Absolute Regression

Episode 281: The person who is lost.

“Was the reunion too quick?”

Jin Ha-ryeong, standing in front of the door, greeted me warmly.

Water was dripping from Ian’s hair. Ian, who came in after completing martial arts training, had just washed up and changed into simple clothes.

“The sooner you can reunite with someone you’re happy with, the better, right? Come on in.”

Jin Ha-ryeong entered inside with a smile. There are people who can make people feel better just by saying one word. Maybe that’s why I came to see her.

As I sat down, I saw a bottle of alcohol sitting on the table.

“Want to have a drink?”

“Oh, I looked it up and there was alcohol there.”

It seemed like it was alcohol prepared for people coming to the safe house.

“Would you like a drink for me too?”

“Sure. Please wait a moment. “I didn’t prepare any snacks so I could just have a quick drink.”

“are you okay. “Just drink it.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“You don’t think that just because you are the lord’s granddaughter, you prepare a sumptuous feast and drink alcohol, do you?”

Ian smiled and shook his head.

The two people poured drinks for each other and then toasted.

“Did anything good happen today?”

“Why are you asking?”

“As well as the alcohol, this driver’s expression looks bright.”

Good things? Of course there was. It’s been a while since I received martial arts instruction from Geommugeuk, and what made me feel even better was the words he said.

-Then why did you bring me here?

-Why? I made an excuse because I wanted to come out to play with you after a long time.

How could you not be loyal to the person who taught you martial arts that only the flesh and blood of the Heavenly Demon can master, to the person who always tells you that your happiness comes first, and to the person who tells you these things?

Ian didn’t answer anything, but Jin Ha-ryeong could feel it. Her seemingly good mood is related to sword dance.

Ian naturally changed the topic.

“Isn’t it hard? Living as the Murim Lord’s granddaughter?”

“This drone is asking the opposite question.”

“yes?”

“Everyone asks how great it is to be the Murim Lord’s granddaughter.”

“I guess I’m negative.”

“I’ve never seen a negative person say they are negative.”

After Jin Ha-ryeong emptied his drink, he spoke to Ian.

“it’s hard. “More than you think.”

“I thought so.”

“Do you think this uninhabited island will be difficult? “It’s about serving people who aren’t easy to serve.”

Regardless of the question, Jin Ha-ryeong felt envious of her for having been involved with sword dance for a long time.

“It’s not hard. When I’m with him, things happen that would never happen before in my life. “Sometimes I drink with the Murim Lord’s granddaughter.”

Jin Ha-ryeong completely sympathized with Ian’s joking words.

“Yes? “I really don’t know what’s going on in the world.”

My relationship with Geommugeuk and my current position.

The two people talked about various things. Life in the Murim League and life in the Demon Cult, lives that we had never experienced before, went back and forth every time we drank.

Then, a subtle current flowed and we talked about sword dance. We talked about martial arts and then we talked about sword dance again.

Jin Ha-ryeong honestly hoped that Ian had some shortcomings. But the more we talked, the better she became. This is just what I thought.

When the bottle was empty, Jin Ha-ryeong stood up. I didn’t ask to drink more. Instead, he made a suggestion that surprised Ian.

“Should this drone be our friend?”

“Improvised like this? “Is this our second time seeing you?”

“What do you think? “Moorim is a place where people kill the first person they see.”

Let’s be friends was the first time Jin Ha-ryeong said it to someone.

Stand in line to be friends with yourself. But I didn’t ask any of them to be friends. But you proposed to become friends first with Ian, whom you met twice. Jin Ha-ryeong felt that he didn’t know himself as well as he did about the unknown world.

“Are you sure you don’t mind? “Being friends with Mine?”

“I’m fine. “What about this drone?”

Ian, who stared at Jin Ha-ryeong in silence for a moment, smiled brightly and said.

“How could I not like having a wonderful friend like you?”

It was the moment when Jin Ha-ryeong’s regret, wondering if he had said it for no reason, completely disappeared.

* * *

Jin Ha visited his master again.

Crunchy.

“Have you found a way?”

Master keeps asking how. Now Jinha knows. The purpose of the master is not to listen to methods, but to push oneself. To control yourself. The quickest and surest way to tie someone up was to make them feel intimidated.

“no. “I came to see you today for a different reason.”

Baek Cheon-gyeong stopped chopping wood at the vaguely firm answer. When he raised his head and looked at Jin Ha, he openly revealed his true feelings.

