Chapter 142: A Feminized Warrior? Imagawa Yoshimoto’s Invitation
At the doorway of Tanaka Rō’s residence, a samurai with a topknot and thick beard strode in.
Angrily drawing the tachi from his waist, he immediately intended to behead the insolent, worthless brat who had spoken to him.
*Shink!*
The familiar and piercing sound of a drawn sword reached Shiraishi’s ears.
It jolted him, who had been knocked to the ground and was feeling dizzy, causing him to instinctively pull a kunai from his waist.
At this moment, Shiraishi no longer cared about the serious crime of attacking a samurai.
Because his past experiences told him that if he didn’t do something after hearing this sound, his head would definitely be cut off!
—Many of Shiraishi’s friends had died like this!
—A tachi cut through the neck, and the person’s head would fall to the ground with half their neck, then roll away, and that would be death.
Shiraishi didn’t want to die!
He scrambled to his feet and then threw the sharpened kunai, with its head and blade both honed, with utmost precision towards the samurai’s chest—as the samurai was only wearing cloth and not armor.
“Hmph!”
The samurai merely flicked his tachi, swatting the kunai away. It flew at extreme speed, narrowly missing A-dao’s cheek and embedding deeply into a nearby wooden plank.
The girl was so terrified she couldn’t move, feeling as if her body wasn’t her own.
Shiraishi knew he couldn’t outrun this broad-shouldered samurai on his own two legs.
So, he took out a pre-prepared cloth bag, stuffed full of lime, from his waist.
Then, he threw it violently backward!
The quicklime scattered like willow catkins, rising along with Shiraishi’s yell:
“Boss! This guy’s gonna kill someone! Run—!”
With that, seeing the samurai behind him covering his eyes tightly from the quicklime, Shiraishi spat at him and cursed a couple of times before preparing to flee alone.
Wasn’t he going to run and get his head chopped off by this dog samurai?
—Shiraishi felt he had done everything he could. He had intervened and had alerted his new boss.
As for his boss, he could smash rocks and summon lightning to slay demons; dealing with this samurai should be no problem.
If his boss accidentally failed and got cut down by the dog samurai, he could at least avenge him later.
Dying together was out of the question!
Who would get revenge then!
Shiraishi scurried to the eaves and crouched down, preparing to brace himself and climb the edge of the roof to escape, but a large hand reached out from behind a bamboo screen and grabbed him by the back collar.
“Why the rush to run? He’s just one person.”
Pulling Shiraishi back just as he was about to take flight, Shangshan Che, who emerged wearing a priest’s robe, cast a casual glance at him and uttered words he didn’t understand.
“Shiraishi… you have so little faith in the organization. The organization is very disappointed in you.”
“Hey! Boss, stop tugging me! That dog samurai will recover soon, and I don’t want to die with you!”
Shiraishi frantically hammered Shangshan Che’s arms, which felt like steel, but then, finding them completely immovable, he gave up and turned around.
Then he saw the samurai, who had dispersed the quicklime, with bloodshot eyes, staring intently at them.
Shiraishi’s breath hitched, and his voice trembled: “It’s over, we’re going to die.”
Shangshan Che poured some Corona Qi into Shiraishi’s body with his left hand to alleviate his terror, then calmly looked up at the enraged samurai, whose hair was disheveled and who resembled a roaring lion.
The samurai gasped for air, scrutinized him for a moment, and then asked in a hoarse voice, “Are you the rumored demon, ‘Che’?”
Demon?
Shangshan let out a subtle “tsk,” assuming that the title “Onmyoji” had been distorted through word-of-mouth among the populace, a common occurrence in the Sengoku Period with its limited information channels.
Of course, it was also possible that the samurai before him was deliberately using that term.
But no matter how he looked at it, this samurai didn’t seem like a good person.
If he weren’t wary of the cliché and troublesome “the small one brings the big one, and the big one brings the old one” scenario after killing him.
Shangshan Che would have already unfolded his folding fan and electrocuted this samurai, who couldn’t understand others, into charcoal.
He said coldly, “Your Excellency, please return. Uninvited, sword-wielding guests are not welcome here.”
Akiyama Nobutomo tightened his grip on his tachi.
—Before arriving at Sunpu Castle, Akiyama Nobutomo had already heard tales of the Onmyoji “Che” using lightning magic to exorcise demons.
