I, Wang Ha, the Three Red Unparalleled Assassin

The old man of the mountain listened silently to Himari finish recounting what had happened. Once he realized that the attack by the monster army was just an accident and there were no further worries, he felt bored. He waved his hand to indicate that Himari was free to do as she pleased and went back to grilling fish.

In the northwest corner of the courtyard, Himari found the body of her deceased master, Amakawa Hikaru.

She carried it on her back to a secluded spot in the bamboo forest, buried it, erected a tombstone, and knelt before the grave for a long time, recounting and recalling various past events.

Himari, who has become a great demon, has naturally lived for a very long time, and the deceased Amakawa Hikaru can be considered as someone she has been accompanying and taking care of since childhood.

From a newborn baby to a toddler learning to speak, then to a young girl in her prime, and finally to an old woman with white hair.

Sixty or seventy years is a lifetime for humans, but for demons, it is nothing more than a fleeting moment.

Although Himari has served as a shikigami for several generations of the Amakawa family heads, Amakawa Hikaru holds a different significance among them and carries a much heavier weight in her heart.

This is not only because Himari watched her grow up, but also because Amakawa Hikaru never treated her as a tool or weapon in battle, but as a sister and companion she could rely on and trust.

In an era where humans and demons are enemies and fight to the death at the drop of a hat, this is extremely rare and precious.

Kaguya Houraisan felt so hungry that she couldn't stand it anymore. After realizing that no matter how much she waved, she couldn't get the old man of the mountain's attention, the little girl pouted and started to cry loudly.

Unfortunately, the old man of the mountain was single and childless for four generations, and he knew nothing about obscure knowledge such as childcare and health care. Standing in front of the cradle, staring at the crying Kaguya Houraisan, he didn't know what to do.

Kaguya Houraisan felt a surge of bitterness in her heart. She tried to express herself with babbling, but the old man of the mountain couldn't understand her random hand gestures at all.

The two people, one big and one small, could only stare at each other.

After Himari finished comforting the spirit of her former master and returned to the bamboo house, she blinked upon seeing the scene before her and cautiously asked:

"Lord Suzuki Satoru, perhaps this child is hungry?"

Chapter Ninety-Six: The Tale Begins Here

Late at night, the moon and stars are rare.

Inside the bamboo house, where the oil lamp was lit, the old man of the mountain sat silently in a chair, watching Himari squat by the cradle, holding a bowl of steaming, milky-white fish soup in her hand. She carefully blew on each spoonful to cool it down before slowly feeding it to the hungry Kaguya Houraisan.

The old man of the mountain, who had no idea why Suzuki Take was crying incessantly, realized after being reminded by Himari, who had experience taking care of children, that he hadn't fed the baby girl at all since he found her that afternoon.

Then, all sorts of troublesome problems followed one after another, making the old man of the mountain feel a bit overwhelmed for the first time.

Most importantly, he didn't know what to feed Kaguya Houraisan; the grilled fish they had was definitely not going to work.

In this backward and impoverished ancient world where there weren't even supermarkets, there was nowhere to buy convenient and easy-to-use milk powder.

Otherwise, given Kaguya Houraisan's powerful vitality, the old man of the mountain felt that feeding her directly to Sanlu wouldn't be a problem.

Compared to the incredibly powerful nation across the sea, the Eastern Kingdom, situated on an island, was far more lacking in resources, having nothing at all.

There wasn't even a single ox in that small village at the foot of the mountain, and only noble families in Heian-kyo might keep four or five dairy cows or goats that could produce milk.

"Why don't we just kill this child's hunger? That's the simplest and quickest way."

"Killing the hungry creature will stop it from crying because of hunger, but it won't work if it doesn't eat anything for a long time..."

The old man of the mountain stared at Kaguya Houraisan, frowning in thought. His expression caught the eye of Himari, who guessed the reason behind it. Wanting to repay the kindness, she thought for a moment and then volunteered to take on the responsibility of taking care of Kaguya Houraisan.

The old man of the mountain, at a loss, agreed without much hesitation. Then he watched as Himari went to catch two fish and brought them back. After cleaning them with a few cuts, she set up a pot and started cooking soup.

Kaguya Houraisan, who hadn't eaten for who knows how many years, just wanted to taste food; whether it was milk, rice porridge, or fish soup was no longer important.

"This child has a good appetite; he drank half a pot of soup. Xiao Guang used to be a very picky eater and didn't like to eat much, which really worried me a lot."

After feeding the last spoonful of fish soup to Kaguya Houraisan, Himari stood up with the empty bowl in her hand and muttered to herself, looking at the baby in the cradle with a loving smile.

