘A safe?’
A safe to hold the box full of secrets, undoubtedly.
O Tong-su, stewing silently, grew so distracted during training that Jang Man-dok kicked his rear five times.
After dinner, as they stepped outside, Gal Ma-pyeong asked him.
“Something on your mind?”
“S-something?”
“That’s what I’m asking you. Something!”
Go Seo-bang chimed in.
“You’ve been off all day.”
“Not all day—since noon, more like.”
“So you admit something’s been wrong?”
O Tong-su let out a long sigh.
“Master’s got me so distracted I can’t focus.”
“Master? Why?”
O Tong-su glanced around and lowered his voice.
“That box of his, the one holding his secret. Aren’t you curious about it?”
The moment those words left his mouth, both their eyes gleamed.
“So you feel it too! I’ve been racking my brain about it—thought my head would split.”
“I’ve got a headache… and look here, I think I’m getting alopecia.”
“What do you think Master’s secret in that box could be?”
“Whatever it is, it’s got to be important. Earlier, I saw Master order a safe from the leader of the Chinjeon Il Inmun.”
“A safe?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
“How important could this secret be if it needs a safe?”
But no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t anticipate anything. He hadn’t lived as long as Gang Seo Samak, and he was only thirteen this year.
What sort of secret could a thirteen-year-old possibly be hiding?
“Wait! Could it be…!”
The two of them turned their attention to Gal Ma-pyeong.
“Could it be what?”
“Isn’t Ma Gun-ja the master of our masters?”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
“You idiots! You should’ve thought of it instantly at the mention of that name.”
At Gal Ma-pyeong’s rebuke, something flickered through the minds of the two.
“Ma Gun-ja’s Secret Martial Arts Manual!”
“Exactly! What other secret could our master have? He said it was the most precious thing to him—there’s no higher possibility than that, right?”
Ma Gun-ja, the supreme martial artist of all under Heaven.
He had been called that even before Gang Seo Samak became a Murim Martial Artist, and it was possible that even after a hundred years, no martial artist stronger than Ma Gun-ja would ever appear.
The Secret Manual of such a man could be nothing but precious to anyone, not just to Geom U-bin.
“What if the box really contains Ma Gun-ja’s manual?”
At Gal Ma-pyeong’s words, Go Seo-bang’s expression froze.
“What do you mean what if? Surely you’re not coveting our master’s treasure?”
“A-am I crazy? It’s just so incredible that I…”
Go Seo-bang spoke in a firm voice.
“Don’t any of you get strange ideas! If you mess around carelessly, our masters won’t leave a bone of you to bury.”
If the box truly contained Ma Gun-ja’s Secret Manual and one of them were caught coveting it, there would be no forgiveness.
“Remember: greed invites calamity.”