Subsequently, his lord, Takeda Shingen, somehow learned of this and immediately dispatched the nearby “Kai soldiers,” which meant the Takeda Clan’s “ninja,” to inform him—
“Whether the rumors are true or false, you must recruit this ‘Che’ before the Imagawa Clan does.”
But Akiyama Nobutomo did not believe these seemingly childish rumors.
What kind of damned Onmyoji? Apart from a few occasional appearances in aristocratic scrolls, they simply didn’t exist in reality!
It was complete nonsense!
He would be the one to shatter this laughable lie and behead the demon with a single strike!
Akiyama Nobutomo gritted his teeth and disdainfully slung his tachi over his shoulder, “You can have me leave if you hand over the brat behind you.”
The samurai revealed a ferocious smile, “You dared to disrespect a noble samurai just now. I will personally cut off his head.”
Feeling the back of his robe being pulled tightly, Shangshan Che smiled indifferently and raised a finger.
*Whoosh!*
Without warning, a nearly transparent Metal Element Blade shot out from Shangshan Che’s fingertip, precisely slicing through the gleaming tachi in an instant.
Simultaneously, a shallow but elongated bloodstain, extending to the root of his ear, appeared on Akiyama Nobutomo’s right cheek, leaving him no time to react.
*Drip.*
In the silence, thick blood seeped from the wound, pooling at Akiyama Nobutomo’s jaw before dripping onto the ground.
Shangshan Che lowered his gaze, “If Your Excellency remains obstinate, next time it won’t just be your sword that is severed.”
Any random samurai dared to babble in front of him. He just didn’t want to cause trouble on someone else’s territory, did he really think he was made of clay?
The Metal Element Blade just now was Shangshan Che’s last chance.
If this wild samurai continued to make a scene, Shangshan Che wouldn’t bother with further pleasantries—what if he angered the clan behind him? He would kill as many as came.
Shangshan Che only knew one thing.
The soldiers under a Daimyo in the Sengoku Period were limited, but his Revival Coins were inexhaustible.
It was just that his Spiritual Power had been consumed quite a bit.
Feeling the half of his Spiritual Power consumed by this strike, Shangshan Che couldn’t help but lament that the energy efficiency of Basic Onmyōdō was utter garbage.
“This…”
Akiyama Nobutomo’s brow twitched. He slowly moved the broken tachi to his eyes, gazing at the perfectly flat break, then raised his hand to his blood-soaked face.
—This is a joke! The rumor that this demon could use sorcery was actually true!
Intense Internal Qi surged within the samurai.
Akiyama Nobutomo’s muscles bulged, he exhaled crackling Internal Qi, and placed his hand on the daito at his waist, intending to slay Shangshan Che right there.
Akiyama Nobutomo believed that although the Takeda, Imagawa, and Hojo clans had formed an alliance.
In the near future, this unstable alliance was bound to break apart due to various issues.
—And since this demon truly possessed sorcery and he had already made an enemy of him, it would be better to slay him here and now rather than let him join the Imagawa Clan and become an enemy of the Takeda Clan in the future.
The distance was less than ten meters; he could cross it in an instant. That demon definitely wouldn’t react in time!
Just as Akiyama Nobutomo was about to draw his sword and Shangshan Che squinted his eyes, preparing to unfold his fan, a clear and gentle female voice came from the doorway, dispelling the tense atmosphere.
Before seeing the person, one heard the voice,
“—Lord Akiyama, drawing your sword inside someone’s residence is not a commendable habit.”
Everyone present was slightly startled and turned towards the doorway.
A beautiful girl, about 1.4 meters tall, with long black hair, wearing a sui-kan, bypassed the low garden wall and appeared at the entrance.
—A sui-kan, which evolved from a “hunting robe,” was typically worn as daily attire by commoners without status, or by retainers in samurai households.
She wore a gentle smile and placed her slender hand symbolically on the wakizashi at her waist, then looked up at Akiyama Nobutomo, who was much taller than her.
“What do you think I said, Lord Akiyama?”
Akiyama Nobutomo remained silent, but his breathing gradually normalized, and he very slowly moved his hand away from the daito’s hilt.
The rage on his rugged face disappeared, replaced by a deep gloom.
