WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Former Supreme ◈
Chapter 101: When Returning It, Only Return What You Received (2)
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Myeol Jiryun, Pajeong, and Rapsa were leaving the Alliance Leader's Hall.
The Alliance Leader had personally invited the three of them to a meal.
To buy half a siju of time, Zhuge Hyeon, On Byeokhwa, and even Pung Geukan, the chief of the Secret Guard, had been enlisted.
On Byeokhwa mainly spoke with Myeol Jiryun, while Zhuge Hyeon kept the older Rapsa occupied.
Pung Geukan handled the younger Pajeong. They talked about escort duties and martial arts.
Keeping them occupied for a long time would have been difficult, but half a siju could pass naturally enough.
When the brief banquet ended, the three left the Alliance Leader's Hall and returned to their quarters.
Rapsa went inside first. Once only Myeol Jiryun and Pajeong remained, Pajeong gave her a meaningful look.
"I'll get some fresh air."
It meant he was going to continue setting up the formation.
"Be careful."
"Yes."
Just before turning away, Pajeong sent her a voice transmission.
-Endure for a few more days. It's nearly finished.
Myeol Jiryun smiled with satisfaction.
That day, she would make the greatest contribution to the Blood Cult's grand cause.
After they returned, Baek Socheon arrived at the Alliance Leader's Hall.
He reported what had happened to Ak Sogun and Zhuge Hyeon. He told them what kind of formation they were creating and what purpose it served.
Ak Sogun's gaze grew calm. Baek Socheon knew well that this was how Ak Sogun became when he was truly angry.
"What do you think?"
Baek Socheon answered firmly.
"I tolerated them once, but I won't tolerate them twice. Leave it to me."
They were of the same mind, so no further words were needed.
Ak Sogun gave a solemn order.
"Make them pay for taking this Alliance lightly. No matter how you deal with them, I will take responsibility for what follows."
* * *
Pajeong arrived at a training ground in a secluded area.
It lay directly southwest on the strategic map. The building that had once stood there had been moved, leaving the place an empty lot.
Pajeong heightened his senses and examined his surroundings. Once he confirmed no one was nearby, he no longer bothered pretending to take a walk.
He immediately began his work. As he muttered a martial formula, a drop of blood formed at his fingertip.
He let it fall to the ground.
Ssssss.
With a faint sound, the blood seeped into the earth.
Pajeong circled the area along a set path, muttering the martial formula.
Under the formula, which sounded almost like an incantation, the single drop of blood began drawing strange symbols across the ground. Naturally, ordinary people could not see them.
He had been reciting the formula for some time when someone walked toward him.
Normally, Pajeong would have passed the person with a slight nod and calmly continued reciting the formula until the great ritual was complete. This time, though, he stopped.
Stopping midway meant he would have to begin the formula all over again, but the person approaching was not someone he could simply ignore.
It was Baek Socheon.
Baek Socheon greeted him first with a friendly smile.
"Hello."
Anyone else would have been one thing, but Pajeong could not help feeling tense before Baek Socheon.
'Why is he here?'
Pajeong dipped his head in greeting. He hoped Baek Socheon would simply pass by, but Baek Socheon spoke.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was taking a walk."
"In a place like this?"
Baek Socheon looked around. This place was far too barren for a walk.
"I ended up here while walking. Is there a problem?"
"No."
"Then let me ask you something."
"Go ahead."
At that moment, Pajeong's eyes glowed red. He possessed a Soul-Seizing Art that could be used in an instant, so there was no need to waste time testing each other.
Only a handful of people in the martial world could use Soul-Seizing Art at this level, and it consumed an immense amount of mental strength and internal energy.
"Why did you come here?"
"I came to meet you."
Pajeong's premonition had been right.
'Just as I thought. Something felt suspicious.'
He had not believed meeting Baek Socheon here was a coincidence.
"Why did you want to meet me?"
An answer he had never expected came out.
"To kill you."
"What?"
Pajeong was startled.
"How do you intend to kill me?"
"I'll draw my sword and cut off your head."
Baek Socheon had even killed the heir of the Black Heaven Alliance, so Pajeong could not underestimate him just because he lacked internal energy. The questions continued.
"Why do you want to kill me?"
