Chapter 155: Seventh Young Lady (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155: Seventh Young Lady (1)
Blue Lotus Flower Yu-seon had suddenly drawn her sword on the Sword Demon.
Though he was a master of demonic arts, the Sword Demon was also the official Hall Master of the Azure Heaven Association’s Mokryun Hall. Furthermore, he was on Mount Emei to aid the righteous factions of Sichuan Province in their current crisis.
Naturally, Yu-seon’s sudden, provocative act threw the situation into chaos.
The Taoists of the Qingcheng Sect were the most shocked. They were utterly bewildered; Yu-seon had never behaved so erratically before.
“Yu-seon! What is the meaning of this madness?!” Hyeonbaek, the Qingcheng Sect Master, barked in alarm, but Yu-seon showed no sign of sheathing her sword.
Her blade trembled violently, her face was deathly pale, and her bloodshot eyes burned with an immeasurable, deep-seated hatred.
Why is she reacting like this?
Hyeonbaek’s shoulders twitched at the sight of an expression he had never seen on her face.
Yu-seon had always been a pillar of calm, leading the second-generation disciples with a gentle composure. Even when she had nearly died at the hands of the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult's Seventh Young Lady, she had quickly regained her poise.
Once she had calmed her mind, she had devoted herself entirely to caring for the second- and third-generation disciples with the utmost dedication. Though still a second-generation disciple herself, she had become an indispensable pillar of the Qingcheng Sect.
For this reason, not a single elder in the Qingcheng Sect didn't trust her implicitly.
What on earth could have stirred such violent waves in a mind that was usually as serene as a deep lake?
With things as they were, even Hyeonbaek couldn't bring himself to restrain her recklessly. He could only look back and forth between the Sword Demon and Yu-seon, his face etched with worry.
The Sword Demon, who had been staring at Yu-seon with cold, bleak eyes, finally spoke.
“Have we met before?”
At his question, Yu-seon’s slightly parted lips clamped shut. She bit down so hard that blood began to seep out, staining her lower lip red.
“We have. In Yangseo Village.”
“……”
“You don’t even remember the name, do you? Of course not. You slaughtered the villagers in the blink of an eye, like cutting down weeds, then vanished just as quickly!”
Yu-seon’s sharp, cracking voice was practically a shriek. A thick, agonizing resentment dripped from every trembling word.
The Sword Demon showed no reaction.
“I am the sole survivor of Yangseo Village. Why did you kill my family? Why did you kill the villagers? We did nothing wrong!”
Her tearful, muttering gaze seemed to lose focus for a moment before locking onto the Sword Demon once more with fierce intensity.
“And yet, here you are, playing the chivalrous hero…!”
Yu-seon’s feet shifted restlessly, her entire body trembling as she kept her sword pointed at the Sword Demon. Though she had lost her composure to the shock and thirst for vengeance of suddenly confronting her mortal enemy, a faint glimmer of reason seemed to remain.
While everyone else hesitated to intervene, the Sword Demon, who had been frozen like a stone statue, took a cold, resolute step forward.
“Ah!”
“Hall Master!”
As the members of Mokryun Hall tried to step in, Namgung Jun raised a hand to hold them back.
Sa Dan-hae of Mokryun Hall gasped in horror and pleaded with Namgung Jun.
“Why are you stopping us? This is going to be a disaster!”
“Let’s watch for a moment. It doesn’t seem Senior Sword Demon intends to harm the Blue Lotus.”
“No, you don’t understand! Whenever the Hall Master wears that expression, something terrible—!”
Schlick!
Before Sa Dan-hae could finish his sentence, the wet sound of tearing flesh echoed through the air.
Yu-seon’s sword was buried deep in the Sword Demon’s shoulder.
However, it was not Yu-seon who had lunged forward. The Sword Demon had closed the distance, grabbed her blade with his bare hand, and plunged it into his own shoulder.
