Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1472 1444. Little raccoon? Big cat ball?
"It is exactly as you said." Daisuke Kikuchi frowned and sighed, "You have already been tainted with [filth]. If you were to conduct the investigation, fewer people would be implicated. But I didn't expect that you have already made such a realization."

As he said this, Daisuke Kikuchi bowed solemnly.

"I underestimated you. I am very sorry."

Lan En scratched his chin. Although he had only been in contact with the old warrior for a short time, he had already bowed many times.

It made Lan Enren a little numb.

This further deepened Lan's stereotype.

After standing up, Daisuke Kikuchi said seriously, "The convoy this person is in also came out of Iwamura Castle."

"Please allow me to write a letter to the Lord, Andou Morishi, explaining the situation here and your identity. To be honest, your identity is still a bit too bizarre."

This is exactly one of the effects Lan En hopes to achieve.

His identity was indeed bizarre, but if a serious samurai like Daisuke Kikuchi could give him a letter of introduction, then 99% of the doubts would be eliminated immediately.

Ando Morinari was one of the "Mino Three", and Kikuchi Daisuke seemed to be a serious samurai under him. It was estimated that a large part of the land in the Thirteen Sakura Villages was granted to him.

He is a powerful dragon, while the village chief, who is also a priest and in charge of worshiping the sacred cherry tree and praying for blessings and eliminating disasters, is a local family and a local tyrant.

But at the moment, it seems that the powerful dragon and the local snake have a good relationship and there are no conflicts.

This may also be related to the fact that Shisanzakura Village mainly relies on the post station business to make money, rather than traditional farming.

The social class and social role of the samurai corresponded largely to those of the Western knights.

There were only a limited number of proper warriors under a lord. If there were more, they would be too much to support, and there would be no land to divide.

Therefore, the status of these people in the eyes of the lord is also extraordinary.

With the letter of introduction from Daisuke Kikuchi, Lan En would still have something to prove his worth in Mino even if he left Ando Morinari's territory.

Of course, there is basically nothing you can do once you leave Mino Province.

Although daimyos from all over Japan are currently fighting each other, it is said that last year, the famous Imagawa family of Suruga, the Takeda family of Kai, and the Hojo family of Sagami have all formed an alliance to deal with the pressure from outsiders.

Although Lan's origins are so bizarre that people want to complain, it is precisely because it is too bizarre that Daisuke Kikuchi finds it difficult to suspect that he is a spy.

It was also a coincidence that Lan En and the man who had just hanged himself were both contaminated with [filth]. The two of them lived next to each other in houses that were arranged by Daisuke Kikuchi himself.

It's not like they were spies from other countries who came to Mino deliberately to spread filth and invite evil spirits to cause chaos.

And even though it was a chaotic time with daimyos fighting each other, Kikuchi Daisuke still didn't quite believe that there was anyone who would really do such a thing without any bottom line.

Using the power of ghosts and gods to disrupt the human world. If such a thing happened in the past, it would be punished by the imperial court!

Although the Kyoto court is now in decline, is there anyone who dares to go against the world's condemnation?

Therefore, if it was just an investigation into [filth], Daisuke Kikuchi wouldn't mind using his own letter to support Lan En.

"I know about the caravan that departed from Yancun City." Lan En nodded in agreement.

"Okay, now that we've decided, let's set off tomorrow!" The village chief yawned and waved his hand as he walked towards the shrine deep in the village, "Get some rest tonight."

Watching the village chief priest leave, the serious Daisuke Kikuchi sighed unhappily.

But he still returned to his home, wrote a letter to Lan En, and found the leader of the caravan where the man who hanged himself was, and asked about the man's residence in Yancun City and whether there was any unusual situation on the road.

Although the caravan leader looked nervous and frightened, it was obvious that he was only terrified because one of his men had committed suicide after being contaminated with [filth].

It wasn't like that person, who seemed to be scared crazy or dumb.

The sense of fear brought by [Filth] is basically in the realm of supernatural power.

By the moonlit river, Daisuke Kikuchi handed his letter to Lan En.

Lan En put the letter into his arms. The village was now dark. Most people had gone back to sleep. Only a few torches were still flickering in the village.

As a result, Daisuke Kikuchi's face could not be clearly seen in the darkness.

The witcher opened his mouth, and finally spoke as if he had made up his mind.

"Perhaps it's a little strange," he glanced at the old warrior, "but the village chief didn't tell the truth, at least he didn't tell the whole truth. You should be able to see that, right?"

".Well, of course I can tell." Daisuke Kikuchi's voice came out after a short silence, "I also know that he is hiding something, but it would be abnormal for a priest of generations not to hide something."

"But he's not a bad guy." The old warrior looked up at the witcher. "I know what you're suspicious of, but I wouldn't do such a thing."

"He was a man of deep faith who visited many shrines and was known as the pilgrim Godsaku."

"This is the village where he grew up. The Thirteen Sakura is the sacred tree that his family has worshipped for generations. It is impossible for him to do anything that would harm the Thirteen Sakura Village."

Finally, Daisuke Kikuchi said this with absolute certainty.

Looking at his expression, Lan En shook his head, indicating that he had no more questions to ask.
-
Early the next morning, Lan En was already standing outside the village gate, ready to set off for Iwamura Castle, the residence of the local lord Ando Morinari.

