WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Former Supreme ◈

Chapter 75: Sortie (2)

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Cheon Geuk stood by the window on the second floor of Daru, looking outside.

More than twenty riders galloped out of the Alliance and passed in front of her.

Baek Socheon rode at the front.

Afraid he might see her, she quickly crouched until only her eyes showed above the windowsill.

Eastern Star spoke from behind her.

"You won't be visible from a moving horse."

"You never know. His eyesight is absurdly good."

"Weren't you hoping Martial Artist Baek would see you?"

Cheon Geuk whirled around with a fierce look, and Eastern Star flinched.

"Gah! I'm sorry. I spoke out of turn."

Her expression brightened as if it had all been a joke.

"That's right. I was standing there because I wanted him to see me. But if he actually did, I think I'd be embarrassed. Where did he say he was heading?"

"Zhejiang Division."

"A lot happens in that remote place."

It still felt like only yesterday when she first went to Zhejiang Province at Baek Socheon's summons.

Watching the road where he had vanished from sight, she asked, "Are you worried about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"That I'll become so infatuated with him that I'll neglect Alliance affairs?"

Eastern Star finally said what he had been holding back.

"It's the opposite."

"The opposite?"

"I think it's all right for you to neglect them a little now. Haven't you devoted your entire youth to Alliance affairs?"

"Hm. My youth has already passed? Well, I suppose at my age..."

"No, no! I spoke out of turn again."

Eastern Star was a rigid sort, which made him fun to tease.

She looked out the window again. Gazing up at the clear, cloudless sky, she said, "When will it snow again?"

"It'll snow a lot this year, they say."

Without turning around, Cheon Geuk smiled brightly.

"All right, shall we start preparing for the evening business?"

* * *

The Sage Heaven Corps led by Baek Socheon arrived near Zhejiang Division.

"Wang Ho and Beon Saeng, come with me. The rest of you wait here."

Baek Socheon took only the eldest and youngest to the meeting place.

The person waiting for them was Kang Jungmyeong, Jeong Pung's attendant martial artist. He had sent a dispatch to headquarters to report the matter. Baek Socheon had contacted him separately and arranged to meet him here.

"I am Baek Socheon, Unit Commander of the Sage Heaven Corps."

"I'm Kang Jungmyeong."

He was an ordinary martial artist. His role was to manage Jeong Pung's office and attend to him.

"What happened to Division Chief Jeong?"

"He started speaking less some time ago, and a few days ago, his face was injured. He said he'd run into a door, but those were clearly injuries from being beaten. There were bruises on his arms as well."

The Division Chief of the Murim Alliance had been beaten? That was impossible. The more serious problem was that he had been assaulted and was trying to hide it.

"Do you have any idea what this could be about?"

"He doesn't tell me about personal matters... but he has seemed deeply troubled lately."

After asking a few more questions, Baek Socheon sent him back.

"Go back and act as you normally would."

"Yes."

Kang Jungmyeong left first.

Baek Socheon said to Wang Ho, "Send the others to investigate Division Chief Jeong and those around him. If you get help from the Zhejiang Division of the Shadow Pavilion, you should be able to find out about his financial situation."

He could have handled the matter himself, but he wanted to give his subordinates practical experience. They had already been through a variety of situations, but this was their first time working together under the name Sage Heaven Corps.

He might take charge of the Secret Pavilion again in the future. The Alliance Leader and On Byeokhwa both wanted that.

Even if that happened, he intended to obtain the Alliance Leader's permission and continue operating the Sage Heaven Corps separately. It would be his direct unit and an independent force.

"And investigate Kang Jungmyeong as well."

It was not that Baek Socheon suspected Kang Jungmyeong. If the man had malicious intentions, he would not have gone out of his way to bring them all the way here. Still, it was uncommon for an attendant martial artist to send a dispatch personally, so he included him in the investigation.

What concerned Baek Socheon was the possibility that the Black Heaven Alliance or the Blood Cult stood behind this. The Black Heaven Alliance had previously tried to recruit Murim Alliance personnel here in Zhejiang.

"In the meantime, I'll meet Division Chief Jeong."

* * *

"Martial Artist Baek. What brings you here?"

Jeong Pung was startled to see Baek Socheon visiting him.

