Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 84

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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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#084

The moment Geom U-bin stepped out of the room the next morning, the truth was written plain on his face.
“Ma’am… Yeon… Master…”
Yeon Geum-hong pulled him close, cradling him as though he might shatter at any moment.
“Don’t worry. No matter what it takes, we’ll make this right.”
What was commonly called the Stone Woman affliction in Yeon Geum-hong had manifested in Geom U-bin as something far more cruel.
Hair could fall out and regrow, or not—men lost their hair every day without the world ending. U-bin would still be striking even with his head shaved bare.
A slow mind was merely an inconvenience one learned to live with. Do Pyeong-su had managed all these years with his limitations; U-bin would find his way.
A stammer could be borne. It was better than muteness. But this—the lower body—this was unbearable.
To live out a lifetime as a eunuch, never knowing a woman’s embrace, never fathering an heir—that wasn’t living at all.
“Ma’am… Yeon… Master… I’ll keep this secret from the other disciples.”
That he still thought of her, of his shame and fear, when his own world had shattered—it broke her. Tears streamed down her face.
‘I’ll fix this side effect for him, even if it costs me my life.’

***

“Lord! I need to speak with you—” Gwak Bong’s voice cut off as a blow struck the crown of her head, and she crumpled to her knees.
She gasped in pain, blinking back stars.
“Quiet,” Gal Ma-pyeong said, his voice flat.
Gwak Bong scowled up at him, rubbing her scalp. “Why’d you hit me? What did I do?”
“The mood around this estate is like a funeral.”
“What for?”
“Something’s happened to Lord Geom.”
“What kind of something?”
“The details escape me, but he and Master Yeon both look like they’re wearing iron masks. Right now, even shattering a wine bottle might get someone’s head lopped off.”
Geom U-bin had not left his room in two days. The Bloodwind Four Lions had spent the entire time huddled in conference, their heads bent together.
But the heavy mood had not lifted, which meant the problem was far from solved.
“Why don’t you just ask him what’s wrong?”
“You ask him.”
“So your courage runs that thin?”
Gwak Bong disappeared inside. Within moments, she reappeared, tiptoeing backward with barely a sound.
“That… that aura in there. What’s wrong with it? I could barely breathe getting close to him.”
“You couldn’t get close enough to ask anything worth asking. Why are you here?”
“The Triad’s making moves. I came to consult with Lord Geom.”
Gal Ma-pyeong had caught wind of the situation already.
“So the Johwang Sega dragged the Cheolhyeol Faction into it?”
“Yes. We sent the first one packing, but they’re not the type to back off so easily. I wanted to know how far we should go.”
“If you went all-out, could you handle it alone?”
“It’s not impossible if I had to, but…”
She trailed off. At least she had the sense to know her place.
“Right now, Lord Geom and Master Yeon have their minds on other things. We’ll settle this ourselves. It’s nothing we can’t manage.”
“But if it escalates into open war with the Cheolhyeol Faction…”
“Scared?”
“Not scared. With the three captains, me, and you, five of us should be plenty.”
“Leave Sang Nam-jae out of it. The man’s a new father—keep him away from needless danger.”
“Then when do I get my turn to prove myself?”
“Startled me!”
Turning, Gal Ma-pyeong spotted Sang Nam-jae perched just an arm’s length away, silent as a ghost.
“For someone trained in silent movement, you could at least give warning when you appear.”
“Old habit. Either way, I’m fighting.”
“Get your wife’s permission first.”
As if summoned, Go Shin-ji emerged, a sleeping child cradled in her arms.
“Honey, I think I need to fight these people called the Cheolhyeol Faction. Is that all right with you?”
“Why would you need to fight them?”

“They’re enemies of Oseong Jang-won. I told him to sit this one out because he’s a new father.”
“There’s nothing more shameless than idle living without earning your keep. We have to pull our weight.”
“You heard that, didn’t you?”
“Well, I’ve no grounds to object anymore.”
“I’m going to kill every last one of them.”
“Tsk! Watch your tongue around the lady and the child. And if anyone from Oseong Jang-won goes around murdering willy-nilly, the Lord will have our heads.”
“Just joking.”
A shoe flew through the air and struck Sang Nam-jae square between the shoulders. Go Shin-ji, who’d hurled it, spoke up.
“I told you not to make jokes like that.”
Sang Nam-jae, who’d spent his entire life as a fugitive, had no gift for making others laugh.
In a life on the run where death hovered at every turn, he’d sometimes attempt what he called a joke, hoping to draw even a smile from Go Shin-ji—but he’d never once succeeded.
Gal Ma-pyeong patted his shoulder in consolation.
“Give up on what you should give up on.”

