Memoir of a Regressor - Chapter 31

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈

Chapter 31: The Calamity of Clan Destruction

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It was before dawn.

At that still-dark hour, Yi Won opened his eyes in his bedchamber.

He seemed to have slept, but not for long.

That was only natural.

He had been too troubled to sleep properly.

He ran a hand down his face.

Haa.

He had long since stopped wondering whether this was the right choice.

This was right.

Only by selling out Yi Do could the Yi Clan survive.

Only then could he live as the Clan Head of an intact Yi Clan.

Besides, it was the Emperor Sword Sect, not just any sect.

There was no other clever move that could turn this situation around.

Even so, his thoughts were so tangled because of guilt, or something like it.

Tch.

He clicked his tongue lightly.

What did it matter, one way or the other?

The Yi Clan had been saved, and from now on, he only needed to “rule” Jangnyeong County as the Yi Clan’s Clan Head.

He was thirsty.

“Is no one outside?”

Strangely, there was no answer.

He turned his head, raised his voice, and spoke again.

“Is no one outsi...”

No, he tried to speak.

“...Huh?”

A foolish sound escaped Yi Won’s mouth. It could not have been helped.

There was a man there.

He sat in a chair in the corner of the bedchamber with his legs crossed, staring directly at Yi Won.

Even in the darkness, his eyes seemed to shine.

“...Yi... Yi Do...?”

It was undoubtedly Yi Do.

He looked a little tired, but he was alive and well. Yi Won’s thoughts froze.

...How?

“Elder Brother.”

“Uh... uh... right...”

“Do you know what I vowed, again and again, throughout the thirty years I lived?”

“...Thirty years?”

“That anyone who stabs me in the back must die.”

“...”

“I have been betrayed far too many times. I saved a woman who was about to be raped and murdered, only to be accused of being the culprit instead. Someone begged me to help settle a family dispute, and after I did, they stabbed me in the back. After going through things like that, I stopped showing mercy.”

“...”

“Even so, returning to the past was such an unusual situation that I decided to be a little more generous.”

“...So, Yi Do... I think there’s some misunderstanding here... First...”

“Did you not kneel, repent for the past, and apologize? I accepted it. You asked me to make you Clan Head, so I did. You said you would give me anything I wanted, but did I ask for anything unreasonable?”

“...Do you have any idea how much all those spiritual medicines you used cost?”

“The money spent on those measly medicines could have been recovered within a few months once we ruled Jangnyeong County. I heard you even diverted some of the medicines meant for me. Are you joking? Just by investing the Sang-un Trading Company’s funds and the Yun Clan’s funds, you could have obtained more than twice the medicines you gave me. Am I wrong?”

“...I am the Clan Head. Does it make any sense for the Clan Head to be unable to use the Clan Head’s bedchamber?”

“Do you know what was beneath that bedchamber?”

“...”

“Yi Se-geuk was performing human sacrifices there under the pretense of material costs.”

“...What?”

“No one in the Yi Clan likely knew, but I stopped the Yi Clan from being destroyed once. Martial artists strong enough to consider the Golden Heaven Divine Sword beneath notice came to attack, and I stopped them alone.”

Would saying anything have changed matters?

Who knew?

Yi Won had already been swayed this way and that. He had long thought the spiritual medicines given to Yi Do were a waste, so even if he had known, nothing would have changed.

There was no need to look far. The difference between Yi Do’s realm and Golden Heaven Divine Sword Ma Heuk-rang’s was as vast as heaven and earth.

“You became the new Clan Head, did you not? Forget the Clan Head’s Hall. In just one month, the Yi Clan would have more than enough money to build a new one. If we expanded the Yi Clan further and ruled all of Jangnyeong County, we could have built it into a force on the level of at least the Five Great Schools, even if we could not reach the Eight Great Sects. Even if I stood at the forefront, Elder Brother would ultimately be the head of the clan. If anyone had disrespected you, do you think I would have stood by?”

“...Yi Do...”

“My head contains every kind of martial art used, and once used, by the greatest martial artists, including lost arts. If I gave Elder Brother a few of those arts, bought spiritual medicines with the overflowing funds, and expanded your qi channels again and again, I could have raised you to at least Three Flowers Gather at the Crown within ten years. You said you would give me everything, so I trusted you and left the work to you. I wanted to see how firm that resolve was, but you were shaken by something so trivial. How could I trust you to watch my back? You never intended to give me everything, and you never trusted me that much.”

“...”

“If Golden Heaven Divine Sword Ma Heuk-rang had killed me, the Yi Clan and the Hyeokri Clan would have been destroyed that day. Not by my hand, but by the Golden Heaven Divine Sword’s.”

“...But he would...”

“You were mistaken. All the elders of the Emperor Sword Sect are bastards like that. Did you think being called a great hero meant they truly were great heroes? Do you know that the Golden Heaven Divine Sword and the Sword Emperor massacre villages and rape women behind the scenes? If a woman is beautiful, they act, whether she has committed a crime or not. Do you know how many clans have fallen that way? I know of more than ten. That is the hidden side of the Emperor Sword Sect. Do you understand that this is their traditional pastime?”

