Absolute Regression Chapter 786

No matter how busy you are, there is no need to take a moment to relax.

Boom! Boom! Doo-woong!

A heavy drumbeat echoed through the Cheonmasingyo, and a magic flower blossomed.
Seodaeryong arrived and informed the people of Magachon.

“From now on, the formation will be spread out outside the tent.”

The villagers of Magachon were all on edge at the sound of the warriors’ cries. It was the first time they had ever seen the formation unfold before their eyes.

Sssssss.

As everyone stared blankly, fog began to rise around the tent.

Whoosh!

Columns of fog rose from everywhere, and from the ground, mist flowed in spiderweb-like paths.
Something rippled within the fog, almost alive. A sound—either voice or the wind—rang out, and light emitted from various places.

“iced coffee!”

It was a spectacle so mystical and profound that it elicited exclamations of admiration. This was also Seo Dae-ryong’s first time witnessing the formation unfold.

Ssssssss.

As the formation was fully unfolded, only a plain, thin fog flowed around.

“The Illusionary Maze Path has been deployed. Even if there are intruders from outside, they won’t be able to get through here.”

At Seo Dae-ryong’s words, the Magachon people felt two emotions at once. They were moved by his willingness to deploy his formation to protect them, and they felt fearful that he would have to deploy his formation.

It wasn’t just the Hwanmu Mirojin that unfolded.
Various formations of different nature unfolded throughout the Cheonma Shingyo. While the Hwanmu Mirojin was optimized for protecting its occupants, the others were purely for killing.

That wasn’t all.

Knock knock.
Clank, clank.

As the floor opened, new devices began to appear throughout the main shrine of the Cheonmasingyo sect.
Some were stone lanterns, others were stone chairs for passersby to sit on, others were railings, and still others were stone animal statues.

They may seem like ordinary things, but each and every one of them is a deadly device with lethal force.

A place where one could observe it all.
Atop the palm of a raised demon statue sat a gigantic brazier, from which flames of magic blossomed.
A man stood beside it.

The person who was looking at the sight of Geom Woo-jin and the four masters leaving from afar with a stern expression was none other than Geom Mu-yang.

I trusted my father more than anyone else in the world, but for some reason, I felt uneasy. It didn’t feel real that the situation was unfolding to the point where I needed to burn the magic pot.

And I felt helpless, unable to go out with my father. Times like these made me want to be even more determined to do my job, but that just didn’t work out the way I wanted.

In times like these, you need a younger brother.

If it were him, he’d probably say something nonsensical like, “Who cares about whom?” Or he’d hit the nail on the head like this.

Is your brother depressed right now because he’s worried about Father? Or is it because he’s upset that you didn’t ask him to go out with you? Or is it because you’re upset that you don’t have the skills to go out with him?

He must have seen through my inner thoughts when he said those words. It was a blustering remark, but I wanted to hear it from my younger brother. I wanted to shake off these pathetic thoughts that I shouldn’t have.

Then I heard someone talking from behind.

“Were you here?”

Turning around, he saw someone he hadn’t expected standing there. Without a trace, he had climbed onto the demon statue’s palm. It was Hwi.
Geommuyang was inwardly surprised, not expecting him to come for him.

“Did your father send you?”

Did he ask me to bring him? I had expected that.

“No.”
“But why?”

He wasn’t the type of person who usually came to visit her. And more importantly, Hwi had left his father’s side.
Hwi told the puzzled Geommuyang something unexpected.

“I think the person who most closely resembles my feelings right now is the Grand Duke.”

Before leaving the school, Geumwoojin gave a separate order to Hwi.

“You stay at the school. I think I’ll fight while thinking about the old days after a long time.”

The old days meant the time when he roamed the Central Plains with his horse. In other words, he was telling Hwi and his escorts not to follow him.

―Master!
―Whew!

Hwi was speechless at the mention of his name. Within those words lay the strong will of Geumwoojin.

This fight was a joint effort between Kwonma, Dokwang, the leader of the Fengchun cult, and Akgunhak.
If even the escort had to step forward, it would already be a lost battle.

Knowing that, Geom Woo-jin decided to leave himself behind. He hoped that if something were to go wrong, he would be left with Geom Mu-yang, who remained in the school.

After thinking for a moment, Hwi answered politely.

