I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 166 A Thorough Completion of the Breathing Technique! An Unexpected Truth, [A Taste of Defilement (Scattered)] (6.5k)

Once you push open the door, the entire courtyard is laid out before you.

The two-foot-tall man, holding his sword and floating in mid-air, remained silent, only slightly opening his mouth, revealing a complex and perplexed expression.

Tetsuya Uesugi stood there blankly, a thoughtful expression on his face.

As for the blacksmith's apprentice, he knew his place and what he should and shouldn't look at. He stood on one side of the wall and focused his gaze on the other houses not far away.

Anyway, if it's watchable, Mr. Che will speak up, so it won't make a difference if we wait a little longer.

Having served important figures in the blacksmith's shop for several years, the most important lesson the apprentice learned, besides memorizing their information, was "propriety."

Every inch and every bit of discretion is extremely important.

When interacting with those in high positions, one must know when to get too close and when to back down.

In terms of distance control, the apprentice, while not quite a master, was far superior to his rudimentary forging skills.

What strange and peculiar "scenery" appeared in this otherwise empty courtyard...?

In Uesugi Tetsu's eyes, the tall, sturdy, short-haired woman wearing very little clothing was simply "swimming" unconsciously in the middle of the courtyard covered with pebbles, her eyes closed.

The woman lay sprawled on the gravel, uncovered, her wheat-colored arms and legs rising and falling repeatedly, scattering pebbles everywhere.

As for why swimming is mentioned...

Naturally, the continuous "plop plop plop" sound of splashing water was rhythmically and regularly emitted from the woman's mouth, marking the surging waves with three beats.

"No, is this the legendary Okabe Motonobu?"

It took Uesugi Tetsuya a while to finally get his attention and ask the same question to the two-footed man.

Actually... he just wanted to find someone to vent to.

“There’s no one else in the courtyard.” The Second Master blinked silently. “If the address is correct, then it should be her.”

Actually, Okabe Motonobu wasn't the muscular, tough guy she had imagined; instead, she was a "fierce woman," which surprised Uesugi Tetsuya, but it wasn't entirely unexpected.

After all, even Imagawa Yoshimoto has become like this.

What truly stunned him was Okabe Motonobu's performance, which could be described as a work of art.

At first glance, Okabe Motonobu in the courtyard had his eyes tightly closed and showed no reaction to their arrival; he was undoubtedly asleep…

In other words, all of this was actually caused by her sleepwalking.

"Two feet."

Uesugi Tetsu looked away from the few sparse pieces of cloth, rubbing his temples as he said, "Let's wake up Lady Okabe first, lest she freeze to death outside."

—Tsk, aren't the people here supposed to eat poorly? How did they grow up like this?

—Or is it something that grows bigger through training? Can this thing really grow bigger through training?
Standing in mid-air, comparing sizes for a while, the two-foot-tall adult, then filled with self-doubt, landed on the ground and ran into the yard.

As she turned her head to dodge the incoming pebbles, she spoke softly and gently.
"Lord Okabe? Lord Okabe? Please don't sleep here, you'll catch a cold."

It took the two-foot-tall man several minutes of patient calling before Okabe Motonobu, who was swimming on his back in the pile of pebbles, finally managed to twitch his eyelashes and open his eyes with difficulty and exhaustion.

A barely perceptible gap was visible through the messy strands of hair.

"Well……"

Motonobu Okabe felt as if she had finally been pulled out of an endless sea. She turned her head but did not see any familiar faces or figures.

Only this strange girl, carrying a vermilion katana and dressed in water-soaked clothes, was present.

She mumbled somewhat confusedly, "Thank you, little one."

"But I'm so sleepy I can barely keep my eyes open, so it's okay if I continue sleeping here..."

Seeing that Okabe Motonobu was about to fall asleep while still sitting up, the man in the second row quickly said, "Lord Okabe! My master came here specifically to solve your sleeping problem!"

These words gave Motonobu Okabe, who had already finished yawning, another dose of sobering effect.

She widened her eyes slightly and turned her head: "Am I seeing things? Why can't I see anyone else?"

The man with the two feet looked at the woman in front of him, who was dressed as lightly as if it were midsummer even though it was late autumn, and hesitated to speak.

However, she eventually pointed to the thin fabric covering Okabe Motonobu's body.

