Absolute Regression

Chapter 534: After Passing the Young Cult Leader, It Becomes Routine

Jaein stared straight at Geom Mugeuk’s face.

‘That face looks like someone who talks a lot?’

Jaein was surprised that the other person was much younger and more handsome than expected, but the man was seeing something Jaein couldn’t.

“Look into his eyes.”

Following the man’s words, Jaein looked into Geom Mugeuk’s eyes.

They weren’t the eyes of a demon. They were clear and deep.

“Don’t they look like the eyes of a meddler who’d involve himself in everything going on in the Martial World?”

“……Do they?”

“For example, eyes that would lead a perfectly fine successor of the Unorthodox Alliance into a dancing crowd. Very wicked eyes.”

Why suddenly bring up the successor of the Unorthodox Alliance? Dancing? What dancing?

Jaein looked at the man with a bewildered expression. He hadn’t expected this person to be so eccentric. Honestly, he wanted to say, ‘Stop spouting nonsense and just kill him already,’ but this wasn’t someone he could dare say that to.

“Now that you mention it, he does look like someone with a nasty mouth.”

As Jaein played along, the man laughed out loud as if relieved.

Then, Geom Mugeuk, who had been silently listening, asked Chohee next to him,

“What do you think? While traveling with me until now, have I talked a lot?”

“No, you’ve been quiet.”

Though she answered, Chohee was tense. Unlike before, the man was openly blocking their path now, which could only mean he was confident in his skill.

But strangely, the two of them were only exchanging an odd kind of conversation.

“Did you hear that? I’m actually a quiet person. But people just don’t know how to talk. If they want to say something, they should say it. Instead, they bottle it up, delay it for later. It’s so frustrating that I end up having to speak. Silence might be the best way to avoid misunderstanding, but aren’t misunderstandings happening precisely because no one’s talking properly? Take the Young Alliance Leader, for instance. When he’s silent, doesn’t he look like he’s plotting someone’s death? But when you hear him talk—he’s so adorable. And then...”

“Enough!”

At the man’s shout, Geom Mugeuk fell silent.

Jaein was internally flustered by this unexpected situation. Never in his dreams did he think he’d be having this kind of conversation with this man while coming to kill that guy. And this Young Alliance Leader who kept being mentioned—who was that even referring to?

In any case, at least one thing was clear.

‘He really is someone who talks a lot!’

Jaein cautiously said to the man,

“Please hurry and shut that talkative one up by killing him.”

The man let out a light sigh and said,

“That won’t do.”

Jaein was shocked by the refusal.

“What do you mean by that?”

The one who answered was Geom Mugeuk.

“We know each other. In fact, we’re even close.”

“Close, my foot!”

The man was none other than Monster Evil, one of the Seven Masters of the Unorthodox Alliance.

Their last encounter had been during the Three-Way Summit, and now they had met again like this.

Ironically, it was precisely Monster Evil’s denial that convinced Jaein.

‘They’re close!’

Jaein was swept by a sense of dismay. Just who was that young man?

“What brings you here?”

“What else? I came to kill you.”

Geom Mugeuk spoke with a smile.

“Then go ahead.”

Monster Evil silently stared at Geom Mugeuk.

“It’s become harder to kill you now.”

He had sensed from Geom Mugeuk’s gaze and aura that his strength had grown significantly.

“I was asked to kill just one demonic practitioner. I was promised enough money to last a lifetime, more than I could ever spend. A shame. It could have been my chance to become rich.”

That was a lie.

The real reason he came was because of Geom Mugeuk. A demon strong enough to warrant his personal involvement was surely someone closely connected to Geom Mugeuk. He had come to stop them ahead of time, wondering who they were planning to kill.

But he never imagined the demon would turn out to be Geom Mugeuk.

“Escorting a courtesan alone? That’s so like you.”

Monster Evil then asked Jaein,

“Do you know who that chatty-looking man really is?”

“Who is he?”

“That man is the Young Cult Leader of the Divine Cult.”

“!”

Jaein recoiled in shock. The young martial artist escorting a courtesan was the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult? That talkative man? No way!

But there was no hint of deceit in Monster Evil’s expression as he looked at him. He had no reason to lie after following him all the way here.

“No matter how tempting the money, surely they didn’t expect me to kill the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, right?”

Only now did Jaein understand why this whole affair hadn’t gone smoothly. Why the usually flawless nets of the Netweaver had so many glaring holes this time.

Jaein respectfully performed a clasp-fist salute and bowed.

“I failed to recognize someone so distinguished.”

His chest felt tight, and his mind tangled with complications, but he forced himself to remain composed. One relief, at least, was that the Young Cult Leader really was young.

