Chapter 191

The old man's voice was remarkably loud, and these mountain woods were some distance from Yoshida Castle, quite quiet.

So the sound of hooves hitting the ground could be heard by the old man, and the old man's cry for help also reached Uesugi Toru and the others' ears in an instant.

Looking at it this way, it seems quite reasonable.

But the problem now is, Yoshida Castle has already fallen because of those Sickness Retainers — how could there possibly still be an old man with such vigorous breath outside the city in this forest?

Moreover, the timing is too coincidental, he just happened to be trapped during this short stretch of their journey.

Imagawa Yoshimoto didn't even need to think to know there was absolutely something wrong here.

This old man, even if he isn't one of those Sickness Retainers Toru spoke of, definitely has something to do with yokai.

But Imagawa Yoshimoto still followed what she said at the start, placing the decision in Uesugi Toru's hands,

"Tetsu-kun, stop?"

Uesugi Toru pulled the reins, hearing that tone which seemed full of delight at knowing they had stopped, and after a moment's thought said,

"Mm, let's go take a look at the situation first."

He nodded silently at Imagawa Yoshimoto, signaling he was on guard.

—Because even if this old man truly is a Sickness Retainer, it's just the perfect opportunity to take advantage of his isolation and eliminate him, weakening the enemy's fighting strength.

Uesugi Toru turned his horse's head and slowly made his way toward the source of the sound.

Before long, the two saw the old man who had cried for help.

—White beard, white hair, draped in a faded monk's robe, a huge medicine box strapped to his back.

The old man's body seemed quite healthy, complexion ruddy, not too many wrinkles on his face, even his spine carrying that medicine box was ramrod straight.

Only his right leg was intertwined and tangled with a large mass of vines that looked tough and thick.

Upon seeing the two riding over, the old man's eyes brightened, he first bowed deeply to them before slowly letting out a sigh,

"This old man is a monk who wanders this chaotic world practicing medicine and curing illness.

This time I heard rumors of the plague in Mikawa Province, so I came to Yoshida Castle to further observe the situation, but unexpectedly got my leg tangled by vines here.

I hope, the two of you will lend a hand."

The old man's words were gentle, his phrasing quite etiquette, as if he had seen much of the world and learned much knowledge.

Only, a red prompt popped out above his head.

—【Sickness Retainer·Karma Disease Old Man (Three-Star)】.

Uesugi Toru lowered his head, sized up the old man for a while, then dismounted, tone slightly eager: "Lord Imagawa, let's first cut the vines for this old man."

"Good."

Imagawa Yoshimoto's eyebrows twitched slightly.

She showed no extra expression, merely watching the old man with a gaze carrying some vigilance.

On the saddle, the shrunken Mountain Whale King also watched the old man seriously for a while, but after discovering nothing, closed its eyes again, returning to a dozing state.

Uesugi Toru reached the old man in a few quick strides and crouched down, directly using the gang qi flicked from his fingertips to sever these thick vines inch by inch.

The Karma Disease Old Man let out a comfortable sigh, he touched his right leg, and upon discovering no major problem, braced himself on a tree and stood up, cupping his fists at Uesugi Toru:

"Many thanks, this Adult."

"A trivial effort, no need for thanks."

Uesugi Toru shook his head, made to leave.

But before he could remount, the Karma Disease Old Man behind him indeed spoke up: "You two Adults... are also going to this Yoshida Castle?"

Here it comes.

Uesugi Toru coldly smiled in his heart, but on the surface turned back puzzled: "That's right, but old man you should have your own plans, no?"

The Karma Disease Old Man listened, first glanced at Imagawa Yoshimoto who had only said one word so far, then showed some hesitation before speaking,

"You two Adults, better not go."

Hm?

These words hooked the interest of Uesugi Toru, who had originally wanted to just kill the other party right here.

This Sickness Retainer, actually advising them not to enter the city.

What is the meaning of this?

