Deep Fire - 3
Since when had the tail been shadowing her? The girl couldn't remember. Just as she couldn't recall when she had first started suspecting passersby.
Whenever she turned her head, there was someone. Their clothes were different. Their drunken acts varied. But the girl was sharp-witted, brimming with talent, and had been trained by a fine master. Ajussi would always say,
"Trust your instincts. A warrior's sixth sense warns of dangers unseen by the eye."
When had she first killed a man? It had been unavoidable. He was strong, agile, and the situation dire. There was no way she could subdue him without taking his life. The instinctive pinnacle strike of the Twin Phoenix Cooperative Dance had split his chest wide open. Blood poured from him like a river as he collapsed, eyes bulging in shock.
And then one more. Another. The one who tried to slip dream-inducing powder into her drink for a sneak attack. The one who charged blindly, reeking of murderous intent. It gradually became familiar. The feel of the blade slicing flesh, the trained skin registering the recoil. Numbness crept in. Toward cutting down people.
"...If your heart feels like it's crumbling, remember this: never forget that you are the family head."
So she endured. Clinging to those memories, she somehow climbed the cliff. She couldn't give up. Not when she had made a promise.
"Ajussi..."
There was someone who would one day have to kill her. So she had to protect herself. Her life was precious; she couldn't yield it to anyone else.
The girl now stepped out of the inn. Seongdo's sky was overcast. Three years since she had left, stepping back onto her hometown soil—but her heart found no peace. The money pouch at her waist, the sword and blade hidden in her bundle. And finally, the item tucked in her bosom.
The mysterious object entrusted to her by the sect leader and her fellow disciples, who had died gruesome deaths through the night. A Divine Artifact... most deeply entangled in the heavy truth of the Demon Extermination Blood Tribulation.
Her fingers unconsciously brushed it. The round contour was unmistakable. It hadn't been stolen by pickpockets or thieves...
"Hey, miss."
"......"
A beggar lying against the alley wall called out to the girl. She didn't respond. She quickened her pace to slip away. But.
"Hey, pretty missy. Didn't you hear you're not supposed to wander into this alley?"
The way ahead was already blocked by rough-looking men. Their bare winter arms were covered in flashy tattoos. Third-rate riffraff from the unorthodox paths, plain as day.
The girl spoke politely. "I hadn't heard of any such restriction. My apologies. I'll turn back."
"No, no. Empty words won't cut it."
Yellow, rotten teeth flashed. Did the beggar think he had her cornered? Even with her face veiled in cloth, her beauty shone through—fair features, lithe form. He was already calculating how much she'd fetch at a brothel.
"You gotta pay up."
The beggar thrust out his foul-smelling hand. The girl instinctively stepped back, eyeing the grime-caked fingers.
Breaking through with martial arts would be easy enough. But it would draw eyes. And drawing eyes in Seongdo meant they would notice.
A memory flashed then.
"Look at the hands. Faces can deceive. Disguises and shapeshifting are possible. But hands bear the marks of training. No martial artist can hide them."
Those hands. Strangely, they were pitch black.
The Demon Extermination Group's curriculum included knowledge of the jianghu. Exams you couldn't pass without memorizing it cold.
A master with foul-smelling black hands. A special technique involving scented herbs. There was a famous expert from the Absolute Peak.
Known for slaying with his jet-black hands, he bore a moniker for that peculiar art: Ghost Beast Shadowless.
"If you sense danger, act immediately! Better to apologize awkwardly than hesitate and die."
Ajussi's words flowed naturally from the memory. The girl kicked off the wall at once. Creating distance opened options. If she'd already been made, no reason to hesitate.
"Tch, the wench caught on!"
"Chase her!"
She vaulted over the wall. Into the shabby courtyard of some nameless home. The girl dashed onward, channeling her inner energy.
The Cheon Family Manor's heart method had long decayed. Riddled with outdated, third-rate formulas. If not for that certain ajussi—who claimed peak Manifestation Realm and refined it for her.
"Hyaat!"