‘I am someone learning the art of conspiracy from the Netweaver. I must stay calm.’

Youth always came with immaturity and mistakes. There would surely be a gap to exploit.

Monster Evil, having guessed what was going through his mind, inwardly felt pity.

‘The one you’re trying to trap weaves a net ten, a hundred times larger than yours. If you knew who had already been caught in that net, you would never have dared attempt this.’

Geom Mugeuk asked Jaein in a gentle tone,

“Were you the one who planned this incident?”

Jaein still couldn’t believe that someone who acted nothing like a demon was truly the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.

"I'm still learning."

"From whom?"

Just as Jaein hesitated to answer, Monster Evil spoke to Geom Mugeuk.

"There's someone called the Netweaver."

Jaein hadn’t expected Monster Evil to reveal the mastermind so readily.

He had intended to provoke Monster Evil in hopes of finding a way to survive.

"Wouldn’t it go against reason to do this, especially considering your status, sir?"

He had said it in hopes that guilt might persuade Monster Evil to spare him.

But Monster Evil looked at him with a smile and said,

"My name contains both Monster and Evil. And you’re trying to lecture someone like me about reason? Besides, my relationship with the Netweaver is one of money, not morals."

From those words, Jaein was sure—Monster Evil would never attack the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.

"Who did you send to the Sky Flower Pavilion?"

At Geom Mugeuk’s question, Jaein flinched.

"How did you know?"

"I asked who you sent."

His tone and gaze were calm, but Jaein felt fear. After all, they had planned to annihilate the main division of the Sky Flower Pavilion just because the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult was escorting a courtesan from there.

"I sent the Ghost Slayer Squad."

At the mention of the Ghost Slayer Squad, Chohee, who had been listening, felt her heart sink. It was a name she had heard several times from guests. Every time she heard what that group had done, she frowned, and a chill would run through her. Now to think that the Ghost Slayer Squad had gone after the Pavilion Leader…

While her heart pounded, Geom Mugeuk only gave a small nod and asked no further.

"Why don’t you ask about the result?"

Just as Jaein decided to take the Sky Flower Pavilion as leverage to survive this situation—

"You wouldn’t have brought in Senior Evil if they hadn’t already failed, right?"

Only then did Jaein realize. Though Geom Mugeuk asked gently, he already saw right through him and the situation.

"Do you want to live?"

"I do. No—I sincerely want to live."

Jaein spoke as respectfully as possible.

"Who commissioned this task?"

"They didn’t tell me. That’s the truth!"

"Where is the Netweaver right now?"

He couldn’t answer. If he betrayed the Netweaver, he’d suffer excruciating pain before dying miserably. That’s the kind of person the Netweaver was—someone who weaved tight nets specifically to catch traitors.

"The Netweaver frightens you, but I don’t?"

"That’s not it."

"Well, times like this are when our Little Alliance Leader should be here. If he were, you wouldn’t be daring to take me so lightly."

Though Bih Sa-in wasn’t present, he kept being brought up.

"But luckily, someone even scarier than the Little Alliance Leader is currently at the Sky Flower Pavilion."

Just as Jaein opened his eyes wide with a look of disbelief—

Geom Mugeuk struck with a ground-piercing wind and suppressed Jaein’s internal energy, pressing down on his acupuncture points.

Geom Mugeuk loaded the unconscious Jaein onto the back of the wagon. Though it was a small cart with almost no room for luggage, there was still space to lay Jaein down.

“Will you come with us?”

“Who's there?”

Geom Mugeuk ran his hand from his forehead down to his chin and smiled.

From that, Monster Evil realized that the Evil Smiling Demon was there.

Monster Evil shook his hand dismissively and even shook his head, saying he couldn’t stand the Demon Supremes.

“Let’s meet again next time.”

Just as he turned to leave, Geom Mugeuk spoke to him.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“I know you agreed to their terms on purpose—for my sake.”

Monster Evil replied without looking back.

“I told you, it was for the money. Don't bring that up again, it'll just make my stomach turn.”

With that, Monster Evil launched into the air and vanished.

Watching him disappear, Geom Mugeuk smiled faintly.

‘Why do I talk so much, you ask? Isn’t it exactly for moments like this?’

It was because they had come to understand each other’s sincerity that Monster Evil had come to help him today. Had he acted reserved toward Monster Evil, how would they have come to understand one another?

In these times when severing ties was becoming easier and easier, that was still the reason why Geom Mugeuk talked so much.

“Alright, let’s go too.”

“Yes!”

Chohee silently watched Geom Mugeuk as he drove the wagon.

