Chapter 192: Imagawa Yoshimoto’s Lap Pillow, Hundred-eyed Demon Stunned By The Eyeball, Joyous Soul Spirit Points Harvest
Smack!
The two of them crashed heavily onto the ground together.
Imagawa Yoshimoto quickly opened her arms and caught Shangshan Che, but beyond that, she did nothing more.
Because the situation had come too suddenly, she was afraid she might accidentally hurt Shangshan Che.
Pinned to the ground, Imagawa Yoshimoto looked up and saw Shangshan Che in her arms, his face pale and his qi weak to the point of nearly vanishing. Somewhat urgently, she quickly asked him,
“Tetsu-kun, what’s wrong?”
Caught by the sturdy armor, Shangshan Che moved his lips but couldn’t speak.
Seeing this, Imagawa Yoshimoto’s pupils contracted slightly.
She absolutely could not have anticipated that Shangshan Che, who just minutes ago had been using lightning to chase down every demon in Yoshida Castle, would now be this weak.
He couldn’t even speak.
—Because this time in “Rage” state, Shangshan Che had exhausted all his qi barrier and spiritual power, not leaving even a tiny bit.
So although all attributes after Rage state ended would only drop to “5,” for Shangshan Che now, it was no different from when all attributes were “1.”
Even weaker.
Because of the severe overexertion.
Imagawa Yoshimoto immediately reached out her finger to touch his face and discovered that Shangshan Che couldn’t even maintain his qi circulation.
Clever as she was, she instantly connected the current situation with Shangshan Che’s earlier urgent and somewhat strange actions.
Tetsu-kun must have known that at this point in time, he would become this weak.
The reason he sought a quiet room to be alone was to prevent outsiders or demons from seeing him like this and getting improper ideas.
With that thought, Imagawa Yoshimoto raised her hand and released internal qi to seal the quiet room’s door, creating an even more isolated environment from the outside world.
—But starting from tomorrow morning, they had to ensure continuous healing for Yoshida Castle’s residents.
Recalling her own earlier words, Imagawa Yoshimoto paused.
She naturally didn’t have that ability herself.
Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at Shangshan Che, who was slumped and hadn’t said a word, and opened her mouth.
With Tetsu-kun’s current extremely poor physical condition, could he really recover in just over ten hours?
After a brief silence, the Imagawa Clan head sighed silently in her heart.
Forget it.
Even if the promise wasn’t fulfilled, the residents would only direct their anger at her.
She could handle such a minor matter.
—Completely unable to move, Shangshan Che caught sight of this with the corner of his eye and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
It seemed Imagawa Yoshimoto already understood the current situation.
But before he could think further, Imagawa Yoshimoto quickly removed her armor in a few moves, stacking it neatly to the side.
Then, Shangshan Che saw a pair of legs covered by pure white kimono sleeves slowly kneeling in front of him.
He then felt himself being carefully shifted, until his face smacked into a large expanse of soft white fabric due to gravity.
Moments later, with his position flipped, the darkness before Shangshan Che’s eyes turned to light, and he saw Imagawa Yoshimoto’s face.
More precisely, he saw Imagawa Yoshimoto’s curved, helpless eyes.
Because everything below his nose tip was completely blocked by the fabric.
“I’ll be here the whole time.”
He heard Imagawa Yoshimoto’s gentle voice,
“So Tetsu-kun, if you want to rest, just rest.”
Before Shangshan Che could respond with qi, he felt two soft, boneless hot little hands gripping his palm.
The next moment, unfamiliar but calm and gentle internal qi slowly probed into Shangshan Che’s body bit by bit.
That internal qi sought to contact his qi barrier inside, allowing his cosmic cycle circulation to flow again.
But Shangshan Che could clearly feel the clumsiness of this internal qi.
Not only did it fail to locate the star points of qi barrier in his meridians quickly, it instead caused pain in various places along Shangshan Che’s arms.
Even though Imagawa Yoshimoto was being extremely careful, the sensation of internal qi rampaging through his meridians was still unbearable.
Nearly twenty minutes later, Imagawa Yoshimoto finally “touched” the first strand of his qi barrier.
Shangshan Che finally regained a little strength.
Looking at Imagawa Yoshimoto’s relaxed expression, he gathered his strength for a while before laboriously saying,
“Lord Yoshimoto… this is your first time doing this, isn’t it…”
Receiving immediate affirmation, Imagawa Yoshimoto nodded, connecting two strands of qi barrier, and said,
“Yeah.”
“I’ve never done this for anyone before.”
She gazed frankly down at Shangshan Che’s half-open eyes: “Tetsu-kun, this is my first time.”
Better not say such ambiguous words…
Shangshan Che thought that even if he said so, she probably wouldn’t listen at all.
