Willows in Shadow

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

Night fell as Yizhe walked slowly along the street, lost in thought.

"At this hour, that young girl and the woman Miyamoto wants should both have returned to 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 where they're staying shouldn't be far from here!"

"And there aren't any inns in the direction the girl fled! She must have deliberately led me into chasing her that way!"

"I looked at the map earlier. There's only one inn to the east and one to the west nearby. They're most likely staying at one of those two! I'll start investigating there!"

After weighing it over, Yizhe made his decision.

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

That left only the inn to the west!

Nights in the Land of Iron were frigid, so once evening came, there was hardly anyone on the streets. Everything was desolate and cold.

Yizhe could even clearly hear the soft crunching sound of his feet stepping onto the deep snow.

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

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

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

Before long, Yizhe arrived at his destination.

This inn was rather remote, located at the edge of the city. A huge building stood behind it, burying its silhouette in the building's shadow.

If Yizhe had not looked at the map beforehand, he never would have known that such an inconspicuous inn was hidden in such an isolated place.

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

He pushed the door open and walked inside. His steps made the floorboards creak, and at a glance, the whole inn was filled with an old-fashioned air.

"Boss..."

"Today... I... lost... lost it all again! I'm... so... so sad! I... still... still want to drink!"

"My lady, you 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 seemed to be drunk!

"Sir, is there anything you need?" The owner was a kindly-looking old man who smiled at Yizhe as he spoke.

"Thank you! It seems 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 completely drunken blonde woman on her shoulder.

But the woman in black suddenly stopped.

The instant she opened the door, she saw Yizhe standing at the counter, quietly watching her with a smile.

"Why... did... did you stop?" the blonde woman asked hazily, her eyes half-closed.

It looked like she had drunk quite a lot!

"My lady, a debt collector has come to our door!" The woman in black watched Yizhe vigilantly as she replied in a low voice.

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

"What a case of searching everywhere only to find you without effort! We meet again, ladies!" Yizhe greeted them with a smile.

He had been worrying over how to deal with the blonde woman, but seeing her so thoroughly drunk, he secretly rejoiced.

His chance had come!

As for the woman in black, although she had some tricks up her sleeve, she clearly lacked actual combat experience. She likely rarely fought others, so she could not become an obstacle to Yizhe.

"You..."

Whoosh, whoosh! The sound of something cutting through the air rang out.

Yizhe had barely begun to speak when the woman in black opened her mouth and spat out two sharp needles aimed at his face.

With a slight tilt of his body, he dodged her surprise attack.

The woman in black took the opportunity to retreat from the inn while carrying the blonde woman.

It seemed she did not intend to fight Yizhe inside the inn.

Yizhe followed her outside as well. Fighting indoors would inevitably damage the establishment, and the innkeeper was an innocent bystander who should not be dragged into such a conflict.

Since he could avoid that situation, he naturally chose to do so.

The woman in black had never been as fast as Yizhe, and now that she was carrying a drunk person, escape was even more impossible.

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

Yizhe did not attack immediately. He quietly 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 and launched her attack, giving him no room to negotiate.

"Looks like I can only subdue her first, then talk things over slowly!" Feeling wave after wave of her attacks, Yizhe sighed inwardly.

If possible, he still wanted to resolve the matter through negotiation.

After all, he was not some battle maniac. He had no desire to make enemies everywhere.

"Ninja Art: Poison Mist!"

The woman in black opened her mouth and expelled 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 had been intact, a single Wind Release technique could have blown the purple mist away. But his palms were inconvenient to use at the moment, so he could only rely on his speed and retreat quickly to avoid it.

"Where did he go?"

The purple mist swallowed up the field of vision. When the woman in black circled around to the other side, she found that Yizhe had vanished.

"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 whole body flew uncontrollably through the air, carving a long, deep trail through the snow.

Although the purple mist blocked the woman in black's vision, it was no obstacle to Yizhe, who possessed the Byakugan.

Taking advantage of her obstructed sight, he relied on his speed to silently circle behind her and struck her directly with an elbow.

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

The woman in black struggled to her feet.

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

He had not pressed the attack. He hoped that blow would calm her down first so they could negotiate properly.

"Shizune... how did you... get... so pathetic?" Another slurred female voice came from nearby.

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

He did not know that when the woman in black had been sent flying and crashed into the snow, the snow she kicked up had fallen into the blonde woman's loose top.

The chill of the snow had sobered her up a little.

"My lady, you're finally awake?" The woman in black looked toward the blonde woman with a delighted expression.