Memoir of a Regressor - Chapter 48

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈

Chapter 48: The Shame of the Three Phoenix Branch

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I stayed at the Three Phoenix Branch for around four hours.

I had been waiting for the two branch members, but not only had they failed to show up, they had not even sent word.

I rose from my seat. I considered going to find them, but there was somewhere I wanted to visit first.

The Un Clan Manor in Three Phoenix County.

No matter how I looked at it, there were far too many suspicious details surrounding the near-total massacre of the branch.

I had met the Thousand-Mile Divine Thief before. I had even spoken with him. At the time, he had said this.

“The martial world is a filthy place. After I retired, I stayed shut away here in Yan Kingdom. Yet I got caught up in absurd slander that I had stolen some spiritual medicine, and that a branch pursuing me had been wiped out. Do you know how frantically I had to run around clearing my name? Return to that filthy place? Does that make any sense?”

The branch he had referred to then was undoubtedly the Three Phoenix Branch.

Of course, the Thousand-Mile Divine Thief could have lied. Perhaps they had truly stolen the Asura Pills and fled, but that possibility was extremely small.

A thief who had retired around four years ago suddenly developed a craving to steal, stole Asura Pills, and ran away?

I would meet the Thousand-Mile Divine Thief around seventeen years from now, after the Asura Sword Sect had been destroyed and the Righteous-Demonic War had ended.

There would have been no reason for him to lie at such a time.

I needed to confirm it.

The disaster at the Three Phoenix Branch had nothing to do with me. Still, it was fundamentally a matter of the Asura Sword Sect’s influence.

What influence could an Asura Sword Sect that could not even protect its own people possibly wield here in Three Phoenix County?

The branch would become an empty shell, and more people would decide that rather than joining hands with the Asura Sword Sect, they would be better off joining hands with the Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect.

Looking at the larger picture, it could also have a negative effect on the martial artists belonging to the Asura Sword Sect itself.

Who would trust and follow an organization like that?

Now that I had joined the Asura Sword Sect, I could not allow such things to happen.

I raised my head.

A hall stood before me.

The sign above it read Un Clan Manor. Yet its condition was terrible. It leaned slightly to one side, and grime had built up everywhere, as though no one bothered to clean it.

Without a word, I opened the door.

Creak.

It opened easily. There was no one guarding it. The place was deserted.

I walked through the spacious estate, and only then did a passing servant notice me.

“W-who are you?”

“Is the Clan Head inside?”

The servant flinched.

“The Clan Head...? Right now... I do not think that will be possible...”

“Why not?”

“...He drank rather heavily and has not woken up yet.”

“What about the Young Clan Head?”

“He is currently training.”

“Is that so?”

I thought for a moment. Hmm.

“Where is the Clan Head’s bedchamber?”

“...But who are you, sir, to be looking for our Clan Head and Young Clan Head?”

“I came from the Asura Sword Sect.”

The servant’s eyes widened. It was clearly surprise, but there was also a trace of hostility.

“...Come to think of it, our Clan Head and Young Clan Head are not here at the moment.”

The corner of my mouth twitched.

“Did you not say they were here just now?”

“...I believe I misspoke. They are not here at the moment.”

I watched the servant for a while. A picture formed in my mind. I could roughly guess why they were acting this way.

When I slowly walked over and stopped in front of the servant, they took a step back.

“You do not seem to have a favorable opinion of the Asura Sword Sect. Am I right?”

“...Are you asking because you truly do not know?”

I laughed.

I liked people with loyalty. It did not matter whether they were enemies or allies.

“I was newly assigned to the Three Phoenix Branch, so there is much I do not know. Will you help me?”

“...”

“First, take me to the Clan Head’s bedchamber. You can explain on the way.”

I glared into the servant’s eyes.

“What are you doing? Lead the way.”

“...Understood. Please follow me.”

That was how I entered the bedchamber of the Un Clan Manor’s Clan Head with the servant.

The Clan Head lay sprawled across the bed, asleep. He was even snoring. The room reeked of alcohol, and tear tracks marked the Clan Head’s face.

I dropped into a chair in the room, then gestured for the servant, who remained standing, to sit across from me.

The servant sat down.

“Tell me.”

“...Tell you what...?”

“Why is Un Clan Manor so deserted, and why do you hold such hostility toward the Asura Sword Sect?”

“...”

“No harm will come to you because of this. I swear it on my name.”

