Inside a hidden, dark chamber, the floor was paved with black marble, and the walls were a deep, dark gray.
A round table of black oak sat in the center of the room. The flame on a silver candelabra flickered slightly, its orange glow waxing and waning, occasionally illuminating several figures seated around the table.
Under such an atmosphere, there were usually only two possibilities. Either a group of people had gathered to take turns telling ghost stories, or they were plotting something that could never be brought to light. And this place, quite obviously, belonged to the latter.
“Did you deliver ‘that’ to the imperial palace today?”
“Of course. That fool of an emperor drank it without the slightest suspicion.”
The man sitting in the center of the round table swirled the glass bottle in his hand, a sinister smile appearing on his face. The liquid in the bottle glowed with an eerie pale green.
“This medicine was concocted from cactus fruit, salamander’s breath, and a secret recipe from an alchemist. The materials alone are worth a house.”
“Excellent.”
The leader nodded.
“Keep delivering it. You must use the highest quality ingredients every time—ideally pure, natural, and completely free of impurities.”
“Rest assured.”
The man laughed sinisterly.
“As long as that fatuous emperor lives one more day, the empire will rot one step further.”
They were the Spiders, a secret organization hidden within the shadows of the empire. They hated the empire, and their sole objective was to utterly destroy this behemoth.
“I will make the medicine even more potent. Even if he wants to die, it won’t happen so quickly! Hehehe…”
They could not let the emperor die just yet. If that highly capable crown prince were to smoothly inherit the throne, their original plan would become exceptionally difficult.
“Now, let us begin the second agenda of today.”
The Spiders' leader reached out and tapped the chessboard on the table. Every piece on the board corresponded to an important figure in the empire.
“We must decide on our next assassination target.”
He said slowly, “Anyone capable in the empire must be eliminated.”
His finger landed on a chess piece holding a staff, representing the imperial Minister of Magic, Robin.
The leader flicked his finger, and the piece fell over at the impact.
“Let us vote by majority rule. Tell me, who do you think is most deserving of elimination?”
A person on the left spoke lazily, “Isn’t it obvious? Someone highly capable, loyal to the empire, and completely selfless.”
“Indeed. Robin of the Ministry of Magic—”
“Li An.”
“Li An.”
“Li An.”
Without almost any hesitation, everyone spoke in unison.
The leader cleared his throat.
“Exactly,” he said slowly. “The rising star of the empire, the one most likely to save the collapsing colossus: the newcomer, Li An.”
With that, he quietly swapped out the piece on the chessboard. The knight representing the Minister of Magic was replaced with a piece depicting a black-haired man.
“Now, who will take charge of his assassination? The sharpest fangs of the Spiders cannot remain hidden forever.”
“I’ll do it.”
The person on the left stood up. The candlelight fell upon her furry face.
“Oh? Leg Number Seven. I can rest easy leaving this to you.”
“I have always loathed this empire that despises our people.” A cold gleam flashed in her eyes. “Now, we finally have a chance for revenge. Let us pluck the hidden gems of this empire... one by one.”
She hailed from the catkin race, a race that had suffered prolonged persecution under the empire in the past.
...
The seventh leg of the Spiders—Lyka—caught the fishy scent of the harbor. The smell of fresh fish, rotting wood planks, and the sweat of dockworkers mingled together, stimulating her acute sense of smell.
Her smuggling operation was a success. It had been ten whole years since she last stepped foot on the land of the Barba Empire. Just remembering her experiences back then made the old wounds on her back throb with pain.
Accursed empire...
Grumble!
Lyka's stomach let out an unconstructive growl, and her face instantly flushed red.
There was no helping it. To minimize her luggage as much as possible during this smuggling run, she hadn't brought much food at all. Now, she could only find a solution on the spot.
“Boss, can I buy a fish?”
Fortunately, this was a harbor. There were so many fish vendors along the streets that there was barely any room to stand. The only problem was whether they would be willing to sell to her.
Lyka clearly noticed that quite a few people around were staring at her. Catkin were not common in the empire.
The fishmonger sized her up from head to toe, but eventually nodded.
Before he could change his mind, Lyka hurriedly extended her foot and gripped a plump herring. The scales were slippery and cold, but the flesh underneath was firm and springy.
“How much is it?”
Lyka was somewhat nervous. Even if the vendor was willing to sell, he might take the opportunity to rip her off.
“No charge.”
The fishmonger waved his hand. “Just take it.”
“…What?”
“Aren’t you a catkin?”
“Yes.”
