14 A Fight

'Hmm~'

A small figure covered in a black cloak could be seen strolling through the city peacefully in the middle of the night. Every part of her body was completely hidden away by the black cloak, and even her face was no exception as it was completely concealed by the hood's shadow. 

If anyone had seen her, they would have thought that she was an assassin on a mission and avoided contact with her. But, that is completely not the case... 

This short figure was Tang Soso, the fifth young lady of the Tang Clan.

'Hmm, this black cloak seemed more useful than it first seemed to be. I thought that sacrificing my wardrobe full of dresses was such a waste, but I changed my mind. This cloak could certainly be used to conceal myself in my daily life outside since everyone assumed I was already dead. Well, I know that it could conceal me, but I didn't know it would work this well!'

'I guess I should really thank Old Jiang tomorrow...' she thought briefly.

After meeting her father in his office a few minutes ago, Tang Soso had immediately skedaddled out of that place as quickly as possible without turning back. She didn't even notice that Old Jiang was not with her at the moment until a few minutes ago. All that she could think of was that she did not want to be near her father even a tiny bit. His piercing gaze and aura were still stuck deeply in her mind, intimidating the crap out of her.

Unless she was an idiot, staying clear of him and focusing on her new challenge was simply the best choice at the moment...

'Speaking of the challenge, how the hell am I going to beat one of my siblings in just a week? Why am I so freaking dumb!? I should have just offered to beat one of my siblings in two weeks. No, THREE WEEKS!'

'That way I can at least prepare more thoroughly and I'm sure that scary old man wouldn't mind too much!' 

'But since it was already done, I guess there's no more choice. I think I have one training method that could achieve some great results in just a week, b-but it's... Damn it, I initially didn't want to rely on this method due to its side-effects, but there was no choice. I have to succeed no matter what!' Tang Soso continued to ramble in her mind.

...

BUMP!

'Hm...? What was that?'

As Tang Soso continued walking through the night streets, she felt something bump into her shoulders that caused her senses to jump. She had been too focused on her mind to notice her surroundings, and it seemed like she had accidentally stumbled into someone.

Strange, what in the world is someone doing, walking through the streets in the middle of the night?

As her Qi senses scanned through the surroundings, she noticed two armed men standing right beside her, facing toward her with an angry expression. One of them stood as large as a stallion while the other looked quite skinny, resembling a rat.

Both of them were wearing guard's armor and one of them was holding a thin long sword. Immediately, her heart dropped as a bad feeling suddenly emerged in her mind...

"Argh! Damn kid! Can't you see what's in front of you while you walk? Are you blind or something!?" one of them shouted angrily.

Hearing their nonsensical shouts, Tang Soso simply tilted her head in confusion. Are they mad at her? She had simply bumped into them by accident and they were throwing a fit as if that small bump deeply offended them?

Tang Soso swiftly took out her signboard and wrote a couple words, before showing it to them. Although her face was perfectly concealed under the black cloak, annoyance was starting to appear on her face.

She's already tired from the long day. Right now, she just wanted a peaceful walk home and not to deal with any of this nonsense!

[ I'm sorry about that. It was just a small bump, no big deal. I'll be careful next time. ]

Tang Soso bowed her head quietly before turning away to leave. Although it really hurts her pride to bow down to small fries like this, there's no need to cause a commotion in the middle of the night, especially when she's currently going incognito.

Unfortunately for her, none of these men could read...

"Oh yeah?"

Ignoring her apologetic attitude, the two men immediately stood in front of her, blocking her way forward with an angry smirk. One of them cracked their knuckles as their evil intentions were no longer hidden away...

"Do you think just a small bow is enough? I shall let you, little kid, know that we are the guards of the fourth Young Lady of the Tang Clan! Does that ring a bell? This is a job only reserved for veteran martial artists, something that you ordinary people would only dream of becoming! And now you dare to disrespect us and not apologize on top of that. Do you know what that means, kid?"

The other man continued, "It means you have earned yourself a punishment, prepare yourself for a thorough beating! Get on the ground!"

'...'

Um, no?

Hearing their dimwitted replies, Tang Soso scoffed disdainfully. She had lowered herself into apologizing to them but not only did they ignore it, they decided to give her a beating for this small mistake? They are not even young masters, they are just guards. Just how unreasonably retarded does someone have to be to be like this?

To make matters worse, their words were filled to the brim with arrogance and it only made her eyelids twitch in anger. Judging by their tone, it was obvious to her that they thought they were superior to everyone else. These bunch of trash think they are bigshots just because they served one of her sisters, huh?

