The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 526 Demon King
"!?"

The samurai were startled.

They glanced at each other and found the same bewilderment in each other's eyes.

what's the situation?
What about people?

He disappeared in a flash... Even if he knew he had nowhere to go and jumped into the sea, there should have been the sound of water, right?
Before they could figure it out, a gust of wind suddenly came from behind them. The sound was extremely piercing and very familiar to the warriors—it was the whistling of a blade cutting through the air!

But why is it so loud! And why is it behind me!
This was their last thought.

Before they could turn around, a sharp pain shot through their waists, and then their lower bodies vanished from their senses. Some instinctively drew their swords, but only managed to pull out half of the hilt. Before they could understand what was happening, their entire upper bodies slid down the smooth cut and fell to the ground with a thud.

"What... is going on?"

The samurai who had initially planned to rob the merchant ship forced his eyes open, turned his upper body over, and looked behind him.

But all they saw was a dark cloak turning and leaving.

Then, the woman who had been standing at the bow of the boat stepped past him, and the girl he was carrying covered her mouth with both hands, tears streaming down her face like a fountain.

He lost all strength, his arm went limp, his head hit the ground, and he fell silent.

Among the three who walked away on their own ahead, Li Miao strolled leisurely, ignoring the direction and heading straight for the loudest voices. Lu Wushuang watched Li Miao's retreating figure and followed with a smile.

Sasakura Nanako, who was being held in Lu Wushuang's hands, was utterly despondent.

The moment she woke up and saw Li Miao and Lu Wushuang, she knew they were from the Central Plains. Not only their clothing and language, but also their height, appearance, and demeanor. At least in Nanako's knowledge, she couldn't find anyone with such a noble air as Li Miao.

Although she didn't know who the two men were, they were undoubtedly the ones who had saved her from pirates. And judging from their outstanding appearances, they shouldn't be bad people... So she wanted to get up and thank them.

But the next moment, Lu Wushuang pulled her out of the cabin.

Standing on the opposite ship, Nanako saw something the samurai hadn't seen—Li Miao appeared suddenly behind the samurai like a ghost, raised his right palm, and slashed at the crowd at waist level.

Then came the bloodshed.

The warriors, who had been shouting and cursing just moments before, were now cut in two. As Lu Wushuang carried her past those warriors, some of the survivors reached out to her.

"Heavenly Demon... Demon..."

"Demon King!"

Nanako's family were devout Buddhists, and as she looked at the flowing cloak ahead, a thought involuntarily popped into her mind—the Central Plains person walking in front of her was not human.

It's a monster!

It's the Demon King!
That outstanding appearance and temperament are simply bait to deceive people!
I was not rescued at all, but instead fell into an even more desperate situation... I was likely the enemy's reserve food, just waiting for them to get hungry so they would bare their fangs and chew me to pieces!
"Namo Amitabha Buddha! Buddha, please save me!"

"Father! Mother!"

"I shouldn't have run away... I was wrong!"

She kept crying and regretting, but Li Miao in front of her pretended not to hear. Lu Wushuang, however, smiled and lifted her up a little, as if she were carrying a small dog, and said in Japanese.

"Stop crying, you're upsetting my family, so I'll eat you up!"

Nanako's eyes widened suddenly, and she covered her mouth tightly, afraid to make a sound, but her tears flowed even more profusely.

Seeing this, Lu Wushuang smiled and said.

“Just kidding, don’t take it seriously.” “However, we didn’t save you entirely out of goodwill… As you can see, we are from the Central Plains, unfamiliar with the area, and we need a guide.”

"Perfect timing. You're a woman all alone; it'll be hard for you to survive without companions. Why don't you just be our guide? Once we've finished our business, we'll drop you off on our way home. What do you say?"

That's what she said, but from the coldness in Shikano's eyes, Nanako knew clearly that this wasn't a question at all, and she had no right to refuse.

As expected, Lu Wushuang didn't wait for her reply and continued speaking on her own.

"Let's talk about the present situation first. Where is this place? Who is in power? How many soldiers are there? How do they make a living?"

Nanako closed her eyes, choked up for a long time, and only after a short while did she manage to suppress her emotions, organize her thoughts, and answer with difficulty.

"This is... Hirado Castle."

"The Matsuura family is in power, and the current head is Matsuura Takanobu... He should have several thousand foot soldiers and over two hundred samurai under his command... They mainly rely on Hirado Port for their livelihood..."

Upon hearing the answer, Lu Wushuang remained silent for a moment, then glanced at Nanako with interest.

Those words just now were not something an ordinary person could say.

The number of soldiers and the source of their wealth are questions that even locals who have lived in a place for decades might not be able to answer, yet this Japanese girl was able to answer them in a state of mental confusion... Her family must be very wealthy.

The guide I picked on a whim might just have landed me a lucky break.

Just as Lu Wushuang was about to ask more questions, she heard Li Miao speak calmly from the front.

"Ask her what the most famous dojo is here, and who the strongest swordsman is?"

Lu Wushuang quickly translated.

Nanako answered these two questions without hesitation.

"Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, Lord Kagune-da Yasunori!"

"He is the founder of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu school, a direct disciple of Lord Yagyu Muneyoshi, and one of the few swordsmen in Kyushu who has mastered the profound secrets of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu school!"

"If he hadn't been a trusted retainer of Matsuura Takanobu, commanding the Hirado navy and thus unable to focus on swordsmanship, he would surely have been a hero who earned the title of 'Sword Saint'!"

The speaker has no intention, the listener has the heart.

Lu Wushuang keenly noticed something... Nanako would always add the honorific "sir" when addressing famous swordsmen, which meant that she was not a commoner who did not know the rules.

However, when she spoke of the daimyo of Hirado Castle, the local lord Matsuura Takanobu, she didn't use any honorifics... The implications of this are quite intriguing.

Lu Wushuang relayed Nanako's answer to Li Miao.

After listening, Li Miao nodded noncommittally, and then asked a question that seemed completely unrelated.

Ask her what the most widespread and highest-ranking religion is here, and who controls it.

Lu Wushuang relayed the story truthfully.

After hearing this, Nanako's pupils suddenly contracted!

Good heavens! She guessed right!
The opponent really is a demon king; he's coming to... destroy Buddhism!

(End of this chapter)