Ming's pace gradually quickened, his footsteps growing faster with every passing moment.
Jinhai noticed it and moved closer. Without a word, he took out a dumpling and held it out.
"My lord," he said gently, "I know you're in a hurry. But if you don't eat anything, you'll collapse before we even reach our destination."
Ming slowed. After a brief pause, he nodded and accepted the dumpling, eating it as he continued walking.
Jinhai then handed another to Wrath.
"You should eat too."
She didn't reply. She simply took it and began eating in silence, her expression unchanged.
Seeing this, Jinhai couldn't help but smile.
For the first time in a long while, the road ahead didn't feel quite as heavy.
Ming took a bite.
The moment the dumpling touched his tongue, his pupils shrank.
Poison.
Not lethal—but subtle. The kind meant to dull the senses, slow qi circulation, and weaken the body without immediate pain.
His steps didn't falter.
Did Jinhai do this?
Ming's mind raced.
Was he waiting for us to lower our guard? Was this planned from the start?
But why?
As the thought formed, he noticed Wrath.
Her expression had changed.
Her eyes narrowed, a faint killing intent leaking out as she glanced at Jinhai. Then she looked at Ming—rage flashing openly in her gaze.
They continued walking, but the air between them turned razor-sharp.
"I told you," Wrath said coldly, breaking the silence. "He was never someone we should trust."
Jinhai blinked, clearly confused. "What?"
Before Ming could speak, Wrath's qi surged.
Cold gathered in the air, crystallizing in an instant. An ice blade formed in her hand, sharp and trembling with killing intent, its tip pointed straight at Jinhai's throat.
"I knew it from the start," she shouted. "You never had good intentions."
Jinhai froze.
His mind went blank.
What… what is happening?
Had he offended her somehow? Was the dumpling bad? Too bland?
"If you didn't like the dumpling," he said nervously, raising his hands, "you could've just said so. You didn't need to point something that dangerous at me. And besides, I didn't make them—they were from the tavern. If you're angry, maybe point that ice sword at the cook instead?"
Wrath's fury only intensified.
"Even now you pretend!" she snapped. "After poisoning us, you still act innocent? I'll kill you!"
She lunged.
The ice blade thrust forward—
—but Ming stepped between them.
He caught the blade with two fingers, death qi flaring as the ice cracked and froze in place.
"Enough," Ming said calmly.
Wrath froze. "Ming—!"
"Calm down."
Jinhai stared, his face pale. "Poison?" he whispered. "You said… poison?"
The word felt unreal in his mouth.
Ming turned to him, studying his expression.
There was no panic. No guilt.
Only confusion.
"…You were poisoned too," Wrath said slowly, realization dawning. "Weren't you?"
Ming nodded. "Yes."
Jinhai's knees almost gave out. "I was…?"
After saying that, Jinhai lost consciousness and fell to the ground like a lifeless body.
"we survived because of death qi," Ming said evenly. "Otherwise, it would've weakened us within minutes."
Wrath's grip tightened. "Then who—"
Ming's gaze shifted toward the road behind them, toward the tavern they had just left.
"Isn't it obvious?" he said quietly.
"It came from the tavern."
Silence fell.
And somewhere behind them, unaware they had failed, someone was already walking toward their death.
They began walking faster and faster.
One of them spoke, irritation clear in his voice.
"Hey, how much longer? I'm tired. Didn't the poison work?"
Another replied calmly, "No. I think they just ate late, that's why they were able to come this far."
As they continued, one of them suddenly noticed a broken trail in the grass.
"Hey, look."
All of them turned their eyes toward it. After a moment, smiles spread across their faces.
"They must've run this way after getting poisoned," one of them said. "They probably thought we wouldn't notice."
Laughter erupted among them.
"Hahaha… idiots."
They followed the trail and soon found three bodies lying on the ground—two men and one woman.
The moment they saw them, their laughter grew louder.
"Haha! See? I told you they wouldn't notice the poison."
"Alright, alright," one said, stepping forward. "Let me check the product."
After saying that, he walked toward Wrath. His face was filled with a twisted smile as he reached out to touch her.
But just as his hand was about to reach her body—
Slash.
His arm was severed in an instant and fell to the ground.
For a brief moment, he didn't understand what had happened.
Then the pain struck.
"Aaaaaaaahhh!!"
He screamed as blood poured from his wound like a broken dam.
Seeing this, his companions froze in shock.
At the same time, Wrath and Ming slowly stood up.
As Ming straightened himself, he looked at them with cold eyes and said,
"We've been waiting for you for a long time. Why are you so late?"
Jinha was still unconscious. Because of the poison, he was unable to move.
Seeing their companion fall, the rest of them froze in shock.
But one of the bandits suddenly shouted, forcing courage into his voice,
"Get a grip! There are only two of them—we're ten! We have the advantage in numbers!"
After saying that, he roared, "Attack!"
But in the world of Murim, numbers meant nothing in front of absolute power.
Wrath and Ming moved at the same time.
They slaughtered them like butchers.
With a single swing, Ming cut bodies clean in half. Blood sprayed across the ground before the corpses even realized they were dead. At the same time, Wrath froze her enemies solid, their screams dying as ice swallowed their bodies.
The battlefield turned silent in moments.
Suddenly, one man standing at the back stared at Ming with wide eyes and shouted,
"It—it's him! He's the one from the blood-cut!"
Hearing that, the fighting stopped completely.
The remaining bandits began staring at Ming and Wrath more carefully. Their gazes shifted between the two of them… and then memories struck.
Black Serpent Sect posters.
The faces were the same.
The realization hit them like thunder.
Cold sweat poured down their backs.
They knew how brutal the Blood Cult was. But they also knew Ming had been framed—yet even framed, his name alone inspired terror.
One of them shouted desperately,
"Run! All of you, scatter in different directions! I heard the Black Serpent Sect gives huge rewards for information about them!"
The moment he finished speaking, the bandits turned and fled in all directions.
Ming watched six figures running toward different paths.
He turned to Wrath and said calmly,
"You take three. I'll take the rest."
Wrath nodded and vanished.
Ming burst forward at full speed.
In that place, only frozen corpses, severed bodies… and Jinhai remained behind.