bookbashuk Chapter 38 The Sword Pact
Chapter 38 The Sword Pact
Tian Boguang was the most notorious womanizer in the martial arts world, which suggests he was very fond of women.
I do like him, but not in the way people like me.
He never loved any specific, living person.
His nickname is "The Lone Wanderer".
These four characters describe both his lightness skill and himself.
He had no friends, no sect, and no place to belong.
Everyone in the martial arts world scorned and feared him, yet no one understood or accepted him. Therefore, he cherished Linghu Chong so much; even though Linghu Chong opposed him several times, Tian Boguang spared his life each time.
Each time he "picks flowers," it is a double confirmation of this loneliness—he reinforces his sense of loneliness of "being at odds with the world" by creating more enemies, which is a kind of morbid self-protection.
His act of "picking flowers" is essentially the forcible "objectification" of a living, thinking, and emotional woman into a trophy to satisfy his desire for conquest. Because women in reality are complex and uncontrollable, their emotions, thoughts, and rejections are an insurmountable threat to Tian Boguang, who is emotionally empty.
He feared this complexity, so he chose the simplest way to erase the other person's personality, turning them into an "object" that could not resist or refuse.
But in reality, he craves affection, whether it be love or friendship.
In the original work, his actions towards Yilin were not simply violent assaults, but rather relentless harassment, and he even tried to "persuade" her to agree through words, which was an extremely strange sense of ritual.
What he seemed to crave was not merely physical possession, but a distorted illusion of "mutual affection." This precisely exposed his deep-seated yearning for and inability to achieve normal emotional exchange. He didn't know how to "love," and could only simulate the process through the most brutal "sexual intercourse," numbing himself by demanding a false "consent."
In short, he was "repressed".
Originally, he should have only gradually come to understand this after meeting Yilin, an absolutely pure, innocent, kind, and naive young nun.
But now, he has encountered a more perfect and safer being ahead of time.
"K-On!" is not a real person, which means she is absolutely safe.
She will not refuse, will not age, will not experience emotional fluctuations, and will not have any of the "flaws" of real women. All her wonderful qualities (powerful, beautiful, aloof, and noble) are constant and unchanging. Through countless embellishments and word-of-mouth transmission by storytellers and onlookers, this already fictional fairy has been infinitely elevated in image, becoming a "virtual idol" that embodies the fantasies of countless people.
Tian Boguang could project all his beautiful fantasies about the "ideal woman" onto her without reservation, without worrying about being shattered by reality.
This is a perfect, symbolic existence.
In the past, he gained a sense of security by objectifying real women. Now, he gains a sense of belonging by deifying virtual idols. "K-On!" has become his faith, his spiritual totem. This faith is pure, requiring no response, only his one-sided giving and imagination, which is precisely the emotional mode he is most adept at and most comfortable with.
This is precisely the core motivation behind his subsequent series of seemingly insane actions. As mentioned earlier, Tian Boguang has a morbid obsession with "ritual" deep down. Stealing the "sacred object" and hiding it is, in his view, a great disrespect to his "fairy wife," a rude "illicit affair," rather than a "proper marriage."
His public declaration is a public announcement to the world, tantamount to sending out a "wedding invitation".
By asking Bailianfang to "make demands," he was essentially offering "betrothal gifts" and going through the "three letters and six rites" process.
He wanted to complete this "ceremony" in a fair and aboveboard way to be worthy of the sacred "love" in his heart. What he wanted was not stolen goods, but a "marriage certificate" witnessed by the entire martial arts world.
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Back at Bailianfang, after listening to Shen An's analysis, Li Qingde felt a chill run down his spine and broke out in a cold sweat.
Only then did he realize that this seemingly crude flower thief was incredibly cunning and skilled! With such a seemingly casual move, he could inflict devastating damage on Hundred Refinements Workshop!
"Then... what should we do?" Li Qingde's voice trembled slightly. This high-end business battle, which was like adding insult to injury, had completely overwhelmed him.
He felt that he was not facing a lecherous thief at all, but a mastermind hiding behind the scenes.
"What should we do?"
Shen An's smile grew even more relaxed.
Before breaking through the first level of the Glazed Body Sun King Mantra, I'm afraid my situation wouldn't have been much better than Li Qingde's.
At that time, I never expected that Tian Boguang would change his original image and respond so cunningly and directly. According to my plan at the time, I was prepared to use the total sales of the next one hundred standard light-sound swords as a reward for Tian Boguang, firmly upholding the righteous cause.
But now that Tian Boguang has stepped forward, that move seems too petty and too late.
It can be said that before his seclusion, he was already in a passive position when facing this "high-IQ version" of Tian Boguang. He might have had a way to deal with it, but he would definitely not have gained much advantage.
But now, things are different.
Shen An slowly stood up, walked to the window, looked at the bright sunshine in the courtyard, and spoke in a relaxed tone as if he were talking about the weather.
"He wanted to play chess, so I played with him."
"He wanted a 'reason,' so I told him what the most common and the truest principles in this world are."
"He wanted the initiative, so I focused all the world's attention on me, making it impossible for him to even see the chessboard!"
Shen An turned around and looked intently at Li Qingde. At this moment, he was unusually excited.
"Junior Brother Li, spread the word immediately."
"Say that Shen An of Bailianfang admires Tian Boguang as a true man."
As he spoke, he felt a lump in his throat.
"Four days later, at Shigu Academy, the Sword Testing Tournament."
"As long as Tian Boguang can accept my sword strike in front of all the heroes of the world!"
"—One sword strike is all it takes!"
"Consider the remains of the 'Light-Music Fairy's' sword as my personal offering!"
A promise made with a single sword!
Li Qingde's mind went blank with a "buzz".
He stared wide-eyed at Shen An, as if he were looking at a madman.
To risk your own reputation and future on the entire Bailianfang?!
Besides, how old is Senior Brother Shen? Tian Boguang has been running rampant in the martial arts world for more than ten years. Many famous sects and martial arts elders have no way to deal with him. What makes him so special?
If Tian Boguang were to easily block my sword, I fear I would become the laughingstock of the entire martial arts world!
Has he really gone mad?
This...this isn't just a gamble, this is risking your life!
Shen An ignored his near-fainting expression and continued asking, "By the way, are the replicas of the four swords used by the Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai during the Sword Testing Tournament all ready?"
This is a replica that Shen An had specially commissioned the workshop to make in order to match the story of "Dugu Qiubai" and to be displayed as a gimmick at the sword-testing tournament.
It took Li Qingde a long time to come to his senses.
Fine, if Senior Brother Shen is willing to do this with such a promising future, then I'll just go all out and gamble with him.
He composed himself, returned to his work, and after a moment's effort, answered:
"Reporting to Senior Brother, everything is finished. The sharp sword is fine, but the soft sword is just for show and has little killing power. As for the imitation 'Mysterious Iron Heavy Sword'... we don't have Mysterious Iron, so we could only repeatedly forge and fuse refined iron. In the end... in the end, it only weighed fifty or sixty catties. Moreover, in pursuit of weight, the blade was made extremely thick and crude. It doesn't look like a sword at all; it looks more like a lump of iron..."
Fifty or sixty pounds... Shen An estimated in his mind that it should be enough, so he said:
"Forge the greatsword several more times, making sure it's truly usable."
Although Li Qingde was completely confused, he still nodded in agreement.