A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 799 Chapter 795: Primordial Chaos (5)
Previously on A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation...
The Black Snake begins his journey.
Following the brutal massacre at the county, he abandons his birthplace and strikes out toward the distant west.
He traverses countless districts, passing through city after city until he reaches the borders beyond the vast mountains and rivers.
Behind him lies his homeland, the Central Spirit Holy Kingdom.
He travels beyond that realm to reunite with the woman who was his wife in his first cycle, who dwells at the world's westernmost edge.
Crossing through the territory of Byeokra and the nation of Yanguo, the Black Snake continues his trek.
Moving from one country to the next, he deviates from his previous life by accumulating significant riches and establishing a social standing.
The bandits he encounters on the road are captured and forced into submission through his overwhelming power.
By subjecting them to training that borders on torture, he transforms them into loyal subordinates and organizes them into a faction.
He names this group after himself: the Heuk Sa Society (黑蛇會).
As the master of the Heuk Sa Society, known simply as 'Heuk Sa', he leads his followers while building a reputation of wealth and status until he finally arrives at the westernmost country.
He reaches the land of Shengzi.
And deep within Shengzi, at the very edge of the west...
He finds the place where the great mountain range of Shengzi towers over the land.
"I made good time."
Accompanied by his men, Heuk Sa arrives at a small village nestled halfway up the mountain range.
Though he is only ten years old in this life, he carries his mother’s keepsake—a hairpin made of mother-of-pearl.
He remembers his mother’s story.
She told him she originated from Shengzi, the country at the far western edge.
She described being born and raised in a village on the western slopes of these mountains.
However, she had been captured by bandits, and her entire family was forced into slavery. Sold repeatedly, she eventually drifted to the Central Spirit Holy Kingdom. There, she gave birth to him, fled from a slave trader, and managed to find a meager existence.
Before Heuk Sa seeks out the wife from his first life, he visits a specific corner of this village.
"Mother..."
In Heuk Sa's very first life, he was a blind man who had lost both his sight and a dear friend.
Recalling those ancestral stories, he traveled to the western edge so that her keepsake could finally touch the soil of her home.
It was in this village that he first met his wife during that original cycle.
This location served as his mother's origin and his own fresh start.
Upon his arrival, he is met with nothing but crumbling ruins.
His mother used to say that if she were ever reincarnated, she wished to be a man.
She hoped that as a man, she would not be kidnapped by common thugs, stolen from her home, and traded like cattle.
She desired to be a scholar—someone who could provide their child with a proper, meaningful name instead of a random one picked up from the dirt.
Yes...
If she were to be born again...
"If you were reborn... you said you wanted... a body strong enough to protect your child, a mind capable of giving a worthy name... a peaceful homeland to settle in... and to be someone who lived through the telling of stories..."
Heuk Sa enters the ruins, caressing the stones as he recalls the words his mother whispered whenever she had the chance.
"In your next life... please. Even if you are just a humble bookstore owner, be born into peace and live out your days in tranquility..."
Leaning against the debris, he places the mother-of-pearl hairpin down and shuts his eyes.
He imagines her rebirth.
He sees her as a son of a prestigious family, owning a bookshop, bestowing beautiful names upon children, and sharing legends every day while living a long life free of sickness or hunger.
It does not matter if he is part of that dream.
Even if Heuk Sa, burdened by the Hell of Killing Karma, is destined to return as a mere insect or beast...
After praying for his mother's peaceful reincarnation, he buries the keepsake beneath the ruins. Shortly after, the Heuk Sa Society establishes a base in a suitable cave on the peak opposite the village.
The locals view the Heuk Sa Society members as a pack of thieves and live in terror of them. However, because of their presence, no other bandit groups dare attack the village, ensuring no one is murdered or kidnapped.
Despite the fear the society inspires, Heuk Sa appears to be nothing more than a ten-year-old child.
He does not arrive in the village wearing the filthy rags of his past life; instead, as the leader of the Heuk Sa Society, he is dressed in pristine, high-quality clothing.
The villagers assume Heuk Sa is the son of a high-ranking officer within the gang, never dreaming that he is actually the master.
