Absolute Regression

Episode 277 Can you handle it?

Jinha took his hand away from the doll he was trying to raise.

Crunchy.

The sound of carving wood was heard again.

Normally, the master would not have cared whether the doll was upright or lying down.

Who is this doll?

Jinha looked down at the fallen doll again.

For some reason, my eyes kept falling. In the end, Jinha didn’t dare to stand up, but he gently turned over the doll that was lying down with its back turned.

For a moment, Jinha was surprised.

The wooden doll was himself. Although it was the size of a finger, I could instinctively feel that it was definitely me. Same with clothes and hair.

“Is it me?”

At the soft question, the sound of cutting wood stopped.

“Yes, it is you.”

Jinha looked at his master with a puzzled mind.

‘You say it’s me and leave me lying there?’

Jinha knew. Master knows what happened in Honam.

‘No matter what.’

Instead, just get angry. It felt worse than being yelled at. What on earth was Master thinking when carving this doll and laying it down in front of it? I felt a sense of disappointment and distance that I had never felt before.

‘I thought you would understand why I did that.’

Yes, you’re probably doing this because you don’t know the circumstances of that day.

“Cheonhwamunju’s son murdered innocent people.”

The master was absorbed in the sculpture in silence. Since I was listening, it meant that I should keep talking.

Jinha couldn’t say the most important part of the explanation. I should say that I realized that giving up Cheonhwamun was my grandfather’s test, but wouldn’t that mean that the master didn’t realize that it was my grandfather’s test in the first place?

“I had no choice because the prosecutor came forward.”

Whether he already knew or thought it was an excuse, the master didn’t say anything.

In the past, I would have been restless and asked my teacher for forgiveness first.

But Jinha quietly looked at his master.

‘What would you have done if it were a sword dance?’

Was it because I was thinking about the sword dance the whole way back? It really felt like a lie.

His image came to mind. His face looking at me with a wide smile.

-Let’s have a drink!

One thing was certain. If it were a sword dance show, I would have dealt with these moments with a smile.

Yes, if you get excited, you lose.

Jinha spoke calmly.

“I’m sorry for disappointing you.”

For a moment, the sound of cutting wood stopped.

Baek Cheon-gyeong slowly raised his head and looked at Jin Ha-gun.

In the past, my heart would have been pounding like it would explode, but strangely, I wasn’t scared.

Lee Chae flashed across Baek Cheon-gyeong’s eyes. He felt that his student was different from usual.

Baek Cheon-gyeong put down the doll he was holding and stood up.

And then he slowly walked towards Jinha.

Jinha quietly looked at his master. In the past, my head would have moved before my eyes.

This must be how Master feels right now. What should I say to make Master’s anger go away?

But now Jinha was thinking differently. Those words from the sword dance that stuck in my heart.

-Have you been looking straight all along?

Jinha looked at the master walking towards him.

The master’s eyes, footsteps, hand movements, and even facial expressions.

‘strange.’

Baek Cheon-gyeong’s eyes, which were staring at his disciple, turned to the doll lying on the stand.

“Were you upset because your doll fell over?”

Jinha answered in a calm tone.

“It’s my first doll that my master made.”

Baek Cheon-gyeong put the doll in place.

“Are you done?”

Jinha looked down at the doll for a moment and then laid it down again.

“No, this time I was defeated by Geommugeuk. “You should be down.”

Baek Cheon-gyeong nodded as if waiting for the reaction.

“okay. “You should have somehow taken Cheonhwamun into your hands and saved them.”

Jin Ha looked at Baek Cheon-gyeong in silence. It’s also unfamiliar. Now that I think about it, I’ve never looked at his face this closely, from the side or from up close. When I see my master, I feel it when I see my grandfather. That’s how you lived and saw people.

“One day, when war breaks out, hundreds of Jeongpa people may be killed by Cheonhwamun. Can you handle that responsibility?”

In the past, I would have immediately bowed down and asked my teacher for forgiveness. Because what the master is saying now must have resonated with you. No, even if it didn’t really hit home, I would have thought that the teacher’s words were right.

But I didn’t feel that way now. Rather, I felt this way.

‘Why are you giving an extreme example that didn’t happen?’

Suddenly, what Geomugeuk said came to mind.

―The person who connected you with that Lord of Heavenly Flowers does not want you to become a leader.

At the time, I thought it was nonsense, but now it has become a small doubt growing in my mind.

“My thoughts were short.”

At those words, Baek Cheon-gyeong’s expression relaxed somewhat.

