Before the regression. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The night before the final battle with the Heavenly Demon.

It was the night Tang Sowol invited me to her room.

Just as she let her long hair fall over one side of her face, Tang Sowol pulled the thick blanket up high to cover her naked body, and looked at me intently.

Her deep green eyes shone particularly bright in the dim room.

It was hard to believe such a blatant gaze could come from just one eye.

And with her lying right next to me, at a distance so close—of course I couldn’t help but be conscious of it.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It’s nothing. I was just trying to imprint the Sword Demon in my eyes."

"And yet you're the one wrapped up tight in a blanket? That’s incredibly unfair."

I shrugged my shoulders, but Tang Sowol simply continued to gaze at me with a serious expression.

Normally, she would chuckle at a joke like that, or at least give a dry retort.

Feeling something off, I not only turned my head but shifted my body to face her. Then—

Srrk.

I reached out and cupped the side of her face. The skin, as if melted from a burn.

Tang Sowol considered it an ugly part of her and was ashamed of it, but to me, it was more like a special scar.

It was a place she never showed to others, never let anyone touch.

If I think of it as something only allowed for me, then no matter how terrible the wound may look, it never seemed hideous.

Tang Sowol quietly rested her face in my hand. Only then did her expression soften, her deep green eyes curving like a crescent moon.

“Sword Demon.”

“Hm?”

“Would you promise me one thing?”

“What is it?”

Tang Sowol placed her hand over mine, the one cupping her cheek, and smiled faintly.

As if to say she would never let go, or as if she were begging me not to leave.

“Please, never die before I do.”

"Why do you say such ominous things?"

At dawn, the Heavenly Demon would arrive here. There was nowhere left to retreat to, and Tang Sowol had no intention of running away.

Which meant that all that remained for us was inevitable defeat.

Both I and Tang Sowol knew this all too well. Even so, we were throwing ourselves into the jaws of death.

Tang Sowol could not forget the massacre of her clan, and I couldn’t bear to let her face that hell alone.

I never expected we could defeat the Heavenly Demon. That wasn't even realistic.

I just wished that by some stroke of fortune, Tang Sowol and I could survive.

It would be even better if we could return together to the old site of the Tang Clan, as we had promised.

Of course, Tang Sowol understood this as well. Which is why I couldn’t quite grasp why she was saying such things at this moment.

Tang Sowol gave me a soft smile, as if reading my thoughts.

“Hehe. Don’t look at me like that. You know as well as I do, don’t you? That someone might die...or perhaps we might both be buried here together.”

"Even now, we could still run. North Sea’s an option, or maybe we get on a boat and go somewhere far away. We wouldn’t understand the language, but with our strength, we could live comfortably even in the Western Regions.”

“Yes, I’m sure we could. Traveling with you would certainly be fun. Trying unfamiliar food together, wandering endlessly down pathless roads, lying on the dirt and staring up at the sky… And if we found a nice place with good people, we could settle down.”

“Then—”

“But we both know we can’t do that.”

That’s right.

Like I said earlier, we all understood too well what it meant to wait here for the Heavenly Demon.

And we chose to do so. If we were going to change our minds, we wouldn’t have endured this long in Hebei.

Even so, the reason Tang Sowol said those things—

“It’s simply because I don’t have the resolve to watch you die first. And if I survive, I lack the courage to live in a world without you.”

“Huh...”

“The day the Sword Demon breathes his last will be the day my heart stops beating. …How was that? That wasn’t bad, was it?”

“If you hadn’t said that last part, it might’ve been a pretty cool line.”

“Oh my. Can’t you just compliment me honestly?”

Tang Sowol tilted her chin up in mock pride. Her playful act made me let out a small chuckle.

But. Truly...

That goes for me too, Tang Sowol.

I was too embarrassed to say it aloud, but how could my feelings for you be any less than your feelings for me?

I too don’t know how to go on living without you.

Yes. To borrow your earlier words, your breath is my breath, your heart is my heart.

Life is always important, but now, only the time I share with you holds meaning.

No matter how dark or painful the time may be, it doesn’t matter. As long as I can be dyed in the same color as you, that is enough.

But I suppose for you, Tang Sowol, that wasn’t enough.

“But I really meant it when I said don’t die before me.

If the worst happens, even if it's just you, Sword Demon, I hope you survive.”

“What?”

“Oh, of course, I wouldn't dare tell you to live happily. You can meet other women, live a new life... but, just don’t forget me. If you think of me now and then and feel a bit of pain, that would be enough.”

Is she being spiteful or pretending to be kind...?

“Of course I’m being spiteful.”

With a flawless smile, Tang Sowol continued.

“Even though I dragged you into my reckless revenge, I wish for your safe return and happiness… But this is the selfish spite of a woman who wants to live forever in your heart.”

“But Sword Demon—or rather, Cheon Hwi—you’ll still care for even a woman like me, won’t you?”

Tang Sowol spoke in a mischievous tone, but the small tremble in her fingers couldn’t be hidden.

I let out a short sigh and pressed my lips to hers.

A brief kiss. Followed by a teasing comment.

“I’ve never been one to listen to others, so I can’t promise anything. Wasn’t our vow to rebuild the Tang Clan the first promise we made anyway?”

“Oh my. Right, you were always so straightforward and twisted.”

Tang Sowol chuckled aloud and nodded.

“Then I have another request. Please forget everything I just said. Just remember the promise.”

“I’ll think about it.”

When I answered gruffly for no reason, Tang Sowol laughed even more.