Yi Won’s mouth fell shut.

The Emperor Sword Sect did such things?

If that was true, the entire martial world would be thrown into chaos.

“If you are the head of a clan, you should have been more careful when the clan’s fate was at stake.”

“...”

“You should have at least kept a foot in both camps.”

It was as though lightning struck Yi Won’s mind.

“If you had supported everything I asked for, and if you had not been present when you sold me out to the Golden Heaven Divine Sword, it probably would not have come to this.”

That was true.

Yi Won had not thought that far ahead.

Yi Do raised his hand. Several spiritual medicines rested in it.

Yi Won’s face turned pale.

“...Yi Do... Listen to me first...”

Yi Do shook his head.

“I did not come here to hear a long, ugly excuse. I came to keep my promise.”

“Promise?”

Yi Do rose from his seat.

“Do you not remember what happens when you stab me in the back?”

Every hair on Yi Won’s body stood on end.

There was no way he could forget.

“W-Wait... Stop for a moment... The Golden Heaven Divine Sword...”

“What are you talking about?”

“...Huh?”

“The Golden Heaven Divine Sword never came to Jangnyeong County.”

“...What?”

“He met with an accident on the way, and the Yi Clan was destroyed in an internal struggle for succession.”

“...W-Wait...”

“The Yun Clan’s Clan Head and Young Clan Head, who were in the Yi Clan, along with Lady Yun and Yi Won, the Yi Clan’s new Clan Head, were unable to escape the burning Yi Clan.”

Yi Do grabbed Yi Won by the head.

“That is what will happen from now on. Do you understand?”

Moonlight streaming through the window finally illuminated the bedchamber.

Yi Won’s eyes widened.

Three heads lay where Yi Do had been sitting.

One belonged to his mother, Lady Yun. Another belonged to Un Mu-jeong, the Clan Head of the Yun Clan.

The last belonged to Un Jeong-su, the Young Clan Head of the Yun Clan.

Before coming to Yi Won, Yi Do had already killed everyone he intended to kill.

Yi Won swallowed hard. He wanted to kneel and beg, but his body would not move.

Yi Do’s other hand moved slowly.

It touched Yi Won’s right eye.

Pop.

With a sickening sound, his eyeball was pulled out.

Then the other eye was pulled out as well.

Yi Do threw Yi Won onto the bed. Yi Won could not make a sound.

His acupoints had clearly been sealed.

When?

Yi Won could feel it.

The pain coming from his lower abdomen.

His dantian.

It was undoubtedly being torn out whole.

Drip.

Bloody tears flowed from Yi Won’s empty eye sockets.

* * *

Yi Do silently stepped outside.

A man was waiting for him.

“Yeom Gil-seong.”

“...Yes, Young Master.”

“Is all the preparation complete?”

“Yes. It is finished.”

Who was the man who had primarily carried out Yi Do’s orders in the Yi Clan and had always treated him kindly?

It was the servant, Yeom Gil-seong.

“I have wronged you.”

“No, Young Master. This is what you wish to do. How could someone like me dare to comment on it?”

“Still, it is true that I could not keep my promise to make you General Steward. And since you can no longer live in the Yi Clan either, I have wronged you.”

“...It is all right. You saved my life, Young Master. Even if it is not in the Yi Clan, I will find some way to live.”

Grudges for grudges.

Kindness for kindness.

Yi Do took something from his robes.

One was a small box, and the other was a thick book.

Yeom Gil-seong accepted them and looked at him in confusion.

Yi Do spoke quietly.

“This box contains three fifty-year Taemyeong Pills and four fifteen-year Botae Pills.”

“...Y-Yes?”

“Listen until I am finished. This secret manual contains three martial arts. [Plum Blossom Yin-Yang Sword Art], [Seven-Star Steps], and [Purple-Cloud Divine Technique]. A sword art, movement art, and inner art. They are also the ultimate arts of the Mount Hua Sect, which was destroyed six hundred years ago.”

“Young Master... Why are you giving such things to me...?”

“It is compensation.”

“...”

“If I fail to keep a promise, it is only natural to compensate for it with interest. I cannot teach you myself, so go to the Golden Guesthouse. Give one fifty-year Taemyeong Pill each to Hwang No-baek and his disciple Jo Hyeon, then receive instruction from Hwang No-baek.”

“...Will he accept me?”

“He will. I do not know about anything else, but Hwang No-baek will be interested in the ultimate arts of the destroyed Mount Hua Sect.”

“...Young Master...”

“That is enough. Set this place on fire now.”

What Yeom Gil-seong had prepared was oil.

He scattered it throughout the Yi Clan.

“Today, I will be known as the culprit who set the Yi Clan ablaze and fled. So deny that you have any relationship with me. Do you understand?”

