Absolute Regression

Chapter 642: Who Is He Coming to Kill

A dozen or so carriages ran in a straight line.

The dragons painted on the carriage walls looked as if they might ascend to the heavens at any moment.

Passing martial artists offered respectful fist salutes toward the carriages. There was only one person in Wuhan permitted to use carriages adorned with dragons.

As expected, the leading carriage bore a flag symbolizing the Martial Alliance Leader.

The place where the galloping carriages came to a halt was in front of the Humble Haven.

Ten carriages lined up in a row opened their doors simultaneously.

Jin Paecheon stepped down from the seventh carriage. From the rest, martial artists of the bodyguard unit disembarked.

During the official procession of the Martial Alliance Leader, a dozen identical carriages moved together to ensure that no one could tell which one he rode in.

As Jin Paecheon alighted, the gathered heroes guarding the Humble Haven all simultaneously gave fist salutes and bowed. They had been stationed there ever since the Hermit of Heaven and Earth was ambushed.

"We greet the Alliance Leader!"

Jin Paecheon received the martial artists' warm welcome and entered the Humble Haven. The martial artists guarding the courtyard also greeted him with polite courtesy.

At least among those present, there were many who respected and followed the Hermit of Heaven and Earth more than the Martial Alliance Leader.

Having heard of the Alliance Leader’s arrival, the Hermit of Heaven and Earth came out to greet him.

"I greet the Alliance Leader."

Though they were old friends, the Hermit of Heaven and Earth showed proper formality in front of the other martial artists present.

"How is your condition?"

"Thanks to your concern, I’m doing fine. Come, let’s go inside."

The two entered the building. Only after the Hermit of Heaven and Earth dismissed everyone nearby did they speak freely.

"I should have come sooner. My apologies."

"Not at all. I’m grateful you made time to come at all."

Hwa Yulcheong clasped Jin Paecheon’s hand. Hwa Yulcheong’s hand was so thin and dry, it felt like holding a brittle branch.

Jin Paecheon pulled out a small box he had prepared from his robes and handed it over.

"What is this?"

When Hwa Yulcheong opened the box, a small medicinal pill was inside.

"It’s a Blood Replenishment Pill."

Blood Replenishment Pill was a medicine taken after heavy blood loss—one of the best remedies for replenishing vital energy after an injury.

"Why did you bring something so precious?"

"What could be more precious to me than you?"

"Thank you. I’ll take it gratefully."

"Take it now. Otherwise, you’ll probably sell it later to help the people or something. Take it in front of me."

The two men's eyes locked in mid-air. Jin Paecheon did not back down.

"Alright."

Right there, Hwa Yulcheong took the Blood Replenishment Pill and circulated his qi once through his body.

There was no better medicine for his condition—his complexion immediately improved.

"Thank you."

"Don’t mention it."

"It’s been a while. Shall we have a drink?"

Jin Paecheon shook his head.

"You just had the medicine and now alcohol? No, thank you. I’m fine as is."

"Then at least have some tea. I brewed some earlier."

While Hwa Yulcheong prepared the tea, Jin Paecheon looked around the room.

Nothing had changed since his last visit. The furniture and the desk were all old and cheap. Hwa Yulcheong was the type to spend any money he had on helping the poor.

The martial artists who had come out voluntarily to protect him spoke volumes about how he lived.

It was hard to believe that such a man could be behind a conspiracy.

Hwa Yulcheong brought a teapot to the table.

He never thought the day would come when he'd have to wonder if the tea was poisoned.

"How long has it been? Since the Three-Way Summit, right? We haven't seen each other since then?"

Hwa Yulcheong remembered their last meeting with perfect clarity.

"You were quite agitated that day."

"Me?"

He had been agitated? Jin Paecheon couldn't clearly recall whether he had been. In contrast, Hwa Yulcheong remembered the day exactly.

"That day, you spoke more about the Young Cult Leader than the Demon Cult Leader or the Unorthodox Alliance Leader. You said he would become terrifying as he grew."

Now he remembered. It must have sounded like he was agitated. Maybe he really had been. Hwa Yulcheong was the only person he could speak so frankly to about those kinds of emotions.

"That Young Cult Leader is now in Wuhan."

The hand holding the teacup froze. A flash of surprise crossed Hwa Yulcheong’s face above the teacup.

"Is that true?"

Jin Paecheon relayed the facts as they were.

"There are people who forged and sold the Divine Cult’s hidden weapons. It was the same hidden weapon used in the attack on you."

"Are you saying the Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult came all the way here because of that?"

Hwa Yulcheong looked genuinely puzzled.

Jin Paecheon recalled what Geom Mugeuk had told him.

Fight with truth. Then perhaps you’ll see something only you can recognize.

"That’s not the only reason."

Jin Paecheon revealed his hand first. He hadn't come for a battle of wits.

