Chapter 128. It Is Not a Heart Demon.
I suddenly fell silent and looked toward Murong Bai’s office.
Just thinking that the Poison Demon of my past life and the Sword Demon were conversing in there made even me feel strange.
To be honest, the Sword Demon’s condition was complicated and difficult.
How difficult was it?
It was a conundrum that even a man of the Sword Demon’s caliber could not solve.
It would be a difficult problem for Murong Bai as well.
But I placed meaning in the fact that I had arranged this meeting at all.
I did not know why.
Because there were always many things I did not know.
One thing, however, I knew for certain.
This was a problem Murong Bai could not solve, the Sword Demon could not solve, and I could do nothing about either.
But the three of us would be better than one alone.
* * *
The moment Murong Bai saw the Sword Demon seated across from him, he swallowed without realizing it. He could not help wondering where the Hao Sect Master kept bringing such monstrous men from.
His martial prowess went without saying, and even his inner world seemed so firm that Murong Bai found himself at a loss for words.
Seeing the young physician grow tense, the Sword Demon spoke.
“There is no need to be nervous.”
“Yes. What should I call you?”
“Me? Well. That is somewhat ambiguous.”
Murong Bai asked with a smile.
“Since you are my elder, shall I call you Brother?”
The Sword Demon shook his head and replied.
“No one has ever called me by such a title. I thought you were a physician, but since you have also learned martial arts, call me Senior, like the Hao Sect Master does.”
Murong Bai replied.
“Would Senior be more comfortable for you?”
When the Sword Demon nodded, Murong Bai said with a blunt expression.
“Then I will call you Brother.”
“…….”
“Should I call you patient?”
When the Sword Demon looked at him, blinking, Murong Bai lowered his head slightly.
“It was a joke.”
The Sword Demon spoke in an even tone.
“No wonder you are the Hao Sect Master’s sworn brother. They do say birds of a feather flock together.”
“I will take that as a compliment.”
“That is the listener’s freedom.”
The Sword Demon let out a sigh, then looked around the study and said,
“You read many books.”
“Yes. There are martial arts texts, medical texts, ancient books, and old novels that are hard to obtain. Do you like books as well, Senior?”
“I do.”
“What did you mainly read?”
“Martial arts texts.”
“Anything else?”
“I occasionally read the Laozi, but I read that by applying it to martial arts as well. Have you read it too?”
“I have.”
“How was it?”
“For the most part, there were many things I could not understand, so I closed it soon after. Was it helpful to you, Senior?”
“No. I deemed it unnecessary and forgot it all.”
Murong Bai moistened his dry lips.
“You are merciless.”
“I tend to be.”
“Why did the Sect Master call you a patient, Senior? From what I can see, there does not seem to be any problem.”
The Sword Demon nodded, then unfastened the Guangming Sword and placed it on the table.
“Would you draw it?”
Murong Bai replied, his face tense.
“I won’t die, will I?”
The Sword Demon smiled.
“Surely I would not treat the Sect Master’s acquaintance recklessly.”
“Yes, then I shall try once.”
Murong Bai reached out with both hands and drew the Guangming Sword, then shoved it back in as soon as he heard the ghostly wail that struck his eardrums.
Murong Bai said,
“The sword is screaming. It seems to be hurting somewhere?”
The Sword Demon, in a rare moment, laughed aloud and replied.
“You see nearly everything as a patient.”
“It is an occupational disease.”
“There are extremely rare swords that let out a sword cry on their own. They are not normal swords.”
“So this is what they call a demon sword. Did you make it, Senior?”
“Of course not. It is a sword that was forcibly bound to me when I was young.”
“By your family?”
The Sword Demon nodded.
After clearing his throat, Murong Bai took a white handkerchief from a drawer and wiped his forehead.
“Is there perhaps a way to undo that binding?”
“There should be, but I never learned it.”
“If you happened to know the method, would you undo the binding?”
“Not now.”
“Why not?”
“Because that would be the same as telling me to die.”
Murong Bai nodded.
“By that death, do you mean you would die the moment the binding was undone? Or do you mean that losing the demon sword would weaken your combat strength, allowing your enemies to get you?”
“Probably the latter.”
