Chapter 28
Mister Jong (1)
The next day, Jeong Pung came to see Baek Socheon.
The previous two times, he had remained seated in the office and summoned Baek Socheon to him. This time, he had come in person.
It meant he had set aside his pride.
However, the sight of Baek Socheon lying leisurely on the wooden platform in his courtyard immediately irritated him.
“Why are you lying around here instead of working?”
“Ask your subordinates. They told us to clear out of the office, so I did.”
That response took some of the wind out of Jeong Pung’s sails. He sat down on the edge of the platform.
“That doesn’t mean you should waste your time lounging around like this.”
“Old geezer.”
“What?”
“I’m saying that’s how you end up being called an overbearing old geezer. A good leader sometimes pretends not to notice when his subordinates slack off.”
Jeong Pung snorted.
“No one calls me that.”
“Of course not. They only say it where you can’t hear them.”
“You really—!”
Jeong Pung was about to explode, but soon shook his head.
There was no way he could defeat Baek Socheon in a war of words. Besides, he had not swallowed his pride and come here today merely to act like an overbearing superior.
“Do you truly believe the Shinhwa Gang was behind the massacre of Yang Chu’s family?”
“I do.”
Jeong Pung looked down at Baek Socheon’s reclining face.
Baek Socheon’s way of thinking and behaving did not suit him at all. By every measure, he found the man deeply disagreeable.
Even so, Baek Socheon was not someone who would speak baseless nonsense.
Jeong Pung had heard many rumors about him over the years.
But he had never heard that Baek Socheon plotted conspiracies or manipulated people through politics.
“You have no evidence, do you?”
“I can find it with your help.”
“How?”
“You probably won’t be able to do it anyway.”
“Stop trying to provoke me and just tell me.”
Baek Socheon sat up and looked directly at him.
“Summon Wang Gon and Yeom Jeong-gil immediately and investigate them.”
“What?”
Jeong Pung stared at him in shock.
“The Heo Sword Clan asked Yang Chu to investigate the Shinhwa Gang’s new business venture. He was killed while looking into it. That should be enough justification to summon and question them.”
“They won’t comply with the summons.”
“Then you’ll have to go and enforce it personally.”
In other words, it was a summons in name only.
In practice, it would be an arrest.
“Wang Gon is one thing, but Hero Yeom as well?”
“Yes. You must summon and investigate Yeom Jeong-gil too.”
“You won’t be able to do anything to them with such circumstantial evidence.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter?”
“They aren’t the real targets. If we put pressure on them, the Shinhwa Gang’s headquarters will move. That is what I want.”
Jeong Pung sighed without realizing it.
It was the kind of request that naturally drew a sigh.
When Baek Socheon had said earlier that he would not be able to do it, he had not merely been trying to provoke him.
“You truly intend to confront the Shinhwa Gang.”
“That’s right.”
“Are you confident?”
“Just because they call themselves the Shinhwa Gang doesn’t make them mythical beings. They’re merely a group of filthy villains hiding behind an impressive name.”
Jeong Pung thought only Baek Socheon could say such a thing.
Even without your internal energy, you haven’t changed at all.
But that was not Baek Socheon’s only reason for doing this.
“Most of the people killed in Yang Chu’s house that day knew no martial arts. There were two children among them. Listen, Division Chief Jeong. We may fight, curse one another, stab each other in the back, kill, and commit every manner of atrocity—but shouldn’t we at least keep it among ourselves?”
“...!”
“I have no intention of forgiving them. Everyone involved in this affair will die by my hand. If you were involved, then you will die too.”
Knowing it was not an empty threat, Jeong Pung hurriedly replied,
“I told you, I’m not that kind of man.”
“I believe you probably aren’t. That’s why I’m explaining all this at length and asking for your help.”
“You really trust me?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“You and I have both spent long enough being kicked around the martial world. That’s probably why you came to see me. Something in your instincts told you that you should. You thought, ‘That bastard has no internal energy and is long past his prime, but for some reason, I shouldn’t ignore him.’ And so you also began thinking that the Shinhwa Gang might truly be behind this.”
That was not exactly why Jeong Pung had come, but he could not completely deny it either.
“I feel the same way. I don’t know exactly what kind of person you are, but all my years in the martial world are whispering to me that you’re not complete trash. If I coax you carefully, you’ll make an excellent sucker who’ll help me.”
