WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Former Supreme ◈

Chapter 26: If I Had Not Changed My Mind (1)

──────

Hey guys, quick announcement before the chapter! We're hosting an original webnovel contest with a $1000 prize pool, a chance to publish your novel on WeTried, and lifetime free reading access for the top two winners!

There's also a participation prize of 500 coins for everyone participating.

If you've got a story sitting in a folder somewhere, or have been wanting to try writing one, we'd love to read it. You only need your first 10 chapters, and you have until 1st January 2027 to submit. New writers are welcome too!

Full details, rules, and how to enter here! https://wetriedtls.com/announcements/webnovel-contest

Feel free to send this to anyone you know who writes. Enjoy the chapter!

If you have any questions, please join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried

──────

Baek Socheon smiled faintly.

Perhaps it was a smile for the moment someone's fate was decided.

"Are you telling me to kill Branch Chief Im?"

Yeom Jeonggil nodded at Baek Socheon's question.

"Yes. Kill him."

Even Wang Gon, who stood nearby, was startled. He had never expected such an order.

"And if I refuse?"

As though he had expected that answer, Yeom Jeonggil replied without hesitation.

"I'll kill you. I cannot keep someone who refuses orders as my subordinate."

Killing intent poured from Yeom Jeonggil as he made his intentions clear.

"Fine. I'll kill him."

Baek Socheon agreed so readily that Yeom Jeonggil, who had given the order, looked surprised instead.

"There'll be problems."

"He's earned the resentment of many people lately. There is the culprit who killed the Liang Qiu family, as well as those filthy Black Society bastards. But give me time. Hall Leader Wang here will also come under suspicion, so I'll need to devise a plan to clear his name while getting rid of Branch Chief Im. I need time."

"Fine. I'll give you ten days."

"That's enough. Is there anything else you wish to say?"

"No."

"Then I'll be going."

Baek Socheon strode out.

"He has spirit."

Wang Gon was honestly moved. Even in that situation, Baek Socheon had looked after him too.

Yeom Jeonggil scoffed.

"Spirit? He decided to kill his own superior before I could count to five, and you call that spirit? When he decides to kill you later, it won't even take him three."

Even so, Wang Gon desperately hoped from the bottom of his heart.

'Just kill him anyway! You have to kill that bastard for both of us to live!'

Only by passing this test could they move on to the next step. He would decide to kill Wang Gon before he could count to three? No need to worry. Wang Gon would kill him first by the time he counted to two.

* * *

After returning from his meeting with Wang Gon, Baek Socheon immediately called in Im Chung and Beon Saeng.

"Yeom Jeonggil of the Four Great Martial Artists of the Mythic Gang has come down here."

Im Chung had heard of him before.

"I heard he has quite the temper."

Baek Socheon looked at Im Chung.

"That man ordered me to kill you."

"What?"

Im Chung and Beon Saeng were both startled.

"He intends to test my loyalty while disposing of the person responsible for this affair."

Im Chung swallowed hard. If anyone other than Baek Socheon had told him this, his legs would have given out and he would have collapsed on the spot. If the Mythic Gang wanted him dead, he would eventually die.

"So? Want to die by my hand once?"

"I respectfully decline."

He tried to appear calm, but his mouth was dry.

Under normal circumstances, Beon Saeng would have made a joke. Instead, his expression had gone completely rigid.

He expressed his anger on Im Chung's behalf.

"Those bastards! This is unforgivable. How can they treat human lives so carelessly?"

Black Hand, Cheon Yangho, and now Yeom Jeonggil, who had given this order. They all treated other people's lives like flies.

Baek Socheon said to Beon Saeng, "Twenty years ago, when I joined the Murim Alliance, the following year, now, next year, and twenty years from now, there have always been people like that, and there always will be. So there's no need to get angry."

Yes, he was right. The Great Righteous Sect that Beon Saeng had turned a blind eye to had existed six years ago too. He was ashamed of the life he had lived.

"I've... only lived by running from reality."

"Everyone lives that way."

"You aren't like that, Brother."

"Why do you think I'm not? Because I killed Black Hand and Cheon Yangho? Have you never considered that it might have been my way of running from reality?"

