Chapter 139: The Soon-to-promote Four-tailed Fox, Divine Lord Shangshan Che
“N-No, no!”
The short-statured Tanaka Rō kept his head bowed low, making it impossible to see his expression.
He swore earnestly: “Absolutely no such thing!”
Shangshan Che furrowed his brow slightly in confusion—someone was coming to deal with the demon for free, yet hiding it, so why wasn’t this Village Chief pleased?
He asked Shiraishi, who was looking left and right beside him, fearing that a yokai might leap out from somewhere: “Can’t monsters appear in the village?”
Shiraishi blinked, furrowed his small brow in deep thought, and only let out an “oh” after nearly biting through the blade of grass in his mouth,
“I heard that before, there was news in a village that a yokai could take human form, and then because of that, that village seemed to…”
At this point, Shiraishi beckoned to Shangshan Che, and only after he squatted down did he whisper in his ear: “That village was later slaughtered clean; the rumor seems to have come from around Suruga and Mikawa.”
After saying that, he shrugged and muttered: “Mommy, such bizarre legends might actually be true.”
So that’s how it is.
It seems that even if the rumor of a monster slaughtering a village isn’t entirely true, the consequences are definitely very serious.
But this approach can’t be called wrong.
If a yokai that can take human form sneaks into a big city, that would be like a drop of water merging into the ocean, impossible to search for.
Not to mention that in this era, Onmyoji have almost become legendary, so the chance of finding such demons is nearly zero.
“No need to hide it anymore.”
Shangshan Che snorted coldly: “I saw demonic energy shooting straight into the sky from several hundred meters away from your village, so as a passerby, I thought to lend a hand and slay it.”
Before Tanaka Rō, whose face had stiffened, could show a ruthless expression ready to fight to the death, Shangshan Che added: “But everyone, rest assured.”
“I’m only here for the monster; I won’t harm a single villager.”
As soon as the words fell, Tanaka Rō immediately retracted the harsh words and angry looks he hadn’t yet unleashed.
He kowtowed repeatedly with a fawning smile: “Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! Just now, I was overcome by fear and said the wrong things…”
—Upon hearing Shangshan Che’s guarantee, Tanaka Rō immediately dismissed the thought of rallying the villagers to kill this Samurai Lord.
Because usually, these noble Samurai Lords might have bad tempers, but once they make a promise, they rarely go back on it.
In other words, the “samurai” class has extremely high credibility.
And since everyone’s personal safety was assured, there was no need to obstruct further; letting this outsider Samurai Lord check if there really was a monster couldn’t hurt.
After all, Aratomi Village had indeed seen several mysterious deaths at night these past days, leaving the entire village in panic, full of suspicion and fear.
If this Samurai Lord could truly solve the eerie problem… that would be a blessing.
Tanaka Rō’s inner thoughts passed in reality in just an instant; he bowed his head and asked: “May I know how to address you, sir?”
“Che. Just the single name Che is fine.”
Shangshan Che replied casually. Having stood at the village entrance for so long, he had pretty much pinpointed the location of that demon that completely failed to hide its aura.
Che?
A fleeting look of bewilderment appeared on Tanaka Rō’s wrinkled old face.
Shiraishi beside him also let out a puzzled “hmm” and scratched his head in confusion.
Because in this era, Japanese names were typically composed of “family name + common name + given name,” not simply “surname + given name” as it is now.
As for a single-character address like this, it was utterly absurd for nobles, courtiers, and Samurai Lords.
Only the lowliest vagrants would use such a name when addressing outsiders.
That’s why Tanaka Rō showed that expression—the Shangshan Che before him was clearly no ordinary person, yet how could he not know such a basic convention?
Tanaka Rō said nothing, but several thoughts gradually rose in his mind: “Could it be…”
Unfortunately, Shangshan Che truly didn’t know.
He felt that directly revealing his “Shangshan” surname in the Sengoku Period would be quite unwise; being classified under the Shangshan Clan would be troublesome.
So he only gave his given name, which was conveniently one character and sounded neat.
But even if Shangshan Che knew, he wouldn’t care much.
Names, surnames, titles—what did they matter? Only those needing a name to assert their presence would care so much about a title.
Tanaka Rō stealthily glanced at Shangshan Che twice more, and after confirming no unusual expression, slowly stood up and said,
“Then, Che Adult, allow me to lead you to the strangest place in the village.”
“No need.”
Shangshan Che strode past Tanaka Rō and the group of young men, beckoning to them: “I’ve already found the monster’s location. Just gather more villagers to witness me slaying this fiend.”
