Absolute Regression

Chapter 478: Just How Many Outfits Do You Own?

Lee Chui was faithfully following Geom Mugeuk’s instructions.

―Now, he’ll ask if the antidote to Energy Dispersing Poison can be obtained. Say it can be secured.

―Understood.

Just as Geom Mugeuk had predicted, Geum Ajong sent a telepathic message.

―That Energy Dispersing Poison antidote, can you get it?

―I believe I can.

―Find a way to get it as fast as possible!

―Understood.

―What are you doing? Why aren’t you going already?

As Lee Chui was about to leave, he looked back at the two of them.

The way they were drinking resembled Geum Ajong dancing atop the palm of a demonic ghost painted on a carriage wall.

Still, he wasn’t worried about Geum Ajong. It wasn’t because he had been treated poorly by him.

‘Him or me.’

It was because he had the feeling that maybe he too was dancing along. On the massive palm of a demon so huge he might not even realize he was standing on it.

“You asked what kind of person my brother is?”

Geum Ajong poured liquor into Geom Mugeuk’s cup.

After discovering the secret behind the ‘Money Bugs’ defeat, Geum Ajong no longer felt intimidating.

Energy Dispersing Poison wasn’t a poison that killed instantly—it was one that merely prevented the use of internal energy for a period of time. If the antidote was prepared ahead of time, it could be dealt with easily. A fitting poison for a swindler.

“My brother is an admirable man. Smart, diligent, good-looking. He’s the one who’ll succeed the main family.”

Geom Mugeuk noticed it. While spouting these empty praises, Geum Ajong’s emotions briefly surfaced when he mentioned how good-looking his brother was. Did he perhaps feel inferior about his looks compared to his brother?

“Now that you mention it, I’d like to meet him. Could you introduce me?”

Geum Ajong thought to himself that his hunch had been correct.

‘So his true target was my brother after all!’

The bastards came to the family estate aiming for a big haul, and that target was his brother.

‘If those bastards get to my brother?’

Then he would be the one who caught the swindlers that stole from both the younger and the elder brother at the last moment.

But it wouldn’t be the swindlers he was catching—it would be the heir position.

At the request for an introduction, Geum Ajong subtly stepped back.

“Is my introduction really necessary? If you want to meet him, just go and see him. You’re family now, aren’t you?”

To that, Geom Mugeuk refilled the cup and said,

“Would he welcome me if I just showed up?”

“Well, considering his personality, he probably wouldn’t like you. He thinks you swindled two million nyang from the main family’s funds. Ah, don’t get the wrong idea. That’s not what I think.” ŕå₦ȎβΕ𝘚

Now, Geum Ajong slowly began to reveal his true self.

“Since we’re talking about my brother... If I were you, I would’ve helped the brother, not the younger one.”

“May I ask why?”

“Well, shouldn’t a true man aim to accomplish something great? The younger sister has no chance of becoming the heir anyway.”

Geom Mugeuk stared intently at Geum Ajong as he asked,

“Then what about you? Are you saying you don’t think you can become the heir? You seem like someone with big ambitions.”

As expected of a swindler, sharp and perceptive.

“I’m just someone born under an unlucky star. Pressed down by my elder brother, pressed down by my younger sister. Life isn’t so kind.”

“When your ambition is great, your wings tend to be just as wide, don’t they?”

Geom Mugeuk looked at him as if he could see a pair of enormous wings spread behind his back.

Geum Ajong chuckled at the sight. It wasn’t anything special, but it didn’t feel bad. If someone said your ambition looked big, what was there to be upset about?

“What’s the point in helping someone who would’ve become the heir anyway and making him the heir? There’s no reward in that. And sticking with someone who’ll never be heir is a dead end too. If only I had met you sooner.”

Geum Ajong was swayed by Geom Mugeuk’s hint of regret. He suddenly felt tempted to lay everything bare and join hands with this man to hatch a plan. Somehow, he felt like they could pull it off together.

But then Geum Ajong flinched.

‘What kind of thought is that!’

Truly, a swindler was a swindler. Without realizing it, he had started thinking ridiculous thoughts like joining forces with this man.

He found himself thinking this guy had a naturally gifted face, voice, and expressions. Just listening to him made your guard drop.

“Let’s go together tomorrow. I’ll introduce you to my brother.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll even let you in on something special.”

It wasn’t just because he was in a good mood. If the man was going to rope in his brother, he needed to know him well.

“There’s one thing my brother absolutely cannot stand.”

“What is it?”

Geum Ajong emptied his final drink and said,

“Losing in money.”

*         *         *

At the same time, the long-awaited report was being delivered at the Family Head Hall of the Golden Dragon Family.