"What do you mean?"

"I chose the easier road."

Baek Socheon was utterly serious. It was clear he was not joking.

"I... don't know. I'm already twenty-six."

"Not knowing at thirty-eight is no different. You just feel greater self-loathing, wondering how you can still not know at that age."

"You're trying to comfort me, aren't you?"

"You only ever fall under that delusion when Branch Chief Im is in danger."

Beon Saeng refocused on Im Chung's predicament.

"Brother, help us! Please save our Branch Chief!"

Baek Socheon looked at Im Chung.

"There are two ways."

Im Chung was grateful to Beon Saeng for voicing the plea he could not bring himself to make. He was even more grateful to Baek Socheon for offering him options in such a desperate situation.

"The first is to eliminate Yeom Jeonggil. Remove the source of the problem. A very simple solution."

"He's a master recognized even within the Mythic Gang."

"If I decide to kill him, I can find a way."

Im Chung did not consider the first option. Killing someone to solve a problem was not his way, even if that person intended to kill him.

"And the second?"

"Create a situation where I cannot kill you."

"How?"

Baek Socheon had already thought through the second method on his way back.

"The Zhejiang Division still doesn't know Cheon Yangho has disappeared, right?"

"No."

It had only been a few days since Baek Socheon killed Cheon Yangho, and since Baek Socheon was the one who killed him, they had deliberately not informed the division.

"Send a messenger hawk with a dispatch to the division immediately and report Cheon Yangho's disappearance. Tell them it seems he was killed in connection with the Liang Qiu Family Massacre, and make the situation sound as serious as possible. One of the division's influential figures is dead, so there'll be an uproar. They'll send people down to investigate. Then I can claim the situation is under scrutiny, so I cannot kill you."

"Ah! That sounds like a good plan. I'll contact them at once."

Im Chung hurried toward the door, then turned back and bowed deeply to Baek Socheon.

"Thank you so much."

"Thank your son."

Im Chung let out a small laugh. His life was at stake, yet he felt strangely at ease. It was because of Baek Socheon, of course. There was only a two-year difference between them, yet relying on him felt like relying on an adult.

'I will thank my son, but I will repay this debt to you.'

Not only for himself, but for his wife and son as well. He owed him a debt for three lives.

* * *

The dispatch hawk proved even more effective than expected.

Jeong Pung, the Zhejiang Division Chief, came personally, leading martial artists from the division.

"Branch Chief Im."

"Division Chief!"

Before they could even exchange greetings, Jeong Pung asked urgently, "What exactly happened?"

Jeong Pung was short and solidly built, a master of the saber.

"Unit Commander Cheon disappeared while investigating the Liang Qiu Family Massacre."

Though Cheon Yangho had never investigated the Liang Qiu family case at all.

"Disappeared?"

"He's not someone who would go without any news for days. I believe someone must have attacked him."

Jeong Pung nodded.

"Could the culprit who massacred the Liang Qiu family have done this?"

"That is highly likely."

"Damn it!"

From the Liang Qiu family case to Cheon Yangho's disappearance, the chain of incidents placed considerable pressure on Jeong Pung as the Zhejiang Division Chief.

He had sent Cheon Yangho to handle the Liang Qiu case because he expected it to be resolved properly.

Now that Cheon Yangho had been killed, the matter might grow serious enough for headquarters to intervene.

That was the last thing a Division Chief wanted. It would only prove he was incompetent.

He had to solve this case himself somehow...

Im Chung, meanwhile, wondered if Jeong Pung had also accepted bribes from the Mythic Gang. They had recruited Cheon Yangho, a Unit Commander. There was no reason they could not recruit the Division Chief as well.

"How far has the investigation progressed?"

"We haven't learned much. We did discover that Liang Qiu had been investigating the Mythic Gang's new business shortly before his death."

"The Mythic Gang?"

Jeong Pung was visibly startled at the mention of the Mythic Gang. In Zhejiang Province, that was a name that had to be handled with great care.

"Why was he investigating the Mythic Gang?"

"It seems he was asked by the Heo Sword Family."

