Tang Family Sword Peak
Though the matter with Lady Hae Cheong-yeon had been resolved, I had failed to prevent the events I knew were supposed to happen.
The death of Lady Mae Yeo-gyeong.
The death of Myung Sa-hyeon.
I was furious. Bitterly disappointed.
I had thought I'd been doing well so far—
that I could truly change the future.
But these tragedies felt like the world itself was telling me, No matter what you do, it won't matter.
So even after the search ended, I remained behind, investigating the demon's traces on my own.
That was when Lady Cheong-yeon approached me.
"I saw Unit Leader Ma Yu-gyeom taking Lady Tang Yeo-eun into the forest."
"…What?"
"Those two seem to be the ones you've been keeping an eye on, Young Master Seonu, so I thought I should tell you."
A wry smile tugged at my lips.
Truly, she was extraordinary.
I hadn't even mentioned it—so how could she know?
At this point, I almost found it frightening how well she seemed to understand me.
Yet instead of fear, I felt… grateful.
It was as if someone were saying to me, I see what you're doing. You're not alone.
So I smiled and replied,
"I see. Thank you."
Perhaps two wounded souls were finally finding solace in each other.
In my past life, they had started seeing each other soon after.
No doubt it would happen the same way again.
And if everything followed as before, Lady Tang Yeo-eun's life would turn out unhappy…
But between man and woman, what right did I have to intervene?
Just then, Lady Cheong-yeon added carefully:
"And this may not be certain…"
"What is it?"
"I saw Unit Leader Ma taking some sort of pill. It looked very similar to the dokdan Elder Seok gave us. I can't be sure, though."
"…Is that so?"
I nodded absently—
and then, like a flash of lightning, realization struck.
The Blood Demon's whispered transmission.
Ma Yu-gyeom's strange behavior afterward, culminating in him joining the Blood Cult.
The Blood Cult's dokdan.
The demon whose trail had vanished without a trace.
It all connected.
I turned to her urgently.
"Do you know which way they went?"
"Yes, eastward into the forest. Should I go with you?"
"No, I just need to confirm something."
Then I dashed toward the eastern woods.
The moment I heard "east," I knew.
That was where Lady Mae Yeo-gyeong's body had been found.
And luckily, I wasn't too late.
Concealed in the shadows, I watched.
"Repeat it. 'Tang Yeo-eun belongs to Ma Yu-gyeom.'"
The instant I heard those words, I understood.
What he was attempting resembled possession arts.
And why, in my past life, Lady Tang Yeo-eun had been so bound to him.
There was no time to hesitate.
A true ambush would require silence, but stopping this came first.
I shouted as I hurled hidden weapons:
"What are you doing?!"
But as expected, Ma Yu-gyeom twisted away with ease, dodging.
Then, recognizing me, his face contorted into a madman's snarl as killing intent erupted from him.
Clang!
His sword flashed free, shimmering with blue qi.
"Haaaap!"
I flung myself aside from his strike, shouting:
"What madness is this, Unit Leader Ma?! First lechery, and now you would silence witnesses as well?!"
For a moment, he flinched.
I deliberately acted as if I hadn't seen him using possession arts.
"Get hold of yourself, Unit Leader Ma! I know losing Lady Mae has been hard, but would she want to see you debased like this? Stop before you go too far!"
He looked at me with conflicted eyes—
as if wavering.
And I meant it.
If there was a way to pull him back before he crossed the final line, I wanted to try.
If he truly had killed Lady Mae Yeo-gyeong, then yes, he was already past redemption…
But I didn't yet have certainty.
"If you release Lady Tang and apologize, I'll overlook what I've seen here! Let her go, now!"
At that, Ma Yu-gyeom glanced toward her.
She still lay crumpled on the ground, weeping, unable to regain her senses.
With a weary sigh, he slackened the qi around his sword and said:
"You're right. I've shown an ugly side. I couldn't bear it after Yeo-gyeong's death. I'll apologize to Lady Tang. But for now, I'm too drunk. Will you help me move her?"
His expression was heartrending.
So pained it almost seemed believable.
But he didn't know—
That I was aware his downfall had nothing to do with Lady Mae.
That Lady Tang wasn't drunk at all, but drugged by his scheme.
He was already beyond salvation.
Realizing this, I sprang back and shouted:
"Unit Leader Ma has learned the Blood Cult's martial arts! He has defected to the Blood Cult!"
"Bastard!"
Roaring, Ma Yu-gyeom lunged after me.
I caught a glimpse of his face—it was twisted into something demonic.
I only sneered and quickened my pace.
Even the likes of Sak Muhun, with seventy years of inner power, could not catch me.
There was no way he could.
"Ma Yu-gyeom has betrayed us! He has learned the Blood Cult's martial arts!"
I shouted as I fled, and once I slipped out of his sight, I ducked into the shade of a tree, concealing myself.
Moments later, Ma Yu-gyeom thundered past, shrieking,
"You wretch!"
Escaping back to the Thirteenth Unit would have been easy.
But I couldn't leave Lady Tang behind.
Wild beasts, demons—or worse, Ma Yu-gyeom himself might return for her.
As soon as he vanished into the distance, I darted back to her side.
She still hadn't regained her clarity.
