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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: cyno
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**Regression.**
Also known as “rewinding.”
A curse and a blessing. Hope and despair.
It drove my mind into madness and trapped my life in an endless cycle of repetition.
For some reason, even though I should be focusing on creating the **Moon Technique** for Jin Gayeong, memories from my regressions keep resurfacing.
Especially… the memories from the **first regression.**
Back when I didn’t have grand titles like **Divine Sword** or **Sword Saint.**
The endless loop of imprisonment—in simpler terms, my **regression point** was thirteen years ago.
To be precise, it was the day the **Blood Cult** declared war on the Central Plains martial world.
Many things happened afterward… but in the first regression, I met my death not long after.
That time keeps coming back to me.
*****
I was carrying my four-year-old son in my arms while **Yoo So-eun** held our two-year-old daughter, **Namgung Su-a**, as we passed over a mountain ridge.
It was **Tangeom Mountain**, a place with gentle slopes and few twists—a spot we often visited for family night walks.
That day was just as ordinary as any other.
*”Husband, you seem to be in a good mood?”*
*”Hah, does it show? Actually, I had a small epiphany earlier today.”*
*”Oh, really? That’s wonderful! You must tell me about it later.”*
*”If my wife wishes, I’d be happy to.”*
Looking back, even then, my speech wasn’t much different from how it is now.
*”On the way back, let’s buy some sweets for Su-a. She seemed to enjoy them the other day.”*
*”Huh?! Y-you gave her sweets?!”*
*”Ahem, well. That’s just how children are raised in the Namgung family. You came from Mount Hua, so it must feel strange to you.”*
*”No matter what, you can’t just give sweets to a child! I swear, I can’t live like this…!”*
*”Haha, everyone grows up eating them.”*
Or not.
Was it because it was before the regression started? I was much brighter back then.
My speech was softer too.
……And my relationship with Yoo So-eun was good.
*”Oh, right. How did the Nine Dragons Tournament go?”*
*”It went well. Though I lost to the Martial Dragon, I learned a lot.”*
*”One day, you’ll defeat them all.”*
*”Defeat? Isn’t that childish? We have two kids—I shouldn’t be obsessed with winning and losing when I should be teaching them morality.”*
*”Pfft, says the man who trained all night before the tournament?”*
*”Ugh, that was… just because I wanted to face the Martial Dragon in my best condition.”*
*”Hehe, last time, Mother was furious because the ten-year-old Polygonum multiflorum she stored in the warehouse disappeared. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”*
*”……Cough.”*
*”Ahaha, your thoughts are always written all over your face, husband. Though I suppose that innocence is part of your charm.”*
*”Ahem… th-thank you.”*
That was the moment.
While walking down the mountain path—my son asleep in my arms and Yoo So-eun carrying a drowsy Namgung Su-a—
*Thud!*
*”……!”*
*”Husband!”*
The ground collapsed beneath us, and my vision shifted.
A trap. Someone had deliberately dug a pitfall, and we had fallen in.
*”Dammit…!”*
Luckily, there were no spikes at the bottom, so we weren’t injured.
I twisted my body mid-fall to take the impact on my back, so my son didn’t even wake up.
But there was one big problem.
*”Husband! Are you alright?!”*
Yoo So-eun peeked over the edge of the pit, calling out to me urgently.
*”I’m fine, but… damn, this depth isn’t something hunters would dig…”*
At my level of **Lightness Skill** back then, climbing out was impossible.
All I could do was helplessly hold my son and stare at the sky.
*”Wait a little! I’ll get a rope!”*
I wanted to shout back for her to be careful, but—
*”Waaaah!!!”*
A deafening war cry drowned out my voice.
*”……!”*
*Thud-thud-thud-thud—!!*
Amid the earth-shaking tremors, Yoo So-eun’s face, illuminated by the moonlight, froze stiff.
In that split second, dozens of emotions flickered across her expression.
