WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Former Supreme ◈

Chapter 29: Mr. Jong (2)

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Yeom Jeonggil and Wang Gon were taken to separate interrogation rooms.

By chance, Wang Gon was taken to the very same room he had been brought to last time.

Sitting there alone, all sorts of thoughts filled his mind, leaving him troubled.

He had never imagined that the Zhejiang Division Chief would arrest both him and Yeom Jeonggil. That was why he had even begun to suspect this.

'Is this bastard doing it for money too?'

He blamed money for every problem. Since he had solved most of life's difficulties with money, it had naturally shaped the way he thought.

'I should've won him over sooner.'

The Mythic Gang had won over Cheon Yangho, a Unit Commander, but not Jeong Pung yet. As the Zhejiang Division Chief, Jeong Pung was someone the gang itself had to handle. He was not within Cheon Yangho's authority.

Just then, the door opened, and Baek Socheon entered.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"We don't know anything. The martial artists sent down from the division took over everything and drove us out of the office."

"Jeong Pung brought Yeom and me in for questioning."

"That bastard's lost his mind."

"Damn it! We've been here for an hour, and not only has there been no interrogation, we haven't even seen a single person. I happened to see a martial artist passing by and barely managed to ask them to call you."

In truth, the wait had not even begun.

Baek Socheon intended to keep them locked up here for several days.

"It seems Yeom Jeonggil is being questioned first."

"Watch your mouth."

"He's a great hero to you, not to me."

"Hey, I'm telling you to be careful."

"Fine."

Baek Socheon knew that acting this way helped him avoid Wang Gon's suspicions. People tended to look down on those who appeared careless.

"Find out what's going on and let me know."

"I will."

As Baek Socheon turned to leave, Wang Gon spoke.

"You're the only one I can trust."

"At least wet your lips before you lie."

"I'm serious."

"Anyway, don't worry. I may not look like much, but I earn my pay."

Baek Socheon left the room.

Of course, Baek Socheon did not earn a single coin's worth of it.

After leaving the interrogation room, Baek Socheon returned to his quarters and trained alone.

He trained, ate, and read martial manuals. After finishing everything he needed to do, he leisurely returned to the interrogation room.

Wang Gon, who had been confined for several hours, looked even more haggard.

"Why are you so late? What the hell is going on?"

"The Division Chief wouldn't see me, so I couldn't find out much."

"So you found out nothing?"

"That's right. The atmosphere at the branch is very grim right now."

"This is serious."

"Just think of it as taking a few days to rest and make yourself comfortable. They have no evidence, so what is there to worry about?"

"That's not the problem. The gang might send Master Jong down here."

"Master Jong? Ah, the one who placed the assassination commission with the Seven Sword Society?"

"Yes. When things get complicated, Master Jong steps in and resolves them."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing, then? If he comes down and settles it."

"If Master Jong comes, someone will die."

Wang Gon shuddered as though that someone might be him.

"He must be incredibly skilled in martial arts."

"No. Master Jong isn't stronger than the Mythic Gang's Four Great Martial Artists."

In other words, he was not stronger than Yeom Jeonggil.

"Then why are you so afraid of him?"

"Master Jong is a cold-blooded man who disregards the process if it gets him the result he wants. It was his idea to massacre Liang Qiu's entire family this time. He had the family slaughtered so it would look like an incident born of personal vengeance."

"So he's a complete bastard."

"A very frightening one."

Wang Gon could not bring himself to add the word bastard.

Master Jong was that frightening and unsettling a presence. When Wang Gon imagined Baek Socheon and his loose mouth someday making a pointless joke in front of Master Jong, saying, "You said he was a very frightening bastard back then, remember?" he decided it would be wiser to speak as little as possible.

"If I learn anything, I'll tell you at once."

"Please do."

Wang Gon had overlooked one thing.

If the branch was truly as grim as Baek Socheon claimed, it would not be easy for Baek Socheon to visit him now or in the future.

