Absolute Regression

Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
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< Chapter 199: Do I Look Like Someone Who Gets Things Taken From Me? >

Sitting at his desk, reading documents, Gowol kept his gaze down as he asked, “My friend, do you have something on your mind these days?”

Jeong Dae was leaning against the window, staring outside.

“What are you talking about? Why would I have any worries all of a sudden?”

The two of them had been busy traveling across the Central Plains, focused on building their intelligence network. Gowol was always busy, while the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, whose role was to assist and guard him, had relatively more free time.

“It seems like you’ve got something on your mind.”

“What could possibly trouble someone as idle as me? I have no worries.”

“Busy people are usually the ones without worries.”

“I said I don’t have any.”

At that firm reply, Gowol lifted his eyes from the documents and looked at Jeong Dae. Yeah, right. Even though he was staring out the window, it was clear that this stubborn ex-Cult Leader was feeling down lately, with something clearly troubling him.

“Are you struggling?”

“Struggling? Not at all.”

“I’m struggling.”

Jeong Dae turned to look at Gowol. Gowol added with what seemed like sincerity.

“I’m having a hard time. If you hadn’t been helping me by my side, I wouldn’t have made it.”

“Then who told you to work so hard? Since when have you been so devoted?”

“Should I start slacking from now on?”

“Oh, like you would.”

Jeong Dae turned his head back to the window.

“Normally, it’s you who should be saying they’re struggling or dying. This isn’t like you.”

“And what’s ‘like me’? Never mind. You’ll just start spouting dismissive remarks again. Forget it!”

But Gowol wasn’t one to stop there.

“On the surface, you may seem petty, but deep inside, you have the heart of an ocean. You might live carelessly, but you always have a grand plan in your heart. Though you grumble, you’re a person with depth. That’s who the former Cult Leader is.”

“Hmph! So you’re saying the opposite, right? That I’m petty, live carelessly, and grumble all the time?”

“And you’re also the quickest to catch on!”

Jeong Dae made a face as if to say, “There it is.” Normally, he would have thrown back some retort, but his gaze remained fixed outside. Gowol rose from his chair and walked forward.

“Do you think you might be homesick or something?”

“Now that you mention homesickness, I’ve realized I’m not someone who loves my hometown. I don’t miss it at all. Not even a thought of wanting to go back. Maybe I’ll visit once before I die, but I doubt I’ll have any reason to go back.”

“So, it’s not homesickness. Then what is it?”

The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader’s lips twitched. It looked like he wanted to say something, but instead, he changed the subject.

“Why hasn’t the Young Master come? Did you contact him properly?”

“He’s busy, isn’t he?”

“He’s not busy. We’ve just been pushed down on the priority list. He’s doing whatever he needs to do, and then, oh? That old ball and chain sent a message asking to meet. Should I see him or not?”

“If that’s the case, isn’t he investing too much money into that old ball and chain?”

A vast amount of funds had already been poured into this matter. The information network still wasn’t fully established across the entire Central Plains, and they were already running low on funds again.

“Guess we’re just rolling in money.”

“Jeong, what’s really got you upset? Are you depressed because you haven’t lost weight?”

“Hmph! I could lose it all in a month if I really wanted to.”

“You said the same thing a month ago.”

“When you get older, being too thin makes you look like you’re wasting away.”

“This ex-Cult Leader is overflowing with presence.”

Jeong Dae spun around, glaring at Gowol, who shrugged, showing he was only joking.

“What’s on your mind?”

After a brief pause, the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader spoke.

“If I tell you why, you’re just going to tease me again, aren’t you?”

“Just tell me.”

“You’re not promising not to tease me at all, are you?”

Eventually, he began to speak.

“Remember that Suck Choong we met a while ago?”

“Of course, I remember.”

Building the intelligence network in the Central Plains was truly a monumental task. It required meeting countless people. Inevitably, they ran into people like Suck Choong.

“That guy, he made a slip of the tongue with me that day, and acted quite rudely.”

Gowol nodded. If Suck Choong had known Jeong Dae’s true identity or skills, would he have behaved that way? Being introduced as just some wealthy man, Suck Choong, relying on his meager martial arts skills, had put on airs and acted very disrespectfully.

“You held back well.”

“I keep thinking about that guy. I should have crushed him that day. Or at least, I should have scolded him and told him he couldn’t behave like that. But at the time, I was just focused on keeping things smooth, so I held back. But now, it keeps coming back to me.”

Jeong Dae had killed him in his imagination countless times. In truth, Suck Choong’s actions weren’t severe enough to warrant death, but his anger kept surging, making him want to do just that.

“You remember that rude guy from before? I held back pretty well then. But this time, it’s different. I just can’t let it go. Oh, I know, don’t say it. I know how petty I am. But what can I do when it keeps popping into my head?”

“I get it.”

“You get it?”

