Absolute Regression

For the time being, the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress was hidden away in a safe house used by the high-ranking members of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect. It was a place so secretive and intricately operated that there was no need to worry about her safety.

Before saying goodbye to the Evil Smiling Demon, she didn’t forget to make a request concerning Lee Ahn.

“Please take good care of your escort.”

Seeing her emphasize this again, it was clear that what she had said about Lee Ahn previously was not just empty words meant to sound pleasant.

“She should be the one looking after me.”

At my joke, Yo Jeong smiled. I felt that our relationship was only just beginning.

After parting ways with her, the carriage we were on started moving again to some unknown destination.

“Sir Soma, they might launch another surprise attack. Please be careful.”

“Second Young Master, you should be careful too.”

“Now that the person who would anger me by dying is gone, they might target you instead.”

“Would it upset you if I died?”

“Out of respect for the Cult Leader, I would have to pretend to be upset. It would actually be beneficial. No matter what I do, the Cult Leader will forgive me.”

Though he spoke as if joking, he was like a volcano that could erupt at any moment. They were trying their best to make that volcano explode.

I leaned out of the carriage window. Beyond the quickly passing trees, I could see a steep cliff in the distance. I had climbed that cliff once. I had traveled all over the Central Plains searching for materials for the Great Regression Technique.

Back then, I thought my life after regression would mostly involve martial arts training in the training hall, but here I was passing by this place again. It seemed my life after regression was busier.

While I was reminiscing about my past life, I suddenly looked toward the coachman’s seat.

“You two haven’t said a word to each other, have you? Why don’t you talk a bit?”

Then her voice transmission flew at me.

—Please don’t. I’m already uncomfortable enough as it is.

—So? Are you going to stay uncomfortable?

—It’s more comfortable to just be silent.

At that moment, Cheong Myeon suddenly asked Lee Ahn.

“How is the escorting job?”

Both Lee Ahn and I were surprised by his question. Of course, he asked out of respect for me rather than genuine curiosity about Lee Ahn.

“As you can see, he is not an easy person.”

Cheong Myeon nodded slightly in agreement.

This time, Lee Ahn asked.

“How about you, Cheong Myeon?”

“I’m fine.”

If we were a bit closer, Lee Ahn would have said, “What am I supposed to be then?” in response to that answer.

However, the awkward conversation ended there.

That was enough. It started off like this, so it was fine. Since the ice was broken, one day I might see the two of them chatting away.

I pulled my body back inside the carriage from the window.

“Is it right for a man of great character to be so meddlesome?”

He talked about being a man of great character again, knowing exactly how I would respond to such words.

“It’s not because of meddling; it’s a personality issue. I can’t stand feeling frustrated.”

“Is your frustration the reason you want to take off my mask?”

“That might be part of it.”

“Young Master, all of that is meddling.”

After saying this in a prickly manner, the Evil Smiling Demon turned his head to look out the window. Soma, even with all this meddling, you remain impregnable.

I chuckled and looked out the opposite window. The cliff I climbed before the regression was receding into the distance.

After traveling for a while, the carriage arrived at a bustling marketplace.

People nearby, who were busy with their businesses, flinched when they saw three masked warriors alight from the carriage.

Cheong Myeon took the lead, and we followed behind.

“Young Master, do you have a lot of money?”

“I do. Why do you ask?”

“If you have a lot of money, I’m thinking of making you lose it all in a gambling den.”

“If you provoke this Sleeping Gambling God, the gambling den might go bankrupt.”

The Evil Smiling Demon laughed as if he found that amusing.

Inside a small door at the end of the alleyway was a whole new world.

The gambling den was grand and extravagant. It was ten times bigger than I had expected, without exaggeration. It was so large that it dwarfed the main training hall of our cult, and it was packed with countless people.

Hundreds of tables were filled with gamblers, and slender beauties in revealing clothes wandered among them, carrying bottles of alcohol. 1

Everyone was so absorbed in gambling that no one paid attention to us masked people. No one cared about who was coming or going.

“It’s much bigger than I expected.”

“Want to hear something even more surprising? The income here is even greater than the income from the Sky Flower Pavilion.”

I had heard that the income from the Sky Flower Pavilion was greater than from the Great Lake Trading Company, but now he was saying that the gambling den’s income was even greater than that of Sky Flower Pavilion.

“The Unorthodox Alliance wants to set up a gambling den here to share in the profits, while the Martial Alliance wants to shut it down completely. The orthodox sects criticize us for ruining people’s lives with gambling, but the truth is they just don’t like the money flowing to us. So, what do you think of this gambling den?”