But Wang Gon was too overwhelmed by worries and fears of the Mythic Gang Leader, Master Jong, and Yeom Jeonggil to think clearly.

He had paid a bribe to bring Baek Socheon in, so Baek Socheon would surely take care of everything. That careless hope was all he had left.

After leaving the interrogation room, Baek Socheon met Jeong Pung.

"How long should we delay the interrogation?"

"Three or four days. I'll tell you when the time comes."

"Three or four days? I heard Yeom Jeonggil is furious."

"Tell him to get angry. A person needs to get angry sometimes. Haven't those bastards lived far too comfortably until now? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"What kind of look is that?"

"The kind that says you want to make me your sworn elder brother. Let me tell you in advance, I refuse."

"Don't get the wrong idea. I have no such intention."

If Baek Socheon had given him anything close to that look, it was probably because of this.

'He's very different from what I expected.'

Jeong Pung had imagined Baek Socheon as his nickname, Fight God, suggested: a sword demon without blood or tears. A man of few words, wholly devoted to loyalty and focused only on killing his opponents.

But Baek Socheon was not that sort of person.

He talked more than Jeong Pung did, and he seemed more emotional than rational.

'Is it because he lost his internal energy? Or was he always like this?'

There was no way to know.

"All right. I'll follow your lead."

Jeong Pung had already crossed a bridge he could not return from, so all he could do was trust Baek Socheon and follow him. In this uneasy situation, his only comfort was that Baek Socheon seemed sincerely grateful and certain about what would come next.

"Thank you. Those bastards will make a move during that time."

* * *

Baek Socheon's prediction proved correct.

On the third day, Master Jong arrived in Wencheng.

He had been ordered to sort out what had happened there. He served as something like the Mythic Gang's fixer.

Master Jong was slightly thin and had an utterly ordinary face.

He looked like the sort of man one might see sweeping the courtyard of the house across the street in the morning. His greatest weapon was that he looked so ordinary he would never stand out anywhere.

After arriving in Wencheng, he waited for someone at an inn in the marketplace.

The man who arrived was his personal informant, a highly capable person who specialized in investigations. Before coming down, Master Jong had sent a dispatch in advance and ordered the informant to learn about the situation here.

When he worked, he did not trust internal information. Too many conflicting interests were tangled within the organization, often making it difficult to obtain accurate information.

So after gathering only the basic details, he collected and processed information exclusively through this man, whom he trusted.

"What happened?"

"There is one person at the heart of this matter."

"Who?"

"A martial artist named Baek Socheon, who was recently dispatched to the Wencheng Branch."

"Baek Socheon? That name sounds familiar. What kind of man is he?"

"He was formerly a Squad Leader in the Iron Sword Corps and was recently dispatched to the Wencheng Branch. It is believed that Black Hand and Cheon Yangho were also defeated by him."

Master Jong tilted his head.

"They were defeated by an Iron Sword Corps Squad Leader? Even if he came from the Iron Sword Corps, that could not have been easy."

"He's no ordinary Squad Leader."

"Who is he?"

"Do you remember the God of War from the Orthodox-Demonic War?"

"Ah!"

Master Jong finally understood why the name Baek Socheon had sounded familiar.

"That's right. It's him."

Master Jong, who normally showed no emotion regardless of the report, was startled. He knew Baek Socheon well.

At last, he understood why matters in Wencheng had not gone as planned.

"That man became Wang Gon's subordinate."

Master Jong knew how extraordinary a martial artist Baek Socheon had been.

"Even fallen, a hero remains a hero. A man like that would never become Wang Gon's subordinate. That fool Wang Gon must not even realize whom he provoked."

"That seems to be the case."

"You've done well."

Master Jong handed him an envelope containing bank drafts. The man took the money and left as though the rest was none of his concern.

Master Jong's eyes gleamed sharply.

'So my opponent is Baek Socheon.'

Master Jong did not deliberate long before deciding to eliminate Baek Socheon. There was no need to make the matter complicated.

