Chapter 148: Extraordinary Person Che Shakes The Tokaido For A Time, Obscure Moon Hall’s Probe
The next moment, an entry and page that were no different from before entering the Sengoku Period with Shangshan Che popped up.
Just looking at the surface, of course, nothing could be seen, after all, there was only a mere 0.5% historical change degree.
Shangshan Che tapped into the topmost entry, entered the detailed encyclopedia page, and silently scanned through it word by word.
As soon as he entered, Shangshan Che could see that Imagawa Yoshimoto still suffered defeat at Okehazama and was beaten by Oda Nobunaga’s army.
Then the Imagawa Clan was destroyed, divided up by former allies and subordinates, and subsequently replaced by Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Tokugawa family.
After the Battle of Okehazama, history seemed to have no changes.
“Hongzhi Year 2…”
Shangshan Che muttered this time, then found his target.
Only two lines of text.
【In 1556（ Hongzhi Year 2）, during the coming-of-age ceremony held by Imagawa Yoshimoto for Takechiyo（ (later Tokugawa Ieyasu)） at Sunpu Castle, a stranger named “Che” performed lightning magic to exorcise evil, becoming famous throughout the Tokaido for a time.】
【Afterward, the stranger Che suddenly disappeared, and Imagawa Yoshimoto shut himself away for half a month without emerging.】
After that, it was again Imagawa Yoshimoto suppressing the Mikawa rebellion, Taiyuan Xuezhai’s death, and other unchanged history.
Shangshan Che stared at those four words “suddenly disappeared” for a while.
If he really vanished without reason in front of Imagawa Yoshimoto, she would indeed feel anxious for a short time and send people to search for him.
Shangshan Che flipped through the encyclopedia for a good while longer, closed his mobile phone after confirming no third change was found, and looked toward the blood-colored Key of History still unused in the storage bag.
Fortunately, the story was only paused for now, far from over.
And once the matters in the mortal realm temporarily concluded, he would surely become even stronger than now.
Shangshan Che slightly adjusted his mood, listened to the mechanical female voice repeatedly broadcasting nearby, then stood up and called Two-Foot Adult to the train door.
Yokohama City, arrived.
……
Shangshan Che and Two-Foot Adult, who brought no luggage and weren’t overly polite, were still the first off the entire train.
Almost as soon as they reached the escalator, the Shinkansen behind them silently began disgorging the crowded passengers.
Shangshan Che withdrew his gaze, thinking that the escalator area would soon be packed too.
He had just led Two-Foot Adult out of the station hall bustling with people and was about to ask Shizuma Manatsu on LINE where Obscure Moon Hall was when.
Then Shangshan Che actually spotted Nanjo Emi leaning at the station exit, smoking.
Even from over a hundred meters away, even before she turned, Shangshan Che recognized her at a glance.
Because this back view was all too familiar to him.
As for why Nanjo Emi could smoke in public without passersby noticing, it was naturally due to Onmyōdō that produced a “life hack” effect.
Earlier, Nanjo Emi had sat brazenly eating Korean BBQ in the restaurant without being recognized, also using Onmyōdō related to cognitive hindrance.
Though this type of Onmyōdō could achieve all sorts of strange things, the effects were usually weak and only worked on normal people.
“I remember Manatsu said earlier that Sister Nanjo was sleeping on the train.”
Shangshan Che pulled Two-Foot Adult, who was licking ice cream just bought in the station, blinked in confusion: “They arrived this fast? And they could even pinpoint my location?”
On the way over, Shangshan Che couldn’t figure it out and could only attribute it to the Special Affairs Office pulling strings.
After all, this information was just a matter of lifting a finger or moving her lips for Nanjo Emi.
Leading Two-Foot Adult out of the station, Shangshan Che paused his steps and looked toward Nanjo Emi, who had just finished a cigarette.
He suddenly shut his mouth and swallowed the words he was about to say.
The other lifted her head and responded indifferently: “Long time no see, Shangshan Jun.”
Shangshan Che didn’t reply, instead pretending to pull out demon essence from his pocket first, preparing to hand it to Two-Foot Adult.
—This was also why he had agreed earlier to buy such expensive ice cream for her in the station.
