Chapter 93

Silence.

Uesugi Toru's voice was particularly clear in the street where yokai did not exist, yet the courtyard remained utterly silent; even after he waited a minute or two, no one opened the door.

He lowered his head again to look at the broken Walking Token in his hand, discovering that it was indeed still glowing.

He hadn't knocked on the wrong door.

"So, the courtyard owner is unwilling to open the door?"

As expected, this Identity Promotion Mission wasn't as easy to do as imagined.

It turned out the mission introduction had played a simple game of hidden information with him.

Namely, the objective was to deliver the Token to the Sword Saint, but it didn't say whether the Sword Saint was actually willing to accept this Token.

Uesugi Toru waited a while longer, but did not knock or shout again pointlessly — that would only make the courtyard owner's already small probability of opening the door become even more minuscule.

It might even anger the other party, causing them to rush out and slash him, Token and person together, in one slash, directly leading to mission failure.

Uesugi Toru silently walked away.

—Troublesome. Does he really have to figure out the courtyard owner's identity first and then prescribe the right remedy?

Temporarily putting away the Token, Uesugi Toru added ascertaining the courtyard owner's identity to his to-do list.

But the top priority right now was still to find more easy-to-deal-with small monsters to obtain Soul Ash, like wandering Samurai who would rush forward to cross swords even when perceiving an enemy stronger than themselves.

But even though he was already two to three hundred meters away from the courtyard's range of influence, Uesugi Toru still hadn't discovered this kind of yokai.

However, he had seen powerful yokai similar to Jorogumo and Sōgen Fire more than once, but charging at them would have no choice other than delivering his head.

"Why not try withdrawing the incarnation and attempt fishing?"

Uesugi Toru thought it and did it.

He turned back into a blank Stranger Soul, put away the Hooded Coat and Kaga Kiyomitsu, and just like that swaggered down the four-directions-eight-roads streets in the state of an incomparably delectable Stranger Soul.

Naturally, upon perceiving powerful yokai Uesugi Toru would still promptly avoid them……

Here they come.

Uesugi Toru's eyes sharpened, hearing several pattering sounds of feet stepping in mud.

This sound was scattered and loud, utterly lacking discipline and fundamentals, as if afraid no one would hear it.

"So, they're Homeless Ones?"

He looked back, seeing three ragged Homeless Ones burst out from behind a Gassho-style House.

Two Half-Stars, one One-Star.

And none of them held a sharp weapon; the two Half-Stars held damp wooden sticks, while the One-Star held a curled piece of armor.

"Truly pathetic……"

Uesugi Toru clicked his tongue. No wonder these three hid in the house; only upon seeing this "unarmed" fat sheep pass by did they dare rush out in a fluster.

With this lineup, any random wandering Samurai could kill all three without taking damage.

"Let's first try to see if we can get some useful information out of them." Uesugi Toru gripped the Kaga Kiyomitsu that appeared out of thin air, "Although it's unlikely, if we could learn information related to the courtyard owner, that would be a huge gain."

He used the Breathing Technique and spoke in a deep voice: "Hey, you three."

"Huh!?"

The three Homeless Ones were violently startled, and instantly, the three gaunt faces simultaneously revealed incomparably greedy, idiotic grins.

"Stranger Soul! It's a stray Stranger Soul!"

"Heehee, it's even a Stranger Soul with self-awareness; eating this one will definitely let us live several more months…… ah, saying that reminds me of that child from a few weeks ago, the child's flavor was truly fresh."

"Less nonsense, hurry up and strip him and suck his soul dry!"

The One-Star Homeless One had drool flowing from the corner of his mouth; his skin-and-bones face erupted with unprecedented appetite: "Don't run! Don't run! Let me have a good taste of your tender little man's flavor!"

Turns out he'd already been treated as the fatty meat on the platter.

Uesugi Toru wordlessly passed over the three faces, frowning at the intense desire gushing forth from them.

In their state of such massive desire erupting, his hand-blade after incarnating as Prajna could probably compare in sharpness with Kaga Kiyomitsu.

How to communicate like this.

He recalled the two previous groups of Homeless Ones he'd seen were also like this, charging at powerful yokai; they probably grow bolder the more numerous they are.

Now there are only three, so they only dare move against this kind of frail "Stranger Soul".

"A pack of mad dogs."

Abandoning the idea of communicating with them, Uesugi Toru shook his head, and incarnated as Prajna before their eyes.

In an instant, the Homeless Ones who glimpsed the Rakshasa Visage fell into a state of intense shock, unable to move.

