Don't Disappoint This Old Man!

The surrounding environment instantly returned to normal.

The view was filled with unnatural crimson, the ground covered in scattered body parts, severed limbs and torsos lying haphazardly submerged in thick, viscous blood. The blood had pooled into intersecting streams and puddles, leaving almost nowhere to step.

The strong smell of blood surged upwards, causing Gu Mo's stomach, which had just settled a little, to churn violently again, twitching faintly.

He had found this concentration of blood difficult to accept to begin with and needed time to adapt. However, the brief illusion just now had interrupted this adaptation process, deceiving his senses. Now, with the illusion broken, his true sensory perception returned.

It was like a tired trope in horror movies. If there's a continuous barrage of shocking scenes, it might seem action-packed, but because a person's nerves are constantly on high alert during this process, they develop mental defenses and preparation against the continuous stimuli. The level of fright is actually manageable.

However, if things suddenly stop in the middle, and everything seems calm, making people think the tense and exciting part is over and they can relax mentally, letting their taut nerves loosen... getting scared again at that moment often breaks a person's psychological threshold.

That was exactly what was happening. Gu Mo clenched his teeth tightly, managing with great difficulty to suppress the urge to vomit.

The black-haired girl beside him also disliked the sight, her brows furrowed slightly. Even though she was partly the reason for all this, she had never seen such a dense, mountain-like pile of Yokai corpses before.

But putting aside these irrelevant things, she looked around, surprised by the vast quantity of Spirit Stones. She had been lost in thought since before.

She had known beforehand that Spirit Stones were hidden here, and in huge quantities, which was why countless Yokai were drawn here to fight and kill each other. But she hadn't expected this "huge quantity" to still be beyond her expectations. These Spirit Stones weren't necessarily in their original form. After all, those main crystal clusters, some dozens of meters tall, that turned this space into a crystal forest—

Spirit Stones of such immense size would require a massive battlefield where countless people had died to condense enough Essence in one go. And even if such a thing were possible, it couldn't have been transported into the depths of Mino Province and stored in a place like this without anyone noticing.

And there were giant Spirit Stones like these everywhere here. A rough glance at these massive crystal clusters, some dozens of meters tall, showed there were over a dozen of them. They looked like giant spikes growing out of the ground, slanted and spread throughout the entire cave space, occupying a significant portion of the originally spacious area.

It was probably due to the nature of the Spirit Stones themselves. They appeared crystalline, but in reality, they were physical substances formed by condensed Essence. So, when many fragmented Spirit Stones piled up, their Essence would flow and fuse with each other over time, concentrating into a single entity, becoming a larger Spirit Stone.

And for the scene before her to have formed, it likely wasn't something that could be achieved in just a month or two. Her father had probably started collecting and burying Spirit Stones here a long time ago.

Hidechiyo pondered carefully, unable to help but let out a soft sigh.

Tokichiro's words earlier were correct. He really shouldn't have brought those irrelevant soldiers in; they weren't suitable to know about this. Over the years, she had encountered many incidents while hunting Yokai, all caused by villagers being misled and misusing the power of Spirit Stones.

This stuff had a strange, bewitching magic that could even drive Yokai to fight each other like mad. Ordinary people...

Wait!

Suddenly remembering something, the slightly distracted black-haired girl quickly turned to look at someone, only to find his face very pale. He was clenching his fists tightly, his expression somewhat distorted. Oh no! Could it be that he's really been captivated and misled by so many Spirit Stones?

Hidechiyo pursed her lips. Humans were easily misled, and Yokai were often misled too, but she had never felt anything towards them. She didn't know if it was due to the bloodline she inherited or because she was a Half-Yokai on the boundary line.

So she didn't feel it particularly strongly and hadn't reacted immediately. Only afterwards did she remember this point.

But it shouldn't be too big of a problem. Being misled was just the first step. As long as she prevented him from continuing to interact with and use the Spirit Stones, he would quickly shake off the bewitchment and return to normal. It wouldn't lead to him completely losing his mind and falling into being a Yokai...

As she thought this, she also took a step forward, ready to knock him unconscious and take him out. People who were misled were difficult to communicate with, and she couldn't even speak right now.

