The Embers of King's Teyvat Journey

Kujo Sara clearly experienced firsthand that loyalty to the emperor and filial piety cannot coexist.

"You're asking me?" Kujo Masahito's brows furrowed, his face contorted in a way no less than Kujo Sara's.

"What else can I do? I'll just have to do it this way!"

"To be honest, I don't want to get involved in any of this. I'll do nothing; what happens to Father after this is entirely up to fate!"

Kujo Masahito looked up at the sky, knowing he was running away. People always say running away is shameful, but it's undeniably effective.

Chapter 496 Secret Talks on Important Matters

2024-02-19

After leaving the Nine-Tailed Array House, Yu Jin rushed to the Eight-Breathed Island without stopping.

Upon entering Bayun Island, Yu Jin noticed the changes. Although the sky was overcast, more light was filtering through.

The drizzle is no longer falling incessantly as before, and many parts of the ground are dry.

It seems his visit to Narukami Taisha last time was quite effective. At least the vengeful spirits on Hachiun Island have indeed begun to weaken.

This also proves that Narukami Taisha truly deserves its title as the number one shrine in Inazuma. Of course, it would be even better if it could be more dedicated and responsible.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have waited until the embers came knocking before discovering that the seal on the evil spirit of Bayun Island had been broken.

Running wildly along the road, Ember soon saw the extremely conspicuous golden tree at the entrance of Scarlet Wood Village.

Equally striking was the large group of people gathered on the flat ground at the entrance of Hiki Village.

"out!"

"drink!"

With a loud shout, the villagers in front of him, dressed in various styles, roared in unison and thrust out their weapons.

Their voices were full of energy, and their movements were upright and efficient. Their bearing even had a touch of military bearing—if one ignored the pitchforks, hoes, and shovels in their hands.

Seeing this, Tuan Guiliu nodded in satisfaction. Ever since the attack on Hishiki Village, everyone in the village, young and old, had shown an immense enthusiasm for martial arts.

No one wants to wake up one day to find themselves engulfed in flames again. With this in mind, the villagers of Hiki Village were unusually enthusiastic about training.

"receive!"

"what!"

After another loud shout, the various weapons that had just been thrust out were retracted, and the movements were equally fluid.

Just as Oniroku was about to proceed to the next step, he suddenly felt something drape his shoulder.

Oniroku almost instinctively wanted to throw the newcomer over his shoulder, but the sound coming from behind stopped him in his tracks.

"Good! Very energetic!"

"Ember? It's you?!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Tuan Guiliu immediately recognized Yu Jin.

"Disperse! Disperse! No more training today, everyone go clear the land!"

Upon turning his head and seeing that the person who came was indeed Yu Jin, Tuan Gui Liu immediately waved his hand, sending the villagers to cultivate the wasteland.

"Reclaiming land? It seems that Narukami Taisha's methods are even more impressive than I imagined!" Yu Jin exclaimed in amazement as he watched the villagers start digging in the ground with their training "weapons."

Previously, the land of Hachiyū Island was eroded by evil spirits, to the point that it was practically barren. It's truly remarkable that Narukami Taisha has restored it to such a state in such a short time.

"Haha, it's all thanks to you! I never thought you'd actually manage to get your hands on Narukami Taisha!" Oniroku took a deep breath; his nasal passages still stung slightly, but compared to before…

This slight stinging sensation even made Gui Liu feel somewhat comfortable.

"To be honest, it's really impossible for ordinary people to get up there! The broken road up the mountain is too difficult to walk on, and I don't know if they've fixed it yet."

Upon hearing what Tuan Guiliu said, Yu Jin immediately began to complain to him about the mountain path leading up to Narukami Taisha.

It's fortunate that it was him; if it were an ordinary person, they probably wouldn't have been able to climb up there in less than a day and a night.

"You're doing really well now. If this were in the shogunate or the resistance army, you'd be considered a captain by now."

Yu Jin glanced at the nearby young men and women; there were quite a few of them, several hundred in just this area at the entrance of the village.

Hiki Village can no longer be called a village; it should be called "Hiki Town." If the war continues for longer, allowing Hiki Village to absorb more people, it might soon become "Hiki Castle."

"Just for self-preservation, nothing to brag about," Tuan Gui Liu said modestly, scratching his head. Yu Jin was still being somewhat conservative; he could now chime in on the training of all the able-bodied men in the village.

Officials who didn't get promoted in the shogunate were promoted in Hikimura. Although this "official" title was only recognized by the people of Hikimura.

"Enough about me, what are you doing here? Is the fighting outside about to stop?" Tuan Guiliu boasted about his recent situation before turning the conversation to Yu Jin.

He looked at the embers, his eyes filled with hope. Although the evil spirit had improved considerably, due to the shared experience of the villagers of Feimu Village being corrupted by the evil spirit, few people would venture outside the village to take a look, let alone inquire about news from the outside world.

