WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈

Chapter 33: Deepening Grudges

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The Martial World was in uproar.

Jangnyeong County was not particularly famous. Its proximity to several commercial cities was a major advantage, but it had little else going for it.

Yet a massacre had occurred there.

Not only had the three factions that ruled the county been wiped out, but even the county magistrate had died.

The culprit was a martial artist named Yi Do.

When people heard what he had done and how he had done it, they doubted their own ears.

He had brought down the Jang Clan of Jangnyeong County, then destroyed the Sang-un Trading Company in neighboring Suju County.

That alone was extraordinary, yet he had also destroyed his own Yi Clan and the Hyeokri Clan.

More than five hundred martial artists had died by his hand.

All within a short time.

How many martial artists had ever carried out such astonishing deeds?

Above all else, he had laid hands on the authorities.

Thirty-eight constables had died by his hand.

It was an utterly unbelievable act.

To be honest, almost nothing was known about the man called Yi Do, but anyone could see that he was no martial artist of the Orthodox Path.

Those who revered the Path of Hegemony might say he walked that path, but they did not dare say it openly.

They could not.

That was what it meant to touch the authorities.

A martial artist of the Demonic Way.

Scum with the mind of a demonic practitioner.

That was what Yi Do was called.

He had gained an epithet as well.

Cruel Demonic Way.

What mattered was this.

The Jeok Nation imperial court had dispatched the Embroidered Uniform Guard to capture and kill Yi Do.

Other than the emperor himself, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was naturally the imperial court's greatest force. They identified and pursued those who could threaten the imperial family. To touch the authorities meant drawing their pursuit, so this was only natural.

At that very moment, another place was in turmoil for an entirely different reason.

“Sect Leader! I humbly beg you, please allow me to descend the mountain!”

It was the Emperor Sword Sect.

Jang Un-yeon, the direct disciple of Ma Heuk-rang, an elder of the Emperor Sword Sect, and the Young Clan Head of the Jang Clan, shouted with pent-up fury.

The Sword Emperor sighed.

“I must kill him! I will tear that bastard apart with my own hands!”

The Sword Emperor shook his head.

“Even if you went now, how would you find him?”

The Sword Emperor had intended to conceal what had happened in Jangnyeong County.

He had firmly believed Ma Heuk-rang, whom he had sent there, would wipe out the Yi Clan and return. Instead, Ma Heuk-rang had gone missing, and the events in Jangnyeong County had shaken the entire Martial World.

It was something he had never accounted for. Something he had never even considered.

“Then help me. I need the Emperor Sword Sect's strength.”

“...Un-yeon.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“I will not permit it.”

“...Sect Leader!”

“I am not saying this because you are close to reaching Three Flowers Gather at the Crown. Even if you go now, there is no point.”

“How can you...”

“The Embroidered Uniform Guard has set out. This matter is already out of the Martial World’s hands.”

Jang Un-yeon squeezed his eyes shut.

“But if they kill him, I will at least get you his corpse.”

“...”

“Is that not enough for you?”

“...Sect Leader... He destroyed my clan and killed my family. How could I be satisfied with nothing more than his corpse?”

“But it cannot be helped. Your family members were not the only ones who lost their lives to him.”

“...”

“He touched the authorities. He alone broke the pact of mutual noninterference between officialdom and the Martial World. If the Emperor Sword Sect gets involved now as well, matters will become complicated. Above all, you know the state of the Martial World right now.”

Of course he did. There was no way he could not.

“Demonic practitioners are stirring. Descendants of the fallen Millennium Demonic Cult are appearing throughout the Martial World. You are being regarded as the next Sect Leader of the Emperor Sword Sect. If you pursue him, do you think those demonic practitioners will sit still?”

“...Those who stand in my way, I will...”

“Enough, Un-yeon.”

“...Yes.”

“I am sorry that I concealed what happened in Jangnyeong County from you, but I cannot permit you to descend the mountain. Let us watch a little longer.”

“...”

“Besides, Elder Ma is moving even now. Something must have gone wrong along the way and caused them to miss each other, but he may bring back that man's head before the Embroidered Uniform Guard does.”

“...Sect Leader...”

The Sword Emperor placed a hand on Jang Un-yeon's shoulder.

“For this once, endure.”

In the end, Jang Un-yeon lowered his head.

“...Understood.”

The debts and grudges Yi Do had created were slowly taking root within the Emperor Sword Sect.

At that same time, Yi Do had arrived at a small inn in [Suju County].

* * *

A man wearing a black gat and a black robe sat in a secluded corner of the inn.

An attendant approached him.

Before the attendant could ask what he wanted to order, the man spoke briefly.

“The thirsty drink readily.”

“...Pardon?”

“One touch of an armored sleeve settles the fight.”

The attendant's expression changed at once.

The man continued.

“Handle matters as swiftly as the wind.”

“...You are an honored guest. I will guide you to a better seat. Please follow me.”

The man rose. The two swords at his waist struck against each other with a resonant sound.

Silently, he followed the attendant.

There were two ways to contact the Assassin Fortress.

One was through an introduction. The other was to speak the code phrases at a designated meeting place.