"I'm fine, don't worry..."

Sensing the girl approach, Gu Mo, who was in a poor state, saw the expression on Hidechiyo's face. He thought she was worried about him, as his face must have looked terrible, and the waves of dry heaving were hard to suppress. He didn't notice that the girl was gently clenching her small fists.

He waved his hand, pulled at the corners of his mouth, and forced out a smile, saying defiantly, "Don't worry, it's just this stuff. I don't even give it a second thought..."

Although he had changed from an ordinary person who couldn't bear to see murder scenes to an ordinary person who could actively create them during this time, the jump in scale right now was still too much. This battlefield was truly disgusting. Visually, olfactorily, and tactilely, the level of gore from the body parts and blood was assaulting his senses in every way.

But, everyone has this common fault: they like to show off, especially unwilling to expose their weakness in front of others.

No matter what, they would definitely say, "I'm fine," "I've seen this kind of thing many times," or "Something this small can't defeat me."

Gu Mo was no exception. He could accept the fact that Hidechiyo, a seemingly frail girl with A-rank strength and speed, was much stronger than him, and that he had been under her protection, clinging to her leg. But he didn't want to admit that he couldn't even handle a little blood and gore, appearing particularly "delicate" and "fragile" in front of her.

Hidechiyo tilted her head slightly. Is that really true?

Just at that moment—

"Well said!"

Very abruptly, a thunderous cheer appeared on this bloody battlefield. The voice was full of vigor, somewhat unfamiliar, and also somewhat familiar.

Both Gu Mo and Hidechiyo subconsciously turned their heads to look. They saw the stone wall at the end suddenly begin to move with a dull grinding sound. Driven by the mechanism, it slowly shifted little by little, revealing a hidden passage behind it.

Several figures walked out from within.

Leading the way was a vigorous and robust figure with a bald head, none other than Saito Dosan.

They hadn't leaked any presence before. Not only were they hidden in the secret passage, but they had also used certain spells and other arrangements to completely conceal their aura. With thorough preparations made in advance, even Hidechiyo right now hadn't noticed that there were people hidden behind the stone wall just on the other side.

Gu Mo opened his mouth. How did the old man suddenly appear here...?

Right, it seems in the story, he also pushed Axiu into the secret passage and stayed behind to fend off the countless swarming Yokai army. This meant that besides the secret passage in the mansion above, there was indeed another secret passage here that could lead out of this mountain.

If that was the case, perhaps the old man hadn't been inactive. Perhaps he had come to Sagiyama Castle before, but hadn't let anyone know, bypassing everyone, and entered the Viper's Divine Realm through another secret passage, quietly arranging everything here?

"Yes, it's exactly as you're thinking..."

Saito Dosan looked at the boy's dumbfounded expression and burst into laughter. He finally felt a sense of relief in his heart; he had finally outsmarted this annoying brat.

"As you can see, this place naturally attracts a lot of Yokai regularly, but they are dealt with promptly every so often... However, this time, the old man changed his mind. I had everyone on the mountain leave through the secret passage here beforehand, then I let the Yokai stir things up, and then I sent a few trusted confidants down the mountain to report to you..."

Looking at the old man, who was so happy he looked like he wanted to slap his belly, and then thinking back to that soldier who seemed scared like a broken record, Gu Mo felt his teeth itch a little.

So it had been a setup from the start. No wonder they said there were so many Yokai on the mountain, but they didn't see a single person. Not only did they run away so quickly beforehand, but they also searched the entire mountain and didn't see where anyone was hiding, couldn't even find a single corpse.

It wasn't that he hadn't noticed the problem, but just like Tokichiro's veiled hint back then, he had also been inclined to think that maybe the soldiers on the mountain were stealing for themselves, that everything was premeditated, and that after succeeding, they had fled far away to who knows where. Who could have thought it was the old man's arrangement...

"But you brat, you really did well. You didn't disappoint the old man's expectations!"

Saito Dosan put away his smile and said very seriously.

