Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 71

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

#071

Noh Dae-sul let out a harsh laugh.
“Bill the Sect? You really think the Sect would just hand over money? You don’t know much about how we work, do you?”
“If word spreads through the Murim that the Sect Master of the Sect broke into someone’s house at night to steal, destroyed property, and fled—what would the heroes of the Murim say?”
“St-stealing? I only took a little liquor! But I suppose that is stealing, isn’t it?”
“The Sect Rules must have theft listed at the top, don’t they? Begging is the beggar’s trade, not stealing. You established that rule as one of utmost importance to protect hungry disciples from temptation—and you’ve broken it. So which of your disciples will follow that rule going forward?”
Noh Dae-sul, sharp-tongued as he was, found no opening to exploit against such sound reasoning delivered point by point.
In moments like these, acting true to his beggar nature and throwing caution to the wind was best.
“Fine! Bill the Sect and spread the word through the Murim! Then I’ll go spreading it around town that this man called Hyeolpung Saja here at Oseong Jang-won is actually the Bloodwind Four Lions, and that So Gi-cheon is the Bloodwind’s elder brother!”
Naturally, this threat should have worked.
But Geom U-bin didn’t blink an eye.
“By all means. You should also consider what happens after news of the disciples’ whereabouts spreads through the Murim.”
No matter how fearsome the Bloodwind Four Lions were, a few people with old grudges would find their way here.
It would start with a few, but those few would tangle with others, their numbers would grow, and eventually a massive, blood-soaked avalanche would come crashing down on Hangju. The outcome was inevitable.
Do Pyeong-su spoke.
“The Sect Master means to stir up bloodwind in the Murim. He carried on about being the final bastion of justice in the Murim, but it seems that’s not quite the case.”
Yeon Geum-hong picked up the thread.
“That’s what all these beggar associations are like. They make trouble begging, and when they get caught stealing, they resort to threats.”
“Th-the threats came from you first—”
“And I’m not ashamed to be Ma Gun-ja’s disciple. On the contrary, I’m proud of it. Becoming the elder brother of the Bloodwind Four Lions is the greatest fortune of my life. I wanted to tell the whole world, but I’ve been holding back because of the disciples. If you spread the word for me, I’m grateful.”
When the gambit he’d been certain would work failed, Noh Dae-sul’s shoulders sagged.
“I truly have no money. What kind of beggar has nothing but an empty begging bowl?”
His threat having failed, he switched to pleading, but Geom U-bin’s resolve didn’t waver.
“If I demand immediate repayment of three thousand eight hundred taels—that’s a vast sum—then I’m the thief. Well, the thief is you, Sect Master. How many days would you need?”
“H-how many days?”
“Four days. If you don’t repay by then, I’ll bill the Sect.”
“How’s a beggar supposed to scrape together that kind of money in four days?”
“If you can’t manage it in four days, you’ll have to manage it somehow anyway. You’re the Sect Master, after all. Ah! Who should I bill for the sleep I lost tonight?”
Geom U-bin stretched and returned to his room.
Noh Dae-sul watched him disappear into the darkness, then turned to the Bloodwind Four Lions.
“Tell me—did that kid somehow find leverage over you all? Is that why you’re serving as his disciples?”

