Don't force me to use my right fist.

What talk of being blessed by a giant serpent? Didn't that mountain god already get chopped up and have his soup drunk up?

Feeling an urge to complain but unable to find the words, Shibata Ai could only lower her head, trying to avoid betraying Saya's expression. He knew that Shibata Ai hadn't always been this healthy; there was no reason she would be in such good health after being thrown into the mountains.

Aside from divine blessing, he couldn't think of any other possibility.

"Have we misunderstood you, Love?"

Turning his head to look at the girl behind Saya, the old man asked with an expression of gratitude mixed with a hint of doubt.

Chapter 388 Let it be a misunderstanding

Shibata Ai raised her head. Having received confirmation from Saya, and knowing that she was not the cursed child the villagers spoke of, she did not deny what the village chief had said.

Regardless of the veracity of the stories Saya told, it is undeniable that the villagers misunderstood her.

“I understand. If it is really as the samurai said, I will go on behalf of all the villagers to give your parents and you an explanation.”

Having gotten the answer from the girl's eyes, the old man didn't say anything more, but simply nodded to her and said...

"Village chief, this is the elixir I sought. Just dilute it with water and pour it into the fields, and the yield of these crops will be significantly increased."

After hearing his words, Shibata Ai handed the bone powder that Saya had given her to the village chief. As for the yield, there was absolutely no problem.

...Good boy, the villagers will thank you for this.

Somewhat solemnly, he accepted the handful of white powder. If the golden beans given by Saya could save the village from disaster, then what Shibata Ai gave was the crucial condition for the village to continue.

Nothing can save a farmer's life more than a good harvest; as long as there is a good harvest, there will be no other problems for them. That's all there is to it.

These samurai from the city are all men of great ambition, and they value their reputation more than anyone else.

Therefore, regardless of whether what Shibata Ai said is true or not, and whether the powder actually has that effect, the village chief needs to act as if he is completely moved and express his gratitude to her.

Everything else might be fake, but the knife in Sōyū's hand and the gold beans he gave out were real.

"In that case, if she wants to return to this village and continue living here, then I think you, village chief, have no reason to refuse, right?"

Saya finally spoke and drew a conclusion to the matter. Even though he felt that things were going to get dangerous and it would be best to take his family away from the village, it was Shibata Ai's choice, and he could only respect it.

"That's true. I'm sure your family misses you very much too. I'll arrange for someone to apologize to your family right away. As for you, Mr. Samurai, where would you like to stay tonight? If you don't mind, I have extra rooms in my house."

The village chief, who had no objections to Shibata Ai's return, gave Saya a fawning look. Since it was Saya who brought it up, he certainly wouldn't object.

"We won't need this. Xiao Ai's house should have some space. I can stay here for one night."

Sōyū waved his hand. Living in this old man's house was no different from living in a cattle pen. Not to mention, if these guys had any bad intentions because of the valuables he was carrying, Sōyū would have to figure out how to deal with them.

It's better to avoid trouble, so Saya naturally chose to believe Shibata Ai more.

"Oh, well, I understand now. I was being presumptuous."

After glancing back and forth between Saya and Shibata Ai, the village chief quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly apologized to Saya. "So open, not even letting girls this age go."

Admittedly, Shibata Ai is quite attractive, so if she and Saya have that kind of relationship, she should treat him with even more politeness.

"...Never mind, think what you want."

Seeing the village chief's all-knowing expression, Zuoyou realized that this guy must have misunderstood. He shook his head and didn't explain much to him.

He wasn't that deranged, but considering that this might benefit Shibata Ai's future life in the village, he ultimately didn't say anything more.

He couldn't possibly stay in this village forever to protect her. Once he moved to the town, she would have to rely on herself to continue living in this village.

If they had some connection with the martial arts masters, at least the people in these villages would have some reservations.

Realizing this, Saya followed Shibata Ai, who had excitedly gotten up and was completely unaware that her relationship with Saya had been misunderstood, and walked towards an even more dilapidated farmhouse under the respectful gaze of the village chief.

"Is this your home?"

Saya thought that the village chief's house, which resembled a cattle pen, was the limit of what a home could be, but when Shibata Ai took him back to her own home, Saya realized that, as the village chief, he was actually living quite well.

Apart from a large pot that was probably used for cooking, the room contained only two straw-covered beds that were hard to call beds, and a pile of miscellaneous items piled up to the side.

In a place like this, Sawa felt that even if he just dug a hole in the ground, it would be much more comfortable to live in than this place.

But the girl seemed to see something she had longed for and missed for a long time. After taking a deep breath, she ran towards the pale-faced couple who were stunned by her and Saya's arrival.

"Father, Mother, I'm back."

Tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks. Even the girl who had never cried when she thought Saya was a monster and faced her own death without flinching, finally shed all her strength and revealed her most vulnerable side.

"Love? Didn't I tell you to hide in the shrine or the back mountain and not to come down without our notification? Or is it that we haven't brought you food for so long that you just can't take it anymore?"

Even though the middle-aged man was equally moved by the reunion, he held Shibata Ai's thin shoulders and looked at her with some concern.

If the villagers discover she's still alive, her whole family will suffer because of it!

Chapter 389 Good Guy Kaga

It took Shibata Ai a great deal of effort to explain to her family how she was no longer a sacrifice to the mountain god, and she also gave them a proper introduction to Saya, who had been standing silently behind her.

