Chapter 66: Wenxin Hall Opens, the Sword Cultivator Reflects on Himself

Wenxin Hall is situated on the eastern side of Tian Duan Cliff.

It was originally a camp for wounded soldiers after the war.

Later, the wounded were gradually transferred back to Hanzhou City, leaving the tents empty.

Jiang Che did not build a high platform, nor did he set up an interrogation hall.

He only ordered people to construct a large wooden house.

Inside the house, no torture instruments were hung, no official desk was placed; only a long table, a brazier, hot tea, and a copper mirror that had not been polished too brightly were set out.

A plaque hung at the entrance.

Wenxin Hall.

The plaque was not written by Jiang Che.

It was written by Zhou Buqi.

His hand was still trembling; the characters he wrote were crooked and far less beautiful than those of the great calligraphers.

But Jiang Che said, "Use this one."

Because questioning the heart was never meant to be beautiful.

On the first day Wenxin Hall opened, no one dared to enter.

Those Sword Cultivators tainted by demons stood outside the door, heads bowed, as if they had committed a heinous crime.

In the distance, many members of the Northern Garrison Army, the Green Blade Camp, and Sword Pavilion Disciples gathered to watch.

Some felt sympathy.

Some felt alertness.

Others looked on with disgust.

"Can they still be trusted after being tainted by demons?"

"What if one day they draw their swords and stab their own people?"

"They didn't die on the battlefield, only to be bewitched by the two words 'Longevity'."

These words were not loud, yet they were enough to pierce the heart.

Zhou Buqi stood in the crowd, his face growing paler and paler.

He had once been an old Sword Cultivator of Tian Duan Cliff, respected by all.

Now, he was like a rat crossing the street.

Jiang Che did not scold the crowd.

He simply walked to the entrance of Wenxin Hall, moved a chair, and sat down.

Then, he said to Xie Tingxue, "Help me record it."

Xie Tingxue was slightly stunned: "Record what?"

Jiang Che said, "My questioning of the heart."

The crowd fell silent.

Jiang Che looked at everyone.

"Do you want to know what a Heart Demon is?"

"I will speak first."

Everyone was stunned.

Jiang Che slowly spoke:

"I also have a Heart Demon."

As these words fell, Tian Duan Cliff was plunged into dead silence.

The Guardian of the Nation Sword Master, Jiang Che.

The Jiang Che who shattered the Heavenly Gate, questioned the Lord, beheaded the Heavenly Patrol, and established the Human Realm.

He said he also had a Heart Demon.

Chen Shanhe frowned, seeming to want to stop him.

But Xie Tingxue gently shook her head.

Jiang Che continued:

"My first Heart Demon was the Broken Temple three years ago."

"At that time, I held a Wooden Sword and was hunted like a dog."

"So later, every time I stood before people, I was terrified of turning back into that powerless waste."

The crowd remained silent.

"My second Heart Demon was the death of the Northern Garrison Army."

"Every person who went out of the pass with me, every person who died at White Bone Pass, Hanzhou City Gate, and Tian Duan Cliff, I remember them all."

"I often wonder: if I had been a little stronger, would they not have died?"

Chen Shanhe's eyes turned red.

"My third Heart Demon is the Dragon Throne."

Jiang Che looked up, gazing at the wind and snow in the distance.

"Before the Emperor died, he said I would become like him."

"I did not believe it."

"But I was also afraid."

"Afraid that one day, when everyone under Heaven calls me Sword Master and says I am right, I will truly believe I am always right."

"Afraid that one day, a single word from me could cause innocent people to die."

Outside Wenxin Hall, everyone fell silent.

Jiang Che smiled.

"Look."

"I am afraid too."

"I doubt too."

"There are times I want to hide and see no one."

Zhou Buqi's eyes turned red as he looked up at him.

Jiang Che said, "So being targeted by a Heart Demon is no shame."

"The shame is knowing your heart is rotten yet refusing to speak."

"Knowing you are afraid yet pretending you are not."

"Knowing you desire Longevity, desire to be remembered, desire fairness, yet hiding these thoughts until the end, letting Demon Luo Dao use them as a blade."

He stood up and walked into Wenxin Hall.

"From today on, Wenxin Hall will not interrogate crimes."

"It will only ask the heart."

"Whoever feels a demon in their heart, come in for tea and speak it out."

"After speaking it out, heal the wounds that need healing, accept the punishment that needs accepting."

"If one truly draws a sword to kill, they will still be dealt with according to the law."

"But before drawing the sword, the Human Realm gives you a place to speak."

Zhou Buqi was the first to walk in.

He sat before the bronze mirror, looked at his haggard reflection, and finally burst into loud weeping.

The second was a Sword Pavilion Disciple.

He said he was jealous of Xie Tingxue.

Jealous that she, so young, could stand shoulder to shoulder with Jiang Che, while he had practiced swordsmanship for twenty years and remained merely one among the ranks.

The third was an old soldier of the Northern Garrison Army.

He said he hated those representatives of the New Discussion Hall.

Because while they argued in the hall, his brothers' bones had not yet been fully buried.

The fourth was the Accountant of the Wan Tong Merchant Association.

He said he was afraid.

Afraid the Upper Realm would return, afraid the money would run out, afraid everyone would treat the Merchant Association as a money bag, and in the end, no one would remember that they too had lost people.

Inside Wenxin Hall, pots of tea were replaced one by one.

Xie Tingxue recorded until late into the night.

She wrote very slowly.

Because many words were hard to put to paper.

Yet she still recorded them.

Amidst the wind and snow of Tian Duan Cliff, for the first time, someone neither practiced swordsmanship, nor set up arrays, nor shouted for battle.

They simply sat by the fire basin and spoke the most undignified thoughts in their hearts.

That night, the demonic qi did not dissipate.

But for the first time, it had nowhere to hide.