Chapter 89 - I Am Not a Fish You Have Already Caught

After parting with my brother, I went to see Yi An. I wasn't sure why she had suddenly come to mind. Perhaps I wanted to see the person who understood me best.

She was training hard today, as always. Training was all Yi An ever did.

Watching her, I saw myself gathering the materials for the great ritual before my regression—the man who had never rested, pursuing a single goal.

Only after training for quite some time did she notice I was there.

"Young Master! When did you arrive?"

"A while ago."

"What if you'd been an assassin?"

"You'd have died about twenty times, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, no!"

I drew my sword and stepped in front of her.

"Let's bring those twenty deaths down to nineteen."

Her eyes lit up as she realized I was going to demonstrate the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art.

"Thank you!"

It had been a long time since my last demonstration. Rather than deliberately lowering my level, I performed it at my current eleventh level.

There was a vast difference between tenth-level complete mastery and where I stood now. Of course, she wouldn't feel that difference as keenly as I did. Her progress would depend on how much of it she could perceive.

By the time I had performed every form from beginning to end, Yi An was standing rooted to the spot, deep in thought.

I could tell that, at some point, she had entered a state of complete absorption.

I even quieted my breathing so as not to disturb her and silently sat down cross-legged. There was no telling when she would emerge, so I couldn't simply wait indefinitely.

I began practicing the Heavenly Demon's Body-Protection Art. Perhaps we were well suited to training together. Last time, I had been the one to enter a state of complete absorption; today, it was her.

After six full double-hours had passed, I sensed her emerging from her state of complete absorption.

'Congratulations, Yi An.'

I congratulated her silently. Spending six double-hours in that state was an opportunity that rarely came in a martial artist's lifetime.

Yi An looked bewildered when she saw that her surroundings were pitch-black.

"Young Master?"

"How was it? Your first experience of complete absorption?"

"Complete absorption? Are you saying I actually entered that state?"

"Yes."

"I thought I'd only spaced out for a moment."

"Well, compared to our whole lives, six double-hours is only a moment."

"Six double-hours have passed?"

Yi An was astonished. The moment immediately after emerging from complete absorption was always the most important.

"Perform the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art right now."

"Yes."

She performed the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art before me.

It had worked. More than merely worked—her Heaven-Soaring Sword Art had reached the eighth level.

"All I did was watch you perform the forms. How is this possible?"

"What do you mean, how? It's possible because you've done nothing but train like a bear day in and day out. Surely you don't think watching my demonstration alone could have done it?"

"Even so..."

"All the effort you've accumulated until now came together during that state of complete absorption."

"Oh!"

I taught her, and she worked herself to the bone, building on her outstanding martial talent. My eleventh-level attainment had given her deeper inspiration, and the decisive factor had been those six double-hours of complete absorption. All of it had combined to produce this miraculous achievement.

"Don't get too excited. As you know, progress in martial arts is fast at first, but slows the farther you go. Think of this as the true beginning of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art. Never mind complete mastery—it could take you a lifetime just to go from the eighth level to the ninth."

"Even if it takes my entire life, I'll achieve complete mastery. Heaven has granted me such a precious connection. If I couldn't reach it, I'd feel so pathetic and cheated."

At the same time, the day when I could perform the Bodily Toxin Purification Procedure on her had drawn another step closer.

My own martial attainment was important if I was to perform it safely, without side effects. Afterward, however, her attainment would matter. The thought of the horrors awaiting the world's greatest beauty if she possessed only weak martial skills was chilling.

I had planned to perform the Bodily Toxin Purification Procedure when she reached the ninth level. At the ninth level of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art, she would be more than capable of protecting herself wherever she went.

But today's achievement made me think that moment might come far sooner than I had expected.

"Instead of dying twenty times, you'd only die about twice now."

Overcome with gratitude, Yi An prostrated herself on the spot.

"Thank you, Young Master."

"There's no need for that between us."

"But what exactly are we to each other? I was only a mere bodyguard. Why on earth are you so good to me?"

Because you threw yourself into harm's way to protect me, allowing this entire story to begin.

"Yi An."

"Yes?"

"I felt troubled on my way back from seeing my brother. Do you know who came to mind then? You. That's why I'm good to you."

She looked at me, deeply moved.

"And you've used two of your five questions."

We had agreed she could ask why I was so good to her only five times.

"You have three left."

"I'll use them sparingly."

"Now that your Heaven-Soaring Sword Art has reached the eighth level, you must use it carefully. Its power will be completely different from before."

"Yes, Young Master."

"Yi An. I know this isn't what you want to hear when you're so thrilled, but... don't spend your entire life doing nothing but training."

"Yes!"

She nodded with a radiant smile.

Yi An, this is why.

Because you're someone who stands beside me and nods like this. Because you're clever and perceptive, and surely have thoughts of your own, yet you smile and nod at what I say.

Because you're the kind of person everyone wishes they had at least one of in their life. Because you're someone I could give a different answer to each time, whether you asked four times or a hundred.

Keep going, Yi An. Let's reach the ninth level!

* * *

When I returned from seeing Yi An, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon was waiting near my quarters, his Heaven-Destroying Great Saber planted in the ground.

"What brings you here?"

"I was thinking of the day I first met you here."

"Now that my brother is back, do you want to undo everything?"

"I thought I ought to let you know that you're not a fish I've already caught."

He pulled the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber from the ground and drew a long line in the dirt.

"This is where we stood when I first met you."

He made a mark at the very beginning of the line. He had drawn a line on the ground like this the day he first came to see me, too, all while prodding me in the side.

"And this is where we stand now."

He made a new mark a little beyond the midpoint.

"Oh! We're past halfway!"