He left Tanaka Rō’s house without a word, but before leaving, he glared fiercely at Shangshan Che, his eyes full of killing intent.
Shangshan Che didn’t even bother to look at him. The Two-Foot Adult, who had secretly run out and then secretly returned to the Ksitigarbha Statue, had already marked him.
If this fellow surnamed Akiyama stayed here for a few more days, he would kill him at his leisure.
But now was not the most appropriate time to do such a thing.
Because a true guest had arrived.
Shangshan Che looked at the black-haired girl standing by the door, his gaze immediately focusing on the “double-diagonal” crest on her chest.
The double-diagonal crest was the family crest of the Ashikaga Shogunate, the de facto rulers of all Japan.
However, the Imagawa Clan had some Ashikaga blood, so they also used this crest.
But the “double-diagonals” of the two were slightly different; the Imagawa Clan’s double-diagonal was square, while the Ashikaga Shogunate’s was round.
—Although Shangshan Che found it somewhat familiar, he naturally wouldn’t recognize it.
In the Sengoku Period, if not a thousand, there were at least five hundred family crests, large and small.
A large portion of them were nearly identical, with only minor variations, making it impossible for Shangshan Che, who didn’t understand Sengoku history, to recognize them at a glance.
So he looked at Shiraishi beside him.
Before Shiraishi could speak, the black-haired girl standing at the door smiled at him and bowed slightly, “A pleasure to meet you, Lord Che.”
“I am Ii Naomasa, a vassal under Lord Yoshimoto Imagawa.”
The girl nodded at him and sighed with regret, “I only recently heard of Lord Che’s awe-inspiring feat of exorcising demons with lightning magic, but unfortunately, I did not witness it firsthand.”
Ii Naomasa walked over in her wooden clogs, offering unreserved praise, “But seeing you today, you are indeed extraordinary.”
Shangshan Che was stunned upon hearing the familiar name.
Ii Naomasa?
Aren’t you a warrior? Why are you speaking so eloquently?
And… isn’t Ii Naomasa a man?!
Memories flashed back to the rainy night he entered the historical illusion.
Although it was late at night and pouring rain at the time, Shangshan Che clearly remembered that the samurai who duelled him and almost managed to kill him with a desperate blow was a man.
Undoubtedly, a man!
But this one before him—
Shangshan Che’s gaze quickly swept over the family crest again, and he thought with absolute certainty:
This girl who called herself “Ii Naomasa” is definitely a woman!
There was no possibility of any disguise.
At this moment, Shiraishi, who had recovered his breath, whispered behind him, “Boss… I saw Ii Naomasa from afar before. He was a burly man, the kind who leads troops into battle.”
“And he was definitely not this beautiful!”
The implication was that this girl claiming to be “Ii Naomasa” was deceiving him from her very first word.
Shangshan Che remained composed, harboring a hint of caution in his mind.
But Shiraishi continued, “However, speaking of which, the family crest on this beautiful woman’s chest is the Imagawa Clan’s. That much is certainly true.”
To avoid the approaching girl hearing him, Shiraishi ducked into Shangshan Che’s priest’s robe and continued to whisper,
“At least near Sunpu Castle, no one would dare to impersonate the Imagawa Clan’s crest. Discovery would mean losing many heads!”
Shiraishi: “Strange, strange… looking at her attire, isn’t she an Imagawa Clan maid? But why would a maid dare to claim to be Ii Naomasa and wield a sword? Isn’t she afraid of being beaten when she gets back?”
Shangshan Che heard every word Shiraishi said.
He pondered for a moment, and instead of asking directly, he made a “please” gesture, indicating for this Ii Naomasa to enter the Dōza first before saying anything else.
Ii Naomasa noticed Shiraishi’s subtle movements but paid them no mind, tilting her head slightly and asking, “Lord Che, won’t you go check on the other three?”
She said gently, “I can wait a little, it’s fine.”
Her words greatly increased Shangshan Che’s good impression of Ii Naomasa—or rather, the girl who was currently Ii Naomasa.
So not all samurai were like that arrogant and annoying fool named Akiyama, who wasn’t very strong!
Shangshan Che nodded at her,
“Pardon me.”
He pulled Shiraishi out of his priest’s robe, admonished him not to speak out of turn or be rude, and then walked towards A-dao, who was still paralyzed with fear.
