I saw it.

The odds of a cat being in a box? Fifty-fifty.

Schrödinger’s cat is supposed to stir curiosity until the box is opened, but sadly, this wine jar was made in China.

Inside the jar, two eyes kept darting around, torn between locking onto mine or just staring into the bottom of the jar. She was stuck, trying to decide whether to acknowledge me or keep pretending I didn’t exist.

Thankfully, she wasn’t some martial lunatic about to shout, You’re already dead! the moment our eyes met—but that didn’t mean this wasn’t a problem.

Why the hell is she here?

I know her.

No, she’s not just «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» someone I know—she’s a character I know.

Pink hair, tied into two long pigtails, each knotted near her neck.

She looked flustered, her face red, but like any heroine from a martial arts visual novel, her beauty was undeniable—even in a mess like this.

Her slightly ditsy personality wasn’t just a quirk from the story, it seemed. Even hiding in a jar, she couldn’t help but show it.

She looked younger than I remembered, but she was definitely that character.

Is the martial world of this visual novel smaller than I thought?

No way. The Central Plains I’d trudged across with my own two feet was endless.

Hubei alone is nearly twice the size of Korea, and it took me a month and a half just to get here from Sichuan.

So why, in this vast world, is she sitting in front of me?

“Umm... Could you just pretend you didn’t see me?”

While I stayed silent, the pink-haired girl seemed to have reached her conclusion.

She managed to collect herself a little and awkwardly asked me, as if that would solve everything.

“I just need to check the wine jars! These ones from Shihwaru bound for Yichang!”

“Eek!”

The moment she heard “wine jar,” the girl let out a tiny shriek, turning pale as she shot me a desperate look for help.

Guess I’ve got no choice.

“Stay quiet.”

I raised a finger to my lips and warned her, then put the lid back on.

Now what?

I could just leave the lid closed and pretend nothing happened. But if those Sabomun bastards get close and see the broken seal, she’ll get caught immediately.

“They just want to check! What’s so hard about that?!”

“No outsiders are allowed near the cargo!”

“Outsiders?! There’s someone from Shihwaru here!”

“The hell are you talking about?”

The voices were getting closer and louder.

I had to decide—fast.

Maybe I’ll make a small connection here.

Not every woman who appears in the story is a heroine. But there’s no reason to miss a chance to earn a little favor with one of the original characters.

I climbed up onto the large wine jar, big enough for someone to hide in—and just right to sit on.

There’s no way every woman’s a heroine, right?

I wasn’t so sure, but there was no one in this world who could answer that.

----------

Just like humans and orcs can stop fighting when a burning demon shows up from outer space, the best way to handle conflict is to drop a bigger problem on top of it.

Step one: sit on what Sabomun wants the most.

No need to start by making it obvious I’m picking a fight.

I stared out at the Yangtze River, pretending I didn’t care about the commotion behind me.

“That wine jar! That one’s from Shihwaru!”

Soon enough, the Sabomun guys, now joined by the escort bureau’s staff, started closing in on the jar I was sitting on.

“Yeah? Then they’ve got to be in there!”

Without turning my head, I shifted my eyes sideways. Leading them was a hulking warrior, clearly the boss.

He was charging ahead like he’d just found some hidden treasure.

“You can’t touch the cargo.”

The Bureau Chief and the escort staff stepped in to block him.

“Don’t be so uptight. That jar’s from Shihwaru. The owner wants to check it, so what’s the problem?”

The Sabomun leader shoved a scrawny, terrified-looking man forward.

That guy? He’s from Shihwaru? Looks more like they dragged him here.

“Once cargo’s entrusted to us, it’s under the bureau’s protection until it reaches its destination. Some lowly shopkeeper doesn’t have the right to open it.”

The Bureau Chief wasn’t messing around. His voice was firm.

“Hah! You’re out of the loop. Shihwaru’s owner is dead.”

He scoffed at the Bureau Chief.

“What are you saying?”

“Something happened yesterday. Let’s just say we took care of him.”

“Then there’s even less reason to let you see it.”

“Heh! Shihwaru now belongs to us, Sabomun! That makes me the rightful owner! I should be able to check it!”

“You can’t just check whatever you want.”

“This isn’t some random demand—it’s my right! Hey, you black-haired barbarian! Get off that jar!”

He barked at me like he’d already won the argument.

“...”

I stayed quiet, pretending I didn’t hear him, just to piss him off more.

“What, you deaf, barbarian scum?!”

“I like the view from here.”

If you want something, you ask politely. Don’t just shout at me, calling me some barbarian trash. Even if there wasn’t someone hiding under me, I wouldn’t move.

“Is this foreign bastard crazy?”

“Sitting here, looking out at the Yangtze, I do feel a little tipsy.”

I ran my fingers across my forehead and faked a drunken daze, leaning into the act.

It was clear I was just messing around. A polite man might try asking again nicely, but these thugs? Yeah, no chance.

