3 Death Trap

'It's been so quiet these days...' which made Ren wonder, what magic did the fatty use to keep the ultimate chatterbox's mouth shut. 'Everything's going smoothly. Every passing day I'm progressing and yet...why am I feeling so uncomfortable?' No matter how hard he tried to explain lingering discomfort in his heart, Ren was unable to.

''Must be my imagination.'' Muttering, Ren shook his head and abandoned his thoughts. He was about to close his eyes and focus on cultivation when suddenly, he noticed an abnormality from the corner of his eyes. Ren's eyes contracted as his body violently trembled.

Lifting and observing his hand made his face contort in horror. ''Wh, what does this mean?!'' He shouted as he paled.

The subtle gray color surrounding his body was gone. Instead, it was replaced with...pitch black.

* * * * * * * * * *

''Are you leaving this early?'' Avi gently whispered in Carmine's ears, her hot breath gently tickling his cheek. Her eyes shone with lust as she wrapped her soft, creamy white hands around the handsome man's neck. Her glistening azure hair gently lay on her delicate shoulders, scattered beautifully. Her alluring figure and twin peaks were also out in the open.

Carmine looked like a typical young master. His long, blonde hair was wrapped into a ponytail. His body couldn't be considered well-toned, but he looked strong and healthy, nevertheless.

''I've got a few things to take care of,'' Carmine answered, subtle discomfort apparent in his tone.

''Won't you spend a little more time with me?'' Avi hugged the man from behind, sticking her two weapons closer to his back, while he was putting on his light green robes.

''Not now.'' Carmine shifted to the side, escaping her embrace.

''Mean...'' Avi pouted cutely.

''I'm leaving, take care.'' Straightening his belt, Carmine said before moving out and closing the door behind him. Before leaving, he left a few dimly glowing stones on the drawer. They were light blue in color and gave special fluctuations.

A few minutes after he was gone, Avi's tender expression crumbled as she shouted ''Stingy pig!''

Not bothering to dress up, she picked three low-grade spirit stone fragments from the drawer, her countenance awful. ''Bastard!'' She almost crushed them in her grip in a fit of anger.

Looking down at few stone fragments in her hands, she had an urge to strangle someone. This wasn't even enough to pay for her meals anymore. Remembering how generous Carmine had been when he was courting her, she wanted to slap herself for being so stupid.

''He must be meeting with some other slut! You're already bored of me, aren't you?! Heh, heh heh, little fuckboy, don't let me find out who she is, otherwise, I'll cut that whore's face. Let's see who you'll like, then.'' Her chest heaved up and down as she venomously cursed in her heart.

With her mood ruined, her temper worsened. After dressing up and cleaning the room, she went out of the cottage and decided to have a stroll in the garden. Unfortunately, the beautiful nature did nothing to calm her seething heart.

Not knowing where to vent her anger, she was about to return to the outer hall training center to practice her martial skills on flesh dummies, when she noticed Nero's distant figure. He was strolling in her direction.

A sinister smile surfaced on her beautiful face, which was soon replaced by a calm one. Nero still noticed her bad mood as he neared her. Her light smile and beautiful face could deceive others, but Nero had known her for a long time now. Silent wrath hidden behind her eyes wasn't so hard to detect.

Nero cursed his luck in his head, as he had come to inform her of bad news. Remembering Avi's fierceness and unpredictableness when she was angry, Nero coldly sweated. Unfortunately, he couldn't get around it.

''Good day, master, I hope you're doing well.'' He said with a wide smile plastered across his face. Noticing a subtle change in her expression, Nero realized Avi had somehow taken his words as an offensive. Having no other choice, he didn't wait for her response and proceeded to recount, in an attempt to distract her and be done with it at the same time.

''Master, there is some bad news.'' Nero's expression turned serious.

''Speak!'' Avi urged him in an impatient tone. 'Sigh, I was right. She's in a bad mood. I hope I can leave here in one piece...' Nero cried in his mind.

''That slave boy has been pretending to be dumb. He might be up to something.'' Lightly bowing, he reported.

