Chapter 89. A Quiet and Deadly Exchange

The Sword Demon set down his teacup and spoke.

“There is no need to force you to speak of a sect you do not wish to reveal. But how about this: we ask and answer whatever we are curious about, and if something we truly want to know comes up, we exchange information for it. Gradually, that is. For now, we ought to learn about each other.”

“You want to proceed with questions and answers in order?”

“Indeed.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Ask if you have anything you are curious about.”

Now that I was about to ask, there were far too many things I wanted to ask. I had to spend a moment sorting out the priority of my questions.

As I kept pondering, Jwasa cut in.

“Master, may I also join in when appropriate?”

“Do so.”

“Thank you.”

The three of us chose our words as if the generals of Wei, Shu, and Wu were holding a summit.

I asked the Sword Demon my first question.

“Why are you teaching this pants-shitter?”

The Sword Demon replied calmly.

“I intend to try making him into the Heavenly Demon of the next era. Does that answer your question?”

For a moment, I felt as if the Sword Demon had struck me with a palm. It was not the answer I had expected.

When the Sword Demon and I looked at Jwasa, Jwasa shook his head.

“I’ll pass.”

Even the fellow who would later become Gwangmyeong Jwasa was a gentle lamb in front of his master. The Sword Demon nodded, then threw a question at me.

“You do not seem to belong to the orthodox path, nor the unorthodox path. If you were of the demonic path, there is no way I would not know. Therefore, your sect must be in Seojang, or perhaps the three masters known as the Samjae. Or, though I find it hard to believe, it seems you may have taught yourself.”

I swallowed a curse inwardly.

Goosebumps had already risen along my forearms.

It was astonishing that he could narrow it down without even seeing my martial arts.

The Sword Demon demanded an answer.

“Is my guess correct?”

“It is.”

I answered as briefly as possible. That way, the exchange would grow longer, and I would be able to find out more.

I looked at the Sword Demon’s wooden sword and at Jwasa, then asked.

“What exactly are you teaching him? The pants-shitter has learned ice arts, and you, Senior, seem to have learned the sword.”

The Sword Demon pointed at Jwasa.

“He learned the ice arts before meeting me. Look at him. He is an immature fool with much to be taught. Just because I wield a sword well does not guarantee that he will wield one well too. He is the sort of man who takes laxatives before a fight, so how much do you think I have to teach him? It is better for each person to train more deeply in what they can do well.”

There was no particular opening to refute the Sword Demon’s words.

‘What an irritating bastard.’

I had no choice but to nod. This time, the Sword Demon asked a question.

“What martial art are you most confident in? There are few calluses on your hands.”

Even though I had the Black Cat Fang at my waist, the Sword Demon did not see me as a saber-wielder.

Suddenly, I realized that lying in this place was useless. For the most part, the Sword Demon could distinguish truth from falsehood in an instant.

I answered in my own way.

“I have learned various martial arts, so I do not insist on fighting with only one. I’m confident in all sorts of things, so I use what suits the situation.”

The Sword Demon nodded with an indifferent expression.

“So it means you have nothing exceptional.”

I let out a short sigh. It felt as if the Sword Demon had just swung his sword once and cut my arm.

The Sword Demon extended a hand toward me.

“Ask.”

In order to find out the Sword Demon’s purpose for staying in orthodox territory, I threw out a broad question.

“What is a figure of the demonic path doing here?”

The Sword Demon considered the intent of my question, then replied.

“I am waiting to have a bout with the Alliance Leader. He is likely not a man one can fight at just any time, so I suppose I must wait longer. And I may as well recover from my injuries.”

At this point, I was not particularly surprised anymore. I scratched my head and nodded. The Sword Demon, who had launched a clean counterattack, carried out another assault.

“You saw me for the first time today. And yet you seem to have known my disciple from before. What do you want from him? If you did not feed him poison, that means there is something you want.”

I glared at the Sword Demon for a moment.

Was this bastard suddenly using an Illusory Sword or something?

All at once, I felt as if formless swords sent out by the Sword Demon had completely surrounded me.

It was a situation where, if I spoke a lie, those formless swords would pierce my body.

I thought this was a question-and-answer session, but it was flowing into something closer to a duel with our lives on the line. Even Jwasa seemed to have realized that this was no ordinary exchange.

I was not a man who agonized for long, so I spoke only the exact truth. I decided I would worry later about any parts that did not fit together.

“What I want is his ice art.”

The Sword Demon’s expression changed in an instant, and the formless swords surrounding me vanished all at once.