“This… yes.” Tanaka Rō watched Shangshan Che’s unwavering back, a flash of shock in his eyes.
Because the direction Shangshan Che was heading was precisely the location of that “strangest place.”
—But how did he know?
Tanaka Rō couldn’t figure it out, so with reverence, he hurriedly sent the young men behind him to knock on doors household by household, announcing “a big shot has come to exorcise evil for our village.”
On the other side, the two who had entered Aratomi Village.
“Boss, are you serious about spotting the yokai?”
Shiraishi followed nervously behind Shangshan Che, his habitual hand resting on his waist, ready to draw his dagger at any moment.
“This demon is so stupid; anyone with a bit of cultivation can detect it.” Shangshan Che turned back, causing Shiraishi to yelp as he bumped into his back. “If you want to learn, I’ll teach you later.”
Hearing the latter sentence, Shiraishi forgot to rub his forehead and slightly opened his mouth,
“Boss! Don’t fool me! I’m the type who holds grudges—watch out, or I’ll steal your two meals a day and let you go hungry…”
Shangshan Che tapped his head with the hilt: “If you really want to learn, I’ll teach you. But it’s tough; if you quit midway, I won’t care anymore.”
“No! No quitting, I’ll definitely learn! Even if it means going hungry… no, maybe not if it means going hungry.”
Shiraishi mumbled incoherently in confusion, eventually not even knowing what he was saying himself.
“Anyway!”
He patted his skinny cheeks: “If you don’t feed me pie that doesn’t exist, Boss, I’ll stick with you from now on!”
“Alright, let’s go.” Shangshan Che turned back: “The villagers are coming out; we’ll have to wait for us soon.”
—Teaching, of course he’d teach. Just the basics of Ki-Gong Technique and Spirit Control Technique, plus his pointers.
As for basic spirit gathering techniques, he didn’t dare reveal those; it could cause big problems.
Even so, in Shangshan Che’s view, it was enough for Shiraishi to chew on for a lifetime—he had neither Internal Qi nor much Spiritual Power in his body now.
In this era scarce of Spiritual Energy, for a kid like Shiraishi, reaching One-Star in hard strength would be a victory!
Soon, Shangshan Che brought Shiraishi to that “strangest place”—before a dilapidated old well mouth.
Flipping over the wooden fence deliberately set up to isolate it from the surroundings, Shangshan Che noticed the footsteps stopping behind him and turned back,
“Not coming in to take a look, Shiraishi?”
After reaching here, where the surrounding air had clearly turned much colder, Shiraishi shook his head like a rattle: “Spare me, Boss… I’m very fond of my life.”
Shangshan Che didn’t insist; he gripped the hilt of Kaga Kiyomitsu tightly, expressionlessly casting his gaze into the dark, deep well.
In the deep well, blood-colored damp black hair piled up like a mountain, thick grudge rising ceaselessly from the well bottom.
The female face at the well bottom, rotten and decayed, seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up, meeting Shangshan Che’s gaze.
Thus, the prompt popped up.
—【Well Woman（One-Star）】.
Shangshan Che released his grip on Kaga Kiyomitsu and withdrew his gaze from the well mouth, looking up at the clear blue sky.
Perhaps because of the sunlight, though the Well Woman had noticed him and showed clear aggression in her eyes, she had no desire to climb up.
This also proved the Well Woman’s intelligence was very low, nearly zero.
Otherwise, sunlight that couldn’t harm her but only made her slightly uncomfortable wouldn’t keep her at the well bottom during the day.
“But a One-Star demon having such heavy grudge means she truly died unjustly and unclearly.”
Moreover, it had been quite some time since the Well Woman died in there before her death; the faint rotten stench from below was prickling Shangshan Che’s nose.
Hearing the surrounding villagers’ whispers, Shangshan Che silently scanned around, knowing the one who killed the Well Woman in life might be hiding among them.
It was also possible the one who killed her had already been slain by the Well Woman herself.
In this world, too many died; a couple more wouldn’t matter.
So Shangshan Che decided not to meddle in past affairs; handling the present was what he needed to do.
Shangshan Che took a deep breath, then circulated his Breathing Technique and spoke loudly, his voice spreading through half the village,
“Villagers of Aratomi Village.”
This made the villagers jump in fright; they stopped discussing and looked around, only to find the voice came from Shangshan Che.
Thus, the villagers’ gazes shifted from shock and doubt to tentative belief—no one they knew could make their voices heard so clearly by everyone with just one sentence.
