I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 164 Red Demon Horns, Use! [Divine Sign - Ominous], another path to improve the quality of your incarnation.
Driven by curiosity about Okabe Motonobu, Uesugi Tetsuya repeated Asahina Yasutomo's words in his mind once more.

Then, I felt a little confused.

Is it the work of unseen demons or ghosts?

It shouldn't be.

Logically speaking, demons and monsters that cannot be seen with the naked eye are mostly small ghosts or demons of about half a star or one star.

Such a weak demon could not possibly get close to a powerful general like Okabe Motonobu, who possessed abundant energy and had killed countless enemies on the battlefield, let alone possess him.

However, according to Asahina Yasutomo, this monster couldn't possibly be powerful.

How could a powerful enough demon, after approaching and even possessing Okabe Motonobu, simply be content with keeping him awake at night?
This logic is fundamentally contradictory.

So Uesugi Tetsu frowned and asked, "Lord Asahina, could you elaborate a bit more..."

Upon seeing his serious expression, Asahina Yasuo held his breath, feeling somewhat nervous.
"Has Lord Yuanxin encountered some terrifying demon?"

"It hasn't come to that."

Uesugi Tetsu shook his head and then told Asahina Yasushi why he had asked him that question.

"I see."

The young man clasped his hands together and stood there pondering for a long time.

Imagawa Yoshimoto, standing to the side, was not in a hurry.

She crouched down and pulled the two-foot-tall man, who had been holding Kaga Kiyomitsu with a serious expression, over to her, and began to lead her around the garden landscape of the Imagawa-kan with a smile.

"Mr. Che, I'm sorry..."

Asahina Yasuo scratched the back of his head sheepishly, then bowed his head and sincerely apologized again.
"Actually, I'm not entirely clear on the reasons and details either. It's just that Lord Yuanxin mentioned it to me casually before, and I've been a little worried for her."

"I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to conduct an on-site examination at that time."

Uesugi Tetsu: “…”

He rolled his eyes inwardly in exasperation.

—This kid named Thai Chao is a bit too reckless.

This person, who knows absolutely nothing, actually dares to come and ask for help.

If it weren't him standing in front of him, but another Onmyoji from this era, he probably would have thought Asahina Yasutomo was playing a trick on him and would have walked away with a flick of his sleeve.

Uesugi Tetsu sighed, "I understand. I'll go find him to resolve the issue when I have time. I'll need to trouble you, Lord Asahina, to lead the way then."

The young man was overjoyed.

"Mr. Che, thank you so much!"

He thanked him repeatedly, and then said that from now on Uesugi Tetsu could call him "Taichi" directly, instead of addressing him so formally as "Asahina".

After a brief tug-of-war, Uesugi Tetsu and Asahina Yasutomo finally ended their dispute over titles by each yielding to the title "Lord Yasutomo."

"Then, Your Excellency Thailand."

Uesugi Tetsu waved to him: "See you next time."

Asahina Yasutomo nodded silently, pointed to Imagawa Yoshimoto who was standing not far away with his back to them, and then quickly left.

His footsteps were loud enough to catch Imagawa Yoshimoto's attention when he was holding the hand of Erchi-sama and squatting on the ground with her watching the passing ants.

Instead of getting up and going over, she waved to Uesugi Tetsuya.

Uesugi Tetsu walked over and heard her ask, "Have you finished talking with Tai Chao?"

"Ah."

He stood behind them, gazing at the two people in a harmonious atmosphere, somewhat surprised.

Originally, Uesugi Tetsuya was hiding the two-foot-tall lady and didn't want Imagawa Yoshimoto to see her.

He had assumed that whenever the two met, they would clash and find each other unpleasant, a truly troublesome situation.

Surprisingly, the two of them got along quite well.

Imagawa Yoshimoto spread his palms out to the side: "Che-kun, get me a branch."

She felt her small, cold hand tremble almost imperceptibly for a moment after she said "Che-jun," and a smile appeared on her face.

Imagawa Yoshimoto glanced at the girl squatting next to her out of the corner of his eye, and then looked away after seeing that she remained silent.

