Absolute Regression
Chapter 42: Having Clashed Well with Misfortune
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TL: FoodieMonster007
When I returned to my quarters, an unexpected guest waited for me. The Flower Sword Supreme sat exactly where the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had been. She had even set up a table with drinks.
"You've worked hard today, Second Young Lord. Have a drink."
"Of course, Senior." I sat down across from the Flower Sword Supreme. I smiled comfortably, just as I had with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
Inside, however, I was tense.
"Didn't you say you don't drink?" I asked.
"This drink isn't for me. It's for you, Second Young Lord."
"Thank you."
She poured me a drink, and I drank it without hesitation.
"What would you have done if that was poisoned? Why did you drink it without checking?"
"I didn't check, but I was prepared."
"How so?"
I spat the Antitoxin Bead from my mouth onto the table. The bead could block poisonous fumes, but holding it in my mouth while drinking also neutralized any ingested poison.
"When did you…?"
"I slipped it into my mouth when I greeted you."
"How was it not obvious you were holding it?"
"It's a top-grade Antitoxin Bead, so it's quite small. Plus, I've trained to speak clearly with it in my mouth."
The Flower Sword Supreme looked at me with admiration.
"Pardon my presumption, Senior, but I know you don't have a favorable impression of me. I couldn't just gulp down a drink you offered in a situation like this, could I?"
My honesty seemed to prevent her from getting angry. Instead, she asked one thing to confirm her suspicions.
"Did you also drink the Blade Demon's alcohol while holding the Antitoxin Bead?"
"No, I did not."
The Flower Sword Supreme's expression hardened for a moment.
"So you trust the Blade Demon, but not me?"
"Because many things happened between me and Elder Blade Demon before we had that first drink."
"But things happened with us too, didn't they?"
"No, they didn't."
The Flower Sword Supreme protested my firm answer. "I was the one who recommended Jang Ho."
"You recommended Jang Ho, but not for my sake. You did it to force me away from Elder Blade Demon. Was that choice really for me?"
The Flower Sword Supreme seemed disappointed by my answer, but I didn't just push her away.
"I want to create many memories with you, Senior. That's why I'm also drinking the alcohol you give me without the Antitoxin Bead."
"Don't say things you don't mean."
"Why wouldn't I mean it?"
"Because the Blade Demon is already in your heart, isn't he?"
"If you were me, Senior, who would you want to have in your heart?"
I drank the alcohol without the Antitoxin Bead to show I trusted her. At my action, the Flower Sword Supreme's expression softened.
She refused to even be compared to the Blade Demon. Her pride made her believe that anyone would naturally choose her over him. Of course, she was not the type to use poison.
"Second Young Lord."
I remained silent.
"Tell me what you want."
"Please help me become the successor, but help me without the condition that I cut ties with Elder Blade Demon. That's all I want."
"Second Young Lord, you should only expect unconditional help from your parents."
After stating her refusal, the Flower Sword Supreme stood up. As she was about to leave, she asked as if she had just thought of it.
"Is it true you gave the Blade Demon a birthday present?"
I said nothing.
Her eyes wavered. She had asked casually, but she truly wanted to confirm it herself.
"May I ask what you gave him?"
I picked up the Antitoxin Bead from the table.
"I gave him this."
"You gave him something precious."
"Because I received something precious."
The Flower Sword Supreme seemed to think for a moment but ultimately said nothing.
"I'll be drinking at the Alluring Inn later. Please come if you feel like it," I said.
The Flower Sword Supreme left without a word.
When I returned to my quarters to change, another guest was there. Surprisingly, my father waited in the courtyard.
First the two Demon Supremes, and now my father. If I had to give today a title, it would be 'A Meeting with Big Shots'.
"What brings you to this humble place?"
"I came to see how you were living."
This was the first time my father had ever come to my quarters. The hunt, the meal, and now this visit were all firsts. There were so many firsts with my father.
"Shall we go inside?"
"Why would I go into a smelly room where a man lives alone?"
"Then I'll bring out a chair."
"No need. I've sat enough for today."
"True. A royal physician once told me that sitting for a long time is the worst thing for one's health. They say you shorten your life by the time you sit. You shouldn't sit on the Grand Preceptor's chair for too long."
I walked over and stood next to my father.
"Do you want to live a long life?" my father asked.
"Of course. There are so many things I haven't done yet. I want to do them all before I die." I looked back at my father.
"What about you, Father? Is there anything you want to do besides being the Heavenly Demon?"
"Nothing."
His answer was so firm that I heard it as, There are too many to answer.
"Someday, I'd like to go to the Central Plains with you, Father."
Father glanced at me.
"I'm not suggesting we go attack the Murim Alliance," I joked.
Father found this amusing and let out a small laugh.
"Let's just look at where people live. What do you think? How about seeing the world with me someday? I hear the Snowy Mountains are cool in the summer."
Father didn't answer. We watched the distant sunset for a while.
"I met the Flower Sword Supreme on my way here," my father said. "She told me she would become your backer if you cut ties with the Blade Demon."
I told my father exactly what had happened.
"Who do you want to join hands with?" my father asked.