Shangshan Che’s unhurried voice clearly reached every ear,
“I am the recluse Onmyoji ‘Che’; having achieved success in cultivation, I entered the world and, passing by, saw the demon causing trouble, so I wish to exorcise it.”
This flowery speech confused many villagers exchanging glances; too many specialized terms made it incomprehensible.
But Tanaka Rō, formerly an Ashigaru Kumigashira, conscripted by the Imagawa Clan to fight many battles, who had boasted with colleagues and heard many legends and tales, understood.
The old man’s pupils shrank; he rubbed his hands and murmured: “Onmyoji, Onmyoji… no wonder he only has a single name.”
Long ago, Tanaka Rō had overheard superior samurai chatting, saying Onmyoji were rare, mysterious beings like dragons seen but not tailed.
But Onmyoji were mostly powerful and eccentric, existences those samurai couldn’t defeat even combined.
And any of those superior samurai could slay him ten or eight times over.
This is big, this is big!
Uncontainable joy surged on Tanaka Rō’s face—such a figure had actually crossed his path!
If he could keep this “Che” in the village and report to the Imagawa Clan, once Che was recruited, he’d surely get credit!
One hundred kan… no, with the Imagawa Clan’s generosity, one hundred fifty kan in reward was possible!
The key is how to make Che Adult stay in the village a few more days.
Tanaka Rō had no intention of using dirty tricks—revealing such thoughts to an Onmyoji might mean dying without knowing how!
So he could only use other methods.
Tanaka Rō thought of his eleven-year-old daughter A-dao—thanks to Aratomi Village’s rich fishery and his position as Village Chief, he’d always fed her well, raising her plump and fair.
She should barely suit Che Adult’s taste.
And meals… right, the best meals must be served…
“Everyone, behold!”
Shangshan Che’s suddenly stern voice snapped Tanaka Rō from his thoughts; he looked up dazedly, then with the villagers witnessed an unforgettable sight.
Only Shiraishi eyed the jade token that suddenly appeared at his waist, throat bobbing as he mentally calculated how much rice this thing was worth.
Shangshan Che raised his palm virtually and said flatly: “Gold!”
The next moment, invisible golden blades shot out fiercely, shredding the well mouth’s exposed ground-level part to pieces.
Including the damp wood, and the piled stones!
The villagers let out shocked cries, but soon someone screamed, face turning ghastly pale.
Because from the sliced-open well mouth surged a massive pile of foul, dense black hair!
Then, a white-clad woman with grotesquely twisted limbs crawled up from the well, scaring the villagers speechless.
“Die… die!”
The Well Woman let out a muffled roar, flailing her dripping limbs, using her black hair to propel her body toward Shangshan Che.
“Merely a lesser demon; everyone, don’t panic.” Shangshan Che spoke loudly, slightly calming the frantic villagers.
He uttered another word: “Wood!”
Accompanied by Spiritual Power consumption, massive vines erupted from the nearby soil, effortlessly binding the airborne Well Woman immobile.
“Die—!”
The Well Woman’s water-bloated, rotten head thrashed wildly, biting at nearby vines but unable to damage the thick, tough ones.
At this rate, the Well Woman would need at least ten more minutes to break free.
This was natural.
To achieve this “easy control” with Basic Onmyōdō, Shangshan Che had expended a full thirty percent of his Spiritual Power.
In the Sengoku Period, Shangshan Che estimated it would take two or three days to recover that much Spiritual Power.
And during the process, he might even absurdly drain all the Spiritual Energy from this patch of land, forcing a relocation.
Silently gazing at the grudge-filled, roaring, yet unexpectedly short Well Woman, Shangshan Che sighed inwardly, then addressed the surroundings,
“The demon is trapped; next, villagers, watch me slay and exorcise it, restoring peace to Aratomi Village!”
“Good!” Tanaka Rō raised his hand first and shouted.
Then one after another villager imitated him, raising hands and shouting “good,” livening up the area.
Once the atmosphere was set, Shangshan Che made some fabricated hand seals, secretly drew the Blessed Folding Fan, and roared with thick Qi,
“Lightning, come!”
Boom!
A bluish-purple lightning bolt as thick as a baby’s arm descended from the sky, striking the writhing Well Woman, who let out a miserable howl before turning to scattering ashes.
Bolt from the Blue!
The surrounding villagers fell silent, their gazes toward Shangshan Che now different.
Seeing this reaction, Shangshan Che nodded satisfied.