''Oh?'' Avi raised a brow. ''Ren, was it?'' Biting her lower lip, she continued with narrowed eyes. ''Do you mean that dog, that little nobody not only dared to openly refuse me but now, he has the guts to fool me?'' Seeing her cold smile, Nero felt chills down his spine and bowed his head further.

''Dear servant, say, do I look that unimportant?'' Feeling her venomous gaze focused on him, Nero slightly trembled. ''N, no. He's just a little dog. He just couldn't recognize mount Tai with his dog eyes. How should I punish him, master?''

After a brief silence, Avi gave a reply. ''Mm, the little slave's been long since deserving of death. I've pardoned him for a long, long time. A dog who doesn't know how to wag his tail might as well be a dead dog. I'll be waiting for your wonderful news tomorrow, my servant. You know what I mean, right?''

''Of course. It will be done without delay.'' Nero acknowledged with a deep bow and turned around to head back. Relieved he had done his job, he wanted to get away from her as fast as possible.

''Wait, dear servant...I don't remember saying you were free to go yet?'' A playful giggle came from behind him. Nero's expression sank. Squeezing an ugly smile, he turned around and slightly bowed again. ''How may I be of service?''

Giggling, Avi lifted his chin with her delicate finger and looked into his eyes. ''Mn, come to think of it, now that you've advanced, you're holding yourself higher, aren't you? I see your back's straightened a bit. You...are you really my servant?''

Nero was frozen in fear as his mind blanked. He even forgot to reply.

A sudden punch to his guts forced him to kneel on the ground. Coughing mouthful of saliva, he gasped for breath. Suddenly, the back of his head was pressured. He was forced to plant his face into the mud, but he didn't dare resist.

''Did you forget who aided you to come so far? Mm, I'm confused my dear servant, please enlighten me.'' Avi's soft voice entered Nero's ears.

''I...I won't dare. I will always be your slave, always!'' Nero shouted, his face pale.

''Mm, okay, I'll believe you for now.'' Avi helped him up with a bright smile on her beautiful face. She no longer seemed that angry anymore.

''What are you looking at? You can scram now.'' Her palm struck his chest, forcing him back a few steps, though, she didn't sound angry anymore. After bowing several times, Nero scrambled away.

Looking at the disheveled figure fleeing with hurried steps, Avi chuckled, feeling a bit better.

Nero didn't dare to wipe his dirty face until he left Avi's sight. When he was a safe distance away, his expression twisted as he wiped his face and growled. ''Just you wait, bitch!'' In her presence, he didn't even dare to think something bad in case it reflected on his face.

When he was alone, there was no need to lie to himself. He hated her guts!

* * * * * * * * * *

''Eh, why?'' Kellam inquired with a puzzled face. He was the short, ugly youth, the right-hand man of Nero.

''Miss is in a bad mood, that's why. There can't be any mistakes. If he's not dead by tomorrow, I'll personally peel your skin!'' Nero threatened angrily.

''G, got it, boss, there won't be any problems. I'll go personally.'' Kellam reassured.

''You better!'' Snorting, Nero left the river bank in hurried steps.

''Fuck this!'' When he was gone, Kellam cursed loudly.

After waiting for a while, Kellam sneakily looked around. After making sure nobody was around, he ran to the nearby bush and dragged the corpse of a young lady, who shouldn't have died for long.

Remembering fun times he had, Kellam's expression morphed into a leer. ''Gee, if only it hadn't been a one-time thing...what can we do, at least she was a princess, I fucked a princess, kekekeke~'' His pleasant memories were interrupted by the corpse's stench. It was starting to rot.

With unpleasant expression, he prepared to dump the corpse into the raging river, when he noticed a rather brilliant looking ring attached on the corpse's finger. ''Ooo, I'll take that as a memento.'' He swiftly took the ring off the corpse and put it on his finger.

''I'm a pretty girl~'' Thinning his voice, Kellam hummed as he admired the delicate ring with a little white gem on top. ''Oh, it also gives a calming effect. It must be some kind of treasure. I've struck it rich this time.'' He rejoiced.

