The Regressed Sword Demon Changes the Future

Cheongdo and Jang Muyeon argued all through that night, but in the end, the escort mission continued.

It was unavoidable.

If they were to cancel this escort mission and return to Gangjeong County, the Mysterious Tiger Escort Agency would go bankrupt, unable to pay the enormous penalty.

For them, this escort mission was a life-and-death escort mission that they could absolutely not give up.

Instead, the route of the escort mission was modified for safety.

Originally, they were supposed to go to Chongqing via Chengdu and Anyang.

But considering the previous incident, there was a high probability that the route of the escort mission had been exposed, so they decided to go to Chongqing along the river, passing through Eshan and Yibin.

Although everyone continued the escort mission with great tension… unlike their worries, there were no more attacks after that.

As the peaceful escort mission continued, the faces of the escort warriors and the escort warriors, who had been very tense, began to relax, but not Jang Baekseo.

"Brother~ why on earth is this happening? Why does Young Lady Cheong Yeonah act so aloof whenever I talk to her?"

"…Isn't it because you stick to her all day and say all sorts of silly things?"

Although Jang Baekseo had decided to sacrifice himself and become the magpie bridge of love for Cheong Yeonah's pink youth, the problem was…

'This guy is a love eunuch!!'

As expected of a Daoist of Huashan, Hwa Mokyeon's skills in wooing women were a sight to behold.

Why on earth did he bring up the story of the Daoist scriptures out of the blue while talking? Did he really think that Cheong Yeonah would like such a boring story?

If it had been a story related to Go-Pa and gambling, he could have at least drawn her interest…

'Where in the world would any woman say, 'Oh, what a cool man!' after hearing someone say, 'Mountains are mountains, and water is water'!?'

If he could, he wanted to just flip over the magpie bridge and everything, but Jang Baekseo controlled his heart with superhuman patience.

Without knowing what Jang Baekseo was thinking inwardly, Hwa Mokyeon continued to complain.

As he listened to the pathetic stories of Cheong Yeonah looking at him with pitiful eyes or ignoring him when he talked to her, Jang Baekseo felt his head throb even more.

Jang Baekseo even thought that since Cheong Yeonah herself was a strange person, the man who was attracted to her was also a strange person, as they say, birds of a feather flock together.

And not far away, there were those who were looking at the two of them…

"So I… Yuran, are you listening?"

"Ah!? Yes, yes! I'm listening, Sister Yeonah!"

As Jang Yuran's reaction was somewhat awkward, Cheong Yeonah looked at where she was looking and grinned.

"Huh? What, what? Yuran's type was younger?"

"Yes!? N-no!"

At Cheong Yeonah's question, Jang Yuran hurriedly waved both hands and denied her words.

But her reaction rather stimulated Cheong Yeonah even more, and she continued playfully.

"Well, our junior nephew is a real gem, but it won't be easy. He's more popular than he looks…"

"I said no!!"

Looking at Jang Yuran, who was shouting, with a smiling face as if it were so funny, Cheong Yeonah suddenly tilted her head and…

"Don't tell me you like that chatterbox?"

"Ah, that's really not it."

At Cheong Yeonah's words, which were pointing to the chatterbox, that is, Hwa Mokyeon, Jang Yuran answered with a really firm face, unlike before.

At her firm appearance, Cheong Yeonah made a strange expression and…

"Hmm~ yes, you're firm, aren't you?"

"A chatterbox like that is really not my type."

"Well, he's not that bad… is he?"

"Yes, what did you say, sister?"

"Nothing."

Jang Yuran, who had exchanged words with Cheong Yeonah, was still looking at Jang Baekseo out of the corner of her eye.

In her head, the image of Jang Baekseo, who had saved her on the first day of the escort mission, still remained.

'At that time, that person was a peak master, although he didn't use sword qi.'

A peak master disguised as a bandit who had toyed with Jang Yuran, who had reached the first-rate realm. And Jang Baekseo, who had lightly defeated that peak master.

