WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈

Chapter 19: Rooting Them Out

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Lady Sang had married into the Yi Clan as the eldest daughter of the Sang-un Trading Company.

But had Lady Sang come to the Yi Clan alone?

Of course not.

Several martial artists who had followed Lady Sang from the Sang-un Trading Company had come with her.

The strongest and oldest among them was Mun Gwan-wol, the leader of the Yi Clan’s martial force, the [Azure Cloud Unit].

His cultivation had reached the Circulation Realm.

He was widely expected to advance to Twin Sun Manifestation soon and served as a role model to everyone in the Azure Cloud Unit.

The Azure Cloud Unit had a total of 145 martial artists.

One hundred had agreed to join Yi Jeong, and they were now gathered at Peaceful Cloud Pavilion.

Time continued to pass.

“...Why is there still no word?”

They had already heard the entire plan.

The Clan Head would fall, Lady Yun and the second son would be named as the culprits behind it, and as soon as the order came down, they were to capture them alive.

Anyone who surrendered among their followers was to be spared. Anyone who resisted was to be killed without fail.

Every possible route had already been planned out.

They were only waiting for the order.

Yet it was already past the Hour of the Dog.

Why was everything so quiet?

Then the doors of Peaceful Cloud Pavilion opened.

Finally.

It had to be Yi Jeong, the future Clan Head.

Mun Gwan-wol turned his head and froze in shock.

“...Third Young Master? And... Second Young Master?”

Had only the two of them arrived, he would have thought nothing of it.

But behind them stood the rest of the Azure Cloud Unit martial artists.

...There was only one possibility.

Failure.

Yi Do silently stepped forward from among them.

His entire body was drenched in blood. Rather than an orthodox-faction martial artist, he looked like a true demonic martial artist who surpassed even those of the demonic faction.

Yi Do stopped and looked over Mun Gwan-wol and the martial artists who had sided with Lady Sang.

His gaze remained ice-cold.

He spoke.

“I’ll only say this once, so open your ears and listen carefully.”

“...”

“Those who surrender now will be punished with demotion or a pay cut at most. Naturally, your lives will not be taken. Your limbs will not be broken, and your dantians will not be destroyed.”

His voice was so calm that it was hard to grasp what sort of situation they were in.

Yi Do continued.

“Those who refuse to surrender, and those who surrender after the summary executions begin, will be killed without question. I have no need for prisoners, and I have no need for information. You will be killed. Even if you are lucky enough to escape the clan, it makes no difference. I will hunt you down to the ends of the Central Plains and kill you. I will find and kill everyone even slightly connected to you. I will count to five. Decide before I finish.”

Yi Do began counting in silence.

The Azure Cloud Unit martial artists who had sided with Lady Sang wavered.

He counted one, then two.

By the time he counted three, seven of the hundred or so martial artists had surrendered.

By the time he counted four, another seven had surrendered.

When he counted five, ten more surrendered.

Out of the 101 martial artists, including Commander Mun Gwan-wol, twenty-four had surrendered.

“Second Brother.”

Yi Won, who had been waiting in the back, hurried forward.

“Yes. Since they have rebelled against the clan, summary execution is only proper. From this moment, we shall slaughter these bastards where they stand...”

“Take them all outside.”

Yi Won blinked at Yi Do’s words.

“...What?”

“Everyone goes outside. Lock the doors.”

“...What are you talking about...?”

“Exactly what I said. Do not wonder what happens in here, and do not try to find out. Just take them all outside.”

Yi Won tried to speak again, but then met Yi Do’s eyes.

The moment he saw the cold, still look in Yi Do’s eyes, his legs went weak.

“I said get out.”

“...Ah... All right.”

Yi Won sent every soldier behind him outside.

Before Yi Won left, Yi Do spoke.

“I’ll emphasize this once more. If anyone tries to see what happens in here, whoever it is will die. Conduct yourselves accordingly.”

“...Yes. I’ll remember.”

Yi Won soon left as well.

Click.

The sound of the door locking rang out.

Only Yi Do and the traitors of the Azure Cloud Unit remained.

Mun Gwan-wol found the situation somewhat absurd.

“So the second son is just a figurehead, and it seems Third Young Master has been directing everything after all.”

“Does that change anything?”

“...”

“If not, shut your mouth and wait.”

Mun Gwan-wol, apparently dumbfounded, asked, “What exactly are you trying to do?”

“What a pointless question. I’m preparing to kill all of you.”

“Preparing? More importantly, alone? Have you become too full of yourself just because you reached the Circulation Realm?”

Yi Do merely laughed at Mun Gwan-wol’s words.

Then he took a small case from his robes.

He opened it and placed the finger-joint-sized pill inside directly into his mouth.

Mun Gwan-wol could not understand what Yi Do was doing.

How could he be swallowing an elixir pill at a time like this?

Did he not understand the situation?

Why was he making such a foolish choice?

Did he truly intend to face all these people alone?

