I, Wang Ha, the Three Red Unparalleled Assassin

Finally, Fujiwara no Fuhito uttered the exact words of the old man's two questions, and then stood quietly below the court.

"If a wise and experienced senior descends into the world to exorcise demons, then might the great monsters also come out to stir up trouble?"

"It seems that, in a place unknown to me and my ministers, humans and demons have reached a delicate balance and tacit understanding."

Although Emperor Monmu felt very uncomfortable, he was powerless to resist or change anything.

Anyway, he still has Shinto sects and major Onmyoji families willing to follow his orders, so he no longer has any expectations for those powerful figures who live in seclusion.

However, efforts to show goodwill and maintain the relationship should not be abandoned.

Just like the sudden demonic disaster not long ago, if it weren't for the existence of the Old Man of the Mountain, who knows how many people would have died or been injured, and what kind of impact the country would have suffered.

After mentally sorting everything out, Emperor Monmu made up his mind.

"Hieda Ari, a scholar, is learned and has a strong memory. He is known for his literary talent. He is ordered to set off immediately to Zhulin Village to investigate and collect information about the old man of the mountain, and to write a book to pass it down to future generations."

While the Emperor was issuing the order, Hieda no Rei was quietly organizing various classics and writing the Kojiki in the Imperial Palace study.

Chapter 105 The Weng Family's Daughter Has Grown Up

Three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Kaguya Houraisan, who was once just an infant, has now blossomed into a graceful and beautiful young woman.

(Note: "碧玉年华" refers to a girl's sixteenth birthday)

Although Himari was quite surprised by this growth rate, since the old man of the mountain didn't seem to care, the cat girl had no choice but to suppress her surprise and doubt.

Suzuki Take, on the other hand, behaved in a completely normal way and was very friendly, which quickly dispelled Himari's wariness.

As summer fades into winter, the bamboo forest dons its winter coat, its verdant greenness accentuated by the snow.

On the forest path, the snow was thicker in some places and the grass was still showing in others.

The mixture of yellow and white stripes creates an effect reminiscent of an elegant carpet spread on the ground, which feels soft and yielding underfoot.

The cold wind howled, cutting like a knife against one's face. The whistling sound of the wind made it sound like ghosts crying and roaring, and who knows what interesting and bizarre stories might be told because of it.

The bamboo house had its doors and windows tightly shut, but inside the fireplace, which had only been built just before winter, the firewood was burning brightly, making the house warm and cozy.

In fact, even these doors and windows were only installed this year. In the past few decades, the old man of the mountain had never taken any measures to keep warm during the winters.

After all, while the winters of the Eastern Kingdom may seem fierce, they are far less harsh than the icy peaks and snowy valleys where its undead army slumbers.

Moreover, the old man of the mountain has already freed himself from the influence of the outside world and reached a state of impervious to heat and cold, so he naturally does not need to worry about things like keeping warm.

The reason for installing doors and windows was clearly for Himari and Kaguya Houraisan.

By the way, the main reason is that Hieda Rei, who is temporarily staying here, is just an ordinary person except for her photographic memory.

This woman, who came to collect materials for writing by order of the Emperor, volunteered to become Kaguya of Houraisan's teacher; otherwise, the old man of the mountain would not have allowed her to stay here for so long.

After being banished from the Moon Capital to Earth, the unfortunate Kaguya Houraisan still couldn't escape the tragic fate of having to attend classes. Once again, she sat at her desk and began a difficult struggle against books filled with tiny, insignificant writing.

Despite her deep reluctance, Kaguya Houraisan dared not act spoiled or complain like she had in front of Eirin Yagokoro when the old man of the mountain stood silently in front of her desk.

Although their hair and eye colors are quite similar, the Old Man of the Mountain is clearly more imposing than Eirin Yagokoro, making those who face him dare not make the slightest insolent move.

Fortunately, Hieda Rei was an easy-going person, and he was also very knowledgeable. His memory contained a vast and complex collection of books, and his lectures were full of references and fascinating stories.

