Chapter 26
If He Had Not Changed His Mind (1)
Baek Socheon smiled faintly.
Perhaps it was the smile that appeared at the moment someone’s fate was decided.
“You are ordering me to kill Branch Chief Im?”
Yeom Jeong-gil nodded at Baek Socheon’s question.
“That’s right. Kill him.”
Even Wang Gon, who was standing beside them, was startled. He had never imagined Yeom Jeong-gil would issue such an order.
“And if I refuse?”
As though he had expected that response, Yeom Jeong-gil answered without hesitation.
“Then I will kill you. I cannot accept someone who refuses my orders as a subordinate.”
Yeom Jeong-gil released a wave of killing intent, making his intentions perfectly clear.
“Very well. I’ll kill him.”
Baek Socheon accepted the order so readily that even Yeom Jeong-gil looked surprised.
“It could cause serious problems.”
“Recently, he has made enemies of quite a few people. There is the culprit who murdered Yang Chu’s family, as well as those filthy scoundrels from the Cheuk Society. But give me some time. Hall Master Wang here will also fall under suspicion, so if I’m to eliminate Im Chung while clearing the Hall Master of suspicion, I’ll need to devise a plan. I need time.”
“Fine. I’ll give you ten days.”
“That will be enough. Is there anything else?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Baek Socheon strode away without looking back.
“He has spirit.”
Wang Gon was honestly moved.
Even in that situation, Baek Socheon had taken Wang Gon’s circumstances into consideration.
Yeom Jeong-gil, however, scoffed.
“Spirit? You call a man spirited when he decided to kill his superior before you could even count to five? When he decides to kill you later, it probably won’t even take him three.”
Even so, Wang Gon desperately prayed inwardly.
Just kill him! You have to kill that bastard if either of us is going to survive!
There could be no future unless Baek Socheon passed this test.
He would decide to kill Wang Gon before the count of three?
That was no concern.
By the count of two, Wang Gon would kill him first.
After returning from his meeting with Wang Gon, Baek Socheon immediately summoned Im Chung and Beon Saeng.
“A man named Yeom Jeong-gil, one of the Shinhwa Gang’s Four Great Martial Warriors, has come here.”
Im Chung had heard of him before.
“I heard he has quite a fearsome temperament.”
Baek Socheon looked directly at Im Chung.
“He ordered me to kill you.”
Im Chung and Beon Saeng were both shocked.
“He intends to test my loyalty while eliminating the man held responsible for this incident.”
Im Chung swallowed hard.
Had anyone other than Baek Socheon delivered those words, his legs would have given out beneath him on the spot.
If the Shinhwa Gang wanted someone dead, that person would eventually die.
“What do you think? Would you like to experience dying by my hand?”
“I must respectfully decline.”
He tried to remain calm, but his mouth had gone completely dry.
Under ordinary circumstances, Beon Saeng would have made a joke. This time, however, his expression was rigid.
He became angry in Im Chung’s place.
“Those bastards! They’re unforgivable. How can they treat a person’s life so casually?”
Cheuk Su, Cheon Yangho, and now Yeom Jeong-gil, who had issued this order.
They were all men who treated the lives of others as though they were worth no more than those of flies.
Baek Socheon spoke to Beon Saeng.
“There were men like that twenty years ago, when I joined the Martial Alliance. There were men like that the following year, and there are men like that now. There will be more next year and even twenty years from now. Such people have always existed, and they always will. There is no need to become angry.”
He was right.
The Tae Jeong Sect, which Beon Saeng had chosen to ignore, had already existed six years ago.
Beon Saeng felt ashamed of the life he had lived.
“I’ve spent my whole life running away from reality.”
“Most people live that way.”
“But you don’t, Hyung-nim.”
“What makes you think I don’t? Because I killed Cheuk Su and Cheon Yangho? Has it never occurred to you that doing so might have been my own way of escaping reality?”
“What do you mean?”
“I chose the easier path.”
Baek Socheon was completely serious. It was clear he was not joking.
“I… don’t really understand. Even though I’m already twenty-six.”
“You still won’t understand when you’re thirty-eight. You’ll merely feel even more ashamed of yourself. You’ll think, ‘How can I still not understand at this age?’”
“You’re trying to comfort me, aren’t you?”
“You always fall under strange misconceptions whenever Branch Chief Im is in danger.”
