If We Don't Protect Them (3)
The small detention cell at the Mun-seong Branch was packed full.
It was the first time since the branch was established that it had ever been this crowded.
On top of that, they'd dragged in Old Man Go and all the nearby merchants to give statements. Thanks to them, the branch buzzed like a bustling marketplace.
The warriors stationed there were stunned, but the one most shocked by the whole situation was Im Choong.
"What in the world is going on here?"
"We handled the complaint."
Im Choong stared at Beon Saeng in disbelief, then turned his gaze to Baek So-cheon. The man acted as if he had nothing to do with it, calmly taking statements from the merchants at his spot.
"Beon, squad leader. Come with me."
Im Choong led Beon Saeng into his office. The moment he shut the door, he exploded.
"You idiot! Are you out of your mind?"
"I'm sorry."
"You think I want an apology? What the hell were you thinking?"
Beon Saeng hung his head low. He'd known things were shaky since they drank together last night. But he never imagined it'd blow up into something this big.
"This is because of Baek the warrior, isn't it?"
"No."
"It is, though."
"It was my choice. I couldn't stand by and watch their thuggery anymore. How long were we supposed to pretend we didn't see it?"
But Im Choong was convinced the whole mess stemmed from Baek So-cheon's influence.
That guy's something else. Shaking things up like this just three days after getting demoted.
It wasn't that Baek So-cheon or his influence was bad. This was just a clash between ideals and reality.
"So what now?"
"First, we'll send all the ones we caught to the Jeol-gang Branch."
"You think Jeol-gang will accept them? They'll let them all go and slap you with discipline for bypassing procedure."
"Discipline? If we get punished for arresting those Black Society scum, isn't that the real problem? Fine, I'll take the punishment gladly. But before that, grant permission to arrest the Tae-jeong Gang's boss."
Grabbing the boss would make catching these small fry worthwhile.
"You call that reasonable? No! Absolutely not!"
"Why not?"
"You moron! You asking because you don't know? Are you really insane?"
"Yeah. I am insane. Might as well go all in."
"You little shit! Think I hold back because I'm spineless? You really wanna get kicked out of the Murim Alliance? Getting fired would be the least of it—you could end up dead without a trace."
Beon Saeng had been fired up, but talk of his own death sobered him. He couldn't shout anymore.
"Just take the statements for now. What's done is done, but we need to clean up the aftermath."
"Where are you going?"
"You asking because you don't know?"
He had no dealings with the Tae-jeong Gang, so he planned to see Wang Gon of the Shin-hwa Bang.
"If you cause any more trouble while I'm gone, I'll kill you myself."
Im Choong stormed out without waiting for a reply. He deliberately avoided looking at Baek So-cheon. Meeting the South Division leader to smooth things over took priority over scolding him.
Beon Saeng returned to his desk from the office. The branch warriors taking statements eyed him anew—shocked he'd shown this side, worried about the fallout.
From his spot, Old Man Go smiled at Beon Saeng through his bruised, bloodied face. Beon Saeng grinned back broadly.
Yeah. No regrets.
But Beon Saeng's rough day wasn't over. Two men burst in, radiating menace.
"Is the branch chief in?"
The leader was Tae-jeong, boss of the Tae-jeong Gang. He'd flipped his dinner table upon hearing his men were arrested and rushed over. His companion was the gang's second-strongest, Tae-jeong's right-hand man.
Beon Saeng tensed and faced them.
"The branch chief is out right now."
If only they'd leave. But the companion whispered something to Tae-jeong.
Tae-jeong's gaze on Beon Saeng sharpened instantly.
"So you're the one who arrested my boys."
"Yeah. I brought them in."
Beon Saeng steeled himself and answered firmly.
Don't show fear!
Tae-jeong was still minding his manners, at least.
"What mistake did my boys make?"
"Assaulting merchants and habitual extortion."
"Who says they took money?"
Tae-jeong glared at the merchants. They averted their eyes, knowing his cruelty all too well.
Only Old Man Go met his gaze head-on, challenging him.
"You know damn well. All that money went straight to your pocket."
"Elder, it's a misunderstanding. We need funds to protect folks like you, don't we?"
"Bullshit! You thieves even stole medicine money for kids. Who the hell have you ever protected?"
Tae-jeong's thin patience snapped.
"Fine words wasted on a stubborn old fool."
He glared coldly at Old Man Go.
"Your daughter's in Seom-seo, right?"
Mentioning his daughter turned the old man's fearless face pale.
"Two kids. One son, one daughter."
Grandkids too—the shock became terror.
She lived far away; he saw her once every few years, less lately. No news was good news, he'd thought. Never dreamed they'd threaten her and the grandkids.
