Absolute Regression

Chapter 620: Why Look at the Sky on the Day You Die?

‘Who permits the making of counterfeit goods?’

Geom Muyang hadn’t expected Gwak Yeong to ask so brazenly. It caught him off guard all the more because it wasn’t wrong.

“If we used the same ingredients, you wouldn’t even have known it was counterfeit.”

What was this? This shamelessness?

She was completely different from what he had expected. In a situation like this, she should have been groveling, begging for her life.

Was it a trap after all?

Geom Muyang calmly reexamined his surroundings. He still found nothing suspicious inside the tea house.

Gwak Yeong picked up the teacup in front of her and took a sip. Her palm was covered in calluses, and her hands were rough. Not only were there burn marks, but there were also so many scars that it was almost embarrassing to call them a woman’s hands.

Hands that reflected her life as it was.

Sensing Geom Muyang’s gaze, Gwak Yeong raised the back of her hand so he could see.

“Scars of glory!”

She wore those wounds with pride.

“Thanks to these hands, many people survived that day.”

Gwak Yeong asked Geom Muyang,

“Do you have scars like these too?”

As he remained silent, she searched for the cause of that silence in the wrong place.

“Are you angry because I called you a fool?”

Only then did Geom Muyang finally speak.

“If I’m angry, it would be because of the counterfeit item you made.”

“It’s a world overflowing with fakes!”

Of course, that didn’t work on Geom Muyang. In fact, as she felt his gaze grow colder, she avoided his eyes and picked up her teacup.

She sipped her tea and then looked out the window.

It was the same scenery as usual, but today it felt more lively than ever.

As she looked at the passersby, she lightly bit her lip. Her lips were trembling. Though she acted confidently in front of him, her fear matched that confidence.

She sighed as if speaking to herself.

“They said I’d never get caught, so what is this?”

It seemed she hadn’t expected to meet him here today.

If that was true, there was something that didn’t add up.

They were meticulous enough to eliminate witnesses. They were people who could summon Han Wolgaek and Byeoksan Sword.

Then why was she left in such an unguarded state? She should be the most important person of all.

Still gazing outside, she asked,

“I’m in a lot of trouble now, aren’t I?”

The crime of creating a counterfeit item was not light enough for her to be acting so relaxed. If there were no intention to use her to trace the people behind it, she would already be dead. Even after extracting the information, her life would still be hanging by a thread.

Geom Muyang stood up from his seat.

“Quietly come with me.”

She didn’t get up.

“I haven’t finished my tea yet.”

Was she thinking that being taken away would mean her death? The hand holding the teacup was trembling.

It was just then that someone walking past the tea house stopped and called out to her.

“Artisan Gwak!”

He was a middle-aged martial artist wearing the attire of the Martial Alliance. Behind him followed over a dozen martial artists, each moving with sharp steps and piercing gazes.

The middle-aged man was none other than Do In-su, the Division Leader of the White Dragon Branch, one of the Martial Alliance’s elite units alongside the Blue Dragon Group.

“Division Leader Do!”

Gwak Yeong stood up and quietly said to Geom Muyang,

“What should I do? If I don’t go, that person will come in here.”

Without waiting for Geom Muyang’s response, she walked outside.

“How was the sword I sent you last time?”

“It was excellent. I mean, it’s from Artisan Gwak — how could it not be?”

Gwak Yeong’s skills were widely recognized, and everyone was certain she would soon become the youngest person to lead an ironworks.

There was a reason why the White Dragon Division Leader was being so friendly with her. Every division within the Martial Alliance worked to stay on good terms with the ironworks. That way, they could receive better weapons than their rivals.

The White Dragon Division Leader’s gaze shifted to Geom Muyang. For some reason, he was a figure who drew the eye.

“And who is that gentleman?”

Gwak Yeong looked at Geom Muyang. Her gaze seemed to say:

What should I do? Should I just tell them outright that he’s from the Demonic Cult?

However, for some reason, words completely different from what she had in mind came out of her mouth.

“He’s a friend of mine. He’s helped me a lot with my work for a long time.”

Geom Muyang stood and respectfully cupped his fist in greeting.

“I am Jang Hyeong from the Flowing Sword Gate.”

“Oh, so you’re Hero Jang.”

The wariness faded from the Division Leader’s eyes the moment Gwak Yeong called him a friend. That alone showed how much he wanted to stay on her good side.

“I still have things to discuss with the Division Leader. Friend, let’s meet again.”

At her words, Geom Muyang nodded.

