This I know well!

Sagiyama Castle, Tenshu.

Compared to Inabayama Castle, its scale was clearly inferior, but it was still well-maintained. After all, this castle was where Saito Dosan intended to retire. Even if he didn't care himself, those below him wouldn't dare to be careless.

Precisely because this was the retirement spot Saito Dosan had chosen for himself, the castle currently had no lord. Or rather, the lord was Saito Dosan himself, but the Viper hadn't moved in yet... Thus, armed with Saito Dosan's letter of appointment, the group of three managed to temporarily take control of Sagiyama Castle's highest center of power relatively smoothly.

There were no obstacles.

"Because the lord was originally Lord Dosan, and before Lord Dosan arrived, this place was empty..." Tokichiro explained, "If we couldn't even get in at the start, that wouldn't be an obstruction, but blatant defiance."

That makes sense...

Gu Mo stood on the Tenshu's observation deck, gazing at the distant scenery and looking down at the castle below. He felt a pang of regret again that his phone had run out of battery so early... He should have brought a power bank. However, considering how long he was going to be there, one or two might not have been enough anyway.

Bringing more wasn't realistic either. After all, unless the System recognized something, it couldn't be put into the Inventory. He couldn't possibly carry several kilograms of such things around.

"But there will definitely be obstacles later. Even if those people are polite on the surface because of our current status, it's hard to say what they'll do behind the scenes..." Tokichiro continued with a wry smile beside him. He knew very well that even a small village, while not necessarily riddled with factions, would still be divided into different interest groups.

Families with many members would naturally try to control the village's interests and gain more say, which would invisibly harm the interests of households with fewer members. So, let alone a castle much larger than a village or town. Furthermore, Sagiyama Castle wasn't a new castle built recently.

Local forces and existing interest groups had developed alongside the castle to this day. While being important components of Sagiyama Castle, they had long been intertwined and a mixed bag of characters.

"Being two-faced, that's normal. It happens all the time. After all, everyone has their own thoughts."

Gu Mo nodded slightly, knowing that the monkey was talking about exactly this. However, his tone was quite calm, and his gaze, looking down at the city below, was strange. He seemed to be lost in thought.

"Mainly, we're not Lord Dosan, and we lack prestige. If we want to achieve something, we still need the cooperation of these local guys." Tokichiro chuckled, saying with as optimistic a tone as possible, "If we persuade them well and promise not to harm their own interests, it should still be fine..."

After all, it all comes down to the four words: interests and position.

Those people weren't just causing trouble for the sake of it; they were mainly worried that their own interests would be harmed by the changes. So, as long as concessions were made in this regard and promises were given, those who might have been on the opposing side could become allies in one's own camp...

Then resistance could turn into assistance. This was what Tokichiro thought, and it couldn't be said to be a limitation of the era, because whether in the past or the future, this world operated according to this rule.

"Ah, no rush on that..." Gu Mo nodded, but seemed noncommittal. He didn't object, but he didn't agree either, appearing to have other ideas.

The monkey opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but stopped himself in time. He carefully observed the expression of the person in front of him and felt that he seemed to have some ideas. Since that was the case, there was no need for him to repeat himself and urge him. Saying too much was always annoying.

Furthermore, they had only just arrived today. Taking over and managing Sagiyama Castle was something that needed to be approached gradually, not with a rush for quick success or trying to achieve everything in one step without understanding anything. This was clearly unrealistic.

"Ahem, then, Brother Gu Mo, should I go and gather some information now?"

With this thought, Tokichiro reined in his original thoughts. He tried very hard to put on a very friendly expression, but this expression on his face always added a bit of a sneaky feel.

"No need to rush. It's getting late today. Let's do it tomorrow." Turning back, Gu Mo looked the monkey up and down, then waved his hand, sighing inwardly at the same time.

Coming from a society where everyone was equal, or at least verbally and in most ordinary situations, he was quite sensitive to this aspect. Whether someone was deliberately arrogant or lowering their stance, it was something he could clearly detect.