At my words, the servant began to cry. They must have been tears held back for a long time.

I waited.

Slowly, the servant began to speak.

* * *

The story was simple.

Un Mi-rang, the former Branch Leader of the Three Phoenix Branch, had been the eldest daughter of Un Clan Manor. She had possessed exceptional talent in martial arts, joined the Asura Sword Sect, and served as a branch member at the Gangnam Branch in Gangnam County in northern Jeok Nation. There, her talent blossomed, earning her the epithet Gangnam Sword Phoenix, before she was appointed Branch Leader here in Three Phoenix County.

She had been fair in her own way.

Though Un Clan Manor was her ancestral home, she had not treated it differently from the other clans. She treated everyone fairly.

That had been partly for the sake of her reputation, but Un Clan Manor had also asked her not to give them special treatment.

That was how family was supposed to be. Not blocking each other’s paths, but moving forward together in different ways.

Some clans fought endlessly, but there were also clans like Un Clan Manor, which cooperated and tried not to become obstacles in one another’s paths.

Then Un Mi-rang died.

She had not simply died. Fifteen grown men had raped and murdered her.

What had the Asura Sword Sect done after that?

A Branch Leader who had sworn loyalty to the Asura Sword Sect and always handled her duties properly had died so horribly. How could there not be a single person who spoke of avenging her?

It was more than enough reason for Un Clan Manor to be turned upside down.

After that day, Un Seok-mun, the Clan Head of Un Clan Manor, had drowned himself in drink and spent every night in tears. Un Do-hyeon, his second child and the Young Clan Head, trained every day.

To gain enough strength to take revenge.

Had that been all, it would have been understandable.

Yet there was something worse.

Un Clan Manor had money. Though its fortunes had declined, as the saying went, even a ruined rich family could live comfortably for three generations. Its wealth remained.

The two branch members who had served under Un Mi-rang ran wild throughout Three Phoenix County. They borrowed money from Un Clan Manor and treated its Clan Head as their personal paymaster, getting him to buy them alcohol.

It had not happened once or twice.

Over the past month, it had happened at least fifteen times.

The clan was already suffering, and instead of comforting them, those men were bleeding their wealth dry. Did that make any sense?

It was more than enough reason for even the servants of Un Clan Manor to feel hostile toward the Asura Sword Sect.

After hearing the whole story, Yi Do sent the servant away, telling them not to worry.

Then Yi Do waited quietly by himself.

What did he need to do from here?

It was practically already decided.

He had to take control of Three Phoenix County.

Getting rid of all the vermin was part of that.

About two hours later, the door flew open, and a stern-looking man stormed in.

His face was full of fury.

“...What do you think you are doing?”

Yi Do looked at him.

He resembled the description the servant had given him.

“You are Un Do-hyeon, the Young Clan Head of Un Clan Manor?”

“...Yes, I am. What nerve does the Asura Sword Sect have to come here? And this is the Clan Head’s bedchamber. How could you...”

A smile formed on Yi Do’s lips.

Anger was the most important element in making someone strong.

“Try to block it.”

“...What?”

Yi Do did not repeat himself.

He snapped his fingers. It was a technique that condensed qi and fired it outward, commonly called the Divine Finger-Flicking Art, or simply a finger flick.

Un Do-hyeon’s eyes widened. He drew the sword at his waist and slashed downward.

Slice.

The flying bolt of qi split in half.

“Not bad.”

“...What are you...”

“Is your realm Five Dragons Honoring the Sage?”

“...It is.”

“Good. You pass.”

“Pardon?”

He could not even begin to understand what was happening.

“Come to the Asura Sword Sect. I will accept you as a branch member.”

“...Me? To the Asura Sword Sect? No. I would rather die.”

Yi Do understood that feeling well enough.

“Do not judge too quickly. Watch what happens from here with your own eyes, then decide.”

Yi Do stood.

“It seems you are awake. You should get up now.”

It was obvious whom he was addressing. Yi Do’s gaze turned toward the bed.

Un Seok-mun sat up with a dazed expression.

“I’ve heard the gist of it. You seem to know where the branch members are, so lead the way.”

“Y-yes...”

Even in his half-awake state, Un Seok-mun could see the emblem embroidered on Yi Do’s back.

It was the emblem of the Asura Sword Sect, a great chariot with flames in the four cardinal directions.

It signified one’s status.

An entirely white emblem meant an ordinary disciple.