"Have you already forgotten? Didn't you tell me to come visit?"

"I remember that, but..."

He had not expected Baek Socheon to actually come.

"Are we going to talk while you keep me standing here?"

"Ah, please sit."

Baek Socheon sat across from him.

"I heard about you. You took charge of an organization within the Sage Heaven Pavilion, didn't you?"

"The Grand Strategist gave me a position out of consideration for our old ties."

"I heard you reconciled with the Alliance Leader?"

"So you already knew."

"Who doesn't?"

Rumors about Baek Socheon had already spread throughout headquarters. There was no way Jeong Pung, a Division Chief, would not have heard.

The conversation with Jeong Pung kept breaking off. It was not because they had not met in a long time. He simply could not focus on the conversation. There really were injuries on Jeong Pung's face, and he looked uneasy.

Baek Socheon had not formed a deep bond with Jeong Pung, but Baek Socheon remembered him fondly. He did not know what trouble Jeong Pung was facing, but he hoped it was not serious enough to destroy his life.

"I thought our connection ended back then."

Baek Socheon smiled faintly at Jeong Pung's words.

"It seems our connection is unexpectedly tenacious."

"What brings you here?"

"I was passing through and decided to stop by. Let's have a drink."

"I have an important appointment today, so that will be difficult."

"Tomorrow, then?"

"...How long will you be staying here?"

He looked reluctant.

"A few days."

"Then I'll contact you."

"All right. I'll be staying at the largest inn in front of the division."

"Let's meet again."

Baek Socheon rose from his seat.

Instead of leaving, Baek Socheon hid on a branch of a large tree overlooking Jeong Pung's office and watched him.

If Baek Socheon had come to visit after so long, Jeong Pung would surely have canceled his other appointment. The fact that he postponed their meeting until tomorrow meant today's business was very important.

Yet Jeong Pung did not leave the office until nightfall, after his workday had ended.

Baek Socheon saw him sitting at his desk and sighing. It became clear that Jeong Pung had refused not because he had an appointment, but because he was not in the frame of mind to drink with anyone.

What could possibly be troubling him so deeply?

After confirming that Jeong Pung had returned home, Baek Socheon went back to the inn where his subordinates waited.

They had removed their Sage Heaven Corps uniforms and split into several groups, disguised in ordinary martial attire and as escort agency martial artists. A party of twenty people would draw too much attention.

Wang Ho, who had been waiting, reported what he had learned by working with the Zhejiang Division of the Shadow Pavilion.

"We found nothing unusual about Kang Jungmyeong, who sent the dispatch. The problem is Division Chief Jeong."

"What's the problem?"

"It has been confirmed that Division Chief Jeong recently withdrew a large sum from money exchange houses."

"How much?"

"Fourteen thousand nyang in total. Five thousand nyang twice, and two thousand nyang twice."

As far as Baek Socheon knew, Jeong Pung was not corrupt. That meant fourteen thousand nyang was likely his entire life savings. He had withdrawn all that money?

"I heard he had a family."

"That's right. He's a very devoted family man."

For a family man to withdraw what he had likely saved over a lifetime in such a short period meant he was clearly facing a major problem.

"Could it be a family matter?"

"It doesn't seem so. His family has been living as usual."

"Send people to check whether Jeong Pung has visited any gambling dens in Zhejiang Province. Send two people skilled at surveillance to watch him. It could involve a woman, so look into the women around him as well."

"Yes, understood."

Wang Ho left the room.

Baek Socheon walked to the window. Jeong Pung's face from earlier that day came to mind.

'I hope this is something I can still resolve for you.'

Jeong Pung moved after his workday ended the next day.

Constantly looking back to see whether he was being followed, he arrived at a lumberyard in the nearby mountains.

Several dozen bare-chested men were there. They were dressed as lumberjacks, but they were not ordinary people.

A lumberyard was an ideal place for martial artists to hide. There was nothing strange about having dozens of men there.

The person waiting for Jeong Pung was a man in his thirties. His name was Seok Gyeon, and an irrepressible frivolity showed all over his face.

"Did you bring the money?"

"Didn't I tell you there isn't any more?"

"Hehe. What are you planning to do, then?"

"What do you expect me to do with money I don't have?"

"Are you asking me to believe that after serving as Division Chief for so long, this is all the money you have?"

