Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1600. Transmigrated to the Central Plains’ Murim (5)

It didn't take long for me to realize that raising a child was no easy task. Honestly, I was starting to wonder if I had transmigrated to Hell instead of the Murim world. Yes, I wasn't exaggerating here. The sight of Squirmy wriggling around in his sleep had already stopped looking cute to me.

Why was his sleep cycle so short? Why did I have to feed him so often? Why were there so many things to be careful about? Why were there so many things to learn? I could literally feel my hormones going haywire, and damn it, I could tell that I was becoming depressed in real time.

'I seriously can't do this anymore. Damn it... seriously...'

I was a workaholic back on the continent, but never once had I felt physically exhausted. Childcare, though, was an entirely different beast. My nerves were constantly on edge as I struggled through an endless schedule of regular and irregular tasks while feeling completely drained.

Whenever something happened, like Squirmy suddenly refusing the milk he normally drank without issue, my stress levels would explode to a level even self-brainwashing couldn't handle.

'I'd rather go back to work. Damn it. I'd rather march across a battlefield.'

"Have you figured out why the child is refusing my milk?" I asked.

"It seems that... when you began breastfeeding earlier, too much milk entered the Young Master's mouth at once... so he may have briefly struggled to breathe, my lady. I believe it would be best to get some milk out beforehand," an attendant suggested.

"Haa..."

"Y-You needn't feel discouraged, My Lady. W-We’ll help you. A-And... having too much milk is far better than too little... Besides, the Young Master doesn't seem to struggle while feeding, so this is actually good fortune. Normally, newborns will have a very difficult time feeding at first, but the Young Master..."

'D-Damn it... I know that already. This hurts like hell.'

There weren't even any milk formulas in this era. If a mother couldn't produce breast milk, it had to be sourced from elsewhere, so I could understand why the attendants seemed quietly relieved, but seriously, I wished milk formula existed here. Of course, even if it existed, there was no way I could feed it to Squirmy.

'This stuff is seriously a miracle elixir...'

"..."

'An absolutely ridiculous miracle elixir...'

Even on the continent, nothing like this had ever existed. I had never imagined that something like this would come out of my own body, either, but somehow my body was literally producing miracle medicine.

Even though only my soul had come over here, it seemed I was still being affected by my holy body in many different ways.

Absurd as it sounded, Squirmy's Internal Energy already exceeded 10 just from drinking my milk. Since he had yet to learn an internal energy cultivation method, the energy wasn't being stored in his dantian and was spreading throughout him instead. Thanks to that, his Endurance growth limit had already risen to Epic or Higher.

Once he learned a proper cultivation method and guided that internal energy into his dantian, the results would probably be unbelievable. Of course, this wasn't the end of the miracle medicine’s effects.

'Innate True Qi?'

What really shocked me was that the points next to the words “Innate True Qi” listed under the detailed Internal Energy tab were increasing at a ridiculous rate. It seemed to be a different kind of energy from internal energy, but having more of it certainly couldn't hurt.

The most astonishing part was this...

'Immunity to All Poisons.'

He had somehow obtained resistance to a hundred poisons, even though all he had done so far was eat. He was going to be free from common illnesses, and the status description even stated that the trait could eventually evolve into Immunity to a Thousand Poisons and Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons.

I couldn't even describe how shocked I was when I saw that.

Just like Commander Jin's DNA, this was something that deserved further study. Of course, I knew it wasn't realistic, but the effect was so absurd that I couldn't help being tempted. The problem was that I had to keep this up until the little guy was off his mother’s milk. I wondered whether it was really worth the effort, but if I was going to raise him anyway, I ought to do it properly.

In other words, I couldn't be away from him for more than two or three hours at a time.

"WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

'Haa...'

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

'Hooo...'

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

'Those lungs are definitely Mythic rank, damn it.'

If it hadn’t been for the attendants, I would have abandoned the baby and fled the Murong Clan altogether. Of course, the attendants weren't having an easy time either. Ever since that one incident where he refused the milk, they had all become incredibly tense. They made sure I always smelled the same, and they discouraged me from being separated from the baby for too long.

My diet was restricted, and there were so many bizarre superstitions that a parade of frauds calling themselves shamans regularly wandered in and out of the residence.

Whenever feeding time began, the entire courtyard would practically hold its breath for fear that even the slightest noise could disturb the little guy.

As a result, I didn't have the time to worry about the Heavenly Demon or anything else. More than at any other point in my life, this was when I needed the child's father the most, but...

"..."

The Jin Family's wastrel actually entered secluded cultivation.

I had no idea if the Jin Family was trying to cover up their son's suicide attempt or if it was Commander Jin's own decision, but one thing was certain—word had already spread throughout the area that the Jin Family's wastrel had suddenly come to his senses and entered closed-door seclusion.

'That bastard isn't even trying to find me.'

"..."

"..."

'He's really enjoying life in this dimension, isn't he?'

If his access to information were restricted, then perhaps he had yet to realize that I was so close to him, but I could see that he wasn't really doing anything to find me. The synchronization process had shut down the communication channel, and while I tried sending letters and attendants to him, every attempt was blocked.

He probably wouldn't even read them. He wouldn't think Murong Hwa-Yeon was me, and even if he suspected it, he still wouldn't want to read the letters.

"Wh-What are you thinking about, my lady? Maybe... we should contact Young Master Jin once more..." an attendant suggested.

"No, I merely wish to inform him that his child was born, but it seems Young Master Jin wants nothing to do with me. Everything that happened was my doing, so it's only right that I bear the consequences of it.