Uesugi Tetsu didn't say much, and casually picked up a branch.

He used his inner energy to round off the end of the branch, then sharpened the tip slightly before handing the branch to Imagawa Yoshimoto, holding the tip.

The girl took the branch, gazed at it for a moment, and then placed it directly in front of the ant colony.

The lead ant paused slightly, seemingly trying to understand the current situation.

"Che-jun, what are your thoughts on what happened this morning?"

Uesugi Tetsu's gaze sharpened; he knew the main event was about to begin.

Imagawa Yoshimoto's question was undoubtedly asking for his opinion on the group of elders.

I also wanted to know his decision.

However, instead of using roundabout and cautious approaches, he asked him directly when they were alone.

This already speaks volumes about her attitude.

However, this decision, though important, was not difficult for Uesugi Tetsuya at all.

Because it's a choice that requires no thought at all.

Standing behind the girl, Uesugi Tetsu said, "Tetsu just wants to take this opportunity to observe the breathing technique. It will satisfy my curiosity and won't get too involved with those people."

After a pause, he continued, "If Lord Yiyuan has any inconveniences or if any unexpected events occur... Che can also act on his behalf."

Upon hearing this answer, Imagawa Yoshimoto's beautiful eyes curved into crescents, and an undisguised joy welled up from within them.

The girl took two seconds to suppress her emotions and raised her voice: "An accident? There's no need for an accident!"

She emphasized, "I have always wanted 'certainty' and disliked surprises that indicate a lack of preparation."

In reality, Imagawa Yoshimoto didn't want Uesugi Tetsu to do anything.

It would be a waste to have Uesugi Tetsu doing these things in the Imagawa building.

All she wanted was his attitude.

that's enough.

—After touching the unmoving branch twice with its antennae, the lead ant chose to take a detour and continue on its way.

Behind this choice lies the path that Imagawa Yoshimoto had specially cleared for them beforehand—a smooth road leading to their nest.

Imagawa Yoshimoto's unexpected answer left Uesugi Tetsuya somewhat confused, and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

He had initially thought that Imagawa Yoshimoto was indeed unwilling to swallow this insult, and that if he was angry today, he would have to take action today.

Surprisingly, she said she didn't need his help.

This, however, puzzled Uesugi Tetsuya.

"By the way, Yuanxin hasn't seemed to be in good spirits lately. Taichao was probably talking to you about this just now, right..."

Imagawa Yoshimoto stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes and a few fallen leaves off: "That's perfect, Che-kun, you can take this opportunity to get to know her."

"Regarding the suppression of the uprising in the Sanhe area, I plan to have Yuan Xin lead the troops as the commander-in-chief."

You can first serve as her deputy and assist her, while also learning what war is really like.

"The powerful demon that might exist over there will have to be entrusted to you."

She released her grip on the two-foot-tall man's hand, letting him silently return to Uesugi Tetsuya's side, and then led the two of them into a secluded path surrounded by deep, dark trees.

Uesugi Tetsu's gaze swept over the specially pruned tree branches on both sides of the path, as well as some lifelike little stone sculptures, and he thought that the landscape of the Imagawa-kan was indeed very well done.

"And one more thing," Imagawa Yoshimoto said after a moment of thought, "I will also tell Motonobu about the Jodo Shinshu sect. The two of you should work together to find a solution."

"If you encounter any unexpected difficulties, just send me a letter and I will provide support as quickly as possible."

Uesugi Tetsu narrowed his eyes.

—Does Imagawa Yoshimoto mean that she doesn't want to get involved in the Mikawa riots and is leaving the matter entirely to him and Okabe Motonobu?
No.

This is not okay.

Putting aside the fact that if he leaves Imagawa Yoshimoto's side and goes to such a far place, he certainly won't be able to get there in time if something happens to her, and he won't even be able to help.

Moreover, the bizarre "62-day" time limit for this mission is really quite strange.

This Mikawa uprising was certainly different from the previous ones, but Imagawa Yoshimoto did not think so.