"Well..." After hearing what Tuan Guiliu said, Yu Jin looked left and right, giving off a sneaky feeling.

Then he sneakily approached Tuan Gui Liu's ear and whispered something.

"Actually, it's like this..."

Yu Jin rattled off a whole bunch of things in Tuan Gui Liu's ear, but all he got in return was a gasp from Tuan Gui Liu.

"what?!"

Seeing the gazes directed at him from all around, Tuan Gui Liu belatedly shut his mouth.

He glared at Yu Jin and then said in a low voice, "I can't make that decision; I'll have to go to Washizu!"

After saying that, Tuan Guiliu strode into the depths of the village.

……

If you were to ask where the most important or most secret place in Hiki Village is, it would be neither the village chief Washizu's house nor a secret room for storing gold and jewels.

The most important thing in Hiki Village is the granary, which is the lifeline of the entire village.

The granary in Hiki Village is half above ground and half underground. This is an experience gained during times of famine and war.

In earlier years, Hiki Village had also been ravaged by bandits and soldiers. Whenever they came, not a single grain of food would be left in the village.

Over time, the villagers of Hiki Village learned to hide half of their grain on the ground and half underground.

Now, in the dark cellar of Hikimura, a faint candlelight rises.

"what?!"

Then a scream nearly extinguished the candlelight. The flame on the short candle flickered and swayed, its brightness mirroring the turbulent emotions of Washizu and Dankiroku.

"Can't you say something else? Tuan Gui Liu is like that, and so are you?" Hearing the familiar exclamation, Yu Jin picked at his ear and said speechlessly.

"What do you want me to say?! This is treason?! If anyone hears this, all three of our heads will be kicked around like footballs!"

Washizu was immediately furious. As he spoke, he looked around the cellar, as if afraid that someone might be eavesdropping.

"Don't worry! I warned everyone before that the cellar was going to be used for pest and rodent control and that there was poisonous gas inside, so I told everyone to leave."

Seeing Washizu's guilty look, Dan Oniroku waved his hand to reassure him.

Despite this, Washizu was still somewhat uneasy, and his gaze returned to the top of the cellar door. Seeing this, Yu Jin spoke in a tone as if he had been expecting this:

"Don't worry about the door, I've thickened it with soundproofing cotton, it's a full fifty centimeters thick!"

Yu Jin spread his five fingers and said loudly on purpose. He didn't believe anyone could hear him with fifty centimeters of soundproofing.

Seeing that Yu Jin and Dan Gui Liu were so well prepared, Washizu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and suddenly felt his breathing become a little rapid.

Looking down and around, Washizu saw only darkness. The only light in the cellar was the faint glow of the short candle in Ember's hand.

"Hoo... ho..."

Washizu's breathing was as heavy as an old ox that had just plowed a field, a strange phenomenon that naturally caught the attention of Ember and Dankiroku.

"Washizu! What's wrong with you! Say something!" Yu Jin put his hands on Washizu's shoulders and shook him violently.

"Did you scare him so badly that he developed a heart condition?!" When Tuan Guiliu saw Washizu's ashen face, he immediately thought of a possibility—that Washizu suffered from a heart condition but was unaware of it, and that the news of Yu Jin's rebellion had triggered it!

“Heart disease? It doesn’t look like it to me. Washizu’s complexion is almost the same as a corpse when it was strangled to death.”

Yu Jin shook his head, indicating it was impossible. Because no one understood corpses better than him.

Hearing the nonsense spouted by Yu Jin and Dan Oniroku, Washizu rolled his eyes. He trembled as he pointed at the candle and said in a shaky voice:

"Candle..., oxygen..., suffocation..."

Chapter 497 Serving the Emperor!

2024-02-19

"Damn, sorry, I didn't notice!" Yu Jin heard Washijin's death-like tone, looked down again, and immediately realized what was going on.

Being underground, especially in a sealed underground environment, is just like having a living person light a candle in a coffin.

It's just that this "coffin" is a bit too big.

With a whoosh, Yu Jin blew out the candle in his hand. The cellar fell into silent darkness.

But the silence didn't last long before it was broken by Ember's questioning voice.

"That's not right. I'm fine, so why is Tuan Gui Liu also fine?"

"Hey! What do you mean it's normal that you're fine? Are you not human?"

After making a sarcastic remark about Ember's statement, Tuan Guiliu belatedly realized what had happened.

"Oh right? Why am I okay?"

"If you're alright, then Washizu must be alright too! Wake him up, don't let him sleep!"

As he spoke, Yu Jin, in the dark, slapped Washi twice.

"Crack! Crack!"

"Hmm... where is this? Heaven? It can't be hell, can it?!"

Washizu opened his eyes and saw only darkness. Then, a familiar voice came from the darkness.

"Hell? You probably won't go to hell. Someone like you is more likely to go to heaven."

"Thank you for your kind words." Upon hearing Yu Jin's words, Washizu got up from the ground.