WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Former Supreme ◈

Chapter 6: If We Don't Protect Them (1)

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"No."

Baek Socheon refused flatly and turned away.

Beon Saeng hurried over and blocked his path.

"Please let me take you as my elder brother."

Beon Saeng's decision was entirely impulsive. He had not intended anything like this when he first came here.

There were several reasons.

First, he was drunk and emotionally worked up. Baek Socheon's training had stirred him, Baek Socheon was certainly old enough to be an older brother, and he had once belonged to the Iron Sword Corps, which had been Beon Saeng's lifelong dream.

They had not even known each other for a full day, yet Baek Socheon was more extraordinary than any martial artist Beon Saeng had ever met.

Did one need to drink all the seawater in the world to know it was salty? One sip was enough to tell him that Baek Socheon was not bland water like Beon Saeng himself.

"From now on, I'll do everything for you. Not just branch work. I'll do your laundry, clean, and run errands too."

"That would make you a servant, not a younger brother."

"It's loyalty."

"Go back. If I accepted everyone who came to me like this, I would have over a thousand younger brothers."

"I don't mind being your thousandth younger brother."

At that moment, Beon Saeng thought,

'A thousand? That is no ordinary boast.'

Still, even that seemed endearing to him right then.

"Even if you don't accept me, I'll still regard you as my elder brother. That's my freedom, isn't it?"

Baek Socheon looked at Beon Saeng silently.

"Why do you want to become my younger brother?"

His speech had grown more casual. Taking it as an opportunity, Beon Saeng voiced his honest feelings.

"Ever since I was young, my dream has been to join the Iron Sword Corps. I am living pathetically here now, but I think meeting you is a chance Heaven has given me. I want to change my life, even if I'm only starting now."

"......Changing your life is not easy."

"I will work hard."

"Even if you work hard, it will not go well."

"I will work two or three times as hard."

"Hmm...... You will definitely regret this once you sober up."

Realizing that Baek Socheon's heart had softened somewhat, Beon Saeng pressed ahead recklessly.

"I never will. Then I will take that as permission. Thank you, older brother. Hahaha."

Sensing that Baek Socheon was about to say no, Beon Saeng even made a promise he could not keep.

"Tomorrow, I will deal with every last one of those Great Righteous Sect bastards myself!"

* * *

The next morning, Beon Saeng was clutching his head in the branch office. It was not merely because of his pounding hangover.

"Ah, I have lost my mind. I need to quit drinking!"

He regretted it. How could he decide to serve a newly arrived junior as his older brother? After seeing Baek Socheon for only a day, no less. What? He was going to change his life because he had met an older brother?

"Ugh, you lunatic!"

He had even boasted that he would clean Baek Socheon's room and do his laundry. What kind of idiotic thing was that to say?

'You bastard, clean your own room first.'

Anyone who saw it would think he had set up a formation in there.

Beon Saeng repeatedly banged his head against the desk.

'Ah! I wish this were all a dream.'

It felt like seeing a medicine peddler on the road and thinking, What trick is this swindler using? Then, a while later, he would come to his senses and find himself heading home with both hands full of medicine. What on earth had possessed him?

"Should I say it was a joke? Or pretend I don't remember and deny it outright?"

Then a voice came from behind.

"What are you muttering to yourself about?"

Beon Saeng flinched and turned around. It was Im Chung.

"Did you make your authority clear?"

Beon Saeng raised a fist into the air.

"Of course! You haven't seen how well I can fight yet, have you? I was once an Iron Sword Corps aspirant myself."

Just then, Baek Socheon came in and greeted them.

Seeing that Baek Socheon looked perfectly fine, Im Chung whispered into Beon Saeng's ear.

"He looks fine."

Beon Saeng lowered his voice further.

"He’s probably suffering terribly inside."

"Good work."

Im Chung smiled and entered his office. Of course, he did not believe Beon Saeng.

'He should consider himself lucky he wasn't beaten up. Still, it's good that nothing happened.'

After Im Chung went inside, Baek Socheon pointed at the documents on the desk.

"Aren't you taking these?"

"Huh? What?"

"You said you would do all my work too. Take these and get to work."

"Well......"

Beon Saeng hesitated, unsure how to answer.

Baek Socheon said with a mocking look, "I told you you'd regret it once you sobered up, didn't I?"

Those words flew into Beon Saeng's pride like hidden weapons.