They do not hate or fear the boy.
In fact, some village elders, hoping to curry favor with the bandits by connecting with the 'officer's son', even try to introduce him to their daughters.
Heuk Sa ignores these overtures entirely. He is only interested in finding one specific girl of his age—a maidservant working in a noble household.
She is eleven years old, one year older than Heuk Sa’s current body. People call her 'Seo-agi' (West Baby) because she was found under a willow tree on the western mountain slope.
Her name isn't even official; depending on who is speaking, she is called 'Seo-ak' (Western Peak), 'Seo-yak' (Oath), 'Seo-yeok' (Western Region), or simply 'Westy'.
She is the same woman who suffered from leprosy in Heuk Sa’s first life.
"Pardon me... I was told a girl named Westy lives here."
"Ah, yes. The nanny mentioned she was assigned to the back garden. Why are you interested in her? Let's go see..."
To find her, Heuk Sa befriends a child of the noble house. He visits under the guise of playing, heading straight for the garden where Westy is supposedly working.
"Ah, there she is. Hey! Wait—what are you eating!?"
The noble son, who was about to introduce Heuk Sa to the girl, stares in shock. Westy freezes instantly at his shout.
In the garden, Westy had been secretly devouring a large, ripe peach.
Peaches were far too expensive for a servant to eat, even in a wealthy house; she was clearly stealing.
Caught by the Young Master and Heuk Sa, Westy stands frozen, her cheeks bulging with the fruit and her eyes filling with tears.
"Mm... hic... I-I'm sowwy..."
"How embarrassing! I finally bring a friend over and you're caught stealing again. What will he think of me...?"
The noble boy’s face flushes with anger. He goes to find a heavy club, threatening to beat the maidservant. Westy collapses to the ground, sobbing loudly.
Heuk Sa watches her intently.
In his previous life, his eyes were useless, and he could never truly see her.
Now, he sees her face, her skin, her hair, and her small hands and feet.
Though he had once understood her shape through his Cultivation and heightened senses, he had never seen her colors.
...She is beautiful.
It isn't just her appearance or her habits; her very existence is precious to him.
"Do not cry."
Even though she is technically his senior by a year, Heuk Sa helps the whimpering Westy up and comforts her.
The noble child likely didn't have the stomach to actually strike her with a club. Wanting only to act like a tough adult, he picks up a piece of foxtail grass and playfully pretends to hit her. Realizing she isn't actually being beaten or exiled, Westy stops her wailing.
"I-I'm sorry, Young Master. The peach just looked so good..."
"Huff, huff..."
The noble boy, who is only seven, is already out of breath from his antics. Heuk Sa looks at him and speaks.
"Friend."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I will be taking Westy with me."
"Huh? Uh..."
The boy remembers his nanny’s warning about not giving away the family's property. However, he also remembers his parents' strict instructions from that morning: "That boy's father is a ruthless bandit leader. Do not upset him, and stay on his good side at all costs."
Since government soldiers rarely visited this remote village, the bandits living across the ridge were far more terrifying than the law. The seven-year-old struggles to choose between protecting property and avoiding the wrath of a bandit's son.
"Uhh... Nanny said I shouldn't... but Mother and Father would probably say it's okay..."
"I understand. We have a jar of salt at my home. I'll give it to you in exchange."
It was loot the Heuk Sa Society had taken while wiping out rival gangs.
Since most of their treasures were too conspicuous for a rural noble house, Heuk Sa chose something practical and valuable.
"A jar of salt?"
The child nods eagerly.
For a jar of salt, trading away a peach-stealing maid seemed like a bargain.
He wouldn't be wasting property, and he wouldn't be offending Heuk Sa.
"Deal! It's settled! You! Our house doesn't need a thief like you anymore. You're going to Heuk Sa's house from now on. Understand?"
Hearing this, Westy starts crying again.
She had been raised in this house since she was an infant; it was the only home she knew.
Furthermore, she had heard the rumors about this 'Heuk Sa' dressed in black.
The other maids whispered that Heuk Sa came from a den of monsters—vicious bandits who beat their servants to death for the slightest mistake.