Murong Bai nodded.
“In that case, you must not undo the binding carelessly.”
“Indeed.”
“Even so, the reason the Sect Master brought you here, Senior, must be because possessing the demon sword itself presents a problem. Please explain.”
“That is the part difficult to explain.”
The Sword Demon stroked the Guangming Sword.
“Once I reached a certain level, the speed at which I grew stronger became slower and slower, while this thing, like a living creature, grows stronger without seeming to have any limit each time it devours enemies. I survived among fiends because of this sword, but… now the fact that I rely on it humiliates me. Revulsion, perhaps. Do you understand what that feels like? I find myself wondering whether I am weaker than this demon sword. But I cannot simply throw it away either. After all, rather than being defeated and dying….”
When the Sword Demon stopped speaking, silence flowed for a moment.
Murong Bai asked,
“So there was such a story behind it. What is the sword’s name?”
“I call it Guangming.”
“A name that does not suit it. I will touch the sword again.”
Once the Sword Demon gave permission, Murong Bai drew the Guangming Sword again. This time, unlike at first, the ghostly wail continued softly.
After swallowing once, Murong Bai said,
“It’s different from the ghostly wail we heard earlier.”
“What makes the Radiance Sword unsettling is that it acts as it pleases. I use it in order to survive, but because of this unpredictability, I often wonder if one day I might be devoured by it.”
Murong Bai set the Radiance Sword down, then folded his arms.
“Should I call them ordinary people? Or should I say the sort of jianghu people one commonly encounters? If such people obtained the Radiance Sword, they would keep growing stronger while slaughtering others. They would kill, and kill, and become stronger and stronger. They would not greatly regret it, either. First, they would avenge themselves, and if there was no vengeance left to seek, they would fight until they became the greatest under heaven. Of course, before that, if they encountered an expert even this demonic sword could do nothing against, they would die. That is the jianghu. It is a world where common sense and proper principles are looked down upon, a place where the power to crush everything is considered the truth.”
The Sword Demon looked at Murong Bai.
“And?”
“Senior, are you not from a Demonic Path family?”
“I am.”
“There must have been a time when you accepted what your family taught you. And as you thought for yourself, you must have reached a point different from your family’s beliefs. For example, that there was no need to grow stronger even through indiscriminate slaughter… or that you had no desire to absorb even the weak. Such feelings, I mean. Your family would not have taught you that. On top of that, if you trained diligently on your own as well, then it is more than enough to put you in a state where you feel humiliation. I will not conclude that this means you have fallen into a heart demon.”
“You say it is not a heart demon?”
“Yes.”
“Then what on earth is it? This terrible humiliation and emptiness, these complicated emotions that are difficult even to name…”
“It is likely a sense of responsibility.”
“……”
Murong Bai looked at the Sword Demon with his fingers interlaced.
“Born human, though influenced by the Demonic Path, you possess a sense of responsibility to live while preserving the last principles of humanity. This is a high level of responsibility. Because the environment you were placed in must have been extremely brutal.”
“How would you know that?”
“You said it yourself. That you survived among devils. The higher the level of those devils, the greater the mental pressure you had to endure must have been. You merely wished to survive, yet there must have been hardship all around you. If you had been weak in disposition, or somewhat frivolous, you would not have felt this sense of responsibility. You would simply have swung a demonic sword around and met a fate befitting it. Senior, could you readily pass that sword on to someone else?”
The Sword Demon shook his head.
“It would not be easy.”
“Who would live while wielding this sword and exercising such difficult restraint? It is not easy. Instead, use it, and later, if a time comes when it becomes truly too difficult, hand it over to the Hao Sect Leader.”
The Sword Demon replied with a startled expression.
“To the Sect Leader? Are you telling me to let the Sect Leader use it?”
Murong Bai shook his head with a calm expression.
“No. With the Sect Leader’s personality, he would immediately snap this ominous sword in two.”
The Sword Demon replied, looking somewhat shocked.
“Why would he do that to this?”
To Murong Bai, it sounded like, “Why would he do that to something so precious?”
Murong Bai replied in an even tone.
“Because you are more important than the sword, Senior. So he would break the sword.”