The fishmonger immediately burst into a smile. “They say catkins bring good luck. If I give a fish to a hungry catkin today, maybe my business will go smoothly today, right?”
Lyka was stunned.
She had never heard of such a saying. Ten years ago, the imperial citizens clearly still viewed the catkin as symbols of misfortune, even driving them out of the empire. What on earth had happened during these ten years?
Lyka lowered her head and devoured the fish in a few bites. The fresh, delicious fish carried a rich taste of the sea.
Forget it. No matter what changes had occurred in the empire, her goal in returning this time remained unchanged.
Li An. Assassinate him.
Lyka took a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. It was a map, and marked on it was the place where Li An could be found—the imperial Evaluation Department.
Lyka glanced at it and put the map away. She didn’t need a map; remembering that man's scent was enough.
She pulled out a handkerchief previously used by Li An, prepared by the organization, and brought it to her nose to take a gentle sniff. The direction was instantly established.
However, her journey to the government offices was not as smooth as she had imagined. Not because she got lost, but because everyone along the way was staring at her with curiosity.
“Wow! A catkin!”
“Can I touch your tail?”
“Hey! Don't be so rude!”
A child of about six or seven years old, holding their parents' hands, looked up at Lyka with curiosity. Lyka subconsciously took a step back, her tail puffing up instantly.
Those memories, sealed away for so long, resurfaced in her mind.
—What are you doing?! Don't go near that filthy beastkin, you'll catch a disease!
—No, Mom! I just wanted to practice throwing rocks...
However, this time, no rocks came flying. Instead, the child's parents lowered their heads and apologized repeatedly.
“We are so sorry, our child was being impolite.”
“It's fine.”
Lyka hesitated for a moment. “If you want to touch it... go ahead.”
“Really?!”
The child's eyes lit up, and a small hand gently came to rest on her tail. It was very light and very gentle.
“Thank you, Catkin Big Sister!”
“Don't call me sister... Forget it, do whatever you want.”
Lyka didn't get angry. It wasn't until this moment that she had to admit it: this empire seemed to have truly changed. At least... it was changing for the better.
Whoosh—
A flyer was suddenly swept over by the wind. Lyka reached out and caught it. In the next second, her expression instantly darkened.
As expected, the empire was still the same old empire.
She looked down at the flyer.
“Highly skilled catkin massage therapists, relieving your fatigue! Welcome to come and experience it now!”
—No. 2, Third Avenue, Liander Street, Empire
Lyka crumpled the flyer tightly.
“Imperial dogs! You are still exploiting my people,” she grit her teeth. “Unforgivable.”
After sniffing the scent on the flyer, she immediately changed direction. Before assassinating Li An, she would first deal with these scoundrels who oppressed her kin!
...
“Welcome~”
“Oh, a catkin customer? Is there somewhere you feel unwell?”
Upon arriving at the so-called catkin massage parlor, Lyka said nothing and directly drew her dagger. She then charged toward the boss with large strides.
“What are you doing?!”
But blocking her way were actually several catkins.
“Why are you helping humans?” Lyka found it hard to believe. “Don't you know these humans are exploiting you?”
“…What on earth are you talking about?”
The catkins looked at each other. One of them pointed to himself.
“Do I look like I'm being exploited to you? I earn a normal salary and work five days a week. How does that count as being exploited?”
“Five days?” Lyka froze. “What do you mean by five days a week?”
“We don't work on Saturday and Sunday. We rest at home.”
“…”
Lyka's eyes widened. “There's actually such a system?”
The catkin employee put her hands on her hips. “By the looks of it, you must be one of those old-fashioned catkins, right? Could it be that you just returned from the outside?”
“…”
“Yes.”
The other party flashed a warm smile. “That works out perfectly, then. Would you like to try working here first? Do you know how to do massages?”
“A little.”
“What do you know?”
“I can use saliva and needles...”
“That's a rare skill!” The other party's eyes immediately lit up. “Boss! We've got a talent here!”
The boss, who was resting lying down just a moment ago, instantly whipped out a contract as if by magic.
“Come, come, sign here first. Working hours are from 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM, with Saturdays and Sundays off. Lunch is provided for free, and the base salary is three silver coins per month. Additionally, there are paid annual leave and severance pay...”
“Annual leave?” The more Lyka listened, the more confused she became.
“Severance pay?” She stared at the contract. “Not only do they provide food at work, they even pay money?”
This was an absolute culture shock.
The other catkins looked at her, their eyes filled with sympathy.