She forgot these kinds of people exist.

Her fists started to itch for some action all of a sudden... It seems like they are the one who needs a beating, not her.

But regardless, she must contain herself... from what they just said, it seems like these men had some kind of connection with one of her siblings. If she were to cause a ruckus right now, then the consequences might be dire...

Sigh...!

First, she had to deal with Tang Hwi, and now this? Why are the heavens being so mean to her?

'Ugh, just my rotten luck! Just how ridiculous is this day going to become? In any case, I shouldn't bother dealing with them no matter how much it pisses me off. It would probably expose me being alive to the public and anger one of my siblings at the same time, giving me more headaches in the future...' she thought grimly in her mind.

Turning back from those men, she quickly wanted to walk away as fast as she could without paying any attention to them. She refused to partake in any of this.

But just as she took the first step, one of their hands reached her shoulder, forcing her in place to confront them!

The smaller man chuckled as he drew his weapon, "Are you running away from us, coward? We would've let you go with a slight beating if you had obeyed quietly, but now you're trying to run away? Don't expect us to let you off as easily...!"

'...'

Breath slowly... Be patien-

"Finally, I can let off some stress after a long day of work! The Fourth Lady had been busy and gave us a ton of work to the point that my mind was throbbing with headaches! Beating you up should give me some peace. Prepare yourself, you damn midget."

'...'

Tang Soso stood there in place for a solid few seconds as the word 'midget' echoed in her mind. If these men could at least see her face, they would have seen a few veins appearing on her forehead, threatening to burst in anger at any moment. Hearing their meaningless barkings, she had been growing more and more impatient.

'This is annoying... Very annoying. I know that beating them would bring in trouble, but still...!'

As her thoughts were intertwining, the smaller one casually chimed in as he hovered his face in front of hers,

"Hey, are you still there, you little twig? Are you so afraid of us that you actually froze up? Ha...! What, are you gonna piss yourself next?"

His breath stinks of weeks' worth of no brushing and it somehow made his words sting Tang Soso's mind even more, provoking her even further. Finally, after staying silent, she has had enough.

...

'Alright. That's it.'

All sorts of anger were quickly drained out of her face before being replaced by sheer emotionless coldness. Killing intent started permeating through the surrounding area as her gaze locked on to the smaller man in front of her.

SHIING!

"Wha-?"

The smaller man was too focused gazing arrogantly at Tang Soso before a splash of blood could be seen before his eyes.

Strangely however the small figure wearing a black cloak in front of him was not injured in the slightest. In fact, he could see some trace of a wide smile underneath the dark shade of her cloak. If this splash of blood did not come from her, then could it be...?

As realization dawned upon him, a searing pain immediately came crashing before his wrist as he locked his eyes on it. Upon landing his gaze on it, his eyes widen in terror...

"W-WHA! M-MY WRIST! MY WRIST WAS CUT!!"

"LITTLE BROTHER...!?"

Blood kept pouring like a fountain as the man started to scream in horror. It was unbelievably painful like a raging wildfire, something that he had never experienced in his whole life. Before they knew it, a small puddle of crimson had formed underneath them, staining the floor with a taint that could not be erased for days.

Although the injury itself had only cut halfway through the man's wrist, the way it got cut was so precisely accurate that it managed to pass through some tough muscles and swiftly cut the blood vessel. Such a movement was something only a true master could pull off, not even a first-rate martial artist would be sure to be able to pull off such a move!

Neither of them could see any movement when that happened, it was as if everything was done in a flash of light and simply thinking about it sent a chill through the other man's spine. As realization dawned upon them, they looked at each other briefly before setting their eyes on the only figure who could be the culprit of such a thing...

Their nervousness had only grown when they set eyes upon the short figure. Just before, they were mocking her out of pure entertainment, but now they couldn't help but take a few steps back.

...

'Damn, you lucky rat.'

Tang Soso slightly cursed in her mind when she realized that her surprise attack did not work as she expected. Had her physique been just a tiny bit stronger, not only the man's wrist, but his hand would have been cleanly cut off. But instead, she only managed to injure his veins...

'Oh well, it seems like I have to waste more stamina than I thought.'

Her hand moved slowly into her sleeves, before pulling out an old blunt dagger. It was supposed to be used for training, but it seems like this small thing will witness blood for the very first time...

Like a predator, her sharp gaze swept across the road before meeting the two men who provoked her earlier!

"UGH!"

The thick amount of killing intent she emitted was clenching their heart in fear. They wanted to run, but they soon realized that it was too late. With the sheer amount of coldness the figure was emanating, she would likely end their life if they decided to do so.

