Absolute Regression Chapter 736

Episode 736: You Need to Know How to Steal People’s Hearts

“It’s not me!”

The man jumped and grabbed him. But anyone could tell the figure in the painting looked exactly like him.
Geommu-geuk looked at the painting again.

“Do you know what I thought when I first saw you? I should give the person who drew this a special reward and even a vacation.”
“No, you’re mistaken!”

He stamped his feet as if he were dying from injustice. Still, when no one believed him, he pounded his chest in frustration.

“It’s not me. Aren’t there people in this world who resemble you? I must return quickly and save my younger brother first. Please let me go!”

Tears welled up in the man’s eyes. Just looking at him made me feel like I was being misunderstood.

Geommugeuk, who saw the scene, pointed with his finger to a part of the text written under the painting.

“Oh, look here. I missed something when I was reading your information earlier. It says you’re good at acting and can fool people really well, right?”

It really was written there.

“Didn’t you see it when I searched your body earlier? I don’t have a shopping list.”
“I know. I already burned it and it’s in your head. It was written there when I showed you earlier, right? You have an excellent memory. You’re probably even better at memorizing terrain.”
“No, why are you doing this?”
“Why? It’s because you are.”

Geommugeuk smiled and repeatedly poked his ribs.

Bang! Bang!

Next moment!

Phew.

His body began to expand, as if air had been injected into it. His once small, boyish body became that of a normal man.
Geommugeuk poked him playfully, but it wasn’t a joke. With the destruction of his axial pore, he returned to his original form.

“Nice to meet you, Taesu.”

He was Taesu, the son of Taegon, the great master. He was surprised that his opponent had discovered his identity, but even more surprised that he had destroyed his own bulwark in an instant.

The surprise didn’t end there.
The old man and the woman who were with the young man weren’t particularly surprised when their own skeletal structures were destroyed and their true forms revealed.

“Give me some water.”

At Bloody Heavenly Sword’s words, Geommu-geuk put down his sword and took out a bamboo tube from inside.

“You need to drink plenty of water for your skin to improve. Now that your skin has improved, it’s time to take care of it.”

Paat.

At that very moment, Taesu leaped forward. His martial arts skills were average, but he prided himself on being faster than anyone else in lightness.

He leaped again, having escaped in an instant. He must have already gained more than twenty paces, and by the time he landed on the second leap, he’d already disappeared from their sight.

‘Who the hell are these authors?’

He knew his own identity so precisely.
That was when he was descending from his third leap.

“omg!”

Taesu groaned and opened his eyes wide.

They stood before him.
Geommu-geuk was handing the bamboo tube he had taken from the Hyuknang to Hyeolcheon Doma. Hyeolcheon Doma opened the bottle again and drank the water.

‘How on earth?’

For a moment, I wondered if I was dreaming. Or perhaps hallucinating?
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

Paat!

He kicked the ground again and launched himself. He flew as fast as he could.
When he landed, three people were in front of him again.

“Give me some water too.”

This time, Ilhwa Sword Master was reaching out.
Geommu-geuk also pulled out a bamboo tube and offered it to Ilhwa Sword Master. The action from before he ran in was still ongoing.

Taesu stood there in a daze. It felt like they were standing in front of the original cave, only the surrounding scenery had changed.

But that wasn’t the case. He had clearly used his lightness to escape, and this was a different place.
They hadn’t been chasing him quickly. They had arrived first and were continuing their work.

‘How fast is it?’

Even the sword dance drama wasn’t carrying that large sword. That wasn’t the only question.

‘How on earth did you know I was running in this direction?’

After Geommugeuk put the bamboo tube back into the Hyuknang, he carried the Hyuknang on his back.

“You guys… what are you?”

Taesu’s voice trembled as if he had seen a ghost.
The youngest ghost smiled and walked toward him.

“When people are hungry, they become unnecessarily sensitive, don’t they?”

Geommugeuk lightly waved his hand and suppressed Taesu’s internal energy.

“Stop running and let’s eat first.”

* * *

A bonfire was lit in the forest far from Manhyeoldong.
While Geommugeuk prepared the meal, Taesu sat, his internal energy subdued, and watched.

‘You’re preparing for torture.’

At such a crucial moment, he wouldn’t be eating or leaving himself alone.
He’d probably mix a confession agent into the food. Or he’d poison it and threaten her.
He could force it, but that might lead to suicide or emotional distress, and she wouldn’t tell anyone, so he’d probably just feed it to her naturally.

‘Who on earth are these people?’

