WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈

Chapter 38: The Calm Before the Storm

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After shaking the blood from my sword, I turned around.

Kang So-eo was there, smiling.

He looked as though he wanted to hear something, so I gave him a simple answer.

“You did well.”

Kang So-eo’s smile grew even brighter.

“Thank you.”

I silently bent down to search Shin Gong-baek’s clothes. No, I was just about to when Kang So-eo hurried over.

“I-I’ll do it.”

Kang So-eo searched Shin Gong-baek’s body with remarkably practiced hands.

“Ah, I made something of a name for myself as a thief when I was young...”

Before long, Kang So-eo pulled out three items and handed them to me.

A small pouch, a gold ring, and an identification token proving Shin Gong-baek’s position as a Probationary Hundred-Household Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The ivory token looked quite luxurious.

The pouch held around eighty Gold Taels, while the ring had clearly been made by melting down roughly ten Gold Taels. Altogether, it was a considerable sum.

A question suddenly came to mind.

“Do you know anything about Shin Gong-baek’s background?”

“...Um, well. I do not know much, but I know one thing.”

“Tell me.”

“He is the second son of a family that has produced Thousand-Household Commanders for the Jeok Nation’s Embroidered Uniform Guard generation after generation. The Shin family in the capital is considered a fairly prominent house. Other than that, I do not know much.”

So Shin Gong-baek came from money.

“What will you do? Are you going to storm the imperial capital right away?”

What kind of nonsense was that?

I was not reckless enough to move without thinking. Besides, the Jeok Nation’s imperial court was a long way from here.

It would be best to raise my cultivation a little further before going.

If I went now, I would certainly get myself killed for nothing.

“You may go now.”

Kang So-eo shook his head.

“Lord Yi Do. May I say something?”

I nodded.

“I want to serve you.”

“Why?”

“Because you are Kunlun’s descendant.”

“...”

“I am useful. You do not have to trust me or anything like that. Just give me any task. I have spent my entire life dreaming of Kunlun’s revival. It is the lifelong wish of our Kang family.”

“I have no intention of reviving Kunlun.”

“That does not matter. Even if you do not revive Kunlun, I want to aid the path you walk as Kunlun’s descendant.”

Kang So-eo dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground with enough force to make a thud.

“Though people call me a demonic fiend, I have reached Five Dragons Honoring the Sage. I believe I am still of some use.”

“Reaching Five Dragons Honoring the Sage is impressive. Do not make light of that realm.”

“...But you reached it in less than a year.”

That was true, so I had nothing to say.

“I beg you. Please accept me.”

I stared at Kang So-eo.

There was no doubt he was useful.

Luring those men here had been part of my plan. I had intended to collapse the cave and kill them all, but when I heard that Shin Gong-baek, now lying dead over there, had reached Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, I decided I needed to conserve as much strength as possible.

Then who had set up devices throughout the cave so it could be collapsed?

Kang So-eo.

He had certainly aided me and proven his usefulness.

I spoke as though tossing the words away.

“I will take you in, but I will not trust you yet. There is too much I do not know about you.”

“...I will tell you everything.”

I shook my head.

“No matter what your past was or whom you killed, I do not care. If you truly intend to live for me, the things I do from now on will affect you as well. What does your past matter then?”

Kang So-eo raised his head.

“I will entrust one task to you.”

“Please give me any task.”

I told him what I had already planned.

“First, remove the label of demonic fiend from yourself.”

“...It will be difficult, but I will try.”

“There are many bandits in Wi County. Travel around and eradicate them. Then go to the Beggar’s Gate and the Heavenly Intelligence Gate and explain everything that happened at the Jo Clan of Yangdeok Prefecture. Helping the government troops would also be one way.”

“Yes. I will do so.”

“Once you have cleared your name, go straight to Jangnyeong County.”

“...Jangnyeong County?”

“It is empty now, but it has tremendous commercial value. Go there, establish the Kang Clan, and rule all of Jangnyeong County.”

“...I will do my best.”

“Depending on the results you produce, I will decide whether or not to make great use of you. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

I turned to leave, then paused.

