The Regressed Sword Demon Changes the Future

To Hwa Mokyeon, who was speaking so meaningfully, Jang Yuran said as if it were nothing.

"It's nothing. She's the wife of a noble family living in Sichuan. She's pregnant, so she's going to her parents' home in Chongqing for both recuperation and rest. Since a woman can't go that far alone, she paid a fee and is going with our escort mission."

Jang Yuran said it with a face as if it were really nothing, and in fact, this was not such a rare thing.

No matter how well-paved a large main road was, one could not completely avoid the threat of bandits or wild animals. And those two existences were a sufficiently serious danger to the powerless common people who did not know martial arts.

That's why those with some leeway in their wallets often paid a small fee to the escort agency and accompanied their escort missions. Among them, there were even escort agencies that focused more on escorting people than on the escort mission itself, so that was that.

Even though she had explained it, Hwa Mokyeon was still looking at the carriage with meaningful eyes.

'His eye for people is quite good.'

Although she was hiding in the carriage and was far away, there was something that could be known even from the faint qi wave that was transmitted over that distance.

The person riding in that carriage now was a person who had learned martial arts.

An unidentified person who probably had a level of about the first-rate.

But unlike Hwa Mokyeon, Jang Baekseo did not pay much attention to the person in the carriage.

'Well, a martial artist can ride a carriage.'

Even if one could use lightness skill, running was a troublesome thing.

Jang Baekseo guessed that the martial artist in the carriage was just like that.

***

After the short and long first day of the escort mission ended, the preparations for camping began.

While pitching the tents and preparing the food, Jang Baekseo was looking at his new sword in a corner a little away from the people.

"Huhu, that blacksmith's skill is quite good."

The shape of the sword that Jang Baekseo had was quite far from the conventional sword style of the Central Plains. Rather, its shape was more similar to that of the Western Regions.

Within the Demonic Cult where Jang Baekseo had been active before his regression, various races and cultures were mixed, and of course, the culture that was mixed in that way also included things about weapons.

The Twelve Paths, Three Forms, which was created by mixing the techniques of various ethnic groups, and the twelve sword manuals created with the Twelve Paths, Three Forms, and the grappling art of the Western Regions, as well as the various sword techniques of the Demonic Cult. The one that Jang Baekseo had chosen as an axis to encompass all of them was this very sword.

Jang Baekseo had been fond of this sword, which had been modified to his taste in various parts, taking its basic shape from a sword of the Western Regions called the Bak-su-ta-do, since his life before his regression.

As Jang Baekseo was looking at his sword, which had come out more satisfactorily than he had thought…

"It's a peculiar sword."

The one who had spoken to him was Hwa Mokyeon.

"It's a cool sword, isn't it?"

Jang Baekseo answered without even looking back.

"But I know that the sword used in the Mysterious Heaven Sword Technique, the signature secret technique of the Mysterious Profound Sect, is a much thinner Han sword…"

Jang Baekseo was surprised at Hwa Mokyeon, who was showing a profound knowledge of the Mysterious Profound Sect unexpectedly.

But he deliberately did not show it and slowly stood up and faced Hwa Mokyeon.

"What brings you here?"

"…Um, it might be a little strange to say this so bluntly, but…"

"Speak your mind."

"…Th-that Young Lady Cheong Yeonah…"

"Senior Aunt? What about Senior Aunt…?"

"Young Lady Cheong Yeonah and… fr-friend."

"Ah! You mean you want to hit Senior Aunt!"

"No!! I want to become friends with Young Lady Cheong Yeonah, so help me!"

'What's with these young brats…'

"Aren't you paying too much attention to the side dishes when you've come to work?"

"A-ahem… I'll do my job properly, so don't worry."

Saying so, Hwa Mokyeon, who had drawn his sword from its scabbard, showed off his swordsmanship.

It was brilliant and fast. A swordsmanship that was extremely gorgeous was skillfully unfolded in Hwa Mokyeon's hands.

"How is it?"

"It's amazing!"

The word 'amazing' was not an empty word.