"Oh... this."

Motonobu Okabe waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's alright, it's perfectly fine, I don't mind at all."

The man checked again and received the exact same answer.

Since the person in question had already said so, she didn't need to say anything more. Instead, she waved towards the door and called Uesugi Tetsu in.

As Uesugi Tetsu approached, he discovered that Okabe Motonobu also had a faint aura flowing around him.

This was the first breathing technique practitioner he had encountered after arriving in the Warring States period who had completed the circulation of vital energy.

No, that's not right.

His pupils contracted slightly, and after staring intently for two seconds, he realized that Okabe Motonobu's qi circulation was not shallow.

On the contrary, it can be described as extremely solid!

Because she had contracted and controlled the qi that originally circulated around her body to the surface of her body, actively compressing it into a very small space, the amount of qi appeared to be very small.

Therefore, the truth is that Okabe Motonobu has extremely high control over his own internal energy, which can be said to be at least two levels higher than his own.

No wonder she dared to sleep outside dressed so lightly; it turns out she had a protective aura that kept her warm and prevented her from freezing to death.

Motonobu Okabe was also looking at Tetsuya Uesugi.

To be precise, it was about observing the circulation of Qi on his body surface.

In the Warring States period, when breathing techniques were the primary means of cultivation, the circulation of vital energy could almost be considered a "proof of strength."

This is because it can be said to be the first real hurdle on the path of breathing techniques, a hurdle that is very difficult to overcome and smooth out, unlike the ones that have been overcome with a lot of time before.

Over the course of a century, it has stumped countless warriors of different backgrounds and classes.

Moreover, before forging the Palace of Flesh, one must first complete the circulation of Qi in order to continue tempering the body and making it stronger.

A moment later, the woman stood up. Although her eyes were still narrowed, her tone was different from her previous languid one; it was deliberately more formal.
"I wonder who you are?"

“Teru.” Uesugi Teru looked up slightly at the woman who was even taller than him and said, “The Onmyoji directly under Lord Yoshimoto can now be considered a samurai of the Imagawa family.”

"Che...that sounds familiar."

Okabe Motonobu frowned in distress, almost closing his eyes: "Lately, I seem to have heard this word in many places."

Only after she finished speaking did she realize that Uesugi Tetsu had just used the term "Onmyoji".

The woman paused for a moment, a rare occurrence, and asked in return, "An Onmyoji?"

Uesugi Tetsu nodded, extended his finger, and let a small flame leap from his fingertip.
"I came here today because of His Excellency Tai Chao's request. He said that His Excellency Okabe seems to be having trouble sleeping lately... and seeing him now, I can confirm that it is true."

"Wow."

Motonobu Okabe almost touched the outer flame of the fire with his nose, showing no fear of getting burned.

She clapped her hands and praised, "Che... um, that's your name, right? Mr. Che's talent is truly one of a kind in Yuan Xin's life."

"That's amazing!"

The fact that he was recruited by the lord as an "Onmyoji" proves that Che has definitely gone further on the path of Onmyoji than in terms of his mastery of breathing techniques.

—That's what Motonobu Okabe thinks.

Uesugi Tetsu shook his head and extinguished the flames: "My meager talents are not worth mentioning."

"Being too modest is not good, as it can easily make others think you're showing off."

Okabe Motonobu bent down and leaned closer to the two-foot-tall woman, reaching out to pinch her soft little face and chuckling, "Little sister is so cute... Mr. Che, is this your shikigami?"

Uesugi Tetsu ignored the resentment that constantly welled up in his heart from the two-foot-tall man who was completely powerless against these clutches.
"Her name is Lady Nishaku. Lord Okabe can just call her Nishaku."

—Hehe, Erchi, you always used to pet me when you were a four-tailed fox, now it's your turn to experience that feeling!
"Mmm, little Erchi is so cute."

Having said that, Okabe Motonobu scooped up the two-foot-tall man and pulled him into her arms, stroking him all over like petting a cat. She smiled and said...
"Mr. Na Che, let's go inside first and talk."

Uesugi Tetsu nodded, then blinked when he turned around and saw that his apprentice had already walked far away and was waving at him. He then followed Okabe Motonobu into the house where she usually lived.

