Lady Mi
You reach out, preparing to kill him with a swift blow. Considering his current condition it would probably be swift mercy. Your hand pauses, hesitating as he stares at you. It is strange – just a few years before you would probably have plunged a dagger in his neck without a second thought, but now, when you are able to take a life easily with your bare hands, you find yourself wondering if you should kill a helpless man. Your hesitation does not last long, however. This is for the sake of ridding Shun of his enemy’s pawn. No matter what, the eunuchs are ultimately out to secure their own power, and if Shun is to wield and exercise influence on the throne that would go against their interests. The eunuchs and their lackeys can never be trusted.
In the next second, the light in the man’s eyes is snuffed out forever. You take the imperial crest from his clothes and tuck it into your own. It may come in handy in the future.
“He’s dead,” you call out to Yunzi. “It looks like the ghost drained him dry.” As she steps tentatively into the room, you step aside to allow her a look at the corpse. With some trepidation, she creeps closer to the dead body and begins examining it. “What are you doing?” you ask. “I need to find out exactly who is after me,” she mutters, “Perhaps he’s got something on him as identification. Don’t distract me.” She spots the tattoo on his wrist and holds it up. “What is this?”
“A black dragon, it looks like,” you shrug. “Perhaps the Black Dragon Society? Have you heard of them?” She shakes her head. You begin to explain. “I wouldn’t call them orthodox. Far from it. Why were you convinced the people who attacked you were of the orthodox sects?”
“Who else would attack us? I also recognized some of them using orthodox techniques, though not all,” she replies, trying to recall details of the attack. “Anyway, where would I find this Black Dragon Society? I would have words with them-”
The entire mansion shakes, shuddering right down into its very foundations. You hear an unearthly scream from the direction of the main hall, and a fierce yell – it sounds like the Taoist, Zhong Hai. “Let’s go!” shouts Yunzi, looking anxiously down the corridor. You nod and take the lead, sprinting down the corridor. The lanterns flicker and go out as you pass them, but you allow your senses to lead the way. Your surroundings gradually grow colder. The sound of the rain and thunder fade away, leaving behind an eerie silence broken occasionally by faint sounds of battle ahead of you.
A fierce duel greets your sight when you arrive at the main foyer. Though Xiahou Yu is nowhere to be seen, the Taoist is battling a beautiful middle-aged lady, his wooden sword making wide sweeping arcs that repel the woman’s long, extending sleeves. “I wonder how much cloth she’s hiding in there,” you mutter as Yunzi comes to a stop behind you. “That’s Lady Mi, the mistress of the mansion!” she exclaims.
“Well, I suppose she’s a ghost too. By the way, did they offer you anything to eat while you were their esteemed guest?” Her face immediately turns green as she suppresses the urge to vomit. You chuckle, preparing to go to the Taoist’s aid. “If you’re too scared, you can sit this one out.” She gives you a painful punch in the back. “Y-You forget who you are talking to. I won’t lose to a pervert.” You leap into the fray, Yunzi following soon after while muttering a foreign prayer. Instantly, two long strips of fabric shoot out from the woman’s sleeves to intercept the both of you. You cut yours down easily, while Yunzi grabs the one sent after her in her hands. It begins to smoulder. Lady Mi arches her painted eyebrow, turning her gaze to the Holy Maiden.
“What is this? I give you shelter and you attack your hostess for the sake of a man? Come, child, he has poisoned your thoughts. This is not your fight.” says the lady of the mansion, her voice reverberating throughout the hall though her mouth does not move.
“This sounds strangely familiar-“
“Where have I heard this before-“
You speak at the same time as Yunzi does. Pausing, the two of you look at each other. You can’t help but give a wry smile, just slightly, and she appears to do the same. “Oh come now, pay attention to the enemy, boy!” shouts Zhong Hai as he barrels past you, guzzling from his gourd of wine. He spits out the wine at Lady Mi, who leaps back with a look of deadly anger on her face. You dart to the right, Yunzi to the left. A spirit she might be, but she remains corporeal; perhaps the Taoist has pinned her down via some ritual. Though her sleeves are a weapon that you have not encountered before, you are able to grasp its movements rather easily – even in your current condition you can manage to fend off her attacks.
