Episode 47

I had resolved the matter concerning Sojeo Hae Cheong-yeon, but I failed to prevent the very events I had known were bound to happen.

The deaths of Sojeo Mae Yeogyeong and Myeong Sa-hyeon…

I was overwhelmed with anger and disappointment.

I had believed I was doing well all along, that I could change the future.

But these events felt like a cruel message telling me that no matter what I did, it was all in vain.

So even after the search was called off, I continued investigating traces of the ju-gwi alone.

Then, unexpectedly, Sojeo Cheong-yeon approached me.

“Team Leader Ma Yu-gyeom took Sojeo Dang Ye-eun into the forest,” she said.

“Huh?”

“I thought you should know because those two seem to be people that Seonwoo Gongja has been carefully watching.”

I gave a bitter smile.

She was truly remarkable—how could she know something I hadn’t even mentioned?

At this point, I almost felt scared that she knew me too well.

But instead, I felt grateful.

To be struggling alone to change the future, and yet someone was quietly saying, “I see you. I’m here for you.”

I smiled and replied, “I see. Thank you.”

It seemed the two wounded souls were finally coming together.

In my past life, they had soon started dating, so it was likely to happen again.

If things unfolded as before, Sojeo Dang Ye-eun’s life might end up unhappy, but I had no right to interfere in matters of the heart.

Then, cautiously, Sojeo Cheong-yeon added, “Also, I’m not sure about this, but…”

“Yes?”

“I saw Team Leader Ma taking some kind of pill. It looked similar to the poison pill Elder Seok gave him. But I can’t be certain.”

“Oh, really?”

I nodded absentmindedly, but at that moment, a flash of insight struck me like lightning.

The blood demon’s transmission, Ma Yu-gyeom’s strange behavior afterward, his eventual defection to the Blood Sect, the poison pill of the Blood Sect, and the missing ju-gwi…

It all seemed connected.

I hurriedly asked Sojeo Cheong-yeon, “Did you see where they went?”

“Yes, they headed into the eastern forest. Shall we go?”

“Yes, there’s something I need to check.”

Without hesitation, I dashed toward the eastern forest.

Hearing “eastern forest” immediately clicked—it was where Sojeo Mae Yeogyeong had been found.

Fortunately, I arrived in time and was able to hide and observe their actions.

“Repeat after me: ‘Dang Ye-eun belongs to Ma Yu-gyeom.’”

The moment I heard that, I understood.

What Ma Yu-gyeom was attempting was some kind of binding spell, similar to a marriage charm.

That explained why Dang Ye-eun had been so drawn to him in my past life.

I had to act fast.

Normally, a surprise attack would require silence, but stopping this ritual was more urgent.

I shouted and threw a talisman.

“What are you doing?!”

But Ma Yu-gyeom easily dodged my attack.

Then, spotting me, his face twisted into a madman’s grimace, radiating murderous intent.

With a sharp clang, he drew his sword, which shimmered with a blue aura.

“Haah!”

I dodged his charge and shouted, “What is this, Team Leader Ma?! Not content with your lustful acts, now you’re trying to kill?!”

He flinched for a moment.

I deliberately ignored the fact that he was using some kind of binding spell.

“Snap out of it, Team Leader Ma! I know losing Sojeo Mae Yeogyeong has been hard, but if you break like this, she wouldn’t want that! Stop before you cross the line!”

Ma Yu-gyeom looked at me with a complicated expression, hesitating.

At least, my plea to stop before crossing the line was sincere.

If he truly had killed Sojeo Mae Yeogyeong, then he’d already crossed it—but that wasn’t confirmed yet.

If possible, I wanted to bring him back.

“If you release Sojeo Dang Ye-eun and apologize, I’ll pretend none of this happened! Let her go now!”

Ma Yu-gyeom suddenly glanced toward Dang Ye-eun.

She was still collapsed on the ground, tears streaming down her face, seemingly unable to regain her senses—perhaps because of what had just happened.

He sighed wearily, then relaxed his sword’s aura and said to me,

“Fine, I’ve shown my ugly side. I’m sorry. After Yeogyeong died, I couldn’t bear it. I’ll apologize to Dang Ye-eun. But I’m very drunk right now. Can you help me move her?”

His expression was so desolate.

It was clear he was suffering deeply.

But he didn’t know this:

That his downfall wasn’t because of Sojeo Mae Yeogyeong, and that Dang Ye-eun wasn’t drunk but under some other influence—I knew this.

He had already passed the point of no return.

Realizing this, I leapt up and shouted,

“Team Leader Ma has mastered the Blood Sect’s martial arts! He’s defected to the Blood Sect!”

Startled, Ma Yu-gyeom immediately gave chase.

“You bastard!”

His face twisted like a demon’s as he glanced back.

But I scoffed and quickened my pace.

Even Sakmuhun, with over seventy years of internal energy, couldn’t catch me—there was no way he could.

“Ma Yu-gyeom has betrayed us! He’s mastered the Blood Sect’s techniques!”

I shouted as I flew away, and once I put enough distance between us to disappear from his sight, I hid in the shade of a tree.

Soon after, Ma Yu-gyeom screamed as he passed by.

“You bastard!”

Running away on the thirteenth floor would be easy, but I couldn’t leave Sojeo Dang Ye-eun there.

Wild animals, demons, or even a changed Ma Yu-gyeom could come back and take her away.

As soon as he disappeared ahead, I rushed back to her.

She was still unconscious, murmuring through tears.