He temporarily suppressed the impulse to act, frowned and said: "Old man, we also came for this plague, and precisely to make Yoshida Castle stable again, impossible not to enter the city."

"This old man visited several villages and cities not long ago, and even faced those terrifying demon ghosts before escaping."

The Karma Disease Old Man walked over slowly, voice heavy,

"Judging by this old man's experience, this Yoshida Castle..."

The Sickness Retainer rasped: "I'm afraid, it has already transformed into a Demon Nest."

Imagawa Yoshimoto's complexion changed slightly listening, the hand gripping the reins unconsciously tightening.

—Demon Nest, in just a few days it actually became a Demon Nest already.

Uesugi Toru judged the Karma Disease Old Man temporarily doesn't know that he knows he is the Karma Disease Old Man, so the information spoken by the other party should also possess a certain degree of credibility.

But if it's only been these few days, it should still be saveable.

Whether the city or the people.

"Since it's so." Uesugi Toru narrowed his eyes staring at the Karma Disease Old Man, "Old man, why do you still want to go into that place where demon ghosts run rampant, perhaps nine deaths one life Demon Nest?"

"Haha."

The Karma Disease Old Man laughed loudly, stroking his chin beard and counter-asked: "This old man is a physician who cures illness and saves people, how could a physician have the reason to not treat just because the patient's lesion is too deep?"

Uesugi Toru listened, tongue-tied.

If not for him knowing from the start that the one before him is the Karma Disease Old Man, at this moment he might really have been fooled by the other party's words, come to trust him.

He turned his head again to look, discovering the Mountain Whale King had already completely stopped looking at the Karma Disease Old Man, completely treating him as an ordinary old physician with a strong body.

The scrutiny and doubt in Imagawa Yoshimoto's eyes lessened by a degree.

Uesugi Toru realized.

So this was the effect Karma Sickness Old Man wanted.

— Karma Sickness Old Man naturally knew that a "chance encounter on the road" would bring severe distrust, but he had planned from the start to gradually gain their trust in the subsequent conversation...

Then, at the most critical moment, reveal his identity.

In Uesugi Toru's perception field, scattered "seeds" indistinguishable to the naked eye drifted slowly with the air, landing precisely on the horses they were riding.

He must have been afraid that too obvious an action would be discovered, so Karma Sickness Old Man only made a move on the two horses.

In other words, as long as they stopped to check, they had already stepped into Karma Sickness Old Man's trap.

This Sickness Retainer really has a whole set of tactics when he plays them.

Too bad, though.

Uesugi Toru stared at the bright red label atop Karma Sickness Old Man's head, its bottom already fully exchanged, and thought in his heart,

— I'm still one step ahead.

Karma Sickness Old Man wanted to gain their trust, then lure them into a trap.

Uesugi Toru likewise wanted to learn more about the situation at Yoshida Castle from Karma Sickness Old Man's mouth, as well as some intelligence they didn't know that Karma Sickness Old Man would have to reveal to gain their trust.

Thinking to this point, Uesugi Toru seriously cupped his fist,

"Then, old man, how about you travel together with me and my lord on the road to Yoshida Castle?"

"My lord?"

Karma Sickness Old Man "keenly" caught this title, and thus looked toward Imagawa Yoshimoto, hesitating: "This Adult is..."

Uesugi Toru understood, and walked over to the girl's side.

He looked back at Imagawa Yoshimoto, blinked with eyes full of coldness, then spoke,

"Please allow me to introduce to the old man, this is the Lord of Mikawa, Imagawa Yoshimoto-dono; this journey is to rescue Yoshida Castle and Mikawa Province from fire and water."

Karma Sickness Old Man's complexion changed dramatically, and he knelt respectfully,

"A nameless monk within Mikawa Province, I have seen Imagawa-dono."

Imagawa Yoshimoto, who had already understood, nodded at him, revealing an approving gaze,

"No matter, special times require no ceremony, just rise."

