After several more hours of limping, dragging, and occasional complaining, the team finally reached the edge of the mountain trail.
The bridge stretched before them, old wood and iron ropes swaying gently in the breeze. Beyond it: a sea of thick, swirling white mist, pulsing like breath from a sleeping giant.
Across that mist was the territory of the Thousand Venoms Empress.
"We're finally here!" Dol-Gae shouted, throwing his arms up like he'd just won a battle. His oversized smile made him look more like a child than the walking boulder he was.
The others slumped to the ground, groaning in unison. For a squad of assassins, they looked more like tired merchants who'd been cheated out of a cart.
"We could've just Veil-Stepped our way here," Yuri muttered, eyeing the mist. "But no, the piggyback parade had to march for hours."
"Better to walk and recover than faint mid-step," Jin offered. "Right, Commander?"
Mae-Bi didn't respond immediately. His gaze had shifted toward the mist, sharp and focused.
Yuri stepped beside him, arms folded. "That fog... it's too quiet. This whole place reeks of a trap."
Mae-Bi smiled faintly. Smart. Still sharp even after all that. In his past life, she'd been promoted to Second Division Squad Leader for a reason.
"You're right," he said. "There are traps."
The team turned toward him.
Mae-Bi raised his head, his Blood Eyes activating silently. But the moment he did—
His vision twisted. The world slowed.
And in front of him, the mist pulsed red.
He could see it now—subtle Qi strings suspended between stones and air, illusion points waiting to trigger disorientation. Poison mist veins. Aura-reflecting seals. All silent. All deadly.
His brows lifted.
"I... advanced?"
System.
Did you do that?
[System]: Affirmative. Absorbing your last opponent's Qi advanced your Blood Eyes to Stage Three.]
[New Passive Unlocked: Heart Sense – Perceives heart rate, breath rhythm, and fear response.]
[New Passive Unlocked: Time Dilation (Light) – Slight slow-motion perception during combat.]
Mae-Bi's lips curled. "Hell yeah!"
Everyone stared at him.
He froze. "Ahem. I meant—uh. They're approximately..."
But before he could finish—
GRRRRRRRRRR
His stomach roared like a dying ox.
Jin blinked. "Was that... thunder?"
Dol-Gae snorted. "Nope. That's our fearless leader starving to death."
Yuri raised a brow. "How can you have murderous eyes and still sound like a toddler when you're hungry?"
Mae-Bi covered his stomach, face red. "It's not like I wanted to—"
GRRRRRRRAAAH
Even louder this time. The birds in the trees scattered.
The squad burst into laughter, even Rak, still bandaged and brooding, smirked faintly from where he sat.
"Alright," Jin said, stretching his arms. "Before we throw ourselves into a death mist, maybe we should rest and eat something."
"Y-Yeah," Mae-Bi mumbled, defeated. "Ration break."
The squad settled down near the bridge, pulling out what little dried meat and steamed buns they had left. The mist swirled ahead, waiting.
But for now, just for a moment, they laughed and shared food like something resembling a team.
And Mae-Bi, despite everything, allowed himself a small moment of peace.
Because the next step... would be hell.
Meanwhile.
Deep within the territory of the Thousand Venoms Empress, the air shimmered with a subtle, poisonous Qi. The wind smelled faintly of orchids and rot.
In the heart of a pale jade courtyard, surrounded by mist-veiled statues and strange flowering trees, a woman in flowing silks knelt before her garden.
She hummed quietly. A gentle, eerie tune.
In her hands was a porcelain watering can, the liquid inside thick, green, and faintly glowing.
She poured it gently into the mouth of a twisted, vine-like flower. The plant shuddered and bloomed—revealing dozens of needle-fangs dripping with sweet poison.
The woman smiled warmly. "Good girl."
She reached out and stroked the creature's stem like one would a pet's ear. Her long, black nails shimmered with venom.
Behind her, a ripple of movement disturbed the mist.
A tall man appeared wordlessly — his black robes whispering as he moved. His face was worn, and one eye was covered in a silk patch.
Oh Mun-Jae, First Squad Leader of the Thousand Venoms Sect.
He dropped to one knee behind her, head bowed. "I greet the Thousand Venoms Empress."
She didn't turn.
"What do you want?" she asked sweetly, still admiring her garden.
"A group of assassins have arrived at the bridge," Mun-Jae said flatly. "Judging by their uniforms, they're from the First Pillar. Fifth Division."
She tilted her head, the flower twitching beside her.
"Fifth?" she whispered. "So... little brother really did send someone."
Mun-Jae continued, "They show no killing intent. Should I eliminate them, Empress?"
She turned.
Her smile was slow and serene. "No."
Mun-Jae tensed.
"That pill is the reason they're here. That's fine. Let them come."
She rose to her feet with an unsettling grace, the folds of her robe hissing like silk over bone.
"I heard," she continued, "that a new Fifth Division leader has surfaced. One who climbed quickly. One my brother is interested in."
Mun-Jae's throat tightened. He'd seen that look before. A glint in her eyes like a child finding a new toy.
"I want to see if this one will entertain me," she said, her voice drifting like a sigh. "Send them my invitation."
Mun-Jae bowed again. "As you command."
With a shimmer of Qi, he vanished into the mist.
The Empress turned back to her garden.
She knelt again, whispering something only the roots could hear.
All around her, the soil moved.
From beneath the flowerbeds, massive carnivorous plants emerged—hulking things with glistening red mouths, thorned limbs, and thick vines that hissed like snakes.
They drooled at her feet.
She smiled.
"I wonder," she said, stroking one of the beasts lovingly, "if my little babies will like him."
The garden answered with a low growl.