I, Wang Ha, the Three Red Unparalleled Assassin

After the meeting, Yagokoro Eirin, who had been asked to do something by Tsukiyo Mikoto who was struggling to get by, muttered to herself as she returned to her residence, no longer bothering to check Houraisan Kaguya's homework.

After seeing off the distracted Princess Kaguya, Eirin Yagokoro returned to her laboratory and threw herself into her work, completely unaware that the bottle containing the elixir of immortality had been tampered with.

After that, Kaguya Houraisan, who was completely unaware of the seriousness of the matter, was soon discovered to be different by the other Moon People, and the truth was revealed.

While the immortality of the Moon People and the immortality of the Elixir of Penglai appear similar, they are two completely different concepts.

The Moon People, who live forever simply because the moon is free of defilement, are ultimately just short-lived beings with limited lifespans. Kaguya Houraisan's actions undoubtedly violated the taboos of the Moon Capital.

Despite being the Moon Princess, she was subjected to extremely severe punishment due to the public outrage.

Eirin Yagokoro originally wanted to take some responsibility herself to lessen Kaguya Houraisan's guilt, but this was collectively rejected by the authorities, led by Tsukiyo no Mikoto.

Having taken the elixir of immortality, Kaguya of Houraisan has become an eternal being, and neither beheading, burning, drowning, nor execution by firing squad can completely kill her.

Although each death was painful, Kaguya Houraisan persevered and endured it.

Unable to stop Kaguya from leaving Mount Hourai, the Moon People imprisoned her temporarily, depriving her of water and food for over a decade.

This left her in a vicious cycle of starvation and thirst, only to be resurrected and then starve and thirst again. Her tragic fate was comparable to that of Prometheus, who was confined to the Caucasus Mountains.

Finally, at someone's suggestion, the proposal to exile the sinner Kaguya Houraisan to a defiled land as punishment was discussed and passed.

Thus, Kaguya Houraisan, who had been killed again, was sent to the surface before she could be reincarnated. When she woke up, she was in a place of darkness.

The old man from the mountains, returning from fishing, noticed a strange, shimmering bamboo stalk by the roadside. He stopped and glanced at it briefly, sensing the life force within, but paid it no mind.

"Glowing bamboo? We've just run out of candles at home, let's cut it down and hang it up as an ever-burning lamp."

Chapter Ninety-Three: Princess Kaguya the Bamboo Cutter

The old man of the mountain took down the wood-chopping knife that had been hanging at his waist, walked slowly to the bamboo stalk where a section of bamboo was glowing, and with two swift strokes, removed the bamboo section intact.

The sealed bamboo tube is perfect; you could even drill a small hole and fill it with fine wine or tea to use as a wine pot or teapot without any problem.

However, due to its sparkling nature, the old man of the mountain still intends to use it as a light source to save money on buying candles and lamp oil.

Although the old man of the mountain, who usually kills the various monsters that invade this place and sells them as materials, is not short of money, isn't thrift and frugality a traditional virtue that everyone should abide by?

As for the life force emanating from the bamboo, it might be some newly born monster, but the old man of the mountain wouldn't pay much attention to it before its time was up.

In the pitch-black darkness, Kaguya Houraisan faintly heard the murmur of voices, followed by a sudden, earth-shaking tremor that left her completely disoriented.

Although I wanted to complain, I could only think about it in my heart.

Because she is currently in the form of a tiny baby, she can only make simple sounds like "ee-ee-ya-ya" for the time being.

"What's going on? Where am I right now? This swaying feeling is so uncomfortable."

Kaguya Houraisan thought to herself, and for a moment she longed to break through the barrier in front of her and see the outside world.

The unknown is always the most terrifying.

If it were to be carried off as food by some wild animal, its future would be truly tragic.

Or perhaps, it was taken home as a treasure by the earth people, whom the Moon People considered filthy and unclean?

If that were the case, Kaguya would pray in her heart that she could meet a good family.

I don't need fine clothes and delicacies, nor do I need wealth and glory. All I need is a kind heart so that I won't hurt her before I've grown up.

Although I'm not afraid of death, and I'm already used to dying.

But if one can avoid suffering, who would willingly endure hardship for no reason?

