MFESW 36

Chapter : 36

My Opportunity Is the Status Window (36)

Although the Demonic Cult was reluctant to advance openly into the Central Plains, it had never abandoned the dream of swallowing it whole.

They wanted to establish multiple footholds across the Central Plains and planted secret agents wherever they could.

Besides, with hundreds of thousands of cultists living in the cramped Ten-Thousand-Great-Mountains, it was only natural that they were short on supplies.

They had to bring in food and resources from the Central Plains.

Xiangyin (湘陰) was one of the key departure points for that supply line.

Because of that, the Demonic Cult’s capital and influence—quietly and unnoticed—had seeped into the escort agencies and merchant guilds around Dongting Lake.

But then the Evil Path Alliance (邪道聯)—the Unorthodox Alliance—began to interfere.

It was a newly formed organization, unlike the firmly united Martial Alliance; it had no clear central leadership.
Yet if there was one thing it wanted for certain, it was control over the Yangtze River.

From the perspective of the Evil Path Alliance:

Their most realistic opponent at the moment wasn’t the Martial Alliance—it was the Demonic Cult.

In northern China and the Central Plains, they couldn’t even dream of challenging the Martial Alliance.

There was even the Imperial Court there.

But south of the Yangtze—

Particularly in Hubei, where unorthodox sects were numerous and orthodox forces scarce, it was the perfect place for them to rise.

If only they pushed the Demonic Cult out.

If only they could force them back across Sichuan and onto the plateau.

They believed the world would then be split in two—orthodox and unorthodox.

And the first step toward that goal was seizing control of the escort agencies around Dongting Lake.

The target named in Dan Cheon’s mission:
The Red‑Eyed Rat (赤眼鼠), Yoo Gam‑yeong (柳感映).

He was also part of the Evil Path Alliance, affiliated with the Blood‑Red League.

He had been assigned to the Hyeongnam Escort Agency—which had been supplying the Demonic Cult—to intimidate them into cutting ties with the cult and trading with the Alliance instead.

As always, the answer in these matters is simple:

The fist right in front of you is scarier than the one far away.

Hyeongnam Escort Agency surrendered to the immediate threat of blades pressed to their throats, and halted all shipments to the cult.

A few days later—

Dan Cheon arrived in Xiangyin.

* *

“Dumplings are ready!”

“Thank you.”

A dumpling shop in full view of the Hyeongnam Escort Agency.

I was sitting down eating bowl after bowl while gathering information.

I was boosting the shop’s sales nonstop, so the owner was grinning ear to ear.

Time to casually throw out some questions?

“Ah… Master Dumpling?”

As politely as possible.

Call the man a ‘tavern keeper’ or whatever and he might take offense.

“Oh no, no. ‘Master’? I’m not worthy of that! Haha!”

“I’d like to ask something.”

“Go ahead.”

“That escort agency over there, Hyeongnam.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Has the owner changed? I stopped by to drop off goods and the atmosphere felt different…”

“You’ve got sharp eyes, sir. The owner is the same, but the backing has changed.”

“The backing?”

At that word, the owner leaned in close.

Even though I was his only customer, he pressed right up to me and lowered his voice.

“They used to supply the Demonic Cult, right?”

“Yes, that’s something everyone quietly knows…”

You always have to play along.

That way he gets excited and tells you more.

“You do know, huh? Well, the thing is, the Evil Path Alliance has started applying heavy pressure to every escort agency in Xiangyin.”

“To all of them?”

“Yes. Big‑time pressure. As if they’re declaring to the cult, ‘The Yangtze belongs to us!’”

“I see…”

“You didn’t know? Xiangyin’s been gloomy and chaotic lately. Rumor is, people have already started dying in some of the larger escort agencies.”

“Who’s killing whom?”

“The Demonic Cult kills Alliance warriors, and Alliance warriors kill cult warriors. They’re killing each other left and right. Luckily, small escort houses like Hyeongnam didn’t have cult warriors stationed in them, so that Red‑Eyed Rat fellow is throwing his weight around like nobody’s business…”

— clink

Right as the story hit its peak—

Customers walked in.

“Welcome!”

“One plate of dumplings!”

The owner hurried off to serve them.

More guests came in, almost like a joke.

I would’ve liked to hear more, but…

That’s probably enough.

Evil Path Alliance, huh.

If I keep staying at Black‑Kill Gate, I’ll probably cross paths with those guys a lot.

At this rate, I might complete all ten missions just by killing members of the Alliance.

Not bad.

It’s much better than being ordered to kill innocent orthodox masters.

“Thanks for the food.”

I bowed to the owner and walked out.

He bowed deeply in return with a smile.

Now the real problem begins…

I had to eliminate the Red‑Eyed Rat, Yoo Gam‑yeong, inside the escort agency.

And the truth was…

I’d never done an assassination in my life.

Assassin No. 4, when handing things over, had explained:

Stake out near the target, learn their movements, and strike at the weakest point in their routine.

Easier said than done…

The staking out part was fine.

But how was I supposed to find the weak point? And how exactly was I supposed to kill him?

It felt overwhelming.

There was no substitute for experience—and today was my first mission. Hehe.

— plop

Staking out, then.

I sat down in an alleyway facing the escort agency’s main gate.

Anyone passing by might think I was a beggar, but what could I do?

I didn’t know any fancy way to lie low.

Time crawled by.

From mid‑morning to late afternoon.

No sign of the Red‑Eyed Rat.

