They found it at the eastern courtyard well, the main water source for the outer sect disciples.
Raon knelt beside the well, extending his senses. The water looked normal, clear and cold. But underneath, his perception caught something else, a faint, oily wrongness that made his skin crawl.
**Demonic Qi signature detected. Corruption level: 23%. This water has been poisoned for weeks.**
"How did no one notice?" Raon whispered.
**Because it's subtle. The Qi concentration is low enough that it feels like natural water, but it's been accumulating in disciples' systems. Once it reaches critical mass, symptoms appear.**
Jin stood behind him. "What do you sense?"
"Corruption," Raon said. "This well's been poisoned with demonic Qi. Everyone who's drunk from it has been slowly infected."
Jin's hand went to his sword. "How do we fix it?"
Raon closed his eyes, thinking. In the manhwa, they'd discovered the poisoning too late. Dozens had died before they traced it back to the source. But now...
**You have corrected Blue Pearl techniques. The original founder's methods included purification rituals specifically designed for water corruption.**
"I need time," Raon said. "And materials. Salt, silver, blue pearl powder, and..." He paused. "I need to perform a purification formation."
Jin looked at Raon, he's getting used to the suprises but he had no time to question him.
"How long?"
"Three hours to prepare, one hour to perform. But Jin..." Raon met his eyes. "If I do this, people will know I have knowledge I shouldn't. The elders will question everything."
Jin's expression hardened. "Then we don't tell them it was you. I'll say I found an old manual in the library. We'll say Master Hwan remembered the technique."
**He's lying for you. The friendship route just evolved into ride or die.**
"Why are you helping me?" Raon asked quietly.
"Because you're helping us," Jin said simply. "And because whatever secrets you're hiding, I trust that you're using them for the right reasons."