"Thank you, Adult."

Karma Sickness Old Man rose, and just as he was walking over, Uesugi Toru suddenly felt a cold, gloomy gaze land on him.

Someone else?

He turned his gaze strangely, but finally discovered the source of the gaze at the top of an old tree.

It was a crow, half its body intact, wings like ink, pupils blood-red and indifferent; half its body rotting, feathers fallen, revealing ghastly white bones and hollow pupils.

The crow lowered its head, watching everything in the woods with emotionless eyes.

"Caw—!"

It faced Uesugi Toru for an instant, then let out a hoarse cry and flapped its wings, flying toward the sky.

Karma Sickness Old Man also raised his head, and after withdrawing his gaze from that half-dead bird, spoke gently,

"Adult need not worry, these crows are numerous, and though their appearance is terrifying, they pose no harm to people."

Harm?

A mere scattering of half-dead birds certainly doesn't count as any harm.

Uesugi Toru, who had just finished reading the data not long ago, coldly laughed in his heart.

But these "Half-Dead Birds" are scouts among the Sickness Retainers; though at most Half-Star, their numbers are extremely vast, ensuring rapid information transmission among Sickness Retainers.

In certain special cases, they can also serve as mobile pathogens.

Estimated in no more than a few minutes, the news of their contact with Karma Sickness Old Man would be transmitted back into the hands of the remaining intelligent Sickness Retainers in Yoshida Castle.

In this way...

What Karma Sickness Old Man wants to do is most likely lure them into a fixed trap, then surround and kill them?

That possibility exists.

Uesugi Toru had just wanted to play along and pump him for information, but Karma Sickness Old Man instead took the initiative to speak, telling them information about the other Sickness Retainers.

For example, the Miasma Ghost, the Rotten Yan, and the "Blood Leeches" that cause wounds to ulcerate and fester, the "Dull Erosion Worms" that can devour a person's memories and cause illusions, and so on...

Not only that, Karma Sickness Old Man even took out several different kinds of medicine pills and ointments from his medicine box, and explained to them that these treat XX ailments.

He even meticulously explained what materials constituted them.

Uesugi Toru looked at Karma Sickness Old Man, who was trying so hard he was practically no different from a salesman, and couldn't help laughing out loud in his heart.

This Karma Sickness Old Man is really going all out to gain their trust.

But even so, Uesugi Toru still honestly recorded all of it.

Although the Special Affairs Division's cure methods serve as a pity system, having an extra trump card never hurts.

After a round of Karma Sickness Old Man's meticulous "sales pitch," Uesugi Toru had already put on an expression of "admiring beyond measure, trusting extraordinarily" on his face.

"Old man's medical arts truly make Toru admire endlessly..."

Karma Sickness Old Man shook his head, waving his hand: "Where, it's just bits of experience gained from repeated attempts and experiments, nothing much."

After a pause, Uesugi Toru cupped his fist and asked,

"Then, in old man's view, if we few want to sneak into the city without alerting that crow, how should we go?"

In this instant, he could clearly see Karma Sickness Old Man's whole person freeze for a moment, then stroke his beard and lock his brows, falling into silent contemplation.

— Finally made you wait for it, huh.

Uesugi Toru laughed in his heart.

After a long while, the Karma-Sickness Old Man spoke solemnly: "If the two of you trust this old man, then wait until the boundary of morning and evening, the moment the sun wheel is about to fall, and enter the city from within the shadows of the East."

Uesugi Toru asked doubtfully: "I wonder why that is?"

"I said, it is to trust and do so... if you do not trust, then entering the city according to the two Adults' own thoughts is also not impossible."

The Karma-Sickness Old Man evaded and did not answer, but instead directly repeated the words above once more.

OK then, classic pyramid scheme scam rhetoric has arrived.

Uesugi Toru coldly smiled in his heart while capturing two key words: "evening" and "East."

