WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Former Supreme ◈

Chapter 28: Mr. Jong (1)

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The next day, Jeong Pung came to see Baek Socheon.

The previous two times, he had summoned Baek Socheon to his office. This time, he had come in person. It meant he had swallowed his pride.

Still, the sight of Baek Socheon lounging on a daybed in his courtyard irritated him.

"Why aren't you working? What are you doing here?"

"Ask your subordinates. They asked me to vacate the office, so I did."

Jeong Pung's momentum faltered. He sat on the edge of the daybed.

"Does that mean you should be lazing around like this?"

"Old fogey."

"What?"

"That's how you get called an old fogey. A good leader sometimes pretends not to notice when his subordinates slack off."

Jeong Pung snorted.

"I don't get called that."

"Of course not. They say it where you can't hear them."

"You really are..."

Jeong Pung was about to fly into a rage, but he shook his head. He could never win an argument with Baek Socheon, and he had not set aside his pride to come here just to play the old fogey.

"Do you really think the Mythic Gang was behind what happened to Liang Qiu's family?"

"Yes."

Jeong Pung looked at Baek Socheon, who was still reclining on the daybed.

Their ways of thinking and acting did not align. Baek Socheon was objectionable in many respects, but he was not someone who talked nonsense.

Jeong Pung had heard many rumors about him. Yet he had never heard that Baek Socheon plotted schemes or manipulated people with political games.

"You have no proof."

"If the Division Chief helps, we can find some."

"How?"

"You can't do it anyway."

"Stop provoking me and tell me."

Baek Socheon sat up and looked directly at Jeong Pung.

"Summon Wang Gon and Yeom Jeonggil immediately, then question them."

"What?"

Jeong Pung was startled.

"The Heo Sword Family asked Liang Qiu to investigate the Mythic Gang's new business. He met his end while investigating it. That should be sufficient grounds to summon them for questioning."

"They won't answer a summons."

"Then you'll have to go in person and enforce it."

In other words, it was a summons in name only. It would be no different from an arrest.

"Wang Gon is one thing, but Hero Yeom as well?"

"Yes. Yeom Jeonggil must be summoned and questioned too."

"That much circumstantial evidence won't be enough to do anything to them."

"It doesn't matter."

"What do you mean, it doesn't matter?"

"They aren't the target. If we pressure them, the Mythic Gang's headquarters will move. That's what I want."

Jeong Pung let out a sigh without realizing it. It was the sort of request that naturally drew a sigh. When Baek Socheon had said Jeong Pung could not do it, he had not been trying to provoke him.

"You really intend to take on the Mythic Gang."

"That's right."

"Are you confident?"

"Just because they call themselves the Mythic Gang doesn't make them mythical beings. They're filthy villains hiding behind an impressive name."

Jeong Pung felt that only Baek Socheon could say something like that.

'Even after losing his internal energy, he's still the same as before.'

That was not the only reason Baek Socheon intended to see this through.

"Most of the people who died at Liang Qiu's home that day didn't know martial arts. There were even two children. Listen, Division Chief Jeong. We can fight, curse each other, stab each other in the back, kill each other, and do all manner of things, but shouldn't we keep that among ourselves?"

"......!"

"I don't intend to forgive this. Everyone involved will die by my hand. If you were involved, you'd die too."

Jeong Pung knew it was no idle threat, so he quickly replied.

"I told you, I'm not that kind of person."

"I believe that. That's why I'm explaining all this and asking for your help."

"You really trust me?"

"I do."

"Why?"

"You and I have spent long enough in the martial world. That's probably why you came to see me. You must've felt you had to come. That bastard has no internal energy and is washed up, but somehow, you felt you couldn't simply ignore him. So you thought the Mythic Gang might really be behind this."

That was not exactly it, but Jeong Pung could not deny it either.

"I feel the same. I don't know exactly what kind of man you are, but my long experience in the martial world is whispering this to me. At least that man isn't trash. If I coax him along, he'll be a fine sucker who'll help me."

