Returning from the Immortal World

He’s missing?

Tang Xiu was quite surprised. It must be noted that the Soul Ruling Spell he taught Kuwako was a very powerful secret art. Yet, there was someone in this world who could shield and block it? What kind of figure who could possibly have such great supernatural power in Japan?

Tang Xiu shifted his focus to Kuwako, but there was a bit of hesitation on his face. In actuality, he could find anyone under the Soul Ruling Spell cast by Kuwako, but this secret art required her blood essence. Once he took it from her, it was equal to giving a big injury that would affect her cultivation.

After weighing the pros and cons, he finally gave up on the idea and slowly asked, “Do you know where this Osashi Kitagishi guy is now?”

“From the secret report I received on him, he took those experts to a stationary point a few kilometers away from here. But the manor is tightly guarded by the experts from the Northstar One Blade School. Although I control one-third of these people and 80% of the rest will listen to my command, I don’t dare to expose them now.”

“You handled it correctly.” Tang Xiu nodded and said, “If the opponent is only that Osashi Kitagishi alone, you can gather all the manpower you have to get rid of him since you can use numbers to kill him no matter how powerful he is. But he has many experts under him, and using manpower with too much disparity in strength will ruin your efforts in the long-term, while it may also be less impactful.”

Tang Xiu then got up and grinningly said, “Well, I’ve just made a slight breakthrough, so I’m looking for a sparring partner. I didn’t expect some experts would suddenly appear. Kuwako, take us to meet this guy. I wanna see how powerful this Osashi guy and his men are.”

“Understood!”

Kuwako had long known that Tang Xiu was powerful. Now that he just had a breakthrough, didn’t it mean that he was a lot stronger than before? With him personally going into action, Osashi Kitagishi and his men were unlikely to be able to fight against Sect Master even if they were powerful.

****

Shaofang was a famous entertainment club in Shinjuku and was also a money squandering establishment that many yearned to visit and spurned at the same time. Every guest with a stack of notes could find a variety of entertainment programs they wanted from the one-stop service provided here.

The venue was usually full of guests. At this moment, however, there were no men looking for flowers and enjoying their springtime here nor women coming out for recreation. Not even one waiter could be seen. Now, one could see a grim and cold-looking black-suited man with a machete standing in every corner of the road, blocking the whole Shaofang.

In the innermost interior.

On the second floor of a richly ornamented classical pavilion, Osashi Kitagishi held a bronze wine cup in front of the table next to the window. Yet, his lips didn’t even touch the wine cup but looked at the emerald ring on his thumb. Sitting on the opposite side of him was a composed and easygoing-looking female who was looking at the sky in the distance toward the direction of the villa where Kuwako Yamamoto and her people were hiding.

“Miyaji is in a very foul mood recently.” The female suddenly turned her head and smilingly looked at Osashi Kitagishi.

Osashi turned back to his senses as he frowned and said, “Palace Master has been partying every night, drinking, and the likes. Can’t those gorgeous beauties I sent to him make him happy?”

“How do you compare those belles you sent with that Yamamoto lass?” The woman chuckled.

“It’s different. I know that.” Osashi shook his head and forced a smile. “You can say that the former is the kind of flowers watered by many, whereas Kuwako Yamamoto is a lady hailed once as the most beautiful woman in Japan. No need to guess which one is much better. It’s a pity that I’ve sent my men to find all the women aged 16 to 26 in Kyoto, but I haven’t found even a handful that compares to her.”

“Do you really think Miyaji is upset since you didn’t bring her to him?” the woman meaningfully replied.

“It’s not it?” Osashi started blankly and confused.

A jeer sported on the female’s face as she went on moderately. “Kuwako Yamamoto is originally a new generation lady of House Yamamoto, to begin with. Even if she’s in the Northstar One Blade, she’s only one of the many objects cultivated there. She may have good potential, but she is supposed to have a long way to take the seat of the Schoolmaster. Yet, what happened to her during this one year or two is much more interesting.”

“I’ve noticed this situation.” Osashi nodded and said, “I have no idea what kind of means she uses, but she keeps buying people’s hearts, making many experts loyal to her. This ability is simply terrifying. The Northstar One Blade is just a force created by Palace Master in the past which is mainly used to handle some things that must not be exposed. Kuwako, on the other hand, has unexpectedly been able to climb to this level without going through the ‘Heart Purifying’ program—it deviated beyond the custom set by Palace Master.”

Suddenly, he looked startled and murmured, “Don’t tell me… Palace Master wants to dig out her secret?”

