Chapter 146: Final Evaluation: S, Great Demon’s Rampage, Mikawa Region’s Uprising
In the secluded and silent Imagawa Residence, the girl dressed in Juni-hitoe let out a long sigh of relief and plopped back down.
Imagawa Yoshimoto leaned back, supporting her body with her hands that trembled slightly from time to time.
“So hot! I sweated so much, and yet it’s almost winter now…”
After wiping the sweat from her temples, she turned her head and grinned at Shangshan Che, who was seeing her in this state for the first time and didn’t know how to respond.
“—But finally, I managed to lure Tetsu-sensei you into the Imagawa Clan!”
Shangshan Che watched the somewhat exhausted Imagawa Yoshimoto as she removed the Juni-hitoe layer by layer, her chest heaving dramatically, estimating that her heart rate had probably spiked to around 160.
He asked curiously, “Even someone as confident as Lord Yoshimoto hesitates and feels nervous about whether she can recruit me?”
“Ah.”
Finally down to just two or three layers of undergarments, with her whole body steaming faintly from the heat, Imagawa Yoshimoto nodded seriously: “Of course.”
She folded the clothes neatly piece by piece, then turned back to look at Shangshan Che,
“Because while there might be more than one daimyo who gains the title of ruler of under heaven after a successful March to Kyoto, the only real Onmyoji in existence so far is you, Tetsu-sensei.”
Shangshan Che pondered briefly after hearing this—with the current Spiritual Energy concentration of heaven and earth, cultivating as an Onmyoji is indeed extremely difficult.
But it’s not something completely impossible.
For example, those Onmyoji families with long inheritances extending to the Mortal Realm surely exist even in the Sengoku Period.
They have probably just sealed their mountains and gone into seclusion, unwilling to emerge into the world.
With such low Spiritual Energy concentration, those Onmyoji don’t even have time to cultivate to the realms described by their predecessors—how could they have the mind to care about the affairs of the mundane world?
These thoughts occupied only an instant before he heard Imagawa Yoshimoto continue,
“And not just hesitation and tension, but also excitement and joy.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto picked up the teacup she had knocked over, tidied it slightly, and simply brewed herself a cup of tea.
Shangshan Che could see that even now, the girl’s hand trembled slightly as she lifted the teacup.
After taking a small sip of the warm tea, Imagawa Yoshimoto’s breathing gradually steadied.
She smiled and said, “I’m human too, so Tetsu-kun, don’t hold me to too high a standard.”
“If there’s a problem, just point it out directly; if there’s something you want to say, say it to me.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto tapped her chin with her index finger: “Because you’re the one and only Onmyoji, Tetsu-kun, even if you hit my sore spots, I won’t kill you out of anger.”
Hearing the subtle change in how Imagawa Yoshimoto referred to him, Shangshan Che’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
She started with “Lord Che,” then “Tetsu-sensei” just moments ago, and now, not two sentences after recruiting him, she’s calling him “Tetsu-kun.”
Good grief, not even pretending anymore.
Shangshan Che believed that while closeness between superior and subordinate was fine, necessary distance should still be maintained.
So he spoke up: “Lord Yoshimoto, isn’t your way of addressing me a bit…”
Because it was Imagawa Yoshimoto, Shangshan Che didn’t spell it out.
Imagawa Yoshimoto certainly understood the implication.
“Rest assured, I won’t address you like this in front of others.”
Then, she drawled, “This is a secret known only between me and you, Tetsu-kun.”
Shangshan Che: “…”
Seeing that Shangshan Che didn’t seem too willing to accept the form of address, Imagawa Yoshimoto poured him a cup of tea herself,
“Didn’t I just say it? I want you, Tetsu-kun, to willingly follow behind me, to bow down under me, to be unwilling to leave me no matter what, even raising weapons of rebellion against me.”
She paused, gently pushing the tea in front of him: “So, I think I need to start working hard from now on.”
Shangshan Che stared wordlessly at the tea brewed with fine tea leaves, his own eyes reflected back at him from the tea surface.
