WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
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◈ Memoir of a Regressor ◈
Chapter 85: Assassin Gate
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It was interesting.
Very few people knew Kunlun’s martial arts, but not no one did.
There was Kang So-eo, whom I had sent to Jangnyeong County. There were direct descendants like my Master. And there were the many factions that had personally brought down Kunlun in the past.
They could not possibly have burned every last one of Kunlun’s martial arts.
One way or another, Kunlun’s martial arts still existed in this world.
However.
I could say this with certainty. The people who had staged this scene had made a mistake.
“The Emperor Sword Sect? Or the Martial Alliance?”
I shook my head at Myeong-hyeon’s question.
“Neither.”
“...What?”
I knew a great many Kunlun martial arts.
The Great Purity Dragon-Form Sword, Light-Splitting Sword, Falling Flower Sword, as well as fist arts, movement arts, hand techniques, and cultivation methods.
So many of them.
If the mark on San Pung-du’s neck had been from one of the Kunlun arts I commonly used, I would have suspected the Emperor Sword Sect or the Martial Alliance.
But it was not.
It was the Great Void Dragon-Slaying Sword.
Not an imitation of its traces, but a perfect Great Void Dragon-Slaying Sword.
No one in the Martial Alliance, and no one in the Emperor Sword Sect, knew the Great Void Dragon-Slaying Sword.
Not a single person.
In my previous life, I had never seen anyone use this martial art. I had not found so much as a trace of it, not even in the secret archives of the Martial Alliance or the Emperor Sword Sect.
They possessed various Kunlun martial arts, but this was one of the few lost Kunlun arts that even they had failed to obtain.
I could not help but wonder why.
If this was meant as a warning, then what exactly were they warning me about?
What had I done that displeased them?
“A warning and a test at the same time...”
Myeong-hyeon tilted his head at my mutter.
A faint laugh escaped me.
Thinking about it, there was no need to dwell so deeply on something like this.
Even if I walked the same path as in my previous life, I would do what I had to do.
What if they picked a fight with me?
There was only one answer. Find them and kill them all.
“What should we do... Burn this whole place down?”
I shook my head at Myeong-hyeon’s question.
“Leave it as it is.”
“But if we leave it like this, then we...”
“Myeong-hyeon.”
“...Yes.”
“Are you worried?”
“...Honestly, I am.”
I understood. But still.
“If we try to cover up something we did not do, people may see it as something we did.”
“But if we do nothing, rumors will spread that we toyed with the San Clan and killed them.”
I reached out and gripped Myeong-hyeon’s shoulder.
“Nothing is more ridiculous than making excuses for something you did not do.”
“...”
“We will relay everything we saw here to the Heavenly Intelligence Gate, the Beggar’s Gate, and the Asura Sword Sect exactly as it was. Some will believe us, and some will not. Must we personally persuade those who refuse to believe?”
“...No.”
“Do not worry. If they turn against us...”
A smile spread across my face.
“We simply kill them all.”
The easiest way to clear accusations of being the Martial World’s Public Enemy or a demonic fiend was to kill those who had framed us, then find and kill those plotting behind the scenes.
A fundamental question came to mind.
Did Asura Pavilion Master Sang-gwan Yeon-hwi know about this, or did he not?
Why had something so carefully arranged happened in the very place we had come to carry out a mission?
It was truly strange.
Something bothered me, yet there was no clear evidence. One could call it all coincidence, but the situations unfolding also seemed inevitable. And yet, coincidences kept piling up, allowing whoever was behind this to slip naturally out of the investigation.
If I confronted the Asura Pavilion Master about this, he would probably look surprised and ask whether such a thing had happened, then say he would investigate it separately.
It was so meticulous that it almost seemed he had nothing to do with it at all.
I laughed softly. It was certainly an interesting situation.
But that was as far as it went. I had no interest beyond that.
I turned around.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Myeong-hyeon looked somewhat more at ease.
“Um, Branch Master.”
I turned my head while walking. Myeong-hyeon smiled awkwardly.
“You know it wasn’t because I don’t trust you, right?”
“I know.”
“To be honest, I got a little scared. It almost seemed like the Martial Alliance and Emperor Sword Sect were starting to move.”
I could understand that.
“They will not move easily.”
“Are you certain?”
“I am. What do you think the Sword Sovereign and the Heavenly Emperor desire most?”
“...Power?”
I shook my head.
“Strength.”
“...Strength?”
“The reason those two touched Demonic arts is because they have been unable to advance beyond the peak of the Divine Transformation Realm.”
“...”
