Absolute Regression Chapter 131

Episode 131: The drunkards I’ve met.

The next day, when I entered the Hwangcheon Pavilion office, Seo Dae-ryong was waiting for me.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw me.

“I hope you are safe.”

“Why? Are you afraid that I might have drowned in alcohol and died?”

“You’re not good at drinking, are you?”

“I drink well. I was careful when drinking with you guys.”

“why?”

“I wonder if I should use an injection.”

“Do you have any injections, sir?”

“there is.”

“What kind of injection is it?”

It was an injection that I couldn’t tell Seo Dae-ryong. Because my mood was so low that I became extremely depressed. If I hadn’t met Seo Jin during my time as a ronin, I would have become a wreck because of alcohol, or I would have ended up getting drunk and gone to kill Hwa Moo-gi. Hwa Moo-gi would have been killed by his supporters without even meeting him.

I said the opposite of my injection.

“Drinking, singing, dancing. It’s chaos.”

“I can’t imagine!”

“He also nags his right-hand man a lot.”

“I don’t want to imagine that.”

“Do you understand now? Why I abstain from drinking?”

“No, drink. Please inject yourself in front of us. Your Majesty, you too need to vent your anger. This right-hand man, I will take half an hour of nagging!”

Suddenly, I remember the moment I first met Seo Dae-ryong. The way he came into my room with a gloomy air. He was so gloomy and twisted, but now he comforts me like that.

“We’re going to meet again in the evening, so please come, Your Majesty. I’m sure the King will want to see you.”

“Okay. See you tonight.”

“Yes. I’ll just water the flower pot and go out.”

Seo Dae-ryong watered the flower pot on the windowsill.

“Now that the leader has returned, you are now the second in command.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There are sorrows and joys that only the best know.”

At that moment, Seo Dae-ryong, who was absentmindedly looking out the window, gasped in surprise.

When I went there, I saw someone entering the Hwangcheon Pavilion. Just as the evil Soma had crossed the smokescreen before, another Mazone was walking in.

Everyone could tell who it was. The bottles of liquor dangling from their waists told the owner who it was.

Surprisingly, the drunkard entered the Hwangcheon Pavilion. A woman followed him, and she was none other than the third drunkard of Daechurim, Yeobin, who had given him a ride on the ferry.

The investigators and enforcers passing by held their breath at the appearance of the drunkard.

Since I became the Lord of the Underworld, I’ve been seeing the Demon Lords here so often that I’ve never seen them before.

Seo Dae-ryong looked at me and asked.

“How come they came here when you said you went to meet the Amazons? What on earth did you do yesterday?”

“I guess I didn’t drink enough yesterday.”

“Why are you walking so unsteadily like that?”

He was really drunk, even from a distance. He was really drunk all day long.

“Go and greet the guests.”

After a while, Chwima and Yeobin entered, guided by Seodaeryong.

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

“See you again, our scholar.”

He greeted me in a friendly manner, even using the expression “we.”

“If you drank together like that yesterday, shouldn’t you have met at least a few days later?”

“I came here on official business today.”

“Have you come to see Doho?”

“That’s right. Even if he caused an accident, isn’t he still my person? I should see him once and send him to the brain prison.”

It was a visit for a truly unexpected reason.

“I’m not saying I’ll see it, but this person here is going to meet it.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I said to Seo Dae-ryong.

“I’ll guide you to Doho.”

“yes.”

Seo Dae-ryong took Yeo-bin outside.

Only the two men spoke to the drunkard.

“It seems like you drank a lot yesterday. Are you feeling okay?”

“It’s okay. So let’s have a drink to relieve our hangover.”

The drunkard shook the bottle of alcohol.

“I can’t do that because I’m still working.”

“Didn’t I tell you? Anything you do after drinking becomes better. Drink some alcohol and throw it all in the brain prison!”

“Wasn’t it because you were so upset that Doho got into an accident? That’s why it’s fortunate that I’m the only one who died, but I’m fine, and the problem is that you killed innocent people.”

“What about Toho?”

“You’re going to be locked up in a brain cell for a very long time. I intend to impose the maximum sentence.”

“It must be hard to survive without alcohol.”

“Then you shouldn’t have caused the accident. But did you really come here because of Doho?”

“That was just an excuse. Have you forgotten? We promised to be brothers, didn’t we?”

He has used the word “ho-hyung-ho-je” three times since yesterday. His gaze toward me now is also quite serious. To the point where I can believe that he is being sincere. However, I do not believe his words or his gaze.

