Chapter 2: Regression

"Idiot."

"Dummy."

These boys were looking down at me as they were cursing. The faces of the two boys in their red and blue clothing were very similar.

They were twins. As I saw them, I mumbled.

"... is this a dream?"

As he heard my words, the twin in blue shook his head and said.

"Even when we poured water on you, you didn't wake up, eh? Yulang's idiot."

That was a name I haven't heard in a long time.

The Idiot of Yulang, Yulang's Idiot.

A nickname I was given ten years ago.

"Hic."

I hiccuped. Even though I didn't drink, I felt like I had a hangover. I couldn't figure out what's happening. The boy in blue then leaned down and grabbed my hair.

Clench!

"This Honam's Swift Blade is speaking, and you won't get up!"

At that moment, I felt like I was losing it.

"Song Jwa-baek? Song Woo-hyun?"

"Now, you seem to be getting your mind together. Why are you pretending to be drunk and trying to be sneaky?"

"Right. Right. Our Honam's Swift Blade won the bet."

Wow...

This was crazy.

This situation was absurd. The boy in blue is Song Jwa-baek, and the one in red is Song Woo-hyun. It felt like I was dreaming.

I could remember this moment that happened 10 years ago so vividly.

Clink!

Song Jaw-baek waved a red pouch in front of him and grinned.

"I prepared it in advance in case you wanted to speak. It will be handy for our work as the Honam's Twin Swift Blades!"

"Right. It will be useful."

Song Woo-hyun added to his brother's words while I struggled to understand what was happening.

Obviously, I had been stabbed in the chest and stomach by Moyong Soo. Strange blue flames then spread through my body as I lost consciousness.

But when I opened my eyes, these two boys were in front of me instead. Except, last time, I never spoke to them at this moment.

Wait...

"What day is today?"

"What dog shit..."

"What is today!"

Song Jwa-baek was startled by my loud words and frowned.

"You must be drunk. It is the year of Dog."

No.

If we say it is the year of the Dog, then this was 10 years in the past. This dream was too vivid.

And this wasn't a dream or illusion either. The pain from my pulled hair was very much real.

"Really... the year of the Dog?"

"What is with you all of a sudden? Did you think it would be the year of the Pig? You drank so much that your head doesn't work?"

The two looked at me as if they couldn't understand me. But even these weird faces looked great to me.

"Uh. What are you doing? Are you crying?"

It was like he said. I had tears in my eyes that were blurring my vision. Overcome with emotion, I even hugged Song Jwa-baek, who was still holding my hair tightly.

"Ah, he has gone crazy!"

"He is!"

I was holding his head and hugging him, so he must be shocked, but it didn't matter. I was feeling so good right now that I could fly. After being kidnapped by the Blood Sect and used as a spy, everything, including my death, was now just a lie.

I wanted to make a temple in the sky for this!

Pak!

Song Jwa-baek pushed me back, but my mouth continued to laugh.

"Hahahahaha!"

I was feeling good. The two looked at me like I had gone crazy as I lay down and continued laughing. But I didn't care.

I had returned to the past. A past where I was called Yulang's idiot, a past that I missed being in. I would never do anything that will lead to being captured by the Blood Sect again...

"... year of the Dog... ahhh!"

As I stopped laughing and began speaking seriously, the twins moved away from me in surprise.

I didn't care that anyone was paying attention to what I was doing, even if they thought I was going crazy. The important thing is...

"Fuccckk!"

The two boys moved their hands to the sword on their waists and cursed at me. Either way, I looked around and got up.

It was late at night, and there didn't seem to be any customers around. It was so late that even dawn was still far away.

"Damn it! Asong! Asong!?"

I could hear the people on this floor doing their tasks outside. At the sound of my cry, a man with droopy eyes who looked to be in his early thirties walked in, barely aware.

"Young master. Everyone is awake. Oh my. Were you hit by the lightning?"

He is the servant who followed me even when I was kicked out of my home. He was the only faithful aide I had, one who served me despite being called an idiot and a fool.

