Absolute Regression Chapter 803

Episode 803: Deliciously Spicy

At the mention of the Thousand-Sal-Seong, Gaye felt fear.
Even if no one else knew, she knew how fearsome he was.
He had broken the seal of the Seventy-Two Golden Souls, a seal supposedly inviolable to humans. She was the one who witnessed the process in real time.

Gaye recalled the day before she arrived here.
There, in that place, where the ceiling was filled with twinkling stars, she felt a sense of dread.

-You must leave now.

There’s only one constellation left that doesn’t have lights on the ceiling. When that last one lights up, he’ll break free and emerge.

But the Dark Princess sat cross-legged, motionless, as if she had given up on everything. Even the darkness surrounding her body seemed listless today.

-I know there’s a way to stop him from coming out.

Gaye knew. Completely destroying the Seventy-Two Golden Soul Seal would permanently lock the person trapped inside. The Dark Princess knew how.

-What if the seal is broken? What will happen to the palace’s three hundred-year-old wish?
-But if he comes out without obtaining the Six Paths of Energy… …he’ll kill the princess first.
-That might happen.

The Dark Princess already seemed prepared for death.

-Break the seal and find another way.

After a moment, the Dark Princess asked.

-Do you think I have time left to start anew?

Gaye couldn’t answer that question. No matter how skilled the Dark Princess was, she was still human. Her wrinkles betrayed her limitations.

-Go to Dongjeongho first and prepare what I told you.
-What are you going to do?

The Dark Princess said something surprising.

-You’ll meet him.

Gaye returned to reality as unknown letters overlapped the face of the Dark Princess.

Afterwards, the Dark Princess returned to Dongjeongho without dying. She didn’t say whether she met him after he was released from the seal, or what they talked about.

How would I have survived if I had met him? By pleading? By negotiating? Or by not meeting him at all?

The Dark Princess glared at the sword dance and said.

“Now all the tables in this world will break.”

He also knew exactly what kind of magic the swordsman dreamed of.

“That’s funny.”

The sword dance was cynical about the prophecy that was like a curse.

“A new martial arts world where evil becomes good and good becomes evil? That’s not the martial arts world you want, is it?”

The Dark Princess’s eyes twitched.

“You dreamed of a martial arts world where everything runs smoothly, didn’t you? A world where your subordinates rule the world and you, the mastermind, reign supreme, right?”

The Dark Princess couldn’t say no. How on earth did the cult leader know? That was truly the life she dreamed of.

“If the world is completely covered in darkness, will your darkness have any meaning?”
“!”

He must know, too. In such a world, the Dark Princess would no longer be special. She would be reduced to mere evil among countless others.

“Whether I die or you die, one of us will die today. I want to hear from you before that.”

Geommu-geuk knew. This Dark Princess had a deep connection with Hwamugi. Before fighting her, he had to find out as much about Hwamugi as possible.

If you are someone who is so deeply intertwined with fate, wouldn’t you want to talk to someone at least once before the final battle?

“How did you meet him?”

* * *

When Baekjagang came running here, I couldn’t have imagined that the atmosphere would be like this.

I anticipated a grim and serious situation unfolding.
How should I greet the Demon Lord in that situation? Will he truly believe I’ve come to help?

Should I say I came to help? Or should I say something a little whiny?

-I came to see what Cheonsalseong looks like.

I came here with all kinds of thoughts in mind.

Have you eaten?

“It’s not time to eat yet.”

At Baek Ja-gang’s answer, Geum Woo-jin’s head, which had been sticking out from the kitchen, went back inside.

“Then, please wait a moment.”

Through a hole in the kitchen, she saw him slicing meat.
She glimpsed the profile of the person with him. He was so young she thought he was a slaughterhouse attendant or a janitor.
Then, Baek Ja-gang’s eyes caught sight of the pouch around the man’s waist.

When I checked my opponent’s weapons, there was something hanging there that made my heart sink even more than the sword or the shield. Twelve of them.

Baek Ja-gang realized that the person peeling the onion was the poison king.

‘The Poison King is peeling an onion?’

Even when the Apostle Leader arrived, the Poison King didn’t even glance at him, focusing solely on helping Geom Woo-jin.
Baek Ja-gang, already aware that the Poison King wasn’t a man bound by common courtesy, ignored him.

The shocking fact now was this.

‘The Demon Lord is cooking and the Poison King is helping?’

For a moment, I even had this thought.

‘Did you know I was coming and cook a poisoned dish with the Poison King?’

Wouldn’t this be a more reasonable suspicion than the fact that the Heavenly Horse and the Poison King personally cooked and served the meal?

