The First Commission

After returning to Spirit City, Gu Han began work on renovating Karma Pavilion.

The old archive building Bibi Dong had found was on the eastern side of the inner city. It was a spacious, three-story stone structure with a courtyard of its own. The building itself had a somewhat antiquated charm, but it had been left vacant for a long time and had fallen into disrepair. Weeds had overrun the courtyard, and dust coated the doors and windows.

Gu Han wasn't after grandeur; what mattered more to him was the building's secluded location.

He personally drew up the renovation plans:

The first floor would serve as a reception hall for handling ordinary affairs; the second floor would hold quiet rooms and an archive for analyzing and storing the karma he dealt with; the third floor would be where he and Xiao Wu lived and cultivated.

Most important of all were the plaque above the entrance and the inscription setting out the pavilion's principles.

Gu Han did the work himself. Combining the chill of the Heavenly Frost Sword with Soul Power, he carved three large characters—"Karma Pavilion"—into a wooden plaque.

The strokes were bold and icy, with tiny crystals of frost glimmering between them.

On the wall directly opposite the main entrance, he also carved two lines by hand, setting down the principles of Karma Pavilion:

Observe all forms of karma; trace each thread back to its source.

Ease the world's troubles; quiet the obsessions in the heart.

These twenty characters made no boast of reversing life and death or overturning heaven and earth, yet they carried a hint of detachment from the mundane world.

Several days later, the basic cleanup and furnishing were complete.

Karma Pavilion hadn't made any grand announcement, but thanks to Gu Han's reputation as the Holy Son, word had still spread through a small circle in Spirit City.

Some were curious, some watched from the sidelines, and others scoffed, thinking it was nothing more than a novel plaything for His Highness the Holy Son.

Early one morning, Karma Pavilion officially hung its plaque.

Gu Han and Xiao Wu were in the first-floor hall, making a few final adjustments to the furnishings.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard.

A young man in ordinary Soul Master garb stood hesitantly outside the open gate, his eyes bloodshot. He looked up at the plaque reading "Karma Pavilion," deep doubt written across his face.

He paced outside for a while, then finally gritted his teeth and entered the courtyard. But he didn't dare come inside uninvited. In a hoarse voice, he called in:

"Excuse me... can this place really 'ease the world's troubles' and uncover the causes and effects behind things?"

At the sound of his voice, Gu Han turned and looked at him.

The young man's Soul Power seemed to be around the Soul Elder level, but his aura was weak and unsteady. Clearly, his mind had been badly worn down.

With Karma Sight, Gu Han could clearly see several tangled, ashen karma lines wrapped around the man. One of them was especially thick and solid, linked to a profound grief. It was the source of his haggard appearance.

"Karma Pavilion is open for business, so of course we take on matters of karma," Gu Han said evenly. "Please, come in and tell me about it."

The young man took a deep breath and entered the hall. His gaze swept quickly around the room before settling on Gu Han.

He couldn't sense Gu Han's Soul Power, yet somehow, the sight of him brought a particular sense of calm.

"I... my name is Lin He. I'm from a Soul Master family under Spirit City," Lin He said, his voice still dry, pain held tight beneath the words.

"I've come to ask about something... My younger sister, Lin Xi, suddenly came down with a strange illness three months ago. She's been asleep all day, unable to wake, and her breathing is extremely faint."

"We've asked many healing-type Soul Masters in the city to examine her. We even pulled strings to have a senior Soul Saint look at her, but none of them could find the cause. They said her life force was mysteriously draining away."

"She might..."

His eyes reddened as he spoke:

"We've tried everything. We're truly at the end of our rope."

"Today, I was passing by and saw the words 'ease the world's troubles; quiet the obsessions in the heart.' I... I wanted to ask if you could tell what's wrong with my sister?"

His request was clear. He wasn't asking for treatment, but for the truth—the reason behind it all.

Gu Han nodded. "Where is your sister now?"