He needs to make Imagawa Yoshimoto take this matter seriously.

Of course, the most important thing is that if Yoshimoto Imagawa doesn't go, he won't be able to create some "famous moments" to quickly expand and increase her popularity and popularity.

This is equivalent to losing a major event that could have boosted brand awareness!

Therefore, Uesugi Tetsu quickened his pace and walked to her side, saying seriously, "Lord Yoshimoto, this riot may not be as simple as it seems on the surface."

Imagawa Yoshimoto paused slightly in his steps.

She heard Uesugi Tetsuya say, word by word.

"—That's what my gut feeling tells me."

Intuition, perhaps?

Intuition...

Imagawa Yoshimoto pondered.

If you replaced Cheol-jun with Tae-jo or Won-shin, she would definitely ignore it without hesitation—those two guys always talk about intuition, but in the end they get nothing.

But Che-jun is an Onmyoji who possesses mysterious Onmyoji techniques.

Seeing that Imagawa Yoshimoto seemed somewhat persuaded, Uesugi Tetsu took out the divination tube from his storage bag and waved it in front of her twice.

The girl asked in confusion, "This is..."

"The Divine Fortune Sticks. Lord Yoshimoto, just treat it as a fairly accurate divination tool."

Uesugi Tetsuya said somewhat exaggeratedly, "At least, it saved my life a few times before."

Imagawa Yoshimoto then picked up the divination sticks and examined them.
"So how do we use this?"

"Close your eyes, think about what you want to ask, and it will give you a prediction of good or bad fortune."

Uesugi Tetsu explained to her in detail: "I think if Yoshimoto-kun is unable to make up his mind right away, it might be able to provide considerable assistance in choosing one side."

Imagawa Yoshimoto stared at the exquisite fortune-telling container in his hand, remaining silent for a moment.

She had never actually believed in such superstitious things, even though she had been sent to a temple to grow up since she was a child.

Because this always gave her the feeling that her fate was controlled by something in the dark.

Imagawa Yoshimoto didn't like this feeling.

But this is something that Che-jun took out.

Since he can control the heavenly thunder, the "good or bad fortune" related to this divination stick must also be true.

She asked, "The so-called good or bad fortune will determine the future..."

Imagawa Yoshimoto suddenly stopped talking halfway through his sentence.

Instead, she immediately closed her eyes, gently shook the divination tube twice, and let a slender bamboo stick fall from the hole.

Uesugi Tetsu caught the bamboo skewer for her and placed it in Imagawa Yoshimoto's palm.

She opens her eyes.

Then a square, blood-red character for "ominous" came into view, causing Imagawa Yoshimoto to narrow his beautiful eyes and let out a cold snort through gritted teeth.

"Che-jun, please interpret this."

Uesugi Tetsu took the divination slip, and a prompt immediately appeared.

[Divine Oracle - Ominous]

—As you expected, things didn't go as planned.

Uesugi Tetsu secretly clicked his tongue in amazement.

This was the first time he had ever seen such a sharp and incisive divine divination slip.

Uesugi Tetsu repeated it word for word.

Imagawa Yoshimoto's face immediately darkened: "If we break this fortune slip now, will things change?"

"will not."

Upon hearing this, Imagawa Yoshimoto snatched the divination slip, snapped it in two with both hands, and casually tossed it into the roadside bushes.

Uesugi Tetsu opened his mouth: "Lord Yoshimoto, I really think we need to pay more attention to this..."

"This time, it is indeed different from the past."

"I know, I already know."

Imagawa Yoshimoto sighed deeply.

She raised her hand and rubbed her temples: "So, I'm angry and helpless at my own shallow and stupid thinking just now."

Her face suddenly turned as black as charcoal, not because she disliked the interpretation of the divination slip.

It was only after hearing the interpretation that she suddenly realized many small details that she had previously overlooked.

The girl patted her cheeks and clicked her tongue in displeasure.
"It's just some paperwork and policy taxation designations... This kind of thing can be completed anytime."

