Absolute Regression Chapter 739

Episode 739: Neither Us nor You

The carriage passed along the narrow road.
The lush grass along the roadside rustled as the carriage brushed past.
Taesu glanced at Geommu-geuk, who was driving the carriage from the side.

‘What if this is a dead end?’

What if the carriage couldn’t turn?
Or even if it ran into another carriage? Oh, come to think of it, that probably wouldn’t happen. No one would drive a carriage down such a narrow forest path.

But Geommu-geuk drove the carriage confidently, as if he knew the route.
Bloody Heavenly Horse, riding in the carriage, gazed at the grass brushing past the window.

‘Should I take a shortcut?’

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have chosen such a narrow path.

‘You said you’d take it slow, so why are you in such a hurry?’

Bloody Heavenly Sword Master’s gaze turned to Ilhwa Sword Master. She was chanting with her eyes closed. She already looked young, but after taking Seondoyeong and Jongyu Seontae, her skin seemed to glow.

At that moment, Ilhwageomjon opened his eyes and said.

“I can hear the sound of water.”

Sure enough, the sound of water could be heard far outside the carriage. Was the carriage planning to cross the river?
The sound seemed to grow louder.
The moment the carriage left the forest path, a spectacular sight unfolded.

Kwaaaaah!

The mighty sound of water echoed through the valley.
The swordsman stopped his carriage and spoke loudly.

“Please step down for a moment, both of you.”

Bloody Heavenly Horse and Ilhwa Swordmaster disembarked from their carriage.
A magnificent waterfall unfolded before their eyes, a sight that drew a breath of awe.
Pure white water cascaded down a sheer cliff, crashing against the rocks and splashing. The rainbow created by the spray, mingling with the sunlight, evoked the illusion of a fairyland inhabited by immortals.

The four of them gazed at the waterfall in silence.
There was a sense of peace that came from its grandeur. Standing here, they felt as if they could stay there all day.

“How did you find out about this place?”

As if waiting for the admiration of the Bloodthirsty Demon, the sword dance became lively.

“I studied it in advance to show it to you, sir.”

How could that be? Until yesterday, I hadn’t expected to be heading to Zhejiang.
Furthermore, this waterfall was in a truly remote location. Therefore, the fact that Geommu-geuk had driven his carriage all the way to this remote corner of the country meant he’d been there before.

“Later, if you turn back down that road, there’s a place on the side of the road that serves amazing beef noodles. Let’s eat there before you go.”

Then he looked at the blood clot and added:

“You like beef noodles, right?”

Ilhwageomjon sneaked into his taste.

“You still have that same appetite.”
“Did you like beef noodles when you were younger?”
“You really did. You ate it every day.”

Bloodthirsty Demon lightly waved his hand.

“You remember everything. And it wasn’t that much.”

Still, Hyeoncheon Doma was secretly happy when Ilhwageomjon remembered that time.

“Are we going now?”

Bloody Heavenly Swordsman was grateful to Geommu-geuk. Why would he have come to see this waterfall? He had run down that narrow path to show it to himself and the Ilhwa Sword Master.

“I’m going to have a good look at my eyes.”

Bloody Censor said this to express his gratitude.

The carriage set off again.
Instead of turning back the way it came, Geommu-geuk found another route. After a long drive down the narrow road, he reached the main road.

“How do you know the road so well?”
“Well, I know because I’ve been there so many times.”

Considering the young age of the swordsman, Taesu couldn’t understand.

“Is this person’s family a Pyo family? Is that why he’s been traveling all over the Central Plains since childhood?”

A thought occurred to him that perhaps that was the case. Just as Taesu was faltering, recalling the symbol he knew,
Geommugeuk suddenly pulled Taesu aside.

Swish.
Thud!

A dagger flew and pierced the spot where Taesu’s face had been.
Taesu’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden attack.

“Hold on to the reins!”

The moment when Geommugeuk handed the reins to Taesu.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Dark energy flew in from all directions. It was aimed at the horse, so Geommugeuk flew away.

Chaeng chaeng chaeng chaeng!

Taesu was once again startled by the lightning-quick movements of the swordsman. Having already warded off a dark sword flying from the left, the swordsman was already striking back at the right. The
deflected dark sword returned precisely to its thrower, and screams echoed from the forest to both sides.

The movements were so swift that Taesu could see twins simultaneously striking from both sides.
No, triplets. Before he knew it, Geommugeuk was sitting next to him, holding the reins.

“Hold on tight!”

As the swordsman turned the reins to the side, the carriage turned.

Pak ak ak ak ak!

The dark energy that would have originally struck the carriage missed and landed on the ground. He dodged the attack again, this time slowing down.

You drive a carriage so well!

Taesu was sure.

‘It’s clear that he’s from Pyo-guk!’

He probably learned how to drive a carriage by following it around from a young age.

At that moment, something caught Taesu’s eye.

