WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
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◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈
Chapter 72: Warmth
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It was an inn near Jangam County.
Naturally, the entire inn had been cleared out. There was a plate of Dongpo pork, two bowls of thin noodles, and five bottles of Bamboo Leaf Green wine.
The cook, the last person to leave the inn, had given them these.
Myo Man-ri silently drank straight from a bottle of Bamboo Leaf Green, then let out a deep breath.
“You asked me then whether I had ties to the imperial palace.”
“Yes.”
“I did. I had ties to the imperial palace.”
Had. Past tense.
“The current Emperor Jang An’s father, the Great-Foot Emperor, had an organization known as the Emperor’s Sword. That organization was the Heavenly Window.”
The Heavenly Window.
I had never seen it myself, but I had heard of it.
Perhaps it was the imperial palace’s hidden strength.
These days, the Embroidered Uniform Guard handled every matter of the imperial palace, but that had not always been the case. The Heavenly Window was an organization the Great-Foot Emperor had founded back when he was still the Martial King. It had wielded tremendous power until he became Emperor, and even after, as he consolidated his rule.
When Emperor Jang An ascended the throne, the Embroidered Uniform Guard gained power, and the Heavenly Window vanished from the world.
“I came from the Heavenly Window.”
Honestly, I was a little surprised.
Perhaps very surprised.
“To be precise, I was born and raised in the Heavenly Window, but I fled when I was sixteen.”
“Was that when the purge began?”
“Yes. My father, the leader of the Heavenly Window, a man of the Miao surname with the character ‘Chen,’ secretly sent me outside when the tragedy occurred.”
“Why was the Heavenly Window purged?”
“It was a false accusation.”
“A false accusation?”
“I still remember it clearly. My father, the leader of the Heavenly Window, was accused of violating one of the Emperor’s consorts.”
“...”
“My father was not that sort of man. I had spoken with her several times myself. My father once told me this.”
“What did he say?”
“That I might be getting a new mother, so I should try to get along with her.”
Myo Man-ri took another drink of Bamboo Leaf Green.
“Not long after that, the Heavenly Window was wiped out. The circumstances were complicated, but in the end, I was fortunate enough to survive.”
A picture was forming in my mind.
In my previous life, they had said Myo Man-ri had violated a princess and taught martial arts to the child born from her. If all the rumors about Myo Man-ri had been distorted, there was a high chance that story had been distorted as well.
I did not know exactly who that princess was, but I had heard that she was not very old.
Still, he knew that princess had been born to a concubine.
The ages matched as well.
The princess Myo Man-ri had abducted had supposedly been only in her early twenties, while Myo Man-ri was now forty-six.
That incident had taken place well over ten years in the future. If, thirty years ago, Myo Man-ri had gained a younger sibling without knowing it, and that sibling had then had a child...
And if that child were a woman who had become pregnant...
Everything fit.
Myo Man-ri’s father had had an affair with one of the Emperor’s concubines. The Heavenly Window was the Great-Foot Emperor’s hidden strength, and its leader was said to have been a master of the Divine Transformation Realm. From the Great-Foot Emperor’s perspective, giving a concubine to him would not have been difficult.
But the next Emperor would not have seen it that way.
He would have needed to eliminate them, and the relationship between the imperial consort and the Heavenly Window’s leader would have made a fine pretext.
The princess Myo Man-ri had abducted in the past was undoubtedly my relative.
What Myo Man-ri had wanted to protect...
In the end, it had been family.
“Do you know why I am telling you this?”
“I don’t.”
“Because I want to settle things here.”
“...”
“I want to take you as my disciple. But you have no intention of becoming my disciple. In that case.”
In that case.
Myo Man-ri handed him the bottle of Bamboo Leaf Green.
“What do you say to becoming sworn brothers?”
I stared at him.
“I have never told you my secrets, Great Elder. From your perspective, there must be much about me that is suspicious. Is that not so?”
