The Former Supreme Master [Novel] Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Heavenly Pole (1)

Early the next morning, Lim Chung visited Baek Socheon’s residence together with his family.

“Warrior Baek, thank you for saving me and my son’s life .”

Following the polite greeting from his wife, Lady Ju, their son Chan also offered his gratitude in a dignified manner:

“I will never forget this kindness.”

Baek Socheon replied in a gentle tone to their greetings,

“I merely did what was natural for someone serving the Branch Master.”

His attitude was incomparably polite compared to how he treated Lim Chung. His demeanor was just as warm toward Chan.

“Jianghu is a dangerous place. Do not slack off in your training.”

“Yes! Next time, I will protect Mom myself.”

Baek Socheon patted Chan on the head.

After Lady Ju and Chan stepped back, only Baek Socheon and Lim Chung remained.

“You didn’t need to bring them all the way here just to greet me.”

“I had to. Whatever else I might overlook, I must offer my thanks.”

“Have you given it some thought?”

“Yes. To be honest, I couldn’t sleep a wink last night.”

Had it been a decision involving only his own life, it would have been easy. But it was a matter where his wife’s and son’s lives were at stake as well.

Right then, Beon Saeng arrived at the scene.

“You two are up early! Hahaha, good morning!”

In stark contrast to his state yesterday when he felt like throwing up, Beon Saeng appeared full of energy and lively.

“Are you all right?”

When Lim Chung asked out of concern, Beon Saeng smiled and said:

“Why wouldn’t I be fine? I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to stand alongside Big Brother and fight against the Myth Sect.”

Hearing that, Baek Socheon subtly asked with a look as if he wanted to take a step back:

“Do I have to fight too?”

“Of course you do! You must fight! Don’t even dream of pulling out now, I came all this way putting my faith in you, Big Brother!”

With Beon Saeng’s resolve, Baek Socheon now turned his gaze toward Lim Chung.

Lim Chung asked:

“If I wished to avoid this fight, what options would I have?”

“You could run to Wang Gon right this instant and sell me out. Tell him you didn’t want to get dragged into this, and that you’re willing to cooperate in killing Baek Socheon if he forgives what happened before. Wang Gon might just accept it.”

“That will never happen.”

Lim Chung answered firmly. Truthfully, it was a thought he himself had briefly considered, but it was also the very first option he had ruled out among the possibilities.

“You barely know me, so why so sure?”

“That’s true. That is why I thought about it cool-headedly. A man like Wang Gon would pretend to accept me, use me for all I’m worth, and eliminate me at the end. This decision is for my own sake, not yours, Big Brother.”

“Not bad.”

Baek Socheon didn’t look displeased in the slightest. It was precisely because Baek Socheon was like this that Lim Chung could be more open and candid with him.

Lim Chung asked again,

“What about other ways?”

“Run far away and live in hiding. Give up being a warrior of the Murim Alliance, take on a new identity and a new name, and start a new life.”

Lim Chung sank into thought. It wasn’t an impossible choice to make. He had all his limbs intact and possessed fundamental martial arts, so whatever he did, he wouldn’t let his wife and child starve. It was a safer choice than picking a fight with the Myth Sect.

Yet, while his mind considered it, his heart wouldn’t budge.

The very sentiment that had led him to order Baek Socheon to arrest Wang Gon had taken over his reason once again.

“If I say I want to fight, will you help us, Big Brother? I’m sorry… Everyone should decide their own life. Yet here I am, weighing this and calculating that…”

“You should weigh it even more than this. Whether it takes days or months, you must measure every possibility. It’s a matter where individual lives are on the line. I only find it regrettable that you are put in a situation where you must decide so quickly.”

“Honestly, I want to fight. I want to bring proper retribution upon the Myth Sect for harming innocent people. But I cannot do this alone. I can only do it if you help me, Big Brother.”

This was the conclusion Lim Chung had arrived at after deliberating all night.

“Please help us.”

The eyes of both Lim Chung and Beon Saeng turned toward Baek Socheon.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Baek Socheon gave a ready answer:

“I will help.”

Because he answered so easily, Lim Chung and Beon Saeng were taken aback.

“Are you serious?”

“I have to. You say it turned out this way because of me.”

“Thank you!”

“Thank you so much!”

Lim Chung and Beon Saeng bowed their heads repeatedly in deep emotion.

Now that Baek Socheon said he would help them, it felt as though they truly could fight against the Myth Sect. Even if the worst outcome came to pass, it felt like they wouldn’t die a meaningless, foolish death.

