Sworn Siblings
So Rihwa had put together a rough streaming schedule for her stay in Sichuan. Broadcasting on the day of arrival would probably be asking too much, but whenever she had some time to herself, she could just duck into a local capsule pod hotel. If even that dingy slum in Sinseong-gu had capsule rooms equipped with live streaming setups, finding one in a bustling metropolis like Chengdu would be a breeze.
The flight from Xi'an International Airport in Shaanxi to Chengdu Shangliu International Airport took around five hours. A five-hour domestic flight—the sheer scale of the continent never failed to boggle the mind.
Long flights were usually an exhausting slog, but business class proved to be an entirely different beast. Unlike the cramped confines of economy where even eating a meal felt like an acrobatic feat, here she enjoyed sprawling legroom and food of incomparably higher quality.
“Ma'am, please let us know if there is anything you need to make your journey more comfortable.”
Flight attendants were always polite, but in business class, their attentive courtesy bordered on overwhelming. She couldn't very well complain about absurdly good hospitality, so she just nodded with an awkward smile.
While seasoned travelers nestled beneath plush blankets and drifted off to sleep, Rihwa couldn't bring herself to close her eyes. It was her very first time in business class, after all. She watched movies on the personal screen mounted before her seat, sipped fine wine, and stashed away the complimentary luxury amenity pouch.
Having never experienced such pampering in either this life or her previous one, Rihwa thoroughly melted into the seat. She found herself thinking that dying without experiencing this at least once would be a profound tragedy.
“Did you enjoy your flight, ma'am?”
“It was wonderful. Thank you so much.”
After bidding a polite farewell to the crew who had treated her like royalty, Rihwa stepped off the aircraft. Even disembarking was a breeze; thanks to the priority fast-track lane reserved for premium passengers, she breezed right through to the airport arrival lobby in record time.
“Rihwa!”
Emerging into the terminal, she spotted Dang Riah waving enthusiastically. Rihwa rolled her suitcase forward, quickening her pace toward her.
“Look at you, wearing the outfit I styled! You look gorgeous!”
“Ah, thanks.”
Though she had been living as a woman for quite some time now, being called pretty still felt unnatural. Something deep down in her gut resisted the compliment. Still, objectively speaking, she knew her features turned heads, so Riah's reaction wasn't entirely baffling.
“Thank you, really. If it weren't for you, I would've been in serious trouble at the airport.”
“Hm? Oh, that! Honestly, I was shocked too. I had no idea you cultivated internal energy to that level.”
“Y-yeah? I wasn't trying to hide it from you or anything...”
“Don't worry about it. In this day and age, it's not like people casually announce they're martial artists. Besides, you don't use your martial arts for evil. I went through your stream VODs and saw you saving that local merchant who was getting shaken down for protection money.”
“...You saw that too?”
“Of course! You haven't been streaming for that long, so I binged every single broadcast. Your content is seriously wild.”
Did that mean she had seen her rundown, borderline-condemned shack of an apartment, too? A wave of embarrassment washed over Rihwa. Still, bringing it up first when Riah had the tact not to mention it would be even weirder.
Then again, from the perspective of an ultra-rich corporate heiress, a regular studio apartment probably looked just as destitute as her hovel anyway. Thinking of it that way brought her a modest sense of comfort.
“Business class was amazing, by the way. It was my first time ever flying like that. Really great.”
“Hogongdapbo Airlines has solid business class service. That's why I booked with them.”
She had even factored in the airline's reputation when booking the ticket. The mounting psychological debt felt heavy enough to crush Rihwa flat, but she knew better. Dang Riah didn't want some subservient maid groveling at her feet; she wanted an equal friend.
“Anyway, let's get out of here. It's too crowded.”
“Where are we heading?”
“I told you, didn't I? I'm giving you the full Sichuan VIP tour.”
Just what does that even entail? Still, coming from a chaebol heiress rather than a starry-eyed squad junior in the military, an actual lavish full course sounded entirely plausible.
Rihwa followed her outside. Standing nearly twenty centimeters taller, Riah's long strides meant Rihwa had to take four steps for every three of hers, keeping her legs moving at a brisk trot.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Riah led her toward a standard parking lot. Waiting there was not some sleek, elongated luxury limousine, but a charming green Mini Cooper.