"Was I a Division Chief from the beginning? What am I supposed to do if I don't have money?"

"If you intend to stand firm like this, there's nothing we can do. We will have no choice but to reveal what you did to the world."

Jeong Pung's expression stiffened.

"What do you think will happen when your family finds out? Will they still see you as a husband and father?"

Jeong Pung clenched his teeth but could not say anything.

As though granting him a favor, Seok Gyeon coaxed him.

"Fine. I'll make a concession. If you truly can't provide money, bring us information that can be sold for money."

"What information?"

"Steal information from inside your division. We'll sell it and make money that way."

"No!"

Jeong Pung shouted and glared at Seok Gyeon furiously.

"Absolutely not!"

"Not even if we expose what you did?"

"Not even then!"

"Do you think we'll only kill you? I'm trash, real trash. Since I'm openly trash, there isn't anything I won't do for money."

"You bastard!"

As Jeong Pung moved toward Seok Gyeon, one of the men nearby quickly stepped in front of him.

The bare-chested man had thick hair all over his body, making him look like a monkey at first glance.

He was as skilled as his striking appearance suggested, even more skilled than Jeong Pung. The other men nearby were also far stronger than the martial artists of Zhejiang Division. It was like having three strike teams at the level of the Iron Sword Corps gathered in one place.

Seok Gyeon spoke soothingly.

"If you sell us information, we'll even return all the money you've paid so far. As you said yourself, won't you need money to support your wife and children in the future?"

"No. Even if I die, I can't do that."

"What crime did your family commit?"

"Even so, I can't."

"What in the world are you planning to do?"

At that moment, someone's voice came from above.

"What about you? What are you planning to do?"

The two turned toward the voice.

At some point, Baek Socheon had appeared, sitting atop a stack of logs.

"Who the hell is that?"

At the hairy man's shout, the men in the lumberyard all drew their weapons and gathered around.

Baek Socheon asked Jeong Pung, "You turned down our drinking appointment to do this here?"

"How did you get here?"

Seok Gyeon asked Jeong Pung, "Do you know him?"

Jeong Pung did not answer. He only stared at Baek Socheon. It was not just anyone, but Baek Socheon. If he was here, then...

"Come to think of it... you came here knowing everything."

"Not in detail. I'm about to find out."

Baek Socheon added sincerely, "I was worried. I thought you might accept that offer."

"I'm not that kind of person."

"That's enough."

Baek Socheon leaped down.

More than thirty men with swords drawn surrounded him.

Baek Socheon looked over the men encircling him.

The hairy man was the strongest among them. Baek Socheon could sense that the martial auras of those surrounding him contained sinister energy.

'Unorthodox martial arts!'

That meant they were either martial artists of the Black Heaven Alliance or martial artists of the unaffiliated unorthodox faction.

The hairy martial artist thought Jeong Pung had brought Baek Socheon.

"You don't seem badly hurt, seeing you pull this stunt."

Baek Socheon understood that he was the one who had beaten Jeong Pung.

"You hit him?"

"That's right. Thickheaded bastards only understand once they're beaten."

"You're with the Black Heaven Alliance, aren't you?"

The hairy man flinched in surprise.

"How did you know?"

"How would I know? I just made a guess."

"What?"

The hairy man's expression hardened.

"Your Alliance Leader said he was giving up on Zhejiang Province. Who are you with, lurking around here?"

Baek Socheon knew Yeom Hwasin well. When they met over the Mythic Gang matter, Yeom Hwasin had said he would give up Zhejiang. Yet they had secretly returned to do something like this? Yeom Hwasin was difficult to understand, but he was not petty enough for this.

"Yet you're still with the Black Heaven Alliance?"

Even at the mention of Yeom Hwasin, the hairy man did not seem especially tense. One person naturally came to mind.

"Yeom Sawon! You're that bastard's subordinates."

The only person who could defy Yeom Hwasin's orders and scheme on his own was his son.

"Your first impression was filthy, and your actions are exactly as low as I expected."

"Watch your mouth before I tear it apart!"

The hairy man's violent reaction was answer enough. They were definitely Yeom Sawon's subordinates.

Baek Socheon said to Jeong Pung, "You've been caught by a very vile and filthy bastard."

Footnotes:

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