“Even with the death of the Golden Heaven Divine Sword nearly certain, and with it obvious that I am targeting the Heaven-Breaking Fist Sect, neither has moved. They have most likely entered secluded cultivation. At the very least, nothing will happen for the next two years, so do not worry.”
Myeong-hyeon scratched his head.
“Then who could it possibly be? Someone who knows the Dark Dragon Asura Art and Kunlun martial arts... I cannot even begin to guess.”
“Leave it alone. They will appear before us someday.”
Everything had its time.
Now was not the time to concern myself with this nonsense.
It was not as though I had no idea which path to follow. For now, it was right to finish what I needed to do first.
Not long after, Un Do-hyeon, who had captured a woman named Hwi-yeon from the Red Flower Pavilion, reported to me.
Hwi-yeon really had been behind Wi Mi-ran’s death.
Hwi-yeon had conspired with the Young Clan Head of the San Clan and killed her. Her target had been Wi Mi-ran’s father, Wi Ji-gong.
She had not wanted to kill Wi Ji-gong. She loved him, and because he continued to cherish his daughter, she had murdered that daughter horribly to drive him into despair. Then, by comforting him in that despair, she had intended to become his new wife.
That absurd story was true.
I drew the Cloud Dragon Sword and cut off Hwi-yeon’s head.
“Dispose of the body yourselves.”
I turned away.
That day, we crossed two districts to resolve another white writ.
In a single day, we had completed one red writ and three white writs.
Then disciples of the Heavenly Intelligence Gate and the Beggar’s Gate approached us at the same time and handed over letters.
They concerned the black writ for which I had ordered an investigation.
The moment I read them, my brow furrowed.
This case was a little bigger.
There was a place called Myeonghwa County among the regions not far from Changam County.
An Asura Sword Sect branch was located there, and the Myeonghwa Branch’s deputy branch leader had recently been found dead.
He had caused no major trouble, and he was a man trusted and followed by the martial artists beneath him for his capable leadership.
Then he came into conflict with a place in Myeonghwa County called the Golden Star Escort Bureau.
It had not happened only once or twice. It had been ongoing, and apparently the most recent incident had been quite serious.
The Golden Star Escort Bureau was suspected of deceiving the branch about the number of valuables and drastically reducing its protection payment, much like Seok Manor, which I had dealt with shortly after arriving at the Asura Sword Sect. But there was no evidence.
According to the letters, the Golden Star Escort Bureau had handled matters carefully. In the end, the Myeonghwa Branch had given up its investigation and merely warned them to ensure such suspicions would not arise again.
Then Sin Dae-gwang, the deputy branch leader, had investigated the matter alone.
And then he died.
He had not died in a sparring match. He had simply gone to sleep and been found dead when morning came.
The branch members claimed that someone had struck Sin Dae-gwang’s fatal acupoint, and investigators dispatched from the main headquarters had likewise concluded that striking his fatal acupoint was the primary cause of death.
Then who could have done it?
Clearly, this had not been done in the manner of martial artists.
The letter sent by Jang Sang-bo and the letter sent by Cheon Chung-myeon shared the same information.
At the time of Sin Dae-gwang’s death, a man named Ma Yong-sang, the Killing Ghost, an Assassin Gate assassin said to have reached the Five Qis Return to Origin Realm, had been spotted near Myeonghwa County.
At the end of his letter, Jang Sang-bo stated that this was top-class information. Cheon Chung-myeon had added a note that it was highly confidential information and that we must never say we had heard it from them.
I handed the letters to Un Do-hyeon.
In the end, there was only one conclusion.
Judging from the circumstances, the Golden Star Escort Bureau had commissioned the Assassin Gate, and the Assassin Gate had accepted the commission and killed the deputy branch leader of the Asura Sword Sect.
Assassin organizations like the Assassin Fortress and the Assassin Gate never revealed their clients.
That was their rule.
I laughed.
First.
“Let’s go to the Golden Star Escort Bureau.”
The branch members of the Jangam Branch and I entered the Golden Star Escort Bureau in Myeonghwa County.
There was no need to kick down the doors.
They were wide open. Inside, porters and hired escorts bustled about as though busy with work, but when they saw us entering in a group, they froze where they stood.
I paid them no mind.
“I have come to see the Bureau Chief.”
As soon as I finished speaking, a man who had been giving orders in the distance ran over.
He was large. Not muscular, but extremely fat, with thick cheeks and a belly that left a strong impression.
“Oh my... Why has the Asura Sword Sect come all the way to such a humble place...? Please, come inside.”
I shook my head.
“Are you Wang In, Bureau Chief of the Golden Star Escort Bureau?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“I came to ask you something.”
“Oh my... Ask whatever you wish.”
Since he told me to ask anything, I got straight to the point.