After muttering to himself for a while, Imagawa Yoshimoto quickly composed himself and spoke calmly.
"Hanzo."

Two seconds later, a shadow condensed and took shape in front of her eyes, transforming into the appearance of Hanzo.

Uesugi Tetsuya's pupils constricted slightly as he sensed no fluctuations in spiritual energy or flow of qi. He wondered if this was also part of a ninja secret technique. "Your subordinate is here."

Tell me again about the situation in the Sanhe area in great detail.

"Yes."

……

About half an hour later.

Imagawa Yoshimoto concluded,
"Aside from the fact that a riot did indeed occur in the Sanhe area, and the rumors of a great demon causing trouble, there is nothing wrong."

Uesugi Tetsuya remained silent for a moment.

Just as I was about to try to persuade her again, I heard her assert,
"—But the biggest problem is that there's nothing wrong with it."

After letting Hanzo attend to his own affairs, Imagawa Yoshimoto continued walking along the path with himself and his shikigami.

She muttered to herself, "Because those powerful clans have no reason to 'send themselves to their deaths' and weaken their own power once again."

Snapped.

She clapped her hands, and after exhaling slowly, said, "Thank you, Che-jun."

Upon hearing Imagawa Yoshimoto say these words, Uesugi Tetsu knew that she had made her decision.

She can even conduct self-reflection and humbly accept advice in front of her subordinates before choosing the path she had previously decided to abandon.

He truly is a wise ruler.

Uesugi Tetsu sighed inwardly.

At this point, the path was almost at its end, and the three of them arrived at the back door of the Imagawa-kan.

If you hold your breath and listen carefully, you can faintly hear the footsteps of people walking back and forth in the distance outside the door and the purring of horses.

Imagawa Yoshimoto shook his head, temporarily banishing the overwhelming amount of official business and his less-than-ideal mood from his mind.

She stared at Kaga Kiyomitsu, who was being held by the two-foot-tall man, and said, "Che-kun, you probably don't have a suitable katana yet, do you?"

Uesugi Tetsuya was taken aback by this strange topic. After a long while, he nodded only after confirming that there was indeed no katana in his backpack.

"Um...that's true."

"That's just right."

Imagawa Yoshimoto tapped his chin with his fingertip and waved it in front of him: "I know the best blacksmith in Sunpu Castle. Anyway, we don't have anything urgent to do later, so let's go buy a sword together."

"Moreover, that blacksmith shop happens to be on the way to Yuanxin's house, so I can just have someone take you there."

Killing two birds with one stone.

The head of the Imagawa family placed his ten fingers on his chest and said with a smile,

"You're right, Che-kun."

"Ah...yes, that's right."

Realizing he had no other options, Uesugi Tetsu nodded and gave the answer the girl wanted to hear.

Anyway, you can't refuse a free katana; a katana given by Imagawa Yoshimoto can't be too bad.

You can get a good weapon for free, what more could you want!

"Then let's go~"

……

Before leaving the Imagawa residence, Imagawa Yoshimoto first had the young master change into a plain white suit of clothes.

After all, her original white dress was rather out of place with the surrounding style and was too conspicuous.

Perhaps because of her approachable aura, even if she changed her clothes and was waiting for her in a dark corner, Uesugi Tetsu could hear the servants making no attempt to hide their affection for her.

Oh, as for why he was standing in the dark corner...

That's of course because——

"Red Demon Horns".

Uesugi Tetsuya focused his gaze on the pair of dark black, curved horns in the storage backpack.

To avoid being seen, Uesugi Tetsu didn't take it out to examine it, but instead directly used it on the Demon Incarnation - White Prajna from his backpack.

A prompt will appear immediately.

[You used the Crimson Demon Horn on your demonic incarnation, White Prajna.]

The two are merging...

Uesugi Tetsuya turned his gaze to the white Hannya mask floating on another panel.

Suddenly, the pair of red demon horns appeared, and then the masked wrathful wailed as it opened its mouth and swallowed them whole without even chewing.

Shortly after, the prompt appeared again.

[Your demonic incarnation, White Prajna, has slightly improved in quality.]

