WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Former Supreme ◈

Chapter 34: To Hire You (2)

──────

The following night, Wang Gon stood by the window and listened to Wang U's report.

"I dismissed everyone except the martial artists managed by the gang."

"Well done."

Besides the martial artists employed by the gang, Wang Gon had personally trained others as well. They had been a precaution for times of crisis, yet when a crisis truly came, they were the first people he had to send away.

In other words, they had not been a proper safeguard at all.

There was one decisive thing he had realized through this incident.

'I don't have enough money.'

It was one thing to spend money to overcome a crisis, but he could not afford to be left reeling like this. If another crisis came, he would be completely helpless.

'I need to squeeze out money somehow.'

That was the conclusion he had reached. With enough money, he could even sway the Mythic Gang Leader.

"I borrowed twenty thousand nyang from Lord Yang."

"That's fortunate."

"It isn't fortunate. That damned old man had no shame at all. He said he would charge a monthly interest rate of twenty percent."

"It's fine. Once we get past this hurdle, we can make it all back."

Wang Gon had not given up. Once they overcame this crisis, there would surely be a way forward.

Before that, there were countless matters to handle. He could never let anyone discover that he had bribed Jeong Pung. He also had to give the higher-ups a convincing explanation for why Yeom Jeonggil, rather than himself, had become the culprit in this affair.

Then there was the ironworks project, which had been delayed because of this incident. He needed to push it forward so the gang could not touch him.

"From now on, you'll be in charge of the ironworks project."

It had originally been Black Hand's responsibility.

"Report every detail to me, from beginning to end."

"Yes."

Wang Gon raised his voice at the uncertain reply.

"You're too timid. Keep that up, and you'll end up making a great loss over a small gain."

That was when the voice of someone who should never have been heard here drifted through the room.

"Do you know what's wrong with you, then?"

Wang Gon and Wang U spun around in shock.

Yeom Jeonggil stood behind the half-open door.

"Great Hero Yeom! You've been released."

Wang Gon was deeply startled, but he treated Yeom Jeonggil as though nothing had happened. Wang U, on the other hand, had gone pale.

"Yes. I was released just a little while ago."

Just as Baek Socheon had expected, Yeom Jeonggil had come here first.

"You must have suffered greatly, Great Hero."

"Why did you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you bribe Jeong Pung?"

Yeom Jeonggil did not beat around the bush. He was too furious and exhausted to do so.

Naturally, Wang Gon flatly denied it.

"You're mistaken. I never did such a thing."

"Then why did you borrow money from this Lord Yang?"

He had heard their entire conversation just moments ago.

Yeom Jeonggil's gaze shifted to Wang U. Unlike Wang Gon, who lied without the slightest change in expression, Wang U was tense and pale as death.

'That useless idiot!'

He should have been putting his heart and soul into the act, yet he stood there trembling. He looked ready to take the blame for crimes he had not even committed.

Wang Gon spoke honestly. Now that Yeom Jeonggil had been released, there was no way to hide this matter.

"I'll be honest. Yes, I recruited Jeong Pung. I thought that if we made him our ally, both Great Hero Yeom and I could be released."

"But you were released first."

"I judged that it would be easier to get you out if I could move freely outside. If I was short-sighted..."

At that very moment, Yeom Jeonggil drew his sword.

Shwick.

Slash.

The sword cut through more than Wang Gon's words. Wang U's neck split open.

Spurt, spurt, spurt, spurt!

Blood sprayed from his neck as Wang U collapsed backward.

"No!"

Wang Gon rushed over, but Wang U had already died from that single strike.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Wang Gon shouted in fury.

"That is my answer to your bullshit."

Wang Gon drew his sword.

Yet he could not charge at Yeom Jeonggil. That was the kind of person he was. He had lost his son before his eyes, yet thought of his own life first. He considered it a rational judgment that charging at an opponent he could not defeat would be a meaningless death.

"How dare you do this! No matter who you are, do you think the Mythic Gang Leader will let this go?"

"What if he doesn't? After losing you, would he kill me too? The loss would be far too great. Is our Gang Leader the sort to accept losses?"

Neither of them had risen through the Mythic Gang.