“Over there! Look over there!”

A tree had fallen in the middle of the road ahead. It had been there to stop the carriage. It wasn’t just a log. It was a massive tree, so I couldn’t just pass it.

“Hold on tight!”

It was a situation where the carriage had to be stopped, but the sword dance increased its speed even more.

Running? You’re not saying you’re going to jump over that?

“Stop! No! This isn’t a horse, this is a carriage!”

Despite Taesu’s shouts, Geommugeuk ran even faster like a madman.

“Let’s go!”
“Eww!”

At that moment, as Taesu screamed,
the horses collided with a tree. No, I thought they did.
At that moment, the horses leaped over the tree and took flight.

“You’re saying this is too much? It’s not even a horse, it’s a carriage.”

It all seemed to move slowly, as if it were happening in a dream.

Rattling.

The carriage, having jumped over the fallen tree, began to speed forward again.
Taesu turned around to see masked figures emerging from the forest on both sides behind him. They, too, looked in surprise.

“How did the carriage jump over that?”

How did he get over it? The sword dance used a magic wand to lift the horse and carriage into the air and threw them over.

“There are wings riding on this carriage!”

Earlier, Taesu asked Geommugeuk who the two masters riding in the carriage were. Geommugeuk had said they were his wings.
So, did they accomplish this? Even for the most skilled of masters, was this possible?

A little while ago, when the carriage took off, the left wing inside the carriage looked out the window and said.

“It really flies.”

Then the right wing smiled and said.

“Who else but the leader of the cult would think like this?”

Avoiding obstacles by launching a moving carriage into thin air? They couldn’t do it.
Even if they had the ability, they wouldn’t even consider jumping over them.
They’d just stop the carriage and kill all the pursuers.

“Thanks to you, I can ride a carriage and even fly in the sky.”

Even Blood Heavenly Sword Master smiled as he watched Ilhwa Sword Master’s excited expression. Truly, this journey was anything but boring.

Unlike the two peaceful people, Taesu was running through a life-or-death adventure.
Taesu turned around and shouted.

“Over there! Those guys are chasing us.”

Behind me, about twenty masked men were chasing the carriage at lightning speed.

“Okay, take the reins again.”

The sword dance that had occurred on the stables opened the door of the moving carriage and entered.
He smiled and spoke to the two demon lords.

“Wouldn’t carriage chases be a common occurrence in the Central Plains?”

Geommu-geuk opened the Hyuknang and began searching for something. Hyeolcheon Doma frowned as he looked inside.

“Why is there so much clutter here?”
“It looks like it, but it’s incredibly inconvenient without it. Oh, it’s here.”

What Geommu-geuk found was a leather belt with about twenty daggers stuck in it.

“I decided not to draw my sword, so I’ll just deal with this.”
“That’s it.”

As the Bloody Swordsman said, how could the dagger thrown by Geommu-geuk be just a dagger?
Geommu-geuk strapped on a leather belt and climbed onto the carriage roof.

Meanwhile, the masked men had almost caught up to the carriage.
Geommugeuk drew a dagger and hurled it at the nearest masked man rushing toward him.

Shh!

The masked man flipped over and fell to the ground as the dagger sliced ​​through the air.
He’d thought he could easily dodge the dagger when it flew towards him, but he failed.
One man fell, but the men continued their pursuit.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

This time, two daggers flew.
Unlike the previous attacks, they weren’t lightning-fast. They were at a speed I thought I could dodge, but this time, I couldn’t.
The daggers, which had been flying normally, changed speed and direction at the last moment. So, those who tried to parry with their swords couldn’t stop them, and those who tried to twist their bodies to avoid them couldn’t either.

Even though two more fell, they still ran.
As if to show off, Geommu-geuk pulled out three daggers. He deliberately held them out for them to see. Three daggers this time!

Then, one of the masked men behind him raised his hand, stopping the others. The pursuers all stopped.

The sword dance drama could tell he was their leader.
Not only did the enemy realize that three of their subordinates would die this time, but they also sensed from his dagger-throwing skills that they were too much of a threat.

The gaze of the swordsman and the man met.
The gaze beneath the mask was calm. His opponent knew exactly when to give up.

Seeing him turn around with the masked men, the sword dance also returned to the horse’s seat.

“Are you okay?”
“Yes, thank you for saving me.”

Taesu bowed his head in gratitude. If Geommu-geuk hadn’t pulled him back when the dagger first flew, he would have died.

“Where are you going now?”

With a pursuer, I thought they’d come up with some sort of countermeasure. Shouldn’t they abandon the carriage and move to the light airfield?
But the one who took the reins was none other than Geommu-geuk.

“I should go eat some udon noodles.”

* * *

Half an hour later, the four of them were actually eating beef noodles.

“It tastes good.”

