This is a Win-Win!

Just as Tokichiro said, he could indeed speak with Saito Dosan, the ruler of Mino Province.

Although this connection was established through selling Spirit Stones in the past, it also showed that he did have some extraordinary qualities. Otherwise, Saito Dosan wouldn't have thought highly of him... In this era, not just any merchant could meet the lord of a city or province whenever they wanted.

Shortly after sending someone to announce them, the group of three was quickly summoned and headed towards the white three-story, five-tiered Tenshu. The Viper of Mino was waiting for them on the top floor.

"Lord Dosan is still very imposing. Although he might be getting a bit older in recent years and has started cultivating his character, you should also know his nickname..." Tokichiro followed the servant leading the way, while softly lowering his voice to instruct the two behind him, "So it's best to act respectfully, at least don't lose your manners."

"Yes, yes, understood..."

Gu Mo followed the group ahead, nodding repeatedly like a pecking chicken while curiously looking around, examining the interior decoration of the Tenshu.

This was the tallest, most important, and most representative part of a Japanese castle, serving as a lookout and command post, and also one of the symbols of feudal power. However, he had only heard of it before and never seen it. He never expected his first visit wouldn't be with a tour group...

—But under these circumstances...

—Precisely coming to this corresponding historical period...

He felt a sense of wonder, and an inexpressible excitement, as if every cell in his body was rejoicing. This was partly because of everything before him, but not entirely. There was also the anticipation of the magnificent landscapes of other worlds in the future.

If there were no accidents, each Dungeon would be a new world waiting for him to explore, full of the unknown and adventure...

Ancient and modern, foreign lands and mountains, fantasy and reality, history and mythology... and so on, there was no end to it.

How could this not make him feel excited and overjoyed?

Ah, indeed! Compared to the boring and lifeless reality, this kind of magnificent and magical experience was much more interesting! Thinking of this, a thought couldn't help but flash through Gu Mo's mind, and some of the doubts and unease in his heart instantly vanished like smoke, no longer existing, allowing the furrow between his brows to relax considerably.

Because he originally had a somewhat "broken pot, broken mentality" attitude. After all, when he woke up, he was already very far from Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village, and it was unrealistic to leave, so he could only accept the facts.

But in the end, it was still inevitable to have a trace of concern in his heart, such as worrying about the time flow ratio in the real world while he was in the Dungeon world, worrying about how long it would take to return, and worrying about the various troubles he might face after returning...

However, at this moment, his mind suddenly cleared. Since some things were already set in stone, no matter how much he dwelled on them, they wouldn't change. Whatever trouble he might face after returning, that was something to deal with later. Focusing on his current situation was more important.

—Besides, it might not be that much trouble. As long as he wasn't missing for too, too long, there might not be anyone who even noticed.

People should have self-awareness. Not that many people care about you every day, constantly paying attention to your movements. Even good friends, under the high intensity and fast pace of modern society, don't have that much time and energy. Often, they can only occasionally connect after a period of time.

Tokichiro didn't know that his new partner had suddenly understood some things and his mindset had become much more open because of it. He just looked back with some worry and immediately became troubled.

Did this new partner listen to what he was saying? Although he nodded and agreed seemingly readily, just responding with "yes, yes" seemed a bit perfunctory.

Moreover, looking at the other party's appearance of curiously looking around, it seemed that he didn't have much reverence for a place like the Tenshu, being as casual as those flower-viewing tourists Tokichiro had seen in the past... Should he say that he was bold because of his skill, or something else?

He had thought that compared to Axiu, who hadn't seen much of the world, this Ming Person would be more steady and generous. However, it seemed the situation was completely the opposite. Axiu was clearly the quiet one, not looking around.

Tokichiro's face was troubled, and he wanted to say something more to remind him, such as about Lord Dosan's temper, personality, methods, etc. After all, those in high positions are unpredictable in their moods and should not be taken lightly. But he looked at the servant leading the way and didn't know what to say.

He couldn't possibly speak ill of the master in front of his servant. If he did that, not to mention whether his partner could do well next, he himself would likely not have a good outcome.

Hopefully, things would go smoothly later, or Lord Dosan would be more tolerant and not get angry...

"This is it. Please wait a moment, everyone. Lord Dosan will be here shortly."

The servant leading the way finally stopped, pulled open the door at the end of the corridor, and with lowered gaze, extended his hand towards the dimly lit Japanese-style room inside, making a "please" gesture to the people behind him.

The three silently walked in one after another, and then heard the sound of the door closing behind them.

The light in the room became dim again.

Of course, it might also be a misconception caused by his habits... Gu Mo looked at the candle holders on both sides of the room. The candlelight was burning quietly, emitting a stable and soft glow, illuminating this enclosed space to some extent. Perhaps in the eyes of people of this era, this was already very bright lighting.