“Hundred Immortals Gang was completely empty.”

Geum Cheonbang asked in shock at his subordinate’s report.

“Not a single corpse?”

“No. Not even one.”

“Signs of battle?”

“There were traces left all over. Only the bodies were cleared out completely, so it’s impossible to determine how the fight went or what the outcome was.”

He had never imagined, not even in his dreams, that he’d be asking such questions when he first dispatched the scout.

“Is it possible Hundred Immortals Gang staged it all themselves?”

That suspicion arose from the report of all the corpses being gone. What if they had just pretended to be wiped out and vanished?

“The possibility remains. They might all be dead… or they could’ve faked the fight, left some traces, and disappeared.”

Seeing Geum Cheonbang’s expression twist at such a useless statement, the subordinate hurriedly added,

“If they were indeed wiped out, then one thing is certain. They wouldn’t have had much time to clean up, yet everything was tidied so neatly. That suggests whoever handled the aftermath either possesses significant martial skill or is a professional in such matters.”

That was the end of the subordinate’s report.

“I’ll take my leave.”

“Yes.”

Geum Cheonbang sensed that this incident was not a simple matter.

“Was it a staged act by Hundred Immortals Gang? Or the work of the Galaxy Trading Company?”

He still found it hard to believe that Geom Mugeuk had been the one to accomplish it.

Just then—

“It was neither.”

The person who entered was the eldest son, Geum Ahyuk.

He bore the appearance of a Great Young Master from a prestigious family.

He had the look of one who exuded a righteous and noble aura.

Whereas the second son, Geum Ajong, revealed his sly and selfish nature openly in his face and behavior, this Geum Ahyuk was someone who thoroughly hid himself behind the aura of a great hero.

“Have everyone leave.”

Geum Cheonbang dismissed even the hidden subordinates.

Now, only the two of them remained in the Family Head Hall.

“Neither? What do you mean?”

“A man named Geom Yeon killed all the members of Hundred Immortals Gang.”

“How do you know that?”

Geum Ahyuk didn’t answer, but Geum Cheonbang understood the reason.

“You heard it from him, didn’t you?”

His son’s expression said it all.

“Didn’t I tell you not to make contact with him? I said I’d handle it myself.”

To that, Geum Ahyuk responded with a puzzled look.

“Why do you dislike him?”

Even in this serious atmosphere, the fact that he referred to him not as ‘that man’ but as ‘him’ infuriated Geum Cheonbang. His voice naturally rose.

“Because he’s dangerous!”

It wasn’t as if the man had seemed dangerous from the start. At first, he had been composed and calm. He had steadily given the impression that he could be trusted, enough to consider joining hands with him.

Like clothes slowly getting soaked by drizzle, he had quietly seeped into the family.

Only after the clothes were soaked did they realize—it hadn’t been rain, but blood.

“We must accept that risk! More than any faction, that person has brought us tremendous profit. What more definite reason does a merchant need?”

Geum Cheonbang had lived his whole life as a merchant. He was at an age where just a glance at worldly matters or people gave him an intuitive sense of their value, what they were worth, and what they were likely to be.

And yet, recently, there were two things—no, two people—he couldn’t figure out.

His son, and that person.

He didn’t understand his son, and even less the one his son called ‘him’. He had analyzed and assessed him thoroughly when they first met, but as over ten years passed, he now felt he understood him less and less.

Just like his aging son’s heart.

“If we’re talking danger, the ones that Arin brought from Seodo Sect are far more dangerous. They’re clearly here targeting that person.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Geum Ahyuk didn’t answer.

“He told you again, didn’t he?”

Geum Ahyuk stared straight at Geum Cheonbang. At some point, his son had started looking at him with those eyes—eyes that now felt unfamiliar.

Geum Cheonbang had always been proud of his eldest son since childhood. He had often wondered how such a son could be born from someone as small and unimpressive as himself. That pride swelled up every time.

Whenever he took his son out, everyone praised and envied him. So he often boasted without even realizing it—to the point where he sometimes felt guilty toward his second son.

And so, he had lived believing—

That his son’s nature would match the noble and righteous appearance he carried.

He truly believed it. And indeed, his son had grown up without major trouble.

But at some point, things had changed. He wished he could say it was after that person entered their lives—but he knew better. He had already begun feeling something unfamiliar in his son before then.

So cold-hearted?

So self-centered?

So greedy for money?

Those thoughts had led him to suspect that maybe it was for this reason that person had drawn close.

Still, he believed in his son.

Even if he hadn’t answered the question just moments ago, he believed in him. Because he was his son. Surely, with a bit more age, he’d learn to assess situations more calmly.