That is to say, right now going to the West of Yoshida Castle can pull the distance between the Karma-Sickness Old Man and the rest of the Sickness Retainers to the maximum.

Acting directly here might also work...

But the Karma-Sickness Old Man has stayed in the woods for so long; given his cautious personality, it is hard to say he hasn't left a back-up plan here.

No need to fight on the opponent's home turf.

After making the decision in his heart, Uesugi Toru cupped his hands again: "Then Toru will have to impose on the old gentleman from now on."

The Karma-Sickness Old Man beamed with joy: "No, no, must thank the two Adults for saving this old man; this bit of help counts for nothing."

Next, Uesugi Toru flipped onto the horse, leading the Karma-Sickness Old Man slowly toward the West of Yoshida Castle.

About half an hour later.

The Karma-Sickness Old Man finally couldn't hold back, putting on a puzzled look and speaking: "Adult, you seem to have walked the wrong way; this place is the West of that Yoshida Castle."

"Huh? Is that so?"

Uesugi Toru scratched his head, rubbing his fingertips while asking Imagawa Yoshimoto: "Lord Imagawa, is this the West?"

Imagawa Yoshimoto silently nodded, placing his hand on the Tachi Sword Hilt in a place the Karma-Sickness Old Man could not see.

"Sorry, sorry."

Uesugi Toru smiled embarrassedly at the Karma-Sickness Old Man, dismounted: "Old gentleman, look at my sense of direction... no matter, we'll rush over in a bit."

He proposed: "But I see the surroundings aren't very open either, not easy to be discovered by those crows; how about resting a moment and eating lunch first?"

Thin Gang Qi followed the gentle breeze and blew away all the "Seeds" on the horse's body.

Unknown when, Uesugi Toru had already walked behind the Karma-Sickness Old Man, lightly placing his hand on the other's thin Shoulder, grinning cheerfully:

"Is that alright... Lord Karma-Sickness Old Man?"

Crackle-pop!

Rumble!

As the words fell, blue-green Electric Arcs and unmatchedly violent scorching Gang Qi spurted out from Uesugi Toru's Palm.

In the blink of an eye, like a torrent they enveloped the Karma-Sickness Old Man's short body and Medicine Box together!

In barely a Blink, that white-browed white-bearded old man transformed into a ground of Scorched Charcoal falling on the Ground.

To be precise, it should be said he transformed into several sheets of charred black paper; from the outline one could still faintly make out the Original Face was a Paper Doll.

The Paper Doll fell on the ground, transforming into a large piece of charred black Rotten Flesh.

Uesugi Toru indifferently withdrew his Palm, looking toward the back of the Withered Tree,

"I knew it, not that simple."

"This old body... actually had its Identity seen through..."

From behind the Withered Tree, a hunchbacked old man wearing a rotten Robe walked out; he raised his aged face covered in ulcerated pox marks, revealing those pair of turbid eyes like dead fish.

The solid wood Medicine Box on his back that originally held many "Antidotes" was now pitch black and rotten, continuously oozing pus and blood from the Seams.

Yet on such a face there always hung a compassionate smile.

The Karma-Sickness Old Man asked hoarsely, puzzled: "When was it?"

Uesugi Toru commanded the three Komainu to protect Imagawa Yoshimoto well, calmly drawing Kaga Kiyomitsu whose Sword Blade was wrapped in pale white: "From the very beginning, from the first glance I saw you."

He shook his head, pinching his nose and gesturing:

"You lot plague Yokai, the stench on your bodies is simply unbearable."

"So it was the smell, this old body understands."

The Karma-Sickness Old Man stiffly nodded, exaggeratedly grinning: "Then although it's not quite the time, children... you can only come out now."

"Come offer your past lives for the great Disease Crowned One!"

Squeak squeak squeak!

Cough cough cough!

Right within Uesugi Toru's Perception Field, a large group of rotten rats the size of an adult's Forearm gradually drilled out from nooks and crannies.