Even as they spoke, Im Chung closely watched Jeong Pung's reaction.

"What kind of business?"

"They are said to be planning to establish an ironworks."

"And? Are you saying Unit Commander Cheon's disappearance is connected to the Mythic Gang?"

"We don't know that much yet."

On the surface, Jeong Pung did not seem connected to the Mythic Gang at all. Still, appearances alone told little.

"I understand. From this point onward, hand the entire case over to the division."

"Understood."

"Tell the newly dispatched martial artist to come in on your way out."

"Yes."

Outside, the martial artist accompanying the Division Chief was giving Beon Saeng several instructions.

"Bring in six more desks, and reserve rooms at a nearby inn in advance. We'll take our meals at the inn, so make the arrangements. Make sure the Division Chief's meals receive special attention."

There was something to object to in those orders. It was against regulations for Murim Alliance personnel to sleep or eat at an inn. They were supposed to stay in the branch quarters and take their meals at the branch.

But Beon Saeng did not argue.

"Understood."

When Im Chung came outside, Beon Saeng asked quietly, "You gave them your office too, right?"

"I had to."

"They eat at an inn. Then tell them to work at the inn too."

"Try to understand. Headquarters treats them this way too."

"That doesn't mean they get to treat us this way just because they suffer the same thing."

Im Chung patted Beon Saeng on the shoulder.

"Let's deal with the enemy outside first."

* * *

A short while later, Baek Socheon entered Im Chung's office.

Jeong Pung, who had taken over the room in its owner's place, spoke while seated.

"Martial Artist Baek. I know about you."

That was why he had not been pleased when he received the report that Baek Socheon was being dispatched to the Wencheng Branch.

'Why did it have to be him?'

Those who did not know him were unaware he even existed, but those who did could never forget Baek Socheon.

"I also took part in the Orthodox-Demonic War against the Black Heaven Alliance. I've seen you from afar before."

Jeong Pung was from the Blue Dragon Corps at headquarters. As a Unit Commander of the Blue Dragon Corps, he had been fortunate enough to become the Zhejiang Division Chief. Things had worked out very well for him.

"I know how great a debt the Murim Alliance and our orthodox martial world owe you. I am grateful as well. But that does not mean you can act however you please."

"Act however I please?"

"You caused trouble as soon as you arrived."

"You call arresting those Great Righteous Sect bastards causing trouble?"

"You did not arrest Taejeong. You killed him."

"Did you read the report properly? We first arrested his subordinates. Taejeong then armed himself and attacked the branch. He had the misfortune to die in the process."

Jeong Pung snorted.

"You killed him deliberately. That's the kind of person you are. Someone who cannot be satisfied without seeing blood."

"You know me well for someone who saw me from afar."

"Everyone spoke about you."

"What did they say?"

"Which version of you do you want to hear about?"

"Which version of me did you want to speak of when you brought it up?"

Silence followed.

Jeong Pung did not know how deeply Baek Socheon was involved in this matter. Still, he knew one thing. Past or present, Baek Socheon was not someone he could handle.

"I called you here to tell you not to interfere with my investigation..."

He had originally intended to call it a warning. But Jeong Pung took a step back.

"It is a request."

Changing his words had an effect. Baek Socheon readily agreed.

"Let's do that."

When Baek Socheon came outside, Im Chung was waiting.

"What do you think? Does he seem connected to the Mythic Gang as well?"

"I can't say yet."

"If he is involved too, this is serious."

It would mean Zhejiang Province had completely fallen into the Mythic Gang's hands.

"What's so serious about it? We'll clean them all up while we're at it. The Mythic Gang may be formidable in Zhejiang Province, but if headquarters decides to crush them, they'll be cleaned up within half a day. We only need to find proof of their crimes."

At times like this, Im Chung felt a strange sense of dissonance.

This was not something a former Iron Sword Corps Squad Leader could say. Yet Baek Socheon had already shown too much for it to be dismissed as empty bravado.

"I'm heading out for a while."

"Where are you going?"

"To see Yeom Jeonggil."

"Yes. Take care."

Im Chung bowed more respectfully than usual. His fate depended on Baek Socheon's outing.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried