WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈
Chapter 17: The Time Has Come
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I trained in silence, again and again.
Though I had reached the Circulation Realm, this body was, frankly, extremely weak for a martial artist.
My muscle density was abysmal, and my physical balance was even worse.
I simply had not trained enough.
I had experience with mental cultivation and qi cultivation, so I could take shortcuts and grow quickly. The body was different.
It needed to be honed, then honed again.
After using the Heavenly Mechanism Divine Steps twice, my muscles would scream. After a third use, they would tear.
If I used it four or five times, I would be bedridden for a day or two.
I had only managed all of that through the effects of elixir pills and spiritual medicines. Without them, I would be lying in bed recuperating for days.
This would not do.
The image of Hundred-Year Ginseng kept lingering in my mind.
One piece gave me about a fifty percent chance of opening my middle dantian. With two, the odds rose above ninety percent.
I wiped the sweat from my brow.
No matter how many things had happened, there had been enough time to obtain Hundred-Year Ginseng.
Perhaps not two, but surely at least one had been obtained somehow.
“Young Master!”
I turned my head.
I was used to it by now.
“Your name was Yeom Gil-seong, wasn’t it?”
“Ah... yes, that’s right. Thank you for remembering me.”
Remembering him, my ass.
“That is enough. Whenever news about the Clan Head came in, you were the one who came to tell me. I should know your name by now. So, what is it?”
“The Clan Head, Lady Sang, and Yi Jeong have returned from the Sang-un Trading Company.”
Speak of the devil.
“Where are they now?”
“They just entered the Clan Head’s Hall, so... they should be there?”
“All right. Thank you. You may go.”
Until now, the Clan Head had always summoned me, but this time it would be the opposite.
I intended to go to him myself.
I silently made my way to the Clan Head’s Hall.
* * *
Everything Lady Yun and Yi Won had done was preparation.
The Soul-Severing Demonic Poison Lady Sang had received from Sang Myeong-gil was preparation as well.
Yi Se-geuk still had a chance.
Because he had not properly settled matters, everyone had developed their own positions and doubts about the future. Yet it had not happened.
Yet Yi Se-geuk could not see that future. Once again, he only looked at what was right before his eyes.
The first news he heard after returning to the clan concerned Yi Do again.
This time, Yi Do had provoked the Hyeokri Clan.
Among the Three Great Clans of Jangnyeong, the Hyeokri Clan was the one that maintained neutrality. It was also a clan that rarely plotted behind the scenes.
Its second son, Hyeokri Cheolsan, had already made a name for himself in Jangnyeong County as a master of Twin Sun Manifestation and commanded the Gale Force. They were not a clan to be taken lightly.
Yet Yi Do had provoked them.
He had killed two members of the Gale Force and destroyed one person’s dantian.
That crazy bastard.
Yi Se-geuk immediately summoned Yi Do. Before the servant who had received his order could even go fetch him, the doors to the Clan Head’s Hall opened and Yi Do entered.
“Oh, good timing. I was just about to summon you, you bastard.”
Yi Do’s brow creased faintly at the word “bastard,” but he let it pass.
“Is that so? That is quite fortunate. I wished to see you as well, Clan Head.”
“Hah. Yes, this seems to happen often these days. Fine, then explain yourself.”
Yi Do looked puzzled.
“Explain myself?”
“I heard that you provoked the Hyeokri Clan while I was away. I overlooked you killing the General Stewards, and I overlooked you burning Cheonhwa Pavilion. How much more must I tolerate before you come to your senses? Have you become so full of yourself just because you reached the Circulation Realm?”
So that was what this was about.
Yi Do found it absurd, but he kept his expression under control.
“To be precise, I did not provoke the Hyeokri Clan.”
“Hah. I received a report that you killed two members of the Gale Force and smashed one person’s dantian. That is not provoking them?”
“Yes. Strictly speaking, they provoked me, and I only responded. The Golden Guesthouse in Jangnyeong County is under my protection...”
“Who decided that?”
A brow furrowed at once.
“Golden Guesthouse or whatever else, how dare you decide the Yi Clan’s affairs as you please? Are you trying to become the Young Clan Head by surpassing the eldest and second sons?”
Irritation slowly rose within him.
“You should let me finish speaking. The Yi Clan is not protecting it.”
“...What?”
“It is not the Yi Clan. I, Yi Do, am protecting it.”
“You have gone mad.”
“Why do you think I am mad? Should this not be good for you, Clan Head?”
“How could that possibly be good?”
“The Yi Clan is not the strongest of the Three Great Clans of Jangnyeong. No matter how much ignorant people chatter, that fact does not change.”
“...You dare...!”
“The Hyeokri Clan is the strongest in Jangnyeong County. There is no need to look far. Is there even a single martial artist in our clan who has reached the Four Qi-Cultivation Realms?”
“...But the Sang-un Trading Company...”
“This is the Yi Clan, not the Sang-un Trading Company. I heard the Young Clan Head of the Jang Clan has surpassed Twin Sun Manifestation and entered the Five Dragons Honoring the Sage. Perhaps because he belongs to the Emperor Sword Sect, his talent is extraordinary. What do you think will happen if he returns to Jangnyeong County?”
“....”
“Even before considering the Emperor Sword Sect’s backing, that eldest son will swallow all of Jangnyeong County. The reason is what I have already told you. The Yi Clan is weak.”
Yi Se-geuk had nothing to say.
To be honest, every word Yi Do spoke was true.
There was not a single falsehood in it.
