Sword Demon 2

I didn't know whether I should tell him he went the wrong way, so I asked, "What are you doing at the Shushan Sect? Don't tell me you're here to steal Longyuan..."

As a result, he immediately blushed, stiffened his neck, and yelled, "Who wants to steal Longyuan! Don't make false accusations!"

He really was here to steal Longyuan...

I crossed my arms over my chest and glanced at him with a condemning look. "Hey, it was agreed back then to leave the sword at the Shushan Sect in exchange for the Nine-Cauldron Resurrection Pill. Sneaking back to the Shushan Sect to steal things after the fact isn't very nice, is it..."

The Snow-Hair's face turned even redder. Unable to back down and save face, he threw caution to the wind, drew his sword, and pointed it at me. "That sword was clearly given to Master Shenxu. On what grounds is your master, Master Jixuan, monopolizing the Longyuan Sword?!"

I listened to his logic, dumbfounded, and threw my hands up. "Master Shenxu gave it to our master. Since the sword already belonged to Master Shenxu, you don't need to worry about how he disposes of it, right?"

"I... I..." The Snow-Hair was speechless. A wonderfully diverse array of expressions—awkwardness, embarrassment, and indignation—flashed across his face. It seemed he himself knew that such untrustworthy behavior was despicable.

I wasn't an unreasonable person, so I walked over to him, threw an arm around his shoulder, and patiently guided him, "Did your brother find out you sold his sword and throw a temper tantrum? Sigh, you can't be blamed for this. A human life is originally more important. Swords and whatnot, although it followed your brother for many years and went through life and death with him, it's just a weapon. It's no big deal, right?"

He looked at me in surprise, seemingly not expecting me, a sword spirit, to be so enlightened. But he still frowned and said, "Longyuan is really important to my brother... Is there any way I can take him back? As long as it's within my power, I'll definitely find a way to achieve it."

I clicked my tongue twice. "You humans are just like this. One moment you say you don't want it, and the next you say you do. Even though we swords are just weapons, having our masters constantly changing left and right can cause psychological trauma, alright? How about this: if you can defeat me, I'll take you to find Longyuan. What do you say?"

The Snow-Hair looked at me suspiciously. "Are you serious?"

I patted my chest. "Is this divine sword the type of sword to go back on its word? However, if you lose, you have to obediently follow me to seek forgiveness from my master."

The Snow-Hair agreed without hesitation. He drew his longsword, which didn't have very strong spiritual energy, and a faint glimmer surrounded his body. With a clear shout, he fired three streams of sword qi at me in quick succession. I twisted my waist and stuck out my butt to dodge them one by one, then drew the Ya Jiu Sword from my back, leaped into the air, and slashed down with a massive wave of sword qi. He was forced by my shockwave to roll on the ground, narrowly avoiding it. At this time, pear blossoms drifted all over the sky, like an unusually sudden heavy snowfall, and their fragrance blanketed the earth.

This boy's cultivation was quite good compared to his peers, but he was still a bit too green to deal with a hundred-year-old sword spirit like me. He charged at me with a burst of fierce energy for close combat, seemingly aware that he couldn't beat me in terms of spiritual power, and thinking that this way I wouldn't be able to unleash my ultimate moves. However, who was this divine sword? Speed was my greatest strength. Therefore, every thrust of his sword could only hit the afterimages I left in the void. He grew increasingly anxious, and his swordplay became somewhat messy. I took the opportunity to flash behind him and flicked a burst of spiritual energy into his elbow. His hand instantly went numb and weak, and his sword clattered to the ground.

He slumped to the ground on his hands and knees, angrily pounding the ground once. His silvery-white hair flowed like a suspended waterfall in the moonlight.

Is the hair of everyone from their Baimin Kingdom this white? A whole nation of Snow-Hairs... That scene must truly be magnificent...

I said, "Let's go. I'll take you to the Shushan Sect."

Actually, selfishly speaking, although I hated untrustworthy people, I did hope he would take Longyuan away. So the spar was just to tease him a bit. As long as he saw my master and tearfully appealed to his emotions, my master would definitely return Longyuan.

After all, Longyuan was the biggest rival to my position as the boss in the Sword Pavilion. By borrowing a knife to kill someone like this, Longyuan might even be grateful to me. I was truly too clever, bwahahaha...