“Strawberry flavor?”
Shangshan Che let out a surprised eh, not expecting the indescribable meat blob to emit a faint strawberry scent.
He placed the sticky meat blob in the girl’s hand, who clearly showed reluctance: “Two-Foot, this is for you to eat. Finishing it all will speed up your promotion.”
“Mmgh…”
Two-Foot Adult hurriedly moved her hand away first.
If Che Adult hadn’t just said that, she would have unhesitatingly tossed this thing into roadside bushes, a sewer, or a trash can.
But soon, Two-Foot Adult strangely discovered that the meat blob in her hand had no fishy stench at all.
Instead, it was like the strawberry jelly she had just eaten—except the jelly was room temperature, while the meat blob was chilled.
Seeing Two-Foot Adult bring the demon essence to her face and mentally prepare to eat it, Shangshan Che turned back and fixed his gaze on the Nanjo Emi in front of him.
More precisely, on “Nanjo Emi”.
Because standing before him was someone identical to Nanjo Emi in appearance, wearing the exact same work uniform, even mimicking her daily little gestures perfectly—a disguiser.
He just stared silently at “Nanjo Emi”, saying nothing, ready to draw his blade at any moment.
The other finally couldn’t stand being stared at, tsked, and tossed over the remaining pack of mint cigarettes from her pocket: “How’d you notice?”
Hearing this tone neither tense nor carrying killing intent, Shangshan Che narrowed his eyes, searched his memory, and confirmed a name.
——”Kuzuha Chihaya”.
Obscure Moon Hall’s second disciple, also his strongest opponent on paper for this True Sword Match, especially skilled in transformation, disguise, stealth, and assassination.
“—Because you lack a strong person’s qi.”
Shangshan Che replied flatly: “If you disguised as someone else, like Shizuma Manatsu or a normal staff member, you might have fooled me, but not Nanjo Emi.”
He stared at the woman lost in thought and pointed out: “This obvious fact—you’d understand after ten days or half a month interacting with the real her.”
“Going into battle without proper recon… talk about losing face~”
Kuzuha Chihaya sighed, and somehow instantly reverted from “Nanjo Emi”‘s appearance to her own right before Shangshan Che’s eyes.
Golden, silky hair cascaded onto her eye-catching evening gown.
Kuzuha Chihaya curved her lips into a bright smile at him: “Take back what I said earlier—you’re kinda interesting after all, Shangshan Jun.”
As her words fell, a slender white snake flicked its tongue, slowly emerging from the slit at her chest, staring coldly at Shangshan Che with its scarlet vertical pupils.
“Hmph!”
Two-Foot Adult, mouth stuffed full, blocked in front of Shangshan Che and glared back at the white snake without yielding.
Kuzuha Chihaya laughed so hard she shook, clutching her stomach: “Hahaha, is this your shikigami, Shangshan Jun? So tiny and cute?”
“I return those words to you.”
Shangshan Che lifted his gaze slightly, showing no extra expression.
This woman… was undoubtedly here to probe and intimidate him before the match.
Though he didn’t know how Kuzuha Chihaya learned his itinerary, he had no need to give her any courtesy regardless.
Even.
Shangshan Che recalled Nanjo Emi’s earlier warning.
—If Kuzuha Chihaya confirmed he truly lacked strength, she might even try to end the True Sword Match early outside the arena.
Perhaps her turning into Nanjo Emi just now was for that purpose.
Kuzuha Chihaya didn’t care about Shangshan Che’s cold face at all.
“Shangshan Jun, I actually quite like your face and build.”
She licked her lips, bent over to reveal her deep, pale cleavage, dangled the LINE QR code on her phone toward Shangshan Che, and asked softly,
“So, wanna add LINE now? Before the match, we could find a place for some deep ‘battle’ exchange?”
Shangshan Che felt a slight ripple on the surface of his clear mirror-like state of mind, waved dismissively: “No need.”
Trying to seduce him with this amateur charm technique—who did she think she was looking down on?
Kuzuha Chihaya was slightly stunned, not expecting such a crisp refusal… his state of mind cultivation wasn’t weak.
And to have such a state of mind at this age.
She silently raised Shangshan Che’s danger level in her mind.