"Master Suzuki, the child will be sleepy after eating. I believe he will fall asleep on his own soon."

Himari walked over to the old man of the mountain, placed the empty bowl on the table, and bowed slightly in a polite manner.

The old man of the mountain nodded to Himari, no longer worried about how to support Kaguya Houraisan.

Anyway, there are plenty of fish in the river. From now on, we can just take a couple more fish that have reached the end of their lifespan each day to make soup.

"Sit down and eat something. You haven't had a drop of water all day. Even a demon would feel hungry."

After receiving permission from the old man of the mountain, Himari pulled out a bamboo chair and sat down. Her eyes lit up as she grabbed a grilled fish, hugged it, and began to gnaw on it greedily.

The old man of the mountain turned to look at the moon in the sky. There were many mosquitoes in the mountain forest during the summer, but they could not get through the thin layer of deathly aura he had set up outside the bamboo house.

Before he knew it, several decades had passed since he came to this world, yet the old man of the mountain was still not too worried about the affairs of the Little Garden Community.

He was not a good leader or manager. Rather than the brain-draining and scheming organizational struggles, the old man of the mountain preferred to simply wield his sword and flatten any who dared to stab him.

In the Type-Moon universe, the Hall of Heroes is full of talented people. Talented individuals are as common as the streets, and you can throw a brick at anyone and hit some king or emperor.

Therefore, the old man of the mountain was not worried that the Type-Moon community he had painstakingly built would make any fatal mistakes, except that the next person who worked hard to succeed him would die from overwork.

Meanwhile, in the four-digit outer gate of the Box Garden World, in the East District, within the Type-Moon Community.

Gilgamesh, sitting in his office, was reviewing documents with dark circles under his eyes, while on his desk were seven or eight piles of documents, each at least half a meter high.

A knocking sound rang out, and the Demon King Souji, having received Gilgamesh's reply, pushed open the door and entered, carrying a stack of papers about thirty centimeters thick.

"Hero King, these are the new documents that arrived this morning. I just put them here."

"Alright, once you've finished, you can leave. I need a quiet environment to work properly. Also, remember to make sure those miscellaneous cultivators don't slack off!!"

Without a word, Demon King Souji left the office, closed the door, leaned against the wall, and sighed softly.

"Miss Scáthach has gone to visit the Halloween Queen's community again, Miss Merry is slacking off, Miss Nessalian is hibernating, and Mr. Demiurge, Mr. Holmes, and Professor Moriarty are having a fierce competition in the Gift Games..."

"Right now, the daily operation of the entire community really depends on you, Hero King."

The scene switches back to the bamboo house.

The old man of the mountain, his thoughts returning to their source, stood up and walked to the cradle of Kaguya Houraisan, reaching out to tuck the corners of the blanket wrapped around her.

Then, he glanced at Himari, who was still busy eating fish, and his deep voice rang out as he walked away.

"Since you have no intention of leaving for the time being, then stay here for now. Because the one you are loyal to is only one person, not the entire Onmyoji family."

The old man's words made Himari pause in her actions. She hadn't expected that her plans would be seen through so quickly.

Before her injuries healed, Himari did indeed want to seek the protection of the old man of the mountain.

I was originally planning to stay there for a while without saying anything and then carefully express my intentions when the other party asked, but it seems that it doesn't need to be that complicated.

After that, whether Himari chooses to live a free and unfettered life as a yokai or find a suitable onmyoji to become her shikigami is entirely up to her.

She has no intention of returning to the Tianhe family. She has served them faithfully for hundreds of years, which should be enough to repay the kindness of a certain ancestor of the Tianhe family who once saved her life.

Kaguya Houraisan, who was pretending to be asleep, also heard what the old man of the mountain said. She was very happy that Himari could stay, because she didn't have to worry about being tormented to death by Suzuki Satoru, who couldn't take care of children.

"However, why does this situation give me the illusion of a clumsy, foolish father and a gentle, considerate, and virtuous mother?"

"Although that's not the case, what is this warmth? Something that's absent in the desolate and indifferent Moon Capital—is this human emotion? Or perhaps, is it love?"

Having never experienced parental love, Kaguya Houraisan was lost in thought, and for a moment she even began to look forward to life on the ground.

On the very first day of their arrival, they have already experienced such a colorful array of events. The filthy ground, which is despised by the Moon People, seems to be much more interesting than they imagined.

Chapter 97 Fujiwara no Fuhito is a cross-dressing master

The following day, inside the Imperial Palace of Heian-kyo in the Eastern Kingdom.