"The Sword Supreme seems easier to handle, but the Blade Demon has a cute side to him."
"You'll die if you let your guard down like that."
"That old man certainly has a talent for making people lower their guard."
Father would know more about the Blade Demon than I do.
"Why did you give the Heavenly Beyond Divine Pill to the Blade Demon?" I asked.
"I entrusted him with a task a long time ago."
Father didn't tell me what the task was. It was clearly something that happened when my father and the Blade Demon were both young.
"What do you intend to do?"
"I want to have them both. A blade on my left and a sword on my right. A master on my left and a master on my right."
Father turned his head to look at me.
"It's not just empty greed. My instincts are telling me this. They say if I take both of those bitter rivals with me, the results will be much better. It will be difficult at first, but easier later on. That's what they keep whispering."
"Where does this confidence come from?"
"Isn't it the confidence you passed down to me in my blood?"
The sunset reached its peak, reddening my father's face and mine.
Father said abruptly, "The Sword Supreme is a person with many scars."
I looked back at my father, but he said nothing more. I couldn't tell if he was telling me to use that fact or to go easy on her because of it.
"When I first met the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, he said it was better not to see him often because he had lived his whole life with misfortune, but these days, I see him about as often as I see you, Father."
I revealed my intention to take both of them once again.
"Since I've clashed well with misfortune, I'll try clashing with scars as well."
That evening, I drank at the Alluring Inn. I had invited both the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Flower Sword Supreme. I didn't know who, if anyone, would show up.
"Please, try some of this." The owner, Jo Cheonbae, brought over a dish he had made especially for me.
"Thank you. Sit and have a drink with me."
"Oh my, how could I dare to sit with you?"
"It seems you don't want to drink with me."
"That's not it at all!" Jo Cheonbae quickly sat down.
I poured him a drink. Jo Cheonbae accepted it, constantly muttering, "Oh my, oh my."
"There's no need to be so formal."
"No, sir. I must. Do you know how much easier things have become for us thanks to you, Director?"
"Have things gotten a little easier?"
"Of course. Since the Sanzu River Hall Branch opened in this alley, the number of martial artists causing trouble after drinking has dropped sharply, and not only that, the number of people leaving unpaid tabs has also decreased significantly."
"That's a relief."
"This is all thanks to you, Second Young Lord."
"In the future, if anything happens that I should know about, please tell me."
"I will."
Jo Cheonbae drank the alcohol in one go and then stood up.
Just then, another person came over, bowed deeply, and said, "Thank you, Second Young Lord," before leaving.
He didn't say what he was thankful for, but he had probably also received help from the Sanzu River Hall.
As the man scurried back to his seat, someone walking toward me spoke.
"Quite popular, aren't you."
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon approached, a large blade strapped to his back. The entire inn froze at his appearance. The last time we drank, the inn was empty, but today it was crowded.
Drinking in the same place as a Demon Supreme could not be a comfortable experience for them.
I stood up and addressed everyone.
"The Demon Supreme is a man of the highest character. So please, don't worry and enjoy your drinks. Just don't come over here and cause a drunken scene."
My joke eased the tension in the room.
As I sat down, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke with a sullen face.
"Why are you lying?"
"It's a white lie. They paid to drink here, they shouldn't have to walk on eggshells, right?"
"If they don't like it, they can just leave."
"If you're going to say that, you should give them money first. Tell them to take it and eat somewhere else. You should also pay the owner for his losses."
"Acting nice again."
"It's not about acting nice. This is just basic decency."
"Is this how a member of the Demonic Cult acts?"
"Are members of the Demonic Cult not people?"
"Look here, Second Young Lord. At times like this, I get confused whether you're one of our Cult or one of the Murim Alliance."
I don't consider the Demonic Cult the foundation of my identity either. It can't be helped. In my past life, I left the Cult in my youth and wandered the Central Plains for the rest of my life.
I met many people then. Not just as a mercenary, but also while acquiring high-level materials. I experienced all sorts of human characters. I was hurt, I felt anger, and I learned what true humanity was.
My life's values were all formed back then. In a sense, I am a person of neither the demonic, righteous, nor unorthodox path.
My goal to eliminate absolute evil and establish a new demonic path was born from those experiences.
I raised my cup and said excitedly, "Now, happy birthday. The Purple Orb hasn't passed yet, so the congratulations are still valid."
"Lower your voice."
He treated everything as if it were no big deal, but a birthday celebration seemed to burden him. It was the first time I had seen him look so embarrassed since we met.
Then again, who would have ever celebrated with him like this? He must have received countless formal gifts, but they would have meant something different from this gathering.
"Don't do useless things like this in the future. What's so great about getting older that it needs a celebration?"
"It's just an excuse to drink and have fun."
"You like to drink more than you let on, Second Young Lord."
"That's right. I'm raising a few drinking worms in my body. One rears its head when it rains, and another appears when I'm depressed or in pain. Do you like to drink, Elder?"
"I used to like it, but I've cut back a lot these days."
At that very moment, a clear, sharp voice came from behind.
"But you haven't quit completely."
I turned my head. The Flower Sword Supreme stood a short distance away.
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