After establishing itself in Zhejiang Province under the name Mythic Gang, the Mythic Gang Leader had recruited countless martial artists. Sometimes with money, sometimes with promises of power, sometimes with beautiful women, and sometimes by exploiting weaknesses. They had been brought in for all sorts of reasons.

That was why the Mythic Gang operated strictly on ability and results rather than close bonds and loyalty.

"The Murim Alliance won't just stand by either."

"The culprit will be identified as the man who killed Liang Qiu's family."

"What?"

Yeom Jeonggil's sword flew toward Wang Gon.

Wang Gon swung his sword to meet it, but he had never been a match for Yeom Jeonggil. He barely blocked a few exchanges, but in the end, he could not avoid Yeom Jeonggil's attack.

The table and display cabinet split apart. Wang Gon's heart suffered the same fate.

Thud.

Wang Gon fell to the floor, his breath gone.

He had tried to pin the slaughter of Liang Qiu's family on Im Chung and Beon Saeng, hoping to have them killed.

Yet after everything came full circle, he died hearing that very reason. When many villains snickered that there was no such thing as retribution, Wang Gon would never be able to say the same.

As Yeom Jeonggil turned to leave, he suddenly flinched.

Another person stood beside the doorway where he had been standing only moments ago.

It was Baek Socheon.

"No matter how much someone deserves to die, what kind of man kills a child in front of his father?"

Yeom Jeonggil recoiled when he recognized him.

"You!"

He nearly asked how Baek Socheon had gotten here, but stopped himself. It was not just what Baek Socheon had said. The look in his eyes was entirely different from before.

No matter how exhausted he was, Yeom Jeonggil was not so slow that he could not understand this situation.

"Did you plan for me to kill Hall Leader Wang?"

"It wasn't grand enough to call it a plan. I just used you. You can't stand being wronged for even a moment, can you? I can torment others, but no one can torment me. Isn't that right? After seeing you today, I think it is."

The arrogance and frivolity Baek Socheon had shown until now were nowhere to be found.

Remembering their first meeting, Yeom Jeonggil said, "I had a bad feeling about you from the beginning."

"Was it as bad as mine?"

"What the hell are you?"

"You really don't know me? I thought someone like you would know. Baek Socheon, you've really never heard that name before? Ah, I should reflect on myself a little."

Yeom Jeonggil blinked as though wondering what nonsense he was hearing, then froze.

The first name that came to mind before disappearing in an instant was Baek Socheon.

"Don't tell me... you?"

"Yes. The person you just thought of, that's me."

"Don't make me laugh! That man is far older than you."

"I'm old enough myself."

Yeom Jeonggil refused to believe it. Or rather, he did not want to believe it. As though trying to shake off his unease, he shouted.

"What the hell are you relying on when you don't even have internal energy?"

"One hundred nyang."

"What?"

"I'm relying on one hundred nyang."

At that moment, someone whispered by Yeom Jeonggil's ear.

"If you pay one thousand times that amount, you can sleep with me. Of course, even all the gold in the world wouldn't be enough for you."

Cheon Geuk was standing behind him before he knew it.

Yeom Jeonggil jolted and swung his sword behind him.

Before the sword had even completed half its arc...

Stab!

A sharp dagger burst through his throat.

Yeom Jeonggil tried to turn around until the very end to see who had killed him, but Cheon Geuk pulled out the dagger before he could.

Spurt!

Yeom Jeonggil collapsed, blood spraying from his neck.

Cheon Geuk looked down at the fallen corpse.

"The more I think about it, one hundred nyang is too cheap."

"No, it's expensive."

"Expensive?"

"This bastard isn't worth even one nyang."

"Hm. Do you know something?"

"What?"

"It takes quite a lot for me to act personally."

"I know."

"You do?"

"You said there are opposing factions within the Assassin Alliance. If they learn about this, they'll try to use it politically."

"You do know."

When people could be heard outside, Cheon Geuk vanished without a sound.

"That's enough, then."

Jeong Pung and the martial artists of the Zhejiang Division entered the room. Im Chung and Beon Saeng were with them as well.

Jeong Pung forgot how to speak for a moment as he took in the scene.

'They're really all dead. Just as Baek Socheon said.'

The others were equally shocked.

There was one person among them who felt truly satisfied.

It was Im Chung.