Then Imagawa Yoshimoto’s eyes, brimming with amusement, suddenly met his,
“Here, have some tea.”
She lifted the porcelain cup filled with gently rippling tea and placed it in Shangshan Che’s hand.
“What if I don’t want Lord Yoshimoto to call me ‘Tetsu-kun’?”
Shangshan Che held the teacup and asked softly.
“Then just don’t want it on your own, Tetsu-kun.” Imagawa Yoshimoto sat back down, enunciating each word: “Anyway, I’ll still call you that.”
The room fell silent for a moment.
Faced with the fierce offensive from his own lord, Shangshan Che felt a real headache.
He clearly knew her intentions and what she wanted to do, but Imagawa Yoshimoto’s almost openly bold tactics made it impossible to dislike her at all.
No choice.
Perhaps this was Imagawa Yoshimoto’s charm.
Shangshan Che deliberately drank only half the tea this time.
His expression unchanged, he placed the teacup where Imagawa Yoshimoto could see it clearly: “Then please do as you wish.”
“Hmph…”
Imagawa Yoshimoto narrowed her beautiful eyes, knowing he was subtly pointing it out.
But she wasn’t in a hurry.
The girl withdrew her gaze.
After all, there was plenty of time ahead.
Everything had only just begun.
—The more fiercely the prey struggles, the sweeter the taste of victory will be.
“Right, and that Shiraishi who’s always been following behind you—he will naturally join the Imagawa Clan as a vassal and become a samurai.”
When speaking of others, Imagawa Yoshimoto’s expression became indifferent again, her tone disinterested: “But his treatment will be different from yours—just the normal standard.”
As if to say—
The tone from before, the smile from before, the actions from before, were all shown only for Tetsu-kun.
Only you get to see this side of Imagawa Yoshimoto.
“Tetsu-kun, I can tell that Shiraishi doesn’t have a great background, so if you have spare time, teach him properly—whether it’s etiquette or other aspects.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto said calmly: “Of course, before he truly grows up, I’ll try to be lenient with him.”
Shangshan Che nodded: “Will do.”
It seemed the records about Imagawa Yoshimoto regarding etiquette and upbringing were fairly accurate to history.
“—That’s it for today, then.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto awkwardly bent down to pick up the Juni-hitoe, then said to Shangshan Che: “I’ll head to Teacher first; after that, regarding Teacher’s health, I’ll have to trouble you, Tetsu-kun, to put in extra effort.”
Shangshan Che hummed: “No trouble.”
“As for later—annual stipend, residence, and any unique needs you have, Tetsu—we can discuss them in detail tomorrow.”
—As for helping Taiyuan Xuezhai recuperate, it was just feeding him a drop of Awakening Spirit Mist each day and using his Corona Qi to clear the blockages in his body.
Beyond that, there was nothing more Shangshan Che could do.
Because Taiyuan Xuezhai’s Spirit, Energy, and Vitality had long been sucked dry by the Sickly Ghost over such a long time—hadn’t you seen how the Sickly Ghost was so obese when dragged down by the Koma-inu that it couldn’t even walk?
So his body now was like a leaky funnel with holes; no matter what, it could only delay the speed of death.
And once Taiyuan Xuezhai died, it seemed someone would stir up trouble.
That’s what the encyclopedia said.
Shangshan Che thought, then saw Imagawa Yoshimoto at the doorway, struggling with arms full of clothes bigger than herself, unable to hook the sliding door open with her fingers after half a day.
He silently watched Imagawa Yoshimoto, who clearly could open the door just by setting down the clothes, and silently tsked.
Who would’ve thought the real Imagawa Yoshimoto was such a cunning woman.
Shangshan Che stood up, walked behind her, and lifted the whole stack of clothes in one go, casting a faint glance down: “Lord Yoshimoto, didn’t you just tell me—’speak your mind directly’?”
Imagawa Yoshimoto pretended not to catch his meaning, nodding thoughtfully: “Then, thanks for the help, Tetsu-kun?”
Playing dumb despite knowing full well…
Shangshan Che noncommittally slid open the door, paused to gesture for Imagawa Yoshimoto to go ahead and lead the way.
