Absolute Regression

Chapter 457: Isn’t It Great to Be Back in the Central Plains?

“Have you calmed down now?”

At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Hwang In nodded in response.

“Yes, thanks to you.”

Despite his words, Hwang In’s heart was still pounding.

It hadn’t even shaken this badly in the midst of the crisis. That had just passed in a daze.

But now that everything was over, and the realization hit that he had truly almost died, his heart thumped madly.

Unable to return to that mental state, he had ended up drinking water in Geom Mugeuk’s room.

He gulped down the water, only to choke on it. After coughing several times, he finally managed to calm himself. What had just happened felt like a dream. Even the fact that he had nearly died didn’t feel real.

“That martial art you used at the end… No, never mind.”

Though he hadn’t seen it directly with his own eyes due to having closed them, he felt he shouldn’t be asking carelessly and shut his mouth.

As he recalled the sight of the dead Money Ghosts, his breath caught again.

He didn’t know much about martial arts, but there were some things he could understand. Those people weren’t ones to die so easily.

The martial art this man before him had used must have been a supreme technique of a mysterious great family.

“What should I do now?”

With Jeon Nak dead, new worries began to trouble Hwang In.

“If people find out Jeon Nak is dead, that terrifying person he mentioned will come looking for me first.”

Jeon Nak had been terrifying enough, so how terrifying must the one he feared be? He might even wet himself out of fear.

Should I just run away to somewhere far?

That thought crossed his mind for a moment, but it couldn’t be done. What would he do with his life after abandoning the Hwangdo Trading Company?

“Please stay with me. You mustn’t leave my side, not even for a moment.”

“That won’t be possible. Right now, every moment is precious to me. I don’t have time to spend with you.”

“Then what do I do if that person comes? It’ll take time for news of Jeon Nak’s death to spread, so they won’t come immediately. No, wait. If I’m unlucky, they might just stumble upon me while passing through.”

At that moment, Geom Mugeuk suddenly asked,

“So that person coming is scary, but I’m not?”

Hwang In flinched. Come to think of it, this was the very man who had killed Jeon Nak and the Money Ghosts in one move.

If he was going to be afraid, it should be of this man.

For some reason, he had felt at ease and had forgotten just how frightening this man truly was. He wasn’t someone to whine and cling to like this.

“I apologize.”

Hwang In bowed his head. To the deflated man, Geom Mugeuk said,

“If anyone comes, bring them to me.”

Hwang In’s expression brightened. He had been terrified that Geom Mugeuk might say, ‘You were involved too, so take care of it yourself.’

Now, this man was the only one he could trust.

“By the way, what should we do with the remaining Money Ghosts?”

“We’ll take care of them, so don’t worry.”

It was a reassuring response.

Through the window, the courtyard came into view. The corpses that had been scattered there earlier were all gone. Not a single drop of blood remained on the ground. ȓᴀNỔ𐌱Èʂ

Just as the Money Ghosts who had entered the building earlier had vanished, so too had all the corpses.

Hui had cleaned everything up in such a short time.

If these people handled things like this, he could trust them.

With his mind settling, Hwang In cautiously spoke.

“I hope the trade we discussed earlier can continue.”

Hwang In didn’t want to miss this opportunity, no matter what. Now that he had directly seen the strength of his martial arts, he was all the more unwilling to let it go.

“You said your dream was to become the owner of the greatest trading company in the world, didn’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Are you sincere?”

“If I weren’t sincere, I wouldn’t have joined hands with someone like Jeon Nak.”

Geom Mugeuk stared straight into his eyes as he asked,

“Was it not precisely because you weren’t sincere that you joined hands with him?”

Hwang In, pierced right in the heart, could only remain silent as Geom Mugeuk continued.

“I don’t know much about the business world, but this much I do know. To become the owner of the greatest trading company in the world, you must become someone worthy of that position.”

Hwang In listened without interrupting.

“In your dream, I don’t believe there should be any place for Jeon Nak, or me, or even your father—or that terrifying person who’s coming. None of them should be part of it.”

Hwang In couldn’t quite grasp what he meant.

“Then what should be part of that dream?”

“There should be a merchant. A merchant capable of leading the greatest trading company in the world. A merchant with trust and honor, negotiation skills, and crisis management abilities—a merchant with intelligence and leadership, who can read the world and recognize people for who they are. Is there any room for anything else in that? Any room for the scent of blood or the cold edge of a blade?”