You slowly close the distance, slashing at the unending waves of cloth. There seems to be no limit to the amount of fabric she is shooting out, and it would probably be a bad idea to get caught by one of those strips. Suddenly, Lady Mi gives out a cry. Moving faster than you can, Yunzi had managed to weave her way through and deliver a powerful blow to the woman. As Lady Mi staggers backwards, the Taoist takes his chance and dives forward, driving his wooden sword straight at her chest. It hits her, causing green smoke to spew forth.
There is a sudden change in the atmosphere. Opening her mouth so wide that her jaw appears to have come unhinged, the woman roars, a deep, guttural sound that rattles your bones. A sudden gust of strong wind knocks all of you back. You skid across the polished floorboards, coming to a painful halt against a nearby pillar.
Lady Mi’s form begins to distort. A dark miasma begins emanating from her person. Her throat balloons. Her skin turns a greenish gray, and her eyes go yellow, bulging outwards. The once painted lips split, growing wider and thicker. She lets out a single croak.
Then, faster than your eyes can follow, a dark pink tongue unfurls itself from her gaping maw and lashes out at Zhong Hai. It catches him and retracts, pulling him towards the spirit. With a monstrous laugh, Lady Mi twirls her head around and smashes the Taoist through a wall. Before you or Yunzi can react, she crouches briefly before hopping forward, clearing the entire length of the hall in a single bound. A pair of palms strike you in the abdomen hard – you find yourself soaring through the air, dazed. Yunzi is struck down easily before you have landed, unable to put up any resistance against the slimy monster.
“Toad demoness,” groans Zhong Hai, as he stumbles out of the hole in the wall. “A powerful one, too. I came unprepared. Boy, when you see an opening, run.”
“Foolish humans,” growls Lady Mi. “I will have you all die here.” She turns back to attack Zhong Hai again, perhaps correctly seeing him as the real threat, but before she can do so there is a loud keening in the air.
“Not if I can help it!” Xiahou Yu runs into the foyer, a beautiful girl – ghost – by his side. A dozen other ghosts appear, swarming the toad demoness and pinning it down as it screams. “There you are,” you say irritably from your prone position on the ground. “Could you please tell me what is going on?” Yu nods, though he says “I’ll explain everything after we get out of here, Jing. First, we have a demon to subdue.”
“Brother Yu, my sisters and I will suppress the demon, but we cannot hold out forever. She is too powerful. Please, run!” pleads the girl, holding onto Yu’s hands.
“I will not abandon you here, Xiaoqing.” The scholar shakes his head while grasping her hands firmly. “It is okay, I have figured out a way to defeat the demoness. Remember what you told me about my friend being immune to ghostly qi draining because his qi was somehow poisonous to you?”
“Hey, Yu, I see where you are going and I do not like it!” you shout out, sitting up suddenly.
“Jing, quickly! While the ghosts are holding down the toad demoness, kiss it! Kiss it deeply! I am quite certain that will destroy it!” shouts Xiahou Yu.
“You are out of your mind! Look at that mouth, it’s big enough to eat my head!” you shout back.
“It’s our only chance!” he replies.
“If what he says is true, it might just work, boy! Do it! If it doesn’t work then we can just run!” Zhong Hai adds his support to the plan.
Yunzi laughs as she comes over to you, stretching out a hand to help you up. “Sounds like a plan that fits your perverted tendencies. Besides, that’s the sort of thing you are only fit to kiss, with your filthy lips.” You glare at her.
***
A. She’s crossed the line. If you are going to kiss a monster, you might as well kiss a beautiful girl too, to balance things out. It’s too bad that she’s the only living one around, but she’ll have to do. You steal a kiss from her for that uppity remark before jumping in to kiss the toad demoness. Hopefully this works.
B. They are right – well, if they are right, this is the best thing you can do. You will bravely sacrifice your own lips for the sake of the greater good, and kiss the toad demoness. No matter what snide comments Yunzi makes, you are doing this for your comrades, not because you want to kiss those slimy big lips. You are not a pervert.
C. There is no way you are going to do this. The ghosts are giving you an opening; it is time to make a run for it rather than put your lips to the task of pressing themselves up against glistening, drippy, fleshy toad demon mouths. What if it tongues you? Just thinking about it is enough to make you shudder. Running is the definitely right choice here. If you run, the others will be forced to follow.