Despite spending her days idly in the Lunar Capital, Kaguya Houraisan is quite confident in her strength and self-preservation abilities, and believes that nothing terrible will happen to Muzan because of her stunning beauty.

While Kaguya of Houraisan was lost in thought, the old man of the mountain had already returned to his bamboo hut where he lived in retirement and casually placed the bamboo tube on the table.

Then, following the health habits he had developed over the decades, he brewed a pot of tea, placed it beside him, and lay down in the rocking chair to enter a meditative state (afternoon nap).

Meanwhile, Kaguya Houraisan, inside the bamboo tube, had recovered somewhat from the terrible rollercoaster experience. Still an infant, she too fell into a deep sleep due to exhaustion.

The wind rustled through the bamboo forest, and the emerald green bamboo leaves danced in the air, creating a tranquil atmosphere within the forest.

But deep in the mountains, hundreds of miles away from the bamboo forest, a horrific scene of blood flowing like a river unfolded.

Human and monster corpses were scattered haphazardly among the trees in the jungle, some still in the act of fighting and killing each other, their faces contorted with murderous intent and ferocity.

Unfortunately, this battle was ultimately a defeat for humanity.

This group of samurai and onmyoji unfortunately stumbled into the territory of a demon king who led a large number of yokai. After a fierce battle, none of them survived.

Two enormous demonic energies collided fiercely in the sky above the forest. Two points of light, one black and one red, flickered and left afterimages, accompanied by a hysterical, ear-piercing howl.

"Hmph! Why are you so stubborn, you cat demon? The Onmyoji who bound your freedom is dead, so why do you still fight me so fiercely?"

A burly man with eight arms on his back, emerging from the black light, shouted angrily, his words filled with incomprehension. He couldn't understand why the other party, a monster, would entangle with him to such an extent.

"Tsuchigumo! Prepare to die!!!"

The white-haired, white-eared cat demon girl had bloodshot eyes filled with sorrow. Ominous black demonic patterns crawled across her face and body, and her claws, capable of tearing through broken metal, swung wildly.

"Are you really going to be nothing more than a tool for humans? You've completely disgraced the dignity of a great demon!!"

Tsuchigumo finally fully grasped the cat demon's determination and madness. His original plan to recruit the demon's Hundred Demons as his own henchmen was extinguished, and his remaining six arms joined the battle.

The cat demon, who could barely hold his own against the demon king, the earth spider, was completely overwhelmed by the sudden addition of six attacks. In his haste, he was struck in the abdomen and fell from the sky.

"Whoosh—"

The cat demon coughed up a mouthful of blood as it got up from the ground, clutching its aching stomach and rolling to the side to avoid a stomp from the earth spider that came crashing down from the sky.

"Very well. By killing you and taking your demon core, I can also take this opportunity to further enhance my strength."

The earth spider, which had lived for over a thousand years, looked at the little white cat lying on the ground, which had just been promoted to a great demon, and sneered disdainfully.

"Remember this in your next life: only the strong survive and have the last laugh! A scourge like you who willingly serves as a lackey should be eliminated."

Realizing its own weakness, the cat demon gritted its teeth, darted through the forest, picked up a long-cold corpse from the ground, and fled into the distance, stepping on tree branches.

The earth spider, standing still, was stunned for a moment, completely unaware that the cat demon, who had been its mortal enemy just a second ago, had suddenly seemed to have a change of heart and decisively disappeared.

"Escape? With your severely injured body, where can you possibly escape to? You even think you can take your master's corpse with you? There's a limit to how much you overestimate yourself!!"

"My minions, follow me! There seems to be a human village in this direction. Let's have a feast tonight!!"

At the command of the Earth Spider, all the monsters across the mountains and fields erupted in excitement.

They shouted excitedly and ran after the demon king, not forgetting to pack up the human corpses on the ground and take them with them, as if they were all rushing to be reincarnated.

Dusk, the twilight hour when day and night alternate.

When Kaguya Houraisan awoke from her dream, she felt as if her body had grown a little, and she had also regained a tiny bit of her power.

The fragile bamboo tube groaned under the surge of power, and cracks spread across its surface.

Hearing the noise, the old man of the mountain suddenly opened his eyes and flashed to the table where the bamboo tube was placed. Before he could reach out to pick it up and examine it closely, the bamboo tube, which had reached its durability limit, broke in two.