The Sword Demon and Jwasa stared at me blankly with looks full of suspicion.

With a what-will-be-will-be feeling, I asked the Sword Demon.

“Why did you take this fellow as your disciple? He seemed terribly fond of women.”

“Being fond of women is one’s nature, and nature is in part inherited from one’s parents. He probably takes after his father. Some children live while guarding against the nature of their parents, while there are bound to be some like this fool who do not. His aptitude for learning martial arts is exceptionally rare.”

The remarkable thing about Jwasa was that there was no reversal to him. This fellow was a born lecher and pants-shitter whom even the Sword Demon acknowledged as such.

When Jwasa made no particular denial, the Sword Demon spoke with an awkward expression.

“I did not stop him from being fond of women. However, I did tell him not to hurt women and to refrain from insulting words and actions. Even so, after changing from one woman to another, problems will eventually arise. Once the number of innocent young ladies who follow him only for his handsome face increases, only then will he realize his own fate.”

The Sword Demon answered my question at a level where he was even prophesying the future.

Jwasa, who had been listening quietly, cautiously asked the Sword Demon.

“Master, what is that fate?”

“That fate is…”

“Yes.”

“I cannot know either. Only, when a woman you truly like appears, there is a high chance she will look at you like a worm because of your reputation. For now, you may feel joy in sleeping with many women, but affection is not such a simple and easy matter. Still, even my saying this is like chanting scripture into a cow’s ear, so you will live as you please. That, too, is fate.”

Under the Sword Demon’s attack, Jwasa shrank into a corner.

Because Jwasa looked as if he had suffered a severe injury, I deliberately snorted and mocked him.

‘Stay in your corner, shithead.’

It was time for the Sword Demon and me to cross blades again.

The Sword Demon asked me.

“It is my turn to ask. What is your reason for trying to obtain ice arts?”

I scratched my forehead for a moment. Now, whenever the Sword Demon attacked, I could see the form. This was a question like a straight punch. There was no real way to avoid it, so I blocked it honestly.

“To kill the Cult Leader.”

Even though I had succeeded in defending, the feeling of being driven into a corner was slightly unpleasant. After a moment’s thought, I asked a question as if I were drawing a blade.

“What is your intention in seeking to determine superiority with the Alliance Leader?”

This time, the Sword Demon folded his arms.

“You ask an overly obvious question. But if you do not know me, then it is a question you would naturally be curious about.”

“Indeed.”

“A man who steps into the jianghu and engages in more than ten great battles is not necessarily such an extraordinary expert.”

I added a prompt, as if ignoring the rules.

“Why is that?”

“Does it not mean there are as many as ten men he must defeat? While training, if he encounters a powerhouse under heaven, he competes with him. If he is lucky enough to survive, he trains for a long while again. Then, as he searches for the next powerhouse, even dueling ten men one after another is, in truth, short on time. Among those powerhouses was the Cult Leader, and next, the Alliance Leader merely drew my interest.”

I was so taken aback by the Sword Demon’s wildly arrogant answer that I fell silent.

The Sword Demon added.

“That is the demon I believe in.”

This man was a devil walking the path of a seeker through the sword.

This time, it was the Sword Demon’s turn to ask.

“I do not think you can kill the Cult Leader simply by obtaining ice arts. Do you have a plan?”

The answer to this question was simple, so I said what I thought.

“What matters is harboring killing intent toward the bastard who must die. The result does not matter.”

The Sword Demon glared at me with his brow narrowed. His expression was as if he were chewing over my words.

“Ask.”

Out of nowhere, I recalled the Wooden Sword Form, the sixth stage among Ouyang Wuji’s eight forms.

It was because the Sword Demon carried a wooden sword.

I had given up starting from the fifth stage, the Thunder Sword Form, but since the Sword Demon was holding a wooden sword, I could not help but become curious. Ouyang Wuji and Dugu Sword Demon might not be from the same sect, but I thought there must be something swordsmen shared, so I asked this question.

“Does that wooden sword represent your realm, Senior?”

“A peculiar question. The wooden sword is my current topic of contemplation. A realm… perhaps that is not wrong either. I have yet to conquer the wooden sword, after all. Is that an answer?”

It was an answer I would not have understood if I had not read Giseongja’s explanation. But because I had seen the brief commentary on the Wuji Sword Art, I could at least roughly guess the Sword Demon’s realm.

The Sword Demon asked a truly realistic question.

“My disciple has no reason to teach you ice arts. How do you intend to obtain them?”

I replied without much thought.

