WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈

Chapter 36: Embroidered Uniform Guard

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The sword fit my hand perfectly. It felt as though I had recovered something I had forgotten for years.

“...What is your name?”

I gave Blood-Blood Asura a curt reply.

“Is that important?”

“It is not. Still, we may yet be able to settle this peacefully through conversation.”

I shook my head.

“The moment you pointed your sword at me, your death was decided. There is only one way to change that.”

“One?”

“Kneel and beg for your life. Then I might stop after cutting off one arm.”

“...Let me say one thing.”

He wanted to leave his last words. It was only polite to hear him out.

“Judging by your face, life has not been easy for you since childhood. Your martial prowess also appears to be at the level of Five Dragons Honoring the Sage. Do not waste your life in a place like this. I need nothing else. Only the Cloud Dragon Sword. Hand it over, and I will go my way while you go yours, as if nothing happened. It is my property, but I have two hundred Gold Taels on me right now. I will give those to you as well.”

He had gone that far, so I became curious.

“Why is this sword yours? It should be a Kunlun sword.”

“Because I am a descendant of Kunlun.”

I paused.

“A descendant of Kunlun?”

“Jeok Mu-je, the founder of Kunlun, had five disciples. One of them was my ancestor, Kang Jeok-sin. As that ancestor’s blood descendant, I carry on Kunlun’s lineage.”

I slowly lowered my sword.

“That sword belongs to me, the one carrying on Kunlun’s lineage. It has been passed down through my family for generations, but those trash bastards from Heavenly Forest stole it. I alone can be its master.”

I silently looked at Blood-Blood Asura.

Kunlun.

I might have been able to ignore any other sect, but not that one. Most of the martial arts I used came from Kunlun.

That included my footwork and grappling art, even the sword arts and palm arts I had not used once since returning.

It was true that I had learned five martial arts directly from my master.

Those five did not include the manuals my master had handed me and told me to learn on my own.

Those manuals all contained Kunlun martial arts.

That was right.

My master was a descendant of Kunlun.

Not the descendant of some elder, but a direct blood descendant of Jeok Mu-je, the founder who established Kunlun.

I quietly asked, “How much do you know?”

“What are you talking about?”

“How much do you know about Kunlun martial arts?”

“...I do not wish to answer. Hand over the sword.”

“You said that because you carry on Kunlun’s lineage, you are the only one who can become this sword’s master. You are wrong.”

“What?”

I did not answer with words.

I kicked off the ground. In an instant, I closed in on Blood-Blood Asura. He thrust his sword at me.

Heavenly Steed Divine Steps.

I evaded the sword and took his blind spot. His eyes widened.

I brought the Cloud Dragon Sword down from above.

Like falling flowers, the mysterious movement of my sword sent him hastily swinging his weapon as he retreated.

“You... You...!”

It was the Falling Flower Sword, one of Kunlun’s sword arts. His voice shook violently after recognizing it, but I paid him no mind.

I rushed forward and thrust my sword.

Cloud Dragon Thirteen Swords.

Like a dragon shooting forth, the attack struck from thirteen directions in an instant. Once again, he hurriedly retreated.

I changed the sword’s direction and swung it wide to the side.

Great Purity Dragon-Form Sword.

It should have been a mysterious sword art that sent forth the shape of a dragon, fully embodying the years I had lived and the countless experiences of real combat I had accumulated.

Naturally, it also required immense internal energy.

The internal energy I could pour into it now was limited.

The shape was not that of a dragon, but an extremely faint salamander. Even so, it was highly threatening. Blood-Blood Asura desperately tried to block it, but his sword was knocked away. He nearly lost his grip on it.

I drew back the Cloud Dragon Sword and tightened my grip.

My eyes flashed.

Light began gathering on the blade. It was no more than sword qi, but light was still light.

The rays came crashing down as though splitting apart.

Light-Splitting Sword.

Blood-Blood Asura retreated far back, his face stricken with terror.

“W-wait...!”

He seemed to have much to say, but I did not bother asking. Strength flowed into my legs.

The instant I used the Heavenly Steed Divine Steps, I forcefully pushed off the ground.

Flying Dragon Chasing Lightning.

I reached Blood-Blood Asura in a flash and grabbed his solar plexus with my left hand.

Cloud Dragon Grappling Art.

It came naturally.

Blood-Blood Asura’s body spun once through the air before crashing headfirst into the ground.

