Absolute Return Episode 334
Episode 334: Is the Evil Soma that good?
The next morning, an unexpected visitor came to my residence.
Jangho came to see me.
“Your Majesty.”
“What brings you here this morning?”
“I heard that you came back and came to say hello. Did you have a good trip?”
“I just got hit by a sandstorm.”
“I’ve never been to Saewae before, so I’d like to go there sometime.”
“When you feel the sand in your rice, you will think, ‘Ah, now I know why our leader said it was so gritty.’”
Jang-ho laughed. He rarely laughed in front of his subordinates, so this wonderful laugh was always mine.
“Oh, and take this.”
Jangho handed over what he had brought. When he unwrapped the paper, a picture appeared inside.
It was the back of a man standing on a cliff with a sword on his waist. As soon as I saw the picture, I knew who it was. It was me.
“Who is this terrifyingly cool guy?”
“This is the Little Leader. My skills are still a mess, but I still wanted to draw the Little Leader for my first drawing. I didn’t dare to draw the face, so I drew the back.”
When he said he wanted to paint after he retired, I bought him some painter’s tools. Little did I know that his first work would be mine.
“I didn’t know you were this good.”
It wasn’t something I said to make you happy. It was a really beautiful painting, as if it had been drawn by a painter.
“This is my first time receiving a painting as a gift.”
“This is my first time giving a painting as a gift.”
“I must go to my father and brag to him. Although the Demon Lord receives his salary from my father, he gave me the painting as a gift.”
Jang-ho was flustered, thinking that he was joking, but just thinking about it made him sweat.
“Please just look at that.”
The teasing continued because it was funny to see her embarrassed.
“If I take it to the Central Plains and sell it, how much will I get? It’s a painting drawn by the Demon Lord of the Heavenly Demon Sect. Then what’s the asking price? You’re not going to buy it? You’re really not going to buy it? You’re going to buy it for that little money?”
Jang-ho waved his hand with an embarrassed expression, telling them to stop.
“Thank you. I will treasure it for the rest of my life.”
“I will draw better later when my skills improve.”
“Then draw me from the front. It would be a waste to waste this handsome face.”
I didn’t miss Jang-ho’s momentary startled reaction.
“What? You don’t think I’m handsome, do you?”
Now Jangho’s counterattack has begun.
“You have the kind of face that young people these days prefer.”
“But isn’t he a handsome face?”
He didn’t answer, but his expression seemed to indicate agreement.
“Then who do you think is handsome? Pick one from among the people we know.”
Could it be the Poison King? No, the Poison King looks younger than me, so it can’t be. The evil soma is handsome, but there’s no way I could see inside his mask. Ah, then it must be Chuma, I thought, but then an unexpected name came out.
“Isn’t the master handsome?”
“What? Are you crazy?”
The words, “Are you crazy?” came out naturally.
“He’s manly, cool, and handsome.”
“Do you really think so?”
“yes.”
Knowing that he was sincere, I shook my head and sighed.
“I’m really disappointed in your judgment. Please tell me it was a joke before you go!”
Jang-ho smiled as if he had expected this kind of reaction. However, he did not make up his mind in the end.
“Then I’ll see you again.”
Jangho greeted them politely and left the residence.
After he left, his escorts, including Jeokyeon, came to look at the painting.
“Great picture.”
“Right? You were going to let this talent go to waste. You should each get a hobby. For your life, one stroke of the brush can be better than a hundred strokes of the knife.”
The escorts’ answers were loud as they knew that these words of mine were now sincere.
“Understood, Your Majesty!”
I said as I left the residence.
“I’ll ask you later. So, please think about it. Oh, and hang the picture in a place where it can be seen in the room. I’m going to the evil song. You don’t have to come with me.”
* * *
When I entered the evil song, it was different from usual.
There was a festive atmosphere there.
Each building was decorated with ornate decorations, and the masks of the masked guests were all painted in bright colors. In various places, bonfires were lit, meat was being grilled, and liquor was being carried by the jar. The masks did not have the usual scary feeling. Today, everyone was excited.
I asked the stranger who recognized me and greeted me.
“What’s going on?”
“Today is the Amazon’s birthday.”
“Is it the evil soma’s birthday?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t tell anyone that I’m here and gone.”
First of all, the evil song came out on the road.
I didn’t know it was the evil Soma’s birthday. If I didn’t know, I wouldn’t have known, but even if I knew, I couldn’t just go empty-handed.
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What should I give you as a gift?
In the past, on Bloodthirsty Horse’s birthday, he was given the highest grade poison liquor as a gift. The relationship back then and now is different, so at the time, that alone was a great gift.
After thinking about it for a moment, I ran straight to Cheonma Hall.
