"!!"
That "Tanchun" clearly hadn't expected Lin Daiyu to suddenly launch an attack—and with such ruthless, merciless force!
"Ah—!"
In an instant, her face changed dramatically. She cried out in alarm, but her body moved without delay. With a speed and angle utterly unlike anything the real Tanchun could manage, she drifted backward like a ghost, narrowly dodging Daiyu's sword thrust aimed at her chest!
Her movements were elusive and nimble. As she evaded the blade, she also used the momentum to ward off the sword energy wrapped around Daiyu's strike. For some reason, though, her defense carried a strong aura of yin energy. It hissed as it clashed with Daiyu's sword energy, making it obvious that this was no orthodox technique.
"Sister Lin!"
"W-what are you doing?!"
After dodging the deadly strike, the "Tanchun" steadied herself and stood several steps away. Her face was full of shock and hurt. She even clutched the chest Daiyu hadn't stabbed, then glared at Daiyu with a trembling voice and demanded:
"You—"
"Could it be that the old ghost in the fields really has bewitched your mind? Are you going to kill even me, your Third Sister?!"
Faced with the accusation, Daiyu simply stood with her sword in hand, its tip pointed at her opponent. There was no longer a trace of hesitation on her face, only cold understanding and wariness.
"Ha!"
Then she sneered and retorted outright:
"Why did I do it?"
"Don't you know perfectly well?"
Seeing that the other party was still pretending, Daiyu didn't know how she had learned about her relationship with Third Sister or how they addressed each other. Still, she began methodically exposing the several flaws the other had revealed:
"First, my master explicitly said that only one person may enter at a time to undergo