"This is Mr. Saya. As for his profession, I would say he is a samurai."

Even Shibata Ai couldn't figure out what Saya's true identity was, so she could only tell him about his current profession, which was the only way her family could still recognize him.

Even so, for her two parents, who had been farmers all their lives, the word "Wu Shang" carried a terrifying weight.

"These are my father and mother. Mr. Sawa, would you like to sit down and have a glass of water?"

She also introduced her family to Saya. Perhaps because she knew Saya's personality, Shibata Ai did not feel inferior because of this.

She had no idea how much of a shock Saya's identity as a warrior was to her parents, not to mention the katana Saya carried at his waist, which was even more intimidating.

"No need, I'm fine standing up. You can continue catching up with your family."

Zuoyou waved his hand, indicating that she didn't need to worry too much about him. It was fine as long as he didn't exist. As for being hungry or thirsty, Zuoyou felt that the things in his backpack were definitely more comfortable than the food in the room.

"What will you do tonight, Mr. Saya? I can just lay some straw on the ground and that will be fine. Why don't you sleep in my bed?"

After explaining to her parents that Saya needed to stay there, Shibata Ai turned around, smiled at Saya, and then told them her plans.

"Sir Samurai, you wish to offer yourself to our household? Then you can certainly sleep in our bed. The two of us can manage for the night by leaning against the wall. How could we possibly trouble you?"

Shibata Ai's parents looked at Saya with expressions of being flattered, as if this were truly an honor.

"Um, you don't need to worry about that. I have some things to do tonight, and I might not even be able to sleep."

Sawa naturally wouldn't have such troublesome thoughts. Instead, he seemed drawn to something else, looking towards the uncultivated forest to the east of the village. He could use that to find the village chief later.

Zuoyou took out a handful of gold beans from his backpack and handed them to the girl in front of him. After giving her some instructions, he stood up and walked towards the door.

Even knowing that Saya was leaving, Shibata Ai, who was supposed to leave tomorrow, watched his departing figure and asked him with some confusion.

"Hmm, I found something interesting and want to go take a look. I should be back before tonight."

Sōyū nodded. Rather than sitting in this cramped house listening to her reminisce with her family like an idiot, it would be more comfortable to find something to do. Besides, with him around, the girl's parents seemed a bit too restrained.

"Alright then, I'll wait for you to come back, Lord Saya."

As Shibata Ai watched Saya leave the room, she turned around and saw her parents looking at her with suspicion.

"Ai, how did you come to know this samurai?"

She grabbed Shibata Ai's sleeve; her parents clearly wouldn't easily believe what she had just said.

Previously, it was only because Saya was in front of them that they couldn't bring up this matter, but now that he's gone, they'll have to ask their daughter about it properly. After all, it concerns Shibata Ai's future life, so it's absolutely impossible to handle it so casually.

"Just like I said before, I found Lord Saya who was lost in the forest near the shrine and brought him out. Shibata Ai knows that lying to her parents is a very bad thing, but Saya's identity is really hard to explain. Not only does it involve a secret between her and Saya, but the key point is that even if she told them, her parents might not believe her. The fact that Saya might be a god is much more shocking than the fact that he is a warrior."

"Then, what exactly is your relationship with that martial arts master? You can't lie to us about something like this."

The two, clearly sensing that their daughter was hiding something, exchanged a glance before continuing with the most crucial question.

Given their daughter's lack of understanding and the martial artist's obvious consideration for her, it's hard for the parents not to think of something strange.

"What kind of relationship do we have? I can't really say, since we only met today, but there's no doubt that he's a really nice person."

Even Shibata Ai herself didn't know how to answer this question. She knew perfectly well that what she had done for Saiyu was far from enough to make up for the help he had given her.

But Sōyū had no intention of asking her to repay anything or do anything for her. On the contrary, he was clearly continuing to take care of her.

In other words, this unconditional care made it impossible for her to explain her relationship with Saya.

Why he did this, and what his purpose was, remained a complete mystery to Ai Shibata.

Perhaps it really is as she said, simply because Saya is a good person.

"So, he didn't make any unreasonable demands on you? Like, asking you to be his bedchamber or something?" Is that not it?

"Father, Mother, what are you saying? How could such a thing possibly happen?"

A blush inexplicably rose on her face, and the girl said coquettishly to her parents.

"That's good, after all, there's still your cousin Sentaro..."

The woman was interrupted by her husband halfway through her sentence, who looked at their daughter, whose expression was clearly off.

"Oh, by the way, since we're on the topic, you should have received the food we asked Sentaro to send you, right? Judging from your complexion, you seem to have been doing quite well these past few days?"

Logically speaking, the food he sent should have barely filled her stomach, so how could she have grown up like this?

But after he said that, the girl in front of him looked even more gloomy.

“I haven’t seen Sentaro at all these past few days, let alone the food you asked him to bring.”

A shadow fell over Shibata Ai's eyes. Her brother, who had promised to protect her, had broken his promise for the first time.

Chapter 390 What a classic plot!

Sawa didn't know what the family was saying after he left. He only vaguely sensed that something in the east of the village was calling him back.

As mentioned earlier, Sawa is actually quite inept at sensing special auras, so logically there shouldn't be any reason for him to sense this strange aura.

So this unusual thing caught his attention. Whatever it was that was calling him, he decided to go and take a look.

Without figuring out how to get back, Zuoyou has plenty of time to deal with these things, not to mention that time might not even be right when he travels back there.