"It might be a bit messy, please don't mind~"

As soon as he opened the door and stepped into the Tsuchiza area, which was his personal rest area, Uesugi Tetsu's eyebrows twitched violently.

You call this a bit messy?

—Because, apart from a small resting area covered with tatami mats, the entire earthen site was filled with discarded and dulled wakizashi, katana, tachi, and various spears.

There were even headless arrows scattered around.

Uesugi Tetsuya prefers to call this place "abandoned weapon recycling center" rather than Okabe Motonobu's house.

Despite the numerous discarded weapons piled haphazardly together, the entire room was surprisingly clean and tidy, with almost no visible garbage or dirt.

This Lord Okabe is certainly not one to mince words.

"Because I don't come back very often, I haven't tidied up much."

Okabe Motonobu kicked a large pile of weapons into a corner, then sat down with his back to the blades, holding a pair of tatami mats, gesturing for Uesugi Tetsu to sit in the safer corner.

"Mr. Che, please have a seat."

After sitting down, Uesugi Tetsuya took some time to accept that Okabe Motonobu was not the "loyal and righteous hero" of history, but rather the person in front of him.

Then, after organizing his thoughts, he said, "This is to address Lord Okabe's sleep problem, but we don't have a good idea yet. So, I'd like you to explain the details to me first..."

Uesugi Tetsuya suddenly stopped talking.

It wasn't because any clues were discovered.

Instead, Okabe Motonobu, who was halfway through petting the two-foot-tall man, actually fell asleep with his head tilted to the side right in front of him!
Uesugi Tetsu: “…”

It seems that Motonobu Okabe has indeed been tormented and exhausted these days.

Uesugi Tetsu called her name twice more, and Okabe Motonobu suddenly woke up, straightened up, and let out a long yawn.
"I'm sorry... I was really sleepy and accidentally fell asleep. Please repeat it again, Mr. Che."

She put on a serious listening posture.

So Uesugi Tetsu repeated himself, basically asking Okabe Motonobu to provide as much useful information as possible.

"Oh...I see."

Okabe Motonobu squinted, tilted his head and thought for a while before saying, "Aside from the strange noises that wake me up in the middle of the night every day, there's nothing else strange about it."

But there's no sound when I'm not asleep.

"It's because I don't understand why I'm getting sleepier and sleepier... that's why I only want to sleep now..."

Uesugi Tetsuya, however, sensed a demonic aura.

However, the demonic aura was extremely faint and almost evenly distributed throughout the room, making it impossible for him to pinpoint its source even at a glance.

Therefore, Uesugi Tetsu suggested, "If Lord Okabe wishes to temporarily replenish his energy, would it be possible for him to stay at the Imagawa residence, or perhaps somewhere else?"

"I'm afraid that won't work... I need to do my daily exercise in a large open space."

Okabe Motonobu pinched and rounded the little man's face: "More importantly, I'm quite unrestrained when I'm asleep, so it's not convenient for me to sleep with other people."

Uesugi Tetsu recalled Okabe Motonobu "swimming on his back" on the pebbles in the yard earlier and thought that this was indeed a problem.

"Then, Lord Okabe, let's talk about it after you've fallen asleep here late at night." "Alright..."

Before Okabe Motonobu could finish speaking, his stomach started rumbling.

"Ah, my body says it's a little hungry." She stood up, smiled with her eyes narrowed, and asked, "Mr. Che, Xiao Erchi, if you haven't had lunch yet, would you like to try my cooking?"

Generally speaking, the cooking skills of a solitary ascetic like Okabe Motonobu, who has a large appetite, are usually not too bad.

Because almost no one can endure eating their own homemade culinary disasters every day.

So Uesugi Tetsu bowed slightly and said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Lord Okabe."

The equally greedy young master put Kaga Kiyomitsu down temporarily and followed Okabe Motonobu out the door.

She had to prevent Okabe Motonobu from falling asleep before she even started cooking.

Then we won't have lunch!

And soon after, Okabe Motonobu lived up to expectations and fell asleep.

However, he didn't fall asleep before cooking, but rather he started snoring against the wall during the downtime while waiting for the rice to cook, after all the dishes were cooked.

If it weren't for the Second Master coming back and taking a look, this whole pot of fragrant white rice would have been burnt to a crisp!
On an oversized dining table.

