“Wow! Thank you great heroes! I am so, so glad you pulled me out of that pit!” said a cheery woman covered head to toe in mud and...stuff. “If I had been stuck there for another day, I may have been another notch under Mutiny Hill’s belt. Talk about kill count!”

Martial Blue Sister and Martial Red Sister were thoroughly and completely exhausted, emotionally and mentally.

They have yet to collapse physically after hauling out someone from a pit of bodies, dragging a starved dead weight, and dropping her into the only residence within the heart of the hills trapped in haunted fog.

Mutiny Inn.

Not a very creative name, of course. However, options were limited when it was the only residence located in the heart of a hill haunted by fog and lawns worth of corpses. Names like Happy Valley felt stupid, Three Pigs in a Blanket gave the impression of rotten leftovers, and ‘Keep Calm and Rest On’ was too wordy.

At least the one they’ve been searching for is safe...As for sound? Uuuuh, kiiiind oooof.

“Miss Red! Miss Blue! You both should really try this spicy chilli pepper chicken fried with bitter melons! The touch of garlic is divine! Fills the heart up! You know!?”

Lady Peony.

She was everything the missing poster had described, and more. Not only was she a jade skinned beauty with a notable scar on her left cheek, she had some leaves and finger bones sticking out from the tangles of her hair that gave her a unique...look.

The silver jewelry she left home with were all there, but they were well saturated in...whatever spilled out from the corpses she was buried under for quite some time. Even if one were to wash them thoroughly, the smell would still linger like skunk venom.

As for allure...well...jade skin beauty or not, she is hardly going to win over a man how she was stuffing her face with food.

Like a hound released from the cage, she would wolf down anything on the table that was in her line of sight. Greasy fried shiitake mushrooms, week day old deep fried meat, brown coloured beans and some blocks of lotus roots; etc.

Nine dishes and a bowl of literal pork bone (no meat) soup. That’s enough for a family of 10: parents, kids, some uncles aunts, and the grandparents.

Lady Peony...didn’t waste a single speck of sauce.

There were moments where everyone in Mutiny Inn were secretly placing bets, to see which dish would she choke on and die. The trunk of a broccoli, a piece of a steamed bun, or even a spoon.

Fortunately she kept reviving herself by shoving down crusted wine into her gullet to clear her airways.

And that burp...

Lady Peony smacked her lips and shoved the last of the sauce coloured rice into her mouth, before saying “Wow! Thank you for the food! It was delicious!”

Martial Red Sister could not help but stare, politely. “...S-surely you exaggerate. No doubt a woman of your stature has eaten food of higher quality. Fit for a duke or duchess.”

“Oh. That. Well.” Lady Peony waved a hand like a boy making a joke. “I mean, sometimes the silver tongue needs a break from the rich stuff and feel the warmth of a home cooked meal, ya know what I’m sayin’? Yeah!?”

“...This isn’t exactly food any mother would approve, no matter how poor the family is,” said Martial Red Sister, but left the subject at that.

Lady Peony would nod, but glance at Martial Blue Sister. She gives the girl a poke on the muddy cheeks. When she got no response she whispers, “Your friend alright? She’s had her mouth open for the last three hours.”

“Oh she’s out cold,” Martial Red Sister shrugged. “Don’t mind her. But since you’re all fed, why don’t you tell me: why did you leave home?”

Lady Peony’s first response was, “Waiter! A-any tofu pudding!? Three bowls. Lots of brown sugar!” She would distract herself with the side order, before asking, “How many you want?”

Martial Red Sister was caught off guard by what just happened, but she was polite about it. “I-I am on a diet. Intermittent fasting you see. Look, I know you probably had a good reason and may be under a lot more than stress. Especially how we dragged you out of a ditch full of dead bodies. But we assure you, you are safe, in good company. So, care to share with us what made you go missing on the first place?”

“Ah. W...well.” Lady Peony would sway left and right in her seat, gritting her teeth. “I...got a lot of good reasons why. I just...didn’t...want to stay at home, any more.”

“I get it.” Martial Red Sister places a hand on Lady Peony’s, to try and get the latter to open up like a delicate flower a bit. “Marriage can be a frightening experience. Especially between big name families. No doubt there is a lot of pressure riding on this engagement.”

“It’s not just the marriage.”

“Then just what?”

“I-I think,” Lady Peony would start tapping the tips of her fingers tips together across the table. “I shouldn’t marry the son of the Amber family. It would cause problems.”

Martial Red Sister raised an eyebrow, “Problems? For who? Your sister? Wasn’t the whole marriage your sister’s idea?”

“I know. But I can’t marry the Amber son. Not him. Not like this.”

“...Lady Peony.” Martial Red Sister didn’t like to be serious, but the feeling of the conversation tugged her mind into another avenue of thought. “Did this Young Master Amber hurt you in any way?”

“It’s not me I am worried about, it’s my sister that...” Lady Peony realized what she was blurting out, so she bit her lip. “Sorry. I just didn’t want to be part of the marriage, so I left on my own accord.”

