How To Screw Yourself Over

Chapter 1.2: A, B, C, and D

Ash leisurely walks through the city, weaving through the crowd just slowly enough to allow her tails a trail to follow. She leaves the main roads, heading towards quiet streets and desolate, deserted alleyways.

Slipping into one, she unhurriedly strolls to the other side when four presences approach one end of the alley. She'll make it easy and call them A, B, C, and D. They aren't worth remembering so she should keep it simple. The tallest can be A and the shortest D.

A walks towards Ash with a victorious smirk, snottily saying "Not so high and mighty now, are we, Feng Yun?"

B ambles up next, with a rather impressive evil chuckle and a high, nasally voice "The trash of the family finally managed to suffer defeat at the hands of a mere commoner, eh?" Aiming a kick at Ash's gut, he goes on to say "Takes a special type of talent, that does."

Ash lets the hit connect, stumbling back with a slightly pale face and a hand covering her abused abdomen. B definitely used some sort of technique for that attack.

Even though Feng Yun was lazy, her body still should be far stronger than the average civilian. This would have been a decent time to test the capabilities and limits of her new body, but of course, she couldn't be that lucky.

Lady Luck loved her once, she swears. Did she realize Ash flirted with Death?

'078, the protagonist just passed by the alley, didn't he?'

[Yes. Somehow, I'm sorry.]

'Great. When am I ever going to find such eager and willing victims again? This is disappointing.'

One second later and Liu Han's fist is digging into B's gut just before he whirls around to plant his foot into the newly minted A's face. The stunned C and D finally react, both diving towards the boy before he lunges at C and sweeps his feet out from under him, forcing C to kiss the ground. In a flash, Liu Han's foot is swinging out again, this time making intimate contact with D's lungs, cracking several ribs in his rush to reach them.

Ash too, is suddenly right in the thick of it, foot poised just above C's skull before she slams it down with enough force to deform iron. But her foot does not come back up covered in cerebrospinal fluid nor does she find brain matter or the remnants of a shattered human skull crushed beneath her foot.

She looks to Liu Han, who's suddenly eyeing her warily with a near-hysterical looking man held securely under one arm. She opens her mouth, ready with a suitable explanation on the tip of her tongue, but Liu Han beats her to it. "What did you just try to do?"

Swallowing her excuse, Ash chooses a different path. As far as first impressions go, it could be worse. Besides, she wants to see where this goes. "What it looked like, probably."

Frowning he looks at her with clear disapproval. "What do you have against him?"

"Other than the fact that he just tried to beat the crap out of me? I've got nothing."

Outright scowling now, Liu Han drops the pathetic fool, letting him run off like the devil's on his back. Liu Han looks back to her with traces of disgust on his face. "You are Feng Yun. The adopted grandson of the Feng Clan head. A pampered and arrogant young master." He pauses to gather his thoughts. "This situation doesn't quite match what I know of you. Care to explain?"

Ash shrugs and gestures for Liu Han to follow her as she leads them back to the main roads. "You see, you are Liu Han. A commoner from some backwater village, people say. I'm not so sure of that myself, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, my point is that commoners, as a general rule, are not as strong as the rich or noble."

Liu Han starts, looking ready to argue back, but Ash cuts in before he can. "I am not trying to insult you. The rich and the noble tend to have more access to cultivation resources so they usually get farther along than the commoners who lack access to such luxuries. That's just how it is."

Ash was reciting this from the information she received verbatim. It's a cheap move, but there's no one who'll call her out on it. "Anyway, because of this, when you beat me in a fight so easily, a lot of the stupider shits in the clan think this is their chance and are trying to convince the head to allocate more resources to them by defeating me. Or something like that."

Liu Han, with obviously mixed feelings, simply says "I see."

Ash wonders why this kid let her attempted murder go so easily. At this point, the kid should still be quite upright with a fairly rigid sense of morals. This seems a little off, but maybe she shouldn't expect consistent behavior. She's never understood children.

A few seconds later and Liu Han's recovered enough to say "I guessed I've caused you trouble," before he bows down and very nearly shouts "I am very, very sorry!"

What? Is this kid doing what she thinks he's doing? He's attracting the attention of the crowd in order to gain some sort of advantage in the event of an altercation with her. A rather weak defense overall, but this is quite impressive for a kid his age.

"Young master, please, I beg of you, let me off the hook. Please forgive me! I have to take care of my little sister—she's all I have—so please, don't take her away from me!" He shrilly screeches, attracting the attention of all in the area.

Even Feng Yun, the local tyrant, could not afford to behave so officiously in front of so many witnesses. After all, the imperial capital was where all the big fish gathered.

That...was not what Ash was expecting. Little sister? Reviewing what she knows of Feng Yun's interactions with Liu Han and Yin Hui, his little childhood friend, she soon realizes the issue.

The issue is honestly stupid.

Once again massaging her temples, Ash speaks to Liu Han with a strong undertone of irritation, "I have no interest in your little girlie. Cease this at once. I did not harass you because I wanted her. Your face just annoyed me." Ash isn't even lying this time. Feng Yun really just found Liu Han's face annoying.

With a hint of surprise in his eyes, Liu Han straightens his back and looked into her eyes to determine her authenticity. When he finds only annoyance, he sheepishly scratches the back of his neck as he laughs in an innocent and disarming way. "Sorry, that was my fault. I may have misunderstood you. Here, come with me, I'll treat you to a meal as an apology." He grabs her arm and proceeds to drag her away at top speed. She thinks her arm might just pop out of its socket.

What happened to his "rigid morals"?