Absolute Regression

Chapter 692: You People Are Just That Foolish, Aren’t You?

After saying his farewell to the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress and stepping outside, An Hu-pyeong finally brought out the words he had been holding back.

“Come, let’s go to my place for a drink.”

Had he not exchanged those hollow words with the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress only for the sake of saying this to Lee Ahn?

He had already sent word ahead, so good wine and food would be ready. And if he called for a musician to play some pleasant tunes to set the mood? She would have no choice but to be swayed!

An Hu-pyeong naturally thought Lee Ahn would agree. Since he had introduced her to the examiner, he expected she would at least try to look favorable toward him.

“Let’s do it another time.”

Lee Ahn flatly refused.

“If you dislike wine, then at least some tea.”

“Another time.”

Never before had a woman rejected him so openly, leaving An Hu-pyeong flustered.

Had it been any other woman, he would have burst into anger, but not this time.

Not only was she a demonic practitioner, but he truly liked her, so he still wanted to leave a good impression.

As he stood unsure of how to react, Lee Ahn walked closer. As she approached, a pleasant fragrance wafted from her.

It was also thrilling how she whispered softly so only he could hear.

“Next time we meet, tell me the real reason you held the tournament. I can’t stand not knowing things.”

After saying that, Lee Ahn lightly bowed her head in farewell and began to walk away. Behind her, Geom Mugeuk followed.

‘That bastard! I want to beat him to a pulp!’

His misplaced anger briefly flared toward Geom Mugeuk, but the man vanished from sight before the fire could spread.

The only one left beside him was Sa Chu.

Sa Chu stood blankly, staring at the guest hall.

Wondering what he was staring at, An Hu-pyeong followed his gaze. The Faceless Swordsmen were looking this way from the window.

“What? Did you lend them money or something?”

Startled out of his daze, Sa Chu quickly came to his senses.

“No.”

“Then why are you looking like that?”

In truth, Sa Chu was recalling the scene from the courtyard earlier.

When he awoke after fainting, one of the Faceless Swordsmen had reached out a hand to him as he lay there. Feeling that he would die if he didn’t, he took the hand and stood.

‘Now I’ve truly shaken hands with them.’

Before, he had been too afraid to even speak, but now he felt as if he were on the same side as them. Along with it came an even stronger sense that he had to guard their secret.

“What’s gotten into you lately? Excited from seeing a pretty woman after so long?”

“No.”

He wished it were something as simple as that. Right now, women no longer entered Sa Chu’s eyes.

As the only one who knew that Master Yong had died at their hands, he was in a silent life-or-death struggle.

“Anyway, where are you going?”

“To my father.”

Judging from his mood, An Hu-pyeong was about to go confront the Gang Leader. To demand why on earth the tournament had been held.

It was all because he wanted to tell Lee Ahn the reason. He was truly acting like a man bewitched by a woman.

“You mustn’t. The Gang Leader will thunder down on you!”

When Sa Chu stepped in front of him, An Hu-pyeong barked out loudly.

“Are you insane?”

Startled, Sa Chu hurriedly stepped aside. It was certainly behavior unlike his usual self.

“What’s with you? Since when did you start worrying about me?”

Yes, Sa Chu had always just followed after him, protecting him. Whatever nonsense An Hu-pyeong said or did, Sa Chu had only played the role of a guard.

But now, unknowingly, he was becoming entangled in An Hu-pyeong’s affairs. He had never once been a central figure in this life, yet he felt as if he should step forward.

“My apologies.”

And so An Hu-pyeong went to the Grand Hall where his father was.

Contrary to Sa Chu’s worries, An Cheong-gwang did not grow angry.

“Was it so important that you had to know?”

Seeing his father respond calmly, An Hu-pyeong was inwardly bewildered.

He had expected his father to shout that it was none of his concern. He had even come prepared to receive that thunderous scolding.

“I heard you changed the examiner at the end.”

An Cheong-gwang answered calmly.

“There were circumstances for that.”

And he already had a good idea why his son was showing such interest in this matter.

“It’s not what you’re imagining, so don’t waste your worries.”

The father he knew was never one to say such things. No—he would have already roared, asking why he dared to ask again when told it was none of his concern. An Hu-pyeong had even steeled himself for a slap.