Bloody Cheon Doma was satisfied with the taste. It was truly worth going out of his way to try. The dumplings he ordered alongside were also amazing. Even Ilhwa
Geomjon, who doesn’t usually enjoy beef noodles, emptied his entire bowl.

“It was delicious.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Please look forward to the next one.”

The next restaurant meant that we would go to a place that Ilhwageomjon likes.

“Do you know my favorite food?”
“I know you enjoy eating Ohyangjangyuk (five-spice pork) when you come to Jungwon. I know a place that makes it really well.”

Her gaze toward Geommu-geuk was gentle. He had generously shared the precious elixir, and now he was ready to treat her to his favorite dish.

“Thank you for bringing me out, my eyes and mouth are feasting.”

Even when they offer things that ordinary people could never emulate, they still express gratitude.
The Geommu Geuk is truly someone who engraves what he receives in stone and what he gives in water.

How could I not become wings for a person like this?

‘I will gladly become your wings.’

Then, Blood Heavenly Sword intervened and said.

“Why are you buying this guy five-spice pork and me beef noodles? I also like a lot of expensive dishes.”

At those words, Geommu-geuk and Ilhwa-geomjon laughed together.
Unaware of their relationship, Taesu laughed awkwardly along.
He was secretly anxious. He knew they were masters, though.

‘Is it okay to be this relaxed?’

What if those masked men bring other masters?

Fortunately, the sword dance drama had previously mentioned the attack.

“Judging by the movements of those who attacked earlier, they were well-trained.”

They weren’t hired mercenaries or ronin, but rather members of a single organization.
Then, Blood Heavenly Demon began to suspect Biryongbang.

“Didn’t the Biryongbang leak our information? Or maybe they did.”

It was a reasonable suspicion. They were the last people he’d met, and despite Jongbaek’s protests, Biryongbangju might have gotten greedy.

The sword dance brought Jongbaek to mind. Thinking back on the way he had looked when he left.

“It won’t be the Biryongbang.”

I had a feeling he would keep his promise somehow.

“Assuming it wasn’t the Biryongbang, there are two possible scenarios: either they were targeting us or they were targeting us.”

The gaze of the swordsman turned towards Taesu.

“Or were you aiming for the governor?”

Naturally, they were likely targeting the governor who had Jang Bo-do. If they knew their true identities, they wouldn’t have launched the attack they did earlier.

Taesu became tense as the three people’s gazes focused on him.

“Does anyone else besides us know that you have a Jang Bo-do?”
“No, no.”

Taesu shook his head firmly.

“Then it’s possible they’re trying to kill you not because of Jang Bo-do, but because of some other grudge.”
“As you know, my father and I have only stolen from evil people. That’s why only our names are known; very few people know our faces.”

So you can’t imagine how surprised I was when Geommugeuk handed me a piece of paper with a dragon’s head drawn on it.

“Not us, not you?”

In fact, this is exactly what is bothering me about the sword dance drama right now.

How did you find us?

Although he didn’t show it outwardly, Geommu-geuk was meticulous about stalking.
He moved between the main and side streets, occasionally using his divine eye technique to keep an eye out for anyone following him. Furthermore, this time, he took a side road to see a waterfall. Even then, he checked and found no one was following him.

A look of doubt crossed Geommu-geuk’s face as he quietly gazed at Taesu.

“If it’s not us, and it’s not you, then there’s only one thing left.”

Geommugeuk immediately searched through the bag and took out a small vial.

“Taesu, come here.”

Taesu came there with a nervous expression.

“Hold out your hand!”
“What is this?”
“It’s a potion that reveals the answer.”
“Is this a confession potion? It’s not like my hand has a mouth.”

Gulp.

The swordsman poured the liquid from the vial into his palm,
causing his hand to turn blue.

“Your hand answers, doesn’t it?”
“What is this?”
“There is a spirit of remembrance on your hand.”

Taesu shook his head in embarrassment.

“I have never been subjected to a prostitution scandal.”

It wasn’t that they initially thought he was being attacked, but that they weren’t. If it wasn’t them, and if it wasn’t him, then it wasn’t them.

“It must have been on Jangbo-do.”

It was put there in case someone lost their shopping cart.

Bloody Heavenly Sword and Ilhwa Sword Lord exchanged glances of surprise. No matter how experienced they were as Demon Lords, they hadn’t thought to confirm that at this moment.

“Can’t you get rid of the scent of wedding incense?”
“Yes.”
“Please get rid of it!”

As Geommu-geuk tried to draw his sword, Taesu, startled, pulled his hand back. This meant there was no other way but to cut it off.

“This is a fragrant incense that’s far more effective than the incense of chasing after the footsteps. It’s impossible to shake off until the scent fades on its own after a certain amount of time. It’s so expensive that not everyone can afford it.”

Moreover, those pursuing them weren’t ordinary warriors. How could such warriors even use incense to pursue them?

“You, who did you steal the grocery bag from?”