“Mm.”
“Most likely, unable to contain his temper, after breaking it, he would run to a smithy, throw it into the furnace, and watch until it melted into molten iron. He would curse it for being unlucky, too.”
“I see. That does sound like him.”
Murong Bai nodded, then stroked the Radiance Sword.
“That is right. It is an exceedingly rare sword, but when you look back on it, it is still merely a weapon. How would even I dare know when this thing might run wild? The person who knows this sword best is you, Senior. And the person who can restrain it most powerfully is likely you as well. This is not pain that comes from a heart demon, but pain that comes from responsibility.”
“There is something I’m curious about.”
“Yes.”
“Why do you think I felt such responsibility while holding this? What I mean is, there was a time when I swung this about recklessly as well. My words are getting tangled. Do you understand?”
“Yes. If you were someone who rampaged like that, the Sect Leader would not have brought you here with that expression. He must have introduced you to me because you possess self-restraint and are someone with whom conversation is possible. I am not an extraordinary expert like you or the Sect Leader. And after speaking with you, I understand as well. It is simply the sword that is hideous; you, Senior, are not a devil.”
The Sword Demon glared at Murong Bai.
“My epithet is the Sword Demon.”
“I know.”
“Did the Sect Leader tell you?”
“No. I have only heard the epithet before. Senior, I have learned that the name of this ominous demonic sword is, of all things, Radiance, and that the man called the Sword Demon may not be a devil. I have spoken presumptuously, but with this sword, there is no other way but to do what a person ought to do. If you do that, the sword’s name will continue to remain Radiance, and a person will remain a person.”
Murong Bai lifted the Radiance Sword with both hands and held it out to the Sword Demon.
“Whether it is a demonic sword or a renowned blade—that question depends on the swordsman.”
The Sword Demon met Murong Bai’s eyes, then grasped the Radiance Sword.
“So it was a matter that depended on the swordsman.”
“Yes.”
“I will engrave it upon my heart.”
“Please do not engrave it too deeply.”
“Why not?”
“Would that not become a wound as well? Please take good care of the Sect Leader outside, too, who often seems to lose his mind. Come visit now and then when you have time. If you occasionally respond to the nonsense of a man out of his wits, there will be times when you let out a laugh.”
“That has happened on occasion.”
“Even a wry laugh is still laughter, so it is a good thing.”
Only then did the Sword Demon’s expression soften somewhat.
“So it was a good thing. It was good to meet you today, Master Murong.”
Murong Bai was about to make some joke, then held it back and extended his hand.
“Let us go out together.”
“Weren’t you about to say something?”
“I will save the joke for another opportunity.”
The two left the office with awkward, uncertain expressions.
* * *
The moment I sensed Murong Bai and the Sword Demon in my sleep, I also realized that I was snoring.
“……”
The Lust Demon sprang to his feet and said,
“Master, you’ve come out.”
I naturally rose with my bleary, double-lidded eyes and clasped my hands behind my back.
“You’re out? Good. Let’s go eat.”
Perhaps because I was thirsty, my voice cracked.
The Sword Demon looked at me and replied,
“Sect Leader, did you sleep well?”
I nodded and replied,
“Being able to sleep anywhere is a skill, too.”
“I see.”
I looked over the expressions of the Sword Demon and Murong Bai. Both were the same as usual, so I could not tell what had happened or how.
In any case, I slipped my hand into my money pouch.
“Master Murong, let’s meet again.”
Murong Bai came over and took hold of my arm.
“Sect Leader, I won’t accept it today.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t even prepare any medicine for Senior Sword Demon. Just treat us to a meal sometime later.”
“Shall I?”
“Yes.”
I nodded, then pointed at the Lecherous Demon with my finger.
“Be especially careful with this one. If he comes alone, don’t accept him as a patient. Do you understand me?”
Murong Bai nodded.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I met the Lecherous Demon’s eyes, then beat him to the punch.
“Shut up.”
“…….”
The atmosphere was truly, subtly awkward, so I looked around at the others and said,
“This atmosphere is strange, isn’t it? Am I the only one who finds it awkward? Am I the only one being weird?”
No one answered, so I gave up too.
“……Let’s go.”