Absolute Regression Chapter 457

457
“Can you calm down now?”

Hwang In nodded in response to Geommu Geuk’s words.

“Yes, thanks.”

Contrary to what he said, Hwang In’s heart was still pounding.

In urgent situations, I didn’t get this nervous. It just went by in a flash.

Rather, when the situation was over and I realized that I really almost died, my heart started beating like crazy.

So, I couldn’t get back to that state of mind, so I went to the sword dance theater and got some water to drink.

He gulped down water and caught a choke. He coughed several times before finally calming down. It really felt like a dream. He also couldn’t believe that he had almost died.

“The martial arts you performed last time… … was not.”

I couldn’t see it directly because my eyes were closed, but I kept my mouth shut because I felt like I shouldn’t ask carelessly.

When I recalled the sight of the ghosts dead earlier, I felt short of breath again.

I don’t know much about martial arts, but there’s one thing I can tell. They aren’t the type of people who die so easily.

The martial arts displayed by this person in front of me must have been the peerless martial arts of the mysterious world.

“What should I do now?”

When Jeon Nak died, Hwang In was faced with a new worry.

“If they find out that Jeon-Nak is dead, the scary person he mentioned will be the first to come looking for me.”

If Jeon Nak-do was that scary, how scary must the people he scared be? They might even wet their pants.

Should I just run away far away?

I thought about that for a moment, but I couldn’t do that. What would I do if I ran away and abandoned the zodiac?

“Please stay with me. We must not be apart even for a moment.”

“That can’t be. Right now, every moment is precious to me. I don’t have time to spend with you.”

“Then what if that person comes? He won’t come right away because he has to tell people that Jeon-nak is dead. No, right? If you’re unlucky, he might just show up on the street.”

At that moment, Geommugeuk suddenly asked.

“Are you scared of the person who said he was coming, but not me?”

For a moment, Hwang In flinched. Thinking about it, it was the man who had killed Jeon Nak and Jeon Gwi in one go.

Even if you are scared, you should be scared of this person.

For some reason, I felt comfortable and for a moment I forgot how scary he was. He wasn’t the kind of person I could vent my frustrations and throw a tantrum about.

“sorry.”

The yellow man lowered his head. The swordsman spoke to the dead man.

“If anyone comes looking for you, bring them to me.”

Hwang In’s expression brightened. You were involved in this, so I was afraid that you would tell me to handle it myself.

Now the only person I can trust is this person.

“By the way, what are we going to do with the remaining ghosts?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it.”

It was a believable statement.

I could see the yard outside the window. The corpses that had been strewn about had all been cleared away. Not a single drop of blood remained on the floor.

Just as the ghosts that had entered the building earlier had disappeared, the corpses had all disappeared. They had been cleaned up cleanly in a short period of time. You can trust these people to handle things.

When his mind calmed down, Hwang In spoke carefully.

“I hope the deal we discussed back then continues.”

Hwang In didn’t want to miss this opportunity at all costs. Now that he had personally confirmed that martial arts were this strong, he didn’t want to miss it even more.

“You said your dream was to become the owner of the best restaurant in the world?”

“Yes.”

“Are you serious?”

“If it wasn’t sincere, I wouldn’t have joined hands with someone like Jeon Nak.”

Geommugeuk looked into his eyes and asked.

“You didn’t hold my hand because you weren’t sincere?”

The words of the swordsman continued to the yellow man who had been hit hard.

“I don’t know much about the business world, but I do know this. To become the owner of the best business in the world, you have to be a person worthy of the position.”

Hwang In listened to Geommugeuk’s words without saying a word.

“I think that neither Jeon Nak-do, nor me, nor your father, nor that scary person who is coming in the future should be included in your dream.”

Hwang-in couldn’t understand what it meant.

“Then what should be in that dream?”

“There must be a merchant. A merchant capable of leading the best merchant group in the world. A merchant with trust and honor, negotiation skills and crisis management skills, a merchant with information and leadership, insight into the world, and an eye for people. Is there room for anything else to interfere here? Is there room for this bloody smell and this cold sword?”

Hwang-in was so embarrassed that his face turned red. When he asked himself what he had among the things Geommu-geuk had said, he couldn’t answer any of them with confidence.