The Yi Clan was simply wealthy. It had no martial artists to support that wealth.
There was a reason Yi Do’s standing had changed.
Whatever else might be said, Yi Do was the Yi Clan’s hope.
The clan needed his strength.
“Rather than worrying about the position of Young Clan Head, I believe we should be strengthening the clan’s power.”
“...Fine. I have heard your explanation for provoking the Hyeokri Clan. Golden Guesthouse has nothing to do with the Yi Clan. It is connected only to you. Do you understand?”
He was drawing a line.
It did not matter.
Yi Do had not acted while expecting anything from the Yi Clan to begin with.
Expecting much from this household of vermin, where they routinely took whatever I brought back, would be a serious mistake.
Even so.
There was one thing he could reasonably expect.
“Yes. I understand perfectly. May I say one last thing?”
Yi Se-geuk, clutching his head as though it ached, gestured for him to continue.
“When will you give me the Hundred-Year Ginseng?”
Yi Se-geuk’s brow twisted badly.
“...You know the clan’s current situation, yet you say such a thing now?”
Yi Do was instead puzzled by those words.
“Is that not First Mother’s problem, rather than our clan’s problem?”
“...The Sang-un Trading Company’s affairs cannot be considered separately from the Yi Clan’s affairs. Above all, when the valuables went up in flames, the Yi Clan’s valuables burned with them. How can we speak as though they are separate in such circumstances?”
Yi Do was not the only one who looked dumbfounded.
Lady Sang and Yi Jeong did as well.
They could not be considered separately? What had this bastard told the Sang-un Trading Company?
He had informed them that the Sang-un Trading Company’s matters were for the Sang-un Trading Company to handle.
Whatever affection Lady Sang had left for him seemed to drain away.
“I am sorry about the Hundred-Year Ginseng, but I believe it would be right to put it off for now.”
“...Could you say that again?”
“This father has devoted all his strength to growing the Yi Clan. A top-grade Hundred-Year Ginseng in good condition costs around four thousand taels of silver, while even one in poor condition costs over three thousand. Naturally, we would have to assume the lowest prices for both. The clan is in such difficult circumstances that we cannot afford such an expense. So wait a little longer.”
Yi Do had not seen much of Yi Se-geuk, but enough events and time had passed for him to understand what kind of person he was.
The “later” Yi Se-geuk spoke of was no different from an indefinite wait.
At this rate, the matter would most likely fizzle out.
Yi Do’s eyes darkened.
“Father, may I say one more thing?”
“Yes, speak.”
“A promise only retains its meaning when it does not change, no matter the circumstances.”
“So, even though the clan is in such difficulty, you mean to wring the Hundred-Year Ginseng out of us? Are you truly a child of the Yi Clan?”
Yi Se-geuk snapped at him, still unable to recognize what the darkness in Yi Do’s eyes meant.
Seeing her chance, Lady Sang entered the conversation.
“Husband, may I say something this time?”
“...Speak.”
“Is it not time to decide the position of Young Clan Head?”
“That again? Did I not tell you? I will decide when the time comes.”
Lady Sang had no intention of backing down this time.
“No. I believe now is the right time. Is the clan not in turmoil because the position of Young Clan Head remains undecided? Look at what is happening now. How could Yi Do, who clearly knows the clan’s situation, bring up the Hundred-Year Ginseng? This happened because the position of Young Clan Head is vacant.”
“How is that related?”
“Husband, if the position of Young Clan Head had been decided, a matter like this could have been settled at the Young Clan Head’s level. Not only that, but the matter involving the Hyeokri Clan and all sorts of other matters could have been settled at the Young Clan Head’s level as well. Then you would not need to work yourself into such a state as you are now.”
“...”
“All kinds of strange rumors are spreading throughout Jangnyeong County.”
“What rumors?”
“They say the position of Young Clan Head of the Yi Clan has already been decided, and that the person chosen is not someone within the clan, but someone outside it.”
“...What does that mean?”
“It must mean that a child you fathered through an affair with another woman will soon enter the Yi Clan.”
Bang!
Yi Se-geuk slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet.
“Who on earth is spreading such absurd rumors?”
“I do not know that much, but such rumors certainly exist. To put an end to them all, please decide the position of Young Clan Head on this occasion. The entire family is gathered here already.”
Yi Se-geuk silently looked around before shaking his head.
“No. I will decide the position of Young Clan Head later. Not now.”
“...Husband!”
“Hmph. Why are you raising your voice? That is how matters concerning the Young Clan Head will be. And have you not repeated the same thing ever since we left the Sang-un Trading Company for the clan? Mention the Young Clan Head one more time before me, and I will not let it pass. Do you understand?”
“....Yes.”
Lady Sang’s eyes darkened.
It was only for a moment, but Yi Do saw it clearly and thought one thing.
That was the expression of someone who had made a decision.
Slowly, a gentle smile formed on Yi Do’s lips.
“I apologize for bringing up unnecessary matters in this unsettled atmosphere. I understand Father’s will. If that is Father’s judgment, there is nothing to be done. I will wait for the Hundred-Year Ginseng until later.”
“Good. I am pleased to hear you say so. I had intended to punish you for what happened with the Hyeokri Clan, but I feel sorry for you, so I will let the matter rest.”
“I am overwhelmed by Father’s grace.”
Only Yi Won, the second son, felt a chill from Yi Do’s still-gentle smile.
“I will take my leave. May you remain in ‘good health.’”
Yi Do turned around.
The time had come.
Today was the day.
Footnotes:
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