Tokyo, but I'm a deceitful scumbag.

"It's you, Acheng. Good afternoon."

Naoko Sakuragi bowed in response, and Aoi Himeno beside her also stood on tiptoe and shouted, "Hello, Rukawa-sama!"

"Not so polite."

Hideyuki Hoshino patted Aoi Himeno's head, then asked Naoko Sakuragi, "What injury did you suffer?"

"It's just a scratch from a spear; it'll be fine overnight," Naoko Sakuragi said with a smile. "I'm planning to go back to the battlefield tomorrow anyway."

"Don't push yourself." Hoshino Hideyuki curled his lip. "At least, if you're injured, don't come here to feed the horses yourself... What about the rest of the Yukawa crew?"

"Everyone has been fighting all night and is fast asleep. How can we disturb them?"

Naoko Sakuragi shook her head, then patted Aoi Himeno's head and smiled, "Besides, Aoi is helping me out, and she's doing a great job."

Himeno Aoi, hearing the praise, proudly puffed out her small chest.

"Great! The Woodcutter Minister is also the Horse Feeder Minister now, fantastic!"

Hoshino Hideyuki crouched down and took a small piece of pastry wrapped in a tissue from his pocket: "Here, this is a pastry I stole from the general. It's called something like 'Falling Geese,' have a taste~"

"Thank you, Mr. Rukawa!"

Himeno Aoi chuckled and swallowed the snack.

Hoshino Hideyuki said softly, "This is an advance payment. If I get injured tomorrow or the day after, you have to take good care of me, just like you took care of Naoko~"

"Hmm...huh?"

The little girl nodded halfway through, then suddenly widened her eyes in confusion and asked, "Can Onmyoji get hurt too...?"

Hoshino Hideyuki sighed softly, "How could it not be, especially tonight... If we're lucky, we can end the war; if we're unlucky, we'll probably be lying in bed for a long time."

"Tonight you're going to... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Naoko Sakuragi stopped halfway through her sentence.

Hoshino Hideyuki laughed and said, "It's okay, just don't go around telling everyone."

"...Well then, I wish you good luck in your martial arts endeavors, Acheng!"

Naoko Sakuragi smiled and bowed, then pulled Aoi Himeno back to their room.

Himeno Aoi still didn't seem to understand their conversation, and simply turned around and waved to Hoshino Hideyuki, saying:

"Don't worry, Mr. Rukawa! If you're injured and can't move, I'll feed you myself!"

Hmm~

That sounds so heartwarming!

Hoshino Hideyuki's lips curled into a smile. He looked up and saw that Tendo Asuka had somehow peeked out of the window and was silently watching him.

"Hmm...how did you find out?"

"Because I know very well that the toilets in this hotel smell awful, and you, Fox, definitely won't stay in there for more than ten minutes."

The girl said irritably, "So there are only two possibilities for why you haven't come back for a long time: either you fell into the toilet, or you secretly went to do something else. Guess which one I believe?"

Hoshino Hideyuki shrugged: "Maybe, both?"

"Then you're not allowed in the house unless you take three showers and shave all your fur off!"

A minute later, Hideyuki Hoshino returned to his room.

With the big plan settled on Tendo Ryuji's side, he then turned to Tendo Asuka to discuss their own smaller plan.

After a long and heated discussion, everything was basically settled, but Asuka Tendo's brow remained furrowed.

"...Are you sure you want to do this? Isn't the risk too great?"

"I'm absolutely certain... Don't worry, I'm confident in my abilities, Fox. Besides, that matter is very important to you, isn't it?"

After finishing speaking, Hoshino Hideyuki stretched and lay down on the bed, saying, "Stop talking nonsense and just follow this plan. Now, I need to rest... Could you please keep watch for me for the night? We'll switch shifts in an hour."

"Goodnight, Asuka... oh no, I should say good afternoon..."

Watching the fox burrow into the blankets and curl up into a ball of fur, Asuka Tendo gave a soft "hmm" and sat down on the edge of the bed to look at her phone.

After a moment, she pouted, reached under the covers and grabbed the fox's tail, asking softly, "Are you still awake?"

Even if you didn't, you're awake now... Is something the matter?

"It's nothing, I just suddenly realized I don't know your full name." Asuka Tendo rolled her eyes. "You know my name, but I don't know yours. That's not fair."

That's because we used to be in a cat-and-mouse relationship. What would happen if the cat knew all the mouse's secrets?

But now...

It seems the golden retriever won't be catching the pink-haired mouse anymore, so there's really nothing left to hide.

