Morning arrived quietly over the Lin Estate, the mist rolling through the courtyards like ghostly waves. Birds chirped softly atop the tiled roofs… but beneath the seemingly peaceful atmosphere, chaos was already brewing.
Wei Tao's hands shook violently as he carried the small lacquered tray toward Lin Xuan's courtyard. Every step felt like walking closer to an execution block.
Sweat dripped down his forehead.
His fingers clutched the bowl—rice porridge laced with two fatal drops of Blackroot Poison, hidden beneath the surface, perfectly dissolved.
Just as Young Master Lin Feng instructed.
The servant swallowed nervously as he stopped at the door.
"Young Master X-Xuan… your lunch…"
Silence.
The courtyard felt colder than usual. Not a sound came from inside. The shadows seemed deeper, thicker, as though the air itself resisted his presence.
Wei Tao knocked weakly.
No answer.
"I should just… put it down and run," he whispered.
But as he set the tray on the stone table, he froze.
Lin Xuan was standing right behind him.
Wei Tao nearly screamed.
Lin Xuan hadn't made a sound. Not a footstep. Not a breath.
His presence was like a blade that appeared from nothing.
"Y-Young Master Xuan…! I… I brought your l-lunch…"
Lin Xuan stared at the tray, then at Wei Tao.
His voice was calm. Too calm.
"You seem nervous."
Wei Tao's knees almost buckled.
"N-No! Not at all! I'm just—just tired from running errands—"
Lin Xuan stepped closer.
"Your hands are trembling."
Wei Tao gulped loudly.
The bowl rattled on the tray.
Lin Xuan lifted it slowly.
He held it up to his nose.
A faint, cold smile touched his lips.
"Blackroot Poison."
Wei Tao's heart stopped.
"H-How…?!"
Lin Xuan placed the bowl back on the tray.
"You think poison is unfamiliar to me?"
His eyes reflected a cold, ancient calm.
"I lived in a world where poison was used as casually as tea."
Wei Tao stumbled back.
"Please—don't kill me! I was forced! Young Master Feng—he—he threatened to—"
Lin Xuan raised a hand.
"I know."
Wei Tao froze.
"You… know?"
Lin Xuan nodded.
"I sensed him watching last night. His killing intent is pathetic but very loud."
Wei Tao fell to his knees, tears welling up.
"Please… I don't want to die…"
Lin Xuan crouched beside him.
"I'm not going to kill you."
Wei Tao looked up, shocked.
"But I need you to cooperate."
Lin Xuan whispered something in his ear—quiet, sinister, calculated.
Wei Tao's eyes widened, fear turning into forced determination.
"I… I'll do it…"
Lin Xuan stood.
"Good. Then take this back to Lin Feng."
He handed Wei Tao the same poisoned bowl.
Only now… it was laced with something else.
A counter-poison that would trigger only if mixed with the original toxin inside Lin Feng's body from earlier attempts.
A vicious trap.
"Tell him," Lin Xuan said, voice cold as winter, "that I ate every last drop."
Wei Tao bowed frantically.
"I-I understand!"
Then he ran as if death chased him.
Lin Xuan watched him go, his eyes gleaming.
"The first move… has been made."
Later that afternoon, Lin Feng sat inside his pavilion, anxiously pacing.
"Why is Wei Tao taking so long…? Did something go wrong…?"
Just as his frustration peaked—
Wei Tao burst through the door, panting heavily.
"Young Master Feng! It's done!"
Lin Feng rushed forward.
"He ate it?!"
Wei Tao nodded desperately.
"H-He didn't suspect anything! He finished the entire bowl!"
Lin Feng trembled, relief flooding him.
"Finally… finally! That monster will die!"
A manic smile spread across his face.
"How long until the poison activates?"
Wei Tao lowered his head.
"An hour… maybe two."
"Good… good…"
Lin Feng laughed, breathless and unstable.
"Prepare a story. When they find his body, we say he pushed himself too hard. A talent too powerful for a weakling's body."
Wei Tao forced a smile.
"Yes… Young Master…"
Lin Feng sat down, confidence returning to his eyes.
But then—
His stomach tightened.
A sharp, twisting pain rippled through him.
"…What…?"
He clutched his abdomen.
His vision blurred.
His breathing shortened.
Wei Tao stepped backward slowly.
"N-No… this… this can't be…"
Lin Feng fell to his knees, coughing violently.
Dark purple veins crawled up his neck.
The poison in Lin Xuan's bowl was reacting with the leftover diluted poison Lin Feng had previously used on Lin Xuan.
A perfect trap.
"W-Wei Tao… what's happening…?!"
Wei Tao trembled.
He said the line exactly as Lin Xuan instructed.
"Y-Young Master Feng… this is your own poison… reacting with the old one…"
Lin Feng's eyes widened with horror.
"No… no, impossible—!"
He collapsed, vomiting black blood.
Wei Tao bowed deeply.
"Master Xuan sends his regards."
Part 3 — The Elders Investigate Strange Events
That evening—
The Lin Estate was thrown into uproar.
Lin Feng had been found unconscious, poisoned, on the floor of his pavilion.
Elders rushed in.
Servants panicked.
Even the Clan Patriarch returned early from a meeting.
"What happened to my son?!"
The First Elder checked Lin Feng's pulse, his brows knitting together.
"This is… Blackroot Poison… mixed with something else… something volatile."
"Blackroot Poison?!"
"What?! That's forbidden!"
"Who would dare—?!"
Elders murmured anxiously.
Patriarch Lin Hao roared:
"Where is Lin Xuan?!"
But before anyone could answer—
Lin Xuan stepped through the doorway.
Calm. Silent. His expression unreadable.
He bowed courteously.
"Patriarch."
The air turned heavy.
The elders watched him closely.
Lin Hao growled:
"You were the last person seen with Wei Tao. I want an explanation."
Lin Xuan met his gaze, unflinching.
"Ask Wei Tao."
A servant dragged the trembling boy forward.
The elders surrounded him.
"Speak!"
Wei Tao collapsed to his knees, sobbing.
"I… I can't…! Young Master Feng will kill me—!"
"He's unconscious," an elder barked. "Speak!"
And so Wei Tao told them—
Not everything.
Only what Lin Xuan instructed him to reveal.
He explained that Lin Feng had been experimenting with poisons secretly.
That he threatened servants to assist.
That he accidentally poisoned himself while trying to brew a "strength-enhancing" concoction.
Gasps filled the room.
"Ridiculous!"
"He played with Blackroot Poison? That's insanity!"
"He could have killed half the estate if it exploded!"
Lin Hao trembled with rage—not at Lin Xuan… but at Lin Feng.
"My own son… doing something so reckless…!"
The First Elder sighed.
"It matches the symptoms. And the bottle found near his desk confirms it."
Lin Xuan stood silently.
Not a single elder suspected him.
Not one.
The trap was perfect.
A quiet victory.
A deadly warning.
Patriarch Lin Hao exhaled slowly.
"Lin Xuan."
"Yes."
"You will begin training with the Sword Hall starting tomorrow. Your talent can no longer be ignored."
Lin Xuan bowed.
"As you command."
As he turned to leave, he felt several elders staring at him.
Not with suspicion.
But with newfound interest.
Respect.
Potential.
One even whispered:
"A Silver Rank Sword Genius… nearly lost because of his cousin's foolishness."
Another murmured:
"His composure is terrifying for a child his age."
Lin Xuan walked away calmly, his shadow long and sharp across the courtyard tiles.
His trap had worked flawlessly.
And now—
The Lin Family had unknowingly taken its first step toward offering him everything he needed.