Chapter 87: Jing Ke's Short Sword That Stabbed Qin, Kaga Kiyomitsu's Sword Tip

It seems it wasn't that mountain inn after all.

Uesugi Toru arrived at the doorway of the tile-roofed house and, lowering his head, saw a distinctly black-and-white tatami mat.

The black area on the right side of the mat was stained with dirt, dust, and various weeds, while the white area facing the sliding door was spotless.

Uesugi Toru understood; he first placed his feet on the black mat to rub the dirt and debris off his shoes, then walked up the steps via the white mat and slid the door open.

Above the door, a black-cat-style wind chime swayed.

"Eh-yo— Welcome~"

A welcome call with rising and falling intonation, its tone drawn out, came from the left side of the threshold.

Uesugi Toru shifted his gaze away from the empty shelves and the vacant yet strangely immaculate aisle, and looked at the man wearing a strange Noh mask, a platinum God of Wealth hat, and holding a ukiyo-e folding fan painted with terrifying waves.

Beside that man, an armchair was still swaying slowly; it looked like he had just stood up from the chair a moment ago.

A moment later, the characters 【???】 popped up above the man's head.

Uesugi Toru raised a trace of vigilance in his heart; this was still the first time he had seen a name box containing question marks.

He cupped his fists with both hands and asked politely: "Are you the proprietor of this mountain shop, sir?"

"Ind—eed."

The man still replied in that exaggerated tone; he swayed his ukiyo-e folding fan and paced back and forth: "If the guest doesn't mind, you may call me 'Katsumi'."

As soon as the words fell, the name box above the man's head changed, from three question marks to——【Katsumi (Four-Star)】.

Four-Star! A Ghost God-level figure!

Uesugi Toru's pupils shrank slightly; whether in Chang Shi or Genjitsu, this was still the first time he had come face-to-face with a four-star existence overhead — Fang Xiangshi that time didn't count, because he hadn't seen anything clearly before the head fell.

This mere Two-Star Map of Kisaragi Station couldn't possibly contain a Four-Star Ghost God; even a Hidden Boss wouldn't make sense, let alone the fact that the man before him, who called himself Katsumi, bore a friendly attitude.

Then……

Uesugi Toru touched the Walking Token at his waist — was it exerting its influence again?

Thinking to this point, Uesugi Toru lowered his posture slightly and asked in a calm tone: "Katsumi……"

"Ah! I dare not accept the title 'sir'." Katsumi shook his head, "I'm merely a humble Traveling Merchant; I would be honored if the Walking Adult could call out my full name."

——Just moments ago he was still calling him 'guest', but upon just now seeing the Walking Token at his own waist, he changed his form of address.

Just what kind of identity is this Walker, anyway?

Uesugi Toru pondered for a moment, then asked without further declining: "Katsumi, I came in because I saw that signboard of yours hanging outside — 'Tenka Kibutsu' — but why isn't there a single item in the shop?"

"That is naturally——because a price is needed!"

Katsumi snapped his folding fan open with a slap: "But since you are a Walking Adult, and also the first customer I've encountered since arriving in this unfamiliar area, letting the Adult browse part of the shelves is not out of the question."

Accompanied by a strand of Noh-exclusive yugen background music, the originally empty shelves instantly filled with all manner of strange goods.

There were old mirrors, tattered straw sandals, blood-stained sake cups…… practically a general store of miscellany.

Wait.

Uesugi Toru narrowed his eyes and looked, discovering that each item bore its own name plaque——

【Demon-Reflecting Mirror of Heian-kyo East Gate】

【Hojo Tokiyuki's Straw Sandals】

【Sake Cup Used by Uesugi Kenshin Before His Death】

Mi, miscellaneous goods?! Are these really miscellaneous goods?!

Uesugi Toru continued looking to the side and saw 【Oda Nobunaga's Haori】, 【Yamata no Orochi's Broken Tail】, and even 【Jing Ke's Short Sword Used in the Assassination of the King of Qin】 and such legendary historical and mythical famous objects……

He couldn't help but stammer: "Th-this, how did you get these?"

No way, bro, even the short sword Jing Ke used for the assassination can be obtained — were you standing right there watching at the time?

"Having hung such an arrogant signboard, one naturally must have famous objects worthy of it."

Katsumi's voice was like a smiling fox: "How about it, Walking Adult — is there any you've taken a fancy to?"

——To be honest, I want them all!

Uesugi Toru did not doubt in the slightest that every famous object on these shelves possessed at least Epic, if not Legendary, quality.

Provided they are all authentic, that is.

But then again, although Uesugi Toru doesn't know the specific prices of these famous objects right now, just recalling the price of an ordinary Epic weapon at the Blacksmith Shop makes it clear.

——The prices of these things absolutely run into thousands of Soul Ash, expensive as heaven!

"I see the goods aren't marked with clear prices either; Katsumi, how does your shop sell things?"

"Apologies, apologies! I forgot that point." Katsumi shook his head, "Normally, the yokai encountered in mountain wilds barter with goods, and I assess their value."

"But if it's a Walking Adult, you're bound to possess something like a general equivalent, right?"

Speaking, Katsumi produced a glass bottle filled with black powder from thin air like a magic trick and placed it before Uesugi Toru's eyes.

Uesugi Toru picked up the bottle and examined it closely.

String Hun Xiang Hui? No, that's not right; judging by the look of it, it's more like……Soul Ash.

Uesugi Toru glanced at his current Soul Ash reserve——833 points.

He likewise moved a thought, manifested 100 points of Soul Ash out of thin air in his palm, spread his hands toward Katsumi, and said: "Is it this?"

"Worthy of a Walking Adult!" Katsumi exclaimed in exaggerated fashion, shaking his head and swaying, "Such high-purity Soul Ash — I haven't seen it a few times either."

He raised two pale fingers: "The Adult's Soul Ash, one portion counts as two. This is roughly a hundred-plus portions, so let's call it two hundred portions."

Double usage?

A thought flickered in Uesugi Toru's mind — then can he pick up some good stuff in this shop?

As if seeing through his thoughts, Katsumi chuckled twice: "The uchigatana worn at the Adult's waist, if I guess correctly, should be a replica of Kaga Kiyomitsu's, no? Then I have an item here that matches it extremely well."

Under Uesugi Toru's gaze, Katsumi took out a square piece of silk from under the counter, carefully unfolded it, and revealed the sword tip inside, about the length of a pinky finger.

The sword tip was smooth as a mirror overall, timeless; even the break point had no undulations or burrs, as if it had been forged as only this tiny fragment from the start.

And when he looked toward that small section of sword blade, Uesugi Toru's eyes actually produced a slight stinging pain.

He first froze, immediately his brows suddenly shot up, shock impossible to conceal beneath the mask.

Because the prompt that popped out from this sword tip was shockingly—

【Kaga Kiyomitsu's Sword Tip】!

Legend has it that the Kaga Kiyomitsu wielded by Okita Soji had its tip broken in the Ikedaya battle, the blade suffered multiple scratches, and could never be repaired again; this uchigatana was thus lost in the torrent of history.

Before entering, Uesugi Toru had absolutely not expected that he would actually be able to witness a part of the authentic Kaga Kiyomitsu in such an ordinary-looking general store.

The Kaga Kiyomitsu at his waist emitted a humming vibration, eager to approach that broken sword tip.

(End of Chapter)