Chapter 368: The Revealed Truth
“This time, I’ll lick you all over while you’re awake.”
“Calm down first and think again about what you just said.”
We weren’t the only ones here.
Naturally, the first to react was Tang Jincheon.
He did not say anything, but he was glaring this way with a truly terrifying aura.
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
I truly could not think of a single thing that might explain it. In what context could words like that possibly have come out?
It was the same even when I thought about the relationship between me and Tang Sowol before regression.
Perhaps because of the experience of her clan’s destruction, the Tang Sowol from that time had a somewhat cold side to her.
Then every so often, she would reveal her true feelings.
In other words, she had not been this full of mischief, nor this honest about her emotions, nor had she come pressing herself against me so casually.
But once words had already left one’s mouth, nothing could be done about it.
“Ahem. Well, it is a good thing if you two get along.”
“Haha.......”
The Murim Alliance Leader turned his head away with dignified grace as though he had heard nothing at all, and Abbot Jeong Hyeon merely smiled as if in agreement.
The others reacted more or less the same way.
As always, except for the one person too awkward with human relationships to read the mood.
“Th-this time means there was a last time too, doesn’t it?”
“Illusory Illusion Witch.”
“Eek. Kids these days are way too bold...... And while he was awake, no less. Then that means last time was when he was asleep.”
“A ridiculous misunderstanding...... Is it really a misunderstanding?”
If it had happened while I was asleep, it would be natural for me not to know. Before regression, had Tang Sowol not been stronger than me as well?
Even before she reached the Flowering Stage, I had often shown a defenseless side in front of her.
When I looked at Tang Sowol in shock, she was calmly rising to her feet as though she had never said anything strange.
She had even meticulously wiped away the tears that had been falling drop by drop. Aside from the faint redness around her eyes, not a single trace remained.
“Hoo. Just as Illusory Illusion Witch said, the Heartscape...... the emotions flowed into me, and before I knew it, I made a spectacle of myself in front of my seniors. My apologies.”
Tang Sowol bowed her head like a perfect model of the Orthodox Sect.
She was so neat and composed about it that it was difficult to press her further.
She swept her gaze around once, then spread a qi barrier and opened her mouth.
“Just in case, I’ll put up another qi barrier. What I’m about to say from here on will be difficult to believe, but it’s that important.”
“Is the mental restriction really alright?”
At Tang Jincheon’s question, Tang Sowol smiled faintly and shook her head.
“There was never any such thing as a mental restriction to begin with, Father. The two of them simply coordinated their words for my sake for a little while.”
“I’m sorry, Clan Head.... And to everyone else too.”
“Mm. I’m sorry. But it was absolutely necessary.”
As Seol Lihyang and Seo Mun-Hwarin bowed their heads in turn, Tang Jincheon and the others looked at one another, then soon let out faint chuckles.
“I did believe it completely, so to be honest I do feel a bit wronged...... but well, if it was for Sowol’s sake, then as her father, what could I possibly say?”
“Some information can become poison instead if one learns it half-baked beforehand. As the leader of the Beggar’s Sect, and as the Murim Alliance Leader, I understand.”
“Haha. Since you’re telling us now, that is enough.”
“Waaah...... n-now that you’ve revealed for yourselves that there never was any mental restriction...... threatening to tell the White Moon Sword Lord won’t work anymore.”
Illusory Illusion Witch alone was speaking from a slightly different perspective, but it was not especially important.
Though no one had coordinated beforehand, all of us ignored her final words with one heart and mind and began tidying up the place.
The implements set up for the grand art were cleared away, the drawn patterns were erased, and the Demon Bell quietly returned to my arms, making space.
Now that the area was a little wider, the three women sat in somewhat more comfortable positions.
And the one who spoke on behalf of them was Tang Sowol.
“I’ll give you the conclusion first. Young Hero Cheon’s past. The secret he wanted to hide somehow. The thing that could not be explained by any mental restriction.......”
