Chapter 135 Chaotic Yinza

The sound of the battle grew louder, almost engulfing the entire Ginza district.

More and more people poured in, scattering to escape, watching the excitement, taking advantage of the chaos, joining the fight...

The scene was a complete mess.

Suren watched the center of the battlefield with rapt attention, but as he watched, a look of regret appeared on his face.

From beginning to end, he didn't see the Goshu Yaji出手 (make a move).

There were simply too many pirates, Bakufu, Black Dragon Society members, and imperial samurai. There was no need for her to take action at all.

Suren looked at the figures active on the battlefield and sighed, "There are many experts in Edo..."

Before long, the battle was over.

The Hyakki dissipated, and the "sorcerer" Abe Taiwa disappeared in the raging fire.

Suren didn't bother to wonder if he had escaped. He had personally witnessed the guy's life-saving skills, which were ridiculously strong.

Even a professional a level or two higher might not be able to keep him down.

Qiantiao, who was beside him, looked at the ruined district and grumbled, "Oh dear, looks like there's no gambling tonight."

As she spoke, she casually slung her arm around Suren's shoulder, "Let's go. Let's grab some midnight snacks."

"Okay."

Suren had only eaten half a meal before coming here and wasn't full. It wouldn't hurt to fill his stomach.

The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder towards the other half of the district that hadn't been touched by the battle, where there were many taverns and stalls selling unique dishes.

As they walked, Suren asked, "Qiantiao-jie, you fought that Goshu Yaji before. What do you think of her strength?"

Qiantiao thought for a moment and replied, "Her physical body is very strong. She can catch my strikes with her bare hands. Her profession sequence seems similar to that of the Rune Old Man, following the path of physical enhancement."

"She can catch a blade with her bare hands?"

Suren raised an eyebrow when he heard this.

But after thinking about it for a moment, he wasn't surprised.

Being able to catch Qiantiao's strikes with her bare hands was something that even a regular sixth-order professional couldn't do. But the essence of "Pandora" was a rune puppet. Runes were engraved on her body, probably the most advanced runes that the material itself could withstand, so it was only natural that her strength was very high.

Otherwise, the rune alchemists of the Lu Ying Empire wouldn't have treated her as a treasure of inheritance.

Qiantiao didn't know that the Goshu Yaji was an alchemical construct. Changing the subject, she frowned and said, "But her combat skills aren't very good. Her martial arts are mediocre, even a bit clumsy. At least, they don't match her ability to catch knives with her bare hands. However, she has a very clever mental control technique that's very strange. If it weren't for Miko-sama back then, no one might have escaped that assassination..."

Suren only knew the name "Pandora" and wasn't clear about the abilities of this alchemical construct.

Listening to Qiantiao's words, he guessed a few things.

Strong physical body, strong mental power, these should be hardware attributes. And clumsy combat skills were probably a problem with learning later. She was probably treated as a "cursed object" and locked up for research for many years after being unearthed, so she simply had no opportunity to learn combat skills?

But this Goshu Yaji was a very important figure. If he didn't figure out what abilities she had, Suren always felt that there would be big problems.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and he suddenly thought of something, "That's right, my Shijie (Senior Apprentice Sister) must know!"

Since "Pandora" was his teacher Serreia's research result, then the Mirror Master, as her own daughter, should know about it.

Qiantiao saw his expression suddenly change and asked, "What did you think of?"

Suren said, "I think I might know some of the details about this Goshu Yaji."

.......

Suren directly picked up the communicator and dialed, "Shijie, do you know about teacher's 'Pandora Project'?"

Hearing this address, Qiantiao knew who he was communicating with, and her eyebrows rose.

Before long, the communicator responded, "I know a little. What's wrong?"

Suren was delighted and roughly explained the situation he was currently facing. Then he said, "So, the situation now is... I want to know more information about 'Pandora'. For example, what abilities she has."

After listening, the Mirror Master pondered for a moment before replying, "That was my mother's research topic. When I went into hibernation, this topic hadn't been completed yet. So I don't know very much either. Moreover, because 'constructs' are actually a forbidden topic, there won't be detailed research notes left in the world. It's normal that you can't find them in your notes."

"Forbidden topic?"

Suren was a little surprised to hear this.

"Yes."

The Mirror Master said, "'Creating humans' should have been an ability that only creators can master. This kind of research is a 'taboo' that is feared by the gods. My father once deduced some conclusions in fate, and it can be determined that once this knowledge is mastered by humans, it is likely to be concealed and erased by some indescribable high-level existences. Those aren't ordinary god-levels, but supreme existences similar to the laws of all things..."

Suren immediately understood when he heard this.

