Chapter 396. Are You the Number One Sword of Huashan?

The first emotion I felt upon arriving at the foot of Huashan was awe.

It was more rugged than I had expected, and far higher than I had imagined. Some parts were hidden by clouds, and in others, rocks jutted up like countless swords. To my crooked eyes, it looked at a glance like a mountain with a violent temper.

Of course, I was not the only one looking at it that way.

Since everyone failed to hide their astonishment, we were all country bumpkins before Huashan.

“……”

But what surprised me most of all was that, contrary to my expectations, Huashan was not a mountain suited for fighting.

Everywhere I looked there were cliffs and boulders, so how was anyone supposed to fight properly up there?

From the perspective of an attacker, Huashan was an impregnable rugged land and a fortress in itself. If a dozen or so masters who knew Huashan well held their ground there and fought a chaotic battle, it seemed they could annihilate a vast force.

On the other hand, it was a mountain extremely suited for training.

Once you climbed it, you would hate coming down for days, or something like that. I had the thought that merely climbing that Huashan would deepen one’s killing intent.

If one could go up and down Huashan without a care and still not have killing intent settle in the heart, that in itself would make one a Daoist.

But right now, this was a situation where men whose killing intent was already deep enough just by standing still and breathing had to meet and clash. It was the kind of mountain that seemed likely to make the Demonic Cult Leader lose his temper while hiking, so I needed to change my thinking as well.

“This is a bit……”

I tilted my head, then spoke to Eldest Brother, whose eyes met mine.

“Eldest Brother, let’s fight below Huashan.”

“Hm?”

“I feel like my personality will get worse while climbing it.”

Eldest Brother gazed at me steadily.

“It’s already bad. What difference does it make?”

“No, not me. The Cult Leader’s temper might get even worse too. In any case, this won’t do. Sambok can deliver the location anyway. Let’s look for a good place. This is different from what I expected.”

Sambok asked.

“Gate Master, what do you mean by a good place?”

Everyone looked at me, so I explained whatever came to mind.

“First, it has to be spacious.”

“……”

“Even better if it’s secluded. It would be nice if we could drink water when we rest. It should be cool from time to time because the wind blows, and it would be good if there were flowering trees to look at when things get boring now and then. When night deepens, it should be easy to light fires. It should be good for sitting here and there and watching the moon, and if we get hungry, we should fight while eating too.”

Sambok scratched his forehead and replied.

“Did you come here to play?”

I pointed at Sambok with my finger.

“Good point. A place that feels like we came to play. That’s the answer.”

“May I know the reason?”

“If we fight near cliffs or in a barren place, our hearts will become harsh. There will be more to consider in terms of methods and strategy as well. A place where we can focus on martial arts as much as possible. A temple would be most suitable, but since the grandmaster of a sect is appearing, let’s choose somewhere without religious overtones.”

Sambok nodded.

“Then it would be better to search broadly below Huashan and find a suitable manor.”

The Lecherous Demon said with an incredulous expression.

“What? You were serious? That wasn’t nonsense?”

I nodded while looking at the rugged Huashan.

“I’m serious. It’s a mountain where places narrower than I expected and foul-tempered rocks are intertwined. If we get knocked away by a single palm force, we’ll fall off a cliff. The problem is that we aren’t the sort to die from one palm strike. We’d have to climb back up the mountain and fight again, and that would be tiring for both sides.”

This, I knew well.

Because I had fallen from Manjang Cliff before.

“Move, move, let’s move. Get back on. Forward, forward, let’s go.”

I led the group back into the black carriage and we set off. Sambok, who had climbed into the carriage, said to me.

“It is not easy to predict or read your thoughts, Gate Master.”

“There’s no need for you to understand.”

Sambok added with a serious expression.

“What I mean is that I, too, wish to understand your thoughts, Gate Master.”

“Why do you want to understand?”

Sambok looked at me.

“Because the flatter, more peaceful, and more free of variables the location is, the more advantageous it will be for the Cult Leader.”

I nodded.

“Is that so? Then let’s consider the location a gift as well.”

“Hm.”

“So that he can fight to his heart’s content. So that he can fight without regret. Blocking off variables and relying solely on martial arts. To the point that laughter comes out on its own because the fight is enjoyable. It’s a gift from the Hao Gate Master to the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

“Did you not hate and despise him?”

“That has nothing to do with this. The Huashan duel will be the final fight for someone. I don’t know what the struggle over succession was like, but there must have been all sorts of filthy schemes. Poison, hidden weapons, traps, betrayal, mutual destruction, ambushes, all kinds of demonic arts—he must have faced them all. Rather than competing against martial arts, he must have fought while seeing with his own eyes every form of ugliness humans can display. In truth, that may be what shaped the Cult Leader’s character. It is far too different from the righteous path. He’s a man who has experienced enough plots and conspiracies. There’s no need to do that even while fighting me.”

Sambok nodded.

“Then I will search for a good location. I will not seize it by force or borrow the place through coercion, so please do not worry. I now understand your intention, Gate Master.”