I transformed back into my true form and carried the Snow-Hair all the way back to the Shushan Sect. After all this tossing about, the sky on the horizon was already turning pale, and the sun would soon rise. Master should have already gotten up to meditate and cultivate at this hour on a normal day. I brought the Snow-Hair directly to Zhaohua Palace.

Our Zhaohua Palace was situated on Nanting Peak. The mountain terrain was steep, but verdant with stacked woods, and white cranes and birds flew in flocks all year round. Beneath the forest of pavilions and terraces, several waterfalls plunged down the cliffs. The morning rosy clouds dyed the glazed golden tiles red, magnificent and solemn. A few cranes were playing in the water right in front of Master's sleeping quarters. A gentle breeze brushed past the bamboo grove in the courtyard, bringing a swathe of bamboo fragrance. I hadn't been to Master's sleeping quarters for quite a while, and seeing these familiar scenes at this moment made me feel particularly nostalgic.

The maid Jingqi, who was sweeping the courtyard, saw me and the person behind me, looking somewhat surprised. "Senior Brother Ya Jiu, why have you come over so early?"

I asked, "Is Master awake?"

Jingqi said softly, "It seems he is awake, but he hasn't ordered us to go in and serve him yet."

I nodded, walked right up to the door, and shouted, "Master, someone wants to take Longyuan away. Are you going to do something about it or not?"

In less than a second, the door opened. Master stood with his hands behind his back. His apathetic phoenix eyes swept over us, and he drawled unhurriedly, "What is this commotion about so early in the morning?"

Keep pretending... You clearly rushed out immediately because you heard someone was going to steal your sword...

I curled my lips at the Snow-Hair. Master said, "It's you? Why have you come to the Shushan Sect again?"

The Snow-Hair truly did not disappoint my expectations. He flipped his robes and knelt down. This child's ultimate move after failing to win a fight was to kneel. The problem was that this trick actually seemed quite effective.

The Snow-Hair said, "Master Jixuan, the Longyuan Sword has followed my brother Qiu Mushuang for over twenty years. To him, it's like family. I was foolish before to use Longyuan in exchange for the Nine-Cauldron Resurrection Pill. Now I am willing to do anything, I only beg that the Master bestow the sword back to me!"

Master's brows furrowed imperceptibly, seeming extremely displeased.

That's right, he hasn't even had the chance to take Longyuan out yet...

I sat on the railing of the veranda, waiting to watch the show. I saw Master step forward with a steady gait and use both hands to help the Snow-Hair up. Master said tranquilly, "I can understand your feelings. However, back then, exchanging the Longyuan Sword for the Nine-Cauldron Resurrection Pill was intended to persuade your brother to abandon evil and turn to good, to lay down his butcher's knife and no longer be an assassin. For you to ask for it back now is inevitably going back on your word, and it doesn't make sense rationally. I cannot give this sword to you."

The Snow-Hair said anxiously, "I also know that such a request is very unreasonable, but as long as the Master is willing to bestow Longyuan back, I, Qiu Muxue, am willing to serve the Master as a beast of burden to repay the Master!"

Whoa... to become a beast of burden just for a sword, just how important is Longyuan to Qiu Mushuang? But to become a beast of burden for Master... isn't that letting him off too easy... All the female disciples of the Shushan Sect want to be beasts of burden for Master. As if it would be the turn of a Snow-Hair with merely above-average looks like you...

Master was in somewhat of a difficult position. He was a dignified Qianyuan High Immortal; logically speaking, he shouldn't be fighting over a sword with a child. Helplessly, swords were the greatest hobby in his life. He had finally managed to scam Longyuan; was he supposed to just hand him over on a silver platter?

Seeing that Master didn't want to give it, I added fuel to the fire. "Master, look at how much filial piety he has. Why not grant his wish? Look, your Sword Pavilion is already packed with hundreds of swords, while they only have this one..."

Master glared at me fiercely, as if telling me: Shut up!

Qiu Muxue knelt down again and kowtowed several times with heavy thuds. The crisp sound was painful even to my ears. Sure enough, when he lifted his head, blood was already showing on his forehead. Master was put in an even tighter spot and hurriedly stepped forward to pull him up. But Qiu Muxue wore a resolute expression of 'I won't get up unless you agree.' This aura quite resembled the stance of a scoundrel throwing a tantrum... Actually, in this world, the weak still have a bit of a bigger advantage. After all, when you act pitiful or even threaten with death, any strong person standing against you becomes the big bad guy, regardless of whether the other party is in the right or wrong.