Uesugi Toru blanked for a moment; this was the first time a same-star yokai had looked at his face and immediately stood at attention — a rare situation.

These Homeless Ones are really too weak.

Could this be the "vagrants" of Chang Shi?

Thinking like this, their previous behavior of screaming about eating people and launching suicidal attacks at those yokai could be explained clearly.

Because if they didn't eat something soon, they would all starve to death.

Who knows how many Stranger Souls similar to himself these guys ate on the escape route……

After waiting a full ten-odd seconds, the One-Star Homeless One finally showed signs of being able to move.

But his first sentence upon waking was actually shouted with a twisted expression: "Eat you! Eat you eat you! If I eat you I'll be able to survive!"

Uesugi Toru's impulse to question them was successfully blocked back again.

He clicked his tongue displeasedly, swinging Kaga Kiyomitsu.

Three heads engraved with greed and ferocity hit the ground.

Prompt popped up——

【You killed Half-Star Grudge "Homeless Ones" ×2, gained 17 Soul Ash!】

【You killed a One-Star Grudge "Homeless One," gained 21 Soul Ash!】

The shortest prompt in history stayed before Uesugi Toru's eyes; the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, but he said nothing more.

All that could be said was that the drop matched its power level—being able to explode Soul Ash was already a success compared to those yaochi.

But Uesugi Toru suddenly thought of a question.

——There were so many Homeless Ones that he had seen three or four waves just along the way here, and they liked to actively launch attacks.

So why hadn't he discovered them when he came to Edo Castle before?

"Is this a phenomenon in Chang Shi, or is it related to the First Wave?"

The former was fine to say, but if it was the latter...

With the Homeless Ones' average low strength and this huge number, they could absolutely be brought to Genjitsu batch by batch by the ever-intensifying wave over time.

And there was one more thing—Uesugi Toru could almost not sense any Yao Mo Qi from them; only by seeing them with his own eyes could he confirm these guys were not living people.

If they arrived, they would definitely make the Special Affairs Division, already under maximum pressure, become flustered and overwhelmed.

"A time of troubles..."

Fortunately, he had discovered this early; telling Rituna Minami a word would allow the Special Affairs Division to prepare for it.

Slap.

The sound of footsteps stepping in mud came from behind him.

"Huh?!"

Uesugi Toru suddenly turned his head—how had he not noticed the other person until their footsteps were right behind his back!?

"——It's actually Hannya, Hannya."

A frivolous, deep voice came from behind; the big man with braided hair and white eyes laughed, shouldering a naginata over two meters long, "But this Hannya of yours seems a bit different from the usual kind."

Uesugi Toru faced him and found that this big man seemed completely unaffected by his Ghost God Might.

Very strong.

Even without exchanging blows, just from the other's stance and some tiny details, Uesugi Toru could tell this white-eyed big man was far stronger than himself.

A samurai in Edo Castle, casually wearing cloth clothes, dared to walk around anywhere and was far stronger than him—

【Wax Figure (Three-Star Half)】

The status window popping up above the other's head confirmed Uesugi Toru's thought.

He placed his hand on the sword hilt: "Sir, are you Wax Figure?"

"Oh oh! A Hannya that can still talk, how rare!" The big man named Wax Figure exaggeratedly spread his five fingers, scratching wildly in the air.

Wax Figure grinned: "If I can take your rare head back, the boss would probably be surprised too."

It seemed he couldn't run away.

But he didn't care at all that I knew his name—was it pure indifference, or were these three people's names already widely known?

Uesugi Toru showed no weakness, coldly snorting: "The one standing here is merely a clone I used to scout Edo Castle, Mr. Wax Figure; you'd better think about the consequences before attacking me."

Who would have thought Wax Figure not only didn't show a fearful expression, but instead licked his mouth excitedly: "A clone? Interesting, interesting."

He slowly raised his naginata, speaking in terror: "If I kill you here, will your main body come hunt me down? Oh, I'm so scared..."

"Just kidding."

Wax Figure composed his expression, pointing the rain-dripping blade tip at Uesugi Toru: "If the main body is Ghost God Level, then come find this Grandpa."

"——This Grandpa has long wanted to fight a Ghost God to the death!"

The incomparably wide naginata fell along with the incomparably excited words, occupying all of Uesugi Toru's vision like a falling moon.

He couldn't dodge, no matter what, he couldn't dodge.

Uesugi Toru's instinct told him so, making him quickly abandon the idea of creating distance to regroup.

A surging, scorching airflow spurted from his mouth and nose, bringing Uesugi Toru's bodily functions to their peak in an instant.

Corona Breathing Technique, Fifth Form!

