A Glimmer of Hope

"Ugh! That samurai delayed me, and now the trail's gone cold again!" Yizhe sighed.

Night fell, and Yizhe walked slowly along the street, deep in thought.

At this hour, that young girl and the woman Miyamoto wanted should both be back at the inn. And that girl was so nervous—their relationship must be pretty close. They're probably staying together!

Since they set up a stall here, the inn they're staying at can't be far away!

There weren't any inns in the direction that girl ran! She must have deliberately led me into chasing her that way!

I looked at the map earlier. There are only two inns nearby, one to the east and one to the west. There's a good chance they're staying at one of them! I'll start with those two!

After thinking it over, Yizhe made his decision.

He went to the eastern inn first, but unfortunately, the owner said no two such women were staying there.

That left only the inn to the west!

The nights in the Land of Iron were bitterly cold. Once darkness fell, there was hardly anyone on the streets, making them bleak and deserted.

Yizhe could even clearly hear the soft crunch of his feet stepping over the piled snow.

He pulled his clothes tighter around himself and slowly headed toward the inn to the west.

If he still could not find them there, he would give up for the night and stop searching.

Starting tomorrow, he would inspect every inn in the city one by one.

Before long, Yizhe arrived at his destination.

This inn stood in a rather remote location at the edge of the city. A huge building loomed behind it, hiding the inn's figure in its shadow.

Had Yizhe not looked at the map earlier, he never would have known that such an inconspicuous inn was hidden in such a secluded place.

Thick snow had piled up outside the inn, obscuring its full appearance.

He pushed the door open and walked inside. His footsteps creaked against the floorboards, and at a glance, the entire inn exuded an ancient, rustic air.

"Boss..."

"Today... I... lost... lost everything again! I'm... so... so sad! I... I want... another drink!"

"Ma'am, you really can't drink anymore. You've had more than enough today!"

Just as Yizhe was about to ask the innkeeper something, two familiar female voices came from outside. One of them sounded drunk!

"Is there anything you need, sir?" The innkeeper was a kind-looking old man who smiled as he asked Yizhe.

"Thank you! Looks like I won't need your help after all." Yizhe smiled as he looked toward the entrance.

Creak—

The inn door was pushed open again, letting out a squeak.

A young woman dressed in black struggled inside while carrying a thoroughly drunk blonde woman on her back.

Then, the woman in black suddenly stopped.

The moment she opened the door, she saw Yizhe standing by the front desk, quietly watching her with a smile.

"Why... did you... stop?" The blonde woman squinted and asked groggily.

It looked like she had really drunk quite a lot!

"Ma'am, a debt collector has come knocking!" The woman in black watched Yizhe warily as she answered softly.

"A... debt collector?" The blonde woman was still muddled.

"Just as they say, 'After searching everywhere in worn-out shoes, you find it without any effort at all.' We meet again, ladies!" Yizhe greeted them with a smile.

He had been worrying about how to take down the blonde woman, but seeing her dead drunk now, he secretly rejoiced.

His chance had come!

As for the woman in black, though she had some tricks up her sleeve, she clearly lacked real combat experience. She probably rarely fought anyone, so she could not become an obstacle to Yizhe.

"You..."

Whoosh, whoosh! The sound of air being sliced rang out.

Yizhe had just started to speak when he saw the woman in black open her mouth and spit out two sharp needles aimed at his face.

With a slight sidestep, he dodged her ambush.

The woman in black took the opportunity to carry the blonde woman out of the inn.

Apparently, she did not intend to fight Yizhe inside the inn.

Yizhe followed her out. Fighting inside would inevitably damage the place, and the innkeeper was innocent. He should not drag someone else into this kind of conflict.

Since he could avoid such a situation, he naturally would do his best to avoid it.

The woman in black was already slower than Yizhe, and now she was carrying a drunkard. There was no way she could escape.

Thus, she had no other choice but to fight Yizhe head-on and hope to drive him back.

Yizhe did not rush to attack. He simply watched as she set the blonde woman aside against the inn wall.

"I say..."

Yizhe was about to speak, but the woman in black mercilessly fired several long needles at him, launching an assault without giving him any room to negotiate.

Looks like I can only subdue her first and talk afterward! Yizhe sighed inwardly as he faced wave after wave of attacks.

If possible, he still wanted to resolve this through negotiation.

After all, he was not some battle maniac. He did not want to make enemies everywhere he went.

Ninja Art: Poison Mist

The woman in black opened her mouth and spewed out a cloud of purple mist.

This was different from the pink mist Yizhe had seen her use before. Within this purple mist, he sensed a trace of danger.

If both his hands were intact, a single Wind Release would have blown the purple mist away. But with his palms currently inconvenient to use, he could only rely on his speed to retreat quickly and evade the mist.

"Where did he go?"

The purple mist swallowed the view of the battlefield. When the woman in black circled around to the other side, she found that she had lost track of Yizhe.

"I'm right here." A clear young voice sounded behind her.

Then she felt a sharp pain in her back as a heavy blow struck her.

Her entire body flew uncontrollably through the air, carving a long, deep trail through the snow.

Though the purple mist obscured the woman in black's vision, it posed no obstacle to Yizhe and his Byakugan.

Relying on his speed, he took advantage of her impaired sight to quietly circle behind her and strike her with a direct elbow blow.

"Cough, cough, cough!" A string of coughs came from the snowdrift.

The woman in black struggled to her feet.

"I say, miss, can we have a proper talk now?" Yizhe asked helplessly.

He did not press the attack. He hoped that blow would make her calm down first so they could negotiate properly.

"Shizune... why do you... look so... pathetic?" Another slurred female voice came from nearby.

Yizhe turned and saw that the blonde woman had woken up and was unsteadily climbing to her feet.

He did not know that when he had sent the woman in black flying just now, she had struck the snow and scattered flakes into the blonde woman's loose top.

The chill from the snowflakes had sobered her up a little.

"Ma'am, you're finally awake?" The woman in black looked toward the blonde woman, her face filled with delight.