Yi Do silently drew the sword he had picked up from Yi Jeong’s residence earlier.

It had been a long time since he had used a sword.

Yi Do closed his eyes.

Had he hesitated?

No.

There was only one reason he had sent everyone away.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Both of Yi Do’s eyes had turned crimson.

Martial arts were something one had to use often to become accustomed to.

Even if it was his master’s martial art, even if it was a martial art that required him to kill every witness once it was exposed to the world to ensure their silence, he needed to make it familiar to his body if he intended to use it in a crisis.

Now was the time.

He gripped his sword tightly.

The blade itself turned red.

Then Yi Do shot forward.

* * *

It felt like he was dreaming.

Yi Won waited outside as Yi Do had instructed.

He made sure no one could enter and that no one could see what was happening inside.

He had kept a considerable distance, but sounds continued to reach his ears without pause.

“Spare me... Move... Run... I’m sorry...”

Each voice was desperate, yet nearly at the same time, the horrifying sounds of things bursting and being severed rang out.

He swallowed.

Then swallowed again.

Goosebumps covered his entire body.

What in the world was happening inside for such sounds to be coming out?

Was Yi Do, who had reached the Circulation Realm, really slaughtering them all alone?

Then why had he ordered everyone out?

At that moment, the cry of a martial artist inside Peaceful Cloud Pavilion reached Yi Won’s ears.

“A demonic martial artist! That bastard is a demonic martial artist!”

That desperate scream gave him a thought.

Could Yi Do have learned Demonic arts?

Might he have sent everyone out to hide it?

Had Yi Do’s excessively brutal methods all been because he had learned Demonic arts?

Yi Won did not know what to do.

Then another thought suddenly came to him.

Would Yi Do have failed to notice Yi Won was thinking this way?

Of course not.

More than merely noticing, he might even have intended for Yi Won to suspect exactly that.

Knowing that would change nothing.

Yi Won had already joined hands with Yi Do. They were almost certain to see this through to the end. He had to cover for what needed covering and praise what needed praising.

A woman hurried over to him.

It was Lady Yun.

“Won!”

“...Ah... Mother.”

“What is going on? Why are you standing here...?”

Lady Yun stopped speaking.

The sounds coming from inside Peaceful Cloud Pavilion had reached her ears.

“...What in the world is happening inside...?”

“...It’s Yi Do.”

“...”

“Yi Do is dealing with the Azure Cloud Unit members who sided with Lady Sang.”

“...Alone?”

“Yes.”

Yi Won did not see Lady Yun’s eyes at that moment.

She was sensing danger.

Yi Won did not seem to have considered it, but even if Yi Won became Clan Head, Yi Do might effectively become the Clan Head at this rate.

Yi Won would become a figurehead.

That could not happen.

“What are you all doing? Go suppress the clan’s rebellious forces at once!”

But perhaps they had already been frightened by Yi Do, because no one moved.

Lady Yun stepped forward in irritation.

Just as she was about to release the latch and throw open the doors, Yi Won, standing behind her, grabbed her shoulder.

“You can’t.”

“...Are you going to be like this too? At this rate... We cannot allow this!”

“...No. Mother, the moment you open this door, everything will go wrong. It is better not to open it. Please trust your son.”

Lady Yun felt as though her chest would burst at her son’s serious expression.

You idiot.

At this rate, you will become a figurehead.

The words rose to her throat, but she could not say them.

Crash.

The latch locked from the outside shattered.

Creeeak.

The doors opened.

Lady Yun and Yi Won both stepped back.

“It’s over.”

Yi Do spoke quietly, his body crimson from head to toe.

It was all blood.

What was even more shocking was that Yi Do did not have a single wound on his body.

And then.

The two of them saw the scene spread out behind Yi Do.

They collapsed where they stood.

A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

Not a single corpse remained intact.

Heads had been severed, limbs cut off, and bodies split in half.

Everything was red. Chunks of flesh were scattered everywhere, and corpses were embedded in the walls.

How was that even possible?

Hadn’t he been alone?

Could one person really do that?

Yi Do spoke.

“Clean this up, and gather all the forces of the Yun Clan and the Yi Clan.”

“...Did you not say... it was over?”

Yi Do’s cold eyes turned toward Yi Won.

Over?

“What are you talking about? What happened within the Yi Clan is over. That does not mean everything is over.”

The mother and son did not yet understand what those words meant.

Yi Do was kinder than he seemed.

“What is Lady Sang’s backing?”

“...The Sang-un Trading Company?”

Rooting them out.

Once he started something, he had to see it through to the end.

Yi Do had never once left a matter half-finished after beginning it.

If someone bared their teeth at him, he would pull those teeth out.

If someone threatened him with a sword, he would take that sword and cut their body to pieces.

If someone tried to bring down his clan, he would bring down theirs.

That was the world Yi Do had lived in.

“We are going to Suju County. Prepare yourselves.”

Footnotes:

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