Lian Mo stepped into the moonlit courtyard of the Lian Clan estate. The night air carried the metallic tang of blood from below. The grand wooden gates stood ajar. Lanterns flickered weakly on iron hooks. Shadows danced across the empty paths. No guards patrolled. No servants whispered. The house felt hollow. Dead already.
He walked slowly. Boots left dark prints on the stone. Each step echoed louder than it should. The blight aura clung to him like smoke. Plants along the walkway curled inward. Leaves blackened at the edges. Petals fell like ash.
A figure emerged from the main hall. Elder Lian Wei. The clan's second uncle. Gray hair tied in a tight knot. Robes of deep indigo. He carried a lantern. The flame trembled in his hand.
"Lian Mo?" The elder's voice cracked. "What have you done? The air reeks of death."
Lian Mo stopped ten paces away. He tilted his head. "I finished what needed finishing."
Elder Wei raised the lantern higher. Light caught the blood on Lian Mo's robes. Streaks across his chest. Splatter on his sleeves. His face remained clean. Almost serene.
"The screams. I heard them from my chamber." Elder Wei's hand shook. "Your father. Your mother. The children. Tell me this is a nightmare."
Lian Mo smiled. Thin. Cold. "Nightmares end when you wake. This is real. And permanent."
Elder Wei took a step back. "You slaughtered them. Your own kin. Why?"
"Because they were weak." Lian Mo's voice stayed flat. "They carried the same blood as me. But they wasted it. Hiding behind sect favors. Begging for scraps from the outer elders. I refused to rot with them."
The elder's eyes widened. "The sect protected us. Gave us shelter after your father's disgrace. You dare spit on their mercy?"
"Mercy is a chain." Lian Mo advanced one step. "I broke mine tonight."
Elder Wei drew a short sword from his sleeve. The blade gleamed silver. "Then I will end this abomination myself. For the clan. For the heavens."
Lian Mo laughed. Soft at first. Then louder. The sound rolled across the courtyard like distant thunder.
"You? End me?" He spread his arms. "Look at me, Elder. Do I look like the boy you beat for having cursed veins? The one you locked in the cellar for weeks?"
Elder Wei's grip tightened on the hilt. "We tried to cure you. The healers said the blight would consume you before twenty. We kept you alive."
"You kept me caged." Lian Mo's eyes narrowed. "You fed me scraps. Told me I was a burden. A stain on the Lian name. Now the stain spreads."
The elder lunged. Sword arcing toward Lian Mo's neck. Fast for an old man. But slow compared to what Lian Mo had become.
Lian Mo sidestepped. Grabbed the wrist mid-swing. Twisted. Bones snapped. The sword clattered to the ground. Elder Wei cried out. Dropped to one knee.
"Pathetic." Lian Mo kicked the fallen blade away. "You always boasted about your sword forms. Third-grade sect disciple in your youth. Yet here you kneel like a beggar."
Elder Wei clutched his broken wrist. Sweat beaded on his forehead. "Kill me then. But know this. The sect will hunt you. The outer elders already sense something wrong. They will come."
"Let them." Lian Mo crouched. Met the elder's gaze. "I want them to come. I want them to see what happens when you cage a blight."
He placed a hand on Elder Wei's shoulder. Green mist seeped from his palm. The elder flinched. Tried to pull away.
"What are you doing?" Elder Wei's voice rose in panic.
"Showing you mercy." Lian Mo's tone mocked. "The same mercy you showed me."
The mist thickened. Wrapped around the elder's arm. Skin blistered instantly. Flesh bubbled. Turned black. The rot spread upward. Veins darkened. The elder screamed. High and raw.
"Stop! Lian Mo, stop!"
Lian Mo leaned closer. "Beg properly. Call me Young Master. Like you forced the servants to call you."
Elder Wei sobbed. "Please... Young Master... mercy..."
Lian Mo tilted his head. "Too late."
He pressed harder. The blight surged. The elder's arm withered. Muscle melted. Bone peeked through blackened skin. The scream turned wet. Gurgling. Lian Mo released him. The elder collapsed. Clutching the ruined limb. Rocking back and forth.
"You feel it now." Lian Mo stood. "The decay. The helplessness. Every day I lived it. Now it's your turn."
Elder Wei looked up. Eyes red. "Monster... you are no longer human."
"I never was." Lian Mo turned away. "You made sure of that."