That way, he might even have had something to tell her—See how much I endured, how much I tried. For once, he was cherishing this rare, perhaps first, pure feeling.

But instead, his father treated him calmly. So calmly it unsettled him.

“I’ll tell you everything I couldn’t say, later.”

An Hu-pyeong was moved by his father’s gentle gaze.

Never once had his father spoken to him with such kindness. He had always considered him pathetic.

At least in that moment, he forgot about Lee Ahn. Even though he had not gotten the answer he wanted to tell her, it was still enough.

“Thank you for telling me.”

An Hu-pyeong bowed respectfully and left.

As he watched the retreating back of his son, the softness faded from An Cheong-gwang’s face.

To withdraw so easily just because his manner had softened? To be moved so simply?

Seeing his son wear his heart so plainly made him sigh deeply.

At that moment, a woman’s voice came from behind.

“A man in love can never hide his true feelings.”

The one who appeared without a sound was Cha Iran.

An Cheong-gwang looked at her with calm eyes.

“You’re the same.”

When he had first learned that the Young Cult Leader had interfered, he had cursed her as a madwoman.

Now, however, his mind had settled.

“You can’t even hide that you’re hiding something from me. What is it that you’re enthralled by?”

Cha Iran only smiled instead of answering and asked,

“Do you regret joining hands with me?”

He did not.

One night, he had awoken to find her gazing down at him. If she had wanted to kill him, he would already have been dead. As she looked down at him, she had said:

—If you refuse my proposal, I’ll go to the Black Heaven Sect.

The Black Heaven Sect was the largest and strongest sect in Anhui.

Although An Cheong-gwang had expanded the Divine Transformation Gang greatly, he could never surpass the Black Heaven Sect.

It was impossible. No matter how hard he tried, he could never rival the Sect Leader of the Black Heaven Sect. The difference in natural talent and capacity was too vast. The Sect Leader was a wall. An unbreakable wall.

At her words, An Cheong-gwang had said:

—Don’t go.

Her proposal had been truly astonishing.

If the Divine Transformation Gang hosted the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens Selection Tournament and invited the Young Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance, they could assassinate him and shift the blame onto the Sect Leader of the Black Heaven Sect.

He had accepted it without much hesitation.

After all, he had lived his life without regard for means or methods. To bring down the Black Heaven Sect and become the greatest unorthodox gang in Anhui, and eventually the strongest unorthodox gang of all—that had been his dream.

And above all, if he refused, this woman would take the same offer to the Black Heaven Sect. No—she likely never intended to go to them. She must have known he would accept. She must have followed the scent of the ambition he had nurtured for so long.

“Don’t lay a hand on the Young Cult Leader.”

“You’ve already agreed to kill the Young Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance, so what are you afraid of?”

At a glance, it even seemed advantageous that the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult had interfered.

After all, people would think the Demonic Cult had a hand in the death of the Young Leader. Amidst that chaos, the fact that he had helped would forever remain buried.

All except for one thing.

What if the Young Cult Leader died?

Would the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult really spare anyone connected? Wouldn’t the order come down to kill all, guilty or not? If it was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult he knew, they certainly would. For the simple reason that the Divine Transformation Gang had held the tournament, they would try to annihilate them.

“Killing the Young Cult Leader must never happen.”

“I won’t kill him.”

“Never!”

As he repeatedly pleaded, Cha Iran left behind a spiteful remark and vanished before his eyes.

“You keep saying that, and it really makes me want to kill him.”

*         *         *

Under the bright full moon, Cha Iran stood alone in the open field.

The swaying grass in the wind seemed almost as if it were breathing.

Through that breath, a man walked toward her from afar.

He was a man dressed to impress—fine clothes, ornate accessories, and even a folding fan painted with a portrait of a beauty.

On top of that, his face was caked with thick makeup—so much white powder it was excessive. His eccentricity bordered on self-mockery, to the point that his real features were unrecognizable.

As he approached, the man waved his fan lightly.

“Long time no see, friend.”

At his greeting, Cha Iran showed a surprised expression.

“I didn’t expect you to bring it in person.”

“I said I’d deliver it. And maybe get a look at your face while I was at it.”

The man’s name was Hwa Do-myeong.

The two of them seemed like an unlikely pair, yet they maintained a relationship akin to friendship. They communicated surprisingly well. Perhaps because of that, Cha Iran looked more at ease than usual.