Beon Saeng immediately refocused on Im Chung’s predicament.
“Hyung-nim, please help us! Please save our Branch Chief!”
Baek Socheon turned to Im Chung.
“There are two methods.”
Im Chung was grateful to Beon Saeng for pleading on his behalf when he could not bring himself to do so.
He was even more grateful to Baek Socheon for presenting him with choices in such a desperate situation.
“The first is to eliminate Yeom Jeong-gil. Remove the source of the problem. It is a very simple solution.”
“He is a renowned master even within the Shinhwa Gang.”
“If I decide to kill him, there are ways.”
Im Chung did not even consider the first method.
Solving a problem by killing someone was not his way, even if that person was trying to kill him.
“What is the second?”
“We create a situation in which they cannot kill you.”
“How?”
Baek Socheon had already devised the second method on his way back.
“The Provincial Division still doesn’t know that Cheon Yangho has disappeared, correct?”
“No.”
Only a few days had passed since Baek Socheon killed him. Moreover, because Baek Socheon himself was responsible, they had deliberately refrained from notifying the Provincial Division.
“Send a message hawk to the Provincial Division immediately and report Cheon Yangho’s disappearance. Tell them you believe he was killed in connection with the massacre of Yang Chu’s family. Exaggerate the seriousness of the situation as much as possible. An influential figure in the Provincial Division has died, so they’ll cause an uproar and send people here to investigate. With so much attention focused on this place, I can claim that killing you would be impossible.”
“Ah! That sounds like an excellent plan. I’ll contact them immediately.”
Im Chung started to rush outside, but stopped and turned back toward Baek Socheon.
He bowed deeply.
“Thank you so much.”
“Thank your son.”
Im Chung chuckled.
His life was at stake, yet strangely, he felt at ease.
It was, of course, because Baek Socheon was here.
There were only two years between them, yet relying on him felt like relying on a true elder.
I may thank my son, but I will repay this debt to you.
It was a debt for three lives—not only his own, but also those of his wife and son.
***
The message hawk produced even greater results than they had expected.
Jeong Pung, Chief of the Martial Alliance’s Zhejiang Provincial Division, personally came to Munseong accompanied by the Provincial Division’s martial artists.
“Branch Chief Im.”
“Division Chief!”
Without even allowing time for a proper greeting, Jeong Pung urgently asked,
“What in the world happened?”
Jeong Pung was a short, powerfully built man and a master of the saber.
“Unit Leader Cheon disappeared while investigating the massacre of Yang Chu’s family.”
In reality, Cheon Yangho had not investigated the massacre at all.
“Disappeared?”
“He is not the sort of person who would remain out of contact for several days. I believe someone must have attacked him.”
Jeong Pung nodded.
“Could it have been the culprit who slaughtered Yang Chu’s family?”
“There is a high possibility.”
“Damn it!”
First the massacre of Yang Chu’s family, and now Cheon Yangho’s disappearance.
This sequence of events placed considerable pressure on Jeong Pung as Chief of the Zhejiang Provincial Division.
He had sent Cheon Yangho to handle Yang Chu’s case because he expected the man to resolve it cleanly.
But now Cheon Yangho had apparently been killed, and the affair could develop into a matter requiring intervention from the Martial Alliance’s headquarters.
That was the last thing Jeong Pung wanted.
It would amount to proof that he was an incompetent Provincial Division Chief.
He had to resolve the case himself somehow.
Meanwhile, Im Chung wondered whether Jeong Pung had also been accepting bribes from the Shinhwa Gang.
If they could buy off a Unit Leader like Cheon Yangho, there was no reason they could not do the same to a Division Chief.
“How far has the investigation progressed?”
“We have not uncovered much. However, we did learn that shortly before his death, Yang Chu had been investigating a new business venture belonging to the Shinhwa Gang.”
“The Shinhwa Gang?”
Jeong Pung was visibly startled by the name.
Within Zhejiang Province, the name of the Shinhwa Gang had to be handled with extreme caution.
“Why was he investigating the Shinhwa Gang?”
“He was apparently acting at the request of the Heo Sword Clan.”
Even as they spoke, Im Chung carefully observed Jeong Pung’s reactions.
“What business venture was it?”
“They are planning to enter the ironworks business.”
“And? Are you suggesting that Unit Leader Cheon’s disappearance is connected to the Shinhwa Gang?”
“I do not know that much.”
