Chapter 177: The Weight of Karma (3)

The weight of karma bore down on me.

‘Is this… an ability?’

To think it was a power that could observe someone’s entire life.

But then—

While I was reading through the life of someone named “Jeok Rua,” I was suddenly overwhelmed by a sharp headache.

“Urgh!”

Every time I glimpsed certain moments, a wave of resistance surged over me.

Puzzled, I soon figured out the cause.

‘Grand Heavenly Lord!’

Every time that person appeared, the memories flowing from Jeok Rua began to be tainted with malice.

‘I see now… it’s because the karma between him and me… hasn’t even begun yet.’

In addition, the reason his presence felt vague was likely because Grand Heavenly Lord’s existence was on a level far beyond comprehension.

It was as if I wasn’t yet qualified—as if memories involving him were erased the moment he appeared.

Any information that could have a significant impact on “my” future was mostly being blocked.

Clicking my tongue quietly, I looked at Jeok Rua across from me.

‘Still, since my karma is already concluded in the past, it should be easier to accept tha—’

“Gaaak! Kaaaah! KRAAAAH!”

…Not really.

Jeok Rua screamed in torment, even more frenzied than Hwan Yul had been before losing consciousness.

“You! Just what kind of being are you… No, before that, how could you go through something like that and still…!”

“……”

With a faint feeling of melancholy, I muttered to myself with a hint of self-deprecation.

Jeok Rua had no doubt lived one of the most wretched lives among anyone in this world.

But compared to my past life, even her suffering seemed like a smooth ride.

Her anguish wasn’t merely from recognizing misfortune—it was likely because she’d witnessed the presence of a god buried within my memories.

‘Even if it wasn’t intentional, it feels like I’ve committed a foul. This sits uncomfortably with me.’

She must have believed that this method was her surefire trump card.

But who could have predicted that it would turn out to be the worst possible move?

This situation was simply a matter of bad luck.

Then—

Crack!

Suddenly, the balance of the scale began to shake.

After wobbling for a moment, it was as if a massive weight had been added to one side—the scale tipped dramatically in one direction.

The dish I stood on sank low to the ground, while the one Jeok Rua stood on rose high above.

The result was clear to anyone watching.

—The battle of karma has concluded. Shall the trial end with this victor?

A voice presumed to be the arbitrator echoed.

“No, I can’t let it end like this.”

I shook my head and refused.

“I’m not ending this contest yet. I want to read more of her karma.”

Even if her memories, steeped in malice, tried to corrode my mind—if I could endure that, then reading more of her karma wouldn’t violate any rules.

—…So be it.

With the arbitrator’s permission granted, I continued tracing back through Jeok Rua’s memories.

***

Although memories were still fragmented due to the presence of Grand Heavenly Lord…

The more I read, the clearer it became that his presence was deeply tied to her corruption.

When Jeok Rua hurriedly returned deeper into the valley—

Her companions, unaware of the situation outside, were peacefully chatting.

“Hey, Munyak. Is it really okay for a bodyguard to keep leaving his master unattended like this?”

The one rebuked by Cheon Taejong was a stoic young man with no hint of emotion in his voice.

He was the sole escort accompanying Cheon Taejong, and in his hands were several books about forbidden arts that had been stored in the Sealed Blood Shrine.

“My apologies. The Blood Sect’s secret techniques are just too fascinating.”

“And what’s an assassin gonna do with that kind of stuff?”

“Whether forbidden or orthodox—if any of it can strengthen the body, then perhaps more of my clan’s larvae might survive to return home.”

Cheon Taejong responded in disbelief.

“…Since when do you care about your clan?”

“I’ve always loved my clan.”

“Really? And do you honestly believe the Blood Sect’s techniques could be used on assassins?”

“You never know until you try. Of course, a fundamentalist master might object.”

His unexpected verbosity was quite the shock, given how he’d never spoken much before.

But with the crisis at hand, there was no time to dwell on such things.

“…Orthodox sects? From Wudang, no less?”