Jang Yuran had frankly asked Jang Baekseo about this.

And the answer that had come back from Jang Baekseo was…

'Young Lady Jang Yuran was just caught off guard. There's no way I, who am only at the second-rate level, can defeat a peak master, right?'

Although she was furious when he said that with eyes as if he were looking at a truly pathetic person, she had nothing to say since he had said it himself.

Whether he knew Jang Yuran's thoughts or not, Jang Baekseo was still listening to Hwa Mokyeon's complaints with one ear and letting them out with the other.

Jang Baekseo, who had been caught by Hwa Mokyeon for a long time, moved his steps somewhere.

Knock, knock.

"Oh my, it's Baekseo."

"Yes, I thought you might be bored in the carriage alone."

The thing that Jang Baekseo had knocked on was the window of the carriage in which the blood relative of the Cold Demon, no, the woman who called herself Madam Ma, was riding.

Since the day she had shown herself and had forced the escort mission, Jang Baekseo had intentionally approached Madam Ma.

Although Madam Ma had shown a cold appearance at first, she had gradually begun to open her heart due to Jang Baekseo's persistence and the fact that he was still a fourteen-year-old boy.

Of course, this approach had a clear intention.

'Why is a blood relative of the Cold Demon out in the Central Plains?'

It was a very unexpected situation, and to dig into the background of that situation, Jang Baekseo had intentionally approached Madam Ma.

Of course, on the outside, he was acting like a boy who was excited about the stories of the Western Regions, which he had only heard of in stories.

"You look tired? If walking is hard, would you like to ride in the carriage with me?"

"No, it's not that walking is hard~"

Thus, Jang Baekseo explained his predicament of being caught between Hwa Mokyeon and Cheong Yeonah and their fruitless love front with flowery language and in a delicious way.

Since Madam Ma was also a young woman in her late twenties, she was very interested in such love stories, and through this, Jang Baekseo gradually became closer to Madam Ma.

"Huhu, from what I see, it doesn't seem like there's really no progress at all~"

"Yes? Senior Aunt Cheong Yeonah is acting like that, and you're saying there's progress?"

Madam Ma, who was looking at the tilting Jang Baekseo with a smiling face, said.

"Huhu, a woman's heart is not that simple and easy~"

"Hmm, it's difficult~ Ah! Please tell me a story about the Western Regions this time too!"

"Huhu, shall I?"

As he listened to the stories of the Western Regions coming from Madam Ma's mouth, Jang Baekseo became convinced.

'As expected, she's a blood relative of the Cold Demon…'

The stories of the Western Regions coming from her mouth were, to be precise, not about the Western Regions but about the Demonic Cult.

The Demonic Cult consisted of a total of twelve cities, centered on the Divine Palace where the Heavenly Demon, the leader of the cult, resided, and the Holy Cult City where such a Divine Palace was located.

And in each of these twelve cities, one demon palace was located, and each city had its own culture, life, and characteristics of martial arts.

And in particular, the Cold Demon City, the territory of the Cold Demon, was a place that had been greatly influenced by the Western Regions and the north.

The Western Regions in the stories that Madam Ma was telling were not the real Western Regions but about the Cold Demon City.

Madam Ma was speaking without hesitation, thinking that he was a child who did not know about the Western Regions, let alone the Demonic Cult.

But the fact that she did not know was that the identity of the boy in front of her now was not just a fourteen-year-old boy but the future Sword Demon who had regressed from the future.

Of course, Jang Baekseo knew about the Cold Demon City, and he had noticed from the first moment he had heard that the Western Regions in her stories were not the real Western Regions but about the Cold Demon City.

Whether she knew Jang Baekseo's thoughts or not, Madam Ma continued to talk about the Cold Demon City with a happy face.

"The Cold Demon… no, the buildings of the Western Regions, unlike the buildings of the Central Plains, have colored tiles. The colors are so beautiful…"

The eyes of Madam Ma, who was saying that, seemed to be longing for the Cold Demon City.