Only escort guards and porters going in and out.

Should I come back tomorrow?

Just as I was thinking today wasn’t the day—

The gate swung wide open and a large group streamed out.

“Don’t dawdle—move it!”

…!!

One look and I knew—they were martial artists.

Their loose outfits and weapons marked them as unorthodox fighters.

Every single one had a nasty face.

They shoved aside porters and guards like they were livestock on their way out.

The bastards really think they own the place…

Their attitude was vile.

They treated the escort workers like slaves.

And no one dared resist—it was obvious these men were no small fry.

And above all, the man in the middle—

Eyes blood‑red, lips jutting forward, looking half‑rat half‑man—

That must be the Red‑Eyed Rat!

He might as well have been wearing a name tag.

His nickname was clearly something someone else gave him—not one he chose.

He looked ridiculous, but his gait and aura were anything but ordinary.

Was he stronger than me?

Probably not…

But judging someone’s strength from afar was still beyond me.

The group marched out, and the agency gate closed.

I activated Fluttering Buddha Cloud Steps—No Coming, No Going—

And shadowed them.

Depending on the user, No Coming, No Going was hundreds of times better than the Floating-Light Footwork.

When Monk Hyegong taught it to me, I had wondered why monks even needed such stealth techniques—but I never managed to ask.

There were even secrets hidden within it, like weightless movement—but unfortunately I lacked the internal energy to make use of them.

They arrived at a pleasure house in the center of Xiangyin.

There, they called for courtesans and began drinking and rolling around.

I perched on the roof, peeking over the edge to observe.

Four men drinking and playing with courtesans.

The Red‑Eyed Rat among them.

His huge jutting lips worked nonstop, moving busily up and down.

The man clearly had a monstrous libido.

Six more were standing guard, stiff and sober.

I couldn’t judge them precisely… maybe third‑rate?

Would I be able to ignore six third‑raters attacking at once and kill the Rat?

Hard to say.

I’d never tried something like that, so I couldn’t calculate it.

Maybe if I rushed in, stabbed him, and ran before they recovered—especially if he got blind drunk…

Is he drunk enough to be helpless?

I lowered my head again to check.

The Red‑Eyed Rat, now warmed up, was thrashing on top of a courtesan.

Judging from his movements—

He wasn’t drunk.

If he were, he wouldn’t be moving like that.

Not today.

Too many people.

I withdrew quietly, hopping roof to roof to the ground.

I’ll find somewhere to sleep.

Assassin No. 4 had said the same thing:

Don’t panic.

These tasks aren’t done in a day.

There will be a chance.

No one goes out drinking with a full entourage every night.

Sooner or later, there will definitely be a moment he’s alone.

* **

The next day.

A shabby inn on Xiangyin’s outskirts.

Run‑down, dirty, but empty enough that I got three nights dirt cheap.

I started cultivating the Great Prajna Zen Art at dawn.

I’d eaten a mid‑grade energy pill from Changsha, so I needed careful circulation.

“Whew…”

My internal energy circled my body and returned to my dantian.

A surge of satisfaction bubbled up, and without thinking I said:

“Status window.”

[Name: Dan Cheon (Black‑Kill Gate Assassin No. 4)]
[Title: Assassin]
[Combat Power: 5,619]
[Rank: First‑Rate]
[Techniques: Great Prajna Zen Art, Fluttering Buddha Cloud Steps, Hundred‑Step Divine Fist + 6 more]
[Mission: Serve as a Black‑Kill Gate assassin and complete 10 orders]
[> View Details]

One pill—a gain of about 600.

I had 12 pills left.

If I consumed them all, that’s another 7,200.

So… if I hit 5,000 and became first‑rate, then maybe at 10,000 I’ll reach peak‑master…?

At 5,000 combat power, I became first‑rate.

If the system is that precise, then reaching 10,000 should put me at peak level.

Peak Master.

A realm where one can condense and refine qi.

In the White Tiger Corps, Woo Myung‑gae—who had seemed like a sky‑walking immortal—was only just entering that stage.

And I could reach it?

Just by taking all the pills?

My heart thundered.

No… don’t get ahead of yourself.

I took a deep breath.

Stay calm.

Internal energy alone doesn’t guarantee breakthrough.

Martial artists always talk about enlightenment.

I didn’t have any of that.

I might hit a wall—huge energy, no insight.

Impatience leads to madness deviation.

Another rule to uphold:

One pill every three days.

A rule I set myself.

One time I took two pills back‑to‑back.

The second pill felt a bit weaker.

Can’t waste even a speck of medicinal energy.

Be frugal.

—Creak.

I opened the inn’s door.

Ugh… I have to sit and watch again.

The thought of another stakeout already annoyed me.

I’d rather just fight.

Sitting still all day was harder.

But what choice did I have?

This was the mission.

Only day two.

Too early to complain.

Back to the alley in front of Hyeongnam Escort Agency.

From late morning to early evening—still no movement.

The Red‑Eyed Rat was inside.

But he didn’t step out even once.

Just as I was about to call it quits—

—Creak.

The gate opened and a young woman hurried out.

Huh?

Judging by her clothes, she was from a noble family.

Where was she going at this hour?

With the city this dangerous—whoa?!

Right then—

A familiar silhouette leaped over the wall in pursuit.

Those jutting lips recognizable even from a distance.

My first target.

The Red‑Eyed Rat, Yoo Gam‑yeong.

He had slipped out alone at night,

Chasing a woman.

I almost screamed from joy.