So he opened his mouth again: “Thank you…”
Plop.
Her index finger dropped, pressing against the center of Shangshan Che’s lips, indisputably cutting off his words.
Imagawa Yoshimoto shook her head gently: “I don’t deserve that thanks right now.”
“If Tetsu-kun hadn’t overexerted yourself to slay those terrifying demons, I absolutely couldn’t be sitting here safe and sound, and Yoshida Castle would definitely have turned into a dead land.”
The girl lowered her gaze, meeting his eyes,
“From the moment Tetsu-kun became my vassal, I’ve been unilaterally receiving your favors, but in return, I’ve only given something insignificant.
Those things, Tetsu-kun could have done even without me.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto said earnestly: “The one who should say thank you is me.”
With that, she cupped Shangshan Che’s cheeks with both hands from the sides, not allowing him to turn away,
“So Tetsu-kun, is there anything you want—something you want no matter the cost?”
The Lord of Three Kingdoms, also the youngest Imagawa Clan head in history, made a promise to him,
“After stabilizing Mikawa Province, I’ll do everything to find it for you.”
What could Imagawa Yoshimoto give him?
After long contemplation, Shangshan Che squeezed out the words one by one: “What I want is simple—just to witness with my own eyes Lord Yoshimoto’s march to Kyoto, standing at the peak of Kyoto.
I want to witness that moment to nurture my still immature heart embryo.”
Heart embryo… Motono seemed to have mentioned this term to her.
“I will.”
Though Imagawa Yoshimoto didn’t fully understand, she unhesitatingly gave an affirmative answer,
“At that time, Tetsu-kun, you must be there too.”
“Anything else?”
Imagawa Yoshimoto pinched his cheek displeasedly, pausing slightly in astonishment at the feel: “If it’s just promising something that would happen anyway, that’s too petty.”
In other words, not even daring to dream big?
Only Imagawa Yoshimoto would say such a thing as if it were natural.
Shangshan Che curled the corner of his mouth,
“Then, I want the name Imagawa Yoshimoto to spread throughout the land, so that the first thing everyone thinks of upon hearing it is you—truly known to all.”
—This way, he in the eternal world five hundred years later could have a backer and make many things simpler.
“Known to all…”
Imagawa Yoshimoto furrowed her brows, deep in thought.
Even becoming ruler under heaven, becoming shogun, unifying the entire land—it would still be very difficult to achieve that.
Imagawa Yoshimoto had been to remote villages.
There, even many village chiefs didn’t know her name, let alone villagers who heard nothing from outside.
“But why?” She suddenly grew curious.
Tetsu-kun’s two wishes were both to make her greater—even with the heart embryo reason, it seemed too abnormal.
“Because great onmyoji have very long lifespans, Lord Yoshimoto.”
On the soft lap pillow, Shangshan Che lied: “Very, very long.”
Seeing the dazed girl, he knew Imagawa Yoshimoto had been fooled in a field she knew nothing about.
So Shangshan Che continued softly,
“I just hope that long after, I can still hear Lord Yoshimoto’s name, and that way, I can probably recall these current times.”
Lifespan… very long?
So that’s how it is.
If there’s so much time, one wouldn’t pursue money, treasures, or lands much.
Still young and vigorous, Imagawa Yoshimoto had too many ambitions unrealized, so she didn’t deeply understand the concept of lifespan and had no time for such trivia.
Without overthinking, Imagawa Yoshimoto replied earnestly,
“If Tetsu-kun wants that, then I’ll do it for you.”
She said word by word: “I’ll occupy a unique place in your very, very long memories.”
—After spirit control technique reached expert level, greatly enhancing Shangshan Che’s ability to sense “qi,” he could feel Imagawa Yoshimoto’s emotions.
He knew a large part of what Imagawa Yoshimoto said was to “strategy” him at every moment, binding him to her side.
But the other small part was genuinely sincere.
And that sincerity was utterly real.
“For now, rest.”
The girl placed her hand over Shangshan Che’s eyes, which had been fighting for so long, forcibly shutting him down: “Seeing you like this is making me sleepy.”
In the darkness, Imagawa Yoshimoto’s calm voice came,
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay by your side the whole time.”
Once his vision went dark, exhaustion surged like a tide.
Before sinking into brief sleep, Shangshan Che first pulled up the panel in his mind to check his current soul spirit points—
【Soul Spirit Points: 3311】
And this number was still slowly increasing.
Shangshan Che plucked his heartstrings twice, hazily informing Kaga Kiyomitsu, who was happily chasing a half-star miasma demon,
“Little Jia, play by yourself, be safe…”
Before finishing, Shangshan Che fell into deep sleep.
Kaga Kiyomitsu, playing happily, pretended not to hear.
