Treatment (2)
Sitting quietly and waiting, the Sword Empress opened her eyes before long.
"I heard you were injured... thankfully, you look fine."
The Sword Empress's dry voice.
I only nodded at her worried words.
I didn't know what to say or in what tone to say it.
First, I had to hide my complicated feelings while looking at the demonic qi visible inside the Sword Empress's body.
"If you had been seriously hurt, my heart would have ached greatly. Truly, it is a relief..."
"...Thank you for your concern."
"It is nothing... Rather, I am sorry for making you come visit while you are hurt because I called for a busy person."
"I am fine. The Divine Physician said I can move freely now."
Saying that, my gaze was still looking elsewhere.
'The demonic qi is too dense.'
A dense and deeply concentrated qi that couldn't even be compared to the trivial energy Yexuechi possessed.
It was so similar to... the one the Heavenly Demon possessed.
It wasn't just at the level of being similar; it was safe to say they were the same.
I couldn't be mistaken about that.
'Could the illness that is slowly killing the Sword Empress be that bastard?'
. . .
If the demonic qi is the culprit, why would the Sword Empress harbor such a thing inside her body?
After returning to a time where things unknown in my past life were happening, it was showing me far too much.
Did the Sword Empress already face the Heavenly Demon in this life?
Not everyone who possesses demonic qi becomes a demonic cultivator.
Just look at Yexuechi and the bastards of Heiya Palace.
And the Sword Empress right in front of me.
If there was a difference, it was that Yexuechi was slowly accepting it and becoming a demonic cultivator.
While the Sword Empress was enduring the rampaging demonic qi by rejecting it.
'To not show a single sign of it despite it rampaging like that.'
Since the Sword Empress was a master of the Dao Sect, her internal qi must have surely been pure and righteous Daoist qi.
Even so, it seemed like she was helplessly being devoured in front of the demonic qi.
I could tell just by looking.
The Sword Empress's body, weakened by the demonic qi, made it possible for even someone at my level to observe her condition.
The Sword Empress's internal qi was running low.
Let alone the fact that I could tell even that was struggling to block the rampaging demonic qi.
Even while enduring that arduous process, the Sword Empress didn't furrow her brow even once.
Even though it must be painful right now.
Such a Sword Empress looked at me and spoke with a regretful voice.
"It would have been really nice if I had seen you just a little earlier. I'm sorry I couldn't even buy you a proper meal..."
"...It's fine."
The Sword Empress keeps apologizing to me.
I couldn't understand what was so apologetic about it.
No matter how close she was with my mother, she and I were ultimately strangers.
Even in that situation, she took Gulinghua away, saying she would take responsibility for her.
From my standpoint, that alone was enough.
Since I just had to endure it on my own.
'Honestly, I didn't endure it properly, though.'
The Sword Empress looked at me, hesitated for a moment, and cautiously brought it up.
"...Could I hold your hand for a moment?"
"My hand?"
Although it was sudden, it wasn't a big request, so I reached my hand out to the Sword Empress.
The Sword Empress's wrinkled hand came into view.
"I'm sorry for my wrinkled hand."
'...Why is she apologizing for even this?'
Maybe the Sword Empress really just wanted to say she was sorry to me.
I thought so and carefully held the Sword Empress's hand.
Holding my hand, the Sword Empress smiled emptily and said.
"If only... I had been healthy, it would have been so nice."
How should I put it, it was like she was standing at the end of her life, letting go of her emotions one by one.
I don't know what to say at times like this.
Should I just stay silent?
Or should I say some lip service that her current appearance is fine too?
After thinking for a moment, I felt that I shouldn't just keep my mouth shut, so I thought I should say something.
Just as I organized my thoughts and was about to spit it out—
Swoooooosh—!
"...!"
"Ugh...!"
The Sword Empress and I simultaneously shook off our held hands.
The Sword Empress immediately looked back and forth between her hand and mine with a startled expression.
It was only natural, since the demonic qi that was in the Sword Empress's body just now flowed into me.
'...This is...'
By the time I came to my senses, looking at the demonic qi inside my body, it seemed my half-baked thought was correct.
Somehow, what was inside my body resembled the demonic qi I had seen from Yexuechi.
Looking at it now, it wasn't just that it resembled it, but it was Yexuechi's demonic qi.
'...Did I really absorb it?'
Not just a demonic stone, but even someone else's demonic qi?
'Is this also the power of the Demonic Path Heaven Absorbing Art?'
Is that really it?
Since it was something I hadn't experienced in my past life, it must be because something had changed.
The very small amount of demonic qi that flowed from the Sword Empress was immediately incinerated and purified by the Nine Flames Fire Wheel Art.
The demonic qi I would have absorbed from Yexuechi also seemed to be completely purified now.
"...This is."
The Sword Empress couldn't speak properly, seemingly flustered by the situation just now.
It seemed she hadn't fully grasped what had happened.
Seeing that, I thought. If it's possible for me to absorb the Sword Empress's demonic qi.
'Perhaps...'
I might be able to save the Sword Empress.
While I was having such thoughts, the hut door flew open.