“He was an idiot. Even if you’d beaten him up, I wouldn’t have stopped you.”

“Really?”

The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader looked pleased.

“Then I should’ve just beaten him up, huh? Should I go find him and do it now?”

Gowol simply watched the ex-Cult Leader in silence. Only then did Jeong Dae’s excitement begin to subside.

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

“There’s nothing.”

“I said, say it!”

“Everyone lives like this. It’s because you were the Cult Leader that you haven’t had to deal with such unpleasantness so far. Everyone endures and lives like this. You can’t just go around hitting people because you’re annoyed, or because they upset you, or because they’re disrespectful. Not many people can live a life like that.”

“You mean someone like the Young Master can live that way, right?”

“The same goes for you. You used to live that way too, my friend. You lived comfortably your whole life and only recently started enduring things, right?”

At least on that point, the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader nodded in agreement.

Gowol understood the difficulty Jeong Dae was going through. How hard must it be? After living a life where he envied no one, he was now reduced to playing the role of a bodyguard, following Gowol around without even a single attendant. He often thought:

‘This ex-Cult Leader must have committed a great sin against me in his past life.’

Gowol walked over to Jeong Dae’s side and stood beside him, gazing out the window together.

“It’s not because you’re narrow-minded that these thoughts keep coming up. It’s because there’s a buildup of anger in your heart.”

“Anger?”

“This work we’re doing, traveling through the Central Plains—this is the first time you’ve done anything like this, right? Meeting people, over and over again. It may not seem like much, but unknowingly, a lot of anger builds up. Up until now, you’ve been holding it in for my sake.”

“If you understand that, then that’s good. Even just talking about it makes me feel a bit better.”

“From now on, don’t hold back—just beat them up.”

“No. I’ll still hold back. If I was born with a narrow heart, I should at least try. No matter how I live, life will end anyway, but I won’t let it end pathetically.”

Gowol looked at him. The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was sincere.

“Do you want to let it all out by cursing out Young Master? Let’s have a good go at it, just once.”

“Can I?”

“It’s been a while. Go for it!” 1

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader didn’t need to be told twice and shouted loudly.

“You lazy Young Master! If I call, you should just come right away—what are you doing that you’re so late? Have you forgotten about us? Just forget it! Ever been swallowed by a fish from your own fishery? I’ll just gulp you down, head first! No matter how you treat me like that Cult Leader or that old ball and chain, we’re living just fine! You rotten Young Master! You ugly Young Master! You con artist using lightness skills! Ah! Just yelling like this really makes me feel better. Gowol, you do it too! It’ll clear up all your pent-up frustrations. Truly, cursing out the Young Master is the most refreshing thing.”

Gowol, with a serious expression, responded, “Dear friend, how dare you speak so disrespectfully?”

“What?”

Seeing Gowol’s sudden change in demeanor, the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader blinked in confusion, wondering what was going on, and then sensed someone behind him.

He very slowly turned around.

At some point, Geom Mugeuk had arrived and was standing behind them.

“You’re badmouthing me again, aren’t you?”

Why now! He’d been caught cursing him before, too. Although Jeong Dae was flustered, he wasn’t one to back down easily.

“Young Master! You should fix that habit of showing up when you’re being cursed! Not that I would stop saying things just because you’re around…”

Just then, the Fist Demon King entered the room.

The moment the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader saw him, his expression instantly turned serious. The playful look disappeared, and he returned to his role as the Cult Leader. He lowered his voice and greeted Dan Woo-gang.

“It’s been a while.”

“Good to see you.”

The two exchanged greetings with a respectful fist salute. The Fist Demon King, too, exuded a different aura than when he was alone with Geom Mugeuk. Here, they were both the Cult Leader and the Demon Supreme. This was their true nature, though meeting Geom Mugeuk had changed them all.

Geom Mugeuk introduced Gowol to Dan Woo-gang.

“This is my strategist Gowol, who just needs to master the game of Go to become perfect.”

Gowol smiled and said, “I’m holding off on learning because I don’t want to clash with the Strategist Advisor too soon.”

The comment alluded to the fact that the person who taught Go to the Heavenly Demon was the Strategist Advisor. It was also a subtle expression of his confidence that, should he learn Go and teach it to Geom Mugeuk, he could potentially help him defeat the Cult Leader.

“Please, come in.”

Geom Mugeuk and Dan Woo-gang entered and took their seats.

Gowol served tea.

“This is all I have to offer.”

“You’ve been working hard, coming all this way.”

“I’m enjoying this, thinking of it as a tour of the Central Plains.”

Geom Mugeuk spoke respectfully to the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

“You’ve worked hard. Thanks to your protection, Gowol hasn’t had any worries at all.”

“I do it because I enjoy it.”

Gowol added to the acknowledgment of the ex-Cult Leader’s efforts.

“If it weren’t for you, I would have died several times over by now.”

