“Hey, I’m telling you to knock it off!”

The leader of the thugs had no desire to create more trouble. From her fine clothes and elegant bearing, the woman was clearly a highborn lady, but she showed absolutely no intention of listening to reason.

“Fuck this.”

At last, his patience ran out. “The warnings are over, bitch.”

At his signal, one of his subordinates lunged forward. With a low stance and a low center of gravity, his already impressive speed seemed to multiply. He was prepared to take a blow from the fire poker, confident he could charge through it and overpower her in a single rush.

Got her—!

Jeong-ah’s body shifted just a single step to the side, evading the man’s charge. It was a movement of impossible precision; a fraction of a second faster, and the man would have adjusted his trajectory; a fraction of a second slower, and she would have been caught.

“Ugh…!”

And in that sliver of time, the tip of the fire poker she held jabbed precisely into her opponent’s solar plexus¹ and withdrew. Jeong-ah then brought the poker, which she had raised high, crashing down on the back of the man’s neck, and his consciousness vanished. If her weapon had been a sword, it would have been a terrifyingly precise sequence that pierced his heart and then severed his neck.

Only then did the look in the other men’s eyes change. “She’s no ordinary woman! Don’t hold back!”

Thugs closed in on her from the left and right. She flowed backward naturally, narrowing the angle to prevent them from attacking her simultaneously.

“Hup!”

The first man to rush her threw a punch that grazed her cheek. His next fist whistled past the tip of her nose. In the space between his attacks, the handle of the fire poker shot up from below and shattered his jaw.

“Kkhak…!”

The second man charged into the gap, but Jeong-ah had already retreated, creating distance between them.

“Shit!”

Frustrated at his inability to close the distance, the man changed tactics. He began to swing his arms wildly, trying to grab ahold of her fluttering clothes. If he could just catch any part of her dress, he could immobilize her. But no matter how he snatched and grabbed, the fabric of her dress merely danced around his fingertips, eluding his grasp by a hair’s breadth.

This is… impossible…!

Just as the first man’s strikes had all missed, this man’s attempts to grab her also met with empty air. The woman before him wasn’t moving with the supernatural speed of a martial artist, so why were all their attacks failing?

“Urk…!”

The man, rushing forward recklessly, failed to see his unconscious comrade on the floor and tripped over him.

How…? The woman had been backpedaling directly in front of him. Her gaze had been locked on him, so how had she managed to avoid the body on the floor while moving backward? As his mind reeled in confusion, the fire poker slammed into the back of his head.

“…Incredible.”

Se-ah, who had been watching the scene in a daze, breathed the word in unconscious admiration. Her sister may have been armed with only a fire poker against their bare hands, but these were no common thugs. They had not mastered ‘martial arts’ that required internal energy, but they were elites of the Black Bone Faction, their bodies honed by rigorous ‘martial skill.’² As their dozens of skull tattoos attested, were these not men who had proven their worth by taking dozens of lives, building their experience on a foundation of violence?

“…Crazy.”

Now, there was no other choice. The last man, the leader, pulled a dagger with a gleaming blue edge from his robes. “Bitch. You brought this on yourself.”

To an ordinary person, it would have been nothing more than a flash of light. But Jeong-ah’s eyes saw the blade with perfect clarity. Not just the blade, but the grain of the steel, the worn grime on the leather-wrapped hilt, the black dirt caked under his unkempt fingernails, even the filthy pores on his unwashed skin—she saw it all.

She casually lifted the fire poker, inserting it into the dagger’s path. The blade struck it with a shower of sparks and was deflected. The second strike came immediately after. No matter how much she could see, with a body that possessed not a speck of internal energy, she could not possibly evade a continuous assault. But she could hear his breathing, feel the movement of his muscles. Her senses, magnified to an impossible degree by her eyes, were turning the impossible into the possible.

It was exhilarating.

Jeong-ah felt a smile spreading across her face. Seeing that smile, the leader’s eyes went bloodshot with rage. “You dog-like—!”

Thwack.

It was a single blow that completely stole his breath. Jeong-ah, who had been entirely on the defensive until now, had exploited the momentary opening as he spoke and lunged forward. The tip of the fire poker struck the man squarely on his philtrum. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed backward without another sound. It was a perfect strike, both psychologically and physically.

“Haah, haah.”

Jeong-ah let out ragged breaths, using the fire poker to support herself. Sweat dripped from her face and splattered on the floor. Her physical stamina was a limit she could not overcome.

“Jeong-ah!”

Se-ah rushed over and supported her. Leaning into her sister’s embrace, Jeong-ah caught her breath and shook her head. “Sister, this… is exhausting.”

Se-ah let out a hollow laugh. “Did you… did you learn swordsmanship³ at the Sword Clan?”

Jeong-ah shook her head. “No.”

“Then?”

A faint smile touched Jeong-ah’s lips. “I just ‘watched’ over their shoulders as they came and went.”

Se-ah couldn’t understand what she meant. “Jeong-ah, what are you…?”

Just then, Jeong-ah pulled away from her support and straightened her posture. “We haven’t reached fifteen minutes yet, have we?”

“Not yet.”

Jeong-ah frowned, her gaze fixed on the doorway. “This time… I don’t think I can handle it.”

The door burst open, and Se-ah’s subordinate, the one who had reported earlier, came tumbling in, covered in blood. “D-Director… r-run…!”