“I've got a soft spot for cute things,” Riah said with a grin, popping open the trunk. Rihwa's compact suitcase slid inside with plenty of room to spare.
“Hop in.”
Riah slid into the driver's seat, and Rihwa climbed into the passenger side.
“Everyone who rides with me for the first time makes that exact face.”
“H-huh?”
“The 'Why doesn't this rich girl have a chauffeur?' face. Am I right?”
Hit right on the mark, Rihwa found herself at a loss for words. In truth, she had wondered about that before: how could an heiress of a massive corporate clan wander around so freely without a single bodyguard in tow?
“Well... yeah, pretty much.”
“I train in martial arts too, just like you. That's why I don't really need guards. Fasten your seatbelt first.”
“Oh? Right, sure.”
Startled, Rihwa clicked her seatbelt into place. Riah pulled a pair of sunglasses from the overhead console and slipped them on. Rihwa had expected Sichuan to be hot given its southern location, but the glaring sunlight was even more intense than anticipated.
Riah pulled out of the parking spot with effortless precision. She was only twenty-one, but she seemed completely in her element behind the wheel.
“First things first, we need lunch. Aren't you starving?”
“Yeah, now that you mention it.”
It was already two in the afternoon—a bit late for lunch—and since Riah looked like she hadn't eaten either, Rihwa nodded in agreement.
“We're going to a restaurant run by my family. I'm not just saying this because it's ours, but their cooking is genuinely incredible.”
“Oh, really?”
So the Tang Clan runs restaurants too. Then again, conglomerates operating high-end dining establishments was a fairly common sight.
“Everyone in Sichuan knows the place. It's called Chilbodanhon.”
“...Wait, if you tack on 'Powder' at the end, isn't that literally the name of a poison?”
“Haha, but there's no 'Powder' at the end! My dad named it personally. He said the idea was to make food so delicious you'd lose your soul after taking seven steps.”
“Aha... That's a... cool name.”
Can that phrase really be given such a modern spin? Still, naming a restaurant after a lethal poison was certainly not something an ordinary person would dream up.
“Anyway, I did learn martial arts. Actually, every direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Clan is required to learn them. It's family tradition.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Direct bloodline members must inherently possess poison immunity. It's an unbroken tradition passed down from our clan's founding ancestor. Since you can't build immunity to poison without cultivating martial arts, we have to learn them.”
Rihwa had seen that trope in countless martial arts novels. Clan members consuming toxins from early childhood to build immunity, forging bodies that were impervious to a myriad of poisons... This world adhered to ancient lore in the strangest, most specific ways.
“Isn't that basically child abuse, though?”
“What choice was there? I despised it when I was little. Being forced to swallow bugs and poison was awful. But my father told me that being born into an illustrious lineage like the Sichuan Tang Clan was a stroke of fortune, and fulfilling the bare minimum obligations was the price of enjoying that privilege. Back then, I bawled my eyes out and begged him to take me off the family registry, but looking back now, he was right.”
I suppose so. If personal safety was guaranteed, who would turn down eating bugs and poisons in exchange for becoming a billionaire heir?
“It's not entirely meaningless in the real world, either. When our biotech company evaluates the safety of new pharmaceuticals, they use direct-line family members as test subjects.”
“What if there are side effects?”
“That's precisely why we ingested all kinds of toxins and venomous critters as children—to minimize that risk. Internally, we call it Phase 0.5. We take the injections right between preclinical animal testing and Phase 1 human trials.”
“That still sounds way too extreme...”
“Think of it as noblesse oblige. Personally, I believe it's only right. We develop medicine intended for other people's bodies, so we should be the first to test its safety. Especially when we happen to possess poison-resistant physiques.”
Riah smoothly rounded a corner as she spoke. Rihwa had noticed it ever since they pulled out of the parking space, but her driving was remarkably skilled.
To an outsider like Rihwa, such family rules felt excessively rigid, but Riah treated them with deep pride and a profound sense of duty, leaving no room for further debate. Regardless of the risks, morals, or ethics involved, establishing a principle and adhering to it without compromise was an admirable quality.
“Enough about me,” Riah smiled, gently pumping the brakes as a red light loomed ahead. “Now tell me your story. I truly never imagined you'd be cultivating martial arts. In our generation, so many people had fetal dantian removal surgeries, after all.”
