Chapter 33 : Turned Away at the Door

I quickened my pace.

Between fighting, eating, and cultivating, we had wasted quite a bit of time, and now we needed to make it up.

The ginseng we found earlier I didn’t eat on the spot—I packed it away instead. I’d take it later, maybe before sleeping.

As we walked, the inner power I’d drained in the fight with the two brothers gradually returned—not just through cultivation, but also thanks to the Moving Circulation Method the Heavenly Demon had taught me.

Simply put, it was cultivating while in motion. In that sense, it resembled lightfoot techniques.

It wasn’t as effective as sitting meditation, of course, but it was more than enough to restore what I’d burned through.

We’d been walking in silence when Shushruta suddenly spoke up.

“Ashuban.”

“What.”

“May I see the dagger?”

I halted for a beat and looked at her.

“Why.”

“Didn’t you say some of the information you collected about the dagger sounded absurd?”

“I did.”

“Then perhaps it’s worth testing a few of those absurd claims. Just in case.”

“….”

With all the brazenness in the world, she extended her hand.

“Give it here.”

“As if.”

She frowned and scolded me with mock severity.

“How can you call yourself a comrade if you can’t trust me? I even found you that elixir! And yet, as a comrade, you show me no trust?”

“….”

“Oh, the sorrow, the sorrow! I’ll die of heartbreak!”

When I still didn’t budge, she grabbed my arm and pressed it against her own.

“Fine. If you don’t trust me, then hold on to me like this while I examine it. That should put your mind at ease.”

I stood there, gripping her slender arm, weighing it in my head.

If I held onto her like this, she couldn’t run off with the dagger.

But what if she had an accomplice nearby, and tossed it to him?

Hmm. In that case, I’d just sling her over my shoulder and chase him down. Nobody could outrun me while I used Floating Step, even carrying her.

The real issue was how inconvenient it’d be to walk around like this.

Which gave me an idea.

“Hmm…”

“What?” she asked, puzzled.

“Shushruta.”

“What now?”

“Come here.”

“…?”

I hoisted her onto my shoulders in a piggyback ride.

That way, I could keep moving unhindered, while still keeping a firm grip on her legs so she couldn’t bolt.

She was light as a feather, too—like her food vanished into thin air.

“Oh. Ohhh! This is fun!”

With her hands clamped on my head, Shushruta let out a delighted cry.

At least she seemed satisfied.

I asked, “Which way? Keep going straight?”

“Straight along the path.”

“Straight?”

“Straight.”

“Straight. Got it.”

“The dagger?”

“Here.”

At last, I handed her the Dagger of Ophosis.

“Oooh…”

Her voice brimmed with excitement as she examined it. I couldn’t see her face with her perched on my shoulders, but I knew her eyes were sparkling.

As I walked, I asked, “So, what exactly are you testing?”

“Well, first…”

She suddenly licked the blade.

“Hey, hey! What the hell?!”

Startled by the sound, I glanced up and nearly tripped.

She was licking it like it was a piece of candy.

“Are you insane? Why would you lick it?!”

“…Doesn’t taste good.” She smacked her lips.

“One of the rumors said it would activate if a beautiful maiden licked the blade.”

“….”

So this was what she meant by absurd. Utter nonsense.

Which idiot had made up something like that?

I growled low. “Make sure you clean it properly before handing it back.”

“Fine, fine. So picky.”

After that, she tried everything: dripping vinegar onto it, clasping it like she was praying and chanting in gibberish, dripping wax onto it… all sorts of nonsense.

The Heavenly Demon muttered in my head.

[Strange rituals… Is that what magic is? Looks more like shamanic superstition.]

“No, Master. That’s just stupidity.”

Calling that magic was an insult to magic.

Then she even cut some of her own hair, burned it, and sprinkled the ashes on the blade.

“What’s stupid?” she asked, glancing down.

“…Nothing,” I muttered.

Finally, when she started tapping her head with the flat of the dagger, I decided to just ignore her altogether.

Instead, I fixed my eyes on the road and kept my Moving Circulation steady as we traveled.

By the time the sun was burning low, we stumbled across a small village.

Shushruta rolled up her map and said, “We’ll stay here tonight.”

“As you say.”

It was a modest village, with no walls or fortifications, looking more like a hamlet of recluses than anything else.

Completely ordinary.

I gazed at the plain little place—then tilted my head up.

Perched atop me, Shushruta was staring blankly at the village, then suddenly startled, her focus snapping to the dagger again.

“Hm… this pattern here…”

“….”

She hadn’t once climbed down since I’d hoisted her up.

Which meant she had enjoyed a leisurely ride the entire way.

I remembered her insisting she still had experiments to run on the dagger, fidgeting with it to avoid climbing off. The gall of her.

Before she could come up with another excuse, I reached back, snatched the dagger from her hand, and said, “Time you got down. Back to playing the blind man for me.”

She squirmed reluctantly, dragging her feet.

“Bah.”

Grabbing her legs, I swung forward and tossed her off.

“Whaaaack!”

She shrieked, twisting in the air before landing lightly, like a cat.

