Chapter 77: Will You Become My Shikigami?
This brings us back to the panel of the Blue Ghost Essence—
【Damaged Blue Ghost Essence】
【Quality: Normal】
【Effect: Directly inject spiritual power. Use on a specified weapon item to add “minor knockback resistance effect.”】
【—Damaged Blue Ghost Essence, seemingly hacked to this state by some knife.】
The effect of the Blue Ghost Essence does look pretty good; it could help pursue the dream of parrying.
But Shangshan Che believes that this minor effect might, in more situations, make his knife blocking less smooth and cause him more severe damage.
“Mr. Hannya, this Essence of Cong Yuan Huo is easy to handle.”
Zashiki held the dim and damaged Blue Ghost Essence up to her eyes for careful inspection: “But this Blue Ghost Essence… it should be Blue Ghost Essence, right? Yet it doesn’t quite suit this Kaga Kiyomitsu.”
“Zashiki, you know so much?”
Shangshan Che was slightly startled; he was just about to introduce these two essences himself.
“This is all basic knowledge. Most demons and monsters, supernatural phenomena, famous people, and their weapons, armor, accessories, as well as the types of tools from each era, and so on…”
Once immersed in anything related to blacksmithing, Zashiki seemed like a completely different person. She spread her hands casually: “Master wouldn’t let me go out until I memorized all of it.”
“More importantly, Mr. Hannya.”
—Hasn’t your Kaga Kiyomitsu become even more powerful?”
The girl’s nose twitched twice, catching a faint and complex bloody scent: “Is it because it has slain many demons? If it’s convenient, could you tell me about its current specific status?”
Unexpectedly, Zashiki even noticed this; her forging skill points must be very high.
—Not underestimating her due to her appearance was indeed the right choice.
So, Shangshan Che carefully explained the current three effects of Kaga Kiyomitsu.
“—Thrust Enhancement and Slash Enhancement, huh.”
After bluntly stating she couldn’t influence the “Soul Slaying” effect, Zashiki stared at the iron anvil and fell into thought.
The originally vague plan rapidly took shape. In less than a minute, Zashiki spoke again: “First option: At the cost of consuming the Blue Ghost Essence, guide the second unknown effect of the Cong Yuan Huo Essence into a 【Knockback Effect】.”
This can actually be done?
Shangshan Che was learning for the first time that weapon enhancement wasn’t just about luck.
“What about the second?” he asked.
“The second is to consume the Blue Ghost Essence and the unknown effect of Cong Yuan Huo together to strengthen Kaga Kiyomitsu’s original effects, making them more powerful.”
At this point, Zashiki hesitated: “Although we could gamble on the second unknown effect of the Cong Yuan Huo Essence being very powerful, I don’t recommend it.”
She looked troubled: “I’ve seen full armor with a 【Intense Burning】 effect added before. The result was that most wearers would be roasted alive within a minute of putting it on.”
Shangshan Che understood; unknown effects were a realm only for gamblers.
So he said without hesitation: “Choose the second one, enhance Kaga Kiyomitsu’s slash effect.”
“Alright, Mr. Hannya, just sit over there and wait a bit.” The girl steadied the stool and slowly fed Kaga Kiyomitsu into the scorching furnace: “It’ll be quick.”
As soon as she spoke, Kaga Kiyomitsu’s blade rapidly turned a sheet of bright red. It trembled violently in Zashiki’s hands, as if trying to avoid the pain of being reforged.
“Don’t move!”
Zashiki scolded sharply, immediately calming Kaga Kiyomitsu.
Soon, Kaga Kiyomitsu was red-hot from inside to out, looking so soft and floppy it was very worrying.
Shangshan Che watched with astonishment, but he didn’t have the bad habit of an outsider instructing an expert.
“Out of the furnace!”
Zashiki shouted lowly, swiftly placing Kaga Kiyomitsu on the iron anvil with extremely quick movements, then tossing the Essence of Cong Yuan Huo onto it.
Bang!
One hammer strike landed perfectly, smashing it to pieces right on the blade.
This simple and brutal forging method suddenly gave Shangshan Che the thought that “I could do this too.”
But what happened next, he couldn’t understand at all.
Or rather, it was over before Shangshan Che could even try to figure it out.
Zashiki started hammering away at Kaga Kiyomitsu with chiseling strikes, infused with complex and strange spiritual power fluctuations.
Finally, before Shangshan Che even noticed when she incorporated the Blue Ghost Essence, Zashiki was already gripping the scorching hilt of Kaga Kiyomitsu and inserting it into the third large vat for careful quenching.
Shangshan Che, standing nearby, suddenly felt his own spiritual power fluctuate—it was actually showing signs of growth.
He immediately looked toward the vat.
—Could the liquid inside be high-purity spiritual power extracted by special means?
He didn’t voice the question, feeling his relationship with Zashiki wasn’t close enough yet.
About ten minutes later, Zashiki placed Kaga Kiyomitsu back on the iron anvil for a thorough maintenance session, then exhaled comfortably and wiped her sweat with the burlap towel draped over her shoulder.
“Mr. Hannya, mission accomplished!”
Zashiki carefully held the hilt with both hands and handed it over.
Shangshan Che took it—
【Kaga Kiyomitsu·Replica】
【Quality: Rare→Rare+】
【Effect One: Thrust Enhancement+. Thrust-type sword skills will deal massive additional damage.】
【Effect Two: Soul Slaying. When using Kaga Kiyomitsu·Replica to slay demons and monsters, demons and monsters, Kaga Kiyomitsu·Replica’s quality will gradually improve.】
【Effect Three: Slash Enhancement→Slash Enhancement+. Slashing sword skills will deal moderate additional damage.】
【Effect Four: Burning→Blazing（Very low chance attribute promotion）. When using Kaga Kiyomitsu·Replica to slash, enemies will continuously suffer dual damage to body and spirit.】
【—Demonic sword that has drunk the blood of demons, further enhanced by forging from Master Craftsman apprentice Zashiki Warashi.】
Master Craftsman apprentice?
The unfamiliar new term only caught Shangshan Che’s attention for a moment, then his focus was firmly drawn to the luxurious total of four effects on Kaga Kiyomitsu.
Especially this one: very low chance attribute promotion!
Shangshan Che finally understood—this was the power of Zashiki Warashi’s blacksmithing!
Compared to spreading this vague luck evenly across every aspect of life, it was far better to inject it all at the moment forging was complete!
“Satisfied! I’m very satisfied!”
Shangshan Che couldn’t even maintain his cool persona. He took out that universal familiar and eagerly extended an invitation: “Zashiki, can you become my shikigami?”
Shikigami?
Can a yokai become a yokai’s shikigami? Or has Mr. Hannya studied human Onmyōdō and achieved great proficiency?
Zashiki knew that such extraordinary methods could only be known and performed by existences above “Ghost God.”
In other words, if she followed Mr. Hannya, she would have a Ghost God level backer, no longer needing to worry about being bullied by powerful demons or captured by samurai.
Zashiki seemed to see a peaceful and harmonious life extending an olive branch to her.
This was great, the kind of life she dreamed of.
But—
The girl gazed at the imposing Hannya Mask, shook her head without hesitation, her tone gentle yet firm,
“I must decline, Mr. Hannya.”
