Chapter 8: If We Don’t Protect Them, Then Who Will? (3)
The small thunder prison at the Wencheng Branch had become completely full.
It was the first time since the branch had been established that every cell had been occupied.
On top of that, Elder Go and the nearby merchants had all been brought in to write witness statements. Thanks to that, the Wencheng Branch was as crowded as a marketplace.
The martial artists stationed at the branch were shocked, but the person most stunned by the situation was Lim Chung.
“What in the world happened here?”
“We handled a civilian complaint.”
After staring at Beon Saeng with a dumbfounded expression, Lim Chung shifted his gaze to Baek Socheon.
As though he had nothing whatsoever to do with the incident, Baek Socheon had already begun taking statements from the merchants.
“Squad Leader Beon, come with me.”
Lim Chung brought Beon Saeng into his office. The moment the door closed, he exploded.
“You idiot! Have you lost your mind?”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not asking for an apology! Why did you do this?”
Beon Saeng lowered his head.
He had already seemed unstable since they drank together yesterday. But Lim Chung had never imagined he would cause a disaster of this magnitude.
“This is because of Martial Artist Baek, isn’t it?”
“No.”
“Isn’t it?”
“It was my own decision. I couldn’t keep turning a blind eye to those bastards anymore. We couldn’t pretend not to see it forever, could we?”
But Lim Chung was convinced that everything had happened because of Baek Socheon’s influence.
‘That man really was incredible. He had only been here for less than three days, yet he’d already turned someone upside down like this.’
It wasn’t that Baek Socheon or his influence was bad.
This was simply the difference between ideals and reality.
“So? What do you intend to do now?”
“First, I’ll escort everyone we arrested to the Zhejiang Branch.”
“You think the Zhejiang Branch will accept them? They’ll release every one of them, and you’ll be disciplined for ignoring procedure.”
“Disciplined? If I’m disciplined for arresting members of the Black Society, isn’t that what’s truly wrong? Fine. I’ll gladly accept the punishment. But before that, please authorize the arrest of the Taejeong Sect Leader.”
There was no point in arresting these small fry. They had to capture the Taejeong Sect Leader.
“You call that a plan? No! Absolutely not!”
“Why not?”
“You little fool! Do you really have to ask? Have you truly gone insane?”
“Yes. I’ve gone insane. And since I’m already crazy, I might as well do it properly.”
“You brat! Do you think I’m holding back because I don’t have a temper? Do you really want to get kicked out of the Martial Alliance? Being expelled isn’t even the biggest problem. You could disappear without anyone ever knowing.”
Although Beon Saeng had been worked up, hearing that the consequences might include his own death finally silenced him.
“For now, keep taking statements. What’s already happened can’t be changed, but we still have to clean up the aftermath.”
“Where are you going?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
Since he had no dealings with the Taejeong Sect, he intended to seek out Wang Gon of the Divine Transformation Gang.
“If you cause another incident before I get back, I’ll kill you with my own hands.”
Without waiting for a reply, Lim Chung strode out of the office.
As he left, he deliberately avoided looking toward Baek Socheon.
Scolding him could wait. Meeting Gang Leader Wang and cleaning up this mess came first.
Beon Saeng returned to his seat after leaving the office.
The branch martial artists who had been taking statements from the merchants looked at him with newfound eyes.
Some were surprised that he had this side to him.
Others worried about what would happen next.
From across the room, Elder Go smiled at Beon Saeng.
Seeing that smile blooming through the dark bruises on the old man’s face, Beon Saeng smiled brightly in return.
‘That’s right. No regrets.’
But it seemed his difficult day was far from over.
Two men stormed into the branch, radiating a savage aura.
“Is the Branch Leader here?”
The man in front was Taejeong, the leader of the Taejeong Sect.
Upon hearing that his men had been arrested, he had overturned the meal he had been eating and rushed over immediately.
The man accompanying him was Taejeong’s right-hand man, second only to him in the Taejeong Sect.
Beon Saeng greeted them with visible tension.
“The Branch Leader is currently out.”
It would have been nice if they had simply left.
Instead, the man beside Taejeong whispered something into his ear.
Immediately, the way Taejeong looked at Beon Saeng changed.
“So you’re the one who arrested my men.”
“That’s right. I arrested them.”
Beon Saeng answered, forcing strength into his stomach.
‘Don’t be afraid!’
So far, Taejeong was still being polite.
“Did my men make some sort of mistake?”
“They assaulted merchants and habitually extorted money from them.”
“Who exactly did they extort?”
Taejeong glared at the merchants gathered there.
The merchants immediately lowered their heads, afraid of making eye contact with him.
Everyone knew just how vicious Taejeong was.
Only Elder Go met his gaze without flinching.
“You know very well who. That money all ended up in your pocket.”
“Elder, you’ve misunderstood. We need operating funds if we’re going to protect all of you.”
“Nonsense! Your people even took the money meant for a child’s medicine. Exactly who are you protecting us from?”
