Chapter 44 - More at Ease Than the First Day

Unfortunately, my wish did not come true.

“Second Young Master, how did this happen?”

The Single Flower Sword Supreme’s voice trembled, but she maintained her composure.

Her original plan must have been to casually concede the first three moves, toy with me for twenty or thirty more, then win. Instead, she herself had lost in just three moves.

“Didn’t I tell you to be careful? This is the Black Demon Sword.”

I spoke as though the Black Demon Sword had won the fight for me, but she was not weak enough to hide her defeat behind an excuse.

“Even if it had been the Heavenly Demon Sword rather than the Black Demon Sword, this was a fight I should not have lost.”

She knew better than anyone that she had lost because of skill, not the sword.

“Let me tell you a secret. I’ve already achieved complete mastery of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art.”

She was startled.

“You’ve already achieved complete mastery? I can’t believe it.”

The Heaven-Soaring Sword Art was on a similar level to the martial arts practiced by the Demon Supremes. Her disbelief was only natural when I claimed to have already mastered such an advanced art.

“Don’t you know my father? Would he appoint me Pavilion Master of Yellow Springs Pavilion just because I’m his son?”

“Even if you have completely mastered the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art...”

“You think I would have lacked internal energy? Have you forgotten that I took the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven?”

“Ah!”

I did not bother mentioning that I had also obtained a Demon Essence Pill in Lesser Heaven Cave.

“I won this duel. Do you acknowledge that?”

“...”

She could not acknowledge it.

“Had I known you were this skilled, I would never have let my guard down like that.”

She had not known my abilities, and it had happened after she conceded the first three moves. On top of that, the attack that sent her sword flying had struck just as she was about to speak. Several things had gone against her.

“So you refuse to acknowledge it? If word gets out that the Sword Supreme broke her promise, Senior, you’ll be branded a coward for the rest of your life.”

“Shut up! There’s no need to provoke me with that needless rubbish. I keep my promises. What do you want, Second Young Master?”

“You did say you would give up even your life if you lost.”

“This duel—”

She closed her mouth before she could make an excuse. Whether she had lost through carelessness or inferior martial arts, a loss was a loss. She herself had been arrogant enough to concede three moves.

“Is it my life you want?”

“Of course not. The venerable Saber Demon has called me a crazy bastard several times, but I’m not that crazy.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Please accept my apology.”

The Sword Supreme was taken aback.

“I apologize for the disrespect I’ve shown you until now. My apology is sincere, so please forgive me.”

She stared at me in bafflement.

“Are you mocking me?”

“No. I was rude to you today, Senior. I should not have invited you to that gathering.”

“Why apologize to me when you won?”

“Shall I be honest?”

“Of course!”

“I want to win your favor with this apology. I want you to support me sincerely, Senior.”

“Sincerely? You’re talking about sincerity in a struggle for succession? If you think that sort of thing works in this world, I’m disappointed. I didn’t know you were so naive.”

“It depends on whom I’m dealing with. If someone throws dirt at me, I shove them into the mud. If they splash water on me, I answer with sewage. But with you, Senior, I want to win through innocence.”

“Why? Do I look innocent to you?”

“No. Because you have a noble character. Because you deserve respect more than any of the Eight Demon Supremes.”

Considering the life she would lead later, everything I had just said was a lie.

But those things had not happened yet. If meeting me became the turning point that changed her fate, might the blood-soaked future disappear and a new life unfold? Might I make flowers bloom in the bleak wasteland I had seen in her eyes?

“Do you really think that of me?”

“Yes. You are refined and dignified.”

She bit her lip lightly. The compliment pleased her, yet something about it seemed to stir complicated feelings.

I walked over, pulled the Single Flower Sword from the ground, and handed it to her.

“I’ll see you another time.”

After a respectful farewell, I went inside my quarters. I went straight to sleep, so I never knew how long she stood there before leaving.

* * *

The following night, the Single Flower Sword Supreme came to see me again.

Her eyes and face were puffy, as though she had not slept all night.

“I’ll accept your apology.”

“Thank you.”

“But I have one request.”

“What is it?”

“I lost yesterday’s duel. I acknowledge that. But I want another fight today.”

I refused at once.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ll never be able to beat you again. If you hadn’t let your guard down, if you hadn’t conceded the opening moves, I could never have won.”

“But you’ve completely mastered the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art. You have sufficient internal power, too. You could win again.”

“I couldn’t.”

“Why are you so certain?”

“It was the sort of luck that comes once or twice in a lifetime. I’m not arrogant enough to mistake it for skill.”

“I won’t set any conditions for my victory. But if I lose, I’ll do whatever you want.”

She was simply trying to restore her pride.

I felt I understood why she had become cult leader, unleashed bloodshed, and ultimately fallen.

What was so important about that petty pride? How could she know what I might demand? She was truly foolish and naive.

“Senior, I won’t tell anyone about yesterday’s duel. There’s no need to go out of your way to beat me. No one will know what happened yesterday anyway.”

