Absolute Regression

Episode 179 I have never felt lonely.

I climbed the mountain with my father.

It seems like only yesterday that I climbed the mountain with my father right after returning, but a lot has happened in that time. If I had to pick just one thing, it would be that my relationship with my father has become much better than it was then.

So, although the same two people are climbing the same mountain, it can be said that the situation is clearly different.

“Why did you ask me to come hunting?”

“I wanted to spend time with my father.”

My father stopped and looked back at me. Because I was sincere, I was able to calmly look my father in the eyes.

When my father came back, I was so moved to see him at Taesa Temple.

My father took a step forward and asked me again.

“Why did you bring so much luggage?”

“As you saw last time, these are all necessary. “Even though they may be uncomfortable now, they are things that will make our bodies and mouths comfortable and enjoyable later.”

My father walked ahead again. I followed behind him quietly.

When we first asked him to go hunting with us, it seemed like he would talk a lot, but now that he was with his father again, he didn’t have much to say.

Fortunately, it wasn’t awkward at all just walking like this without saying a word. No, it was better because it felt like we were having a silent conversation.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

I have no intention of getting married in this life, but if I do get married and have children, will I ever go hunting with my son like this? Can I be the kind of father whose son comfortably says to me, ‘Father, let’s go hunting?’

Will my son think like this as he walks behind me? And what is your father thinking right now?

After walking for a while longer, I broke the silence.

“The Murim Lord said he wanted to see my father.”

My father also knew that I had met the Murim lord because I had already reported it in a letter.

“Is he well?”

“He corrected me for my age. His personality is fierce and his martial arts skills are also subversive. “It was very different from the leader I had imagined.”

“He’s different from the rumors.”

“The lord said he wanted to see his father. So I asked my father if he would, and he said he probably wouldn’t. “He said his father would want to kill him.”

“You know me well.”

“Are you serious?”

“Then, did you know that the Demon Cultist would miss the Murim Lord?”

“Isn’t there something like courtesy towards the head of the opposing faction, respect as a military officer, or something like that?”

“There is nothing like that. “You gain respect as a warrior only when you fight.”

“Do you want to fight the lord?”

After a moment, my father answered.

“He’s someone I want to hang out with at least once.”

Victory in that fight would mean the death of the opponent. The Heavenly Demon and the Murim Lord have joined forces, but it won’t end with just wiping the dust off their clothes.

And the result will change the fate of the entire martial arts world. So this fight cannot be easily concluded.

I know that my father dreams of uniting the world. Since the story about the leader came up, I thought about my father’s intentions.

“If our church and a political faction come into conflict, will the Apostolic Alliance take our side?”

“If you think that the Apostolic Alliance is closer to us than the political faction, you are mistaken.”

“Isn’t it?”

“If the Sado Alliance has to join hands with either us or the Murim Alliance, we will join hands with the political faction.”

“Is there a reason you are so sure?”

“The Apostolic League hates us more than the political faction. “They probably want to get rid of us and paint a picture of dividing the political faction and the martial arts faction.”

I felt that what my father said was right. Before I returned, I had a conversation with a master from Sapa. He also really hated our school, and the reason was simple. As the Demonic Cult came to symbolize orthodox evil, the Apostolic Alliance was reduced to an organization that pursued cheap evil.

Why shouldn’t Sa Do-maeng become the owner of Moorim?

Although it was just a lament and personal thought from a Sapa expert, I thought at the time that many Sapa people might be thinking similarly. It occurred to me that perhaps the Apostolic Alliance’s hatred of our church that my father had mentioned might have originated there.

I didn’t bother to stop my father’s ambition. We’ll have to go to war at least once anyway. The target is not the Murim Alliance or the Sado Alliance, but only Fire Arms.

‘Become stronger too, father!’

That evening.

We settled in a quiet place with a flowing stream.

A thick layer of leather was laid out where my father could comfortably lie down. It is the most important burden among all the burdens one carries.

After making a comfortable bed for my father, I lit a bonfire and cooked the game I caught.

Instead of just lightly salting the food, I applied seasoning prepared in advance and grilled it properly. This time, we prepared a lot of vegetables and foods as well as the secret sauce made by Lim Sook-soo.

“How does it taste?”

“Okay.”

It has to be okay. Through Lim Sook-su, I found out in advance what kind of flavor my father likes and prepared the seasoning.