Creating humans seemed to violate the normal laws of nature?

The Mirror Master obviously guessed what Suren wanted to ask, and she directly stated her guess, "I'm not too clear about other things. But Pandora's soul may be related to faith. According to some historical records, the plane wars in ancient times were often disputes over faith resources between gods. The belief system over in the Hidden Mountain is very complicated, and everything can become a spirit. Since the Goshu Yaji you mentioned has been staying in the Hidden Mountain Country for so many years, it's very likely that she's plotting this... Of course, it can't be ruled out that these are some of the methods left by my father and mother. Because... they once researched the topic of 'how to create gods'. After all, the facts show that even if a god has fallen, as long as there are believers, the god will still exist in the world. This is also why the Dawn Era collapsed, and this plane can no longer give birth to god-levels, but some 'false gods' are emerging one after another..."

"..."

Suren was really shocked when he heard this.

So it's not just constructs.

Serreia and Duke Isaac wanted to create gods?

Damn it...

Teacher is awesome!

Mentor is awesome!

But the current situation is that Pandora is likely to be on the opposing side. The stronger she is, the harder she will be to deal with, right?

Suren expressed his concerns.

The Mirror Master responded, "My father and mother would have thought very carefully about what they did, and they usually left some leeway. They would never create an alchemical product that they couldn't control to bring trouble to future human civilization. So, that Pandora definitely has weaknesses that can be overcome. Think about it carefully, and you should be able to find them..."

.......

After hanging up the communicator, Suren let out a long breath.

Although he didn't get a definite solution to the problem from the Mirror Master, he had some ideas in his head.

Pandora was an alchemical product, so her weaknesses were nothing more than flaws in materials and some functions. Just like the smart robots of his previous life, there were "system backdoors" and "administrator privileges"...

"Huh... Administrator privileges?"

Suren suddenly thought that since it was a rune puppet, could it be that the "weakness" was related to the inheritance of their puppet master lineage?

Could they also control it?

His mind raced, instantly ruling out various possibilities...

At this moment, Qiantiao, who was beside him, stopped and suddenly said, "Eat here?"

Suren came back to his senses and saw that they had already walked to a small food stall on the side of the street.

It was actually a delicate wooden cart. There was a stove and a steaming pot on the cart, and various ingredients were placed on the shelves. The sign read, "Aji Raku Ramen."

The owner was a middle-aged man wearing a bowl-shaped hat. Seeing the arrival of customers, he greeted them with a smile.

Suren was already half full and nodded, "I'm fine with anything."

Qiantiao waved her hand and said to the owner, "Two large bowls of ramen!"

Owner: "Alright."

The two sat down on the chairs.

Before long, the steaming ramen was served.

Qiantiao put one leg on the stool and ate heartily without any regard for her image.

The taste was good, and her appetite was good.

The two chatted for a few words, and Suren released the paper crane left by Miko, waiting to ask about the possibility of visiting the royal library.

He wanted to call Qiantiao along, but when the gambling-addicted young woman heard this, she shook her head like a rattle, "You want to go to the Imperial Palace? That kind of place is boring to death. I'm not going."

Suren knew that she couldn't bear to leave the excitement of the casino and wasn't the kind of person who could stay idle, so he didn't say much.

Instead, he asked, "Qiantiao-jie, you said you came to Edo to seek kendo from the 'Sword Saint' Akutagawa Ryuichi. Did you find him?"

"No. It seems he's dead."

Qiantiao's mouth was stuffed with large mouthfuls of ramen, and her words were a little slurred, "I went to a few kendo dojos to pay my respects before, but few of those so-called 'Ittō-ryū' and 'Shinkage-ryū' masters had really comprehended the essence of kendo, which was very boring. On the other hand, the 'Shadow Buddha' Kato Danzo had the highest swordsmanship cultivation. It's a pity that the guy is powerful, but he specializes in ninjutsu, and his kendo realm is far from being sanctified..."

"Oh."

Suren listened, took a sip of noodles, and drank the stomach-warming noodle soup.

On this snowy night, his body felt very satisfied.

Qiantiao also said, "I heard that Akutagawa Ryuichi has successors in Edo, but I don't know if it's true. There are still a few powerful kendo schools passed down in Edo. I went to 'Tenkai Pavilion' tonight to find a guy named... Yagyu Hanjirō, who is said to be a descendant of the sword saint Yagyu Jubei from a hundred years ago and has deeply inherited the true teachings of 'Yagyu Ittō-ryū'. But I didn't meet him."

"Oh..."

Suren didn't know much about kendo and had only heard these names.

