Don't force me to use my right fist.

Shibata Ai was still somewhat hesitant. The strength that Saya had shown so far was nothing more than a pile of building blocks in the hands of Saya, let alone a small village. Even the towns inhabited by the daimyo that the village elders had mentioned would probably be nothing more than a pile of building blocks in Saya's hands.

So when things got to this point, Shibata Ai actually felt that Saya wouldn't have any grudges against the village where she used to live.

If he wanted to do it, even if he didn't cooperate, it probably wouldn't be too difficult for Saya. The fact that he said that only shows that he is probably a very polite person.

"What could I possibly want to know? I just wanted to ask where the nearest town was and if there were any temples or similar places nearby."

Zuoyou covered his face. Since he was influenced by the power of those gods and traveled here, if he wanted to go back, it would make the most sense to ask a knowledgeable god, that is, another god.

The villages generally worship powerful beasts or monsters, unlike the giant serpent. As for the powerful towns that were able to develop, Sawa believed it was inseparable from the protection of the gods.

At least there aren't monsters running rampant over there like they do now. And if a town can be built in such a dangerous place, there must be corresponding methods to deal with it.

"If that's all you think, Mr. Saya, then I can take you to the village where I used to live."

Whether it was out of gratitude for Saya saving her life multiple times, or because she read sincerity in his eyes, Shibata Ai, after some contemplation, finally changed her previous response to Saya and agreed to his suggestion.

"Very good, but, well, I can give you the things, but there's one thing I think I should remind you of beforehand."

Sōyū snapped his fingers before looking at the girl who was staring at him with a puzzled expression.

“I don’t think you need to go to so much trouble for that village. How should I put it? I feel that even if you bring this back to them, the fact that you are seen as a heretic in their eyes is not so easy to resolve. Temporary solutions will not change the final outcome.”

To dampen the girl's joyful expression, Sōyu spoke frankly to her.

Prejudice isn't something that can be solved simply by proving that you're right. Without fundamentally changing the other person's perception, it's not so easy to eliminate.

“I know, but I don’t want to live with those villagers. I just want to go back and live with my family. That’s enough.”

Perhaps the girl, who vaguely understood what Saya wanted to say, still firmly shook her head. To her, none of this mattered; being able to be with her family was enough.

I hope so.

Chapter 386 What exactly is your identity?

Guided by Shibata Ai, Saya quickly followed her out of the forest and arrived at a somewhat dilapidated but clearly well-maintained shrine.

From the snake-headed statue enshrined there, it's not hard for Sayu to guess that this must be the unlucky thing that he defeated in the opening scene.

It can only be said that people in ancient times were really simple and honest. When they encountered something they couldn't defeat, they would worship it properly. This is probably the origin of Mi Hong's eight million gods.

“If you follow this road, you’ll reach the village where I live. The old people and merchants there definitely know how to get to the town, but I think you’d better change your clothes before you go, Mr. Saya.”

Given the current situation, Shibata Ai became somewhat dejected and afraid again. Even with Saya's help, she was still worried about the rumors circulating in the village.

Even so, she still spoke first to remind Sōyō that his modern T-shirt and shorts would definitely be seen as strange attire here.

Zuoyou fumbled around for a moment, then took out a workbench from his backpack and placed it in front of him. After a brief pause, Zuoyou took out a set of plain iron armor without any enchantments.

With the equipment directly on his body and the Tsukuyomi sword in his hand, Sōyū looked exactly like a fully armed warrior.

If I remember correctly, in ancient Japan, warriors held a rather high status. After all, they were guys who always carried weapons, so it would be quite difficult not to respect them.

Considering that there might still be some things to deal with, Zuoyou took out another gold ingot from his backpack and broke it down into nine gold nuggets the size of eggs.

After a slight hesitation, Zuoyou picked up a gold nugget and crushed it into several pieces in his hand once more.

After dividing it into pieces the size of soybeans, Sawa was satisfied and put it in his pocket.

Gold is always a circulating commodity, and with it, becoming a millionaire in this world is absolutely no problem.