“I came again because I wanted to see my father.”
My father looked at me with a suspicious look. It seemed suspicious that I came to see him again today after greeting him yesterday.
“Would you like to play a game of baduk?”
“busy.”
“Then would you like to try some beekeeping?”
“What is your business?”
I spoke carefully to my father.
“Please let me take one more treasure from Cheonma Report.”
My father didn’t even ask what was going on.
“No way!”
Yes, they opened it specially to commemorate my becoming a new leader. If I came here out of the blue and asked for it, they wouldn’t have given it to me.
“What can I do for you?”
“What can you do?”
“I can rub your shoulders. I will rub your shoulders for the rest of your life.”
“I absolutely hate it when other people touch my body.”
“Am I a man?”
Of course, it was a futile attempt.
“I will come play baduk every day.”
“If you put it in the sewer, it will give you water.”
“I will practice martial arts diligently every day.”
“Or so.”
“Do you have a daughter you’ve hidden? I mean, a daughter you’ve hidden away, hiding her identity out of fear of danger. She’s growing up somewhere with an ordinary status. But that daughter is in danger. Son, go and save her in secret. I can trust you, but you’re the only one. In return, I’ll give you a treasure.”
The corners of my father’s mouth curled up in a sneer.
“If you’re worried about it being dangerous, shouldn’t you keep it at the main school?”
“Well, he might have hidden it because he was worried about his brother who was crazy about ambition.”
“Looking at your current situation, I’m more worried about you.”
“What can I give to someone who has everything in the world? Just give it to him!”
My father got up from his seat at the Taesa Temple at my shameless request. I thought he would say, “Do you think you’ll come to your senses if you get beaten up?”
“Let’s walk.”
I walked around the yard with my father. Everyone who passed by bowed their heads respectfully.
Surprisingly, the place the walking path led to was Cheonmabogo.
“Choose one and come out.”
When I watched him so obediently, I became anxious.
“Why are you giving it to me so obediently?”
“Don’t let vain desires pile up.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When I become a Heavenly Horse, I will be able to use it to my heart’s content. That is the kind of desire I have.”
I could understand my father’s heart.
“Are you thinking that far?”
“It’s such an important matter. You too, and Cheonmabogo too.”
My heart ached at your words.
What was even more surprising was that my father already knew.
“Is the evil Soma that good?”
“You knew that.”
He knew that today was the evil Soma’s birthday, and he guessed that my visit was to give him a gift.
I thought he might ask what was so good about it.
“Bring it out.”
After a while, I came out of there with one treasure.
“No vain desires were accumulated. Instead, respect and affection for my father were accumulated… … .”
My father walked away without listening to what I said.
I stood for a moment and looked at my father’s back. Usually, my father’s back was big and strong, lonely and desolate, and made me feel all sorts of emotions, but today, I felt deep affection for me.
When I first returned, I was definitely confident that I had lived longer than my father. I had lived longer than my father! I had this feeling.
And now I feel it.
That apart from living longer, apart from the kind of life I’ve lived, there’s something about being a father that makes me strong.
I want to be a father like my father.
I am a father who flatters, teases, jokes, and says all sorts of things to others, but only to my son, I silently show it through my actions. I have never been greedy for children in my entire life, but today, at this moment, I am greedy.
My father stopped in front of me and looked back at me. I walked towards him with brisk strides, seeing his eyes asking if I was not coming.
“I will visit you every day, rub your shoulders, play baduk with you, and give you pocket money often. And… … Let’s go together! I wondered who the devils took after to leave like that. Father!”
* * *
When he arrived at the residence of the evil Soma, he was sitting alone in a pure white room. Even though it was his birthday, he was like that.
“Soma-sama!”
“Your Majesty!”
The two eyes in the sockets of the extremely evil Soma that turned towards me were smiling brightly. Is it because we communicated through just our eyes? Just looking at that Soma’s eyes, I could feel the pain in them.
“I saw you standing on the stone statue yesterday.”
“I thought you might be tired from your long journey, so I wanted to greet you from afar. How was your trip?”
“I came back after taking care of everything. Since the leader of the Pungcheon Church and Mabul were here, there was no way anything could happen.”
Perhaps the evil Soma would be disappointed that they could not fight together.
“Oh, by the way, happy birthday!”
“thank you.”
“If it had been two days late, it would have arrived late.”
“What a big day.”
“It’s an important day. It’s the day Soma-sama was born.”
Then the evil Soma said something unexpected.
“Actually, I hate celebrating birthdays.”
“But isn’t it a festival outside?”
The evil soma walked to the window and looked outside. I stood next to him. The surroundings of the evil soma’s residence were decorated even more extravagantly. In front of it, a crowd of innocent people gathered and chatted as if it were their birthday.