Immediately after, three Yokai shrouded in Miasma, constantly emitting hoarse coughs, suddenly appeared.

In Uesugi Toru's eyes, dense Prompts popped up.

——【Sickness Retainer·Disease Rat (Half-Star)】.

——【Sickness Retainer·Coughing Ghost (Two-Star)】.

Strange, where did these Retainers drill out from?

Uesugi Toru didn't think much, only shouted loudly:

"Lord Whale Three!"

"Don't make a fuss."

On the horse's back, the pocket-sized Piglet emitted a completely mismatched mature voice, then it nimbly landed, swelling to the size of a small mountain in three or two breaths.

The two horses neighed in fright, spinning in place.

The Mountain Whale King slightly lowered its head, a rainbow-like pillar of Qi bursting from its Mouth Nose,

"Imagawa Clan Head, get on."

"Much obliged."

Imagawa Yoshimoto nodded at it, lightly tapping his foot on the saddle to land on it.

"These disease rats and coughing yokai are left to Whale Three, Your Excellency, and your komainu to deal with."

Uesugi Toru hesitated, fearing Mountain Whale King would not put in effort.

So he asked with some hesitation: "Whale Three, Your Excellency, you should be able to beat them, right?"

Mountain Whale King raised his eyes disdainfully and sneered,

"A bunch of zako. When I was ten years old, I don't know how many rats I stepped to death."

"That's good."

Uesugi Toru withdrew his attention, and as the pale color dripped like a water pillar onto the soles of his feet, he opened his mouth: "Your opponent is me, Disease Crowned One."

But Disease Crowned One stared fixedly at Mountain Whale King: "Demon King... why assist humans?"

As he spoke, Disease Crowned One revealed an ugly smile,

"Why doesn't Demon King, Your Excellency, submit to Disease Crowned One? Not only..."

Before he finished speaking, Kaga Kiyomitsu, like a white daytime meteor falling, suddenly pierced Disease Crowned One's chest!

The next moment, the dense electric ball compressed on the blade exploded with a boom!

A huge amount of dust and smoke suddenly rose from the flat ground, then was driven away by the howling fierce wind, not a bit remaining.

Uesugi Toru moved his gaze away from another large piece of charred rotten flesh on the ground, and raised his gaze again: "Being distracted during battle is not a good habit."

Mountain Whale King likewise raised his foot to trample a large patch of disease rats into meat paste, letting out a disdainful sneer,

"What is Sickness and Suffering? Some roadside mountain whale? Not even as good as a brick stepped on by Adult!"

Amidst the pitch-black smoke, Disease Crowned One carrying a medicine box on his back walked out again.

He roared hoarsely: "You will pay the price for insulting Your Excellency!"

From within that rotten medicine box, yellow-green poison mist sprayed out endlessly like steam compressed to the extreme. It surged crazily as if it had grown eyes.

Black tentacles, twisted and winding, wrapped in mucus carrying thousands of disease factors, also rose from the mud.

In an instant they turned into thousands of roots, surrounding Uesugi Toru from all directions at a speed impossible for the naked eye to capture.

Not only that.

Disease Crowned One gazed at Uesugi Toru faintly, opened his rotten mouth, and began to sing an ancient hoarse ballad.

But this ballad was nothing like a song; rather, it was more like the wails of countless patients tormented by illness, superimposed.

Not far away, Imagawa Yoshimoto's face turned pale, and he gripped the sword hilt of Soso Saemon at his waist tightly.

Mountain Whale King also gritted his teeth, roared once, and raised his huge hoof to trample a coughing ghost to death again.

Only Uesugi Toru was completely unaffected, assuming the Three-Stage Thrust Stance, tilting his head,

"Is that it?"

And in this gap, the black tentacles that harm on touch and kill on rub had already surged to Uesugi Toru's front.