Daisuke Kikuchi showed him the way and prepared some dry food and some rewards.

According to him, it would be unreasonable not to pay for investigating the source of the "filth" that polluted the village.

In addition to the material support from the old warrior, the village chief also sent some things.

A bamboo tube of "holy water", which is said to be the dew collected from the enshrined cherry tree in the village.

Condensed from the sacred tree and blessed by Dharma techniques, its effect is much stronger than the [Imperial Sacred Water] on the market.

There are also three [Water Summoning Talismans]. It is said that this is the product of Yin-Yang magic. Lan En thinks it is a bit like the yellow paper talisman in the zombie movie when he was a child, except that the yellow paper talisman is written on yellow paper with red cinnabar.

These are white paper and black ink.

It can wrap the water power of Yin-Yang magic around the weapon that has been wiped with talisman paper.

Lan En had never seen the effect of the local Yin-Yang master's "power of water", but he guessed that it should not be as simple as just wrapping a layer of water around the blade.

Lan En and Jusan Sakuramura only met for one day and helped a little.

It would be a stretch to say how deep the trust and friendship between them was. However, Lan En had no problem doing this kind of employment-like task.

He is a demon hunter.

In addition to some material support, Shisanzakura Village also paid a few strings of copper coins as a deposit for the mission.

Lan En didn't care much, but it would be a lot more convenient to have a local currency.

There are several shapes of copper coins in several strings, which seem to have been minted in different years or during different imperial periods.

There are Qianyuan Dabao, Wannian Tongbao, Shengong Kaibao, etc., which are very diverse.

After leaving Jusanzakura Village, it is equivalent to setting foot in the wild.

The main commercial roads were nothing more than loess roads without weeds, and deep woods or rolling hills could be seen everywhere on the roadside.

Japan's terrain is extremely undulating. Although there is the Nobi Plain at the border between Mino Province and Owari Province, it is obviously not near Jusanzakura Village.

So in the wild here, the most common things are narrow animal trails in dense bushes and grass, as well as undulating slopes.

Sometimes you can see standing statues of Ksitigarbha, or baby statues, on the roadside.

Not long after coming out, Lan En rubbed the magic ring on his hand.

After a while, the crisp sound of horse hooves, accompanied by the crackling of lightning and the rustling sound of branches and bushes being knocked aside, came over.

Lan En stopped and was about to raise his hand to say hello.

But she didn't even wait for him to speak first.

"Xilulu!"

"Boss meow!"

The fluffy ball and the Qilin couldn't wait to jump to his side.

The calico kitten stood on the unicorn's back, pointing at the unicorn's head and behind them.

"have a look"

The fluff ball's little paws were still pointing vigorously, and it was so anxious that it could hardly speak clearly.

"Are we both being entangled by something, meow?!"

Even when the Qilin raised its head normally, it was still taller than Lan, so the witcher didn't see what was on its head at first glance.

But as Lan En's eyes followed the small paw of the fluff ball.
"Eh?!"

Lan En couldn't help but open his mouth.

On the Qilin's head, there was a phantom little raccoon? It was sitting listlessly on its head!
It had a very human lazy expression, its entire body was fiery red, and its limbs, back, and forehead were covered with white water and flame patterns. The patterns on its body were not naturally grown, but rather looked like some kind of talisman.

As Qilin lowered its head and presented it to the witcher, the thing that looked like a raccoon also looked listless with its eyelids half drooped.

He just looked up at Lan En and yawned again.
Lan En stared at the thing that looked like a raccoon in amazement. He took out a teapot that matched the pattern on its body from somewhere, leaned it against the horns on the Qilin's head, and took a sip of hot tea comfortably!
".Something is drinking tea on your head, Qilin!"

Lan En and the fluffy ball immediately pointed at Qilin's head and shouted in surprise.

"Xilulu?"

"Is it true?" Qilin communicated through the variation of [Axis Seal], with doubt in his mind, "The fluff ball said so, but I can't see it or feel it! Is it true? Is it a ghost?!"

Qilin was so anxious that he was jumping up and down, but based on what Lan En knew about this world, people who were not talented enough in inspiration, or the ancient dragons of the New World, should not be able to see this thing.

After looking at the suspected raccoon sitting on the unicorn's head and drinking tea, Lan En's gaze turned to the fluffy ball that had jumped to the ground.

"nya?nya!"

A crisp and soft sound was heard.

The ball of fluff was holding the kitten's helmet and running in circles on the ground, while something that also made a cat's sound was rolling and chasing behind it, seemingly very happy.

Lan En bent down and picked up the calico kitten that was running past him.

The kitten and the witcher lowered their heads at the same time, looking at the thing that was right below the ball of fluff that Lan had lifted up.

It was a big furry cat ball!

There was a hazy halo flashing from time to time on his body and around him, about the size of a basketball.

There are also three colors of cats, but the body is round and you can't even see the limbs!

And its big eyes make it even closer to cartoon proportions than a flannel ball!
Lan En looked at the flannel ball he was holding, and then they both looked down at the big cat ball that was still calling "nya! nya!" and seemed to think it was playing with someone.

(End of this chapter)