Teacher Jong (1)
The next day, Jeong-pung came looking for Baek So-cheon.
Whereas the previous two times he'd summoned Baek So-cheon to his office, this time he had come in person. It was a sign that he'd set aside his pride.
But seeing him lounging so casually on the bench in his own courtyard still irritated Jeong-pung.
"What are you doing here instead of working?"
"Ask your subordinates about that. They told me to clear out the office, so I did."
Jeong-pung's momentum deflated at those words. He sat down on the edge of the bench.
"That doesn't mean you should just slack off like this."
"Boomer."
"What?"
"That's why people call you a boomer. A good leader sometimes turns a blind eye when his men get lazy."
Jeong-pung snorted.
"Nobody calls me that."
"Of course they do. They just say it where you can't hear."
"You...!"
Jeong-pung started to snap in anger but soon shook his head. After all, he wasn't the type of opponent one could handle with words alone, and he hadn't come here—swallowing his pride—to play the nagging superior.
"You really think the Yang Chu family massacre was the work of Shin-hwa-bang?"
"Yes."
Jeong-pung looked at Baek So-cheon's face as he lay there.
This man thought and acted in ways that didn't align with his own. All things considered, he was an utterly disagreeable fellow. But at least he wasn't one to spout nonsense.
Jeong-pung had heard all sorts of rumors about him. But he'd never heard anything about him scheming conspiracies or playing political games with people.
"There's no evidence, though."
"If you help, branch leader, we can find some."
"How?"
"You won't do it anyway."
"Don't rile me up for no reason. Just tell me."
At that, Baek So-cheon sat up and met Jeong-pung's gaze.
"Summon Wang Gon and Jeong-gil right now and investigate them."
"What?"
Jeong-pung was startled.
"The Heo family sword school asked Yang Chu to investigate a new business Shin-hwa-bang was planning. He met with foul play while doing it. That's more than enough grounds to summon and question them."
"They won't comply with a summons."
"You'll have to go yourself and enforce it, branch leader."
In other words, it was no different from an arrest.
"Wang Gon, maybe. But Great Hero Jeong-gil too?"
"Yes. We must summon and question Jeong-gil as well."
"That's not enough circumstantial evidence to do anything to them."
"Doesn't matter."
"What do you mean, it doesn't matter?"
"They're not the target. Pressure them, and Shin-hwa-bang headquarters will move. That's exactly what I want."
Jeong-pung let out a sigh despite himself. It was the kind of request that made one sigh involuntarily. Baek So-cheon's earlier words about him being unable to do it weren't just to provoke him.
"You're really going up against Shin-hwa-bang."
"That's right."
"You confident?"
"Just because they call it Shin-hwa-bang doesn't make them mythical beings. It's a place where filthy villains hang a fancy name."
Jeong-pung thought only Baek So-cheon could say something like that.
'Even without your inner power, you're still the same as ever.'
But that wasn't the only reason Baek So-cheon wanted to take this on.
"Most of the people killed in Yang Chu's home that day were ordinary folk who didn't know martial arts. There were even two kids. Look, branch leader. We fight, curse, backstab, kill—do all sorts of dirty things. But shouldn't we keep it among ourselves?"
"...!"
"I have no intention of forgiving them. Everything involved in this will die by my hand. If you're tangled up in it somehow, you'll die too."
Knowing it wasn't an empty threat, Jeong-pung quickly replied.
"I'm not that kind of person."
"I figured. That's why I'm explaining all this and asking for your help."
"You really trust me?"
"I do."
"Why?"
"We've both rolled around in the jianghu long enough. You came to me for the same reason. You had a hunch it was time to show up. That guy with no inner power, past his prime—somehow, you couldn't just ignore him. So you figured Shin-hwa-bang must be behind it."
It wasn't exactly that, but he couldn't deny it either.
"Same for me. I don't know you well, but my years in the jianghu are whispering it. At least that guy's no scum. Stroke him right, and he's a good mark to help me out."
"You really are..."
Jeong-pung was dumbfounded. What was even more absurd was that hearing "mark" to his face didn't feel all that bad.
"You toying with me, or being honest?"
"Honest."
"If that's true, you're a scary man."
Unlike when he'd first arrived, Baek So-cheon had swayed him.
Baek So-cheon spoke to Jeong-pung in a gentle tone.
"I know. Just summoning them puts a huge burden on you."
It was tantamount to officially declaring enmity with Shin-hwa-bang.
"Help me anyway."
He was the type who never begged for help—and the kind who didn't need to. That made the request all the more effective.
"Fine. I'll do it."
Yes, he could make such a burdensome decision because it was Baek So-cheon. If it had been anyone else, he'd have bolted the moment the request was made. He wouldn't have even come in the first place.
Because it was him. Because he was once the man everyone wanted to be. Honestly, Jeong-pung wanted to scheme something alongside him—even if it meant ignoring the thorny existence of Shin-hwa-bang.
"Thanks."
And another reason.
"It's not just because you asked. I raise kids too. If it's their doing, let's make them pay."
"Good. I'll handle the rest."
Jeong-pung stood first and walked off the bench.
As he turned, he asked worriedly.
"But your body's okay?"
It was a question about whether he could handle Shin-hwa-bang if war broke out.
Baek So-cheon flopped back onto the bench.
"They say even a rich man takes three years to go broke after ruin. I'm in my third year."
"You mean you didn't even confirm the bodies of Heuk Su and Cheon Yang-ho?"
The one exploding in anger was Jeong-gil. Standing before him, head bowed in punishment, was Wang Gon.
"Baek So-cheon definitely killed them."