“A large plague will break out a year from now. The medicinal ingredients that can treat it are Heat Fo-ti and Clear-Heat, Drain-Water. Buy all you can whenever you have money. It will greatly help you build capital.”

Without a word, I handed Kang So-eo the gold ring and pouch of Gold Taels.

“There will be someone important at the Golden Guesthouse there. Pay them your respects once a day, whether it is day or night.”

Kang So-eo struck his forehead against the ground again, then placed both arms on the ground.

It was a perfect five-point prostration.

“I obey!”

* * *

With the annihilation of the Imperial Guards, Yi Do’s name began to spread even further.

Honestly, no matter what he had done in a backwater like Jangnyeong County, it would not have been enough to make his name known across the entire martial world.

The fact that the Beggar’s Gate and the Heavenly Intelligence Gate, the two greatest powers in the intelligence world, had not covered the man named Yi Do in detail was proof enough.

But things had changed.

The Jeok Nation’s imperial court was enormous.

Among its many forces, the name Embroidered Uniform Guard was synonymous with terror, at least to government officials.

What about martial artists?

Not every Imperial Guard soldier was a master who had reached a certain realm.

But there were many of them.

Setting aside their number, which approached one hundred thousand, the commanders leading them all possessed martial arts of a certain level.

Even a Probationary Hundred-Household Commander was a master at Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, and beyond that, there were a great many masters at Five Qis Return to Origin.

Above all, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard could not be appointed through connections alone. Their martial arts had to support the position.

The minimum requirement was the Divine Transformation Realm.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was unquestionably an extraordinary organization.

Yet Shin Gong-baek, a Probationary Hundred-Household Commander who had reached Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, and the Imperial Guards had been wiped out at Busin Mountain.

One hundred eighty guards had been crushed to death beneath the collapsed cave. Twenty had died with swords driven through their throats. Shin Gong-baek had been cut in half, his head pierced through.

Even if Yi Do had not wanted fame, circumstances had made it impossible to avoid.

Was that all?

The Emperor Sword Sect was pursuing him, and now the Assassin Fortress had joined in.

The Fortress Lord gave an order.

“An insolent bastard who dared touch the Assassin Fortress is now stirring up the entire martial world. Capture him and beat him to death at once.

“Hand half the corpse to the imperial court and bring the other half back.”

The Assassin Fortress was not the greatest assassin organization in the Jeok Martial World.

But it was an organization aspiring to become the greatest.

Its Fortress Lord was a Creation Realm expert, and the four Protectors who commanded its assassins had all reached Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.

The important figure was the Deputy Fortress Lord.

The Deputy Fortress Lord was an expert at Five Qis Return to Origin, and the one entrusted with carrying out the Fortress Lord’s order.

Withered Bamboo Demon Lord Jang Min.

Jang Min began pursuing Yi Do with the assassins.

They did not move without a plan.

Withered Bamboo Demon Lord Jang Min held a letter in hand.

The thought of it seemed to make Jang Min’s anger boil over. His hand tightened, crumpling the letter.

“...I will tear off his limbs and kill him.”

The letter contained information on Yi Do’s current location.

* * *

The Martial Alliance, which had remained silent until then, began to act as well.

There had been many people who killed a few county magistrates or district magistrates, but all of them had been hunted down and killed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

A man who killed a county magistrate and then slaughtered every Embroidered Uniform Guard sent after him, like Yi Do had, was almost unheard of in martial-world history.

If the Martial Alliance, which claimed to protect the Orthodox Path and revere chivalry and righteousness, remained silent any longer, it might as well take down its signboard.

Most of the younger talents from the orthodox factions belonged to the Martial Alliance’s Azure Dragon Corps.

The Azure Dragon Corps was led by a man named Ju Cheon-ui, who bore the epithet Red Dragon Divine Lord. His [Red Dragon Divine Technique], which cloaked his entire body in flames, was considered an ultimate art among ultimate arts.

His realm was Five Qis Return to Origin.

He began pursuing Yi Do with the Azure Dragon Corps’ younger talents.

Their intentions were not good, of course.