''Off you go.'' The corpse disappeared into the raging river. After getting rid of it, he slapped his hands against each other, marking the job done.

Kellam also made sure there were no traces left before leaving.

He was neither the strongest, nor the smartest out of Nero's gang, but he was certainly the most meticulous one. There was a good reason why he was Nero's right-hand man and not others.

''Now how should I deal with the pipsqueak? Should I wait until midnight...Pfft, Nah, no need.''

Years or bullying him had lowered his opinion about Ren to below nothing. In his opinion, handling Ren was as easy as slaughtering a chicken.

Chuckling, he dexterously waved his hand and grabbed the dagger from his sleeves in an experienced motion. After playing around with it for a while, he hid it as swiftly.

''Nope, nope, nope, that's unlike me. I won't make the same mistake another time.'' Kellam covered his burnt face. His sunken eyes showed restrained hatred and killing intent.

* * * * * * * * * *

It was midnight...

When the clouds obstructed the moon, a stealthy figure moved soundlessly. The residences of servant disciples were scattered across the field. The stealthy figure used the shacks as the cover as he slowly moved forward.

Was there a need to be that cautious? Certainly, not...but after that accident, Kellam didn't dare make light of anyone.

The clouds once again gave way to silver moonlight, which marked his halt.

He waited for another half an hour, hiding behind the boulder and tall grass, before once again springing into motion.

He was now standing before Ren's delipidated shack.

Bloodshot eyes searched between the gaps between the wooden planks. A bloodthirsty grin emerged on his burnt face...

* * * * * * * * *

Earlier that day...

Ren was sitting alone in the corner of the dining hall. He was tastelessly chewing on some bread. He had lost his appetite...

'He's not here today...' He felt depressed as he was left alone to face his nightmares.

The pitch black aura didn't go anywhere. It still lingered around him, making his heart heavy and nerves frantic. He was wary of everything in the surroundings.

'Am I going to die?' All his thoughts revolved around this topic.

He clearly remembered the person who had a similar dark aura around him died the following day. Did the dark aura foretell an inevitable death?

'What if someone stopped him from going into the forest? Would he have still died then? Was it his fate to die that day? No...it sounds too far fetched.'

Ren's eyes narrowed as he asked himself. 'Is it a certain death? What if I simply escape or...eliminate the threat?' Lightly slicing a piece of bread with a knife in his hands, he continued thinking.

The knife belonged to him. It only cost a few points. In case his life was truly in danger, he was always keeping one. It was no threat to cultivators, but against average people, it was still a decent weapon. 'I doubt a cultivator will come after nobody like me.' That's why the knife would most likely be useful.

There were no other threats in the sect grounds, other than people. There was a high chance of someone aiming for his life, instead of like a meteor falling or him just dying a natural death.

'If it's a person, then either I accidentally offend someone, thus resulting in me dying to them, or...my death's orchestrated, which seems more believable. Now, a stranger won't just kill a poor man like me for no reason. If so then, it must be people who I've offended.'

A few figures appeared in his mind. Unbeknownst to him, Ren calmed down a great deal. His thought process became clearer too. His blood silently boiled for the upcoming challenge.

Ren spent about an hour more in the dining hall, thinking up countless possibilities, then narrowing them down to a few more plausible ones. Few times, he even cast an inquiring glance at the receptionist, with half a smile. From his jittery expression that he tried to conceal, Ren read a few things.

As the minutes passed, the stupid grin on Ren's face got wider and wider, but his eyes looked increasingly sharper. Now, the dining hall was completely empty, so he didn't bother about putting a dull face anymore.

''Uhh, we're closing. Can you leave, please?'' The receptionist thickened his skin and asked with an uncomfortable expression.

Ren looked at him with a smile which wasn't a smile on his face, which made the nosy receptionist even more uncomfortable and shaky.

''Hey, I always wanted to have a small business, you know, serving people and stuff, what say you?'' Ren laughed as he stood up. Not waiting for the answer, he left the hall.