"My lords, is there anyone who can explain this to me?"

"The martial law was declared yesterday evening, which alarmed the entire city and caused chaos throughout Heian-kyo. Officials and generals were in a flurry of activity, and the people were living in constant fear."

The still vigorous and energetic Emperor Monmu sat high on the throne, looking down at his civil and military officials below. He pounded on the armrest of his chair and shouted sternly.

"Very well, the Yin-Yang Bureau has warned that a large force of demons will invade our borders. I believed them, after all, this matter cannot be taken lightly. But what was the result?"

"We just spent a lot of manpower and resources to set up defenses, and now you're saying it was just a false alarm, and the demons have already retreated for some unknown reason? Are you kidding me?!"

Faced with Emperor Monmu's questioning, the civil and military officials glanced at each other, exchanged glances, but failed to come up with a general idea.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say."

Just as all the officials remained silent, a man at the front of the civil officials' line stepped forward to pay his respects and make a request.

"Oh? It's Minister Fujiwara. What insightful opinion do you have?"

Emperor Monmu's gaze fell on Fujiwara no Fuhito. He was very tolerant of this minister who had rendered meritorious service in supporting the emperor, and he asked him questions in a gentle and pleasant manner.

Fujiwara no Fuhito wore a black academic cap and a white robe with black trim. He had white hair and red eyes, and a slender figure. He looked handsome and talented.

Although Fujiwara no Fuhito's appearance was rather effeminate, and even more so when dressed in ancient clothing, few in the court dared to ridicule him.

At this time, Fujiwara no Fuhito, who was not yet forty years old, had already risen to the positions of Dainagon and Minister of the Right, making him a powerful first-class retainer and a key figure in Emperor Monmu's governance of the country.

After receiving Emperor Monmu's approval, Fujiwara no Fuhito first bowed in gratitude, then straightened up and said firmly:

"I believe that this matter concerns the safety of the nation, and the Yin-Yang Bureau would never have made such a farce without a reason."

"At dusk yesterday, at the moment of demonic possession, everyone in the city, from priests and shrine maidens who worshipped the gods to Onmyoji serving the government, and even unaffiliated samurai, sensed the ferocious demonic winds that swept up from hundreds of miles away. This matter is absolutely true!"

Emperor Monmu pondered for a moment upon hearing this, and then sent people to inquire in detail in various places. In the end, he agreed with Fujiwara no Fuhito's statement.

"Lord Fujiwara, could you please explain to me why these demons, who were about to storm into our territory, have retreated? This is unprecedented and I find it very strange."

"Although the absence of demons should be a great thing, I still can't sleep soundly if I don't understand why they retreated. And when will this martial law be lifted? Who can guarantee that yesterday's strange behavior wasn't a trick by the demons, and that they'll come back to fight again someday?"

Emperor Monmu had Fujiwara no Fuhito stumped with his question, but anyone who could rise to such a position was usually quick-witted and shrewd.

Although he didn't know the specifics of what happened, that didn't stop Fujiwara no Hitoshi from making assumptions and guesses based on evidence. His thoughts raced, and within seconds he had a plan.

"Your Majesty, have you heard of the legend of the 'Old Man Who Rings the Bell'?"

"Oh? I seem to have heard of it, but such rural matters are nothing more than hearsay spread by the common people. What do you mean by that, Lord Fujiwara?"

Fujiwara no Fuhito remained composed despite Emperor Monmu's imposing question. Instead of answering, he began to tell his own story.

"Legend has it that there is a bamboo forest in the deep mountains hundreds of miles away from Heian-kyo, where a swordsman who had wandered the world chose to retire."

"In his early years, the swordsman traveled all over the country and honed his skills to a remarkable level. After going into seclusion, he slaughtered all the demons and monsters around him and protected the surrounding villages."

"The villagers, grateful for the swordsman's bravery, spontaneously called him 'Old Man of the Mountain.' And because the sound of bells would echo through the mountains after the swordsman vanquished the demons, the story of 'Old Man of the Mountain who rings the bell' gradually spread."

"An interesting legend, but how is it related to the demons invading the border?"

Emperor Monmu listened quietly to the story told by Fujiwara no Fuhito, and asked without comment:

"Does Lord Fujiwara really think that this so-called old man from the mountains repelled a demonic calamity that required the entire city's resources to defend against?"

"Your Majesty is wise, and I do indeed have this idea. I have discovered that the direction from which the demons attacked this time is the bamboo forest where the legendary Old Man of the Mountain lived, and yesterday evening many people did indeed faintly hear the sound of bells coming from the sky."