To cut to the point, I failed to keep any of the promises I made with Tang Sowol.

We never returned together to the Tang Clan. I couldn’t keep my promise not to die before her. And I failed to forget those vulnerable words she asked me to.

The reason I keep seeing her past self in my mind whenever I look at Tang Sowol...

The reason I instinctively pulled away when she approached with courage...

Must be because of that.

***

Giggle.

Seol Lihyang laughed at the sight of me, sprawled on the floor like one with the blanket.

But when I still didn’t move while she teased me, she eventually asked in a slightly concerned voice,

“So? Why are you so limp like this? Doesn’t seem like you’re sick.”

“Something happened, that’s all.”

Tang Sowol had come in the night and left just like that.

Because of the mental restriction, I couldn’t explain what happened, and I couldn’t throw away the memories already etched in me.

So all that remained was overwhelming sadness.

“That’s strange. I mean, of all people, Cheon Hwi is the one sulking like this?”

“I’m still human. Human.”

Facing a powerful enemy or a desperate situation doesn’t scare me.

But being hated by Tang Sowol—or by Seol Lihyang or Seo Mun-Hwarin—is a different story altogether.

“Well, I doubt Sister Tang would really come to hate you for that. She said she’d be fine soon, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, probably. But still, it’s something that nags at me.”

“Hm. Is that so?”

“It is.”

Though I said that to Seol Lihyang, it was actually a more complicated problem.

I was worried Tang Sowol had been disappointed in me last night.

Memories of the pre-regression past stabbed at my heart.

And as long as the mental restriction remained, things like this would keep happening.

All of it was intertwined.

Though Seol Lihyang wouldn’t know all that.

“Tsk. So after Sister Tang finally worked up the nerve, who told you to get distracted? Hey, Cheon Hwi. Be honest. Who were you thinking about? Me? Or Sister Hwarin?”

“…Hmph. That’s a secret.”

“Oooh. If it’s a secret, I’ll have to interrogate you.”

Grinning, Seol Lihyang plopped her butt down right on my back.

“Ohh.”

I could clearly feel her warmth and weight through my back.

The sensation made it obvious there was a whole person sitting on top of me.

But with a trained body like mine, this weight didn’t feel heavy.

Maybe she knew that?

Because Seol Lihyang didn’t just sit—she started to wiggle her hips and press down harder on me.

“Even now? Huh? You still won’t talk?”

Grk.

Due to her unique constitution, Seol Lihyang overflowed with yin energy. And now that she was grown, her body had matured.

It was only natural that her body emphasized femininity.

A larger surface area than expected. Softer than I imagined. I was briefly flustered.

While still straddling my back, Seol Lihyang suddenly spoke.

“Oh right! I actually came to tell you something and totally forgot.”

“Mm? What is it?”

“Let’s see...”

Seol Lihyang changed positions slightly while thinking. Now lying completely on top of me, she brought her mouth to my ear.

“I remember now! The Murim Alliance and the Black Lotus Sect agreed to reconcile because of this whole incident!

They’re having a meeting, and apparently you have to attend too!”

“What?”

That’s exactly what I was aiming for.

I wanted to show them that when orthodoxy and unorthodoxy joined hands, even the Green Forest could be successfully subdued—something they once thought impossible.

But I didn’t expect them to organize the meeting this quickly.

Or maybe… it was because of the Heavenly Demon.

If it had just been about setting aside old grudges and starting over, they would’ve taken it slower.

After all, the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects had fiercely fought during Seo Mun-Hwarin’s generation.

And many who remember that era are still alive—mostly occupying high positions in their sects—so caution was inevitable.

But thanks to the information I steadily leaked, the Murim Alliance had maintained vigilance against the Demonic Cult, gathering intelligence.

And now, the Heavenly Demon had personally appeared under the Black Lotus Sect’s banner.

Sensing the crisis, they probably wanted to prevent internal conflict first—hence, the outstretched hand.

It wasn’t full-fledged cooperation, but likely more of a non-aggression pact.

Still, that was a faster result than I expected. And it was true I needed to be there.

“No helping it. If it’s something like that, I’ll have to get up.”

Still carrying Seol Lihyang on my back, I stood up.

Though I thought she’d naturally slide off, she instead shifted her position and clung to me even tighter.

“Huh?”

Seol Lihyang, clinging to my back like a cicada, tilted her head curiously. I gave her a soft smile and said,

“Where are we headed? Since it sounds like something Father-in-law mentioned, we should probably go to the office first—”

“Nope. Let’s go to Sister Tang first. I heard about it from her, and she told me to come get you. Though I guess we’ll probably head to the clan leader’s place afterward…”

Seol Lihyang shrugged nonchalantly. But I couldn’t do the same.

Plop.

I collapsed again, sprawled out, and muttered blankly.

“…I really don’t want to do anything.”

“You’re already not doing anything.”

Yeah. But I feel like doing even less.

No, after how we parted yesterday, how am I even supposed to talk to her?

“If you just bow your head and pin her down, I think Sister Tang will act like she’s giving in and go along with it.”

“Really?”

“Probably?”

Seol Lihyang and I tilted our heads at each other.

With no better idea, I decided to follow her advice for now.

***

Clack! Slam!

I threw open the door boldly and shouted,

“Tang Sowol!”

“Oh? My son-in-law is here. Have a seat.”

“…Yes, sir.”

And I obediently took a seat.

…Though I didn’t expect Tang Jincheon to be there too.