Uesugi Toru stood motionless, merely causing the fierce wind carrying electric arcs on his body surface to suddenly expand, grinding all the tentacles into powder.

The sky originally covered in black instantly cleared.

Only the slow yellow-green poison mist remained, spreading outward.

But the next moment, Uesugi Toru, who had assumed his stance, moved, amid the happy sword-ringing of Kaga Kiyomitsu.

—Tennen Rishin-ryu · Three-Stage Thrust!

Thus even the viscous deadly poison mist was cleanly split in two by the pale blade light, leaving a road passable by a single person, and continuously dissipated under the cover of the subsequent fine electric arcs.

Uesugi Toru lowered his eyes, gazing at Disease Crowned One whose skull was pierced by the displeased Kaga Kiyomitsu, and sighed lightly,

"Those who put their thoughts into scheming are indeed not very strong."

"You... you can't kill me... I can still, I can still..."

Disease Crowned One revealed a resentful gaze, and choked out with difficulty.

Uesugi Toru heard these words and suddenly smiled.

He patiently explained to the layman before him who understood nothing,

"The reason Three-Stage Thrust is followed by 'Three Stages' is because there are three times."

As the words fell, the remaining two thrusts exploded at the locations Uesugi Toru had already determined, turning the rotten flesh Disease Crowned One had hidden beneath into dead scorched charcoal.

This time, Disease Crowned One's movements and expression finally froze.

In that pair of cloudy eyes was reflected Uesugi Toru's calm and composed face.

I couldn't let this Great Onmyoji suffer even a bit of harm, and I still have a thousand techniques unused...

But Disease Crowned One used the last bit of his strength, and with difficulty hooked up the corners of his mouth.

He smiled too.

"A Great Onmyoji even stronger than expected, why, don't you look up..."

Uesugi Toru squinted, and before making any move heard the cries of countless crows far above the sky.

He drew Kaga Kiyomitsu from Disease Crowned One's skull, and raised his head.

At this moment, hundreds of meters above their heads, a cloud-like flock of half-dead birds gathered into a mass, faithfully recording everything happening on the ground in their pupils.

Uesugi Toru without hesitation took out the Blessed Folding Fan, and infused surging spirit power into it.

Rumble!

A huge blue-purple lightning pillar suddenly bloomed among the crow flock, illuminating the entire sky, as if a second sun hung in the air.

Like heavenly punishment.

Lightning plasma spread, countless half-dead birds fell to the ground like rain with a crackling sound, turning into a pool of pitch-black stinking blood mud.

And more half-dead birds didn't even have the chance to fall, turning into a wisp of blue smoke.

Under this bolt of lightning, Uesugi Toru killed at least several hundred half-dead birds.

Even so, this attack, which had consumed more than half of Uesugi Toru's spirit power, still failed to kill all the half-dead birds.

A few scattered half-dead birds still flapped their wings, letting out terrified caws, flying toward Yoshida Castle.

Uesugi Toru gazed at the few black dots already at the end of his vision, unable to help clicking his tongue,

"This thing is really troublesome……"

And besides the half-dead birds, Uesugi Toru still remembered that the records mentioned a retainer called "Chinohime," capable of sharing memories almost regardless of distance.

The configuration of these sickness retainers was far stronger than that army in Genjitsu.

Sheathing Kaga Kiyomitsu, Uesugi Toru then looked at the pop-up kill prompt with slight annoyance.

And so, that annoyance vanished instantly.

【You killed, Sickness Retainer · Karma Disease Old Man (Three-Star), gained 531 Soul Ash!】

【You killed, a large number of Sickness Retainers · Half-Dead Birds (Scattered), gained 46 Soul Ash!】

【Your skill, Five Thunder Technique: Kiai proficiency +68!】

【Your skill, Tennen Rishin-ryu proficiency +34!】

【You gained, Plague God Bell.】

This battle, simple beyond simple, actually brought him nearly 600 Soul Ash in income.

