I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 374 The Lord's Hidden Rules? A message travels a thousand miles, inviting the entire world to witness the ceremony! Has Imagawa really gone mad?!
"Lord Yiyuan has decreed that, effective immediately, we shall begin our journey to Luoyang."

Uesugi Tetsu's faint, seemingly emotionless voice, accompanied by a slight fluctuation of spiritual energy, reached the ears of all the Imagawa retainers in Sunpu Castle.

Faced with at least dozens of retainers with different personalities and cunning, the best way to concentrate on cultivation without being disturbed by them is to speak and do less, and maintain an air of mystery.

"Gentlemen, please come to the Imagawa Pavilion immediately for an audience."

Inside Junfu Castle, the first reaction of the retainers upon hearing the words related to going to Luoyang was "joy"—was it finally about to begin?
But after a short while, the retainers, feeling the cold around them, began to look strange.

It's January, deep winter.

Let alone below zero, it's common for the temperature to drop to minus ten degrees Celsius in the middle of the night!

Add to that the biting cold wind in the mountains and forests... how can they possibly march like this?!

"—No, you can't..."

The new retainers hadn't personally witnessed Uesugi Tetsu's power, nor were they so idle as to wander around every day only to be forced to show off and humiliate themselves. Therefore, they had no concrete understanding of "Tetsu's" power.

"—Excellent! My lord, we should have marched on Luoyang long ago and become the ruler of the world!!!"

The other faction consists of retainers who had seen Uesugi Tetsuya before the world was restored, and even those who had worked with him, and they didn't care about the depths of winter, autumn, or summer.

With Che around, what's a little bit of weather?

That's just a matter of him waving his hand!

For example, Okabe Motonobu was overjoyed, Ii Naomori cheered with "Oh ho!", and Matsudaira Motoyasu had a thoughtful expression...

So, in less than half an hour...

The news that Lord Imagawa was about to march to Kyoto spread like wildfire, and before the retainers even reached the Imagawa residence, almost everyone in Sunpu Castle with even a little bit of inside information knew about it.

Inside the Imagawa Pavilion at this moment.

"Is it snowing...? It's so cold."

Reaching out from under the eaves, a crystal-clear snowflake slowly melted above Yoshimoto Imagawa's fingertip, turning into a warm water droplet.

"That's really nice."

she whispered.

She wouldn't want to live a normal life where she had to be served personally for everything, from walking and sitting to eating, dressing, and sleeping, let alone for another six months. Even if it meant living a hundred years longer, she wouldn't want to.

Imagawa Yoshimoto's pride wouldn't allow it.

After rubbing a few snowflakes together and taking a faint sniff of the rice, Imagawa Yoshimoto suddenly realized he was hungry.

I'm so hungry, I haven't been this hungry in ages.

Based on her previous physical condition, the sensations of "fullness" and "hunger" were absolutely not allowed to appear in her perception; ideally, she should not feel them at all.

It's less about eating and more about using "food" to maintain vital signs.

Imagawa Yoshimoto patted his flat stomach; if he were hungry any longer, it would probably start to rumble.

"I'm starving."

She turned to look at the bowl of food she had deliberately kicked over, her eyes revealing undisguised disgust: "Let's eat something normal instead..."

Imagawa Yoshimoto was about to call a maid to prepare a warm and normal meal when she saw Uesugi Tetsuya still sitting there, seemingly deliberately keeping his distance from her.

"never mind."

She thought unhappily.

He only had seven days left to live, how could he eat such ordinary things? That would be too disrespectful to Imagawa Yoshimoto's life.

Then he waved to Uesugi Tetsu and said, "Let's eat meat! Let's eat grilled meat that looks, smells, and tastes delicious! Can Tetsu-kun do that?"

Uesugi Tetsuya, who was mentioned, paused for a moment, then nodded.

Give the lord a whole plate of roast meat... That's too easy, there's no simpler request.

His storage backpack contained a lot of related items.

There's a good amount of meat, and it's fresh meat that I bought at a convenience store a long time ago. Anyway, time won't pass in the storage bag, so it won't be a problem to keep it for a long time.

Watching Uesugi Tetsu magically produce various utensils and simply packaged meat from thin air, and then skillfully begin processing them, Imagawa Yoshimoto also sat down temporarily, resting his chin on his hand as he watched.

As he watched, Imagawa Yoshimoto couldn't help but lick his lips, savoring the taste.

Che-jun's taste is really good...

Even though she had practiced and sweated that morning, she still had an unusually pleasant fragrance about her.

"And within such a beautiful and slender body lies a power capable of overturning the entire world..."

Uesugi Tetsu, noticing Imagawa Yoshimoto's somewhat strange choice of words, replied without much thought.
"Lord Yiyuan, I am about to open all 108 acupoints of the human body and forge a complete divine treasure. I have also completed three of the four ultimate forms. Moving a small mountain is a piece of cake for me. There is no one in the world whose physical body is stronger than mine."

Oops, did I accidentally blurt out what was on my mind?