Please continue collecting "Demon Horns" to improve the quality of the Demon Incarnation - White Hannya.

The quality of Prajna Incarnation did not jump from "Epic" to "Epic+" or even "Super Epic".

This makes sense.

If a mere pair of rare-quality Crimson Oni Horns could elevate a Hannya Incarnation to an epic-quality level, that would be truly abnormal.

But differences still emerged.

Uesugi Tetsu squinted and observed that the color of the two horns at the top of the Hannya mask had become slightly darker.

The specific effects are still unclear; perhaps we will only know when he transforms into Prajna again.

But there's definitely not enough time now.

Because the two-foot-tall man was standing outside waving at him.

After closing the panel, Uesugi Tetsu walked towards the two-foot-tall man who had retied his hair and looked like a sword-wielding boy.

Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was wearing a straw hat to cover his face, was waiting for them at the door, while the guards who were originally at the door were temporarily dismissed.

A slightly surprised voice came from under the straw hat: "Huh? I feel like your face has changed a bit, Che-kun. It's not as eye-catching as before."

Uesugi Tetsu replied, "Using the four-tailed fox's character customization effect reduced my charm by several points."
"It's just a minor effect of Yin-Yang magic. Lord Yiyuan, you wore the straw hat because you wanted to walk over but didn't want to be watched, right?"

"Hmm... Che-kun, you really understand me."

Imagawa Yoshimoto smiled and walked side by side with Uesugi Tetsu, quietly merging into the bustling traffic of Sunpu Castle.

After entering Shichikencho, Yoshimoto Imagawa took him to explore many places inside and out.

This greatly improved Uesugi Tetsuya's impression of Sunpu Castle, which he had only glimpsed briefly from the carriage before.

And this impression was somewhat unexpectedly good.

The roads are well-planned and the shops on both sides are clean. Most of the people coming and going have smiles on their faces and look forward to the future, even the farmers and fishermen who come from other places.

This is quite different from the dark Warring States period in traditional thinking—just look at the cities in the short stories Baishi mentioned earlier.

Uesugi Tetsu thought this was probably due to the efforts of Imagawa Yoshimoto.

Furthermore, after leaving the Imagawa residence, Uesugi Tetsu could clearly sense that Imagawa Yoshimoto made no mention of the elders, as if none of this had ever happened.

Not long ago, Imagawa Yoshimoto was like a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment.

He certainly noticed that something was wrong.

But Uesugi Tetsu didn't say it explicitly.

Imagawa Yoshimoto's silence was naturally for her own reasons.

Moreover, we don't know how things will develop yet, so there's no rush to get to the bottom of things right now.

Uesugi Tetsu's gaze passed through the crowd and landed on the food stalls wafting a rich aroma from the street.

He twitched his nose, then looked back at the two-foot-tall man below, who was expressionless, holding his sword, but whose mouth was practically drooling. He couldn't help but smile to himself.

Since we've finally made it to the tourist spot, let's take the adults out to try some local delicacies from that era.

By the way, you can also bring some good food back for Shiraishi to eat.

If you put delicious food in front of him, he'll probably be more motivated to learn the secret techniques later.

Uesugi Tetsu used his internal energy to focus his voice into a line and asked, "Lord Yoshimoto, what delicious food does Sunpu Castle have?"

"Food... of course there is." Imagawa Yoshimoto quickly punched him in the waist and abdomen with his fist. "Also, don't call me that in public, or we'll be found out."

"I have Yin-Yang magic, I can't do that."

Imagawa Yoshimoto tilted his straw hat, probably wondering how Onmyōdō could have so many useful little functions.

She stayed close to Uesugi Tetsuya to prevent them from being separated by the crowd.

—Compared to Chejun himself, he probably wanted to buy food for the little shikigami named Nichi and Shiraishi who was still staying in the Imagawa Mansion.

In that case, we should choose something that kids like to eat.

Imagawa Yoshimoto said, "Things like konpeito (Japanese candy), shaved ice in syrup, and those small sweets that came from the southern barbarians are all quite delicious."