***

“I will never give up.”
At Do Pyeong-su’s declaration, Geom U-bin nodded, but the light of hope was steadily draining from his face.
“Please believe in us and wait, my lord.”
Do Pyeong-su had come meaning to offer comfort, but Geom U-bin’s sullen demeanor only deepened his own despondency.
The Bloodwind Four Lions gathered in the Pond Pavilion sat in silence for a long while.
“Should we just eliminate your lord’s martial arts entirely?”
Everyone jolted at Do Pyeong-su’s words.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“All of your lord’s side effects come from his martial arts, don’t they? So if we eliminate the martial arts, the side effects might disappear too, right?”
It wasn’t impossible in theory. But deliberately crippling Geom U-bin’s martial arts for that possibility seemed far too extreme.
Seo Seok-san spoke as if in pain.
“That’s a last resort.”
Yeon Geum-hong sprang to her feet.
“A last resort? You’re actually considering such a foolish approach?”
“I’ve suffered my whole life just because of this bald head. You might find it amusing, but for me this is a curse beyond compare. And your lord doesn’t have just one side effect—he’s been burdened with three cursed afflictions. Would it truly bring him joy to become the greatest master under heaven carrying all that weight, instead of just the greatest of the age?”
Yeon Geum-hong didn’t bother to correct her to four.
“I’d take an ordinary man with a full head of hair, sharp wits, and clear speech over the greatest master under heaven any day. I’ll stake my life on that.”
With impotence piled on top of everything else, the scales had tipped decisively in one direction.
It was Yeon Geum-hong who broke the silence that followed.
“The last resort might be the only resort.”
No one disagreed—they’d all exhausted hundreds of methods trying to find a cure before giving up.
“If we do have to eliminate your lord’s martial arts, who’s going to do it?”
At Seo Seok-san’s question, naturally no one stepped forward. Who could want to commit such a terrible act?
“Don’t try to draw straws. I won’t do it, even if it kills me.”
Do Pyeong-su made his declaration.
“Damn it, I know I’m being selfish, but I won’t do it either! How could I—how could I destroy your lord’s martial arts—I’d sooner erase my own.”
If sacrificing his own martial arts could cure Geom U-bin’s side effects, the Bloodwind Four Lions would do it a hundred times over.
“The sooner the better. We all know we can’t cure your lord’s condition. Dragging this out only prolongs his suffering.”
Seo Seok-san’s words sounded cruel, but they reflected the truth.
“M-Master! M-Mistress!”
Geom U-bin came running toward them, his expression highly agitated.
“My lord! What’s wrong? Has another symptom appeared?”
At Seo Seok-san’s question, Geom U-bin shook his head and unfolded the blank paper he’d brought. His stutter was so severe that writing was faster than speech.
―I know how to cure my side effects.
“How is that possible?”
―Didn’t Master have the same side effects as the rest of us disciples?
“No, she didn’t. Even after all those years in prison, she still has far fuller hair than I do.”
“Her mind was sharp as ever too. You can tell just from the fact that she chose you as her first disciple.”
―Why didn’t Master develop those side effects?
“That’s what we’ve wondered. We all learned the martial arts from her.”
―Perhaps Master overcame the side effects somehow.
“How?”
―Through martial arts. If I become as strong as Master, these side effects might vanish.
It was hope, though hope with scant likelihood. After all, the side effects came from martial arts in the first place. And there were only two examples: Hwa Jeok-san and the Bloodwind Four Lions.
While the Bloodwind Four Lions suffered from side effects, the other one, Hwa Jeok-san, lived without any complications until his death.
Therefore, the conclusion that what Hwa Jeok-san possessed was a remedy to cure the side effects seemed sound.
―If you surpass this current level, the side effects will disappear.
Seo Seok-san, thinking it over carefully, was the first to brighten.
“It’s certainly possible.”
Yeon Geum-hong readily joined in Seo Seok-san’s optimism.
“That’s right. Every martial art has its obstacles, and this is yours. Once you overcome it, everything will resolve itself.”
In truth, the odds were perhaps fifty-fifty, but the Bloodwind Four Lions lent their full weight to Geom U-bin’s conclusion.
―From today on, I’ll devote myself entirely to training in the Underground Training Chamber.
“We’ll also do everything we can to elevate your martial arts as quickly as possible.”
Thus Geom U-bin’s second seclusion training was decided.

