I'm a thankful fox in Tokyo

Chapter 316 When it rains
The other party was silent, and Arima Tadayasu was not in a hurry. He looked up and began to look at the decoration of the hall. No matter how many times he came here, it felt like a different world from the castle town outside.

The decoration in the hall is gorgeous and exquisite. It is not the kind of nouveau riche style with gold-inlaid floors and jade-inlaid beams and pillars, but in this era, such attention to detail in decoration is shocking. There is a screen with the signature of Kano Eitoku, who was once the official painter of the Oda family.

The plain-looking golden nanmu beams and pillars, the spotless mirror-like wooden floor, the numerous window frames on the east and west walls, and the glass bought from the Nanman embedded in the windows. It was a sunny day, and the castle tower was originally located on a high ground, so when the windows were opened, bright light accompanied by a cool and dry Japanese breeze filled the hall.

The hall is quite large, and even during the day, it cannot be fully illuminated by sunlight, so there are many exquisitely shaped lamps lit with smokeless oil lamps that seem to never go out. They burn without odor and the light is yellow and gentle.

If you were sitting here on a normal day, drinking tea and watching dance with maids in costumes would probably be a special experience, but at this moment, the chaotic shouting and screaming outside broke the peaceful atmosphere.

I don’t know how many subjects went hungry to get this.

Arima Tadayoshi was feeling emotional. He always had a feeling that he seemed to have always wanted to come back here, but he had been waiting for a long time. Now that he had finally gotten his wish, he naturally had to savor the various emotions that emerged in his heart.

When the city lord Kuchiki Hidemasa was asked this question, he was a little flustered at first, but when he saw that Arimaka did not rush forward with a sword but sat down to admire the hall, he felt a little relieved.

But when he thought that he might be enjoying everything he was about to achieve, his expression darkened again, his voice became serious and angry, and his body leaned forward.

"Arima-sama, you want me to explain it to you?"

"I also want you to explain to me what happened to those samurai who stormed the castle tower? Who are the rebels who killed their colleagues serving?"

"Lord Arima, are you trying to disobey your superiors?"

Kuchiki Hidemasa was sitting at the most senior seat in the hall. He asked three questions in a row, and his momentum was rising steadily. In the end, he seemed to be fearless of Arima Tadayasu and had the dignity of a lord of a city.

Arima Tadayasu looked outside through the glass window, seemingly lost in thought. Kuchiki Hidemasa did not dare to urge him, while the other warriors felt humiliated and were furious.

After a few seconds, Arima Tadayoshi finally came back to his senses, looked at him and sneered, "We have known each other for many years, so there is no need to act like this, Kuchiki Hidemasa."

Several warriors guarding the city lord were furious: "Disrespectful!"

"No rudeness!"

The city lord was sweating profusely and quickly stopped them, "What's your level? You usually fight bandits and have gained confidence, right?"
Or do you think I'm not dying fast enough?
Others only know of Ma Zhongkang's reputation, but Kuchiki Hidemasa has actually witnessed him killing people in battle and making thousands of soldiers tremble in fear.

No matter how bad the situation was, as long as he rode on a horse and held a spear into battle, the morale of the army would quickly recover. Thousands of soldiers, whether samurai or foot soldiers, would shout the name of the sword saint. Correspondingly, the morale of the enemy army would inevitably plummet and they would not dare to fight him.

This scene really left a very deep shadow in his heart, and it was not until now, when Ma Zhongkang was nearly seventy years old, that he dared to attack him.

But now it seems that they still underestimated him. Thousands of soldiers launched a surprise attack on them, but they were defeated by just a few hundred people, and not even a single scar was left on this old man.

Therefore, even though the old man is in his sixties or seventies, there are only two or three cats and kittens around him. Even if twenty more warriors come, he will only have to chop them a few more times.

Now I just hope that he is just suspicious. Based on my understanding of Arima Tadayasu, he will not kill me directly without solid evidence.

Kuchiki Hidemasa swallowed his saliva, anxious, but had to pretend to be calm: "I don't know what Lord Arima is talking about. I think it must be that guy Toyama Masanori who is trying to sow discord."

Arima Tadayasu laughed three times: "How did Lord Kuchiki know that it was Toyama Masanori who led the troops to attack us?"

The warriors stood in front of the castle lord, and Kuchiki Hidemasa fell back in fear.

"There are many strange things about this matter. Why don't you find out the whole story before making a decision, Lord Arima? Otherwise, if we really fall into the trap set by the Kanto rats to sow discord, wouldn't it be a tragedy for our loved ones and a joy for our enemies?"

Kuchiki Hidemasa's old body was shaking like a sieve, and his speech was incoherent, so that it made people feel that Arima Tadayoshi was the lord of the city and he was a subordinate.