Monster Evil, the Ghost Slayer Squad—those terrifying names, when they met the Young Cult Leader, had become names of daily life.

And she had come to one more conclusion.

The Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult was not a talkative man. The figure now silently looking ahead and driving the wagon suited him far better than the talkative image she had seen earlier.

At last, the two of them arrived at the Sky Flower Pavilion.

In the distance, the figure of Pavilion Leader Yeo Jeong came into view.

Seeing that the Pavilion Leader, whom she had worried about, was safe brought tears to Chohee’s eyes.

“Pavilion Leader!”

Upon seeing Yeo Jeong, Chohee moved to perform a deep bow right on the spot. But Yeo Jeong came forward first and took her by the hand.

Yeo Jeong led her over and sat her down in her seat. Then she brought her water to drink.

“Drink some water first. Slowly.”

“Yes, Pavilion Leader.”

After calming the excited Chohee, Yeo Jeong checked her condition.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m alright.”

Even at her reply, Yeo Jeong calmly examined her body. She knew full well Chohee would say she wasn’t hurt even if she was, so she checked her thoroughly herself.

She could have asked what information she had first, but instead, she took care of Chohee’s condition.

Naturally, Chohee’s gaze toward the Pavilion Leader deepened.

“You did this for me that day too.”

“That day?”

“The day you saved my life.”

Yeo Jeong had rescued her from being sold to the Wilderness to pay off her father’s gambling debts. It had truly been a chance encounter on the street.

Back then, Yeo Jeong had pulled Chohee away from the men, seated her, and given her water to drink—just like today. After calming her down, she asked what had happened.

Right there, Yeo Jeong paid off Chohee’s debt and then continued on her way.

If she had made Chohee work at the Sky Flower Pavilion after saving her, Chohee wouldn’t have come to respect her like this.

“When you left, you told me this. That my parents had abandoned me, so I shouldn’t be tied down by family anymore. That I should leave that house and live chasing my own dreams.”

That day, Chohee followed Yeo Jeong. Even when told that doing so meant becoming a courtesan, she staked her fate on Yeo Jeong.

“Did I say that?”

Though she spoke that way, Yeo Jeong remembered that day clearly.

“It wasn’t me who saved you. It was fate that saved you.”

That same fate had brought them together again here today.

“You’ve been through a lot getting here.”

At those words, the tears Chohee had been holding back began to stream down her face. Truly, making it back here alive could only be called a miracle.

“Are you alright, Pavilion Leader?”

“I’m fine. Don’t you see those who are protecting us over there?”

Only then did Chohee look around. The Faceless Swordsmen were standing all around the pavilion, guarding it.

As soon as the two arrived, those who had been inside came out and began to protect the place. Their mission had changed.

“Don’t tell me those people are…”

Chohee knew. She recognized whose masks those were.

Naturally, her gaze drifted toward Geom Mugeuk and the Evil Smiling Demon, who were talking nearby.

‘Then that man must be the terrifying Evil Smiling Demon!’

It was Chohee’s first time seeing the Evil Smiling Demon. Was it because she believed that was who he was? The white mask he wore, despite smiling, felt especially frightening.

Seeing Geom Mugeuk grinning brightly in front of the Evil Smiling Demon felt surreal. Once again, she was reminded: every danger became routine once it passed through the Young Cult Leader.

“If it weren’t for the Young Cult Leader over there, I would have died.”

Yeo Jeong smiled faintly.

‘The same goes for me, my dear.’

Chohee continued speaking.

“The Young Cult Leader said this. That even if the entire Martial World stood in his way, he would break through to reach you, Pavilion Leader. That’s how close he is to you.”

At that, Yeo Jeong’s gaze shifted to the Evil Smiling Demon.

“It’s not because of me. It’s because of that man.”

From the way Yeo Jeong looked at him, Chohee could sense the depth of their connection. It was a woman’s intuition.

‘Ah!’

Only now did it all make sense. When she said he came not for Yeo Jeong but because of the Evil Smiling Demon—that was what she meant. Since Yeo Jeong had a deep relationship with the Evil Smiling Demon, the Young Cult Leader had come running for his sake!

As she looked at the two of them, Chohee turned back to the Pavilion Leader. It was time to explain why she had risked her life to come all this way.

“There’s something I need to tell you, Pavilion Leader.”

She spoke in a voice low enough for only Yeo Jeong to hear.

“A huge event is going to happen at the Sky Flower Pavilion—one that will turn the Martial World upside down!”

Then, in an even lower voice, she added,

“And the person who will cause it... is you, Pavilion Leader.”