> "A serpent smiles before it strikes. So I strike first."
— Ryu Seok-jin.
---
Five days had passed.
Dawn broke gently over the Iron Vow Saber Sect. The faint toll of a morning bell echoed through the compound as soft golden light spilled over tiled roofs and stone paths.
In the back courtyard, four maids gathered near a hedge of plum blossoms, their whispers mixing with birdsong as they watched the young heir train under the rising sun.
"He's eating this much again today?"
"He used to only touch porridge…"
"He even jogged before dawn."
"It's like he's someone else entirely."
Their laughter bubbled up—part relief, part wonder.
As if summoned, Ryu stepped into view, sweat glistening on his brow, a simple training tunic clinging to his lean frame. His once-fragile steps were now steady. His gaze, sharp and commanding.
"Already finished preparing breakfast?" he asked, his voice calm yet firm. "Well done. Keep it simple like this from now on."
"Yes, Young Master Cheon."
The maids bowed, casting quick glances as he passed.
"He really has gotten healthier."
"It's... kind of intimidating now."
Ryu took his seat and began eating. Just as he reached for a second bite, the door to the hall creaked open—without a knock.
"Young Master Cheon!"
Baek Mudo, his personal physician, swept in with exaggerated energy, his face stretched into an overly warm smile—the kind worn by snakes just before they strike.
> Still slithering in with no shame. Shall I pluck this little snake's fangs today?
"You're looking rather healthy these days," Baek Mudo observed, hands clasped behind his back. "Almost... unrecognizable, really."
"What brings you here, Physician Baek?" Ryu asked smoothly. "You look uneasy."
The older man chuckled, dabbing fake tears with his sleeve.
"I hadn't heard from you. I was worried, so I came by. But seeing you now, all my effort feels wasted..."
Ryu raised an eyebrow, still chewing.
"Effort? You mean trying to poison me with Moonpetal Rice?"
Baek Mudo flinched.
"W-What? Surely there's been a misunderstanding!" he said quickly, eyes darting. "Moonpetal Rice is revered for its medicinal—"
"Oh? I assumed it was poison." Ryu's gaze sharpened. "Forgive me for the confusion."
"P-Poison? Young Master, I am your loyal physician—"
"Physician Baek."
He straightened. "Y-Yes?"
"You entered without being called. Now you plan to leave without being dismissed. Who's the master here—you, or me?"
A beat of tension. The physician forced a laugh, but his eyes twitched.
"Just a joke, of course!"
Ryu stood and walked toward his desk.
"Fetch the writing tools. I need to send a letter."
"Pardon?"
"You'll write while I dictate. Quickly."
Baek Mudo hesitated, but obeyed, placing parchment and ink on the desk.
"Ready when you are, Young Master."
Ryu began slowly.
"Due to Young Master Cheon's illness, I must remain in the Iron Vow Saber Sect for some time. Since this life of mine insists on lingering, please advise on what I should do next—"
Baek Mudo's hand trembled. The quill stopped scratching.
"Why did you stop writing?" Ryu asked casually.
"Y-Young Master... what are you saying?"
A blur of motion. A sharp snap of air.
A silver blade buried itself into the wall beside Baek Mudo's neck, slicing a shallow red line across his skin.
He froze, eyes bulging.
Ryu stepped forward, calm as moonlight.
"I'm not the Nam Cheon you used to know, old man."
"W-What nonsense are you spouting?" the physician stammered, voice cracking.
Ryu's tone dropped to a low, dangerous whisper.
"Moonpetal Rice may benefit the strong—but to someone as sickly as Nam Cheon, it causes energy depletion, fatigue, even organ failure. And yet you kept feeding it to me. You even checked my pulse in secret, didn't you?"
"...You never expected me to survive."
Ryu took another step.
"You're not working alone. So in that letter, you'll write the name of whoever gave you the order to kill me."
Silence. Then—crack.
Baek Mudo's smile shattered.
"I was going to let you waste away quietly..." he hissed. "But even a dying brat has teeth now, huh?"
His tone shifted, dark and venomous.
"Fine. I'll just kill every servant and silence them all."
He lunged for his waist, where a blade gleamed beneath his robe.
But Ryu moved first.
The small throwing knife vanished from the wall—and reappeared slicing through Baek Mudo's throat in a flash of steel.
A moment of silence.
Then—the physician's head hit the floor with a dull thud.
Ryu exhaled, steadying himself against the table.
"Don't get distracted while I'm talking."
> My internal energy… still not recovered. This weakness… it's only temporary.
He watched the blood spread across the wooden floor, crimson staining the parchment.
Then turned toward the window.
> Soon, the murim world will tremble before me once more.
But before he could move, a surge of pain cracked behind his eyes. He staggered, grabbing his head as memories not his own flooded in—
A woman's gentle voice.
Soft hands brushing away tears.
A young boy, kneeling before a grave.
Rain. Loneliness. Silence.
Nam Cheon—the quiet, frail son of a powerful man. A mother gone too soon. A father always absent.
Ryu gasped. A tear slipped from his eye.
He didn't even notice it at first.
"...Why?" he whispered.
"Why do I feel... this pain?"