Geom Mugeuk returned to the safe house.
Bi Sain had been waiting the entire time for him to come back.
“How did it go?”
Bi Sain was desperately curious about how the meeting between Geom Mugeuk and the Sado Alliance Leader had gone. So much so that he wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him, telling him to hurry up and speak.
“Let me catch my breath first. I’m coming back from meeting none other than that fearsome Sado Alliance Leader. Let me drink some water too.”
“As if you were ever afraid. How did it go?”
Burning with impatience, Bi Sain limped after Geom Mugeuk.
“At this rate, you’ll be using lightness arts soon.”
“I’m in so much pain I could die. So stop teasing me and tell me what happened.”
Geom Mugeuk drank the water refreshingly, then turned back to Bi Sain.
“As you can see, I didn’t come back beaten to a pulp.”
“When you told him, what did the Alliance Leader say? Did he believe us?”
“He half-believed, half-doubted.”
If it had been up to him, it would have been better if he had believed him completely, but the current situation was far more unfavorable to him.
He thought it fortunate that Baek Jagang had believed even half of it. Yes, if Geom Mugeuk had gone, how could he not have handled it well? He trusted him. If he could not trust this man, then whom could he trust? He believed that Geom Mugeuk had explained it better than he himself could have.
“How was the Alliance Leader? Was he hurt anywhere?”
Bi Sain’s voice trembled slightly.
Concern for his master could be felt beneath his rugged face.
“The Alliance Leader is safe, so don’t worry.”
Only then did Bi Sain feel relieved. Now that it had been confirmed that Hyeok Sagun was clearly an enemy, there was no way he could not have been worried. In his heart, he wanted to run over at once and stand guard beside the Alliance Leader, but he could only lament the reality that he could not.
“You’ve worked hard. Rest.”
He wanted to ask if the Alliance Leader had said anything about him, but he could not bring himself to open his mouth.
If he heard, “He said nothing,” he would feel pointlessly disappointed. It would only be natural, since his innocence had yet to be proven. Yet the human heart was just like that.
Just as Bi Sain was about to turn away, Geom Mugeuk spoke the words he had been waiting for so desperately.
“The Alliance Leader had a message for you.”
Bi Sain turned around in surprise. Expectation and fear mingled in his heart.
“What did he say?”
Geom Mugeuk gazed at Bi Sain and relayed the Sado Alliance Leader’s words exactly as they were.
“Do not grow accustomed to it.”
At first, Bi Sain did not understand and tilted his head slightly.
“That was the message the Alliance Leader told me to give you. He said you would understand once you heard it.”
“Do not grow accustomed to it? Do not grow accustomed to it.”
The moment he repeated those words, Bi Sain flinched. The instant he remembered when he had heard them before, emotion surged across his face.
“The Alliance Leader was hoping you would recover quickly.”
Strictly speaking, he should have said, “He must have been,” but Baek Jagang had clearly been worried about Bi Sain. Geom Mugeuk could tell that much just from the feeling.
“Thank you.”
Bi Sain could feel it. Geom Mugeuk going alone had brought about the best possible result. The words his master had sent proved it. If his mood had been foul, he would never have said those words.
Bi Sain returned to his room.
Once inside, he first drank the medicine that had been left to cool.
He recalled the day the Alliance Leader had spoken those words to him. That day too, he had been in a room filled with the smell of medicine, just like this.
It had been the day he returned injured after going out on an Alliance mission. It was a failure from a time when, as the Alliance Leader’s disciple, he had enjoyed great trust, so the blow to his heart had been far greater than the wound to his body.
The Alliance Leader had come to the infirmary.
Standing beside him as he lay on the bed, the Alliance Leader had said,
—Do not grow accustomed to defeat.
That moment came vividly back to him. The moment his master had looked at him and spoken.
—If you grow accustomed to defeat, your life becomes third-rate.
The moment he heard those words, tears had burst forth.
Rather than gratitude that the Alliance Leader had come to see him, the shame of having failed his mission swallowed his heart whole. Shame had paralyzed his reason; he had been that age then.
—Are you angry?
—Yes.
Wiping his tears, he tried to sit up.
—I will go again and accomplish it. This time, I will definitely succeed.
At that time, his master had forced him back down and said this.
—Who wouldn’t be angry when they lose? But listen. If you make a scene just because you are angry, that too is third-rate.
—How can I become first-rate? How can I keep winning?
Back then, instead of answering, his master had fed him the medicine placed beside him and changed his bandages.
He had not understood it then, but now he felt he did.
Do not be swept away by emotion; first, gather yourself. Do not draw your sword; change your bandages. When you can calmly govern your feelings and examine yourself, only then can you become first-rate. His master had answered him by wrapping his bandages.
“Ah! Master.”
Back then, he had not understood that profound meaning. He had only felt anger and shame, and wanted only to somehow go back and accomplish the mission.
Just like right now. Even now, his feelings were the same. Quickly, quickly, quickly. He had to go quickly and cut those bastards down. He had to go quickly and prove his innocence to the Alliance Leader.
At the realization that the emotions he was feeling now were no different from the rash urgency of his youth, goosebumps rose all over his body.