“This damn Goryeo mutt’s lost his mind!”

“Goryeo mutt?”

Wow. All I did was nudge him a bit and he’s already gone full racist. Being called a barbarian I could shrug off, but Goryeo mutt? That’s something else.

Goryeo mutt.

In modern times, it's like standing in front of a Chinese guy and calling him a ch*nk, or yelling Jap at a Japanese person.

“Yeah, Goryeo mutt! Wanna see your guts? Or maybe I should check out that messed-up brain of yours?”

I gave him a look like, Really? And he just went off.

I get it.

You don’t want to look weak. You’re scared of the Western Sichuan Escort Bureau, scared of the Tang Clan watching nearby—and now you see a perfect punching bag.

Some foreigner you can humiliate, make an example of.

But here’s the thing—you messed up.

“How dare you speak like that to Young Master Kang?!”

“You dare threaten a guest of the Western Sichuan Escort Bureau?!”

“You bastards! We were letting you go, but this is too far!”

In an instant, the escort bureau staff and the Tang Clan’s warriors drew their weapons.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“What... what the hell?!”

“Boss! I don’t know what’s going on, but I think we’re fucked!”

“Wait, is he someone important?”

I mean, I am sitting high up. Makes me important by default, right?

“Hey.”

The stage was set.

I hopped down smoothly and strolled straight toward the bastard.

“Hey?”

“Yeah. Hey. Who the fuck do you think you are?”

Throwing out killing intent like you’ve got the right. Please. That kind of crap doesn’t even tickle me.

“I’m the head of Sabomun.”

He answered, trying to keep some shred of dignity, but it was clear he realized shit had gone sideways. His tone had already lost its edge.

“They run a few brothels in Wusan. Just some minor sect.”

I shot the escort bureau chief a look, and he quickly filled in the blanks.

“A minor sect? No wonder you don’t know how to behave.”

I gave the guy a deliberately arrogant smirk and walked up close, brushing the dust off his clothes like he was some ragged servant.

“You bas—... I mean, sir, who are you exactly?”

“Who do you think I am, if just one insult from you has the Tang Clan and the Western Sichuan Escort Bureau drawing their swords for me?”

Go ahead. Imagine it.

I kept smiling, leaning in, pressing him.

Fear breeds doubt. Doubt breeds fear.

I wanted him to wonder if he’d just made the worst mistake of his life—if he’d just cracked open the gates of hell himself.

“A-are you really that high up?”

His voice was shaking hard now, the kind you hear from a man about to piss himself. The Tang Clan didn’t fuck around, and neither did this vibe I was giving off.

“Sure. Let’s go with that. It’s healthier for your nerves. So, the owner of this wine jar is gone, and you thought you’d just take it?”

Talk about a lack of imagination. Fine, I’ll play along.

If you want to know who I really am, you’d have to understand the tangled mess of political shifts back in Joseon and all the secret dealings of the Tang Clan. Good luck with that.

“Yes. I mean, yes, sir.”

“I’ll buy it, then.”

“What?”

“I’ll buy the wine. Now quit making a damn scene.”

With the same hand I’d just been dusting him off, I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him close, my smile gone in an instant.

You’re not just annoying me now—you’re pissing me off. I stared him down, face to face.

“That wine isn’t for sale—”

“Here. Take it.”

I cut him off and pulled out my purse.

What I took out?

A single copper coin.

I held it up between two fingers, high enough for everyone around to see. Not gold, not silver—just plain old copper.

Not even enough to fill a thimble with wine, let alone pay for a whole jar.

“You dare!”

“Dare? Listen, if you want something back for the insult I took, you can have this.”

Maybe he figured out someone was hiding in that jar.

So what? Mercy only goes so far.

One person, a dozen jars, a few insults, and a copper coin. Yeah, it’s humiliating—but it’s cheaper than paying with your life.

I grabbed his wrist and dropped the coin into his palm.

“Ghhh!”

“Ghhh? Should I just consider that your toll for crossing into the afterlife?”

“...I’ll sell the jar.”

And just like that, the head of Sabomun caved. He turned and left without another word, not even glancing back.

-----------

“Young Master Kang, thank you for handling that.”

The escort bureau chief bowed slightly after Sabomun backed off.

“I just didn’t want the trip home to drag out.”

“I’ll have us moving swiftly.”

“Make sure it’s a safe trip. Oh, and I’ll need a favor later.”

“What kind of favor?”

Yeah, I’m not letting this end here.

-----------

The ship, fully loaded with cargo and passengers, finally set sail for Yichang.

“A stowaway!”

“She’s getting away! Grab her!”

“How the hell did a woman get on this ship?!”

“It’s the rapids now! She’s got nowhere to run!”

Just as expected.

I straightened my clothes, adjusted my cuffs, and opened the cabin door.

“Alright, let’s go find out why the great Phantom Godfist herself is on this ship.”