“What is so great about dealing with a mere group like the Myth Sect that you’d offer such thanks? To the past me, the Myth Sect would have been nothing more than a mayfly blown away with a single breath.”

“Haha, the more I hear Big Brother’s boasts, the more charming they get.”

Yet both Lim Chung and Beon Saeng had effectively staked their lives on those very boasts. Because it felt as though they could truly pull it off if they were with Baek Socheon.

“What should we do now?”

“We find the one who killed Hero Yang’s family and force a confession that the Myth Sect ordered it. An issue of this scale will draw direct intervention from the Murim Alliance Headquarters, and when that happens, the Myth Sect will effectively be finished.”

Regardless of size or strength, the Headquarters and sub-divisions were fundamentally different in nature from the beginning. While local sub-divisions inevitably got tangled in various interests with regional sects, Headquarters had no such ties. Of course, it would be a different story if the Myth Sect had extended its reach all the way to Headquarters.

At Baek Socheon’s clear answer, Beon Saeng asked:

“Who do you think they hired to do the killing? Could it have been Heuksu?”

“It wasn’t Heuksu. When I asked if he killed Hero Yang’s family, Heuksu said something like that. He said he wasn’t that kind of dirty blade.”

“A dirty blade?”

“Who would be the kind of person he considers a dirty blade?”

Lim Chung and Beon Saeng shouted a name simultaneously:

“An assassin!”

At the same time, a realization hit Lim Chung.

“Ah! Physician Hwang, who performed the post-mortem, said as much! He said the killer was someone who didn’t hesitate for a single instant to take a life, and used ordinary weapons so as not to leave traces. Those are all characteristics of assassins!”

Beon Saeng added to it:

“That’s also why we couldn’t find any evidence no matter how thoroughly we searched Hero Yang’s manor.”

Various circumstances pointed to the fact that the killer was an assassin.

Baek Socheon asked:

“Is there an assassin organization around here that they might have used?”

At Baek Socheon’s question, Beon Saeng answered. As a local, Beon Saeng knew far more about assassins than Lim Chung, who had only recently taken up his post.

“The most famous assassin organization in Zhejiang Province is the Seven Swords Association (七劍會). It’s an organization led by seven master assassins, with over a hundred assassins under their command, and their skill is known to be extraordinary.”

Lim Chung’s and Beon Saeng’s expressions darkened. What if it was really done by an assassin from the Seven Swords Association?

Forget about investigating them; it was a name they didn’t even want to utter.

The Myth Sect and the Seven Swords Association—the two were different in nature, making it hard to compare which was stronger, but what was certain was that the Seven Swords Association felt far more terrifying than the Myth Sect. Men who killed for money, they were ruthless murderers.

“I’ll look into the assassin side.”

Beon Saeng raised both hands high like celebrating a victory and was about to shout, “As expected of our Big Brother!”, before realizing this wasn’t the time for that and asking:

“How?”

“By calling someone from that side over.”

“…From the Seven Swords Association?”

“No. Assassins never reveal their clients.”

“Then who do you mean you’ll call?”

Baek Socheon pulled a small dagger from his shirt and handed it to Beon Saeng. It was an ordinary dagger, but the character for Sky (天) was engraved on the hilt.

“Run an errand for me. Below Mt. Gulong (九龍山), there’s an inn called the Nine Dragons Inn. Hand this to the innkeeper and tell him the owner of the dagger is here.”

“Yes, understood.”

“You can rest easy for a while. With Heuksu gone, Wang Gon will be tied up focusing on that matter and won’t be able to move.”

Having reassured Lim Chung to that extent, Baek Socheon went back inside his house without waiting for an answer.

“Phew, he sure is friendly, isn’t he?”

“Still, he does everything he needs to do for us, doesn’t he?”

“Now even you acknowledge Big Brother’s true worth, Branch Master.”

The two looked at each other and smiled. At this moment, Lim Chung wondered whether he should drop formalities with Beon Saeng and address each other as brothers. He thought it would be nice to be comfortable as older and younger brothers, but then worried whether becoming too close might cause issues given their relation as superior and subordinate.

‘Am I really just an old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud?’

Unaware that Lim Chung was pondering their relationship, Beon Saeng remained focused entirely on Baek Socheon.

“Are all the warriors at Headquarters that smart?”

“Can you imagine a place overflowing with people like him?”

“No.”

“Me neither. How could someone like him be common? Even at Headquarters, he must have been exceptionally unique.”

“Right?”

“Have a safe trip.”

“Yes!”

Tucking the dagger into his chest, Beon Saeng dashed out of the branch.