Uesugi Tetsuya, who wasn't very knowledgeable about food, didn't say anything and just listened to her continue talking.

"Those shops are a bit far from here, I'll go buy them and bring them to you later, Che-jun."

"This is..."

Just as Uesugi Tetsu was about to raise his hand to say no, the straw hat suddenly appeared beside him—without a doubt, Imagawa Yoshimoto inside was watching him.

"Thank you very much, Lord Yiyuan."

"Then I'll accept this gratitude as a 'get-out-of-jail-free card' for you to use when you make mistakes in the future, Che-kun."

A girl's soft laughter came from under her straw hat.

Uesugi Che was speechless for a while.

I always feel that his lord has a slightly cunning side.

"Ah, I remember that sheepskin pastry shop was pretty good."

Imagawa Yoshimoto suddenly spoke, then grabbed Uesugi Tetsu's wrist and pushed them out of the crowd.

The two-foot-tall adult, carrying a curious toddler in his arms, followed behind them, naturally attracting the attention of a large number of passersby.

"Boss, four sheepskin cakes."

After Imagawa Yoshimoto paid for it, she stuffed a soft, glutinous dumpling, similar to a daifuku, wrapped in oil paper, into Uesugi Tetsu's hand.

"Taste it."

No, you call this thing a pancake?

Uesugi Tetsu took a bite out of curiosity and chewed for a while.

Hmm...it seems surprisingly delicious.

He turned his head again and saw that the two-foot-tall man had almost finished eating it.

Uesugi Tetsuya took another bite, nodded slowly to Imagawa Yoshimoto, and received a faint but triumphant hum from the girl.

The three walked for a while longer.

According to Yoshimoto Imagawa, they were already very close to the blacksmith shop.

"How is it? Junfu City is quite prosperous, isn't it?"

After finishing his daifuku and carefully licking his fingertips clean, Imagawa Yoshimoto said, "Everyone is doing pretty well. There are far fewer beggars than in the neighboring Takeda and Hojo areas."

This is indeed something to be proud of.

Uesugi Tetsu first offered a compliment, then casually mentioned...
"However, there seem to be quite a few beggars living in very poor conditions in some alleys."

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Imagawa Yoshimoto's tone suddenly turned cold; she spoke with obvious displeasure and disdain.
“Even though I opened up farming or labor jobs to almost everyone in the city, there were still people who would rather lie on the ground and rot than work.”

"Such a person, if born into a commoner family, would be a beggar on the verge of starvation; even if he were lucky enough to be born into a noble family, he would only be a spoiled brat who would squander the family fortune."

She made no attempt to hide the disdain in her tone.

"Alright, we're here."

Imagawa Yoshimoto stopped and adjusted his straw hat.

Following her gaze, Uesugi Tetsu saw a blacksmith shop among a bunch of colorful banners that was surprisingly clean, even somewhat dry.

If you don't get closer, you won't even realize that this is a blacksmith shop.

It's fair to say that it's completely driving potential customers away.

Compared to the bustling surroundings, the blacksmith shop was practically deserted.

Even the young apprentice in charge of greeting customers in the shop had his eyes half-open, looking somewhat drowsy and about to fall asleep.

Imagawa Yoshimoto seemed to know what Uesugi Tetsu was thinking, so he shrugged and explained, "Because it's too expensive, not many people come."

"Most people don't need such good swords and weapons, so there's no need to waste money coming here."

Uesugi Tetsuya agreed wholeheartedly.

Because when he was in the Ghost Village of Arakawa, he didn't frequent the blacksmith shop much due to being short of money.

The average quality of these weapons was indeed much better than the grayish-white junk he had seen in other blacksmith shops before.

His gaze swept over the green swords and knives, which were at least of good quality.

Finally, it landed right in the middle of the entire wall of weapons displayed outside the blacksmith's shop.

Uesugi Tetsu's breathing became slightly sluggish.

Because the katana that was specially displayed on the large wooden shelf was emitting a deep purple light in his eyes!
(End of this chapter)