Swallow Return

Swallow Returns (Author: Fallen Leaves Silent)

Takenaka Shigeharu could conjure soldiers from beans and horses from grass; Honda Tadakatsu was invulnerable to swords and spears, with a head of bronze and bones of iron. The tengu and the earth spider swaggered about; the Nurarihyon and the nine-tailed fox made a fleeting appearance.

This is a drastically altered version of history. A modern person arrives in the chaotic and supernatural world of Japan's Warring States period, becoming a monk with the Buddhist name "Ryuun".

Then one day, he was suddenly told that he was actually the second son of the Omi Sasaki family, and that his older brother named "Kotaro" had just died. He needed to return to his hometown immediately to inherit the family business, and his first task was to deal with the mysterious "Taimanin".

The story of "The Return of the Swallow" begins here.

P.S.: I originally wanted to call it "I'll Raise Your Wife," "Nothing Tastes Better Than Dumplings," "Life in the Warring States Period," or "From a Straight Man to a Pile Driver," but those were rejected...

Chapter One: The Demon-Slaying Monk Liu Yun

On the 18th day of the 7th month of the first year of the Yuan Gui era, at the beginning of noon.

In a remote rural area called "Shirakawa-go" in the Ou region, far from cities and towns, a young monk with the Buddhist name "Ryuun" is leaning against a boulder in the mountains, dozing with his eyes closed.

The man had an ordinary appearance, wore a blue cloth robe and straw sandals, carried a five-foot-long nodachi that was not yet drawn, and had a scripture under his head. He seemed to be a free-spirited monk who did not follow the precepts.

Japan has been quite turbulent lately, so it's not surprising that monks, in order to protect their temple property, have taken up swordsmanship and martial arts in addition to their Buddhist practices.

It is only natural for people to sometimes put the cart before the horse, focusing only on martial arts and neglecting self-cultivation and Buddhist practices.

After an unknown amount of time, Liu Yun sensed the expected rustling of wind and opened his eyes. He flipped over and leaped off the boulder, then swiftly crossed several small hills, arriving in front of a temple in an instant.

It should have been a small, simple temple, yet complete in every way.

But now the courtyard wall is mostly broken, the roof is tilted and about to collapse, and stones, tiles and broken wood are scattered all over the ground, making it look like a ruin.

Even the big trees in the yard and the grass on the ground withered and died instantly.

In the ruins was an unusually huge spider, as big as an ox and several meters long, with eight legs like eight steel pillars, and the silk it spun was like a long whip. Wherever it went, there was a mess. It seemed that this guy was the culprit.

At the base of the wall, which had not yet completely collapsed, two monks, one old and one young, were struggling to resist, wielding long-handled naginatas.

The spider monster opened its mandibles and walked over, emitting a strong smell of blood, as if it regarded the two humans in front of it as its meal.

Eight spider legs like steel pillars, each step they take is like an earthquake.

Seeing this, Liu Yun was not afraid at all, but instead smiled slightly.

Then he approached, knife in hand.

As if realizing something, the monster suddenly stopped moving, hurriedly turned around, and let out an incomprehensible hiss.

The two monks, one old and one young, finally saw Liu Yun and were immediately overjoyed, exclaiming, "Nephew, where have you been? If we had been any later, our lives would have been in danger!"

"Senior brother, you're finally out! Waaah! You scared me to death... Waaah..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yun smiled gently at them and said, "Please rest assured, everything is under control."

Then he reached out his right hand and gently grasped the hilt of the knife.

His face was calm and composed, and he seemed confident and composed.

When faced with a giant spider several meters long, saying "Everything is under control" is like facing a table of vegetarian food, picking up chopsticks and saying "I'm going to eat."

Then, Liu Yun's knees bent slightly in a tiny arc.

Then, it came hurtling towards us like a bolt of lightning.

The giant spider, having gathered its strength, opened its blood-red maw and forcefully spat out a clump of foul-smelling, sticky white web.

This thing looks soft, but it is actually extremely resilient. Just now, a gentle pull destroyed the temple's courtyard wall.