After finishing the meal, tea was served. The car was also my father’s favorite car. Seeing my father’s satisfied expression while drinking tea made me think that I had prepared well.

“Has the Pungshinsabo reached its composition?”

As expected, my father was able to see through my accomplishments right away.

“yes. “I felt something during the process of fighting this Cheonmyeonghoe, but unfortunately, it did not lead to great success.”

It felt like we were almost there, yet it felt so far away yet so close.

“If you get impatient, it will go slower.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Would you like another cup of tea?”

My father nodded and I poured him another cup of warm tea.

“Do you enjoy playing with me?”

It has really improved a lot. My father asked all these questions. One principle that comes to mind in times like this. Don’t even think about deceiving your father.

“Honestly, would it be fun? “I feel cautious and burdened.”

“Then why did you ask me to come?”

“Because I feel reassured.”

My father looked at me with a surprised expression. I expressed my feelings calmly.

“I feel so reassured when I’m with my father. Aren’t you going to stop anyone who gets in our way? Even if a monster instead of a human comes out, won’t your father stop it? I feel at peace just by being with my father. I don’t have to protect them, I don’t have any pressure to make that person mine, and I don’t have any responsibility to make that person who sacrifices for me happy. No matter what happens, I feel very comfortable in this moment where I can just stay still. “I feel reassured because my father is there.”

It was a truly honest feeling. My father looked at me with slightly deeper eyes, perhaps because he was unexpected.

“Aren’t you lonely, father?”

My father snorted at my question. It’s a difficult question to answer, but when will we ever ask something like this again?

My father lay down on the floor as if he was sleeping. After lying down for a while and looking up at the night sky, my father suddenly spoke.

“I have never been lonely.”

It sounded like this to me:

I’m always lonely.

Just like that, the first day of hunting with my father passed.

* * *

I walked around more comfortably on the second day than on the first. Although we barely talked, neither my father nor I felt awkward at all.

Just climb the mountain together, walk the trail, and then rest in the valley. Hunting wasn’t our main focus, we just walked around and rested together.

As I was grilling the meat I had hunted that evening, my father came to my side.

“Let me try.”

“What? “You’re not saying you want to cook, are you?”

“Why not?”

“Did your father cook?”

My father asked me calmly, as I was so surprised.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Have you ever tried cooking?”

“I do it sometimes.”

I was shocked by these lies.

“Is there even a martial art called cooking among the magical arts? “Is that what you’re talking about?”

“blether!”

How can you not say nonsense about your father cooking?

“If you come across a dish that doesn’t suit your taste, you kill Suksu, right? “Are you cooking that day with the intention of atonement?”

“So, isn’t my master’s skill too great to kill him?”

“You really cook?”

My father started cooking as if he wanted to show me. And he cooked really well. Instead of grilling the whole meat, only the tasty parts were cut and stir-fried with vegetables and mushrooms. And as if to prove that he really cooks on a regular basis, we cooked soup together.

What was even more surprising was that it tasted great.

“What is it? Why is it delicious? “Didn’t they secretly pour in Gongcheong petroleum instead of seasoning?”

A smile crossed my father’s lips. It was the first smile I had after climbing the mountain.

It was a moment when I learned a side of my father that I had never known.

The Cheonma of the time is the Cheonma who cooks.

That night, I lay down across the campfire and talked about various things with my father. I mainly spoke and my father accepted it, but I couldn’t help but mention the Magons.

“As you all know, my father, on my side, I have Hyeolcheondoma and Extreme Soma, Ilhwageomjon, and on my brother’s side, I have Demon Buddha and Poison King Gwonma. The young soul mazon was excluded for now. How is it? “It looks like my side has the advantage, right?”

“It’s tight.”

“You’re saying it’s tight even though we have one more person?”

“okay.”

The fact that there is a tight situation even though one person is not enough means that there is someone among the Demon Buddha or the King of Demon Lords who is doing the work of two people. Who are you thinking so highly of?

“Is it time to kick out our idiots?”

Despite my jokes, my father didn’t talk about him anymore. I’m asking you to experience it yourself and go through some hardships. Who on earth did you have in mind?

“Why do you want to become a religious leader?”

Because it’s my mission. It is my mission that I have worked hard my entire life to return to. I will protect you even if it means dying.

“I want to learn the martial arts technique.”

