Absolute Regression Chapter 773

Episode 773: There’s No Way I’ll Run Away

“Do you like it that much?”

Dan-ah lay in bed, and Seo Dae-ryong gazed at the baby he was holding. He had rushed home as soon as the Hwangcheon Pavilion ended.

“Good. Very good.”

Five days ago, Dan-ah gave birth to a son. Seo Dae-ryong realized for the first time that giving birth is no ordinary task. He’d assumed pregnancy was a simple matter, but it wasn’t until he witnessed it that he realized how difficult it truly was.

“Stop looking.”

Despite his wife’s protests, Seo Dae-ryong refused to put down the baby he held in his arms. On the first day, he had been trembling, fearing he might drop the baby.

“You should hurry up and eat before you go practice martial arts.”
“I’ll be back in a bit. Oh, he just laughed. Yes, I’m your father.”

Even though I was holding my son, it didn’t feel real. I was actually becoming a father? I couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality.

“It’s a blessing that I look like you.”

My son looks just like his mother. I was worried that he would become depressed because he resembled me.

“I wanted to be like you.”
“What are you talking about! How am I going to deal with the resentment later?”
“What about you?”
“I’m happy now. I’m so glad I have such a handsome son who takes after you.”
“His lips are just like yours.”

Seo Dae-ryong imitated the shape of a baby’s mouth. Seeing the baby in person was completely different from seeing it in the womb.

“Son! Our handsome son!”

Then a word was heard from behind.

“Are you already bragging about your son?”

Seo Dae-ryong turned around in surprise and saw Geommu-geuk standing there.

“Little Master!”
“Congratulations, Daeryong!”
“Little Master! I’m a father!”

He should have started by greeting her and asking her to return safely, but Seo Dae-ryong couldn’t contain the emotion that welled up in his eyes when he saw Geommu-geuk’s face. He felt the same way women do when they see their mothers.

The sword dance came and saw the baby.

“That was something to brag about.”
“Isn’t that a success?”
“A great success. What’s your name?”
“I named it Yeong-ha.”
“Seo Yeong-ha. That’s a good name.”

The sword dance also conveyed congratulations to Dan-ah.

“Congratulations, Madam Dan. You’ve worked hard.”
“It’s all thanks to the Sogyoju.”

It was a sincere statement. It was something my husband would say every time he opened his mouth. If it weren’t for the cult leader, he wouldn’t have found this happiness in his life.

He gave the medicine that Geommugeuk had prepared to Seodaeryong.

“This is a special medicine I asked the devil to make for you. It will help your wife recover after giving birth.”
“Thank you, Young Master.”

Seo Dae-ryong and Dan-ah greeted each other politely and expressed their gratitude.

“Would you like to hug me?”
“Yes, he’s your son. You should hug him.”

Seo Dae-ryong spoke quickly as he handed over the baby.

“You need to support the baby’s neck and head properly. Support it with your arm like this, and support the baby’s waist and bottom with your other hand. Yes, like that. Relax.”

But as if it was a needless worry, Geommugeuk skillfully held the baby.

“No, what if you can’t even hold a baby? You don’t have to do this, right?”
“You don’t know. You’re using up a lot of energy right now.”

Just in case, a soft cloud-like energy was swirling around the baby.

Seo Dae-ryong said to the baby.

“Come, baby. I am the young sect leader.”

The child smiled brightly, as if he had truly heard those words.
A smile naturally appeared on Geommugeuk’s lips.

“Young-ha, congratulations on being born to good parents.”

After handing the baby that Geommugeuk was holding to Dan-ah, he asked Seo Dae-ryong.

“How does it feel to be a father?”
“I’m still a bit dazed.”

The Sword Dance Theater promised the greatest gift to Seodaeryong.

“When the child grows up, I will open the Imdokyangmaek for him.”

Seo Dae-ryong and Dan-ah were shocked. The Imdok Yangmaek tactic required stamina draining, and the process was extremely dangerous, so it was never performed on anyone but family.

“Thank you, Master! Thank you so much.”

It meant that Geommu-geuk considered him his true nephew. That’s why Seo Dae-ryong was as delighted as when the Blood Heavenly Demon had opened his Imdok Yang vein. No, he was even happier than that.

Seo Dae-ryong didn’t forget to say a word of teasing during that time.

“Even though I have been loyal for generations, it is not enough, yet I am loved for generations.”

It was truly a favor that even death could not repay.

“As I watch my child grow, I will find a way to raise him well.”