The moment she reported, both Jeok Hawol and Cheon Taejong’s faces stiffened.

The two immediately stepped outside and saw a pack-like army approaching from afar.

“A rough estimate puts them at three thousand. They’re clearly heading this way.”

However—

“…Something feels off.”

“What do you mean?” Jeok Rua asked.

Cheon Taejong replied gravely.

“There aren’t many sects in Shanxi Province strong enough to be called a hegemon, but of all things—Wudang?”

From Mount Wudang to here was nearly a thousand kilometers.

It would’ve made more sense if it were the Peng Clan attacking from about two hundred fifty kilometers away.

Jeok Hawol sighed with a bitter expression.

“The Blood Sect’s infamy still shakes the Central Plains. If Wudang figured out our location and secretly prepared for this, it’s not surprising.”

“Even so… it feels like they rushed here far too hastily…”

As Cheon Taejong fell into contemplation, Jeok Rua suddenly shouted.

“That’s not the issue! Whatever the reason—they’re a threat right in front of us!”

“Well, you’ve got a point.”

At this rate, they would reach the valley in less than one hour.

The escort named Munyak asked Cheon Taejong,

“Will you fight?”

“…Hard to say. Maybe in ten years—but for now, it’d be difficult. I can sense a few peak-level opponents among them.”

“But we can’t protect everyone here and make it back to the Blood Sect.”

“Right. That’s the real problem…”

Realistically, if the subjugation force stormed in, the Blood Sect wouldn’t be able to hold them off even briefly.

Ultimately, they’d have to escape with only a few key people…

“I won’t abandon my kin to save myself.”

Naturally, as the leader, Jeok Hawol didn’t consider running away while the subjugation force loomed.

“So you’re choosing to sit here and die?”

“If that’s my fate.”

Jeok Hawol nodded with a bitter tone.

“My apologies, Young Cult Leader. The days I spent with you were truly enjoyable, but I will not preserve my life by abandoning my family.”

“……”

A clear refusal.

Cheon Taejong frowned deeply in anguish.

Over the past ten months, he had grown deeply infatuated with Jeok Hawol.

He didn’t love her more than his own life—but he at least wanted to ensure she survived so they could meet again someday.

And then—

Thunk!

“…Huh?”

Jeok Hawol, who seemed like she would never back down, suddenly collapsed forward without warning.

“What is…?”

“Take her.”

The one who knocked her unconscious was none other than her older sister, Jeok Rua.

“If she dies, the Blood Sect’s lineage ends here. No matter what—it has to survive.”

Cheon Taejong, still stunned, asked,

“Are you sure? With Moon Plum’s temper, she’ll never forgive you.”

“…Hey, who are you calling Moon Plum?”

Jeok Rua glared at him over the strange nickname, but now wasn’t the time to argue about that.

“Forgiveness or not—I’m the personal guard of the Blood Saintess. Her safety takes top priority.”

Jeok Rua’s voice left no room for doubt.

“Everyone here had already resigned themselves to this kind of ending, sooner or later. It just came a little suddenly, that’s all. So…”

Jeok Rua bowed deeply toward Cheon Taejong.

“Please… take care of my sister.”

A resolve of death.

The stance of someone prepared to die, both as a warrior and as an older sister.

At her appearance, Cheon Taejong let out a light chuckle.

“Ha, bold and badass.”

“Indeed.”

“For a moment there, I thought if it weren’t for Moon Plum, I might’ve fallen for you.”

“True that.”

…Why did it feel like the escort standing next to him kept adding unnecessary commentary?

“I don’t have any spiritual aptitude for sorcery, but I’m still a member of the Jeok Clan. I’ll find a way to hide the Sealed Blood Shrine. Come back and find it later.”

“I will.”

Hoisting the unconscious Jeok Hawol over his shoulder, Cheon Taejong sent a sound transmission to his escort.

—Munyak.

—Yes, Young Cult Leader.

—I’m taking Moon Plum and heading back to the Ten Thousand Mountains. You stay behind and monitor the situation…

—Are you telling me to keep that girl alive and bring her back?