Hwang In felt his face burn with shame. When he asked himself which of the qualities Geom Mugeuk had listed he possessed, he couldn’t confidently name a single one.

After a long silence, deep in thought, Hwang In finally spoke with resolve.

“I would like to join hands with the Joo Clan Sword Family with a new heart. May I draft a new agreement and send it to them?”

At the very least, Geom Mugeuk could see that he wasn’t a worthless man.

That’s why he nodded. But in truth, the permission wasn’t for Hwang In’s sake.

It was for Joo Hyangwol of the Joo Clan Sword Family.

She was surely still worrying about how to handle this matter. The Joo Clan Sword Family was still facing difficulties, and they needed to use this opportunity to be reborn.

That was why those few words had been meant for Joo Hyangwol.

“I’m watching you.”

How could he not understand that it meant not to do anything foolish? Hwang In bowed his head and responded politely.

“Thank you for granting me permission. Then, I’ll take my leave.”

As he walked across the courtyard where corpses had been lying not long ago, Geom Mugeuk offered him one last piece of advice.

“Don’t let yourself be blinded by dreams and forget reality. Your world lies there, not here. I will disappear like smoke, but the Joo Clan Sword Family will remain.”

* * *

The next morning, I headed to my father’s room.

“Father, may I come in?”

“Come in.”

When I entered, Father was going over several letters.

They were urgent transmissions sent by Sima Myung from the Main Division. These were matters that required Father’s explicit approval and had been delivered as urgent missives.

“You’re working even while you’re here?”

“Try sitting in my position one day.”

I exaggeratedly waved my hands.

“I don’t want it. Pass it down much, much later.”

“You want me to keep suffering through all this?”

After a pause, I asked him,

“If I inherit it, will you go off and travel? If you promise me that, I’ll consider it.”

Father gave no reply.

I had no intention of letting the awkward silence stretch on, so I smiled and changed the subject.

“Alright, then let’s practice in advance. Is there anything I can help with?”

At that, Father handed me one of the letters. It contained recent information on a certain clan.

Finally, Father revealed our target.

“The reason we’re going to Shaanxi is because of the Golden Dragon Family.”

The name he gave was far grander than I had anticipated.

The Golden Dragon Family.

One of the five wealthiest clans in the Central Plains. A true symbol of the mighty rich.

But they weren’t just a sect with lots of money. The family head of the Golden Dragon Family, Geum Cheonbang, was not only deeply knowledgeable in the world of trade, but also a renowned master in the martial world thanks to the family’s secret technique, the Golden Dragon Divine Art. For that reason, the Golden Dragon Family had countless experts who followed him.

“Some time ago, the Golden Dragon Family began secretly absorbing and running trading companies.”

It was not unthinkable for the super-wealthy to secretly take over trading companies. The problem lay in what came after.

“The Hwangdo Trading Company was one of those companies, wasn’t it?”

Father nodded.

“They used martial artists to forcefully expand the company, making huge profits. But that money didn’t go to the Golden Dragon Family.”

“All that vast wealth went somewhere else.”

Sima Myung, having detected suspicious movements within the Golden Dragon Family, began a full investigation and uncovered leads suggesting they were connected to the hidden faction.

Well, considering what the hidden faction had shown so far, only a clan like the Golden Dragon Family would have the resources to support them.

“The person coming down this time must be someone secretly in charge of external affairs for the Golden Dragon Family.”

Since everything had been done covertly, the dead Money Ghosts were likely not direct martial artists of the Golden Dragon Family but mercenaries hired from outside.

Except for Jeon Nak, the rest probably didn’t even know they were connected to the Golden Dragon Family.

“Since such a massive amount of money was involved, the family head must’ve approved it. Which means that this instigator must either be in a position to persuade the family head…”

He paused for a moment and added,

“Or has already seized power within the Golden Dragon Family.”

* * *

Lim Sohwa, head of the Joo Clan Sword Family, entered her daughter’s quarters.

Her daughter, Joo Hyangwol, was seated at a desk looking at something. To her surprise, it was a book. When was the last time she’d seen her daughter reading?

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, you’re here?”

Since the day she returned from meeting the successor of the Hwangdo Trading Company, she had been acting differently.

“I was reading a book that explains contract structures in detail.”

“Why’s that?”

“The Hwangdo Trading Company sent over a new draft agreement in advance.”

“Let me see it.”

Lim Sohwa read through the agreement.

After just a few lines, she lost focus. She could read martial arts manuals through the night without losing interest, but this kind of writing just didn’t stick.

