EP.26 Demon Sword Empress (3)
This was an incident that occurred at a certain Mount Tai in the past.
It was the mid-mountain, densely piled with coldly stiffened corpses.
At the center of this hell where righteous and demonic, even demonic practitioners, were mixed together, Demon Sword Empress Nangong Biya stood alone amidst it all, holding her sword and looking up at the sky.
[Demon Sword Empress.]
At my call, Nangong Biya slowly shifts her gaze.
Perhaps because of the single drop of blood splattered on her pale cheek, she looks exceptionally alluring.
Dark eyes devoid of any emotion.
As I met her eyes, all I could see was darkness.
[You're the only survivor. Did you kill them all?]
Excluding the other martial artists, the cruel sword wounds visible even on the demonic practitioners were undeniably the marks left by Nangong Biya's blade.
In the preceding battle, Nangong Biya had killed everyone here, regardless of whether they were friend or foe.
Seeing that, I opened my mouth.
[I said time was short, so what kind of dog act is this?]
At my voice, Nangong Biya approaches me, trailing her blood-soaked sword.
Nangong Biya didn't seem to harbor any killing intent, but it was hard to tell carelessly because Nangong Biya never harbored killing intent at any time.
In any situation whatsoever.
A human unswayed by emotion.
That is why she was an even more terrifying swordswoman.
Nangong Biya arrived before me. Wiping the blood from her cheek, she spoke.
[There was nothing here.]
[Of course there wasn't, you wiped it all out.]
Swish. Nangong Biya swiftly swings her sword as if flicking away the blood.
A fierce wind pressure spreads in the direction of the swing.
Flicking the sword clean, Nangong Biya asked me.
[What did the Cult Leader say?]
[He told me to bring you back. Predicted you'd be running amok like a crazy bitch.]
[The latter part, is that what you wanted to say?]
[Seeing that you understood, it seems you at least have that much sanity left.]
Nangong Biya was utterly insane, save for the lack of a flower in her hair. And it wasn't for anything else, but solely for the sword.
Sheathing her sword after roughly swinging it to shake off the blood, Nangong Biya began to walk.
I watched her and let out a sigh.
[Not that way, Demon Sword Empress.]
[...Where is it?]
[Left.]
[Ah....]
[...That's right.]
Only after several corrections did Nangong Biya find her way.
For a master who must have killed at least hundreds in this very place, she had a surprisingly dense side to her.
In contrast to that appearance, the sight of her diving into the midst of dozens of martial artists and unleashing a gruesome sword dance created an indescribable sense of disconnect.
Demon Sword Empress.
In a way, wasn't it the moniker that suited Nangong Biya the best?
Nangong Biya, who had been walking slowly, came to a halt.
[Hey, you know...]
[What is it?]
[The Sword Venerable must be strong, right?]
[...Seeing you spout nonsense, you're clearly not in your right mind after all.]
I, who was walking behind her, also stopped.
She seemed to be having strange thoughts, so I spoke firmly.
[Just in case you don't know, don't do anything useless. The Three Venerables are the Cult Leader's share.]
[I wonder what the Sword Venerable's sword would be like.]
[Ah... this crazy bitch.]
I shook my head and moved my feet.
For some reason, I couldn't feel the presence following me, so I looked back, only to find Nangong Biya muttering to herself and walking in a different direction.
[....]
Should I stop her? I agonized for a fleeting moment.
I picked up a rock lying on the ground and threw it at Nangong Biya.
I even infused my qi into it to precisely hit her head.
The fast-flying rock split in half near Nangong Biya and dropped with a thud.
Nangong Biya, who had drawn her sword at some point, was looking at me.
[Are we fighting?]
This was the only time emotion ever filled Nangong Biya's expression.
My body tingled from the qi that began to oppress the surroundings. I wiped my face with my hand and said.
[...That's not the way.]
[....Ah!]
At my words, she immediately sheathed her sword. The qi that had been consuming the surroundings in an instant also disappeared.
Only then did Nangong Biya, who was barely walking on the right path, hesitate again.
Her face looked as if she was lost in thought.
[What are you doing?]
[I was thinking.]
[About what?]
[No matter how I look at it, this doesn't seem like the right way.]
Nangong Biya spat those words out, then leapt like an arrow in the opposite direction and quickly disappeared from sight. I watched that and wiped my face again.
[...I said that's not the way, you crazy bitch....]
After that, I was able to reach the destination in less than a day.
Nangong Biya, who had run off like that, arrived at the destination three days later.
