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’re telling me to kill Branch Leader Lim?”
At Baek Socheon’s question, Yeom Jeonggil nodded.
“That’s right. Kill him.”
Even Wang Gon, who was with them, was startled. He had never imagined such an order would be given.
“And if I refuse?”
When Baek Socheon asked back, Yeom Jeonggil answered without the slightest hesitation, as though he had expected that response.
“Then I’ll kill you. I can’t take someone under me who refuses my orders.”
Releasing his killing intent, Yeom Jeonggil made his intentions perfectly clear.
“Very well. I’ll kill him.”
Ironically, it was Yeom Jeonggil, the one who had given the order, who looked surprised when Baek Socheon so readily agreed.
“That’ll cause quite a problem.”
“Lately, that man’s made enemies of quite a few people. There’s the culprit who wiped out the Liang Qiu family, and those filthy Black Society bastards as well. But give me some time. Branch Leader Wang here will also come under suspicion. If I’m going to clear his name while getting rid of Lim, I’ll need to plan the operation. I need time.”
“Fine. I’ll give you ten days.”
“That’ll be enough. Do you have anything else to say?”
“Nothing.”
“Then I’ll be going.”
Baek Socheon strode away.
“He’s got guts.”
To be honest, Wang Gon was deeply moved. Even in that situation, Baek Socheon had looked out for him.
On the other hand, Yeom Jeonggil sneered.
“Guts? You’re calling it guts when he decided to kill his own superior before I could even count to five? If he ever decides to kill you, it won’t even take him three.”
Even so, Wang Gon prayed inwardly.
‘Just kill him! You have to kill that bastard if we’re both going to live!’
Only by passing this test would there be a future.
He’d kill him before counting to three? No problem. By the time Yeom Jeonggil reached two or three, Wang Gon would kill him first.
After returning from meeting Wang Gon, Baek Socheon immediately summoned Lim Chung and Beon Saeng.
“One of the Four Great Martial Artists of the Divine Transformation Gang, Yeom Jeonggil, has come down.”
Lim Chung had heard of him before.
“I’ve heard he’s quite a difficult man.”
Looking at Lim Chung, Baek Socheon said,
“That bastard ordered me to kill you.”
“What?”
Both Lim Chung and Beon Saeng were shocked.
“He wants to test my loyalty while getting rid of the one responsible for this whole affair.”
Lim Chung swallowed hard.
If anyone other than Baek Socheon had been the one delivering those words, his legs would have given out the moment he heard them. If the Divine Transformation Gang wanted him dead, he would eventually die.
“So? Want to die by my hand?”
“I must respectfully decline.”
He tried to remain composed, but his mouth had gone completely dry.
Normally, Beon Saeng would have cracked a joke in a situation like this, but instead, his expression had become completely rigid.
He vented the anger that Lim Chung himself could not.
“These bastards! I really can’t forgive them! How can they treat people’s lives like they’re nothing?”
Black Hand, Cheon Yangho, and now Yeom Jeonggil.
They were all people who treated the lives of others as though they were no more valuable than flies.
Baek Socheon spoke to Beon Saeng.
“Twenty years ago when I entered the Martial Alliance, the year after that, now, next year, and even twenty years from now. People like that have always existed, and they always will. So there’s no need to get angry.”
He was right.
The Taejeong Sect, which Beon Saeng had chosen to ignore, had existed six years ago as well.
Ashamed of the way he had lived, Beon Saeng lowered his head.
“I’ve… done nothing but run away from reality.”
“Everyone lives like that.”
“But not you, Brother.”
“Why do you think not? Just because I killed Black Hand and Cheon Yangho? Have you never considered that, for me, that might also have been a form of escaping reality?”
“What do you mean?”
“It means I chose the easier path.”
Baek Socheon spoke with complete seriousness.
It was obvious he wasn’t joking.
“I… don’t understand. I’m already twenty-six.”
“You still won’t understand at thirty-eight. You’ll only feel an even greater sense of self-loathing. You’ll think, ‘Even at this age, I still don’t understand.’”
“You’re trying to comfort me, aren’t you?”
“You always misunderstand things whenever Branch Leader Lim is in danger.”
Beon Saeng immediately refocused on Lim Chung’s predicament.
