Chapter 94

Uesugi Toru had just been wondering in Edo Castle whether the Homeless Ones would come running out following the undulating waves, and in the next moment he actually saw two of them on his own balcony.

"But even so, they shouldn't have precisely landed on the balcony..."

Uesugi Toru was speechless; could his house be some place where Yin Qi gathers, a location with the ultimate terrible Feng Shui?

Wait, that doesn't seem impossible.

Just yesterday a Cow Oni was gnawed to bits by his old man, and now Homeless Ones have come; in a few more days, will those two brothers White Bone and Wax Figure come straight to the doorstep too?

He pondered for a moment, then decided to tell Nanjo Sister about this situation later, and have her find a Yin-Yang Technique expert Big Hand to come take a look at what's going on.

Although this might lead to the "balcony monster spawn point" being destroyed, Uesugi Toru isn't the type to be greedy for such petty gains.

He doesn't want to wake up every time and see his home in a chaos of demons dancing wildly.

If one day his old man fails to hold the line, the one lying in bed exploring Chang Shi might be the one sent off.

When Uesugi Toru focused his gaze again, he was shocked to discover that those two Homeless Ones had already been pinned to the ground by his old man in those few seconds, and he had started gnawing on them big time.

As the Oni old man gnawed, those two Homeless Ones let out "gulugulu" sounds of bubbling blood.

Fortunately, this kind of Yokai descending from Chang Shi doesn't leave much trace after death, otherwise Uesugi Toru would have a headache over the house's hygiene.

Uesugi Toru closed the window and thought: "This is too useless; they're this weak and still dare to howl at my old man?"

Moreover, he discovered those two Homeless Ones seemed to have dropped no Equipment Items at all, pure paupers indeed.

He fetched a pair of headphones, and Uesugi Toru released the mute plug he had pressed into Nanjo Ai's mouth: "Hey hey, Nanjo Sister still there?"

Nanjo Ai had no dissatisfaction at being insta-muted; instead she immediately asked: "What happened?"

So Uesugi Toru recounted in detail what had just happened, plus his own guesses about the Homeless Ones' condition after the Wave Coming.

Naturally, Uesugi Toru didn't reveal anything about Chang Shi traversal.

He also swapped the Oni old man's role with himself — Nanjo Ai vaguely discovering the Oni old man's existence and him personally admitting it are two different things.

"I understand." Nanjo Ai's tone was rarely serious, "Regardless of whether the guess is correct, I first represent the entire Special Affairs Division in thanking you."

"No need for that, just send more commissions to confirm Yokai existence."

Uesugi Toru brought out the excuse he had thought up not long ago: "I just entered the Corona Breathing Technique yesterday, my hands are honestly a bit itchy."

He didn't emphasize "high-star commissions" but "confirm Yokai existence", because Uesugi Toru really doesn't want to make a trip for nothing.

Originally there were only a few hours until the next entry into Chang Shi; earning a bit less Soul Ash doesn't matter, the key is not to Waste Time.

"Simple." After hearing this, Nanjo Ai added a reminder, "Also, don't go telling everyone you cultivated a Breathing Technique; this thing, if you don't say it no one will care, but if you say too much, your little girlfriend will probably have a hard time too."

Uesugi Toru was helpless: "Shizuku isn't my girl... forget it, as long as Nanjo Sister is happy."

"Then I'll still have Mami come pick you up to go to the Place, she'll explain the specific details to you——"

Halfway through, Nanjo Ai's voice suddenly stopped, followed by several unfamiliar and familiar voices coming through the headphones, making it quite noisy.

After a good while, she spoke again,

"Uh, your little girlfriend says she wants to come too, let me ask what you think."

Huh?

Uesugi Toru was shocked; it's past two in the dawn and Shizuku actually still doesn't sleep?

You know, Shizuku isn't like him yesterday, consecutively entering Breathing Techniques, breaking through Tennen Rishin-ryu and gaining a full 6 points of Constitution, and she even cultivated for so long while guiding him...

He subconsciously said: "Does she not want her life anymore."

Immediately Uesugi Toru realized Nanjo Ai was still holding the phone, he coughed twice: "I was talking about Shizuku."

A moment later, Nanjo Ai relayed: "She says she's researching how many hours to sleep and how many times a day is most helpful for cultivation, telling you not to worry."

This time, Uesugi Toru truly didn't know what to reply.

Research Sleep Technique... she really manages to come up with it.

"——So, Uesugi-kun, your answer?"

"How many stars commission?"

"One star."

The answer was self-evident.

……

The bread van arrived opposite his house forty minutes later.

Uesugi Toru glanced at his old man, discovering the old man was still on the balcony chewing slowly, having eaten for so long there was still a bone-thin thigh left, truly not wasteful.

When going out, Uesugi Toru couldn't help but half Look back again.

——He seemed to feel the Oni old man's Qi had changed compared to the beginning; although it couldn't be called an Obvious increase, it was definitely stronger than at the start.

Could it be the Oni old man gets stronger just by eating Yokai?

If that's really the case, then maybe him wanting to eat Uesugi Toru is just a pretext, and his real purpose is actually guarding the balcony monster spawner cage waiting for new Yokai drops...

Raising the Oni old man to a higher star would be Troublesome, but having the Special Affairs Division people dispose of the old man just like that would be too Wasteful.

Inexplicable guesses messed up Uesugi Toru's thoughts.

To the point that when he opened the door and got in the car, he didn't even notice he had plopped down right into Shizuku's lap, who had been sitting in the seat with eyes closed waiting.

"Pfft——"

Shizuku with closed eyes almost didn't get sat on until she couldn't breathe by Uesugi Toru's plop.

She circulated her Breathing Technique and barely caught her breath, pausing several seconds before saying: "Uesugi-kun, this is attempted murder, if you don't like me you can just say it."

Uesugi Toru was rare-ly a bit embarrassed: "Misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding."

He suggested: "Shizuku, if you don't mind you can also sit back."

Shizuku had said this to him before, so him saying it now doesn't count as Offense.

Shizuka Mafuyu in the driver's seat went "Hmm?" in her heart, glanced at the Rear View Mirror, thinking the young couple plays quite wild, but they wouldn't really do it in front of an Outsider like her...

Shizuka Mafuyu's thought hadn't landed, when she saw Shizuku say "okay", and then without a word directly drop a Mount Tai Presses Top onto Uesugi Toru's lap.

Uesugi Toru immediately blacked out: "Pfft—!"

Even though his Constitution far surpassed Shizuku's, he couldn't withstand her precise knowledge of the junction points during Qi Circulation.

Sitting down there, Uesugi Toru was sure to choke.

Shizuku, leaning on Uesugi Toru's shoulder, turned her head and smiled: "Alright, now we're Even out."

Witnessing all this, Shizuka Mafuyu said nothing, only gripping the Steering Wheel tightly.

It hardened, his fist hardened.

——Damn it, why had he still never dated by the time he was about to graduate university, cramming test papers in middle and high school, researching topics in university, and once he started working at the Special Affairs Division, those damn things occupied almost all his off-hours every day.

Although this was Shizuka Mafuyu's own choice, she also knew it would lead to this Consequence.

But... why did it hurt so much!?

End of Chapter