Imagawa Yoshimoto paused for a moment, her cheeks turning slightly red, a rare occurrence for her. However, the blush quickly faded, and as if remembering something, she smiled and said, "Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Having a strong physical body is indeed a good thing for Onmyoji; I no longer have to fear close combat...

After giving a casual reply, Uesugi Tetsu continued to focus on the grilled meat.

Imagawa Yoshimoto was displeased. She thought to herself that this guy was truly an ancient tree, but only ancient trees and giant rocks could be free from worldly distractions and concentrate on their cultivation to reach such a powerful level.

The world has come back to life; if only I hadn't contracted this incurable disease...

Such a thought flashed through his mind in an instant. Imagawa Yoshimoto gently crushed everything related to "regret," then beckoned to Uesugi Tetsu.

"Che-jun, come here."

Even Uesugi Tetsu, who was usually slow to notice, could sense the difference in the tone.

He flipped the sizzling beef slices, then subtly moved a little further away.

"Lord Yiyuan, I'm grilling meat."

"Can't we come over for barbecue?"

Imagawa Yoshimoto reached out in dissatisfaction, wanting to grasp that slender, snow-white, yet exceptionally nimble hand.

Unexpectedly, Uesugi Tetsu's hand suddenly retracted like a phantom, allowing Imagawa Yoshimoto to catch a lingering afterimage.

"There is a distinction between ruler and subject."

As he spoke, Uesugi Tetsu placed the first slice of grilled beef on the wooden plate he had taken out and handed it to Imagawa Yoshimoto.

"Oh?" Imagawa Yoshimoto sneered as he took the food, squinting his eyes contentedly and humming, "So you've learned to contradict me now?"

Next, she tried her best to grab Uesugi Tetsuya.

But the latter, who was already prepared, was naturally not touched at all. Instead, he grilled a large amount of meat in the meantime and stuffed Imagawa Yoshimoto half full.

Trying to catch it, but just couldn't.

After swallowing the flavorful grilled meat, Imagawa Yoshimoto stopped eating and let out a soft sigh.
"My lord will be silently killed and buried in the ground in seven days, and I, as his subject, can't even fulfill this small wish?"

Speechless.

Uesugi Tetsuya stopped moving, unsure how to respond.

Thinking about it from all angles, it seems like he really isn't a human being.

But it was this brief pause that caused the icy-cold hand to grip his wrist tightly.

Imagawa Yoshimoto's delighted voice followed, as if his earlier sigh had never existed.

"Che-jun, you're just too soft-hearted..."

Uesugi Tetsuya was truly at a loss; he couldn't move, and he couldn't stay still.

He had no choice but to grill the meat sizzlingly, and then hand the cooked meat to Imagawa Yoshimoto, intending to shut the woman up.

Unexpectedly, the meat, which had just been placed behind me, came back and started dangling in front of me.

Imagawa Yoshimoto crouched down, his smile like a cunning cat, but his eyes still wouldn't allow him to refuse.
"Come on, look up."

There's no escaping it, so we have no choice but to accept it.

Fortunately, Ao and Xiao Jia had been left in the other courtyard while he was treating Imagawa Yoshimoto's body; otherwise, witnessing this scene would have had an immeasurable impact on the teenagers. As for his two shikigami, they were both very busy, heads down, with their own work to do.

……

When the retainers arrived at the Imagawa residence as ordered, they came to the courtyard where Imagawa Yoshimoto was.

They all saw Imagawa Yoshimoto standing on the thin snow, his brows furrowed with a detached and proud air.

And behind them, there was the great Onmyoji, Che, wearing that eerie red demon mask.

The air was filled with a rich aroma of roasted meat, but many of the retainers had never eaten roasted meat before and did not recognize it, only finding it very delicious.

Those retainers who had never met Uesugi Tetsu would find their memories of him gradually fading as soon as they looked away.

However, the retainers didn't pay any attention to this.

What they noticed first was that Imagawa Yoshimoto's complexion looked rosy and healthy, even more normal than that of a normal person!

Some of the retainers who had little experience with Imagawa Yoshimoto did not react much, but Okabe Motonobu's eyes were filled with barely suppressed joy.

—My lord, when did your health improve so much?!

She immediately glanced gratefully at Uesugi Tetsuya out of the corner of her eye, but the latter just stared straight ahead, motionless.

Of course, I wasn't reminiscing about anything; I was just a tool to keep things going.

He has never bothered with matters of management or politics.

In short, Imagawa Yoshimoto said something, and some of his retainers tried to offer advice and suggestions, but she ruthlessly rejected them.

—Take only elite troops, and leave the main army to guard the territory.

Some of the retainers reacted even more violently. In their view, it was tantamount to suicide for a few thousand people to try to march to Luoyang in the dead of winter. It was impossible to succeed no matter what!
Imagawa Yoshimoto ignored it.

"Do exactly what I say."

The head of the Imagawa family, dressed in black robes, swept his gaze across the crowd.
"Any objection?"

The courtyard was quiet.

Given Imagawa Yoshimoto's prestige, no one in the Imagawa family could stop her from doing what she was determined to do. Those who had managed to do it before were probably already long gone.