"Seom-seo's far, but if I decide to go, it's not impossible. What makes this old dog's bones think he can strut like this?"
Blatant blackmail—in a Murim Alliance branch, in front of its warriors.
Old Man Go bowed his head, silenced by guilt and fear.
If something happens to the kids...
He'd never rest in peace.
Watching, Beon Saeng clenched his fists till they hurt.
How much do they think we're a joke?
Would they threaten like this right in front of us?
Tae-jeong addressed the merchants like he owned the place.
"Come on, no need to blow a minor thing out of proportion. Head home, all of you."
To Beon Saeng too.
"Seems like a misunderstanding, so release my boys now."
Merchants and warriors alike looked to Beon Saeng. With the chief gone, he had to decide.
Unthinkingly, Beon Saeng glanced at Baek So-cheon.
Baek So-cheon watched calmly, as if all authority rested with him.
That infuriatingly stoic face oddly filled him with courage.
Yeah, you bastard merchant. I lose.
Assuming obedience, Tae-jeong turned to leave—then a resolute voice rang out behind him.
"No."
Tae-jeong halted. Without turning, he growled threateningly.
"No?"
"Yes. No. Go home."
Tae-jeong's eyes narrowed viciously. Still facing away, he muttered like to himself.
"These vermin. Won't listen to nice words, huh?"
Everyone heard clearly.
Tae-jeong turned slowly, glaring coldly at Beon Saeng.
"Wanna die?"
Tension gripped the room. Merchants panicked—this started to help them. Old Man Go's heart sank; he wanted to intervene but the family threats sealed his lips.
Beon Saeng spoke clearly to Tae-jeong.
"I'm arresting you for threatening Murim Alliance warriors and assault victims. Drop your sword and kneel."
Silence crashed down.
Everyone gaped at Beon Saeng in shock.
Beon Saeng stayed calm.
This was leagues beyond arresting his underlings. He could handle those, but Tae-jeong was stronger. One slip, and he'd die.
But in that moment, Beon Saeng thought: this guy assaults, extorts, and threatens distant families. The merchants were defenseless against him.
If we don't protect them, who will?
Tae-jeong was too stunned for even a scoff.
"What'd he just say?"
His underling replied.
"Heat must've fried his brain."
Beon Saeng warned again.
"Drop the sword now."
"And if I don't?"
Tae-jeong gripped his hilt demonstratively. A Black Society lifer, tough as nails.
But not reckless enough to draw first in a Murim Alliance branch—even a tail-end like this, still part of the body.
Tension thickened—then someone spoke.
"Don't draw. Draw that sword, and you die."
All eyes turned to the speaker: Baek So-cheon.
"Ignore a Murim Alliance warrior's warning and draw in a Alliance building? We can legally kill you. No exceptions—strict rule."
Tae-jeong eyed his underling: Who the hell's this dung beetle? He didn't know Baek So-cheon either. Wary of a possible master, he asked cautiously.
"Don't recognize you. Who are you?"
"New guy here at the branch. Squad Leader Beon's my senior."
Tae-jeong relaxed, shaking his head.
"Unbelievable. Now rookies can't tell heaven from earth?"
Baek So-cheon prodded again.
"Hey, listen to Squad Leader Beon while he's being nice. Even trash like you gets a heads-up. Let go."
Tae-jeong finally snapped and drew.
Shing.
"Drew it. Now what?"
Baek So-cheon yelled suddenly.
"Ambush! Protect the witnesses!"
He vaulted the desk, charging Tae-jeong.
Absurd from Tae-jeong's view—he'd drawn just to intimidate, no fight intended.
But Baek So-cheon screamed like he was slaughtering merchants and lunged.
Baek So-cheon leaped from the desk, kicking Tae-jeong mid-air.
Thud.
Caught off-guard, Tae-jeong took it to the face and flew back.
His underling drew.
Beon Saeng drew too, shouting.
"Subdue him!"
Beon Saeng and the branch warriors ganged up on the underling.
Blades clashed in seconds. Merchants huddled aside.
Backwater branch warriors or not, they were qualified Murim Alliance members. Four on one with Beon Saeng leading overwhelmed the man quickly.
He fell to slashes from all sides. His skill demanded lethal force to subdue.
After killing him, Beon Saeng turned to aid Baek So-cheon.
He froze.
Tae-jeong still lay prone; Baek So-cheon stood apart.
Beon Saeng rushed to Tae-jeong, kicked away his sword, sealed his energy meridians, and shook him.
"Hey, get up."
No response.
"Hey, snap out of it!"