***

“Master! Master!”
O Tong-su rushed toward Jang Man-dok with a sword in hand.
“In the Bangang Sword Technique Three Forms—Returning Dragon and Tiger, sir. When you move like this and transition to this next movement, the motion feels strangely broken. Why is that?”
Jang Man-dok silently accepted the blade and demonstrated the form slowly.
As he moved his elbows deliberately, explaining through his body why the motion felt broken, O Tong-su nodded vigorously.
“Ah! I understand now. Thank you! Your disciple will continue training!”
O Tong-su bowed deeply and hurried back to the training ground; Jang Man-dok went on his way.
“Good heavens! Old Jang! I told you to rest if your back was hurting—why did you come out?”
Go Seo-bang rushed to the seventy-year-old man with exaggerated concern.
“My back is just slightly strained, Steward.”
“Still, at your age you must be careful.”
“A worker must earn his monthly wage. Where else would someone my age find such generous employment? I must work harder, not less.”
“Please don’t speak like that. If the Lord hears it, he’ll feel troubled. The Lord has said I’m not to let you go until you’re old and ready to rest. Go on now, get some rest. If he sees you working while unwell, he’ll give me a severe scolding.”
Go Seo-bang led the old man toward the gate.
Noh Dae-sul, sitting in the pavilion by the pond, shook his head slowly.
“The Bloodwind Four Lions teaching a disciple, and Gang Seo Samak turning into such a good person? I can’t make sense of what miracle brought this about.”
Noh Dae-sul had decided to stay at Oseong Jang-won for the four days Geom U-bin had given him.
“If I’d just come and asked for liquor from the start, this would’ve been simple. All this trouble for nothing.”
Looking at the atmosphere of Oseong Jang-won, it seemed it might work out.
In truth, when he’d broken in to steal liquor, he’d already thought it through.
If he wasn’t caught, he’d get to drink the Saegiuju—which was fine. And even if he was caught, it would be all right, since there was an old karmic bond; at the very least, the Bloodwind Four Lions wouldn’t harm him.
When he faced the Bloodwind Four Lions, he wanted to understand why they were living in hiding here at the Oseong Jang-won Estate, and to discern whether they were the same Bloodwind Four Lions from before, or if they had changed for some reason.
That was the question—whether they were still who they used to be, or if something had transformed them.
But somehow, as days passed, he found himself with four full days to observe the Bloodwind Four Lions.
‘They’ve definitely changed, I think.’
Not just in their outward behavior—their very eyes were different.
When they’d been searching for the missing Ma Gun-ja, the Bloodwind Four Lions had emanated a ghostly aura from their gaze.
Whenever they lowered their voices, even Noh Dae-sul had to hold his breath.
But now, the Bloodwind Four Lions resembled nothing so much as a middle-aged—and rather disagreeable—brewery owner.
In a way, the epithet “Hangju Selection” that had been attached to them suited them rather well.
“So you’re really just settling down here and living quietly?”
Just then Gal Ma-pyeong came carrying a teapot.
“Since you said not to serve spirits in broad daylight, I’ve brought tea instead.”
“Good. Thank you. I saw your swordsmanship last night—it was quite formidable. I think Gangseо Samak is underestimated in the Murim.”
Gal Ma-pyeong waved his hand with an embarrassed expression.
“Not at all. Back then I was nothing but an ignorant thunder-struck fool. Only after meeting my masters did I become something like a proper person.”
“The Bloodwind Four Lions seem to teach their disciples well. What about Geom U-bin?”
“Why do you ask, Lord of the Sect?”
“A man well past fifty taking a thirteen-year-old child as his master—surely there’s some bitterness in that, isn’t there?”
“You wretched beggar…….”
In an instant, the once-amiable Gal Ma-pyeong’s expression shifted to the face that came to mind when one thought of Gangseо Samak.
“If you don’t want to be treated as a guest, then leave.”
“What did I do…….”
“If you’re a guest, you should show respect to your host. If you spit in your host’s face under his own roof, that’s a challenge. Isn’t it?”
“I wasn’t insulting Geom U-bin…….”
“You called her a child! If the Lord didn’t know who she was, that would be one thing, but for someone who knows to call her a child—that’s an insult! Are you nothing but a sect master? Bah! Just—get out!”
Gal Ma-pyeong turned and took back the tea he had brought.
“Now really, taking back what you’ve already given is a bit petty, isn’t it?”
Noh Dae-sul, who was treated as a lord wherever he went in the Gudaemun Faction or among the Five Great Families, now found himself at the Oseong Jang-won Estate being robbed even of the tea he’d been served.
