WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈

Chapter 4: Scheming

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I walked on in silence. I had roughly wiped the blood from my hands on Chief Steward Jeong's clothes, but they were still red.

Finding my elixir pills mattered more than washing up.

I eventually reached the main gate, where the Yi Clan's grand plaque hung overhead.

Yi Jeong and Yi Won were waiting there with the Yi Clan's martial artists.

Frankly, I had no interest in whether those two wiped out the bandits on Myeongwolsan to silence them.

They noticed my arrival and looked my way. My eyes were fixed on only one of them.

Yi Won.

I walked over and stopped about ten feet away.

"Second Brother."

"...Yes. What brings you here? More importantly, what is that on your hand?"

I raised my hand and loosely clenched it. Clotted blood fell to the ground.

"Oh, this? It's Chief Steward Jeong's blood."

"...Chief Steward Jeong?"

"Yes. I just killed him."

Yi Won's eyes widened. He was not the only one. Yi Jeong was stunned, as were the Yi Clan martial artists waiting nearby.

I ignored them.

"I heard something quite amusing."

"...What are you talking about? You dared to kill Chief Steward Jeong? Have you forgotten whose man he was?"

"Whose man? He was, of course, one of the Yi Clan's people."

"...What?"

"Second Brother, I think you are mistaken about something. Nothing in this family belongs to you or Eldest Brother. Nor does it belong to me. It all belongs to the Yi Clan. The servants, the general stewards, even those martial artists over there."

"..."

"We are merely borrowing them. The only things we can truly claim as ours are those we built through our own effort. Like the elixir pills I bought after scraping together all the money I had."

"..."

"I believe I said something similar at the Clan Head's Hall. How dare a lowly servant covet his master's belongings? When I went to ask, that worm called Chief Steward Jeong, whom I just killed, had stolen my things and given them to you..."

Yi Won swallowed.

"Still, Second Brother, if this gets out of hand, it will trouble us both. Isn't that just how the world works?"

Yi Won was about to say something when I stepped forward and reached out with my left hand. He could not react in time. My hand seized his shoulder.

"Where are my elixir pills?"

"...They are mine."

"Didn't I just give you an example of what one may actually claim ownership over, even though everything within the Yi Clan belongs to the Yi Clan?"

My left hand tightened, my fingers digging into his shoulder.

"You see, when someone looks down on me or tries to play games with me, I can let it slide after giving them a few chances. Yet there is one thing I can never tolerate. Do you know what it is?"

I had not asked because I expected an answer. I continued at once.

"Someone daring to covet what is mine. We share about half our blood, don't we? I already have little patience, and I'm restraining myself as much as I can right now. I will ask one last time. Where are my elixir pills?"

"...They are..."

"Don't tell me you swallowed all of them. That many?"

"No... No. They're in my residence."

Smiling, I loosened my grip.

With my bloodied hand, I brushed the dust from my second brother's shoulder. Some hardened clots of blood stuck to him, but that did not matter. If anything, it made him look better, more like a martial artist.

"Now that I think about it, my second brother must have had a grand plan."

"A grand... plan? Me?"

"Yes. Why else would a man like Chief Steward Jeong dare covet my belongings? Moved by the esteem you command, Chief Steward Jeong acted alone, stole my things, and offered them to you... You must have known perfectly well that it was wrong, but perhaps you wanted to find out in advance how many treacherous servants like Chief Steward Jeong would dare cross the line?"

"Th-that is... is that how it is?"

"If not, are you saying that you ordered Chief Steward Jeong to steal my things?"

"...That is... not true."

"Of course it isn't. You went so far as to lay a trap to weed out treacherous servants. How could you possibly do such a thing?"

"..."

"Thank you for the 'safekeeping' of the elixir pills that Chief Steward Jeong nearly took from me. And just in case, let me make this clear. If anything remotely similar happens one more time, I will kill you. I will tear off your limbs, gouge out both your eyes while you're still alive, and rip out your dantian, so faint it barely even has a form. Do you understand?"

"...I..."

"And when you go to suppress the bandits today, please make sure you trample even the sprouts. A secret retains its meaning only when as few people as possible know it, does it not?"

After watching Yi Won swallow again, I turned to Yi Jeong, the eldest.

"Eldest Brother, I hope you finish today's work well too. Please return without injury."

Yi Jeong's face was full of shock after hearing my conversation with Yi Won. He did not react even to my greeting.

They really were biological brothers.

They had the same stupid expression.

I turned away.

Today, I intended to reach the Circulation Realm.

This wretched body could be trained, but the qi channels that could not hold even Properly Aligned Qi had to be repaired somehow.

I was in a very foul mood.

Not because of Chief Steward Jeong or my second brother.

It was because of the turbid qi still lingering inside my body.

Whenever the internal energy I drew up moved through my qi channels, it kept coming to a halt. Too much turbid qi had accumulated, preventing my internal energy from circulating properly.

The sensation was unbearable.

I arrived at Yi Won's residence and found my box of medicinal pills there.

I took it and left.

It happened on the second day after I returned to the past.

* * *

There were many ways for a martial clan to grow.

The two surest methods were simple.

The first was producing powerful martial artists.

If a martial artist came from a certain sect, or was that sect's eldest senior disciple or sect leader, the clan's reputation naturally rose. More disciples would enter, and among them would be hidden gems and unpolished talents.

Raise them well, and the clan naturally grows.

