Absolute Regression - Chapter 9

The next day, Ian came to me with a puzzled look on her face.

“How did I get back yesterday?”

“I came back carrying you. You don’t remember how you got back?”

Ian’s cheeks turned red.

“Don’t lie. I wasn’t that drunk. I was heavy, wasn’t I? I’m sorry, my lord.”

“If I say it was light, then that would be a lie. But it wasn’t so heavy that you need to apologize. Look at these muscles!”

“Oh, your arms look even thinner when you flex like that.”

“Look at these rugged muscles properly!”

After exchanging banter like that, Ian bowed her head slightly.

“Thank you, my lord.”

“Let’s drink again next time.”

“Yes, my lord.”

As she turned to leave, she asked again.

“If I made any mistakes, please forgive me with a generous heart. Honestly, I don’t remember what I said.”

“You didn’t make any mistakes, so don’t worry. Oh, if you happen to make a mistake next time, I’ll grant you clemency.”

“Clemency? What’s that?”

“It’s the right to be forgiven even if you make a mistake or do wrong by me.”

“You’re giving me that? But I haven’t accepted it.”

I reached out my hand to her.

“A handshake.”

Ian took my hand with her large hand.

“There, I’ve issued it now.”

“Since you’re issuing it, can’t you issue it for a pack of ten? I’ll be following you for the rest of my life, so one won’t be enough.”

“No! Just one. So use it wisely!”

“Yes! My lord!”

Her eyes, smiling brightly, disappeared into the darkness.

If there’s someone who needs to be forgiven by in this life, it’s me. Who else would it be? You should give me fifty tickets for clemency…

That night, I sat alone practicing my qi emission.

While I was detecting three directions at once, a strand flying to the left detected someone.

I was deeply immersed in the fun of identifying someone through my qi. When I send out my qi and detect someone, I start by examining the opponent from head to toe. How tall are they, what weapon do they use, and what level of martial arts do they have.

This time, just as I was about to examine the opponent, right at that moment.

The opponent dodged to the side sneakily.

Thinking it might be a coincidence, I sent out my qi towards him. However, the opponent moved his body to the opposite side again, avoiding my qi.

“Surely he wouldn’t know to dodge on purpose?”

This thin and subtle qi emission was something the opponent could never detect.

Yet, the opponent seemed to sense my qi somehow and skillfully avoided it.

“Who could it be?”

Curious about the opponent, I continued emitting qi as I left the room.

I practiced emitting qi while moving. Of course, it required much more mental energy than emitting while still, but in real combat, I would often need to emit qi while on the move.

I sensed the opponent stepping back. I pursued him, as if trying to catch something elusive.

Finally, I arrived at the courtyard of my inner quarters.

The moment I confirmed the person standing there, I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

“Father!”

The person who had come here with my qi was none other than my father.

“Well, well. You seemed tense, as if someone else had sensed your qi.”

“As if your qi is anything remarkable. Even the dogs sleeping under that wall over there could sense it.”

“Dogs naturally have good instincts, don’t they? But what brings you to my place?”

“It was on my way.”

Although he said so, it was undoubtedly true that he had come to find me.

“It’s truly fateful for us to meet like this, even by chance.”

“Enough with the chatter.”

“Yes!”

I closed my mouth and quietly followed my father’s gaze to the night sky.

After a moment, I asked, “When will you choose a successor?”

“In a hundred years. You all have a long way to go.”

“Make it a hundred days. I feel like I’ve done enough.”

“If that were the case, the Heavenly Blade Demon wouldn’t have come to see you.”

“How did you know?”

It was a private meeting between the two of us, yet Father knew. In other words, it meant he was keeping an eye on me. Well, he knew about my ordeal in the mountains, so it wasn’t surprising.

“After meeting you, the Heavenly Blade Demon came to see me immediately.”

“What did he say?”

“He hoped to punish you.”

“Me?”

I was taken aback by his unexpected words. Could it be that the Heavenly Blade Demon went to Father asking for punishment?

“It was unexpected. Someone who came to me after their disciple died wouldn’t make such a demand.”

“Why on earth would he do that?”

I pretended not to know, but I could guess the true intentions of the Heavenly Blade Demon. He wanted to test the relationship between Father and me. Whether Father would really punish me, and if he did, what kind of punishment it would be. He wanted to see if Father considered me as his successor.

“So you plan to punish me.”

“I have no grounds to punish you. That disciple of his is the one who deserves to die.”

“Creating grounds is all it takes.”

I drew my sword and made a long line on the ground. Then, drawing about ten feet away, I said,

“The Heavenly Blade Demon told me. This longer side represents how you see yourself. Did that reason come from this line?”

Instead of answering, Father asked back the question I had asked in the hunting ground.

“Who among the Eight do I trust the most?”

“Yes.”

Father answered it now.

“No one trusts anyone.”

I could understand. With this answer, Father simultaneously answered that the line drawn by the Heavenly Blade Demon wasn’t accurate.

“Which side are you on? Do you trust people or not?”

“It depends on who the person is.”

“How can you know what kind of person they are?”

“You can learn by spending time with them, can’t you?”

“That’s a foolish thought. The one thing you can never know is the human heart. Even if someone seems transparent, you should never think you understand them.”

Suddenly, Ian came to mind. I thought I knew her well, but it was like constantly discovering new aspects of her.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Didn’t I tell you to uphold the principles of the sect?”

“Yes.”

“Throw away the nonsense about eradicating corruption. Tell me your honest thoughts.”

“Can I really speak honestly?”

“When have you ever lied?”

“Not exactly. But this answer might be considered rude.”

“Speak.”

“From some time ago, we… I think we lost our way in the dark arts.”