"Because I know what you're trying to do."
"What am I doing?"
"Aren't you creating the Eight-Directional Ghost Blood Formation?"
Pajeong was horrified. He had never imagined that name would come from Baek Socheon's mouth.
But the true shock came next.
"How did you find out?"
"The Black Heaven Alliance Leader told me."
"What? The Black Heaven Alliance Leader?"
"When he came to watch the duel, he told me."
"How does the Black Heaven Alliance Leader know about our plan?"
"Rapsa. He is the Black Heaven Alliance Leader's right hand."
"......!"
Pajeong's expression twisted.
It was impossible to believe, but anyone caught in his Soul-Seizing Art could never lie. Every answer had to be true. There was no room for doubt. Otherwise, Baek Socheon would have had no reason to come here, nor would he have known the formation's name.
"What are you planning to do with Miss Myeol?"
"After killing you, I intend to kill her as well. Then I'll pin the blame on the Black Heaven Alliance."
Pajeong's face went pale.
"Go back right now and lift the surveillance around Miss Myeol. Right now!"
"Understood."
Baek Socheon turned with a vacant expression and walked back the way he had come.
Pajeong staggered after ending the Soul-Seizing Art. Simply hearing the truth consumed considerable internal energy, but giving an order required several times more mental strength and internal energy.
Still, he had no time to rest.
Pajeong immediately sped toward Myeol Jiryun.
* * *
Stab!
A bloodstained sword tip burst from Rapsa's heart.
Myeol Jiryun was so shocked that she thought her own heart would leap out through her mouth.
Rapsa was not someone who would be so helplessly struck down by an ambush from behind.
But the attacker was someone Rapsa had truly trusted. More than that, it was an ambush from someone more skilled in martial arts.
Rapsa, who had been drinking tea, died without a word and collapsed.
"Pajeong!"
Myeol Jiryun shot to her feet in alarm.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"This man is a traitor."
"A traitor?"
"He serves the Black Heaven Alliance Leader."
"What nonsense is that? He devoted his entire life to our cult."
"He spent his entire life as a Black Heaven Alliance spy. We don't have time to explain. The Murim Alliance bastards have discovered the Eight-Directional Ghost Blood Formation."
"What? How?"
"Didn't I tell you Rapsa was a traitor? This is no time for that. We have to get out immediately. I stopped Baek Socheon from killing me and came straight here."
Neither Pajeong nor Myeol Jiryun could think clearly.
Myeol Jiryun was shaken by Rapsa's death, while Pajeong could only think of bringing Myeol Jiryun safely out.
The grand plan of the Eight-Directional Ghost Blood Formation could fail, but Pajeong had to bring Myeol Jiryun back safely.
Myeol Jiryun followed Pajeong out of their quarters. As Baek Socheon had ordered, all the martial artists guarding the area had vanished.
The two quickly left the Murim Alliance.
After escaping Wuhan, they stopped at a safe house west of the city.
From there, they sent a dispatch to the Blood Cult requesting rescue.
They also reported that Rapsa had betrayed them and that the Black Heaven Alliance was behind it.
After sending the dispatch, they began following the emergency escape route.
As it was winter, darkness fell early.
Pajeong and Myeol Jiryun rested briefly beside a stream.
They could not even light a fire, lest they be tracked.
"We'll rest for half a gak, then leave."
"Pajeong."
"Yes?"
"Are you absolutely certain Rapsa is a traitor?"
"I am. Do you still not trust me?"
"What if we've fallen for the Murim Alliance bastards' attempt to drive us apart?"
"No!"
"Even so, you should have discussed it with me first."
"There was no time. The Murim Alliance bastards could have come for us at any moment."
Myeol Jiryun sighed.
Everything had happened so suddenly that an inexplicable unease lingered within her. Rapsa was the person her father trusted most.
'He was a traitor?'
No matter how she thought about it, she could not understand. She was beginning to suspect even Pajeong.
But Pajeong was the Great Grandmaster's disciple.
'What in the world is going on?'
Pajeong understood her confusion. He could barely believe it himself.
In truth, her earlier question had made his heart sink.
-What if we've fallen for the Murim Alliance bastards' attempt to drive us apart?