After being lost in thought for a while, Hwang In made up his mind.

“I would like to join hands with the Joo family with a fresh start. Can I write a new agreement and send it to them?”

The sword dance at least showed that he wasn’t a bad person.

That was why I nodded. In fact, it was not permission for Hwang In. It was for the sake of Joo Hyang-wol of the Joo clan.

She must still be worried about what to do about this. The Zhou family was still in a difficult situation, and they needed this opportunity to be reborn.

So, this one word was for Joo Hyang-wol.

“I am watching you.”

How can you not know that it means not to do anything foolish? Hwang In bowed his head and answered politely.

“Thank you for your permission. Then I will take my leave now.”

As he walked out of the yard where the corpse had been lying just a moment ago, Geommugeuk gave him some final advice.

“Don’t be so enchanted by dreams that you forget reality. Your world is not here, but there. I am a person who will disappear like smoke, but the Ju clan will remain.”

* * *

The next morning, I headed to my father’s residence.

“Father, may I come in?”

“Come in.”

When I went in, my father was checking several letters.

These were messengers sent by Sima Ming from the headquarters. They were urgent messengers that came with matters that absolutely required my father’s permission.

“Do you work even after you come out?”

“You try sitting in my seat later.”

I gave an exaggerated wave of my hand.

“I don’t like it. Please give it to me later, very later.”

“Do you want me to continue this suffering?”

After a moment, I asked my father.

“If I inherit, will you go out and play? If you promise to do so, I will think about it.”

My father didn’t answer.

I didn’t want to continue this awkward silence, so I smiled and changed the subject.

“Okay, let’s practice a bit first. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Then my father handed me one of the letters. It contained the latest news about a certain family.

Finally, my father revealed our goal.

“The reason we are going to Shaanxi is because of the Golden Dragon Family.”

It turned out to be a much more impressive name than I expected.

The Golden Dragon.

It was a family that was ranked among the top five wealthiest in the Central Plains. It was a place that truly symbolized ostracism.

They were not just a sect with a lot of money. The head of the Geumryong Sega family, Geumcheonbang, was not only well-versed in the business world, but was also renowned in the martial arts world as an absolute master of the family’s secret art, Geumryong Shingong. Accordingly, the Geumryong Sega family had many masters who followed him.

“At some point, the Golden Dragon Sega began to secretly absorb the upper echelons and operate them.”

It could be that the denizens secretly took over the top. The problem lies in what comes next.

“The zodiac sign is one of those signs.”

Father nodded.

“I made a lot of money by forcibly expanding the upper class using unmanned vehicles. But that money did not go to Geumryongsega.”

“Where did all that money go?”

Sima Ming, who had detected the strange movements of the Geumryongse family, investigated them in earnest and found a clue that they were connected to the power behind the scenes.

Well, considering the way the powers behind the scenes have acted so far, only someone like Geumryongse could handle it.

“The one coming down this time will be the one secretly in charge of the external affairs of the Geumryongse family.”

Since it was a secret operation, the dead ghosts were probably not direct employees of the Geumryong Sega, but were hired from outside.

Except for Jeon Nak, they probably didn’t even know they were a part of the Geumryongsegae.

“Since it’s a matter of supporting a large sum of money, the head of the household must naturally give his permission. If so, then the person behind this is either in a position to persuade the head of the household… … .”

After a brief pause, he added:

“I guess the Golden Dragon Family already has power.”

* * *

The head of the Joo clan, Im So-hwa, entered her daughter’s residence.

My daughter, Juhyangwol, was sitting at her desk looking at something. Surprisingly, it was a book. When was the last time I saw my daughter reading a book?

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, you’re here?”

Since the day she met the successor to the Zodiac Sign, my daughter has been acting differently than usual.

“I was reading a book that described contracts in detail.”

“Why is that?”

“A new agreement was sent in advance from the Zodiac.”

“Let’s see.”

Lim So-hwa read the agreement.

I quickly lost focus after reading a few lines. The martial arts book is fun to read all night, but this kind of writing just didn’t catch my eye.

“So I was looking up words I didn’t know.”

I never thought that the Zodiac would send a new agreement.

I was wondering what kind of trick this was.