“Dang Ye-eun belongs to Ma Yu-gyeom. Dang Ye-eun is…”

My heart sank.

She looked like she was already under the binding spell.

I hurriedly said, “No! Dang Ye-eun belongs to herself!”

She paused, then repeated after me.

“Dang Ye-eun belongs to… herself?”

It worked.

It seemed the spell wasn’t fully sealed yet.

I quickly added, “That’s right! Sojeo Dang Ye-eun belongs to herself! No one else!”

She echoed blankly, “I belong to myself…”

But then she suddenly burst into tears.

“That can’t be true. I shouldn’t have been born. I don’t deserve this. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being born, sorry for living, Mother.”

What was this…?

Her rambling left me stunned.

Then, from the forest behind us, I sensed movement.

Ma Yu-gyeom was returning.

“Damn it!”

As I expected, after losing my trail, he was coming back for her.

I quickly scooped her up and dashed away.

Just then, Ma Yu-gyeom burst out of the trees and spotted me.

“Stop right there! Give her back!”

That’s my line!

I cursed inwardly and pushed forward.

The chase was on again.

This time, I was carrying her, unable to hide.

It was a disadvantage from the start.

If only she had the strength to carry herself—it would have been easier.

Running while holding her was awkward and slow.

On top of that, she kept crying and murmuring in my arms.

“I shouldn’t have been born. I don’t deserve to live.”

I didn’t know if it was because of Ma Yu-gyeom or something else, but one thing was clear: I couldn’t leave her like this.

So, despite my exhaustion, I whispered to her over and over.

“No. Sojeo Dang Ye-eun is worthy of being born. Worthy of love. You are someone who deserves to live.”

But she seemed unable to hear me now.

She was unconscious, sobbing the same words.

“I’m sorry for being born. I’m sorry for living. Please forgive me, Mother.”

Meanwhile, Ma Yu-gyeom was chasing me with a face burning with fury.

“Seonwoo Ji-in! Stop right there!”

I was overwhelmed and disoriented.

Lately, most of my memories seemed to be of running away—from Heuk Sang-bang, from assassins of the Martial Alliance, and now from Ma Yu-gyeom.

I wondered why this was happening to me.

Still, I wasn’t completely hopeless.

At least not like in my past life.

The distance between Ma Yu-gyeom and me wasn’t closing immediately.

Granted, he had the advantage in skill, and I was carrying a burden, so he’d likely catch up soon—but not yet.

For now, I had to focus on Sojeo Dang Ye-eun.

As I ran, I desperately thought about what to say.

What could I say to bring her back?

Only one thing came to mind.

Myeong Sa-hyeon.

The man who loved Sojeo Dang Ye-eun more than his own life.

Hearing his story had shocked me deeply.

Even reviewing my past life memories, there was never a case of someone bound by the Blood Sect’s marriage spell who stopped acting on their own will or took their own life—no matter if they were lovers, disciples, or family.

It was unimaginable.

How strong-willed must a person be? How deep must their love run to make that possible?

So if Sojeo Dang Ye-eun’s heart was like his, I believed she could still come back.

“Dang Sojeo! Think of Myeong Sa-hyeon, the late deputy chief! Remember what kind of man he was, and how deeply he loved you!”

And then, finally, there was a reaction.

She stopped muttering and called out his name.

“Sa-hyeon…”

“Yes, you remember, don’t you? Myeong Sa-hyeon, the late deputy chief, was a man even I admired. And Dang Sojeo, you were the one he loved. He loved you so much he would have given his life for you. You are someone truly worth that kind of love. If you can’t believe in yourself, then believe in him—the man who loved you so fiercely.”

It worked.

She stopped tearing herself down and began to sob softly, calling his name—not with that trapped, desperate sound from before, but with a natural, heartfelt grief.

“Sa-hyeon, Sa-hyeon…”

I kept whispering gently into her ear.

“It’s okay. Everything will be okay. You are someone valuable. More precious and remarkable than anyone else.”

I kept whispering like that for a long while, until finally she stopped murmuring altogether and seemed to fall into a peaceful sleep.

At last, one problem was solved.

Now, only one remained.

“I’ll kill you, Seonwoo Ji-in!”

The relentless master Mayu-gyeom was still chasing me, and my steadily draining stamina was becoming a serious issue.

I wasn’t sure if these were two separate problems, but the more urgent one was definitely my exhaustion.

Running while trying to keep Dang Sojeo talking had drained me completely.

Originally, I planned to lure him into the Poison Forest.

During my last fight with Sak Mu-heun, the poison there had helped me a lot, and since I always carried antidotes, I thought I could lose him once inside the forest.

But at this rate, it would take at least an hour to reach the Poison Forest.

And I simply didn’t have that kind of stamina left.

There was no choice.

I had to make a decision before I collapsed.

Either abandon her and run, or stand and fight this peak-level master.

For a moment, I regretted not setting traps like I did against Sak Mu-heun.

But there was no use dwelling on that now.

I whispered one last time into Dang Sojeo’s ear, then gently laid her down on a flat rock I spotted as I fled.

Turning around, I saw Mayu-gyeom soaring toward me, his face twisted like a demon’s, swinging his sword.

Blue sword energy flickered along the blade like hellfire.

I licked my lips and gripped Mukrang’s sword.

“Alright then, let’s see what you’ve got!”

I charged at him, drawing my sword with a flash.

Shuah!

A violet sword aura shimmered along the blade as it shot out of its sheath.