What Must Come Will Always Come

Gu Mo also noticed something next to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he vaguely saw a flash of red, and more importantly, he felt a tangible warmth.

It was like sitting in front of a roaring fireplace in winter, feeling the heat and warmth radiating from the fire, but without it being too hot or scorching. Instead, it was a comfortable feeling of being surrounded and protected by warmth... He turned his head and, as expected, saw the large fox lying beside him.

It was exactly the same as the one he had seen in the "Treasury" room before. So, the random reward was this?

He actually drew a Guardian Spirit?

Are Golden tier rewards this powerful? Although the description said it was a random reward, and whatever appeared in the "Treasury" when using the key to summon it was completely up to luck, being able to draw a Guardian Spirit...

That means Golden tier rewards are basically things of that level, right?

As expected of a Golden Key and a Golden Treasury, truly full of value!

He had thought that getting a B-tier overall rating was easy, and that he could easily get this rating even by slacking off and not putting in much effort. So, maybe it looked impressive, but it was actually a standard that anyone with hands could achieve, since he had encountered similar things before.

For example, in action games, you can get B or A ratings by just mashing buttons. People who are just starting out might think this is at least an above-average rating, which misleads them into thinking they have some talent.

In reality, it doesn't even count as passing. After all, you'll get a rating as long as you don't just stand there motionless and press the attack button a few times... Anyone with hands can do it, and maybe even without. Because of this, and because he felt that his total damage throughout this whole ordeal wasn't even one percent, Gu Mo thought it might be the same old trick.

But now it seems that might not be the case. After all, if you could get such good things just by casually playing, he'd be laughing in his sleep.

Perhaps this surprise came too suddenly, and Gu Mo's head was a little slow to process it. He blinked, his expression naturally showing nothing, and calmly nodded to Tokichiro by the door: "Thank you, Uncle. I appreciate your trouble."

He seemed very polite, at least he didn't show his confusion at seeing a Guardian Spirit for the first time, making it seem like it was just a common occurrence.

At this moment, the figure of the large fox quietly lying beside him gradually faded, first its outline became transparent, and then it completely disappeared into the air... However, Gu Mo could still feel its presence. It seemed that from just now, he had established a subtle and mysterious connection with it.

This fox was still guarding him, staying close, just hidden and not visible. He had this realization in his heart, and at the same time, an inexplicable sense of security arose.

Perhaps it was a psychological effect, or perhaps it was the influence of the mysterious power brought by the Guardian Spirit. It was like knowing that even in this unfamiliar environment, alone in a foreign land, he would always have a friend by his side from now on.

Although this friend was silent and others couldn't see it, it was almost like talking to thin air...

But he knew it was definitely there and would silently continue to assist him in his future actions, accompanying him on his path.

"Oh, why are you calling me Uncle? I'm not that old yet..."

At this moment, watching the fox-like Guardian Spirit disappear, Tokichiro came back to his senses, his mouth twitching a few times. He tried hard to defend himself:

"I'm actually still very young, not even thirty yet this year. I just look a bit mature, so don't call me Uncle..."

"Okay, Uncle. Got it, Uncle."

Gu Mo had always been someone who accepted good advice quickly and could rapidly adopt others' correct opinions. He gathered his thoughts, knowing that now was not the time to be distracted by the Guardian Spirit issue. He nodded to show he understood, while also asking the corresponding question—

"Then how should I address you, Uncle?"

At the same time, he wondered in his heart, saying "not even thirty yet" means almost thirty, right?

It seemed that was indeed the case. He sized up the man in front of him. The other person's face looked a bit mature, and his beard and hair bun were clearly meticulously groomed, but he still didn't have much of a heroic feel. Instead, he looked somewhat cunning, like he had shifty eyes.

Hmm, no wonder he's called Monkey. There's definitely that vibe between his eyebrows and eyes...

However, in normal history, he didn't know Tokichiro's exact age at this time, but he should indeed still be very young. Gu Mo thought seriously, but unfortunately, when he played the game, he only learned some information about Hidechiyo.