“Ah... right.”
Technically, counting by birth year, Rihwa belonged to a generation vastly older than that. But she saw no reason to alienate herself by pointing it out.
Rihwa offered a carefully tailored version of her history, omitting absurd details like being trapped inside an ancient mountain formation or becoming a human popsicle after consuming a Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal, stringing together just enough plausible facts to form a coherent narrative.
“...Sniff.”
As Rihwa recounted her story, an odd sound slipped from the driver's seat. Looking over, Rihwa froze. Clear tears were quietly trickling down beneath Riah's sunglasses.
“...Ah.”
So focused on patching together a believable backstory, Rihwa realized too late how tragic it sounded to an outside listener.
According to her tale, she was an orphan who had missed the window to treat a rare, debilitating illness, barely clinging to life by relying on martial arts she had stumbled upon by sheer chance. To be fair, it wasn't entirely far from the truth.
Despite Riah's quiet sniffling, the Mini Cooper arrived safely at Chilbodanhon. Seeing Riah pull right up to the entrance, valet service was clearly provided.
Riah parked the car, tucked her sunglasses back into the console, and dabbed at her tears with a tissue.
“...I didn't upset you by telling you that, did I?”
As Rihwa tentatively checked on her, Riah shook her head.
“No, not at all! If anything, I should apologize. I had no idea your life had been through such tragedy.”
Was it really that bad? Then again, to a pampered heiress, Rihwa's struggles must have seemed like an unimaginable pit of sorrow.
“Let's go inside.”
Having dried her eyes, Riah stepped out. As soon as Rihwa followed, Riah rushed around the car and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.
“Oof!”
“Rihwa... Thank you. Thank you for opening up to me.”
“A-ah, sure...”
Riah stepped back, gazing at Rihwa with red-rimmed eyes. Oddly enough, though Rihwa was the one with naturally crimson eyes, she felt intimidated.
“From this moment on, we are xiongdi. Got it?”
Rihwa blinked in mild shock. In the hierarchy of Chinese guanxi, xiongdi signified the absolute pinnacle of bonded sworn brotherhood. Since they were both women, sworn sisters would be more accurate. Still, becoming sworn kin after meeting in person only twice? Does having a pretty face really grease the wheels of society this fast?
“Y-yeah.”
“Come on.”
Clasping Rihwa's hand, Riah led her into Chilbodanhon. The very first friend Rihwa had made after landing in this modern world was a chaebol heiress.
The meal was nothing short of divine. While mapo tofu was the most familiar dish on the menu, the version served at Chilbodanhon bore little resemblance to the standard fare Rihwa knew.
Course after course arrived in rapid succession—mouthwatering chicken, spicy wontons in red oil, Sichuan boiled fish, kung pao chicken, sliced beef and ox offal in chili sauce—luxurious delicacies she had only ever heard of by name.
Over food, they shared an endless stream of conversation. Perhaps because she had bared her vulnerable past, Rihwa felt noticeably more at ease around Riah. To the point where she genuinely thought of her as a close friend rather than a billionaire's daughter.
“Whew. That was incredible. Thank you so much.”
“Don't mention it!”
Riah settled the bill, tipping the staff handsomely on their way out.
“Alright, shall we head off?” Riah asked once they stepped back outside.
Checking the time, Rihwa saw it was around five in the evening. As dusk approached, it was prime time to hang out.
“So, are we finally heading out for that full Sichuan tour?” Rihwa asked playfully.
“You bet.”
Riah's confident tone brought a chuckle to Rihwa's lips. Honestly, what was there to do in a city anyway? The spots two adult women would visit were fairly predictable.
“Where are we heading first?”
“My house.”
“...?”
Her expectations shattered with the very first stop. Sichuan Tang Clan or not, wasn't that basically the sprawling estate of a corporate tycoon family? Clinging to a shred of hope, Rihwa asked, “Do you live alone?”
“Huh? No, with my family.”
The answer drained the soul straight out of Rihwa's eyes.
“Sichuan's number one landmark is obviously the Sichuan Tang Clan estate, don't you think?”
Riah beamed proudly, oblivious to the fact that her new sworn sister's spirit had just departed her body.