“That is true. At your age, you have reached Three Flowers Gather at the Crown. The martial arts you use are strange arts created by mixing the Five-Thunder Demon-Burning Sword Art with the Boundless Thunder-Spirit Sword Formula. Combining martial arts is something only a grandmaster can do. Even I could barely manage it after reaching the Divine Entrance Realm, yet you accomplished it at such a young age. No matter how gifted one may be in martial arts, it should be absolutely impossible at your age. Yet you did it. There is also this master you claim to serve, your decisive temperament, the judgment you show in battle, and that unwavering heart of yours. There is much about you that is suspicious. But.”
But.
“Thanks to you, I was able to reach the Divine Entrance Realm.”
“You would have reached it even without me.”
“It would have taken much longer. Martial arts are not easy. I have seen countless people spend decades wandering between the end of the Creation Realm and the entrance to the Divine Entrance Realm, unable to take that single step before dying. There is no guarantee I would not have ended the same way. Thanks to you, I was able to break through that wall. The martial art you gave me is beyond price. If I cannot take you as my disciple, what else can I do? I must at least become your sworn brother.”
“I would like to tell you my secrets, but that is not something I can decide alone.”
“I understand.”
“Will you not regret it?”
Myo Man-ri laughed.
“Huhuhuhuhu.”
I accepted the Bamboo Leaf Green as I listened to that distinctive laughter. Myo Man-ri spoke.
“You said you would live without regrets. Did you not?”
“I did.”
“It may not seem that way, but I am the same. I too strive to live without regrets. An elder brother should not make his younger brother uncomfortable.”
That was enough.
My connection with Myo Man-ri had begun in Jangnyeong County.
I did not know when it would end, but that did not matter.
I would not think of the end.
I would look at the present.
“Let me offer you a drink, Elder Brother.”
“Huhuhuhuhu. Very well. Let me accept a drink from my younger brother.”
And so, I gained an elder brother today.
Myo Man-ri asked, “So what will you do about that demonic practitioner?”
It was an oddly belated question.
“Did I not tell you? He is one of mine. I have to go bring him back.”
“Would you like me to come with you?”
I shook my head.
“I will go alone this time.”
Myo Man-ri’s gaze turned outside.
“You said that fellow’s name was Un Do-hyeon?”
“Yes.”
“He seems useful. I do not like that he is at the Five Dragons Honoring the Sage stage, but... Shall I give him some guidance?”
“Yes. It may take several days, so I would like you to help him reach Three Flowers Gather at the Crown during that time.”
Myo Man-ri laughed.
“I cannot refuse another request from my younger brother. That fellow is already on the verge of Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, so very well.”
Then I said, “May I ask one more favor?”
“Haha, are you planning to put your elder brother to work the moment we become sworn brothers?”
“If you do not wish to, there is nothing I can do. But it is important.”
“Hmmm... Fine. Whatever it is, I will do it.”
He was truly a straightforward man. So I got straight to the point as well.
“Please go to Geongon City in the Yan Kingdom.”
“...What?”
I immediately wrote something down and handed it to Myo Man-ri. The moment he saw it, Myo Man-ri furrowed his brow.
“...There was such a restriction art in this world...?”
I looked at him silently.
“A man should not go back on his word. Fine. I will handle this properly as well.”
“Thank you.”
And so I set out.
* * *
Myeong-hyeon was locked in the underground torture chamber of the Bright Moon Sword Clan.
Iron shackles bound his arms, legs, and neck. Through the tears in his clothing, wounds that seemed to have been made by a blade covered his body. There were hundreds of them.
Covered in blood, Myeong-hyeon raised his head. A neatly dressed man was wiping the dagger in his hand.
“As you know, this is to suppress the demonic arts you have learned, so do not feel wronged.”
“...I do feel wronged.”
“Is that so? I cannot see why you would have any reason to feel wronged... You do?”
“Was this ordered by the Sword Sovereign?”
“It was.”
“Why?”
“I thought you would know very well. Do you truly not?”
“I do not.”
“Good grief...”
Myeong Ju-sin, the Clan Head of the Bright Moon Sword Clan, clicked his tongue.
“You must have received a letter telling you to find out the whereabouts of the Golden Heaven Divine Sword, yet you have never given us a proper answer.”
Myeong-hyeon did not bother responding.
Ever since he had begun accompanying Yi Do, he had drawn a line between himself and the Emperor Sword Sect.
