WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Former Supreme ◈
Chapter 98: Villains Don't Take Walks (1)
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After stepping down from the duel platform, Baek Socheon went to Ak Sogun's seat.
"If it hadn't been for you, things could have gone terribly wrong."
Ak Sogun clasped Baek Socheon's hands. Thanks to Baek Socheon, they had overcome another grave crisis.
"I was fortunate."
"No need to be humble. You did very well."
"Thank you."
"How were you so certain it was poisoning?"
Zhuge Hyeon, standing beside them, listened with interest.
"It wasn't because of any clue... I was certain he would kill his son. It's a sad thing to say."
Ak Sogun and Zhuge Hyeon nodded at the same time.
"That man has the face of a human and the heart of a beast. How could he kill his own child?"
Ak Sogun could not hide their fury. The voice transmission Ak Sogun had sent Baek Socheon, suggesting they join forces against Yeom Hwasin, had stemmed from anger at Yeom Hwasin for killing his own son.
Even when Baek Socheon predicted it, part of Ak Sogun had still thought, Surely not.
Yet when such a crime that outraged heaven and man unfolded before Ak Sogun's eyes, Ak Sogun was genuinely enraged.
"He was never a man who valued blood ties. He only cares about claiming supremacy."
His father had probably turned him into a monster. As proof, he had made his young son personally kill the first girl he had loved. His past was pitiful, but he should never have gone so far as to kill his own child today.
"Will he keep his promise?"
"I have a feeling he will, but he's a man whose thoughts are impossible to read. I think it would be best not to trust this promise."
"Either way, his son has died. We should remain cautious."
Zhuge Hyeon nodded at Ak Sogun's words. Baek Socheon nodded as well, though he knew the truth.
His son's death would not stir even the slightest anger in Yeom Hwasin. What they needed to worry about was his rage over his plans going awry.
Still, Baek Socheon believed Yeom Hwasin would keep his promise.
Yeom Hwasin had sincerely admired Baek Socheon for uncovering the plot. He had readily allowed them to inspect the corpse because Baek Socheon himself had stepped forward to expose the scheme. If Yeom Hwasin had not held special feelings toward him, he would never have gone along with their wishes so easily.
In any case, Baek Socheon thought Yeom Hwasin would keep his promise as payment for that. It was only a feeling, born from an unspoken exchange of emotions shared by Yeom Hwasin and himself alone. No one else could possibly understand it, so he could not tell anyone.
After meeting Ak Sogun and Zhuge Hyeon, Baek Socheon sought out Ban Wollyang to thank him.
"If the Medical Sage had not helped me, I could not have achieved this result. Thank you very much."
"Fortunately, it was a poison I knew. I'm truly glad I could be of help."
Ban Wollyang smiled brightly. What had happened today was something he could boast about for the rest of his life.
"You prevented a war, Medical Sage."
"That praise is too generous. If it hadn't been for you, there would have been no way for me to help in the first place."
Having watched Baek Socheon recover from his injuries at close range, Ban Wollyang was all the happier.
"Please continue to look after the martial world."
"Yes."
Seeing Baek Socheon's faint smile, Ban Wollyang reproached himself for his final words. He was asking a man who had already saved the martial world once to save it again.
'I'm sorry. But please save it just one more time.'
News of Baek Socheon's duel spread to everyone outside as well.
Cheers erupted beyond the grounds.
"Martial Artist Baek has won!"
"The hero has returned!"
"Baek Socheon has returned!"
The area around Wuhan was in a festive mood. The Murim Alliance sponsored nearby inns to celebrate Baek Socheon's victory, providing unlimited free alcohol and food.
"Long live the Murim Alliance!"
"Long live Baek Socheon!"
Since the war had begun, the martial artists of the orthodox faction had never gathered for a celebration. The martial heroes rejoiced all the more, swept up in the festive atmosphere.
A celebratory banquet was held inside the Murim Alliance for the invited martial artists.
Baek Socheon attended and exchanged greetings with them. Truthfully, he had no desire to attend a banquet and show off his victory, but he did not refuse for Ak Sogun and the Alliance's sake.
After all, they had come to watch his duel. They were also the people who sustained the orthodox faction. Some possessed admirable chivalrous spirit, while others pursued only their personal greed.
Yet every one of them mattered. They were the pillars of the orthodox faction, and whether he liked them or not, they were needed to fight the Black Heaven Alliance.
"That was truly incredible."
"You were amazing!"
"Please remember my name. I will become someone like Great Hero Baek as well!"
Every martial artist in attendance wanted to shake Baek Socheon's hand at least once. None of them had expected a man without internal energy to fight so well. More than that, exposing the poisoning had been even more thrilling than the duel itself.
This duel gave everyone reason to reevaluate Baek Socheon. Considering the skill he had displayed today, nothing could be more foolish than dismissing him for lacking internal energy.
When it was time to speak about his victory, Baek Socheon had a request for them all.
"As you all know, there is a high chance that the Black Heaven Alliance will start another war."
Everyone nodded anxiously.
"Yeom Hwasin seeks the unification of the martial world, even if it means sacrificing his own son. If war breaks out, he will annihilate the orthodox faction. There will be nowhere to hide. He will search the mountains and even remote coastal villages, wiping out every last seed of the orthodox faction. We must all stand united and join our strength."
Many of the veteran masters had fought alongside Baek Socheon in the previous war. They had sincerely regretted that he had lost his internal energy. But after seeing him fight today, they felt he would be able to fulfill his role on the battlefield.
"If war comes, you must step forward as well. Even if you do not lead the charge, could you not command from the rear?"
One person's wish was the wish of them all.
"Yes, I will."
Of course, that would not happen. Before war broke out, Baek Socheon intended to settle things with Yeom Hwasin somehow. If Yeom Hwasin kept his promise, that time would come exactly one year from now.
