"All right, I have something serious to discuss with you."
"Hmph. You're completely unserious. What could you possibly have to discuss that's serious?"
Tsukikage Hoshi teased him, but stopped poking him and sat down on the other side, putting some distance between herself and her sister.
Yuguang Kaori found a seat too, facing her younger sister with Fang Cheng between them.
Oni Yunjie poured Fang Cheng a cup of tea. "Ah Cheng, is what you wanted to discuss about Machine City?"
Fang Cheng was a little surprised. It seemed Iron-Cast Palace knew more about Machine City than it let on.
"I did come to Iron-Cast Palace to talk with you about Machine City. But on the way here, I ran into a strange monster..."
He recounted his encounter with Passion Flame Ghost from beginning to end. Of course, there was no need to mention petting the cat; he focused on the information he'd gotten from Passion Flame Ghost.
At first, the three women from Iron-Cast Palace remained calm. But the moment he mentioned that the next competition for the Lord of Ten Thousand Monsters would take place in Hokkaido, all three of them changed color at once.
Even Yuguang Qingxue could imagine the consequences of holding the competition for the Lord of Ten Thousand Monsters in Hokkaido. Oni Yunjie and the others understood them even better.
One wrong move, and Iron-Cast Palace would cease to exist.
"Did that monster say when the competition would begin?"
"No, but since Ghost Cultivation Mountain sent a subordinate to investigate ahead of time, it should be within the next year or two."
Oni Yunjie's expression grew grim, and her hands clenched unconsciously beneath her sleeves.
The Fox sisters were just as worried, and had lost all interest in bickering.
Fang Cheng asked, "You didn't