Chapter 11
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Black Path (1)
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The world before my eyes shattered like a spiderweb, scattering into pieces.
"If you cannot master the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Sword, you will never survive my hand."
Clang... Thud...!
With those words from the Great Heavenly Demon, my sword fragmented and fell to the ground, and my body shattered into pieces as well.
Ugh...
I woke up without even feeling the pain.
Last night, the Great Heavenly Demon had gone easy on me.
Normally, he would have started from my hands, slicing through arms and legs while savoring my agony.
In the process of facing the Great Heavenly Demon, I had naturally learned three martial arts.
The first was the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Fist, the second the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Steps, and the third was the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Sword, which I was currently practicing.
On top of that, I had also learned the core art, the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Merit.
However, after hearing about the Twofold Divine Merit from the One Immortal Sect, the Great Heavenly Demon declared there was no need for me to learn the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Merit.
Upon realizing that the Twofold Divine Merit encompassed even demonic arts, his pride must have been wounded, because he had mercilessly torn my body apart.
After finishing my Breath Adjustment and Meditation on the great hall's porch and washing my face by the river, I headed into the village to settle breakfast.
I had a simple meal and stepped out of the inn, where the sight of countless people bustling along the streets met my eyes.
I blended in with the crowd and set off to find Gwang-woo.
I wasn't worried about the guy himself, but the silver taels he had taken with him were another matter.
"That damn fool, where the hell is he wandering off to?"
I roamed around for nearly an hour, but there was no sign of the hulking Gwang-woo.
Finally giving up, I headed home, passing through a street lined with several ornate buildings.
Women heavily made up poured out from inside the buildings.
Young men who looked like scions of wealthy families quickly grabbed three or four of the courtesans and vanished somewhere.
'So that's what a brothel looks like.'
Only then did I realize the true nature of those flashy structures.
There had been brothels in the village near Heavenly Mountain too.
But the courtesans there weren't anywhere near as beautiful as these ones.
The women flashed smiles and coquettish glances at every passerby, throwing winks my way as well.
I averted my gaze and kept walking toward home.
Then, the chatter of some courtesans ahead caught my attention.
"Sister, what was that guy from last night like? Just looking at him scared me."
"He wasn't like he looked at all. Total softie. Super nice, I tell you."
"Really? That's weird. I've never seen a man so tall and burly in my life."
The woman who seemed a bit older suddenly covered her mouth and burst into laughter.
"He was a bunny, a bunny. A tiny, cute little bunny."
I didn't know what she meant by "bunny," but I realized the man they were talking about was Gwang-woo.
'What an absurd idiot.'
Anger surged so fiercely I felt steam rising from my head.
Oblivious that I was listening, the courtesans continued their conversation.
"Last night in bed..."
Hee-hee-hee...
Only then did I understand what "bunny" meant.
My face burned with embarrassment.
I hurried away, rushing home.
Clutching the anger that wouldn't subside, I arrived to find Gwang-woo greeting me with a gloomy face.
"Bro, where'd you go? I went to the village yesterday, lost all the silver, and spent the whole night looking for it..."
Thwack! Guak...!
The moment I swung my fist, Gwang-woo screamed and flew back.
"What? You lost the silver?"
Thwack! Thwack! ...!
I stomped relentlessly on the fallen Gwang-woo.
"B-bro! Stop! It's true! Really... ugh! Ugh! I know losing the silver was my fault! Ugh!"
Even as he was trampled underfoot, Gwang-woo kept spouting nonsense I couldn't believe.
"Where'd you lose it? Don't tell me the place you lost it at was a brothel, right? It wasn't?"
Only then did the fool seem to realize I knew everything, and he meekly let me kick him.
Thwack! Thwack! ...!
When I finally stopped, Gwang-woo forced himself up and knelt.
"Sorry, bro. I won't do it again. I must've lost my mind for a bit."
Sigh...!
A long sigh escaped my lips as I looked down at him.
"How much silver is left?"
Gwang-woo just hung his head without answering.
Not even a single tael remained.
The subsided anger flared up again.
"Gwang-woo, do you know how much a single tael of silver is worth? It's a whole seom of rice. With the ten taels you took, we could've bought enough rice to last us over a year!"
"I've committed a grave sin, bro. But please don't kill me. I didn't go because I wanted to. The pretty girls beckoned me in."
"You idiot! Do you go anywhere a pretty girl beckons you? Is your head for thinking, or what?!"
As my voice grew rougher, Gwang-woo kept his head bowed and lips sealed.
I left him there and headed back to the village.
I went back and forth between the village and home several times, buying food, bowls, pots, blankets, and such.
Gwang-woo didn't move from that spot until evening.
Seeing him like that stirred a bit of pity, and I felt like forgiving him now.
"Make dinner."
Noticing the softness in my voice, Gwang-woo peeked up and grinned.