After breaking through the bamboo like a fledgling bird, Kaguya of Houraisan finally bid farewell to the darkness and welcomed the first ray of light after descending to the ground.

"A baby? A human-shaped one?"

"Wait, a baby born from bamboo? This scene seems familiar. Could it be Meng Jiangnu? No, it came out of a melon."

The old man of the mountain looked at Kaguya Houraisan lying on the table with some surprise, and then fell into memories and contemplation, vaguely piecing together some indistinct fragments from his first life when he was an ordinary person.

Kaguya Houraisan blinked her jewel-like black eyes at the old man of the mountain, feeling very curious about this white-haired, blue-eyed man whose face was no different from that of an Easterner.

"It seems that this is the person who took me in, right? But his appearance doesn't look like that of a normal person at all."

Just as the old man of the mountain felt he was about to recall the details, a demonic aura rapidly approaching from afar caught his attention, and then an overwhelming army of demons completely interrupted his thoughts.

A hint of red light flickered in the old man's deep blue eyes as he looked up at the direction leading into the deep mountains beyond the bamboo forest, his face expressionless.

"Two powerful demons, several high-level demons, and countless mid- to low-level demons. What's going on today? Has someone disturbed a demon's lair?"

Kaguya Houraisan, who also sensed danger, carefully examined the approaching demons and monsters and couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Even at her peak, she would probably have to give way to such power; only Watatsuki Yorihime and Yagokoro Eirin could likely suppress it.

"Ooooo"

Kaguya of Houraisan waved her small hands at the old man of the mountain, her eyes filled with anxiety, urging him to take her away and run quickly.

Chapter Ninety-Four: The Mountain Elder's Demon-Slaying Tale

Kaguya's wailing cries temporarily drew the old man's attention away from the direction of the approaching demons, leading him to believe that the infant might also have sensed the impending demonic aura.

When Kaguya Houraisan saw that the old man of the mountain's gaze had returned to her, her starry eyes lit up, and she waved her chubby little hands, asking for a hug.

Looking at Kaguya Houraisan lying on the table, the Old Man of the Mountain remained silent for a moment, unsure of what to do with this little creature of unknown origin.

"Very well. Since I picked you up by chance, it proves that this is fate. Until you grow up enough to protect yourself, I will take you in for the time being."

Kaguya Houraisan understood the old man's mutterings and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She felt reassured and realized that she no longer needed to worry about her life for the foreseeable future.

"As for names... my name is Suzuki Satoru for now, so you can be called Suzuki Take for now."

Not being very good at naming things, the old man of the mountain quickly came up with a name and finished the process, then reached out and hugged Houraisan Kaguya to his chest.

"Ouch——"

Upon hearing this, Kaguya Houraisan's lips twitched slightly, and she shouted in protest, trying to convey the meaning that 'I already have a name.'

But the old man of the mountain had no intention of paying any more attention to her minor complaints. As he walked into the courtyard, he said:

"Oh? It seems you are quite satisfied with this name. Then it's settled."

When Kaguya saw the old man of the mountain walk out of the house, she assumed he was about to run away, so she quickly sensed the distance between the yokai and the place. She didn't have time to worry about the names for the moment.

The old man of the mountain came to the center of the courtyard and pulled the sword of death from the ground with one hand. Amidst the noisy shouts of Kaguya of Houraisan, he went to meet the direction from which the monsters were attacking.

Kaguya Houraisan, who was being held in the arms of the Mountain Elder, was completely bewildered. She looked up at the Mountain Elder's profile, which was so calm that it was almost expressionless, and she could not see any panic on it.

Kaguya Houraisan naturally sensed the human village located at the foot of the bamboo forest. She assumed that the old man of the mountain who drew the greatsword was the guardian of the village, which is why she chose to confront the hundred demons and monsters to buy enough time for the others to evacuate and seek refuge.

But then I thought about it again. It seemed that the old man of the mountain had neither given a signal to remind the villagers nor gone to inform them. Instead, he just walked out unhurriedly, as if taking a stroll.

Even if you were going to your death, you wouldn't be this calm, would you?

Or perhaps, this strange man with white hair and blue eyes named Suzuki Satoru is an incredibly powerful expert?

But so what? In the end, he's just a human being.