“Okay, that’s all you need to know. “Now we have to find a way to get Cheonhwamun back.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Baek Cheon-gyeong returned to his seat. Before starting to carve again, he uttered a word.

“The lord would have wanted that too.”

Crunchy.

It was contrary to Jinha’s thoughts until the end.

‘Is that really true?’

My grandfather was truly happy that he had given up Cheonhwamun. Because I tried to look at my grandfather clearly, I was able to read his emotions clearly. If not, I would have bowed my head and agreed to those words right now. Because I didn’t really see my grandfather.

Today, Jinha was finally able to understand how important Geommugeuk’s words to look clearly were.

‘Everything else aside, shouldn’t we forgive people like Seo Cheong? Because we are a political faction. Among the political factions, he is the one who will become the Murim lord, and he is the lord’s master.’

When I returned from the sword dance, the master looked different.

Or perhaps it was only today that Master realized that he was a completely different person from what he perceived.

* * *

That night, Jinha had a nightmare.

I was chased around all night by a shadowy figure whose face I couldn’t recognize. No matter how much you run away, the other person knows where you are and follows you.

Even now, the guy was following me from far behind.

I was so exhausted that it was difficult to run.

As he trudged along in a state of desperation, he noticed people staring at him on the side of the road.

There were some familiar faces among them. There were people I practiced martial arts with when I was young, and there were disputes. People I wasn’t even that close to. Why do they come out? Nightmares always bring back those who have been forgotten.

I passed them and kept walking. Meanwhile, the chasing shadow came closer and closer.

I thought I was going to die now. Then someone called him.

―Great Lord Jin!

When he looked up, he saw Geommugeuk leaning on the railing on the second floor of the tavern, looking down at him.

-Let’s come up and have a drink.

He was smiling as brightly as when we last parted ways.

I went up to the second floor of the bar as if I was possessed. I was glad to see him.

I stood on the railing on this floor with Geommugeuk. The black shadow that had been chasing him only looked up at him at the entrance to the bar and could not enter. I felt afraid of that scary shadow.

Geommugeuk, who was standing with him at that time, suddenly spoke. That was what he said to himself at the banquet hall.

-Isn’t that why we exist? If not us, who can stop such a bastard?

The moment Jinha was watching the sword dance, he woke up from his dream.

“Whoa.”

Jinha sighed, drenched in sweat.

It wasn’t strange that a sword dance performance appeared in my dream. Because I’ve been thinking about him ever since I met him.

But the choices I made in my dream today were so foolish. I was just helplessly chased. Whether you fight directly, lead a squad of annihilators, or go to your grandfather and ask for help. I had to make active efforts and choices. I was just chased.

What made me even more angry was that I gave up everything in the end. I vividly remembered the moment I was trudging along in desperation.

Shaking off the nightmare, he quickly got up from the bed.

* * *

Jin Ha-ryeong was surprised by Jin Ha-gun’s visit.

“Doesn’t your brother do things that he doesn’t do?”

This is because Jinha-gun has never visited his residence recently.

“Sometimes people change.”

“Don’t change too much because it’s scary.”

Jinha, who was looking around the room, sat down. Jin Ha-ryeong asked nervously because there was no way her brother could have just come to see her.

“What did you do?”

“I failed.”

“For something like that, you have a nice face?”

“It was half failure and half success.”

Jin Ha-ryeong looked at him with an expression asking what he meant, but Jin Ha-gun did not answer. That’s what he said, but he himself didn’t know. What is right and what is wrong now?

“How was that person in the sword dance?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t do that, just tell me.”

“I don’t know. “I don’t know that person.”

Jin Ha-ryeong nodded.

“Good to see. that person.”

If you were to ask her what kind of person Geommugeuk is, the only answer she would be able to give is that.

At that time, Jinha said something unexpected.

“Haryeong, have you ever experienced something in your life that you couldn’t understand?”

Jin Ha-ryeong looked at Jin Ha-gun in surprise.

“now.”

Jinha smiled slightly.

“I’m asking this seriously.”

Have you ever experienced something like that? Oh, there was.

“When I met that person in the sword dance, I couldn’t understand everything at that time.”

“How did you get over it?”

“I didn’t pass it up. “I was swept away by that person in the sword dance.”

Now Jinha knew exactly what that meant.

Jin Ha-ryeong knew. A wave of change has come into my brother’s life. I didn’t ask if it was because of the sword dance. Because I won’t say yes out of pride.