They intended to capture Yi Do alive or kill him.

Yi Do had already become a demonic fiend in every sense of the word. It was only natural.

Ju Cheon-ui also held a letter in hand.

“We are heading to Jusin County. Prepare yourselves.”

At Ju Cheon-ui’s words, every member of the Azure Dragon Corps answered at once.

“Yes!”

* * *

The Assassin Fortress and the Martial Alliance pursued Yi Do.

But someone else was pursuing Yi Do for a different reason.

“Where is he?”

At Myo Man-ri’s abrupt question as he entered, Won Sun-sang, the Branch Head of the Heavenly Intelligence Gate’s Wisu County branch, fell backward.

“Wh-what do you mean, where is who...?”

“Hmph. I mean where my disciple brat is.”

“...Is he really your disciple?”

“Not yet, but he will become my disciple. Did he not learn my martial arts?”

“I heard you just gave them to him...”

“Hmph. So where is my disciple brat now?”

“...I do not know.”

Myo Man-ri grinned.

“The information you gave me before was quite interesting.”

“...”

“Thanks to you, I made a pointless trip, but I was reminded after a long time of how beautiful the Central Plains can be. There was one particularly nice spot. Shall I bury you there?”

“...No, Great Hero. It is not just me. Everyone in the Central Plains has failed to predict that man Yi Do’s movements. To suddenly appear at Busin Mountain... His trail is far too elusive.”

“That is why my disciple is remarkable.”

The smile at Myo Man-ri’s lips turned satisfied again.

Myo Man-ri seemed easy enough to read, but that did not mean anyone could let their guard down.

Not just anyone could sit in the position of Great Elder of the Asura Sword Sect. He was insane.

Perhaps even worse than Yi Do.

Ahem.

“...Sir, I will look into it. Please give me a little time.”

“How much?”

“...One shichen, about two hours, will be enough.”

“One shichen?”

“Yes.”

“Then you hesitated over something that could be learned in one shichen?”

What exactly was Won Sun-sang supposed to do? Inside, Won Sun-sang spat every curse they could think of.

Won Sun-sang felt a little better afterward.

“W-well, I cannot say I will know exactly. But since nothing is known about where he went after the incident at Busin Mountain, I can narrow it down to several places with the highest possibility... To be honest, even that is not certain. But.”

“But?”

“We can follow the people pursuing him.”

“...Hmm.”

“Go to Wi County first. I will gather as much information as possible and send it to you by carrier pigeon as it develops.”

“Good. If my disciple dies, you will be as good as dead too.”

“.......You are joking, right?”

“Hehehe. Does it sound like a joke?”

That fucking bastard.

Myo Man-ri patted Won Sun-sang’s shoulder.

“You little brat. Even if you have many complaints, this is all for your benefit. Do you think I would turn my back on someone who has helped me this much?”

“...”

“So hurry up and get to work.”

“...Yes...”

Just as Won Sun-sang rose to find Yi Do’s destination, the door flew open.

Won Sun-sang and Myo Man-ri turned their heads at the same time.

It was a disciple of the Heavenly Intelligence Gate. He held a letter marked in gold, indicating the Heavenly Intelligence Gate’s highest priority.

“The location of the Cruel Demon Blade has been found.”

Won Sun-sang immediately took the letter and nearly fell backward when they saw the face sketches inside.

“Holy shit...”

It was grotesque.

Was that really a human face?

There had to be limits to how distinctive someone could look. This was too much.

Ahem.

After clearing their throat, Won Sun-sang read the contents.

The letter contained drawings of the Cruel Demon Blade’s disguised face and original face. Beneath them was information stating that the Cruel Demon Blade had stopped by Wi County, bought two items, headed to Busin Mountain, and was now at a small mountain in Jusin County, where he had not left a small hermitage for two days.

Myo Man-ri, who had read it beside Won Sun-sang, shot outside as though no further thought was needed. Won Sun-sang had no chance to say anything.

Won Sun-sang sighed and asked the Heavenly Intelligence Gate disciple.

“Where did this information come from?”