He slapped Tae-jeong's cheek. Odd feel—Beon Saeng checked his breathing.
"He's dead?"
Tae-jeong was already cold.
Everyone gasped.
Beon Saeng looked to Baek So-cheon, who feigned surprise to the room.
"Must've hit his head wrong falling."
That sparked a thought in Beon Saeng.
He killed him on purpose.
Baek So-cheon's words weren't a warning—they'd baited the draw.
Downplaying himself as a rookie, calling him trash to provoke—all to make him draw.
The immediate charge... maybe planned to kill from the start.
Beon Saeng covered for him quick.
"Yeah, Tae-jeong wasn't one to go down easy to bare hands. Tripped bad after the hit. You all saw, right?"
Merchants nodded eagerly. They'd seen kick and fall—enough. They backed the Alliance anyway.
Intentional murder or not, drawing in the branch made it legal. Accident? No issue at all.
Old Man Go grinned fiercely.
"Heaven's judgment on that wicked bastard. Heaven's judgment."
Merchants beamed, nodding.
Beon Saeng to them.
"More statements needed."
"Of course—we owe you. This happened protecting us."
They testified gladly, though fear of Tae-jeong lingered. Now he'd died before their eyes.
Old Man Go, threatened over family, bowed repeatedly to Beon Saeng.
"Thank you. Truly."
"Not me you should thank..."
Beon Saeng turned.
Baek So-cheon leaned by the corner window, gazing out like nothing happened. Staring blankly at the sky, just like that first day in the dorm yard.
A lonely back means a truly lonely man.
Underlings chatted behind.
"Branch chief'll faint when he hears."
"We didn't do wrong, though."
Then it hit Beon Saeng.
Oh, right...
Baek So-cheon kept it all legal. Stopping the underling kill, making Tae-jeong's death an accident. No damage on their side for investigators from branch or HQ.
All planned?
The thought struck. Baek So-cheon from another world—and calling him hyung? Insane.
Am I really doing something this stupid?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Im Choong returned empty-handed.
Wang Gon, South Division leader of Shin-hwa Bang, was out on a distant trip.
By the time he got back, the hall was cleared. Bodies gone, merchants' statements done and sent home.
Beon Saeng reported with pounding heart. Arresting the gang was trouble enough; killing the boss here? Storm incoming.
Im Choong's reaction surprised.
"Actually, good thing."
"Good how?"
"Tae-jeong Gang storming the branch crossed the line. They can't talk their way out now. Missing Wang Gon turned out lucky."
Arresting them had issues. But them attacking the branch? Different story. It overshadowed the arrests.
Im Choong didn't buy they attacked—too dumb even for thugs. Probably just intimidation gone wrong. Baek So-cheon at the center, no doubt.
He lowered his voice.
"Baek the warrior killed Tae-jeong on purpose, right?"
"No, accident."
"Sure?"
"Yes."
He doubted, but Beon Saeng stuck to it. Best for everyone.
"You go. Send in Baek."
"Yes."
Beon Saeng held back defending him—might just stoke Im Choong's anger.
Baek So-cheon entered.
Im Choong stared silently.
"What happened?"
"Just like the report."
"Let's talk straight."
"Sure."
"I don't know your past. But don't do this. Beon the warrior's a good man."
"Don't get it."
"Don't shake things up."
"Make him easy for you to use?"
"...!"
Im Choong bristled. Never imagined that—to his face.
But he couldn't retort immediately. Maybe he'd thought it too.
"You..."
A word rose but stayed unspoken.
"Get out."
After Baek So-cheon left, the unsaid escaped with a sigh.
"Shaking me too."
Pride kept it in.
Won't go easy, though.
Tae-jeong's death felt like pulling a bad tooth—relief. But Wang Gon demanding his gold tooth? Problem.
* * *
Sa-ma Il-jung's first task at Hyun-cheon Pavilion's strategy command was managing messenger birds.
Hundreds flew in daily from across the Central Plains, sorted and handled here.
Regular missives went to strategists for review; top-priority ones, unsealed, straight to Je-gal Hyeon. Some ultra-priority to the Alliance Lord.
Sa-ma Il-jung sorted regulars—as a newbie, assisting.
Whump!
His eyes went to the Jeol-gang Province chute. He swiftly unsealed the cylinder there.
Regular, openable by strategists.
"Report: Black Society Tae-jeong Gang boss killed by Baek So-cheon."
The veteran strategist classified it.
"Upper-grade to Grand Strategist."
"Yes."
A gang boss death normally wasn't even low-grade—might not report at all.
But Hyun-cheon Pavilion watched Jeol-gang, especially Mun-seong. Anything on Baek So-cheon went upper-grade up.