He sprang to his feet.

"I'm a man who keeps his promises! Don't take me lightly."

Beon Saeng strode over and carried Baek Socheon's documents to his own desk. Yet before he could even sit down, he was already regretting it.

'Ah, you lunatic. This isn't right. You couldn't even hold out for that brief moment, so you brought them over? You should have said it was a joke!'

Once he saw Baek Socheon's face, things did not go as planned. There was something about Baek Socheon himself that provoked people, something strange that touched their pride and emotions.

"What about your promise?"

"What promise?"

"You said you would deal with all the Black Society men today."

Beon Saeng was startled.

"I did?"

He pretended not to remember, but he remembered clearly. At that moment, he had felt as though he could beat every one of the Black Society men into submission.

He could do Baek Socheon's work for him, but dealing with the Black Society was another matter entirely.

Baek Socheon walked over and took his documents back.

"Forget it. You may have said it while drunk."

Beon Saeng might have accepted being called pathetic, but Baek Socheon was politely treating it as if nothing had happened. That made his anger surge again.

His lips moved.

He had always felt bad about being unable to help people who were bullied. Fine. He would do it.

'I will deal with every last one of the Black Society men! I will keep that promise too!'

The heart of twenty-six-year-old Beon Saeng burned, and the words rose to his throat.

Then another Beon Saeng stopped him.

'Hey, are you insane? You know how cruel the leader of the Great Righteous Sect is, don't you? Fine, say you somehow get lucky and capture him. What if he has the subordinates outside kill you? And that's not all. What are you going to do about the Mythic Gang behind him? They could have someone like you kicked out of the Murim Alliance overnight.'

Another Beon Saeng encouraged him.

'The fact that those words came out while you were drunk proves this is what you have wanted to do most all along! You coward. Just do the right thing once! Is that not why you became a martial artist?'

'And if you die a dog's death, do you think that man will shed even a single tear for you?'

'You're not doing this for him to see. You're doing it for the people who are suffering. This has meaning. Even if you die, it'll still have meaning.'

If he had been circulating his qi through regulated breathing at that moment, he would have fallen into qi deviation.

Then the branch chief's office door opened, and Im Chung came out.

"Squad Leader Beon, come with me. There is somewhere we need to go."

As they left the branch, Beon Saeng spoke in a dispirited voice.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"I know everything. Voices outside can be heard from inside the office."

He had deliberately raised his voice earlier so Im Chung would hear, hoping Im Chung would stop him.

'You sly bastard. Even now, you are trying to find a way out. You are hopeless trash. Complete trash.'

Im Chung comforted him.

"Why are you letting a newcomer push you around?"

"Exactly. I should not have said I would serve him as my older brother."

"You said you would serve him as your older brother?"

"......Yes."

"For someone who always acts so clever..."

"......"

After stopping for a moment, Beon Saeng asked carefully, "Can't we do something about the Great Righteous Sect, even if we have to request support from the District Headquarters?"

"What would you do after that?"

The problem was the Mythic Gang behind them. If the Great Righteous Sect were all they had to worry about, Im Chung would not have allowed them to run rampant like this.

Beon Saeng knew that too.

'Right. The branch chief must be upset as well.'

Feeling guilty, Beon Saeng changed the subject first.

"Anyway, where are we going?"

"You ask only now? We are going to Jo Family Manor."

Im Chung and Beon Saeng arrived at Jo Family Manor.

They were there to investigate the Liang Qiu family case. Liang Qiu's closest friend in life had been the lord of Jo Family Manor.

'Lord Jo must know something.'

As a servant led them toward the reception hall, two people approached from the opposite direction.

To their surprise, they were Wang Gon and Black Hand.

"Branch Chief Im, what brings you here?"

Im Chung was startled to encounter Wang Gon in such an unexpected place.

"There was a murder yesterday. We are here to see Lord Jo while investigating the case."

"I heard about it too. A truly unfortunate matter. Make sure you catch whoever did it."

"We will do our utmost."

"Ah, and we still have things to catch up on. Let us share a drink sometime soon."

"Certainly. I will see you next time."

Wang Gon and Black Hand passed them. Unlike Wang Gon, who passed with a smile, Black Hand glared at the two of them with a mocking look.

Once they had gone far away, Beon Saeng said, "Did you see the look in that damned bastard's eyes?"

"I did."

Every signal Black Hand gave off was filled with ridicule and contempt.

