Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 85

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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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#Chapter 085

They had as much right to know as Hang Ju-sa-byeon had loved Geom U-bin. But he didn’t want to waste the time it would take to explain everything here.
“My elder brother is unwell. It’s an affliction that might be cured only if his martial power increases, so he’ll be in the Underground Cultivation Chamber practicing his Yeongong, while we go seeking Spirit Elixir. We don’t know when we’ll return, but until we do, you’ll need to manage things here. Think you can handle it?”
“He’s very ill?”
Concern filled Se-hwa’s face as she asked.
“He won’t die, but the pain will feel like dying. So we must cure him without fail. Leave my elder brother’s affairs to us—you focus on Oseong Jang-won and Oseong Pavilion.”
“Yes. We’ll handle everything perfectly without troubling you and the masters. Please, cure his illness for certain.”
Hyeolpung Saja nodded and departed Oseong Jang-won, each taking their separate paths.
This was different from searching for the vanished Hwa-jeok-san. This time the objective was clear, and the destination was certain, and they carried the confidence of success.
The only thing they shared with the Hwa-jeok-san expedition was urgency. That urgency would surely cure Geom U-bin’s ailment.

***

Go Dae-bang still hadn’t made a decision. Jeong Pyeon-ho, whom he’d sent to resolve matters in Hangju, had returned utterly defeated.
He’d thought it excessive to send Jeong Pyeon-ho on such a simple task—easy as breaking a child’s wrist—yet the man had lost in barely ten seconds.
Go Dae-bang was thinking about those ten seconds. Naturally, the thought arose: ‘If it were me?’ And it was entirely possible.
If Go Dae-bang exerted his full strength, Jeong Pyeon-ho wouldn’t last even five seconds.
The problem was that fighting that way wouldn’t reveal his opponent’s true skill accurately, and this Gwak Bong wasn’t even Oseong Jang-won’s supreme master.
“You’re telling me the man who subdued a faction master in ten seconds is menial staff at Oseong Jang-won?”
If that statement were literally true, the martial arts of Hangju Oseong were beyond his estimation.
The Cheolhyeol Faction had endured one hundred twenty years of history because it possessed both the strength of a tiger and the caution of a rabbit.
One misstep here could thrust the Cheolhyeol Faction into a crisis of survival.
“I came to Zhejiang Province to avoid the Shaolin Temple, thinking only the Dong clan was strong, and now this from the very start.”
If anything, facing the Dong clan would at least reveal something of their strength, and fighting would be possible.
But if they fought, he’d have to stake the entire Cheolhyeol Faction, and if he withdrew, he’d face humiliation.
Humiliation at least offered a chance to recover, but defeat meant only oblivion.
“I’ll withdraw with as little shame as possible.”
The moment he reached that decision alone, the voice of Chief Administrator Seo Il-pyo came from outside.
“Faction Master. We have a visitor from Hangju.”
He’d assumed they’d come from Wol-ha Giroo to press the matter forward, but he was mistaken.
“He says he’s Chief Administrator Gal from Oseong Jang-won.”
“Oseong Jang-won?”
The name alone startled Go Dae-bang now.
“Show him to the reception room.”
As he stood, Go Dae-bang glanced at the large saber hanging on the wall. The mere thought ‘Should I take that?’ revealed how wary he’d become of Oseong Jang-won.