Chasing demons with her sword form alone was so novel—better enjoy it while it lasts, might not get the chance later!
…
Seeing Shangshan Che on her lap breathe steadily, Imagawa Yoshimoto also stilled, not even breathing.
She lowered her head, gazing at this face that only now became peaceful, lost in thought.
The longer she gazed, the more emotions accumulated in Imagawa Yoshimoto’s eyes.
Until nearly spilling over, then vanishing tracelessly as she closed her eyes briefly.
Back to the initial state.
Hours later, the sky gradually darkened.
Shangshan Che’s consciousness awoke in his fatigued body.
He didn’t open his eyes yet—it would take considerable effort.
In the dark view, Shangshan Che opened the gacha pool page, preparing to feed hundreds of gray 【Shijie Worm eyes】 to Hundred-Eyed Demon.
But as soon as he opened the gacha pool, Hundred-Eyed Demon loli’s childish face popped up, pointing at him and ranting angrily.
Understandable.
Shangshan Che ignoring the prompt earlier was like a chef serving a delicious dinner to a diner, then letting them stare at it hungrily for hours.
Drooling dry.
But Shangshan Che naturally wouldn’t get upset with a child not even fully grown, or a gacha pool phantom.
With a thought, he dumped all the 【Shijie Worm eyes】 into the gacha pool.
Countless bug eyes animatedly rained down, pitter-pattering onto Hundred-Eyed Demon loli’s head, stunning her.
Moments later, Hundred-Eyed Demon realized rations had arrived.
Her little face twitched as she patted her throne, countless tentacles emerging from below to scoop up the eyes into her “mouth.”
Ten seconds later, the throne’s color deepened slightly, gaining several large compound eyes contrasting sharply with the other eyeballs.
Leaning back comfortably, toes curling, Hundred-Eyed Demon showed satisfaction.
Though epic quality unchanged, a large progress bar popped up above her head.
【Hundred-Eyed Demon Quality Upgrade Progress: 18%.】
Hundreds of bug eyes, yet still so much left.
But there were plenty more Affliction Kin—eventually, the rest could be filled.
Shangshan Che closed the gacha pool page and slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze met Imagawa Yoshimoto’s just as knocking sounded at the doorway.
Shangshan Che plucked his heartstrings.
Kaga Kiyomitsu instantly broke through the thin internal qi barrier and zipped in.
Of course, not forgetting to close the door behind.
Seeing the visitor was a sword, Imagawa Yoshimoto was dumbfounded, words she was about to say swallowed back.
But the freshly arrived Kaga Kiyomitsu shuddered in shock, turning left, then right.
Buzz!
—Master, what are you two doing!
Buzz buzz!
—Never this intimate with me!
“Little Jia, don’t fuss.” After hours of sleep, Shangshan Che had mostly recovered his speech: “Be good, I don’t have energy to deal with you now.”
Buzz…
Feeling Shangshan Che’s poor state firsthand, Kaga Kiyomitsu circled and obediently returned to the scabbard.
But Shangshan Che could clearly sense through heartstrings that Kaga Kiyomitsu was still dissatisfied even in the scabbard.
It was still vibrating faintly, perceptible only to him.
Simply put, jealous and needing comfort.
Shangshan Che was speechless.
Two-Foot Adult getting jealous was one thing, now even Little Jia—turns out he was raising a bunch of jealous jars.
Who’d be next, Shangshan Che didn’t dare imagine…
His response was to let it be—let Little Jia fuss a bit and it’d be over; he had no extra energy to soothe.
Better to check soul spirit points first.
Kaga Kiyomitsu’s exclusive panel popped up before Shangshan Che.
【Soul Spirit Points: 3504】
Below was a list of enhancement effect prices.
After “Thrust Enhancement·Extreme” became “Thrust Specialization,” it required 1000 points.
With over three thousand five hundred points now, plenty of options.
But main directions were two.
One: keep saving soul spirit points, and at five thousand, directly enhance to get the unique Sorrow of Parting.
That should bring unexpected surprise effects.
The other: rapidly spend soul spirit points to boost current combat power for stronger enemies soon to come.
One key factor influenced the decision.
Whether to continue sweeping cities and villages in Mikawa Province to spread Imagawa Yoshimoto’s fame.
Or depart from Yoshida Castle straight for Affliction’s head.
—Special Affairs Office data included a spell consuming massive spiritual power to directly locate Affliction.
In the mortal realm, of course useless against Affliction who’d reverse-engineered it.
But in Sengoku Period, undoubtedly precise.
And Affliction, likely not ghost god level, probably wouldn’t even sense being located.
If continuing sweeps, better to hoard like a squirrel for now.