Now that Baek Socheon's name had surfaced, every problem must have begun because of him. The Mythic Gang Leader would handle the punishment for Wang Gon, who had been deceived by Baek Socheon, and Yeom Jeonggil, who had failed in his role as an investigator.

Master Jong only needed to eliminate the heart of the problem and return.

'I'll remove Baek Socheon myself.'

He felt no fear of Baek Socheon. He already knew that Baek Socheon had lost his internal energy and become a cripple. Black Hand and Cheon Yangho had likely fallen because they did not know whom they faced, but he knew his opponent precisely.

Master Jong felt excitement rise within him.

If he settled this matter by dealing with Baek Socheon, it would be the most valuable work he had done in his entire life.

He quietly left the inn.

* * *

Two nights later, Baek Socheon was climbing the cliff barehanded, just as he had the day before.

As always, he carried a large leather bag on his back.

The moment he reached the summit and placed a hand on the edge of the cliff, someone was waiting there.

The person looking down at him with a grin was Master Jong.

Because his opponent was Baek Socheon, Master Jong did not let down his guard. As though he had no intention of giving Baek Socheon even a moment to prepare, he immediately raised a foot filled with internal energy and brought it down toward Baek Socheon's face.

Whoosh!

'This is the greatest moment of my life!'

With this one blow, Baek Socheon's face would cave in, and he would fall to his death below.

But that greatest moment had to stop right before Baek Socheon's face.

"That's far enough."

Along with the heavy warning, a sword from Master Jong's right was aimed at his throat.

Still holding one foot in the air, Master Jong looked toward the person holding the sword.

Eastern Star, one of Cheon Geuk's Four Heavenly Assassins, stood there in a mask with his sword pointed at Master Jong. Master Jong was skilled in his own right, yet he had not even noticed Eastern Star approaching.

Then someone came up from his left, draped an arm around his shoulder as though they were friends, and spoke.

"You want to stomp on him, don't you? I get that urge sometimes too, when he acts so annoyingly smug."

Master Jong turned in alarm.

Cheon Geuk was already standing beside him, looking down at Baek Socheon. The moment she put her arm around his shoulder, she had already sealed his paralysis point, leaving him unable to move.

'A supreme master!'

Baek Socheon looked up and said, "I'm exhausted to death. You idiots, quit talking nonsense and move. Get your foot out of the way!"

As Baek Socheon climbed onto the cliff, Eastern Star pressed one of Master Jong's pressure points.

Master Jong collapsed and fell asleep.

The remaining Four Heavenly Assassins appeared from nowhere, carried away the sleeping Master Jong, and withdrew.

"If you wanted to stomp on him, why didn't you just do it?"

"There must be a thousand ways to kill him without hurting the sole of my foot. Why would I?"

She smiled softly.

Her beautiful smile held the joy of having secured Master Jong.

Baek Socheon had expected Master Jong to target him upon arriving, so he had asked Cheon Geuk to remain near him. His cliff training at night was also a kind of lure. In a place with no one watching, when Baek Socheon had barely reached the summit in exhaustion, Master Jong would surely want to launch a surprise attack.

"Well, my part ends here."

Cheon Geuk lowered her head and said, "I'll finish this and come back."

"Be careful wrapping it up."

"Are you worried about me?"

"Yes. If you die, I won't be able to go see Radiant Assassin. And I still need to collect one hundred thousand nyang."

"I should've just let him stomp on you earlier."

Cheon Geuk and the Four Heavenly Assassins vanished soundlessly with Master Jong. Their concealment techniques and lightness techniques were truly impressive.

Left alone, Baek Socheon stood there for a moment in the wind. Then, as though today was no exception, he took a martial manual from his leather bag.

"Since I'm already up here, should I read for a while before going down?"

He could focus best when he sat on the edge of the cliff and read a martial manual in the cool wind.

Probably because of this.

'If I doze off and fall, I'll die!'

Footnotes:

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