A white chariot with only the flames dyed red meant one of Branch Leader rank.

On Yi Do’s back, the white chariot was clear, while all four flames blazed crimson.

Yi Do, the Cruel Demon, the newly appointed Branch Leader of the Asura Sword Sect.

Un Seok-mun sobered in an instant. He came fully to his senses.

He sprang to his feet.

“Do you need time to prepare?”

Un Seok-mun shook his head at Yi Do’s question.

“That is fortunate. More importantly, what is that?”

Yi Do looked toward the long staff standing beside the bed.

“...It is a hidden weapon. When one presses the handle, blades spring out from various points. It was one of the martial weapons I used.”

“Bring it and follow me.”

“...Yes. Understood.”

“I will wait outside.”

Yi Do walked out.

Left alone, the father and son of Un Clan Manor looked at each other.

“...Let us follow him for now, Father.”

“Yes... Let us go.”

They had no idea what was going on, but they had to follow for now. The two men hurriedly threw on their clothes and went outside.

“I will say it again. We are looking for the two branch members of the Asura Sword Sect. Do you know where they are?”

Un Seok-mun nodded at Yi Do’s question.

There was no way he would not know where the two branch members were.

He had drunk with them as recently as yesterday and paid for their alcohol. He knew all too well where they stayed and where they usually went to drink themselves senseless.

“Lead the way.”

“...Yes.”

* * *

Before Yi Do became Branch Leader, only two branch members had guarded the Three Phoenix Branch.

Their names were Wang Mu-tan and Jin Geon.

Their realms were Five Dragons Honoring the Sage and Twin Sun Manifestation, respectively.

Their realms were not particularly low, but neither were they particularly high.

Still, the two men now ruled Three Phoenix County almost like kings.

It was inevitable.

Though Three Phoenix County lay far from the center of the Asura Sword Sect’s influence, a sword sect was still a sword sect.

As long as these two men belonged to the Asura Sword Sect, people from ordinary sects could not take them lightly.

The situation was similar to when Yi Do killed Won Hu at the Jang Clan. Jang Tae-san, the Supreme Clan Head of the Jang Clan, had trusted in the Emperor Sword Sect’s name. He believed Yi Do would back down because Won Hu was not only a first-generation disciple, but also had such a powerful background.

But Yi Do had not backed down.

It was the same thing.

Yi Do had simply done something beyond the bounds of common sense, something no one could have imagined. The people here had merely conformed to the expectation that they should defer to the sect.

“By the way, Brother Wang, what sort of man is this fellow who supposedly became the new Branch Leader?”

“That... what was it called? Jangnyeong County? I hear he is a demonic fiend who caused a massacre in that backwater.”

“A demonic fiend? Good grief... How could they make such a person a Branch Leader?”

“I heard the Great Elder personally went and brought him back.”

“Ah... Then I suppose there is nothing to be done.”

Everyone knew of Myo Man-ri’s prestige. Wang Mu-tan leered as he fondled the courtesan in his arms.

“Anyway, it has been quite some time since he set out, but he will not be arriving anytime soon. Let us enjoy ourselves until tomorrow, then go welcome him.”

“Sounds good.”

“Hahahahaha!”

Their laughter did not stop. Music played, and they kept drinking the liquor on the table.

Two men played along with them from nearby. They were members of the Cheonggang Sword Gate, one of Three Phoenix County’s One Sect, One School, Three Clans. They had come here to pay for the two branch members’ drinks.

They had to flatter them.

They were from the Asura Sword Sect, after all.

Curses kept rising in their hearts, but there was nothing they could do. Just as they forced smiles and moved to refill the empty cups, Wang Mu-tan spoke.

“Hey, why is a man pouring the alcohol? You there, come pour it.”

The courtesan, who had been quietly sitting nearby, approached and began to fill his cup. Wang Mu-tan suddenly yanked her toward him.

The cup tipped over, soaking Wang Mu-tan in alcohol. He gave a meaningful smile.

“Hahaha. How dare this bitch spill alcohol all over me?”

“This was...”

“Hey. Clean it up at once.”

The courtesan hurriedly reached for a towel in the corner, but Wang Mu-tan’s next words made her freeze.

“Who told you to use that? Do not use your hands or feet. Clean it.”

He was telling her to lick it off.

The courtesan clenched her teeth.

It was humiliating, but what could she do? She was paid for this work, and those men were martial artists of the Asura Sword Sect.

She had no choice.