“Sigh...”
“This is why we catkins must read more books.”
...
“Both sides feel incredibly comfortable.” A customer sat up from the massage bed with satisfaction.
“Though, Lyka's needles really hurt.” He rubbed his shoulders. “But every time after the acupuncture is done, my entire body feels like it’s been reborn. I really can't kick this habit.”
“Thank you for your compliment.”
By now, with her outstanding acupuncture technique, Lyka had quickly become the ace of the massage parlor. Massages combined with acupuncture, this combo was almost unmatched in the neighborhood.
“I didn’t expect...” Lyka looked at the calendar in the shop. “I’ve already been working here for two months.”
Strange. When she entered the empire, she clearly had a highly important mission... What on earth was it?
Ding-ling—
The shop door was pushed open.
“Welcome!” Lyka yelled out by reflex.
In the next second, her nose twitched. The scent of a catkin.
She lifted her head. The newcomer was none other than the head of the massage team in the imperial Evaluation Department's break area.
“Lyka.”
“…Yes?”
“I came here today specifically to headhunt you.”
“Headhunt me?”
“An outstanding talent like you should come to work for our Evaluation Department.”
Lyka refused without a second thought. “No way. I cannot betray the boss who took me in.”
“Four days of work a week.”
“…”
“Ten silver coins a month.”
“Wait a second.” Lyka's attitude underwent an instantaneous transformation. “What did you just say?”
“Working only four days a week.”
“I'm packing my things to leave with you right now.”
...
And so... Lyka switched jobs.
It was also rather strange. The empire’s civil servants seemed exceptionally prone to neck and shoulder pain. Sitting at their desks all day, their necks and shoulders would unconsciously lean forward. Over time, the muscles would naturally stiffen, not to mention that the vast majority of civil servants usually had almost no exercise.
“Just as I thought.” Lyka reached out and pressed Li An's shoulders. “Your trapezius and infraspinatus muscles are very tight. We'll focus on relaxing this area today.”
She pinched a long, thin silver needle. “It will hurt a little, so bear with it.”
The tip of the needle precisely pierced his trapezius.
“Sssss—”
Li An sucked in a breath of cold air.
“Bear with it for just a little longer. It will be over soon.” Lyka gently twirled the silver needle with her fingers, precisely stimulating the tense muscle.
Afterward, she turned her attention to his infraspinatus. The needle tip pierced in at an angle. Her movements were gentle yet astonishingly precise, an exquisite skill built upon an extremely profound understanding of human anatomy.
“Sss...”
Li An lay completely relaxed on the massage table. “So comfortable...”
At this moment, he felt as if he had arrived in heaven. The first time he received acupuncture, he had actually been somewhat resistant. But now... that faint, phantom-like pain as the needle pierced in was actually rather addictive. Because after the needles were done, his entire body felt incredibly comfortable.
“Minister!” Lyka said with a smile. “You will always be the hope of our Evaluation Department! Please cheer up and work hard today too!”
“Thank you.” Li An sat up. “Thanks for your hard work today as well.”
After leaving the break area, Li An plunged back into his work. Meanwhile, Lyka packed up her used instruments, preparing to get off work.
Today had been another fulfilling day.
As she walked to the door, she suddenly paused.
“Strange... It feels like I forgot something.”
Although catkins had very dextrous hands, they had a minor flaw: they were prone to forgetfulness. However, she typically wouldn't forget truly important matters.
“Forget it. Since I can't recall it, it probably wasn't anything important anyway.”
...
“Still no word?”
In the dark room, the Spiders' leader slowly exhaled. “Lyka... failed?”
Li An was still alive and well, yet all news of Lyka had been completely cut off. What this meant was all too clear. Lyka had likely suffered a crushing defeat, so thoroughly defeated that she didn’t even have the chance to send back any information.
“It seems we underestimated Li An.” The leader said in a grave voice, “Raise his danger level further.”
The Spiders had lost a leg.
“Could it be...” someone muttered in a low voice, “he truly is the Light of the Empire?”
The people around the table immediately broke into a flurry of discussion.
“Lyka must have let her guard down because the opponent was merely a civil servant.”
“She always has that bad habit.”
No one refuted this. They were all very aware of Lyka's strength; she was, after all, one of the most outstanding assassins in the Spiders. Losing her was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Spiders.
But the leader quickly raised his head.
“However, it does not matter.” His voice recovered its calmness. “The Spiders still have seven legs. We will still accomplish our goal. The empire... will eventually be dragged into the abyss by us.”
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