The air in the Marquis's garden was thick with the scent of jasmine and the sound of sobbing.
"Oh, Sister! I didn't mean to push you!" Lin Feifei wailed, dabbing her dry eyes with a silk handkerchief. "I was just trying to catch that butterfly... I didn't know you were so fragile!"
The surrounding noblewomen whispered, their fans fluttering. "Typical Lin Xia," one sneered. "Always falling over just to get attention. She's a disgrace to the Marquis's name."
In the middle of the circle, the girl pulled from the pond sat motionless. Her soaking wet robes clung to her, but she wasn't shivering. Slowly, she lifted her head. Her eyes, previously filled with watery fear, were now as sharp as shards of obsidian.
[System Initializing...] a cold, mechanical voice echoed in her mind. [Host: Sura. Current Body: Lin Xia. Status: Disrespected Coward. Arsenal Level 1: Unlocked.]
Sura wiped the muddy water from her face and looked at Lin Feifei. The "Green Tea" cousin flinched, startled by the predatory look in the girl she used to bully.
"Sister... why are you looking at me like that?" Feifei stammered, putting on her best 'vulnerable' face. "You're scaring me..."
Sura stood up slowly. She didn't cry. She didn't argue. She simply walked toward Feifei.
"You like the water?" Sura's voice was like ice cracking.
"I—I don't know what you mean—"
SLAP!
The sound echoed through the entire garden. Feifei spun around and hit the dirt, her pristine white makeup smeared by the force of the hit.
"My hand slipped," Sura said calmly. "Just like you 'slipped' near the pond."
"You... you hit me?!" Feifei shrieked, looking toward the crowd for support. "Guards! Look at her! She's gone mad!"
Two guards stepped forward, but Sura didn't blink. Under the cover of her wide, wet sleeve, she whispered: "System. Desert Eagle. Silencer on."
A heavy, metallic weight materialized in her palm. The cold steel felt like home. She didn't point it at the guards—not yet. She pointed it at the expensive stone vase right next to Feifei's head.
Pfft.
A tiny sound, followed by the shattering of the stone vase into a thousand pieces. Dust and rock sprayed over Feifei's face.
The garden went silent. Nobody knew what had happened. They didn't see a weapon—only that the "coward" had looked at a stone, and it had exploded.
Sura stepped onto Feifei's expensive silk dress, leaning down until their noses almost touched.
"The next one won't hit the vase," Sura whispered. "Now, apologize. Low. To the ground."