“You really are something. I’m glad I can talk to you.”

“Yes.”

Sambok spoke to the coachman.

“Stop if you see an inn nearby where we can rest. Gate Master, asking around will be faster than searching blindly.”

“Right.”

* * *

While we were eating at an inn without even a signboard, Sambok, who had wandered around the area for a bit, sat down at the table and said to us.

“Unexpectedly, the notable person everyone mentions is the same.”

After drinking some water, I asked.

“Who is it?”

“There is a man nearby called the Lord of Plum Blossom Manor. They say he is a wealthy man with plenty of money and land, and that he readily grants others’ requests.”

“Plum Blossom?”

“Yes. It seems to simply be the name of the manor. The owner’s other epithet is said to be the Number One Sword of Huashan.”

Eldest Brother, the Lecherous Demon, and I answered at the same time.

“The Number One Sword of Huashan?”

I looked at Eldest Brother.

“Eldest Brother, have you heard of him?”

“First I’ve heard of it.”

“I’ve lived long enough, but this is the first time I’ve heard such an insolent epithet. Let’s go take that epithet from him first. How dare he call himself the Number One Sword of Huashan.”

The Lecherous Demon laughed.

“It’s a common epithet found at every great mountain, so what’s so insolent about it?”

“Look at Huashan.”

We stopped eating and looked at Huashan, which rose above the clouds that looked like a white headband. The Lecherous Demon, gazing at the sight of Huashan anew, nodded.

“……What a conceited sobriquet. First, let’s take that title from him. Since neither you nor I have swords right now, Master can……. Master?”

The Sword Demon took a sip of liquor, then answered.

“Since we’ve come to Mount Hua, I’ll take it from him.”

“Yes, sir.”

And so, for the time being, Eldest Brother became Mount Hua’s Number One Sword. Whether it was a useful sobriquet or not was none of my concern. What mattered was taking it first.

Eldest Brother asked Sambok.

“The location?”

“I can ride in with the coachman and guide you there.”

“Let’s go.”

We sprang to our feet before we had even finished eating. After paying the bill, I came out and said to the group,

“Let’s go. Mount Hua’s Second Sword, Mount Hua’s Third Sword, and you can be Mount Hua’s Fourth Sword.”

Sambok replied.

“Sect Leader, that isn’t funny.”

“Sorry. Let’s go.”

We climbed into the black carriage and set off for Plum Blossom Manor with Mount Hua’s Number One Coachman. Inside the carriage, I asked Sambok,

“Sambok, doesn’t that sobriquet sound pretty impressive, in a way?”

“Mount Hua’s Number One Sword……. It’s not bad.”

“What about Zhongnan’s Number One Sword or Songshan’s Number One Sword?”

“Somehow they sound weaker than Mount Hua’s Number One Sword. Maybe because I’ve seen Mount Hua.”

“Exactly. It’s the first mountain I’ve seen where just climbing it feels like qinggong training.”

That was also why it was a good mountain for training.

If one reached a level where one could go up and down Mount Hua as lightly as if it were a hill behind one’s house, it seemed as though one could fly across flat ground. The terrain was so rugged that there must have been many places untouched by human feet, and so the mountain’s natural qi would be alive there. It was not called a sacred mountain for nothing.

I had heard nothing about Mount Hua’s Number One Sword.

My guess was this.

He was either a secluded master who could look down upon the world with arrogant eyes, or a local nobody who knew nothing of the ways of the world. Mount Hua was such an extreme place that I could not tell which side would be correct.

A short while later, after getting off the carriage, we looked at Plum Blossom Manor. I also examined the atmosphere around it. Perhaps because it was a manor, it stood in a quiet, spacious place. Since the gate was not even locked, we left only the coachmen behind and entered the manor as I asked,

“……Is the master of the house in?”

I was about to say more, but the moment I looked around inside the manor, I shut my mouth. I could not confirm whether Mount Hua’s Number One Sword was an outstanding swordsman, but I could certainly confirm that he was an outstanding manor lord.

As the manor’s name suggested, plum trees had been planted here and there…….

The arrangement was exquisite, and the place for practicing martial arts was spacious as well. Perhaps there was a pond built with a sloping gradient, because the sound of water trickling came from somewhere. There was also a table where one could drink tea, and above all, the walls that broadly enclosed the place were full of vines, making the manor far cozier and more expansive than it had appeared from outside.

‘This is a good place.’

However, it also seemed like a place that would turn into a mess in an instant if experts fought here. While the Lust Demon was chattering about something, a man walked out of the manor with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked like a scholar, and also like someone holding an official post.

He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, but I could not tell whether he was the manor’s manager or its master.

He looked perfectly proper and neat, but he did not look like an incredible expert, so I was slightly bewildered. The man, who had been looking at us with a surprised expression, opened his mouth.

“What brings you here?”

Sambok answered first.

“We came because we have business with the lord of Plum Blossom Manor.”