***

“Let’s start by gathering the spiritual medicines from the Man-bo Chonglam.”
Seo Seok-san picked up on Do Pyeong-su’s words.
“We need to scrape together every spiritual medicine we can find, not just from the Man-bo Chonglam. We can’t settle for second-rate—Ice Crystals, Fire Crystals, Thousand-Year He Shou Wu, Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, and if we can find them, Internal Elixirs from spiritual creatures too.”
Yeon Geum-hong spoke.
“Then let’s divide up the work. Since Ma-o-ryang was Do Pyeong-su’s charge from the start, you find the spiritual medicines listed in the Man-bo Chonglam. Seok-san, ask around among the hunters of famous mountains and look into spiritual creatures that might have Internal Elixirs, and I’ll get the Ice Crystal.”
“An Ice Crystal? You mean that Ice Crystal, the Northern Ice Palace’s greatest treasure?”
“Yes. Eun Bi-yeon probably knows where it is.”
“It must be in the Northern Ice Palace, obviously.”
Seo Seok-san’s remark drew a bitter smile from Yeon Geum-hong.
“You think that girl only taught him martial arts?”
“Surely not the Ice Crystal too?”
“When a woman falls for a man, that’s what happens.”
Jang Man-dok pointed at himself with a confused expression. Me?
“Someone needs to stay by your brother’s side. There’s no one more suited for it than you.”
Yeon Geum-hong’s words were sound, so Jang Man-dok agreed.
“It’ll be a long and difficult road. As much as when we were searching for Master. We were too late to save Master, but we can’t fail this time.”
The Bloodwind Four Lions, their expression resolute, rose from their seat. It was time to depart.

***

Each time Jang Man-dok’s blade moved, strands of Geom U-bin’s hair fell to the floor.
Still, plenty remained, piling up nicely. Hair kept falling as they worked, so they’d simply shaved it all off—and his head shape was pleasant enough that the look wasn’t bad at all.
“Brother looks good.”
“Brother, turns out you had a round head all along. Ha ha ha!”
“Once it grows back, it’ll be as full as before.”
The Bloodwind Four Lions had come to say farewell to Geom U-bin before leaving, but ended up staying to watch the haircut.
Yeon Geum-hong bent her waist and leveled her eyes with Geom U-bin, who sat in the chair.
“Brother! The side effects will definitely disappear. You understand?”
Geom U-bin laughed—a true laugh, the kind he hadn’t shown in a long time, one that put the heart at ease.
“Of course. That is… but where… where are you all going?”
Geom U-bin had figured it out just from watching their atmosphere.
“We’re going. You just focus on your cultivation practice here, brother. Leave the rest to us.”
“My… my disciples working so hard for me… I’m… truly grateful. But I… please don’t commit wrongs… because of me.”
“There’s nothing like that to worry about. We’re not the Bloodwind Four Lions of old anymore.”
They each took turns bidding farewell to Geom U-bin and asked Jang Man-dok to look after him well.
Now it was truly time to leave.
“What about the Oseong Wine?”
They were held up once more, this time by Hang Ju-sa-ung. Do Pyeong-su answered Go Seo-bang’s question irritably.
“We’ll be back before the aging is complete, so leave it as it is.”
“Then I’ll arrange to move only the Saegiuju to coincide with the reopening of the Oseong Pavilion.”
“Do as you see fit.”
“But…”
“What now?”
“Is something the matter with Lord Do?”
“You needn’t concern yourselves with it.”
“Master. We also respect and care for Lord Do.”
Their own anxiety had grown so consuming that they failed to grasp what truly lay in Hang Ju-sa-ung’s heart.

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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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