“What… what are you…”
Yu-seon’s pupils trembled violently, and she couldn't finish her sentence.
The Sword Demon’s left hand bled profusely from where he gripped the sharp blade. His shoulder was rapidly staining dark red where her sword remained deeply embedded.
Staring back and forth between the wound and his face, Yu-seon finally let go of the hilt and collapsed to the ground.
Even then, the Sword Demon did not pull the sword from his shoulder, nor did he let go of the blade. Bleeding profusely, he looked down at Yu-seon with the exact same empty expression as before.
“I have no intention of denying the sins I committed. Nor do I intend to run away.”
The Sword Demon slowly sank to his knees. Then, without hesitation, he drew the sword from his shoulder and laid it down in front of Yu-seon.
He stared at his own blood staining the dirt a dark crimson. He didn't have the courage to look her in the eye. This was the most he could offer.
“I swore an oath to the Azure Heaven Association Leader to burn my very soul to destroy the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult. But the debt of blood between us must take precedence over that oath.”
To beg Yu-seon for time to destroy the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult would be a luxury, a deception. He knew all too well that he was in no position to ask anything of her.
He was a sinner. His blade had unquestionably torn her life to shreds. In this situation, the only one with the right to choose was the Qingcheng Sect disciple before him.
The Sword Demon bowed his head slightly and slowly closed his eyes.
“If you wish, cut me down.”
Yu-seon stared blankly at the blood-stained sword lying before her.
* * *
Namgung Jun walked into the forest alone, carrying a flask he had received from Heo Il.
“How is your wound?”
The Sword Demon was sitting with his back against a tree. His disheveled, matted hair obscured his face, making it impossible to read his expression.
As he sat staring blankly at the ground without even a small fire for warmth, he looked as though he wished for nothing more than to die right then and there.
“What is it?”
“I came to share a drink.”
A single leaf fluttered down from a branch overhead, settling on the ground before the Sword Demon finally replied.
“Ridiculous. You and me?”
“Why not? We are sword companions, after all.”
The Sword Demon fell silent. Namgung Jun sat down across from him.
“This is liquor from Senior Heo. It’s quite strong. He said a single sip is enough to get you drunk.”
Taking a sip first, Namgung Jun tossed the flask to the Sword Demon.
Catching the flask as it flew toward him, the Sword Demon glared at Namgung Jun, who met his gaze without flinching.
Faced with Namgung Jun’s challenging look, the Sword Demon finally took a long swig before tossing the flask back.
His face remained half-hidden behind his unkempt hair. Staring at the unreadable man, Namgung Jun asked, “What is your history with the Blue Lotus?”
“The Blue Lotus… so that is her title…”
The Sword Demon’s voice trailed off. After a long silence, he spoke again.
“To be honest, I don’t know her. I was slaughtering people at random back then. How could I possibly remember?”
“What happened?”
“There’s no grand story. It’s common for Demonic Qi to seep into the mind of a practitioner who trains in demonic arts, leading to Qi Deviation.”
The Sword Demon had been no exception. As Demonic Qi invaded his mind, his temperament grew more violent and cruel by the day, and he frequently lost his reason to Qi Deviation.
Whenever that happened, his sword turned on others. He spared neither innocent civilians nor martial artists, and he even cut down fellow demonic practitioners. He would swing his sword indiscriminately until his sanity returned.
Often, he had no memory of it at all. He was lucky if he retained even fragmented shards of memory.
“Back then, I felt no guilt. Training in demonic arts had warped my very nature. But when I achieved the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, everything changed.”
The constant, throbbing headache cleared, and the auditory hallucinations stopped. His turbulent mind found peace.
He felt as though he had returned to his childhood, running around his village with a thick tree branch in hand—back before he was kidnapped by the Demonic Cult, before he was forced to learn demonic arts.
“I don’t know how it happened, but I achieved the Unity of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and regained my sanity.”
“Was it because you achieved the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown?”
