Absolute Regression

Chapter 470: I Told You I’m Not a Scammer!

Lee Chui felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Had he ever been this startled in his life? Had he ever allowed someone to come this close?

Lee Chui instinctively tried to throw himself away and flee.

The moment his body soared into the air, he sensed it. The presence of the man who had been standing next to him was now right beside him midair. He was clinging to him like a shadow.

The instant Geom Mugeuk grabbed his shoulder, Lee Chui—who had been about to escape through the roof—was brought down to the spot they had originally stood, alongside Geom Mugeuk.

The movement of being captured and brought back was so smooth, it looked like the two had leapt up in perfect sync and landed together.

Lee Chui could feel that the opponent’s martial arts completely overwhelmed him. The technique just shown was far more difficult than simply approaching quietly and suppressing the Devil’s Hole.

"Since we’ve already peeled it off, let’s strip it all the way."

Geom Mugeuk grasped the wooden panel attached to the carriage and pulled it down in one stroke.

Screeeeech.

The carriage’s wall was revealed. A Heavenly Demon exclusive carriage made from a unique metal emerged into view. It was the sturdiest carriage in the entire Martial World.

"To be honest, considering who’s riding it, there was no real need to make it this sturdy."

Lee Chui couldn’t properly hear what Geom Mugeuk said. Eyes wide open, as if possessed, he stared at the carriage.

The image drawn on the carriage.

Just like Geom Mugeuk said—it wasn’t a crescent moon. It was a horn.

The terrifying face of a demonic ghost with two horns, like a devil. Just looking at it was enough to send chills down one’s spine.

Lee Chui completely froze. There was only one organization in Martial World that openly went around with such an image. If this carriage belonged to the group he was thinking of…

‘I’m dead.’

Really, when he first entered this stable, he never imagined today would become his funeral.

Whether Geom Mugeuk knew what was going through his mind or not, he walked back to his side and stood next to him, speaking leisurely.

"Scary, isn’t it? Was there really a need to draw it this vividly and frighteningly? I get chills every time I look at it. What about you?"

Geom Mugeuk looked at him.

Lee Chui replied in a trembling voice.

"It’s my first time seeing it."

"Exactly, it’s not something you see often."

Then a meaningful comment came out of Geom Mugeuk’s mouth.

"Not just anyone can draw that image on a carriage. Only someone really high up can do that."

Normally, he should have said ‘just one person,’ but he didn’t go that far.

And so, a doubt suddenly rose in Lee Chui’s heart.

‘Huh? Are these guys really scammers?’

He started to think—maybe they really weren’t scammers. But just three people from the very top of the Demonic Cult traveling together like this? It was hard to believe. Ṝ₳₦ỔβЕȿ

‘That drawing? Anyone can get that done by paying a painter, right? And the fact that they revealed it deliberately, just for me to see...’

That was when it happened.

When he came to, he was standing in the sky. The sky was blue, and everything around him was blue. It made him think all of this had been just a dream. Yes, please let it be a dream, he hoped, as he reached out to touch the blue floor.

Splash. It wasn’t the sky. It was crystal-clear water. What he was seeing was the sky reflected on the surface of the water.

It was the manifestation of Geom Mugeuk’s qi. The energy he released in an instant had dragged Lee Chui into an entirely different world.

But the true essence of Geom Mugeuk’s qi lay beneath his feet.

An invisible force pulled him down into the water.

He kept sinking. The terror of the abyss, with no visible bottom, came surging over him. The horror of that deep, dark sea was endless—and overwhelming.

“Uaaah!”

Lee Chui screamed, and in the next moment, he was still standing in front of the carriage.

Geom Mugeuk was staring at him with deep, unreadable eyes.

Only then did Lee Chui realize.

‘They’re not scammers.’

But he immediately corrected himself.

‘No, they are scammers. The greatest scammers of all time.’

And they had been happily guiding them into the family estate, not knowing they were Demonic Practitioners—and not just any Demon, but top-tier masters of the Demonic Cult. He’d even been tasked with investigating them, clueless the entire time.

Lee Chui shut his eyes tightly.

“Kill me.”

His voice trembled.

“Any last words?”

“Who would I blame? I can only curse my fate for getting caught up in something like this.”

Even after closing his eyes for a moment, his opponent didn’t kill him. When Lee Chui opened his eyes again, Geom Mugeuk was still staring at the carriage wall.

“Why won’t you kill me?”

“Why would I kill you as if you’d done something so terrible? All you did was rummage through a carriage.”

“You people are…”

“What? You think we’re demonic ghosts who kill anyone we make eye contact with?”

Now that he thought about it, they hadn’t even suppressed his Devil’s Hole yet. He briefly wondered if he should still try to escape, but quickly gave up.

“You’re letting me live?”

Of course, there were conditions.

“Just like Miss Geum hired us, I’ll hire you too. Only until this job is over and we leave.”