“You really are...”
Jeong Pung was dumbfounded.
What was even more absurd was that, despite being called a sucker to his face, he was not particularly offended.
“Are you mocking me, or are you being honest?”
“I’m being honest.”
“If that’s true, then you are a frightening man.”
His feelings toward Baek Socheon had already changed from when he first arrived.
Baek Socheon spoke in a gentler tone.
“I know that merely summoning them will place a tremendous burden on you.”
It would amount to publicly declaring that he intended to make an enemy of the Shinhwa Gang.
“Even so, help me.”
Baek Socheon seemed like the kind of man who would never ask anyone for help.
In truth, he was a man who rarely needed to.
That made those words all the more powerful.
“Very well. I’ll do it.”
Jeong Pung was willing to make such a burdensome decision because the person asking was Baek Socheon.
Had anyone else made the request, he would have left before they finished speaking.
No—he would never have come here in the first place.
But this was Baek Socheon.
A man everyone had once dreamed of becoming.
Truthfully, Jeong Pung wanted to attempt something alongside him, even if it meant confronting the uncomfortable reality of the Shinhwa Gang.
“Thank you.”
There was another reason as well.
“I’m not doing this solely because you asked. I’m raising children too. If they were responsible, then let’s make them pay.”
“Good. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Jeong Pung rose from the platform first and walked away.
Before leaving, he turned back and asked worriedly,
“But is your body all right?”
He was asking whether Baek Socheon could handle the Shinhwa Gang if a full-scale conflict erupted.
Baek Socheon flopped back onto the platform.
“They say a ruined rich family can survive for three years. This is my third year since going bankrupt.”
***
“Are you telling me you didn’t even confirm the bodies of Cheuk Su and Cheon Yangho?”
The man shouting furiously was Yeom Jeong-gil.
Wang Gon stood before him with his head lowered like a child being punished.
“It is certain that Baek Socheon killed them.”
“Because he said so? Have you lost your mind? How can a Hall Master of our gang handle matters so carelessly? You should at least have confirmed the bodies.”
“I apologize.”
Although his head remained lowered, Wang Gon was dissatisfied inwardly.
He’s desperate to find some fault with Baek Socheon.
Yeom Jeong-gil was an extremely difficult superior to serve.
His mood changed constantly. One moment he was pleased, and the next he was furious.
Before this outburst, he had praised Baek Socheon, saying that if they used him properly, he could prove valuable in important matters.
Wait. Is he actually trying to find fault with me?
Wang Gon’s suspicions naturally deepened.
Does this old man want something from me?
Perhaps after learning that Wang Gon had spent a vast sum to recruit Baek Socheon, he had become greedy for money himself.
I’ll have to slip him something after gauging his mood. Tch.
At that moment, a commotion erupted outside.
A subordinate soon rushed in and reported,
“Martial Alliance warriors have forced their way inside.”
“They did what?”
It was perfectly possible for Martial Alliance warriors to visit a residence.
The problem was the phrase forced their way inside.
Indeed, before the subordinate could even finish his report, more than ten martial artists entered.
Wang Gon was startled when he recognized the man leading them.
It was Jeong Pung, Chief of the Martial Alliance’s Zhejiang Provincial Division.
The warriors accompanying him were members of the Provincial Division whom he had brought to Munseong.
Wang Gon greeted him with a respectful cupped-fist salute.
“What brings the Division Chief to such a humble place?”
Although Zhejiang Province lay far from the heartland of the Great Continent, Jeong Pung was still a Provincial Division Chief of the Martial Alliance.
Even the leader of a major sect could not treat someone of his standing carelessly.
Jeong Pung had met Yeom Jeong-gil socially several times in the past. Nevertheless, he ignored their acquaintance and spoke in a strictly official tone.
“The two of you must come with me.”
“What is this about?”
In response to Wang Gon’s polite question, Jeong Pung spoke loudly.
“I assume you are aware of the massacre of Yang Chu’s family.”
“We are.”
“I would like the two of you to accompany us and assist in resolving the case.”
Wang Gon’s expression hardened as he glanced at Yeom Jeong-gil.
Jeong Pung claimed he was asking for their assistance, but his true intention was to take them in for questioning.
“This is rather troublesome without any prior notice.”
“Hall Master Wang.”
