A similarly sleepless man and a horse raced across the vast desert sea.

The horse was sweating the color of blood, its hooves were gold. Its slender head and long neck had a reddish-brown body with distinctive red mane that made it look like an elongated back[\s]

They could run more than a thousand miles per day, and even with their hooves treading on the sand there were no footprints—they remained flat

The man looked like someone who had undergone training. He was large, with long hair and a short beard; his muscles were taut[\s]

There was a large scar on his face from the sword, ruining its well-groomed appearance—but it didn’t damage how heroic he looked.

This man and his horse were in perfect sync. They looked like longtime best friends who had surpassed their master-servant relationship

When people in the martial arts world see this eccentric pairing from afar, they hurl insults at each other inside their hearts. But on paper it takes Gongte's thanks and calls out to 「Vice-Head of the Horse!」 or「Mr. Horse!」 while smiling

That was because he had been the only male disciple among Phoenix’s disciples

The sixth disciple of the Seven Swords,

He was the vice-head of Tensoramine Taixuan School, which had made a name for itself widely[\s]

『Tsukkomaken』—because he's Ma Feima.

 伝記解放：「馬非馬」

On the surface, he had a number of titles—his name was well-known and everyone in martial arts wanted to get acquainted with him

But behind the scenes, people referred to this Ma Feima as something like 『Henjin』 『Abnormal.』 『A horse that won't die even if you kill it.』 or『Madman』 and/or percentageB—and when they actually met him everyone had a friendly nod despite their headaches

As a matter of fact, there was no one who wanted to get close with him.

After all, not only were Ma Feima superior in martial arts but what they did was extremely arrogant

Despite his title as vice-head of the Taixuan faction, Ma Feima was an outstanding lone wolf

Even if he was a disciple of the Taixuan school, there weren't many opportunities to meet him every year. He spent more days with his beloved horse 『Erebus』 than Lin Zhaoyu—his wife

Ma Feima when he’s at Heavensky Peak is calm, polite and humble.

However, he became like a different person the moment they descended that mountain and accepted any fight or provocation.

It didn’t matter if the opponent was from a distinguished family or royalty and nobility at all.

Fight for justice? Exterminate evil.

There was no need for such a just cause in the Sword of Parting.

They fought when they wanted to fight, and would do so if it meant fighting.

If you want to use a sword, then do it with your own fist.

He would save the people he wanted to help, and kill those who needed him.

Everything is as my heart desires.

That's why people in the martial arts world are afraid of him and avoid it. As a result, Lin Zhaoyu is often forced to work tirelessly for his cause as well — even though he has caused quite an uproar during that time...

His enemies were all over the place, and while no one would openly try to curry favor with his Taixuan Shichiken’s wrath—there was not a small number of people who had bounties on him behind closed doors

Ma Feima attitude toward them was 「He didn't refuse to come.」.

「If you want to kill me, come. I'll be your opponent at any time!

If I run away even a little bit, it'll be cowardice for me. And if you can’t kill my life... You are useless? That is all there was to that story」

There really is no end to those who come and kill him.

Ambushes, conspiracies and traps... Poisoning. Sex appeal! Duels? matches ...

He had used every technique he could, but even so the Ma Feima was not dead. Countless terrifying scars remained on his body—but it still kept him alive and well

 「My husband loves freedom, so he is impulsive and rude. But I'm not a bad person; would you please pardon him out of respect for me?[\s]If there's anything I can do to help, it is my duty as a member of the Taixuan Faction.」 A few years ago, Lin Zhaoyu held a banquet under the pretense of celebrating her fiftieth birthday by inviting each school in martial arts[\s]The toast at the banquet was actually an apology. In place of her husband, she had begged for forgiveness from each and every force he’d offended Ma Feima stood up with a laugh, and as punishment he himself drank several drinks to apologize many times

The alcohol enters my stomach, turning into a man's tears.

Tears don't flow easily, and on lonely nights they turn into heavy rain.