She wept, muttering brokenly:
"Tang Yeo-eun belongs to Ma Yu-gyeom… Tang Yeo-eun belongs…"
My heart sank.
It was as though she had already been ensnared by his art.
I knelt and urged her desperately:
"No—that's not true! Tang Yeo-eun belongs to herself!"
She faltered, then echoed my words:
"Tang Yeo-eun… belongs to herself?"
It worked.
The technique hadn't fully taken hold.
I hastily spoke again.
"That's right! Lady Tang belongs to herself! She is no one else's!"
Blankly, she echoed,
"I… belong to myself…"
But then she suddenly burst into tears and cried,
"No, that can't be true. I should never have been born. I don't deserve it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was born, I'm sorry I'm alive, Mother…"
What in the world…?
Her words turned into incoherent rambling, leaving me momentarily stunned.
And then—
I felt movement in the woods behind us.
Ma Yu-gyeom was returning.
"Damn it!"
Just as I expected—having lost my trail, he had come back to her.
I quickly scooped Lady Tang into my arms and bolted.
As I burst from the trees, Ma Yu-gyeom spotted me and roared:
"You bastard! Stop! Return her to me!"
Return her? That's my line!
I shouted inwardly as I fled.
And so the chase began again—
but this time I carried her in my arms. No chance to hide.
From the very start, it was an unfavorable pursuit.
If she were at least conscious enough to cling to me, it would be easier. But carrying her like this made my movements clumsy, slowing me down.
Worse, she kept weeping in my arms, muttering,
"I should never have been born. I don't deserve to live…"
I didn't know whether this despair came from Ma Yu-gyeom's influence or something deeper. But one thing was clear—I couldn't leave her like this.
So, even as I struggled to run, I whispered desperately into her ear:
"No, Lady Tang—you were meant to be born. You are worthy of love. You are someone with every reason to live."
But she seemed beyond hearing now. Still crying faintly, she kept repeating the same words:
"I'm sorry I was born, I'm sorry I'm alive, Mother… forgive me…"
And behind us, Ma Yu-gyeom's voice bellowed like thunder:
"Seonu Ji-i-i-in! Stop right there!"
I was shaken. Overwhelmed.
Lately, all my memories seemed to be of running from someone.
Running from the Black Merchant Guild.
Running from the Murim Alliance's assassins.
Now running from Ma Yu-gyeom.
What the hell is my life these days?
And yet, I wasn't completely in despair.
At least it wasn't like in my past life.
The distance between us wasn't closing yet. True, his cultivation was higher than mine, and I was burdened with her weight. Eventually, he would catch up. But for the moment, he hadn't.
So I focused entirely on her.
Running, I thought desperately.
What words could reach her?
What could bring her back?
There was only one answer.
Myung Sa-hyeon.
The man who had loved her more than life itself.
The story of him had shaken me deeply.
In all my memories—across all of my past life—I had never once seen a person possessed by the Blood Cult's soul arts resist or end it by their own will.
Not for lovers.
Not for disciples and masters.
Not even for family.
It was simply unthinkable.
But Myung Sa-hyeon had done it.
How resolute must his will have been?
How deep his love?
So I thought—
if her heart still held the same love, then surely she could come back from this.
"Lady Tang! Think of Myung Sa-hyeon, Vice-Leader Myung! Remember the man he was, the love he bore for you!"
And at last—she responded.
She stopped muttering. And whispered his name.
"…Sa-hyeon…"
"Yes! Do you remember? Myung Sa-hyeon—he was a man so admirable that even I, as a fellow man, could not help but respect him. And you—Lady Tang—you were the one he loved. Loved so deeply he gave his very life for you! If you cannot believe in yourself, then believe in him! Believe in the woman he loved so dearly!"
It worked.
She stopped her self-denouncing cries.
Instead, she began to weep—softly, naturally—calling his name.
"Sa-hyeon… Sa-hyeon…"
I kept whispering into her ear as I ran.
"It's all right. Everything will be all right. You are worthy. You are precious. You are a person of immeasurable value."
At last, after what felt like an eternity, her murmurs faded.
And finally, she sank into a quiet, peaceful sleep.
One crisis was solved.
Now only the next remained.
"I'll kill you, Seonu Ji-i-i-in!"
The problem of Ma Yu-gyeom, still chasing relentlessly.
And the problem of my stamina, rapidly failing.
Perhaps they were really the same problem. But of the two, my stamina was the graver.
Running while whispering to her had drained me.
My original plan had been to lure him into the Poison Forest.
Against Sak Muhun, I had gained much from poison, and I always carried pido-hyang with me. If I could make it to the Poison Forest, I might shake him off.
But at this pace, it would take an hour at least.
I didn't have that much left in me.
I had to decide before I collapsed.
Abandon her and run?
Or face a peak master head-on?
A grim thought flashed—I should have rebuilt the traps I'd used against Sak Muhun.
Too late now.
Instead, I set her gently upon a flat boulder, whispering one last word in her ear, and turned to face him.
Ma Yu-gyeom descended on me like a demon, blade raised high.
From its edge, blue sword-qi blazed like the flames of hell.
I licked my lips and tightened my grip on Black Wolf's scabbard.
"All right… let's see what you've got!"
And I drew—lightning-quick.
Shuaaaa!
From the blade of Black Wolf, violet sword-qi surged forth, crackling like stormfire.