Lee Chui was stunned. He had resigned himself to certain death, and now he was being handed a chance at life.

“Are you fiercely loyal to Geum Ajong? Loyal enough to die for him?”

“No.”

“I thought as much.”

Geum Ajong was never the kind of man to inspire that kind of loyalty from his subordinates.

"It’s not like his fate will be affected by your decision anyway. So there’s no need to feel guilty. I’ll pay you three times what you’re earning now."

"I’ve only been doing as much as I was paid to do for that person. I feel no guilt."

The real issue was this—how this new party would treat him. This person wasn’t just a merchant from a rival trading company offering more money.

"Are you going to feed me some Parasite Poison or something?"

"That won’t happen."

"What if I expose who you really are? How can you trust me?"

"I don’t trust you."

Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned toward the wall of the carriage.

"I trust that."

Lee Chui’s eyes followed his and landed once again on the demonic ghost painted on the carriage wall.

Geom Mugeuk never made a single threat. No talk of lifelong imprisonment and torture if he betrayed them, no threats to kill him cruelly or harm his family—none of the usual things.

That made it all the more terrifying.

"What do you want me to do?"

*         *         *

"We plan to intervene in the succession battle of the Golden Dragon Family."

From the moving carriage, Geom Mugeuk threw out the words like a declaration of war. Geom Woojin responded.

"Isn’t that your specialty?"

"Getting others to fight has always been the most fun, hasn’t it?"

Of course, that wasn’t the reason for their involvement.

"When the succession battle breaks out, everyone’s attention will be focused on that, not on us. We’ll use that fight to uncover the ones pulling the strings from the shadows, eliminate them, and get out. Leave it to me."

Geom Woojin gave a silent nod, as if to say, “Do as you like.”

Just then, from the driver’s seat, Hui spoke.

"The horses are exhausted. We’ll take a break."

The moving carriage gradually came to a stop.

Ahead of them, Geum Arin’s carriage, which had gone on ahead, was already waiting.

After releasing the horses into the open field, Hui began preparing a meal.

"This time, I’ll cook."

"Let me help."

Lim Hyuk rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward, but Hui declined.

"Just take it easy. You can handle the next meal when we rest again."

"Understood."

Maybe it was because he recognized that they were fellow escorts, but among the three, Hui was the one Lim Hyuk found himself paying the most attention to. He felt an odd sense of kinship with him, almost as if he were meeting a senior from the escort world.

At that moment, Geum Arin said to Geom Mugeuk,

"Let’s talk."

"Alright."

Geom Mugeuk and Geum Arin began walking slowly.

Lim Hyuk tried to follow, but Geom Mugeuk turned to him and said,

"When you’re with me, you can rest."

"I’ve never once left the young lady alone."

Looking into his eyes filled with loyalty, Geom Mugeuk spoke.

"Then try it this once. If there’s ever a time to do so, today would be the perfect moment."

Geum Arin simply watched Geom Mugeuk’s actions in silence. She trusted that if he acted this way now, it must be for a reason.

"Are you about to have a conversation I shouldn’t be part of?"

Geom Mugeuk shook his head.

"No. I simply meant for you to rest. I know you won’t be able to relax because you’ll still be worried, but even so—I meant that you should rest."

Geom Mugeuk’s gaze shifted to Hui beside him. The words were directed at Hui as well. He wanted him to take a break during this journey. These loyal escorts were skilled in all kinds of matters, but truly, they had never learned how to rest.

Next to him, Geum Arin nodded toward Lim Hyuk with a look that told him to do as he was told.

Lim Hyuk didn’t refuse any further.

"Understood. Please go ahead."

And so, Geom Mugeuk and Geum Arin walked away from the group.

After watching the two depart, Lim Hyuk stood there, anxiously watching their backs for a while.

Unable to pull himself away from Hui’s side, Lim Hyuk hovered nearby.

"Do you have something to say?"

"No."

Eventually, Lim Hyuk, who had been hesitating, spoke the words he’d been holding back.

"Yes. There’s something I’d like to ask—just one thing, if I may?"

"Go ahead."

He wasn’t sure if they were close enough for this kind of question.

"It’s about what your nephew said. Do you think that me always staying by her side has actually hindered her from growing as a martial artist? Is that why I was told to take a break?"

He blamed Geom Mugeuk for the suggestion, but the concern was his own. He truly cherished Geum Arin like a daughter and had always tried to protect her. But lately, he’d been wondering—was he, in fact, stunting her growth?

He wanted to ask Hui. He felt like Hui might have an answer.

"I don’t know what my nephew thinks. Maybe that’s part of it. Or maybe he just wanted to give you some rest."

Hui had begun with a vague response, as if brushing the question aside, but then he lifted his head and looked Lim Hyuk in the eyes as he asked:

"But whatever the case may be—what does that have to do with us?"