“This time, we sent an agreement without any toxic clauses.”

“Do you know just by looking at it?”

In the past, I would have been furious at those words. I would have thought they were contemptuous.

But now, in her arms, there is a piece of paper with the words ‘Don’t be angry’ written at the top.

Was it because I thought I shouldn’t get angry?

I thought it was something that a mother could say. Yes, that could be true.

The following words were written beneath the words, “Don’t be angry.”

Yeah, that could be the case.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to sign it like this, I’m just going to double check.”

“To whom?”

“I’ll go and tell you when I get back from someone who knows this stuff.”

Lim So-hwa was angry. She was just going to come to an agreement, but she was wondering why she was investigating something she didn’t even know about.

But I didn’t have a chance to get angry. Somehow, the way he treated me felt different than usual.

My daughter, who used to talk back to me so harshly, is speaking so softly and calmly, so I can’t suddenly yell at her.

“I’ll be back! Oh, and make sure to eat well!”

Im So-hwa was most surprised by her daughter’s last words. When had she ever heard someone tell her to pack her lunch? No, had she ever heard that? Now she was worried about her daughter.

Joo Hyang-wol’s expression as she left the sword shop was bright.

This time, she was pleased because she had managed to finish the conversation with her mother without raising her voice.

If you speak politely with the intention of being patient, you will not have to fight with your mother.

Of course, there was a constant sense of crisis that it was about to explode.

* * *

“I think you can sign the agreement.”

Juhyangwol was delighted by Geommu-geuk’s words. She asked Geommu-geuk to look into the agreement that Hwang In had sent. And the result was the same as what she had looked into.

“It’s all thanks to Sohyup that they changed their minds.”

“No. Because Your Majesty asked me for help.”

If she hadn’t asked Geommugeuk for help at the inn that day, her fate would have been different.

“My relationship with my mother has also improved. That’s why I feel anxious. I’m worried that if things continue like this, they’ll explode in a big way.”

The sword dance asked back with an expression that said it was nothing serious.

“What if it explodes?”

The solution to the black magic was simple.

“It went from exploding ten times to exploding once.”

“What if it builds up and then explodes?”

Worried that the explosion would be tenfold, Geommugeuk cut the fuse.

“Hold on, hold on. If it explodes, it could explode big. Did you hold it in and come to see your mother today?”

She shook her head as she recalled the conversation with her mother.

It wasn’t that I was holding back. It was more like I was trying to look at my mother from a different perspective. That could be the case, with that kind of mindset.

“Then it will be okay. What you are worried about is a delusion.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a common misconception. The misconception that if a relationship is good and then explodes, it might explode in a big way.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Rather, if you keep having small fights, they will eventually explode into something bigger. Even if those small fights don’t seem like much, they can play a role in stirring up people’s hearts and heightening the mood. On the other hand, if you continue to maintain good relationships, even big fights will explode into something smaller. Don’t doubt the power of the moment when you exchanged a single, kind word.”

The last words in particular struck her, because she still felt good about having ended the conversation with her mother without raising her voice.

Joo Hyang-wol stared intently. It was as if her eyes were saying this.

How can you speak so well?

It will take a very long time to learn, because it took me a whole life to become who I am today.

“Okay, I’ll go. Thank you so much for today.”

Geommugeuk said to Juhyangwol’s greeting.

“Since you’ve come this far, you should go see the safest vault in the martial arts world.”

The sword dance felt that she wanted to see her father, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

“Father is taking a walk in the backyard. Let’s go.”

As she walked towards the backyard following the sword dance, she stopped.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to go today. Just say hello later.”

“I guess so.”

Her steps quickened without her knowing it. It wasn’t because she kept thinking of her father when she saw him. It was because she felt like she shouldn’t meet him.

Geommugeuk spoke as if he was talking to himself while looking at her back as she walked away. His gaze was focused on her, but his words were for someone who was clearly listening from far behind.

“How great is it to come to the Central Plains? You can see the popularity like this. Father, when we go to Shaanxi, let’s have a popularity contest.”

I can’t see my father’s face right now, but I can somehow imagine it.

The image of a father who does not refuse this confrontation with a proud expression.

Absolute Return Episode 458