The man looked us over once with a puzzled expression, then replied.

“I am the lord of Plum Blossom Manor.”

Sambok first pointed at me.

“This is the Hao Sect Leader. Beside him is Young Master Meng of the Fengyun Meng Clan, and the person next to him is Young Master Meng’s master.”

Feeling somewhat dazed, I first greeted the lord of Plum Blossom Manor with proper courtesy.

“Hao Sect Leader, Lee Zaha.”

Had he heard of me?

The lord of Plum Blossom Manor tilted his head and said,

“Ah, is that so. I rarely go out into the jianghu……. Please, have a seat first.”

The lord of Plum Blossom Manor pointed to a table placed outdoors. We moved together and sat around the long table.

I was probably not the only one.

As we moved, I examined the lord of Plum Blossom Manor’s footwork and breathing, but I felt nothing.

‘He’s too ordinary, isn’t he?’

The lord of Plum Blossom Manor looked around at us and said,

“……May I ask the reason for your visit?”

I replied.

“While searching for a place to hold a martial contest, I heard of your reputation, Manor Lord. I was told you also bear the sobriquet Mount Hua’s Number One Sword.”

“Mm, that is so.”

“One of us will challenge you. If you lose, please lend us this place for the martial contest.”

After blurting out the conclusion right away, I watched the lord of Plum Blossom Manor’s expression. He blinked, then looked at me.

“You mean to challenge me?”

“That’s right.”

“Lending you a place for a martial contest is not difficult. But if I win, what do I gain?”

“I had not thought that far. If there is something you want, say it. Whether it is money or something else, we will compensate you and withdraw cleanly.”

Only then did the lord of Plum Blossom Manor laugh as though he found it absurd.

“Ah, so you visited without considering the possibility of defeat at all. Is that what you are saying?”

“For now, yes.”

When the lord of Plum Blossom Manor burst into laughter, even Eldest Brother wore a rare look of bewilderment. I could only sympathize with Eldest Brother’s expression. No matter how I looked at him, the lord of Plum Blossom Manor did not seem like an expert.

‘What kind of atmosphere is this?’

Could this perhaps be what they called Tianwaitian? With a cool head, I once more examined the lord of Plum Blossom Manor’s bearing.

‘Hmm…….’

The lord of Plum Blossom Manor asked us,

“With which of you should I exchange moves?”

I told the lord of Plum Blossom Manor the conclusion I had reached in my heart.

“Choose anyone you like.”

“Pardon?”

The lord of Plum Blossom Manor made an offended expression, then said this.

“Then let us do this. There is nothing in particular that I want. Instead, if you lose to me, the next person shall challenge me. In the end, I will accept challenges from all four of you.”

By four people, of course, he meant Eldest Brother, me, the Lust Demon, and Sambok as well.

“…….”

I was so dumbfounded that for a moment, no words came out. The lord of Plum Blossom Manor continued.

“If I lose, I will lend you the place for your martial contest.”

I cautiously proposed,

“If you lose, will you also hand over the sobriquet Mount Hua’s Number One Sword?”

“If I lose, how could I claim such a sobriquet as mine? You jest too far. I shall bring my sword.”

The lord of Plum Blossom Manor sprang to his feet and headed inside.

Naturally, the four of us watched the way he walked with close attention. Around the time the lord of Plum Blossom Manor disappeared, Eldest Brother finally let out a sigh.

“I wondered if he might be some supreme master hidden away in the world, but no matter how I look at it, he’s a frog in a well.”

Sambok asked.

“What does that mean?”

The Demon of Lust answered for him.

“A frog in a well.”

“Yes.”

Eldest Brother looked at us.

“Who will step forward?”

Since the situation could not be helped, I looked at Sambok.

“Sambok.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Mount Hua’s Greatest Sword. You do it.”

Sambok hurriedly studied our expressions and answered.

“Is this a borrowed-knife stratagem? I’m not an idiot. You’re going to watch me get beaten, figure out his methods, and then take revenge, aren’t you?”

“You don’t want to?”

“No.”

“What a shame. That man can’t beat you. Just lend me your blade.”

Sambok unfastened the black straight saber at his waist and held it out to me. Does a man’s fate change from moment to moment like this?

While waiting for the Lord of Plum Blossom Manor, I became Mount Hua’s Greatest Sword.

The Demon of Lust said.

“Since the man’s so refined, he does have the air of an expert. An expert in atmosphere, I suppose.”

Eldest Brother also advised me.

“He doesn’t seem like a bad person, so don’t hurt him.”

“Of course.”

Only then did Sambok properly grasp the situation and belatedly cut in.

“Ah, should I just spar with him?”

I looked at Sambok.

“You keep your mouth shut. Mount Hua’s Greatest Sword has already sailed away.”

Even if one trained on Mount Hua, without experiencing the world, one became a frog in a well. It occurred to me that the right thing to do was to see the world first, as I had, and only then climb Mount Hua.

How could someone who only shut himself up in the mountains ever become an expert?