The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 533 Route
"Fusang is composed of three islands. The central mainland is called Honshu, the southern island is called Shikoku, and you are currently in Kyushu in the southwest."

"If you start from here and head to Honshu, you will pass through these places."

Takanobu Matsuura swiped his finger to draw a route on the map.

"Izumo Province, daimyo Amago Haruhisa, Izumo Taisha Shrine."

"Tōshōdai-ji Temple in Nara, within the sphere of influence of Kōfuku-ji Temple, is also the place where Master Jianzhen's remains are located."

"Tsuruoka, daimyo Uesugi Kenshin, Hachiman-no-miya."

"Izumo Taisha is the oldest and most ancient shrine of Shintoism, while Hachiman Shrine is where the Shinto swordsmanship flourished. As for the significance of Toshodai-ji, it goes without saying that the second decline of Shintoism was closely related to Master Jianzhen. Traveling from west to east, we can visit all three places."

"At that time, the answer you seek may finally come to light."

He spoke with utmost sincerity.

Since falling into Li Miao's hands, he has been completely open and honest, telling Li Miao everything he knew without making Li Miao waste a single word. He proactively connected all the information he had and revealed it all.

It seems that he has truly submitted.

Even Nanako, who couldn't understand Mandarin, agreed with this.

But after Matsuura Takanobu finished speaking, Li Miao just smiled at him without saying a word.

An eerie silence fell over the dojo.

Time passed slowly, and Matsuura Takanobu's breathing became increasingly erratic. Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, blurring the blood-painted map in front of him into a hazy pool of blood.

But he didn't say another word.

After a long pause, Li Miao let out a cold laugh.

"Can we hide it?"

Matsuura Takanobu remained silent, only trembling uncontrollably.

Li Miao extended a finger and pointed to the blurred map in front of Matsuura Takanobu.

"Then let me add something for you."

"Since we're talking about Buddhism, Shintoism, and the Emperor, how can we leave this out?"

He placed a point in the middle of the map.

With that, Matsuura Takanobu's shoulders slumped, and he collapsed to the ground. He didn't want to listen, but Li Miao's voice continued.

"Kyoto."

"The center of Buddhism, Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei; the residence of the Emperor of Japan, the Kyoto Imperial Palace; and—"

He moved his finger slightly by an inch.

"Ise Grand Shrine, which enshrines Amaterasu, the principal deity of Shintoism."

"The centers of secular government, Shintoism, and Buddhism are all located here. Even if you didn't mention it, I couldn't possibly ignore it. What, do you really think I know absolutely nothing about Japan?"

Matsuura Takanobu was shaking like chaff.

"Sir, please forgive me."

"I didn't mean to hide it, it's just—"

Li Miao smiled and accepted his words.

"You just want to leave yourself a way out, right?"

"You want to gamble that I'm not interested in the Emperor, or that I can get what I want without going to Kyoto, and then leave Japan, right?"

"If I let you go today, and things don't get too out of hand, you'll have a chance to cover up what happened today and conceal the fact that my information came from you, right?"

Three questions completely shattered Matsuura Takanobu's defenses.

Yes, he was just a remote daimyo who lorded it over his own territory, not a loyal subject of the emperor. Why would he risk being discovered by Li Miao and deliberately omit mentioning Kyoto?

All he did was try to save his own life.

Li Miao had read his mind, and Matsuura Takanobu collapsed to the ground, his teeth chattering.

Li Miao stood up, supporting herself on her knees, and moved closer to him.

"No, sir, no!"

"do not want!"

Matsuura Takanobu braced himself with his hands on the ground and his legs scrambled across the floor as he desperately tried to back away from Li Miao.

But after retreating only a few feet, Li Miao stepped on his calf. *Crack*.

"Uhhhhhh!"

Matsuura Takanobu let out a high-pitched howl.

Li Miao smiled.

"Actually, you really don't need to bother looking for a way out. From the very beginning, no matter how cooperative you were, I never intended for you to live."

Matsuura Takanobu pinched his calf and wailed.

"Why! Sir, why!"

"I clearly did not offend you, and I told you everything I knew. I just wanted to save my own life. I did not mean to deceive you!"

He really doesn't understand.

But the next moment, Li Miao gave his answer.

"Who said you didn't offend me?"

"Hirado Port is your property, and most of the income of your Hirado Castle comes from the ships that come and go through Hirado Port, right?"

"You're not trying to say that you're running a legitimate business, are you?"

Matsuura Takanobu was stunned.

He got it.

Hirado Port is located on the southwestern edge of Japan, far from the Japanese mainland, yet closest to the Central Plains. In other words, Hirado Port's main customers were ships related to Daisaku.

This "related" aspect goes far beyond mere smuggling. Matsuura Takanobu couldn't have lived such a lavish lifestyle simply by collecting taxes from smuggled merchant ships.

Just like the situation Li Miao encountered when he landed, if Da Shuo tightened the sea ban at certain times and there were not enough smuggling merchant ships, Matsuura Takanobu would also order his samurai to kill people to silence them and swallow up all the wealth.

In addition to these, there were also Japanese pirates.

Providing a place for the Japanese pirates to rest and selling their stolen goods—that was the true lifeblood of Hirado Port.

The reason why Hirado Port is now quiet is that the battle of Dengzhouwei broke the backbone of the Japanese pirates, causing them to temporarily lower their flags and cease their activities. They dared not go to Dashuo, and therefore no longer needed to dock at Hirado Port to sell their stolen goods.

Li Miao's landing at Hirado Castle was not without purpose.

A drink, a peck, all have a certain number.

Matsuura Takanobu's fate was sealed the moment Li Miao left Dengzhou Guard.

Matsuura Takanobu pressed himself against the wall behind him, trembling uncontrollably. He wanted to cry for help, but his remaining retainers were already dead—killed at Li Miao's behest, a death he had personally requested.

He had run out of chips.

Li Miao had already reached out her hand to him.

The life-or-death crisis once again unleashed his potential. He looked around frantically, trying to find a glimmer of hope... When his gaze fell on Nanako, he suddenly froze.

He hadn't looked closely when Li Miao pressed him for answers.

But now, he found a sense of familiarity in Nanako's eyes and brows. It was as if he had seen someone who looked remarkably like Nanako before.

"Age, accent, appearance."

"They match! They all match!"

"It's her!"

Matsuura Takanobu spoke fiercely.

"Sir, that woman is—"

Bang!
The red and white things exploded.

The headless corpse fell to the ground.

This time, his quick-thinking shouts did not save his life.

Li Miao reached into his chest cavity, dipped his hand in some blood, and pointed to the wall where he had carved several large characters. He then took the handkerchief that Lu Wushuang handed him, wiped his hands, and disdainfully threw it onto Matsuura Takanobu's corpse.

"Let's go, we've finished taking care of things here."

"Go to Honshu, to Izumo Taisha Shrine."

"I'd like to see what secrets we can uncover in this oldest Shinto shrine."

(End of this chapter)