Hwa Mokyeon had just unfolded a different swordsmanship, not his original true swordsmanship, perhaps to hide his identity. But in Jang Baekseo's eyes, the identity of the sword technique that was the hidden main stream was clearly visible.

'He was a disciple of Huashan?'

Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique!

It was a high-level sword technique that could be learned from the second-generation disciples of Huashan. Only those who had mastered this and had reached the transcendent realm, the realm of sword force, could have their names listed among the Plum Blossom Sword Masters, who were renowned in the martial world.

Moreover, looking at Hwa Mokyeon's swordsmanship, his Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique was already almost on the verge of great mastery.

Then why on earth was a person who should have been cooped up in the sect, working hard on his martial arts, and aiming to become a Plum Blossom Sword Master, pretending to be a ronin here?

Hwa Mokyeon interpreted Jang Baekseo's surprise, which contained various meanings, as he pleased.

"Huhu, yes, my swordsmanship is cool, isn't it?"

Hwa Mokyeon, who had not imagined that Jang Baekseo had read not only his identity but also the level of his martial arts from that fragmentary sword dance, smiled happily.

"With this, will you believe that I will do my job properly?"

"Yes, if it's to that extent, well…"

He was a peak master, a second-generation disciple of Huashan, and a person on the verge of mastering the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

There was not even a one in a million chance that he would not be able to do the role of an escort warrior for such a trivial escort mission properly.

Bandits, green forest bandits, and wild animals would be nothing more or less than smelly and soft stinky tofu in front of Hwa Mokyeon's sword.

"Th-then you'll help me?"

"Ah…"

Jang Baekseo thought for a moment.

Cheong Yeonah.

In his life before his regression, Cheong Yeonah had died at Jang Baekseo's hands.

And as far as he knew, Cheong Yeonah had never been in love or had a relationship until the moment she had died.

Although her actions were strange, her attitude towards martial arts was sincere, so she was not very interested in that area. And in the meantime, with Sohyun's incurable disease and the Righteous-Demonic War, she had completely lost the opportunity to enjoy such things.

After that, disappointed by the Mysterious Profound Sect, which had turned to the Demonic Path, she had left the sect and had fought against the Demonic Cult by gathering the defeated soldiers who had fled from Sichuan in Yunnan. And in the end, she had gotten on the bad side of the Demonic Cult and had been eliminated by Jang Baekseo.

Thinking of Cheong Yeonah's life, which was stained with the deep red of blood instead of a pink color, Jang Baekseo felt bad for no reason.

"…Um."

Jang Baekseo looked at Hwa Mokyeon from head to toe.

His face was quite handsome. Since his lines were thin and his features were clear, he was not at a level where he could not be called a handsome man. He was also quite tall and well-built, and most importantly, his martial arts skills were not bad, judging from his swordsmanship just now. Moreover, wasn't his sect Huashan?

'Wait? Can the Daoists of Huashan get married?'

After thinking that far, Jang Baekseo made up his mind and opened his mouth.

"Alright, I will be the magpie bridge of love for you. But I am only giving you an opportunity. It is up to you, Young Master Hwa Mokyeon, to win Senior Aunt's heart."

"R-really! Aha! Thank you! And don't call me Young Master Hwa Mokyeon so stiffly. From now on, call me big brother!"

Hwa Mokyeon was so excited that he hugged Jang Baekseo and spun around.

'Big brother, my ass… I've lived twice as long as you.'

The two, who had been hugging, quickly separated from each other for a moment.

"…This is!?"

"We're surrounded."

"Your senses are quite sharp."

"I'm at the second-rate level, you know."

"Ho ho! To be at the second-rate level at the age of fourteen, the future of the Mysterious Profound Sect is indeed bright."

While saying that, Hwa Mokyeon's eyes were sharply staring at a place in the darkness.

And.

"Enemy attack!!"

Hwa Mokyeon shouted loudly, and as a signal, arrows flew from all directions.

Shwiiiiik!

"Uwaaaaak!?"

"Dodge! The escort warriors, hide behind the carriages as a wall, and the escort warriors, prepare for battle!"