Everyone’s gaze focused on Tang Sowol.
Mine did as well.
Could it really be true?
My head knew it was, but now that the moment had actually come, it was somehow even harder to believe.
As I swallowed hard, Tang Sowol continued.
“It was regression.”
“Re-regression? I don’t really understand what that means.”
“Returned from what?”
People blinked as though they could not understand at all.
But I, on the contrary, had no choice but to widen my eyes.
Right.
This time, she had understood it properly instead of guessing wrong.
It was a shame I could not say it with my own mouth, but even so, it felt relieving to lay down the burden that had weighed on one corner of my heart all this time.
At the same time, I was a little afraid.
What if they thought that the people I had liked were only the people from before regression, and that the current three were merely substitutes?
They were all precious to me, but the problem was that I had no way to convey that.
Tang Sowol, Seol Lihyang, and Seo Mun-Hwarin were not affected by the mental restriction because they had figured it out through a loophole...... but I was still bound by it.
Even now, no matter how I tried to say something, all of it was related to regression, so not even my lips would move.
When I sent Tang Sowol a gaze mixed half with pounding anticipation and half with anxiety, she smiled once as if telling me not to worry, then continued her explanation.
“Young Hero Cheon actually died once. Then he returned to the past and corrected the things he regretted, one by one, until he reached the present.”
“What?”
“Wait. Could it be that’s why......??”
Was it because it was such an unexpected answer?
To the people who were still confused, Tang Sowol began explaining again from the very beginning.
The story of when I had been called Blood Wolf.
What I had experienced after entering Ironblood Hall.
What happened after I had gone half-mad from the deaths of Seol Lihyang and Seo Mun-Hwarin.
All the way to when the Heavenly Demon invaded, turning all grudges and old notoriety into stories of the past, and even Tang Sowol, whom I had only just met with difficulty, was lost.
It was an explanation that, in a way, was rough and patchy, skipping over parts here and there as though only the important sections had been cut out.
At times, Seol Lihyang and Seo Mun-Hwarin stepped in to explain, or added details as supplements, but.......
It was without a doubt the story of my life before regression.
When the long tale ended, the three women let out brief sighs and took a moment to catch their breath.
At the sight, the others stared blankly for a moment, then seemed to organize their thoughts belatedly and began nodding one by one.
“If what you’re saying is true...... then everything until now, all the things I simply let pass because I thought they were for Sowol and the Tang Clan, make sense now.”
Tang Jincheon wore a refreshed expression, as though things had only now clicked into place.
“So...... how could a person be born with such an inherently unorthodox nature? He must originally have been someone of the Orthodox Sect, only to go astray after suffering something tragic.”
The Murim Alliance Leader was simply interpreting it however he liked.
“I see. So this is why Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who does not ordinarily interfere with the mortal world, chose to exert power.”
“Haha! They say that in the distant past, in the ancient age, there were techniques and martial arts of immortals that far surpassed human limits. I never expected some part of them would still remain even now!”
Zhuge Bu was simply delighted by the new knowledge.
“Life after death... Subjectively speaking, he turned back time, but in another sense, one could say that even death itself rejected him. If Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva used power from the Buddhist side, then from the Daoist side... hm. I suppose it must have been the Queen Mother of the West.”
The Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal was in the middle of inferring the other master behind the mental restriction.
“Regression......? Heaven should never allow something that defies natural principle...... but if it was to stop an even greater defiance of heaven, then the Heavenly Demon? Slaughter karma? Huaaagh!...... Huh? If I research this properly, then maybe one could enjoy immortality without becoming an immortal.......”
Illusory Illusion Witch was earning herself a beating while looking this way with scheming eyes.
Smack!
“Eek! B-but I haven’t done anything yet! Surely I’m allowed to think a little...... ah, no, right. I’m not even supposed to think about it. Hehe... B-but later, could you maybe give me just one strand of hair...... n-no, I was joking......!”
When I raised my arm again, Illusory Illusion Witch hurriedly curled up and covered her head with both arms.
