The Weight of Karma and a Fading Sunset

On the Star-Gazing Terrace, a profound silence finally descended.

The sea of clouds unfurled and receded, reflecting the fading sunset in a cascade of molten gold.

Mo Tingbei set down his teacup, exhaling softly. A weariness he could not quite conceal was etched upon his brow as he leaned back slightly into the chair.

A pair of cool hands silently settled upon his temples, massaging them with just the right pressure. The gesture was as natural as if it had been performed a thousand times before.

Crisp, pure spiritual energy transformed into a gentle stream, flowing like cool creek water, slowly permeating his being, seeking to dispel the exhaustion that had seeped deep into his very soul.

“Why waste so many words on them?” Jiang Jinyue’s voice drifted from behind him, still cool and detached, yet laced with a faint, almost imperceptible hint of displeasure.

Mo Tingbei closed his eyes, savoring her thoughtfulness, a faint curve gracing his lips. “It is always proper to offer courtesy before resorting to force,” he mused. “Sometimes, a hyena whose courage has been broken proves more useful than a snarling wolf.”

“The Immortal Alliance will not let this go easily.” Her fingertips paused momentarily. “That old scoundrel Yujizi will surely piece things together once he returns. I suspect he has already guessed something.”

“Indeed,” Mo Tingbei acknowledged, unsurprised. “That is why he fled the fastest.”

Just as Mo Tingbei was about to speak again, he felt something cool and round pressed against his lips.

He instinctively parted his lips to take it. With a gentle touch of his teeth, the thin skin burst, and a refreshing sweetness flooded his mouth.

It was one of those wild grapes.

Many years ago, when Jiang Jinyue was still a child clumsily learning the sword, she had stumbled upon these wild grapes deep within a secluded valley behind the Three-Unity Sword Sect, a place rarely trodden by others.

Though ordinary in appearance and small in size, the grapes tasted remarkably like a distant flavor from his homeland, which he had once fleetingly mentioned under the moonlight during a moment of inebriation—a flavor he had called “Sunshine Rose.”

From then on, she had often remembered to pick them for him, presenting them silently on a clean silk handkerchief.

He had not tasted them in a very long time, so long that the memory had grown hazy, so long that he had almost forgotten this trivial little preference of his.

It was truly remarkable that she still remembered.

As he savored the refreshing sweetness, a blend of the grape’s own fragrance and the faint, delicate scent from Jiang Jinyue’s fingertips, he mused aloud, “An old man who refuses to die is a thief. Though the spatial fluctuations were urgent when he departed, they carried a subtle hint of ethereal instability. That old scoundrel most likely did not come here in his true body; he values his life far too much.”

Jiang Jinyue offered him another grape. “Senior Brother, what do you think they suddenly came here for?”

Jiang Jinyue had no fondness for interacting with others. During the time she spent observing, she had been almost entirely focused on searching for the unsettling aura she had sensed earlier, her eyes never leaving Mo Tingbei, completely oblivious to the veiled confrontations between the four individuals.

Mo Tingbei pondered for a moment before offering his reply.

“That old scoundrel Yujizi’s intentions are likely quite complex. The one behind him is a master of veiled schemes, which explains why Yujizi speaks in such convoluted riddles.”

“My general conjecture is that the Immortal Alliance intends to reconsider the rankings of the Resource Golden List, and at that time, our Three-Unity Sword Sect will likely be reinstated. Before this news spreads, his ostensible reason for coming was probably to ‘assist the Three-Unity Sword Sect in reporting their meritorious deed of slaying the vicious beast,’ and to use this as leverage to propose a redetermination of our sect’s Golden List ranking—all to prematurely demand a substantial reward.”

“Bringing along the Heavenly Might and Flowing Cloud sects serves two purposes: first, to show favor to the forces under his command, and second, to act as a mediator, allowing these two sects to ‘mend old ties’ with our Three-Unity Sect and re-establish connections. By doing so, he can firmly control the seats of three B-grade sects, significantly increasing his leverage in the fierce, underlying competition among the various Pavilion Lords of the Immortal Alliance.”

“Covertly, it’s likely connected to that Immortal Alliance inspection team we encountered earlier—the one that seemed suspicious in every aspect.”

