The Owner of the Treasure Sword

[Guangxi First Year, Mid-Autumn — August, 189]

Scams are always like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that. At first listen they sound like flawless schemes, but dig even a little deeper and nothing lines up front to back.

If you had to pick the purest example of that kind of fraud, it would be the existence of “God.”

He can heal the blind, yet he cannot turn a traitor’s heart. He can feed five thousand, yet he cannot save his own life.

But the moment the woman appeared before my eyes, I could not help thinking of divine omnipotence. Because the woman standing there was living proof that God existed.

She was a touch taller than Yu Bi, yet still safely short of intimidating. Her head was so small it looked like someone had balanced a single egg on her shoulders, and somehow every delicate feature of a face had been packed into that tiny space.

People with high-bridged noses usually look sharp. Hers, finished in soft curves, felt both breathtaking and strangely warm.

Sanpaku eyes that called a snake to mind. Yet instead of fear, they pulled you in. Skin clear as glazed porcelain—no one else could ever imitate it.

But what seized the eye more than anything else hung lower still: a pair of breasts so enormous they filled the entire upper half of her body, ready to burst.

It made no sense. Truly beautiful women are almost always slight of figure. Give them large breasts and they start to look heavy, dull.

This woman belonged to neither category. Atop a slender yet firm frame, a bust so lush it seemed about to split open swayed with every breath.

A work of art that smashed every contradictory element together until the only possible explanation was that God himself had shaped her by hand.

“Ugh…”

The remaining thug, having just lost his partner, took a frightened step back. The woman raised her sword—blood still dripping from the blade—high above her head and settled into a stance.

“Hah!”

I figured I ought to play along. I yanked the fallen man’s sword from his robes and leveled it at the survivor.

That made the odds two-to-one. Unless the fellow was absurdly confident in his skill, he would abandon the fight on his own.

“S-spare me!”

Just as expected, he flung his blade away and dropped to his knees in surrender. Whew… I had actually thought a real fight was about to break out. All right, time to wrap this up and—

Thud!

The woman had no intention of letting him walk away clean. She drove the sword she was already aiming straight through his chest.

“Ghk…”

He never even managed a single struggle before he hit the ground. Watching her kill two men in the space of a heartbeat snapped me wide ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠awake.

What kind of woman is this viciously beautiful?

“Isn’t that a little much? He didn’t look like he had any intention of resisting…”

Whoosh!

Apparently I was next. She swung the blade up and set the tip against my throat. Ting… I dropped the sword in my hand at once and raised both arms.

“I surrender! Look, I’m not an enemy, okay?”

“That is for me to decide. Are you unharmed?”

She rolled her eyes just enough to call to the girl who had been with Yu Bi. Now that I thought about it, ever since she arrived the only thing she had truly cared about was that girl’s safety.

“I am fine. These men were merely trying to help me.”

The veiled girl stepped to her side, the cloth covering her face fluttering. The sword-woman never even glanced her way as she asked again.

“The fault is mine. I will kill them and silence their tongues…”

“There is no need. Let us return.”

From the way they spoke it was obvious the veiled girl ranked far above the one holding the sword. Which meant my earlier guess was probably right—she had to be the child of some truly powerful house.

“Forget everything you saw here today. I know where you live and what you do. One careless word and you will not live out your natural span.”

Even at the end she delivered the threat in that same icy tone, ordering us to keep our mouths shut. But what was there to worry about? I didn’t even know who they were.

“Absolutely not. In any case, we should be heading back ourselves…”

“Y-you bastards! You dared kill my men?”

“…!?”

Of all the worst timing, Qi Ling spotted us. Papapat! Five of her subordinates closed in at once and ringed us. Yu Bi yelped and ducked behind my back.

“W-what do we do now?”

“Uh… I honestly don’t know either, Yu Bi.”

The only one here with any real combat ability was the woman with the sword. But that sword was still pointed at my throat, and I seriously doubted she could beat Qi Ling.

“Who the hell are you people?”

Yet the woman showed not the slightest fear. With her free hand she shielded the veiled girl and answered Qi Ling.

“Why should I tell you? Did you kill them?”

“They offered insult first. I had no choice. Make the same mistake and you will die the same way.”

“Ha! You’re threatening me, Qi Ling? I don’t know where you’re from or who you are, but you’ve never even heard the name of Qi Ling—right hand of the Grand Noble?”

Qi Ling puffed herself up and dropped Yuan Shu’s epithet. A fierce little smile curved the sword-woman’s lips.

“So you’re the mongrels Yuan Shu keeps.”

“W-what did you just say? Who the hell do you think you are, speaking the young master’s name so freely?”

“Do you not think he deserves it? Stand down at once. Lay so much as a fingertip on the person behind me and your master will wander the Northern Mang Hills himself.”

“Ha! What kind of bitch are you? You should pick your targets before you start bluffing. You think you can insult the young master and still walk away alive?”

Even I couldn’t tell whether she was bluffing or not. And Qi Ling had just lost men; now Yuan Shu himself had been insulted. She was never going to back down.

Whoosh! The woman shifted her stance. She spun the blade that had been aimed at me, then raised the hilt high so Qi Ling could see it clearly.