Of course, since this Dungeon world wasn't based on normal history, but had a considerable degree of magical alteration, it couldn't be generalized, and some discrepancies weren't surprising.

"Heh heh, you can just call me Tokichiro, or you can call me Monkey. People who are familiar with me all call me that. As you can see, that's how it is..."

Tokichiro came up to him and didn't mind the mess on the ground. He just plopped down, setting down the large and small bags he was carrying, and said with a chuckle. As the bags bumped into each other, they made some crisp sounds, and some gold and silver colors peeked out from the seemingly intentionally untied openings.

Gu Mo casually glanced at them and didn't pay any more attention. Instead, he looked behind Tokichiro. As the latter spoke, a few golden lights gathered on his shoulder, and a shimmering golden ape poked its head out, staring intently at the young man opposite him.

It didn't have the usual restlessness of an ape, but instead exuded a sense of aloof divinity. This was Tokichiro's Guardian Spirit. He had been making a living selling Spirit Stones, and he didn't know when the Divine Ape had possessed him.

"That's right, that's how it is. So many people also just call me Monkey. If you find it convenient, you can call me that too..."

Observing Gu Mo's expression, Tokichiro was slightly surprised to find that the other party seemed completely indifferent to the gold and silver in the bags, but he still said with a smiling face.

—This Guardian Spirit, whose appearance resembles an ape, is Sanno Gongen, enshrined at Hiyoshi Taisha. Its divine messenger is known by the name "Divine Ape."

Because of the protection of this Guardian Spirit, Tokichiro not only escaped danger many times in this era of war, protecting him from Yokai and the ravages of war, but also gave this man greater ambitions. After all, not everyone can receive the protection of a Guardian Spirit. Whether they are Wa-Spirits or Aragami, in the Shinto animistic worldview, they can be said to be "deities."

Without anything special about them, ordinary people naturally wouldn't have the "protection" of "deities" and receive this kind of exclusive VIP one-on-one service.

It was precisely after understanding these things that Tokichiro, unwilling to spend his entire life simply selling Spirit Stones, believed that he was also naturally extraordinary and should not continue to be confined to the mundane aspects of life, but should begin to pursue poetry and the distant future. In short, he wanted to achieve something great...

Moreover, he didn't just impulsively decide that he could accomplish things alone, so he also began to try to find like-minded individuals who could mutually benefit each other.

However, truly capable people were not so easy to find. Either they had already made a name for themselves and were no longer people he could easily reach, or they were indeed capable but, since they hadn't come to the fore, often truly didn't have that kind of ambition and were difficult to persuade to debut together.

So, after wandering around for some time, Tokichiro hadn't found a suitable partner until he came to this area recently—

He heard that there was a very famous demon slayer living locally who was very skilled, so he became interested and wanted to see for himself. He also happened to discover that Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village was plagued by Yokai, so he simply sent out an invitation...

Although there were some twists and turns along the way, for example, he sent out an invitation, arrogantly saying that he would wait under the night cherry blossoms, but then went off fishing somewhere in the middle and didn't return until dawn after the entire village had been cleared out... But the result was indeed very satisfying to him, even surprising.

This was no longer just extraordinary skill. After all, terrifying Yokai like the Ox-Head Demon and the Horse-Headed Demon were not easy for even the army to handle, but they were cleanly and decisively dealt with...

And it wasn't just one demon slayer, but two!

Moreover, both of them were people protected by "deities." By all appearances, they were naturally extraordinary people destined to achieve great things and become incredibly noble in the future!

This is great, these are the best partners I've been looking for!

Tokichiro suppressed the excitement in his heart and didn't impatiently state his request. Instead, he first pushed the small bag he was holding towards them and said with a chuckle: "I found some food, but it's all dry rations, sorry. Please make do with it for now... You've worked hard tonight."

"Hmm, not hard at all, not hard at all. I didn't do much work the whole time..."