“You didn’t come to see me, but to see the Young Cult Leader, didn’t you?”

Hwa Do-myeong admitted without resistance.

“An amusing spectacle like this doesn’t happen often in a lifetime. Are you really going to kill even the Young Cult Leader?”

Indeed, An Cheong-gwang’s intuition had been correct. Her earlier claim that she wouldn’t kill the Young Cult Leader was a lie.

“The Young Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance and even the Young Cult Leader. Handling both alone won’t be easy.”

“Yet that was the order given, wasn’t it?”

“You make it sound like I’m the one who gave that order.”

“At the very least, you could have tried to stop it.”

Feigning indifference, Hwa Do-myeong flicked his fan rapidly.

“As you know, things are complicated on my side as well.”

Cha Iran’s expression made it clear she had no desire to understand his excuse.

“You’ve met the Young Cult Leader, haven’t you?”

When she nodded, Hwa Do-myeong quickly pressed further.

“How was he? As incredible as the rumors say?”

“If you’re so curious, meet him yourself.”

“Not curious enough to risk my life. I’m here only as a messenger and a spectator.”

“So even you have people you fear.”

Then Hwa Do-myeong mentioned an unexpected name.

“You haven’t heard, have you? When Ak Gunhak came back…”

The moment he mentioned the First King, Sword King, Cha Iran’s eyes glimmered faintly.

Among her own side, Ak Gunhak was the only one she felt a sense of admiration for.

She always emphasized it wasn’t romantic—it was admiration as a martial artist, as a person.

And the only one who knew this truth was Hwa Do-myeong.

“The higher-ups pressed him. Why didn’t you kill the Young Cult Leader and come back? Do you know what he said?”

“What did he say?”

Hwa Do-myeong cleared his throat and imitated Ak Gunhak’s words.

“I didn’t spare him. The Young Cult Leader spared me.”

Cha Iran’s eyes widened at that.

“Impossible.”

Her expression showed she could hardly believe it. The Ak Gunhak, she knew, losing to anyone was unthinkable.

“Yes, with his skill there’s no way he could have lost to the Young Cult Leader. But he really said it. I was there.”

Cha Iran recalled the Young Cult Leader. She hadn’t yet spoken properly with Geom Mugeuk, so she didn’t know what kind of man he was. She knew he was strong, but still.

That he had spared Ak Gunhak? It was unbelievable.

“There must have been some circumstances.”

“That’s not the only shocking part.”

What came next was, for Cha Iran, an even more startling piece of news.

“Right then and there, Ak Gunhak declared he was leaving the organization. It was incredible. He said he had brought back the Secret Box, so his debt was repaid.”

Cha Iran’s expression shifted through a storm of emotions. Her first thought was:

“That’s just like him.”

She understood his resolve. Then:

“If even he leaves, then only trash like us will remain.”

A pang of self-reproach. Then:

“Would the higher-ups have ever allowed it?”

Doubt. Her emotions moved faster and more chaotically than usual, and Hwa Do-myeong watched in silence. Once again, it was confirmed—Ak Gunhak was the only one who could shake her.

“Why do you think that? Do you believe we’d be foolish enough to make Ak Gunhak our enemy?”

Cha Iran nodded.

“You people are just that foolish, aren’t you?”

At her words, Hwa Do-myeong burst out laughing.

But Cha Iran did not smile. Whether Ak Gunhak left safely or the organization held him back, both paths spelled trouble. Perhaps she herself would be ordered to kill him.

Then Hwa Do-myeong drew something from his robes.

“Still, we’re not complete fools. We’ve finally made this.”

What he produced was a small box.

“Will this turn the tide?”

He held it out to Cha Iran as he asked.

“Are you confident?”

“And if I’m not?”

“Then I’ll do it for you.”

Beneath the thick makeup, Hwa Do-myeong’s eyes turned cold. The feeling was entirely different from when he had been idly flicking his fan.

Cha Iran quietly accepted the box.

“If you came just to spectate, then spectate. The Young Cult Leader will die by my hand.”

“If you say so, then so it shall be.”

As he turned away, Hwa Do-myeong called out,

“I’ll enjoy the show!”

Fanning himself lightly, he strolled off with a laugh.

Cha Iran watched his retreating back disappear into the distance before slowly opening the box.

Inside lay a single red bead.