What people thought to be true was the biggest lie in this world.

Horsemen didn’t have freedom, nor did they like it.

Knowing that his master had come back to life, Ma Feima hurried through the night toward Musoumon Gate

In order to let Su Mei know about this first.

 「I know.」 「It's because my apprentice is there that information comes in. But it was only half a day earlier than you, so I came at just the right time to ask for your opinion—I had nothing but simple info on hand」 『Musousennin』, also known as “Su Mei” didn’t change her expression at all. When she was done listening to him he explained it once more and asked a lot about the details

「It was so sudden that I only heard a few things from nearby.

After putting together all sorts of explanations, there was no doubt that she would be my master.」

 「Was it still twenty years ago, or before that?」 「That's right.」 「Master doesn't grow old, does he?」 When his second disciple laughed, Ma Feima’s heart nearly danced along with it.

「...That's weird. The time and place are strange, too...

But that proves my guess was correct...」

 With that, Su Mei fell silent and turned her gaze upward out of habit.

「There's something strange about your tone, Little Ma.

...Something doesn't make sense, does it?」

「Killing people, burning down buildings.

...Judging by her master’s personality, it was hard to imagine she would do something like that.」

 「Yes.」 Su Mei said with a light sigh

「That's right. I think it is strange, too... At first we thought that the information was wrong or there might be some kind of ulterior motive behind all this ...

But like you said, 『Master.』 definitely showed up.」

 「......」 「『Killing people and burning down buildings... Judging by my master’s personality, I doubt he would do that』, right?」 「Then what kind of personality is he? When I was a child, my master took Miss Zhaoyu with him and burned Mochiyama to the ground. He killed many people from Holy Fire Cult—I still remember it now」

「Enzera manipulated the believers with sorcery, causing them to lose control. Mochiyama...

According to Lin Zhaoyu stories, it was full of serious energy there. If we left them alone they'd create monsters that would cause trouble for us all...」

「Yes, my master had killed only those who lost their minds and burned the terrible land of unearthly aura.

But does that mean it’s okay to kill or burn them?」

「...I can't say for sure about the good or bad.

But it was his duty as a disciple of the Taixuan faction to defeat demons.」

 Su Mei turned her gaze to Ma Feima’s face. 「Stampede, bewitchment and necromancy... There are many ways to call it that. It's essentially the same thing: True energy surpasses what a human body can tolerate」 「Excessive earnestness robs people of their reason, makes them mad and turns into a wild beast that can only slaughter or destroy. Once this begins there'll be no way to return it back in its original state」 「That's why I kill to save them. Taking the lives of one evil spirit is like protecting thousands and innocent people, right? Yes... The Taixuan Faction has a duty: mercilessly killing those who have fallen into demon form!」 「...I have followed those teachings and never once disobeyed them. The number of monsters my peerless gate has defeated in the past twenty years must be less than a thousand, but I've yet to feel proud about it—not only that...but even more so because they despise this commandment」 「...Should they really have died?[\s]Most of the people who went berserk were ordinary folks with no experience in martial arts, and only a few had children from warrior families. They're mostly commoners—not bad guys at all!」 「It's just... unfortunately, 『Maki』 brought about a disaster.」

「『Maki』 has no eyes, and『Ten'i』 doesn't have mercy. That is why humans become dogs

You said that it's not wrong for a master to kill someone. I think so too, but mistakes are always there...」

 「If there are no mistakes in my master, me or the dead—then that means it's up to heaven.」 「Little Ma, the Void is nothing more than a cage. No matter how amazing my master's martial arts skills may seem to me—she’ll always be 『Sora』 prisoner! Now that twenty years have passed since she died... do you think this『Extermination of demons』 precept can still bind her?」 「Don't judge new things based on your impressions of the past. You might get caught up in it, you know?」 「......」 Ma Feima looked at Somei’s well-defined face.[\s]The agony welled up in his heart once more, but he was used to it by now. This woman had been like that since childhood—always ruthlessly calm and unmoving about anything

[em italic]But it's different now...[/em]

His eyes felt like they were melting, and he was overcome with the urge to say what she had said years ago.