She got the hint, smiled and nodded, slipped on wooden clogs, and headed toward the place for washing clothes.
Shiraishi, who had been nibbling reluctantly at the doorway, not wanting to finish the pastry, had just seen Shangshan Che open the door.
Before he could speak, he saw Imagawa Yoshimoto smiling sweetly as she emerged.
Shiraishi immediately stuffed the pastry in his mouth to avoid making sounds the head of the Imagawa Clan probably wouldn’t like, and thought silently,
“Boss has… officially become this woman’s subordinate?”
“Then doesn’t that make Boss a samurai too?”
Shiraishi savored the melting pastry in his mouth, unable to stop a happy smile.
He even had a fleeting, pathetic thought: “If I could keep tasting something this sweet forever, even death wouldn’t matter.”
But Shiraishi’s expression quickly sobered,
“But if that’s the case, then rounding it off… doesn’t that make me a samurai lord’s lackey too?”
Shiraishi trailed far behind Shangshan Che.
He suddenly felt a bit dazed.
In just a few days, he had gone from a roadside stray dog anyone could kick to death to the lackey of the noble samurai lord he once hated most.
Though both were dogs, it depended on the master.
And clearly, the latter was far superior in every way.
…
After helping Imagawa Yoshimoto set down the clothes, Shangshan Che watched her turn and leave without a hint of reluctance, utterly decisive.
His newly acknowledged lord’s confidence and execution were terrifyingly strong.
He withdrew his gaze and turned to the prompts already piled up nearby.
【Current degree of influence of Walker of the Eternal World on history: 0.35%→0.5%!】
—This prompt probably popped up the moment he said he would join Imagawa Yoshimoto, slightly earlier than the main quest settlement.
Shangshan Che continued looking down.
【Settling completion of Main Quest First Ring · Entrance Ticket…】
【You chose to join great daimyo · Imagawa Yoshimoto’s service, earning base rating B.】
【Your degree of influence on history reached 0.5%, base rating B→rating A.】
【You earned the unique recognition of great daimyo · Imagawa Yoshimoto, greatly boosting task completion, rating A→rating S!】
【You spread the name “Onmyoji · Che” under heaven, your Muromachi Period · Sengoku Period reputation exceeds 1000 points, rating S→S+!】
Just joining Imagawa Yoshimoto earned a high base rating of “B,” proving it was indeed a very good choice at this stage.
And to get a higher rating in this area…
Shangshan Che pondered briefly—probably only by going to Owari to follow that “Sixth Heavenly Demon King.”
That way, he could rise alongside Oda Nobunaga with the flow of historical momentum in this Warring States Period.
At this point in time, Tokugawa Ieyasu had just completed his coming-of-age ceremony, with nothing to his name; Toyotomi Hideyoshi was probably still called Kinoshita Tōkichirō, making straw sandals for that Demon King.
But no matter which of the three he chose, even if it met the task conditions, it didn’t quite align with the Walker’s Chronometer’s requirements.
Yeah, his own Lord Yoshimoto was still better.
【Settlement complete!】
【Your Main Quest First Ring final rating: S+!】
【Issuing Main Quest First Ring rewards…】
Shangshan Che stood in place patiently waiting for the ellipsis to end, but after a full two minutes, no reward prompt appeared.
Instead, there was a novel prompt he’d never seen before.
【Main Quest First Ring end node not yet reached, please wait a moment.】
Meaning the rewards were delayed.
Not a big issue—after all, one month in the Sengoku Period equaled just one day in the Mortal Realm; Shangshan Che could wait.
“The key is, this main quest reward can’t be accumulated and stacked; it’s issued directly?”
This seemed to be an effect after using the Key of History to unlock the map.
Shangshan Che shook his head, then spotted Shiraishi standing alone forlornly under the thatched shed nearby.
He was rummaging in his pocket, expression hesitant, seemingly dithering over something.
Shangshan Che had actually heard Shiraishi’s footsteps trailing him the whole time, but with Imagawa Yoshimoto nearby, he hadn’t turned to greet him.