“Father, didn’t you once say you wanted to become the richest man in the Central Plains? That it was your dream?”

“I did. That’s true. But…”

“What is it you fear? Aren’t we walking the path to that dream right now?”

He didn’t deny that Golden Dragon Family had grown faster thanks to their partnership with that person. They had made enormous profits through his help.

But the money that person demanded in return was ballooning like a snowball.

“One day, he might swallow us whole.”

“If he does, it’ll be after making us the best.”

That was what his son’s eyes said.

If you’re afraid, step aside.

It was because of those eyes—those eyes that led him to tell his daughter she could never be the heir. Because those eyes belonged to someone who would cast aside even his sibling if they got in the way.

“The ones from Seodo Sect that the younger one brought… by the time tonight ends, they’ll all be gone. Just like Hundred Immortals Gang.”

“No!”

Geum Cheonbang’s heart pounded. Killing someone meant you could also be killed in return. How could he make such decisions so easily? Damn it, we’re merchants!

“If they are indeed the ones who erased Hundred Immortals Gang, then they are not to be touched so carelessly!”

“Didn’t you always say this, Father?”

Geum Ahyuk added with a relaxed smile.

“There’s nothing in this world that money can’t buy.”

Geum Cheonbang was left speechless—because, truthfully, he had said that phrase often.

Still... he never imagined a day like this would actually come.

*         *         *

After finishing his drinking session with Geum Ajong, he went to visit his father.

His father and Hui had already moved from the private residence to the Golden Dragon Family estate.

Just like the conversation they had in the private residence, they judged that handling Hundred Immortals Gang would soon provoke a full-scale reaction. After all, they would try to protect their massive financial source, Golden Dragon Family, at any cost.

He hesitated for a moment in front of his father’s room.

Was it because of the tipsy haze from the alcohol? He had come simply because he missed his father—but now that he thought about it, it was already past bedtime.

Father, it’s your second son!

It was one of those nights where he felt like pounding on the door and drunkenly ranting, but of course, he couldn’t dare to do such a thing.

‘The martial world would never know. That the Heavenly Demon goes to sleep this early. I mean, shouldn’t a Heavenly Demon be the kind who stays up till dawn or something?’

Just as he was silently turning away without making a sound—

The door opened.

Startled, he turned back, and there stood his father.

Before he could ask “You’re still awake?” or apologize for waking him, this line slipped out first.

“Another floral pattern, huh? Just how many of those do you have?”

His father was wearing floral-patterned pajamas.

Who would’ve thought the Heavenly Demon would wear pajamas like that? The finest pajamas designed for elite assassin defense, at that.

He hadn’t known during their camping trips because his father didn’t wear them. And at inns, he hadn’t seen him at night.

You’d think he might feel awkward or embarrassed, but Geum Woojin showed no shame at all when it came to these pajamas.

Could he really wear those pajamas in front of the Orthodox Alliance Leader or the Unorthodox Alliance Leader with pride?

“What is it?”

At his father’s blunt question, he didn’t know what to say. He really had just come by on a drunken whim because he missed him.

“I just wanted to wish you a good night.”

“You’re waking up a man just to tell him to sleep well?”

To his father’s baffled expression, he bowed deeply. This was all he could think to say right now.

“Thank you.”

During this journey, what I keep feeling is that Father is enduring.

He had only stayed in the main division, and it had been ages since he last went on a trip like this—how could it be purely enjoyable for him?

On top of that, I was doing everything we couldn’t do together before, acting however I pleased. Even waking him up in the middle of the night like this must have been testing his patience.

I thought he might smack the back of my bowed head.

But after looking down at me for a moment, Father simply shut the door and went back inside.

Even though I’d woken him, just seeing his face made me happy.

That brief encounter meant nothing, but for me, even that would become a memory. I’d call it something like A Small Midnight Drunken Whim.

Because in my life, true victory wasn’t about killing enemies—it was about moments like this.

‘Even if Father finds it bothersome, I’ll keep making these little memories.’

Even if Hwa Moogi draws his sword right in front of me, I’ll still joke around with Father. I’ll make memories with my Demon Supremes, and with my subordinates too.

That way, I’ll console my past self—the one who fell asleep alone in wretched loneliness, dreaming only of these moments. A resolve I always carry in my heart.

‘Not for Father’s sake, but for mine.’

Because I know well that only when I do it for myself, does it truly become something for the other person.

I stood in front of the corridor window outside Father’s room, staring into the dark night sky. It was a night when both stars and moon were hidden behind clouds.

Then, like a falling meteor, my gaze dropped to the courtyard blanketed in darkness.

Slowly, I placed my index finger over my lips and whispered,

“Shhh. Father’s sleeping.”