Chapter 29
Mr. Jong
Yeom Jeong-gil and Wang Gon were dragged into separate interrogation rooms.
By coincidence, Wang Gon was placed in the very same room where he had been held last time.
Sitting there alone, countless thoughts ran through his mind, leaving him deeply unsettled.
He had never imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that the Zhejiang Branch Commander would arrest both him and Yeom Jeong-gil. That was why a certain suspicion occurred to him.
‘Is that bastard doing this because he wants money too?’
He sought the cause of every problem in money. Most of the problems he had faced in life had been solved with money, so it was only natural that he had developed such a way of thinking.
‘I should have bought him off sooner.’
The Shinhwa Sect had managed to win over Cheon Yang-ho, the captain of one of its units, but Jeong Pung had yet to be brought into the fold. As the Branch Commander, Jeong Pung was someone who had to be handled at the sect level, so unlike Cheon Yang-ho, he had not fallen under Wang Gon’s jurisdiction.
Just then, the door to the interrogation room opened, and Baek Socheon entered.
“What in the world is going on?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“We don’t know anything either. The warriors sent down from the provincial branch took over the entire place and drove us out of the office.”
“Jeong Pung said he was going to investigate Hero Yeom and me, then brought us here.”
“That bastard must be insane.”
“Damn it! I’ve been here for an entire shichen, yet forget questioning me—no one has even shown their face. A warrior happened to pass by outside, so I barely managed to ask him to summon you.”
In truth, the waiting had not even begun.
Baek Socheon intended to keep them locked up here for several days.
“It seems Yeom Jeong-gil is being questioned first.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“He may be a hero to you, but not to me.”
“I said to be careful.”
“All right.”
Baek Socheon knew that behaving this way helped dispel Wang Gon’s suspicions. People naturally looked down on those who appeared careless and indiscreet.
“Find out what is happening and report back to me.”
“Very well.”
As Baek Socheon turned to leave, Wang Gon called after him.
“You’re the only person I can trust.”
“At least wet your lips before telling such an obvious lie.”
“I mean it.”
“Anyway, don’t worry. Whatever else you may think of me, I always earn the money I’m paid.”
Baek Socheon stepped outside.
Of course, he did not earn even a single coin of the money he had received.
After leaving the interrogation room, Baek Socheon returned directly to his quarters and began his personal training.
He trained, ate, and read secret manuals. Only after leisurely completing everything he needed to do did he return to the interrogation room.
After being confined for several shichen, Wang Gon looked even more haggard than before.
“Why did you take so long? What happened?”
“The Branch Commander refused to meet me, so I couldn’t investigate properly.”
“You mean you learned nothing?”
“That’s right. The atmosphere in the branch is extremely hostile right now.”
“This is serious.”
“Think of it as taking a few days to rest and stay calm. There’s no evidence against you, so what is there to worry about?”
“That isn’t the problem. At this rate, the sect may send Mr. Jong down here.”
“Mr. Jong? Ah, the man who commissioned the Seven Swords Society?”
“Yes. Whenever a situation becomes complicated, Mr. Jong steps in to resolve it.”
“Wouldn’t that be a good thing? If he comes down and settles everything.”
“If Mr. Jong comes, someone will die.”
Wang Gon shuddered, as though that someone might be him.
“He must be an incredible martial artist.”
“No. Mr. Jong’s martial arts are not superior to those of the Shinhwa Sect’s Four Great Martial Artists.”
In other words, he was not stronger than Yeom Jeong-gil.
“Then why are you so afraid of him?”
“Because Mr. Jong is a cold-blooded man who disregards the process as long as he achieves the desired result. It was his idea to massacre Yang Chu’s entire family. He had even the relatives killed so that the incident would appear to have been motivated by a personal vendetta.”
“In other words, he’s a son of a bitch.”
“A very frightening one.”
Wang Gon could not bring himself to repeat the final insult.
Mr. Jong was that terrifying and unsettling a figure.
Imagining the loose-tongued Baek Socheon someday standing before Mr. Jong and joking, “Didn’t you say back then that he was a terrifying son of a bitch?” made Wang Gon decide that speaking as little as possible would be the wiser choice.
“I’ll inform you immediately if I learn anything.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Wang Gon had overlooked one fact.
If the atmosphere in the branch was truly as hostile as Baek Socheon claimed, then it should not have been easy for Baek Socheon to visit him now, much less continue visiting him in the future.