Wrist turned, gripping the sword hilt tightly.

Draw.

A blade as cold as moonlight slid out of the sword sheath, striking the middle section of the naginata's blade before it landed on his neck, shaking it so hard it couldn't move.

Strike first after moving later!

——Tennen Rishin-ryu Iaijutsu·Komae Battotsu!

"Good swordsmanship!"

Wax Figure's tiger's mouth shook, and he didn't hold back his praise: "But unfortunately, this strength is too weak for this Grandpa!"

He stepped forward heavily, using absolutely dominant force to hard-knock Kaga Kiyomitsu's blade aside, then, while Uesugi Toru's new strength had not yet arisen, slashed down in one strike!

The naginata cut through Hannya like cutting butter, almost slicing Uesugi Toru into two pieces in one strike.

Wax Figure easily whistled, shook the hot blood off the naginata, and shouldered it again.

"Oh? The corpse really disappeared... what this Hannya said was actually true."

Gazing at Uesugi Toru who had vanished before his eyes after falling, Wax Figure couldn't help but grin,

"The coming days might not be so boring."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Uesugi Toru opened his eyes on the bed, touched his intact chest and abdomen, and exhaled lightly.

With Zanshin assisting to stabilize his spirit, the burden of death on his spirit had indeed become not so heavy.

If it were in the past, after this strike, with his five viscera and six organs bursting with juice, this brand-new way of dying would have taken him at least five or six minutes to recover.

Now he could accept it and calm down in just a few seconds.

Recalling his previous exchange with the wax figure, Uesugi Toru couldn't help but reveal a faint smile.

He still remembered that the previous two times, whether facing the Direction Shi or the White Bones, he had been completely powerless to resist and was beheaded in a single slash.

But this time, he had actually been able to draw his sword and exchange a slash with a Three-Star Half wax figure, even while the other side struck first.

Even though the star rating of Laughing Prajna had not changed, Uesugi Toru considered himself to have grown far, far stronger.

"But it's still not enough……"

Also being Three-Star Half, Ai Parting Li would only be stronger than the wax figure, more bizarre and unpredictable.

He also needed to find a way to draw the Three-Tailed Fox Incarnation as soon as possible.

Uesugi Toru glanced at his Soul Ash reserve—exactly 700 points.

The Soul Ash gap to buy those arm guards and do another Ten-Pull was a full 800 points; even counting the Ushi-oni no Kiba and Bushi Osode he planned to sell, he still needed at least 700 points.

In short, he still lacked Soul Ash.

But his two opportunities to explore Chang Shi today had already been used up.

Uesugi Toru wasn't very sleepy now; the scene of clashing with the wax figure lingered in his mind, refusing to fade.

Since that was the case, he might as well ask Rituna Minami to find him some commissions.

Considering the deep dark circles under Shizuka Mafuyu's eyes that he had seen today, Uesugi Toru still didn't call her.

He called Rituna Minami, but before he could even turn on the speakerphone, the call connected.

Uesugi Toru checked the current time.

Two in the morning.

Rituna Minami's weak and listless voice came through: "Working overtime. If you have business, present it; if not, withdraw."

Uesugi Toru: "Nanjo Sister, give me some spiritual commissions. You must have a countless number of similar cases piled up right now, right?"

After two seconds of silence on the other end, Rituna Minami's nearly frantic voice came through: "Dozens of calls come to the police station every day claiming spiritual events, but fewer than one-tenth are real! I really can't take it—I can't ignore them, but if I handle them all, we don't have enough manpower!"

"Can't they be handed over to the police to verify first?"

Rituna Minami sighed: "Other Minor Officers do that……but if they encounter a slightly more powerful yokai, they'll die. Why make one worker make things difficult for another worker?"

Uesugi Toru helplessly: "Nanjo Sister, you're too soft-hearted. The First Wave will arrive soon enough, and eventually they'll have to face yokai too."

The sound of a lighter flickering came from the other end of the phone; it seemed Rituna Minami was lighting a cigarette.

"Maybe," she said dully.

Uesugi Toru paused, then continued: "Coincidentally, I have something to tell you."

But before he could relay the intelligence about the Homeless Ones, he heard a series of terrifying howls coming from the balcony.

"What's wrong?" Rituna Minami asked.

Uesugi Toru didn't reply; he temporarily muted his mobile phone and quietly poked his head out from the window.

His forehead twitched slightly.

Because two ragged Homeless Ones were standing on his home's balcony, facing off against the Menuki old ghost.

This chapter is a double release, still three updates, please subscribe and vote for monthly tickets!





End of Chapter