Without any other option, they must put on a fight no matter what to preserve their lives!

"Little brother! Q-Quick! We must kill this little bastard!" the bigger man shouted desperately as he realized their chances were extremely low. This is not the moment to waste any time, both of them must act now since the short figure is still standing around.

He must take every chance he could get in order to survive!

"B-But my wrist is still bleeding...! How could we defeat such a monstrous-"

"JUST SHUT UP AND DO IT! DO YOU WANT TO DIE!?"

"Y-Yes, senior brother...!"

As the smaller man quickly replied, he quickly grits his teeth as he leaped out of Tang Soso's nonexistent vision and took on a battle stance. The bigger man quickly jumped in front of her to replace the smaller man. Every trace of arrogance was now completely replaced by a serious expression, enhanced with the instinct of survival.

Seeing this unfold before her, Tang Soso smiled widely...

'They really are eager to die... Speaking of which, it's been a while since I battled with someone else before. This is amusing... this is very amusing! These rats would be perfect for gaining some battle experience with my new body!'

"DIE!"

"DIE, LITTLE FUCKER!"

...

Soon, a large fist slowly descended toward Tang Soso's head while a swift sword dashed like a flash of light toward her back!

SWOOOSH!

SHIIIING!

Gust of the night air twisted and turned as her sense of danger was screaming nonstop, feeling both attacks nearing her in no time. Her heart pounded intensely as the familiar feeling of danger reminded her of the old days as the Divine Thief. With a wide smile, she took a deep breath...

'I can feel the wind soaring... I can feel the sound screeching... I can feel the Qi around twisted and turned engulfing the attacks like a torrent...'

I CAN SEE EVERYTHING!

Her eyes suddenly widened, emitting a sharp glow. Immediately, as the attacks were one inch off from hitting her cloak, she twisted her body to the side, avoiding all the attacks at once!

Her movements were as graceful as a crane and despite not moving at all from her original spot, not a single trace of damage could be seen on her cloak. It was an extreme move that did not waste even a single bit of stamina and had it been a slight inch off, the consequences would have been very dire!

The movement completely caught both men off-guard and they immediately leaped away. They did not expect this small figure to not only dodge both of their attacks but also do it very easily!

"H-HOW!?"

Seeing their surprised expression, Tang Soso grinned and took this chance to attack. Her eyes glanced between both of them as she assessed which would be a better target, before locking in at the larger man.

Although the man seemed to be the stronger one among the two and didn't show any weakness, she had a small plan in mind.

Her breathing became lower as she adjusted her posture, 'It's time!'

Pure white Qi courses through her entire body before gathering into her dagger, giving it a faint white glow. Without giving them time to recover, she immediately launched herself toward the bigger man and launched a fully charged mid-air kick!

'Take this!'

THWUMP!

The bigger man, although slightly flustered by her sudden speed, immediately raised his arms and barely managed to block her kick. Yet despite its speed, the man raised his brows when he realized that the kick didn't contain much power in the first place. Is this short figure really powerful? Why do her attacks feel weak? If she was not that strong, then this might be easier than he thought!

But... what he did not realize was that he was not the target she was aiming for in the first place!

Upon landing her kick on the man's thick arms, Tang Soso's feet twirled and leaped from the bigger man's thick armguard toward the smaller man as she gave a wide swing with her Qi-infused dagger!

"BROTHER, WATCH OUT!"

"HM...!?"

CLANG!

The clashing sound of metals echoed through the surroundings as her dagger unexpectedly met the man's sword.

Due to the larger man's warning shout, the smaller man managed to notice her sudden attack and barely parry her slash in time. His thin sword moved as fast as his arm could endure, while his body started to get drenched in cold sweat...

'Oh?'

Seeing that her sneak attack plan did not work, she simply snorted in disappointment. She did not expect this smaller man would be able to defend against her sneak attack. It seems that although their skills were far below hers, their teamwork was still quite amazing.

Since these kinds of plans didn't seem to be effective against this pair, she must find other kinds of openings that she could use against them. Without any other plan, she continued to attack him with barrages of endless swings. This was the best thing she had in mind...

In her new body, speed and surprise were her strong points!

These swings were fast and unpredictable, rendering the smaller man unable to retaliate and forcing him to focus on defending himself...

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

"DAMN IT!"

The smaller man continued to try his best to parry Tang Soso's attacks as her swings kept coming faster and faster.

But unexpectedly, he was defending quite well against her speed even though he struggled against some unpredictable swings. Thus, seconds kept on passing as he continued to defend himself...