“I don’t know. The side effects of demonic arts aren’t so simple. Usually, they only worsen as one's realm deepens. I’ve never heard of another case where someone regained their original temperament and escaped Qi Deviation just by reaching a certain realm.”
Though the Sword Demon’s voice was as dry and flat as ever, his hands were trembling violently.
“Once I regained my sanity, they began to flash through my mind in fragments—the people who had died by my sword for no reason. Sometimes, dozens of faces would rush into my head all at once. Other times, a face or two would suddenly appear while I was eating. That process… it was truly hell.”
Namgung Jun tossed the flask back to him. The Sword Demon’s sudden silence suggested he needed a drink.
He pressed the flask to his lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing repeatedly.
“I was sick to my stomach. I loathed myself. I contemplated taking my own life, but even that felt like an irresponsible escape. My death could not be an apology or an atonement. Those who died by my sword would never return, so suicide would have been nothing more than self-satisfaction.”
A rare warmth—or rather, a burning intensity—gradually seeped into his usually flat voice.
“The only thing left for me to do was kill the demonic practitioners who ran amok in madness, just as I once had.”
“And that’s how you joined the Azure Heaven Association?”
“I met the Association Leader more than a year later. He saved me when I was being hunted by the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult and welcomed me into the Azure Heaven Association.”
When news broke that the Azure Heaven Association had taken in the Sword Demon, several righteous factions had fiercely objected.
At the time, the Azure Heaven Association Leader gathered the objectors and declared that if the Sword Demon ever committed another senseless slaughter, he would offer up his own remaining left arm. On that very spot, the Sword Demon had also sworn to dedicate his life to the total eradication of the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult.
And so, the Sword Demon became a member of the Azure Heaven Association.
He looked at Namgung Jun and smiled. His smile, more twisted than usual, looked incredibly painful.
“What do you think? Disgusting, isn’t it? I’m a man who has lived a life completely devoid of the chivalry and martial responsibility you hold so dear. Do you still claim to be my sword companion?”
“Anyone can walk the wrong path. It’s just rare for someone to find their way back.”
Namgung Jun looked straight at the Sword Demon.
“Since you’re trying to atone and take responsibility in your own way, Senior, it’s not my place to judge. Of course, the Blue Lotus, who lost everything to your sword, may feel differently.”
Namgung Jun let out a soft sigh.
“Isn’t that a debt of blood that only you and the Blue Lotus can resolve? Still, I can’t blindly blame you when you’re trying, however late, to take responsibility for your past.”
The Sword Demon and Namgung Jun fell silent. They simply passed the flask back and forth, taking small sips to wet their throats.
Only after a long while did Namgung Jun speak.
“Senior Sword Demon.”
“What is it?”
“Once we return to headquarters, let’s clash swords again.”
The Sword Demon let out a wry, twisted chuckle.
“Namgung Jun. When my end eventually comes, what kind of death do you think awaits me?”
“Who knows. Is there a particular way you wish to go?”
“I’ve lived my entire life in regret. At the very end, I only wish…”
His voice trailed off, and he fell silent.
“Why stop there?”
“Forget it. Even a small wish like that is a luxury for someone like me.”
Namgung Jun did not reply. He merely watched in quiet silence as the Sword Demon sat with his head bowed.
* * *
Led by the Nine Cult-Protecting Guards, the demonic practitioners of the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult's Sichuan Branch began their ascent of Mount Emei.
Their objective was to wipe out not only the remnants of the Qingcheng Sect but also the Emei Sect, another thorn in their side.
Standing alone to block their path, Namgung Jun stared at the woman before him. Among the countless surges of Demonic Qi radiating from all directions, her presence was uniquely overwhelming.
“Are you the Seventh Young Lady of the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult?”
“That’s right. I am the Seventh Young Lady of the Sacred Cult.”
The Seventh Young Lady smiled brightly at Namgung Jun.
“And you must be the boy born with the Nine Yin Severed Meridian… Or should I call you a man now?”