“Why are you so obsessed with the Nine Fire Magic Gong?”

“It’s not about being obsessed with nine fire magic, it’s about becoming stronger.”

“It’s still strong enough. “What are you going to do to become stronger?”

“You have to become stronger to be able to protect everyone.”

My father and my brother. All the disciples of Cheonmajeon.

There may be a few more people added there now. In the past, they didn’t step forward, but now, someone among the Mazon will step forward for real revenge.

But my father’s thoughts were firm.

“The Nine Fire Magic Technique will only be taught to those who will become Heavenly Demons.”

“Then the Heavenly Demon will be me.”

Like my father, my thoughts were also firm.

My father looked at me for a moment, then turned his back and went to sleep.

‘And even if I become the Heavenly Demon, I will be a different Heavenly Demon from my father. A heavenly horse that roams the world freely. We’ll have to work a lot harder to do that.’

* * *

On the third day, my father headed to the top of Daecheonsan Mountain.

On the way up the mountain, I felt the energy of a tiger twice. But I pretended not to notice. It was to leave an excuse to come hunting again next time.

If I felt it, my father must have felt it too, but he didn’t say anything about catching the tiger. Maybe my father is also looking forward to the next hunt?

“Ah, was the summit this cool?”

The scenery seen from the top of Daecheon Mountain was literally something out of a painting.

“When I was the same as you, I used to come up here when I was tired while practicing martial arts.”

I felt strange imagining my father standing here when he was young.

“I, too, should come up once in a while if I feel frustrated during training.”

“Come here for a moment.”

“yes.”

My father sat on a large rock at the top and gave a lecture on the Bicheon Sword Technique.

I was already a martial artist who had achieved greatness in the Twelve Stars, and the learning I needed now was the Poongsinsabo, and even though my father knew that, he told me about the Bicheon Sword Technique.

It’s as if all martial arts are ultimately connected to one thing, so if you clearly understand what you know best, you can find clues to understanding other things.

It was a very special moment listening to the Twelve Stars Daeseong’s lecture on the Bicheon Sword Technique.

And I had a new experience. Of course, I thought I would understand everything, but there were a lot of things that were different from what I thought. Even though it was the same castle, I felt that the path to the destination was very different.

If there was something I didn’t understand, I always asked my father. I didn’t pretend to know something I didn’t know. I didn’t even intentionally pretend not to know. I literally had a conversation with my thoughts flowing like water.

This discussion on martial arts, which was thought to last for a while, continued even after three or four sessions had passed. One day passed, two days passed, and it continued until three days.

We continued to talk while eating the food we had cooked, shared while drinking tea, and shared while drinking the alcohol we brought for the last day. We talked while hunting because we ran out of food, and we talked about martial arts while grilling meat over a bonfire. My father and I were both fascinated by this conversation.

At first, we started with a discussion about Bicheongeombeop, but we ended up having all kinds of discussions about martial arts in general. It was an in-depth discussion between the heavenly demon father and the returned heavenly body.

When the three-day long discussion was over, I jumped up and opened the Pungshinsabo. And I could tell. Finally, I was able to properly walk the four steps that the God of Wind walks.

I said to my father with a surprised face.

“Pungsinsabo was a great success.”

My father was not surprised, as if he had expected this situation. My father grabbed me by the collar and threw me into the castle.

I bowed deeply to my father.

“Thanks for your great teaching. “Thank you so much, father.”

“Get up. “Let’s stop going down.”

“yes.”

I was overcome with a strong desire to run. I wonder how fast the brisk walk to Daeseong will be, whether I can handle it, and how narrow the midfield has become. I was curious about all of that.

“father. Let’s have a running race. From here to our school. How is it?”

I was finally qualified to try my father’s Heavenly Demon flying technique.

My father looked at me with a funny expression. Why do I like that expression so much?

“What are you going to bet?”

“You have to put your pride on the line.”

“good night.”

It was absolutely an advantageous condition for me because I could afford to lose, but my father willingly accepted it nonetheless. You are planning to win and make fun of me.

My father and I stood side by side. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them side by side like this. My father’s face felt new again. I was so happy at this moment of running side by side with my father.

“Let’s go on the count of three. “One, two…”

I counted three after I started. This way, when I win, my father will have something to say.

As the two light balls at the apex began to separate the space, a wind noise that I had never heard in my life began to be heard.

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