"S-Saya-san? You were a samurai all along?"

Shibata Ai, who had the good fortune to see Taketo passing by in the village, once again expressed her surprise.

She truly hadn't imagined that Sōyu could have so many identities—first a yokai, then a demon, then an onmyoji, and finally a god. Now, he even possesses a samurai's sword and armor. Just who is he?

"Samurai? No, it's just that this way it's easier to get what I want out of them. People are more willing to believe what they see, aren't they?"

Sōyū shrugged. He had no martial arts spirit whatsoever; dressing like this was merely a convenient disguise.

"Alright, I'll go back with you. With this identity as your witness, I doubt those villagers will dare to do anything excessive to you."

The bone powder that Saya gave to Shibata Ai was weakened, and it would take time to prove whether the grain could grow. Obviously, the villagers wouldn't give her time to explain.

Therefore, if Saya went there under the guise of a warrior, given the cowardly and bullying nature of these commoners, they would definitely not dare to contradict Saya to his face.

"Ok.

The girl simply nodded obediently and automatically walked behind Saya to follow him.

She was a person without much of her own opinion, and before that she had only been thinking about how to get back to the village. As for how to explain to the villagers and how to hand over the powder that Sōyu gave her, she had not thought about it carefully.

After all, she was just a teenage girl, and she certainly couldn't think about so many things. Perhaps she naively believed that as long as she handed over the bone powder, the villagers would abandon their prejudice against her and accept her again.

Emerging from the dilapidated shrine, Saya finally saw something with human presence. A man-made path led down the mountain, and along the way were fields where people could be seen working in the fields.

Sōyū's attire was like a spotlight in this place, quickly attracting the attention of the villagers.

A group of men who looked like farmers surrounded Saya and Shibata Ai behind him, staring at him warily.

Sawa looked at the group of people holding various farm tools and hoes, pointing them at him, and a helpless expression appeared in his eyes.

Explaining to these guys is probably pointless; it's better to wait for someone in charge to arrive. If I show up here dressed like this, the actual person in charge of the village...

"It's that cursed girl from the Shibata family! How is she still alive? Wasn't she supposed to have been sacrificed to the mountain god?"

"No wonder the harvest hasn't improved lately; it must be because the mountain god is angry!"

"She's only alive because those two from the Shibata family secretly obstructed the ceremony; they're sinners too!"

The onlookers quickly recognized the girl hiding behind Saya, and things began to stir. After accusing her of all sorts of unfounded crimes, their gazes toward Saya turned hostile.

If it weren't for the armor on Saya's body and the menacing sword that looked like it was something to be trifled with, these people probably would have already rushed up and tied up Shibata Ai behind him.

"I said, can someone in charge come out here? This isn't how you treat a guest."

Sōyū scanned the restless crowd, narrowed his eyes, and the faint aura he released immediately silenced their whispers, even forcing the men holding farm tools to take a step back.

"We don't know what brings you, our guest from afar, to our small town. If you don't explain your purpose, you can't blame us for being hesitant, can you?"

The noisy crowd dispersed, and an old man, surrounded by several young men, stepped out and answered Saya with a polite smile.

"Is he the village chief?"

Turning back to Shibata Ai, he asked her a question. After receiving an affirmative answer, Saya turned around, took a gold bean from his pocket, and threw it at her.

"This is my sincerity. Can we talk properly now?"

Chapter 387 Lies That Were Spoken Off the Cuff

As it turns out, sometimes money is the best tool for negotiation. Compared to weapons, money is, to some extent, more likely to gain favor.

After picking up the gold bean that Saya had thrown from the ground and confirming in his palm that it was real gold, the old man's gaze towards Saya instantly changed.

Putting everything else aside, this single gold bean alone would be enough to offset the village's quarterly tax payments, yet he casually tossed it away. Looking at Zuo You's incredibly magnificent armor and his domineering swordsmanship, the village chief, a man of many years and vast experience, understood that this was definitely a warrior with a powerful background and strength, someone their small village couldn't afford to offend.