"Because he said so? Are you in your right mind? The deputy leader of the main branch handles things this sloppily? You should've at least confirmed the bodies."
"I'm sorry."
He bowed his head, but Wang Gon was inwardly resentful.
'He's desperate to pin something on Baek So-cheon.'
Jeong-gil was a truly difficult superior to serve. His moods swung wildly—good one moment, bad the next. Just before this outburst, he'd been praising Baek So-cheon, saying he could be useful in an important role if handled right.
'No, wait—is this him trying to pin something on me?'
Wang Gon's suspicions naturally followed.
'Does this old man want something from me?'
Now that he knew about the fortune Wang Gon had spent recruiting Baek So-cheon, maybe greed had kicked in.
'Guess I need to slip him some cash. Tsk.'
Just then, a commotion erupted outside, and a subordinate rushed in to report.
"Murim Alliance warriors have burst in."
"What?"
Murim Alliance warriors could come to a place where people lived, but "burst in" was the problem. Sure enough, before the report finished, over a dozen warriors entered.
Wang Gon was shocked to recognize the leader: Jeong-pung, the Jeol-gang branch leader of the Murim Alliance. The warriors with him were those Jeong-pung had brought down from the branch.
Wang Gon greeted him politely with a cupped-fist salute.
"What brings the branch leader to this humble place?"
Jeol-gang Province was far from the continent's center, but he was still a Murim Alliance branch leader—a status even sect leaders couldn't treat lightly.
Jeong-pung knew Jeong-gil here well, but he spoke in a businesslike tone, feigning ignorance.
"You'll both need to come with us."
"What is this about?"
To Wang Gon's polite question, Jeong-pung replied loudly.
"I assume you're aware of the recent Yang Chu family massacre."
"We are."
"Please come and assist in resolving the case."
Wang Gon's expression hardened as he glanced at Jeong-gil beside him. It was phrased as a request for help, but it meant they'd be taken in for questioning.
"This without warning is troubling."
"Listen, Deputy Leader Wang."
"Yes, branch leader."
"I'm not here to ask a favor."
A chill flowed through the air, and Wang Gon dared not speak.
'What's with this madman's sudden tantrum?'
Wang Gon looked to Jeong-gil, who silently stared at Jeong-pung.
Jeong-pung's face toward Jeong-gil showed no personal feelings whatsoever.
The two had shared drinks several times—a measure of camaraderie. For him to come on so strong meant he'd come with intent.
There was no refusing.
Of course, purely in terms of martial skill, Wang Gon was confident he could beat Jeong-pung.
A branch leader wasn't typically a strike force commander. They handled meetings, drinks, reports—more political and administrative than combative.
That was why they also represented the Murim Alliance.
"Since the branch leader came in person, we'll of course observe proper etiquette. Let's go."
Jeong-gil took the lead, and Wang Gon followed without protest.
The branch warriors sealed their inner powers. It was especially humiliating for Jeong-gil. He glared silently at Jeong-pung to express his displeasure.
But Jeong-pung pretended not to notice, showing no reaction.
As they exited together, anxiety gripped Wang Gon.
'Damn it! Things can't keep escalating like this.'
He was trying to clean up using Baek So-cheon, but the situation was only growing.
"Heard the news?"
Im Choong and Beon Saeng rushed over with startling information.
"Jeong-gil and Wang Gon just got hauled in."
Baek So-cheon didn't bat an eye, and Im Choong nodded.
"As expected! Your doing, brother."
"You sketched the outline."
"Me? Oh!"
Im Choong got it. It referred to how he'd gone to shake Jeong-pung on Baek So-cheon's orders, sparking this chain of events.
"I just followed your orders exactly. Calling it my outline is too much."
"It wouldn't have unfolded this smoothly without you."
"No, really."
He humbly declined, but Im Choong felt pleased inside.
Beon Saeng, who'd been listening, grinned wide.
"You should've seen Wang Gon's face, brother. Looked like he was chewing shit when they dragged him in."
"Should've happened sooner."
"Right, branch chief? Now it finally feels like a Murim Alliance branch."
Especially since Jeong-gil—a top warrior in Shin-hwa-bang—had been nabbed too. The two were naturally thrilled.
"What happens now?"
To Im Choong's question, Baek So-cheon answered.
"The one we've been waiting for will come down soon."
The one Baek So-cheon awaited was Teacher Jong.
Wang Gon had said it: when external trouble arose, Teacher Jong handled it.
Now that even Jeong-gil and Wang Gon were under investigation, Mun-seong clearly had a problem.
Especially since Teacher Jong was the one who'd commissioned the Seven Swords Society to wipe out the Yang Chu family. He'd started it, so he'd come to finish it.
"Whoever this poor bastard is, he's in for a beating from you, brother."
Baek So-cheon shook his head at the excited Beon Saeng.
"I won't lay a hand on him."
"Huh?"
"There are people even more desperate to get at him."
To the two wondering what he meant, he added an even more cryptic line.
"From his perspective, it'd be better if it were me."
Just then, a branch warrior came to say Wang Gon wanted to see Baek So-cheon.
"Why's he calling for you?"
"He's cornered. Probably wants to use me to find a way out. Come on, shall we go rescue our cute deputy leader Wang?"
Once Baek So-cheon left, leaving just Im Choong and Beon Saeng, Beon Saeng spoke.
"It's not just me feeling like deputy leader Wang is kinda cute, right?"
Im Choong was no different.
"...Is it really just a feeling?"
One thing was clear, though. Baek So-cheon was going to "dote" on Wang Gon very harshly.