Demon Capital Slayer

Chapter 103 Cage Theater
"The rest of the work is simple, it just requires..."

The image of the dog god Milo wagging his tail came to mind.

"Real-world detective work isn't like the fighting and killing depicted in movies; it relies on this..."

Next to appear was Toshio Sakurai, who raised his hand, nodded his head, and looked very confident.

Can anyone tell me why a supposedly simple job, one that doesn't require fighting and only requires using your brain, has turned into this situation?

With one hand, Yu Jian gripped the wakizashi [Vajra Wisdom Fire Demon-Slaying Blade], its gleaming blade completely embedded in the ground, forcibly fixing his body in place.

He held Akemi Hayashibara with his other arm, while the big star held onto his manager's hand.

The three of them held onto each other like a string of candied hawthorns.

The reason for maintaining this strange posture is because of an extremely strong suction force coming from directly in front.

As the birdcage-shaped curse medium began to glow, it quickly transformed into a pitch-black vortex, continuously generating an exaggerated pulling force outwards. The entire room seemed to suddenly fall into a storm, with the surging, violent airflow blowing various objects around wildly.

At the same time, Yu Jian discovered that this pulling force not only existed on the material level, but also spread in the spiritual dimension.

But for some reason, compared to the astonishing suction force of a gale in reality, the disturbances on the mental level were very weak, at least not strong for him. He could easily drive them away with his own willpower, like blowing a breath.

"Woof woof woof! It's the Tokoyo Uprising! What a joke! Using a 'key' as a medium! The suspect Toshio found was clearly just a mortal. How could that guy possibly get his hands on a magical artifact of this level?! Aa ...

Milo barked nervously, its two furry front paws gripping the floor tightly, leaving several long scratch marks, while its lower body was suspended in the air, its tail spinning wildly like a propeller.

"Little Liu, I feel so sleepy..." Lin Yuanmingmei murmured to herself in her arms, but she still held onto Tianhai Yuki's hand tightly with gritted teeth.

"Akami? Akami, what's wrong?!" Yuki Amami exclaimed anxiously.

"Milo!" Mitsurugi called out as well. Faced with this unfamiliar situation, the only person he could ask was the senior Inugami.

"Woof! Mental pull! The riots of the mortal world will exert both material and mental pull on the surroundings! Ordinary people who have not cultivated will find it difficult to resist, and those with spiritual sensitivity are even less able to resist. Her soul is about to be sucked into the mortal world!"

Milo struggled to reach the floor with his hind legs, regretting that he wasn't a polar bear dog or an Alaskan Malamute. Although Samoyeds were taller and stronger than most medium-sized dogs, they were at the bottom of the list of truly large dogs and were simply not good enough.

"How can we help her?" Yu Jian asked immediately, seizing the key point.

"If you can't do it now, neither can I..."

"Little Liu Hai, I'm counting on you from now on." Yu Jian suddenly heard Lin Yuanmingmei say this in his ear.

Then, the seemingly slender girl suddenly pushed him away, and then with a sudden burst of strength from both hands, she used the reaction force to fling Yuki Amami in the opposite direction, at the cost of being pulled forward herself.

"Akemi, no!"

Yuki Amami screamed and fell onto the sofa for the third time today, knocking the already unstable sofa backward. The cushion, backrest, and floor formed a stable triangular structure, which actually made her feel very safe.

Conversely, Akemi Hayashibara quickly transformed into a ball of light and was drawn into the center of the vortex.

"Rescue!"

Milo barked, its past experience as a search and rescue dog making it release its front paws without hesitation and fly towards the entrance to the mortal world, which was constantly being pulled by the current.

Even faster than that is sword control!

Pulling the Demon-Slaying Blade from the ground, the white-haired youth lunged into the dark vortex, and the originally powerful attraction suddenly faltered.

As if blocked by a huge object, it took several seconds for the vortex to barely begin to engulf his figure. The speed was very slow, like forcibly stuffing a large-caliber artillery shell into a small rifle, which was extremely difficult.

"What the hell?" Milo stared at the scene in disbelief, and then began to enter it as well.

As the man and dog were about to fully enter the mortal world, it hurriedly rushed towards the sword and gave them instructions:
"Don't let the mundane world swallow you up. It might contain a piece of history, a story, or something even stranger, but you must always remember who you are!"

Although Yu Jian couldn't understand, he didn't bother to ask any more questions. This time, the feeling of entering the ordinary world was completely different from before.

The surroundings were eerily quiet. Each breath felt like swallowing ice water, and a damp, chilling sensation quickly spread. My body felt as if it were enveloped in a thick fog, and all the light around me vanished until I plunged into the depths of darkness.

The world became hazy and illusory, transforming into a dreamlike illusion that seemed real, silently engulfing everyone.

In the end, they all turned into light and were swept into the depths of the vortex.

After an unknown amount of time, the vortex was naturally calmed down by some invisible force.

Yuki Amami shakily crawled out of the overturned sofa and knelt down in the messy room, her hair disheveled.

After a long while, she suddenly let out a hysterical scream.

"Ms. Amami?" The assistant opened the door and was also stunned by the scene inside.

"In the end what happened?"

They hadn't heard anything until they were startled by Yuki Amami's scream.

"Call the police……"

"Miss Amami?"

"I said call the police! Immediately! Right now! Quickly!"

