The Li Clan's mountain compound lay draped in a cloak of cold mist as night fell. From the highest pavilions, oil lamps glowed like watchful eyes, flickering against the gathering storm. Thunder rumbled somewhere beyond the peaks, low and hungry.
Inside his private study, Li Tian sat alone, knees folded on a cushion of black silk. The faint scent of sandalwood smoke curled from a brass burner at his side, but its warmth did nothing to chase away the chill inside him.
He stared at the low wooden table before him. On it lay a single item: TheShadow Talisman he'd just purchased from the Villain Store. A thin slip of black paper, traced with crimson runes that pulsed like veins under skin.
He picked it up, felt the cold hum of forbidden spiritual energy vibrating against his fingertips. So small — and yet it could silence footsteps, cloak a man from mortal eyes. Power, bought with fear.
[Villain Points Remaining: 900]
The System's voice slithered through his mind like ice water.
[Subordinate Loyalty: 20%.][Next Requirement: Prove loyalty through betrayal.]
Li Tian let out a soft breath. The oil lamp crackled as a draft swept through the wooden screens. Somewhere outside, a plum branch tapped against the paper window, as if trying to claw its way in.
Fear binds more strongly than trust, he thought. Trust failed me once — it won't fail me again.
A soft knock at the door snapped him from his thoughts.
"Enter," he called.
The door slid open and Xiao Chen crept in, head bowed so low his nose nearly brushed the floor. He smelled of sweat and fear — a scent Li Tian was coming to appreciate.
"Xiao Chen," Li Tian said calmly, voice smooth as a whetted blade. "Raise your head."
The boy flinched but obeyed. His eyes were wide, the whites stark in the lamplight. Li Tian wondered if he saw his own reflection there — cold, black eyes that no longer belonged to the man who'd died on a warehouse floor.
"You've served me for a day," Li Tian said. "Do you wish to keep breathing?"
Xiao Chen's mouth opened, closed, then opened again. "Y-yes, Young Master."
Li Tian's smile was thin, razor-edged. "Then you'll do something for me tonight. Elder Shen — you know him?"
Xiao Chen stiffened. "He… he's the chief steward for the Outer Disciples, Young Master. A powerful man."
"A traitor," Li Tian said flatly. "He's been feeding secrets to the Zhao Clan. He wants me dead — tonight, even."
He leaned closer. Xiao Chen's breath hitched as Li Tian pressed the Shadow Talisman into his palm.
"You will go to Elder Shen's quarters. Find proof of his betrayal — letters, secret marks, anything. Bring it back. If you're caught… well. You won't be."
Xiao Chen's hand trembled around the talisman. "Young Master, if Elder Shen catches me—"
"He won't," Li Tian interrupted, his tone soft but cold enough to freeze bone. "And if he does? He'll be dead before dawn."
He rose in one fluid motion, his shadow spilling long and crooked across the floorboards. He bent down so his mouth was level with Xiao Chen's ear.
"If you run," he whispered, "I will know. And I will carve your name into every wall in this clan — as a warning."
Xiao Chen's knees knocked together. "I—I won't run, Young Master. I swear it. I'll get the proof."
"Go," Li Tian said, flicking his sleeve. "Before the rain drowns the stars."
Hours passed.
Thunder cracked overhead. The wind hissed through the plum trees, rattling the courtyard gates like iron teeth. Inside, Li Tian sat unmoving. His mind flickered between memories: cold metal in his chest, his best friend's shaking hands, Mei Lin's dry, pitiless eyes.
You were too loyal. Too soft. The System's words crawled across his thoughts.
A grin ghosted across his lips. Never again.
The Villain Store pulsed in his mind's eye, lines of forbidden wares scrolling before him like offerings from some dark temple.
[Forbidden Technique: Soul-Devouring Palm — 800 VP]
[Blood Contract Seal — 1000 VP]
[Venomous Spirit Parasite — 1200 VP]
His gaze lingered on the Soul-Devouring Palm. To drain another's life force, turn it into your own power — unthinkable for righteous sects. But he was no righteous man.
[Do you wish to purchase?]
Li Tian's fingers drummed against the low table. He thought of Zhao Feng's blood on the dueling stones. He thought of the assassins who would come tonight. And he thought of the future — where the world bent its knee or burned.
[Confirm Purchase?]
"Yes," he said aloud. The lamp flickered — as if the shadows themselves leaned closer to listen.
[Purchase Confirmed. Villain Points: 900 → 100.]
[Technique Acquired: Soul-Devouring Palm (Initial Stage).]
A surge of cold fire spread through his chest. He felt it burn through muscle and marrow — a secret knowledge searing into his bones. His fingertips tingled with threads of black spiritual energy. If he reached out now, he could feel the warmth of another's life waiting to be stolen.
Li Tian flexed his fingers, watching the dark light dance and fade. Power is not given. It's taken.
A soft, desperate knock jolted him from the trance.
"Enter."
Xiao Chen stumbled in, his robes damp with sweat and rain. In his shaking hands: a sealed scroll, the wax marked with Elder Shen's personal crest.
Li Tian took it, tore it open. Inside, lines of flowing script — Elder Shen's own hand — offering the Zhao Clan a hidden passage through the clan's western wall and instructions to strike Li Tian's courtyard at the midnight bell.
"Good," Li Tian murmured. He looked at Xiao Chen, who sank to his knees, breathing raggedly.
"They saw me," Xiao Chen rasped. "I— I hid under the floor boards. If not for the talisman, I—"
"You did well," Li Tian said. He crouched so they were eye to eye. "Listen carefully, Xiao Chen. Tonight, they will come for my life. You will hide behind that screen—" he gestured to the folding screen painted with cranes and clouds "—and you will watch what happens when they try."
Xiao Chen's lips trembled. "W-watch…?"
"Yes." Li Tian's voice was soft, almost kind. "If you wish to serve a villain, you must see what villains do."
He reached out, brushing the boy's hair back from his sweaty forehead — almost like a blessing. Xiao Chen's eyes darted between terror and something darker. A seed of devotion planted in poisoned soil.
[Subordinate Loyalty: 20% → 40%]
Li Tian rose, sliding the scroll into his robe. He pushed open the lattice window, letting the cold wind wash over him. In the courtyard, rain had begun to fall, pattering softly against the stone.
In that rain, he could sense them — faint flickers of killing intent creeping along the wall, shadows slipping like oil under moonlight.
The first blade would come soon. And this time, there would be no mercy — only stolen breath, ripped life, and a lesson for every traitor watching from the shadows.
Li Tian's hand crackled with black light as he turned from the window, eyes cold as the mountain storm.
"Tonight," he said softly, "the villain feeds."