Uesugi Tetsuya looked at the small mountain of rice piled up not far in front of him, as well as a large bowl of colorful and appetizing pork stew with radish, and was somewhat surprised.

Because he remembered that during the Warring States period, a hunting ban was issued, prohibiting people from eating meat.

Therefore, the average height of people during the Warring States period was relatively short.

But the woman in front of him seemed completely unaware of the law, eating large chunks of meat at every meal.

Motonobu Okabe slammed his large bowl heavily on the table: "Eat as much as you can, I'll finish every last grain!"

Seeing that Uesugi Tetsu hadn't touched his chopsticks yet, she patted her chest and explained,
"Because I've been working on building up my muscles lately, I definitely need to eat more! As the saying goes, training is 30% training and diet is 70% nutrition! If you want to train well, you have to eat well first, right?"

Tempering all the muscles in your body... meat tempering?
Okabe Motonobu is actually close to completing the overall casting of the Flesh Palace?

This is truly unexpected; I've learned some major news.

Uesugi Tetsuya filled a large bowl with rice, then scooped up a bunch of radish and pork with a wooden spoon and began to wolf it down.

He paused slightly after taking his first bite.

Hmm, the taste is actually better than I expected.

Soon, the mountain of rice and a large pot of pork stew with radish were all gone.

Motonobu Okabe alone solved 70% of the problems.

Uesugi Tetsu patted her round belly, finding it hard to imagine how she managed to stuff so much food into her body all by herself.
"Then, Lord Okabe, I and Nisha will pretend to leave first. You go to sleep as usual. We will catch the culprit tonight."

"Alright, then I'll trouble you two."

……

Time flies, and soon it was late at night.

Outside Okabe Motonobu's house.

Uesugi Tetsuya, who had almost completely concealed his aura and spiritual power, turned around and looked at the "conspicuous" two-foot-tall adult.
"Erchi, you stay outside and keep watch."

"Lord Na Che, please be careful."

The two-foot-tall man remained a hundred meters away from the courtyard, watching as Uesugi Tetsu silently disappeared into the darkness.

Soon, Uesugi Tetsu peeked his head out from the courtyard wall and heard faint noises coming from inside the house.

The sound was so faint and soft that it was almost unnoticeable if you weren't paying attention.

Then, unsurprisingly, they found Okabe Motonobu slumped in the doorway, looking somewhat tormented.

This is probably what it looks like when someone is half-asleep and not fully awake because of the noise.

Uesugi Tetsu couldn't help but sigh.
Sometimes, having too good a hearing ability can be a mistake.

Holding his breath, he carefully stepped over Okabe Motonobu, who was sprawled on the ground, writhing and muttering in his sleep, and entered the earthen shrine.

Squeak, ding, hiss...

Scattered and strange sounds occasionally drifted out, attracting Uesugi Tetsu's attention.

Ok?
In a pile of abandoned weapons?
Could it be that one of these weapons, worn out from training, has become sentient?

Driven by curiosity, Uesugi Tetsu walked silently to the pile of weapons and scanned it inch by inch with his eyes, not missing a single corner.

After a long while, Uesugi Tetsu finally noticed something was wrong.

"It doesn't seem to be a weapon that has become sentient."

He thought to himself, then leaned closer to her face.

Uesugi Tetsuya stared silently at the man mixed in with the pile of weapons, his body covered in dirt, diligently and earnestly wiping each of the dulled weapons with a small rag...

A hamster?!

ha?
The culprit that kept Okabe Motonobu from sleeping well for several days was actually a palm-sized, semi-transparent hamster.

A moment later, an inconspicuous gray notification popped up above the hamster's head.

——【Obscured (Scattered)】.

Dirt taste?

Uesugi Tetsu frowned and pondered for a full half minute before finding the relevant information in his memory.

Gouchang is a kind of monster that looks dirty but actually loves cleanliness.

If humans are too lazy to clean their living spaces, resulting in dirty and messy environments, then grime will usually appear to help clean up the surroundings.

Uesugi Tetsuya suddenly realized.

No wonder he saw that the earthen platform was full of discarded weapons, but the interior was surprisingly clean.

It turns out it's because Gou Chang works so hard every night!
The reason why Koujo comes every day is because Okabe Motonobu's training intensity is very high. He can basically destroy a lot of ordinary weapons every day and then leave them here.