The two chatted while eating. At this moment, a blind girl holding a sanxian and拄着 (carrying) a bamboo cane walked over to the side of the road, "Sir, Miss, would you like a song? It's only two copper coins."

The blind girl was probably fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing patched cotton clothes that had been washed white. This kind of disabled girl couldn't become a geisha and could only sell her art on the street. There were many of them in this area. Although two copper coins could probably buy half a kilogram of coarse rice and was already the cheapest enjoyment, it wasn't something that Hidden Mountain paupers could afford. They could only earn enough to make a living in places like Ginza where foreign merchants mixed.

Suren glanced at her and didn't pay attention. He had noticed this blind girl when she came over from the seven or eight stalls next door. No one asked for her songs, and she had asked her way all the way in the cold wind.

Before he could speak, Qiantiao, without even raising her head, threw out a few copper coins and waved her hand, "Play a song."

"Thank you, boss."

The blind girl bowed slightly, listening to the direction the voice came from.

She put down the bamboo stool she was carrying, adjusted the strings, and began to play a tune.

"Keng, keng, keng..."

A tune came from her ears.

Suren thought it sounded pretty good. The technique wasn't bad. The sound of the sanxian was slightly hard, but listening to it in this snowy weather, it had some artistic conception.

"Huh..."

But Qiantiao, who was beside him, seemed to have heard something else, and stopped eating the noodles.

When the song was over, she turned her face and asked, "Have you learned kendo?"

The blind girl said softly, "I have not."

Qiantiao looked her up and down. Apart from the calluses from playing the qin, there were no knife marks on her hands, so she was naturally not a swordsman.

She didn't say much and threw a few more coins into the basket, "You play well."

The blind girl touched the coins, seeming a little apprehensive, "Boss, you gave too much. Let me play a few more songs for you."

Qiantiao waved her hand, "No need. It's a reward for you."

"Thank you."

The blind girl couldn't refuse and thanked her before leaving.

After the person left, Qiantiao muttered to herself again, "Her tune is a bit interesting. She must have heard kendo masters practice swordsmanship before. She understood some sword intent."

Suren didn't hear so many details, but the blind girl's soul fire was just an ordinary person, and there was nothing worth paying attention to.

......

Qiantiao didn't know how long she had been at the gambling house. She seemed really hungry. After eating a bowl of ramen, she ordered another bowl and ate it heartily.

Coincidentally, while the two were eating noodles, a group of guests came to the stall next door.

They were a few samurai with swords.

Looking at their clothes and swords, they weren't just any down-on-their-luck samurai. They seemed to have some background.

"Hey... those foreign pirates are really too deceiving. Are they bullying the fact that there's no one in Hidden Mountain!"

"Hmph! I'm not bragging, but when my 'Lightning Five-Strike Sword' comes out, those pirates will be so scared that they'll piss their pants. It's just that the Takeda Bakufu is acting inactively and won't let us resist, otherwise I would really give those arrogant foreigners some lessons."

"Mr. Yagyu's kendo is naturally beyond words. Nowadays, among the various 'Ittō-ryū' schools, you are probably the only one who has realized the true meaning of kendo..."

"..."

Listening to the conversation of the few people, Suren inexplicably had a sense of "x master".

Moreover, one of those people was, coincidentally, the "Yagyu Hanjirō" that Qiantiao had mentioned earlier?

Putting aside other things, that guy's appearance was indeed good. His hair was combed shiny, and the sword at his waist didn't look like ordinary goods at all.

However, in his soul perception, he didn't seem very strong.

Suren thought he was mistaken and looked at Qiantiao beside him, asking, "Is this the person you're looking for?"

The gambling-addicted young woman originally thought she was so lucky to have encountered the person she wanted to find. Her high fighting spirit had just risen, but after taking a glance, she was immediately disappointed.

Some people, you can tell at a glance that they've lost.

Qiantiao shook her head, "This kind of guy isn't worth my drawing my sword for."

Suren couldn't help but laugh. It turned out that he had perceived correctly. There were fake masters in every world.

Because new guests had come to the stall next door, those performers who had been selling their art before went up to ask again in turn.

Yagyu Hanjirō and his group also knew how to enjoy themselves. They called a few artists to sing and serve them with wine.

The blind qin player was also among them.

.......

Suren had to wait for Miko's reply and wasn't in a hurry to leave.

Qiantiao, the glutton, hadn't eaten enough and had stacked several ramen bowls.

Ginza was Edo's entertainment district, and the probability of customers causing trouble in this kind of place was originally very high.

Especially with the influx of a large number of pirates these past two days, those guys were not afraid of the city guards and became even more unscrupulous. They bullied women, ate and drank, and were extremely rampant...