"We need to find out the truth. I, Ma Zhongkang, never wrongly accuse a good person." You Ma Zhongkang said as he stood up.

Kuchiki Hidemasa thought he was going to leave and nodded quickly.

"Why don't we discuss the rest later? Now the bandits from Kanto are approaching us, and there are samurai rebelling in our city. I heard that those samurai are friendly with Lord Arima, so I guess Lord Arima will have to help me appease them."

"When righteous men kill treacherous villains, how can there be talk of rebellion?"

Arima Tadayasu said in a deep voice, drew his sword with a clang, and strode towards Kuchiki Hidemasa. The silver-like blade looked like a dream under the dim yellow candlelight.

"Traitor! Die!" A samurai rushed forward, shouting angrily and holding a sword high. Before he could see the sword light clearly, he collapsed to the ground, holding his neck and twitching. The bright red blood spread on the floor, reflecting the human shadow.

The other warriors looked stern and looked at each other: "Let's go together!"

Several men slowly surrounded him with their swords held high, ready to hack Arima Tadayasu to death with their swords.

"kill!"

Arima Tadayasu didn't even look at them. The moment he felt the murderous intent, he took a left bow step and slashed out with great power.

"puff!"

Bizen Osafune no Kami smoothly pierced the armor and disemboweled the two samurai standing close to each other as if a hot knife was cutting through butter. His speed was so fast that the sounds were heard almost at the same time. He then took a step forward and pierced the throat of a samurai accurately, and then cut the last samurai in half with a steady horizontal slash.

The whole process takes no more than two seconds.

Several warriors were killed on the spot without even having the chance to draw their swords. Arima Tadayasu made a sword flower, made a blood-vibrating movement with a blue sword, and walked in front of Kuchiki Hidemasa.

It seemed that he had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, but when this moment really came and he was really standing here, looking at the panic-stricken man in front of him, Arima Zhongkang suddenly lost all interest. He just felt bored and had an inexplicable sense of relief.

"how come."

Kuchiki Hidemasa stared blankly as his last protective force was instantly killed by the old man in front of him. The splattered blood sprinkled on the exquisite screen, and the bright red spots bloomed like plum blossoms. He touched his neck and said hurriedly while crawling backwards.

"They acted on their own initiative, Lord Arima, it's—"

The knife light splashed over like a pool of moonlight.
"puff!"

Kuchiki Hidemasa felt a chill on his neck, and then the world spun around him. His vision finally settled on
Arima Tadayoshi picked up a handkerchief from the city lord's desk, wiped the blade carefully, and walked to the window.

"You finally got what you wanted, didn't you? You've been waiting for hundreds of years, and you should take a rest."

An old man's voice sounded behind him. Arima Zhongkang turned around and saw an old man standing behind him. He was dressed in plain clothes, with a slightly long face, drooping eyebrows, bright and clear eyes, like a child, with two moustaches, but he did not look treacherous, and there was a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

She was wearing a tattered kimono that was shorter than the knees, which was yellowed from being washed and looked very old, and loose trousers. Her feet were tied with leggings. She had a shaved topknot and her white hair was tied into a simple bun. She used a dead branch as a restraint, a bamboo hat hung on her back, and around her waist there was a bamboo kettle and some beautiful stone ornaments.

"You are Yu Shi? Didn't you say you were going to travel in Penglai? Why are you back so soon?"

"Faster?" Yu Shi shook his head. "A few hundred years."

"Hundreds of years?"

Arima Tadayasu looked at him in astonishment, and then seemed to remember something, his expression changed, sometimes ferocious, sometimes emotional, and sometimes lost, as if there were countless personalities fighting for his body.

After a moment, he rubbed his forehead and his expression became calm: "So that's how it is, am I already dead?"

"Yes, I originally thought that I would go to Penglai to listen to the ancient immortals preaching for about ten years. Maybe I could bring you some immortal fruits or something for you to taste. I didn't expect that the immortals would be so excited and excited, and my ears were filled with the sound of the great way. I was so fascinated by it that two hundred years passed in the blink of an eye."

Yu Shi sighed with a complicated expression and waved his hand. The corpses, heads and blood in the hall all disappeared. In front of him, there appeared a table with some flower cards used for folk gambling, also known as Hua Zha, on it.

There was a small stove next to it, with a very small fire, boiling a pot of water with a few pots of sake in the water, and some magical fruits full of spiritual energy placed on the right.

Yu Shi took off his hat and put it aside, knelt down, picked up a piece of Hanafuda and shook it, then looked at Arima Tadayasu with great interest: "I lost to you that time, do you dare to play against me again?"

Arima Tadayoshi sneered, "You don't know what's good for you." Then he walked over and sat down, randomly drawing a flower card, "My big one, you're the dealer, shuffle the cards."