“Heh, you’re not hopelessly stupid.” The woman sneered. “You also know some things about her since childhood until she grew up. Her previous achievements and status were not enough for her to be qualified to obtain the ‘Joyous Love’ magical skill. It’s simply impossible to cultivate up to her present level whatsoever. Further, there’s also one more thing. She’s still a virgin. Even if she did obtain the ‘Joyous Love’ divine art from other channels, it’s just impossible for her to cultivate it. Meaning there’s something amiss here, a problem which became her secret and also the chance that there are other practitioners behind her.”

Osashi Kitagishi’s expression turned more serious. Then, he said in a deep voice, “You’re right. I had such suspicions myself before, but I’ve been uncertain and not sure about it. Now that you told me your piece, which happens to be similar to mine, it’s highly likely it’s really the case. Still, there are many mechanisms in that manor, while there’s also a bunch of mysterious experts around Kuwako Yamamoto. There’s nothing we can do for the time being.”

“If we can’t do so, then just wait,” said the woman lightly. “Besides, that manor should only have a few food reserves, while there are so many of them. They can’t last long. When they get hungry, it will be the time for us to storm inside to clean them up.”

Osashi nodded and said, “It’ll be much easier to deal with them if they are forced to come out because of the lack of food. Anyhow, Yuji, did you bring the Four Vajra Guardians with you?”

The woman called Yuji nodded and smilingly said, “That’s of course. The Four Vajra Guardians are my special favorites in these years, to begin with. It’s only natural I bring them with me. With the might of Vajra Fist Array, I don’t care how powerful Kuwako has become, she’ll only meet a dead-end once she gets trapped inside.”

A look of envy flashed in Osashi’s face. Then, he slowly said, “Palace Master is truly fond of you! To think that he even taught you one of the ten Great Arrays. Yuji, if you can become his favorite and snatch the position as his Head Mistress, do not forget to support me later, alright?”

“You’re cracking a joke with me, Elder Osashi.” Yu Ji chuckled and smirked. “Besides, Miyaji has tons of beauties already, many of whom are far more beautiful than me. How could I have the qualification to be his Head Mistress?”

Osashi Kitagishi squinted his eyes and smilingly replied, “Well, looks and makings are just secondary, what really matters is wisdom. Besides, only a handful are as smart and wise as you in the entire Pleasure Palace, no? What I wanna say is, you only have a few competitors. So, if you can get more support, then in the future…”

His words came to an abrupt stop as a fragrant scent wafted in, followed by a graceful figure that appeared at the door.

“What’s up?”

Yuji furrowed her brows and looked displeased. She realized that Osashi was about to speak out something she wanted to hear but was finally interrupted.

“Someone broke in, Yuji.”

“Who is it?”

“Kuwako Yamamoto.”

“What?”

Yu Ju abruptly got up with an uncertain expression. She didn’t expect that Kuwako would leave that manor and proactively rush here to her death. Yet, at the same time, she was also aware of one thing. Someone should have notified her when Kuwako left the manor, so how could she appear here without receiving the report about it?

Was there a traitor within?

A chilling light flashed in Yuji’s eyes. She turned to Osashi Kitagishi and said, “I got a bad feeling. It’s likely the force behind Kuwako just appeared. Further, she’s a smart woman. She’d never take the initiative to leave the manor if there was nothing to make her feel confident.”

Osashi got up and said, “You’re right. But she has yet to find out that you’re here, either. Nor does she know of the group of experts you brought here. If she got help from some foreign forces, then why can I not? Today, we’ll completely obliterate her followers as well as her foreign reinforcement. Then we’ll seize her for Palace Master and get the rewards.”

“I need to know what you didn’t say just now,” said Yuji in a deep voice.

“I want to help you,” said Osashi.

Yuji looked pleased and nodded. “If so, let’s see if this Kuwako is really as strong as rumored.”

At the gate of Shaofang, in the large courtyard, Kuwako Yamamoto, Tang Guang, Hei Xiong, and Xue Sha were in a killing frenzy and slaughtering Osashi’s men, causing the entire courtyard to be painted by blood in just a minute. However, ten men and women were holding their respective weapons and standing in the innermost interior while calmly watching the slaughter scene, as though those who were getting slaughtered were not one of them.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Nine figures flickered extremely fast from the distance and appeared in front of the 10 people in the blink of an eye. Osashi Kitagishi, however, furrowed his brows when he witnessed his last subordinate getting stabbed right at the heart and then kicked away. A chilling light filled and flickered in his eyes as his vision lingered on those people in the courtyard and finally, landed on Tang Xiu.

“Who are you? How dare you are to meddle in the Northstar One Blade’s internal affair?” Osashi Kitagishi directly ignored Kuwako and coldly questioned Tang Xiu. He realized that this person with a bronze mask must be the real bigwig and the backer behind Kuwako Yamamoto.