“Brother, please help! Please save our Branch Leader!”
Baek Socheon turned to Lim Chung.
“There are two methods.”
Lim Chung was grateful that Beon Saeng was pleading on his behalf when he himself could not, and even more grateful that Baek Socheon was offering solutions in such a desperate situation.
“The first is to get rid of Yeom Jeonggil. Eliminate the source of the problem. A very simple solution.”
“He’s a renowned expert even within the Divine Transformation Gang.”
“If I decide to kill him, there are ways.”
Lim Chung never even considered the first option.
Resolving problems by killing someone was not his way.
Even if that person was trying to kill him.
“And the second?”
“Create a situation where I can’t kill you.”
“How?”
By the time he had returned, Baek Socheon had already thought through the second method as well.
“The Zhejiang Branch still doesn’t know Cheon Yangho has disappeared, right?”
“No.”
Only a few days had passed since Baek Socheon had killed him, and since Baek Socheon himself was the one who had done it, he had deliberately refrained from reporting it to the branch.
“Send an urgent written message to the Zhejiang Branch immediately and report Cheon Yangho’s disappearance. Say that he appears to have died in connection with the Liang Qiu family incident. Exaggerate the severity of the situation as much as possible. Since an influential figure from the branch has died, there’ll be complete chaos, and the branch will send investigators down. Then I can use all the attention focused on the investigation as an excuse for why I can’t kill you.”
“Ah! That sounds like an excellent plan. I’ll contact them immediately.”
Just as Lim Chung hurried to leave, he turned back toward Baek Socheon and bowed deeply.
“Thank you very much.”
“Thank your son.”
Lim Chung let out a quiet laugh.
His life was on the line, yet somehow he felt at ease.
Of course, it was because of Baek Socheon.
They were only two years apart in age, yet it felt as though he were relying on an elder.
‘I’ll thank my son, but I’ll repay this debt of gratitude to you without fail.’
Not only for himself, but for his wife and son as well.
It was a debt owed threefold.
The effect of the written message exceeded all expectations.
Branch Leader Jeong Pung of the Zhejiang Branch personally arrived, bringing the branch’s martial artists with him.
“Branch Leader Lim.”
“Branch Leader!”
Before they could even exchange greetings, Jeong Pung urgently asked,
“What in the world happened?”
Jeong Pung was a master of the blade, a man with a short but powerfully built frame.
“Leader Cheon disappeared while investigating the massacre of the Liang Qiu family.”
In reality, Cheon Yangho had never investigated the case at all.
“Disappeared?”
“He isn’t the sort of man who’d go missing for several days without any word. Someone must have gotten to him.”
Jeong Pung nodded.
“Could the culprit who massacred the Liang Qiu family be responsible?”
“There’s a high possibility.”
“Damn it!”
From the Liang Qiu family massacre to Cheon Yangho’s disappearance.
This series of incidents placed a considerable burden on him as Branch Leader of Zhejiang.
He had sent Cheon Yangho to handle the Liang Qiu case because he had expected him to resolve it properly.
Instead, Cheon Yangho had been killed.
Now the matter could escalate to the point where even the Main Division would become involved.
That was the last thing Jeong Pung wanted.
It would only prove him to be an incompetent Branch Leader.
No matter what, he had to resolve this case before it reached that point.
Meanwhile, Lim Chung wondered whether Jeong Pung had also been accepting bribes from the Divine Transformation Gang.
If they could buy over someone like Cheon Yangho, why not a Branch Leader as well?
“How far has the investigation progressed?”
“We haven’t uncovered much. However, we did learn that shortly before his death, Liang Qiu had been investigating one of the Divine Transformation Gang’s new businesses.”
“The Divine Transformation Gang?”
Jeong Pung was visibly startled.
In Zhejiang Province, the name Divine Transformation Gang was one that had to be handled with extreme caution.
“Why was he investigating the Divine Transformation Gang?”
“We heard he accepted a request from the Heo Sword Family.”
Even as they spoke, Lim Chung carefully observed every one of Jeong Pung’s reactions.
“What kind of business?”
“They’re planning to enter the iron workshop business.”
“And? Are you saying Leader Cheon’s disappearance is connected to the Divine Transformation Gang?”
“We don’t know that much yet.”