Sa-ma Il-jung took it to Je-gal Hyeon.
"News on Baek So-cheon at Mun-seong Branch."
Je-gal Hyeon read, chuckled softly.
"Figures. Where that temper goes... Send to Alliance Lord direct."
"Understood."
Normally, Je-gal Hyeon judged upper-grades for Lord priority.
Baek So-cheon intel always went straight. Meant the Lord watched him closely.
"First time he's away from us, come to think. Always by our side. Raced battlefields, always back to HQ. Glory and fall, all here."
So they'd seen it all: demotions, him trudging across the training grounds. This place was his cradle and grave.
"Miss him?"
As Je-gal Hyeon opened his mouth—
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Emergency bell. They rushed out.
"What?"
A strategist ran up, breathless.
"Black Heaven Alliance large force moving fast from Gan-suk toward Seom-seo."
Gan-suk: Black Heaven turf. Seom-seo: Murim Alliance.
"How many?"
"Pursuit Soul Unit, eight hundred."
"Whole unit?"
Je-gal Hyeon startled. Pursuit Soul Unit: Black Heaven elite, always monitored. Scattered in Gan-suk, now secretly assembled.
Intel leak or bold strategy—either bad.
"Target?"
"Direction points to Seom-seo Branch."
"Alert Seom-seo Branch and nearby."
"Yes."
Strategist dashed off.
Whir—shoot!
Veterans worked mechanisms smoothly; outgoing missives shot through tubes.
Sa-ma Il-jung asked fearfully.
"Full war?"
Je-gal Hyeon shook his head.
"Doubt it."
War had precursors.
If vanguard, movements in Gui-jou, Sa-cheon, Ho-nam, Gwang-seo, Gwang-dong too. None reported.
Still, could spark the great war. Black Heaven unpredictable.
"Large drill, probably."
Je-gal Hyeon judged—and hoped.
Missives kept coming.
"Pursuit Souls advanced ten li toward Seom-seo. Border in half shichen."
"Our forces at likely clash?"
"Nearby branch guards: fifty. Seom-seo sending three hundred emergency."
Three fifty total. If clash, outnumbered—against elites.
Strategists shifted flags on the terrain map—hundreds dotted the Central Plains model.
Pursuit Soul flags crept toward Seom-seo.
Seom-seo flags countered.
Sa-ma Il-jung tensed. First crisis since joining command.
He'd seen war's end as junior—odd jobs till it closed.
Now, real Black Heaven clash.
Orders flew nonstop from Hyun-cheon; more missives inbound.
"Their forces entering Gan-suk-Seom-seo border."
Flags neared the drawn borderline.
Real combat looming. Dozens? Skirmish. Eight hundred elites? War if they cross.
Response time meant outcome soon.
Tense wait.
All eyes on Seom-seo chute. Non-urgents queued.
Whump!
Seom-seo missive arrived.
They watched the reader intently.
"Ah! Pursuit Souls didn't cross—turned back."
Collective sighs.
Je-gal Hyeon slumped into a chair.
Sa-ma Il-jung fetched water.
"Thanks."
He relaxed after drinking.
"Truly fortunate."
"Their provocations worsening."
This felt like a warning. Time running out...
"Know this? As Baek So-cheon's rank dropped, Black Heaven got bolder."
"Really?"
"Coincidentally. Every demotion, their probes."
"They know he lost his inner power."
"They do."
"Then why?"
"Even powerless, his high rank deterred war."
Symbolic power beyond skill.
Maybe coincidence—their prep timing with demotions.
But sharp Je-gal Hyeon sensed links.
"If so, he should return more than ever."
"Yes."
But the Lord reclaimed even his sword.
No more seeing him. Could he return?
How'd it come to this?
Je-gal Hyeon recalled their close days.
Baek So-cheon always by the Lord—like Zhao Zilong, missions aced. Cool, reliable. Many thought so.
Black Heaven probes escalating—war anytime. Outsiders clueless.
Je-gal Hyeon rose, approached the map.
Seom-seo/Gan-suk flags farther apart.
Gazing, he rummaged a box of massed flags below.
Out came a gold-bordered, vivid red flag—for one man, treated as army.
Clear name: So-cheon.
Memories flooded: So-cheon flag dominating the map, toppling foes.
If war now...
Can we win without Pavilion Lord Baek?
Long stare. He dusted it gently, returned it.
Walking out, he ordered.
"Lift Seom-seo alert when Pursuit Souls retreat two hundred li."
"Yes."
Today, Jeol-gang south village a bit more peaceful. Central Plains, a bit more precarious.