Then Kuzuha Chihaya, like a magician, pulled out an obviously expensive car key and dangled it before Shangshan Che,
“Shangshan Jun, ride with me? Obscure Moon Hall’s location isn’t easy to find.”
Faced with Kuzuha Chihaya’s repeated pestering, Shangshan Che finally couldn’t hold back, opened his phone, tapped the location Shizuma Manatsu had just sent, and frowned,
“—Don’t underestimate the power of technology, Elder Sister!”
E-Elder Sister?!
Kuzuha Chihaya’s brow twitched as she hissed at him: “I’m only twenty-six, you brat! What Elder Sister?!”
“I’m only eighteen—calling a twenty-six-year-old Elder Sister normal, right?”
Shangshan Che retorted: “Or do you want me to call you old auntie or grandma?”
Kuzuha Chihaya’s chest heaved with anger, even the white snake’s eyes growing fierce.
She laughed coldly twice: “Fine, very fine, Shangshan Che. I’ll see if you can say that when I’m stepping on you in the arena.”
With that, Kuzuha Chihaya snorted coldly, grabbed her car keys, and turned to leave.
Soon, a bright red supercar deliberately drift-tailed right in front of Shangshan Che, kicking up a cloud of dust as it roared off into the distance.
Shangshan Che, who knew nothing about cars, paid it no mind and instead looked at the top of Two-Foot Adult’s head to see what changes eating the demon essence brought.
Shangshan Che’s eyes lit up.
A shining buff had appeared above Two-Foot Adult’s head.
【Promotion Acceleration: For the next month, during this promotion, Hachishaku-sama’s promotion speed increases an extra 30%.】
Directly cutting about a third of the promotion time—this demon essence was quite effective.
And Two-Foot Adult was still sucking her fingers after eating it, meaning this meat-blob-like demon essence tasted pretty good.
Two-Foot Adult also gazed at the red supercar speeding away, lifted her hood to stare at the sun for a bit, then asked: “Che Adult, so how are we getting there?”
She pointed at the phone showing a full forty to fifty kilometers.
“Subway plus bus, of course.” Shangshan Che patted her head earnestly: “Though we don’t need to worry about money for now, we still need to be thrifty, Two-Foot Adult.”
Two-Foot Adult understood—this meant no wasting extra rice on a taxi.
“Mm! Che Adult’s awesome!”
She gave Shangshan Che a thumbs-up, then whooshed back into the Ksitigarbha Statue to cool off.
Seeing Two-Foot Adult promise sweetly but act so honestly by vanishing instantly, Shangshan Che shook his head helplessly.
He glanced at the crows standing on the black power lines in the distance, then headed toward the nearest subway station on the map.
……
Meanwhile, in front of Obscure Moon Hall dojo.
The van, after countless repairs and modifications, slowly pulled into the nearly empty parking lot, shuddered to a stop amid weird rumbling, and cut off.
Doors banged open as everyone jumped out of the overloaded van.
Shizuma Manatsu, who had driven for hours, yawned, pocketed her keys in her inner lining, confirmed her zipper was up, then got out to open the passenger door.
Akechi Yuya stared at the massive dojo rising from the ground, instinctively exclaimed in awe, gripped his hilt, feeling itchy to draw.
Lili Zi, hooded and masked, got out quietly.
She first subtly scanned the abnormally numerous crows around with her peripheral vision, then looked silently up at the sky, eyes narrowing slightly.
Makiya Hitomi helped the nervous Hattori Ayako out.
He said nothing, just observed the surroundings before silently staring at the crows.
The latter seemed meek, head down aimlessly scrolling her phone, appearing very tense.
Only Nure-onna by the trunk and the three Special Affairs Office agents were still glued to their phones, oblivious to the world, all four with serious expressions.
Nanjo Emi, who had just woken and was rubbing her eyes, opened the trunk as the “serious” chatter spilled out:
“Two-second circle shrink! I said two seconds—you deaf?! Don’t get zoned again!”
“Shut up! This spot’s key! Don’t distract!”
“Little Ru, where’s your lightning? Grenade to force their moves! Can you even play?!”
“Don’t call mid-fight… bros, one downed—rush him! Rush! Confuse ’em hard!”