 「It's impossible.」 Suddenly, Su Mei opened her mouth. 「I know what you're trying to say, Little Ma. It is written all over your face...」 「―――」 「You're...」 Su Mei shook her head lightly, but it wasn’t as if she was blaming him 「You know me better than anyone else in the world, but you still don't get it. I may be a woman who understands your feelings most out of all people on this planet—but not because she loves him or anything like that!」

「I don't love you, and no one does.

This is not your fault, nor can you change it.」

 「...Haha.」 Ma Feima smiled bitterly. 「You want to ask me for something else, right? Don’t you think that if I tell a random lie or two she might just assume things more wholeheartedly.」 「Don't be stupid, Little Ma. You will not fall for it and I shall too!」 Su Mei wriggles her fingers. Ma Feima can't help but stare at those beautiful, white hands of his without thinking about it... 「There is one thing I respect. Little Ma—you are a good person, and you have long since ceased to be the doll that follows me around」 「There was no need for that to happen, right? Yes. I know you did not make such a mistake or suffer so much more than anything else...」

「So I don't want you to do anything against your will.

You understand? No matter what I try to make you do, it's your own choice.」

「...But there's a difference between willingly doing it and being happy.

You have to make your own choices.」

 Ma Feima shrugged. He wasn't happy; he knew that, and she understood it too

「Fine. I'll give you a choice, and it will be yours to choose from!

What I'm about to tell you is a choice—」

 「I'll stay.」

Su Mei looked at the man in front of her. She first glanced into his eyes, then down to him throat and hands...[\s]

Her gaze gave him great joy, and then courage to speak.

 「My master will come looking for Mei-nee. I can't let her die!」 「...... I won't die.」 Su Mei answered casually.

Ma Feima remained silent. Her words silenced him[\s]

That's because what 『Musou』, also known as “Su Mei” says is always true.

 She is Su Mei. I won't do anything unconvinced, nor will she make meaningless promises

「I've been preparing for this since a long time ago. My master expected to come back, after all...

I want you to tell the others about this.」

 「Are you telling me... to go back and let Zhaoyu know?」 「There's no need for that. I will tell Miss Zhaoyu directly, and she wants you to go farther away than this!」 「If you're looking for Lingshuang, that would be the way... Is it Lingshuang Nee-san?」 「That's right.」 Su Mei clapped her hands and laughed. 「I'd like you to go north. At the speed of Erebus, we should be there in less than half a month![\s]I want you to find Lingshuang and tell her that Master has returned—」 「I also checked to see if Lingshuang had a sword.」 「Huh? Lingshuang Nee-san's sword is...」

「That's right. So please check it out!

The whereabouts of the Henxuan Sword are very important, so I want to know everything.」

Ma Feima hung his head, ruminating on the meaning of Su Mei’s words.

Since Su Mei had said that, he knew there was some sort of intention behind it—but not for him to understand.

However, he had known Su Mei for more than thirty years.

She also knew that clever women didn't like the act of explaining things to men.

 「Understood. Should I just tell him? Maybe we should bring her back to Nakahara...」

「Yes, just tell them. It's up to you what we do with the froststorm!

After that, please return to Tianqiu Peak. Let's meet up there!」

 「Understood.」 Ma Feima answered, but he didn’t try to leave. 「As for Zhaoyu...」 「I know.」 It was as if the man's words conveyed all of her doubts and unease. Her reply had been very accurate—she didn’t need to say anything more than that Ma Feima replied, then turned his back and prepared to leave. 「Little Ma～」 Su Mei called out to him from behind. 「I'm not deceiving you or dying.」 The man remained silent and nodded. That was enough That night, Ma Feima rode his Erebus into the desert to meet with Su Mei's fifth disciple of Taixuan-ha. The night was long, but one man and a horse kept running until dawn without rest.