He looked down at Wang Gon's corpse and smiled broadly. Even when Yeom Jeonggil had ordered his death, he had not tried to take revenge through murder.

But Wang Gon was the man who had threatened him with his wife and child. Wang Gon's subordinate had even come to kill them.

Now, the direct threat to his family was gone. He felt not the slightest sympathy for Wang Gon's death. If anything, it was gratifying.

The same went for Wang U. How many people had suffered because of that young man's shallow selfishness and greed? How many more would have suffered in the future?

Jeong Pung looked at Baek Socheon.

"What now?"

"A Mythic Gang Hall Leader and one of its Four Great Martial Artists are dead. They were even summoned over the Liang Qiu family incident. At this point, we have enough grounds to arrest and investigate the Mythic Gang Leader, don't we?"

"The Mythic Gang Leader!"

Everyone was startled at the idea of arresting the Mythic Gang Leader.

"You intended this from the beginning."

"The order to slaughter Liang Qiu's family came from the Mythic Gang Leader."

"Why go this far?"

"Because an entire family you didn't even know died? Isn't it meddling?"

"Well, not necessarily. Let's say it is."

"I think you shouldn't belong to the Murim Alliance if you aren't going to live this way."

"...!"

"If you're going to look away when it's convenient and pretend not to know, you should live a different life. There are plenty of other ways to live. You could make more money, too. But if you chose a life where you earn your keep from the Murim Alliance, then even if you don't go looking for trouble, you should at least not turn away from what is right in front of you."

"Those words shame me."

"You don't need to be ashamed. Everyone thinks differently and lives differently. Just standing here means you have no reason to be ashamed. Let's just say the Mythic Gang had bad luck. I've needed somewhere to vent lately."

"Do you feel better now?"

"I haven't even started. Let's go arrest the Mythic Gang Leader."

Once things had begun to unfold, Jeong Pung's anxious heart felt calmer instead.

"Fine, let's go. Let's find out whether that madman truly ordered the slaughter of Liang Qiu's family. Giving them time would put us at a disadvantage, so we'll travel through the night to their main headquarters."

"Good! Knowing there's someone to take responsibility if things go wrong really warms my heart."

"Must you say that?"

Jeong Pung shook his head in disbelief, but he was grateful that Baek Socheon had reminded him.

This was his matter, after all. Since he had taken the lead in it, he would have to bear the responsibility if anything happened.

'Right. I won't regret this.'

Baek Socheon was giving him the chance to think that way.

At least he would not be swept up in events without thinking, only to regret it later.

Jeong Pung left behind only the martial artists needed to handle things here, then went outside.

As Baek Socheon followed him out, Cheon Geuk's voice transmission reached him.

-It's all right if I come watch, isn't it? I won't charge you one hundred nyang.

Since he had no internal energy and could not send a voice transmission, Baek Socheon gave a slight nod.

He could feel Cheon Geuk and the concealed Guardian Assassin Stars following him.

Im Chung and Beon Saeng followed after them.

Since seeing Wang Gon's corpse, Beon Saeng's heart had continued to pound.

The two had first learned that their opponent was the entire Mythic Gang at the land where the ironworks would be built.

Even then, they had never imagined the matter would become so real and unfold before their eyes. Nor had they imagined it would become reality so quickly.

Beon Saeng quietly said to Im Chung, "Branch Chief, we'll be all right, won't we?"

"I want to say yes, but honestly, I don't know either. And from now on, call me big brother when we're alone."

Beon Saeng was startled. Then he realized that another wall between him and Im Chung had fallen.

"Yes, big brother."

"This is an official setting."

"Yes, Branch Chief!"

Beon Saeng's steps grew lighter.

Maybe it was because he was in such a good mood. He could not help overestimating Baek Socheon.

"As long as our eldest brother is here, I think everything will be fine. I think we could even storm the Murim Alliance itself, not just the Mythic Gang."

"The Murim Alliance is taking it too far."

"Hahaha."

Beon Saeng laughed happily.

At that moment, a Zhejiang Division martial artist walking ahead turned back and frowned at them. The look clearly asked whether they could really laugh in a situation like this.

Beon Saeng composed his expression.

'Right, this isn't the time to laugh. Mythic Gang Leader, just wait.'

He hoped it would be him.

'But our eldest brother is coming for you now!'

Footnotes:

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