Nanjo Emi: “…”
Their lively chatter instantly woke her up.
Shizuma Manatsu stood behind her, glanced at black-lined Nanjo Emi, then at the four fully immersed in the final circle, and wisely shut her mouth.
Until the four let out ecstatic English yells, Nanjo Emi, who had watched for a while, finally spoke,
“Little Ru, you had all those items—shouldn’t have fought guns. If we lost, I’d get flamed.”
Nure-onna, who had just screenshotted, propped her hand on her knee and scoffed: “We won, what replay?! Replay your mom!”
But after a while, Nure-onna realized no one was responding, and her view suddenly brightened more than a bit.
Meaning the other three were no longer beside her.
Nure-onna shivered hard, slammed her phone shut, turned prayerfully—and still saw smiling Nanjo Emi.
Plus the black-suited Special Affairs Office agents standing rigidly in a row behind her like sentries.
“M-Master.”
Nure-onna futilely blocked her view with her black hair, then made a bitter gourd cry-face below.
Screwed, this was bad.
—Watching Nanjo Emi retrieve Nure-onna from the van trunk, Akatsuki Ran waited a bit, removed her lollipop, and asked flatly,
“Nanjō Great Officer, they finished their game?”
Nanjo Emi bowed slightly to the black-circled girl still in the weird mismatched hoodie: “Sorry, kept Your Excellency Akatsuki waiting.”
Akatsuki Ran waved it off: “Not really. I rarely play games, but I know these can’t just be paused.”
“In that case, I’ll lead everyone to settle in first.”
She said, waiting until Nanjo Emi gathered the group before heading into the dojo.
Of course, Akatsuki Ran also observed the others besides Nanjo Emi during this time.
The boy with the sword at his waist had decent breathing technique, could last a few moves; the girl probably Kitano Runa was asleep with some obscure new anime on her phone—interesting.
Beyond that, no one else worth noting.
“Tokugawa Ririko didn’t come? I’m really curious about her.”
Akatsuki Ran muttered inwardly, her gaze sweeping past the hooded, masked normal person nearby and scanning the group several times fruitlessly.
The group entered the dojo outskirts, hung with the old 【Obscure Moon Hall】 plaque.
The dojo was vast, even with weapon racks in the corners holding various cold weapons of different sizes and lengths for free use.
And besides the basic dojo, all supporting facilities were present, showing Obscure Moon Hall once had countless disciples and was incredibly prosperous.
Now it was deserted, no other figures besides guide Akatsuki Ran.
Akechi Yuya marveled again at its size before puzzledly asking: “Miss Akatsuki, where do we stay?”
Akatsuki Ran replied concisely: “Underground.”
Just as she opened the dojo’s hidden door to lead the Arakawa Ward group downward, a sports car drift sounded from outside.
Then, eye-catching golden-haired Kuzuha Chihaya strode in energetically.
Akatsuki Ran poked her head out, puzzled upon seeing only her return: “Second Senior Sister, where’s Shangshan Che?”
She frowned slightly: “Master told you to bring him—surely we should show this host hospitality?”
Smack.
Kuzuha Chihaya clasped hands, bowed to her: “Sorry, Ran-chan, I saw that Shangshan Che and couldn’t resist toying with him a bit.”
Kuzuha Chihaya seemed to recall something, her expression cooling.
She sighed casually,
“Then when I tried to bring him later, he refused outright.”
Akatsuki Ran’s brows furrowed, sensing gazes from behind: “Where’s Shangshan Che now?”
“No worries there.” Kuzuha Chihaya’s gaze instinctively lingered on Nanjo Emi: “He said he has the location and will come.”
Seeing Akatsuki Ran about to snap in front of everyone, Kuzuha Chihaya grabbed her arm and headed down the passage, waving the Arakawa Ward group to follow.
“Second Senior Sister, I won’t let you fool…”
“Ran-chan, that Shangshan Che doesn’t seem as weak as everyone thinks, so be careful when you go first—don’t get one-shot.”
Crunch.
Akatsuki Ran bit through her lollipop, her dead-fish eyes ringed by dark circles shifting slightly,
“Second Senior Sister, you and Little Crow skip the alarm tomorrow—watch me solo him till he can’t stand. Done.”