“Seeing them so engrossed in gambling in broad daylight makes me want to beat some sense into them.”

“If you do that, the Young Master’s diet will consist of nothing but grass from now on.”

“It’s their own lives; I shouldn’t interfere, right?”

The bad thing about this life is that one doesn’t fall alone.

They borrow money, steal, deceive. They torment their families and those around them until they finally crumble after holding on for as long as they can.

When the Evil Smiling Demon made an unexpected visit, the managers hurriedly ran out. They trembled like aspen trees at the realization that he had come in person.

As we walked towards their office, there was a particularly crowded spot.

When the Evil Smiling Demon stopped, a manager quickly reported.

“The man is the son of a local notable and often bets large sums. Today, he seems to be on a winning streak, and we keep losing.”

Indeed, the gambler facing him wore a look of utter defeat.

“I’ll bet everything on this round.”

The man placed all his money on the table.

The amount was so large that the gambler’s face stiffened completely.

“It’s obvious how this will turn out,” said Soma.

The manager quickly responded, “We’ll replace the gambler.”

“Wait.”

Stopping him, the Evil Smiling Demon looked at me.

“Would you like to try?”

“Are you going to cut off my arm if I lose money?”

“Where did that confidence of bankrupting the gambling den go?”

“Fine. But only one round.”

I took the gambler’s place. Everyone flinched when I, masked, stepped forward, but changing the gambler was within the house’s authority.

I swiftly shook the cup containing seven dice.

The Evil Smiling Demon watched with a look of interest at my skilled movements.

Thud.

I placed the cup down. As the dice inside settled, I lifted the cup.

The sum of the dice was narrowly on the lower side.

A groan escaped the man’s lips. His streak of luck had finally ended. The gambler, who had been repeatedly losing to him, sighed in relief.

I immediately left the table and walked over to the Evil Smiling Demon.

“Luckily, my fortune held.”

“Fortune, you say?”

“If not fortune, then what?”

“Perhaps the Sleeping Gambling God has awakened.”

“Since that’s not the case, let’s put the Gambling God back to sleep.”

But my enigmatic smile only piqued his curiosity further.

We followed the manager through a passage in the corner of the gambling den.

The hallway was lined with several rooms, which appeared to be where the martial artists guarding the gambling den waited and resided.

As we passed through and entered a secret door, we found ourselves in the manager’s office.

The manager brought out the ledger and handed it to Cheong Myeon, then proceeded to explain the gambling den’s operations to the Evil Smiling Demon. He reported on the daily number of visitors, earnings, and the methods used to attract new customers.

Although monthly reports were sent to the sect, when the Evil Smiling Demon visited in person, he received direct explanations and reports.

I silently observed the proceedings while the Evil Smiling Demon kept an eye on my reactions as he listened to the report.

Honestly, what interest could I possibly have in this process?

Nevertheless, I didn’t show any signs of boredom. I made an effort to understand his life. I wanted to show that I found his world intriguing.

The review of the report and ledger took quite some time. Even though I had joked about cutting off my arm, the gambling den was running smoothly without any issues.

The Evil Smiling Demon offered a few words of encouragement to the managers.

This was the crux of today’s events. Just as he had done with the trading company leaders, Soma personally encouraged the managers. He made them aware that the most feared person was watching them. This seemingly trivial act was crucial in keeping his enterprise steady.

At least in terms of work, the Evil Smiling Demon excelled beyond anyone else. Could the Blood Heaven Blade Demon or the One-Slash Sword Supreme show such meticulousness and diligence? I didn’t think so.

We left the office and walked across the gambling den. Lee Ahn and Cheong Myeon followed us, with the managers trailing behind.

As we walked towards the entrance, the place filled with noise and heat.

Ssshh! Thud! Wham!

The sound of a blade slicing through the air was followed almost simultaneously by the sound of flesh tearing and a heavy thud.

Two men stood on either side of us.

The man on the right had a dagger aimed at the Evil Smiling Demon’s throat. But before the dagger could touch his neck, the man’s face was already half blown away by a single strike from the Evil Smiling Demon.

My sword was lodged in the heart of the man rushing at me from the left.

Their coordinated attack was indeed exquisite.

The man on the left had been cheering after winning money, and the other had been running towards him to congratulate him. They were assassins targeting us, seizing the moment when our paths overlapped to launch their ambush.

The gamblers’ gazes all turned to us simultaneously.

However, their attention soon reverted to their original activities. Even though there were two dead bodies right next to them, not a single person left the gambling den. Instead, they urged the dealer to roll the dice quickly. I found these people much scarier than those mere assassins.

“Are you alright, young master?”

In response to Lee Ahn’s concern, I praised her.