“I know you’ve been very disappointed in me lately. “I made excuses to my teacher, but I am deeply reflecting in my heart.”

Bai Qianqing’s expression still didn’t change much.

“I have something to ask Master.”

A hint of puzzlement flashed across Baek Cheon-gyeong’s eyes. As Jinha said, it didn’t seem like he would ask for anything in today’s atmosphere. In other words, it also meant that it was an important request.

“Tell me.”

“During the Battle of Soryong, there was a relationship between Geommugeuk, the leader of the Demonic Cult, and Haryeong.”

Jinha sighed lightly and added.

“It seems like Haryeong had a crush on him back then.”

Baek Cheon-gyeong listened to Jin Ha-gun in silence.

“This immature idiot invited the leader of the Demonic Cult to attend this latter-day index meeting. And now, Su Jiao-ju is secretly coming to our headquarters.”

“The leader of the Demonic Cult is here at our headquarters?”

Baek Cheon-gyeong’s eyes became more intense.

“I only found out about that a little while ago.”

“Are you saying that Geommugeuk came to see Haryeong?”

“Yes, he seems to have a crush on his younger brother too.”

Baek Cheon-gyeong did not believe it.

“The Demonic Cult leader I heard through rumors is definitely not a soft person. You saw him in person and even suffered him, so you should know better, right? “A person like that came to this country just because of a woman?”

“you’re right. He’s no ordinary guy. Rather, there can be no other reason.”

“What does that mean?”

“Would someone so smart have chosen to come to the Murim Alliance alone? “When a smart man becomes a fool, there is only one reason.”

Some of the words Jinha said were words taught to him by Geommugeuk.

―Will this work for Master?

―It will work because it’s my brother’s business. Because things that cannot be understood or explained are things related to flesh and blood.

Baek Cheon-gyeong still had an expression of disbelief.

“so? “What do you want to ask for?”

It was a request that Baek Cheon-gyeong did not expect at all.

“Please meet the sword dance.”

He rarely showed his emotions, but this time he couldn’t hide his surprise.

“What are you saying?”

“Meet him and warn him. “Get away from my brother.”

Baek Cheon-gyeong made an absurd expression. I never thought I’d really ask for something like this.

“After Cheonhwamun was taken away, are you now asking me to prevent your younger brother from being taken away?”

Although he reprimanded him with painful words, Jinha did not back down.

“Even if Cheonhwamun is taken away, my younger brother will never be.”

“Then, as my brother, shouldn’t you warn me?”

“You won’t listen to me. While handling Cheonhwamun matters, he completely ignored me and toyed with me. Rather, he is someone who will approach me more as if he is showing off. “The sword dance I saw was that persistent.”

“If you can’t do it, you should ask the leader.”

“Don’t you know your grandfather’s personality? Grandpa will kick him out right away. You’ll be lucky if you don’t get angry and attack him. If he gets kicked out, he will definitely have a grudge. “He is a crazy person who comes all the way to the Murim Alliance alone to see his younger brother.”

“It’s not my place to step forward. “How can I handle what you and my lord cannot do?”

Baek Cheon-gyeong flatly refused.

Jinha knelt down on the spot.

“Master, you probably know better than anyone else what my younger brother is to me. Until now, I have treated Master as my father and served him.”

Because it was true, this must have been an extremely painful and frustrating moment for Jinha.

“Please listen to this poor disciple’s earnest request.”

Crunchy.

Baek Cheon-gyeong was lost in thought while carving wood.

Jinha did not move away and was sitting on his knees.

How much time has passed?

What were you thinking? Baek Cheon-gyeong said after finishing the piece he was carving.

“Bring it tomorrow.”

* * *

“Master gave permission.”

Jinha said with a happy face.

Geommugeuk spoke as if he had expected such an outcome.

“I knew you could do it.”

Compliments weren’t important right now.

“What do you plan to do when we meet?”

“You have to decide.”

“What do you mean?”

“Is this someone who can be saved or someone who needs to be killed?”

Geommugeuk looked into Jinha’s eyes and asked.

“Are you going to trust my decision?”

“How can I trust you if you like to joke around? “I will only trust my own judgment.”

Jinha stood up from his seat.

As he was about to leave the room, he stopped in front of the door.

“Have you ever felt lost?”