As he spoke, he hummed a song and took out a bottle of wine from the kettle beside him. Two jade cups appeared on the table. He was not surprised and poured a cup for each of them.

"Thank you so much for all these years, otherwise I would have committed a serious crime."

Arima Zhongkang smiled, drank the wine in his hand, and felt that his soul, which was about to dissipate, was warmed up.

"You and I are close friends, why bother talking about this? It's a pity that the corpse demon that your body transformed into is so stupid that it can't even play with Hua Zha. I have been sitting here for hundreds of years in vain."

As Yu Shi was talking, he tried to change the cards with his clumsy hands. Arima Tadayoshi took a look and picked up a card and hit him in the hand: "Cheating, huh?"

“Ahem, this is compensation!” Yu Shi’s expression was serious, revealing the majesty of a god: “I am the dignified Rain God, you have to give me some space.”

"Then we won't play anymore."

“Hey, hey, don’t.” Yu Shi quickly reached out and pulled his sleeve, taking out a fairy fruit: “Eat fruit, it’s from Penglai, it can prolong your life.”

"Is it useful for me to eat?"

"It's useless, but it can satisfy your craving. Besides, even the emperor hasn't eaten it, but you can. Isn't it a great pleasure? You owe me too much."

"Huh? I remember that time when you gambled away all your pants in the gambling house, you swore to pay me back with the fairy fruit when you lent me the money, right?"

"Then I have paid it back now, haven't I?"

Arima Zhongyasu smiled, rubbed the fairy fruit on his body, took a bite, and the juice splashed everywhere. A strange power quickly filled his body and he felt like he was in the clouds. These powers tried their best to roam in his body to save his decaying soul.

At first, it was indeed a feeling of being reborn, but in the blink of an eye, I was lost in the sieve-like emptiness of the soul and spirit into the world.

He finished eating the fairy fruit in silence, looked at the few fruits left in the fruit plate, thought about it, and thought that maybe he could leave a few for Ayu and the others, so he didn't take any more.

Yu Shi ignored him and dealt the cards. While playing, he said, "Old man, I have helped you fulfill your obsession, but you won't let me win a game until you die?"

"It's a matter of principle. Besides, if I let you win on purpose, would you be happy?"

Arima Tadayasu shook his head, and several more cards appeared in his hand while he was chatting and laughing. The Japanese Hanafuda cards are similar to drawing pairs.

There are field cards, hand cards and deck cards. If there are identical field cards and hand cards, you put them in your hand. If not, draw a card from the deck. If they are the same, you also put them in your hand. Finally, the score of the cards in your hand is calculated according to certain rules to determine the winner.

Yu Shi nodded: "I will be very happy."

The two sat and played a few games, Arima Tadayoshi frowned slightly, and then said.

"I can't hold on any longer. How can I deal with the corpse demon then?"

Yu Shi frowned, staring at the cards in his hand as if facing a great enemy. He was silent for a moment, and after sorting out his cards, he replied: "It's simple. Just control your body and don't move. Let your apprentice chop a few times. I will take care of the rest."

"You have a good eye for choosing an apprentice. He is a very talented boy with good character. His future achievements will be beyond your imagination. The Sky Blue Sword Style will surely flourish in his hands."

Arima Tadayasu pondered for two seconds and said, "He has always been sentimental. If I let him do it, I'm afraid he will have a grudge. I am already dead, and I can't bear to leave such a problem for the younger generation."

Yu Shi smiled and said, "That child is a cultivator. Do you know what a cultivator is? According to the Shenzhou, such people have a firm heart and a strong will. Even if they don't become immortals, they can still find a good position in the divine world. They won't have any grudges. If they have a grudge just because of something like this, then they are not suitable for cultivation. They should find a position as a god as soon as possible."

Arima Tadayasu still frowned: "Why don't you do it?"

"I can't do that. Your body has become a corpse demon, as strong as steel, and is protected by countless evil spirits. But I happen to be the Rain God, a Rain God who is not good at fighting, and I haven't learned any magic to kill demons. I am restrained by you. I can only trap the corpse demon, but I can't kill it."

"That's it."

Arima Tadayoshi pondered for two seconds, calculated the cards in his hand, and grinned: "Huh? I win."

Yu Shi threw away his cards, drooping his white eyebrows, and sat there like a pitiful old man: "I still can't beat you, and you left me an obsession before leaving, don't you feel sorry for me?"

"Because you are a god. I will take this fruit away and let my disciple have a taste." Arima Tadayoshi said, and he stood up and left with the fruit plate.

Watching him walk away, Yu Shi sat on the floor in a daze: "God, what kind of bullshit excuse is this?"

He sat on the floor for a long time, and a sigh echoed in the empty hall.
“Gods also have hearts.
Goodbye, friend."

(End of this chapter)