“You’ve improved a lot.”

Earlier, when the assassin attacked me, her sword was almost fully drawn. In the past, she wouldn’t have been able to react, but now she nearly drew her sword completely.

“If he had attacked me, I would have died.”

“No, you wouldn’t have. The fact that you almost drew your sword despite being behind me means that if you were in my position, you would have cut him down. Your skills have improved this much.”

Lee Ahn still looked incredulous.

Meanwhile, Soma, who had been conversing with Cheong Myeon, walked over to me.

“I didn’t expect them to target even you, young master.”

“They probably didn’t realize it was me. I was wearing a mask. They likely thought I was one of your subordinates protecting you, Soma.”

Even if they had known, they might still have given the order. The ones behind this incident truly wanted our sect and the Unorthodox Alliance to go to war. Would the bloodline of the Heavenly Demon be an exception to their reckless plan? 2

“They’ve changed their strategy.”

“How so?”

“They plan to kill you, Soma, to provoke our Cult into action. It doesn’t matter if they fail. An enraged Soma will inevitably unleash a massacre. Those behind this seem determined to use your expulsion to achieve their goal.”

I could feel the Evil Smiling Demon’s internal lava bubbling even more fiercely.

The masterminds were smart. If I hadn’t come along, that lava would have exploded in some form by now. What they hadn’t accounted for was my presence.

At that moment, Lee Ahn cautiously asked.

“If a war breaks out, won’t they also be in danger?”

I shook my head.

“If it becomes a war of mutual annihilation, yes. But realistically, such a war won’t happen. Even if war breaks out, it will end after a certain level of sacrifice. The losing side will make a massive compensation and then a truce will be agreed upon. To them, war is also a business.”

“They’re insane.”

“They’re extremely selfish. They’re willing to sacrifice thousands to seize power.”

I turned back to Evil Smiling Demon and spoke again.

“The fact that they’re going to such lengths means they don’t have much time left. It means the situation within the Unorthodox Alliance is very urgent.”

At my words, the Evil Smiling Demon spoke with murderous intent.

“Indeed, they likely don’t have much time left.”

Soma’s resolve to kill them all was clear. He had already vowed to kill those behind this, and now he was even more determined.

My task was to guide him to deal only with those behind this incident without touching the other martial artists of the Unorthodox Alliance.

If that happened, the successor Bih Sa-in and the Unorthodox Alliance might even be grateful to us.

At that moment, one of the Evil Smiling Demon’s subordinates came and delivered an urgent message.

Cheong Myeon checked it and reported quickly with a tense expression.

“It’s an urgent report from the Heavenly Communication Pavilion. Your name has appeared on the Kill List, Soma.”

The Kill List was a mysterious organization that connected assassins and clients, earning commissions in the process. Rumor had it they made a fortune, given the endless grudges in the world.

“The bounty is one million nyang. The contract was taken by Black Kill. The ones who attacked earlier were probably assassins from Black Kill.”

“So they accepted the contract knowing it was me? Even if they succeed in killing me, they would ultimately be destroyed by our cult, wouldn’t they?”

I knew why Black Kill accepted this contract.

The leader of Black Kill had allied with those behind this incident. He planned to quit the assassination business and dissolve his organization. He didn’t mind sacrificing his subordinates.

He had been promised a large sum of one million nyang and a new identity in a significant position within the Unorthodox Alliance.

“Given that the assassinations have started, it’s likely that Black Kill’s assassins are all over Guizhou.”

Despite Cheong Myeon’s report, the Evil Smiling Demon seemed delighted.

“What should we do? Our young master dislikes bloodshed.”

“I can swim with a smile in a sea of assassins’ blood. Let’s go.”

There was no need to take Lee Ahn with me, but I asked her anyway.

“Are you coming with us?”

“I was thinking of staying here and gambling a bit.”

“That won’t be possible, my dear escort.”

“Then I have no choice.”

A hint of joy flashed in her eyes. I knew how much she wanted to come along. She just couldn’t bring herself to say it first, fearing she might be a burden.

I didn’t intend to shelter her. Real combat was what made a martial artist grow the most.

And the reason I confidently took her with me wasn’t just because I was with her.

It was because of the polished handle of her sword, refined through rigorous training. It was because of the calluses on her palms.

Lee Ahn spoke calmly, perhaps worried that I might be concerned.

“Don’t worry about me at all. Hearts beat on their own, after all.”

1 : Do bunny clothes exist in Murim ? Hmmm……

2 : I wonder if they ever got exposed back in his first life. Maybe Hwa Moogi is their puppet ? Dark Heavens/Sinji/Cult of the Inverted Sky ?

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