Gal Ma-pyeong, a man in his early fifties with unusually small eyes, rose and bowed his head.
“I have the honor of meeting Faction Master of the Cheolhyeol Faction.”
His courtesy was complete but not excessive—a measured greeting. Go Dae-bang returned the bow in kind.
“I am Faction Master Go Dae-bang.”
“I’ve heard your name spoken with such admiration for years now, and I’m honored to meet you at last.”
“Mere reputation, I’m afraid.”
He’d always cursed the Orthodox Faction men as all empty ritual, yet here the two of them were doing exactly that.
“It seems there was some misunderstanding when people from the Cheolhyeol Faction came to Hangju previously.”
“Indeed. We went to the Triad and never imagined someone as renowned as those from Oseong Jang-won would be lending them aid.”
Go Dae-bang probed Gal Ma-pyeong slightly.
“It’s merely one approach to making Hangju a better place to live. Which is why I’d like to hear your perspective, Faction Master.”
“On what matter?”
“Will you continue to work with the Zohwang Family?”
Jeong Pyeon-ho, who’d gone to Hangju, had said he hadn’t mentioned anything, yet Oseong Jang-won already knew the Cheolhyeol Faction had accepted the Zohwang Family’s commission.
To deny it now, when they’d raised it first, would only look foolish.
“We’ve already accepted the commission.”
“A contract, depending on circumstances, can always be ended. Or one might strike a deal with another party instead.”
“Another party, you mean…?”
“Wouldn’t dealing with us, Oseong Jang-won, be far more convenient for your position than dealing with the Zohwang Family?”
“The Zohwang Family controls the commerce of Anhui Province, so making them an enemy isn’t favorable either.”
“Then what of Oseong Jang-won?”
Go Dae-bang’s hesitation came from genuine ignorance. All that was known was that the brewery producing Saegiuju was run by men of considerable martial skill.
Gal Ma-pyeong made no effort to embellish his account of Oseong Jang-won.
“I’m merely a chief administrator. The lords know nothing of our dealings with the Cheolhyeol Faction.”
“They know nothing?”
“It’s hardly a matter worthy of their attention.”
The words were a studied dismissal of the Cheolhyeol Faction entirely. Go Dae-bang’s fists clenched; Gal Ma-pyeong continued.
“As you’ve surely been informed, it was one of our menial staff who drove out your faction master. A thorough investigation will confirm this. And we four chief administrators are but shadows at the heels of our lords.”
If they held the rank of chief administrator, their martial prowess must exceed that of menial staff at minimum.
‘Four administrators. Two pieces of menial staff—or was it just one? And then there’s the Hangju Oseong.’
A dull ache suddenly bloomed behind his eyes. Without warning, Gal Ma-pyeong rose to his feet.
“I believe we’ve covered everything.”
“Everything?”
“My visit stands as courtesy shown to the Cheolhyeol Faction. Any remaining matters are set down in a letter I’ve left in your quarters.”
A letter in his room? The deepest chamber within this place, the most heavily guarded—Go Dae-bang’s private bedroom.
No one should have been able to slip inside.
“Then I await your answer.”
Go Dae-bang sent Gal Ma-pyeong away without understanding what answer was expected. Then he hurried to his chambers.
Curse it all—an envelope lay on the nightstand beside his bed. The moment his fingers touched the envelope bearing his name, a chill raced from his fingertips to his heels.
The envelope left in his room was a warning: they could kill him whenever they pleased.
‘I’ve touched the tiger’s whiskers.’