“Master!”
Tears welled up in Bi Sain’s eyes. That day, he had cried out of anger, but now he cried because he missed the Alliance Leader. He cried because he was so grateful that his master remembered that day, a day he himself had completely forgotten. He cried because he was so sorry.
Bi Sain slowly undid his bandages and applied fresh medicine. As he calmly looked at his wounds, the battle from that time came back to him, and new thoughts arose about how he should have dealt with his opponent.
Even without being unable to restrain his anger and charging in like a madman, these wounds were telling him how he could become first-rate.
“……Master.”
Bi Sain slowly wrapped the bandages around his wounds.
* * *
Baek Jagang was seated in the grand preceptor’s chair of the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
Ever since returning from meeting Geom Mugeuk, he had kept thinking of one person.
Geom Woojin.
Meeting Geom Mugeuk had felt like this.
To be honest, it had not felt like meeting Geom Mugeuk, but like meeting Geom Woojin.
It was as if Geom Woojin had not held out his sword and asked, “How is my swordsmanship?” but rather, “How is my child?”
Naturally, Geom Mugeuk’s face came to mind.
—Please buy me a meal.
He wondered whether Bi Sain could truly overcome such an absurd fellow. He needed to flatten that nose of his.
Of course, that would only be if the one behind this matter truly was Hyeok Sagun, as Geom Mugeuk had said.
At that moment, the voice of Guard Captain In Gung came from the air.
“Strategist Hyeok has arrived.”
“Let him in.”
A moment later, Hyeok Sagun entered.
With small but haughty eyes, Baek Jagang silently watched him walk toward him.
“How long has it been since you entered the Alliance?”
“This year marks my seventeenth.”
“And since you began acting as Chief Strategist?”
“It has been nearly two years.”
“Has it already been that long?”
Hyeok Sagun sensed that Baek Jagang was different from usual. But he did not find it strange.
Given the current situation, would it not be stranger if he were exactly the same as usual?
“Where did you go? When I came to see you earlier, I heard you had left the Alliance.”
“I went out and ate a meal outside for the first time in a while.”
Hyeok Sagun knew well that there was a restaurant Baek Jagang often frequented.
“The situation is not ordinary, so please be careful for the time being.”
He had been keeping watch on the Alliance Leader’s movements. But if he moved secretly with only the Guard Captain, as he had today, there was no choice but to lose track of him.
Hyeok Sagun was not in a good mood. It was bad enough that everything needed to proceed smoothly according to his plan; unexpected situations could not keep occurring.
“I have discovered who gave the order to raid the safe house.”
It was exactly the matter Geom Mugeuk had told him to watch closely: whom Hyeok Sagun would name.
“Who is it?”
“Commander Beon of the Extreme Blade Corps.”
The moment he heard those words, Baek Jagang’s aura burst forth as if exploding from his body. A man who did not reveal emotion over most matters had openly shown his anger.
The Extreme Blade Corps.
The elite organization directly under the Alliance Leader.
After Yaryul Han, the original commander of the Extreme Blade Corps, stepped down, the newly appointed commander, Beon Cheon, was a man of remarkable loyalty to Baek Jagang.
‘He is naming Beon Cheon?’
If Beon Cheon became the mastermind, it would be no different from having his right arm cut off. At the very least, what Geom Mugeuk had said was true. He had said Hyeok Sagun would use this as an opportunity to deal with his political enemies.
“The evidence?”
“Here it is. The Demonic Cult was behind it.”
Hyeok Sagun walked up the steps and handed the documents he had brought to Baek Jagang.
For a traitor, he appeared far too calm. No chill rose at Baek Jagang’s ears either. That meant either he was not lying, or he was someone on whom that sense did not work.
After handing over the evidence, Hyeok Sagun returned to his original place and lowered his head with an expression of shame.
“It seems the Young Alliance Leader has been won over by the Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader.”
If Baek Jagang had not met Geom Mugeuk beforehand, he would have been listening to this report with a different heart.
With the evidence this clear, would he truly not have suspected Bi Sain?
He did not think so. He would have thought that Bi Sain had been won over by the Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader.
Thinking that made him feel a chill.
Whether he believed this Hyeok Sagun had betrayed him, or believed Geom Mugeuk had framed Hyeok Sagun as a traitor.
Of course, Baek Jagang was still standing in the middle. This entire matter could still be part of some grand scheme by the Demonic Cult.
“How do you think we should handle it?”
“We should strip Commander Beon of his position and have him remove his hands from the Extreme Blade Corps.”
“Let us do that. However, we will handle it after meeting the Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader.”
“As you wish. Then I shall take my leave.”
As Hyeok Sagun bowed politely and turned to leave, Baek Jagang spoke to him.
“It is hard to believe. That Sain has joined hands with the Demonic Cult.”
“I feel the same.”
“Organize your opinion on whom we should choose as the next successor and report it to me.”
“Understood.”
As Hyeok Sagun turned and walked out, a faint smile formed on his face.
Of course, he did not know.
