An Unfilial Son... No, Daughter's Tears
The next morning.
Dazzling morning sunlight poured through the cracks of the narrow window in our cheap inn room.
"Haaawn~ I slept so well!"
Soso, who had been sleeping spread-eagled across the bed, sat up and stretched her limbs. After whining so much yesterday before passing out like a corpse, she seemed to have fully recovered her stamina overnight.
On the other hand, I was leaning against the corner of the bed, staring blankly out the window with hollow, dark-circled eyes.
"Huh? Sis, why do you look like that so early in the morning? Did you toss and turn because it's a strange place?"
Seeing my haggard state, Soso tilted her head and asked.
"Uh... yeah, something like that. You, on the other hand, slept so deeply a thief could've carried you away and you wouldn't have noticed."
"Hehe. To be a proper thief, you have to sleep early and wake up early! Managing your stamina is everything."
Soso rubbed her nose and puffed out her chest with immense pride. I let out a dry, dumbfounded laugh.
"What kind of nonsense is that? If your job is scaling other people's walls, shouldn't you be working at night? It should be the exact opposite."
"Tsk, tsk. Sis, you still don't understand how this industry works. A truly skilled thief strikes quickly and cleanly in the early morning, when everyone has let their guard down!"
"Wow. You're really proud of that, aren't you?"
I shook my head, stood up, and stretched my body.
My entire body felt stiff after twisting and arching my back all night.
I clicked my tongue in pity, shaking off the lingering tension.
Even though I had stayed up the entire night because of that mind-blowing, hardcore mother-son incest show in the kitchen and my own crazy masturbation session in the hallway, I didn't feel tired at all. I suppose I had my newly reconstructed body from the Rebirth to thank for that.
"Whew, I'm starving. I already gave up on washing up yesterday, so let's grab some food first."
"Agreed! I'm so hungry I feel like I'm going to collapse! You're buying breakfast today, right, Sis?"
Soso looked up at me with sparkling, expectant eyes.
I snorted and gestured with my chin toward the bundle slung over her back.
"Cut the crap. Where would I get the money to buy breakfast? Obviously, we're opening your bundle."
"So stingy! Jeez, I'm the one who stole all this...!"
Soso's pretty lips pouted so hard they could've held a clothes hanger, but under my murderous glare, she ultimately muttered under her breath and meekly followed me.
When we went down to the first-floor hall, steaming hot dumplings and a warm bowl of meat broth were served for breakfast.
"Here you go, your breakfast is served."
It was the voluptuous middle-aged inn proprietress who had handed me the water bucket last night—and who had been taking her son's cock on the kitchen table in the most decadent posture imaginable.
The moment I saw her plump, voluptuous figure, the wet, explicit sounds of last night automatically replayed in my mind.
"Cough! Hack!Ahem!"
I choked on my broth, coughing violently.
"S-Sis? What's wrong? Did it go down the wrong pipe?"
Soso patted my back in surprise.
"N-no, it's nothing. Cough! Just... the broth is a bit hot. Ahem!"
I cleared my throat and quickly looked away.
When I realized that this woman had probably rolled the noodles and folded the dumplings with the very same hands she had used to lovingly stroke her son's cock last night, my breakfast suddenly took on a very bizarre, unsettling flavor.
"Anyway, Sis. What are we going to do now?"
Soso asked with a serious expression, her cheeks stuffed to the brim with dumplings.
"What do you mean, 'what are we going to do'?"
"I mean, you said you just made your debut in the martial world. Don't you have a specific destination or plan?"
At her question, I set my chopsticks down and rested my chin on my hand.
To be honest, my top priority was finding my master, who had turned me into a woman and vanished, leaving behind nothing but bizarre treasures. But trying to find a single person in this vast Central Plains without a single clue was harder than finding a needle in a haystack.
Hmm... Honestly, I don't even know which corner of this massive land that old bastard is hiding in. Wandering around blindly on my own would be madness. Maybe I should just take my time traveling and sightseeing around the Jianghu first?