******************
At my shout, the gazes of everyone gathered focused on me.
Nangong Biya's gaze in particular was terrifying.
I'd rather die than get entangled with that crazy bitch.
The Nangong name, the backbone of the Four Great Clans? Her beautiful appearance? All of that was meaningless.
Such was the existence of that crazy bitch.
"...Young Master?"
Wuyan, who had suddenly appeared shouting curses, looked at me with a flustered face.
I also wanted to keep my mouth shut and endure it if possible, but this was too much.
Amidst this, Nangong Biya looked at me and asked.
"Are you the master of this party?"
Just hearing her voice made me break out in a cold sweat. Should I answer?
As if uninterested in my answer, Nangong Biya offered me a bow.
"I am Nangong Biya of the Nangong Clan. If it wouldn't be a nuisance, to Sichuan..."
"No. We are not going to Sichuan, and it is a nuisance."
At my firm rejection, the eyes of those watching widened.
Nangong Biya tilted her head. Perhaps because it was unexpected?
Well, she probably hadn't been refused anywhere just for being from the Nangong Clan. But I clearly had something to say too.
"It hasn't even been confirmed whether you are truly affiliated with the Nangong Clan, and I cannot recklessly accept a martial artist of unknown identity into our party."
Even just looking at her blue-white hair and the Nangong name written on the blue martial uniform she wore, one could consider that she was indeed a person of the Nangong Clan, but strictly speaking, this was a valid argument.
I absolutely wasn't going to accept her.
At my refusal, Nangong Biya let out an "Ah..." and nodded.
And then she drew her sword. Wuyan saw this and urgently assumed a battle stance, but Nangong Biya just stood still and closed her eyes.
At the somehow familiar sight, I couldn't hide my anxiety.
'That crazy bitch, don't tell me...'
In an instant, the flow of the air changed.
I felt an anxiety as if I were walking not on the ground, but on a sword's edge. The blade—the air itself felt like a blade, creating an atmosphere of sharp steel.
It was the aura I had constantly felt from Nangong Biya in my past life.
Soon, Nangong Biya slowly opened her eyes.
At the same time, a tingling qi radiated from her entire body.
Sensing this, Wuyan and the escorts simultaneously drew their swords.
Before the blades could reach Nangong Biya, the qi radiating from her instantly vanished without a trace.
Even with multiple swords threatening her right in front of her nose, Nangong Biya's face was utterly peaceful.
Imperial Sword Form.
The Nangong Clan's ultimate technique had briefly flashed from that fragile-looking woman.
"Since I haven't mastered this yet, this is all I can show you, but would this much be enough proof?"
Nangong Biya had used such a brute-force method to prove she was from the Nangong Clan.
In a way, it was a more certain method.
Probably, all the martial artists standing here were convinced that she was a direct descendant of the Nangong Clan.
Because there was no more certain way to prove them than the Nangong Clan's ultimate technique.
I listened to her words, nodded, and said.
"That is truly an overwhelming aura. I think we can 'absolutely' not travel together with someone who uses such terrifying martial arts. I'm sorry."
Of course, even if she proved it, what couldn't be done couldn't be done.
******************
Fortunately, after rejecting Nangong Biya's accompaniment, we started moving again to head to Sichuan.
Surprisingly, Nangong Biya said nothing about my rejection. She merely nodded.
Did I finally resolve one thing?
It truly took ten years off my life.
'Who would have thought I'd meet that person here.'
The sight of her swinging her sword regardless of friend or foe was still vivid before my eyes. Why was a direct descendant of the Nangong Clan wandering around here alone?
"Ah... I'm so tired, really."
The mere few minutes I just faced Nangong Biya felt more exhausting than the past three days of riding in the carriage.
"Young Master, Young Master!"
"Why are you calling me."
Yuxue'er, who had been looking out the window, suddenly called me.
Yuxue'er kept looking outside the carriage.
"She keeps following us."
"What is?"
What's following us...
A chilling thought circled in my mind at Yuxue'er's words.
As if to put a nail in the coffin, Yuxue'er answered.
"That pretty older sister from earlier, she's still following us."
Oh God in heaven...
I hurriedly checked outside the carriage, and sure enough, Nangong Biya was following us from afar.
'I'm going crazy. Was her nodding earlier supposed to mean that?'
If they won't accept you, just follow them?
....I'm really going to lose my mind.
In my heart, I wanted to pour curses at her to stop following, but I didn't have the justification to do so.
'I even said we're not going to Sichuan, so why on earth is she following us?'
Is our destination the same? That couldn't be.
