After returning to my residence, I stood before the bronze mirror. In my youth, I was vibrant, brimming with a life so potent I could have stared at my own reflection all day. After a moment spent enjoying the unfamiliar sight of my young face, my thoughts drifted to Jang Tae. What was he doing now? Was he somewhere in the world, subjecting himself to a hellish training regimen to forge his strength? The simplest solution would be to find and kill him before he could grow any stronger. The problem was that finding Jang Tae would be no simple task. He had appeared in the martial world as if from thin air, and after conquering the three peaks, he had vanished into seclusion just as suddenly. There was no information on him. To send men scouring the Jung-won for a man named Jang Tae would be a reckless gamble, one that would only alert him to my intentions and provoke an unknown response. Ultimately, the best path was for me to become stronger than Jang Tae myself. Fortunately, heaven had granted me the time to prepare. With time on my side, I would surpass him. Perhaps it was the thought of Jang Tae, but the inner energy in my Dantian stirred in response. The Sanggongdog poison had vanished as if it had never been there at all. I felt no lingering effects from the tournament, so it seemed Gu Pyeong’s antidote had worked perfectly. Well, I suppose he wouldn’t have dared to bungle the treatment of the Heuk-cheon’s own flesh and blood. After a moment lost in thought, I called out the name of the person to whom I owed the greatest debt. “Lee Ahn.” A welcome voice answered from beyond the door. “Yes, Master.” “Come in.” The door slid open and a young woman entered. Her powerful frame seemed to strain the very seams of her uniform; she was a woman whose size was born not of fat, but of sheer mass. Lee Ahn, my personal guard. I hadn’t understood it back then. The reason for her immense physique was the martial art she practiced. No, it was because of me. Jeonshin Seokhwagong. It was a secret art, passed down exclusively through her line, that could temporarily make one’s flesh as hard as stone. This monumental growth was its one fatal side effect. I met her gaze in the mirror and asked, “How do I look?” Her reflection answered coolly. “You are the most handsome man in the Gangho.” Lee Ahn’s voice was a marvel. So much so that if there were a contest for the most pleasant voice in the Jung-won, I guarantee she would win. “That’s not funny.” “The one who pays the wages always gets the answer they want.” Not only a fine voice, but a sharp wit to match. Our eyes met again in the mirror, and she asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?” It was because of Lee Ahn that I had survived that day. She had thrown herself in front of me, taking the sword blow Jang Tae had meant to end my life. His sword energy had pierced her body, but her sacrifice had deflected its path just enough. It had narrowly missed my heart. Jang Tae had never bothered to confirm my death. It would have been inconceivable to him that his attack could have failed. Lee Ahn’s sacrifice and his own arrogance were what saved me. Thank you, Lee Ahn. She had been ready to lay down her life for me, but back then, I had seen her as just another guard. I took her presence for granted, the way a man takes the air he breathes for granted, never realizing its value until it’s gone. “You fought well today,” I said. “You were truly magnificent.” I turned from the mirror and walked toward her, closing the distance between her reflection and her reality. There was a difference between the girl in my memory and the one standing before me now. She’s even larger than I remembered. I looked at her quietly, my mind drifting back to her as a child. She had been a doll, with sad, beautiful eyes and a perfectly sculpted nose. Everyone had agreed that she would grow up to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Then one day, the pretty girl had become enormous. She had gained so much weight so quickly that no one even noticed how much she had cried, or how swollen her eyes were. That little girl had looked at me with the same determined eyes she had today. I will protect you, Master. What must she have felt, that young girl? Her only crime was being born into the Demonic Cult and raised to be a bodyguard. The price she paid for it was far too high. Had I ever once tried to comfort her, even after she had given up the beauty that could have made her the most sought-after woman in the world? Or had I simply started treating her coldly after her transformation? I couldn’t recall many of my memories with her. She, on the other hand, had kept her promise. She had thrown her massive body in the path of a sword, and because of her, I had survived. Just being able to save Lee Ahn would make this second chance at life worthwhile. Lee Ahn, allow me to make a promise as well. I will find a way to reverse the side effects of your Jeonshin Seokhwagong. I spoke the words that came to my mind. “We shouldn’t become friends.” She looked at me, puzzled. “Sir? Why is that?” “To grow attached to a guard, a warrior sworn to protect you… that’s just a cruel way of asking them to die for you, isn’t it? It’s a despicable thing to do.” “What are you saying? It is my duty to protect you, Master.” “Where is the virtue in a forced sacrifice? You should always put yourself first, then your family, and only then the one you are assigned to protect. That’s the kind of reasonable person I want by my side.” Lee Ahn didn’t hesitate for a second. “That’s impossible. You are my master. Besides, I have no family.” I wouldn’t dare try to measure the depths of this stubborn woman’s loyalty. “You’re acting strangely today.” “Shall I show you something stranger? Let’s go.” “Where?” “To flip the whole table over,” I said, striding out of the room. I went directly to the kitchens. There, I summoned the entire kitchen staff, including the head chef, Master Lim. From the assembled line, I called out an assistant cook, a man who had worked here for three years. “Why