Once a month, he sent the reports he was required to send after discussing them with Yi Do.
They contained nothing of value. That was what Myeong Ju-sin was talking about now.
“More importantly, why did you not report that the Cruel Demonic Way was targeting Jangam County? Do you know Jang Un-yeon is training with all his might because he is desperate to kill him? If you had simply lured him somewhere quiet, this would never have happened.”
“Was there any need to? The Emperor Sword Sect has nothing to do with Jangam County. Whether he conquers it or not, that was never my mission. I did not report it because I had no reason to report it.”
“Look here. Why do you make decisions on your own?”
The man placed his dagger against Myeong-hyeon’s face.
“You are a dog, you bastard. Do you not know who holds the leash around your neck? If that person tells you to bark, you bark. If they tell you to crawl, you crawl. How can someone told to bark refuse to bark, and someone told to crawl stand on two feet? Why do you insist on thinking for yourself?”
Myeong Ju-sin forcefully drew the dagger downward.
Slash.
Myeong-hyeon’s cheek split wide open. Blood streamed down, exposing the flesh beneath, but Myeong-hyeon did not let out even a groan.
“...As expected, you did not receive the name Yaksha for nothing. Such endurance... Personally, I find it quite admirable, but the Sword Sovereign is concerned that you may have turned against him.”
“...So?”
“So I will clear up that suspicion for him. He said I may kill you, so I will stake everything on making you talk. And in your current condition, even if you draw upon your demonic arts, they will amount to nothing... Now then, I intend to have a proper conversation with you. Are you ready?”
Myeong-hyeon quietly closed his eyes.
The world grew dark.
He knew this was his future.
He could endure it.
No, he had expected it.
He spoke quietly.
“I have said everything I have to say. I have nothing more to tell you. Tell the Sword Sovereign exactly that. Otherwise, kill me.”
“Ah... Whether I report it or not, whether I kill you or not, those are decisions for me to make, not you.”
Myeong Ju-sin had been speaking gently, but he lashed out with his foot with all his strength.
Thud!
Myeong-hyeon’s head snapped back. Myeong Ju-sin had struck his cheek.
The cheek he had just cut with the dagger.
Myeong-hyeon furrowed his brow.
Honestly, it hurt.
But it was bearable.
The pain in his heart was greater than the pain in his body.
He had not known the man named Yi Do for long, but Yi Do was more of a true martial artist than any martial artist Myeong-hyeon had ever seen.
He was a man who kept his promises.
Whenever he had debts and grudges, he repaid them. Kindness with kindness, grudges with grudges.
He had let the Thousand-Mile Divine Thief go even though everything could have gone wrong. He had even given him gold coins as payment for his efforts.
His magnanimity was greater than that of a scheming old man like the Sword Sovereign. It would not be an exaggeration to say he was vastly superior.
Myeong-hyeon wanted to remain with him, but deep down, he knew he never could.
He had learned demonic arts.
And he had done every kind of filthy work beneath the Emperor Sword Sect.
If someone like Myeong-hyeon remained with Yi Do, it would tarnish Yi Do’s path.
It would create the perfect pretext to link everything Yi Do had done to the Demonic Way, and that would eventually lead Yi Do to ruin.
Myeong-hyeon did not want that.
At the very least.
Even if he died here, or at the Sword Sovereign’s hands, the man named Yi Do would protect what Myeong-hyeon wanted to protect most.
It was shameless to ask, but Myeong-hyeon had served under Yi Do while they were together. Yi Do would surely protect his family.
That was a firm belief.
Because Yi Do was that kind of man.
That was enough.
And so Myeong-hyeon continued to be beaten.
It was violence disguised as interrogation.
He did not let out even one groan.
He was sad.
He prepared himself for death.
No, there was nothing to prepare for. His death was simply inevitable.
“...Tough bastard...”
Myeong Ju-sin spat, ptooey, onto Myeong-hyeon’s head and reached for another dagger.
Then his brow creased.
He stopped moving.
Myeong-hyeon, whose internal energy had been completely drained and who was little different from an ordinary person, could not understand his reaction. He could only stare at the man through swollen eyes.
“It is noisy upstairs... It seems someone has come. I should hope it is not that person.”
