Unrest everywhere

"Clan head! Is there really nothing we can do?"

Beside Abe Jinyuan, a young warrior in heavy armor asked urgently. He was the commander of the army the Abe clan had brought to Heian-kyo. He had rushed over as soon as he entered the city, without even taking off his armor.

"Ah, there's nothing we can do now. This order didn't come from the Emperor. If we want to survive, we'd better obey." Abe Jinyuan let out a long sigh. He had originally come here to help Angel eliminate Sukuna, but Angel was gone, and now he was trapped here himself.

"Clan head! I brought most of our clan's core troops this time. If they suffer heavy losses, our clan could lose its standing. If someone decides to move against us then, it could mean the destruction of our entire clan!" An Peiyang continued trying to persuade him.

"If His Majesty the Emperor wasn't the one who gave the order, we could simply slip out ourselves. With my strength, I could definitely get you out of Heian-kyo."

Abe Jinyuan glanced at his nephew beside him, feeling deeply gratified. Fortunately, he had cuckolded his younger brother back then. Otherwise, this nephew would have been nothing more than a nephew.

"The power behind this isn't something we can challenge. Of course I trust your strength, but my younger brother died young, and you're the only bloodline left in his branch of the family. I can't let you face any danger."

Abe Jinyuan patted An Peiyang's shoulder and said earnestly, "No matter what happens this time, you must stay alive. When the army charges, stay at the back. Let the ordinary soldiers rush forward and fight the Barbarian People. Whatever you do, don't act rashly!"

When Abe Jinyuan mentioned his father, An Peiyang's eyes grew moist. When he was young, his father had been bitten to death by a venomous snake while saving him. Ever since, Abe Jinyuan had treated him like his own son.

"Uncle, please take care of yourself here in Heian-kyo. I'll leave your personal guards in the city to keep you safe. Even if our entire army is wiped out, we'll make sure you return to the clan safely." With that, he wiped his damp eyes and left without looking back.

Watching An Peiyang leave, Abe Jinyuan slowly exhaled. Ever since the Emperor had detained him here half a month ago under the pretext of inviting him to a banquet, he had not stepped outside once. Although he had food and drink here, it was nowhere near as comfortable as being back at his own clan.

He glanced at the imperial guards stationed all around the tavern, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes. If not for Ryomen Sukuna, a mere few thousand men could never have stopped him. "Emperor! Your comfortable days won't last much longer."

"Baka! Get moving! Faster, faster, faster! Do you want to face our god's wrath?"

In the very center of Heian-kyo, amid the ruins of Sukuna and Angel's final battle, groups of little Japanese bastards were clearing the rubble. An enormous Yuki was also being steadily constructed. This was the Emperor's gift to Sukuna!

It would also be the largest construction project in all of Japan in this era. With bandits burning, killing, and pillaging everywhere these past few days, countless refugees had flooded into Heian-kyo. To settle them all, the Emperor had specifically commissioned this project. For one thing, it gave the refugees something to do; for another, it would please Sukuna. After all, they were partners now.

Including Heian-kyo's ordinary residents, nearly a hundred and fifty thousand people were working at once! It was easy to imagine just how enormous and magnificent this Yuki would be.

"Great god, please accept our offerings."

With Heian-kyo now completely sealed off, some of the city's nobles and imperial relatives came to Sukuna whenever they had nothing else to do, bringing offerings and paying homage. After all, they knew perfectly well what had happened half a month ago.

Even His Majesty the Emperor had to cooperate with him. They were merely bringing offerings, so surely there would be no danger. If they happened to please the god, their entire families could prosper along with them.

"How irritating. Coming to kowtow first thing in the morning." Sukuna swept a cold glance over the people below.

"Brr... Why has the air turned cold? Is winter coming already?" The nobles had no idea they were already hovering at death's door.

"My lord, shall I go and kill them all?" Uraume glanced at the fat, well-fed imperial relatives and court ministers below and found them rather offensive to the eye as well.

"They've come with offerings, so I can't just kill them. What would that do to my standing?"

Sukuna glanced at Uraume as a good idea flashed through his mind. "Don't they enjoy kneeling and kowtowing? Have them face southeast and kowtow. They can leave once they've done it ten thousand times."

"Yes, my lord."