Once he felt he had stayed long enough, Baek Socheon quietly left the banquet hall.
* * *
Cheon Geuk stood in Baek Socheon's secret training ground.
With her hands behind her back, she gazed up at the night sky. Stars glittered between the surrounding cliffs.
Then Baek Socheon arrived. Without turning around, she said, "I was watching that bastard, so I couldn't even see your duel."
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine. The outcome was decided anyway. Pajeong is asleep now."
Of course, she had left the Guardian Assassin Stars to watch Pajeong's residence. He could move even in the middle of the night.
Only then did Cheon Geuk turn around with a bright smile.
"Congratulations on your victory."
"Thank you."
Her congratulations pleased him more than any others. The moment he saw her smiling face, he felt as though he had escaped the martial world, so full of schemes and plots. Even though she herself stood at its very center.
"I heard what happened on the duel platform. If it hadn't been you, no one could have taken such a gamble at that moment."
"If it had been someone else, I couldn't have done it."
It had only been possible because his opponent was Yeom Hwasin.
"You're the only one who sees it that way. Because it was Yeom Hwasin, no one else in the world could have done it."
Baek Socheon gave a quiet laugh.
"Thanks to you, we bought ourselves a year."
"If they keep their promise."
Looking at Baek Socheon, she said, "Actually, a war would benefit us."
"I know."
"Yet here I am, helping you work so hard to prevent one. If the assassins find out, they might throw me out."
"They won't throw you out."
"Why not? Because they'll think it was a choice for the assassins' sake?"
If war broke out, they would make a great deal of money, but countless assassins would die as well. There was certainly reason to prevent a war.
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because you're pretty."
Cheon Geuk blinked blankly, then burst into laughter.
"That's the right answer! Let's have a drink to celebrate."
Cheon Geuk had prepared alcohol and food in advance, along with pretty, fine dishes like before.
Whenever he noticed such thoughtful details, Baek Socheon was reminded anew that she was a woman.
"You didn't drink at the banquet."
"I thought I'd be drinking with you."
"You're practically a fortune teller now. You even knew I'd be waiting here with drinks."
"I suppose so."
The two clinked their cups enthusiastically and drank.
"This place is really nice. I think it would be nice to build a house here and live here someday."
Cheon Geuk thought that if she ever left the Assassin Alliance, she would like to live somewhere like this. If she wanted to live where no one could find her, there could be no better place.
Baek Socheon sometimes sensed that she, too, wanted to leave behind her complicated reality. How could she not? She was a woman leading those rough assassins.
"Still, I was really shocked. He actually killed his son? Could Yeom Sawon not have been his biological son? No, even if he wasn't, how could he do that?"
Cheon Geuk shook her head. She had wanted to kill Yeom Sawon too. But when he died at his father's hands, she did not feel simple satisfaction.
"Why does a madman like that like you so much?"
"Does it look like he likes me?"
"Doesn't he? He thinks of you as someone special."
"Thinking of someone as special and liking them are probably different feelings."
"Then what does he feel toward you?"
Baek Socheon had thought about it too, but it was not something he could define in a few words.
"If he liked me, he would not think of killing me. But he will definitely try to kill me."
Cheon Geuk nodded.
"That's a relief. I couldn't possibly fight over your affection with a lunatic like that."
Baek Socheon chuckled at her nonsense.
"By the way, did you find out who Pajeong was meeting?"
"Yes. Over the two days I watched him, he went to four places in total."
Cheon Geuk handed him a sheet of paper. It listed in detail when and where Pajeong had gone.
"Thorough."
"You have to be thorough to survive as an assassin for a long time."
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"You weren't in danger?"
"I only watched from a distance."
There was a reason she had been able to do that.
"As you can see, the whole time I watched him, he did nothing that stood out. He only walked around various parts of the Alliance."
"That makes it even more suspicious. What is he wandering around for?"
"Could he have noticed that he was being watched?"
"I don't think so."
Baek Socheon trusted Cheon Geuk's concealment technique, and they had given no sign that they suspected him. If Pajeong thought he was under suspicion, the better way to avoid it would be to remain inside his residence.
"He's busy plotting something. That's why he didn't even watch the duel. No matter how little interest someone has in other people's affairs, wouldn't they at least watch a duel like this?"
"You're right. It was definitely strange."
"Where was he when the duel took place?"
When everyone's attention had been focused on the duel, he must have slipped into a place that was normally difficult to infiltrate. But Cheon Geuk's answer was unexpected.
"As you can see, he was in the outer compound. Could he have been surveying the Alliance's security perimeter?"
"There's no point in examining the outer compound's defenses instead of the inner compound's. There is even less point in walking around and memorizing them by sight."
What mattered was the locations of hidden mechanisms and martial artists lying in ambush. The inner compound's defenses were what truly mattered.
"Then why was he wandering around instead of watching the duel?"
"We have to find out."
Baek Socheon recalled the second condition Myeol Jiryun had proposed.
-The second condition is that, even after he withdraws, please allow me to remain in the Murim Alliance for a while. It is fine if Yeom Sawon does not marry me. Just let me stay until Yeom Sawon gives up on me.
Myeol Jiryun's request to remain in the Murim Alliance meant there was still something left for them to do. They still had time to uncover their plot.
"Thank you for helping this time."
"I'm the one who's grateful. I made a lot of money thanks to you."
"How much did you make?"
"Want me to tell you?"
Cheon Geuk spread both arms wide.
There could be many rewards for victory in a duel.
Fame, money, a treasured sword, spiritual medicine, or perhaps a position...
Yet what she gave him was an ecstatic reward unlike anything else in the world.
That day, Baek Socheon learned that she had earned three hundred thousand nyang from this wager.
Footnotes:
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