"Bro, you forgive me now?"
"Yeah."
Heh heh...
"Thanks, bro."
Grinning sheepishly, Gwang-woo stood, limping into the kitchen.
"You put way too much spice in this. When are you gonna learn to cook properly?"
My tastes weren't picky, but Gwang-woo's soup was truly hard to swallow.
"Bro, Master said people who complain about side dishes aren't true gentlemen."
Whenever I griped about his cooking, Master always took the fool's side and repeated those words.
"Starting tomorrow, we gotta work and earn silver. Otherwise, we'll starve or end up beggars with just a house."
Gwang-woo thumped his chest confidently.
"Don't worry, bro. I'll go hunting starting tomorrow. Catch bears or tigers, and we'll make good money."
As expected, hunting was all he could think of.
"In a big village like this, there are plenty of hunters and woodcutters selling firewood. Earning silver through hunting won't be easy."
"Bro, I'm the best hunter in the world. Trust me, just once."
I didn't know if he was the world's greatest, but he was damn good at it.
Still, I didn't have high hopes.
"Give it a shot."
After eating, I stared at Gwang-woo, who was still chowing down.
"Was it good?"
A question flickered in his cow-like eyes.
"What?"
"The brothel."
Heh heh heh...
A faint blush colored the cheeks of the grinning fool.
For a moment, I wanted to slap that face.
"You wouldn't get it, bro. The booze was great, the food was great... and that pretty courtesan said I was cute like a bunny. She called me a bunny!"
So excited, Gwang-woo forgot to eat and just rambled on.
I was so flabbergasted I was speechless.
How do I even explain this?
Well, a guy built like a bull hearing he's like a bunny for the first time...
Suddenly, I felt a bit sorry for him.
"Whatever you do... don't ever say in front of others that you're like a bunny. No, forget the word 'bunny' entirely."
His excited face fell instantly.
Pretending not to notice, I stood up.
"At least you've got something better than that guy."
The Great Heavenly Demon would claw at my face the moment he saw it.
But getting angry at those words would only lead to a brutal night.
I silently turned my head away.
"I've regretted not encountering that guy instead of you until now, but today I can thoroughly vent. Come to think of it, you might be just a tiny bit more handsome than him."
'Shut up. Just shut up.'
A tiny bit more handsome?
Compared to Gwang-woo, my face was chiseled like jade.
Seeing no reaction from me, the Great Heavenly Demon seemed annoyed.
"What are you doing? Come in already!"
In the end, another horrific night of agony seemed inevitable.
I subtly loosened my grip on the sword in my left and right hands.
Shaaa...
In an instant, I shortened the space and sliced the Great Heavenly Demon's form into dozens of pieces.
At the same time, his sword, which had appeared behind my back, slashed at my neck.
I urgently bent my waist, spun, and slashed at his midsection, but my blade met nothing.
Puk!
A sword pierced my side and withdrew.
Ugh...
The Great Heavenly Demon glared ferociously at me from three zhang away, as I let out a pained groan.
"I've told you countless times: the sixth form of the Nine Heavens Demon-Slaying Sword, Great Luo Demonic Heaven, cannot reach mastery without harmony between speed and variation! If you perfect all twelve forms, you'll attain the ultimate realm beyond forms."
"Talk too much."
Ignoring the pain in my waist, I rose and unleashed a flurry of sword strikes at the Great Heavenly Demon.
Shiiiaaa...
Pale sword energies split and flew, vertically cleaving the space where he stood.
Puk!
Kuhhh...
This time, burning pain erupted in my back.
"The seventh form, Nine Heavens Killing Tribulation, is close to mastery."
His praise brought no joy.
As I prepared another technique, the Great Heavenly Demon suddenly raised his hand to stop me.
"Let's talk first, then continue."
"I'm dying of pain here—what the hell do you want to talk about?"
"Your pain is your problem, not mine."
Ah... this is insane.
The Great Heavenly Demon did whatever he pleased.
But I couldn't disobey; true rage from him would turn the night into real hell.
"...Fine."
This was my miserable lot—forcing down the anger.
"To survive in the jianghu, martial arts are paramount, but there are other things you must know. First is formations, second poison, third the explosive Heaven-Shaking Thunder... The Zhuge Family excels in formations and mechanisms..."
I clenched my teeth to hold back the laughter.
But the smile leaking from my lips burst forth like a dam breaking.
Kuh huh huh... Kha ha ha ha...!
This was all because of the Zhuge Family, Tang Family, and Wall Family.
Grrr...
"You bastard..."
The Great Heavenly Demon's eyes blazed with blue fury, his hair standing on end.
In an instant, both my hands were seized by his.
Krunch...
The sound of bones crumbling echoed loudly, followed by pain unlike any before.
Aaaagh! Aaaah...!
My body was slowly crushed by the Great Heavenly Demon's hands.