Chapter 89: A Calm and Fierce Q&A

The Black Horse put down his teacup and said, "There's no need to force someone to speak about things they don't want to reveal. However, how about we gradually exchange information by asking each other questions and answering them? We need to get to know each other first."

"Do you mean a sequential Q&A?"

"Exactly."

"Let's do it."

"Ask anything you're curious about."

When I tried to ask, there were too many questions. I had to prioritize them for a moment.

As I pondered, the Left Advisor interjected, "Master, may I also join in appropriately?"

"Go ahead."

"Thank you."

The three of us carefully chose our words, like the generals of Wei, Shu, and Wu in a meeting.

I asked the Black Horse first, "Why are you teaching such a scoundrel?"

The Black Horse calmly replied, "I'm thinking of making him the next generation of Heavenly Demon. Does that answer your question?"

I felt as if I had been slapped by the Black Horse. It wasn't the answer I expected.

When the Black Horse and I looked at the Left Advisor, he shook his head. "I'll pass."

Even the future Bright Left Advisor was a lamb in front of his master. The Black Horse nodded and asked me, "You don't seem to belong to the White or Black Dao. If you were from the Demon Dao, I would have known. Therefore, your sect must be one of the three great masters known as the Western Patriarch or the Three Disasters. Or, which is hard for me to believe, you might be self-taught."

I swallowed my anger.

My arms were already covered in goosebumps.

I was amazed at how he could narrow down my martial arts without even seeing them.

The Black Horse demanded an answer, "Is my guess correct?"

"Yes."

I replied as briefly as possible. This way, the Q&A would last longer, and I would learn more.

I looked at the Black Horse's wooden sword and the Left Advisor and asked, "What exactly are you teaching? The scoundrel has learned Ice Power, and the senior has learned swordsmanship."

The Black Horse pointed at the Left Advisor, "He learned Ice Power before meeting me. Look at him. He's an immature student who needs a lot of teaching. Just because I'm good with swords doesn't mean he will be. He's like a man who takes laxatives before a fight. There's a lot I need to teach him. It's better for each of them to deepen their own strengths."

There was no room to argue with the Black Horse's logic.

'What a cunning guy.'

I had no choice but to nod. This time, the Black Horse asked, "What martial art are you most confident in? Your hands don't have many calluses."

Even though I had the Black Cat at my waist, the Black Horse didn't see me as a saber user.

Suddenly, I realized that lying here would be useless. The Black Horse could discern truth from lies instantly.

I answered in my own way, "I've learned various martial arts, so I don't stick to one. I'm confident in all of them and use them according to the situation."

The Black Horse nodded with a calm expression, "That means you don't excel in any particular one."

I sighed briefly. It felt as if the Black Horse had just slashed my arm with his sword.

The Black Horse extended his hand, "Ask your question."

To find out the Black Horse's purpose in the White Dao region, I asked a broad question, "What is a Demon Dao figure doing here?"

The Black Horse, understanding the intent of my question, replied, "I'm waiting to challenge the leader. I can't just challenge him anytime, so I have to wait. I'm also recovering from my injuries."

I scratched my head and nodded. The Black Horse, having delivered a clean counterattack, launched another one, "You've just met me, but you seem to know my disciple. What do you want from him? If you didn't give him poison, it means you want something."

I glared at the Black Horse for a moment.

Is this guy suddenly using Illusory Sword Technique?

I suddenly felt as if the Black Horse's无形的剑 (invisible swords) were surrounding me perfectly.

If I lied, the invisible swords would pierce my body.

What I thought was a Q&A turned into a life-or-death battle. Even the Left Advisor realized it wasn't a normal Q&A.

Since I'm not a man who likes to think for long, I told the truth. I would deal with inconsistencies later.

"I want Ice Power."

The Black Horse's expression changed instantly, and the invisible swords surrounding me disappeared.

The Black Horse and the Left Advisor looked at me with puzzled expressions.

I asked the Black Horse, "Why did you take this guy as a disciple? He seems to be very fond of women."

"Being fond of women is his nature, and nature is partly inherited from parents. He probably resembles his father. While some children live cautiously, others, like him, don't. His talent for martial arts is exceptionally rare."

The Left Advisor's surprising point is that he has no hidden depths. He was a lecher from birth, even acknowledged by the Black Horse.

The Left Advisor didn't deny it, and the Black Horse said with an awkward expression, "I didn't stop him from being fond of women. I just told him not to hurt women and to avoid disrespectful words. Eventually, he will run into problems after going through many women. When naive women start following him for his good looks, he will realize his fate."

The Black Horse answered my question, predicting the future.

The Left Advisor, who had been listening, asked the Black Horse cautiously, "Master, what is this fate?"

"This fate."

"Yes."

"I don't know. But when you truly fall in love with a woman, the chances are high that she will look at you like a bug because of your reputation. You might enjoy sleeping with many women now, but love is not that simple or easy. But my words are like reading scriptures to a deaf ear. You will live as you wish. That is your fate."

The Left Advisor, cornered by the Black Horse's attack, slumped.

I mocked him, thinking he was seriously injured.

'This scoundrel is really something.'

It was time for the Black Horse and I to face off again.

The Black Horse asked, "It's my turn to ask. Why do you want Ice Power?"

I scratched my forehead. Now, I could see the moves the Black Horse would make when he attacked. This was a straightforward question. There was no way to avoid it, so I answered honestly.

"To kill the leader of the sect."