Just as Suren and the others were eating noodles, a few pirate-dressed guys sat down at the stall next door, drunk and staggering.

"Boss, bring up the best food and wine!"

The few people sat down noisily and shouted at the wine stall owner.

The owner didn't dare to delay and quickly sent the wine and meat to the table.

Suren glanced at them, and it just so happened that he had seen the leader before.

The acting captain of the 11th Division of the 9th Fleet, whose name seemed to be Marcus, was a fourth-order professional.

The few people beside him were also carrying sophisticated firearms, and they didn't look easy to mess with.

The few of them didn't seem satisfied with just eating and drinking for free. Seeing the few artists selling their art beside Yagyu Hanjirō, they shouted, "Hey! You guys, come over and sing a song for this爷 (master)!"

Having a song that had been half-heard snatched away was originally a very humiliating thing.

But Yagyu Hanjirō and the few samurai at his table were just about to yell in anger, but when they saw the pirate attire of the few people, they endured it and didn't dare to say anything.

The few artists had no choice but to comply.

They were just trying to make a living on the streets, and their figures and appearances were not outstanding.

But people who were intoxicated with wine and lust would always do some outrageous things.

The few drunken pirates suddenly went crazy with wine.

"Come on, take off your clothes and dance for爺 (me)."

"Damn it, are you giving me face? Do you believe I'll shoot you to death!"

"..."

Conflicts arose immediately.

These pirates were very clear that as long as they didn't really cause a death, the Hidden Mountain officials wouldn't care about them.

Only the sound of "tearing" was heard, and the blind qin player's cotton coat was torn open, revealing her thin body. She fell into the snow, groping for her guide cane in panic and confusion.

Seeing this scene, the pirates' lewd laughter rang out on the street.

The pirate who tore the clothes even reached out his hand and wanted to continue touching the tender flesh inside the cotton coat...

Even so, the Yagyu group a few meters away didn't make a sound, and instead buried their heads, fearing that they would be implicated.

.......

Seeing this, a cold look flashed in Suren's eyes.

Qiantiao, who was beside him, threw down her chopsticks and sneered, "Is this what the descendants of the sword saint Yagyu Jubei are like?"

Hearing someone pointing at his nose and scolding him, Yagyu Hanjirō still wanted to defend himself, "If it weren't... if it weren't for the Shogun's order, I..."

"Hmph!"

But before he could finish speaking, he heard a disdainful snort, and then a "铿嚓" (clang) sound as the long sword was drawn.

Before anyone could react, sword energy swept through the air, and a severed hand fell into the snow.

The fourth-order acting captain immediately sobered up and reacted first, shouting, "Bold! Who dares to attack the people of our North Sea Fleet!"

But before he could finish speaking, Qiantiao's figure flashed, rushing forward more than ten meters, and four heads of the five people at the table fell to the ground in an instant.

The fourth-order captain only managed to block a few more strikes before his head fell to the ground with a thud.

The entire process took only a few breaths of time, and all the pirates' heads at the table fell to the ground.

Qiantiao had already sheathed her sword, standing proudly in the snow.

The Yagyu Hanjirō group next door watched in stunned silence.

They never expected that someone would really kill people.

But soon, the shock turned into fear.

"This woman has caused a big disaster!"

"Oh... hurry up and leave, don't be implicated."

"...."

The diners on half the street fled far away. Even a few stall owners abandoned their business and hid somewhere.

Suren sat in place with a blank expression, hooked his fingers, held the black umbrella in his hand, and prepared for battle.

If there was going to be a ruckus, then let there be one.

However, the next moment, things that Suren didn't expect happened one after another!

.......

There were many pirates near this snack street. Qiantiao had just killed Marcus and the others from the 11th Division. The pirates on the street roared, wanting to come and help. But after being beheaded by Qiantiao's sword energy, no one dared to easily come forward again.

He thought that he would probably have to wait a few minutes for the other division captains to come.

If the division captains couldn't handle it, then the high-ranking cadres such as the fleet captains would come.

Suren felt that he could still mess around for a few minutes.

Qiantiao didn't care about the blind qin player on the ground. Involving her too much would only harm her. She only said lightly, "You go first."

The blind girl was silent, groped for her bamboo cane, and quietly left.

But unexpectedly,

Before the pirate division captain arrived...

At this moment, suddenly, a flash of light and shadow appeared in front of him, and a swordman in hemp clothes wearing a bamboo hat appeared out of thin air.

"Huh?!"

Suren's pupils suddenly shrank. Without any fluctuations, this person appeared!

Qiantiao, who was not far away, had an expression as if facing a formidable enemy, staring fiercely at the person.

