Mae-Bi followed Oh Mun-Jae through the sect's inner forest trail. As the trees thinned, a sprawling palace unfolded ahead — elegant but eerie, with curling green vines and serpent statues woven into its architecture.
Inside the grounds, men and women trained in silence. Disciples of the Thousand Venoms Sect — not assassins, but martial artists. Calm. Structured. Their lives, while still bloody, had rhythm and purpose.
Mae-Bi used to envy them.
Unlike assassins, they weren't raised to kill from the cradle. They learned techniques, drank tea, debated philosophy. They died too, sure — but not like the meat grinder that was the Blood Blade.
"How is Baek Mu-Gi?" Oh Mun-Jae asked, still walking ahead, voice casual.
The question landed wrong.
Mae-Bi kept his tone flat. "He's healthy. On assignment under Lord Hyeolgeom Gunju."
Mun-Jae nodded. "Good."
Silence returned. Suffocating.
Mae-Bi cleared his throat. "If I may ask... how is the Thousand Venoms Empress? I've heard she... enjoys her toys."
That was bait — of course he knew the rumors. He needed a read on her madness before meeting her face-to-face.
Schlick.
A sudden sharpness bit across his chest — fast and thin as wind.
Blood bloomed on his tunic.
Mun-Jae had drawn his sword halfway, the blade already red.
"Did the First Pillar ask you to inquire... or are you just curious?" Mun-Jae asked, one eye narrowed, killing intent flooding the air like venom mist.
Mae-Bi's knees twitched — a warning from his instincts.
But he didn't flinch.
Didn't step back.
Didn't drop his gaze.
[System: Emergency Qi Shield — 20% Activated.]
Mae-Bi exhaled. "My apologies. It was only small talk."
Mun-Jae didn't smile, but he slowly returned the sword to its sheath.
Interesting. The boy didn't break. Even at Flowing Qi Stage, he stood firm under intent that would make most disciples collapse.
"I see why my lady is curious about you," Mun-Jae said. "Follow me."
They passed under an arch of black-stemmed vines and entered the garden.
It was... beautiful.
Twilight orchids shimmered with violet dew. Flowers pulsed with color that felt too vivid for reality. Petals moved in the breeze — or was it breath?
"Lovely," Mae-Bi murmured.
"Careful where you step," Mun-Jae said. "These are Her babies."
Mae-Bi froze mid-step.
Babies?
His smile twitched. He glanced again — were the flowers... moving toward him?
System. Help. Now.
[System: Visual Filter Active. Displaying True Garden Form.]
Reality warped.
What had seemed elegant and serene was now grotesque — dozens of carnivorous plants, some taller than men, their mouths glistening with toxin-soaked teeth. Vines pulsed with veins. Roots shifted like fingers.
Everything in this garden was alive, and it wanted to eat him.
Mae-Bi didn't blink.
He calmly smiled and stepped forward. "The babies are beautiful."
[System: Presence Detected. Rear. Range: 0.3 meters.]
"Huh—?"
"See anything interesting?"
The voice was right in front of him.
Mae-Bi's heart stopped.
She stood there, nose to nose with him — barefoot, smiling, eyes too bright to be sane. Her silk robes trailed behind her like a ghost's shadow. He hadn't sensed a thing. Not her Qi. Not her step.
Mae-Bi swallowed the scream clawing its way up his throat.
Then dropped to one knee and lowered his head.
"Greetings, Thousand Venoms Empress. I, Mae-Bi of the Fifth Division, pay my respects to the Second Pillar of the Demonic Cult."
Silence.
Then laughter — soft, musical.
"Oh? And here I thought you'd faint. You reacted quite fast. That's rare." Her voice curled around him like warm silk dipped in acid. "Tell me, little blade... do you scream when you sleep?"
Mae-Bi kept his head bowed, but his fists trembled slightly.
Not because of fear.
But because the real monster... had finally looked him in the eye.
The Thousand Venoms Empress gently cupped Mae-Bi's chin and tilted his face upward, inspecting him like a fine vase.
"Mm... You're handsome," she murmured, lips curling with amusement. "And young. How old are you, little flower?"
Mae-Bi kept his expression neutral. "This lowly one is eighteen, my lady."
"I see~" She hummed with delight, brushing a strand of her black hair behind one ear. Her deep brown eyes shimmered like still poison in a teacup. "Look at me."
He did. And regretted it.
She was beautiful — unnaturally so. Her skin flawless. Her smile charming. But beneath it all... there was a stillness. A wrongness. Like the silence before a plague wiped out a city.
"Well then," she said, standing. "Let's go inside my podoga. I'll give you the pill."
Mae-Bi bowed. "Your generosity honors the Blood Blade, my lady."
He followed her along the jade path, every step measured, mind racing. She was being too kind. He didn't like it.
And then—
"Oh, before we get there..." she said sweetly, turning to him with an innocent smile that could stop a grown man's heart, "I've been working on some new poisonous pills — fresh from my babies in the garden. But I haven't had anyone to try them on. I'm immune, sadly."
Mae-Bi froze.
His eyes widened just slightly. Internally: What in the nine flaming hells—
She leaned closer, her voice like honey over a blade. "Come on, play with me. No one plays with me anymore. Not even my dear brother — ever since he became First Pillar, he's so dull." She pouted. "That's why..."
Her smile returned. "You'll play with me, won't you?"
A grown woman — one of the Seven Pillars — just asked him to play poison roulette.
I'm going to die. She's actually going to kill me. This is how I go. Eaten by a flower was too merciful. This is worse.
But outside?
Mae-Bi bowed with a gracious smile. "Of course, my lady. It would be an honor."
She beamed. "Oh! I knew you were the fun kind."
I lied. I lied so hard. Someone save me.
Mae-Bi subtly glanced back — where was Mun-Jae? Gone. No footsteps. No breath. No shadow.
Of course. A proper assassin wouldn't stay. He's watching from somewhere. Probably already dug my grave.
They entered the podoga — a wide, open wooden platform surrounded by soft curtains and the scent of jasmine. The Empress gestured for him to sit beside her.
He obeyed, back straight, heartbeat trying not to betray him.
She clapped twice.
A servant arrived with a long, lacquered box etched with coiling dragons. The box alone looked like it could pay for a small province.
She opened it slowly, reverently.
Inside were three pills. Black, oily, and steaming slightly — the kind of poison that didn't wait to kill you. It raced.
The stench hit Mae-Bi like a gut punch. His instincts screamed run.
She turned to him with a gentle smile, as if offering candy to a child.
"Come now," she said, placing one pill delicately in his palm. "Eat."
He stared at it.
Then at her.
Then back at the pill.
This wasn't a test.
It was a game.
A sick, demonic game where he might die in agony while she took notes and giggled.
He looked up at the sky.
So this is it, huh? Not a sword. Not a mistake. Just a pill from a woman who thinks murder is a hobby.
Mae-Bi forced a grin.
"May I... ask which of the three is the new one?"
"Oh, darling. That's the fun part," she said sweetly. "They're all new."
Of course they are.
And so, pill in hand, surrounded by toxins and a woman whose smile made corpses blush...
Mae-Bi prepared to swallow death.