The drunks I’ve met were so serious and truthful when they were drunk. It’s to the point where I wonder why they’re talking like this.

But after the drinking party, I could tell that it wasn’t a very important story. There were a lot of lies and a lot of boasting. I used to feel that he was decorated with all kinds of stories because his insides were empty.

Drunkard, what about you? Are you one of them? Are you really standing precariously on the edge of that empty nothingness? Are you really just the ultimate leader of those drunkards? If not… … why are you so drunk?

“Why do you want to be friends with me?”

“It’s not so much because I like you as because I hate the Archduke. You broke my bottle and sent it back, so you should pay the price.”

“Why did you break the bottle and send it? I could have guessed that the master would be this upset.”

“How could I know what’s inside? Maybe if we had a drink together, I would know.”

“Do you know something about the other person when you drink?”

“know.”

“What kind of person am I?”

He looked at me, but his eyes were drunk and it was difficult to read his mind.

“That evaluation is meaningless. The you of yesterday and the you of today are different people.”

“How can a person change in just one day? The me then and the me now are the same person.”

“Are you really sure that’s true? Do the scholars of that time and the scholars of today have the same feelings toward me?”

I couldn’t answer this question. I heard from Hyeolcheon Doma that Chuma was a sinister guy, so strictly speaking, I don’t think I see him with the same feelings.

“So, let’s drink again today. Another us, another day to drink. Let’s make another history.”

Yeah, if fate pushes me to drink with you like this. Yeah, let’s drink again.

“We will be drinking at the Pungryu Tavern in the evening. Come there. Instead, there are many people gathered over here, so please bring the woman who came with you earlier.”

The idea was to get to know Chwima through Yeobin. There was also the intention of preventing Chwima from dominating the atmosphere on his own.

“Okay, I’ll take you.”

When the drinking appointment was made, Chuma seemed really happy. Was he happy with the alcohol? Or was he happy with the drinking party with me? I couldn’t tell.

At that moment, the door opened and Seo Dae-ryong and Yeo-bin returned.

The horse got up from its seat.

“Then see you later.”

“I’ll tell you in advance, there is no place to swim in the Pungryu Tavern.”

He was told not to inject himself, but Chwima pretended to swim and left the office, saying he would do it even if it meant drowning himself in a glass of alcohol.

As the two people left, Seo Dae-ryong asked urgently.

“What are you talking about?”

“I told you to come to the Pungryu Tavern. Bring Yeobin with you.”

“No, why?”

“Because I said I wanted to drink.”

“Aren’t you worried about us, my lord?”

“Who should I worry about? The Demon Lord? The Bloodthirsty Demon’s disciple? My bodyguard Ian? Who should I worry about?”

“Now that you mention it… … I guess there’s no one to worry about.”

“Are you scared? If you’re scared, you don’t have to come.”

Seo Dae-ryong sighed.

“As you know, I am the type of person who would never be provoked by such provocations. If it were me in the past, I would have backed away to the door and waved goodbye. My liver is the size of a soybean.”

“now?”

“That bean is swollen and sticking out of the boat. It’s only the size of a walnut, but I feel like I can handle drinking and dancing. When you gain confidence in your martial arts and start feeling this kind of clumsy pride, isn’t that the perfect time to die?”

“I have nothing to teach you since you already know everything. Now get off.”

“If it were me in the past, I would have accepted the Hassan you just mentioned as my farewell to this world. I would have grabbed my trouser leg, saying I couldn’t go down. But do you know what I’m thinking now? Is Kangho a big deal? Is being drunk a big deal? Just confront it like a man. What more could I do than die in the worst case scenario? I’m having these crazy thoughts. Please stop me. Am I perhaps possessed by a magician?”

Although he seemed to be joking, Seo Dae-ryong was guarding himself against his own conceit. This is why smart people live longer.

“What did Yeo-bin and Do-ho talk about in the investigation room?”

“I didn’t say anything. The woman asked if she could give Doho a drink, so I gave it to him after checking to see if it was poisonous.”

Is this a custom of Daechurim? Or is this a drink with another meaning?

It was just then.

An urgent report came from outside.

“Your Majesty, Doho has committed suicide.”

Surprised, I ran to the interrogation room with Seo Dae-ryong. Do-ho was lying on the floor with his head cracked.

“He banged his head against the wall and killed himself.”