A pigeon flying overhead even dropped its droppings on his foot.
“That damned pigeon!”
Looking at it, it seemed to be a carrier pigeon, though he couldn’t fathom why the Oseong Jang-won Estate kept such a thing.
Yeon Geum-hong approached with a laughing face, apparently having witnessed the pigeon’s gift.
“The great Lord of the Sect comes to the Oseong Jang-won Estate and loses all his dignity.”
“Why exactly do you all serve that chi—I mean, why do you all pledge your lives in loyalty to your elder brother?”
“Because he’s worth it. You probably want to ask if that’s possible from a thirteen-year-old, but if you spend just four days with us, you’ll understand.”
“I suppose I’ll know by the time I leave this estate.”
“If you keep acting like this, you won’t leave. Being used as kindling in the smithy back in the garden won’t stop at a threat.”
Noh Dae-sul quietly posed a question he’d been too hesitant to ask before.
“What became of Ma Gun-ja?”
It took quite a while before her answer came.
“He passed away.”
Though he’d suspected as much, hearing it said aloud made it difficult to truly accept.
The death of the greatest master under heaven, who had the Bloodwind Four Lions as his servants, left a strange ripple in Noh Dae-sul’s chest.
“When Master passed, the gift he left us was Elder Brother. To be honest…….”
Yeon Geum-hong whispered.
“I prefer Elder Brother to Master.”
“Surely you don’t have a taste for children…….”
“Do you want to be used as kindling!”
“It seems Geom U-bin has a certain charisma that draws people. My own disciple can’t resist her either.”
“Your eye for people is better than your master’s.”
“You’ve all truly changed. To be honest, the epithet ‘Bloodwind Four Lions’ never suited you. Even before, you weren’t truly wicked.”
“What? Is that what the Lord of the Sect thinks of us?”
“Your master Ma Gun-ja had the character “Gentleman” in his name for a reason. You all weren’t so different from him—just more fierce, more relentless, unforgiving, and heavy-handed…….”
“Wait!”
“You never committed unjust killings.”
“If someone didn’t need to die but you killed them anyway, that’s an unjust killing.”
“Oh! Such words from Minachal’s lips! It seems my time to die has come.”
“Whenever I want to kill someone, I always think of Elder Brother. How would he have done it? And so killings have become far less frequent. Not just less—almost nonexistent. So sometimes it feels dull.”
“You truly do regard Geom U-bin as your Elder Brother.”
Yeon Geum-hong rose as she spoke.
“Just repay the debt.”
Noh Dae-sul was an exceedingly busy man.
If one were to name the three busiest people in Murim, the Sect Master of the Sect would be among them for the past hundred years. Yet Noh Dae-sul set aside all his affairs and remained at Oseong Jang-won.
It wasn’t because he couldn’t repay the money.
No matter how poor they called him, he could procure not three thousand eight hundred taels, but thirty-eight thousand taels on the spot.
But he wanted to observe Hyeolpung Saja and Geom U-bin a little longer.
So when tea was offered, he drank it; when wine was brought, he drank that too, passing the hours this way.
“Please, eat!”
The food was arranged on a large round table.
There was a rotating section in the center of the table, and nine chairs were positioned around it.
The spread was always a feast, as though they lived by a family motto of never sparing on meals.
The sight of them dining in warm fellowship resembled the gathering of a small martial sect.
Jang Man-dok reached for the rotating center section to bring the fish forward.
Then Do Pyeong-su grabbed the turning table.
“You’re going for the eye, aren’t you? That’s mine today.”
As Jang Man-dok exerted force, Do Pyeong-su matched it.
“You’ll break it.”
At Geom U-bin’s words, Jang Man-dok stretched out his hand.
Summoning the Void Grasping Technique, the fish left its plate and was pulled toward Jang Man-dok.
Of course, Do Pyeong-su was not one to sit idle.
Do Pyeong-su unfurled his own Void Grasping Technique, and the fish halted in mid-air.
Had either of them miscalculated even slightly, the fish would have crumbled to powder, yet it hung in perfect suspension, trembling faintly.
But then the chopsticks of Seo Seok-san, who stood nearest the fish, moved.
Snap!
The fish eye, plucked by the chopsticks, went straight into Seo Seok-san’s mouth.
“You bald rogue! Playing dirty!”
“Grrrrr!”
“Ha ha ha ha!”
Laughter burst forth, and food tumbled from their mouths, but no one said a word of reproach.
Noh Dae-sul joined in their laughter and found himself thinking.
‘These are the Hyeolpung Saja? People will think I’ve lost my wits.’

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