The receptionist sighed in relief, seeing him gone. Though, he pondered for a few minutes what Ren meant in his words, but couldn't come up with anything.

'Does he know?' The receptionist had a guilty conscience, but he was unsure whether Ren realized something or not. 'Creepy, that guy's creepy. Maybe I shouldn't have said that, after all? No...it's fine. It was all worth it.' He smiled a little as he took out a tiny blue stone fragment from his pocket and looked at it like it was worth more than his own life.

* * * * * * * * * *

'Found you.' Kellam cackled in his heart, detecting the silhouette of the sleeping person in the shack from the gap between the wooden planks.

After operating at night for a long time, his eyes were adapted to darkness, so as long as there wasn't complete darkness, he was capable of discerning objects.

After making sure the target was at the place, Kellam approached the door. 'It's locked with the bolt. To think this can stop anyone, how naive~' He retrieved some kind of crooked tools and inserted them between the gaps. After about three minutes, he disarmed the bolt.

*Clank

But it crashed down on the floor noisily. It couldn't be helped.

*Bang

Kellam barged through the door and before the lying figure could react, he was already staring down at it, his dagger gleaming dangerously.

'Good nap, pipsqueak.' Chuckling, Kellam removed the blanket, about to slit Ren's throat, but his expression changed. Inside the blanket shaped like a person was only some hay lying there.

Kellam heard the sudden sound of movements from behind. With ashen expression, he didn't bother to think how his actions were seen through, as his body entered survival mode.

Turning his head, he saw shadowy silhouette barging into the room and smashing down something on his head. Not having time to dodge, he instinctively raised his dagger to meet the attack.

The dagger pierced the wooden plank and halted its force, however, the assault didn't stop there. A dangerous kick was coming at his crotch. Feeling chills, Kellam instinctively reacted and locked the assaulter's leg with his knees.

Suddenly, the force coming from the wooden plank pressing on him disappeared, replaced by the knife coming at his heart. Kellam slightly shifted his body. His chest was penetrated but the attack missed his heart.

''AH, YOU...!'' Kellam grunted in pain and exclaimed in hatred as he pulled the attacker down on the ground.

The duo crashed down on the hard floor.

Kellam's expression turned vicious as his hands hooked the dark silhouette's neck.

''Ahh!'' He was not expecting the attacker to bite down on his fingers like a beast.

The clouds once again let the silver light through. Kellam was horrified to witness Ren staring down at him with his emotionless eyes, which leaked silent murderous intention.

He was familiar with this look. He was sure to have shown this look countless times, but now, such gaze was directed at him. Immense discomfort welled up in Kellam's heart, realizing he was being eyed as a prey.

''Bastard!'' Yelling in pain, Kellam tried retrieving dagger, but it was firmly stuck into the plank. ''Ahh!'' He screamed again as Ren pressed the knife piercing his chest with a sadistic smile on his face.

''You wanted to kill me?'' He spoke emotionlessly as he pushed the knife into a slanted angle, causing Kellam's flesh to be torn through deeper. His screams resounded across the distance, disturbing the silent night. More blood gushed out of Kellam's chest as he felt his strength slowly leaving him.

Ren didn't give him an opportunity to retaliate. His every move was ruthless to the core, aiming to weaken his enemy in order to finish him off easier.

''You can die now!'' Ren drew the stone hiding below his bed and smashed it into Kellam's face, mutilating it into the gory mix of flesh and blood.

Kellam struggled as pulverizing force repeatedly bashed his skull, but it was no use.

Ren didn't stop hitting him even after Kellam stopped moving.

Gasping for breath, Ren collapsed by the bedside. The threat was gone...

Seeing his hands covered in blood, Ren felt a mix of emotions, fear, disgust and...excitement.

He didn't know where the excitement had come from. Was he fine with killing, or was he just relieved after eliminating a threat which threatened his life with his own hands?

Either way, he felt relief, seeing the dark aura stuck on him vanish like it was never there before.