Of course, Baek Ja-gang knew full well that wasn’t the case.
There was no way Geom Woo-jin would poison him. If he wanted to kill him by throwing that kitchen knife, he would. He was far from the kind of person who would poison someone.

Besides, the Poison King was peeling onions while shedding tears. It’s unlikely he was crying because he was saddened by the poisoned leader who was about to die.

‘Unless you’re trying to poison me?’

Could it be that Cheon Sal-seong has already come and killed Geom Woo-jin, and is now wearing his shell?

How surprised must he have been to hear such a ridiculous thought?
Kwonma approached him and greeted him politely.

“Thank you for coming such a long way. Please sit down.”

Baekjagangdo greeted Kwonma with a lottery ticket.

“Thank you.”

Baek Ja-gang also exchanged greetings with the leader of the Pungcheon sect. They were already acquainted.

“Long time no see.”
“How have you been?”

Although he had stepped down from his position as the leader of the Pungcheon Church, Baek Ja-gang still recognized him as the best among the new believers.

The Pungcheon sect leader found Baekjagang’s visit truly unexpected.

The Cheonma Shingyo is in crisis, and the Apostolic Leader has come to help? How should we accept this?

“Did you come alone?”
“I came alone.”

Even coming alone? This was as surprising as the fact that he came at all. What if he were to die by the Demon Lord?

Since the leader of the Pungcheon sect couldn’t stand being curious, he began to quietly dig into his intentions.

“As the White Lord entered the entrance, a thought occurred to me. Could the White Lord be a Thousand-Sal Star?”

Knowing that the original leader of the Pungcheon sect was good at making pointless jokes, Baek Ja-gang answered with a smile.

“Sometimes, when I can’t control my temper, I get misunderstood like that.”

He returned the Fengchun sect leader’s joke fivefold.

“If you look at it that way, aren’t there already five Thousand-Sal-Seongs in this tavern?”

Am I the only one who’s a celestial being? The leader of the Fengchun cult laughed out loud at the joke that they were even more celestial.
It was true. If any of them went out into the martial world and caused trouble, the worst incident in history would occur.

“You are not a celestial being, so why did you come here?”

Kwon Ma-do, who was listening from the side, and Geom Wang, who was in the corner, both waited curiously for Baek Ja-gang’s answer. Geom Woo-jin, listening to their conversation, silently continued to cook.

The leader of the Pungcheon sect asked with a smile, but it was a question he couldn’t answer with a smile.
It was a somewhat direct and rude question, but Baek Ja-gang felt grateful to the leader.
It was better to ask this question than to harbor doubts. At least it gave him a chance to answer.

Of course, Baek Ja-gang did not reveal his true feelings easily.

“I came out to play because I was bored.”

Everyone was startled by those words. I thought he was joking, but it was so unfunny that I couldn’t believe it.

“If it weren’t for something like this, I wouldn’t have any reason to come out and play alone. I thought it was my chance, so I ran here.”

Baek Ja-gang couldn’t reveal the real reason out loud.

I came because I was worried that the Demon Lord would die.

It’s a situation where you should be happy if the Demonic Cult is weakened, but you’re worried about the Demonic Cult leader’s ambition to unify the martial arts world, but you still hope he doesn’t die.

Without lips, he couldn’t say it was because his teeth were cold. He couldn’t say that his best friend’s father would be devastated if he died. He couldn’t
say that he wanted to grow old with this demonic leader, bragging about his children.
Baek Ja-gang couldn’t explain why.

At that time, Geum Woo-jin called Baek Ja-gang from the kitchen.

“100 Leaders.”

As Baek Ja-gang looked up, Geom Woo-jin was poking his head out from the kitchen. A heavy tension hung over him, waiting for what he might say.

“Do you eat spicy food well?”

Baek Ja-gang could sense from the gaze of Geum Woo-jin, who was looking at her. He knew why he had come.

Baek Ja-gang said with a smile.

“I really like spicy food.”

After Geumwoojin nodded, he disappeared back into the kitchen. Then, his voice was heard.

“Chop some more peppers.”

The poisonous king, who had not yet completely erased the tear stains left by the onion, began to chop the peppers.

Now the leader of the Fengchun sect no longer asked why he had come.

“I also really like spicy food. The best thing about coming to Jungwon was the abundance of spicy food.”
“You’re amazing. That’s a decision not just anyone can make.”

This was what the leader of the Pungcheon sect said about abandoning his position as leader and coming to the Central Plains.

“I guess my life was boring too.”

Then, while we were on the subject, I introduced the Sword King.

“Oh, that person has similar shoes to me.”

I was wondering what that meant.

“I came all the way to this distant Cheonma Shingyo because of the young cult leader.”