I had already shifted the Cloud Dragon Sword into a reverse grip and placed it against his throat.

Blood-Blood Asura could not say a word.

He looked dazed, as if unable to comprehend the situation.

His violently shaking eyes turned toward me.

“You... No... Sir... Are you a descendant of Kunlun...?”

“I am not a descendant.”

“...How can you know so many Kunlun martial arts if you are not a descendant?”

“Is that important?”

I silently tightened my grip.

Then Blood-Blood Asura’s reaction startled me.

Thick tears streamed down his face.

“...Kunlun... Kunlun still lives...”

Good grief.

“...I am a demonic fiend. A demonic fiend like me cannot dare call myself Kunlun’s descendant... Kill me. If you do not kill me now, Kunlun’s name will be tarnished... Hurry and kill me.”

Despite saying that, Blood-Blood Asura wore a satisfied smile.

It was nothing new, but there truly were all kinds of people in the martial world.

Those who called themselves martial artists were all obsessed with something in one way or another.

Some were obsessed with martial arts, some with women, and some with power.

Blood-Blood Asura was clearly much the same.

I lost all interest.

I sheathed my sword.

Blood-Blood Asura looked at me in confusion before suddenly asking, “Why are you not killing me?”

“I have lost the mood for it. Go.”

I had been surprised many times today.

Still, when Blood-Blood Asura grabbed my trouser leg with both hands as I turned away, I could not help being surprised again.

“Please, no! You must kill me before you go!”

What was wrong with this bastard?

“Everyone knows me as a demonic fiend. No, as a demonic practitioner. If people learn that the one called Blood-Blood Asura is actually a descendant of Kunlun, Kunlun’s name will be tarnished! Kill me here and claim the honor of having killed me! Please!”

I had spent quite a long time in the martial world myself, but I had never seen someone like this before.

I looked at the one desperately begging me to kill him and let out a sigh.

He took that differently.

He shuffled backward on his knees and tore open his clothes with both hands.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he smiled with that bizarre expression.

“Please kill me. It would be an honor.”

I was dumbfounded.

“Blood-Blood Asura.”

“Yes!”

“What is your name?”

“Kang So-eo!”

“Kang So-eo. I understand how you feel, but does it matter whether you are a demonic practitioner or not?”

“...How could it not matter? Great Kunlun was the sect among sects that once ruled the world, a force every martial artist respected without end. If one of its descendants becomes known as a demonic practitioner, its former honor will surely be tarnished as well.”

I shook my head.

“Why are you the one deciding that?”

“...Pardon?”

“You do not want Kunlun’s honor to be tarnished? Then become strong yourself.”

“...”

“Become a master who commands the world and kill all those who branded you a demonic practitioner. That alone will raise Kunlun’s honor.”

“...That cannot be so easy...”

“It is not that difficult.”

“...”

“You have not asked the most important question. Do you think of yourself as a demonic practitioner?”

“Absolutely not. I have not learned Demonic arts. I have only learned Kunlun martial arts.”

“Then why did you become known as one?”

“...The Jo Clan of Yangdeok Prefecture once asked for my help. They were caught in a power struggle involving several nearby clans, and Jo Un-hyang, a daughter of the Jo Clan, laid a trap that destroyed three clans in Yangdeok Prefecture.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I was named as the one behind it, so I went to the Jo Clan and demanded an explanation. I asked why they had done it, but I did not receive the answer I wanted. The Jo Clan’s martial artists tried to kill me. So...”

“You destroyed them?”

“...Yes.”

“Then you destroyed four clans in the end.”

“...I only destroyed one, but that was the result.”

That was enough for people to call Kang So-eo a demonic practitioner, or even a demonic fiend. That was how the martial world worked.

If someone outside their own clan caused trouble and wandered the world alone, that person could only be an enemy or an ally. That was the way things worked here.

Then, if they became an ally, people would say that the matter back then had been a misunderstanding caused by this and that. Only then would they clear the accusations that had branded the person a demonic fiend.

That was the kind of place this was.

Of course, I did not believe everything Kang So-eo said, but I could understand it.

I slowly tapped several points on my face.

My facial muscles and bone structure twisted. Before long, I returned to my original face.

“...It seems light is shining from your august features.”

I quietly asked, “This face seems fairly well known in the martial world now. Do you not know who I am?”

“...Could you be the Handsome Scholar?”