“So I’ve been looking up the terms I don’t know.”

She hadn’t expected the Hwangdo Trading Company to send a new agreement.

At first, she thought it might be some trick.

“This time, they sent an agreement without any poison clauses.”

“You can tell that?”

In the past, she would’ve snapped at that. She’d have taken it as a slight.

But now, she had a slip of paper in her arms. At the very top, it read, “Don’t get angry.”

Maybe because she had thought, *Don’t get angry,* the words that followed came naturally:

‘Yeah, that’s possible.’

Written right below “Don’t get angry” was:

‘Yeah, that’s possible.’

“Don’t worry. I’m not planning to sign it as is. I’ll make sure to have it reviewed.”

“By whom?”

“Someone who knows this sort of thing well. I’ll explain when I get back.”

Lim Sohwa was irritated. Why not just finalize the deal instead of poking around when she didn’t even fully understand it?

But she never got the chance to get angry. Something about her demeanor toward her was different from usual.

The daughter who used to argue so fiercely was now speaking gently and calmly—she couldn’t just explode at her out of nowhere.

“I’m heading out now! Oh, and make sure to eat properly!”

Lim Sohwa was most surprised by her daughter’s last words. *When was the last time she told me to make sure I eat?* No—*had she ever said that before?* Now, it was the mother who found herself worrying about her daughter.

Joo Hyangwol’s expression was bright as she left the Sword Family estate.

She was proud of herself for having finished a conversation with her mother without raising their voices.

By choosing to speak gently with a mindset of *I need to endure,* there was no room for a fight with her mother.

Of course, she still constantly felt a looming sense that one day it would all burst out in a real explosion.

“I think it’s safe to sign the agreement.”

At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Joo Hyangwol was delighted. She had asked Geom Mugeuk to review the agreement sent by Hwang In. And the outcome matched her own assessment.

“It’s all thanks to you, Sir.”

“No. It’s because Miss Joo asked for my help.”

If she hadn’t asked for his help at the inn that day, her path would have turned out quite differently.

“My relationship with my mother has improved, too. But that actually makes me uneasy. I’m afraid everything we’ve bottled up might explode all at once.”

Geom Mugeuk responded with a nonchalant expression.

“So what if it does?”

His solution was simple.

“If it used to explode ten times, now it’s just once.”

“What if it builds up and explodes later?”

As she worried about whether that single explosion might be ten times more powerful, Geom Mugeuk cut the fuse cleanly.

“You hold it in, and you hold it in again. And if it explodes, then maybe it’ll be a big one. Did you hold it in today with your mother?”

As she recalled the conversation with her mother, she shook her head.

It hadn’t been about holding it in. It had been more about trying to see her from a different perspective—with a mindset of ‘Yeah, that’s possible.’

“Then it’s fine. What you’re worrying about is just a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

“It’s a common one. The belief that if things are going well, a blow-up might be even bigger when it happens.”

“Isn’t that true?”

“No. In fact, it’s when small fights keep happening that you eventually get a big explosion. Even if those small fights seem like nothing, they scratch at the heart and build up tension. But if you maintain a good relationship, then even something that could have blown up big will pass more easily. Don’t doubt the strength of those moments when you’ve exchanged kind words, one by one.”

His last words especially resonated with her. She was still feeling good about having ended a conversation with her mother without raising their voices.

Joo Hyangwol stared at him, her eyes seemingly asking,

‘How can you speak so well?’

It takes a very long time to learn. I became who I am now after spending an entire lifetime.

“Then, I’ll get going. Thank you so much for today.”

At her farewell, Geom Mugeuk spoke.

“Since you’re here, you should visit the safest vault in the entire martial world before you go.”

Geom Mugeuk could sense that she wanted to see her father. And that she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“Myfather is taking a walk in the backyard. Let’s go.”

As she walked toward the backyard following Geom Mugeuk, her steps came to a stop.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll just go today. Please pass along my regards later.”

“I will.”

Her steps quickened as she turned away. It wasn’t because seeing him reminded her of her father. It was because she felt like she shouldn’t meet him now.

Watching her retreating figure disappear into the distance, Geom Mugeuk muttered to himself. Though his gaze followed her, his words were for someone listening clearly from far behind his back.

“Isn’t it great to be back in the Central Plains? You even get to confirm your popularity like this. Father, let’s have a popularity contest when we get to Shaanxi.”

He couldn’t see his father’s face at the moment, but somehow he could imagine it clearly.

That haughty expression, not refusing the challenge.