Shangshan Che walked over and asked, “What are you doing?”
“Ugh!”
Shiraishi, locked in intense inner turmoil, jumped in fright; only after seeing who it was did he slowly exhale: “It’s you, Boss… nearly scared the soul out of me.”
Shangshan Che acknowledged: “What? Not okay that it’s me?”
“Not that it’s not okay…”
Shiraishi stuck out his tongue, pulling a piece of pearly white pastry from his pocket: “Here, Boss, I saw you didn’t eat any earlier, so I saved one for you.”
But though Shiraishi’s words were nice, when it came to actually handing it over, his little hand hesitated again, frozen in place.
Clearly, he couldn’t bear to part with it.
Shangshan Che laughed at his antics: “It’s just a pastry; eat it if you want.”
“No way!”
Shiraishi shook his head firmly, squeezed his eyes shut as if making a grave decision, broke the pastry in half, and thrust one piece at Shangshan Che,
“Boss! Take it quick! I’m about to lose control!”
Shangshan Che didn’t refuse, popping the pastry straight into his mouth.
He chewed twice, tasting some sugar and honey sweetness, but nothing else.
The flavor was barely passable.
But for the Shiraishi in front of him, such a pastry was—
With teary eyes, he savored the remaining final half piece bit by bit, smiling happily even as the taste grew cloying.
Shangshan Che glanced at Shiraishi’s bulging belly again: “Don’t stuff yourself so much in the future; there’ll be plenty to eat, and no more risk of starving to death.”
Hearing this, Shiraishi’s smile faded gradually; even mostly convinced in his heart, he still asked: “Boss, you became that Imagawa’s subordinate?”
Shangshan Che: “Something like that.”
“Oh…”
Shiraishi responded listlessly.
He thought this was fine; now he wouldn’t be kicked to death like a stray dog by other samurai.
Shiraishi accepted this outcome.
Because if forced to choose between life and dignity, he’d unhesitatingly abandon the latter for the former.
For Shiraishi, this was a no-brainer.
He’d chosen it too many times already.
Shiraishi muttered: “Boss, then can I not curse freely anymore? That Imagawa seems to dislike that kind of talk.”
“She probably hates it; say too much and she might have your head.” Shangshan Che explained.
Shiraishi fell silent.
After a pause, Shangshan Che added: “But just don’t say it in front of her; anyway, you’ll be an Imagawa Clan samurai from now on, and she won’t meddle in what she can’t see or hear.”
“Oh! Boss, you’re a damn genius!”
Shiraishi exclaimed, then froze as if realizing something: “Boss, what did you just say?”
“—She won’t meddle in what she can’t see or hear.”
Shiraishi shook his head repeatedly: “No, the line before.”
“—Anyway, you’ll be an Imagawa Clan samurai from now on.”
Shangshan Che enunciated clearly, word by word, to the little kid in front of him.
Shiraishi froze.
His mouth hung open in a daze, wondering if he’d misheard.
After a long moment, he slapped his cheeks and asked: “Boss, what did you just say?”
Shangshan Che patiently repeated it.
“Clear now?”
“I… I heard it…”
Shiraishi answered in a daze, shaking his head vigorously to confirm it wasn’t an illusion.
“But trash like me, common as dirt in a dump… how am I qualified to be a samurai?”
—Shiraishi hated samurai; that was undeniable.
But he also knew those called samurai were far superior to scum like him—who scraped by year after year on petty tricks— even without their bloodlines.
For Shiraishi, this one sentence granted him the right to be human, letting him walk tall from now on, no longer calling himself trash or scum.
—Shiraishi didn’t understand this.
He only knew he’d become the samurai he hated most—and actually felt happy about it…
Two incredibly complex emotions tangled in Shiraishi’s heart, nausea rising in his throat, making him want to dry-heave.
But the next moment, he remembered all the pastries he’d just eaten.
Vomiting would mean wasting them.