“Furthermore,” a hint of cold mockery touched his lips, “they most likely only perceived the surge of sword intent and commotion when I slew the vicious beast after they had already arrived nearby. Believing our sect to be severely weakened after a fierce battle, with our high-end combat power depleted, they then so impatiently knocked upon our gates, adopting such an arrogant posture. Their plan, undoubtedly, was to take advantage of our misfortune.”

Jiang Jinyue simply watched him in silence—observing the slight movement of his lips as he analyzed, the faint creases that formed between his brows from deep thought, and the sharp, upward curve of his sword-like eyebrows.

In truth, she hadn’t truly listened to the intricate causes and effects, or the delicate balancing of powers. Her ears buzzed, taking in nothing but the steady cadence of his voice.

She held no fondness for such convoluted matters. Amidst the myriad disturbances of the world, for her, there was only the path of cultivation and the single person before her.

Mo Tingbei’s voice gradually softened, then ceased altogether.

The sweetness of the wild grapes, combined with the cool spiritual energy she transmitted and her perfectly timed massage, finally allowed his soul, which had been taut for far too long, to completely relax.

Leaning back in the chair, his breathing grew even and deep, and he felt so comfortable that he was on the verge of drifting off to sleep.

As he completely relaxed, the layer of unparalleled, sharp sword intent that enveloped him subtly receded, allowing certain things he had been forcefully suppressing to quietly emerge.

Jiang Jinyue’s fingertips, resting on his temples, suddenly stiffened.

Her gaze fixed intently upon Mo Tingbei’s brow.

There, an incredibly subtle yet terrifying dark mark shimmered into existence, faint yet discernible.

It possessed no physical form, nor did it reside within his flesh; instead, it was deeply branded upon his karma and soul of destiny!

The mark was twisted and bizarre, emanating an ominous aura of finality. It was silently devouring his vitality, and it was precisely because of this anomaly that Mo Tingbei’s lifespan, which had been over a month, had abruptly dwindled to mere three days.

Had she not already ascended to the Golden Core stage, her perception of the laws of heaven and earth and the trajectories of fate would not have become so incredibly acute, making it utterly impossible for her to detect this thing!

‘A karmic retribution…’

Once again.

Mo Tingbei had once more averted a certain death for her.

Even as a Golden Core Dao Lord, with a Dao heart impervious to countless tribulations, Jiang Jinyue felt her eyes sting fiercely in that moment. A torrent of surging emotions, like a breached dam, instantly overwhelmed all her calm self-possession.

The sharp ache shot straight to the bridge of her nose, blurring her vision of her Senior Brother’s tired, sleeping face.

She abruptly tilted her head back, biting down hard on her lower lip, forcing the warm liquid that threatened to spill from her eyes to recede. Her jawline was drawn impossibly tight.

After a long while, she managed to forcefully suppress the intense emotional upheaval with immense willpower. Yet, her voice could not quite regain its usual cool clarity, emerging instead in a low, slightly hoarse, and trembling whisper that she could not control.

“In five days…”

Jiang Jinyue’s voice deepened, and the fingertips pressing against his temples tightened almost imperceptibly, betraying the turmoil beneath her placid exterior.

Mo Tingbei raised his hand, gently covering her cool hand, and patted it softly.

“Five days is enough,” he murmured, opening his eyes to gaze at the colossal, setting sun slowly descending at the edge of the sea of clouds, his expression calm and distant. “Enough for me to complete what must be done, and enough… to properly spend time with you, and with everyone.”

The brilliant rays of twilight stretched across the heavens and earth, elongating their intertwined figures on the gleaming jade platform, drawing them long and inseparable, as if from this moment onward, they could never be parted, destined to merge into the deepening dusk.

Jiang Jinyue said nothing more, only focusing with greater care and tenderness as she continued to massage his pressure points.

Her ice-blue eyes deeply mirrored the burning, flowing twilight across the sky, and firmly etched within them was his profile, gently enveloped by the setting sun. Beneath her outward serenity lay a surging, unspoken, yet unyielding resolve.

Beneath the sea of clouds, the cheers and clamor erupting from within the sect, celebrating the demise of the vicious beast, seemed to grow impossibly distant and indistinct.

The true storm, however, had never truly departed.

Behind that splendid golden twilight, a far more terrifying power was silently gathering, awaiting its moment to devour all.