Therefore, Kaguya Houraisan, who was not very familiar with the ground, was naturally very curious about the strange and wonderful things that Hieda no Rei told her, and often pulled him aside to ask him all sorts of questions.

Over time, she learned quite a bit of random knowledge and became very good friends with Hieda Rei.

After becoming thoroughly familiar with Hieda Rei, Houraisan Kaguya began to use her cleverness, deliberately asking strange and unusual questions during his lectures to steer the discussion off-topic.

Hieda Rei is someone who likes to explain things clearly, so under Kaguya Houraisan's barrage of questions, he naturally forgot all about his job.

Often, by the time Hieda Arei snapped out of her reverie during the explanation, it was already time for get out of class to end, and she would realize with a start that she hadn't completed the teaching plan she had prepared in advance.

Then, with Hieda Rei's hands on the ground turning ashen, Houraisan Kaguya, having triumphantly made it through another day, left with a smile and humming a song.

In short, in Kaguya Houraisan's eyes, our Miss Ari is surprisingly adorable and easily fooled.

And so, having successfully fooled Hieda Arei once again today, Houraisan Kaguya gracefully stepped out of the room, a victor's smile on her face.

"Heian-kyo? The capital of this country, and also its largest city. I really want to go and see it."

As the girl reminisced about the amusing anecdotes she had gleaned from Hieda Rei, she entered the living room and saw the old man of the mountain sitting by the window, enjoying his tea as always.

She lightly stepped behind him, raised her small hands and skillfully kneaded his broad, thick shoulders, clearly not the first time she had done this.

"Father, are you enjoying the snow again today? Or how about letting A-Zhu play chess with you? Of course, the condition is that you can't use your abilities to cheat!"

"Call me Grandpa."

The old man of the mountain readily accepted Kaguya Houraisan's filial piety, but he was slightly displeased with the way she addressed him, and frowned slightly.

"No, Father is Father."

Kaguya Houraisan spoke in a coquettish tone, even tapping the back of the old man with her little fist a few times to express her refusal.

"Fine. I have no name; call me whatever you wish."

After several unsuccessful attempts to correct her, the old man of the mountain, who didn't care much about such trivial matters, went along with Kaguya Houraisan's wishes and shifted his attention to other things.

"You just said you wanted to play chess, so let's do it."

Kaguya Houraisan, dressed in a light pink kimono, walked to the opposite side and sat down. She took the first move and placed a black stone on the star point in the lower left corner of the board, which was one of the standard opening moves in Go.

"Let's make this clear first: once a move is made, there's no going back, and no cheating. You can't cry if you lose."

As the old man spoke, he picked up a white piece from the chess basket and placed it on the star point in the lower left corner of the chessboard.

"I won't cry! As long as Father doesn't cheat with his powers, I, Ah Zhu, won't lose!!"

Kaguya Houraisan shook her head in denial, then took another step, her long, black hair swaying behind her as she moved her head.

"Let's wait and see; it's too early to say anything now."

The old man of the mountain glanced at Kaguya Houraisan, who was puffing out her cheeks and pretending to be angry, then looked back at the chessboard. The black and white chess pieces, however, had a different feel to them.

About half an hour later, accompanied by the crisp sound of chess pieces hitting the chessboard, the game was almost coming to an end.

"The time for these black spots has come."

As the old man of the mountain muttered to himself, he placed a white piece on the chessboard, killing the last remaining life of the black group of stones.

Kaguya Houraisan sat there blankly, and due to a slight oversight, the great dragon she had painstakingly created was instantly slaughtered.

With White holding an absolute advantage, Kaguya Houraisan had no choice but to resign, reluctantly acknowledging her fiftieth defeat.

"We're almost at 100 games. I've now lost forty-nine times and fifty times against you."

The old man of the mountain was in a very good mood, clearly enjoying himself in the game of chess, with a slight smile on his face.

