Surviving as a Maid of the Sichuan Tang Clan

KIKIGIG! KIKIGIGIG!

Sparks flew in every direction with the sound of metal grinding against metal. Under that tremendous pressure, my molars clenched on their own.

The faint anger in those pale-gray eyes felt as if it were pouring straight onto me.

After barely shaking Jinseong off, I scrambled backward in a hurry.

The hand that had been gripping my throwing knife throbbed with numb pain. I shook it out and clicked my tongue.

Wow. If that throwing knife hadn’t been meteoric iron, I would’ve been sliced open. How is he that strong?

Unlike me, who had lost a chunk of strength after just one exchange, Jinseong looked completely unbothered.

With a calm face, he corrected his stance and leveled his sword at me.

“This is my final offer, Young Lady. Come with me.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Because I wasn’t the only one who would die.

I swallowed hard and drew up my internal energy. As if to stop me from moving, Jinseong closed the distance at terrifying speed.

“Aah! Taoist, wait—!”

Too fast!

I panicked and poured hidden weapons at him, but Jinseong advanced without wavering and swung his sword.

I hurriedly lowered my body and thrust in with the throwing knife held in reverse grip, but Jinseong evaded it as lightly as if he were brushing aside a child’s hand.

SLICE!

The hair tie grazed by his blade snapped, and the hair I had tied up scattered loose in every direction.

At the same time, the Pine-Pattern Ancient Sword traced a curve and drove toward my chest.

CLANG!

I crossed two throwing knives and barely blocked his sword. A shock even stronger than before rang through my wrists.

Only then did I realize it.

This absurd strength did not belong only to Jinseong. He had taken the force I put into his sword and sent it straight back at me.

I backed away in horror.

This was my first time fighting a swordsman one-on-one, but I could tell for certain that Jinseong was no ordinary opponent.

He can reflect an attack right back? That’s cheating.

Is Wudang swordsmanship always like that? I won’t stand a chance head-on.

Jinseong slowly withdrew his sword and looked down at me without saying a word.

His gaze was cold, as if he meant to see how far I would keep resisting. His upright figure cast a threatening shadow.

Should I use Dissolving-Power Poison? But I don’t know when /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ the combat unit’s reinforcements will arrive. Shouldn’t I save it?

If I used poison clumsily, I would only provoke Jinseong.

After studying my anxious expression, Jinseong said bluntly, “I have taken an antidote pill. Poison will not work on me, so abandon any thought of escape, Young Lady.”

“How do you know what kind of poison I might use well enough to be so sure it won’t work?”

I shot back as if that were ridiculous, but before I knew it, I was chewing at my lower lip.

The situation was bad. I had expected as much, but two exchanges had been enough to make me understand I was no match for him.

No, the fact that I had allowed a swordsman to close the distance had been a fatal mistake from the start.

If Jinseong had attacked me as mercilessly as the wandering martial artists or assassins who had chased me, that elegant-patterned sword would already have pierced my heart.

At least it was fortunate that Jinseong did not seem to intend to kill me.

I sensed no killing intent from the sword aimed at me. It seemed he meant to subdue me without injuring me.

What incredible confidence. Annoyingly so.

I bared my canine teeth and gave him a sharp, unpleasant smile.

“It’s an honor to witness the famous sword of Wudang, but aren’t you going a little too easy on me?”

“You requested that I not threaten you, Young Lady.”

“What?”

“As you said, the situation does not yet prove that you are the culprit. I am therefore complying with your request.”

At the unexpected answer, I blinked.

...He looked like a wooden block, but he’s surprisingly flexible. Though that’s rich coming from someone pointing a blade at me.

That did not mean I was in any position to say, “Oh my, thank you.”

“For that, you’re threatening me plenty!”

I shouted loudly and twisted the white jade bracelet on my wrist. The moment Jinseong stepped back to avoid the poison needles flying at him, I burst a poison-powder pouch and flipped backward through the air.

Blue poison powder scattered in every direction, forming a dense poisonous fog.

“You... Young Lady!”

Ignoring the sound of him grinding his teeth, I ran toward Yeon Ryang.

Two of the third-generation disciples were rolling on the floor, and one was somehow still standing, though his legs had gone weak and were trembling.

Seeing that Yeon Ryang had overwhelmed all three without drawing up even a speck of internal energy, it seemed the third-generation disciples fortunately were not as exceptional in martial ability as Jinseong.

I threw poison bombs toward the third-generation disciples and snatched Yeon Ryang by the arm. He came along obediently, his forehead drenched in sweat.

“Are you hurt?”

“This much is nothing.”

I quickly looked him over. There was a scratch on his arm, but he did not appear to have any major injuries.

“Let’s go.”

Just as I sighed in relief and tried to flee, Jinseong came charging through the poisonous fog and swung his sword.

The man’s face was cold as ice, and he held a black bead in his mouth.

A poison-proof bead.

So he’s prepared too. Damn it. I wasted perfectly good poison.

KA-KANG!

It was Yeon Ryang who blocked the sword cleaving through the air.

But the old sword, unsupported by internal energy, could not withstand the hardness of the Pine-Pattern Ancient Sword.

The rust-weakened blade broke in two and fell to the ground. Then the sword quickly changed its trajectory and flew toward Yeon Ryang’s neck.

I urgently stepped in front of Yeon Ryang, drew the sword at my waist, and struck Jinseong’s sword away.

“GYAAK!”

A scream burst out of me at the weight pressing down on me without mercy. When Jinseong’s eyes met mine, killing intent stirred in them.