This was a thought I had these days. While working like this, another part of his mind was tormenting him with the thought, ‘Master is a good person, but you are now being used by Geommugeuk.’

“No. “I have very good eyesight.”

When Jinha turned around and was about to leave with an expression that made him think it was a joke, Geommugeuk spoke from behind.

“It’s not that I’m lost, but that I’ve forgotten where I’m going?”

“Isn’t that what it is?”

“Don’t they say that all roads in the world lead? “If you know where to go, you can’t get lost.”

“What if you forget where to go?”

“I have to sit down on the floor and cry.”

“Don’t joke.”

The sword dance drama reminded me of the time when I wandered all over the central plains in search of Dafa materials. There were times when it was so hard that I wanted to cry.

“You can ask people you meet. If there is no one around, look at the constellations in the sky. If you still don’t know, throw your shoe and leave it to luck. “If you still don’t know, you should just walk wherever your feet take you.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“What are you afraid of? “I got lost anyway.”

“!”

Jinha was lost in thought for a moment, then sighed and said.

“You are such a… strange person.”

“As expected, you guys are decent. “Everyone at my school called me crazy.”

“Then you must be strangely crazy. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

After saying that, Jinha left.

Geommugeuk looked out the window for a moment.

Jinha is still young so he doesn’t know. What it’s really like to be lost. A person who is truly lost does not even know that he or she is lost.

* * *

The next day, Geommugeuk arrived at Sabu’s workshop with Jinhagun.

“Master, I am here. “I came with the leader of the Protestant Church.”

“Come in.”

When Jinha went inside, he was startled. His appearance was different from his usual master. The master was wearing a flashy red jangsam and had a long sword at his waist. I remember the first time I saw him, he was dressed in such fancy clothes.

Sword Dance Geuk and Baek Cheon-gyeong’s gaze met in the air. It was not easy to read each other’s emotions, either with Geommugeuk’s clear, deep eyes or with Baek Cheon-gyeong’s long, narrow eyes.

With the tension flowing, Geommugeuk opened his airway. It was to check the opponent’s martial arts skills. Regardless of the other person’s will, the deep abyss dragged Baek Cheon-gyeong into it.

Baek Cheon-gyeong’s prayer against this was unique.

Geommugeuk looked around. Before I knew it, I was standing in a dense forest. It was full of endless trees. The endless loneliness of being outside the world came over me at that endless sight.

While Baek Cheon-gyeong fell into the abyss, Geommugeuk walked into the forest. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. A person with such bright prayers? no. If he had been that kind of person in the first place, Jinha would never have called him.

Geommugeuk continued walking into the forest. The forest presented the same scene endlessly, tempting me with no need to go any further. Geommugeuk resisted the temptation and continued walking inside.

What guided him was neither his own will nor the other person’s prayers. Surprisingly, the person leading him at this moment was Guhwamagong.

‘There’s something over there.’

It was so deeply hidden that you would never be able to find out if you didn’t learn the Nine Fire Magic Gong. It also meant that the opponent’s martial arts skills were great.

Eventually, Geommugeuk discovered a wooden statue of a human being in the deepest part of the forest.

The wooden statue standing with its arms crossed was so lifelike that it felt like a living person. However, the face was not shaved so it was flat. I had a strange feeling, as if the tree would pop out and fall in at any moment, forming a human face.

As Geommugeuk was about to approach the wooden statue, the trees around began to move, extending their trunks. As if they were alive, the tree branches blocked the wooden statue and surrounded it menacingly.

At that moment, I could understand the sword dance.

‘Wooden Shape Heavenly Soul Art!’

An ultimate secret technique performed using all the trees in the world.

At that moment, the sword dance was filled with surprise and passion. This secret technique is not because it is a truly magical martial art where all kinds of trees move according to will and small wooden dolls grow in size and rush at you like a master.

Because I know who used this martial art.

After Hwamuji went into hiding, his followers created the Heavenly Alliance.

Twelve absolute masters who ruled the world alliance.

They were called the Twelve Kings by the world!

In the past, they served as kings of the zodiac while hiding their identities. They may have been afraid of Jeongsama’s revenge that might occur in the future.

Among the 10 kings of the zodiac, the eighth king, Eight Kings, used this wood-shaped heavenly spirit technique.

The heart of the sword dance began to beat violently.

‘It’s the Wood King!’

It was the first time I met Hwamugi’s followers after returning.