I’d never heard of such a trio of masters in the martial arts world. It was such a unique combination that word of it couldn’t go unheard.

Geommugeuk began stir-frying vegetables and mushrooms. He added salt and a secret seasoning.
Skillfully and quickly, Geommugeuk divided the stir-fried mushrooms into four bowls.
He brought one to Taesu.

“Now, eat.”

The sword dance was released, allowing one hand to move.

“Don’t worry.”
“Don’t say you’re hungry later, just eat.”

He placed the bowl of food in front of him and walked over to the storage room.
Geommu-geuk pulled something wrapped in paper from the storage room. Unfolding it, he found moss inside.

Taesu was startled when a peculiar smell suddenly wafted out.

‘Is that smell? A stalactite?’

Geommu-geuk divided the stalactites and placed them on the bowls of himself and the two demons.

“It’s too bland to eat on its own. But it’ll be fine if you eat it like this.”

Taesu’s eyes widened even further. That statement was true. It was said that the snail-shaped snail was too bland to eat on its own. Could it really be true?

‘No way. Even so, you wouldn’t put snails in a mushroom dish, would you?’

But the appearance and smell were exactly like that of a stalactite. How much study did a thief have on elixirs?

‘No, that can’t be.’

Is the stalactite truly a legendary elixir? No, it can’t be. First of all, it’s absurd that three people would share such a precious substance.

‘Ah! You’re trying to catch me.’

I could tell it was bait. If the three of them pretended to eat it while pretending to be stalactites, wouldn’t they want to eat it too?

‘It must be a fake stalactite with poison or confession agent.’

They’d probably already taken the antidote.
Geommugeuk looked at him and asked, lifting the stalactite from his bowl.

“Would you like some of this too?”

Taesu laughed inwardly.

‘As expected! It’s exactly as I expected.’

Taesu shook his head.

“It’s okay.”

Geommugeuk said with a surprised expression.

“Turning this down? That’s incredible. You’ll regret it later.”

Taesu scoffed. It couldn’t be true. If it were true, he wouldn’t have shared the Jongyu Seontae.

Bloody Cheon Do-ma compared the stalactites in his bowl with those of the other two people and said:

“It looks like I have the most?”

His bowl was filled with the most stalactites.

“You are mistaken.”

Of course, Blood Heavenly Swordsman knew. It was Geommu-geuk who had cared for him the most. Sitting across from him, Ilhwa Swordsman motioned for Blood Heavenly Swordsman to pretend not to notice and eat.

“Here, come on, eat.”
“I never thought I’d be eating something this precious with mushrooms.”
“Since ancient times, shouldn’t something you eat taste good to be healthy?”

The three people started eating the food.

“It’s tastier than I thought.”

Ilhwageomjon was satisfied with the taste, and Hyeolcheondoma nodded in agreement.
And so, the three of them finished eating the whole jongyuseontae.

After taking all the medicine, everyone sat down and practiced without saying a word.

After finishing their breakfast, the three people’s gazes deepened. The efficacy of the snail-shaped snail was known to restore vitality and promote longevity in those who consumed it.

“You look younger than before you started eating it.”
“Really?”

The swordsman drew his sword and revealed his face again.

“I don’t know.”

But there was definitely a difference.
The two elixirs I took today were of great help to Geommu-geuk, but they were also of immense help to Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon.

Bloody Heavenly Swordmaster, who had been quietly gazing at his own reflection in the blade, suddenly spoke. When in his life had he ever said those words? No, had he ever said them?

“It’s fun.”

Ilhwageomjon looked at Hyeoncheondoma with a surprised expression. Knowing that he had never spoken like that before, she understood the profound meaning his words held.

What would Geommugeuk say?
Geommugeuk’s answer was simple.

“I find it fun too.”

Even though Ilhwageomjon didn’t say anything, he was enjoying this situation. It was a joy he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Taesu, who was watching the three people, felt a strange emotion.

‘What the heck, these things!’

They were acting like they were really eating stalactites, without even caring about it themselves.

Taesu asked Geommugeuk cautiously.

“What are you going to do with me now?”

Then, a blunt answer flowed out of Geommugeuk’s mouth.

“We should go find the sword together.”

Who cares! Taesu was secretly shocked, but he continued acting.

“You really misunderstand. I was there by chance.”

Taesu held on until the end.

“I was training. I was training in that complex cave, both finding my way and practicing the Chukgolgong.”

Geommu-geuk smiled and took out the paper with the Yongmo-pagi drawing he had shown him earlier from his bosom.

