Yun Xi felt ridiculous.
The maid outfit Jiang Fan had given her was... high quality. That was the only nice thing she could say about it. It was black silk with white lace trimmings, perfectly tailored to her tall, athletic frame. The skirt was long enough to be modest but swished dramatically when she walked.
"I am a Saintess," she muttered, adjusting the white headband. "I was the hope of the Celestial Sect. Now I am wearing lace."
"The lace adds aerodynamics," Jiang Fan commented from his massage chair. He popped a peeled grape into his mouth. "Also, you missed a spot on that grape. I tasted a seed. Do better."
Yun Xi crushed the grape in her hand. Juice dripped down her glove.
"I will strangle you," she whispered.
"Not while on the clock. Now, help me up. We're leaving."
THE AMBUSH
The VIP exit of the Sky City Auction House was a private, gold-paved alleyway designed for discretion.
But today, it was crowded.
As soon as Jiang Fan, Gu Ling, and the reluctant Yun Xi stepped out, they were blocked.
Young Master Zhao stood in the center of the alley, fanning himself with a smug grin. Behind him stood twenty guards dressed in the crimson armor of the Bloodfire Sect. They held heavy spears and radiated killing intent.
"Well, well," Zhao sneered, snapping his fan shut. "I thought you'd hide in there forever."
He looked at Jiang Fan with pure hatred. Then his eyes drifted to Yun Xi. A lecherous glint appeared in his eyes.
"That outfit suits you, darling. Much better than those rags."
Yun Xi's expression turned to ice. She took a step forward, her fists clenching.
"Easy," Jiang Fan said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be rude. He's a customer."
"A customer?" Zhao laughed. "You think you can buy your way out of this? You humiliated me! You made me lose face in front of the entire city!"
Zhao pointed his fan at Jiang Fan.
"Kill the cripple and the lazy trash. But keep the maid alive. I have... uses for her."
The twenty guards roared and charged. They were all Stage 4 elites, their spears glowing with fire Qi. The heat in the alley spiked instantly.
Gu Ling's mechanical spider legs twitched. "Targeting systems online. Shall I vaporize them?"
"No," Jiang Fan yawned. He sat down on a nearby crate and pulled Snack the kitten out of his sleeve to pet it.
"Yun Xi," Jiang Fan called out.
Yun Xi froze. "What?"
"You're the maid, right?"
"I... suppose."
Jiang Fan pointed at the twenty charging soldiers.
"The alley is dirty. Clean up the trash."
Yun Xi stared at him. "You want me to fight? I have no Qi! I can't use techniques! I'm a mortal!"
"You have the Heavenly Sword Physique," Jiang Fan said, closing his eyes. "You don't need Qi. You just need to hit them. Go on. Chop chop."
The first guard reached her. "Die, woman!"
He thrust his spear at her heart.
Yun Xi flinched. Instinctively, she raised her hand to block, expecting the spear to pierce her arm.
CLANG.
The spear didn't pierce. It hit her forearm and stopped dead, vibrating as if it had hit a steel wall.
The guard's eyes widened. "What?"
Yun Xi blinked. She looked at her arm. There wasn't even a scratch. The Heavenly Sword Physique made her bones harder than spirit iron and her skin tough as dragon scales. Without Qi to suppress it, her physical body was a weapon.
A realization washed over her. She wasn't weak. She was a tank.
She looked at the guard. A cruel, beautiful smile spread across her face.
"Oh," she whispered.
She grabbed the spear shaft with one hand.
CRACK.
She snapped the solid steel spear in half like a twig.
"My turn."
She didn't use a technique. She just slapped him.
WHACK.
The sound was like a cannon firing. The guard was lifted off his feet. He spun three times in the air before smashing into the brick wall twenty feet away. He stuck there for a second, like a cartoon character, before sliding down, unconscious.
The other guards froze.
"Did... did the maid just one-shot Liu?"
Yun Xi looked at her hand. She looked at the terrified guards. She looked at her frilly dress.
"I missed this," she said softly.
She blurred into motion.
It was a massacre. Yun Xi moved like a tiger in a tea shop. She ducked under a sword swing and uppercutted a man into the second-story balcony. She caught a fireball with her bare hand and crushed it. She grabbed two guards by their ankles and used them as human flails to beat a third guard.
"Clean up! Clean up! Clean up!" she yelled with every hit, venting years of frustration.
Young Master Zhao watched in horror as his elite squad was dismantled by a woman in a maid outfit.
"She... she has no Qi! How is she doing this?!"
In less than a minute, the alley was silent. Twenty guards lay groaning in piles of broken armor.
Yun Xi stood in the center, panting slightly. Her hair was messy, and there was a speck of blood on her white apron.
She turned to Young Master Zhao.
"You," she said, pointing a finger at him. "You wanted to teach me obedience?"
Zhao stumbled back, his face pale. "D-Do you know who my father is?! He is the Elder of the—"
"I don't care."
Yun Xi walked toward him. Her heels clicked ominously on the gold pavement.
"Stay back!" Zhao panicked. He drew his own sword—a high-grade artifact. "I am Stage 5! I will—"
He lunged.
Yun Xi caught the blade between her thumb and index finger.
PING.
She snapped the tip of the sword off.
Then, she grabbed Zhao by the collar of his expensive purple robes. She lifted him one-handed, his feet dangling in the air.
"This area is for VIPs only," Yun Xi said coldly. "You are loitering."
She spun around and threw him.
She didn't just toss him. She pitched him.
Young Master Zhao flew. He screamed as he sailed over the alley, over the rooftops, and crashed through the wooden sign of a noodle shop two blocks away.
CRASH.
Yun Xi dusted off her hands. She straightened her headband.
She turned back to Jiang Fan.
Jiang Fan was clapping slowly.
"Excellent form," Jiang Fan noted. "But you got blood on the apron. That's a deduction from your wages."
Yun Xi glared at him. The adrenaline was fading, and she realized she had just beaten up a Young Master while wearing... this.
"I hate you," she said, but there was no venom in it.
"I know. Now, pick up the loot. Boss Pang says those spears can be sold for scrap."
Jiang Fan stood up and looked at Gu Ling.
"See? Domestic Goddess. Best fifty million I ever spent."
Gu Ling looked at the unconscious bodies. She looked at the terrifyingly strong maid.
"We are going to start a war," Gu Ling sighed. "But at least the house will be clean."