The words Yi Do, the man in the black gat, had just spoken were those code phrases.

The attendant led Yi Do to an annex within the inn.

A woman was waiting there. She smiled faintly.

“It is nice to meet you.”

Without replying, Yi Do walked over and sat across from her.

“You are a quiet one.”

“...”

“By the way.”

A peculiar smile bloomed on the woman's lips.

“To think I would meet the famous Cruel Demonic Way like this. It is an honor.”

Yi Do set his gat beside him.

“My, you are taller than I expected. You caused such a massacre and do not have a single wound on you. It makes me wonder what kind of martial arts you practice.”

Yi Do silently watched her.

“Ah, I was a little late introducing myself, wasn't I? Nice to meet you. I'm Yeonhwa, the branch head of the Assassin Fortress's Suju County branch.”

“Yi Do.”

“I see. Shall we get to the point? Most people come to the Assassin Fortress to commission an assassination, but...”

Yeonhwa's eyes gleamed.

“Who would you like us to kill?”

Yi Do shook his head.

“I did not come to place a commission.”

“...Then why did you come, even using the code phrases?”

“I came to collect money.”

Yeonhwa's brow twitched.

“...Money?”

“Sang Myeong-gil paid one hundred Gold Taels to have me killed. Since the commission failed, that money should rightfully be returned to Sang Myeong-gil.”

“But Sang Myeong-gil is dead. Surely you know that? You killed him.”

“Yes, I killed him. So what?”

“...”

“The Yi Clan has been destroyed, but I am still alive. The Sang-un Trading Company still belongs to the Yi Clan, so everything it possesses should naturally become mine. If you failed the commission, should you not return the payment?”

“Don't be ridiculous.”

“Why is this ridiculous?”

“...Do you truly not know why?”

“I do not.”

“We carried out the commission. We failed, yes, but we lost a valuable assassin. The Assassin Fortress suffered losses as well. That is why you are being ridiculous. Sang Myeong-gil is dead, the Yi Clan has been destroyed, and Yi Do, who is standing before me now... Honestly, are you not a living corpse who simply happens to be breathing?”

Yi Do gave a humorless laugh. He had heard something similar before.

“Skip the nonsense and get to the point. Hand over Sang Myeong-gil's commission payment.”

“And if I cannot?”

“You seem to be mistaken about something.”

“...What misunderstanding might that be?”

“I am giving you your final chance to settle your debts and grudges with me.”

“...A chance? You do know this is the Assassin Fortress, right?”

Yi Do drew in a deep breath.

Slowly.

A gentle smile spread across his lips.

“I will say this only one last time. Since you did not return the commission payment of one hundred Gold Taels on time, add thirty percent interest. Bring me one hundred and thirty Gold Taels at once. Otherwise...”

Yeonhwa smiled as well.

“Otherwise, what will you do? Do you intend to make enemies even of the Assassin Fortress? You know the Imperial Guard has been dispatched, don't you?”

Yi Do said nothing. Yeonhwa continued.

“People like you are truly rare.”

“...”

“You must have that much nerve to make enemies of the Emperor Sword Sect and lay hands on the authorities. But now you want to provoke the Assassin Fortress too? If you keep making so many enemies, shouldn't you worry about how you will die rather than whether you will die? You should be hiding, not sitting here. Don't you agree?”

Yi Do still listened in silence.

“It is rather strange, though. To think there would be another person like you in the Martial World. As an aside, there was an assassin we could dispatch faster than anyone else in Suju County. I never expected that assassin to fail to assassinate a martial artist who was only at the Circulation Realm. We considered sending another assassin, but Sang Myeong-gil happened to die that very day, so there was no need. What does that mean?”

Yeonhwa smiled faintly.

“You will die by someone's hand, whether it is the Emperor Sword Sect or the Imperial Guard. In the end, that is no different from succeeding in the commission. So who would that commission payment belong to? There is only one answer. It belongs to the Assassin Fortress. I've explained it all so nicely. You get it now, right?”

Yeonhwa waved a hand. Three waiting attendants approached Yi Do.

“Our guest is leaving. See him out. Oh, if you wish, have a meal outside before you go. They say a well-fed corpse makes a pretty sight.”

Yi Do looked at the attendants.

None of these three could be ordinary attendants. This was an Assassin Fortress branch.

Every person working here was an assassin, though their levels differed.

“It appears you have no intention of giving me the money.”

“Of course not. Why would we return it? It is ours.”

“Fine. Then I will take it myself.”

Yeonhwa thought she had misheard him.

Then she heard two sounds.

The first was the sound of a sword leaving its sheath.

The second was thunder erupting from that sword.

Slash-!!

Yeonhwa's body split in half.

Yi Do turned. He readjusted his grip on his sword and swung it wide at the three attendants, who had frozen in shock.

Rumble-!!

With a tremendous crash of thunder, all three bodies were severed in half.

He flicked the blood from his sword as he sheathed it.

His grudge with the Assassin Fortress had deepened, but Yi Do had clearly given them the chance to settle it all.

He thrust his sword at the head of an assassin rushing toward him.

Stab-!

Today, the Assassin Fortress branch in Suju County would disappear from the world.

Footnotes:

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