"…Do you want to go back to your hometown?"

At Jang Baekseo's careful question, Madam Ma lowered her head for a moment.

Soon, Madam Ma, who had raised her head, continued with eyes that had a slightly sad light.

"No, it's okay. I just got a little emotional."

'For what reason on earth is a blood relative of the Cold Demon wandering the Central Plains?'

In the meantime, the escort mission of the Mysterious Tiger Escort Agency continued, and soon, the escort mission was heading for Mount Emei, passing through Yaan.

***

On the way through Yaan, Jang Baekseo secretly left the inn at night and visited the Black Dot he had visited before.

And he bought some information from them.

What Jang Baekseo wanted was the identity of those who were currently chasing Madam Ma, no, the daughter of the Cold Demon.

Although Jang Baekseo had tried to find out the truth by combining various information, unfortunately, he had to return empty-handed.

But it was not that he had returned completely empty-handed. There was one piece of information he had found out, and that was…

'The Cold Demon has come to the Central Plains!'

Among the information purchased from the Black Dot, none of it directly mentioned the Cold Demon's trip to the Central Plains.

But Jang Baekseo, who had been a key member of the Demonic Cult before his regression, was able to find out that the Cold Demon was currently in the Central Plains by combining various fragmentary information.

'For what purpose has she come?'

Considering the timing, the reason why the Cold Demon, who should have been carrying out an important task in the Demonic Cult, had come to the Central Plains was simple.

'It must be because of Madam Ma…'

Unless he knew the relationship between the Cold Demon and Madam Ma, he could not jump to any conclusions.

Thus, while listening to Hwa Mokyeon's complaints as usual, Jang Baekseo and the escort mission were climbing Mount Emei.

Although there was a road on Mount Emei that was wide enough for a carriage to pass, since the mountain was rugged and high, the escort warriors carrying the luggage and the carriages could not pick up speed, and the escort mission passed through the main road of Mount Emei slowly.

"Ooh, look at this cliff… if you fall from here, you won't even be able to find your bones, brother."

"Don't look. The more you look at things like that, the scarier they become."

Although he said that, Jang Baekseo also understood Hwa Mokyeon's feelings.

The road they were passing through was that rugged. Although the road, which had been carved out of a cliff, was quite wide, so there was no danger of falling, since it was a sheer cliff if you went even a little off the road, it was enough for even Hwa Mokyeon, a peak master, to feel fear.

Moreover, since the fog below was thick and the bottom could not be seen, the fear was bound to become even greater.

As they were climbing the mountain, Jang Baekseo, who had been walking well, stopped in his tracks.

Jang Baekseo, who had let out a sigh, looked around out of the corner of his eye and let out a sigh.

And he whispered in a voice so small that only Hwa Mokyeon next to him could hear.

"…This is getting complicated…"

"Huh? What did you say, brother… it's really complicated."

Hwa Mokyeon, who was about to say something at Jang Baekseo's muttering, also hardened his face as if he had felt something and looked around.

And at the same time…

"Enemy attack!!!"

On the mountain road of a sheer cliff, changing the route to avoid the enemies had rather acted as a bad thing.

Black figures fell from the top of the cliff towards the party, which was in a dilemma on a narrow road with nowhere to escape.

They were different from the bandits who had attacked before.

They were all thoroughly covered in black clothes, including their faces, and their qi was stable.

Above all, a sense of experience was evident in every small gesture.

This meant that they were more experienced than the ones who had appeared mixed in with the bandits before, and were also skilled in this kind of 'work'.

They did not appear while ambushing with bows like before.

The men in black, who had fallen from the sky without a sound like black crows, had steadily surrounded the escort group, and a man had shown himself in the center.

The tingling killing intent and qi wave that was felt just by looking at him!

Anyone in this place could tell.

That that man was the leader of this group, and at the same time, a frighteningly skilled master