-I’ll be waiting at the school.

Under any other circumstances, I would have been stubborn. But if it had been a different fight, the leader wouldn’t have reacted like this.

Whiga said to Geommuyang.

“The leader left me behind.”

That wasn’t surprising, but it was surprising that Hwi obediently followed the order. He was the kind of person who would never have accepted such an order even if his father had told him to stay.

“Isn’t this the first time you’ve been separated from your father?”
“Yes, it is the first time.”

Hwi’s appearance was more calm than I thought.

“Aren’t you worried?”
“I am worried.”

How can I not be worried?

“I can say I’ve never been more worried in my entire life.”
“Then why didn’t you go with me? If you were Hwi Muin?”

He was the kind of person who would disobey orders and follow secretly.

“……I don’t know either.”

If I had to say, it was probably because of this.

“Before even starting the fight, I felt that nothing that went against the leader’s will should happen.”

Geommuyang nodded at Hwi’s honest answer. He understood Hwi’s feelings. That must have been how big this fight felt. He felt the same way right now.

“At this moment, honestly, I feel a bit resentful toward my younger brother. If I were the successor instead of him, I would have mastered the Nine-Hawk Demonic Arts and could have gone out with Father.”

Hwi resolutely cut off that regret.

“That couldn’t have happened.”
“Huh?”
“Even if you had mastered the Nine-Hawk Demonic Arts, the cult leader would have left
you behind.” “If you had mastered it poorly, that would have been the case. But if you had achieved greatness in the Nine-Hawk Demonic Arts, the cult leader would have taken you with him.”

But Hui shook his head.

“Even if he had achieved the Twelve Great Stars instead of the Great Stars, I wouldn’t have taken him out.”

Geommuyang looked at Hwi with a look of incomprehension. If that were true, then he shouldn’t have taken the other four people out either.

With a calm look in his eyes, Hwi revealed why he thought so.

“There is no parent in this world who would take their child to fight a formidable enemy whose outcome cannot be guaranteed.”
“!”

Their gazes met in the air.

“I haven’t raised a child myself, but I know the leader’s heart better than anyone. Leaving the Grand Duke behind has nothing to do with martial arts prowess, so don’t be upset. It wouldn’t have been any different if the excommunicated junior leader had been here.”

It was truly surprising that Hwi would say such things. It was surprising that he would even speak to me on such a personal matter, but I never expected he would offer such comfort.

Was he always like this? Probably not. His younger brother had transformed even this solitary man, who had lived his entire life in hiding. He would have simply said this to me.

“Until the leader returns, I and the Cheonmajeon guard will serve the Grand Duke.”

The cult leader didn’t give orders to protect his son, but there are things that can be known without being told.

“Thank you, Hwi Muin.”

It wasn’t a thank you for promising to protect me in the future. It was the comfort I’d received a moment ago that had given me great strength.

“you’re welcome.”

The moment Hwi greeted me politely, he vanished from my sight. I couldn’t sense his presence anywhere. He must be around somewhere.

After the ghost disappeared, someone spoke from below the demon statue.

“My throat hurts. When will you come down?”

The person looking up from below was Kwak Young of the Iron Fist.

“I can’t go up there.”

The black-haired girl jumped down and landed lightly in front of her.

“I came because I thought you might be upset, but someone came to take care of you first.”

When she was finally able to forge a sword in the iron room, we drank a celebratory drink together.
Intoxicated, she was so excited she shouted out loud that they could be friends from now on. Looking back, it was a life-threatening injection. Fortunately, Geommuyang escaped unscathed.

“Aren’t you busy right now?”

When the magic flower blooms, the iron room also goes on high alert. The iron room provided not only the weapons of all the demons of the Heavenly Demon Sect, but also the weapons for the organs.

“I actually have more free time than usual.”

Because he still didn’t trust himself as someone from the Murim Alliance, he didn’t entrust him with anything in this emergency situation.

“And no matter how busy you are, you should always find time to say a few words to the person who changed your life. In that spirit, can I say a few words, even if it’s a bit presumptuous?”
“Go ahead.”

Kwak Young-i looked into Geommuyang’s eyes and said.

“The leader will be safe, so don’t worry. I think the Grand Duke is most worried. How could the enemy dare come? They would have turned around and gone somewhere else.”