Taejeong’s shallow patience quickly ran out.
“So you’re just another stubborn old fool who doesn’t understand when spoken to nicely.”
He glared coldly at Elder Go.
“Your daughter lives in Shaanxi, doesn’t she?”
The instant his daughter was mentioned, the fearless old man’s face turned deathly pale.
“She has two children too. A son and a daughter.”
When Taejeong even mentioned his grandson and granddaughter, shock became terror.
His daughter had married far away.
He only managed to see her once every several years.
Lately, he hadn’t seen her at all.
He had simply comforted himself by believing that no news was good news.
Never had he imagined they would threaten his daughter and grandchildren.
“Shaanxi may be far away, but it’s not somewhere we can’t reach if we decide to go. What exactly is this old sack of bones relying on to make such a fuss?”
It was an outright threat.
Spoken openly inside a Martial Alliance branch, in front of Martial Alliance martial artists.
Elder Go could no longer say a word.
He lowered his head, consumed by belated guilt and fear.
‘If something happens to my children…’
He would never be able to rest in peace, even in death.
Watching this, Beon Saeng clenched his fists until they nearly burst.
‘Just how lightly do they think of us…?’
Otherwise, would they really make such a cruel threat right in front of them?
As if he himself were in charge of the branch, Taejeong addressed the merchants.
“Now, now. Don’t blow such a trivial matter out of proportion. Everyone go home.”
He said the same to Beon Saeng.
“It seems there was a misunderstanding, so release my men now.”
Not only the merchants, but every martial artist in the branch looked toward Beon Saeng.
With the Branch Leader absent, he was the one who had to decide.
Without realizing it, Beon Saeng looked at Baek Socheon.
Baek Socheon merely watched, as though saying that every decision was Beon Saeng’s to make.
That infuriatingly calm expression…
Yet somehow, just looking at his face filled him with courage.
‘Fine, you medicine peddler. I lose.’
Certain that Beon Saeng would obey him, Taejeong turned away without even waiting for a reply.
Then a resolute voice sounded behind him.
“No.”
Taejeong stopped walking.
Without turning around, he asked quietly, his voice filled with menace.
“No?”
“Yes. No. Please leave.”
The corners of Taejeong’s eyes rose sharply.
Still facing away, he muttered to himself.
“You little vermin. So you won’t listen when I’m being nice?”
Though he spoke softly, everyone heard him clearly.
Taejeong slowly turned around and glared coldly at Beon Saeng.
“Do you want to die?”
Everyone in the room tensed.
The merchants were anxious.
This entire incident had begun because Beon Saeng had tried to help them.
Elder Go, in particular, was devastated.
He wanted to step forward and stop this, but after the earlier threats against his family, the words simply would not come.
Beon Saeng looked directly at Taejeong and spoke clearly.
“I am placing you under arrest for threatening a Martial Alliance martial artist and victims of assault. Put down your sword and kneel.”
Silence fell instantly.
Everyone stared at Beon Saeng in utter disbelief.
Ironically, Beon Saeng himself remained calm.
This was on an entirely different level from what he had done earlier.
He could deal with Taejeong Sect’s underlings.
But Taejeong himself was a stronger martial artist than he was.
One wrong move could easily cost him his life.
Yet at that moment, only one thought filled Beon Saeng’s mind.
‘Right. If we don’t protect them, then who will?’
Taejeong, meanwhile, was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even laugh.
“What’s that brat saying?”
The subordinate behind him answered.
“The heat must’ve finally cooked his brain.”
Beon Saeng warned him once more.
“Put your sword down immediately.”
“And if I don’t?”
Taejeong deliberately placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
He had survived his entire life in the Black Society.
When it came to guts, he wouldn’t lose to anyone.
That said, he wasn’t reckless enough to be the first to draw his sword inside a Martial Alliance branch.
This branch might be nothing more than a strand of hair on the Martial Alliance’s tail.
But it was still attached to the Martial Alliance itself.
Just as the tension reached its peak…
Someone spoke.
“Don’t draw it. If you draw that sword, you’ll die.”
Everyone turned toward the speaker.
It was Baek Socheon.
“If you ignore a Martial Alliance martial artist’s warning and draw your sword inside a Martial Alliance building, we can legally kill you. That’s a rule that’s enforced strictly, without exceptions.”
Taejeong glanced at the subordinate behind him, silently asking, Where did this dung beetle crawl out from?
But even his subordinate knew nothing about Baek Socheon.
Thinking he might be an expert, Taejeong asked cautiously,
“I don’t believe we’ve met. Who are you?”
“He’s the new Martial Alliance official assigned here. As for Squad Leader Beon over there, he’s my senior.”
The moment he heard that, Taejeong visibly relaxed and shook his head.
“You idiots really are unbelievable. Now even the new recruit can’t tell heaven from earth.”
Baek Socheon provoked him again.