Hideyuki Hoshino crawled back into bed and mumbled, "Hideyuki Hoshino."

"Hoshino Hideyuki... Hideyuki-kun..."

The girl smacked her lips: "Calling me Fox sounds better."

"I have no objection... *snoring*..."

"So fast?"

The girl irritably covered the fox with the blanket again, turned to look at the sun outside the window, and unconsciously curled the ends of her hair with her slender, fair fingers.

If all goes well... no, even if not, everything will be over tonight.

I hope nothing bad happens.

"Good afternoon, Hideyuki-kun."

That night.

Hideyuki Hoshino and Asuka Tendo arrived at the agreed location on time—located halfway up a mountain behind Ashihara, with two small paths that allow only a few people to descend.

"Very good, everyone is here."

Tendo Ryuji said in a deep voice:

"Let me repeat the plan one last time. We'll enter the camp from four directions according to our pre-arranged groups. We'll encounter the Long-Haired Ghost King along the way, and we'll use fireworks to make contact..."

"Of course, I know we're competitors. If you think you can take him down by yourself and don't want to set off fireworks, then I won't say anything..."

"If the plan fails, or if the trial is not over even after the death of the Long-Haired Demon King, then in an hour, General Hojo's soldiers will create chaos on the outskirts, and we can take the opportunity to leave..."

"Is everything alright?"

Seeing that no one spoke, Tendo Ryuji nodded: "Then, let's go!"

Chapter 217 Fox: When I found out you had a cheat code, it was as if I had one too.

As soon as Tendo Ryuji finished speaking, Tendo Mizuki and the other Onmyoji began to display their unique abilities.

Some summoned a giant moth that carried them into the sky, while others chanted incantations on the spot, making their bodies as transparent as glass.

In short, they all disappeared into the night after about ten seconds.

Only Tendo Ryuji, Hoshino Hideyuki, and Tendo Asuka remained in the same spot.

Tendo Ryuji raised an eyebrow and looked at the fox and the girl: "Aren't you leaving?"

The fox shrugged: "I'd like to see what stealth methods you'll use."

"That's it."

Tendo Ryuji turned around, his lips trembling slightly, and in the blink of an eye, he too became invisible and disappeared down the path.

The fox narrowed its eyes and found that even under the Eye of Insight, the other party's back was still very clear.

"That's it? That's a bit disappointing. I was hoping he'd come up with some interesting new tricks."

Asuka Tendo raised an eyebrow: "For example?"

"For example, you could cover yourself with a cardboard box and then wander around the enemy camp as if it were empty, or crouch in the grass and make the guards instantly deaf and blind..."

"I think you've been playing too much of the Assassin's Credit series, Fox."

Hey, you even know this game?

"Don't underestimate me. I even know that famous line from the game: 'Everything can be lent out, everything has interest, and if you can't pay it back, you'll get stabbed by a hidden blade...' Alright, enough talk, we should go..."

"Okay, okay~"

The Seventy-Two Transformations were activated, and the fox and the girl transformed into two swallows, flying towards the camp of the long-haired demons.

Just half a minute after they left...

"Those two are finally gone."

From a hillside not far away, a puff of smoke appeared, and four people emerged, all dressed as ninjas in masked night clothes.

At the same moment, light and shadow flickered in front of them, and Tendo Ryuji, who should have disappeared, reappeared, speaking to the ninjas with great familiarity:

Where is your leader?

"She has some things to do and will be here a little later."

"That crazy woman... what could be more important than completing the mission?"

Tendo Ryuji's voice became hoarse, and his eyes revealed dissatisfaction and anxiety: "The old men of the Tendo family discovered the problem ahead of time. If this drags on any longer, they will take back control of the secret realm!"

"What if they forcibly terminate the trial? How are we supposed to explain this to the boss?"

The ninjas looked at each other, and finally pushed one of them forward to explain:

"Captain Undying, you know the boss's personality. Once she's made a decision, how dare we offer suggestions?"

"But there's nothing to worry about, everything is arranged."

"With the intelligence we've received from above, we're invincible!"

"We know everything about the Long-Haired Demon King's movements! You just need to spend ten minutes getting there, and then ten minutes killing him with us, and everything will be over!"

"The advantage is on our side; no one can beat us to it. We're guaranteed to win!"

Upon hearing this, Tendo Ryuji's expression softened slightly.

The ninja continued, "As for the remaining Onmyoji... well, we can kill them all after this is over. Then, ha, we can crush them like ants..."