Absolute Regression

Chapter 499: The Seven, Eight, and Nine are All Here

Jin Hagun stood by the window of the Chongqing Branch Leader’s office, looking outside.

Martial artists were entering the training ground in a long line. They were martial artists sent as reinforcements from the Martial Alliance’s Shaanxi Branch. From every branch and sub-division adjacent to Chongqing, martial artists were gathering one after another.

Having already heard the news from here, their expressions were hardened. They looked fully prepared for a decisive battle with the Demonic Cult. And it wasn’t just them.

There were already reports from across Chongqing of clashes breaking out between orthodox martial artists and demonic ones. The atmosphere was truly ominous.

A little distance from Jin Hagun stood Branch Leader Joo Gweol.

"The Alliance Leader has granted authority over the Celestial Silk Snare to the Division Leader."

It meant he was to judge and act accordingly.

Jin Hagun could feel it. If he mishandled this matter, he might not be chosen as the successor.

His grandfather was not someone who forgave mistakes just because the one who made them was his grandson. In fact, he would likely evaluate him by even stricter standards. That was why he needed to judge well and act accordingly.

"If you intend to deploy the Celestial Silk Snare, you must do it right now."

The essence of the Celestial Silk Snare was time. If it were deployed after the enemy had already escaped, it would be of no use.

Joo Gweol was in a hurry, but Jin Hagun thought differently.

’Whether the Murderous Beast is the Blood Heaven Blade Demon or not.’

Jin Hagun’s gaze turned far beyond the walls.

’They are all here.’

Those plotting the scheme, and those caught in it.

’None of them intend to flee. They intend to finish this here.’

If that were true, then instead of scattering the forces through the Celestial Silk Snare, gathering them in one place might allow for a better response to the events that would soon unfold.

Just then, a subordinate entered the office and made a report.

"We’ve found an eyewitness who saw the Murderous Beast."

Jin Hagun and Joo Gweol were startled.

"Bring him at once."

At Joo Gweol’s command, the subordinate returned with a man.

Entering with a face tense and full of fear, he was someone who sold goods on a street stall in the marketplace.

"The day before the incident, there was a martial artist asking where the Great Justice Warrior’s headquarters was."

Joo Gweol asked him,

"Do you remember what kind of person he was?"

"He was short and had a small frame."

"What about his age? Was he old?"

"No, he was a young man."

Hearing that he was young, Joo Gweol was inwardly disappointed. He had hoped the witness had seen the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

"What kind of weapon was he carrying?"

"He had a large blade strapped to his back."

Hearing that he carried a large blade, the light returned to Joo Gweol’s eyes.

"Do you remember his face?"

"Yes, it was quite a distinctive face, so I remember it well."

Joo Gweol immediately ordered his subordinate to take the man to an artist to have a portrait sketched.

"It’s already well known that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon passed down his martial arts to a personal disciple. That Murderous Beast may very well be that disciple." ⱤàꞐＯ𐌱Еṡ

Jin Hagun, on the contrary, thought it wasn’t right. It was all too smooth—evidence emerging so cleanly was, in itself, suspicious.

“Do you really think the Branch Leader, on his way to annihilate an entire household, would have asked someone on the road for directions?”

Joo Gweol had no response to that, but he had something else to say.

“But if that person is the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s personal disciple. Do you think a demonic martial artist who learned his techniques would just happen to visit the very place destroyed by demonic arts for some unrelated reason?”

Jin Hagun couldn’t refute that either.

If it were revealed that the person was indeed the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s disciple, everyone would see this incident as the Demonic Cult’s doing. Just like Joo Gweol said—there was no way such a coincidence could occur.

“For now, make as many copies as possible of the portrait drawn based on the eyewitness testimony, and post them all over Chongqing. Finding him is the priority.”

Regardless of how much he trusted Geom Mugeuk, the possibility couldn’t be ruled out that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s disciple was behind this incident.

“We must deploy the Celestial Silk Snare.”

“I’ll make that decision myself. For now, focus on finding him.”

“Understood.”

Joo Gweol stepped outside.

Jin Hagun turned to a subordinate from the Demon-Slaying Brigade and said,

“Send word to the Young Cult Leader. Tell him I want to meet in secret.”

The soft moonlight settled onto every blade of grass.

Geom Mugeuk stood alone in a wide open field.

Though he had assured Seo Daeryong that everything would be fine, Geom Mugeuk still felt uneasy about the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. Precisely because he knew how strong he was, he worried more. That incredibly strong man had vanished without a trace.

‘Elder…’

He missed him. He recalled the image of him planting the Heaven-Extinguishing Saber into the ground, leaning against it, and drinking.