“Are you involved in Sin Dae-gwang’s death?”
“...Pardon? If you mean Sin Dae-gwang, the deputy branch leader of the Myeonghwa Branch... absolutely not. I have nothing to do with his death.”
Wang In’s eyes did not waver, nor did his body tremble.
If he was acting, he was remarkably good at it. For now, I let it pass.
“If it is true that you commissioned the Assassin Gate and caused the deputy branch leader of the Myeonghwa Branch to die, confess now. I can end this with only your life.”
“...How can you say such a thing...? It was not me. How could I claim to have done something I did not do...?”
“I have clearly warned you. We will investigate this now. If it becomes certain that you commissioned the killing, the Golden Star Escort Bureau will be exterminated that very day. I will ask one last time. Is there anything you have to say to me?”
Wang In closed his eyes for a moment.
He seemed to be gathering his thoughts before slowly opening them.
His eyes remained steady.
“No. I have nothing to do with that matter.”
“Good.”
I turned away. Once we had left the Golden Star Escort Bureau, Myeong-hyeon asked me a question.
“Where are we going?”
“There is only one place, is there not?”
A smile formed on my lips.
“We are going to the Assassin Gate branch in Myeonghwa County.”
At those words, Myeong-hyeon, Un Do-hyeon, and every branch member behind us stared in shock.
“The Assassin Gate? They are the greatest assassin organization under heaven. Do you think they will tell us easily? They call it a principle. They will never reveal who commissioned them.”
I shook my head.
“It is not too late to ask them first and decide afterward. Myeong-hyeon.”
“Yes, Branch Master.”
“Do you still not understand?”
“...Pardon?”
“The one who gave the commission is in the wrong, but the one who accepted it is also in the wrong. No matter how much they call themselves a blade, there are commissions they may accept and commissions they must refuse.”
Myeong-hyeon blinked.
“How lightly must they have regarded us to dare accept a killing commission against an Asura Sword Sect martial artist?”
“...”
“Those who lack the courage to move openly and crawl about hidden in the shadows have been praised by those around them and no longer know their place.”
Perhaps realizing what was about to happen, Myeong-hyeon smacked a hand against his forehead. Yet a smile rested on his lips.
“You only live once. I think mine is going to be very eventful.”
I turned my head.
Just as we were about to head for the Assassin Gate branch.
“Greetings.”
I turned around.
There were around twenty martial artists.
Nineteen, to be exact.
Among them, a man dressed similarly to me approached and gave a cupped-fist salute.
“I am Im Cheon-u, Branch Leader of the Myeonghwa Branch.”
I was slightly surprised inwardly.
The black writ clearly concerned a matter requiring investigation. Since we might end up confronting the Assassin Gate, it had stated that the Myeonghwa Branch and Jangam Branch were to carry out the mission jointly.
It was not the Myeonghwa Branch’s presence here that surprised me.
It was his name.
Hm.
“I am Yi Do of the Jangam Branch.”
“Ha ha ha! Why are you speaking so formally? We admire the legend Yi Do has built. Please speak casually. Even if we are both Branch Leaders, there should be an order of seniority, should there not?”
He was a truly forthright man. He was much like the person I had heard about.
“Then I will. There is one thing I wish to ask. Will you answer me?”
“Ask anything. I will answer at once.”
Im Cheon-u seemed to think I would ask about the black writ.
But that was not it.
“Are you from the Hanseong Sword Gate near the Snowy Mountains?”
His eyes widened at the question.
Im Cheon-u blinked before answering.
“Yes, that is correct. I learned the sword at the Hanseong Sword Gate before joining the Asura Sword Sect... As expected, you are remarkable.”
“Me?”
“Did you not investigate the backgrounds of everyone here, including myself, in order to handle this matter? Ah, please do not misunderstand. It is not that I am displeased. I understand completely. Ha ha ha ha.”
This man, laughing so heartily, was someone who would stand on the side of the Orthodox Path during the Righteous-Demonic War ten years from now, a man who upheld righteousness and chivalry.
Cold-Star Iron Sword Im Cheon-u.
He would also become the Sect Head of the Hanseong Sword Gate, then die roughly four years after the Righteous-Demonic War ended.
He had not died alone. He had met his end when the Hanseong Sword Gate was exterminated.
I had only seen it in passing, so I did not know the exact reason, but I was certain that the Emperor Sword Sect had exterminated them.
That was all I knew.
This was the first time I had learned that he had come from the Asura Sword Sect.
I held out my hand.
His eyes widened again. Then, wearing his characteristic hearty smile, he took my hand.
“Ha ha ha ha! Your hand is truly warm.”
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