Perhaps the monkey was used to the survival rules of this era and accepted this fundamental reality, so he didn't feel there was anything wrong and would actively conform to this rule and seize opportunities.

Fawning, flattering, being cautious, trying his best to seize every opportunity to get ahead, and even after getting an opportunity, he would still be anxious about gain and loss. As long as it wasn't finalized, he would always worry that things might change, and constantly repeating confirmation was annoying, so he could only confirm indirectly through various methods.

Gu Mo wasn't interested in this kind of thing, nor did he become arrogant because of the monkey's change in attitude, from being cheerful and open to needing to flatter him. Instead, he felt a strange sense of discomfort.

"It's fine, it's fine, it's still early. I'll go and see what the specific situation is first..."

Hearing the other party say to do it tomorrow instead of saying he didn't need to do it, Tokichiro immediately felt at ease. He beamed and patted his chest, volunteering eagerly: "And it'll be quick. After all, I've been to Sagiyama Castle a few times before and already have some understanding. I just need to see if there have been any new changes in the past two years..."

He had to seize this opportunity. Whether he would succeed depended on this chance.

Tokichiro wasn't afraid of trouble or difficulty; he was only afraid that he wouldn't have a place to play a role or show his value... He had spent the past few days in a mix of excitement and anxiety, just worried that things might change.

Quickly settling the matter, the monkey showed great initiative and hurried down from the observation deck, preparing to use the remaining time from evening until curfew to do whatever he could.

Gu Mo turned back to look at the setting sun in the western mountains and twitched the corner of his mouth. He felt that if someone like Tokichiro were born in modern times, he would definitely be the spokesperson for the "involution" spirit.

After one last look, he also turned and went down from the observation deck.

After allocating rooms, Hidechiyo had gone straight to rest. The past few days of traveling day and night had been the most stressful for the black-haired girl, so she was somewhat tired now. After finally reaching her destination, she naturally needed to rest well.

However, Tokichiro was eager to prove himself, and Hidechiyo had gone to rest... Gu Mo, who had gotten used to being in a group during this time, looked at the empty room and was now not quite used to being alone.

He sat down cross-legged and thought carefully. He also felt that things in the world were truly strange. Who would have thought that he would have this day... traveling through time back to the Sengoku period five hundred years ago, meeting the "wife" he had created, surviving by hugging her leg, and then, by hugging her leg, even managing to get the position of acting castle lord.

Many times before, his nerves were tense, or he was busy thinking and worrying about various things, and everything seemed to be a matter of course. But now that he was alone and had calmed down to think carefully, he found that all of this was a bit fantastical and unreal.

Of course, he didn't dwell on sentimentality for too long and quickly took action again.

Now that he was temporarily acting as castle lord, everything was much more convenient, for example - having someone prepare things for him, like taking a bath.

He gave the order, and everything he needed was quickly prepared. A wooden tub large enough to fit a whole person, clear and clean hot water steaming in the tub. Just thinking about soaking in it... it felt wonderful, especially for him who was covered in dust from traveling for several days. It was simply heaven.

But Gu Mo didn't rush in. Instead, he had the attendants withdraw, telling them he didn't need their service, and then carefully closed the door. Only then did he return to the large wooden tub, using the surface of the water steaming with white mist to barely see his reflection and open the Status Panel.

As usual, he performed the daily real-name verification, and of course, there was still no network connection, effectively treating low blood pressure.

Then he switched back to the upgrade page and examined it, carefully deciding to add the one assignable point he got from upgrading his Life Level to LV5 to the "Strength" attribute... He had added three points to Constitution, which was pretty good for now and significantly enhanced his physique.

It was enough for now when facing battles against ordinary people...

To reach the next level, for example, to be able to effectively resist swords and blades with his body, it would probably take more than just adding one or two points. So, after some consideration, Gu Mo thought he could first strengthen his Strength to increase his output, rather than just constantly enhancing his ability to take hits.

Although his current Skills were few, and the only one he could really use was very strange, if it could be effective, it might be the kind where after the enemy severely injured him, they would find his Health Bar was even longer than before he was injured. In a balanced or not-too-disparate confrontation, this would be the key to determining the outcome.