She feared that in such a terrifying place, a clumsy girl like her would be beaten daily or worse.
Heuk Sa smiles as he watches her cry. He is so overwhelmed by the simple fact that he can see her that he finds her adorable.
He takes her hand and leads the sobbing Westy out of the estate.
"Stop crying, Westy."
"Heueooong! I-I'm Seo-agiooooh... heueoong!"
"From now on, I will give you all the peaches you can eat."
"Hic...!?"
"You will wear the finest silk and beautiful jewelry. I will get you flower shoes. And instead of a nickname... I will find a master of names to give you one with a true meaning."
Heuk Sa speaks with immense tenderness as they walk toward the Heuk Sa Society's mountain lair.
His voice is so gentle that Westy eventually stops crying and looks up at him.
"I will make you happy. Marry me."
Heuk Sa squeezes her hand, making a silent vow.
In ten years, she is destined to catch leprosy, her body is destined to rot, and she is destined to be burned alive by bandits.
'If a person's fate cannot be altered...'
Then the joy she brings him until the end will also remain constant.
'I will change the world instead.'
He would not allow the world to take her. The tiny organisms known as germs were things he could now perceive with his advanced senses.
He possessed the power to hunt down and destroy every single leprosy bacillus within her.
The nature of their bond might be fixed, but the heavens that dictated that bond could be bent by his will.
While people might be stubborn and unchanging, the heavens themselves could be torn and reshaped.
'I will not let you die. I will give you a name... and a life of happiness.'
Perhaps in this cycle, they could even have the child they were denied in the last.
"Let us be happy together in this life."
Heuk Sa leads Westy toward his den, a bright smile on his face.
Several years pass after they settle near the village.
"Since you were found beneath a willow, your surname shall be Yang (楊)."
To provide a worthy name for 'Westy', who was now his wife, Heuk Sa had sought out a renowned namer in the region.
"For your name, Hwe (回) is most fitting."
"Hwe (回)..."
Originally, Heuk Sa was illiterate. In his first life, being blind meant the edge of a blade was more important than the stroke of a pen.
He was currently learning to read alongside his wife.
He knew that the character Hwe (回) meant 'to return' or 'to cycle'.
Shaaah—
The air around the namer’s home suddenly turned frigid.
Heuk Sa stared intensely at the man who had named his wife 'Yang Hwe'.
In truth, that was her name in his previous life as well.
Back then, he didn't know the meaning behind it; he simply assumed a scholar had chosen well and was grateful.
But now, having experienced regression (回歸), he realizes exactly what this namer has done.
"Who are you?"
Black Gang Qi erupts from Heuk Sa's frame.
In his first life, he had met this man before his explosive growth through the Star Extinguishing True Chapter, so he hadn't sensed anything unusual.
Now, he knows better.
The namer standing before him is not a mortal man.
It is a divine being inhabiting a human vessel.
"Are you the one who sent me back?"
The namer offers a thin smile.
"I do not follow what the distinguished guest is implying."
"What do you mean...?"
"However, my master would certainly know."
"Master?"
The namer gestures toward the sky.
"One day, if you seek the origin of all things, go to my master. They observe and measure everything within this Cosmic Great Desolation."
"..."
Heuk Sa finally realizes the identity of the namer and his master.
He blinks, and the namer vanishes into thin air.
It was the envoy of the Chief God—the same one who had offered him the Seat of the War God in his first life.
Heuk Sa understands that the master mentioned is the Chief God.
The one he refers to as Lord Heavens.
'Has Lord Heavens... known all along?'
The reason for his regression.
By sending an envoy to give his wife that specific name, they were hinting that they understood the true nature of his power.
"..."
Heuk Sa gazes at the sky before turning back toward his village.
Regardless, he now had his wife's name.
Yang Hwe (楊回).
'Hwe-ah...'
It was a name given not by a commoner, but by the Chief God who governed the world.
'Hwe-ah. In this life... I will never let you suffer.'
Through the envoy, Lord Heavens was issuing an invitation.
If he wanted the truth, he had to find them...
But for now,