"They suspect you are behind it."

Hwa Yulcheong looked at a loss, unsure of how to react, and then let out a faint, bitter laugh.

"Why would the Demon Cult place such an absurd, false accusation on me?"

He didn’t even say, “Surely you don’t believe that?” It seemed he naturally assumed Jin Paecheon wouldn’t.

"Then... is the ambush I suffered also related to that incident?"

"It’s highly possible."

"Seems those bastards are plotting something."

The word "plot" struck Jin Paecheon like a nail to the heart.

Whose plot was this?

Geom Mugeuk’s? Hwa Yulcheong’s?

Jin Paecheon rose from his seat and walked over to the window.

Hwa Yulcheong remained seated, watching his back.

A brief silence fell over the room. Jin Paecheon's back, so unlike his usual self, silently demanded an answer.

"Are you... suspecting me?"

Despite the difficulty of the question, the answer came at once.

"How could I? I've watched your life from beside you my whole life. It's just... I keep wondering, why would someone so clever, as you say, place such a ridiculous false charge on you? That thought keeps lingering."

But Hwa Yulcheong could see directly into his friend's heart.

"No, you're wavering right now."

Jin Paecheon didn’t deny it.

Not denying it at this moment—

That was precisely what Geom Mugeuk had intended. He believed that if one held tightly to the truth while facing the other, at the very least, they wouldn't be swayed.

Jin Paecheon spoke frankly from his heart.

"Yes, I admit it. The Young Cult Leader is someone who has given me that much trust."

If not for Geom Mugeuk, without a doubt, he would never have suspected Hwa Yulcheong. Even if undeniable evidence appeared, even if a signed statement were produced, he would have trusted his friend.

Because of Geom Mugeuk, he was now doing something he should never do to a friend.

He was tearing down the trust they had built over a lifetime in a single day.

"Do you remember the day we first met?"

To that, Hwa Yulcheong replied without hesitation.

"How could I forget?"

He added with eyes full of the regrets of the past.

"Meeting you that day changed my life."

Jin Paecheon, who had been staring out the window, slowly turned to face Hwa Yulcheong.

Perhaps because this situation was just too painful, Hwa Yulcheong spoke words he had never once said to Jin Paecheon before.

"Do you know why I’ve lived my life helping others like this?"

Beyond his upright and righteous nature—what other reason could there be?

"It was because of you."

"Because of me?"

"Before I met you, I wasn’t the kind of person who would go this far to sacrifice himself for others."

And yet the reason he had lived such a life was something Jin Paecheon had never considered.

"I wanted to be a friend worthy of you."

"...!"

It was something Jin Paecheon had never known. Hwa Yulcheong had never said anything like that before.

"I’ve always been a wagtail trying to keep up with a crane."

Hwa Yulcheong’s gaze rested on Jin Paecheon's untouched teacup. His eyes seemed to say:

I lived my whole life this way because of you, and now you're doubting me based on the words of a demonic practitioner?

Because he hadn't questioned or accused him, that look seemed all the more sorrowful.

Jin Paecheon calmly said his farewell. He realized his emotions were already too stirred to continue seeing his friend with a clear mind.

"I truly hope the day will come when I can apologize with all my heart. Until then, take care of yourself."

As he slowly walked past him, Hwa Yulcheong spoke.

"You may suspect me, but you should suspect the Young Cult Leader as well. That Young Cult Leader is frightening—he’s someone capable of driving a wedge this deep between you and me."

Hwa Yulcheong conveyed his genuine concern to his friend.

"I'm fine, so please be careful."

*         *         *

Jin Paecheon stood in the pavilion of the Azure Cloud Forest.

It was the same bamboo grove pavilion where he had previously met Geom Muyang. Today, too, the area was thick with fog.

Geom Mugeuk arrived. The one who had contacted him to meet was Jin Paecheon. After meeting his friend, he felt it was time to see Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk stepped into the pavilion and stood side by side with Jin Paecheon.

"On my way here, I kept wondering—what is the wisest decision I could make?"

"Did you find the answer?"

"Yes, I did."

The two, who had been gazing toward the mist, now turned to face each other. Jin Paecheon's eyes still searched for the truth.

"Trust. No matter what the Alliance Leader thinks of me, I must trust the Alliance Leader. I should tell you everything. So that there’s no misunderstanding between us. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to."

No matter how clear and sincere his gaze was, it wouldn’t be easy for that heart to reach Jin Paecheon fully right now.

"Yet it's often trust that clouds the truth."

The words applied just as much to Geom Mugeuk as they did to Hwa Yulcheong.

"I just came from meeting that friend."

Geom Mugeuk already knew. The visit had been an official procession.

"I told him everything, honestly."

"And what did he say?"

Geom Mugeuk was curious about Hwa Yulcheong’s reaction.

