Regression of the Yong Clan Heir

Chapter 446: Chased Chouhui (2)

I was furious seeing Mae Yeongyeong lying there in such a state.

In her past life, she had also met a miserable end. After marrying into a powerful noble family, she got entangled in a treason case. The entire clan was annihilated, and Mae Yeongyeong was beheaded.

But I couldn't let her face such a meaningless death again in this life.

‘I’ll save her no matter what.’

I pulled not only the Realm of Self-Existence, but also all the poisonous qi within her body into my own.

It wasn’t impossible, as I had once absorbed and detoxified poison through my Tai Chi Dantian.

Meanwhile, Gunwi, watching me focus on Mae Yeongyeong’s recovery, was steeling his resolve.

Seeing me completely trust them with my back exposed, he thought this was the perfect moment to kill me.

He believed that even if he threw a dagger now, I wouldn’t be able to block it.

Unconsciously, Gunwi reached for the dagger in his hand.

But just as he was about to grip it, Gunyeom grabbed his wrist.

Gunyeom shook her head at Gunwi, who turned toward her.

Gunwi slowly lowered his hand and followed Gunyeom’s gaze toward the front.

Then he was startled.

By Mae Yeongyeong’s side stood a sword firmly planted into the ground, and within the blade's surface, he could see my eyes watching them warily.

Even while injecting qi, I had been monitoring their actions through the blade’s reflection. That realization sent a chill down Gunwi’s spine.

‘If I had thrown the dagger without knowing anything... I would’ve been taken out by Young Master Yong.’

He now thought the sword had been planted intentionally, as a medium for deploying the Sword Levitation Technique.

And that was the truth. If not for Gunyeom, both of them would’ve already lost their heads to my sword.

Just as Gunwi suspected, I had been suspicious of their sudden appearance.

There was no real reason to suspect them, but the situation was too strange. Moreover, the wound on Chouhui’s chest wasn’t a typical sword wound.

Given the narrow width of the wound, it was clear it had been inflicted by a small dagger rather than a sword.

As I absorbed the poisonous qi, I thought to myself:

‘They probably think I’m some clueless rookie, but I’m already at the level where I can identify a weapon just by looking at a wound.’

Later-generation prodigies, still inexperienced in the martial world, often couldn’t deduce the weapon used just by examining a wound.

Gunwi had assumed I was just like them and had left Chouhui’s wound untreated. Though, the lack of time to act had been a major reason.

Regardless, I couldn’t erase all suspicion toward them, so I had deliberately planted my sword to observe their movements.

Gunyeom, quick to pick up on my intentions, had stopped the hasty Gunwi, saving both of their lives.

Eventually, I absorbed the poison from Mae Yeongyeong’s body and burned it away with my Tai Chi Dantian.

The poison was successfully removed.

However, the areas already invaded—her brain and inner organs—were weakened.

It looked like recovery would take at least a month.

If something went wrong, she might never wake up again.

That’s how much the poison had ravaged her body and drained her vitality.

I realized her condition was similar to when Hoi Jongbaek had been poisoned by Jiangshi Poison long ago.

Like Hoi Jongbaek or Hoi Unkyung, she could remain in a comatose state, a living corpse.

‘If it’s Lady Yoo, she might be able to heal Lady Mae.’

I couldn’t be more thankful that Yoomaerim was traveling with us.

I picked Mae Yeongyeong up onto my back and stood.

“Let’s head back quickly.”

“Yes.”

As we returned to the inn, I asked Gunwi, who was following me:

“By the way, what brought you here?”

“Ah, I was out buying supplies at the market and heard sounds of fighting nearby, so I came this way.”

“I see.”

Since this path also led to the market, Gunwi’s words weren’t necessarily false.

I murmured softly,

“Lady Mae and Lady Chou probably came here looking for me. I had asked them to investigate the hideout of certain individuals.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“We’ll know for sure once Lady Mae wakes up, but for now, we have no way of knowing when she’ll regain consciousness.”

“That’s truly unfortunate.”

Gunwi was running while carrying Chouhui’s corpse.

I had entrusted her body to him, intending to give her a proper burial.

“Sorry for the trouble, carrying the body.”

“Not at all. We couldn’t possibly leave someone close to you as food for wild beasts.”

After a moment of silent running, I asked,

“By any chance, did Lady Mae or Lady Chou say anything before they collapsed?”

“When I arrived, they were both already unconscious.”

“I see.”

I asked a few more questions, but soon fell silent.

Worried for Mae Yeongyeong, whose life hung by a thread, my expression stiffened.

On top of that, the sudden death of Chouhui weighed heavily on my heart.

Memories of challenging the Five Gates to obtain her Dual-Mind Inner Art flashed through my mind like a lantern before death.

Then I glanced sideways at Gunwi’s face.

My eyes narrowed in an instant.

Gunwi didn’t notice the chill creeping into my gaze.

*

After returning to the inn, I asked the innkeeper to take care of Chouhui’s funeral and called in my close aides.

Those who knew about Chouhui and the Martial Flower Unit were greatly shocked by Chouhui’s death.