Although it was a surprise attack, the reaction of the escort warriors was fast.

In the first place, when they had stopped the carriages, they had placed the carriages in a circle in case of a 'what if' situation, and they had been preparing to camp inside, so the escort warriors and the escort warriors immediately hid behind the carriages as a shield.

Some of the skilled ones among them came forward and were deflecting the flying arrows.

"Who are you!! Show yourselves!!"

"Hahaha, things are getting complicated from the beginning!"

At the same time, dozens of bandits showed themselves.

"…The law of the land is strict, so how can you openly commit robbery on a main road!"

Bandits basically used mountains, where there was a gap in security, as their base of operations. That way, it was easy to escape and good to hide.

But for bandits to appear on such a large main road, it was by no means a common thing.

Moreover, to fire a volley of arrows to kill the opponent from the beginning like this was an action that was far from that of ordinary bandits.

"The law of the land? Hahaha! If you're afraid of that, you shouldn't be living by the sword!! Hey, what are you doing! Kill them all!!"

At the signal of the bandit leader, who had laughed at Cheongdo's words, the bandits who had surrounded them from all directions rushed at them at once.

"Hahaha! Kill them all!!"

Although the bandits had rushed in with great momentum, the result was not very good.

Chwaak!!

"Uwaaaaak!"

Swish!

"Keuk!?"

There were three peak masters (excluding Jang Baekseo) and quite a few first-rate masters on their side. The bandit trash, who were at best hovering around the first-rate level, were no match for them.

But…

Chwaak!

"Ugh!?"

A escort warrior, who was fighting fiercely against the bandits on one side of the group, clutched his chest and fell.

'…What was that?'

Although that person was not a particularly outstanding skill, he was an escort warrior with a stable skill who had reached the first-rate level. There was no way he would have been defeated like that by the second-rate bandit bastards.

And in fact, the person who had defeated the escort warrior was by no means an ordinary bandit trash.

'A master is hiding among the second-rate bandits!'

A few peak masters were hiding among the insignificant bandits.

And they were aiming for the escort warriors who were being careless due to the bandits' skills and were throwing fatal hidden moves.

"Tsk!"

And this time, the person that the hidden move was aimed at was Jang Yuran.

"Haat!"

Jang Yuran, who was freely handling her spear and killing the bandits, instinctively rolled on the floor at the killing intent she felt from her blind spot.

Chwaak!

"Keut!?"

Jang Yuran confronted the opponent who had pierced her senses and had ambushed her from her blind spot with extreme caution.

"Ho ho? You're quite something. To dodge my sword."

"…It's because your sword is slow."

Although Jang Yuran was trying hard to act strong, a cold sweat was flowing down her back.

'He's strong!'

Although his attire was no different from the other bandits, the sharp qi that was felt from him told her that he was by no means an ordinary bandit trash.

"You're a foul-mouthed wench. If I tear that mouth of yours from end to end, you won't be able to talk so vulgarly anymore!"

The man, who had smiled with a creepy remark, rushed at Jang Yuran.

"Keuk!?"

The cool presence that felt like it was cutting her skin sharply, and from the exchange of blows, she deduced that the opponent was a master who had reached at least the peak realm. But despite being at the peak realm, for some reason, the opponent was not using sword qi.

But there was no time to be relieved or to have a question about that fact. Even without sword qi, the difference in skill between the peak and the first-rate was clear.

Chaang!

Kaang!

Although Jang Yuran had somehow blocked and dodged the opponent's attacks a few times, the difference in skill was clear, and the checkmate soon came.

Chaeng!

The spear that had been knocked out of her hand rolled on the floor, and the man's sword fell mercilessly on Jang Yuran's head.

'No! I don't want to die!!'

The moment Jang Yuran closed her eyes at the death that was right in front of her!

Kang!!

"What? Where did that confidence from the river go?"

"You, you are!?"

When she opened her eyes, in front of Jang Yuran's eyes was the large and hard back of Jang Baekseo, who was blocking the sword that the bandit had swung.

(End of Chapter)