But, who was Tang Soso? She was a formal martial master!

As the battle kept on going between them, the massive difference in skills and battle experience started to become clear among them!

Eventually, as seconds ticked, some swings managed to land on his shoulder and lower body. Blood started to trickle down his body as some cut wounds started to appear on his body. Without realizing it, his breathing became more and more ragged while his stamina was decreasing exponentially!

"UGH! YOU LITTLE...!"

Just before he managed to finish his sentence, Tang Soso unleashed another strong barrage of attack towards him. He was once again forced to swallow his words and focus on defending against her attacks.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

One injury led to another. Slowly, more and more of Tang Soso's attacks managed to land on him and countless slash wounds were starting to appear on the smaller man's body. Due to his piling amount of injuries, the smaller man started to show weakness and started to struggle to defend himself...

In just a single exchange of attacks, Tang Soso managed to turn this veteran martial artist into a bloody mess while she was still completely unscathed. From this moment alone, it was clear to anyone who the winner was!

But regardless of this, the smaller man still persists, enduring the tremendous pain while valiantly defending against all of her attacks.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! ...

'This man...'

Despite having numerous cuts on his body and being utterly overpowered, the man still stood on with a cry and kept defending against her valiantly. Even Tang Soso herself was slightly taken aback and was forced to acknowledge his skills and willpower.

Eventually, minutes passed by as the attacks kept on going only to be barely parried by him...

During the whole time, the man was the one being completely dominated in this fight due to the pure difference in skills. But as time quietly goes on, the story will be different.

Now, it was her turn to have a dark expression...

'Damn it! It seems like my movement is getting slower and slower with each passing second, while my limbs feel like they're about to fall off at any second! This is starting to get dangerous...' she quietly realized.

At this point, Tang Soso herself also started to run out of stamina and retreated to recover herself. Beads of sweat started to drip on her face as the fatigue from the long day took its toll on her.

This fight was turning out way longer than she had planned and if this kept going for a few more minutes, she might be the one on the losing side!

Moreover, she also realized that the bigger man was nowhere to be found. Just as this realization went through her mind, she suddenly heard the faint footsteps of a squadron of guards in the background.

'This... Oh no!'

No wonder not a single attack went after her back when she was demolishing this smaller guy. It turns out the bigger man was calling for reinforcement!

If they were to reach here first, then there would be no chance of victory for her. She must finish this man before they arrive!

Feeling impatient, she immediately put all of her strength into one point and rushed toward the smaller man once again...

'Just fall already!'

HAAP!

SWING! CLANG!

"AHHHH!!!"

With one last powerful swing, the man was completely blown away by the sheer force of Tang Soso's attack, unable to defend against it. His figure was sent flying before miserably crashing against a nearby large tree!

BOOM!

The tree shook wildly and got bent from the massive impact as a loud sound echoed through the surroundings. Clouds of dust and night air rose covering the scene before dissipating shortly after, revealing the devastating outcome.

Even though the tree was quite damaged, the smaller man's state was even worse. It looks like he had broken a few bones during the crash and was forced to lean against it, temporarily unable to get up.

But more than that, Tang Soso noticed that his eyes were dazed, and he seemed to be unconscious...

Finally, it's a chance!

Without minding the bigger man slowly approaching her, she immediately rushed toward him with her dagger shining in pure white light. She gathered all of her Qi into her dagger and launched another wide slash! 

'It's time to end this fight... HM!?'

"DON'T YOU DARE APPROACH MY JUNIOR BROTHER!"

However, her wishes didn't come true once again. Just as she was a few inches away from ending the smaller man's life, a barrage of massive fists descended upon her like a torrent.

'Damn it!'

The mere force of it was enough to send countless danger signals to her mind. It was as if those attacks were filled with pure anger... If she were to be hit by at least one of those punches, her body would definitely be broken without any chance of recovery!

She was once again forced to back out and abandon her plan of killing the smaller guy. When she tried to rush toward him once again, he was defended by the bigger guy again.

'GET OUT OF MY WAY!'

Tang Soso's eyes were bloodshot, she couldn't even believe what was happening. This pair of guards is seriously pissing her off!

Time is slowly ticking... She must finish them right now or the guards would catch her before it happened!

Without any warning, she dashed toward the unconscious smaller man once again with a deep killing intent. The bigger man roared loudly in response and sent out another barrage of massive fists toward her. However, Tang Soso has seen this attack numerous times before!