"She's at home, here in the city," Lin He replied hurriedly.

"Lead the way."

"I'll need to examine her in person to inspect the karma." Gu Han rose and gestured to Xiao Wu, asking her to stay behind at the pavilion.

Lin He hadn't expected him to agree so readily. He froze for a moment, then thanked him repeatedly and hurried ahead to lead the way.

The Lin family lived in the western district of Spirit City, in a Soul Master clan compound.

Gu Han's arrival drew the attention of several members of the Lin family.

In a bedroom, Gu Han saw Lin Xi, unconscious and unable to wake.

She was a girl of fifteen or sixteen, her face deathly pale and her breathing extremely faint. As Lin He had said, her life force was steadily draining away.

Gu Han didn't rashly probe her with Soul Power. Instead, he immediately activated Karma Sight.

In his vision, the main line representing Lin Xi's life and health was not only thin and dim but also being eroded by an external, dark gray karma line.

The other end of that line stretched into empty space. It wasn't connected to a person, but seemed to point faintly toward an object.

"This isn't an illness, nor is it an ordinary curse."

Gu Han spoke slowly, sensing in the direction the karma line extended.

"It's the lingering corruption of Soul-Devouring Miasma, mixed with a trace of a Soul Beast's resentment."

"Soul-Devouring Miasma? Resentment?"

Lin He's parents, who had rushed over after hearing the news, looked bewildered.

"About three months ago, did your sister go to Withered Bone Forest on the western outskirts of the city?"

Withered Bone Forest was a well-known dangerous area near Spirit City, as well as the site of an ancient battlefield. Miasma and lingering Soul Beast thoughts sometimes remained there, making it extremely dangerous for low-ranking Soul Masters.

Lin He's parents exchanged glances. Suddenly, his mother remembered something.

"I think... three months ago, Xi'er went outside the city to train with a few classmates. I believe she mentioned getting close to the outskirts of Withered Bone Forest. She said she picked up a crystal."

"That crystal is the problem."

Gu Han confirmed, "It wasn't an ordinary crystal. It was a Miasma Core formed when Soul-Devouring Miasma condensed under special conditions."

"It had also been tainted by the lingering thoughts of Soul Beasts from the ancient battlefield. Your sister wore it for a long time, and the resentment inside eroded her life force."

"The reason healing Soul Power didn't work is that the root of the problem isn't in her body, but in her soul."

The Lin family members were both shocked and frightened by what they heard. Lin He asked urgently:

"Then... is there a way to save her?"

"Once we find the source, the problem can be solved."

As he spoke, Gu Han raised his right hand. The phantom of the Karma Scissors appeared in his palm.

He locked onto the dark gray karma line wrapped around Lin Xi's lifeline and called out, "Karma Stripping."

The Karma Scissors snipped at the point where the karma line was connected.

"Snap!"

A faint sound only Gu Han could hear rang out, and the karma line broke.

At the same time, a forgotten crystal in a box of odds and ends in some corner of the Lin family home gave a sharp crack. Several fractures appeared across its surface. Its aura vanished in an instant, and it crumbled to dust.

On the bed, a hint of color returned to Lin Xi's pale face at a speed visible to the naked eye. She was still unconscious, but her life force had finally stopped ebbing and steadied.

"Though the corruption has been cut off, her soul is damaged and her life force severely depleted. She'll need to rest," Gu Han said calmly, dismissing his Martial Soul.

Lin He's parents wept with joy and thanked Gu Han again and again.

Lin He was so moved that he couldn't speak. He'd never imagined that this desperate attempt would actually solve the problem.

Gu Han didn't stay long. He declined the Lin family's lavish reward, accepting only a commission fee, and told them they could come to Karma Pavilion to find him anytime if they needed help.

As he left the Lin family home, Gu Han frowned slightly.

When he'd severed that karma line just now, he'd faintly sensed a subtle fluctuation of aura within the Soul Beast's resentment.