"You really are..."

Jeong Pung was dumbfounded. More baffling still was that, despite being called a sucker to his face, he did not feel all that offended.

"Are you mocking me, or are you being honest?"

"I'm being honest."

"If that's true, you're a frightening man."

His heart had shifted toward Baek Socheon, despite how he had felt when he first came here.

Baek Socheon spoke to Jeong Pung in a softer voice.

"I know. Simply summoning them will place a great burden on you."

It would effectively be an official declaration that he was becoming enemies with the Mythic Gang.

"Still, help me."

Baek Socheon was not the sort of person who seemed likely to ask for help. In truth, he was a man who did not need to ask for it. That made the words all the more effective.

"Fine. I'll do it."

Yes, he was making such a burdensome choice because the other person was Baek Socheon. If anyone else had made this request, he would have left the moment they spoke. No, he would not have come in the first place.

Because it was Baek Socheon. Because he was once the man everyone wanted to become. To be honest, Jeong Pung wanted to accomplish something with him, even if it meant deliberately overlooking what a troublesome existence the Mythic Gang was.

"Thank you."

There was one more reason.

"It's not only because you asked. I'm raising a child too. If they did this, let's make them pay."

"Good. I'll handle the rest."

Jeong Pung rose from the daybed and walked away.

As he turned, he asked worriedly, "But is your body all right?"

He was asking whether Baek Socheon could handle the Mythic Gang if a full-scale conflict broke out.

Baek Socheon flopped back onto the daybed.

"They say a wealthy man can live off his wealth for three years after going bankrupt. This is my third year of ruin."

* * *

"What? You didn't even confirm the bodies of Black Hand and Cheon Yangho?"

The man shouting in anger was Yeom Jeonggil. Wang Gon stood before him with his head lowered, as though being punished.

"It's certain that Baek Socheon killed them."

"Because that bastard said so? Are you in your right mind? You're a Hall Leader of the headquarters, yet you handled this so carelessly. At the very least, you should have confirmed the bodies."

"I apologize."

Though Wang Gon lowered his head, he was dissatisfied inside.

'He's desperate to find fault with Baek Socheon.'

Yeom Jeonggil was a difficult superior to serve. His moods changed on a whim, good one moment and foul the next. Before he began berating Wang Gon, he had praised Baek Socheon, saying that if used properly, he could be useful in an important position.

'No, is he trying to find fault with me?'

Wang Gon's suspicions naturally followed.

'Could this old man want something from me?'

Since he knew Wang Gon had recruited Baek Socheon with a large sum of money, perhaps greed had taken hold of him.

'I should read the situation and slip him a little. Tch.'

At that moment, a disturbance arose outside. A subordinate rushed in to report.

"Murim Alliance martial artists have forced their way in."

"What?"

Murim Alliance martial artists could visit any place where people lived. The problem was the phrase "forced their way in." Before the subordinate could even finish reporting, more than ten martial artists entered.

Wang Gon was startled when he saw the man at their head. It was Jeong Pung, the Zhejiang Division Chief of the Murim Alliance. The martial artists accompanying him were Zhejiang Division martial artists he had brought with him.

Wang Gon clasped his hands respectfully in greeting.

"What brings the Division Chief to this humble place?"

Zhejiang Province was far from the center of the continent, but Jeong Pung was still a Division Chief of the Murim Alliance. Even the head of a great sect could not treat him lightly.

Yeom Jeonggil and Jeong Pung had socialized on several occasions, but Jeong Pung ignored that familiarity and spoke in a businesslike tone.

"You two must come with me."

"What is this about?"

Jeong Pung answered Wang Gon's polite question in a loud voice.

"I trust you're aware of the massacre of Liang Qiu's family."

"I am."

"I'd like you to come with me and assist in resolving the case."

Wang Gon's expression hardened as he looked at Yeom Jeonggil beside him. He was asking for their help in words, but he meant to take them away and question them.

"This is troublesome. You've come without any warning."

"Hall Leader Wang."