Geommuyang also looked at her quietly and then suddenly asked.

“You have to keep your promise.”
“What promise? Oh! I’ll definitely buy you drinks on payday.”
“Of course.”
“Huh? What promise did I make?”

Kwak Young opened his eyes wide.

“Didn’t you say you would personally make a sword as wonderful as the Heavenly Demon Sword?”
“Me?”

Geommuyang nodded. It seems he was drunk and had said all sorts of things.

“Protect, protect!”

The blacksmith smiled faintly at her and began to walk briskly away.
As he walked away, Gwak Yeong spoke softly.

“Cheer up, my friend. I’ll do my best too, and someday I’ll truly keep that promise.”

* * *

Numerous boats floated on Dongting Lake.
Small boats carrying Geommu-geuk, Cheonhwa-ruju, and the Sehon-ma-jon, slowly slid through the moonlight reflecting on the water.
Somewhere, the sound of flutes could be heard, along with the laughter of women. Everyone was absorbed in their late-night boat ride.

The man sitting in the middle rowing the oars was Geommu-geuk. Two women sat on either side of him.
The three were scanning the surrounding area for boats flying white flags.

Geommugeuk looked in the opposite direction.
There, in the darkness, was the boat carrying the horse and the horse. Though it was far away, Geommugeuk could clearly see it.

Mabul had dimmed the light emanating from his body as much as possible. He also placed several lanterns around him to conceal the light.

Chwima was drinking alcohol, and Mabul was throwing a tiny lotus flower into the lake.
It was Mabul’s blood lotus.

The bloodline connected to the demon floated throughout Dongting Lake, sensing a certain history or peculiar energy beneath the water. Whether it was a hidden waterman or something unknown, the bloodline sensed it.

Meanwhile, Dwima continued to drink. Geommu-geuk, watching from afar, could tell that Dwima was gathering energy in preparation for battle. Dwima, even when sober, was terrifying, but Dwima, when drunk, was truly terrifying.

This time, Geommugeuk’s gaze turned to the lakeside. Because they were so far away, the people there seemed like tiny dots. Furthermore, the darkness made it impossible for even the most skilled practitioners to discern their forms, but Geommugeuk saw them.

Ian was walking with Jihan, the head of the company, pretending to be his lover, and was checking the surroundings for any suspicious things.

On the other side, Chai Lan was walking with several members of the Samjo clan. The men gathered around them, drawn by their beauty. They were rather blatant in their approach, drawing attention.

Meanwhile, the other crew members thoroughly searched the area around the lake. Anything suspicious would be reported immediately to the demons hiding in the forest behind it.
Thus, everyone was fulfilling their roles, each in their own position.

It was then that Cheonhwaruju shouted.

“Look over there.”

As Geommugeuk turned his head, a large ship appeared, approaching them.
It was a massive vessel, capable of carrying hundreds of people, and Geommugeuk recognized it at a glance.

“It is a rich and noble ship.”

It was a ship that I had heard of before, such as the Cheonhwaruju and the Seophonmajon.

“There’s a saying that if you board that ship, you’ll disembark as a rich man. These days, it’s only the wealthy who can afford it, so it’s been called the Ship of Fortune. It’s a gambling ship run by the Suryongbang (水龍幇) gang.”

Suryongbang was a renowned fortification even in Honam, which controlled the area around Dongjeong Lake.
Suryongbang intervened in various ways to influence the interests of the area, but the most lucrative of these was the wealth and honor ship.

They invited many wealthy people from the Central Plains to the ship and made money by indulging in all kinds of pleasures and gambling.

It was then that the Sub-Hon-Ma-Jon discovered something.

“Look up there!”

To his surprise, a white flag hung from the top of the ship’s mast.
This startled not only Geommugeuk but also the other two women.

“You said we should meet at the Buguiseon?”

I expected a white flag flying on a gloomy ship, as if a ghost might appear.
But this meeting place truly defied expectations.

Compared to Cheonhwaruju, who was very nervous at the thought of finally meeting the Shinnyeo Princess, Geommugeuk was relaxed.

“Isn’t the reason I came out properly this time to show off?”

Geommugeuk said as he rowed vigorously towards the ship of wealth.

“There’s no place better for gambling than a casino.”