She spun on me with a glare. “Why’d you throw me?!”

“Quit stalling.”

I tied the black cloth back over my eyes, unfastened my scabbard from my belt, and began feeling my way forward.

Not even spreading out my senses—just walking slowly, blind.

The act of a sightless man was becoming second nature.

“Little sister, are you really going to abandon your blind brother here?” I called.

“Tch…”

Shushruta came closer, taking my free arm to guide me forward.

“The road is rough, brother. Careful now, you might trip.”

Then, without warning, she tried to hook my foot. But I sidestepped her prank in an instant.

We froze, locking eyes in silent battle.

“Brother, you can see, can’t you? Why can you see? Your eyes are covered.”

“If you look with the eyes of the heart, you see everything.”

“Your heart is too clouded to see anything.”

“Ha! Listen to yourself, talking to your brother like that.”

Thus, posing as a pair of affectionate siblings, we entered the village.

But we hadn’t taken more than a few steps when we were stopped.

“Outsiders!”

A villager’s cry rang out. Suddenly, others came pouring from every direction, surrounding us.

It was anything but a welcome.

“Who are you?!”

The voices were sharp, wary.

Shushruta and I both stiffened, caught off guard by their reaction.

I glanced around, then tried to answer calmly.

“We’re just travelers. Might we beg a night’s shelter?”

The response came instantly, from every side.

“Outsiders! We can’t trust them!”

“Have you forgotten Presila’s words?”

“No one enters until Presila returns with the oracle!”

“Go back! Leave this place!”

“Get out of the village!”

The shouts were sharp enough to cut. Startled, I instinctively took a step back.

Their eyes glinted with fear and hostility, their words edged like blades.

Shushruta whispered, still clutching my arm.

“Ashuban. This is bad. Their eyes are bloodshot. Some are holding farm tools like weapons.”

“…Seems that way.”

“Why are they so angry?”

To me, they didn’t look angry. They looked terrified.

But terrified of what? That I couldn’t tell yet—we’d only just arrived.

When people are consumed by one emotion, their vision narrows. These villagers were so bound by fear they didn’t even see us for what we were: a blind man and the frail girl guiding him.

What had driven them to this state?

Not that asking would help.

“Go back! Get out, outsiders!”

At last, an elderly man pushed through the crowd, silencing the uproar.

“…I’m sorry. The time is ill. You must leave.”

“What’s—”

“I can say no more.”

He cut me off, firm and final.

There was nothing to do but retreat.

“…As you wish.”

Supported by Shushruta, cane tapping the ground, I turned and walked out of the village.

Even as we left, not a single word of pity or hospitality followed.

And so, we camped in the forest, though the village was right beside us.

“To think, forced to camp in the woods with a village just there. How absurd,” Shushruta grumbled.

Before the sun vanished completely, we hastily gathered branches and lit a fire.

Crackle, crackle—

Gnawing on roasted jerky, Shushruta muttered darkly.

“Such fine hospitality. Turned away at the door!”

Indeed, it was strange.

They had treated us like plague-carriers. Yet it hadn’t felt personal. I was certain they would have reacted the same way to anyone.

The atmosphere had been warped—part vicious, part terrified. Anger and fear coexisting in uneasy balance.

I rested my chin on my hand, watching the flames flicker.

“…Something’s wrong. Something happened here.”

“Hah. What could have happened? They’re just cruel people,” Shushruta sniffed.

“No. It wasn’t just cruelty.”

She snorted. “Hmph. Who cares.”

She was still sulking.

I thought for a moment, then said, “Shushruta.”

“What.”

“You’ve got good ears. Try listening to what the villagers are saying.”

She chewed jerky as she answered, “I don’t know. Something about… children? Children this, children that. Wait.”

She stopped mid-sentence, ears pricking.

“What is it?”

“Shh.”

Finger pressed to her lips, she stood utterly still. Then she spoke in a low voice.

“Screams. I hear screams.”

“From the village?”

“No. The other way.”

She tilted her head, listening into the darkness.

A moment later, she gave the answer.

“Beasts. Magical beasts.”

My eyes snapped open.

“Magical beasts?”

[Beasts?]

Shushruta nodded.

“Yes. Someone is being chased.”

The Heavenly Demon rumbled in my mind.

[Magical beasts? Like the ones you showed me before?]

“Seems so, Master.”

His voice grew excited.

[What are you waiting for? Go tear them apart!]

I turned sharply to Shushruta.

“Which way?”

She pointed into the dark.

“That way—”

I didn’t wait for her to finish. I was already running, wind surging at my heels.

“Heheheh.”

A laugh slipped from my lips.

Nothing in this world was as satisfying to cut down as Magical beasts.

Back in Maia, I had hated them with every fiber of my being, longed to tear them to shreds.

And yet, not seeing them for a while… I almost missed them.

Was this… a twisted kind of affection?

What sort of beast will it be? C-rank? B-rank? Could it even be… A-rank?

Either way, there was no better opponent to test my current strength.

“Heheh. Beasts, here I come.”

[Heheh.]

The Heavenly Demon chuckled too, just as eager for the sight of them.

(End of Chapter)

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