No wonder they say sickness retainers are his mobile Soul Ash extraction machines.

It's just that the Soul Ash dropped by these half-dead birds is really too little…… The previous Rotting Corpse and Miasma Ghost were the same.

As for the Soul Ash dropped by Karma Disease Old Man, it belonged to a normal three-star level.

These trivial details, let them be for now.

Uesugi Toru looked at the increased proficiency, his tense face relaxing——with less than 100 proficiency points left, his Five Thunder Technique was about to rise to Mastery Level.

By then, maybe there would be a way to fry all those annoying half-dead birds in the sky into scorched charcoal.

He took out the item dropped by Karma Disease Old Man again.

【Plague God Bell】

【Quality: Rare】

【Effect: Shake the Plague God Bell, apply random plague-related debuffs to enemy targets around.】

【——A rust-stained bronze bell, once belonging to a monk who wandered the Warring States practicing medicine and curing sickness, until he encountered Sickness and Suffering.】

Mm, it's still a fairly useful little prop.

Because consciousness can limit "enemy targets" for the effect, it's quite good to use at the start of a battle.

After briefly skipping the prompts, Uesugi Toru looked back, discovering that those disease rats and coughing ghosts had also been dealt with by the Mountain Whale King.

It was just that the three Komainu Hatamoto fought too fearlessly, resulting in too many wounds, and in a short time they were already beyond cure, barely able to stand.

"You've worked hard, you three."

Uesugi Toru nodded to the three Komainu Hatamoto, then waved his hand, letting them all dissipate into a few strands of straw on the spot.

After doing this, Uesugi Toru suddenly heard the Mountain Whale King's somewhat trembling voice coming from above.

"Hey, kid." The Mountain Whale King still looked up at the dragon-like traces left in the Sky, the lightning that had not yet dispersed, "That thunder, was it your doing?"

This was a tacit answer.

The Mountain Whale King naturally knew.

It just wanted to ask again.

Imagawa Yoshimoto gently exhaled a breath, opening his mouth to him,

"Tetsu-kun, you've become stronger."

Uesugi Toru blinked, replying as a matter of course: "People are always improving; surely today's self must be stronger than yesterday's self, right?"

Imagawa Yoshimoto was slightly stunned, then actually showed a gentle faint smile,

"Yes, people are always improving."

……

……

Inside Yoshida Castle, the two figures moving silently through the streets suddenly trembled, looking toward the sky flashing with lightning.

"Karma Disease Old Man……is dead."

"Need to go, inform Great Master Damo."

In just several seconds, the two figures appeared behind Damo, who was handing a bowl of rice to a thin and sickly woman.

Listening to the woman's thanks, the thoughtful Damo looked back,

"Two benefactors, what brings you to seek this poor monk?"

The two recounted the matter of Karma Disease Old Man in full.

But Damo was instead confused, he retorted,

"Karma Disease Old Man dying is perfectly fine……so what do the two benefactors want this poor monk to do?"

Kai-bōzu spoke in a deep voice: "Naturally to go out of the city and kill that shameless Onmyoji, preventing him from entering the city and ruining the Lord's plans."

"That Great Onmyoji Toru."

Having been at Yoshida Castle for five days, Damo naturally had heard some deeds of this Great Onmyoji who could command thunder.

The wooden fish in his arms suddenly spoke sternly: "For a hundred years Onmyoji have all vanished without a trace, let alone Great Onmyoji……Damo, you must be careful."

"Very well."

Damo stood up, bowed with palms together toward the pregnant woman wolfing down the vegetarian meal he had given, then turned around,

"Then let's go out of the city to meet that one, I'm also quite curious……what kind of person he really is."

"Great Master has keen discernment."

The scabby abbot paused, then approached Damo and whispered in his ear,

"Master, why don't we do this... it will surely leave that Onmyoji with hands and feet bound, even offering his neck for the slaughter!"

(End of Chapter)