They say beauty is a blade poised above a man's head. The honey trap might be cliché, but damn if it doesn't work.
Li Pan had to admit it—cultivation, cybernetics, implants, brainjacks… in the end he was still a man ruled too easily by his lower body.
But after that stab, his mind snapped back to clarity.
He'd come here openly, under Saitōya's invitation. The mistress shouldn't be brazen enough to arrange an assassination herself.
Yet this was still Takamagahara's turf. The Tokugawa's shinobi could easily have sensed Saitō leaning toward defection, striking first.
Or perhaps it was some Onibugyō business—he had been meddling deep in Takamagahara's affairs lately. Even the Security Bureau had planted agents around him. That ninja showing up was no surprise.
Either way—he had to win.
The kunoichi had entered naked, barehanded. She shouldn't have more blades. His rushed Nine Yin True Dragon Break had flung her away, but not destroyed her. She still had strength enough to lurk and reposition. That meant his attack power here was too limited. At this distance, his palm force wouldn't reach.
Best bet—bait her close, grapple, and finish. Skin too slippery? Then chokeholds and joint locks. Once ground techniques came into play, he could snap spine or neck at will.
So Li Pan put on a show—collapsed back into the water, clutching his chest, twitching like he was poisoned, stunned, dying. Groaning for effect. Drawing her in.
All while coiling Nine Yin energy, body jerking like in spasms, making the act more convincing.
But the kunoichi didn't move.
Strange. First strike failed—she should retreat or finish. Delay only raised risk. Yet he sensed her qi, lurking in the water, unmoving. Waiting, perhaps, for his corpse to drift before slipping away.
So he changed tactics, staggering toward the edge, calling weakly, "Help… someone, help…" baiting her to finish him.
Still nothing.
Then—suddenly! Hands wrapped his waist and thighs from behind, dragging him under!
His heart lurched—because only her qi was in the pool! No one else!
But he felt it—the water thickening into a gel, like slime, sprouting hands that clutched him tight, dragging him deeper!
His footing vanished—like sinking into a swamp. No ground, no stance. Without foundation, he couldn't strike back. Liquid arms constricted him, binding tighter, wrapping like glue, entombing him in the hot spring itself.
Was this the kunoichi's trick? Or the Fountain itself?
At first shock—but then, calm.
The strength of these watery arms was limited. Enough to restrain, choke, drag—but not to kill him. Not through his grade-five armor. Not through his Nine Yin barrier.
One coin for one worth—this armor wasn't so easily broken.
And… soft, slippery, warm… ahem! Beauty's blade again.
Still, since it couldn't truly hurt him, he stopped panicking. Coiled his energy, feigned more struggling, while secretly aiming at her qi. Then—he struck from below, unleashing all his force.
Nine Yin True Dragon Break!
Qi burst from his palm. A vortex surged, a dragon of water exploding upward.
BOOM!
"AAAHHH!"
The kunoichi screamed, blasted across the bath. The watery arms and swampy drag dissolved instantly, leaving only steaming springwater.
As expected—ninjutsu.
Water-style manipulation. Deadly in the bathhouse. Against anyone less durable, she'd have won.
But now? Li Pan wasn't fooled again.
He leapt, body like a missile, crashing into her, locking her waist and neck, pinning her tight. A clean takedown.
She was unconscious.
Her left shoulder, where his palm had landed, was fractured and inflamed, blood dried at her orifices. Internal injuries from the qi strike. The second blow had blasted her further, shockwave concussing her brain. She lay limp, eyes rolled back.
To be sure, Li Pan punched her again. Out cold.
He checked her body—no hidden ice blades. No obvious implants either. Likely internalized tech. Her skin smelled faintly of herbs, like the Akiyama clan—common shinobi drugs.
At her lower abdomen he noticed a strange emblem. A smooth insignia—tattoo? Clan mark? Fetish scar? He couldn't tell.
But before he could study further—another presence approached.
Familiar qi.
He turned cold eyes toward the door.
Mistress Saitō Keiko entered, kimono gone, wearing only a towel barely covering her hips, clogs clicking on the wood.
She saw him holding the limp kunoichi. Water all over the floor. Her cheeks flushed, eyes bright, as if misreading the scene. She bowed low, lips parting coyly:
"My, Manager Li, how vigorous. Such noise we heard outside! And with Kiri-chan, no less—our finest girl! I never dreamed she'd be conquered so quickly.
You must not be satisfied yet. Forgive me, it was my failure as hostess not to please you fully. Please, allow me to make amends… with my own body, if you'll permit it."
Li Pan's face darkened. He heaved the kunoichi—Shiranui Kiri—onto his shoulder.
"So she's yours? Good. That makes things simple."
Cold glare bore into Keiko.
"Your kunoichi stabbed me. Failed once—so now you come to finish it? This is your hospitality? Step aside!"