He had no choice but to let her go. With the White Dragon Division Leader and the martial artists of the White Dragon Branch watching, he couldn’t just forcefully take her.

And so, Gwak Yeong left with the White Dragon Division Leader. As she walked farther away, she turned around and looked back. After watching Geom Muyang for a moment, she quickened her pace and disappeared.

As Geom Muyang stepped out of the Fragrance Pavilion and began walking, Ho Myeong quietly approached from the side. He had also witnessed Gwak Yeong using the Martial Alliance martial artists to slip away.

“I’ll report to the Heavenly Communication Pavilion that Gwak Yeong will go into hiding again. I’ll tell them to cast a tighter surveillance net so she won’t escape this time.”

But then, Geom Muyang gave an unexpected response.

“Gwak Yeong will not run.”

“My lord?”

“She’ll probably come back tomorrow.”

She ran away like that, and yet she’d come back tomorrow? Ho Myeong could not understand what kind of thinking Geom Muyang was operating on.

"May I ask the reason?"

It was Geom Muyang’s intuition—an inexplicable sense that she wouldn’t simply run away.

If he had to give Ho Myeong a reason:

“If the ones behind her had meant to hide her, they wouldn’t have let her come back.”

But instead, they had done the opposite. The very day they arrived, the woman who had vanished returned.

The next day, Ho Myeong was on even higher alert, watching the surroundings of the Fragrance Pavilion.

Through the seal of the Heavenly Communication Pavilion, they tried to grasp the movements of Martial Alliance experts and elites as much as possible, and the branch martial artists sharpened their senses to the limit. It was this peaceful calm that made them feel even more uneasy.

Geom Muyang entered the Fragrance Pavilion alone.

He sat in the same seat as the day before and ordered tea.

“You’re back again.”

The shopkeeper recognized Geom Muyang and greeted him warmly. According to the Heavenly Communication Pavilion’s background check, he was not a suspicious person. He was a long-time, ordinary man who ran the tea house here.

The Heavenly Communication Pavilion had shown meticulousness, even investigating the regulars. But they found no guests to be cautious of.

Geom Muyang sat alone and drank his tea.

Time passed, but she didn’t appear.

‘Was my instinct wrong?’

Perhaps it was. He might have been misled by her bright and confident demeanor and misjudged her.

A full two hours had passed, and just as Geom Muyang was about to rise—

—She has arrived.

Ho Myeong’s sound transmission came through, and moments later, Gwak Yeong stepped into the tea house.

She was the same one who had dashed away as if running for her life yesterday.

But this time, she came straight to the table where Geom Muyang was sitting.

“The iron that came in today was the best we’ve received since I joined the ironworks. We’ve never had iron this good before.”

She acted as if yesterday’s escape hadn’t happened at all—like she was greeting a real friend. She even smiled brightly.

“You probably don’t know this, but good things happen on days when good iron arrives. It’s a long-held belief in the ironworks.”

“Sounds like superstition.”

With a cold reply, Geom Muyang stared at her sharply and asked,

“Why didn’t you run? Why did you come back?”

He had expected she might return, but he still wanted to know the reason. Moreover, she had come alone again.

He checked the surroundings more thoroughly than the day before—but still, there were no hidden experts in ambush.

“You people have marked me—where could I possibly run?”

If that was truly her reason, then she had made a wise choice. There was no way they would have let her escape yesterday unnoticed.

“Unless I hid deep in the mountains.”

“Then you might preserve your life.”

She ordered her usual tea from the tea house owner and said to Geom Muyang,

“My life’s not so important that it’s worth hiding away in the mountains just to protect it.”

It was a bold statement, yet tinged with sorrow.

“And what would I even do alone in the mountains? If I can’t work at the ironworks…”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but it was clear what she meant—she would rather die.

“You love your work so much… why did you do something like that?”

She merely fiddled with her teacup and didn’t respond. But it was clear that there was some circumstance behind it.

It didn’t matter if she didn’t talk—she would be interrogated with a truth serum anyway.

“Let’s go.”

“I’ve only had one sip!”

But Geom Muyang rose first and walked out of the tea house.

After finishing the tea that remained in her cup, she followed him out.

A carriage was waiting in the alley near the tea house.

“Let’s walk.”

“Who are you planning to run off with today?”

When Geom Muyang got into the carriage first, she had no choice but to board as well. It was a covered carriage, with curtains drawn to block the view of where they were headed.

“I’d like to see the outside on the way.”

Though the carriage began moving, Geom Muyang did not open the shuttered window.

Then came a curt, flat voice.