“The Heavenly Intelligence Gate’s Busin County branch. They say a man who did not disclose his affiliation visited and gave them this information. Without asking for anything in return.”

“Without asking for anything?”

“Yes. They also said his eyes were long and narrow, and that he was round-bodied and exceptionally large.”

“His appearance does not matter. A disguise is possible, after all.”

“But they say there were no other distinguishing features.”

“...”

“And this information was sent not just to the Heavenly Intelligence Gate, but to everyone pursuing Yi Do.”

Was that not strange?

Setting aside whether the information was true, why scatter Yi Do’s location around like this?

If someone knew that Yi Do had altered his appearance, whether through the Face-Changing Art or a mask, and knew where he was now, they could simply go kill him.

Yet they would borrow someone else’s hands?

Even if killing with a borrowed knife was a common tactic in the martial world, this was too strange.

At least, that was how it seemed to Won Sun-sang, who had spent decades dealing only with information and experiencing every sort of event in the martial world.

“...It feels more like a warning.”

That was right. It felt like a warning.

It was as though they did not care whether Yi Do lived or died in this incident. They simply wanted to repay something first.

“This information was sent to everyone pursuing the Cruel Demon Blade?”

“Yes.”

Then what would happen next was simple.

Either Yi Do would die, or Myo Man-ri would go save him.

Or, though the possibility was almost nonexistent, Yi Do would slaughter every pursuer.

Won Sun-sang thought it over.

No matter how elite the carrier pigeon was, Won Sun-sang could not rule out the possibility that their routes might miss one another or that the timing would not line up. The letter said Yi Do had not left the small mountain in Jusin County for two days. If it had been sent yesterday...

“The Assassin Fortress must already be moving.”

“...The Martial Alliance has also begun to move.”

Everyone who would move had moved, yet the Heavenly Intelligence Gate, an organization that dealt in information, had only learned of it this late.

Won Sun-sang’s pride was wounded.

Won Sun-sang would feel better if they could at least discover who had spread the information. The moment they thought that, something came to mind.

The Cruel Demon Blade had gone to Wi County?

What was in Wi County?

Merchants. Since it was a port city, smuggling was also active. And there was one organization that was bound to be involved in such places.

The black market.

Yi Do had money. According to this trail, Yi Do had bought a sword and Five-Hundred-Year Ginseng.

He had clearly spent all that money here.

Yet he had not visited the black market.

Still, he had acquired those items in Wi County.

That meant he must have purchased them from someone in the middle before they were supplied to the black market.

Such cases were not unheard of. It was a reasonable deduction.

Then there was this overwhelming intelligence network.

Some people had noticed Yi Do was disguised, but they could never have imagined that he looked like this. That meant there was a person or organization that knew.

One possibility came to mind.

“...Heavenly Forest...?”

Once the clue came to Won Sun-sang, there was no need to hesitate. Won Sun-sang’s mind spun furiously.

No matter how they considered it, only one answer came to mind.

Heavenly Forest had spread Yi Do’s location.

Everything that happened in this world had a reason. Every result also had a cause.

There were no events with only a result.

The same was true in this case.

Yi Do had taken only one piece of Five-Hundred-Year Ginseng and one sword.

Even if he had paid a fair price, that payment had not gone to Heavenly Forest. Heavenly Forest was a merchant organization. Then...

“Had someone already reserved one of the two items...?”

Five-Hundred-Year Ginseng was rare, but it was not enough to motivate this incident.

That left only one thing.

The Cloud Dragon Sword.

Someone must have reserved that Cloud Dragon Sword in advance.

Won Sun-sang immediately went to the archives and began searching through the records.

Heavenly Forest. Heavenly Forest. Heavenly Forest.

They found it.

Won Sun-sang scanned through the list of people who had contacted them recently. Won Sun-sang’s index finger, moving steadily downward, stopped at one entry.

“...Eight Immortals Sword, Bang Ju-hon.”

One of the Emperor Sword Sect’s elders had contacted Heavenly Forest fairly recently.

There was a high chance some form of discussion had taken place there.

Won Sun-sang immediately searched the archive on the opposite side. It contained records of events in Wi County, and once again, Won Sun-sang found what they sought.

