He accepted my proposal, so to speak.
I could see how much he cared about his disciple, but this proposal was still subject to conditions.
And then he told me.
[Didn’t you tell me that you would walk on your own path? If you can really walk on the path you chose, in the middle, I will help you for any reason.]
He wanted to draw a clear line, showing that he wouldn’t be helping the Blood Sect.
It must be his pride as someone who walked on the side of justice. I wasn’t going to force him, either.
This was enough for now.
After finalizing that agreement, we left Wuhan behind, a place that was a holy ground for the Murim Alliance.
Just possessing the Blood Demon Sword was already risky.
-You should be grateful for serving this body.
‘….’
The Blood Demon Sword was out of control with his words. On top of his arrogant and ignorant personality, he was also selfish.
My original plan was to entrust the sword to teacher and then show my face to the Alliance to eradicate any residual doubts. Those plans were messed up, thanks to this guy.
Since I had absorbed the sword’s grudge, I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal if someone else handled it, but I was wrong.
When I handed the sword to Song Jwa-baek, his veins began to bulge and run out of control.
-How dare such a worm touch my body!
The sword raised a fuss, and he knew exactly what he was doing. Even if the demonic spirit was gone, this sword still had its own ego.
His ego refused to be eaten up like before, and he wouldn’t let anyone touch his body.
Except for me.
-Do not even dream about handing this body to anyone else, human.
There was nothing scary about this threat aside from the obvious.
There was also a plan to hide the sword for a while. However, Hae Ack-chun wanted the sword to move quickly, and it was reasonable for us to avoid the Alliance if we wanted to proceed with the plan. Baek Hye-hyang’s faction might also do something if they discovered we had the sword.
So we proceeded to depart from Wuhan City after leaving Kwak Hyung-jik with a couple of requests.
Ha Mun-chan and Lee Gyu, who had assisted Song Jwa-baek and Song Woo-hyun, had prepared horses in advance. As a result of riding them for three days and nights without rest, we managed to reach the outskirts of Hongho City.
To cross into Hunan, we were required to cross the Yangtze River.
We headed south into Hongho City as several piers had been prepared as part of our escape route.
While continuing to move, our path would take us through the city and to the route prepared at the piers to move down the Yangtze River. After traveling through it, we would reach Dongdong Lake and enter Ikyang.
‘You got it right.’
Even so, the horses were tired as we had walked, ran, and did all sorts of things to get away without rest.
There was no way the horses could withstand this.
“Uh. We finally get to rest.”
Song Jwa-baek nodded.
Any person would get tired after spending three days and nights on a horseback. No matter how much internal energy they used to stay alert, there was no way their butts wouldn’t give out.
“What?”
“N-No.”
At Hae Ack-chun’s words, Song Jwa-baek shut his mouth.
Actually, a horse had been unable to withstand Hae Ack-chun’s weight and had collapsed on the way to the palace. Thanks to that, Hae Ack-chun could not rest and used his footwork to keep pace.
So we were in no position to grumble.
“Too bad.”
Sima Young mumbled from behind me.
She was riding with me since she had suffered internal wounds and couldn’t ride a horse alone.
I felt troubled as we moved since she would lean into my back and rub her face.
-What does she like about it?
‘Ahem.’
Because of this, Song Jwa-baek was glaring at me.
-He is jealous.
Short Sword giggled.
-Tch. So childish
The Blood Demon Sword clicked his tongue.
-What did you say, brat?
-How dare you tiny thing call me a brat!
Ah, so noisy.
This was the norm lately.
Short Sword had met her fated partner. Every time she said something, Blood Demon Sword would respond with a sarcastic remark, and the two would argue back and forth.
And Iron Sword, who was smart enough, would stay silent. Right. How smart he was!
“I don’t know if we can use the boat.”
At Lee Gyu’s words, Hae Ack-chun looked at the river in the distance. It was too late in the day, and a dark fog had descended all over the Yangtze River.
“I am more worried about the boat not being ready than us not being able to move.”
I agreed with Song Jwa-baek’s words.
We had managed to arrive here much earlier than planned. If the boat wasn’t ready, we would get stuck here or would have to use a regular ship.
“Nothing will change by simply talking here. Let’s go.”
We followed Hae Ack-chun and headed into a small town. It was a small town, but I hoped there was a smithy.
I had to wrap both the Blood Demon Sword and Iron Sword in cloth since my sheath was gone.
Unfortunately, we arrived late, and only a small inn’s lights were lit.
There was a forge, but it was already dark.
We, therefore, headed straight to our destination. Among the houses in this small village, there was one painted in red.
It was the place that had been prepared in advance.
Knock knock! Knock knock!
As we knocked on the door at a regular interval, a person opened it. A middle-aged man saw us from within and made a gesture.
Once we all entered, he closed the door behind us and bowed to Hae Ack-chun.
“Fourth Elder I…”
“Enough. Is the boat ready?”
The middle-aged man looked puzzled at his words.
“Elder. We cannot use the boat now.”
“Because of the fog?”
“Yes. Even during the day, it is difficult to steer a boat in the water with the fog being severe, and at night moving is more difficult.”
“Hmm. So the boat is ready?”
“That… we didn’t expect you to come this early, so I will have to check and see. There might be one or two.”
“When can they be put out?”