"I thought he'd get angry—but he didn't."

If Hwa Yulcheong had responded calmly and composedly like that, Geom Mugeuk thought Jin Paecheon wouldn’t have learned anything. But it was precisely that calmness that led Jin Paecheon to discover something.

"Seeing that friend worry about me... I realized one thing."

Jin Paecheon turned his gaze toward Geom Mugeuk.

"That friend has never once gotten angry at me."

He repeated it, as if to emphasize its importance.

"We’ve been friends for decades, but not once has he gotten angry at me. Strangely enough, I realized that today. Sure, it could be. He’s always been a kind-hearted person. But do you know what I was like?"

Geom Mugeuk smiled and replied.

"The Alliance Leader probably lost his temper quite often."

Though now older and more emotionally composed, Jin Paecheon had originally been a rough, domineering man.

"No. I’ve never once gotten angry at him either."

Both Geom Mugeuk, who heard it, and Jin Paecheon, who said it, were equally surprised by the realization.

"Thinking about the kind of person I was in my youth, that’s something that shouldn’t have been possible. But I thought about it on my way here—why is it that I’ve never once gotten angry at him?"

And Jin Paecheon found the answer.

"That friend… always matched my mood."

Jin Paecheon had never once seriously thought about this in his life. He had just considered him a good-natured friend, which made him comfortable to be around.

"Back when I was the successor, and even after I became the Alliance Leader, he adjusted to me in every way. If I was angry, he got angry with me. If I was joyful, he shared in my joy."

In short, he had been a truly good friend.

"But now that I think about it, that friend never once showed me his own emotions. Not joy, not sorrow. Not even a single instance of irritation."

It might make sense if that were just his nature.

"He's the kind of person who doesn’t hold back tears for the poor. And when faced with injustice, no one gets angrier than him. But he never expressed those overflowing emotions to me."

Jin Paecheon looked to Geom Mugeuk with eyes demanding an answer.

"Was it because I’m the Alliance Leader? Was he uncomfortable around me?"

Jin Paecheon was agitated, and it was the first time in his life he had spoken so much in one sitting. He had never imagined the one he would say it all to would be Geom Mugeuk.

Eventually, Geom Mugeuk, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.

"Thanks to that, you've come this far, haven't you?"

"!"

"You never damaged the relationship. You've built that friendship steadily over decades, haven't you?"

Could a Martial Alliance Leader truly have no discomfort in doubting a long-time friend? Especially when the distortion in the relationship was something he had uncovered on his own? Jin Paecheon’s suspicion began to turn again—this time toward Geom Mugeuk.

"You're also someone who treats people with carefully chosen words, aren’t you?"

Geom Mugeuk calmly reasoned with him.

"If I were the true Cult Leader and not merely the Acting Cult Leader, you’d be right to suspect the cult of orchestrating all this. I’m good at driving wedges, and I’m crafty. But as long as my father is the Cult Leader, we don’t use these kinds of methods. My father would just charge in. 'Try and stop me,' he’d say."

That couldn’t be denied. The Geom Woojin Jin Paecheon knew was exactly that kind of man.

"More than that, he wouldn't have created this kind of situation to begin with."

Geom Mugeuk relayed the latest news to Jin Paecheon.

"The old demons who broke the Forbidden Demon Order are heading here."

"!"

Jin Paecheon understood better than anyone what the Forbidden Demon Order meant. It was an order passed down for centuries within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

The reason those who had committed crimes were spared instead of killed was because it was judged that they might one day be useful in a future war against the Martial Alliance.

"Breaking the Forbidden Demon Order means defying the Cult Leader’s decree. Using such people to orchestrate something? If that's what you're thinking, then you’ve completely misunderstood my father."

It was a moment when the old demons breaking the Forbidden Demon Order became useful.

Even Jin Paecheon found himself agreeing with Geom Mugeuk’s words.

“Who’s coming?”

“Demon Flame Lord and White-Bone Soul Demon are on their way.”

Jin Paecheon’s expression hardened. Mishandling them could easily lead to a bloodbath.

“Why are they coming?”

“We didn’t send them, so how would I know? But what they do best is killing people. So I assume... they’re coming to kill someone.”

A chilling energy began to radiate from Jin Paecheon’s body.

Up to this point, he had kept his erupting fury in check—for the sake of the Alliance and the orthodox martial world. But now even criminals of the Demon Cult were coming?

Toward that icy fury, Geom Mugeuk offered a shocking statement.

“I believe the Alliance Leader already knows who they’re coming to kill.”

“I know…?”

Jin Paecheon’s face twisted beyond shock into utter disbelief. To that, Geom Mugeuk asked a question. If their true goal was to divide the Demon Cult and the Martial Alliance—

“Who, if killed, do you think would push you past the point of no return?”