The Musafir

Heirloom of the Sorrow Spreader

“Straight Sword Swordsman certainly knows the meaning of the forging words. To him, he replied, ‘To have this pair of beautiful swords, I am willing to give up my entire treasure to you. Let's just say how much you need, o reliable forgers who really can't be matched by forgers in any country.’

“‘Truly I really feel very bad to ask you for money, O great swordsman mandraguna that can not be matched by any swordsman. But I don't think I'm wearing this sword that I take off to you, because it can tarnish your big name if the news gets widespread. Really I just don't want to smear your name.’

“‘Ya, I know exactly what you mean. Right now, you only need to say the amount of money you want, O Father of Iron Forging!’

“Then the iron forger answered with a hint of doubt in his mind, ‘I only want ten thousand pieces of gold, O very honorable Straight Swordsman! Do not let this sword look so cheap to be able to be with you.’

“Straight Sword Swordsman laughs happily, ‘I'll pay! You wait here and keep the sword well. Tomorrow, I will return with a pedati full of gold pieces!’”

***

“The next day, the Straight Swordsman actually came up with a buffalo pedati full of gold pieces. The forger immediately handed the pair of heirlooms of his creation to the Straight Swordsman without feeling the need to count the number of gold pieces in the pedati. Must be over ten thousand gold pieces.

“That's how the Straight Swordsman brought the two swords on his adventure in the martial world. Now, there really is no opponent who can defeat him. All who dared to challenge him, would die on the spot in the blink of an eye.

“To be invincible is not always a pleasant thing, so too is the view of the Straight Swordsman as a warrior who thirsts for completeness. You certainly know very well, Mantingan, that perfection in the martial world always means death in battle.

“With himself invincible, the Straight Swordsman began to saturate. Now, he did not just forge black warriors who challenged him. He began to challenge many famous swordsmen regardless of whether the swordsman he challenged was black or white. As long as there were warriors who were considered capable of serving him fight, eating the Straight Swordsman would challenge him.

“In such circumstances, he had absolutely no time to do any good. His feet stepped everywhere, but no longer toward drought villages in need of help, but large silat colleges that housed many talented students.

“As far as his feet go, so far there has never been a warrior who can defeat him. There were no more how many lives the talented swordsman who died in the blade of his two swords. The Straight Sword Swordsman was increasingly dissatisfied, even his dissatisfaction was tipped to anger.

“He wrote an open statement to the martial world in Dwipantara. Here it is: I am with a pair of swords I have never been defeated, and I cannot count how many warriors I have perfected my life. I demand to be defeated; I demand to be perfected. If you still claim to be warriors who seek the path of perfection in battle, then meet me, and we will fight until one of them becomes perfect.

“The Straight Swordsman also considers that there are still many strong warriors who have the ability to defeat him, but choose to hide in order to avoid all the challenges of fighting. To them, the Straight Swordsman called him the biggest loser.

“The statement was quite shocking in the martial world, because there had never been a swordsman who widely stated that he was willing to be challenged. You know very well that warriors usually travel in an uncertain direction to find other warriors who are considered strong enough to defeat him. The martial world regarded that as unforgivable arrogance.

“Indeed after that statement, the Straight Swordsman faced many fighting challenges that this time came from martial masters. But as you have guessed, no one has ever managed to defeat the Straight Swordsman. Thanks to his legacy, he became invincible.

“Then that's how the Straight Swordsman who originally upheld justice has turned into an unstoppable demon. He returned to the village after the village that was hit by drought and famine. But now not to help them, but to help them. Mercilessly. Agelessly. Indiscriminately. Everything is wiped out. The woman suffered a terrible fate in her hands; the girl was harassed in front of the bodies of her mothers; the married one was harassed in front of her husband's corpse. All of the women were eventually killed, but the suffering they felt really made anyone more willing to see them die than to continue living.

“However great a squirrel jumps, it will eventually fall. Such was the case with the Straight Swordsman, his terrible stumbling in the martial world as well as the lay world had to stop at the hands of a swordsman.”

Just then, Mantingan asked, “Who is that person capable of defeating the supposedly invincible Straight Swordsman, Master?”

The teacher smiled and replied, “He's nobody. Only warriors from other countries really do not understand the martial world. His ability level was indeed below that of a Straight Swordsman, but he had devised a careful planning and stratagem so as to defeat the warrior who should not be defeated.”

Mantingan again asked because he was not satisfied with the answer, “Who is the name of the swordsman, Guru?”

“The name is not important. You must not look upon a person by name, but rather his actions. That's the most important thing.”

So Mantingan did not ask his teacher again.

“Deal to get our target heirloom together, Hero Man.” That's how Kartika breaks the Mantingan daydream that is very deep.

“You plan to bribe me?” The mantan asked in a surprised tone. “No will work.”

“I have no intention of bribing you.” Kartika shook her head slowly before turning her head towards the river. “You don't understand how valuable the heirloom is to us.”

“And you also do not understand how valuable Tapa Balian is to me.”

“It won't do harm to the old man, Hero Man.” Kartika took a deep breath. He paused for a moment, letting the sound of ripples and whirling wind replace him. “If you wanted to know, we would not sell the heirloom after successfully seizing it.”

“You talked about what hasn't happened.” The mantel returned coldly. “Any researcher knows that all the words of the underground network can not always be trusted.”

Kartika glanced at Mantingan next to her with a glance. “Although I belong to the martial world of the underground network, but that does not mean I do not have feelings. Hero Man, you saved my life twice even though it jeopardized your own life. You also saved all my foster children when I was cornered by the Bloody Kelewang Swordsman. For all your services to us, there is no way I could have lied to you.”

The mantle breathed a long breath. Even though Kartika's words sound very sincere, the truth is still uncertain. Too many veils cover up the truth about the attitudes and nature of the warriors of the underground martial world.