At that time, Jinha asked about something unexpected.

“Are you still holding the review meeting?”

“summer solstice.”

“A lot of people will come.”

“Where are you coming to see me? “I’m coming here to impress my grandfather.”

Jin Ha-ryeong took turns inviting later leaders of political factions. Rather than a personal gathering, it was closer to managing late-stage indices at a private level. She was in charge of that job.

“I have someone to invite.”

“who?”

Then, an unexpected person came out of Jinha’s mouth.

“Someone who should look without prejudice.”

Jin Ha-ryeong was surprised. We are talking about sword dance.

“Why him?”

Jinha answered.

“He needs help. “Call me as your guest and pretend it’s a coincidence so you can meet me.”

I couldn’t call him directly. Because the person who would become the Murim lord could not ask for help from the Demonic Cult leader.

“I’m serious?”

Jinha nodded. My younger brother is so amazing. Even I thought this was crazy.

But it felt instinctive. The sense of alienation he felt from Master continued to stimulate his crisis instinct. The doubts that have bloomed in my heart, wondering if I would live without knowing anything like I did until now, are growing day by day.

It was not something to put off, nor was it a time to take care of one’s pride. I needed someone’s help, and I needed someone from the outside who could look at the situation objectively, not from an insider with a conflict of interest. I thought that I shouldn’t be as helpless as I was in my dream.

“why?”

“you do not have to know.”

“Ask again. “Is the Great Demon Demon Lord in need of help from the Little Demon Cult Master now?”

Jinha answered.

“Let’s make it a situation where your brother needs your friend’s help.”

Even if you think about it, it makes no sense. But my instincts were speaking earnestly, even mobilizing my dreams. I need him.

Jin Ha-ryeong hesitated. Even though it was the first request my mature brother had asked me, I hesitated.

The sword dance performance was also a good memory for her. I also wanted to use this excuse to see him again.

But getting tangled up with my brother was a different matter. Because it was the relationship between the person who would become the successor to the Murim Alliance and the successor to the Demonic Cult.

So I was anxious. Is it okay to involve Mine in my brother’s affairs?

“Can you handle it?”

After a moment, Jinha shook his head.

“Sword dance? can not. “He needs help because he can’t handle it.”

Jin Ha-ryeong felt relieved because he was accurately identifying the opponent.

“That’s it then.”

* * *

I was practicing the secret art of time and space in the art of space-time transformation.

Since my return, I have met all kinds of people and done all kinds of things, but I have never forgotten that the most important thing is martial arts training. Whenever I had time alone, I devoted myself to training.

The secret art of Sicheon was developing little by little. It was really slow like a turtle. But I didn’t give up. I practiced and practiced again, hoping that one day I would suddenly reach a higher level. Of course, that didn’t happen.

Then, whenever I had to be in a place where people were passing by, I would close my eyes for a moment and practice the Cheonma self-defense technique. Since I had one step left to do with Daesung, I trained as best as I could.

Whenever he had time, Guhwamagong practiced only the first method of training over and over again. There are almost no opponents that he cannot kill with the Bicheon Sword Technique, which has achieved great success in the Twelve Stars, but if he appears, he intends to kill him with the first method. So I practiced over and over again. I watched and watched your demons over and over again to the point where I now feel close to them. The time they stayed was also slightly increasing.

After finishing my training, I was resting for a while when I saw a horse walking outside the window.

Gwonma stood tall at the end of the yard and looked beyond the fence at the mountains in the distance.

“Master.”

I stood side by side next to the horse.

“Let me guess what you were thinking right now?”

Then Gwonma showed interest.

“What was I thinking?”

“You were thinking about the cliff, right?”

“If anyone hears this, they will think I am crazy about destroying cliffs. “Why did you think that?”

“Master and others said so.”

Gwonma looked at me with an expression that asked what I meant.

There are people who say who they are with their backs. My father is like that and Gwonma is like that.

The reason I feel lonely when I look at his back is because I know how honest that back is. If it is his father’s order, he will walk alone towards tens of thousands of enemies without a single hesitation.

“Master, I don’t think we should collapse the cliff.”

“why?”

“When are you going to put all that away? And it’s cool to have a cliff there, right?”

The horse looked at me and smiled. This man’s smile I like this smile that you don’t see often.

At that time, a military officer from the Honam region came and delivered a message. Unexpectedly, it was a war letter sent by Jin Ha-ryeong.

―You told me to tell you if something strange or incomprehensible happens in your life, right? Now is the time.