“Besides... hadn’t they said that he entered secluded cultivation after steeling his resolve? I have no desire to burden him with the child now that he's finally committed himself to that path," I refused.

"M-My lady..."

"Right now, speaking with the Clan Head and conveying my intentions comes first... I'd like to put Young Master Jin's matter aside for the time being," I said.

"O-Okay. If that is your wish, my lady..."

"It's nearly time for our appointment... I'll get ready," I said.

"Then what about the Young Master?" the attendant asked.

"He's coming with me," I answered.

"Yes, ma’am. We'll make the necessary preparations."

"Thank you, as always. I'm truly fortunate to have all of you."

The situation was terrible, but...

'That doesn't mean I can just sit around doing nothing.'

Taking better care of the people I had already considered my own was one of the few things I could still do while I had no freedom of movement.

'These girls are really useful.'

There seemed to be quite a few attendants serving the daughter of a prestigious clan, but Shim So-So, Shim So-Hee, and Shim So-Wol, collectively known as the Shim Sisters, were people I absolutely needed to keep close to me.

They appeared to be fairly close to Murong Hwa-Yeon; their martial arts weren't bad, and their growth potential wasn't bad either. They weren't merely attendants. They seemed to handle escort duties and scouting missions as well, so it would be strange not to value them.

"M-My lady... y-your hand..." one of the sisters said.

'I have to hold their hands, too...'

"We're merely doing what we're supposed to do, my lady. I-If you treat us like this, we'll... we'll... A-Ah... my lady..."

'Pat their heads, too...'

"I haven't properly expressed how grateful I am to all of you," I said.

'And give them a hug.'

"My Lady..."

All three of them were rather short, so it felt as though I was being surrounded, but I greeted them with a bright smile nonetheless. Naturally, displays of gratitude like this toward attendants weren't common in this world either, so they looked deeply moved.

Considering that Murong Hwa-Yeon had always been as cold as ice, the impact was probably even greater. Winning over the Shim Sisters was the first thing I did after deciding to raise Squirmy, and...

"Let's go," I ordered.

"..."

The second thing I did was learn everything I could about the Murong Clan. I needed to determine how closely the Murong Clan I knew matched the one in this world. To put it simply, I was half right and half wrong.

It was true that they still enjoyed the prestige of being one of the Five Great Clans, but...

'At this point, they were one of the Five Great Clans in name only.'

The common consensus was that the Murong Clan was still in its position thanks to the glory of its past. In fact, it was common to hear people throughout the Central Plains say that the Murong Clan ought to step down from its position among the Five Great Clans.

From what I could see, there was a very real chance they would be pushed out after just one more generation. The difference in scale between them and the other Five Great Clans—the Namgung Clan, the Tang Clan, the Zhuge Clan, and the Hebei Peng Clan—was already massive.

To make matters even worse, the challengers waiting below them were no joke either. The Twenty-Limb Art of the Hwangbo Clan, the Yue Family Spear Art of the Shandong Yue Clan, the Eon Family Fist Art of the Jinju Eon Clan, and even the Shenyang Jin Clan, Commander Jin’s home. Those families had already amassed strength comparable to that of the Five Great Clans.

Thanks to the incompetent leaders of the previous generations, the Murong Clan’s business ventures failed one after another, and their power struggle with the Jin Clan also resulted in their influence shrinking drastically.

There were even rumors that the true ruler of Shenyang was no longer the Murong Clan, but the Shenyang Jin Clan[1] instead. Considering everything that happened between the two families...

'Well, it's only natural they'd hate the Jin Clan.'

Even so, the Murong Clan remained a prestigious martial family. Murong Yul was preserving the clan's reputation as the Jade Dragon of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes, and the Clan Head was actively searching for ways to reverse their decline.

They were still unimaginably wealthy, and the powerful martial arts passed down through generations hadn't gone anywhere.

'It's actually not a bad family to raise Squirmy in.'

Yeah, it was the perfect size. If the clan were too powerful, it would only attract more attention and invite interference from all sides. It would also increase the chances of leaving traces for the Heavenly Demon, who was still lurking in the shadows.

My top priority was to expand my influence within the clan and establish a secure position for myself. This was precisely why this meeting with the Clan Head was so important.

'Even if I have to borrow money, I need to get my hands on every miracle elixir I can find and hire the best tutors available.'

I also needed to gather every cultivation manual and martial arts text I could get my hands on. The Murong Clan's cultivation method wasn't bad, but there could be something even better for Squirmy. Naturally, I found myself nodding in satisfaction.

"The lady has arrived, sir,” a quiet voice announced my presence.

"Come in,” another voice answered.

It was a dignified, authoritative voice that seemed determined to establish a certain atmosphere. A bearded middle-aged man sat before me, while Murong Yul stood nearby looking visibly nervous.

'He kind of looks like a gorilla...'

In any case, there was a man who barely looked human sitting there, snorting like some oversized gorilla.

"Greetings, sir—"

Before I could even finish speaking, the Murong Clan Head cut me off. "I assume you've already heard about Commander Baek."

'That gorilla?'

"I intend to marry you to Commander Baek," he announced.

My face instantly turned pale.

"You know as well as I do that he’s a trustworthy man. I've already informed him about the child," he added.

'No, no, no. What good is being trustworthy when his face looks like that?!'

"I can entrust you to Commander Baek without worry," he said.

'Damn it, his face is literally like a gorilla's!'

"..."

I could barely breathe.

"..."

'Jin Clan... damn it, please help me. I'm in a really bad spot.'

"..."

'Jin Clan... damn it... forget the secluded cultivation. Somebody, please save me.'

1. Jin Family. The author is using “family” and “clan” interchangeably ☜