Myeong Ju-sin placed the dagger he had wiped clean on a nearby table.
“It is probably Lord Azure Dragon or Lord Black Tortoise. I will go welcome one of them, so wait here for a moment.”
Myeong Ju-sin grinned.
“Our conversation will continue today. Perhaps tomorrow, or the day after that as well. Look forward to it. Before that, I will treat your wounds a little. That way, our time together will be more enjoyable. Huhuhuhu.”
With that, Myeong Ju-sin went up the stairs.
Myeong-hyeon lowered his head. He had been told to rest, so he intended to rest.
He closed his eyes.
Then, by Myeong-hyeon’s ear.
A strange sound rang out.
Slash.
Something had been cut.
He opened his eyes.
Something rolled across the floor.
What rolled over was Myeong Ju-sin’s head.
His eyes widened.
He raised his head.
His vision spun.
“You look awful.”
It was Yi Do.
Myeong-hyeon stared blankly at him.
Was this a dream?
“Who gave you permission to run away? I did not.”
“...If this is not a dream, then you are even crazier than I thought.”
“It is not a dream.”
“...Then leave. If you leave now, you can still contain this. Just abandon me.”
Yi Do snickered.
“There is something you need to hear from me.”
“...I do not want to hear it. Please leave. You cannot fight the Emperor Sword Sect yet. Please.”
Yi Do spoke as though casually tossing out the words.
“It concerns your family.”
“...What?”
“The restriction the Sword Sovereign placed on you is the Acupoint-Closing Origin-Sealing Method. And on your wife and child, he placed the Acupoint-Closing Origin-Sealing Linked Method.”
Myeong-hyeon’s eyes widened.
“If you die, your wife and child will die.”
His eyes shook violently.
That could not be true.
“That is... impossible.”
“It is not.”
Yi Do was undoubtedly a man who kept his promises.
In his previous life, Yi Do had received a request from Yaksha. Upon receiving that request, he killed Yaksha and immediately headed to the Yan Kingdom.
There, he found corpses that had been dead for a long time.
He found traces of a restriction on them.
He could not keep Yaksha’s request. If Yaksha died, his family died too. It was that kind of restriction.
It was an art of the Baegyo, which had been wiped out long ago, and the Sword Sovereign had been the only person who could undo it.
Of course, that was no longer the case.
Using what he had learned from Yaksha’s case, Yi Do had saved Azure Dragon’s family.
That was why it was a promise he had wanted to keep but had failed to keep.
“...I lived like an insect. My wife was the light that came to that insect. She was the one who gave me the name Myeong-hyeon.”
Even Yi Do had not known that.
He had assumed Myeong-hyeon was an alias, but apparently it was his real name.
“Myeong-hyeon.”
“...Yes.”
Yi Do spoke languidly.
“At this point, make your choice.”
Myeong-hyeon could not possibly fail to understand what he meant.
He raised his head.
“...Can you truly take me in? I am someone who has learned demonic arts.”
“Qi channels tainted by demonic arts only need to be purified. And you only need to stop learning demonic arts.”
“...Is that easy?”
“How many things in this world are easy? It is not a matter of whether you can do it or not. It is a matter of whether you will do it or not.”
His heart had already been leaning in one direction.
Serving the Sword Sovereign was disgusting. It made him sick.
He had to work in the shadows. He had to slit the throats of women crying after the Sword Sovereign had violated them, and massacre those women’s families. He had to live entirely as a sword and do every filthy thing there was to do.
He did not want to do it anymore.
He had found a better path.
Tears streamed down his face.
“...I wish to serve you. Will you accept me?”
“Good.”
With that, Yi Do brought down the Cloud Dragon Sword.
Slash!
The two chains on Myeong-hyeon’s right were cut in half.
Yi Do brought it down once more.
This time, the chains on the left were severed.
Finally, he thrust the Cloud Dragon Sword forward and shattered the iron collar around Myeong-hyeon’s neck.
He asked the now-free Myeong-hyeon, “Can you stand?”
“...I do not think so.”
Tsk.
Yi Do held out his hand.
“You are troublesome.”
Myeong-hyeon gave a faint smile and took that hand.
It was incredibly warm.
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