"Only barely. Is that something to be so pleased about?"

"This is more than enough."

"Enough?"

"If it's friend or foe, we're friends. If it's life or death, it'll be life. Isn't being too close to someone a burden instead? When you aren't sure you can look after them to the very end, but they keep crossing the line and coming closer to you?"

I drew the Black Demon Sword and made a mark near the far end of the line.

"Wouldn't someone have to be your child to get this far? Though my father would be around here."

This time, I made another mark that didn't even reach the Blood Heaven Saber Demon's.

"How are you so good with words? You spend all night preparing before coming out, don't you? Memorizing what to say and how to say it?"

"Please say that when I'm the one visiting you, sir. Not on a day when you've dropped in on me without warning."

He shook his head as though admitting defeat. My brother was the reason he had come.

"I came because there's something you should know about the First Young Master."

"Please, go ahead."

"The first Demon Supreme he meets will probably be the Wicked Laughing Demon. Prepare accordingly."

His assessment was indeed accurate. In the past, my brother's three staunchest supporters among the Demon Supremes had been the Demonic Buddha, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, and the Wicked Laughing Demon.

In my life before regression, my brother would commit various acts of cruelty around the future point when he was chosen as successor. It hadn't been solely his own decisions. The Demonic Buddha, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, and the Wicked Laughing Demon, who had aligned themselves with him then, had exerted considerable influence.

Would my brother's fate change, too, as the Blood Heaven Saber Demon's and the Single Flower Sword Supreme's had? For that to happen, wouldn't the fates of the Demonic Buddha and the Wicked Laughing Demon have to change as well?

"Then the Wicked Laughing Demon will be his closest ally after the Demonic Buddha."

"That used to be me, but now the Wicked Laughing Demon will take that place. I expect the First Young Master will meet every Demon Supreme except me. It's only a question of the order."

I nodded silently.

"The Wicked Laughing Demon is no ordinary man, either."

"I know."

How evil must he be to earn an epithet that called him wicked in the extreme?

"You need to prepare. Do you intend to do nothing?"

"Yes."

"You're just going to let him?"

"All I need is you and Senior Sword Supreme."

"That's pleasant to hear, but if five Demon Supremes side with the First Young Master, they'll be hard to contend with."

"Why five, rather than six?"

"With the Wind Heaven Cult Leader here, isn't the Soul-Seizing Demon naturally on our side as well?"

"Cheong Seon is still young and very ambitious, so we can't necessarily assume that. In fact, she'd be the easiest person for my brother to win over."

She might act as though she were on our side, then turn against us. My brother might use her as a spy. There were many possibilities.

"It doesn't matter if the Soul-Seizing Demon sides with him. If my brother recruits her, we might even turn that to our advantage at a decisive moment."

"You've thought that far ahead?"

"I have to. Of course, I intend to prevent that from happening if at all possible."

Not for Cheong Seon's sake, but for the Wind Heaven Cult Leader's. I also wanted to see the Soul-Seizing Demon settle smoothly into her role as his disciple and flourish.

"Then we're facing six. Even you will struggle against those odds. No, that won't do because I'll struggle. We need to bring at least one more Demon Supreme firmly onto our side."

"Who?"

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon's lips stirred as though he was about to name someone, but he stopped himself.

"You're the clever one. You should decide."

He must have had someone in mind, but apparently felt it wasn't right for him to say who. It also meant he trusted my judgment.

"Make your move before the First Young Master wins over all the Demon Supremes."

"My brother will meet someone else before the Wicked Laughing Demon."

"Who else?"

I stared directly at him.

"Me?"

He blinked, looking as though he couldn't make sense of what I meant.

"You mean me?"

"Yes. My brother will visit you first."

"Why would he? He knows I've sided with you. Even if he visits every other Demon Supreme, he won't come to me."

"No. Even if he doesn't visit any other Demon Supreme, he'll certainly visit you. After you, it'll be the Wind Heaven Cult Leader."

Despite my certainty, he tilted his head, still unconvinced.

"What makes you think that?"

"My brother will want to show Father that you only came to me because he was away. He'll think taking you back from me will earn him more favor with Father than gathering every other Demon Supreme under his command."

He nodded slowly. Since he didn't dismiss the idea, he seemed to think it was possible.

He looked straight at me and asked,

"Then aren't you worried? That I might go back to the First Young Master?"

After a pause, I said,

"I am."

"Really?"

There wasn't a trace of playfulness on my face as I answered him.

"Of course. You saw my brother that day, didn't you? Giving the Single Flower Sword Supreme a gift. It wasn't the gift that was impressive, but his attention to detail. And he'll try to offer you something even more impressive."

He nodded. He, too, knew my brother well enough.

"I don't want you to leave. Whatever attractive offer my brother makes, please tell me. I'll keep you here with a better one."

"You aren't asking me to stay out of loyalty?"

"We're not twenty-year-old kids, are we?"

"You are, aren't you?"

"Oh, right. But I'm an old soul."

I smiled sheepishly.

"At the very least, he won't be taking you away."

"Why?"

"Because I'll make you a better offer, even if I have to stake everything I have. And if, by any chance, he finds some weakness and threatens you with it, you must tell me that, too."

"Why's that?"

"Because I'll resolve it for you, without fail. If you ask whether I'm capable, I believe I've shown you enough by now. If you feel you don't want me to see that weakness, remember that we've already seen the best and the worst of each other."

After gazing at me in silence for a moment, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon retrieved his deeply embedded Heaven-Destroying Great Saber and rose.

"Let's see, then. Whether he comes to me first, as you say."

As he was about to leave, he glanced down at the marks on the ground.

"And where this mark moves, too."