If that was the advice he gave before the child was born, now the sword dance gave new advice.

“I once heard this: raise your children as guests. Just as we wouldn’t treat guests rudely, we should treat our children with kindness and respect. And just as guests leave, we should also consider our children as people who will eventually leave. Treat them well, but don’t be tied down.”

Seo Dae-ryong repeated in his mind what Geommu-geuk had said.

“I’ll keep that in mind and raise him well. But I don’t know if I can let this guest go.”

Yeah, that’s why everyone tells their fifty-year-old children to be careful with carriages.

“Later, you’ll say this to me. Young Master, don’t you know how vast the gap between reality and theory is? You, my child!”

Seo Dae-ryong and Dan-ah, who were listening, laughed together.

“Come to think of it, I’ve been so busy taking care of my child that I haven’t even asked about your well-being, Master. I heard you didn’t come back with me this time.”
“I’ve decided to take a quick look around the martial arts world with Sword Master and then come back.
” “Tell him to take his time.”
“Why? You’re skipping your martial arts training to play with the baby?”

Seo Dae-ryong, on the other hand, strengthened his resolve.

“No, I’m going to practice twice as hard now. I’m going to practice ten times harder.”

Geommugeuk believed that Seodaeryong would be a truly good parent.

“I’m going now. Madam, take care of yourself.”

Seo Dae-ryong held onto Geommu-geuk with regret.

“Little Master, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you. Please have dinner before you go.”
“I have dinner plans with my father. I’ll be leaving now.”

Finally, Geommu-geuk greeted the baby in Dan-ah’s arms.

“Welcome to the world, my nephew. Grow up healthy and well.”

As the sword dance left the place, Seodaeryong spoke to the baby.

“Don’t grow up like your father, grow up like that cult leader.”

Then Dan-ah spoke firmly.

“No, grow up like Dad. Mom likes it much better.”

* * *

Geommu-geuk went to his father’s bedroom.
He waited in the room for a moment while his father came back after changing clothes.
Above all, something caught his eye. A hanging scroll with a picture of him and his brother on one wall. Next to it lay the floral pajamas he’d given him as a gift.

Next to it, on the display stand, were dolls. From the father doll to the Amazon doll, the sword dance drama, and the sword dance girl doll.

If I hadn’t become close with my father, I would never have known this: that he hung things like this in his room, wore flower-patterned pajamas, and bought and displayed dolls like this.

At that moment, my father came into the room.

“There’s something conspiratorial about it. The painting, and this doll, too. They seem to have made my brother look better.”
“If coincidences repeat, shouldn’t we suspect they might be true?”

Geommu-geuk turned to his father with a smile. He loved his eldest son so much.

“I’m hungry, Father.”
“Let’s go eat.”

Since we had made plans in advance, dinner was already prepared.

“It’s been a while. I’m trying the cooking of the Cheonmajeon masters.”

It was a long-awaited dinner with my father.
Over dinner, Geommugeuk told him about the events of his recent retreat. He’d already heard the important details through Tongcheon-gak, but Geommugeuk added a thrilling twist that only he could.

“By the way, did you know that Doma and Geomjon were both interested in each other?”

Then my father nodded.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Elder Doma took such good care of the Sword Master that I was left
to fend for myself.” “You did a good job. It would be a relief if you didn’t tease the Demon Lords .”
“You misunderstood, Father!”
“So where did you two go?”
“They went to Taeho.”

A faint smile appeared on Geom Woo-jin’s lips at the mention of Tae-ho. He remembered that the four of them had met there in the past, along with Kwon-ma.

Geommugeuk, who guessed there was a story from that expression, asked.

“Have you been to Taeho?”

When my father nodded.

“Let’s go together sometime next time, hyung. Let’s set up a boat on the lake and have a drink with our sons.”

The story of the sword dance continued again. This time, it was about enemies.

“……They summoned the souls of those they had previously fought with the Ghost Song. It is said that this was made possible by giving the supreme elixir called the Heavenly God’s Dagger to those who wielded the sound technique.”

He then described the subsequent fight in detail. My father was most interested in the story of the fight and the demonstration of his martial arts skills, more so than any other description.

“……That’s how I completely dealt with them.”
“You eliminated them with the Heavenly Demon Extermination?”
“Yes, even if their heads were cut off, their souls didn’t disappear.”
“Were you able to control the Heavenly Demon Extermination?”
“Yes, to a certain extent.”

I checked again to see if he thought it wasn’t to that extent yet.

“Still, it wouldn’t have been easy to use indoors.”