But before he could reach her, Tanaka Rō stepped in front of him, smiling obsequiously, “Lord Che! Lord Che! My A-dao is fine, she’s fine!”
He gestured with his eyes, “Please go and welcome Lord Ii in the earth-room first.”
This old man…
Shangshan Che cast a casual glance at him, “Move aside.”
Tanaka Rō’s expression froze, and seeing his gaze, he didn’t dare to say more, quickly bowing and stepping aside.
Thus, Shangshan Che once again saw the girl who was still trembling from fear.
He looked at the kunai deeply embedded in the wooden plank, leaned in to observe it for a moment, and upon finding no obvious bloodstains, he pondered briefly.
Was she terrified by the near-death experience?
Shangshan Che crouched down and took A-dao’s hands in his own.
Gentle Internal Qi flowed from his palms, slowly circulating within A-dao’s cold and trembling body.
“A-dao, that samurai is gone, and you weren’t harmed anywhere,” Shangshan Che said softly. “It was just a false alarm.”
As the extremely gentle Corona Qi was outputted, A-dao’s condition visibly improved.
Soon, her vacant eyes regained their sparkle, and she looked up, “Lord Che…”
“Yes, I’m here.”
The flow of Internal Qi made A-dao feel warm all over, as if she were soaking in warm water.
The girl blinked, took a few deep breaths, then voluntarily withdrew her fingers and made a bicep curl gesture towards Shangshan Che,
“Lord Che, I’m fine now.”
A-dao clasped her hands and lowered them slightly, bowing to Shangshan Che, “Please don’t worry about me, Lord Che. Go do what you need to do.”
Shangshan Che had intended to continue supplying Corona Qi, but seeing the girl’s determined expression, he no longer insisted, “Alright, if you feel unwell anywhere, just say so.”
He stood up and walked towards the dōza.
Pushing aside the bamboo curtain, he saw Ii Naomasa still standing, and Shiraishi, who was also standing and dared not speak or sit down, making him feel restless with every little movement.
Lord Ii seemed to see through his confusion, so he said, “The master of the house has not yet taken his seat, so how could I, as a guest, presume to sit first?”
Shangshan Che did not stand on ceremony and sat down directly, asking, “Lord Ii, are you also here to recruit me?”
Lord Ii knelt down, smoothing the folds of his suikan robe, and without any pleasantries or beating around the bush, said, “Indeed, that is so.”
Her back was straight, and she looked directly at Shangshan Che, who bowed slightly to be on the same level with her.
“My lord, Lord Yoshimoto, is very interested in Lord Che, and wishes to invite you to the Imagawa Residence for a discussion.”
Lord Yoshimoto of Imagawa…
The moment Shangshan Che thought of that name, his expression changed slightly – because his impression of that person was not good at all.
Whether in history or in the glimpses of historical shadows he had seen.
I’ll just find an excuse to refuse.
Lord Ii noticed this subtle change and said, “If Lord Che has any prejudice against Lord Yoshimoto, then perhaps you would like to see for yourself.”
“Today happens to be the coming-of-age ceremony for Matsudaira Takechiyo, and Lord Yoshimoto will be present to personally name him.”
She said earnestly, “Seeing is believing. I’m sure Lord Che, with his extensive knowledge, understands this principle.”
That was well said – even rumors from a few days ago could be distorted and demonized, let alone historical figures.
Seeing Shangshan Che in thought, Lord Ii struck while the iron was hot, “Furthermore, Lord Yoshimoto wishes to bestow a generous reward upon Lord Che for his deeds in exterminating monsters, but has been unable to meet him.”
Shiraishi, who had been sitting for two minutes and felt like ants were crawling on him, heard this and his eyes lit up. He moved closer to Shangshan Che and whispered,
“Boss, joining the Imagawa clan is secondary… Lord Yoshimoto is very generous. It won’t be too late to run after we get the reward.”
Shangshan Che looked at the eager Shiraishi out of the corner of his eye, speechless, thinking about which side his loyalty lay, and how he had become the one trying to persuade him.
He turned back, ignoring Shiraishi’s words, and had already made up his mind.
Sunpu Castle and the Imagawa clan were not entirely out of the question.
However, it wasn’t for the so-called reward, but for Takechiyo’s coming-of-age ceremony.