***

“Welcome, honored guest.”
Ma-o-ryang received Do Pyeong-su with practiced courtesy, setting out fine tea and rare fruits on the table.
“I’ve no time for this.”
“There’s a saying: the more urgent the matter, the slower one must move.”
“Are you asking for your neck to turn?”
“Please state your business.”
Do Pyeong-su tossed an envelope and a purse of silver coins onto the table.
“The location of Ten-thousand Year Fleeceflower Root and Ten-thousand Year Snow Ginseng. That’s your down payment.”
Ma-o-ryang first withdrew the paper from the envelope to confirm the locations and targets to be stolen.
The grimace that crossed his face was no bargaining tactic.
“Sichuan Province and Gansu Province. The target in Sichuan is the Gwigok Dokmuun—as vicious as the Sichuan Dang Sect itself—and in Gansu, it’s the provincial hegemon, Go Tae-gung.”
“I could pursue this myself, but men would die, and that’s something to avoid.”
“The Shadowless Ghost shrinks from murder?”
Do Pyeong-su smiled thinly.
“I shrink from it, but I don’t refrain.”
The smile carried an unspoken meaning—*I could kill whenever I wish*—that sent Ma-o-ryang backing away.
“Can you retrieve them?”
“I’m not called Shintu for nothing. However…”
Ma-o-ryang weighed the purse of silver coins in his hand.
“Three hundred taels is far too little.”
“You object to what’s freely given?”
“Well, it’s not that I mind, but since you’re offering, you ought to pay a fair sum.”
Ma-o-ryang was too valuable to Do Pyeong-su to simply kill, and he held that certainty like a shield.
“How much?”
The three hundred taels represented every coin Oseong Jang-won could scrape together after spending nearly all their reserves rebuilding the collapsed structures.
“Seven hundred more should cover it…”
“On credit.”
“Our business has always been cash on the barrelhead…”
“Ma-o-ryang.”
Do Pyeong-su’s low voice dragged Ma-o-ryang back to reality. For a moment, his certainty that he would live had made him forget Do Pyeong-su’s true nature.
One misstep here and his head would shatter under hands that harbored no afterthought.
“I—I certainly wasn’t suggesting I needed payment immediately. Simply that you should pay with ease, ah. But retrieving these items from Gansu and Sichuan will take at least a month. Is there anything you’d need done in the interim?”
If it took that long, there was little to do but return to Oseong Jang-won and attend to Geom U-bin.
“No.”
“In that case, wouldn’t you consider taking on a small commission?”
“You’re not making advances toward me, are you?”
“Good heavens! Even if I had nine lives, I wouldn’t dare presume to play tricks on the Bloodwind Four Lions.”
“What kind of work?”
“They say the Mantong Guild is looking for someone to take on a commission.”
“Do you know what a dung fly is?”
“Well, given my line of work, it’s handy to stay on good terms with the Mantong Guild. Hehe. I don’t know the details, but why not try visiting them first?”
Since he had nothing particular to do while Ma-o-ryang finished his business, resolving a Mantong Guild commission didn’t seem like a bad idea.
Do Pyeong-su was beginning to realize that while he wasn’t desperate, money was still necessary to get by.
“One month. If you’re late, you’ll lose one finger per day.”
“Ah… no, one month and two weeks….”
“One month.”
“Yes. I’ll steal it and bring it back within that time, customer.”
Do Pyeong-su rushed toward the Mantong Guild. He didn’t know what the commission entailed, but he suspected it wouldn’t be difficult to resolve.
‘Then again, it might be tricky after all.’
Baek Dong-pal couldn’t request anything from the Bloodwind Four Lions without knowing where to find them. It seemed Ma-o-ryang and Baek Dong-pal had a prior acquaintance, and when the two met, one of them must have brought up the Bloodwind Four Lions.
In that conversation, Baek Dong-pal surely mentioned the commission to Ma-o-ryang in passing. The fact that a commission was waiting without knowing when he’d encounter the Bloodwind Four Lions meant only they could resolve it.
‘Just how difficult is this commission?’
Curious, he arrived at the Mantong Guild, where Baek Dong-pal greeted him warmly.
In the old days, whenever Do Pyeong-su encountered the Bloodwind Four Lions, his instinct was to flee. But lately, many of them had taken to wearing pleasant expressions around him.
“Welcome, welcome. We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Ma-o-ryang told me you had a commission to request?”
“Ma-o-ryang? Ah! You mean Shintu. I hadn’t heard that scoundrel’s name was Ma-o-ryang before.”
There was no reason for a name like Ma-o-ryang to be secret. The Bloodwind Four Lions, perhaps, but not him.
“Whatever the commission is, don’t be clever about this.”
“Pardon? What do you mean so suddenly?”
“It’s difficult, isn’t it?”
“Of course. That’s why we sought out the Bloodwind Four Lions, and the commission fee is as high as three thousand taels. So after my broker’s fee and Ma-o-ryang’s referral fee….”
“Wait.”
“Why? What is it now?”
“If you finish speaking, you’ll complete your lie. So I’m giving you one more chance before you do. Tell me the commission fee again.”
Do Pyeong-su’s steady gaze left him unable to lie twice over.
“Five thousand taels.”
“So you take your broker’s fee, and that bastard Ma-o-ryang also gets a referral fee?”
“Of course you should, since you sent the Bloodwind Four Lions all the way here.”
“So if I deduct a thousand here and there, four thousand taels is my share.”
Baek Dong-pal’s face fell.
“Why are you suddenly so greedy about money? You never cared about such things before.”
“I’ve discovered that life without money is inconvenient.”
‘Damn! He’s awakened to greed. Greed, of all things!’
Whether Do Pyeong-su had awakened to greed or lust, if he demanded four thousand taels, that’s what had to be paid. At least he hadn’t demanded all five thousand.
“Understood.”
Baek Dong-pal drew up a banknote on the spot and handed it to Do Pyeong-su.

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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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