Keiko blinked, startled. His tone wasn't playful—it was deadly serious.
"P-please… I-I don't understand—"
"Don't act! I recorded everything. If Saitōya won't accept a merger, fine. But sending assassins? I'll take this straight to the Security Bureau! Let them serve the warrant!"
He stormed for the exit, Kiri over his shoulder.
Keiko panicked, clinging to his leg, towel slipping away.
"Wait! Please wait! If Kiri offended you, I'll compensate you! Anything you desire—name it! Perhaps… a punishment game? Ropework? Bondage—"
"Are you insane!? She tried to kill me! And you think rope play makes it fine? Something's wrong with all of you!"
His roar chilled her.
Keiko, trembling, stammered,
"N-no! Please believe me, it's a misunderstanding! Shiranui Kiri was hired from Gosha, nothing to do with Tokugawa or Iga!
Li-sama, please—my family are only stewards here. We'd never dare harm you! Kiri was once an Onibugyō jōnin, of the Shiranui clan of Kōga. She disguised herself as a courtesan, doubling as our security chief.
Only because she mastered the Yoshiwara Forty-Eight Arts did I ask her to entertain you! Truly, there was no malice!"
Li Pan froze. The Forty-Eight Arts… that dangerous?
He eyed her limp form doubtfully. "This one? A jōnin? Two palms and she's out cold."
But… maybe she climbed the ranks by other "arts." Effective in their own way…
"Even jōnin won't save her," he growled. "Not against me."
Keiko pressed harder, swearing Kiri was Gosha-hired, showing contracts, insisting no ties to Tokugawa. "She begged me for work! I was only helping an old classmate!"
Li Pan considered, then smirked. "Fine. Perhaps a misunderstanding. I won't call HQ yet. Lend me a room. I'll question her tonight."
Relieved, Keiko nearly collapsed but agreed, leading him to an underground chamber.
It was a torture room—cells, shackles, racks. Probably used more for virtual filming than real use.
Li Pan strapped Kiri down, fitted her with a clean QVN dream terminal, and had Eighteen jack in remotely.
Within minutes:
"Boss, I'm in. Shiranui Kiri, registered retired jōnin, Shiranui clan of Kōga. No Tokugawa ties."
Li Pan gaped. "Wait, Eighteen, you hacked a jōnin that fast?"
"She had Gosha Academy credentials. I used Kotarō's backdoor. Her higher-level implants were sealed while working private security. That's why she was weaker."
"But her memory of Onibugyō missions is locked. Might take time to crack."
Li Pan grunted. "Forget that. Why did she try to kill me?"
"She has a daughter—Shiranui Hagikaze. Tried to rob your house, got punished. Trauma, depression. Cried to her mother daily. Kiri lost patience, but her contract kept her bound to Saitōya. Otherwise she'd have come sooner."
"…So this is just a vendetta?" Li Pan scowled. "Her brat started it!"
He asked about his implant interference.
Eighteen shook her head. "Special Onibugyō tech—meant to jam implants and comms. Only repair at a cyber-hospital, or ask Kotarō."
Li Pan cursed. "Ten grand implants ruined by one knife!?"
"Not ruined. Just jammed," Eighteen corrected.
"Same difference!"
Fuming, Li Pan snapped: "Fine! Call Gosha's headmaster. I want answers."
Connection flickered. A voice came:
"I am Asahime. Kiri? What happened?"
Visual feed opened. She saw her jōnin bound naked, snarled:
"You bastard! Don't you dare harm her!"
Li Pan sneered. "Harm her? Tearing her apart piece by piece and mailing the parts—that would be harm. This—this is manners. Courtesy, Headmistress."
Asahime steadied, then said, "Li Pan, calm yourself. We have an agreement—K vouched for you."
"Exactly. And I'm honoring K's face by telling you: the deal's void."
He grabbed Kiri's chin. "She came for revenge. Stabbed me. If I don't return the strike, people will think I spared her for lust. Can't have that."
His voice dropped. "So tell me, Headmistress. Can you control your people? Or do I keep cutting them down, one after another?"
Asahime's lips thinned. "I see. How much?"
"You think I'm for sale—"
"Five million."
"…Add more."
"A jōnin's life is worth five. For old ties, I'll add one. Otherwise, kill her and send me the pieces. I'll distribute them—she had many lovers."
"You think I scare easy—"
A signal blinked. Eighteen's warning. Hackers tracing.
Li Pan twisted Kiri's face cruelly, smirking. "Deal."
.
.
.
⚠️ 30 CHAPTERS AHEAD — I'm Not a Cyberpsycho ⚠️
The system says: Kill.Mercs obey. Corporates obey. Monsters obey.One man didn't.
🧠💀 "I'm not a cyberpsycho. I just think... differently."
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