But Wang Gon was currently overwhelmed by fear and anxiety over the Shinhwa Sect Leader, Mr. Jong, and Yeom Jeong-gil. He was in no state to think clearly.
He had bribed Baek Socheon and brought him into his service, so surely the man would handle everything properly.
Wang Gon’s mind was filled with nothing more than that complacent hope.
After leaving the interrogation room, Baek Socheon met with Jeong Pung.
“How long must we delay the interrogation?”
“Three or four days. I’ll tell you when the time is right.”
“Three or four days? I heard Yeom Jeong-gil is furious.”
“Let him be furious. A person ought to experience some anger in life. Haven’t those people lived far too comfortably until now? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“What kind of look do you mean?”
“The look of someone who wants to make me his elder brother. Let me warn you in advance—I refuse.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I have no such intention.”
Even if his gaze had contained something similar, it was probably because of this thought.
‘He is very different from what I imagined.’
This was how Jeong Pung had originally pictured Baek Socheon:
A Sword Demon without blood or tears, befitting his title of God of War. A taciturn man, bound by absolute loyalty and concerned with nothing but killing his enemies.
But Baek Socheon was nothing like that.
He spoke even more than Jeong Pung did, and rather than being purely rational, he possessed a strongly emotional side.
‘Is it because he lost his internal energy? Or was he always like this?’
There was no way to know.
“Very well. I will follow your plan.”
Jeong Pung had already crossed a bridge from which there was no returning, so he had no choice but to trust Baek Socheon and follow his lead.
The only comfort he found in this uncertain situation was that Baek Socheon had sincerely expressed his gratitude and seemed confident about what would happen next.
“Thank you. They will definitely make a move in the meantime.”
Baek Socheon’s prediction proved correct.
On the fourth day, Mr. Jong arrived in Munseong.
He had been ordered to clean up the situation there. Within the Shinhwa Sect, he served as something akin to a professional fixer.
Mr. Jong possessed a slightly thin build and an utterly ordinary face.
He looked like the sort of man one might see sweeping the courtyard of the neighboring house after stepping outside in the morning.
His greatest weapon was precisely this ordinariness, which allowed him to remain unnoticed wherever he went.
Upon arriving in Munseong, he waited for someone at an inn in the marketplace.
The man who arrived was his personal informant, an extremely capable individual who specialized in investigations. Before setting out, Mr. Jong had sent a message ahead, instructing him to look into the local circumstances.
Whenever he handled a job, Mr. Jong did not trust information from within the organization.
Too many conflicting interests were entangled inside any organization, making reliable information difficult to obtain.
Therefore, after gathering only the most basic facts, he collected and processed all further intelligence exclusively through this man, whom he trusted personally.
“What happened?”
“There is one person at the center of this entire affair.”
“Who?”
“A warrior named Baek Socheon, recently dispatched to the Munseong Branch.”
“Baek Socheon? That name sounds familiar. Who is he?”
“He formerly served as a squad leader in the Iron Sword Corps and was recently assigned to the Munseong Branch. We believe both Cheuk Su and Cheon Yang-ho also fell because of him.”
Mr. Jong tilted his head.
“They were defeated by a mere squad leader from the Iron Sword Corps? Even for someone from that corps, it could not have been easy.”
“He was no ordinary squad leader.”
“Who is he?”
“Do you remember the God of War from the War Between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions?”
“Ah!”
Mr. Jong finally understood why the name Baek Socheon had sounded familiar.
“That’s right. It is him.”
Mr. Jong, who usually remained completely indifferent no matter what report he heard, was visibly startled.
He knew Baek Socheon well.
Only now did he understand why the situation in Munseong had refused to unfold smoothly.
“He has become Wang Gon’s subordinate.”
Mr. Jong knew how great a warrior Baek Socheon had once been.
“A hero remains a hero even after his fall. There is no chance a man like him truly became Wang Gon’s subordinate. That fool Wang Gon probably has no idea whom he has provoked.”
“That appears to be the case.”
“You’ve done well.”
Mr. Jong handed him an envelope containing a promissory note.
The man pocketed the money and departed, behaving as though everything that happened afterward was none of his concern.
Mr. Jong’s eyes gleamed sharply.
‘So my opponent is Baek Socheon.’
Mr. Jong did not deliberate for long before deciding to eliminate him.