“Yes, Division Chief.”
“I did not come here to ask for your permission.”
A cold tension filled the room, and Wang Gon did not dare speak again.
Why has this lunatic suddenly started causing trouble?
Wang Gon looked toward Yeom Jeong-gil.
Yeom Jeong-gil silently stared at Jeong Pung.
There was no trace of personal feeling on Jeong Pung’s face as he confronted him.
The two men had shared drinks several times and could be considered acquaintances.
If Jeong Pung was treating him this way, then he had arrived fully determined.
That meant they could not refuse.
Of course, in terms of martial prowess alone, Yeom Jeong-gil was confident he could defeat Jeong Pung.
Generally, a Provincial Division Chief was not the commander of an assault force.
The position involved meeting people, drinking with them, managing affairs, and submitting reports. It was a role that was more political and administrative than martial.
For that very reason, the Provincial Division Chief also represented the Martial Alliance itself.
“Since the Division Chief has come personally, it is only proper that we show respect. Very well. Let us go.”
Yeom Jeong-gil took the lead, and Wang Gon followed without complaint.
The Provincial Division warriors sealed the internal energy of both men.
It was an especially humiliating moment for Yeom Jeong-gil.
He expressed his displeasure by glaring silently at Jeong Pung.
Jeong Pung saw the glare but pretended not to notice, revealing no emotion.
As they were escorted away, Wang Gon was consumed by anxiety.
Damn it! This cannot keep escalating.
He had been trying to use Baek Socheon to bring everything under control, yet the situation was only growing larger.
***
“Did you hear the news?”
Im Chung and Beon Saeng rushed over to Baek Socheon with astonishing news.
“Yeom Jeong-gil and Wang Gon have just been brought in under arrest.”
Seeing that Baek Socheon was not surprised at all, Im Chung nodded.
“As expected! This was your doing, Hyung-nim.”
“You drew the initial sketch.”
“Me? Ah!”
Im Chung understood what he meant.
Baek Socheon was referring to how he had ordered Im Chung to shake Jeong Pung’s confidence and how everything had begun from that conversation.
“I merely did exactly as you instructed. Saying I drew the initial sketch is far too generous.”
“It wouldn’t have gone this smoothly without you.”
“That isn’t true.”
He humbly denied it, but inwardly, Im Chung was pleased.
Beon Saeng, who had been listening, grinned broadly.
“Hyung-nim, you should have seen Wang Gon’s face. He looked like he had bitten into a mouthful of dung when they dragged him in.”
“This is how things should have been handled from the beginning.”
“Exactly, Branch Chief. This place finally feels like a proper Martial Alliance branch.”
Yeom Jeong-gil, who had been arrested alongside Wang Gon, was an extremely prominent martial artist within the Shinhwa Gang.
The fact that even he had been taken into custody naturally filled the two men with excitement.
“What happens now?”
Baek Socheon answered Im Chung’s question.
“The man I’ve been waiting for will come here soon.”
The person Baek Socheon awaited was Mister Jong.
Wang Gon had said that whenever trouble arose outside, a man called Mister Jong handled it.
Now that even Yeom Jeong-gil and Wang Gon had been brought in for questioning, there was unquestionably a serious problem in Munseong.
More importantly, Mister Jong was the one who had commissioned the Seven Swords Society to murder Yang Chu’s family.
Since he had started this affair, he would most likely come to finish it.
“I don’t know who the poor bastard is, but Hyung-nim is going to crush him.”
Baek Socheon shook his head at the excited Beon Saeng.
“I won’t lay a finger on him.”
“What?”
“There are people waiting for him far more desperately than I am.”
The two men looked puzzled, and Baek Socheon added something even more cryptic.
“From his perspective, he’ll wish it had been me.”
At that moment, a branch warrior arrived and reported that Wang Gon was asking to see Baek Socheon.
“Why is he asking for you, Hyung-nim?”
“Because he’s cornered. He’ll try to use me to find some way out. Shall we go rescue our adorable Hall Master Wang?”
After Baek Socheon departed and only the two of them remained, Beon Saeng spoke.
“Surely I’m imagining it when Hall Master Wang actually starts to seem adorable?”
Was Im Chung any different?
“...Are you sure it’s only your imagination?”
One thing, at least, was certain.
Baek Socheon intended to adore Wang Gon very harshly indeed.