“Hey. Listen to Squad Leader Beon while he’s still asking nicely. He’s trying to save the worthless lives of thugs like you. So let go of that sword.”
At last, Taejeong’s patience snapped.
He drew his sword.
Shing.
“I drew it. So? What are you going to do now?”
Suddenly, Baek Socheon shouted.
“Ambush! Protect the witnesses!”
Vaulting over a desk, Baek Socheon charged straight at Taejeong.
From Taejeong’s perspective, the reaction was absurd.
Yes, he had drawn his sword.
But only to intimidate them.
He had never intended to fight.
Yet Baek Socheon shouted as though Taejeong were about to slaughter the merchants before charging at him.
Leaping over the desk, Baek Socheon flew through the air and kicked Taejeong squarely.
Bang!
Because it was completely unexpected, Taejeong failed to dodge.
The kick smashed into his face, sending him flying backward.
Seeing that, Taejeong’s subordinate drew his sword.
Beon Saeng also drew his weapon and shouted,
“Subdue him!”
Beon Saeng and the branch martial artists joined forces against the man who had accompanied Taejeong.
In an instant, swords clashed.
The merchants hurried into a corner.
No matter how remote this branch was, its martial artists had all passed the Martial Alliance’s entrance examination.
With Beon Saeng leading four martial artists in a combined assault, the man’s movements quickly became disordered.
In the end, he was cut down by swords coming from every direction.
His martial arts had been formidable enough that killing him had been the only way to subdue him.
Afterward, Beon Saeng turned to help Baek Socheon.
Then he froze.
Taejeong was still lying on the ground.
Baek Socheon stood a short distance away.
Beon Saeng hurried over to Taejeong.
He kicked Taejeong’s sword far away, sealed his Internal Energy by pressing his acupoints, and shook him.
“Hey. Wake up.”
There was no response.
“Hey! Snap out of it!”
He slapped Taejeong across the face.
Something felt wrong.
Startled, Beon Saeng checked his breathing.
“He’s dead?”
Taejeong had already become a cold corpse.
Everyone was stunned.
Beon Saeng looked at Baek Socheon.
Putting on a flustered expression, Baek Socheon addressed everyone.
“He must’ve hit his head the wrong way when he fell.”
The moment he heard those words, one thought flashed through Beon Saeng’s mind.
‘He killed him on purpose.’
What Baek Socheon had said earlier hadn’t been an attempt to stop Taejeong.
He had been provoking him into drawing his sword.
Introducing himself as Beon Saeng’s junior…
Deliberately lowering himself…
Calling Taejeong a worthless thug…
Everything had been calculated to make him draw that sword.
And the instant the sword came out, Baek Socheon had charged.
…Perhaps he had intended to kill Taejeong from the very beginning.
Beon Saeng immediately backed him up.
“Right. Taejeong wasn’t the sort of man who’d lose to someone fighting barehanded. He must’ve fallen badly after being hit. Everyone saw it, didn’t you?”
The merchants all nodded.
To be honest, all they had actually seen was Bang! Thud!
But regardless, they were on the Martial Alliance’s side.
Thus, instead of intentional murder, it became an unavoidable death that occurred while subduing a suspect.
After all, Taejeong had drawn his sword inside a Martial Alliance branch.
Even if they had intentionally killed him, there would have been no problem.
If it had merely been an accident, then there was even less to worry about.
Elder Go said with deep satisfaction,
“That wicked devil received heaven’s punishment. Heaven’s punishment.”
The merchants all smiled brightly and nodded in agreement.
Beon Saeng addressed them.
“We’ll need a few more statements from you.”
“Of course we will. This all happened because you were trying to protect us.”
Although they had happily come to give testimony, each of them had secretly feared Taejeong.
Yet now, Taejeong had died right before their eyes.
Elder Go, especially after his children and grandchildren had been threatened, bowed repeatedly to Beon Saeng.
“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
“You shouldn’t be thanking me…”
Beon Saeng turned his head.
As though nothing had happened, Baek Socheon was leaning against the window in the corner of the office, gazing outside.
Staring blankly at the sky, he looked exactly as he had on his first day, when he had stood in the lodging courtyard looking up at the heavens.
They said that someone whose back looked lonely truly was lonely.
Just then, he heard the branch martial artists talking behind him.
“Still… the Branch Leader’s going to faint when he gets back.”
“But we didn’t do anything wrong, did we?”
At that moment, Beon Saeng realized something.
‘Ah! Come to think of it…’
Baek Socheon had arranged for everything to happen within the bounds of the law.
Stopping him from killing Jongpyo…
Making Taejeong’s death look like an accident…
So that if the Zhejiang Branch or the Main Division investigated, no harm would come to their side.
‘Could he really have planned all of this?’
That thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Perhaps Baek Socheon truly belonged to an entirely different world.
And if that was the case, then wanting to serve such a man as his elder brother…
‘Am I really doing something completely absurd?’
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