He used Kaga Kiyomitsu’s scabbard to break the obstructing wooden fence, walked to the stunned Tanaka Rō, and smiled faintly: “Village Chief Tanaka Rō, I’ve exorcised the demon plaguing the village without harming a single villager.”
Divine Lord…
Tanaka Rō stared at the tall, heroic-faced, mild-mannered Shangshan Che, recalling that lightning bolt, his knees weakening again, nearly kneeling.
But he restrained the impulse to kowtow; from prior observation, this adult showed no pleasure at their kneeling.
Perhaps this formerly reclusive Onmyoji Adult didn’t like such formalities.
“Thank you, Che Adult, for your generous aid…”
Tanaka Rō bowed, smiling as he asked: “The day is getting late; why not stay at my humble home for a simple meal, Che Adult?”
Though the sun was far from setting—this was blatant lying—since there was free food, why not take it.
Perfect chance to sample this era’s meal flavors.
Plus, he had matters to discuss with Village Chief Tanaka Rō.
Shangshan Che nodded: “In that case, please lead the way, Village Chief.”
“This is my honor!”
Tanaka Rō beamed, first dispersing the surrounding villagers and announcing to the whole village that the monster was gone, then returned to bow and lead Shangshan Che.
“—Shiraishi! Stop dawdling; time to go!”
Shangshan Che beckoned, making Shiraishi, who had stood dazed by the fence, turn, lower his head, and run over.
Silent along the way.
Until reaching the Village Chief’s small residence, Shiraishi, trailing Shangshan Che, whispered: “Boss, are you really human?”
“Two adults, please come in.”
Tanaka Rō lifted the straw curtain of his home, hurriedly lit an oil lamp in the inner room himself, seemed to run out after they entered to say something, then ran back in, looking extremely busy.
Tanaka Rō bowed with a smile: “Two adults, tea and meal will be served shortly; I won’t disturb you.”
With that, the home’s original master left in double time, leaving Shangshan Che and the other in the simple wooden hut.
Shangshan Che looked down and saw the floor covered in something like tatami mats, though frayed and wrinkled, low quality.
Probably can’t enter with shoes.
He removed his shoes and placed them neatly aside; Shiraishi behind unusually didn’t fuss, removed his straw sandals, and sat on the “tatami mat” following him.
Only then did Shangshan Che answer Shiraishi’s earlier question: “If I’m not human, what am I?”
“But how can a human summon lightning?” Shiraishi said, his gaze toward Shangshan Che now tinged with distance and respect. “Only Divine Lords can usually do that.”
Shangshan Che laughed, patting the low small table before him, his smile full of pleasantness.
“Shiraishi.”
He ruffled the little ninja’s head warmly: “I just know a couple minor sorceries, nothing more—far from any deity.”
“But I’ve witnessed true deities before.”
Shiraishi’s head snapped up like lightning, staring fixedly at Shangshan Che, incredulous: “Re… really?”
“Mm, really.” Shangshan Che propped his chin on his hand. “They could probably destroy all of Sunpu Castle effortlessly, in under half a minute.”
He naturally meant Nanjo Emi and the other Ghost God level figures.
As for Magatsu-kami, a genuine Divine Lord, Shangshan Che couldn’t yet gauge Her exact strength.
Even so, it was beyond Shiraishi’s comprehension.
But precisely because of that, Shiraishi understood the gap between Shangshan Che and “true deities”—even if Boss unleashed thousands or tens of thousands of those lightning bolts, he surely couldn’t destroy Sunpu Castle.
—Thinking this way, the gap between Boss and Divine Lords is still pretty big!
He asked cautiously: “Boss, badmouthing Them here—They won’t hear, right?”
“No, no; even deities aren’t omnipotent.” Shangshan Che waved it off. “If you want, you can curse Them however you like.”
Anyway, in this absolute spiritless era, the Eternal World was who knows how far from the Mortal Realm.
“Better not.”
Shiraishi stuck out his tongue; the earlier distance in his eyes had vanished.
He plopped grinning beside Shangshan Che and began asking this and that, gossiping.
Shangshan Che answered halfheartedly, thinking he kept Shiraishi around to gather more intel, but now it was reversed.
Huh?
Shangshan Che, idly fiddling with his panel out of boredom, suddenly brightened.
He just noticed the Four-tailed Fox was about to promote to Two-Star Rank.
Too many things; he’d almost forgotten!
Specifically, just a few hours left.
Hearing footsteps, Shangshan Che shifted his gaze slightly, glimpsing a pair of white legs under the bamboo curtain and smelling a slightly odd tea scent.
But first, time to freeload this complimentary meal!