Anyone watching would think she got beaten by me every day.
I let out a deep sigh, relaxed the strength in the hand I had raised, and lightly patted Illusory Illusion Witch’s arm.
But for some reason, she only curled herself up even tighter.
Perhaps I was not the only one left dumbfounded by how she looked like she might roll away if someone nudged her.
The Murim Alliance Leader spoke in a cautious voice.
“White Moon Sword Lord. No matter how much you dislike Illusory Illusion Witch, aren’t we all on the same side right now? I think it would be fine if you didn’t treat her quite so harshly.”
“I still haven’t done anything.”
“Of course, I know that if you truly set your mind to it, you could torment her far worse, but even so, wouldn’t it be better to be a little more lenient?”
“I really haven’t done anything......?”
At most, I had only flicked her forehead once.
But Seol Lihyang, who had been watching Illusory Illusion Witch in her curled-up ball form, seemed to think somewhat differently.
“Come to think of it, Illusory Illusion Witch did betray the Orthodox and Unorthodox Alliance before regression. Don’t tell me you’re still holding a grudge from then, Cheon Hwi-da?”
“......!”
From between her crossed arms, Illusory Illusion Witch sent me a wronged look.
I was the wronged one here.
“Ah, right. You can’t talk because of the mental restriction.”
“Don’t be too harsh, Hyang-ah. To begin with, Illusory Illusion Witch wasn’t the only traitor.”
“Now that you mention it, there were quite a few. Even just among the unorthodox side there was One-Saber Asura, Golden Ghost Wolf King, Brahma Heavenly Lust Demon....... Huh? They’re all people Cheon Hwi-da either killed or forcibly took in during this martial gathering.”
“Hiiik! W-was he going to kill me too if I didn’t listen......?!”
At the sight of Illusory Illusion Witch trembling even harder while looking this way, Tang Sowol shook her head.
“No. Calling her a traitor is one thing, but the Demonic Cult wouldn’t have taken her in either, so she was really closer to someone with a death wish.”
“Pardon......??”
“In other words, although Young Hero Cheon’s methods may have been somewhat extreme, it was closer to him saving people who were destined to die anyway. Like when he kidnapped me. That’s something worthy of gratitude, not fear.”
“Uh...... thank you?”
Illusory Illusion Witch tilted her head, but thanked me anyway.
Both she and I wore expressions that said, Is this really right?
Still, in any case, the matter was settled.
Though she still stole glances at me, Illusory Illusion Witch returned from a ball back into a person.
Only then could we move on to the next subject.
“If everything until now was about Young Hero Cheon...... then from here on, it becomes about us.”
“It must be about the Heavenly Demon.”
“That’s right, Alliance Leader. We saw for ourselves, and came to understand, why Young Hero Cheon was so wary of the Heavenly Demon.”
“It would be better for this lady to explain the rest. Since it concerns martial arts, after all.”
Tang Sowol seemed to agree and stepped back half a pace.
Instead, Seo Mun-Hwarin stepped forward and raised a small hand, sweeping her index finger from left to right.
As though indicating all the Flowering Stage martial artists gathered here.
Finally, after pointing at me and then herself as well, Seo Mun-Hwarin continued in a serious tone.
“Even if everyone here were combined, we could not inflict more than scratches upon the Heavenly Demon.”
“I had more or less guessed as much.”
“No, this lady’s wording was insufficient.”
At the Murim Alliance Leader’s words, Seo Mun-Hwarin shook her head.
“The Heavenly Demon. In the future, that man reaches a realm beyond the Flowering Stage. The gap was that clear.”
A realm that had never appeared in the Murim of the Central Plains, unless one counted ancient tales so old that one could hardly tell truth from fabrication.
“This lady has decided to call it the Divine Realm. Or perhaps the Mysterious Realm.”
Seo Mun-Hwarin gave a name to the realm everyone had imagined, but no one had ever been able to confirm.