There was no need to overcomplicate matters.
Once Baek Socheon’s name had emerged, it was obvious that every incident had occurred because of him.
The Sect Leader could decide the punishment for Wang Gon, who had been deceived by him, and Yeom Jeong-gil, who had failed in his duties as an investigator.
Mr. Jong’s role was simply to remove the heart of the problem and return.
‘I will eliminate Baek Socheon myself.’
He felt no fear toward Baek Socheon.
He already knew that Baek Socheon had lost his internal energy and become a cripple.
Cheuk Su and Cheon Yang-ho had likely been defeated because they had not known whom they were facing, but Mr. Jong knew his opponent’s identity perfectly well.
Excitement rose within him.
If he concluded this affair by dealing with Baek Socheon, it would become the most valuable accomplishment of his entire life.
He quietly left the inn.
***
Two nights later, Baek Socheon was once again climbing a cliff with his bare hands, just as he had the night before.
As always, he carried a large leather sack on his back.
He had just reached the summit and placed one hand on the edge of the cliff when he realized that someone was waiting there.
The man peering down at him with a grin was Mr. Jong.
Because of the identity of his opponent, Mr. Jong did not let down his guard.
As though refusing to grant Baek Socheon even the slightest chance to react, he immediately raised one foot infused with internal energy and brought it crashing down toward Baek Socheon’s face.
Swoooosh!
‘This is the greatest moment of my life!’
With this single strike, Baek Socheon’s face would cave in, and he would plunge from the cliff to his death.
But the greatest moment of Mr. Jong’s life was forced to stop just before his foot reached Baek Socheon’s face.
“That’s far enough.”
Along with the heavy warning, a sword pressed against his neck from the right.
Still standing on one leg, Mr. Jong turned to look at the person holding the blade.
Dongseong, one of Cheon Geuk’s Guardian Slaughter Stars, stood there wearing a mask, his sword aimed at Mr. Jong’s throat.
Mr. Jong was considered an expert in his own right, yet he had not sensed Dongseong’s approach at all.
Then someone slipped an arm around his shoulders from the opposite side and spoke as though they were close friends.
“You really want to stomp on him, don’t you? When he acts especially irritating, even I occasionally find myself overcome by that urge.”
Startled, Mr. Jong turned his head.
Before he knew it, Cheon Geuk was standing beside him, calmly looking down the cliff.
The instant she placed her arm around him, she had already sealed his acupoints, leaving him unable to move.
‘A supreme master!’
Baek Socheon looked up at them.
“I’m dying from the effort down here, you bastards. Stop spouting nonsense and move. Get that foot out of my face!”
While Baek Socheon pulled himself over the cliff’s edge, Dongseong pressed one of Mr. Jong’s sleep acupoints.
Mr. Jong collapsed limply and fell unconscious.
The remaining Guardian Slaughter Stars, who had appeared without warning, carried the sleeping man away.
“Why did you hold back? You should have stomped on him if you wanted to.”
“Why would I? I know at least a thousand ways to kill him without making the sole of my foot hurt.”
Cheon Geuk smiled sweetly.
Her beautiful smile contained the joy of having secured Mr. Jong.
Baek Socheon had predicted that Mr. Jong would target him as soon as he arrived, so he had asked Cheon Geuk to remain nearby.
His decision to train on the cliff in the middle of the night had also been a form of bait.
There were no witnesses here, and after seeing Baek Socheon barely reach the summit in a state of exhaustion, Mr. Jong would inevitably be tempted to launch a surprise attack.
“Well, my part ends here.”
Cheon Geuk bowed her head.
“I’ll come back after finishing the job.”
“Be careful and wrap things up properly.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“Of course. If you die, I won’t be able to reach Gwangsal. And I still need to receive my hundred thousand nyang.”
“I should have let him stomp on you earlier.”
Cheon Geuk and the Four Heavenly Slayers silently disappeared with Mr. Jong.
Their concealment arts and movement techniques were truly astonishing.
Left alone, Baek Socheon stood there for a moment, letting the wind wash over him.
Then, as though today would be no exception, he pulled a secret manual from his leather sack.
“Since I’ve already climbed all the way up here, should I read for a while before going down?”
He concentrated best while sitting on the edge of the cliff and reading a secret manual in the cool breeze.
Perhaps that was why a thought suddenly entered his mind.
‘If I doze off and fall, I’ll die!’