Indeed, they had faced multiple dangers, but thanks to Jeong Dae, they managed to overcome the crises.

Geom Mugeuk looked at the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader with gentle eyes. He knew well how much he had sacrificed to come to him. While it was mainly because of Gowol, in the end, it was Geom Mugeuk who reaped the benefits of those sacrifices. Though he often referred to him as former Cult Leader, he had no intention of ever letting him go back to that state.

Jeong Dae spoke to Dan Woo-gang.

“I heard that you left the sect with Young Master.”

“I’ve been enjoying some leisure time after a long while.”

The fomer Heavenly Wind Cult Leader asked subtly, “Did the Young Master take anything from you?”

“Take anything?”

“If you let your guard down even for a moment, my things end up in Young Master’s hands. I was wondering if our Fist Demon King has had a similar experience.”

Jeong Dae’s eyes seemed to be saying, “Didn’t you lose something too?” To this, the Fist Demon King firmly shook his head.

“That never happened.”

As he spoke, the Fist Demon King’s gaze conveyed, “Do I look like someone who would lose something?”

Amidst this invisible psychological battle, the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader felt disheartened.

“Am I the only one who lost everything to the Young Master?”

He still occasionally thought about the sacred objects he had given to Geom Mugeuk. Since he had already left the cult, it wasn’t that he was attached to or greedy for the sacred object itself.

Rather, it was the nagging feeling of having given away something he didn’t need to, wondering if he was living as someone who foolishly handed away too much, always taking the loss alone. Such thoughts often accompanied the melancholy that had been creeping up on him recently.

At that moment, Geom Mugeuk spoke.

“Oh, by the way, I’ve taken the Fist Demon King as my master.”

Jeong Dae was startled by those words.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, he is now my master.”

The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader couldn’t hide his astonishment. Soon, his mood improved as he looked gleefully at the Fist Demon King.

“So, you’ve been taken too! You’ve given up your entire self!”

What delighted him the most was this:

“I wasn’t the only one who suffered!”

This brought him great comfort, even if the Fist Demon King would never admit it.

Gowol offered a polite bow and congratulated them.

“Congratulations on establishing your master-disciple bond.”

Jeong Dae also congratulated the Fist Demon King.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

The giddy ex-Cult Leader’s tongue itched with unspoken words.

“I bet you also hope that he become like you from back then.”

If only he had been a little closer to the Fist Demon King, he might have actually said it.

“I’ll go have a word with Military Strategist Go.”

With that, Geom Mugeuk and Gowol stepped outside.

Now, only the Fist Demon King and Jeong Dae remained in the room. Breaking the awkward silence, it was the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader who spoke first.

“You’ve made a big decision.”

“It just happened that way.”

Yes. When you come to your senses, that’s just how things end up. A smile appeared on the ex-Cult Leader’s lips.

This time, it was the Fist Demon King who asked.

“You’ve made a big decision yourself.”

“The Demon Supreme might find my situation rather laughable.”

“Laughable? What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, leaving the Heavenly Wind Cult and coming to the Central Plains, here I am, all alone.”

Originally, the two of them wouldn’t have exchanged a single word. But because of Geom Mugeuk as a common link, they were having a conversation that wouldn’t have happened before.

“Why do you say you’re alone? You have the Military Strategist from earlier, and there’s also my disciple, isn’t there?”

“The Military Strategist mentioned that you support the Eldest Young Master.”

“That’s right.”

Jeong Dae brought up something unexpected.

“Don’t treat your disciple lightly.”

The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader showed no fear towards the Fist Demon King.

“You may have only bet halfway, but we’ve staked everything on your disciple.”

Dan Woo-gang said nothing and simply sipped his tea.

Meanwhile, Geom Mugeuk and Gowol stepped out into the courtyard. Now that they were alone, Geom Mugeuk offered words of comfort to Gowol.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“It was probably less than what it took to become the Fist Demon King’s disciple.”

Geom Mugeuk didn’t disagree and smiled.

“Before I tell you why I’ve asked to meet you, there’s one personal favor I’d like to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“Jeong Dae is having a hard time these days.”

How? For what reason? How much?

Geom Mugeuk didn’t ask these questions. The fact that Gowol brought it up privately was enough for him to infer everything.

“I still dream of those times when I was bound in chains. Sometimes, I even find myself talking with the Thunder Bell. It’s truly not easy for someone to break free from their past. My friend must be feeling the same.” 2

Geom Mugeuk looked at him and smiled.

“I’ll have a talk with him.”

“Thank you.”

Having told Geom Mugeuk, Gowol no longer worried about it.

“What was the reason you wanted to see me?”

Then, Gowol brought up something unexpected.

“Have you ever heard of Divine Debt?”

1: Don’t you remember what happened the last time you did that ? Your cursing is what summon him XDXDXD
2 : He’s really a great friend.