Takekawa Yukuma

The core sword technique of the Flame Sakitama is the Falling Cherry Style, and all other skills are derived from it.

Therefore, Yae Sakura must practice this basic sword technique until she can wield it as easily as her own arm.

However, since it was just practice, Yae Sakura did not use her Spirit Blade or the Void; she used an ordinary Muramasa, a Sesshu Muramasa!

After Yae Sakura finished practicing her sword technique, she sheathed her blade.

She took a deep breath. If not for Yae Sakura's constitution, she might not have been able to endure such a long practice session.

By now, the sun in the sky was already quite high.

"Lady Yae, it is time to eat!"

Just as Yae Sakura finished her training, Xia Ji, dressed in a kimono, walked out.

Although Xia Ji's clothes and hair looked a bit disheveled, one could tell at a glance how beautiful she was.

"Mm." Yae Sakura put away her katana and walked over.

The so-called meal was actually just some dry rations of unknown origin that Kikyo had been carrying with her.

One shouldn't expect the taste to be very good.

"Let's rest for a while longer, then we will be on our way!"

Yae Sakura ate a little casually, thinking, Should I... take out the instant noodles and mooncakes the Valkyries gave me to eat?

But these things were collectibles... she had never been able to bring herself to use them, and to eat them now... it felt...

Wouldn't that be a waste of the collection?

"Yes."

Xia Ji nodded obediently.

After breakfast... if it could be called that...

Yae Sakura took Xia Ji and said goodbye to Kikyo.

Having completed the commission, Kikyo had to return to her own village.

At this moment, while Yae Sakura was preparing to send Xia Ji home, on the other side, in the city ruled by Tanihara.

"You bunch of trash! It has been a day, and you still haven't found Lady Xia Ji. If anything happens to her, you can all commit seppuku!"

A warrior clad in heavy armor, with a katana at his waist, looked at the dozen or so samurai below with a livid face.

Takekawa Yukuma, the head retainer under the daimyo Tanihara, possessed the strength to fight against yokai.

As long as it wasn't a Great Yokai, he had the strength to put up a fight.

Xia Ji had been attacked by a yokai on her way home from Kyoto, and there was still no trace of her. This made Takekawa Yukuma, who had always been fond of Xia Ji, extremely angry.

"We don't know either, Lord Takekawa Yukuma."

"We have been trying our best to search for Lady Xia Ji, but who could have predicted that she would encounter a yokai attack?"

The dozen or so samurai searching for Xia Ji could not help but wail.

Retainer samurai could handle bandits, but if it came to yokai, heaven only knew how terrifying those creatures were.

Aside from onmyoji, monks, priests, and shrine maidens, most samurai had no ability to fight against the terror and power of yokai. Only those who had cultivated sword qi had the strength to contend with them.

"Damn yokai. I hope Lady Xia Ji is unharmed."

Takekawa Yukuma could only think this. If something had truly happened to her, he would make these samurai follow her to the grave.

Ordinary samurai were a dime a dozen; slaughtering them would have no impact on Takekawa Yukuma at all.

Daimyo Tanihara would not say anything, nor would he be displeased with Takekawa Yukuma, who was capable of fighting yokai, over a few samurai.

Takekawa Yukuma's expression was extremely gloomy at this moment.

He even began to harbor some resentment toward the ruler of this city, Tanihara Danjo.

Just to gain the help of that lord in Kyoto, he had sent Xia Ji to meet him simply because the other party expressed interest in his daughter.

Although such practices were very common in this era, it still caused Takekawa Yukuma, who had been secretly in love with Xia Ji, to waver in his loyalty to Tanihara.

"A yokai!"

Xia Ji let out a cry of alarm as a ferocious yokai lunged at them madly.

On the way to the city where Xia Ji lived, the wandering souls left behind by human wars had become the most suitable nourishment for yokai.

"Get lost!"

Without drawing her blade, she swung her hand, and a wave of sword qi severed the yokai's head.

"This is the how many-th one? There are quite a lot of yokai today."

Comforting Xia Ji, who was hiding beside her, Yae Sakura looked at the corpse of the yokai on the ground, but she couldn't bring herself to be happy.

Compared to yesterday, there were undoubtedly many more yokai today, but... they were appearing one by one, and Yae Sakura had already lost count of how many she had slain.

She hadn't obtained a single crystal.

That was why Yae Sakura couldn't be happy.

Can't they just come at me all at once?

However... the further they went, the more yokai she discovered.

Moreover, these yokai showed signs of fleeing, as if... they were avoiding a terrifying monster battle.

Something must have happened up ahead.

"Xia Ji, how much longer?"

"Not much longer. We should be there in about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn." Xia Ji gripped Yae Sakura's clothes and answered after thinking for a moment.

"Then let's keep moving..."

Within the territory of Tanihara's city, all the samurai were on high alert, while a large number of monks and priests were providing protection.

This was all because of the clash between two Great Yokai nearby...

In this world, Great Yokai were essentially at the pinnacle of power. Each one possessed the strength to destroy a city and was a natural disaster that humans could not contend with.

"Those damn yokai, why are they fighting near a human city?"

"They've forced us to stay behind closed doors. If we get caught in the crossfire..."

The samurai guarding Tanihara's city were all muttering to themselves, their hearts filled with extreme displeasure... and fear.

The battle between the Great Yokai had caused many lesser yokai to flee, and the samurai were terrified of being caught in the middle. This also increased the workload for the monks and priests.