However, after experiencing the baptism of light pollution in later generations, not to mention indoors, he couldn't even see the stars outdoors. In his opinion, this level of lighting...

Emmm, it has a great atmosphere, very suitable for telling ghost stories.

Time passed in silence, minute by minute. After looking around for a while, Gu Mo realized there wasn't much to see.

There wasn't much in the room. Besides the bronze candle holders on both sides emitting a soft glow, there was only a Buddha statue enshrined at the head and a few calligraphies and paintings hanging on the wall behind it. However, the light was so dim that he couldn't see what they were.

He wasn't so rude as to stand up at this time and get closer to examine them carefully. Instead, he slightly tilted his head and looked at Hidechiyo, who was kneeling gracefully beside him, appreciating the girl's proper sitting posture. After spending the past two days together, he no longer felt awkward or didn't want to face Axiu—

Because the girl seemed to truly not care after the fact and had no intention of pursuing it, he naturally felt relieved.

At most, he was still a little awkward, but it was no longer a big problem.

He watched for a while, and then Hidechiyo finally seemed to sense something and raised her eyebrows, turning her head to look at him with some confusion. Gu Mo showed a smiling expression and lightly pointed a finger at her face, seemingly indicating something.

"..."

"..."

Although her face was still covered, making it impossible to see her exact expression, it was still clear that Hidechiyo's body seemed to stiffen.

Should she take off her face covering?

She still felt a bit at a loss. After all, she had long been accustomed to living alone and not interacting with anyone. She only dealt with people occasionally when accepting monster-slaying commissions, and she always went with her face covered... If she accidentally let someone see her true face, that was fine, and she didn't care much.

But deliberately lowering her face covering and interacting with people normally, this kind of thing was still somewhat strange and uncomfortable for the girl.

However, after hesitating for a moment, she sighed silently and gently removed the face covering from her face, revealing a face as exquisite as a doll, but her expression seemed very flat, even a little cold...

Of course, it wasn't that she was cold or aloof by nature. The main reason was that she didn't know what kind of expression to show at this time, so she subconsciously tensed her small face and pursed her lips, which made it easy for people to mistake it for a cold and distant expression.

Gu Mo was not too surprised, after all, he already knew what Hidechiyo looked like. So at this moment, he just blinked his eyes, looking at this very familiar girl in front of him, completing the final confirmation. She was indeed almost completely consistent with the impression he had personally created in his mind.

Black hair, tear mole, red eyes...

All the features were identical.

However, the first time Tokichiro saw him, he wasn't so composed. He froze completely, so shocked he almost couldn't recover. He had never seen such a beautiful girl before, and he even felt that the daughters and princesses of the court nobles probably weren't any more exquisite.

After a long while, he turned his head, looking dazed, and stared straight at Gu Mo, as if he wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth several times without success.

Is this what it means to be a winner in life? Truly enviable!

But right at that moment—

"Hahahaha, the monkey's here again, huh? Haven't seen you in a few months; I thought you'd died somewhere..." A hearty laugh accompanied footsteps echoing from the corridor outside the door. The next moment, the door to the room opened, and a sturdy, bald figure strode in.

With a start, Tokichiro immediately snapped back to attention, casting aside all the emotions he'd just felt. His face, almost as a reflex, showed the fawning, ingratiating expression of a small-time figure.

"How could that be, Lord Dosan? I've been traveling all over during this time, following your instructions. I wouldn't dare leave this world without completing the tasks you assigned. It doesn't matter if I die, but I'd hate to delay your affairs, my lord..."

Next to him, Hidechiyo was slightly taken aback, her expression turning a little strange. How could this person suddenly spout such a long speech, with such a natural and emotional tone? It was clearly flattery and sycophancy, obvious from the first listen, yet it somehow felt like it was coming from the bottom of his heart, genuinely.

Gu Mo's eyes flickered, but he found it completely natural. After all, this was the monkey who, though born into poverty, managed to climb step by step and ultimately become the ruler of the land. He simply knew very clearly what he wanted and was always able to shamelessly seize opportunities, without caring about what others thought or saw.

Compared to that, I still feel terribly awkward just because I was caught in a lie by the person involved...

Hmm, I'm still a bit too green. Perhaps I should learn from the monkey in this regard.

"Hahaha, you really know how to talk, you monkey..." Saito Dosan laughed heartily again. He walked past the three of them and sat down without a care at the head of the room, still clutching a delicate sake flask. "How is it? About collecting the Spirit Stones I asked you to. Since you're here to see me now, that means you..."

