The rain fell relentlessly over the Severed Soul Continent, turning the dirt roads of the Iron River Province into a slurry of mud and misery. Thunder rumbled, masking the screams that had echoed just moments ago.
Inside the Pavilion of Drifting Clouds, the atmosphere was suffocating. This was an outpost of the White Lotus Sect, a Tier-15 (Low) Orthodox sect. Tonight, however, it smelled of iron and fear.
Baek Jin-Woo sat in the corner of the room, wrapped in three layers of thick furs despite the humidity. His face was pale, almost translucent, and every few seconds, a wet, hacking cough wracked his frail body. He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief; it came away stained with dark red spots.
"Trash," a disciple muttered, walking past him. "How is he even alive? He's a stain on our sect."
Jin-Woo didn't react. He simply stared at the steam rising from his tea, his eyes dark and unreadable. To the world, he was the cripple accepted into the sect only because his father was a wealthy merchant who donated heavily. He was the weakest thing in this room. Even the serving girl had more muscle density than him.
'Observation,' Jin-Woo thought.
[Target: Disciple Han]
[Status: Healthy / Arrogant]
[Power Level: 3rd Stage Muscle Refining]
[Kill Reward: +0.5 Strength]
Jin-Woo took a sip of tea. 'Too risky. Too many witnesses.'
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the pavilion slammed open. A man stumbled in, clutching his throat. It was Elder Ma, a master at the Bone Forging Realm—a giant of a man who could crush rocks with his bare hands.
But now, Elder Ma's face was purple. Veins bulged from his forehead like worms. He pointed a trembling finger at the room at large, tried to speak, but only black froth bubbled from his lips.
Thud.
The Elder collapsed, dead before he hit the floor.
Chaos erupted. Swords were drawn.
"Poison!" shouted Cheon Sa-Rang, the head disciple of the outpost. He was handsome, strong, and visibly panicked. "Lock the doors! No one leaves! The killer is among us!"
Jin-Woo pulled his furs tighter, shivering. "B-Brother Cheon," he stammered, his voice weak and raspy. "I... I feel faint. The sight of blood..."
"Shut up, cripple!" Cheon Sa-Rang barked, his eyes scanning the room. "Elder Ma was a master. No ordinary poison could kill him. Whoever did this is a master of the Tang Clan or a demonic spy!"
The disciples looked at each other with suspicion. They checked the windows. Barred from the inside. They checked the kitchen. Empty.
"It's a closed-room murder," Cheon Sa-Rang declared, sweat dripping down his neck. "There are only ten of us here. One of us is the killer."
Jin-Woo lowered his head, hiding a microscopic smirk.
'Idiots,' he thought. 'Elder Ma wasn't poisoned by food. He was poisoned by the incense stick I swapped three hours ago. A slow-acting toxin derived from the Gland of the Blue-Ringed Viper. Odorless when burned. It paralyzes the Qi flow first, then stops the heart.'
Jin-Woo's eyes flickered to the blue semi-transparent screen floating in his vision.
[System Notification]
[Target: Elder Ma (Bone Forging Realm) - ELIMINATED]
[Method: Indirect Poisoning (Calculating...)]
[Evaluation: S-Rank (No Suspicion Incurred)]
[Reward: +5 Intelligence, +2 Agility, "Demon's Breath" Technique Scroll]
A surge of heat flowed through Jin-Woo's brain. He felt his thoughts accelerate, processing the panic in the room in slow motion. But his body remained weak. He still felt the ache in his bones. The reward didn't fix his body instantly; it just gave him the tools to survive.
"We search everyone!" Cheon Sa-Rang yelled. "Check their robes for poison vials!"
As the disciples began aggressively patting each other down, a young servant girl, no older than sixteen, whimpered in the corner. Her name was Mei. She was holding a tray of empty teacups.
Mei locked eyes with Jin-Woo.
Earlier that day, she had seen Jin-Woo near the incense burner. At the time, she thought nothing of it—the cripple just liked the smell. But now, as she looked at the dead Elder and then at the burning incense, realization dawned in her eyes. Her pupils dilated. She opened her mouth to speak.
Jin-Woo saw the realization.
'Ah. Loose end.'
He didn't panic. He didn't lunge. He couldn't lunge; he was too weak.
"Brother Cheon!" Jin-Woo suddenly cried out, pointing a shaking finger at the back door. "I... I saw a shadow! Someone is trying to escape through the cellar!"
The distraction was perfect. Everyone, including Cheon Sa-Rang, turned their backs to the main room to look at the cellar door.
In that singular second of distraction, Jin-Woo moved.
He didn't use a sword. He didn't use a fist. He simply stuck his leg out as Mei, the servant girl, rushed forward to tell Cheon Sa-Rang what she knew.
She tripped.
It looked like an accident. A clumsy servant girl panicking in the chaos.
As she fell, Jin-Woo's hand "accidentally" knocked a heavy ceramic vase off the table next to him.
CRACK.
Gravity and timing did the rest. The heavy vase smashed directly onto the back of Mei's head as she hit the floor. The sound was sickening, like a melon being dropped from a height.
Mei's body convulsed once, then went still. Blood pooled around her head, mixing with the spilled tea.
"What was that?!" Cheon Sa-Rang spun around.
Jin-Woo was cowering on his chair, hands over his head, trembling violently. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! She ran past me and I flinched! I knocked the vase over! Is she okay? Oh gods, is she okay?"
Cheon Sa-Rang rushed over and checked Mei's pulse. He cursed. "She's dead. Useless clumsy girl! Breaking her neck over nothing."
He looked at Jin-Woo with disgust. "You useless waste of space. You can't even sit still without killing a servant?"
"I... I didn't mean to..." Jin-Woo sobbed into his hands. Tears streamed down his face. He looked pathetic. Broken. Harmless.
But behind the cover of his hands, Jin-Woo's eyes were dry and cold.
[System Notification]
[Target: Servant Mei (Civilian) - ELIMINATED]
[Method: Environmental Kill]
[Nature: Innocent]
[Bonus Reward for Ruthlessness: Unlocked]
[Reward: +1 Constitution, +1 Strength]
'Finally,' Jin-Woo thought, feeling a tiny bit of strength enter his withered muscles. The constant pain in his lungs eased by a fraction. 'One Elder. One Innocent. The mystery remains unsolved. They will blame a phantom assassin, and I will grow stronger.'
"Stop crying!" Cheon Sa-Rang yelled, ignoring the dead girl. "The killer is still here. Everyone, draw your swords!"
Jin-Woo sat back, wiping his fake tears. He looked at the room full of powerful martial artists. To them, he was a bug. But in this room, he was the only predator.
'There are eight left,' Jin-Woo calculated, looking at the System screen. 'If I cause the lamps to explode using the oil I spilled earlier... I can probably get three more in the confusion.'
The world of Murim was cruel. The strong ate the weak. Jin-Woo was just following the rules. He would eat them all, one by one, until he stood above the Gods and Demons.
"Brother Cheon," Jin-Woo whispered, his voice trembling perfectly. "I think... I think the killer is hiding in the rafters."
Cheon Sa-Rang looked up.
Jin-Woo smiled internally. The trap was set.
[Quest Generated: Massacre at the Tea House]
[Objective: Eliminate all witnesses.]
[Progress: 2/10]
[Time Limit: 1 Hour]
[Reward: Inheritance Key of the Blood Demon (Fragment)]
Jin-Woo coughed, clutching his chest, looking like he was about to die.
"Please... protect me," he begged.
And the slaughter began.