***

Crack!
“Ugh!”
Do Pyeong-su’s shout fell upon Gal Ma-pyeong, who had grabbed his head and collapsed.
“You wretch! You’re fumbling the Foot Technique you perfected a month ago—what’s the point!”
Crack!
“Ugh!”
Go Seo-bang also crumpled down.
“Have you invented some new Sword Technique? Your Swift Blade is rippling like waves—what are you trying to do with it!”
O Tong-su, whose wound on the back of his head hadn’t healed, took the blow on his backside and tumbled forward.
Seeing Gang Seo Samak in this state, Do Pyeong-su clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk! In just the few days we left the Estate, you’ve gotten soft as pudding. Don’t even think about breathing through your nose until you do this properly!”
Gang Seo Samak was utterly exhausted.
With mouths reeking of sweetness as if they’d been sucking honey, they had to crawl on their hands and knees back to their room.
“This is entirely…… because of you lot.”
At Go Seo-bang’s words, Gal Ma-pyeong and O Tong-su wanted to protest but lacked even the strength for that.
“You also had ill intent in your heart…… which is why you’ve been waffling all day, haven’t you?”
“It’s not ill intent—it’s curiosity. We’re not even sure if Ma Gun-ja’s manual is actually in that box.”
“If we just opened it, we’d know for certain.”
Go Seo-bang questioned O Tong-su, who had spoken.
“Open it? If Ma Gun-ja’s Secret Manual is inside, do you really think you could just close it and leave?”
“Do I look like a thief who’d steal our master’s treasure?”
“There’s a reason they say greed upon seeing objects leads to vice. Please, let’s forget about our master’s treasure. If we keep training like today, we’ll ruin our health.”
“You’re right. It’s not something we should be interested in.”
But curiosity wasn’t something that vanished just because one decided it should.
The box drifted through his dreams, and O Tong-su even dreamed that Ma Gun-ja’s manual was inside it.
After breakfast, as they headed to the Training Grounds, Do Pyeong-su’s voice calling out to Geom U-bin reached them.
“Master! Come to the Medicine Hall at once! It’s time for your second dose of herbal tonic!”
“All right! Oh, I left the Muk Cheol Shugap behind in my room.”
“If you miss the time, the medicine loses its potency! Ah! Those three just arrived! Any of you—go fetch the Muk Cheol Shugap from the Master’s room!”
In that instant, Gang Seo Samak froze.
An official opportunity to enter Geom U-bin’s room had come. For O Tong-su, it was the second time.
The gazes of the three turned to each other as they watched Geom U-bin and Do Pyeong-su disappear around the building.
“Who…… should go?”
Go Seo-bang stepped forward.
“I will.”
“Why you?”
“If either of you two goes alone, you might cause trouble.”
Gal Ma-pyeong asked.
“Then what about you? Can you say you didn’t dream about the Magistrate’s box last night?”
“That was just because I thought about it too much.”
“The fact that you thought about it at all means you’re not free from greed upon seeing objects.”
“Then all three of us should go together!”
In the end, they decided to go together.
As they set out toward Geom U-bin’s quarters, Se-hwa called out to them.
“Where are you disciples off to?”
No matter how many times he heard Se-hwa address them as disciples, it never sounded quite natural to him.
“To get the Muk Cheol Shugap from the Magistrate’s room.”
“The three of you going to fetch it? Did the Magistrate make the Muk Cheol Shugap weigh a thousand jin?”
“Whether three go or ten go, it’s none of the Magistrate’s concern, is it?”
“So the Gang Seo Samak has grown to ten members. The very thought is dreadful.”
Se-hwa left behind an unfunny jest and hurried away. O Tong-su’s sigh was followed by Go Seo-bang’s rebuke.
“Sigh…”
“Why are you sighing with relief? Did you do something wrong? Let’s hurry back.”
From the moment they entered the building where Geom U-bin’s quarters were located, even their footsteps became cautious.
Go Seo-bang, grasping the door handle, spoke.
“Don’t think any strange thoughts.”
“You should worry about yourself.”
The moment the door opened, all three of them looked toward the desk. But there was no box to be seen.
“What? It was there yesterday?”
“He must have hidden it somewhere.”
“Where in this room is there to hide something?”
There was only one door in the room—the entrance and exit. Of course, there was one place that wouldn’t stand out if you looked around.
Gal Ma-pyeong picked up the Muk Cheol Shugap resting on the table.
Just wearing it for a day would feel like your wrists might break from its weight.
“Let’s go.”
As Go Seo-bang turned to leave, the Muk Cheol Shugap in Gal Ma-pyeong’s hands slipped and fell to the floor.
Thud!
The sound was louder than expected, and all three of them flinched.
“Oh no! What a mistake!”
As Gal Ma-pyeong picked up the fallen Muk Cheol Shugap, he quickly glanced under the bed. The box was there.
O Tong-su, catching on to Gal Ma-pyeong’s intent, asked.
“Is it there?”
“Yes.”
If it had been just the two of them, they might have seen the box under the bed.
“Let’s go.”
In Go Seo-bang’s glance, there was no room for compromise.
‘Damn… to miss such a perfect opportunity!’
They finished their delivery of the Muk Cheol Shugap without causing any trouble.
Unable to settle their restless minds, there was no chance their training would go well.
The morning dragged on with the cries of the Gang Seo Samak and the shouts of Hyeolpung Saja filling the air.
The three members of Gang Seo Samak, whom Do Pyeong-su had forced to do headstands, came to Yeon Geum-hong.
Se-hwa, ungovernerd by curiosity about Geom U-bin’s box, followed Yeon Geum-hong’s teachings as she normally did.
“Ho ho ho! At this rate, our Se-hwa will become the greatest master among the disciples in Hangju!”
“Blast those wretches! Where exactly are their minds during training? They’ve been like this ever since yesterday!”
Se-hwa, catching her breath for a moment, spoke.
“The disciples all rushed off together to fetch the Magistrate’s Muk Cheol Shugap. Something’s definitely strange about them.”
“All three of them?”
“Yes. They looked like they were heading off to battle.”
Do Pyeong-su, watching the groaning Gang Seo Samak, called the three over.
“You three, get over here right now!”
The moment he finished speaking, Gang Seo Samak scrambled up and stood in perfect attention before Hyeolpung Saja.
“Kneel.”
Crack!
Their kneel was swift as well.
Do Pyeong-su gazed quietly at Gang Seo Samak.
Merely receiving that gaze felt to Gang Seo Samak as though his body were sinking into the earth itself.
“From this moment, I will tolerate no lies. You forfeit the right to silence. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me. What is the reason for your recent distraction?”
The atmosphere grew suffocating.
There could not be a single person in this world capable of enduring long the atmosphere that the Bloodwind Four Lions had created.
In the end, Go Seo-bang, unable to bear it much longer, opened his mouth.
“It is because of your treasure box.”
At that answer, the Bloodwind Four Lions grew bewildered.
“A treasure box? What treasure box?”
“The one you picked up from the rubble?”
At Se-hwa’s question, the Bloodwind Four Lions’ gaze shifted toward her.
“What in heaven are you talking about?”
Se-hwa recounted to the Bloodwind Four Lions the story of when Geom U-bin had found the box.
“You said it was treasure, and when you told us it was a secret, we could not help but be curious.”
The Bloodwind Four Lions’ eyes turned back to Gang Seo Samak.
“Have you looked inside the box?”

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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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