A Beautiful Tough Girl

A Beautiful Tough Girl

Kaihime watched as the Fusang warriors crowded around, endlessly shouting abuse at the female warriors under her command. She was furious, yet powerless. Though she herself was a noble-born lady, the female warriors beneath her were not. Their martial skills might have been formidable, but their status was far beneath what those skills deserved.

Kaihime was the daughter of Narita Ujinaga, a general of the Hojo Army. Raised as a boy from childhood, she excelled in both martial prowess and strategy. Yet those arrogant warriors never spoke of her martial arts or tactical talent. They only praised her beauty. Kaihime was known as the foremost beauty of the Eastern Provinces, Narita Ujinaga's pride.

Kaihime had revered the spirit of the warrior since childhood. She had gathered many girls to train in martial arts alongside her, hoping that one day they would charge into battle, slay enemies bravely, accomplish great deeds, and change the lowly social standing of women in Fusang.

But hopes were beautiful, while reality was cruel. Though no one dared offend her due to her noble status, the female warriors under her did not receive the future she had envisioned. Watching the female warriors she had painstakingly trained being sent away one by one to become hime warriors felt like a knife twisting through her heart.

Because Fusang had been ravaged by war year after year, women too had been pushed onto the battlefield. These were the famed hime warriors. They fought by day, yet at night they had to serve in bed, their masters being lords or warriors who had earned merit. The hardship and devastation of their bodies were one thing; the wounds in their hearts were often far harder to heal. If the war was won, that was one matter. If it was lost, they had to "commit suicide" like those twisted male warriors—only they were permitted to slit their throats rather than disembowel themselves, as a display of mercy.

As the leader of these female warriors, Kaihime naturally had no wish to let her subordinates become hime warriors. Yet this time, not even her father was willing to heed her wishes, leaving her utterly disheartened. Then she learned that Great Xia nobles were recruiting warriors. Gritting her teeth, she brought the remaining twenty-odd female warriors to the Chinese Quarter in Edo.

When they found Great Xia's recruitment site and joined the long queue of people waiting, the warriors around them immediately surged over like boiling water. They cursed and shouted, claiming that the women were insulting the dignity of Fusang warriors. Worse still, some spewed vulgar words and tried to grope them.

"Do you call yourselves warriors?" Kaihime refused to yield an inch. In her eyes, these people were nothing but country bumpkins. It was one thing for them to come and fool the people of Great Xia, but call themselves warriors? Were they worthy? Could a warrior who had lost his lord still be called a warrior? Could someone without even a sword be called a warrior? Not to mention that many of them were simply idiots who knew nothing of martial arts.

Yet Kaihime's single sentence enraged nearly everyone present. They fell silent, but the savage gleam in their eyes revealed what they intended to do next. They were preparing to defend the so-called dignity of warriors in their hearts.

Kaihime had a fiery temperament as well. She directly drew the sword at her waist, and every female warrior under her likewise gripped a blade, forming a battle formation against the surrounding warriors and ronin. For a moment, the two sides stood locked in place, neither able to advance nor retreat.

"Stop! If you have grudges or grievances, find somewhere else to settle them. Don't fight here at our shop and ruin my heir's important business." Seeing the disturbance, Lin Yongqian had not wanted to interfere; it was all Fusang people's own business. But seeing that lives were about to be lost, he could only curse, "Bad luck," and hurried over to stop matters from escalating.

"Honored sir, please see clearly—it was not we who started trouble. They have simply gone too far in bullying us. We came to apply, but they blocked us and would not let us enter." Seeing someone from Great Xia emerge, Kaihime hurriedly explained her purpose, hoping the Great Xia people would allow her group to proceed with the test.

"Women? We never said we were recruiting women! You have made a mistake. We are recruiting brave warriors to fight others." Lin Yongqian looked at the Fusang woman, who possessed both valiant bearing and wildness. She wore a standard suit of Fusang bamboo armor, as if loudly declaring her identity as a warrior.

Upon hearing Lin Yongqian's words, the woman who had kept her head high and stood as tough as any man suddenly had mist well up in her eyes. She struggled desperately to keep those salty drops from falling, pressing her lips tightly together as her expression grew even more stubborn.

"We never said we were recruiting women... but neither did we say we would not recruit women, did we?" A lazy voice sounded from beyond the edge of the crowd, drawing everyone's gaze. The speaker used the language of Great Xia, and most of those present did not understand—but... Kaihime clearly did.

Taking advantage of everyone looking outward, she swiftly wiped the tears from her eyes and regained her composure. Then she looked toward the person who had spoken—and froze as though someone had cast a binding spell upon her, unable to move from head to toe.

How could there be such a beautiful man in this world? The gentle lines of his face, his eyes as dark and profound as a moonless night, yet shining with a bewitching radiance. A noble aura naturally emanated from him, but the mischievous grin on his face made him seem like a playful youth. His beauty was entirely contradictory, beyond the reach of words or ink.

Little did she know that Qin Mo, too, had been struck by her beauty. He had never expected to find such a woman among the Fusang people. Fusang women were generally short and stocky, with short legs and thick necks. Yet Kaihime possessed a pair of long, straight legs and stood at least one meter sixty-five, more than half a head taller than the Fusang men around her.

More precious still was the air of self-reliance, defiance, and decisive killing about Kaihime—the aura of a powerful woman entirely different from the women of this world. Qin Mo's eyes lit up, as though he had once again seen those domineering female CEOs from Earth.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Heir!" Lin Yongqian was the first to recover, hastily bowing to Qin Mo.

"No need. Test them first and see whether they are true warriors or merely flashy pretenders." Qin Mo casually waved a hand, instructing Lin Yongqian to find someone to test Kaihime and her female warriors.

"This subordinate obeys." Lin Yongqian directly removed his outer robe and had two hard wooden swords brought over, signaling for Kaihime to attack as she pleased. The expressions of those around them changed. They all knew Lin Yongqian's status was noble, yet he was personally testing Kaihime this time. Thinking of the respect he had just shown Qin Mo, they began guessing at Qin Mo's true identity.

Kaihime also understood that the fate of her female warriors depended on this match. She closed her eyes and gathered her breath for a moment. When she opened them again, brilliant light blazed within them. Her movements were swift and fierce as she charged straight at Lin Yongqian.

Kaihime's swordsmanship did not follow the light, agile, ever-changing style in which women excelled. Instead, it was a fierce style like a man's. Gradually, it became impossible to distinguish her individual moves clearly. All anyone could see was a blur of a figure constantly attacking around Lin Yongqian, while the violent clash of wooden swords made their ears ache. After only a few exchanges, the surrounding "warriors" had reddened with shame. What woman was this? She was plainly a fierce man!

Lin Yongqian, displaying his skills for the first time, remained still as a mountain. No matter how Kaihime leaped around him, chopped, or thrust, he steadily parried every strike. Whenever he occasionally counterattacked, Kaihime's movements would visibly falter.

The two fought fiercely for nearly a hundred exchanges, yet neither emerged victorious. Qin Mo, watching from the side, cried out in delight. Tough girls were not especially likable, but beautiful tough girls were an entirely different matter.