That was the first method. The second was arranging a marriage alliance with a stronger sect.

The Yi Clan, which dominated Jangnyeong County, was certainly not a small family.

Its income was considerable, and it had many martial artists under its banner.

The Clear Sky Sword Art, the Yi Clan's signature martial art, pursued speed taken to its limit. Its defining feature was the clear ringing sound produced with every swing. Yet, measured against the martial world as a whole, it could sadly only be called a decent sword art.

Even so, the clan itself was powerful, so many people had lined up to form marriage alliances with it.

Yi Se-geuk, the Clan Head of the Yi Clan, had three consorts.

His first wife was the eldest daughter of the head of the Sang-un Trading Company, located in Suju County, a commercial hub to the north. His second wife was the eldest daughter of the Yun Clan, located in Songju County of Jangnyeong County.

Only the third had no family backing.

She had simply worked as an attendant at an inn in Jangnyeong County. Yi Se-geuk noticed her and took her as his concubine.

It would have been stranger if she had possessed influential backing.

She died while giving birth to Yi Do.

That meant the Yi Clan currently had two factions.

One centered on Lady Sang, the eldest daughter of the head of the Sang-un Trading Company, while the other centered on Lady Yun, the eldest daughter of the Yun Clan.

They were each backing Yi Jeong, the eldest son, and Yi Won, the second son, for the position of Young Clan Head.

Then, in the midst of all this, Yi Do, the third son and a concubine's child, had begun showing a side of himself completely unlike before.

Calling him changed would not even begin to describe it.

He was simply a different person.

They said he had just beaten a general steward to death with his fists.

The method had been so vicious that the entire Yi household was horrified.

There had to be limits to excessive force. As if beating a man's head into pulp were not enough, they said he had never stopped smiling while doing it.

Was that even human?

No.

It was a demonic fiend of a bastard.

He had stabbed the throat of a servant who had been with him since childhood using a plate, torn open a bandit's throat with a dagger before chopping the bandit down with an axe, then turned a general steward's head into pulp.

That made three already.

Surely, that was enough to change how people viewed Yi Do.

This was the result.

The original plan had been to isolate him and let him destroy himself, but that was no longer enough.

They could not treat him so halfheartedly. He was about to ruin the Yi Clan's reputation.

Lady Sang spoke.

"Listen, we may be competing to place our sons in the position of Young Clan Head, but there are times when we need to join hands."

"Yes, Elder Sister. I agree."

To be clear, Lady Sang and Lady Yun did not get along particularly well.

They were both legitimate wives, but there was still an order between them. The first and second wives were clearly different.

Most renowned martial clans chose their eldest son as the Young Clan Head in one way or another.

The reality was that an overwhelming majority believed Yi Jeong, the eldest son, would become the Young Clan Head. Even so, Lady Yun had not given up.

She intended to make her son the Young Clan Head no matter what.

Before that, though, something had to be removed.

"Yi Do had been as quiet as a mouse, as though he were not even there, but after going on a single trading expedition, he returned as a different person. Even the Clan Head has begun seeing him differently... Shouldn't we act now?"

"I understand what you mean, Elder Sister. Do you have a plan?"

Lady Sang smiled strangely.

"I have one."

"May I hear it?"

Lady Sang raised her index finger.

"First, remember this."

"What is it?"

"It does not matter whether Yi Do covets the position of Young Clan Head or not. You and I are each working behind the scenes to appoint our own sons as Young Clan Head, but bluntly put, no matter which of them takes the position, there are many ways for us to help each other."

"..."

"If our Jeong becomes the Young Clan Head, do you think he would exile Won to some insignificant post? Of course not. He would appoint him not merely to a proper position, but to one at the very heart of the clan. The same would be true in the opposite case. Surely you have no intention of abandoning me or Jeong?"

Even if Lady Yun wanted to, she could not abandon them.

The reason was simple. Lady Sang's family backing made it impossible.

Lady Sang could not treat Lady Yun carelessly either. That, too, was because of Lady Yun's family backing.

It was because of those family backings that they could have this "friendly competition."

"Of course. Even if our Won becomes the Young Clan Head, I won't make enemies of you or Jeong. I can promise you that."

"That is why I am saying this. Yi Do has no family backing like ours."

"That is true."

"The Clan Head may be paying him a little attention, but he is still a discarded child, and a concubine's son. Considering how excessive his actions have been lately, he will surely become a problem later. What should we do, then? Surely you do not intend to let a demonic fiend arise within the Yi Clan."

"...Elder Sister, what you mean is..."

Her intention was perfectly clear.

"I intend to kill him."

"...The third son?"

"Before he grows any further, and before the Clan Head pays him more attention, we should remove him now."

"But hiring bandits failed, did it not?"

Lady Sang's smile instantly turned cold.

"That was because murder was not the original objective. More importantly, they were an uncouth pack of bandits, so even that failed. This time, I intend to hire a proper assassin."

"...An assassin?"

"I plan to submit a request to the Assassin Fortress. I will pay the money, so you only need to set the stage."

Lady Sang reached out with her right hand and took Lady Yun's left.

"An illegitimate son cannot be allowed to muddy the waters. Can we let the son of a mere concubine ruin the Yi Clan? Can we?"

In the end, Lady Yun took Lady Sang's hand just as Lady Sang had taken hers.

"Little Sister, let us help the Yi Clan prosper together."

"Yes, Elder Sister."

Footnotes:

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