Outwardly, Jeong Pung appeared to have no connection to the Shinhwa Gang.
But such matters could not be determined by appearances alone.
“Understood. From this moment onward, hand the entire investigation over to the Provincial Division.”
“Yes, sir.”
“On your way out, tell the newly dispatched martial artist to come inside.”
“Yes.”
Outside, one of the martial artists escorting the Division Chief was giving Beon Saeng several instructions.
“Bring six more desks in here, and reserve rooms at a nearby inn in advance. We will take our meals at the inn as well. Pay particular attention to the Division Chief’s meals.”
There were several problems with those instructions.
Martial Alliance personnel were forbidden by regulation from sleeping or eating at private inns while on official duty.
They were supposed to stay in the branch’s accommodations and eat meals prepared by the branch.
But Beon Saeng did not argue.
“Understood.”
When Im Chung came outside, Beon Saeng asked quietly,
“You gave them your office too, didn’t you?”
“I had to.”
“They’re eating food from the inn. Then tell them to do their work at the inn too.”
“Try to understand. They receive the same treatment from the people at headquarters.”
“If they suffer the same treatment, that’s even more reason they shouldn’t do it to us.”
Im Chung patted Beon Saeng once on the shoulder.
“Let’s deal with the enemy outside first.”
A short while later, Baek Socheon entered Im Chung’s office.
Jeong Pung, who now occupied the office in place of its owner, remained seated as he spoke.
“Martial Warrior Baek, I know about you.”
That was precisely why Jeong Pung had been displeased when he received the report that Baek Socheon was being dispatched to the Munseong Branch.
Why did it have to be him?
Those who did not know Baek Socheon were unaware even of his existence.
But those who knew of him could never forget him.
“I also fought in the Great Orthodox-Unorthodox War against the Cheukcheon Alliance. I once saw you from a distance.”
Jeong Pung had formerly belonged to the Azure Dragon Corps at headquarters.
He had served as one of its Unit Leaders before receiving the fortunate appointment of Chief of the Zhejiang Provincial Division.
His career had progressed exceptionally well.
“I know how deeply the Martial Alliance and the entire orthodox martial world are indebted to you. I am grateful as well. But that does not mean you may act however you please.”
“However I please?”
“You caused trouble as soon as you arrived.”
“You consider arresting the Tae Jeong Sect’s men to be causing trouble?”
“You didn’t arrest Tae Jeong. You killed him.”
“Did you read the report properly? We first arrested his subordinates. Tae Jeong then armed himself and attacked the branch. He had the misfortune of dying during the confrontation.”
Jeong Pung snorted.
“You killed him deliberately. That is the kind of man you are. You cannot feel satisfied until you have shed blood.”
“You seem to know me remarkably well for someone who only saw me from a distance.”
“Everyone talked about you.”
“What did they say?”
“Which version of you would you like to hear about?”
“Which version of me did you intend to discuss when you brought it up?”
A brief silence followed.
Jeong Pung did not know how deeply Baek Socheon was involved in the current affair.
But he knew one thing.
Whether in the past or the present, Baek Socheon was not a man he could handle.
“I called you here to warn you not to interfere with my investigation…”
He had originally intended to use the word warn.
But Jeong Pung took a step back.
“…I am asking you.”
Changing his words had an effect.
Baek Socheon readily agreed.
“Very well.”
When Baek Socheon stepped outside, Im Chung was waiting for him.
“What do you think? Does he appear to be connected to the Shinhwa Gang as well?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“If he is involved too, then this is extremely serious.”
It would mean that the entirety of Zhejiang Province had already fallen into the Shinhwa Gang’s hands.
“What is so serious about it? We can use this opportunity to clean them all out. The Shinhwa Gang may be powerful within Zhejiang Province, but if headquarters truly decides to crush them, they can be wiped out in half a day. All we need is evidence of the crimes they committed.”
Whenever Baek Socheon spoke like this, Im Chung felt a strange sense of incongruity.
Those were not words that could be spoken merely because Baek Socheon had once been a squad leader in the Iron Sword Corps.
And Baek Socheon had already demonstrated far too much for it to be dismissed as empty boasting.
“I’m heading out for a while.”
“Where are you going?”
“To see Yeom Jeong-gil.”
“Yes. Please take care.”
Im Chung bowed more respectfully than usual.
His fate depended upon this particular outing of Baek Socheon’s.