"Hmph! We agreed that we couldn't cheat, Father, how could you do this?"

Kaguya Houraisan huffed indignantly, jumping up from her seat like a little girl, and began to angrily pound her little fists against the side of the old man of the mountain.

The girl simply couldn't believe that the old man's chess skills could improve so rapidly in such a short time.

She went from being a novice who was completely crushed and killed by herself to becoming a top master who could turn the tables and kill her.

This reversal of fortune was accompanied by a saying: whenever the old man of the mountain was about to eat a child, he would whisper, "This child, the time of destiny has come."

This made Kaguya Houraisan, who knew about the old man's abilities, suspect that her father might have used some kind of cheating method.

"Everything dies. On the chessboard, the life and death of the pieces are also within the game, and I just happen to be able to see it."

The old man of the mountain did not offer any explanation. After understanding the rules of Go, he found the most suitable way to play for himself, which was to send his opponent's pieces to their deaths.

After carefully considering the old man's words twice, Kaguya Houraisan, who had just calmed down, gritted her teeth angrily, revealing an expression that said, "You really are a bad person," and shouted:

"So in the end, Father, didn't you cheat too?!"

Chapter 106 A Trip to Heian-kyo

"I don't care! I don't care! I don't care!"

"Hmph! I hate my father who cheats at chess the most!!"

Kaguya Houraisan's noisy chatter echoed throughout the bamboo house, prompting Himari, who was nestled in the kotatsu, to crawl out of her warm little nest and glance into the living room.

"Oh, did Suzuki Satoru-sama and Suzuki Take-san play Go again today?" Himari sighed, looking down.

She was used to this scene, which would play out every two days, and lazily curled up inside the kotatsu, continuing to be a lazy cat.

"This is a passive skill, and I have no way to control it."

Looking at Kaguya Houraisan, who was giving him a massage with wild, uncontrolled punches, the old man of the mountain offered a calm explanation without changing his expression.

"Furthermore, Azhu, do you really think I don't know about your little trick of secretly extending your thinking time using time manipulation?"

"This one……"

Kaguya Houraisan stiffened when the old man of the mountain revealed her secret. Her dark eyes darted around. She thought she had been discreet and careful enough, but she hadn't expected to be discovered.

Realizing that continuing this entanglement might make things worse, Kaguya Houraisan changed the subject, reaching out to take the old man's arm and shaking it as she asked:

"Father, today Teacher A-Li told me a lot about Heian-kyo. Have you ever been there? What is it like?"

"Heian-kyo? I've been there once, it's just an ordinary little city, nothing special."

The old man of the mountain had no intention of bothering with Kaguya Houraisan's little cheating. He recalled his visit to Heian-kyo decades ago, where there was indeed nothing particularly new or interesting that left a deep impression on him.

"Is that so? But Professor Ari said that Heian-kyo, as the capital of the country, is the largest and most prosperous city in the country. I think it must be very magnificent."

"If I had the chance, I would really like to see it for myself."

As Kaguya Houraisan spoke, a longing look appeared in her eyes, like a caged bird yearning for freedom. Although she had never lacked food or clothing as the Moon Princess, she had never been to many places.

Seeing Kaguya Houraisan's enthusiastic expression, the old man of the mountain didn't say anything to discourage her; wanting to go out and broaden her horizons was ultimately a good thing.

However, I really want this silly girl to know what the Tang Dynasty was all about, and what kind of magnificent and spectacular city could be called a great city.

However, the old man of the mountain ultimately did not offer to help Kaguya broaden her horizons. Instead, he readily agreed to her request to go to Heian-kyo, showing no concern whatsoever that his daughter might encounter trouble on her long journey.

"Since you want to go, then go for a walk. You, Himari, and Ari should go together."

Kaguya Houraisan was not surprised that the old man of the mountain would grant her request, because her old man had always been very open-minded and seemed unlike people of this era.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Father. And what about you? Aren't you coming along?"