……

Leaving aside the chaos unfolding in the world, in a foreign land, a young swordsman, slumped over a teahouse table, frowned slightly. His eyelids twitched a few times before he slowly opened them, revealing a pair of deep brown eyes filled with confusion.

"I fell asleep?" Ming Qingshi opened his eyes, and the hawking sounds around him made him realize that he was in a teahouse.

Let me introduce myself. I am Ming Qingshi, 24 years old, and a wanderer.

Currently, the idea of ​​breaking away from the feudal system is highly praised.

A young man abandoned everything to come to Edo in an attempt to realize his ambitions, but no one appreciated him. He was a renowned expert who couldn't even afford to eat.

Edo, the predecessor of Tokyo, is the new capital established after the shogunate unified the Sengoku period and still exists today. It can be said to be the largest population center in the entire Japanese island.

Many samurai and commoners lived in Edo Castle and the surrounding area, which led to the development of a rich modern urban culture in many areas such as food and entertainment.

But that's putting it in a positive light.

The reality is that farmers in the surrounding areas were driven to the brink of starvation by the exploitative and unsustainable practices of the local officials, leaving them with no choice but to bring their families to Edo to work and earn a living.

Many samurai were also restricted by the shogunate from engaging in other professions, and even serving as the shogunate's lackey was not something everyone could do. In addition, due to recent financial difficulties, the shogunate made some technical adjustments to the samurai's stipends.

The share is not large, only a mere 30%.

It's not a 30% reduction, but rather the retention of 30%...

In short, the reason why the Qing dynasty broke away from the feudal system was simply to have enough to eat; all other ideals and ambitions were just pretexts.

The most practical problem is getting enough to eat.

As for what it means to break away from feudal domains, that's a long story, so let's leave it at that for now.

"I'm so hungry." Ming Qingshi clutched his stomach and fled in a sorry state under the disdainful gaze of the tea shop owner.

It was because he only ordered the cheapest Bancha (tea made from harder buds, tender stems, and inferior leaves discarded during processing), yet he stayed in the shop for most of the day before leaving.

This is because the invention of the sencha (steamed tea) method lowered the price of tea, making it a popular beverage.

A hundred years ago, a down-on-his-luck samurai like him would never have been able to afford tea.

By the way, the tea shop that Ming Qingju was in earlier was also called "Chazuke-ya". It was essentially a fast food restaurant in the Edo period, mainly serving cold rice, sencha or bancha, and making ochazuke with cheap side dishes such as umeboshi and nori.

The prices are reasonable and the food is convenient, making it a popular choice for ordinary people.

Of course, there are also luxurious versions of ochazuke (rice with tea).

"I want to eat Yabaku Zen-style ochazuke..." Mizuki Shige muttered, expressing his longing.

The ochazuke he mentioned is a super luxury item served at the high-class ryotei (restaurant) "Yabozen". It is made with gyokuro tea, Echizen rice, and the finest water from Tamagawa. It is served with rare seasonal ingredients as side dishes and costs as much as 3000 mon per bowl.

In fact, Ming Qingshi only heard the name from the wealthy merchant he had previously guarded. He had no idea what was inside, but he guessed for no reason that it must be delicious, given how expensive it was.

Ming Qingshi, an ordinary, mediocre, and unremarkable man, walked out onto the street complaining.

The air was filled with the clamor of vendors, and the buildings on both sides were all low wooden structures. Most of the passersby wore short-sleeved shirts called Jinbei or Sakumo-i, or loose-fitting, open-fronted 'Nora-i'. These were common clothes worn by commoners in the Edo period.

Occasionally, a samurai dressed in a kimono and haori, with a meticulously styled moon-shaped hairpin, would hurry by.

But these benefactors, like that bowl of ochazuke (rice with tea) that only exists in fantasy, have absolutely no connection to Ming Qingju.

He sighed again, looking down. Using the puddles on the ground, Ming Qingshi noticed that his hair had grown much longer. He casually tied it into a high ponytail at the back of his head.

Huh? Why is it getting longer?

Feeling puzzled, Ming Qingshi shook his head vigorously, feeling that he was acting strangely today.

Could it be that alcohol was mixed into the tea?
Are you kidding me? Did the tea shop owner quit business and open a charity instead?
At this moment, the young ronin reflected in the water was dressed in a brownish-red wufu and black hakama (wide-legged trousers). Although they were washed very clean, patches could still be seen. The hakama was disproportionate to his height, like capri pants that exposed his ankles, making him look very shabby.

Actually, this dress was originally a bright red color, and it was a nice piece of clothing that they wore when their family was still well-off.

Unfortunately, after so many years of inheritance, the color of the clothes has long since faded and lost its luster, just like the family name.

Wait, am I that tall?
A strange feeling welled up in his heart, and Ming Qingshi's breathing became more and more rapid.

He leaned against the alley wall to avoid falling, and in his panic, the young man's hand seemed to touch something, and he unconsciously gripped it tightly.

Click.

The hilt of the sword collided with the scabbard, producing a crisp sound.

Ming Qingshi lowered his head and looked at his family heirloom sword. The deep red wooden scabbard was unremarkable, and the tsuba, guard, and handle were made of the same unremarkable material. There were no valuable decorations at all. It was just an ordinary katana that looked cheap.

But he couldn't help wanting to touch the cold handle.

Then, naturally, he drew his sword.

The gleaming sword reflected the face of a young man with white hair and blue eyes.

Yu Jianming has woken up.

(End of this chapter)