“You’ll get a chance to look at the sky before you die.”

After a brief pause, she responded.

“Why look at the sky on the day you die? You should look at people.”

Geom Muyang said nothing.

After a short silence, Gwak Yeong cautiously asked,

“Who are you?”

From the look in her eyes, Geom Muyang could tell—she had no idea who he was. Those behind her hadn’t told her anything.

Geom Muyang gave no reply.

Soon, the carriage arrived at the manor.

They had taken a roundabout path several times to check for any pursuit, but no one followed. No one tried to protect her. She was thoroughly alone.

Just as Geom Muyang reached to open the carriage door—

Ssshhk.

Gwak Yeong pointed something at him.

To his surprise, it was a Blitz Blade. But it wasn’t the forged Blitz Blade he had seen earlier.

It was much smaller. Small enough to be completely hidden in the palm of her hand.

“It’s a single-shot Blitz Blade. I made this one too.”

Since they were sitting face-to-face in the carriage, the Blitz Blade was pointed directly at his face.

But Geom Muyang’s expression showed not a trace of fear.

“I asked who you are.”

She had sensed it from the beginning—he wasn’t just an ordinary demonic cultist. He didn’t seem like the kind of butcher who hunted down and killed those who made forged superior items. He didn’t speak much, but he carried a distinct air of authority.

Even now, with the Blitz Blade aimed right at him, he didn’t so much as blink.

“You don’t even know who I am, and yet you’re trying to kill me?”

A heavy silence filled the air.

“Why aren’t you shooting? All it takes is a flick of your finger.”

Gwak Yeong’s pupils trembled, while Geom Muyang’s remained calm.

“You’ve never killed anyone before, have you?”

“Is that something to brag about? That you’ve killed someone?”

Though she was trembling, she tried her best to stay composed.

“It’ll be my first time, but I can do it.”

“Then do it.”

But she didn’t fire the Blitz Blade.

“I didn’t pull it out to kill. I pulled it out to live.”

Gwak Yeong slowly lowered the Blitz Blade she had been aiming.

“I’m placing my life and fate in your hands.”

Her eyes were filled with a solemn determination.

“You just said you don’t even know who I am. So what makes you think you can entrust your fate to me?”

Gwak Yeong stared at Geom Muyang and replied,

“It’s not about trusting you. I’m trusting myself. I’m trusting my choice.”

Gwak Yeong continued to gaze intently at Geom Muyang. When they had first met at the tea house, she had unknowingly smiled and lowered her head slightly when she saw him.

It hadn’t been the smile one gives just for making eye contact with a stranger. The moment she saw him, something stirred from deep within her. She couldn’t explain what it was.

“I spared your life. So please grant me one request. After that, you can kill me. If you’re a man of honor, promise me here and now.”

Her eyes, filled with the resolve to face death, held nothing but sincerity.

At that moment—

Swish.

The Blitz Blade, which had been lowered, suddenly aimed at Geom Muyang again.

It was Gwak Yeong herself who was more surprised. Her finger moved on its own, pulling the trigger mechanism of the concealed weapon.

“No!”

She tried to shift the aim to the side, but her arm wouldn’t move.

“Get out of the way!”

She shouted, but the Blitz Blade had already fired.

Swaek!

Pa-ak!

In that instant, Gwak Yeong squeezed her eyes shut. She knew full well that, at this distance, dodging was impossible. She had made the weapon herself.

‘Ah! What in the world just happened?’

She had never intended to kill him. And yet, her hand had moved on its own and fired the Blitz Blade.

Chiiiiiik.

She heard the sound of something melting.

She squeezed her eyes even tighter.

Then a voice came.

“Open your eyes.”

At Geom Muyang’s voice, her eyes shot open.

Geom Muyang was still seated in place. A hole had been pierced right next to his head. It seemed that at the very last second, her hand had shifted and fired to the side. She had been so shocked and flustered that she hadn’t realized her hand had moved.

With a huge sigh of relief, she asked,

“What… what just happened?”

Geom Muyang had used Void Telekinesis to control her finger and arm as if moving an object through the air. They were sitting extremely close, and since she had no martial arts ability, it had been an easy task.

He had shown her clearly: even if she had intended to kill, she wouldn’t have been able to.

Geom Muyang opened the carriage door and stepped out first.

“Enough with the fate nonsense. Get down.”

He gave an order to his subordinate.

“Take her to the interrogation room.”

With an awkward sigh, Gwak Yeong got out of the carriage.

“Today was supposed to be a good day... a day when good iron came in.”