Of course, Baek Ja-gang knew about the Sword King.
Even without revealing his prayers, his strength was palpable. The addition of such power to the Cheonma Shingyo (Celestial Demon Sect) was a sign of trouble for the Sado Alliance.

“Evil Muin, if by any chance your life becomes boring, look to the Bonmyeong side, not the Murim Alliance.”

The Sword King bowed his head slightly without saying a word, and the Fengchun Sect leader answered on his behalf.

“Unfortunately for the leader, that person seems to have already figured out what to do when life gets boring.”

As I finished greeting the Sword King, I heard the sound of food being fried in the kitchen.

Chiiik.

Geom Woo-jin was frying meat and vegetables in a heated pot. The onions Poison King had peeled with tears were also in there.

Feeling bad about just sitting there, Baek Ja-gang got up from his seat and walked to the kitchen.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”
“It’s okay. It’s almost done now.”

Baek Ja-gang stood in front of the kitchen for a moment, staring at the back of Geum Woo-jin, who was cooking. He hadn’t been intentionally creating this scene. He was serious about cooking.

‘Is this your way of relieving the loneliness of life?’

Finally, the meal was ready.
Everyone sat around the table and tasted what Geum Woo-jin had prepared.

The leader of the Pungcheon Church was cautious and didn’t pick up his chopsticks first. Only after seeing that Geom Woo-jin and Kwon Ma had eaten first and were satisfied did he pick up his chopsticks.
Eating a dish prepared by the Poison King was a feat that only a strong-willed individual could accomplish.

I ate it wondering if it would be that tasty, but surprisingly, the food was really tasty.

“Oh! It’s delicious.”

The leader of the Pungcheon Church was impressed. He wasn’t trying to impress Cheonma. The meat and vegetables were well-cooked, and the seasoning was amazing.

I was amazed by Baekjagangdo Geomwoojin’s cooking skills.

“I’d believe it even if Sook-su made it. I’d love to learn it if I had the chance.”
“You’re flattering me.”

Kwonma could sense that, even though he was being blunt, Geumwoojin was incredibly proud.

Geum Woo-jin spoke casually while using his chopsticks.

“Thank you for coming.”

I didn’t get goosebumps in my ears.

Baekjagang ate a large portion of food with his chopsticks full.

“It’s deliciously spicy.”

* * *

The next day, as darkness fell, Jin Pae-cheon, the leader of the martial arts world, entered Magachon.
He had contemplated turning back countless times on his way there. He
was worried that, even if it was just a single instance, the Cheon-sal-seong would join the martial arts world.

But he eventually came to the Heavenly Demon Sect.
At the desperate pleas of General Jegal Hyun, Jin Pae-cheon uttered these words, echoing the words his grandson had spoken to him.

-I became the leader, and this was the first and last time I made a decision that followed my heart.

Even though it was such a difficult journey to the Demonic Cult, Jinpaecheon still had many worries.

What would the Demon Lord think of his visit?
He’d probably be suspicious, right?

He might think he’d come to learn information about the Nine-Hwa Demon King by watching him fight the Thousand-Slayer.
Or he might suspect he’d betray him and try to kill him at a crucial moment.

Jin Pae-cheon looked down at the sword at his waist. Now that he was carrying the greatest sword of all time, it was only natural that he would be even more suspicious.

I had to persuade him well to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.

I walked with a heavy and cautious heart, but there was only one place with lights on in the dark street.

‘Over there?’

It was the very same tavern where the three-way talks had previously taken place.
The atmosphere in the tavern was ominous.

Jin Pae-cheon took a deep breath, carefully opened the tavern door, and entered.
The four people sitting at the table were staring at him.

In front sat Kwonma and Dokwang, and next to them sat Geomwang and the leader of the Pungcheon sect. They looked at him with surprised eyes.

‘The atmosphere is serious! And the Demon Leader isn’t here!’

Could it be that I am a step too late?

Just as Jinpaecheon’s heart was sinking, he heard two people talking in the kitchen.

“You’re saying to turn it like this so that the seasoning is evenly distributed throughout the meat?”
“There’s no need to use all that skill.”
“If you’re going to do it, wouldn’t it be more delicious if you make it look fancy?”
“You were trying to show off, but it all splattered on the sides.”

Jin Pae-cheon, who confirmed who the voices were, opened his eyes wide in surprise. He must have misheard!

‘No way! Am I under a spell?’

Just then, Baek Ja-gang poked his head out of the kitchen. He had been in a bloody fight there, his clothes and face covered in seasoning.
With a bright face, he asked Jin Pae-cheon.

“Have you eaten?”