Even though I successfully defended, I felt slightly cornered. After pondering, I asked, "What is your intention in challenging the leader?"

This time, the Black Horse folded his arms.

"You're asking an obvious question. But if you don't know me, it's a reasonable question to be curious about."

"True."

"A man who steps into the martial world and has big fights more than ten times isn't that great."

I interjected, ignoring the rules, "Why is that?"

"Doesn't it mean there are ten men to defeat? If you meet a great warrior during your training, you challenge them. If you survive by luck, you train again. By the time you find the next great warrior, you might not have enough time to challenge all ten. One of those great warriors was the leader of the sect, and the next one who caught my attention was the leader."

I was momentarily stunned by the Black Horse's arrogant answer.

The Black Horse added, "That's what I think of as a demon."

This man was a demon walking the path of a swordsman.

It was the Black Horse's turn to ask, "Just getting Ice Power won't be enough to kill the leader of the sect. Do you have a plan?"

The answer to this question was simple, so I said, "The important thing is to have the intent to kill the target. The outcome doesn't matter."

The Black Horse narrowed his eyes and glared at me, as if pondering my words.

"Ask your question."

Suddenly, I thought of the sixth level of the Eight Movements of Ouyang Wujue, the Wooden Sword Technique, because the Black Horse had a wooden sword.

I had given up on the fifth level, the Thunder Sword Technique, but seeing the Black Horse with a wooden sword naturally made me curious. Although Ouyang Wujue and the Black Horse were not from the same sect, I thought there might be something in common between swordsmen, so I asked, "Does that wooden sword represent your senior's level?"

"An interesting question. The wooden sword is my current koan. Level... it might be correct to say that. I haven't mastered the wooden sword yet. Does that answer your question?"

If I hadn't read the explanation of the movements, I wouldn't have understood his answer. But since I had read a brief explanation of the Wuji Sword Technique, I could roughly guess the Black Horse's level.

The Black Horse asked a very practical question, "There's no reason for my disciple to teach you Ice Power. How do you plan to get it?"

I replied without much thought, "If I can't get it, I'll have to enlighten myself."

The Black Horse chuckled and nodded, "The Q&A is over. I figured out your sect first."

I thought, 'Ah, so this is how it works?' It was such an unusual Q&A.

"What sect do you think I belong to?"

The Black Horse replied, "You've been influenced by a few people, but you don't have a clear master. Typically, those who stand alone and found their own sects are like that. You are a man who stands independently in every aspect—personality, character, and way of thinking. Your desire for Ice Power is not because you need it, but because it's information for the next level of martial arts. After all, the extreme cold martial arts are a major branch of martial arts. The characteristics of those who create martial arts are usually like that. You don't belong to a sect and are self-taught. You've learned various things at a young age, but as you advance, you will use your own martial arts."

I was speechless for the first time since my return.

For a talkative person like me, being speechless is a serious situation.

The Black Horse asked, confirming, "Is my guess wrong?"

"No."

"A rare inclination is valuable in itself."

The Black Horse nodded without much joy and looked at the Left Advisor, "If my disciple has wronged you, forgive him. He didn't deserve to die, as I saved him. It's my fault for not teaching him well. If you forgive him, you can come to me when you get stuck or have questions about your martial arts."

"..."

The Black Horse continued, "Moreover, Ice Power is like the soul of his family. Even if he changes his mind and teaches it, you won't get it by taking his life. However, it seems both of you want to kill the leader of the sect. Let's confirm that for today."

I looked at the Left Advisor, truly surprised.

The scoundrel showed no change in expression, as if the Black Horse's words were not surprising.

'You want to kill the leader of the sect?'

I recalled the Left Advisor's actions and tone during the Manzhai incident and came to this conclusion.

'This guy chased after the Heavenly Jade to get it for himself.'

There was no twist in the fact that a lecher is a lecher.

The twist was that this guy was never going to return the Heavenly Jade to the leader of the sect. He was not the type to give such a rare and precious medicine to someone else.

Even when I killed a hundred elite members of the Heavenly Demon Sect...

It means the Left Advisor followed me later and just watched.

He didn't care about my life; he only wanted to recover the Heavenly Jade. If the Jade Flower Palace had been destroyed by the Heavenly Demon Sect, it would be natural for its descendants to seek revenge.

The Left Advisor said with a grim expression, "Master."

The Black Horse immediately replied, "You."

"Yes."

"Don't hold a grudge for the laxative. Just consider yourself lucky that you didn't take the poison. If the fight had gone more brutally, you would have died yesterday. You're a failure, even though I told you to be careful."

The Left Advisor replied with a flustered expression, "I will think deeply about it."

The Black Horse pointed at him and delivered a final attack, "You didn't survive just by luck. You're alive because this man has something to gain from you. Your family's Ice Power saved you. I'm curious how long you will keep drinking and harassing women."

The Left Advisor bowed deeply and pulled his hair, surprisingly replying, "I will train harder."

"Women."

"Women, too..."

As the Black Horse moved his wooden sword, a *snap* sound was heard, and the Left Advisor, who had been sitting on the mat, rolled on the floor.

I folded my arms and watched the Left Advisor, secretly admiring him.

'You, scoundrel, are really something.'

I looked at the Black Horse and comforted him sincerely, "You've worked hard."

I wondered if the Black Horse might have died from stress in his previous life.

Looking around the courtyard, we were:

The Black Horse, walking the path of a swordsman with his sword.

The lecher, a lecher.

And I, a madman.

All three of us had nicknames that reflected our true nature.