Outwardly, Jeong Pung appeared to have no connection whatsoever with the Divine Transformation Gang.
But appearances alone proved nothing.
“I understand. From this point on, transfer the entire investigation over to the branch.”
“Yes, sir.”
“On your way out, send in the newly assigned martial artist.”
“Yes.”
Outside, one of the escorting martial artists who had accompanied the Branch Leader was giving Beon Saeng instructions.
“Bring in six more desks. Reserve rooms at a nearby inn in advance as well. We’ll be taking our meals there, so make the arrangements. Make sure they pay special attention to Branch Leader Jeong’s meals.”
Those instructions violated Alliance regulations.
Alliance personnel were not supposed to lodge or eat at inns.
They were required to stay at the branch headquarters and take their meals there.
But Beon Saeng said nothing.
“Understood.”
When Lim Chung came outside, Beon Saeng quietly asked,
“You gave them your office too, didn’t you?”
“I had to.”
“And they’re eating at the inn. Then they should work there too.”
“Try to understand. They get treated the same way by the Main Division.”
“They shouldn’t treat us like this just because they’re treated that way.”
Patting Beon Saeng on the shoulder, Lim Chung said,
“Let’s deal with the enemy outside first.”
A short while later, Baek Socheon entered Lim Chung’s office.
Jeong Pung, who had taken over the room in the owner’s absence, remained seated as he spoke.
“Martial Artist Baek. I know who you are.”
That was why, when he had received the report that Baek Socheon had been assigned to the Wencheng Branch, he had not been pleased.
‘Why did it have to be him?’
Those who didn’t know him were unaware of his very existence.
But those who did could never forget him.
“I also fought in the War between the Righteous and Demonic Factions against the Black Heaven Alliance. I even saw you from afar.”
Jeong Pung had originally served in the Blue Dragon Group of the Main Division.
As the former leader of the Blue Dragon Group, he had been fortunate enough to become the Branch Leader of Zhejiang Province.
It had been an exceptionally successful career.
“I know how much the Martial Alliance and the righteous martial world owe you. I, too, am grateful. But that doesn’t mean you’re free to do whatever you please.”
“Whatever I please?”
“You caused trouble the moment you arrived.”
“You’re calling the arrest of the Taejeong Sect trouble?”
“You didn’t arrest him. You killed him.”
“Did you actually read the report properly? We arrested his subordinates first. Then Taejeong armed himself and attacked the branch. He simply had the misfortune of dying during that.”
Jeong Pung snorted.
“You killed him on purpose. That’s the kind of person you are. Someone who isn’t satisfied until blood is spilled.”
“You seem to know me quite well for someone who only saw me from afar.”
“Everyone talked about you.”
“What did they say?”
“Which version of you do you want to hear about?”
“Which version of me were you trying to talk about when you brought it up?”
Silence fell between them.
Jeong Pung did not know how deeply Baek Socheon was involved in this matter.
But he did know one thing.
Just as in the past, Baek Socheon was still someone he could never handle.
“I called you here to ask that you not interfere with my investigation…”
Originally, he had intended to say “warn.”
Instead, Jeong Pung backed down.
“I’m asking for your cooperation.”
The change in wording had its effect.
Baek Socheon answered readily.
“Very well.”
When Baek Socheon stepped outside, Lim Chung was waiting.
“What do you think? Does he seem connected to the Divine Transformation Gang as well?”
“It’s still too early to tell.”
“If he is involved too, then the situation is serious.”
It would mean Zhejiang Province had fallen completely under the Divine Transformation Gang’s control.
“What’s so serious about it? Then we’ll clean them all out in one go. The Divine Transformation Gang might be impressive in Zhejiang Province, but if the Main Division truly decided to wipe them out, it’d all be over within half a day. All we need is evidence of the crimes they’ve committed.”
At moments like this, Lim Chung always felt an odd sense of incongruity.
Those were not the words of someone who had merely once been a squad leader in the First Unit of the Iron Sword Corps.
It was impossible to dismiss them as empty bravado.
After all, Baek Socheon had already proven far too much.
“I’m heading out for a while.”
“Where are you going?”
“To see Yeom Jeonggil.”
“Yes. Have a safe trip.”
Lim Chung bowed more respectfully than usual.
After all, his own fate depended on this trip.
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