When I explained the true forces behind the Heavenly Demon Sect, and that the leadership of the Rogues’ Guild was likely based in Dongwolru, everyone’s faces turned to disbelief.

And when I revealed that Chouhui and Mae Yeongyeong were members of the Martial Flower Unit, and that they had suffered a tragic end while investigating the leadership of the Rogues’ Guild, a flood of questions erupted.

Until now, everyone had only known of the Heavenly Demon Sect; no one had imagined there could be a force behind it.

Since my ten-year seclusion, I hadn’t had the chance to explain it all.

I simply hadn’t had the luxury of focusing on anything else while waging war with other sects.

“Dongwolru could be their headquarters… or just a local branch. That’s why I’m planning to go alone and scout it out.”

“Gaga, wouldn’t it be better to just take our elites and flip the place? Their leaders would come crawling out, wouldn’t they?”

Shaking my head at Mo Biyoung’s rather aggressive suggestion, I said,

“No. If we do that, the leadership will only dig deeper underground. Looking at all the information we’ve gathered, it’s clear the entire Rogues’ Guild isn’t just a puppet of Eungga. It’s only that their leadership is. So there’s no need to wage war against the Rogues’ Guild. All we need to do is find Eungga.”

“Eungga used the Rogues’ Guild to hide their identity. To catch them, I agree with Gaga—it’s best to move quietly.”

Jeong Minji supported my decision.

“Then what should we do?”

Bukri Sehee asked, and I answered.

“This mission left many people exhausted. They need rest. Go back to our main sect and let them recuperate while preparing the elite troops. Once I identify the leadership’s base, I’ll send word. Then everyone can gather there. For now, this seems like the best course of action.”

I met the eyes of each person individually, signaling them not to worry.

My five women no longer worried because they knew few could match me now.

However, there were always unforeseen variables, so Hoi Unkyung spoke up.

“Gaga, I still have a request. No matter what, please take Jeong unni, Namgung, and Mo with you. Those three are stronger than any guards you could bring.”

In truth, those three were already renowned female experts in the murim.

Jeong Minji was famous for her Phoenix Sword; Mo Biyoung was known by the alias “Yongjung Ilhwa”; and Namgung Yoo had earned the nickname “Namgung the Venomous Sword.”

Recently, as Bukri Sehee rose to prominence with her sound arts, she gained the nickname “Dragon’s Lament, Heavenly Blossom.”

She loved that title more than anyone else.

“What about me, second sister?”

Bukri Sehee, excluded from the lineup, looked at Hoi Unkyung with a pout.

“You and I have to manage the internal affairs.”

“But I want to fight alongside Gaga.”

As she whined, Hoi Unkyung responded,

“You still aren’t on par with the other three. You’ve come a long way, but if it comes to battle, you might become Gaga’s burden. Can you protect him in that situation? If you truly want to fight beside him, then you need to master sound arts to the highest level. You still have more training to do.”

Her direct words left no room for argument.

Bukri Sehee knew her own limits.

And she understood that, if things went wrong, she could end up being a burden to me.

Though she began with a childish complaint, she dropped it after hearing Hoi Unkyung’s words.

“I understand. Please return safely.”

Jeong Minji gently patted Bukri Sehee’s head.

Though they all served me, Bukri Sehee still felt like a younger sister.

“Listen to your second sister.”

“Yes, big sister.”

I smiled with satisfaction as I watched my women move in such harmony, completing tasks without a single ripple.

Even without me saying anything, Jeong Minji, Hoi Unkyung, and Mo Biyoung maintained order.

They truly were lovely women.

With them, I felt I could live happily for the rest of my life.

After wrapping up the conversation with them, I headed to Yoomaerim’s quarters.

Approaching Yoomaerim, who was treating Mae Yeongyeong, I spoke.

“Lady Mae is an extremely important person. Please take care of her.”

Yoomaerim looked down at Mae Yeongyeong with a slightly grave expression.

“I will do my best, but I can’t promise she’ll regain consciousness.”

“I trust you, Lady Yoo.”

Yoomaerim would go on to be praised as a divine physician in the Central Plains purely for her medical skill. I trusted her completely.

As I turned to leave, she stopped me.

“Young Master Yong, one moment. When I was examining Lady Mae, I noticed something written on her palm.”

“Writing?”

I hadn’t thought to examine her palm, so I had overlooked it.

“Look here. I left it untouched because it seemed important.”

I opened Mae Yeongyeong’s hand.

Sure enough, the character “燈”—meaning “lamp” or “light”—was scrawled hastily on her palm.

“Was there nothing else written?”

“No. But judging from the position near her wrist, she probably intended to write more. If it were just a single character, she would’ve written it in the center of her palm.”

Yoomaerim had a point.

‘As expected of a physician—so attentive to detail. I almost missed this. She must’ve been trying to write a word that starts with ‘燈’... but what could it be?’

The word “light” gave me no clear clue.

After thinking it over briefly and finding no answer, I decided to act first.

I also explained the current situation to my younger brother, Yong Kijoong, and told him not to worry if I didn’t return right away. He was to lead the warriors back to the Heavenly Central Sect.

After giving a few critical orders, I departed for Dongwolru with the three women.