“The Handsome Scholar?”

“I have heard that among the younger generation of the Hundred Martial Sects in Yan Kingdom, there is a man with the epithet Handsome Scholar. They say his appearance is as though he descended from the heavens... The person before me now is exactly like that.”

I looked down at Kang So-eo and spoke briefly.

“My name is Yi Do.”

“...It seems light is shining from your name as well... Huh...? Yi... Do?”

“So you know me.”

“...The Yi Do who attacked Assassin Fortress and turned Jangnyeong County into a wasteland...?”

“Yes.”

“...I heard you even killed the county magistrate. That must have been a false accusation, of course?”

“No.”

Kang So-eo’s mouth fell open.

“I heard that two Hundred-Household Companies were dispatched... It must be a false accusation.”

“It is not.”

I crouched down in front of Kang So-eo.

“They touched me, so I killed them. I killed my own sibling and my father, killed the county magistrate, and destroyed the Jang Clan and the Hyeokri Clan.”

“...You must have had your reasons...”

Everyone had their excuses, and every action had a reason behind it. Still, I had no desire to make everyone understand mine.

Even if something began from a misunderstanding, if someone else created a new problem without looking into it properly, that was not my fault. It was theirs. If that person pointed a sword at me, killing them was my right.

“Listen carefully. The ‘line’ in this martial world is not decided by others. You decide it yourself.”

“...”

“Even if others say you crossed it, why do you drive yourself so hard when you do not believe you crossed that line?”

“But...”

“You do not need to uphold some absolute line simply because you carry on Kunlun’s lineage. You may not know this, but not one of those ruling the martial world now is clean. Did they consider their own lives worthless, as you are doing now? No. They cling desperately to life. They label those who walk a different path as demonic fiends and public enemies, drive them from the martial world until they have nowhere to stand, then hunt them down. That is the martial world.”

“...”

“Forge your own destiny. Do not waste your life on nonsense like whether or not to revive Kunlun’s lineage.”

“...Do you have no intention of restoring Kunlun?”

I answered firmly.

“No.”

“...”

“I hope we have no more business. I spared your life once, so live it well.”

I turned away.

Yet I could not take even one step before stopping.

Just as before, Kang So-eo grabbed my right leg with both arms. I turned around with an irritated expression.

Kang So-eo said to me, “Please allow me to serve you.”

“No.”

“Then give me any task. You spared my life. As a descendant of Kunlun, should I not repay that kindness?”

Hmm.

I looked at Kang So-eo for a moment.

“Earlier, did you say there were two Hundred-Household Companies?”

“Yes. Two hundred Imperial Guard soldiers are pursuing you right now.”

Jeok Nation’s military system was simple.

It consisted of units called Guards and Companies. A Hundred-Household Company contained one hundred men, and ten of them formed a Thousand-Household Division. Five Thousand-Household Divisions formed one Guard Division.

Jeok Nation currently had a total of five hundred thousand soldiers.

In other words, it had one hundred Guard Divisions.

Twenty of those Guard Divisions were the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which protected the imperial household.

“Do you know who is in charge?”

“Shin Gong-baek, a Probationary Hundred-Household Commander, is a master of the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown and was recently promoted from Banner Commander.”

Not every member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was the same.

There was an elite among them.

Those holding offices such as Banner Commander, Probationary Hundred-Household Commander, Thousand-Household Commander, and Pacification Commissioner were the true Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Yet they had not sent a Thousand-Household Commander or a Pacification Commissioner. Just one Probationary Hundred-Household Commander and two hundred soldiers wearing the badge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

That made me feel even worse.

“...Will you be all right?”

“I will be fine. More importantly, you know quite a lot.”

“I have kept my ears open in my own way... This is quite well known in the martial world. It would be stranger not to know.”

I did not know. Too many things had happened.

“You said you wanted me to give you a task?”

“Yes.”

“Good. A task has come up that you can do for me.”

I had no intention of dragging around dead weight.

Whether it was the Embroidered Uniform Guard or anyone else, letting those who came to kill me go free was absurd.

I told Kang So-eo several things.

After hearing everything, Kang So-eo was greatly shocked.

“...Are you planning to kill every one of the Imperial Guard?”

The question was so obvious that I did not need to answer aloud.

I patted Kang So-eo’s shoulder.

“The task you have is very important. Can you do it?”

“...Of course. I will carry it out without fail.”

“Good.”

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