"You're too kind, sir. Please come to my home and we can talk things over. What are you all doing, brandishing weapons at Lord Wutu? Can't you see he's a guest?"

Even though she was equally annoyed by the cursed girl following behind Sōyū, she was somewhat insignificant compared to this real sugar daddy.

Money makes the world go round, not to mention that the village chief also knew in his heart that the village's harvest problem actually had nothing to do with her; she simply needed an outlet for her frustration.

"That's the right attitude." w.hl

After gesturing to the girl behind him to be quiet and leave everything to him, Zuoyou turned around and followed the old man into a still somewhat dilapidated farmhouse.

After waving to signal the young people standing behind him to push the tea leaves, the old man respectfully offered Sōyu a cup of hot tea. Unfortunately, judging from the layer of tea stains floating on top, Sōyu had no intention of taking a sip.

Pulling Shibata Ai down to sit with him, Saya put down the Tsukuyomi sword in his hand, crossed his arms, and looked at the fairly polite old man.

"May I ask what brings you, guest, to this place?"

Seeing that Zuoyou showed no intention of drinking tea, the old man did not show any anger. Just the gold bean that Zuoyou had just given him was enough for him to make such a grand display, so he naturally would not look down on his sugar daddy.

"I accidentally got lost nearby, so I came to ask how to get to the nearest town and if there are any large shrines nearby that I can worship."

He directly stated what he wanted to do, and then took out another gold bean from his pocket, fiddling with it between his fingers as he spoke.

"Oh? Is this the kind of thing that troubles you, sir? Then I am happy to help."

The old man, whose eyes widened at the sight of the golden bean in Saya's hand, became even more respectful. After understanding what Saya needed help with, he quickly agreed.

What Saya asked for wasn't anything particularly difficult, and it posed no threat or other impact on the village. Given how generous he was, it was impossible for him to refuse Saya's request.

Great, then this is the corresponding reward, and I will pay it in advance.

Sagaru rolled the gold beans in his hand toward the old man and said with a smile to the old man in front of him.

"It's alright, it's alright. It's an honor for the entire village that the samurai needs our help."

The old man's face was beaming with joy as he took the golden bean that Saya had rolled over. Unable to contain his happiness, he spoke to Saya with a fawning expression.

This man is indeed a benefactor of the village. In just a short while, the gifts he received are enough to keep the entire village busy for half a year.

"However, sir, it is getting late. Why don't you stay in the village for the night, and I will personally send someone to escort you to the town tomorrow?"

After some thought, the old man naturally wouldn't let such a fat sheep as Saya go so easily. He certainly didn't have any thoughts of secretly killing and robbing him. Someone like Saya must be a nobleman born into a noble family. If he were to attack him, the entire village might be wiped out.

But that doesn't mean he can't get something out of Sōyū. If he stays overnight and is well taken care of, there will definitely be plenty of rewards to come.

"Sure, I'll take a break too."

Looking back at Shibata Ai, Saya nodded to the old man, which was considered an agreement.

"Well, please forgive my intrusion, but I wonder why you, sir, bring this cursed child, a sinner who has offended the gods, with you? Have you been bewitched by her?"

Even after receiving Saya's reply, the old man still couldn't suppress his doubts and pointed to the girl behind Saya, asking Saya a question.

How did this guy get involved with this person? Hopefully, he won't gossip about the village behind his back.

Before Shibata Ai could say anything detrimental to the village, the old man had no choice but to explain Saya's identity to her.

“Watch your words, old man. This woman is my savior. Without her, I might have died in the forest because I got lost.”

Zuoyou touched his nose and looked at the old man in front of him with a hint of anger.

"Furthermore, she's not some sinner who offended the gods, nor is she a cursed child. I personally witnessed her being blessed by a giant serpent, and even obtained some elixirs from it that could improve the entire village's harvest." Saya, who could lie without even needing to think, fabricated a story of a girl who overcame difficulties to obtain the elixir to save the village, causing Shibata Ai to look at him with surprise.

Was he referring to something that happened in another world? How come even she, as one of the people involved, doesn't know?