Chapter 343: The Rising Star of the Unorthodox Sect (5)
A half-destroyed house. And the Illusory Illusion Witch, who had just gotten up and was dusting herself off with a tearful expression.
After looking around briefly, I opened my mouth.
“Since the house has conveniently collapsed, we might as well depart right away.”
“Wow, seriously……?”
She looked at me as if she were about to die of injustice.
I tilted my head.
“Seriously what?”
“R-right. Truly a wise decision. I’ll just gather a few important things and we’ll leave immediately.”
Avoiding my gaze, she began rummaging through the wreckage of the collapsed house.
As I watched, the Twin-Ghost Killing Sword approached carefully and asked,
“White Moon Sword Lord, regardless of how it happened, it seems this concludes the martial exchange. Shall we return immediately?”
“We should. There’s no reason to linger in Zhejiang Province.”
“Understood. Once we reach the next village, I’ll arrange for a carriage.”
While briefly discussing the next schedule with him, the Illusory Illusion Witch soon emerged from the debris.
Her clothes and hair were covered in dust, making her look even more ragged, but several unfamiliar objects had been added to her waist.
A sword with bells attached, a large container made up of several smaller canisters, a stone shaped like a turtle, a small jade bird, and more.
She looked like she was carrying literal junk.
But it was no ordinary junk. Each item contained a considerable aura. They were artifacts.
Likely tools to facilitate formations or techniques. Zhuge Bu always carried various items on him as well.
Since I couldn’t properly use such things, I had little interest in them… but perhaps because I was a swordsman, the bell-adorned sword caught my attention.
“Illusory Illusion Witch. I see you’ve gathered your artifacts, but what ability does that sword have? You don’t use a sword, yet you carry it. It must not be ordinary.”
“Ah, yes. It’s nothing special—just a ritual sword. Look. It isn’t even sharpened, right? And it’s bronze, not iron.”
Srrng.
She drew the sword from its sheath and showed it to me.
As she said, the blade was bluish and entirely dull.
A decorative sword. No, perhaps a ceremonial one, since she said it was used in rites.
“I have some idea how the others might be used from knowledge I’ve glimpsed, but the sword I don’t understand. How do you use a sword that cannot cut?”
“Um. Even just planting it in the ground or wearing it at my waist slightly increases the power of techniques.”
“What? Does that make sense?”
“Why wouldn’t it? You can draw out sword qi with your fingers, White Moon Sword Lord, but it’s stronger when drawn through an actual sword, right? It’s like that.”
Having said that, she continued with a slightly excited expression.
“Of course, it’s versatile but not very efficient. Martial arts and techniques may share the same root, but they ultimately diverged.”
“Versatile…”
“The most common martial art is swordsmanship, isn’t it?”
That was true.
These days, the imperial family’s ban on spears and bows had made swords even more common… but even before that, sword arts were the most widespread.
“Many Daoist sects use swords. Is that related?”
“You’re well informed! Though the meaning has faded now, Daoists originally cultivated to become immortals. So their martial arts prioritized embodying the principles of the world rather than practicality… And for that, a sword—which was also used in rituals—was likely preferred over a purely practical weapon.”
“An interesting perspective.”
Before my regression, back when I wasn’t even called Blood Wolf yet, I had wandered Zhongyuan and once witnessed a ritual conducted by the Mount Hua Sect.
A village had pooled money to request a ceremony praying for a good harvest.
Back then, no one recognized me, so I wore the gentlest expression I could manage, watched the ceremony, and even got a meal out of it.
I distinctly remembered that besides chanting incantations and bowing, the Daoist priest of Mount Hua had performed a sword dance.
Perhaps that had been a remnant of the era when swords were used in rituals, as she said.
“By the way, Illusory Illusion Witch, your knowledge doesn’t seem limited to techniques.”
“In the end, I use techniques, not Daoist arts… but at that level, I’m more Daoist than most Daoists. Mm-hm. Indeed.”
She puffed out her chest proudly.
But then, as if realizing something, she hunched her body and cautiously glanced at me.
Unfortunately for her, I had already seen it—the slight protrusion beneath her worn martial robe.
“Th-that’s not it!”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“When you’re lounging around alone at home, you dress comfortably!”
“I said I didn’t say anything.”
“You’re the one who barged in without warning—!”
“Hmm?”
“I-I almost said that.”
Rolling her eyes, she hurriedly pointed toward the distant sight of Hwajeon Village.
“Um. I’ll just stop by the village briefly to tell them I’m leaving. I’ve lived there for years—I should at least say goodbye.”
And without waiting for my response, she ran off.
Sighing at her childishness—different from Seo Mun-Hwarin’s in its own way—Tang Sowol sidled up and whispered,
“Perhaps… Brother Cheon prefers it without wearing any?”
“What kind of horrifying thing are you saying? Absolutely not.”
I shook my head reflexively, then immediately sent a voice transmission.
-Though it’s a different story when we’re alone.