But this couldn't go on forever. He needed to increase his regular combat power.

Along with that extremely comfortable warm current that seemed to flow to every cell in his body, washing through his limbs and bones, Gu Mo endured not making a sound. During this process, the mysterious power reshaped his entire body again, like creating a new way for skin cells to form, strengthening the elasticity and toughness of muscle fibers, and so on.

But he didn't know any of this. The only thing he could confirm was that his Strength value on the Status Panel had changed from 11 to 12.

If 10 points of Strength were the theoretical health level of a normal person, then 11 points would be someone relatively strong and muscular, and 12 points...

The strong muscles weren't exaggeratedly bulging like those bodybuilders, but had smooth lines, like a Greek hero's statue sculpted based on the human form and given a more ideal, perfect artistic shape, full of the beauty of power.

"This, this, this... it's a bit much!"

Looking at his faint reflection on the water's surface, he reached out and touched his solid biceps, then lifted his clothes to feel the clearly defined tendons on his lower abdomen. Gu Mo was overjoyed. This was exactly the result he had guessed and hoped for before adding points, but it was too smooth, making him disbelieve it.

With just a one-point increase, the change was very noticeable.

He clenched his fists tightly and quickly threw a few punches, feeling the explosive power contained within his muscles. He nodded with satisfaction. This was all thanks to his own efforts; it felt great!

The boost from each point was very powerful. No wonder each level-up only gave one assignable attribute point. If it were like many games that give 5 or 10 points per level, he would have already taken off!

"Hmm, good. It doesn't seem to change much when I put on clothes..."

He was already the type of person with a relatively standard and well-proportioned physique, neither fat nor thin. So, although the muscle-sculpting effect brought by reaching 12 points in Strength was a bit astonishing, it was a change only he could clearly perceive. Others probably wouldn't notice.

He just didn't know if this effect was based on changing the ideal human state, or if increasing attributes would trigger physical changes repeatedly. If he continued to strengthen Strength in the future, would it become more and more exaggerated...

Suppressing the slight worry in his heart, he quickly browsed the Status Panel and soon found the second thing he needed to do.

That inexplicable Homestead System—

It appeared in the lower left corner. When opened, a large map appeared before him. Looking closely, he would find it was a bird's-eye view of Sagiyama Castle, like a scaled-down sandbox, with all the necessary details.

Below and to the left of his view were densely packed various numerical displays and operation options, like "Grain," "Wood," "Metal," "Weapons," "Ashigaru," "Farmers"... and also like "Market," "Buildings," "Barracks," and so on.

Emmmm...

Wait! He was familiar with this! Gu Mo blinked his eyes, suddenly feeling confident.

If he were truly managing a city and facing various complex problems, he would genuinely be at a loss. After all, he had never had such experience before. No matter how Saito Dosan imagined things, he was still just a normal person.

But with the help of the Idiot System, turning everything into the data panel he was familiar with, and allowing him to indirectly apply his decisions and arrangements to everything in the corresponding real world through the mysterious power of this panel... Hmm, it was time to let Saito Dosan see what it meant to be a talented statesman.

Just a mere Sagiyama Castle, who was it looking down on? He used to be a galactic supervisor, with jurisdiction directly or indirectly controlling areas throughout the entire Milky Way.

Gu Mo eagerly rolled up his sleeves and began to carefully study this new gameplay using the water surface as a mirror.

"My lord, someone is asking to see you outside."

However, just then, a cautious voice came from outside. A attendant reported something.

"Hmm, who wants to see me?" Gu Mo frowned. He didn't know anyone, did he? Or were the local officials coming to pay their respects and incidentally probe the situation after hearing about a new superior being parachuted in?

"Outside are an Onmyoji and a... Female Samurai, but they didn't give their names. They just asked me to report that your lordship would understand," the attendant still replied cautiously.

An Onmyoji and a Female Samurai?

Gu Mo raised an eyebrow, suddenly having a strange thought... Axiu's story involved time travel and elements of mutual cause and effect. Had his arrival inadvertently affected something, changed something?