“If I cannot obtain them, I will have no choice but to comprehend them myself.”

The Sword Demon snorted, then nodded and said.

“The questioning is over. I have discovered your sect first.”

I simply thought, ‘Ah, so that’s how this works?’ It was such a bizarre question-and-answer martial contest.

“Where do you think my sect is?”

The Sword Demon answered.

“You may have been influenced by several people, but you are a man without a definite master. Fundamentally, those who stand alone as founding patriarchs or great grandmasters tend to be that way. Your tendencies, personality, and way of thinking all belong to a man who stands independently. You seek ice arts not because you need the ice arts themselves, but because you need them as information on martial learning to explore the next stage. In any case, extreme yin martial arts must also be one great branch of martial learning. Those who create martial arts usually have such traits. It is reasonable to say you have no sect and are self-taught. Since you are young, you must be making use of this and that you have learned, but if you continue to advance, the day will come when you use martial arts of your own.”

For the first time since my regression, I was at a loss for words.

If a talkative bastard like me was at a loss for words, then this was a serious situation.

The Sword Demon asked as if confirming.

“Was my prediction wrong?”

“It was right.”

“A rare disposition is precious in itself.”

Without looking particularly pleased, the Sword Demon nodded, then looked at the Left Envoy.

“If my disciple has sinned against you, forgive him. Since you left him alive, it must not have been a sin worthy of death. It is the fault of the one who taught him being lacking. If you will forgive him, then when you are sometimes blocked while learning martial arts, or if there is something you wish to ask, come find me.”

“…….”

The Sword Demon continued.

“Moreover, to my disciple, ice arts are like the soul of his clan. My disciple’s heart may change and he may pass on the ice arts, but taking his life will not let you obtain them. However, whether it is coincidence or heavenly fortune, both of you wish to kill the Cult Leader. How about we let today pass with that confirmed?”

I stared at the Left Envoy in genuine astonishment.

That shit-stained bastard showed no particular change in expression. His reaction said that the Sword Demon’s words were not surprising.

‘You, the Cult Leader?’

As I looked at the Left Envoy, I recalled the bastard’s actions, manner of speaking, and expression at Manjang Cliff. And I came to this conclusion.

‘This bastard chased me so desperately because he wanted to gobble up the Heavenly Jade.’

There was no twist to the fact that the Lust Demon was the Lust Demon.

But the twist was that this bastard had never been the kind of man who would retrieve the Heavenly Jade and offer it to the Cult Leader in the first place. To begin with, he was not someone magnanimous enough to give another person a rare spiritual medicine like the Heavenly Jade.

The fact that I beat to death a hundred elites of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, too…….

Meant that the Left Envoy had watched from the sidelines as he belatedly followed.

His words that he had no interest in my life to the end and only needed to recover the Heavenly Jade had, in their entirety, been the Left Envoy’s own thoughts. Moreover, if a force called the Jade Flower Palace had been crushed by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, then it was only more natural for its descendant to dream of revenge.

The Left Envoy said with an uncomfortable expression.

“Master.”

The Sword Demon answered immediately.

“You.”

“Yes.”

“Do not keep it in your heart that you were done in by a laxative. Simply consider yourself lucky that you did not eat poison. If the course of the match had flowed far more mercilessly, you would have died yesterday. You worthless fool, even though I told you to be so careful.”

The Left Envoy answered with a flustered expression.

“I will think deeply on that.”

The Sword Demon pointed a finger and launched his finishing attack.

“It is not merely because you were lucky that you survived. This man had something to gain from you, and that is why you are alive. Your clan’s ice arts saved you, in other words. I, too, am curious how long you intend to keep guzzling wine and harassing women.”

The Left Envoy hung his head low, clutched at his hair, and, surprisingly, answered like this.

“I will train even harder.”

“And women?”

“Women, too, I will work hard at…….”

As the Sword Demon moved his wooden sword, there was a crack— and the Left Envoy, knocked off the wooden platform, rolled across the ground.

I looked at the Left Envoy with my arms folded. Honestly, inwardly, I was admiring him.

‘Damn, you shit-stained bastard. You really are incredible.’

I stared blankly at the Sword Demon, then comforted him from the bottom of my heart.

“You have it rough.”

I suspected that perhaps the Sword Demon had died of pent-up rage in his previous life.

Looking around the courtyard’s scenery anew, we were:

The Sword Demon, walking the path of a seeker through the sword.

The Lecherous Demon was the Lecherous Demon.

And I was the Mad Demon.

All three of us bore titles faithful to our very essence.