“Hehe, looking forward to it.”
Kuzuha Chihaya rubbed her face with her chest, then continued: “Also, the notary and audience are already arriving, so no more of your cheap tricks before the match.”
“I should be telling you that, Second Senior Sister.”
Akatsuki Ran broke free from her senior’s embrace.
At the long passage’s end, she turned back with a slight nod: “Nanjō Great Officer, follow me.”
Kuzuha Chihaya smiled, blew a flying kiss to expressionless Akatsuki Ran as she headed elsewhere: “Gonna change first then—see you tonight, Ran-chan!”
Akatsuki Ran ignored it, just leading ahead.
“The dojo’s underground… can be this huge?”
First-time downhill Akechi Yuya gaped, eyed a sign: “Arena, training ground, guest area, dorms, water dungeon…”
“Huh?”
He paused, instinctively asking: “Miss Akatsuki, why’s there a prison here?”
“—To hold demons still of use.”
Akatsuki Ran’s listless voice drifted flatly: “Obscure Moon Hall has hunted demons for survival from the start.”
“Oh, oh!”
Akechi Yuya nodded hurriedly, couldn’t help praising: “Sounds so noble!”
Akatsuki Ran didn’t respond, just explained where they could go and where guests couldn’t.
In the back, Hattori Ayako touched the mark on her neck, murmuring puzzledly: “Why’s Isohime so listless since we arrived…”
“—That’s normal.”
Lili Zi, walking beside her, replied: “Isohime’s sensing is strong, and she feels far stronger, more evil presences in this dojo than herself.”
Surprised someone answered, Hattori Ayako startled, then nodded quickly to Lili Zi,
“Um, thanks for explaining!”
Seeing her like this, Lili Zi glanced at Nanjo Emi ahead casually sipping cola: “But no need to worry—with Sister Nanjo here, nothing unexpected will happen.”
“Eh?” Hattori Ayako blinked, leaned in whispering: “Is Nanjō Great Officer really as rumored? She seems pretty normal…”
Lili Zi curved her lips under the mask at that.
Even in May, someone doubting Nanjo Emi’s strength.
Lili Zi countered: “Weren’t you there for Red Tide?”
“I left Arakawa Ward that day…”
“You’re lucky then.” Lili Zi explained: “Actually, Arakawa Ward survived because of Sister Nanjo.”
“That serious!?”
Hattori Ayako yelped involuntarily, drawing curious Akatsuki Ran from the front.
—Yeah, is Nanjo Emi really that strong?
Though she felt absurdly strong, able to slap her dead, Akatsuki Ran figured Nanjo Emi was at best even with her own master.
Solo slaying Ai Bieli… even Master couldn’t do that.
She muttered inwardly while listening, messaged junior Karatorishigure on her phone after settling the Arakawa Ward group.
【Ran: When’s that Shangshan Che arriving? Any later and I’m not waiting—interrupting my post-meal stroll.】
【When it rains, the sky is crying: Here.】
……
“You have arrived at your destination.”
Nearly dizzy from the dumb AI navigation, Shangshan Che looked up and finally saw the sprawling dojo ahead.
Obscure Moon Hall should be here.
He kept Two-Foot Adult beside him to mislead opponents, then circled the dojo exterior looking for the entrance.
But Shangshan Che circled several times without finding it.
All walls—totally stumped him.
He stopped, and Two-Foot Adult behind straight-up bumped into his leg.
—Somehow, this dojo felt like a living creature.
“No good way…”
As a guest here for friendly martial exchange, he couldn’t just punch through someone else’s wall—that’d be rude.
Shangshan Che pondered, then eyed the rows of crows perched on power lines in the distance, staring fixedly at him.
“Trailing me all the way—think everyone’s blind?”
He narrowed his eyes, figure vanishing instantly from the spot.
Seconds later, back in place, he held a cawing crow flapping desperately to escape his grasp.
Shangshan Che stared into the crow’s black pupils, slowly grinned amiably,
“Hello.”
Thanks to boss “Starlit Lights” for the 10k point reward!
Thanks meow!
Monthly votes please!
Btw, better to reward characters next time—helps upgrade their cards meow!