“...At around ten in the morning, a corpse washed downstream... Identity: Old Master Jang.”

Who was Old Master Jang?

Old Master Jang was the merchant who traded with Heavenly Forest in Wi County. His realm was the Circulation Realm.

This Old Master Jang was the elderly man who had sold Yi Do the Five-Hundred-Year Ginseng and the Cloud Dragon Sword.

Every question had been answered.

The person who had reserved the Cloud Dragon Sword now held by the Cruel Demon Blade was Eight Immortals Sword Bang Ju-hon.

Heavenly Forest had intended to receive the item in Wi County and sell it to Bang Ju-hon, but something had gone wrong.

They had to do something to have an explanation for the Emperor Sword Sect. This was the result.

The reason they had not personally cut off Yi Do’s head and seized the sword was likely because Yi Do’s method of obtaining it had been fair, in its own way.

From Yi Do’s perspective, he had paid far more than a reasonable price. If Heavenly Forest went and killed him to seize it now, who would trade with them afterward?

But Old Master Jang had been different.

“...Terrifying.”

Heavenly Forest had killed Old Master Jang and issued Yi Do a warning.

They had probably intended to reveal Yi Do’s location to the Golden Heaven Divine Sword, but the Golden Heaven Divine Sword was currently missing.

Having understood everything, Won Sun-sang scratched their head.

“Could this be called a talent too? How does he make enemies everywhere he goes and spill blood wherever he goes?”

“Exactly.”

“People like that usually end up one of two ways. They either die without a sound and get buried in some remote hill...”

The Heavenly Intelligence Gate disciple listened closely. He was curious about the other possibility.

“Or they become a great expert whose name shakes the martial world.”

“Which do you think he will become, Branch Head?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Won Sun-sang seemed to think for a moment, then answered firmly.

“The latter.”

“The latter?”

“No matter how I think about it, this man is different from everyone who has appeared in the martial world so far.”

That was Won Sun-sang’s feeling.

Won Sun-sang scratched their head and ordered the Heavenly Intelligence Gate disciple.

“Raise every piece of information on the Cruel Demon Blade to highest priority. Report the moment any news comes in.”

“Yes.”

* * *

At that time, as the letter stated, Yi Do sat cross-legged on a small mountain in Jusin County, not far from Wi County.

Three flowers bloomed above his head, and the atmosphere around him was extraordinary.

The lower dantian, middle dantian, and the upper dantian at the crown of his head, which had not yet opened but whose presence could be faintly sensed.

The energy that had gathered while moving between those three inner sources was absorbed back into Yi Do’s body.

If the three forces Yi Do had gathered pierced through the crown of his head, rose into the sky, and reached the Celestial Palace, that would be Five Qis Return to Origin. But he had not reached that point yet.

If other martial artists had seen this, they would have been astonished.

Normally, upon reaching Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, one could sense the existence of the upper dantian. Naturally, it was absolutely impossible to awaken it or force it open.

But not long ago, Yi Do had consumed the Heavenly Spirit Root Pill and temporarily summoned the strength of his previous life.

For that brief time, Yi Do’s upper dantian had opened completely.

That experience had now combined with his ascent to Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.

Yi Do’s middle dantian and lower dantian had united perfectly.

What was said to be possible only after reaching Five Qis Return to Origin had now been achieved perfectly.

Five Qis Return to Origin, yet not Five Qis Return to Origin.

Yi Do had unintentionally opened up a new realm.

Yi Do opened his eyes.

“...Hmm.”

It would have been stranger if he had not noticed the changes in his own body.

Yi Do’s expression did not change, but there was a tremor in his voice.

It was a strange realm.

He could use the power of Five Qis Return to Origin, though he could not sustain it for long. Yet it was still above the realm of Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.

Yi Do had never experienced a case like this.

He needed to name the realm.

“...Heaven’s Flowers Scattering in Chaos.”

It was not a bad name.

Around the time his pursuers began their chase, with a tremendous storm of blood about to break, Yi Do rose to Heaven’s Flowers Scattering in Chaos.

Footnotes:

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