“...Young Master. How could I...”

“Do it. I do not yet have the power to overturn the world, so this is what must be done.”

“...”

“And you have talent in martial arts. Starting late will not hold you back at all. Train diligently, and then train even harder.”

Yi Do turned away.

Watching Yi Do walk off, Yeom Gil-seong slowly dropped to his knees and bowed.

That day.

Before dawn.

The Yi Clan burned.

* * *

Hyeokri Wonpyeong, who had been sleeping soundly, slowly opened his eyes.

“Clan Head! Clan Head!”

His brow furrowed.

The sun had not even risen yet. Why was someone waking the Clan Head?

Still, there had to be a good reason for it.

Hyeokri Wonpyeong was broad-minded enough to think so as he asked,

“What is it?”

“The Yi Clan... It is burning right now.”

His mind cleared in an instant.

“What?”

“Clan Head Yi Won, Lady Yun, and all the Yun Clan blood relatives are trapped inside and have not been able to escape.”

He immediately rose and opened the door.

A servant stood there, pale as a sheet.

“Is that... truly the case?”

“Yes. I have just confirmed it with my own eyes.”

“...Good. Wake the Young Clan Head and Cheolsan at once, and tell them to come to the Clan Head’s Hall.”

“Yes, sir.”

The servant ran off without looking back.

Without even taking the time to change clothes, Wonpyeong headed straight for the Clan Head’s Hall.

Thought after thought ran through his mind.

The Yi Clan was burning?

Who had set it ablaze?

He did not consider Yi Do at all.

There was only one possibility.

The Golden Heaven Divine Sword.

He had set the Yi Clan on fire.

There could be no other answer.

It was too obvious.

Then what should they do now?

Hyeokri Yang-geon and Hyeokri Wonpyeong had been present when they persuaded the Golden Heaven Divine Sword.

If he thought they were in league with the Yi Clan, the next place to burn would surely be the Hyeokri Clan.

They needed a countermeasure.

They had to draw a clear line between themselves and the Yi Clan.

Before long, his eldest son Yang-geon and his second son Cheolsan entered the Clan Head’s Hall.

Neither was fully dressed, which showed that they understood how urgent this matter was.

“Father! Is it true that the Yi Clan is burning?”

“Yes. I just heard the news myself.”

“...Then what should we do?”

“It is simple.”

It really was simple.

As he had said earlier, they only needed to draw a line.

“We were never together with the Yi Clan when the Jang Clan was destroyed. More importantly, there is no proof that we joined hands with them.”

“But Lady Yun summoned us.”

“That is true. But the reason we attended was to prevent a tragedy in Jangnyeong County.”

“...A tragedy in Jangnyeong County?”

“If the Golden Heaven Divine Sword destroys the Yi Clan, all of Jangnyeong County will be thrown into turmoil. The small and medium-sized sects that have remained quiet until now will rise to seize hegemony. We only guarded against that. Do you understand?”

It differed from the truth, but it could not be helped.

“You mean we should distance ourselves from them.”

“Yes. That is the only way to avoid the Golden Heaven Divine Sword’s wrath. More importantly, how many spiritual medicines remain in the Hyeokri Clan?”

“...Only three twenty-year Tae-eul Pills and one Hundred-Year Ginseng remain.”

“...You there. Is no one outside?”

The servant who had reported the Yi Clan’s destruction entered again.

“Go and bring every spiritual medicine we have.”

The servant left once more.

That was right.

This was a bribe.

The three men waited.

Before long, the servant entered the Clan Head’s Hall carrying a box of spiritual medicines.

“Clan Head. I have brought them... Urgh!”

Before the servant could finish speaking, a sword burst through his solar plexus.

It was undoubtedly the Golden Heaven Divine Sword.

Hyeokri Wonpyeong shouted,

“Lord Ma Heuk-rang! This is a misundersta...”

He could not finish either.

The man revealed behind the collapsing servant was not Golden Heaven Divine Sword Ma Heuk-rang.

Yi Do smiled gently.

“Clan Head Hyeokri. How have you been?”

“...You... How are you...?”

“That is how things turned out. Still, just like Lord Jang Mak-su of the Jang Clan, the clan heads who ruled Jangnyeong County are always so broad-minded.”

“...What are you talking about...?”

“I believe I should thank you first.”

“...Thank me?”

Yi Do lightly nudged the box of spiritual medicines that had fallen to the floor. The medicines inside came into view.

“Thank you for giving such a gift to the person who came to destroy the Hyeokri Clan.”

“How did you get here... Wait, what did you say? Destroy...?”

Before Yi Do could answer, Hyeokri Cheolsan leaped forward.

“You bastard! I will avenge my Gale Force men!”

The sword in his hand shot forward with fierce momentum.

Yi Do pulled the sword from the servant’s solar plexus.

He saw the sword’s trajectory.

Without the slightest hesitation, he swung.