Chapter 39: I Want to Fight Ten!

Yokoyama Nobumitsu had intended to control the Flying Zombie to kill Zhang Cheng and the others, but he ended up suffering a backlash and was injured. Having lost the Flying Zombie, a major lethal weapon, Yokoyama Nobumitsu's complexion looked much worse.

Upon seeing this situation, Kurozawa Tomoko had no choice but to suggest: "President, there is no time to lose, let us go."

Yokoyama Nobumitsu nodded and said: "Tomoko, you take the people and go first, buy me some time to heal my wounds."

Kurozawa Tomoko revealed a fanatical expression and said: "For the Nine Chrysanthemum School, for the Empire, this humble one will certainly complete the mission!"

She immediately stood up and took off the gorgeous *ko-uchigi* and *kosode* she was wearing. The *kosode* is the predecessor to the modern kimono, while the predecessor to the *kosode* was the *gofuku* from the Jiangdong region of Huaxia.

This type of *kosode* was clothing worn by samurai and commoner women, while the formal attire for noblewomen was the *jūnihitoe*, which evolved from the female noble attire of the Tang Dynasty. Everyday wear was simplified, but it still consisted of several layers of clothing.

The "twelve" in *jūnihitoe* does not actually refer to wearing twelve layers of clothing in total; it is merely a "common name" that implies extreme luxury.

Its formal names are "five-layer Tang-style garment ensemble" or "court lady ensemble."

The *jūnihitoe* is composed of a *karaginu*, *mo*, *uwagi*, *uchiginu*, *uchigi*, and *hitoe*, and one must also wear a *kosode* inside the *hitoe*. Counting them up, there are only seven or eight layers, not the so-called twelve.

As for the word "hitoe," it refers to an undergarment. Therefore, if a girl goes out or meets outsiders today wearing only a kimono without wearing a *ko-uchigi*, it is equivalent to going out to see people wearing only your undergarments without an outer coat; that is a very rude behavior.

Here, Kurozawa Tomoko took off her *ko-uchigi* and *kosode*, revealing the black ninja suit underneath.

Kurozawa Tomoko walked into the courtyard, looked at the thirty-six members who had already assembled, and said: "For the Nine Chrysanthemum School, for the Empire, you must all kill those four Maoshan Daoists!"

"Hai!"

"Charge!"

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The courtyard instantly became shrouded in smoke. When the white mist dissipated, the thirty-seven people had already vanished without a trace.

Outside the town, the dense crowd had already retreated into the rooms and disappeared. Only curtains printed with chrysanthemums appeared, separating Zhang Cheng and the other three.

The thirty-seven people dealt with the four separated individuals in batches. Zhang Cheng had to face four members of the Nine Chrysanthemum School.

Zhang Cheng looked closely and saw that among the four members, three were women. One used a rope, one used fireballs, and another held a white talisman in her hand, along with an object whose nature he could not identify.

The other man also held a white talisman in his hand and carried a jar under his arm.

Zhang Cheng held his peach wood sword, carefully scanned his surroundings, and said: "Why only four? That's not even enough for me to fight alone; I want to fight ten!"

The woman controlling the fireballs sneered: "You little Daoist are truly arrogant. Since that is the case, don't blame us for winning unfairly!!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman holding the white talisman used her magic power to ignite the talisman paper. Subsequently, a Jorōgumo emerged from the object in her hand. The original meaning of Jorōgumo is "courtesan spider," also known as Shinburō.

It has a human appearance, but there are eight spider legs on its back. It seduces men, and once a man is seduced, it takes his head to eat. Its weakness is that it fears fire.

Legend has it that the earliest Jorōgumo was transformed from a beautiful woman who married a local lord. The lord caught her having an affair with another man, so he threw her into a box filled with poisonous spiders, letting the spiders feed on her body. After she died, her vengeful spirit merged with the poisonous spiders, becoming the heartless Jorōgumo.

The man used his magic in the same way, and a Karasu Tengu rushed out of the jar. The Karasu Tengu is also written as "Crow Tengu," a monster from Wokou legends. It is a type of Tengu, named for its sharp beak like a crow and jet-black wings.

The Karasu Tengu is also called "Little Tengu." It can fly and, like the Great Tengu, wears *yamabushi* attire and possesses superb swordsmanship.

The situation had suddenly turned into six against one!

Zhang Cheng had only said that trash talk casually to enrage the enemy and make them lose their reason; now, it could be said he had lifted a rock only to drop it on his own feet.

He immediately took out his Eight Trigrams mirror and stood ready.

The leading woman shouted: "Let the Jorōgumo and the Karasu Tengu go first, we will provide support!"

Although Zhang Cheng could not understand her, he saw the Jorōgumo and the Karasu Tengu attacking from the left and right.

He hurriedly used his magic power to activate the Eight Trigrams mirror. Two golden rays shot out from the mirror; the Jorōgumo was pierced directly, while the Karasu Tengu slashed the golden light open with its blade.

"Jorōgumo killed, gained 100 merit."

The Karasu Tengu paused for a moment, then swung its blade to strike. Zhang Cheng immediately spat out a stream of Samadhi True Fire. This time, the Karasu Tengu was a step too slow, fell into the great fire, and was subsequently burned to death.

"One Karasu Tengu killed, gained 300 merit."

Seeing that he had easily killed two shikigami, he felt relieved and said: "How weak."

The leading woman said in shame and anger: "Baka, watch my Slaughter Ghost!"

A wicked ghost covered in black Qi crawled out from the ground. Its eyes glowed red, and its sharp claws were stained red.

The woman said: "This Slaughter Ghost was formed after a wicked ghost killed and devoured one hundred other wicked ghosts. And these wicked ghosts were all refined after we tortured and killed the Zhina people here.

Little Daoist, you should be proud. Being able to compete with a Slaughter Ghost—an Onmyōji of your age must be a genius within the Onmyōryō. Killing a genius like you is truly pleasant, hahaha!"

Zhang Cheng gritted his teeth, making a "clacking" sound. He was trembling all over, and his hand gripping the peach wood sword turned white.

The woman even mocked him: "Arie-rie, little Daoist, are you afraid? If you want to kneel and beg for mercy, I will spare you and let you be my dog, hahaha!"

Zhang Cheng looked up at the woman and said word by word: "Good, very good!"

A trace of anger flashed in the woman's eyes, and she shouted: "Slaughter Ghost, attack!"

"Roar!"

The Slaughter Ghost let out a roar and rushed toward Zhang Cheng at high speed.

Zhang Cheng immediately threw out his peach wood sword, but the golden-glowing sword was snapped in half by a single slap from the Slaughter Ghost.

Seeing the Slaughter Ghost closing in while Zhang Cheng made no other moves, the woman's smile grew even wider.

But in the next second, a bolt of lightning descended, and the Slaughter Ghost roared in agony.

Zhang Cheng put away the Five Thunder Command, then pulled out a Ghost-Repelling Talisman and threw it onto the Slaughter Ghost. A spiritual fire ignited, and the Slaughter Ghost vanished.

"Slaughter Ghost killed, gained 500 merit points."

The woman was shocked and hurriedly shouted: "Attack together! Quickly!"

Zhang Cheng thought to himself that this was bad, and immediately pulled out the Demon-Refining Treasure Gourd, releasing four strands of Qi to surround his body, followed by spitting out Samadhi True Fire.

The raging inferno appeared abruptly, leaving the four attacking members no time to dodge, and they were all struck.

Zhang Cheng was not having an easy time either, having to rely on his magic power to resist the scorching flames.

"Four members of the Nine Chrysanthemum School killed, gained 4,000 merit."

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(End of chapter)