Then, the destination I had decided on yesterday crossed my mind.
Kaifeng! Right, the absolute tier-one information network in any martial arts novel belongs to the beggars of the Beggars' Sect. I can just commission the Beggars' Sect headquarters or a local branch in Kaifeng to find my master.
Once my thoughts were organized, I pointed my chopsticks at Soso.
"Of course we're going. So, you're going to guide me straight to Kaifeng."
"Aw, you don't even need my guidance from here. If you just follow the official highway, you'll hit Kaifeng Castle in no time."
"The highway? Are you planning to slip away somewhere along the way?"
At my sharp interrogation, Soso bit her chopsticks and hesitated for a moment.
"It's not that... Actually, I have something I absolutely must do in Kaifeng as well."
I narrowed my eyes at her words.
My accumulated knowledge of martial arts tropes from my past life flashed vividly through my mind. An orphan, a petty thief, and an urgent errand in Kaifeng?
"Don't tell me... were you originally a beggar?"
"Huh? What kind of out-of-nowhere nonsense is that?"
"I mean, are you a disciple of the Beggars' Sect? Like, some hidden rising star of the Beggars' Sect who wanders around begging with a green bamboo staff!"
"Geez, Sis is spouting nonsense again first thing in the morning!"
Soso slammed the table in disbelief, venting her frustration.
"Where do I look like a beggar?! My face is pretty, and my clothes are perfectly fine!"
"Ah, fine, if you're not, you're not. Then what's your business?"
When I asked while casually picking my ear, Soso glanced around to check our surroundings before lowering her voice.
"Fencing the stolen goods, obviously! I need to exchange them all for bank notes or silver!"
The moment she said that, a brilliant calculation clicked perfectly in my head.
Oho, fencing the goods? Right, since I already declared that the ownership of the bundle on her back belongs to me, the money from selling those stolen goods naturally belongs to me too, right?
I grinned wickedly inside.
Perfect. Once she sells everything to the fence and turns it into cash, I'll confiscate every single coin and use it to pay the Beggars' Sect to find my master. Flawless!
I patted Soso on the shoulder as if she had done something incredibly praiseworthy.
"Yes, yes, what an excellent mindset. Go and sell them for a high price. Your big sister is looking forward to it."
"Huh? Why are you looking forward to... Ah, wait a minute! That look on your face is weird again! Sis, you're planning to steal my money, aren't you?!"
Lightly ignoring Soso's desperate, indignant cries, I casually popped the last remaining dumpling into my mouth.
After our brief night in Gi County, we packed our bags early in the morning and officially set off toward Kaifeng.
However, as we walked along the forest path, I felt a strange sense of incongruity while watching Soso waddle ahead of me.
"Hey, Soso. That bundle on your back. It looks a bit bulkier than it did yesterday, doesn't it?"
At my sharp observation, Soso's shoulders flinched. She sneaked a glance at me and laughed sheepishly.
"Ahaha... Well, you see, while you were washing up before we left this morning, I took a quick stroll through the market to warm up my hands..."
What else could it mean when a thief "strolls through the market"? I nodded deeply with a highly satisfied smile.
"Excellent work, truly excellent. Your diligent labor will serve as a wonderful contribution to stuffing your big sister's pockets. Indeed."
"Ugh... There you go again! Sis is having weird thoughts about snatching my loot again!"
Soso retreated, clutching her bundle protectively, but my hands were faster.
Flick!
"Ouch!"
Soso rubbed her forehead, tears welling in her eyes from the crisp forehead flick that had resonated through the morning air. I pointed my finger forward with gusto and shouted.
"Stop trying to use your twisted logic on me! No more complaints, let's head to Kaifeng!"
"Sob... I'm the one doing all the actual stealing, so why does she get to extort all the money..."
Soso grumbled as she took the lead, and we began walking side by side down the dusty highway.
After walking for a while, I recalled our conversation from yesterday and broke the silence.