That the gaze Baek Jagang directed at his back was not that of an Alliance Leader, but the gaze of King Yama holding a scale and watching which way it would tilt.
* * *
Geom Mugeuk stood atop the Thousand-Fathom Cliff.
Looking down into the bottomless depths below, he fearlessly threw himself off the cliff.
Shiiiiiiik.
Geom Mugeuk fell rapidly. As if he had lost consciousness, he simply plummeted defenselessly. No matter that it was him, if he fell defenselessly from this height, he would certainly die.
The reason he was doing something so perilous was to test how the Heavenly Demon Protective Divine Art would respond in such a case.
‘Protective art, if I fall like this, I’ll die. Are you just going to watch?’
Geom Mugeuk believed in the Heavenly Demon Protective Divine Art.
But the Heavenly Demon Protective Divine Art did not activate. Do you trust me? Don’t tell me you know this isn’t a real crisis? Or is your role to keep me alive only after I crash into the ground and end up half-dead?
It was now time to raise his internal energy and use his lightness art.
Geom Mugeuk held out until the very end.
‘I’m really going to die at this rate!’
And at the truly final moment.
The internal energy within Geom Mugeuk’s body moved on its own.
Whiriririk.
It twisted his body in midair and set him upright, moving his hands and feet by itself.
Using the Heavenly Demon Flying Art he had already learned, it instantly reduced his falling speed, and soon he landed lightly. It was movement carried out on its own by the Heavenly Demon Protective Divine Art, which had reached Great Completion.
“Whew.”
Geom Mugeuk let out a sigh of relief.
“You rascal, you nearly scared me to death.”
But soon Geom Mugeuk cheered. He had been happy even in front of Baek Jagang, but that happiness had not even been a tenth of his true joy.
Geom Mugeuk jumped up and down beneath the cliff in delight.
“This is the martial art of the Heavenly Demon!”
His voice rang out thunderously. No matter what kind of life he had lived before his regression, Geom Mugeuk too was a martial artist. What delighted him most was still achievement in martial arts. And since this was none other than the Heavenly Demon’s exclusive martial art, his joy was beyond words.
Now that it had reached Great Completion, even if he fell into a deeper sleep, it would wake him on its own if it sensed killing intent, and in moments of danger, it would react even more surely to protect him.
Not only that, there were surely more effects of Great Completion that he had yet to experience.
“I’ll be counting on you from now on, protective art.”
Father had said it.
That if he achieved Great Completion in the Heavenly Demon Protective Divine Art, he would never die.
It was as if I had gained another life.
He also believed that Great Completion of the Heavenly Demon Protective Divine Art would have a positive effect on the Nine Flames Demonic Art as well. Fundamentally, the two martial arts were very close in nature.
Now only Great Completion of the twelfth level of the Nine Flames Demonic Art remained.
If only I can set the Heavenly Demon Soul before my eyes. And not a Heavenly Demon Soul at the Great Completion of the tenth level, but one that has achieved Great Completion of the twelfth level.
For that moment, I must raise the realm of the Sicheon Secret Art even higher. As I am now, there is not enough time.
I am moving forward like this, one step at a time.
Was it because he had achieved Great Completion of the Heavenly Demon Protective Divine Art? Today, he missed his father more than usual.
If I told him I had achieved Great Completion, he would say, “Shall we test it once?” and clench his fist first. Even if I were struck by that tremendous fist, I would not mind.
Father, I miss you!
* * *
The next day, Geom Mugeuk left the safe house to meet the Sado Alliance Leader.
“Be careful.”
“Your eyes are very swollen.”
“More useless nonsense! We don’t know what Hyeok Sagun may have plotted!”
“It’s not that we don’t know what he may have plotted. He has already plotted it. He must have given the Sado Alliance Leader evidence that you and I joined hands to devise this conspiracy. That is the only way he can drive me away from you.”
Bi Sain let out a light sigh.
“If I could go, I would go with you.”
He missed the Sado Alliance Leader. Since meeting Baek Jagang, this was the first time he had ever wanted to see him this badly.
“Do not rush. Our opponent has spent long years setting this conspiracy in motion. Do not try to catch up to all of it at once.”
Bi Sain could tell that Geom Mugeuk and Baek Jagang had something in common.
The more crucial the moment, the more calmly they tried to act. They did not seek answers from the outside. They trusted themselves and found the answer within themselves.
“If by any chance you get the opportunity, please tell the Alliance Leader this. That I will live as he told me to.”
“I will.”
With that, Geom Mugeuk left the safe house.
Bi Sain did not return to his room, but watched him depart.
At that moment, Goeak came over and stood beside Bi Sain.
“Do not be too anxious. Soon, an opportunity will come for you as well, Young Alliance Leader.”
“It is all right even if no opportunity comes. Until two days ago, my heart was the most impatient in all the martial world, but now I am no longer in a hurry.”
Goeak looked at him in puzzlement, not understanding what he meant. Bi Sain gave him a peaceful smile.
“Because now is not the time to draw my sword, but the time to wrap my bandages. And the sword drawn by one who has wrapped his own bandages will be far more frightening.”
Absolute Regression Chapter 364