So Shiraishi forcefully suppressed the intense nausea and urge to vomit, gasping heavily; only after a while did he dizzily say to Shangshan Che,
“Boss, thank you…”
Shangshan Che looked at him for a long while, didn’t press, just shook his head: “No need to thank me. If thanks are due, thank yourself—for not truly meaning to kill me at the start.”
Shiraishi didn’t reply; he just stared silently at his palm, lost in thought.
…
After that, Shangshan Che and Shiraishi lived a brief, precious normal daily life in the Imagawa Residence.
The next day, Imagawa Yoshimoto said his annual stipend would be 500 kan first, and if not enough, he could ask her for more.
Shangshan Che didn’t quite grasp 500 kan’s purchasing power in the Sengoku Period; he only knew Shiraishi burst in, pounced on the pile of copper coins, yelling he’d struck it rich!
The residence, per Shangshan Che’s request, was a secluded quiet room with a small courtyard specially cleared in the Imagawa Residence.
Though Shangshan Che later discovered his room was not far from Imagawa Yoshimoto’s residence—probably just two or three minutes even strolling.
Shangshan Che had no other requests.
The True Sword Match was approaching; he wanted to use this calm time to integrate his learnings and explore the path of State of Mind · Hundred Refinements.
Each day, he trained Plain Spear Technique, Corona Breathing Technique, and Natural Reason School in the courtyard; during breaks, he taught Shiraishi Ki-Gong Technique.
And Shiraishi lived up to expectations, progressing by leaps and bounds on the “imitating Ki-Gong Technique” path.
Not even half a month in, Shiraishi’s Ki-Gong Technique was probably at Proficient Level.
Notably, he couldn’t understand a word of Shangshan Che’s so-called incantations or principles—purely mimicking Shangshan Che’s movements and breathing.
And one unavoidable matter.
Ever since first seeing Shangshan Che wield Kaga Kiyomitsu in the courtyard to train Natural Reason School.
—Every morning or evening, Imagawa Yoshimoto would sit in the small pavilion by Shangshan Che’s courtyard, watching his cultivation and training while handling pending administrative trifles.
Imagawa Yoshimoto always watched with relish, lavishly praising Shangshan Che.
She would exclaim in surprise, “Tetsu-kun can even do this,” “Tetsu-kun knows that too,” clapping enthusiastically, providing maximum emotional value.
But Shangshan Che wasn’t buying it.
He could see through such petty tricks.
Another morning.
Imagawa Yoshimoto sat expectantly in a rattan rocking chair, waiting for Shangshan Che to end his meditation and rise to swing his blade.
To her, Shangshan Che’s blade swings and cultivation always brimmed with beauty—a clean, pure, serious beauty.
—The first time she saw Shangshan Che draw his blade, Imagawa Yoshimoto had felt deep disdain.
After all, what kind of swordsmanship could an Onmyoji who waved a fan to unleash lightning and summon shikigami produce?
Just enough to swing around casually, guaranteed usable.
But she was wrong.
After seeing Shangshan Che’s full cultivation session once, Imagawa Yoshimoto was captivated.
From then on, she never missed a day.
“Tetsu-kun’s thirty-minute meditation… should be about up.”
As Imagawa Yoshimoto thought this, she saw Shangshan Che, seated cross-legged in the courtyard center, suddenly open his eyes and coldly look ahead of her.
Huh? Ended early?
Imagawa Yoshimoto blinked, then noticed a pitch-black figure had appeared before her.
Upon recognizing the visitor, she immediately dropped her relaxed expression, straightened up, and spoke,
“Hanzō.”
The figure shrouded entirely in black cloth, gender unknown and simply called Hanzō, rasped: “Imagawa head, unrest may soon erupt in the Mikawa Region.”
With that, he glanced back at Shangshan Che approaching,
“—Seems a Great Demon is stirring in the shadows.”
As Hanzō spoke, Shangshan Che felt everything before him lose color, suddenly freezing in place.
A long-absent prompt appeared.
【Issuing Main Quest First Ring rewards…】
【You obtained Key of History · Ring Two（Special Item）!】
【You obtained 1500 Soul Ash!】
【You obtained “Unknown Core Factory Map”（Super Epic Item）!】