“You have no idea how much effort went into getting this single piece of paper into my hands. It’s information imbued with the hard work of dozens of people who have dedicated their entire lives to just one thing. People who are many times smarter than you or me.”

The two Amazons listening thought to themselves, “It’s all true.”

‘I’m not smarter than you.’

That’s why the two demons were secretly curious about how Geommu-geuk would find out Jang Bo-do’s location.

“In this situation, trying to get away is the worst of the worst. Oh, this guy really uses such a pathetic method. He’ll just make the other person look ridiculous. You’re not that kind of guy, are you? It says here that you’re not that kind of guy.”

Taesu stared at the swordplay for a moment, then changed his strategy. Seeing his opponent, he realized that blindly pushing wouldn’t work.

“You’re right. I know the location by heart. Not just the location, but how to get to the real entrance, not the fake one, and how to avoid the internal organs. I’m the only one in this world who knows.”

That was only half true.
Before returning, I had been to the Sword Cannon during my time at the Sword Cannon.
However, I hadn’t been there for the treasure hunt, so I didn’t know much about its interior. I had gone there to meet someone.

Geommu-geuk stared silently at Taesu.
Taesu tensed his stomach and eyes, not averting his gaze.

I felt a strange emotion from the clear eyes looking at me.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

Blood Heavenly Demon, who was watching the two people, sent a message to Ilhwa Sword Master.

-If you just hit them all, they’ll all be gone.

There, Ilhwageomjon went one step further.

-Cut off your fingers one by one.

Bloodthirsty Demon said with a strange smile.

―You don’t know that the leader of the sect is the one who says such things, do you?
―That’s what happens between the two of you.

Bloodthirsty Demon smiled slightly in amusement at her words.

The sword dance did not break or cut off the fingers.

Slurp.

Geommugeuk said as he pulled out the black magic sword.

“Yeah, maybe it’s better for places like Geomchong to remain a secret of the martial arts world forever.”

The swordsman raised his sword in a flash.

Shhhhh.

Without hesitation, Geommugeuk swung his sword towards Taesu’s neck.

“for a moment!”

At Taesu’s scream, the sword stopped just before it could cut off his neck.

Gulp.

Blood flowed from the slight wound.

‘This crazy guy really tried to kill me.’

Taesu spoke to Geommugeuk with a look of fear and surprise in his eyes.

“If you kill me, you die too.”
“Why me?”
“You know who my father is, don’t you?”

Taegon, the greatest thief of his time.

“When I die, Father will surely take revenge. Throughout his life, there’s no place he hasn’t sought, no place he hasn’t penetrated. While you sleep, I’ll quietly enter your dwelling. No matter how deep I hide, it won’t be of any use.”

The corners of the mouths of the demons listening rose. I wondered how their expressions would change if they knew where that deep place was.

The Sword Dance Theater met threats with threats.

“Then I guess I’ll have to deal with your father first.”

For a moment, Taesu was startled. But soon he regained his composure.

“Our father’s whereabouts will never be found.”
“Yes, it won’t be easy. But it’s not impossible. I’ll start by spreading the word. Taegon is the one with the sword and spear. Then countless people will rush to find your father.”

The sword dance drama held up the picture of Yongmo Pagi that had been shown before.

“I’ll use my network of information to find out everything about your father. I’ll even find out his face and turn him against everyone in the Central Plains.”
“!”
“When your father, enraged by this incident, comes to you, we can deal with him then.”

Geommugeuk’s threats were very specific and detailed, and they resonated with the governor.
When the governor couldn’t offer any rebuttal, Geommugeuk withdrew the sword he had pointed at his throat.

“Didn’t I tell you to eat? You’re so hungry you can’t think straight, so you’re making such a ridiculous threat. In a situation like this, you shouldn’t threaten, you should make a deal. Tell me where you are and I’ll give you what you want.”

Taesu, who had been lost in thought for a moment, asked.

“What will you give me?”
“It depends on what’s there.”
“How can I trust you to save me when we get there?”

Then, unexpected words came out of Geommugeuk.

“If you dream of becoming the greatest thief of your time, I believe you shouldn’t just know how to steal silk.”

Taesu flinched inwardly. He quickly realized that those words were something his father often told him. He heard them spoken to him, word for word, without a single mistake.

“To become the best thief, you must know how to steal people’s hearts.”
“!”

A look of surprise crossed Taesu’s face.

‘It must be a coincidence, right?’

But it wasn’t by chance that Geommugeuk had said the same thing.
Before his return, he had heard those words directly from his father, Taegon.

The person I met at the swordsmanship show was Taegon.

“So, while you’re on your way there, steal my heart.”