“If we push our efforts it should be done around early morning.”
It would be unreasonable to depart now as Song Jwa-baek spoke to Hae Ack-chun.
“Teacher. We haven’t encountered anyone from the Alliance or a pursuit team after us, so why don’t we take a break and start again after some time?”
A pursuit team would only come from Baek Hye-hyang’s faction. Since the Blood Demon Sword was in our possession, we thought they would come at any time to create trouble for us. Contrary to expectations, however, we didn’t encounter them at all.
Hae Ack-chun, who was stroking his beard, then added.
“Huh, it can’t be helped. We will rest here today and depart tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Song Jwa-baek and the others couldn’t hide their joy.
It was understandable because none of us had a proper rest for three days and nights.
“Make sure to get the boat ready.”
The middle-aged man nodded and then asked.
“But, Elder, have you had dinner?”
Everyone shook their heads at this question. We had only been able to wet our throats with water and chewed on jerky on our trip here.
Therefore everyone was quite hungry. Hae Ack-chun then asked the man.
“Is there alcohol?”
“How can we not have any?”
The middle-aged man served us a simple meal before beginning his preparation for arranging a boat.
We were only served stir-fried pork, dry rice, and kaoliang wine, but it felt like a luxurious feast for our hungry mouths.
Everyone dove into their meals and began to eat.
As our hunger subsided and alcohol began to take its hold, fatigue kicked in for the group. At that moment, Hae Ack-chun spoke to me.
“Give me the sword.”
“Uh?”
Hae Ack-chun was asking me to hand him the Blood Demon Sword.
“Will you be alright?”
Hae Ack-chun held out his hand at my question. He told me to stop speaking nonsense and just hand it over.
He must have seen the effects when Song Jwa-baek held it. He should know the risks, and I wasn’t sure if he would be okay.
“Teacher, it will be dangerous. This is a sword with an ego.”
“I am just checking something.”
“I understand.”
After taking off the cloth covering it, I handed the sword to Bae Ack-chun. He held the sword in his left hand.
At that moment, the blood vessels at the back of his hand began to bulge.
“Teacher!”
Pat.
Hae Ack-chun then let go of the sword, and his hand returned to normal.
‘Blood Demon Sword!’
-How dare you ignore my warning! Human! Didn’t I tell you not to hand me to another person!
This sword was really insane.
A sword telling me I was not allowed to hand it to anyone.
I wondered if Baek Ryeon-ha would be able to hold it.
“You hold it now.”
“Uh?”
“I said take it back.”
“… Ah, yes.”
With that, I picked up the fallen sword. Seeing this, Song Jwa-baek grumbled.
“Why is he the only one who can touch the sword?”
Everyone was equally curious about this. They were clearly curious at the sword’s differing reactions. Sima Young then said with a smile.
“Isn’t it cool? He’s the only one who can touch the sword. It’s like he’s one chosen by it.”
“Uh? You think that is cool?”
Song Jwa-baek clicked his tongue. The Blood Demon Sword then said in a gloating voice.
-Right. This body took you in as a special subordinate. Understand this honor.
I told you to stop talking nonsense.
He was just being picky like a child. At that moment, Hae Ack-chun asked me a question as he stared at the sword.
“Is there anything you have hidden from me?”
And I immediately asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
What was his purpose in asking me this?
As I wondered about his purpose, unexpected words came from his mouth.
“I am asking if you really are a child of the Ikyang So.”
‘…!?’
For a moment, I was speechless.
I couldn’t understand why he would even say this. The only ones who knew of my real parentage were the head of the family and myself.
Song Jwa-baek attempted to intervene.
“Teacher. Even if this guy might seem all…”
“Do not interfere.”
Song Jwa-baek fell silent at that as Hae Ack-chun turned back to me.
“Your mother is really an attendant?”
“… teacher. Why are you asking me that…”
“The Blood Demon Sword is a sacred item of the sect.”
Who here wouldn’t know that?
And he continued.
“Do you know why the Blood Demon Sword is called an ego sword?”
“Because the sword has a chance to…”
“No, it’s because only those who inherited the blood of the Blood Demon can touch it.”
At those words, everyone’s eyes turned to me. It was because they understood what this meant.
This shocked even me. I was safe while holding the sword because I had managed to absorb its grudges and free it from those feelings. The spirit within the sword then allowed me to hold it.
However, it was difficult to tell this to them.
If I didn’t, though, it felt like this misunderstanding would just deepen.
At that moment, the voice of Blood Demon Sword rang in my head.
-What is being misunderstood here? Why do you think I allow you to hold me?
‘… what?’
Now, this was truly shocking.
What was he saying? Although my mother might be related to the members of the sect, she had nothing to do with its leaders.
The Blood Demon Sword sighed and said.
-You are an interesting guy. You don’t even know what is in your blood.
‘What is that supposed…’
“Elder!”
At that moment, Lee Gyu urgently called Hae Ack-chun in a shocked voice. Everyone else also jumped up from their seats.
“I-internal qi in your dantian!”
‘…!?’
Hearing Cho Sung-won’s words, I began cultivating my qi and checking my body.
However, my internal qi was being scattered instead of moving into my dantian.
Hae Ack-chun then frowned as he mumbled.
“Qi Dispersal Poison!”
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