—You really are my right hand. I like how quick you catch on.

—…Didn’t you yourself say there are two Master-level experts here?

—So what? You think it’s impossible?

In response to his master’s provocation, the escort shot him a look that screamed, “Are you serious?”

—Of course not. I’ll prove I’m more useful than that Heartless bastard.

And just like that, the Blood Sect was destroyed.

Jeok Rua desperately scrambled to gather people and resist, but of course, it was hopeless.

As people began to be massacred, the elders of the Blood Sect, who were at least capable of some sorcery, made a final decision.

To conceal the existence of the Sealed Blood Shrine deep within the valley, they triggered a collapse—choosing to die together with it.

Due to the desperate self-destruction of the Blood Sect elders, the righteous sect’s subjugation force had to flee the valley in a panic, and any surviving members of the Blood Sect who weren’t dealt with were buried along with the valley.

All but one.

“Damn it! Why, why did you save me?! You should’ve just let me die!”

Per Cheon Taejong’s orders, the escort Munyak, who had been secretly lying in wait, rescued Jeok Rua just before the valley was buried by the collapsing bloodbath, her body drained and limp.

Having witnessed the deaths of countless Blood Sect followers with her own eyes, her condition—both physically and mentally—was in shambles.

And of course—

Jeok Rua was effectively disowned by her younger sister Jeok Hawol after regaining consciousness.

What Cheon Taejong had done out of what he thought was kindness turned out to be the worst possible outcome for the two sisters.

‘That Cult Leader’s really something else, huh.’

As I read through Jeok Rua’s memories, I clicked my tongue at the mistake the Cult Leader had made in his younger days.

Though she was physically saved, mentally, she was practically a shell of a person.

Jeok Hawol still had Cheon Taejong by her side, but Jeok Rua was left alone in a distant, unfamiliar place, far from home—utterly isolated in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Having lost everything, she lived for a time like an empty husk.

Though she now lived as a guest of the Cheon Clan and was treated far better than before, the broken pieces of her heart felt like they had crossed a river with no return.

And yet—

The one who eventually began to heal that broken heart was none other than Cheon Taejong’s escort, Munyak.

In other words, the current Murder Demon—So Munyak.

In truth, Jeok Rua wasn’t exactly pleased with So Munyak’s approach.

Or to be more precise, she had no interest in anyone at all.

At the time, she displayed classic symptoms of autism—completely shutting herself off from the outside world.

Still, So Munyak officially invited her to his family, the Hidden Shadow So Clan, and over the course of several years, devoted himself wholeheartedly to caring for her.

While the two of them lived quietly under the So Clan’s roof—

Out in the world, major events kept unfolding: the Young Cult Leader’s marriage, the growing tensions between the Cheon Clan and the Six Great Demonic Clans…

Clashes with the orthodox faction triggered by the Young Cult Leader’s disappearance, and even the revival of the experiment to manifest demonic traits.

But whether by design or coincidence, Jeok Rua never heard a word of it.

And so, about two years passed.

When she had recovered enough to shed her withdrawn shell and begin anew—

Before her appeared the sister who had once disowned her—Jeok Hawol.

“It’s been a while, Sister.”

It had been years since they’d last seen each other.

But the hatred and fury once visible on Jeok Hawol’s face when she had disowned her were no longer there.

Word had it she was living happily now.

Hadn’t she even given birth to a daughter?

“I need to ask you for something.”

However, the first words her sister spoke after all this time were completely unexpected.

“I want to rebuild the Blood Sect.”

“…What?”

“You’ll help me, right?”

With a soft smile, her sister reached out her hand—and in that moment, Jeok Rua felt an unplaceable sense of unease.

Something was wrong. Her eyes looked… dead.

Jeok Rua sensed that discomfort from her sister’s demeanor, but the guilt of the past weighed heavily on her, leaving her unable to voice it.

She simply wanted to seize this opportunity for atonement that had returned to her.

“Of course.”

And with that, she took the hand her sister had extended in reconciliation.

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