Uraume did not know why their lord wanted those people to kowtow toward the southeast, but a proper subordinate did not ask questions. Uraume immediately walked out.

Soon, the sounds of heavy objects hitting the ground rang out outside, accompanied by cries of pain. Clearly, Uraume had thrown them all out. That certainly suited Uraume's quiet, reserved nature.

After all, Uraume rarely speaks even around me, much less to those nobles outside.

Thud, thud, thud... Uraume was certainly efficient. Before long, crisp, pleasing sounds began ringing out outside.

"How wonderful!" Listening to the kowtowing outside, Sukuna relaxed completely. "What a lovely sound. A glass of cola would make it even better." At that moment, he felt that no music in the world could compare to the sound of Japanese people kowtowing. He glanced at his left hand with a little regret. In the past, he would definitely have been holding a large, freshly opened can of cola.

"Your Highness, how exactly did we anger the great god? Why is he punishing us by making us kowtow here?"

A deputy minister clutched his backside while kowtowing hard. That short-haired woman had thrown him straight out just now, and his backside had slammed into the ground so painfully it had nearly killed him.

"Hiss... My head hurts. This must be your fault. You've dragged me into your punishment."

To their surprise, the crown prince immediately shirked responsibility. He had been the one who brought everyone here to present offerings, yet the moment something went wrong, he was the first to shift the blame.

The deputy minister secretly glared at the crown prince. If the Emperor had not risen to power now, he would definitely have given this crown prince a savage beating that night.

"You still dare to talk? Have you forgotten what that woman just said? If we aren't loud enough, she'll cut off our heads and knock them against the ground."

A magistrate spoke coldly. He truly hated these people. He had been reviewing documents at home, but they had insisted on dragging him here. Now he was kneeling alongside them, kowtowing.

At those words, the group shuddered and began kowtowing even harder. The skin on their foreheads had long since split open. Fortunately, this patch of ground was dirt. If it had been the paving stones of an official road, they would already have knocked themselves to death.

But even on dirt, their heads could no longer take it. All they could do was pray that the Emperor would hear the news and come to save them.

"Uraume, have you found Kenjaku?"

Earlier, when he had specifically sent Uraume out to deliver messages to the Barbarian People leaders, he had also asked Uraume to look for traces of Kenjaku along the way. Yet so many days had passed without a single piece of news.

"My lord, I haven't found any trace of him. He may have changed bodies or found somewhere to hide." Uraume reported honestly, in a voice still devoid of basic human emotion.

"It looks like finding him won't be easy. Possession really is an absurdly powerful ability."

Sukuna had not actually expected Uraume to find Kenjaku. After all, unless Kenjaku deliberately left behind Cursed Residue, even Sukuna might not be able to locate him.

"Go tell the Emperor that I expect the clans' armies to leave Heian-kyo tomorrow morning and exterminate the Barbarian People. If he can't make that happen, he can command the vanguard himself."

Sukuna waved a hand, temporarily abandoning the idea of finding Kenjaku. He only hoped to make good use of the remaining time to reduce Japan's population.

"My beloved consorts, drink up, drink up."

Inside the Imperial Palace, the Emperor was leisurely drinking with several of his ugly consorts. Any women who were even slightly attractive had been sent to powerful, influential clans. Only these few, who were barely tolerable to look at, had been selected to enter his palace.

"Ah!!" The consorts suddenly screamed in panic. Before the Emperor could even work out what had happened, a long blade was pressed against his neck.

"My lord's command: tomorrow morning, you are to send all the clan armies outside Heian-kyo to exterminate the Barbarian People. If you miss the appointed time, you will go fight on the front lines yourself!"

The Emperor's legs went weak with fear, and he hastily agreed. Only after a long while did he turn to look. Uraume had already left immediately after delivering the order.

"Phew... That scared me to death."

The consorts gathered around him, still holding their wine cups and hoping the banquet could continue.

"Out, out, out! All of you, get out!" Enraged, the Emperor drove away all the consorts he normally could hardly bear to lay a hand on. Not one of them had come forward to shield him from that blade!

As they left, several consorts even cast flirtatious glances at the guards by the door, their meaning obvious. Unfortunately, the Emperor noticed none of it. He was already preparing to head to the tavern and deliver his orders to the clan heads.