“It wasn’t like that originally, but I told them to play as much as they want today because it was my birthday. I told them to share the gifts that came from outside.”
Even the evil Soma was showing a different appearance than before.
I said, taking out what I had taken from my bosom.
“But this gift is not acceptable.”
The evil Soma recognized the gift I gave him at a glance.
“This is!”
His two eyes trembled.
“It was sitting in the warehouse, but I brought it in case you need it.”
What he brought from Cheonmabogo was a wrist guard. Just looking at it made him feel precious. On one side was a picture of a roaring black dragon, and on the other side was a picture of a flying tiger.
Ink dragon flying tiger cup.
Known to be impervious to swords and even uncut by sword energy, this was the best wrist guard. Especially for those who did not use swords or swords, such as the evil Soma, it was an essential treasure for defense in urgent situations.
The gaze of the evil soma looking down at it for a moment deepened.
“No one in the world would call Cheonmabogo a warehouse.”
The evil Soma looked at me.
“Do you know how precious this is?”
“I know that precious thing is gathering dust in the report.”
The evil Soma stared at me and said.
“You say that a relationship should be light as a feather to last? You don’t want to build an impregnable castle with me? You say you want our relationship to be light as a feather so that we can go through life comfortably? Then what are you going to do for your next birthday? And what should I do for you?”
I stared at the evil Soma for a moment in silence.
“Can’t you think of it this way? Maybe that cult leader committed a sin against me in his previous life and is trying to repay it in this life.”
“I have already repaid your kindness by saving my life.”
“I guess I sinned twice.”
“Little leader!”
“Soma-sama!”
If I were in danger, he would be the first one to come running. He would be willing to give his life.
So, you don’t have to worry about whether this gift will be a burden to him. He will act the same whether you give it to him or not.
“Please accept it, Soma-sama.”
Our eyes were entangled in the air. In the end, he couldn’t refuse my earnest wish.
“great.”
“Oh, that’s fortunate. If you had refused until the end, my father would have teased me about this for the rest of his life.”
After rolling up his sleeves, the evil soma put on the silent dragon helmet on both hands. It suited the evil soma wearing a white mask very well.
“This is the most precious birthday present I’ve ever received in my life.”
“If anyone breaks the record, please let me know. I can’t stand this kind of thing again.”
His deep eyes beneath the mask conveyed gratitude.
“What will you do if the other Amazons find out?”
“You must be looking forward to what I will give you for your birthday.”
“So what if I can’t give it to you?”
“I guess you like Soma the most.”
The evil Soma laughed out loud.
It was Soma’s pleasant laugh that I hadn’t heard in a long time.
* * *
After leaving the evil song, I went straight to Magachon.
I’m planning to go to Pungryu Tavern to see Jo Chun-bae and have a meal.
Magachon, who returned after a long time, was no different from when he left.
The bustling market street was bustling with people coming and going.
Vendors soliciting customers, old men pushing carts and shouting at people to get out of the way, women browsing their wares, men grabbing each other by the collar, couples walking hand in hand while smiling, children running around and a woman shouting at them not to run.
This scenery definitely looks different after fighting for my life.
Only when we realize that the daily life that seems natural may not be natural at all, will we be able to find happiness in it.
When I arrived at the Pungryu tavern, I was so surprised that I just stood there in a daze for a while.
The door of the Pungryu tavern was closed. It was the first time. This place had ever been closed. Are you sick? Or did something come up?
Then someone came and said.
“Little Master, I am the fruit vendor down there.”
He was someone I often saw while coming and going from Magachon. He was also close with Jo Chun-bae.
“The owner of the Pungryu tavern left with his wife a few days ago, saying something had come up at his in-laws’ house.”
I knew that Jo Chun-bae had a special relationship with his wife.
“Do you know what’s going on?”
“I didn’t hear the details, but it seemed that someone in your family was involved with a martial artist.”
My heart sank at the thought of being entangled with a martial artist. It wasn’t easy for most people to see good results. Furthermore, the fact that he had even closed the tavern door and left in a hurry showed how urgent the situation was.
It just so happened that this happened when I was away from school. Since Ian was also away, Seo Dae-ryong and Jang-ho probably wouldn’t be having a bar gathering these days.
“Do you know where your in-laws live?”
When I heard the location of my in-laws, I immediately flew over.
I left Magachon in an instant by speedboat. The best thing would be for me to arrive first, and the next best thing would be to arrive on time.
I hope it’s nothing serious, but if you’re involved in something dangerous, the only thing you can rely on is the owner’s experience. He’s had all kinds of experiences running the tavern here.
‘Master, only until I get there!’
The speed limit has been reached and the speed limit has been exceeded again.