His words trailed off abruptly. The gaze of this ruler of Mino Province swept over the three people and instantly fixed on Hidechiyo, his expression then turning blank.

"It's like this, Lord Dosan, regarding the matter of collecting Spirit Stones from various places that you assigned me..." The monkey, however, hadn't noticed anything. He was still beaming and reporting respectfully with his head bowed.

"Stop talking! Just shut up!"

But he had only just begun when Saito Dosan cut him off with a low shout.

Tokichiro was startled, his face turning slightly pale as he looked up, unsure of what he had said wrong. But then he noticed that the Viper at the head of the room wasn't looking at him at all, but was staring intently at the black-haired girl on the other side, his eyes filled with disbelief and eager hope.

Just moments ago, Saito Dosan had instinctively thought that Yoshitatsu had returned without him knowing and was also waiting for him here. But he immediately sensed something was wrong.

He remembered something: when his children were born, they were actually twins. He had split the name he had used before and named them "Yoshihide" and "Yoshitatsu" respectively... It was just that his wife, for some reason, later took Yoshihide with her, leaving only Yoshitatsu with him.

So, could it be...

This man, known as the Viper of Mino, ruthless and cruel, was uncharacteristically nervous. His voice trembled slightly from excitement: "You... what's your name?"

"..."

"..."

The black-haired girl was also a little slow to react. Why was this person asking for her name as soon as he arrived?

She subconsciously reached for the short blade at her waist, intending to introduce herself in her usual manner, but her hand met empty air. Only then did she remember that weapons were not allowed inside the Tenshu (Castle Keep), so she had temporarily put her things down before coming here.

"Excuse me, Lord Dosan..." Gu Mo, standing nearby, coughed lightly and spoke, "Axiu can't speak. She's not intentionally not answering your question..."

"...Axiu?!"

His eyes instantly blazed with sharp light. Saito Dosan didn't care about any of that; he immediately seized on the key point, his incredibly sharp gaze fixed on him, his tone changing: "Are you saying her name is 'Hide'?"

Gu Mo quickly thought back and nodded with certainty: "Yes, she also has a sword left by her mother, and that character is engraved on it."

Strictly speaking, the name Hidechiyo was given later. Because it wasn't feasible for everyone to just call her Axiu, especially as she accumulated merit and her reputation and status grew, she naturally needed a formal name. So, based on the character "Hide," she was given the formal name Hidechiyo.

Therefore, strictly from beginning to end, only the character "Hide" was certain.

"Where is that sword? Quick, bring it, let me see!"

Saito Dosan was almost certain. He immediately threw the sake flask in his hand, jumped up from the ground, and lunged forward, grabbing the black-haired girl's shoulders and shaking her hard, his voice extremely agitated.

Clang!

"What's going on!"

"Assassin!"

"Lord Dosan! Lord Dosan!"

"Wh-what... Lord Yoshitatsu?!"

The delicate sake flask shattered into pieces. The crisp sound caused an uproar in the corridor outside. Within a few breaths, a large group of elite samurai, armored and armed with swords, crashed through the fragile wooden door and surged in like a tide!

"Get out, all of you!!"

Saito Dosan turned around, his face contorted in rage, and roared at his subordinates.

The group of them exchanged glances, shrinking their necks. It seemed the situation wasn't an assassin or anything. They quickly retreated the way they came in, crowding the corridor. The clanking sound of their armor faded into the distance, leaving only the severely damaged sliding door.

"..."

"..."

Turning back, Saito Dosan changed his expression as if by magic, putting on his most kind and amiable face. He spoke to the somewhat stunned black-haired girl in an exceptionally gentle tone:

"Axiu, I... you... I am your father!"

In the midst of the silence.

Tokichiro's mouth hung open, almost unable to close. That sentence echoed in his mind, one thought occupying his thoughts completely. He subconsciously looked at the young man—

If Miss Axiu is Lord Dosan's daughter, then with how good their relationship is, won't he just rise to the top instantly, achieving great success?

Not knowing that, strictly speaking, all three of them had met on the same day, Tokichiro subconsciously believed the lie Gu Mo had told him earlier. He felt terrible, but there's no harm in comparison, only in the damage it causes. Why was the difference between people so vast?

I've struggled for so many years, still accumulating capital, waiting for an opportunity to make a name for myself... Even working this hard, I can only try my best to exchange for an opportunity!

And some people... I'm afraid they've already won big from the start!

Unaware of Tokichiro's thoughts, Gu Mo simply watched the scene of the father and daughter reuniting, and nodded contentedly. Everything was unfolding as he had expected. This way, Axiu would reunite with her biological father, receive the recognition and treatment she deserved, and he could comfortably lean on a powerful figure.

This was clearly a win-win situation!