Had Beon Saeng known whose presence this dagger was meant to summon, he would never have run so lightheartedly.

—

That night, Lim Chung visited Baek Socheon’s residence carrying something wrapped in a cloth bundle.

Even though it was late at night, Baek Socheon was training in the courtyard.

He was holding a handstand on just three fingers, sweat pouring off him like water. With heavy iron weights attached to his wrists and ankles, the intensity of the struggle was on a completely different level from what Beon Saeng had witnessed earlier.

“Ugh…”

A painful groan escaped Baek Socheon’s lips as he endured.

Lim Chung stood at a distance, watching quietly so as not to disturb him.

Before long, having successfully held the pose until the set time ended, Baek Socheon collapsed onto the spot.

“Are you all right?”

Lim Chung rushed over to him in surprise.

“I’m not fine. Hurry up and massage my shoulders and arms.”

“Yes!”

The moment Lim Chung reached out to massage Baek Socheon’s shoulder…

“Ah!”

He recoiled in surprise. Baek Socheon’s entire body was burning hot, as if on fire.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and knead.”

“Ah, yes!”

Lim Chung massaged Baek Socheon’s shoulders and arms.

“Harder!”

“Yes!”

“Ah, that hits the spot. Right there.”

When watching from afar earlier, Lim Chung had simply thought, ‘Ah, he’s truly amazing.’ But massaging his body up close like this, something surged within his chest.

‘I want to train like this too!’

He had told Beon Saeng that it was already too late for him, but it seemed that wasn’t true. Touching Baek Socheon’s burning body made him realize that a similar heat still remained in his own heart.

“Is it too late for me?”

The words popped out blurted without context.

Yet Baek Socheon understood what he meant.

“Did you say you were thirty-six?”

“Yes.”

“I started anew when I was your age.”

“Pardon?”

“I was in a terrible state where I couldn’t even walk.”

Lim Chung couldn’t understand what he meant. He couldn’t even walk just three years ago? How could that be? How could a person like that kill someone like Heuksu?

Yet Baek Socheon clearly wasn’t lying or joking.

“That’s enough. Stop massaging.”

“Yes. Ah, and please take this.”

“What is it?”

Lim Chung handed over the cloth bundle he had brought.

“It’s nothing much. Just a few side dishes my wife made for you, Brother. Have them as snacks when you have a drink at home.”

“Calling it nothing much? This is the most precious thing in the world. There’s liquor inside my room. Go fetch it.”

“Yes!”

Lim Chung went into the house and brought out the liquor and cups. Meanwhile, Baek Socheon was unwrapping the cloth on the wooden bench to set out the side dishes.

The two of them shared a drink there.

“It’s delicious.”

“My wife is quite skilled at cooking.”

“I meant the liquor.”

“Ah, yes. Ah, the liquor is good.”

Seeing the flustered Lim Chung, Baek Socheon smirked and said:

“Just joking. Tell your wife I said thank you.”

“Ah! Yes!”

“You’re fun to tease.”

“Even so, to say that right to my face…”

“If I said it behind your back, it’d be bad-mouthing.”

Lim Chung couldn’t help but laugh.

The two drank together, passing cups back and forth.

At times, Baek Socheon seemed like someone from a completely different world, yet right now, he didn’t feel that way at all. If Lim Chung could joke around naturally like Beon Saeng in a setting like this, the atmosphere would be even better; he felt a sense of apology and regret for his own stiffness.

“I haven’t even thrown a proper welcome party for you since you were appointed. I’m sorry.”

“Let’s just say this drink here is the welcome party.”

“Then Leader Beon will feel left out.”

“Then the three of us can do it again.”

At Baek Socheon’s refreshing words, Lim Chung smiled brightly and raised his cup.

“Welcome, Brother.”

The two clinked their cups and emptied them.

Setting down his empty cup, Baek Socheon said the exact same thing:

“I welcome you too.”

Lim Chung couldn’t tell what Baek Socheon meant by ‘welcome’. Whether he was welcoming him into this crazy, cold-blooded, and cruel Jianghu, or welcoming him into a relationship where they could share a drink together, or perhaps some other meaning entirely.

He was curious, but Lim Chung didn’t ask.

Whatever kind of welcome it was, he was willing to accept it gladly. He had the courage to dive right in.

“Your wife’s cooking skills are at the level of a head chef at the Alliance Leader’s manor.”

“My wife will be delighted to hear that.”

That night, the two drank late into the hours. It was a gathering where they quietly soaked in the alcohol and the atmosphere rather than heavy conversation.