He walked toward the main hall. Behind him, the elder crawled. Dragged himself across the stone. Left a trail of black ichor.
"Wait..." Elder Wei rasped. "The ancestral shrine. The jade tablet. It records our lineage. If you destroy it... the sect will know immediately. They will brand you heretic. Hunt you across realms."
Lian Mo paused at the hall doors. "Good. Let them know."
He pushed the doors open. The ancestral hall stretched before him. Rows of spirit tablets. Names carved in gold leaf. Incense ash thick on the floor. A single red candle burned before the main plaque. Lian Clan Founders.
Lian Mo approached the central altar. Lifted the jade tablet. Heavy. Cool to the touch. Names of ancestors glowed faintly.
He raised it high. "To the heavens that watched and did nothing. To the sect that profited from our weakness. To every name here that failed to protect its own."
He slammed the tablet down. Jade shattered. Fragments scattered like broken teeth. The glow died. The candle flame snuffed out.
Silence fell. Absolute.
Then thunder rolled again. Closer this time. The sky outside flashed violet. Wind howled through the open doors.
Lian Mo turned. Walked back to the courtyard.
Elder Wei still crawled. Reached the dropped sword with his good hand. Gripped it. Raised it weakly.
"You... cannot win..." he wheezed. "The heavens... will purge you..."
Lian Mo stopped in front of him. Looked down.
"The heavens already tried." He extended his hand. Green tendrils snaked from his fingers. Wrapped around the elder's throat. Lifted him off the ground.
Elder Wei choked. Dropped the sword. Clawed at the tendrils. They tightened.
Lian Mo spoke softly. "Tell me one thing before you join them."
The elder's face purpled. Eyes bulging.
"Did you ever regret it?" Lian Mo asked. "Any of it?"
Elder Wei tried to speak. Only bubbles of blood came out.
Lian Mo nodded. "I thought so."
He clenched his fist. The tendrils constricted. Neck snapped. Body went limp. Dropped to the stone with a dull thud.
Lian Mo exhaled. Corruption percentage flickered in his mind. Seventy-five percent in Blight Seed realm. The kill pushed it higher. Power hummed in his veins.
He looked up. Stars dimmed behind gathering clouds. Lightning arced. Not natural. Heavenly punishment brewing again. Stronger than before.
"Come then." Lian Mo spread his arms. "I am ready."
Wind whipped his robes. Green mist billowed outward. Trees around the estate blackened. Bark split. Branches fell. The blight spread. Slow. Inevitable.
He walked toward the outer gates. Past the bodies. Past the ruins of his former life.
A voice called from the darkness. Weak. Familiar.
"Lian Mo..."
He turned.
A young servant girl. Mei Ling. Sixteen. She hid behind a pillar. Eyes wide with terror. She had served him since childhood. Brought him food when others refused. Never spoke of his curse.
She stepped forward. Knees shaking. "Please... don't kill everyone."
Lian Mo regarded her. "Why not?"
She swallowed. "Because... you are not like them. Not completely."
He tilted his head. "Explain."
"You spared the dogs." Her voice trembled. "Last winter. When the clan wanted to cull the strays. You hid them in the stables. Fed them your own rations."
Lian Mo said nothing.
Mei Ling continued. "And the flowers. The black lotus in the garden. Everyone said they were cursed. Poisonous. You tended them alone. At night."
A long silence.
Lian Mo finally spoke. "Those were tests. To see if weakness could be useful."
She shook her head. "No. You cared. In your way."
He stepped closer. She flinched but held her ground.
"Run," he said. "Leave this place. Never return. Tell no one what you saw."
Mei Ling stared. "Why spare me?"
"Because you never pitied me." Lian Mo's voice dropped. "Pity is worse than hatred."
Tears fell down her cheeks. She bowed deeply. Then turned. Ran into the night.
Lian Mo watched her disappear beyond the gates.
Thunder cracked overhead. Lightning struck the main hall. Wood exploded. Flames erupted. Orange light painted the courtyard.
He did not look back.
The sect lay three days east. Outer branch of the Azure Cloud Sect. They had taken tribute from his clan for generations. In return, offered protection. A poor bargain.
Now the debt came due.
Lian Mo stepped through the gates. The estate burned behind him. Smoke rose thick and black.
He whispered to the night.
"First the clan. Then the sect. Then the heavens."
The blight followed. Silent. Patient. Eternal.