did you do it?” “Sir? What do you mean?” “Why did you put Sanggongdog poison in my meal?” A wave of shock went through the staff. “No, I didn’t!” the man protested. The beauty of returning to the past is that you have no need for mind games. I already knew why this man had done it. He was drowning in gambling debt, having squandered his parents’ money and borrowed from all his friends. His addiction had driven him to the great sin of attempting to poison the blood of the Heuk-cheon. Gambling was a fearsome disease. “You took the three thousand nyang you received and went straight back to the gambling dens, didn’t you?” The man flinched and fell to his knees. “Please, save me! I was wrong! I committed a terrible sin, blinded by money!” “Did Gu Pyeong come to you personally with the money?” “Yes.” The moment he confessed, I drew my sword and severed his head from his body. Thump. It was my first kill since my return, but I felt no particular emotion. I had lived a life of dispatching those I deemed wicked without a second thought. The only mercy I offered him was a quick, painless death. In my previous life, he had died on this very day anyway, stabbed to death in a gambling house late that night. It was surely the work of an assassin sent by Gu Pyeong to silence him. Regardless, poisoning my food was an intolerable offense. One act of forgiveness would only invite another attempt. “Of all people, a cook puts poison in the rice!” At my words, Master Lim fell to his knees, his face a mask of misery. “I am sorry, Master.” “Sorry? Do you have a fondness for kneeling?” “This is all my responsibility.” “How is this Master Lim’s responsibility? The fault lies with the poisoner.” “Everything that happens in this kitchen is my responsibility.” I helped him to his feet. “Master Lim, if some injustice were to occur within our sect, would the responsibility fall to my father?” “What? No, of course not.” “Then why do you claim this is your responsibility? Enough foolishness. For dinner, I want Gyesamyeon. It’s been too long since I’ve had it.” How many decades had it really been? “But… you had it the day before yesterday.” “Master Lim, my sword is still in my hand. And it’s dripping blood.” “I will prepare you a delicious meal at once.” When I left the kitchen, Lee Ahn was waiting outside. She rushed to my side. “I am sorry. As the one in charge of your security, this is my fault.” “Why is everyone so eager to take the blame? Has a plague of responsibility swept the grounds?” “I will ensure this never happens again.” “See that you do. Now, spread the word about this incident throughout the sect. Make sure everyone knows Gu Pyeong instigated it, and that I personally cut down the cook who administered the poison.” “Hyeolcheon Doma will deny everything.” “That’s fine. There are many eyes and ears here.” The entire kitchen staff had witnessed it. Denials would be useless. “A foul deed will always give rise to foul rumors. Spread them far and wide. Make the very dogs in the compound bark ‘Sanggong, Sanggong!’” “I will see to it.” “Let’s go.” As she followed behind me, Lee Ahn spoke cautiously. “Ah… you truly seem different today.” Being the one closest to me, she was the first to notice the change. “You’re making jokes you never would have before. Your words and your actions… they’ve changed.” “I decided to start living a different life today.” “Suddenly?” “Yes, suddenly. I don’t think people change incrementally, a little bit each day. They change drastically, when something happens. It’s rare and difficult, which is why most people say it’s impossible for someone to change. Let’s go.” I walked on, giving her no chance to ask what had happened. “Is all of this really necessary?” Lee Ahn stared in surprise at the pile of equipment I had prepared for the hunting trip with my father. I nodded as I packed the last of the items into a large leather satchel. “It is.” “I never knew you had any interest in camping.” Lee Ahn, I doubt anyone in this entire sect has camped as much as I have. “I have to be thoroughly prepared, since I’m going with my father.” “I hope you have a good time.” “Will I?” It wasn’t needless pessimism. I was confident about many things, but my relationship with my father was not one of them. Now that I had lived longer than he ever did… I was even less confident. “You must make it so. You will.” Lee Ahn smiled and bid me good night. “May you have pleasant dreams.” But I did not sleep well that night. I had a nightmare. In my dream, I was an old man again, still searching for the ingredients for the regression rite. I was wandering desolate lands, frantic because the herbs I needed were not where they were supposed to be. Then, Lee Ahn’s voice cut through the darkness. “Master, are you all right?” I must have cried out in my sleep. “I am not. It was a wretched dream.” “What did you dream of?” “For you, it would be like dreaming you had to start over as a novice warrior with no training.” “Agh! I would rather you just kill me.” I sat up in bed and glanced at my reflection in the polished armor on the wall. I saw my own young face, a comforting reminder that the nightmare was only a dream. The sight of my youth immediately lifted my spirits. Yes, if I could wake up to this face every morning, I could endure a nightmare every night. “You seem nervous,” Lee Ahn observed. “I’m traveling with someone more fearsome than a tiger.” “If it were me, I don’t think I’d be able to breathe properly.” “I’m going to wash up. Please prepare a fresh uniform.” “Yes, Master.” In my past life, during the hardest times, I used to imagine what I would do if I could go back. The fantasy alone gave me the strength to endure the pain. But nowhere in those fantasies was there a hunting trip with my father on the day after my return. By the time this hunt was over, I would know if my instinctive choice had been the right one. After completing all my preparations, I slung the large leather bag over my shoulder and walked slowly toward the Cheonmajeon, where my father was waiting.

Chapter 4: Time Is My Weapon