“You never know what people might do. You could blurt it out while drunk.”

“That won’t happen.”

I was in no hurry. Now that I held the initiative, I could draw her over to my side slowly.

“Get a good night’s sleep tonight. You look worn out.”

As I turned to go inside, she suddenly spoke.

“I was humiliated.”

Those words stopped me in my tracks. I turned back to her.

“Didn’t I tell you? My victory was pure luck.”

“It wasn’t just because I lost the duel.”

The source of her humiliation was something I had never considered.

“Those words, ‘Not my face!’ The more I thought about them, the more humiliated I felt.”

It was what she had cried when the sword came at her.

[“Not my face!”]

“That’s understandable. It’s your face, after all. Even as a man, I would probably have reacted the same way.”

“An ordinary person might. But the Sword Supreme cannot. I should have let you stab my face instead.”

Uttering those words had apparently wounded her pride and humiliated her terribly.

Of course, I understood why she had said them. She took as much pride in her appearance as she did in her honor and her standing as the Sword Supreme. She would rather hear that she was beautiful and looked young than that she fought well.

“Do you understand why I came back now?”

“Yes.”

“Then will you fight me?”

She was desperate, but my answer did not meet her hopes.

“No.”

As I turned away, she called out behind me.

“Second Young Master!”

“Can’t you just let me savor this one stroke of luck?”

Then the Sword Supreme said something unexpected.

“I made a promise. Never to lose.”

“To whom?”

“Never to lose to anyone but him.”

Him? Someone the Sword Supreme spoke of with such reverence?

“Surely not...”

She named the person who had just flashed through my mind.

“I made that promise to the Cult Leader.”

The moment I heard that, I remembered what Father had told me.

[“The Sword Supreme carries many wounds.”]

I could tell that some deep bond existed between Father and the Sword Supreme.

“When did you make that promise?”

Instead of answering, she expressed her respect for Father.

“The Cult Leader is the only person I respect.”

I could not believe her words.

Someone who respected Father this much had unleashed all that bloodshed to seize his position? Why on earth?

“I don’t want to break my promise to the Cult Leader.”

She quickly added, as though afraid I might draw an improper conclusion.

“If you’re entertaining any disrespectful thoughts right now, let me make this clear. Do not sully my pure respect for the Cult Leader.”

“No, I wasn’t thinking anything of the sort.”

“Then I’m glad.”

“Why do you respect Father so much?”

The Sword Supreme merely smiled faintly, offering no details.

By bringing up her history with Father, she had played her final card. I could refuse no longer.

“Very well. You must keep your promise to Father.”

The Single Flower Sword Supreme was delighted. Her smile was so genuinely happy that every smile and laugh she had shown until then seemed false by comparison.

“Does it make you that happy?”

“It does.”

“I’ll give it my all this time, too.”

“That’s exactly what I want.”

I fought with all my strength in our second duel as well.

If anything, it was more exciting than the first. The Single Flower Sword Supreme did not let her guard down, and her eyes brimmed with passion she could not conceal.

Of course, this was not a fight to kill, but a duel solely to determine the winner.

We exchanged a dozen or so probing moves, warmed up over a hundred more, and passed three hundred as we unleashed a dazzling array of techniques.

The longer the duel continued, the less concerned we became with victory.

We were absorbed in the pure pleasure of testing our martial arts against each other. Who won could wait.

I marveled at the way she linked seemingly impossible moves together, and even more at her instinct for swiftly spotting my openings.

‘Ah! She really is incredible! She truly deserves to be called a Sword Supreme.’

Normally, I would not have had time for such thoughts, but whenever we needed a rest, we withdrew and took one as though by prior agreement.

Completely absorbed in testing our martial arts, we reflected on the various moves we had exchanged.

This moment of pure martial competition was giving me greater joy than the thrill of any life-or-death encounter in my past.

Just as I had with Father and Yi An, I had to admit that there were things about her I had misunderstood.

Her hunger for honor and her pride were not desperate attempts to fill the desolation within her. They were rooted in pride in her martial arts.

At least when it came to swordsmanship, she was as serious, sincere, and genuine as anyone in the world. Her attitude toward the sword even reminded me of Father’s attitude toward martial arts.

Having devoted our entire lives to learning the sword, the two of us became deeply absorbed in this conversation through our blades.

The duel ended in a draw. Without the intent to kill, our abilities were closely matched.

“You must have held back your killing move, so I’ve lost this duel.”

“Isn’t the same true of you?”

“No. That was the full extent of my abilities.”

The Single Flower Sword Supreme gazed at me silently, then spoke abruptly.

“Second Young Master, thank you.”

With those words, she turned away.

One thing was certain: she left looking more at ease than she had on the first day.

I still did not know how she would act from now on. Since she had promised Father never to lose, she might return tomorrow. Or perhaps today’s duel would be our last.

Our duel had moved me. What had it meant to her? I could not tell whether it had been enough to moisten the bleak wasteland of her heart.

At any rate, my investment in her began now. Making even one person truly mine was this difficult.