"Well said, just this kind of thing, there's no need to take it to heart at all! It's a pity that the world is foolish and just can't see this truth. They always think it's a shortcut, blindly pursuing and even abusing its power, which is why the wars in this world have been continuous for years!"

"...Ermmm, what are you saying?"

Gu Mo seriously thought for a moment, feeling that what he said probably wasn't meant that way.

Saito Dosan's gaze was distant. He looked at the vast quantity of enormous golden-yellow crystals, and let out a long sigh of emotion, "Capability and skill are actually secondary, and can be slowly developed, but temperament is different; the paths chosen are also different..."

If our paths diverge, we do not conspire together.

Regarding the Spirit Stones, this was Saito Dosan's lifelong ambition, the shared promise between him and his beloved, and his absolute bottom line that he would never compromise on.

"You've done extremely well. You are probably the most determined person I've ever met... This old man will not break his word. I will certainly give you my full assistance!"

Fixing his gaze back on this young man, Saito Dosan no longer showed disdain this time, but rather appreciation, his eyes clear and sharp. He reiterated his promise once again, giving it with great seriousness and solemnity.

"Uh, no... I'm going back. I don't need your help with this, and you can't help me."

"Of course, this old man knows that even if you achieve dominion over the land, conquer the world, you are still far from your ambition. This bit of foundation I have is nothing..." Saito Dosan nodded, unconcerned. "But if I can help you even a little, it's something. And this old man never breaks his word."

It was clear for all to see how quickly the other party had just now shaken off the internal questioning, not being completely bewildered by the Spirit Stones due to yielding to inner desires.

Perhaps... he is indeed the one who can take over Mino Province and fulfill his ambitions on his behalf.

Thinking this, Saito Dosan had essentially made up his mind. If Yoshitatsu had no objections, then so be it... He wasn't making this decision solely based on his own opinion, but had also consulted Saito Yoshitatsu's views. It was precisely because this daughter had no particular thoughts that he had previously intended to cede the country to Oda Nobunaga.

Right, speaking of Yoshitatsu... Saito Dosan quickly turned his head to look.

"Hey, I... never mind."

Gu Mo, standing nearby, opened his mouth, but finally sighed. Anyway, it had nothing to do with him anymore. It felt as if an electric current surged through his mind, fragmented杂声 appearing and ringing in his ears. It seemed the scene evaluation was complete and the settlement process had begun.

Since this scene was also finished, he would have to find a way to escape next. He had to return to reality somehow.

Consider it a repayment for the trap the old man set. Let him keep his misunderstanding; he didn't need to explain and could just pack up and leave.

With this thought, Gu Mo felt at ease and no longer struggled, but instead turned to look over there—

Two identical black-haired girls, as if mirroring each other, had been staring at each other since earlier. Neither had spoken, but in their eyes, a strange light flowed, as if containing emotions they could barely suppress.

Compared to the other one, who had observed in the secret passage for a while and was now calm, Hidechiyo's excitement and confusion were evident.

She stared blankly at the person opposite her, as if seeing another herself. Perhaps it was the resonance of shared blood, or some inexplicable connection between twins, that made her feel the other person should have been her closest companion, yet at this moment, she felt so unfamiliar.

"Ahem, you two sisters... have a good reunion. Yoshitatsu, this is your elder sister, Yoshihide... no, Hidechiyo." Saito Dosan also lightly coughed. Whether he was thinking of something or becoming sentimental in his old age, his eyes were slightly moist, covered with a layer of crystal. My poor daughters, why are their fates so bitter.

—Yoshitatsu has never seen her mother since she was born, not even when that woman died...

—And Axiu, she was taken away by her mother as soon as she was born. After her mother died, she had to live alone. Who knows how much hardship she has endured over the years? She can't even speak anymore and has forgotten her original name...

The Viper sighed lengthily, then couldn't help but glance at a certain detestable young man, remembering what the monkey had said before.

Although he disliked this guy very much, thanks to him being by Axiu's side... Looking at it this way, he didn't need to worry too much about this daughter's future destination. As long as this young man didn't disappoint this old man's expectations! Hmm, but if Mino Province is handed over to them, what about Yoshitatsu's future arrangements?