''Huff, huff, now what? I'm sure his screams woke up everyone. I guess I can't cover it up.'' Ren felt gloomy and slightly scared of the consequences. He knew Nero wouldn't let him off so easily after getting the news.

''Ah? What's happening?!'' Ren suddenly felt strange. The gray hue, which originally covered his was slowly changing. In a matter of seconds, it turned blue...

''Just what do these colors mean, after all?!'' Ren felt exasperated and annoyed as, until this point, he hadn't uncovered the meaning of colors.

The only thing he knew, was having a blue glow couldn't be a bad thing and in a way. It might be better than the gray one too.

According to his observations, only a few people had blue glow surrounding them from servant disciples. All these people had something in common. They were either some small group leaders or people who had the backing of outer disciples. In short, they all had some prospects and hopes of advancing ranks and achieving something.

That's why Ren decided it wasn't a bad thing if he was also 'blue.' However, he was certainly baffled by the fact that he could change colors! It happened right after murdering a person too. This gave Ren some ideas, but felt they were too ridiculous, he just kept them in his mind. He didn't want to believe something false and suffer, until proving their accuracy.

''Only an incredibly few people had a green aura, which highlights its rarity. After killing such a person, my aura grew to what seems to be the next level? Ugh, so confusing! It doesn't make any sense. I'll think about it later. First, I have to clean up this mess. He might also have something good on him'' He thought.

Holding back the urge to vomit from the gory sight, Ren searched for its belongings. He found a pouch filled with small blue stones. His eyes lit up, seeing so many lying at his feet. Even with his limited knowledge, he knew what they were.

After 'Points,' low-grade spirit stone fragments were the main currency of the sect's outer disciples. They could also be used for cultivation as these blue stones fragments were a crystallization of pure heaven and earth essence. It's just, the energy in the fragments were too little, so outer disciples rarely used them for cultivation. They preferred complete low-grade spirit stones for that.

As for Ren, he wasn't even close to the first level yet. According to his estimates, he still needed a few more months to reach the 1st level of Qi condensation.

''This is going to help my cultivation a great deal.'' Ren nodded in delight and safely kept them away. After he was done, he cast a weird glance at the corpse, secretly wondering how he had accumulated so many of low-grade spirit stone fragments as a mere servant disciple.

'He should have been involved in many shady deals.' He thought. 'Eh, what's this?' His attention was caught by an exquisite white ring attached to Kellam's finger. Out of curiosity, he put it on his index finger and was stunned to find his anxious heart calming a great deal.

There was also another change. Ren's expression turned ashen as the dark aura returned to him. His fears had come true. Nero surely wouldn't let him off.

He didn't regret killing Kellam, and he would repeat what he had done if given another chance. He couldn't forgive the offense of someone aiming for his life! Unfortunately, he had to face consequences for his actions.

Ren's mind churned as he formulated a plan. He had a way to preserve his life, or at least he could buy some time for himself...but it was going to be dangerous. For good or bad, he was one man army. He could come and go as he wished without caring about anyone. This gave him more freedom in his actions.

'I can't dawdle. I won't be waiting for dawn.' He decided, but suddenly, something came to his mind. His face lit up in realization. He might have been wrong about something!

'Come to think of it, today, Kellam's green aura was absent, but how could that be?! Everyone has a color attached to them, which only means one thing...his aura turned dark, which is why I didn't notice it in the darkness...what is going on?'

Ren was confused. Before the confrontation, Ren clearly checked his own body and verified, the dark aura didn't fade from him until the end of the fight and Kellam's death.

There was no way both of them had the dark aura, the aura of death at the same time, which only meant one thing...

Either both of them were going to die together, or...there was some other reason why Kellam had the aura of death.

Remembering when the dark aura resurfaced on him, Ren once again stared at the ring on his hand. He quickly took it off and...as expected, the dark aura disappeared along with it.

Ren played with it for a while, putting it on and taking it off, seeing the glow on his body change again and again.

After playing with it for a while and making sure the aura of death was originating from the ring, evil smile surfaced on Ren's face.

'I've got an idea.' Ren laughed in his heart.