"That mongrel bastard gets a thrill from crushing others beneath his strength."

Im Chung started walking again.

'The problem is that there are far too many people like that in the world now.'

* * *

"I never imagined that friend would suffer such a miserable fate."

Jo Jin, the lord of Jo Family Manor, looked exhausted and haggard.

"You must be deeply grieved."

"I knew Liang Qiu for thirty years."

"He must have been like family."

"That is right. You could say we were closer than blood relatives."

After expressing sorrow and condolences over Liang Qiu's death, Im Chung began questioning him in earnest.

"When was the last time you met Hero Liang?"

"A month ago."

"Did anything seem different about him?"

"No."

"Do you remember anything he said?"

"We only exchanged casual conversation as usual before parting."

Im Chung could tell that Jo Jin's voice was trembling. He was clearly different from usual. Then again, it would be strange if he remained calm after his closest friend's entire family had been slaughtered.

"Was there anyone Hero Liang had been on bad terms with lately?"

Jo Jin took a long time to answer.

"I have heard nothing."

Whether Jo Jin meant to show it or simply could not hide it, one thing was certain.

'He is hiding something.'

Since he had been close to Liang Qiu, he should have wanted to say anything that could help catch the murderer.

What was he hiding? A man like the lord of Jo Family Manor should have little to fear.

Then Wang Gon's face came to mind.

It struck Im Chung as strange that he had encountered Wang Gon here today.

"On the way here, we met Hall Leader Wang."

Jo Jin flinched at the abrupt remark.

"I saw him as well, for the first time in a while."

"He has done a great deal for our region."

"That is true."

When Wang Gon was mentioned, Jo Jin's eyes wavered even more, and he could not properly meet Im Chung's gaze.

'Could it be? Is this connected to them?'

There were not many people in Zhejiang Province with enough influence to silence the lord of Jo Family Manor, and the Mythic Gang was certainly among them.

'Was Wang Gon recently on bad terms with Liang Qiu? Could it be the Mythic Gang?'

Perhaps Wang Gon had come first and threatened Jo Jin. No, there might not have been any need for an explicit threat. The visit itself would have been threatening enough.

Then why had Wang Gon come at the exact time Im Chung arrived? Was it a coincidence?

'Could he have expected me to come?'

Im Chung had sent word to Jo Family Manor in advance and arranged a meeting time, so it was possible that Wang Gon had deliberately come at that hour.

If that was true, it was not merely a threat against the lord of Jo Family Manor.

It was a threat against Im Chung as well.

Im Chung soon shook his head. An entire family had been massacred.

'They are an orthodox faction in name, at least...... They could not have done that.'

* * *

The two returned to the branch from Jo Family Manor.

When they neared the branch, Im Chung said to Beon Saeng, "I will explain the Black Society matter to Baek Socheon."

"No. I will handle it."

"Can you?"

"I started this. I should clean it up."

It would hurt his pride, but that was better than entrusting it to someone else just to escape the moment, only to regret it later.

Once they returned to the branch, Beon Saeng said to Baek Socheon, "I have something to tell you. Have a drink with me later."

"All right."

He could not focus on work all day. He regretted promising to eliminate the Great Righteous Sect, felt sorry for the merchants, and was angry that things had turned out this way. He had wanted to impress Baek Socheon because he wanted Baek Socheon as his elder brother.

'Let's talk it out.'

Beon Saeng made up his mind.

After the day's work was over, Baek Socheon and Beon Saeng went out to the market.

A loud crash came from the hardware store in front of the inn they were heading toward.

Beon Saeng saw the place and the people standing before it, then groaned.

'Ah!'

What kind of cruel trick was fate playing on him?

The men surrounding the entrance to the hardware store were Black Society members from the Great Righteous Sect. The owner of the hardware store was Elder Go, the man who had filed the complaint this time.

'Why are you giving me this kind of trial?'

He resented Heaven. He wanted to turn around and leave. If he had been alone, he would have.

Then Baek Socheon spoke gently.

"Shall we have that drink another time?"

If Baek Socheon had told him to go help, Beon Saeng would have hesitated. He would have given one excuse after another.

But Baek Socheon's consideration, which was surely deliberate provocation, made Beon Saeng's emotions surge once again.

Instead of answering, Beon Saeng shouted at the Great Righteous Sect men.

"You bastards! Stop it!"

Footnotes:

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