"…Pardon?"

"Her growth as a martial artist is separate from us, isn’t it? If someone is going to grow well, they’ll grow well whether there’s an escort or not. Isn’t it overstepping our bounds as mere escorts to even worry about something like that?"

It was a simple answer: don’t get too emotionally attached to your escort target. But it untangled something that had been knotted in Lim Hyuk’s chest.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t had that same thought himself.

But no matter how many times he wrestled with it, he couldn’t come to a conclusion.

Yet hearing it from someone else—especially someone who felt like a senior figure in the escort world—was a relief. He felt like he could simply follow this advice.

"Yes, you’re right. It’s not my place to intervene. Thank you so much for your guidance."

Today, Hui had spoken more than usual. Just as Lim Hyuk felt there was something special about Hui, Hui also felt a certain connection—he had met a fellow escort from Murim who was struggling with the same burden. And so, he gave him this piece of advice.

"My nephew was right about that—what he said about everything being okay when he’s with you. So take this as your last break and enjoy it."

Lim Hyuk felt something strange stir within him.

When he was with these people, it was hard to say no. Geom Mugeuk, this escort, and even the man standing up ahead with his back turned.

He had the sense that none of them were people he could truly handle.

His gaze turned in the direction Geum Arin had disappeared.

‘That’s why, young lady… you must choose wisely.’

Geom Mugeuk and Geum Arin stood side by side atop the hill.

The scenery below was breathtaking.

The reeds rippled like living things, and beyond them, the flowing river sparkled in the sunlight as it meandered with graceful beauty.

"I have something to say to you."

Throughout the carriage ride, Geum Arin had been pondering one thing. And now she had made up her mind. She was going to tell Geom Mugeuk that decision.

"The reason I signed a contract with you wasn’t because you made one with the Galaxy Trading Company and tried to kill me."

"Then why was it?"

"Because I wanted help in the succession battle."

She spoke honestly. This too had been a gut feeling. Choosing Geom Mugeuk had been intuition, and being honest now was also guided by instinct. If her gut was wrong, she was finished.

"Make me the heir of the Golden Dragon Family."

Geom Mugeuk didn’t seem very surprised.

"You knew, didn’t you?"

"I’d suspected it."

Geum Arin felt relieved that she’d spoken up. Even if things fell apart in the end, the sense of calm this man gave her felt so reassuring. It was probably why she could even ask this next question.

"Can you really make me the heir?"

"That depends on you."

His gaze toward her was sincere.

"How much are you willing to trust me?"

*         *         *

Meanwhile, Geum Ajong was also on his way back to the family estate.

In fact, he was moving even faster than the carriage carrying Geom Mugeuk and Geum Arin. He had gone ahead and sent Lee Chui back to investigate Geom Mugeuk.

And now, the awaited Lee Chui had returned.

"Did you find anything?"

"Yes, I did."

Lee Chui lowered his voice as he spoke.

"You were right, sir. I got lucky and overheard their conversation—they were talking about pulling off something big when they get to the family estate."

"See? I told you they were scammers! Those damn scammer bastards!"

Geum Ajong was overjoyed that his suspicions had been confirmed.

"Do you have any evidence?"

"Not yet."

Geum Ajong’s expression darkened. Without solid evidence, it was meaningless. Even if Lee Chui testified, he was one of his subordinates—they’d just accuse him of framing them.

"We need proof. Only then can we get rid of Arin."

Then Lee Chui cautiously spoke.

"May I share my thoughts?"

"Go ahead."

"Use them not to frame the third daughter, but the Great Young Master."

It was something he hadn’t expected to hear.

"My brother?"

"Isn’t the Great Young Master your true competitor anyway?"

That was true. He had worried that his father might choose his younger sibling as successor, but that bordered on paranoia. The current leading candidate was his older brother. Perhaps he was attacking his younger sibling like this only because he lacked the courage to face his brother head-on, choosing instead to escape into conflict with an easier target.

"It’s a good idea, but how?"

"Aren’t they scammers? Throw the Great Young Master at them as bait."

Geum Ajong’s eyes snapped wide open. The suggestion hit him hard. If he could tie those bastards to his brother? That would massively damage his brother’s trust with their father and the family’s martial artists.

"Would my brother fall for it that easily?"

"Make him fall for it."

"How?"

"That much... I don’t know."

Lee Chui had decided not to say too much—if he explained things too perfectly, it might arouse suspicion. Just give them this much, and they’d take care of the rest on their own. After all, they were masters when it came to scheming.

And just as Geom Mugeuk had predicted, Geum Ajong’s mind began to churn.

"Drag that scammer bunch to my brother?"

His eyes gleamed with cunning as he began devising a method.

In the trading world, financial mishaps were always the most fatal. His younger sibling had caused a disaster worth two million nyang.

"So how big a disaster should my brother cause?"