‘Once this is over, let’s lean on that saber together and have a drink, Elder.’

Just then, someone appeared in the field.

The man who slowly walked over to stand beside Geom Mugeuk was Jin Hagun.

“You came?”

“Thanks for coming out.”

“You called. Of course I’d come. You must be busy—why did you call me?”

In response, Jin Hagun took out a sheet of paper from his robes and handed it to Geom Mugeuk.

It was a portrait sketch of a person.

“Does it resemble him?”

At Jin Hagun’s question, Geom Mugeuk answered without hesitation.

“It’s identical. Looks like it was drawn with the person sitting right in front of them.”

That was, in effect, an acknowledgment that the person in the drawing was indeed the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s disciple.

“Who reported this?”

“Apparently, the man asked a street vendor where the Great Justice Warrior’s base was.”

“A vendor who deals with hundreds of people a day remembered that face so clearly? Doesn’t that sound strange?”

And more than anything, the drawing captured Seo Daeryong’s features too well. Unless it had been premeditated, such a sketch couldn’t have been produced.

“A fabrication?”

“That informant has already disappeared, or is probably dead.”

Now that the testimony was given and the portrait drawn, nothing would change. If the witness had been silenced, people would only feel greater hatred toward the Demonic Cult, believing they were the ones who silenced him.

"Let’s verify it."

A thought surfaced in a corner of Jin Hagun’s mind.

‘Could it be that you’re the one who eliminated him?’

To deceive me in reverse.

The fact that such a suspicion still lingered made him realize—he didn’t fully trust him after all.

"Where is the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s disciple right now?"

"He’s with me."

Jin Hagun looked at the sketch in Geom Mugeuk’s hand and spoke.

"Starting tomorrow, that picture will be posted all over Chongqing. And rumors will start to spread that the Murderous Beast is the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s personal disciple."

Geom Mugeuk looked at Jin Hagun.

"You’ll be in trouble then."

Trouble wasn’t enough to describe it. He was the one responsible for finding the Murderous Beast, and his grandfather would decide whether to name him successor based on how he handled this matter.

—Hand that person over to me.

Those words rose up to the back of his throat. He wanted to personally investigate and confirm the truth.

Right now, Jin Hagun trusted Geom Mugeuk nine out of ten. But that remaining one kept tormenting him.

"If he’s caught by your side, he’ll never be released. He practiced the Heaven-Extinguishing Demonic Form that killed the Great Justice Warrior’s lord, and he even visited the Great Justice Warrior the day before it happened. But you know what?"

Geom Mugeuk spoke with a faint smile.

"This man was top of his class when he entered the Underworld Pavilion. He may look gloomy, but he’s an extremely intelligent man. He’s not the type to carelessly leave behind this much evidence while annihilating a core orthodox sect."

Jin Hagun thought so as well.

"But in the end, the exposed evidence will inevitably become the truth. If you want to protect that disciple, you need to find the real Murderous Beast. And you must do it as soon as possible."

The two men stood silently for a moment.

A breeze swept by, rustling the grass like waves. In the distance, the sound of insects chirping echoed.

"What do you think they’re trying to gain by going this far?"

At Jin Hagun’s question, Geom Mugeuk calmly replied.

"A war between you and us."

"!"

Jin Hagun was shocked. He had only thought they were trying to achieve something through sowing discord—he hadn’t even considered that their true goal could be a Great War between the orthodox and the demonic factions.

Jin Hagun looked at Geom Mugeuk as if asking, ‘Are you serious?’

And Geom Mugeuk was sincere.

"I think these incidents are just the beginning. They’re deepening the conflict between us, and they’ll spark another incident. I don’t know what the full plan is, but by then it’ll be irreversible."

These horrific incidents were only the beginning?

"What would they gain from starting a war?"

Surely they wouldn’t go this far unless there was something to be gained.

"That, I don’t know either. What it is they want."

At first, Geom Mugeuk had thought this might be about a personal grudge of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

But even so, they were making far too big a move. On top of that, they had even drawn in Seo Daeryong.

‘There’s more to this.’

Jin Hagun let out a quiet sigh.

"This is difficult."

In the midst of that difficulty, Geom Mugeuk had found a glimmer of hope.

"But there’s one thing they overlooked."

"And what’s that?"

"You and me."

Geom Mugeuk looked at Jin Hagun.

"The fact that we’re better friends than they assumed."

Faced with Geom Mugeuk’s gaze, Jin Hagun looked away. He knew it was time to say what needed to be said.

"I only trust you nine out of ten. Even so, are we still friends?"

Jin Hagun gathered his courage. It had always been a part that tormented him—Geom Mugeuk considered him a friend, but he couldn’t bring himself to completely trust him.