But to rush Affliction and exorcise it, definitely boost combat power ASAP.
—Facing Eight Sufferings status enemy, even immature, must use every means for absolute certainty.
What to do?
“Tetsu-kun, what are you thinking?”
Imagawa Yoshimoto’s call pulled Shangshan Che back to reality.
He exhaled: “Mentally tired, just spacing out.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto fell silent, not wanting to disturb him.
Shangshan Che continued his earlier thoughts—
Current situation unclear; at least wait till body fully recovers, gather more info from everywhere for right decision.
But one thing certain.
Without enhancing Sorrow of Parting, his enhancement set meal would be “Slash Enhancement·Extreme,” “Thrust Specialization,” plus “Blazing Fortune.”
“Spirit,” tied to Kaga Kiyomitsu’s own spirituality and wisdom, temporarily ignored.
Because spirit was long-term with rich returns, little short-term help.
After all—1500 soul spirit points, same price as Blazing Fortune.
Ending thoughts on enhancing Kaga Kiyomitsu, Shangshan Che stirred his thin qi barrier, trying to push off the ground to sit up and leave the gentle warmth beneath.
Imagawa Yoshimoto’s words echoed in his ear,
“Tetsu-kun, you can lie as long as you want.”
“No, rested plenty.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto silently stared at still-pale Shangshan Che, finding his words unconvincing.
But she let him leave her lap, watching him take a small vial and drip dewdrop into his mouth.
After, Shangshan Che’s qi visibly improved, less unsteady.
Panting seated, Shangshan Che said softly: “Lord Yoshimoto, can someone bring paper, cinnabar, and lots of water?”
“Right away.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto asked nothing, immediately standing and heading to the door.
In under ten minutes, she had sturdy samurai place cinnabar and paper at the doorway, large water vats in the courtyard.
Using the time to recall talismans and related spells several times, Shangshan Che smiled: “Trouble you to bring the items to me, Lord Yoshimoto.”
Wordlessly, she placed a stack of paper and ground cinnabar bowl before Shangshan Che, then knelt aside.
If outsiders saw, they’d think Imagawa Yoshimoto the little servant, Shangshan Che the lord.
“Thanks for the trouble.”
Shangshan Che dipped his index finger in cinnabar, took a deep breath, squeezing out scant spiritual power.
—Special Affairs Office’s “Disease Expelling Talisman” spell had only two parts, requiring minimal spiritual power.
Even with spiritual power attribute under 5, Shangshan Che could draw it slowly with effort.
Because Disease Expelling Talisman was created for everyone to purify diseases from Affliction.
Of course, this was first-generation Disease Expelling Talisman.
In mortal realm, iterated countless versions, requiring far more spiritual power.
Night fell.
Imagawa Yoshimoto silently lit candles around them.
Shangshan Che held his breath, lifting finger after final stroke.
Whoosh.
Faint glow emanated from the paper… now Disease Expelling Talisman.
“Done.”
Shangshan Che’s vision blurred.
Supporting with five fingers on ground, he barely sat up: “Lord Yoshimoto… toss this talisman in water, it’ll continuously produce healing water.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto’s eyes lit up: “Just this one talisman solves the castle’s disease problem?”
“Not enough.” Shangshan Che took another paper, finger descending: “When it stops glowing, effect’s gone.”
Carefully cradling the talisman, Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at paper-pale Shangshan Che and asked,
“How many?”
“More the better.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto fell silent.
She watched quietly as Shangshan Che panted laboriously, lifting finger repeatedly, squeezing spiritual power, drawing countless times until unconsciously slumping aside, caught by her.
Night deepened.
After watching over ten hours, Imagawa Yoshimoto gripped his trembling wrist: “Tetsu-kun, stop.”
“Stop, and do what?”
Eyes too blurred to see, drawing by instinct alone, Shangshan Che retorted.
“You can rest.” Imagawa Yoshimoto’s tone serious.
Shangshan Che retorted: “Why rest when persisting finishes it?”
Grind.
He vaguely heard Imagawa Yoshimoto grit her teeth.
In the late night, the girl raised her voice: “Those normal people don’t deserve you tormenting yourself like this!”
Shangshan Che paused, calmly: “Lord Yoshimoto, they’re your subjects.”
“So what?”
Imagawa Yoshimoto’s tone cooled: “Yes, I admit they’re my subjects, and I sincerely want to save them!”
She squeezed words through clenched teeth,
“—But the fact is! Even all of them together aren’t worth half of you, Tetsu-kun!”
The Imagawa Clan head ordered firmly for the first time in a while: “Now, stop!”
Shangshan Che said softly,
“Little Jia.”
Clang!
Kaga Kiyomitsu flew out, hovering midair, confronting Imagawa Yoshimoto.
