Abolition of the Wicked - Chapter 97

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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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#Episode 097

The man who received the Land Deed turned and vanished with a beaming smile plastered across his face.
He’d bought it for thirty percent below market rate—there was no reason not to be pleased. But as that grinning visage flashed in his mind, Hwang Jo-gil’s mood curdled all over again.
“This bastard…”
Hwang Jo-gil bit down on his teeth hard enough to crack them.
A single Banknote lay trembling precariously on the edge of the table. Just twenty thousand taels. This was all he had left.
“I’ll grind his bones to dust and swallow him whole.”
He’d trusted completely. So completely that he’d sold off land and given everything he owned—five hundred thousand taels—into those hands.
Once the Cheolhyeol Faction was driven out and Oseong Jang-won resolved, all his enterprises would right themselves and the money would come flowing back. That’s what he’d believed.
But it had all evaporated like foam. Yeo Dong-sul had vanished clean away with those five hundred thousand taels.
He’d waited days. Then days more, clinging to one last shred of hope even as suspicion gnawed at him.
And when he finally investigated, he learned the truth: the Murim organization Yeo Dong-sul had spoken of didn’t exist at all.
Yeo Dong-sul had pulled the pillar from his crumbling house and run.
“Master.”
Dong Ga-gwan, the steward who’d managed the household finances for thirty years stretching back through his father’s generation, called to Hwang Jo-gil from outside the room.
The friends his father had brought down from Beijing were either dead or had fled after swindling him—in the end, only his father’s faithful retainers remained.
Now Hwang Jo-gil admitted his father’s judgment had been sound.
The moment Dong Ga-gwan stepped inside, Hwang Jo-gil spoke.
“Any word?”
“They’ve found Yeo Dong-sul in Bok An County, Fukien Province. Just as you predicted—searching the opposite direction from Beijing turned him up.”
“I thought as much. He’d expect me to tear Beijing apart looking for him, but I saw straight through that mind of his.”
Yet he’d failed to see through Yeo Dong-sul’s swindle, so his ‘straight through’ was something of an overstatement.
“Still, he didn’t run far.”
Bok An County lay near the border between Zhejiang and Fukien—he’d assumed the man would have reached Guangdong Province by now…
“Bring him back.”
“Orders have already been dispatched. However, the report did mention something unusual.”
“What’s that?”
“Yeo Dong-sul was staying at a shabby inn.”
“A shabby inn? The man who swindled me out of five hundred thousand taels?”
Five hundred thousand taels could have bought ten high-class inns.
‘He couldn’t have squandered that much money already. Perhaps he’s just keeping a low profile to avoid my reach?’
Either way, once they brought him in, all would be revealed.

***

Early that morning, Jang Man-dok descended into the Underground Chamber.
At this hour, Geom U-bin was always still asleep.
Jang Man-dok, thinking ‘Poor friend’ as he turned toward the brazier to light it, froze.
“I-I… wh-wha…”
His stare locked onto Geom U-bin and wouldn’t budge. Geom U-bin, a light sleeper, cracked his eyes open drowsily.
―Jang, why are you…? Did I…? My…
Geom U-bin pushed himself upright. His trousers were noticeably tented, and something felt different.
Carefully, Geom U-bin peered down at his lap.
“Oh! This little thing—it’s been so long… it’s grown! And… I’m not even stammering!”
Geom U-bin climbed out of bed with a bewildered expression, while tears streamed down Jang Man-dok’s face as he pulled his friend into a fierce embrace.
At last, Geom U-bin’s Side Effect had healed.
“Wait. This could be temporary, so let’s not celebrate too early.”
Geom U-bin immediately sat cross-legged and began his Yunji Haenggong meditation.
His Internal Power no longer rampaged, and four distinct currents flowed stably through his meridians.
As he cultivated, he could sense it clearly.
All those Side Effects had come from the Bloodwind Four Lions’ martial arts rushing out of control separately. But now that his martial arts had broken through a new threshold, he could harmonize the four different energies smoothly.
His master, Hwa Jeok-san, had suffered no Side Effects because he’d learned each technique in harmony from the start.
When Geom U-bin finished his cultivation, a smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“Jang. Send out Carrier Pigeons to the other brothers and tell them to come back. I think I’m fully recovered.”
Jang Man-dok, his face alight with joy, nodded firmly and hurried outside.
As Jang Man-dok passed through the Back Garden, he heard the sound of hammering from the Blacksmith Workshop. Gong Seong-tak looked up from his work.
“Lord Jang, you’re looking rather pleased with yourself!”
The moment Jang Man-dok raised his thumb, Gong Seong-tak’s hammer fell still.
“Has young Geom recovered from his illness?”
Jang Man-dok made a circle with his fingers, and Gong Seong-tak’s joy mirrored his own.
“That’s wonderful! Truly wonderful!”
Arriving at the place where the carrier pigeon was kept, Jang Man-dok retrieved writing materials that were always prepared nearby.
He wrote characters fine as sesame seeds on a small slip of paper, and was about to tuck it into the tube for the pigeon’s leg when he stopped.
If those three returned now, this precious time alone with Geom U-bin would vanish.
He couldn’t squander this stroke of fortune so carelessly.
Jang Man-dok burned the paper he’d written with the Sammai Jinhwa technique, then sent a carrier pigeon with a different message instead.
As the pigeon took flight, a satisfied smile played across Jang Man-dok’s face.