From the hallway came the sound of a woman’s clear, bell-like laughter. The sheer volume, sharp enough to pierce the ears, made it obvious that she was a martial artist, a wielder of internal energy.

“How utterly boring. Where has everyone gone, leaving only these pathetic insects behind?”

Se-ah knew that voice. “…Geum-ju.”

A beautiful woman in a magnificent dress and heavy makeup strode through the open door. Her robes were a startling, vibrant crimson, and even her makeup was a palette of reds, creating an impression of overwhelming intensity. Behind her, three figures of various shapes and sizes, all armed, appeared. From the black skull tattoos that covered even their faces, all three were undoubtedly martial artists. The hallway behind them was filled with the common thugs of the Black Bone Faction.

“Oh, what’s this?” Geum-ju, the Golden Spider, who had made such a cheerful entrance, looked down at her subordinates lying unconscious on the floor. After a quick glance at Jeong-ah and the fire poker in her hand, she put a hand to her forehead. “To think I fed and raised these things and called them elites…”

The sleeve of the man in monk’s robes standing behind her fluttered.

“…”

Jeong-ah quickly moved to block Se-ah, but the monk’s arm had already returned to its original position. Fortunately, the attack had not been aimed at them. The needles that had shot from his sleeve were now embedded in the vital points of the unconscious men on the floor.

I couldn’t react…!

Jeong-ah bit her lip. Her eyes had sensed the intent and had even seen the needles flying through the air, but the difference in speed was so vast that it was meaningless. This was the limit of an ordinary person without internal energy. If those needles had been aimed at them…

“Geum-ju, what is the meaning of this?” Se-ah stepped in front of Jeong-ah, sweeping her hair back as she asked in a low voice. “You should know that an act like this will have consequences.”

Geum-ju shrugged. “The hospitality here is truly dreadful. You haven’t even offered a simple cup of tea.”

One of Geum-ju’s men, who had been standing in the hallway, darted inside and found the tea leaves at the table where the sisters had been sitting. They were the special leaves Se-ah had prepared for Jeong-ah.

“…‘Guest’? You must be joking.”

At Se-ah’s words, Geum-ju let out a snort. “You’re always acting so clever, but it seems your head has suddenly gone numb.” She crossed her arms. “If I had come as an enemy, do you think you’d still be standing there in one piece?”

Se-ah brandished her pipe. “And since you’re spouting such pointless chatter, it’s clear you haven’t come as an enemy.” She snatched a teacup from the subordinate who was brewing the tea. The man was so taken aback by her bold move that he could only stare.

“Then say it.” Se-ah crossed her legs and sat, enjoying the aroma of the tea.

“Hah. Really.” Geum-ju let out a hollow laugh. “I truly wish my men could learn a bit of that nerve.” At a flick of her finger, the monk’s sleeve fluttered again. A few needles whistled past Se-ah, severing several strands of her hair. But Se-ah didn’t even blink, her single eye glaring at Geum-ju.

“Tch.” Geum-ju clicked her tongue as if bored and finally got to the point. “Lately, there’s been a sharp increase in attacks on my more useful men.”

“Isn’t that just the price of your aggressive expansion?”

“Perhaps. But I have a strong feeling that you are the one behind these attacks.”

Se-ah looked at her as if she were absurd. “…And you’ve caused all this commotion based on nothing more than a feeling?”

Geum-ju wagged her finger. “No. It’s because I’ve heard a few things from a certain source.”

Se-ah took a sip of tea. “Stories are born wherever there are mouths to speak them.”

At Se-ah’s nonchalant attitude, Geum-ju bared her teeth. “Don’t you wonder how I was able to choose this exact moment to visit? The very moment your defenses were down?”

Se-ah took another drag from her pipe, exhaling a long stream of smoke that drifted toward the ceiling. “A spy, I suppose.”

Geum-ju wagged her finger again. “No, no. Don’t change the subject.” Her voice dropped to a low, menacing tone. “Doesn’t it mean that I, Geum-ju, have found a source for real information?” The internal energy imbued in her voice caused the tea in the cup to tremble. “It means I no longer have to be pushed around by pathetic little play-pretend groups like yours.” An oppressive aura flowed from her, weighing down the entire room.

“So?” Se-ah asked, letting out a calm sigh. “Did this ‘real’ information source of yours say I was the one behind the attacks?”

“The information is still a little lacking. But there’s a flaw in your reasoning…” Geum-ju rummaged in her wide sleeve and produced a round token. “This place isn’t just ‘real.’ It’s the most powerful organization in Luoyang, in the Henan province, in the entire Central Plains.”

The round metal token gleamed. On it, the four characters for ‘Sword Clan of Luoyang’ were embossed in a powerful, archaic script.

“The Sword Clan Copper Token…!” The one who cried out its name was Jeong-ah.

Geum-ju looked at her with curiosity. “You recognize this? Who are you?”

“…” But Jeong-ah kept her mouth firmly shut.

“Well, no matter.” Geum-ju waved the token at Se-ah. “Now do you see? Why I can cause this commotion based on mere suspicion? Why I have no fear of consequences?” Geum-ju smiled, a wide, triumphant grin that showed her white teeth.

“Could I have a look at that?”

A new voice suddenly cut through the tension. At the sound of that familiar voice, Jeong-ah’s face brightened.