Gu Mo glanced at it and saw that the clean cloth bag indeed contained some coarse dry food. Since he wasn't hungry at all right now, he naturally wasn't interested, and just answered casually.

What he said was true. From beginning to end, he had just been coasting. Although there was a thrilling little incident in the latter half, other than that, there was nothing particularly noteworthy. He was just a hanger-on following a big shot.

However, to Tokichiro's ears, it was a completely different story—

The man first froze for a moment, didn't exert much effort? After he reacted, he immediately smiled even more eagerly. Indeed, this is a true expert! Killing ordinary Yokai was already something most samurai couldn't do, let alone defeating such a powerful Yokai, and without even needing to "exert much effort."

Listen to that, that's the confidence of a powerful person!

Tokichiro was beaming. He glanced at the black-haired girl sleeping quietly beside him. If he could get the help of these two, he would surely be like a tiger with wings, and would definitely achieve great things in this chaotic world!

He took a deep breath and looked at the large and small bags on the ground. Those were things he had just rummaged for in the village ruins. They included some valuable items, jewelry, and a small amount of gold, silver, or gems. After all, Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village was so prosperous in the past, and the villagers naturally accumulated a lot of wealth.

Moreover, it was destroyed because of Yokai trouble, not because it was massacred and looted by mountain bandits and horse bandits, leaving nothing behind. Most Yokai were not interested in wealth.

Since they were ownerless items, if he didn't take them, others would. Tokichiro naturally wouldn't give up. He needed money to accomplish great things... Originally, his idea was to directly give these assets to the other party, promise them benefits, and pull them onto his bandwagon.

But now, he gave up that idea. To impress someone like this, vulgar methods wouldn't work. He had already noticed that the other party was genuinely not very concerned about this.

Taking a deep breath and trying to gather his thoughts, Tokichiro looked at the young man across from him and spoke loudly, "Right, speaking of which, I haven't asked for your names yet."

"My name is Gu Mo, and she is Hidechiyo," the young man answered calmly.

"Huh? You... are you a Ming Person?"

Tokichiro's eyes widened in surprise, and he blurted out.

"...Yes."

Gu Mo was silent for a moment, then nodded. He was thinking about the question and felt that he should also be considered a Ming Person, although he wasn't from this world at all.

Opening his mouth, Tokichiro, who was excitedly about to ask further questions, stopped himself in time. His heart was full of curiosity, but he misunderstood Gu Mo's silence just now. He thought the other party's silence was because he remembered something bad and didn't want to discuss such things, perhaps there was some unspeakable secret—

It would be too insensitive of him to press the matter.

"Ahem, so that's how it is, I was wondering..."

He let out a few awkward laughs, his gaze lingering on the other party's strange attire. Tokichiro wanted to skip this topic, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Just then, he saw the black-haired girl behind Gu Mo seemed to be waking up, slowly sitting up in a daze. He quickly asked—

"By the way, have you two always been partners? I heard from people nearby that there's a very powerful monster slayer in this area, I didn't realize there were actually two of you..."

"...Yes, Axiu and I have always been great partners."

Gu Mo blinked and nodded decisively, admitting, "We've been working together for many years."

He knew that once you told one lie, you had to keep lying to make it work, which was unavoidable. But fortunately, when he had misled Hidechiyo before, Tokichiro didn't know where he was, and when Tokichiro asked about it now, Hidechiyo was temporarily unconscious.

Although things didn't go as planned, in the ideal scenario, he would have cleared the Dungeon and run away, he still had to face all of this. But at least he wouldn't be exposed on the spot, and he could still play both sides.

And saying that wasn't wrong either. The span in the game was a full sixty years, and he and Axiu had indeed worked together for sixty years... he consoled himself.

"I see..." Tokichiro looked at the young girl behind the young man, who was probably just waking up and seemed a bit slow to react. He nodded enviously and sighed, "Then your relationship must be very close."

"Yes, Axiu is a very special and important person to me..."

Gu Mo nodded repeatedly. She was the heroine he had created with his own hands. In a sense, he had participated in her entire life.