***

Upon reading the letter that Jang Man-dok’s carrier pigeon had brought, Yeon Geum-hong released a long sigh.
“It seems our senior’s condition remains unchanged.”
“We need to find the Non-flowering Valley Herb and return quickly.”
“The promised deadline is approaching, yet we’ve heard nothing of finding it.”
They entered the room where Baek Dong-pal was being kept.
Since they couldn’t know when the herb would be found, they remained at the Man Tong Association.
As nearly two months passed, Baek Dong-pal’s lips cracked and his tongue swelled until he could barely eat. His once-robust frame had withered away, and his clothes hung loose as an empty sack turned inside out.
His once-robust frame had withered away, and his clothes hung loose as an empty sack turned inside out.
“Is something wrong? You need to take better care of yourself,” Do Pyeong-su said.
Baek Dong-pal shot him a vicious glare.
“And whose fault do you think this is?”
Seo Seok-san patted Baek Dong-pal’s shoulder.
“Don’t blame yourself so harshly. You’re doing everything you can.”
A flicker of hope crossed Baek Dong-pal’s face.
“The deadline the Bloodwind Four Lions set is the day after tomorrow. Even if I haven’t found the herb by then, you won’t kill me, will you?”
“That’s a separate matter.”
At the blunt reply, Baek Dong-pal’s voice rose sharply.
“How is it a separate matter? It’s unjust to die for something beyond my control!”
“It is unjust.”
“Then you’ll kill me anyway, knowing this?”
“You’re not the only one wronged in this world.”
They looked at him with an expression of pity for those who’d created that injustice.
‘These… these bastards, how do their minds even work?’
They gazed at him as if he were some pitiful stranger with no connection to them. Baek Dong-pal would have throttled the Bloodwind Four Lions if he could.
‘Stop wasting time on impossible hopes. Find a way to save your life.’
Though the Bloodwind Four Lions were staying at the Man Tong Association, he thought escape might be possible if done carefully.
“You’re thinking about running away, aren’t you?”
At Yeon Geum-hong’s words, his heart seemed to plummet into his stomach.
“N-no, I… I wouldn’t dare think such a… such a thing!”
“It’s written all over your face. Not that I blame you—I’d do the same. Use the secret passage to reach the shore, board the boat you’ve hidden there, and you could definitely escape.”
She knew about the secret passage and the hidden boat? Damn it!
She tapped his shoulder twice.
“Give it your best try. You’ll surely succeed.”
He felt like Sun Wukong trapped in the Buddha’s palm.
‘I’m a fool for thinking I might escape the Bloodwind Four Lions’ grip.’
As Yeon Geum-hong left the room, leaving Baek Dong-pal in stunned silence, the other two immediately praised her.
“Well done. That wretch will now have the confidence to run.”
“If we don’t find the Non-flowering Valley Herb by the promised date, he’ll need to escape. We’re too afraid to even consider it, but your words will give him strength.”
They’d threatened to kill Baek Dong-pal if they didn’t find the herb, but they had no true desire to do so. Yet they couldn’t break a promise the Bloodwind Four Lions had made.
They’d already threatened death if they didn’t find it, so they couldn’t renege now—and that reluctant obligation weighed heavily on their hearts.
“In the old days, we’d have just killed him without question. We’ve changed a great deal.”
“Anyone would change in our senior’s company. If only his illness would heal quickly.”