*”W-wife? What’s that noise?”*
*”…….”*
*”Wife! Answer me!”*
*”…Husband, take Su-a for a moment.”*
With careful hands, Yoo So-eun lowered Su-a into the pit.
In the chaos, I reflexively caught her. Then, Yoo So-eun turned away from the pit and drew her sword.
*”Wife!! Wife!!!”*
The trap had been meant for me from the start.
Me—**Namgung Cheolbin**, the **Thunder Dragon** of the **Nine Dragons**—was the target of the Blood Cult’s ambush.
They had learned that I often took walks with my family on Tangeom Mountain and set up this trap.
At the time, I hadn’t expected the Blood Cult’s reach to extend to Anhui.
And in my first regression, still naive and inexperienced, I had fallen for it.
*”Wife!! So-eun!!!”*
From inside the pit, all I could see was her back.
Leaving the pit—where her husband and children were trapped—behind, she weaved through the charging Blood Cultists.
Once the **Plum Blossom Swordswoman** of Mount Hua, she fluidly executed the **Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique**, scattering petals of sword aura.
Her back, drenched in more and more blood as she cut down the endless waves of half-human, half-beast creatures that rose like zombies.
Then, her sword shattered.
One by one, the Blood Cultists’ claws tore into her.
Helplessly, her body collapsed into… pieces.
*”……!!!”*
Trampling over Yoo So-eun’s mutilated corpse, the Blood Cultists descended into the pit.
My mind went blank at the sight of her death.
I barely resisted before closing my eyes for the last time.
Cursing the crescent moon in the sky with tears of blood.
……And when I opened my eyes again, the **second regression** had begun.
*”It was unbearably brutal.”*
Now that I think about it, that brutality would fit well into a martial technique.
An axe is a savage weapon—it would suit the feeling perfectly.
*”I’ll name the stance… **Back to Death, Facing Life**.”*
*****
*”Husband, you’ve been acting strange today.”*
*”…….”*
*”If something’s troubling you, tell me. You’ve been so quiet lately… I’m worried.”*
*”…Understood.”*
Even after saying that, **Namgung Cheolbin** remained silent.
Yoo So-eun couldn’t shake off her unease at her husband’s recent change in demeanor.
*‘Why is he like this…?’*
Most of all, his eyes were different.
The brilliant blue eyes that once shone so vividly were gone.
Instead, they were empty—hollow like the sky.
Of course, as his wife, she was concerned. But no matter how many times she asked if something was wrong, Namgung Cheolbin would only say *”Understood”* and nothing more.
*‘Should I prepare some tonic for him…?’*
Even now, walking the mountain path with their son and daughter, the atmosphere was awkward.
If it were before, they would have been chatting happily.
Not this suffocating silence.
*”Husband… on the way back, should we buy some sweets? For Su-a too…”*
Trying to lighten the mood, she spoke up.
*”……Let’s finish this quickly.”*
Namgung Cheolbin replied with something entirely unrelated.
Yoo So-eun stared at him in confusion—
*Thud.*
*”Huh? Kyah?!”*
—When he suddenly pushed her.
Caught off guard, Yoo So-eun lost her balance, expecting to fall onto the dirt—
*Thud!*
—But the ground beneath her gave way, and she was swallowed by a pit.
*”Ugh…! H-husband…? What’s going on…?”*
Landing on her back with Su-a safely on her stomach, she looked up at Namgung Cheolbin for an explanation.
But without a word, he dropped their son into the pit as well.
*”Eek! Husband! Why are you throwing the children—?!”*
Anger surged from deep within her, and she shouted accusingly.
*”…Faster. Much faster.”*
Namgung Cheolbin’s face was devoid of emotion as he repeated those bizarre words.
Then came the thunderous war cry.
*”Waaaaaah!!!”*
The tremors were so violent they could’ve been mistaken for an earthquake.
Yoo So-eun couldn’t even speak—she just held both children tightly in her arms.