Could he really be certain there was no such possibility? He had not carefully considered every possibility. He had simply acted on instinct in his panic.
"Trust my judgment."
Myeol Jiryun said nothing.
When Pajeong looked back at her, she was asleep while seated, her acupoints sealed.
Baek Socheon stood behind her.
Pajeong sprang to his feet in shock.
"You, how did you...?"
Pajeong's eyes glowed again. He instinctively used Soul-Seizing Art.
"Did you come alone?"
"Yes."
Pajeong relaxed at that answer. He did not know how Baek Socheon had found them, but he was confident he could kill Baek Socheon.
"How did you know where to find us?"
"I followed you from the beginning."
Pajeong drew his sword as he asked. He intended to kill Baek Socheon in one stroke and leave this place.
"Are you certain Rapsa was a traitor?"
"Was he?"
"What?"
Pajeong's eyes widened. The chill running through his body was the horrible realization that he had ruined everything.
"You! You weren't caught in my Soul-Seizing Art?"
"That's right."
"How?"
Pajeong could not believe it. His talent had stood out since childhood, earning him a place as Jeok Parap's disciple. His path to this position had been smooth. Not once had his Soul-Seizing Art failed.
Today's mistake had come from the arrogance that had ruled him for years.
"I asked how you resisted it!"
"I learned how not to fall for Soul-Seizing Art from someone far more skilled than you."
It was thanks to the secret method Na Sarin had taught him. This made Baek Socheon truly realize just how profound her realm was. It had blocked even the Soul-Seizing Art cast by Jeok Parap's disciple.
"It's true that I deceived you, but what I told you when we first met was true."
"What did you say?"
"That I came to kill you."
The moment he finished speaking, Baek Socheon drew his sword.
In a flash, a line of sword light slashed through the air.
Thud.
Pajeong vanished from the spot.
He had been thoroughly prepared, so he hid himself within the darkness.
What he had learned from Jeok Parap was the Dark Heretical Art. Wherever darkness existed, he could hide himself perfectly.
His furious voice flew toward Baek Socheon from the darkness.
"You bastard! You tricked me! I'll tear you to pieces and kill you!"
Baek Socheon had deceived him into killing Rapsa. If he returned without killing Baek Socheon, he would pay dearly for that crime.
"How should I kill you? Heh heh heh."
His voice came from all directions, making it impossible to tell where he was. The wicked energy in it bore down on Baek Socheon.
"You sneaky bastard. You recovered your internal energy and were still deceiving us."
"I don't want to hear that from someone hiding in the dark to create a wicked formation."
"Even if you recovered your internal energy, you'll die here. This time, we failed, but we'll definitely turn your Alliance Leader into our puppet. Too bad you won't live to see it."
Baek Socheon looked around. Pajeong's voice whispered beside his left ear, then came from above and to his right. It was a heretical art entirely different from the concealment technique he had learned from Cheon Geuk. He could not find Pajeong's location through instinct alone.
"Don't waste your effort! You'll never find me."
Pajeong whispered beside Baek Socheon's ear.
"Darkness is on my side."
"Did you ask the darkness?"
"What?"
At that exact moment, Baek Socheon's Ghost Shadow Sword cut through the air.
Shiiiiiiing!
Dozens of sword lights flashed in an instant, embroidering the darkness.
The Thousand-Hand Tathagata Asura Divine Sword had been unleashed. Baek Socheon released the first through fifth forms in succession. Before the first sword light vanished, the final one had already appeared.
Now that he had grown proficient through the fifth form, it looked like a single form.
Hiding in the darkness, Pajeong saw it clearly. The darkness protecting him was torn apart, and brilliant sword lights came flying toward him.
'...No!'
Only at the very end did he understand. Baek Socheon was not an opponent he could afford to toy with. Even if he unleashed his ultimate techniques with everything he had, victory would not have come easily.
From that afternoon until now, arrogance had led him to defeat.
Thud, thud, thud.
Pajeong fell from the air in three or four severed pieces.
After burying the corpse and disposing of it without a trace, Baek Socheon tucked the sleeping Myeol Jiryun under his arm and vanished.
As though it belonged to no one, the darkness remained thick and indifferent, watching the entire scene unfold.
Footnotes:
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