"Yes, Division Chief."

"I didn't come here to ask you for a favor."

A cold air filled the room. Wang Gon did not dare say another word.

'Why is this madman suddenly acting like this?'

Wang Gon looked at Yeom Jeonggil. Yeom Jeonggil stared silently at Jeong Pung.

There was not the slightest personal feeling in Jeong Pung's expression as he faced Yeom Jeonggil.

The two had shared drinks on several occasions. They had been friendly enough. For Jeong Pung to act this way meant he had come prepared.

That meant they could not refuse.

Of course, Yeom Jeonggil was confident he could defeat Jeong Pung in martial arts alone.

In ordinary circumstances, a Division Chief was not the head of a strike force. The position involved meeting people, drinking with them, and reviewing reports. It had strong political and administrative aspects.

That was precisely why a Division Chief also represented the Murim Alliance.

"Since the Division Chief has come in person, naturally we must show him proper courtesy. Let us go."

Yeom Jeonggil took the lead, and Wang Gon followed without complaint.

The Zhejiang Division martial artists suppressed both men's internal energy. It was an especially humiliating moment for Yeom Jeonggil. He silently glared at Jeong Pung to show his displeasure.

Jeong Pung saw it, but pretended not to and showed no emotion.

As they left together, anxiety overcame Wang Gon.

'Damn it. Things can't keep getting bigger.'

He was trying to use Baek Socheon to somehow settle the matter, but it was only growing worse.

* * *

"Have you heard the news?"

Im Chung and Beon Saeng came running with startling news.

"Yeom Jeonggil and Wang Gon have been brought in."

Baek Socheon did not look surprised at all, and Im Chung nodded.

"As expected! This is your work, Brother."

"You drew the outline."

"Me? Ah!"

Im Chung understood what Baek Socheon meant. He was referring to how Im Chung had been ordered to shake Jeong Pung and had gone to see him, setting all of this in motion.

"I only carried out what you told me to do. It's absurd to say that I drew the outline."

"If it hadn't been for you, this wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

"No, not at all."

Im Chung modestly declined the praise, but he felt pleased inside.

Beon Saeng, who had been listening, grinned broadly.

"You should've seen Wang Gon's face, Brother. He was brought in looking like he'd chewed shit."

"This should have happened from the start."

"That's right, Branch Chief. Now this finally feels like a Murim Alliance branch."

Yeom Jeonggil, who had been brought in with Wang Gon, was an exceptionally prominent martial artist even within the Mythic Gang. The two men could not help feeling excited that he had been taken in as well.

"What happens now?"

Im Chung asked, and Baek Socheon answered.

"The person we've been waiting for will come down soon."

The person Baek Socheon was waiting for was Master Jong.

Wang Gon had said it himself. Whenever a problem arose outside, someone named Master Jong handled it.

Now that Yeom Jeonggil and Wang Gon had both been brought in for questioning, there was clearly a problem in Wencheng.

Master Jong had also been the one who placed the assassination commission with the Seven Sword Society to kill Liang Qiu's family. Since it was his doing, he would come to clean it up as well.

"I don't know what unfortunate bastard he is, but he's going to get crushed by you, Brother."

Baek Socheon shook his head at the excited Beon Saeng.

"I won't lay a hand on him."

"What?"

"There are people waiting for him more desperately than I am."

He added something even more cryptic for the two men, who asked what he meant.

"From his point of view, he'd rather it was me."

At that moment, a branch martial artist came to say that Wang Gon was looking for Baek Socheon.

"Why would he be looking for you, Brother?"

"He's been cornered. He's probably trying to use me to find a way out somehow. Come on, shall we go save our adorable Hall Leader Wang?"

After Baek Socheon left and only Im Chung and Beon Saeng remained, Beon Saeng spoke.

"It's not just me, right? Hall Leader Wang really does seem adorable now."

Was Im Chung any different?

"......Could it really be just an illusion?"

One thing was certain. Baek Socheon was going to adore Wang Gon very harshly.

Footnotes:

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