***

Jang Man-dok practiced his expression.
Geom U-bin was sharp enough to read his true feelings from his face alone, and one slip could expose that the three of them were at the Man Tong Association.
Once they returned, those precious hours would vanish—the cultivation practice he shared alone with Geom U-bin, the daily walks along the riverbank, the intimate meals for two. All of it would dissolve like water through his fingers.
Jang Man-dok had never been a skilled liar.
Far from it—he was someone who, unlike ordinary people, didn’t even know how to lie, and had never needed to.
But ever since Geom U-bin had seen through even his desire to relieve himself, he’d been practicing to mask his expressions. It was a matter of pure(?) instinct—he didn’t want to reveal such things—and now that practice allowed him to savor his happiness with Geom U-bin without restraint.
“In the Seung-ryong Jang-cheon form, you have to leap diagonally like this, yes?”
Jang Man-dok watched with fond affection as Geom U-bin absorbed martial arts with frightening speed.
Though the cold and heat had stripped away not just the hair on his head but even his eyebrows, Geom U-bin had never looked more lovely.
‘The martial skill displayed by Hang Ju-sa-ung has truly grown remarkable.’
He couldn’t know his exact level without a sparring match, but at this rate he could certainly hold his own against any of the Gudaemun Faction’s ordinary elders.
There had never been a single person in the entire history of Murim who had achieved such heights at merely fourteen years of age.
Having overcome even the side effects, Geom U-bin’s path now lay clear and open before him.
After finishing his morning practice, Geom U-bin wiped the sweat from his face with a towel and asked Jang Man-dok a question.
“Still no word from the masters?”
―No. They left the Man Tong Association to search for the Non-flowering Valley Herb, it’s said.
“Is that so? Then they haven’t heard the news of my recovery yet.”
Geom U-bin believed Jang Man-dok’s words(?). Effort truly never betrays you.
“The masters are so strong nothing should trouble them, but I do wish to see them soon.”
Jang Man-dok chose to ignore the faint pang of conscience that pricked at his chest.
“Master!”
Hang Ju-sa-byeon came bounding over with a cheerful expression.
Thanks to Geom U-bin’s complete recovery from the side effects, their faces too had grown noticeably brighter.
“Are you finished with your cultivation practice?”
“Yes. I hear the Wol-ha Giroo collapsed—is that true?”
Se-hwa spoke with the smug satisfaction of someone who knew the answer.
“Indeed. They dared to manufacture and sell counterfeit medicinal wine, and turned unwilling courtesans into common prostitutes for profit—a fitting end. So karma returns after all. But Master?”
“What?”
“Might I… touch your head once?”
Se-hwa looked at Geom U-bin with the earnest, yearning gaze of someone desperate to pet a cute puppy.
When Jang Man-dok’s eyes flashed with a fierce ‘Don’t even think of it!’, Se-hwa’s neck shrank back into her shoulders.
Geom U-bin skipped the afternoon training and ventured into the city for the first time in a while. Many people of Hangju had sent gifts and prayers for his recovery, and some had even performed hundred-day prayers on his behalf.
Now that he was well, it was only proper to thank them.
The first place Geom U-bin visited was the Orphanage, which he had been steadily supporting all this time.
The director’s first reaction upon seeing him was shock, quickly followed by tears streaming down her face.
Watching the director weep as she thanked Heaven and Earth for answering her prayers, Geom U-bin felt renewed gratitude simply for being alive.
As he walked the streets, people bowed to him from every direction, their voices ringing with relief and joy at his recovery.
Some were faces he didn’t recognize, yet even strangers’ eyes glistened with tears as they celebrated his return to health as though it were their own triumph.
“Hyung!”
So Gi-cheon came running up, and his joy was particularly infectious.

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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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