"Sorry. What about my things?"

"It is on the second floor."

As soon as I heard that, I began to run up to the second floor in a hurry. As I do, the twins tried to stop me.

"Brat. Did you go crazy for real?"

"Right. Have you really gone crazy?"

I don't have the time to deal with them right now!

"Ha... Damn it... you... you might think I am crazy, but you better pack your bags and run away from this inn right now. Otherwise, we will be living like dogs for the rest of our lives."

I was about to say they could even live, but these people were different from me. In any case, I was saving both their lives.

"Just run."

"What is he saying? This brat isn't up yet? We are Honam's Twin Swift Blades..."

Puk!

"Kuak!"

Then I broke his nose.

"Brother!"

Song Woo-hyun, who was next to his twin, tried to draw his sword. I jumped back and kicked him on the leg. He fell to the floor from the blow, and I hit his stomach with my elbow.

"Kuak."

Groans of pain came out from the two of them.

"Y... young master."

The servant looked at me with wide eyes. What made it stranger is that despite coming from a prestigious martial arts family, I was a kid who should be incapable of doing what I just did.

Surprisingly, I defeated the twins who learned martial arts. Well, it wasn't something to be proud of.

Even if I was just a third-rate warrior, I learned the basic martial arts moves in the Blood sect. Even though my body wasn't in its best state like it was back then, I could easily take down idiots like these two.

"Yo... you bastard... when did you learn martial arts?"

Song Jwa-baek grabbed his nose, which was bleeding, and asked.

"Shut it. If you want to live like humans, run!"

After saying those words, I quickly made my way up the stairs. The twins who saw me hastily running were unsure of what was happening. I ran up to the second floor and wandered around, searching for my things.

"Left side!"

Asong shouted from the first floor. It was 10 years in the past, so I could barely remember where my room was. Following Asong's words, I ran to the room and saw a dagger with a blue thread around it, alongside a bag of my things on the bed.

"Ah..."

I felt a twinge of emotion at the sight of the dagger, which I hadn't seen in a long time. I could have just run away, but I needed to pick up this dagger which was my mother's keepsake.

It was a pity that I lost everything on this day.

Hurry up and run.

Shh!

I grabbed the dagger, and at that moment, I was startled by a sudden sound that made me drop the dagger.

Kyaaaaal!

"Kuak!"

My heart was pounding loudly at these bizarre sounds. I looked at the dagger as if it was a monster. I wondered if it was a coincidence and picked it back up.

-Kyaaaak!

"Ah!"

I felt a surge of shock as I picked up my mother's dagger and put it down again. This wasn't a ghost's song, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

"Uh."

Goosebumps and cold sweat broke out on my body. I hesitated to pick it up since I might hear that sound again.

Kik!

Just in case, I tore the bed sheets and then used them to cover the dagger. Once it was covered, I picked it up and heard no sound.

I was not sure what was happening, but it felt like this is how I should carry it. I quickly ran down the stairs and saw that the twins were still there.

"I said run away!"

"My nosebleed didn't stop! And what are you saying! Why do we have to run!?"

Song Jwa-baek asked me, unable to understand. Anyway, I was too busy trying to save my own hide. I didn't have time to care for these people.

"Enough. Do whatever you want."

"What?"

"Let's go, Asong. We need to hurry..."

Before I could finish my words, a scream came from outside the inn.

"Kuak!"

...!

As soon as I heard the scream, I felt like my heart was going to drop. The joy from returning to 10 years in the past immediately disappeared.

Even if I came back, wasn't this the moment I wanted to avoid? Did I return just to get captured again?

"W-what is this?"

I looked at the twins, who were scared, and said.

".... Blood Cult."

"Uh!"

The two twins looked terrified at my words. The worst of the Unorthodox Sects which had a vicious name that could make anyone piss themselves just hearing it.

There is no way these two didn't understand what this meant.

"Damn it..."

A desperate voice.

Out of all the days, why today?

That moment in the year of the Dog.

The day I was kidnapped by the Blood Cult.