“Look. If you still refuse to withdraw after seeing this sword, I will stop talking.”

“…”

Even bluffing has its limits, I suppose. Qi Ling and her men stared at the hilt as if entranced.

Seven jewels set in the shape of the Big Dipper glittered densely. A radiance poured from them as if they were a constellation hanging in the night sky.

“W-what kind of sword is that, big sister?”

One of the men beside Qi ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ling asked. It was clearly a famous blade, but guessing the owner’s identity from the sword alone was still a stretch.

“I don’t know either. But we’re leaving.”

“What? Leaving? You don’t even know what the sword is and you’re just going to walk away—”

“I’ll take responsibility. Everyone fall back and head for the young master’s residence.”

And Qi Ling really did withdraw. Her shoulders shook with barely contained rage, yet she calmly gathered her men and shot away from the scene like an arrow.

She truly had not recognized the sword. But people only see as much as they know.

Qi Ling was no ordinary street thug. The man she served was Luoyang’s foremost young noble, so she never ruled out the possibility that there might be a sky above the sky.

“Huu… we are fortunate.”

Yu Bi finally exhaled in relief and lowered the sword in her hand. Wait—what exactly did she just put down?

“Y-Yu Bi? What is that sword?”

“Ah… it is the one Do Yeop dropped a moment ago.”

“Why were you holding it? Don’t tell me you were planning to fight them if things went wrong?”

“That… was there any other choice?”

“…”

She had actually meant to fight? Even if she had no idea how dangerous Qi Ling was, the other side already outnumbered us completely.

Ignorance really does make people brave—Yu Bi was living proof. Anyway, the crisis had passed, so it was time for us to—

Whoosh!

Nothing was over yet. The woman spun the blade once more and set it against my throat. Then she spoke to Yu Bi.

“Drop that sword.”

“Ah… I cannot. Release Do Yeop at once!”

“I do not know how skilled you believe yourself, but right now I am closer. So stop the foolishness and put the sword down.”

“Y-Yu Bi? Just put the sword down and let’s talk, okay?”

My neck was about to be skewered and she was still being stubborn? When I begged her, Yu Bi finally set the blade down with a look of helpless frustration.

The woman began her interrogation at once. Those distinctive sanpaku eyes flashed like cold light as she asked in an icy voice.

“Speak. Why were Yuan Shu’s lackeys chasing you?”

“Well… Yuan Shu asked me for a favor and I refused.”

“What favor? Tell me.”

“Why so many questions… He told me to inform him if Colonel-Director of Retainers Yuan Shao ever came to Chwiwharu. May we go now?”

“So Yuan Benchu was at Chwiwharu until just now? Come to think of it, that woman earlier said she was going to Mengjin. Mengjin has been under daily threat from the Black Mountain Bandits lately—why would she go there? Is Yuan Benchu involved in this?”

“…”

This woman wasn’t just pretty and good in a fight; she was sharp too. From a handful of clues and the scene just now she had already pieced that much together?

“Do Yeop? Just tell her. Perhaps this lady might be able to help us.”

Yu Bi still clung to hope for the people of Mengjin; she wanted me to spill everything and ask for aid. Fair enough—anyone who could drive off Yuan Shu’s men with a single sword might actually have the power to do something.

“No. It wouldn’t matter even if I did.”

“Wh…at? What do you mean it would not matter?”

“Yes, what is that supposed to mean?”

Yu Bi and the woman both fired the same question at my vague answer. I steadied my breath and explained.

“It means nothing would change even if I told you. Because the person you serve is already in the same boat as Yuan Benchu.”

“W-what are you saying? Do you even know who my master is, to speak like that?”

She was so startled the tip of her sword trembled. The idea that a mere waiter knew the history of a blade that even Yuan ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Shu’s right hand had failed to identify clearly shook her.

“The seven jewels set in the hilt shine exactly like the Big Dipper. I have heard that only one person in Luoyang—no, in the entire realm—possesses such a sword. So if the owner is not carrying it personally, the only conclusion is that someone is acting as proxy, is it not?”

“…”

She could not answer. Those sanpaku eyes had widened into something closer to four-white eyes; she stared at me in pure shock.

“What do you intend to do?”

The veiled girl asked. Now that the master’s identity was out, the question was whether they would let Yu Bi and me leave alive.

Whoosh…

The woman finally lowered her sword with visible reluctance. Even so, she did not forget a final warning.

“Remember what I said earlier. I know where you live and what you do. One careless word and you will not live out your natural span.”

“Don’t worry. Even if I wanted to talk, I don’t know enough to say anything.”

“…”

She turned her back on us and moved to the veiled girl’s side. After escorting her with perfect courtesy, the two of them walked toward the center of Luoyang where the palace stood.

Huu… lucky break. Qi Ling’s timely appearance had actually revealed the sword, and by pure chance I had been able to guess who they were.

A hilt glittering with seven stars. The so-called Seven-Star Sword.

At this point in time the person who ought to own that blade was Henan Yin Wang Yun. Even if she had been gender-bent, she would never look that young.

So the woman could only be one person. Beauty that was without question the finest in Luoyang confirmed it.