Now is the time to talk about space-time transference.

“So I used a magic trick.”
“A magic trick?”

The sword dance drama started to leak out from the beginning.

“Would you like to guess what kind of knot this is?”

The swordsman began to recite the verses of the time-space transfer technique. After reciting the verses to the end.

“Do you understand?”
“It’s probably a Blood Cult magic?”
“You’re pretty close. I’ll recite it again.”
“Alright. I’ve already memorized it.”

Geommugeuk looked at his father with a surprised expression.

“You memorized it all in one go?”
“Yes.”
“No way! I can’t believe it.”

Then, Geumwoojin memorized the entire text from beginning to end.

“You are truly amazing.”

Besides, my father had guessed exactly who the martial artist was.

“Is this the martial arts of the leader of the Fengchun Sect?”
“How did you know?”
“Judging by the nine seals, it is definitely a supreme level of magical art, and he is the only one who has mastered that level of blood sect magical art at the time.”
“That’s right. It is the martial arts of the Fengchun Sect.”

As expected, my father was born with a natural talent for martial arts.

“What kind of martial arts technique is this?”
“The reason I was able to freely use the Heavenly Demon Mystery was because of this martial art.”

After a brief pause, Geommu-geuk revealed Gu-gyeol’s true identity.

“It’s the art of time-space transfer.”

Even Geom Woo-jin knew the art of time-space transfer.
The Pungcheon Sect’s Dokmun martial art, he never thought his son would know it.

“I also know about the space-time transfer technique. Did he teach it to me?”
“Yes, I had the opportunity to learn it when the leader of the Fengchun sect first came to our sect.”
“There must be a reason you went to the trouble of reciting this verse, right?”

How quick-witted you are.

“Yes, I really want to share this secret technique with my father. I’ve already received permission from the leader of the Pungcheon sect.”

If you become skilled enough to instantly open the space-time teleportation technique, it is the most certain way to avoid a moment of crisis.

“I don’t like it.”

As expected, my father flatly refused.

“I want to take a walk in a new space with my father.”
“Even if the illusion is fun, it’s stuffy there.”
“No. It’s just like reality! No, it’s more real than reality. And how useful this martial art is? You’ll understand when you see it for yourself.”

Exactly.

The sword dance master displayed his time-space teleportation technique.
A green field spread out around him. Having entered alone, he must have vanished from his father’s sight in an instant.

‘Are you still going to say that this isn’t useful?’

That was exactly when.

Puaaaak!

The space before my eyes tore open, and something burst through.
To my surprise, it was the Heavenly Demon Sword.

Jjieeeek.

The world of space-time teleportation was torn apart, and my father entered through the gap. Surprisingly, he had destroyed the space-time teleportation technique.

“Did you see the destruction law?”

To Geommu-geuk’s surprised reaction, Geom Woo-jin responded with an expression of surprise.

“Don’t you know that no magician or shaman can stand before the Guhwamagong?”

This was the power of the Nine Fire Demonic Power, which had achieved the Twelve Great Stars. The Nine Fire Demonic Power of the Twelve Great Stars could even tear apart space-time teleportation techniques
. Through the tear behind where my father had entered, I could see the outside world. I had performed space-time teleportation techniques countless times, but this sight was so unfamiliar.

“Father can come in, but you can’t? It could be a useful refuge in a moment of crisis.”

He said with a puzzled look in his eyes, as if asking why his father had to hide.

“There is no way I will run away.”

Faced with his father’s stern attitude, Geommu-geuk finally launched a plan: to stimulate his competitive spirit.

“The Fengchun Sect Master told me he mastered this martial art in three days. He said no one could ever beat his record.”

The corners of Geumwoojin’s mouth rose into a sneer, even though he knew it was clearly meant to provoke him.

“How long did it take you to learn it?”
“I’m not a genius, am I?”
“How long did it take you?”

The sword dance master knew from the beginning that he wouldn’t be provoked by the time he mastered the technique. Naturally, he assumed you would master it even faster than he did. What the father was concerned about was his son’s record.

Originally, it took exactly two hours. But mastering it in two hours was impossible, even for my father. He might not have even attempted it in the first place.

“It took six hours.”

My father suggested a time for me to try.
“Forgive me, it’s a white lie! Father, you can say you won’t use it even if you learn it. Just learn it first!”

“Father, you can’t compare to me. Just breaking the record of the Pungcheon Church Master is amazing…”

My father interrupted me and set a time.

“See you again in five o’clock.”