Seo Dae-ryong blamed himself after hearing the report from his subordinate who was guarding the place.

“Should I have stopped giving alcohol?”

I shook my head.

“It wasn’t because of the alcohol, but because Yeo-bin sent the message telling him to die.”

“Why on earth did you order me to die? I’m going to suffer in the brain prison for a long time anyway.”

Suddenly, I remembered what Chuma had said.

It must be hard to survive without alcohol.

Is that really why you killed him? To ease his suffering?

“Are you still going to come in the evening?”

Seo Dae-ryong seemed angry. It was probably because he felt like he was guiding the messenger to Do-ho.

“Let’s go. Is Kang-ho a big deal? Is drunkenness a big deal? In the worst case scenario, what else can I do but die? Don’t stop me.”

That’s why smart people die sooner.

“I think you’re possessed by a coin.”

* * *

Before going to the Pungryu Bar, I went to see my brother.

When I entered his office, he was busy working.

I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing because I was of the Cheonma bloodline. Just as I was in charge of the Hwangcheonjeon, my brother was also doing work that came down from the Cheonmajeon.

The huge organization called Cheonmasingyo required many people to do their own work, and my brother was better at managing and running the organization than anyone else.

Even though she knew I had entered the room, Geommuyang did not raise her head from the pile of papers.

“How have you been? Doesn’t the piled up documents say that when someone comes, you should say hello first?”

Geommuyang pretended not to hear and just focused on his work.

“Yeah, you’re the type of person who can do several things at once, so listen while you work. Why did you refuse to get drunk? Even sending a broken bottle?”

For a moment, the swordsman’s hands stopped and then started moving again.

“I filled the bottle he sent me with alcohol and went to find him. He really liked me, didn’t he? I was really angry at him.”

I was watching my brother’s reactions carefully while talking. I used the Shinanjutsu to observe his face and body reactions. He probably thought he didn’t show any particular reactions, but there were very subtle reactions.

“Do you know what Chwima said about Hyung?”

Then, Geommuyang raised his head and looked at me.

“I guess you’re curious about that.”

“What did you say?”

“Ask her in person. Oh, she won’t meet you?”

I saw Geommuyang’s lips tremble slightly. I realized that he had something to say but was holding back.

‘There’s no reason for my brother to refuse to drink. Even if there was a reason, he would have accepted it no matter what. There’s definitely something behind this.’

I became more confident after seeing Geommuyang’s reaction.

“Thanks to you, I got a free drink. He came to see me today. He said he wanted to be friends. We decided to have a drink tonight too.”

Geommuyang’s gaze turned to the documents again.

“If you’ve said everything you wanted to say, then just leave.”

If I had come here and teased him like this, he would have definitely said something cold. He held it in until the end. It was as if the bottle of alcohol would fall and break if he said even a single word.

Just seeing that reaction was enough to fulfill the purpose of my visit today.

* * *

After the sword dance was over, a moment later, Ma-bul came in.

“I heard that a scholar came.”

“He came to see me. He wanted to know why we refused to have s*x.”

“Did you know? About the bottle?”

“No, I didn’t think he knew.”

Then, surprising words came out of Mabul’s mouth.

“Then, from now on, the scholar must not know. It was not we who rejected him, but the horse that rejected him.”

In the first place, the one who sent the broken bottle of alcohol was not Geommuyang, but Chwima. The empty bottle that Chwima sent to Geommuyang was broken.

Geommuyang took it as a sign of Chwima’s refusal to join hands with him.

“Why did Chwima choose Mugeuk? He could have weighed the options between me and Mugeuk.”

“I don’t know about that either.”

“We must find out the reason and make the drunkard our own.”

“There is no need to rush.”

Mabul rather thought of this as an opportunity.

“Chwima is unpredictable. If he starts stirring things up, even Lee Gongja won’t be able to deal with him easily. Furthermore, Bloodthirsty Demon and Extreme Evil Demon hate each other, but they hate Chwima even more. In the end, the demon lords that Lee Gongja has painstakingly collected will be divided. If he gets Chwima, he will lose one of the other demon lords. Maybe he will lose all three of them.”

Mabul’s eyes were shining with confidence as much as his golden body.

“Rather, it is an opportunity to turn the unfavorable situation around.”

Geommuyang held back what he wanted to say.

‘Then what if I happen to join Moo-geuk in the fight for the throne?’

But anyway, the moment he received the broken bottle, he had no choice.

They could only hope that the injection would be bigger than they expected.