The case is solved!
Uesugi Tetsu reached out and grabbed Goku's slender tail, lifting it into the air.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

The filthy creature holding the small rag was startled and frantically tried to shake off the large hand to burrow back into the dark corner and work diligently.

Looking at the disheveled and panicked mouse, Uesugi Tetsuya couldn't help but want to laugh.

"Although it was this little guy who made Okabe Motonobu listless during the day, his intentions were still good..."

As for specific handling methods, let's ask her about it this morning.

"Alright, I won't do anything to you for now, don't worry."

Uesugi Tetsu used spirit control techniques to communicate with Gouchang for quite some time before it understood his meaning.

"squeak."

Gou Chang sat on his hand, holding a rag, somewhat at a loss.

The next afternoon.

Uesugi Tetsu brought Goku to Okabe Motonobu's house again.

Before he could even knock, Motonobu Okabe flung the door open and stretched out a huge, energetic yawn.
"Mr. Che—I haven't had such a good night's sleep in ages!"

After a dozen seconds, she recovered and exhaled a heavy breath, asking curiously, "Could the reason have already been found last night?"

Uesugi Tetsu extended his left hand, using his spiritual power to outline the shape of Gouchang, allowing the big-eyed, clueless mouse to crawl onto his palm.

"Look, Lord Okabe, it must be this little guy who's kept you up at night for so long."

"it?"

Motonobu Okabe, one hand on his chest and the other on his chin, looked visibly puzzled: "How did it make those strange tinkling sounds?"

"Besides, how could I not have noticed it?"

For a powerful person like Motonobu Okabe with keen senses, even if an ant disturbed her sleep, she would have caught it long ago.

Uesugi Tetsu smiled and said, "Because it is a small demon called Gouchang. If you don't have spiritual power in your body, you won't be able to detect this weak and harmless demon."

"Weak and harmless..."

Okabe Motonobu pondered for a moment, then tapped the grime on his forehead, which was covered by a white cloth.

"It does look like that; it doesn't have any of the fierce and menacing appearance that a demon should have. On the contrary, it's quite cute."

Seeing this, Uesugi Tetsu added, "This Gokushou's intentions are good; it wants to help Lord Okabe clean your house. However, it is afraid of people and so weak that it can only appear at night..."

Therefore, it will only make "cleaning sounds" while you are sleeping.

Okabe Motonobu let out a long "Oh," and clapped his hands in surprise.

"No wonder my house is always so clean! Thank you!"

After a pause, the woman said to Gou Chang with some distress, "I'm very grateful, but could you please not disturb my sleep anymore? Otherwise, I'll really get angry..."

Startled by this imposing aura, Gou Chang shrank back and squeaked as he ran to Uesugi Tetsuya's shoulder.

Uesugi Tetsu placed it back in his palm and carefully translated Motonori's words to it.

"Squeak? Squeak!"

He tried to understand for a while, then nodded emphatically.

Seeing this, Motonobu Okabe blinked and squinted: "Huh? It can actually understand human speech?"

Uesugi Tetsu shrugged: "It's a demon that has spent quite a bit of time with humans, after all."

"In that case... Mr. Che, could you keep it in a way that I can see so I can keep it?"

Uesugi Tetsuya was slightly taken aback, but after asking Gokuya, he quickly received an affirmative answer.

"It says yes."

So Okabe Motonobu smiled and accepted the koji, and began to patiently teach it some very basic precautions.

Uesugi Tetsuya, who was surprised that the matter was resolved so simply, stood there and watched Okabe Motonobu tease the mouse for a while.

Then he realized that now that things were over, could he go back to the Imagawa-kan to "browse" the breathing techniques that the elders had given him?
This feeling is good!

However, before that, I need to inform my future colleague about the Sanhe Uprising.

"Lord Okabe, regarding the riots in the Mikawa region..."

"The Sanhe Uprising?"

The chilling voice made Uesugi Tetsu feel as if the blood in his body had frozen for a moment.

He slightly turned his gaze and noticed that Motonobu Okabe had opened his eyes for the first time.

Those eyes were indifferent, as cold as iron and as hard as ice.

It seemed as if the images of countless enemy soldiers' deaths were already reflected in the water.

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(End of this chapter)