I had never seen that insane girl take a normal path.
Right, ignore her. Ignorance is the answer.
The problem was later that night when we set up camp.
We had barely found a usable terrain, built a campfire, and were making preparations when another campfire came into view in the distance.
It was none other than Nangong Biya. Where on earth did she catch them? She was skewering frogs on a stick and roasting them slowly over the campfire.
Perhaps because her appearance was so glamorous, even with her thoughtless-looking eyes, she looked profoundly desolate.
That was practically a blatant display of "I'm following you."
And where did she catch those frogs again?
I tried hard to ignore her and turned my head. Shifting my gaze, Yuxue'er was running around holding dumplings just like last time.
I overheard the escorts spouting nonsense last time about how all their fatigue vanished the moment Yuxue'er handed them dumplings.
Honestly, it was a story I could somewhat relate to.
"Young Master! Dumplings!"
I picked up the dumpling Yuxue'er handed me and ate it.
I didn't know about anything else, but eating the dumpling really made my stomach feel settled.
'...I'm glad at least you're here.'
Perhaps my appetite was a bit better today, and one dumpling disappeared in an instant. I still felt a bit peckish, as if my stomach wasn't full, so I thought I should eat a little more.
I looked for Yuxue'er to receive another dumpling.
"...Wow, that really won't do."
Yuxue'er had already gone over to Nangong Biya and was handing her a dumpling.
Nangong Biya looked at the dumpling Yuxue'er handed her, displaying a rare emotion of bewilderment.
"Does the pretty sister want to eat one of these too?"
"...Ah."
I hurriedly stood up and approached Yuxue'er.
And I grabbed Yuxue'er's shoulder and pulled her back.
"What are you doing to an outsider right now."
Perhaps because my voice sounded a bit angry, Yuxue'er showed a slight sign of being cowed.
"No... This sister was pitifully trying to eat frogs..."
"She probably just wanted to eat them. Don't act recklessly and go back."
"Yes..."
Perhaps because she was scolded, Yuxue'er with a sullen expression trudged back.
In the meantime, Nangong Biya, holding the dumpling in her hand, was looking down at me.
I asked her.
"Why are you following us?"
"Just the road..."
"I won't listen to the excuse that our paths are the same."
When I blocked her words in advance, she momentarily clamped her mouth shut.
"I know you are a daughter of the Nangong Clan."
"But... why didn't you allow me to accompany you?"
"That is my decision. Just because it's the Nangong Clan doesn't mean I have to unconditionally comply, does it?"
"Ah..."
"What I don't understand is why the precious daughter of the Nangong Clan is traveling alone to such a faraway land?"
Treating Nangong Biya with courtesy gave me constant goosebumps down my spine, but I forced it down. This too was a necessary endeavor...
Nangong Biya scratched her cheek with her free hand, the one not holding the dumpling. Her face looked somewhat awkward.
"....We definitely started out together... But I lost my way halfway through..."
At those words, I was at a loss for what to say.
How many attendants must have started out with her, and she surely must have ridden in a carriage, so how could she lose her way?
'...If I didn't have memories of my past life, I definitely wouldn't have understood.'
The sight of her not being able to properly distinguish left from right came to mind.
Because the Demon Sword Empress was heaven-sent directionally challenged.
"We are not going to Sichuan."
"Really...? I had a feeling you were going there."
This directionally challenged fool who couldn't even find her way had a uselessly good intuition about this.
I coughed once and continued speaking.
"....Anyway, I won't say anything about you following along separately. But truly, that is all, so please stop just at that."
This much should be enough. This is the end. It had to be.
As I tried to quickly leave the spot, Nangong Biya called out to me.
"Excuse me, Young Hero."
"...Yes?"
"I am Nangong Biya."
"Yes, I know."
Nangong Biya kept staring at me without a word. What was she trying to say?
As the silence continued, Nangong Biya tilted her head again. Soon, as if she realized something, she opened her mouth once more.
"Since I introduced myself, please tell me your name too, Young Hero."
"I don't..."
I was about to refuse, thinking that giving my name would needlessly entangle me.
But a method flashed through my mind, and I blurted it out to Nangong Biya.
"...I am Gu Jueye."
"Pardon?"
"Gu Jueye of the Gu Clan, Gu Jueye."
Nangong Biya nodded after hearing the name.
As if she intended to remember it.
...I'm sorry, Jueye.
....I'm going to use your name for a bit.
It was the moment a slight pang of guilt arose toward Gu Jueye, whom I thought I'd never have to apologize to in my life.