Che's words might be more plausible...

However, when some of his retainers looked eagerly at the demon mask in the shadows, the latter remained completely unmoved.

It seems that this great Yin-Yang Master has already been persuaded by the lord.

Even if those retainers were unwilling, they had no choice but to withdraw.

afternoon.

The Imagawa clan's three thousand elite soldiers, including ten Onmyoji who were willing to stay, have been assembled.

In Yoshimoto Imagawa's courtyard before his departure speech.

Imagawa Yoshimoto, donning the black armor—even with the use of Onmyōdō to reduce its weight, it was still somewhat heavy for an ordinary person—couldn't help but sigh.
"It feels like it's been a very, very long time since I last donned armor."

After Uesugi Tetsu carefully smoothed out the last wrinkle in her lining, the girl smiled wistfully.

"Speaking of which, this set of armor was specially forged for me by Lady Zashiki."

Just as Uesugi Tetsu was about to speak, he was forced to interact with him again.

Having finally managed to extricate himself, Uesugi Tetsuya saw Imagawa Yoshimoto cover his face with the iron mask that had been placed to the side. Only then did he take out an ordinary-looking amulet from his storage bag.
"Lord Yiyuan, this is for you."

Imagawa Yoshimoto was somewhat taken aback when he saw this being handed to him.

She's clearly going to die in seven days, so what's the point of having a protective charm? To take her to the underworld?

Unexpectedly, Uesugi Tetsuya actually said, "Please keep it close to your body at all times, so that even if you descend to the underworld, I can always be by your side."

What kind of superstitious belief is this?

Imagawa Yoshimoto chuckled slightly, but seeing Uesugi Tetsu's serious expression, she didn't say anything more and took it, carefully placing it close to her body.

—In fact, the amulet itself is nothing magical; what is truly miraculous is the soul imprint that Uesugi Tetsu had designed and placed inside.

The moment Imagawa Yoshimoto received the amulet, the soul imprint recognized her as its master, and they became inseparable.

Let alone five hundred years, even five thousand years, everything that Uesugi Tetsuya has designed will still provide Imagawa Yoshimoto with simple and clear guidance the moment she wakes up.

She turned around and waved to Uesugi Tetsuya.

"Then, Che-kun, I'll be going now."

"I wish you good luck in martial arts."

……

After Imagawa Yoshimoto left, Uesugi Tetsu only needed to dispel the cold for everyone present the moment she began her "journey to Kyoto," proving that "going to Kyoto in the dead of winter is not a death sentence."

This was incredibly simple for him.

So Uesugi Tetsuya only spent a dozen seconds doing this, and then summoned the two shikigami and two swords from next door.

Xiao Jia and Qing seemed to be discussing swordsmanship, chattering away the whole way. Er Chi still looked like he hadn't woken up yet, as if his soul wasn't in his body. Ge Liuduo followed behind the three of them, smiling faintly as if he was taking notes.

The key to getting them to come over was the two-foot-tall man.

After all, she needs to be informed of the current situation before she can be informed about the development of the "Two-Foot Sect".

After waking up the two-foot-tall lady with a large amount of spiritual power, Uesugi Tetsu highlighted some key points for her.

"In short, we probably only have about seven days left to stay in the Warring States period."

Uesugi Tetsu stared at the two-foot-tall adult whose little head suddenly lifted up and said to her, "If you need any help or have any difficulties, just say so."

"Leaving in seven days does disrupt our plans..."

The two-foot-tall man grabbed his hair, muttered a lot of things under his breath, and finally clapped his hands to conclude, "But there wasn't anything particularly big of an impact."

She thought for a long time, but couldn't come up with a single sentence, so she could only yawn.

"Lord Che... let Ge Liu write it down more later before I tell you, my brain just can't process anything right now..."

"Then it's settled."

Uesugi Tetsu gave everyone some more time to tidy up, mainly for Karuta and Nishaku.

If it's two knives, they can just fly back to his waist.

Half an hour later, Uesugi Tetsu could "hear" that the speech in Kyoto outside had ended.

Therefore, as agreed with Imagawa Yoshimoto—

The announcement was made to a region spanning thousands of miles, and even further afield.

The endless, subtle spiritual energy trembled as it had been prepared, and Uesugi Tetsu's indifferent voice rang out simultaneously within a radius of a thousand miles.

Like a river flowing eastward, it descends from the sky and rushes towards even more distant places.

Good day, everyone.

【I am the Great Onmyoji Che, and today I proclaim this to the world on behalf of my lord.】

[From this day forward, the Imagawa clan will march on Kyoto.]

[We hereby invite all daimyo and ancient clans from across the land to come to Kyoto to witness this ceremony.]

All who come are guests.

【…】

Those who obstruct will die.

As soon as Uesugi Tetsu's voice fell, it ignited the entire world's resounding reputation and the existence of every famous Onmyoji or family within a few dozen seconds.

And the first reaction of most people is—

She marched to Kyoto in the dead of winter, and then arrogantly announced it to the world. Has Imagawa Yoshimoto really gone mad?!
(End of this chapter)