She quickly slid under the stallion-like man while slashing both of his heels, temporarily incapacitating him in place. Dropping to the ground with a massive thud, the bigger man could only watch as Tang Soso got closer to his younger brother in an instant. Her dagger shone once again with the remaining Qi that she had and slashed toward the smaller man who was leaning on the broken trunk...

"NOOOO! STOP, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" the bigger man screamed helplessly at her march to his younger brother. 

But, no matter what he did, it was already too late.

SHIIING!

With a rising spirit, she launched herself in the air toward the man and unleashed a powerful slash imbued with most of her Qi!

This slash was way more powerful than any other attack she had unleashed in this fight. The dagger in her hand shone with the moonlight as it closed its distance from the man in mere moments. Its bare movement sent a massive gale that scattered leaves away by its mere force, brimming with killing intent.

The barely conscious man saw this incoming attack and muttered helplessly, "Senior brother... help...!"

He raised his sword to defend against Tang Soso's attack once more... but he had hit his limit.

Tang Soso's dagger went straight through his sword, cutting it like butter before it kept going toward his neck. In a flash, the smaller man was thoroughly decapitated while the remaining force of Tang Soso's slash left a deep mark on the tree's trunk.

Blood poured out like a fountain, staining everything around it. As the blood kept on spewing endlessly, his fresh body slowly slumped to the ground with a hard thud. With a final huff, Tang Soso quietly smiled...

Finally, one nuisance is out of the way.

The bigger man watched his younger brother dying at her mercy in complete despair. Despite not being real brothers, he had shared many moments with that smaller guy and had grown fond of him. Seeing Tang Soso decapitate his head quickly put him in a daze, not wanting to believe what had just happened.

"This... This has to be a dream... This has to be a dream...!"

His eyes were cloudy and his fists were clenched so hard that blood started to drip from its gaps. His blood was boiling and anger was surging in his heart uncontrollably. He quickly shifted from his dead brother to the black-cloaked figure who had just murdered him in cold blood.

Without being able to control himself, he immediately rushed towards her regardless of his injuries!

"DIE!"

As Tang Soso saw him being delirious by the other's death, she didn't waste her chance. Her dagger was still brimming with a ton of Qi and its sharpness didn't dwindle at all even after leaving a deep mark on the massive tree.

Pouring the last bit of her strength, she quickly threw the dagger toward the man at an alarming speed before it hit the man square in the forehead, ending his life in an instant. His body fell backward from the throw's massive impact and shook the ground from his incredible weight.

With that, the fight has finally concluded...

Huff... Huff...

'That was way harder than I had anticipated...! It took my all to barely manage to win against them and they were both only Second-Rate martial artists! I really need to improve quickly...' she quietly thought in her mind.

Her knees quickly fell to the ground as exhaustion finally took over her body. She had pushed her body to do many extreme moves and exert power that her current physique couldn't handle. Now, excruciating pain can be felt as the price for all that she's done today hits her at the same time.

UGH!!

Her body convulsed for a moment before regaining control... It seemed like a painful seizure was about to dawn on her soon...

...

"WE HEARD YOU CALL- WHAT JUST HAPPENED HERE!?"

"WHY ARE THEY SLUMPED!? THEY ARE BOTH DEAD!?"

"WHO IS THAT FIGURE!?"

"QUICK! CATCH HIM! DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!"

Loud shoutings were heard just as Tang Soso was trying to catch a break. As she turned around and scanned the area, she noticed a squad of guards rushing in very quickly. Each of them was third-rates on martial skills, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming enough to give her a deep sense of danger.

It seems like their reinforcement has arrived!

'Ugh... I have to get out of here quickly!"

Without sparing a single second, Tang Soso immediately leaped out of her position toward the roof of a nearby building. The guards tried to follow her, but none of them had the skills to jump high enough to catch her. But even so, Tang Soso did not dare to underestimate them.

Just a moment ago, she had underestimated a pair of guards and it eventually ended up with a bloody fight between them. Just because these guards cannot jump onto the roof doesn't mean that they can't beat her up when she's all exhausted and out of Qi.

With that thought, she continued jumping through dozens of roofs as their numbers slowly dwindled away, unable to chase her. She even had to detour a couple of times from the pathway to her residence in fear of getting caught. But despite all the trouble she was facing, a small victory smile could still be seen on her face.

She was glad to at least survive yet another day.

The moonlight shone brightly on top of the night sky, shining on her figure with an elegant grace. With a brilliant smile on her face, she continued gliding through the roofs as a silhouette of the long-gone Divine Thief could be seen deep within her shadows...

As the day was nearing its end, her figure slowly disappeared into the night...

...

...

...