“Young Lady. There will be no further leniency.” freēwēbnovel.com

At that moment, Yeon Ryang kicked Jinseong savagely in the stomach.

CRASH!

Caught unprepared, Jinseong rolled across the ground and was pushed far back. His Taoist robe was stained with dirt and left a mess.

Yet Jinseong did not so much as let out a small groan. He sprang to his feet and charged toward us.

I threw the sword to Yeon Ryang.

“Brother, catch!”

“Our little sister is speaking more and more casually.”

Chuckling, Yeon Ryang snatched the sword from the air and took his stance. I slipped Butterfly Darts between my fingers and whispered.

“You remember what I said earlier, right? I’ll make an opening now, so go. You have to leave before support arrives, Brother. Don’t dawdle.”

Then I drew in a deep breath to launch the Butterfly Darts.

I only needed to get Yeon Ryang away.

If I sent Yeon Ryang off and surrendered, both of us could survive.

Judging by Jinseong’s character, if I surrendered quietly, he would probably only seal my acupoints and not do anything worse.

If I handed over all my weapons, they would not handle me too roughly.

That was what I thought as I infused the Butterfly Darts with internal energy.

Then I sensed a brutal force approaching from behind me.

Before I even had time to think, the shadow of a massive saber struck a long line across the ground.

Every hair on my body stood on end as if screaming.

My mind went blank, and my heart pounded as though it would leap out of my chest.

“Yeon Ryang!”

With the sound of air being split apart, blood sprayed in every direction. The world around me turned red, and hot droplets of blood splattered across my face.

“Phew... Damn, urk, that hurts.”

Clutching his shoulder, Yeon Ryang sank down and collapsed to one knee.

Red blood poured endlessly from the long saber wound torn across his back.

With a bloodless face, I stared at the martial artist standing behind Yeon Ryang.

A woman with a great saber slung over one shoulder looked at me with indifferent eyes, then turned her gaze to Jinseong.

“Taoist Jinseong. Long time no see.”

The Martial Alliance combat unit had arrived.

*****

Trembling, I wrapped my arms around Yeon Ryang as he collapsed. The smell of blood stabbed my nose, and my vision blurred. I rubbed at my eyes with my sleeve and struggled to stay calm.

What should I do first? Stop the bleeding? Disinfect it? No, reduce the pain first. Did I have painkilling pills?

My breathing grew ragged, and my stomach churned. As I held Yeon Ryang and panted, Jinseong carefully spoke.

“Um, Young Lady...”

But as if he could not think of anything to say, he closed his mouth again.

When I glared at him with bloodshot eyes, Jinseong swallowed hard.

It seemed Jinseong had not wanted this situation either.

“Huh. Did I make a mistake? Your third-generation disciples said it was urgent, so I thought you were chasing some wandering martial artist who had escaped from the prison cells.”

“The request for cooperation with the investigation merely became rougher in execution. It was my fault for failing to explain the situation to Captain Peng in time, so please do not concern yourself.”

After answering, Jinseong took something from his robe, carefully set it down in front of me, and stepped back.

It was wound medicine.

I was so dumbfounded that no words came out.

You do this to a person and think throwing me one bottle of medicine makes it fine? These lunatics, seriously...!

“Sohae.”

When my lips trembled, Yeon Ryang called me softly.

“Sohae. Your brother is all right, so calm down. They didn’t find out.”

Yeon Ryang patted the back of my hand and winked as if telling me not to worry.

This man’s back is shredded badly enough that I can see bone, and he still says he’s all right? And at the worst times, he listens so needlessly well...!

Rage surged up in me, but the sight of that idiot pretending to be calm helped me settle.

I snatched the wound medicine Jinseong had set down and shoved it into my robe.

There was no time to waste. I had to get Yeon Ryang out of here immediately and treat him.

But how?

Unlike Jinseong, who was watching my reactions, the Alliance martial artists surrounded us with grim expressions, swords aimed our way.

“I see. In any case, that means they’re targets of an investigation, doesn’t it? This is related to demonic corruption, yes? Judging from all the poison powder flying around, that young lady of the Tang Clan must have resisted quite a bit. Since they’re suspicious, let’s take them to the Alliance first.”

The martial artist called Captain Peng spoke with a displeased face.

The light in her eyes shone yellow like a tiger as she looked over Yeon Ryang and me.

...Captain Peng? A tiger? She’s from the Peng Clan.

In that instant, my mind snapped awake as if a light had gone on inside it.

I urged Cane, who was clinging to Yeon Ryang’s trouser leg and whining.

“Cane. Where’s that thing?”

“Kyu?”

“That thing. Your pillow.”

At that, Cane bounded away and hid behind a tree.

For a while, I heard the sound of something being scratched at. Then, after a moment, it emerged with its fur sticking out in a mess and a jade badge held in its mouth.

“Good job, Cane.”

“Kii.”

“That sable’s from the Tang Clan too? Where did it pull that out from?”

At someone’s mutter, Cane straightened proudly.

Holding the jade badge in my hand, I looked up at Captain Peng.

If she was a martial artist of the Peng Clan, she would help me.

No. She had to.

“Captain Peng.”

At my call, Captain Peng looked at me as if to ask what I wanted. Her expression said she could not be bothered to talk.

I took a deep breath and raised the jade badge engraved with a tiger.

After confirming the badge, Captain Peng’s eyes narrowed.

Looking straight into her eyes, I said, “This is a favor token I received from Elder Peng Rak, the Fierce Tiger Blade Emperor. I want you to let me and my companion go, without asking anything.”

Then I threw the favor token toward her.