"What are you all doing?"
It was the Divine Physician.
Swish! Swoosh!
The sound of the wooden sword slicing through the air was sharp.
The sound that used to sound blunt and soft now contained a sharp edge.
Gulinghua herself was feeling that change as well, but it felt futile.
'Half a step forward, sword tip to the upper section.'
Swish
A shallow internal qi gathered at the extended sword tip.
It wasn't an application of internal qi, but an effect created by precise linking of movements.
Despite such a fine result, Gulinghua's expression was still not good.
'...What can I do with such a petty thing.'
She had repeated even more grueling training since that day, but it seemed her mind wasn't tempered as such.
The sight of herself shivering at the enemy that appeared before her kept coming to mind.
She could intuitively know that she couldn't win.
However, that was a separate issue.
It wasn't about winning or losing; she was too ashamed of herself for running away from the pride and responsibility that a martial artist should have, as her master always said.
Nangong Bia, who stood in front holding her sword, saying she would protect her.
She too must have known she couldn't win, and must have felt fear in the face of death.
Even so, she didn't hesitate.
'...I, I...'
Imagining the back of the one who drew her sword to protect her.
Gulinghua squeezed her eyes shut at the guilt that rushed up to her throat.
'When all I can do is run away, I dare to try and bloom a plum blossom?'
Let alone blooming a plum blossom, at this rate, she wouldn't even become a proper martial artist.
Gulinghua thought of Guyang Tian.
She heard that Guyang Tian had dealt with the master that she couldn't handle, let alone Nangong Bia.
How could he do that, that lazy and selfish person.
The last time she saw him must have been around this time the year before last.
The Guyang Tian back then was the same as always.
Gulinghua clearly remembered his appearance, doing nothing but spewing thorns in all directions.
It was also then that she finally let go of Guyang Tian.
'...How could someone like that.'
The feeling slowly rising up—was it doubt or jealousy?
Gulinghua swung her sword once again.
This time too, she tried to put in more strength than before.
To avoid realizing her own incompetence, she had to focus on something.
She devoted herself to training viciously and stopped only when she was about to collapse from exhaustion.
To be exact, she swung it until she had no choice but to forcefully stop.
She only stopped training when her arms were trembling wildly and sweat was dripping from her chin.
For several days, Gulinghua had been driving herself by reducing her sleep.
"Now... I should go see the Master."
She recalled her master who had returned to the Huashan Sect for safety.
When she heard that she had escaped danger and saved her life, her master's eyes reddened.
Saying she was sorry for being an inadequate master.
The Master was not inadequate.
The inadequate one was herself.
As she was moving to wash and change her clothes, she met eyes with someone ahead.
"Ah."
"..."
The other person was Yingfeng.
For various reasons, he was someone Gulinghua felt uncomfortable around.
Yingfeng immediately paid his respects upon seeing Gulinghua.
Because Gulinghua was undeniably the second-generation disciple.
"Martial Aunt, it seems you were training."
Gulinghua didn't answer Yingfeng's question.
She gave a slight nod and walked past Yingfeng.
"Too much training isn't really good..."
"...Mind your own business."
Gulinghua, who was just going to pass by, ended up spitting out sharp words.
Even she thought she was in an overly sensitive state.
"I'm sorry. I was out of line...!"
At Gulinghua's words, Yingfeng immediately apologized.
Hearing him, Gulinghua moved her feet again.
She didn't want to meet Yingfeng's eyes.
She was the second-generation disciple, yet still a novice who hadn't even received a Daoist title.
Yingfeng, on the other hand, was the youngest Plum Blossom Swordsman.
'...If it were him, would it have been different from me back then?'
At the very least, he wouldn't have trembled and run away.
At the creeping sense of inferiority and guilt, Gulinghua's feet unconsciously quickened.
Taking advantage of the absence of people, she finished washing and changed into clean clothes.
The agonizing thoughts she held earlier seemed to have eased a little at the thought of going to see her master.
In contrast to her tired body, her steps were light.
Climbing and climbing the mountain, the hut was already in sight.
Gulinghua calmly regulated her breathing, in case she was caught looking tired, and approached the hut.
-...What did you just say?
As she approached, she heard the Divine Physician's voice.
Judging by the volume of the voice, the Master seemed to be awake.
Just as she was about to knock on the door—
-To me... there is a way.
She stopped her hand that was reaching out at Guyang Tian's voice.
It was because she was ashamed of what she had said in the morning and didn't want to face him.
'Of all times...'
She couldn't just not go in, so Gulinghua kept hesitating about what expression to make as she entered.
'I'll just go in pretending not to know.'
Making that resolution, she tried to open the door, but—
-Do you not know that this is not something to be spouted as a joke!
The Divine Physician's shouting voice leaked from inside.
What's going on...?
-It is not a joke.
-Not a joke? Then do you even know what you are saying right now?
-Yes.
Even at the Divine Physician's roar, Guyang Tian was answering calmly.
And at the follow-up words Guyang Tian spoke without hesitation—
-Perhaps, I might be able to treat the Sword Empress.
Gulinghua had no choice but to kick the door open and go in.