Then, an unexpected reply came.

"You trust me nine out of ten? I only trust you eight."

At first, it seemed like another joke—but Geom Mugeuk was serious.

"You really are someone who could become a great hero. You trust someone nine out of ten and still think it’s not enough? Hey, friend. You’re the Demon-Slaying Brigade leader, and I’m the Young Cult Leader of the Divine Cult. And you say you trust me nine out of ten?"

To Jin Hagun, trust was a word you could only use when all ten were fully in place.

"Let’s go with being eight-tenths kind of friends. And for those eight, we give our absolute best. As for the remaining two, let’s leave them as space. We’re human—shouldn’t we sometimes doubt each other, resent each other?"

Jin Hagun silently stared at Geom Mugeuk. Words like doubt and resentment didn’t suit him at all—and yet he was saying them.

"What if those remaining two betray us?"

"How could two betray the eight? When there are already eight on our side?"

"!"

Jin Hagun had never thought of trust between people like that before. He had always believed that even the single piece missing from the ten would eventually lead to betrayal.

"If the eight are firm, then the rebellion of the two won’t be betrayal—it’ll just be a moment of disappointment. If the eight are solid, we might escape the burden of having to trust someone completely. And besides, isn’t giving trust harder than trusting? Complete trust? Let’s not live such exhausting lives. You and I—we make our mistakes, we get resented, we live like that. Trusting eight is more than enough."

Jin Hagun couldn’t understand.

Had Geom Mugeuk known he’d been struggling with this issue for so long? If not, how could he say something that brought such peace to his heart? How?

"Then we’re friends, I guess."

"Of course. On that note, want to take a look at the bait?"

"Bait?"

Geom Mugeuk turned around. Then, from behind a distant tree, a man began walking toward them.

Jin Hagun immediately recognized the man as the one from the drawing—Seo Daeryong. He was inwardly surprised to realize that Geom Mugeuk had brought him here.

Instead of introducing him, Geom Mugeuk asked Seo Daeryong a question.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much do you trust me?"

What was the point of asking? Of course, the answer was ten. He trusted Geom Mugeuk more than anyone else in the world.

Of course, Seo Daeryong wouldn’t be Seo Daeryong if he answered such a question straight at a time like this.

"About a seven, perhaps?"

Geom Mugeuk turned to Jin Hagun and said,

"He’s my right-hand man, and still only a seven."

"Considering we started at one when we first met, that’s tremendous progress. Honestly, back then I didn’t trust him even one bit."

A Young Cult Leader claiming he would reform the Cult?

Geom Mugeuk handed the paper in his hand to Seo Daeryong.

"Here, keep this as a memento."

Then he turned to Jin Hagun.

"We won’t need to distribute that drawing tomorrow."

Jin Hagun was startled by Geom Mugeuk’s words. He immediately understood what he meant—he was entrusting Seo Daeryong to him.

"Are you serious?"

Geom Mugeuk nodded.

"I’m not giving this man to you because he’s the Murderous Beast. This man is my right hand. If he’s the Murderous Beast, then so am I."

He trusted him that deeply.

"You knew it wouldn’t be easy to let him go—so why?"

The reason he was handing him over was something Jin Hagun hadn’t considered.

"If you don’t find this man, they’ll annihilate another family."

Jin Hagun understood. If Seo Daeryong was in their custody, at the very least, a new incident wouldn’t be triggered. It was a decision made for the sake of the orthodox martial world.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason Geom Mugeuk had brought Seo Daeryong.

"I plan to strike at their blind spot."

"Their blind spot? What do you mean?"

"They’ll be expecting that I’d never hand over my right hand. They know the bond between me and this man. But if I give him to you—how will they react?"

He intended to bait them with an unexpected move.

From their response and actions, he would find a clue to trace them.

"I’m curious. They’ve already dragged the Elder into this, so why bring in his disciple too? What role does my right hand play in their plan?"

Was it simply to incite conflict between the Divine Cult and the Martial Alliance? Or was there another reason?

Geom Mugeuk said to Jin Hagun,

"Unraveling that question may put you in danger."

There was no way to predict how the Martial Alliance would handle Seo Daeryong once he was in their hands. Just being with Seo Daeryong could put Jin Hagun at risk.

Despite the warning, Jin Hagun gave a faint smile.

"If seven is stepping up this boldly, then shouldn’t I, who rate a nine, do no less?"

It had been a long time since Jin Hagun cracked a joke, so Geom Mugeuk gladly responded.

"Then the seven, eight, and nine are all here."

The three of them laughed together.

After that brief release of tension, Geom Mugeuk looked at Seo Daeryong and said,

"Villain, it’s time to be punished."