Naturally, Master didn't want to play the big bad guy in front of the disciples. His brows were already visibly knotted together. I knew what he would say next: Since you are so sincere, I'll just return Longyuan to you.

But the exact moment he opened his mouth, another sonorous voice forcefully cut in.

"Ah Xue, stand up!"

This shout echoed forcefully and resonantly, sounding quite solemn and bleak. The disciples, servants, and I, who had already formed a circle, turned our heads and saw a person dressed in black with white hair, wearing a Nuo God Mask, standing on the roof opposite us. The person merely stood there quietly. For some unknown reason, an aura of austere slaughter already caused the morning sun to turn cold and gloomy. His white hair drifted in the wind, and a cold gaze shot out from behind the mask, landing on Master.

Could this be the Sword Demon, Qiu Mushuang?

Master also looked back with an unruffled gaze, like calm water without a single ripple. The two people, one in black and one in white, quietly confronted each other. Everything else solidified into the background.

Qiu Muxue muttered in surprise, "Brother, why are you here?"

Qiu Mushuang's somewhat hoarse voice came from behind the mask. "If I didn't come, you would have completely thrown away our Qiu family's face. Stand up right now."

Qiu Muxue's gaze flinched slightly. He seemed very afraid of this older brother, but at the same time, he highly admired him. He had no choice but to stand up and look at Master with some uneasiness.

Master still didn't speak.

Qiu Mushuang descended from mid-air. His movement technique was swift and elegant, like a black feather. Standing face-to-face with Master, his imposing aura surprisingly did not lose out in the slightest.

"Master Jixuan, since my younger brother has already given the Longyuan Sword to you, it is yours. I will not take it back."

The tip of Master's brows twitched slightly. "But your younger brother has pleaded on your behalf for a long time. I also..."

"My foolish brother is ignorant of proper etiquette; I hope the Master can forgive him. Qiu Mushuang will never forget the Shushan Sect's life-saving grace. I only beg to take one last look at Longyuan. After all, he has followed me for twenty-three years."

Naturally, Master wouldn't refuse such a request. It seemed my plan to get rid of Longyuan had completely failed...

It was just that, for Qiu Mushuang to unexpectedly give Longyuan away to Master just like this, didn't he even plan to listen to Longyuan's opinion? I recalled Longyuan's firm expression when he resolutely said, "I only have one master, Qiu Mushuang," and for some reason, I felt a bit sorrowful.

This was probably the fate of us swords. In the end, we're just weapons with no right to choose for ourselves.

Qiu Mushuang stepped into the Sword Pavilion. Longyuan lay quietly on the sword stand, without the slightest movement.

Qiu Mushuang gently stroked Longyuan's blade. The expression on the face behind the Nuo God Mask was unknown. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and after a long while, he finally spat out a single sentence, "Longyuan, take care of yourself."

With that said, he swiped his black robes and prepared to turn around and leave.

Right at this moment, Longyuan's human form suddenly appeared in front of the sword stand and called out, "Master."

Qiu Mushuang's footsteps paused.

Longyuan's usually icy-cold eyes were now flickering with a hint of sorrow, as well as disappointment.

"Master, are you really not taking me with you?"

Qiu Mushuang did not turn around. He said, "I am no longer your master."

Then, taking Qiu Muxue with him, Qiu Mushuang left under the watchful eyes of the crowd. With no more drama to watch, the disciples also gradually dispersed. Before leaving, Master took a look at Longyuan, who was still standing quietly in his original spot. He seemed to want to say something, but ultimately only sighed. He said to me, "Console him a bit."

After the heavy doors of the Sword Pavilion closed, all the swords uncharacteristically maintained their silence. I walked over to Longyuan's side. Just as I wanted to say something, his expression made my heart tremble.

On his icy-cold face, what burned at this moment was sorrow, as well as an anger that was ready to burst out.

His hands were tightly clenched into fists, as if wanting to punch through something, wanting to protest something. But ultimately, they could only hang down dejectedly.

"Longyuan..."

"You don't need to say anything." Longyuan's voice was still flat, but the corners of his mouth twisted bizarrely, smiling in a way that was more agonizing to look at than crying. "What you said was right. To humans, we are nothing more than mere weapons."