Kyu-Son had forced herself into a rather puzzling dilemma entirely of her own making. The girl she had attacked due to the bandages was likely telling the truth about her lack of involvement with the people she was looking for. The group she had seen before had those bandages wrapped all around their arms, and hadn't moved in a way that would imply they had any injuries that would demand that.

In addition, it didn't make sense for one of them to randomly show up on the street in front of her, ripe for the taking, after she had searched far and wide and found no mention of anyone matching their descriptions. That would be so lucky as to be unbelievable.

But now instead of being able to milk the information that she needed; she had just pitted herself against the only person who might be able to help her. If she had been randomly attacked, and then humiliatingly interrogated on a public street, she couldn't imagine helping out the one who had done that to her.

While legally any disciple of the sword had to accept duels from challengers, they also had the right to choose the time and place, and to refuse on account of injury. In other words, she had no valid basis to set the duel apart from a random attack, and any word from the stranger to the guard would have been enough to get her imprisoned for assault.

It wasn't as though she had anything to offer in order to appease her either. If Kyu-Son really was to approach her, the only thing she could do was fall on hands and knees and beg. The very thought turned her stomach, but if she had no other choice, letting her one chance slip away would be even worse than sacrificing her pride.

To make matters worse, in a way that was far more trivial, she had alienated the owner of her favorite teahouse, hence why Kyu-Son was currently sitting in a new location one level down, a cup of subpar tea abandoned on the table beside her as she watched an interesting display on the street.

A young man, a sword at his waist and a faint aura around him, was going against the heavy traffic. While there was no official ranking putting a student of the blade above any common person, unlike a disciple or a master, many people couldn't tell the difference, and would step aside anyway and make room for them to pass.

Instead of taking advantage of this, the man with subdued brown hair would constantly move out of their way instead, which meant his progress had been slowed to a snail's pace as he shuffled more to the edge of the road closer to her than he moved along it to his destination.

As a woman with a large woven basket of flowers ended up facing him, they both stepped to the left at the same time to let the other pass. The swordsman followed up, with another, larger step before she could move, and struck the low railing that blocked off the edge of the street between buildings.

He panicked as he saw the sheer drop, and attempted to grab onto the top of the rail to prevent himself from falling. One leg was still in the air, and his hurried movement only served to make him lose his balance and fall off the edge.

Kyu-Son had already started to move, and grabbed the back of his shirt the moment that he began to tip. She yanked him back onto the street, and then pulled him up to his feet.

A dozen sentences floated to the front of her mind, but the one that slipped out was her first thought, entirely unrefined by the journey to her mouth.

"Are you really that much of an idiot?"

The already insulting word choice was made worse by the manner of delivery, not phrased as a joke, or even an angry reprimand, but as a genuine question as to how he could have reached such a low level of mental ability, and survived long enough to reach adulthood with it.

For a moment he was stunned into silence as the words sunk in, and then he replied. "I'd like to think that maybe building a city where one wrong step leads to you plummeting to your untimely demise, is the true sign of being an idiot. That, and all the people who thought that this would be a good place to live."

"You just made like five wrong steps in about as many seconds," She said. "There's a railing, and a gutter that no one walks in, both of which you somehow managed to accidentally bypass in one incredibly dumb move."

"The railing cuts off at my thighs!" He protested. "And the gutter isn't even large enough to walk in, one step would take anyone over it. I'm telling you, Oukon is a death trap that has convinced people it's a town."

"Odd how everyone else seems to not be at any risk of falling over the side then, isn't it?" Kyu-Son said. "Maybe it's because you're just so clumsy you can't walk right. To be honest, I'm shocked that you have a sword in your belt, and haven't yet cut any of your own limbs off with it."

"Is this the reason you grabbed me?" He asked. "Were you just looking for someone who you could accost with your endless mockery, knowing they would be unable to flee after you saved their unfortunate life?"

He pointed a finger at her, his rant becoming louder. "I bet you're in cahoots with that woman with the flowers! She tricks people into nearly falling off the edge their first time in this hellish city, in order to give you an excuse to shower insults on them without retaliation!"

For a second Kyu-Son couldn't help but to wonder if his common sense was as impaired as his coordination, despite the comedically stupid nature of what he was saying. "I wouldn't exactly call what you're doing not retaliating."

He shrugged, his argumentative mood vanishing as he raised his hands in a defeated manner. "I suppose in that case I still owe you thanks for saving me from becoming a stain on the stones a couple levels down."

She smirked. "I was just worried that it would be hard for the street cleaners to take care of."

The only response from him was an overly loud sigh.

"Then as thanks, join me for a cup of tea," She said. "I got kicked out of my normal place, so I don't have anyone to drink with here."

"My name is Jing," He said, giving a bow of greeting that wasn't quite deep enough to be proper for their difference in rank.

"Kyu-Son," She replied.

"Does there happen to be a detailed record of everyone who comes to this city anywhere?" Jing asked as he set down his fresh cup. "I happen to be looking for someone. I think they might have come here."

Kyu-Son tilted her head. "A student like yourself?"

"A disciple from my school, The Silver Crescent Moon" He answered. “Or rather, she used to be, but she’s now just a wandering disciple.”

The hairpin of the girl she had fought flashed in her mind. “About your age, dark hair worn up, has a katana?”

Now it was his turn to tilt his head, in confusion instead of question. “How do you know that?”

A smile broke out on Kyu-Son’s face as she stood and sized his wrist. This was her perfect chance.

“I’ll help you look for her,” She said, pulling him out of his chair and into the street, ignoring his objections as he tried to put down his half-finished tea.

Maybe she could get pretty lucky with someone just passing by after all.

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Chapter end

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