Unconsciously relying on the husband who had pushed her into the pit.
*”Faster. Let’s end this as quickly as possible.”*
Namgung Cheolbin muttered to himself, his back turned to the pit where his wife and children were trapped.
*”I’m tired of this.”*
In his right hand was a finely forged steel sword.
*”Gueeeek!!”*
*”Kuaaaah!!”*
One by one, the figures charging toward him with monstrous screams appeared at the edge of the pit.
But something was off.
Some moved on all fours with grotesquely bent joints, while others bounced around with talismans stuck to their faces.
They were barely recognizable as human.
And then, Namgung Cheolbin began to move his sword.
*”……!”*
That day, Yoo So-eun couldn’t even begin to comprehend the level of swordsmanship she witnessed.
*****
*”Haaak!!”*
Waking up with a scream, a chilling silence pressed against her face.
*”Huff… huff…”*
Her mind blank for a moment, Yoo So-eun slowly pushed the covers aside and looked around.
Pitch-black darkness.
And from within it—the rhythmic clanging of metal.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
*‘Why are all these construction noises happening near my quarters?’*
Feeling her anger rise, she got out of bed.
Her body was drenched in sweat, so she decided to wash up.
She also wanted to get away from the damned clanging that had been keeping her awake for days.
*”Where are you going in the middle of the night, Sister-in-law?”*
Just as she was about to leave her room, she ran into a portly man standing at the door.
A man who was always licking his lips—**Namgung Bin.**
*”And what are* you *doing here?”*
Yoo So-eun glanced at the tea he was holding.
*”What’s that for?”*
Steam rose from the cup.
*”It’s tea to calm the nerves. You haven’t been sleeping well lately…”*
*”I’m not in the mood for tea right now.”*
*”You won’t drink it? It’s from the Western Regions.”*
*”I said no. Drink it yourself.”*
*”It’s precious. Are you sure?”*
*”I said I don’t want it…!”*
Her already frayed temper flaring, she pushed past Namgung Bin.
Her footsteps were sharper than usual.
*‘That fox-like bastard.’*
As she walked, she soon found herself passing by **Namgung Su-a’s** room.
Strangely, the light was still on.
At this late hour.
*‘Is she still awake?’*
Carefully, she cracked the door open and peeked inside.
Namgung Su-a was hurriedly packing her clothes.
Yoo So-eun knocked lightly and cleared her throat before entering.
*”Mom? You’re still up?”*
*”Shouldn’t I be asking you that? What are you doing at this hour?”*
*”Oh, the Seven Flowers Tournament is coming up. I’m packing so I won’t be late tomorrow.”*
Namgung Su-a proudly held up her packed belongings.
*”…Tomorrow? It’s already that time?”*
*”What, you didn’t know? How can you not know your own daughter’s tournament date?”*
*”Ah… sorry… I’ve had a lot on my mind lately…”*
*”Hehe, it’s fine. Just thinking about going out already has me excited!”*
*”I… see… haha…”*
*‘Going out…’*
Yoo So-eun recalled Namgung Su-a’s recent behavior.
After sending Namgung Cheolbin away, she had been listless, her eyes hollow.
*‘Thankfully, she’s back to her usual cheerful self.’*
But she was still unstable. Maybe this trip would do her good.
Maybe it would do *her* some good too.
*”Should I come with you?”*
The words slipped out without thought.
*”Huh? You’re coming too? What do you mean?”*
*”It’s the Seven Flowers Tournament. My daughter will be crossing swords with the best swordswomen—I should be there to cheer you on.”*
*”Hmm… okay! Let’s go together! You need some fresh air too! You’ve been so cooped up lately, it’s worrying!”*
Her daughter seemed excited, and it wasn’t like there was much for her to do in the Namgung Family estate anyway.
*”Thanks to you, I’ll get to enjoy the sight of talented swordswomen.”*
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