Expert!

Top swordsman!

Not someone from the North Sea Fleet!

Countless thoughts flashed through Suren's mind. Before he could figure out where the suddenly appearing swordsman came from,

Suddenly, just as the Yagyu group was about to slip away, a silver moon appeared in front of them.

The sword light was like a silver moon.

At first glance, Yagyu Hanjirō's expression froze there, and a line of blood immediately appeared on his neck.

A companion next to him saw something and trembled, "The ultimate skill of 'Yagyu Ittō-ryū', [Sword Art · Moon Copy]! This... a senior of the Yagyu family!"

Suren didn't understand at all. This swordsman in hemp clothes suddenly appeared, killed a small fry, and left?

Moreover, listening to the meaning in the words of others, this seemed to be an elder of the Yagyu family?

However,

The next scene,

Made Suren even more unable to believe his eyes.

The swordsman in hemp clothes took a few steps, and his figure was like a watercolor painting that had faded, becoming fainter and fainter. Then, in full view of the public, just like when he appeared out of thin air, he suddenly disappeared out of thin air!

There were no spatial fluctuations, and his body and soul fire disappeared.

Did he see a ghost?

He was clearly a living person, so how could he suddenly appear and then suddenly disappear?

Suren felt that this scene was familiar and immediately thought of the situation in the "Sword Casting Village" before.

But before he could think about it, Qiantiao, who was next to him, seemed to understand something and murmured, "With such a kendo realm... it can only be the 'Sword Saint' Yagyu Jubei from a hundred years ago."

Suren felt for the first time that his brain seemed to not be working.

He didn't speak, and Qiantiao called out, "Let's go first, we'll talk about it later!"

Suren nodded, and the two quickly disappeared into the crowd.

......

The noisy sounds behind him were dense in his ears. Suren and Qiantiao changed their attire and strolled leisurely in the dark alley.

Suren asked, "Qiantiao-jie, what was that situation just now?"

Qiantiao said, "That should be the sword saint Yagyu Jubei from a hundred years ago."

"The person from a hundred years ago isn't dead yet?"

Suren was even more confused when he heard this.

The Yagyu family's ancestor came to kill a junior and left?

"He's dead."

There was also surprise on Qiantiao's face, "That was his soul."

Suren frowned when he heard this, "Soul?"

He was clearly a living person in his perception, so how could it be a soul?

Could it be that his perception was wrong?

Suddenly, he thought of what Abe Taiwa had said to him before: the "Black Sun Festival" was approaching, and the Land of the Dead overlapped with the present world...

Could that be what he was referring to?

Although Suren had heard about the legends of the Hidden Mountain, that when people died, they would go to the Land of the Dead, which was said to be the same as the human world. There was even a legend that the human world at night was actually the Land of the Dead.

Qiantiao squinted her eyes slightly and said, "Similar situations have been occurring one after another these days. Some people who are clearly dead have appeared in the present world. Those souls of the dead from the Land of the Dead will come looking for relatives following their bloodline..."

This explained everything.

Why the sword saint Yagyu Jubei would appear here just now.

He probably came following his unfilial descendants.

Suren was also surprised to hear this.

Legends were legends, but how could it be understood when it became real?

Alchemists were pure materialists. They needed to see the essence through the phenomena in order not to be confused.

But what was the essence of this matter?

Qiantiao also said, "I asked Miko before, and she said that this kind of situation also happened during the Black Sun Festival in the past. But this time, it seems to be very different. Only ordinary ghosts appeared before. But this time, several rumors have emerged of famous strongmen in history. It seems that those great figures who should have been in historical novels are all returning to the present world in droves..."

As she spoke, she didn't have Suren's doubts.

Instead, a strong anticipation rose on her heroic face,

A feverish expectation to spar with the strong men and swordsmen of the past.

What great fortune it would be to be able to fight against the strong who had disappeared into history!

.......

Suren heard that everything was wrong.

But the whole thing was exuding eeriness, but he didn't know where the problem was.

Could this matter... be related to the Goshu Yaji?

That's not right, if she could really control the Land of the Dead, that ability would be too exaggerated...

Suren racked his brains without any results.

But just as the two were about to walk out of the alley, they were stopped.

Looking up, a blind girl carrying a sanxian was standing at the entrance of the alley.

She opened her eyes, looked at Qiantiao, and said, "Miss, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Qiantiao tilted her head, "Oh?"

Suren looked at her lifeless eyes that looked like cataracts, and his gaze froze. He suddenly realized something and guessed in his heart: [Talent A-088-Heavenly Eye]?

Strange things happened one after another.

Seeing this scene, he wasn't surprised anymore.