With a crisp shout, the girl leaped. One bound took her to the rooftop.
Memory summoned another lesson.
"Don't just run blindly. Scout the terrain. Familiar ground makes it even easier."
The second leap bridged roof to roof. She didn't check her pursuers' positions. Instead, she scanned her surroundings.
Abandoned homes in winter. Gaunt locals staring blankly, as if accustomed. Twisting, chaotic alleys.
"She's jumping down!"
The shout was close. The girl slipped her form between narrow gaps. Dropping straight from the roof put her in a spot hard for pursuers to spot.
"She can't have gone far. I smell her! The Ghost Beast's lingering scent is thick!"
Ghost Beast Shadowless always traveled with one disciple. Common for rogue unorthodox wanderers. Shared techniques meant no betrayal worries; they could trust each other in a pinch.
"Hurry, chase her! We'll catch up quick!"
Age slowed his lightness skill. Trailing his flying disciple, Ghost Beast Shadowless checked the scent again.
He would follow this trail slowly. It was thick; she was near.
"Yes!"
Then, the disciple leaped down too. He bolted ahead, clearly having spotted something.
After five breaths, Ghost Beast Shadowless reached the roof. Clear signs of descent eased his worries.
He leaped down instinctively, thinking. Wait. My disciple's way ahead chasing... so why's the Thousand-Mile Tracking Fragrance so thick here?
From roof to ground. In that split-second fall.
A possibility he'd unconsciously ignored.
What if the target—that wench—had pulled a simple feint. Lured the disciple away, then used the gap to...
"Don't even think it."
Too late. A chill touched his throat. His arms were already pinned. A cold woman's voice came from behind.
"Insolent wench! Me, caught like this."
"How'd you find me?"
"I'm Ghost Beast Shadowless. If I seek something, I find it."
Ghost Beast Shadowless gave no easy answer. He acted as if he felt no threat to his life.
The girl bit her lip, lowering her voice menacingly. To seem more threatening.
"You think I won't cut you down?"
But Ghost Beast Shadowless only laughed.
"Little miss, your threats are still clumsy. Threats aren't done like that. To threaten..."
He mocked the one gripping his lifeline. Words to induce frustration. A seasoned rogue, drawing attention to himself. While secretly...
"Like this...! Gahk!"
"......"
He had tried to reach out. Twist the Ghost Beast grip to reverse the hold.
But the girl's reaction was faster. She hadn't let her guard down after pinning him.
Did the old man realize? That this young girl watched his fidgeting fingers behind his back more closely than his bluster.
"Khuh... n-not bad. You know how to kill."
"If I must."
Blood burst from the old man's mouth. The girl sensed his fading life with conflicted eyes.
Another life ended.
"Huu... Too late, wench. You'll die by tonight."
"Your disciple won't circle back anytime soon."
"Talk of him?"
The girl furrowed her brow. Had he alerted the Sima Family? She'd braced for that. Unavoidable if her identity leaked.
But the old man's words felt different.
"Seongdo Chaos Great Plan... It's already underway. Reapers coming for your neck are on the move."
"......"
"Wonder how long you can struggle alone. Shame I won't claim the bounty..."
The old man couldn't finish. He'd gone cold.
The girl laid the corpse down and caught her breath. No time to hide it.
Then.
Piiing— A red firework burst into the distant sky. From the Murim Alliance's Seongdo branch.
No telling how much of his words to trust. But something was starting.
"Ah..."
The girl closed her eyes. Sorting her thoughts.
The enemy hunt was on. She'd thrust her neck into their lair. Shaking pursuit needed even a sliver of opening—but none now. Impossible alone, at least.
"If someone helped... If there was someone who could..."
But no such person existed anywhere.
Honestly, the situation might be hopeless.
The girl squeezed her eyes shut.
But.
Despair couldn't last.
"I made a promise."
She had to return, after all. If she died, it had to be to him.
She couldn't give up yet. Redoubling her resolve, the girl moved.
Right then.
BOOM!
An explosion roared. From the spot where the firework had risen moments before.