"Hey, you said yesterday that you were an orphan and didn't even know what your parents looked like. But then you said you had sick, starving younger siblings at home. How can an orphan have siblings?"
"Ah... that?"
Soso kicked a pebble on the road, answering nonchalantly.
"Even if we're orphans, babies can't just grow up on the streets by themselves. Usually, the adults in the back alleys take in orphans like us and raise us. In exchange, they teach us how to pickpocket and steal from a young age, and we have to pay them a cut. It's a pretty common story in the slums."
Shrugging her shoulders, Soso continued.
"So, the other orphan kids who got beaten, starved, and struggled alongside me in the same gang... they're my real brothers and sisters."
"Ah. So they're not blood-related, but comrades from the same den."
"Exactly. By the way, Sis, what about you?"
"Me?"
Soso turned her head and looked up at me with eyes full of curiosity.
"Don't you have any family either? How did you end up doing closed-door training in a cave all by yourself?"
"I'm an orphan too, I guess."
When I muttered that, a faint trace of sympathy flickered in Soso's eyes. However, my actual circumstances were nothing like the typical tragic backstory she was imagining.
Of course I am. I got hit by a truck and reincarnated into this martial arts world, which means I'll never see my parents back on Earth again. So technically, I am an orphan. Yes, indeed.
Thinking of my parents, who must have wept bitter tears over their suddenly vanished only son, a sharp pang of guilt struck my chest.
Ah... what an unfilial son... wait, since I'm a girl now, is it an unfilial daughter? Anyway, Mom, Dad. I'm going to live a grand, luxurious life here in the Jianghu, so please forget about a bastard like me and live happily together!
While I was making this tearfully unfilial (?) resolution in my head with a solemn expression, Soso gently tugged on my sleeve.
"Um, Sis..."
"What. Do you want another forehead flick?"
"No, it's not that. Ahem!"
Even though we were in the middle of a highway with not a single soul in sight, Soso lowered her voice to a whisper, as if sharing a highly classified secret.
"In that case, Sis... do you want to join our organization?"
"Organization?"
"Yes! You just made your debut, so you don't know how the world works and don't have any connections. But your martial arts are insanely strong! With your skills, our organization would welcome you with open arms."
The moment I heard her proposal, my eyes lit up.
Oh?! Is her true identity finally being revealed?!
I cheered inwardly.
A massive intelligence organization that gathered back-alley orphans and trained them into thieves. According to martial arts novel clichés, it was almost certainly one of two things.
A legendary assassination guild that raised orphans to be killers, like the Killing Pavilion?
Or the massive unorthodox alliance that ruled the back alleys and controlled all the information under heaven, the Haoh Gate?
If not those... could it be a hidden cell of the Demonic Cult preparing to dye the Central Plains in blood?!
Damn, I thought she was just a petty thief, but could she actually be the hidden Holy Maiden of the Demonic Cult, or the top disciple of the Haoh Gate Master?!
My heart began to race. As I swallowed hard with anticipation, Soso cleared her throat and declared with a solemn, dramatic expression.
"A grand back-alley organization made of orphans like us, destined to one day shake the very foundations of this world! Its name is... the Heaven-Astonishing Society!"
"Ohhh... the Heaven-Astonishing Society! The name itself sounds extraordinary. So, how many masters do you have?"
"Uh... well, we don't have many adult members yet. But if you count all the younger siblings, we have over fifteen people!"
The moment I saw Soso flashing a bright peace sign.
My inflated expectations popped like a balloon pricked by a needle, deflating into nothingness.
"..."
"U-Um, Sis? Why do you look like that? If you join, I'll give you the Vice President slot right away!"
I silently pressed my hand to my forehead.
Damn it, 'shake the world' my ass. It's just a club for kids.
"Sis? So you're going to join our Heaven-Astonishing Society, right?"
"No thanks. I have no desire to become an orphanage director."
"Ah, why not?! Our organization has so much potential! You're really going to regret this, Sis!"