Because Shangshan Che vaguely remembered that Tokugawa Ieyasu, that old turtle, was seemingly called “Takechiyo” in his childhood and happened to live with the Imagawa clan.
With these two conditions narrowing the possibilities, could it be anyone else?
— Shangshan Che was quite interested in observing firsthand the childhood form of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who would go on to forge a new era.
He nodded, “Since Lord Yoshimoto has extended such an invitation, it might not be appropriate to refuse.”
Shangshan Che stood up and said to the girl, whose expression remained gentle and serene, “Lord Ii, there’s no time to waste, let’s depart now.”
Behind him, Shiraishi heard this and couldn’t help but clench his fists in excitement, already calculating in his mind how many monetary units he would receive.
“As Lord Che has said.”
Lord Ii stood up and led the two of them towards the outside.
Before leaving Tanaka Rō’s home, she did not forget to inform Tanaka Rō and the other two, showing no airs of a samurai or noble.
Seeing her simple attire and realizing that the three of them couldn’t ride a single horse, Shangshan Che couldn’t help but wonder:
Are we going to walk to Sunpu Castle?
Unfortunately, this thought was completely shattered after passing a corner.
Around the corner, two magnificent, powerful horses were obediently waiting, and behind them was a custom-made, spacious, and exquisite wooden carriage.
A robust coachman wearing a conical hat nodded at them. The veil of the hat was very dark, obscuring his features.
This scene stunned Shiraishi, and he unconsciously began counting on his fingers how much those two horses would cost.
But soon he stopped.
Because his fingers were not enough! Even with his toes, it wasn’t enough!
Shiraishi clicked his tongue and muttered, “Boss… it’s definitely them. No one else around could make warhorses of this quality pull a carriage like the Imagawa family.”
To have two warhorses, capable of running at 99% of their top speed, pull a carriage slowly… a waste! Such a waste!
“And this carriage, these carvings, how much could this be worth…”
Shiraishi continued to exclaim.
Shangshan Che glanced at it twice and then looked away. This thing, to him, was not novel, but rather commonplace and uninteresting.
Two horses and a wooden carriage were simply too normal for him, who came from the future.
After all, no matter how fast it runs, can it be faster than the train at Kisaragi Station?
Lord Ii stood at the carriage door, glanced at the two of them out of the corner of her eye for a moment, then opened the door and smiled at them, gesturing for them to get in.
Shangshan Che nodded, pulled back Shiraishi, who was still trying to pat the warhorse’s plump rump, and shoved him into the carriage to prevent him from getting kicked.
Shangshan Che then paused for a moment, noticing that Lord Ii was standing to the side with her hands at her sides, implying she wanted him to board first.
“Her meticulousness in etiquette, is she truly the warrior who dueled with me?”
Shangshan Che felt that Lord Ii was more like a learned scholar, or a pampered young lady kept in seclusion, or a close attendant to a young lady, rather than someone who fought on the battlefield.
But then, no attendant would be so beautiful… the young lady being served would surely become jealous, leading to a melodramatic plot.
Shangshan Che stepped up the stairs and bent down to enter the carriage. Lord Ii waited until he was seated before boarding herself and sitting opposite them.
Clack.
The wooden door closed, and amidst the soft whoosh of the horsewhip, the luxurious carriage slowly started and headed towards the nearby Sunpu Castle.
However, once the three of them were in the enclosed, cramped carriage, the atmosphere immediately became silent.
Shiraishi sat up straight, daring not to speak or move, afraid that if he broke something, he wouldn’t be able to afford it even if he sold himself.
The girl placed her hands on her lap, maintaining her approachable smile, and seemed to be lost in thought.
Shangshan Che tried his best to recall the girl’s true identity in his mind.
If only he could ask Shiraishi who the Imagawa clan’s scholars and young ladies were.
But unfortunately, the carriage was too small and the soundproofing was quite good; even a quiet voice could be heard by the others.
Amidst this silence, Lord Ii suddenly withdrew her gaze from the carriage window and couldn’t help but show a hint of curiosity.
“I had heard of it before, but I still wish to see it with my own eyes.”
She blinked her big eyes and leaned forward slightly, “Could Lord Che perhaps open my eyes and show me this Onmyōdō, which has been lost for over a hundred years?”
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