“We’re all ladies here,” Martial Red Sister would assure, trying to touch Lady Peony’s hand again to console her. “If Young Master Amber has done anything unbecoming towards you, Moon Tavern would be more than happy to—”

“It’s not just the son of the Amber family!” Lady Peony bolted to her feet, the stool she sat on getting knocked over and getting everyone’s attention. “I can’t tell my sister about it at all. There would be more trouble than I can handle so...so I thought I just leave home. It be for the best. Please, don’t tell my sister I’m here. I rather go far away as possible, to let her do what she likes.”

Martial Blue Sister snapped out of her daze from Lady Peony’s outburst. Recollecting herself and picking up the pieces of the conversation she wanted to ask something, but lacked the courage to voice it.

Before either ladies could pursue the topic, Lady Peony took a couple of steps back to signal that the conversation was over. “...Sorry. I didn’t mean to lash out like that but...I uh.” She then started to do this strange dance on the spot, as if someone dumped slime under her clothing. “I-I am starting to feel the, uh, mud in places...no girl should be feeling. I-I need a bath.”

Martial Blue Sister offered, wanting to do her part. She would lead Lady Peony to the bathchamber, which was only a few paces away from the main lobby/dining hall of Mutiny Inn, next to the pantry where the food is stored.

She borrowed a page from the Witness Protection Program to double check the security of the bathchamber. It was empty, save a wooden tub and some apparatus to boil water to fill up the bath. The room had no other furniture, not even a standing mirror. As if the owner could afford being fancy in a haunted place like this.

Just in case she tapped at the walls, to check for any hidden hollow spaces. Even inside the tub. Nothing out of the ordinary. Making sure everything was safe and sound, she let Lady Peony inside.

“Um.” Martial Blue Sister chanced one question. “Where were you actually going? I-if you hadn’t fell in Mutiny Hill?”

“Huh?...Oh uh...Maybe somewhere far, far away. From the family, ya know?” Lady Peony would grip at the door and door frame, ready to close it the second the conversation was over. “Not quite sure, really. Never uh, put much thought into it. S-spur of the moment!”

“Oddly dangerous decision, if I may say so.”

“Yeah...uh,” Lady Peony blinked...then she shivered as if worms were crawling up and down her skin. “S-sorry. Need bath. Now. Gotta go! Thanks!” Lady Peony closed the door...only to crack it open. “I uh...Thank you. I mean it, for saving me. Wh-who are you guys, exactly?”

Martial Blue Sister had trouble keeping up with how fast the topic changed, but she obliged with a response, “Moon Tavern. We hail from the Capital City. We often take up cases in the martial world, or public requests, to help out. That’s what we do.”

“Moon Tavern,” Lady Peony would repeat the words to memorize it. “When this is all over, let’s meet up again and...ah maybe not. I really want to treat you to a meal, but I might be far away. So uh. Thanks!”

Close. Click. Thunk.

Martial Blue Sister didn’t know how to react, other than staring at the door. She wasn’t much of a conversationalist, but even she felt that ending was weaker than an a closing statement from an introvert like herself. But she prefer not to pursue, it may make things awkward.

At the very least, she waited for the door to lock from the inside, water filling up the tub, before she relaxed.

Only to get spooked when Martial Red Sister popped up behind her.

“You know.” Martial Red Sister spoke while checking her nails and leaning against the wall, “As flaky and aloof as Lady Peony can be, rich girls don’t run away from their castles without making a statement fitting of a rebellious teen.”

“Wh-what sort of statement w-would that be?” Martial Blue Sister would pant to catch her breath.

Martial Red Sister counted off her delicate fingers, each nail well polished and manicured, “I want true love and elopes with her boy toy; You can’t control me, and temper tantrums out of the house; or...Well.” She paused when she held up her third finger, being careful with her next words.

“Lady Peony planned this for a long time, probably arranged transportation somewhere here or in the next town, to leave entirely.”

Martial Blue Sister frowned, “Isn’t hypothesis number three a bit outrageous?”

“I don’t know.” Martial Red Sister would shrug and tuck her hands back under her soft sleeves to keep them warm. “I can never understand the minds of prissy rich girls. Then again, Lady Peony was insinuating something about Young Master Amber and her sister. Perhaps...”

“W-wait,” yelped Martial Blue Sister. “You seriously can’t be suggesting something else going on between the future groom and future sister-in-law!?”

“I mean.” Martial Red Sister could not help an amused grin. “Marrying someone into the house, is far cheaper than sneaking between cities, don’t you agree?”

“That’s too absurd to think about!” Martial Blue Sister didn’t usually like to argue, but she felt compelled to protect Lady Peony’s honour against such audacious allegations.

Except, Mutiny Inn interrupted her when the floor boards started to shake and tremble. The doors rattled and the covered windows start to groan and heave.

Like someone...or something was trying to force their way in!