-Oh my. I’ll keep that in mind.
We bantered for a moment before the Illusory Illusion Witch returned, her complexion calmer.
“Ah, right. There was something I meant to ask and forgot.”
“Hiiik! W-what now?!”
“If we’re cooperating, you should gain something as well. I promised suitable compensation to the others. What do you want?”
“Compensation…? I don’t need anything. Hehe.”
“No. I need to give you something.”
Those I had faced in this martial journey bowed because they felt the difference in strength. But to properly command someone who had submitted, appropriate reward was necessary.
If I relied only on threats, I’d eventually be stabbed in the back. That was practically policy among the Unorthodox faction—if dissatisfied, strike back or betray.
Those who couldn’t manage that remained third-rate black path gangs. Those who did, and had some luck, preserved their clans for generations.
To One-Saber Asura, I had promised money and reputation. To the Brahma Heavenly Lust Demon, a way for his former lover’s daughter to live free from the Demonic Cult.
To the Golden Ghost Wolf King, I had planned trade rights through the Tang Clan connecting to the North Sea Ice Palace and the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace… though in the end, he received a sword.
In short, though they yielded to my strength, they received proper compensation.
The same principle applied to her.
“So stop flattering and think properly before answering.”
She pondered briefly, then spoke with an embarrassed yet serious gaze.
“I want to live.”
“You may not believe this, but I don’t kill people lightly. Only those who try to harm me or those around me, those who have done much that deserves death, and those I simply don’t like.”
“Isn’t that more people than expected?! And the last one basically means you’ll kill someone just because you don’t like them!”
If someone who caused trouble before regression was about to cause trouble again, shouldn’t I handle it beforehand?
But persuading them was troublesome and time-consuming, so I simply drew my sword first.
I couldn’t exactly say that aloud, so I just shrugged.
She trembled, but when I said nothing further, her expression turned serious again.
“I’ll say it again. I just want to live.”
“You said that already.”
“I want to live for a very, very long time.”
“Hm?”
She stared at something distant, her eyes unfocused.
“A human lifespan rarely reaches a hundred years. If you master martial arts and undergo rebirth, maybe thirty more years. If you achieve rejuvenation, perhaps another thirty beyond that.”
“That sounds long enough.”
Even combining before and after regression, I hadn’t lived forty years yet.
One hundred sixty years? That was over four times my life so far.
Unless I ended up like the Heavenly Demon, trapped in infinite regression, that was an unfathomable span for a single lifetime.
But she wasn’t joking.
“No. That’s not enough. I want to live far longer than that… and someday see the end.”
“The end?”
“Yes. The era when humans became immortals and joined myth has passed. And someday, the era when great martial artists and their legacies are revered will also end.”
“You mean as natural energy diminishes.”
“Exactly. Someday, a world of complete normalcy will come. A time when no matter how much you train, you can’t defeat ten ordinary men.”
“A dreadful era for me.”
“But it’s the world the heavens desire.”
She looked up quietly.
A cloudless blue sky. Perhaps above it lay a realm we could never know.
Though the path was severed now, making it meaningless.
“I’m simply curious. The scenery those lofty beings envisioned at the end of the era.”
“Huh.”
Frankly, I had no interest in such a world.
For me, the world meant the reach of my hand. The distant future was irrelevant.
But perhaps it wasn’t so bad for at least one person to care.
As that thought crossed my mind, her lips twisted wickedly.
“And as a bonus, if I alone can still use martial arts and techniques in that world, wouldn’t I become the greatest under heaven and reign forever?”
“…Hah.”
So that was her true motive? Typical of the Unorthodox.
“Didn’t you say you knew something about my eyes?”
“Ah… yes… about that…”
“Stop dragging it out.”
“At first, I thought it was the Heavenly Eye—one of the Six Divine Powers in Buddhism.”
“But it doesn’t seem to be?”
“Yes. The Heavenly Eye is said to see not only the flow of energy but even people’s emotions. But looking at you, White Moon Sword Lord…”
“So it can’t see that far?”
“No—because I can’t sense even a fragment of Buddhist compassion from you.”
“That’s the truth! Don’t look at me like you’re wondering where to cut first!”
Ignoring her complaints, I organized my thoughts.
So aside from living long, she wanted nothing in particular. As for my eyes, I’d have to wait for whatever materials Namgung Dowi sent.
“Good. I’ve decided.”
“I suddenly feel uneasy… decided what?”
“You’ll work unpaid.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll provide food, clothing, shelter—and safety.”
She looked at me as though I were a complete thug.
But what could she do? When asked what she wanted, she’d said living long was enough.
***
We arrived at the Black Lotus Sect with the Illusory Illusion Witch in tow.
I hadn’t expected rumors to become this exaggerated in such a short time.
“W-White Moon Sword Lord has returned to fight a life-and-death duel for the position of the Twin Overlord Spear King and the Black Lotus Sect Lord!”
“…You lunatics.”
That’s not it.