Moreover, it was covered with a foul-smelling, viscous liquid that, when splashed onto flowers, plants, and trees, would immediately cause them to wither and die, suggesting it was highly poisonous.

However, Liu Yun remained expressionless in the face of this strange object, showing no intention of avoiding it, and simply drew his nodachi.

In an instant, a white light flashed and slashed vertically downwards, tearing apart the large clump of foul-smelling, sticky white spider silk with a loud ripple, sending it flying into pieces.

The turbid liquid splashed to the left and right, but not a single drop could harm the flowing clouds.

That last strike was like cleaving the sea in two!

The blade's forward momentum showed no sign of slowing down, as if it were completely undisturbed, still aiming straight for the monster's face.

Upon seeing this, the giant spider monster let out a short hiss and immediately raised its two fangs and a pair of forelegs to protect its face.

Then, with a loud bang, the two claws and two legs, along with the four massive clubs as thick as bowls, were all severed at the root and fell to the ground.

There should have been four strikes, but only one sound was heard, simply because the blade was too fast.

The giant spider monster let out a horrifying scream, its remaining six intact limbs flailing wildly as it frantically dug into the ground, desperately trying to burrow deeper.

It seems they're trying to escape underground.

Despite its enormous size, this monster was surprisingly fast, and in an instant, half of its body was buried in the ground.

It's as if they possess some kind of supernatural ability to pass through mountains and underground.

But it still wasn't fast enough.

Liu Yun was not surprised at all. As soon as the blade fell, he exerted force to lift it up and slashed it out from bottom to top.

The move that just cleaved the spider silk and severed the two pincers and two legs was already powerful and unparalleled, but this next strike seems to be several times stronger, vaguely extending the "blade energy" that cuts through the air, and even condensing into a solid form that seems visible to the naked eye.

Then came the overwhelming force, like a whirlwind.

The once arrogant and invincible giant spider monster was split into two evenly symmetrical parts from head to tail, and collapsed into the pit it had just thrown out.

When the corpse touched the ground, it turned into fine gray powder and clumped together.

Liu Yun breathed a sigh of relief and sheathed his sword.

He remained completely calm.

They didn't even glance at the monster's "remains".

He simply turned around and said to his uncle and junior brother, "It's done."

This is just like saying, "I'm full," after every meal.

But the other two couldn't stay calm.

The little monk, having just stopped crying, opened his eyes wide and gasped for breath: "Thank goodness my senior brother was here! I thought I was going to be eaten by this monster, I was so scared!"

The old monk calmed down a bit, still shaken, and said, "Just as you said, nephew, this monster is indeed very perceptive. It attacked the temple while you were away. It seems to be an earth spider that can burrow through mountains and underground. No wonder we couldn't find any trace of it. I was still a bit skeptical a few days ago, but now it seems that it was fortunate that you came up with this method of luring the enemy."

Upon hearing this, the young monk was shocked: "Did you plan this out? Senior brother deliberately hid to lure this monster into attacking? This...this is too dangerous!"

The old monk smiled upon hearing this: "Liu Yun always does things meticulously, what's there to worry about? He arrived just in time, and none of us were injured."

"Heh..." Liu Yun said with a wry smile, "It's a pity the temple was destroyed."

"Take your time to repair it. As long as everyone is alright, that's good." The old monk was quite calm about it: "It's not easy to find someone to help with this place. It was your master and your uncle who built it up slowly back then. Let's just sleep in the open until it's finished. We monks don't stand on ceremony."

Liu Yun hadn't flinched when facing the giant spider monster, but now, upon hearing that he had to personally repair the temple, he couldn't help but show a helpless expression.

……

The young monk, whose Buddhist name was "Liuyun," was actually a time traveler.

He was living an ordinary, mundane life on Earth in the 21st century when he inexplicably arrived in a completely new world, became a monk, and inherited no memories.

Fortunately, he met a reliable high monk who took him as his master. The monk assumed that he had lost his memory and did not make a big deal out of it. He carefully taught him the local language and script and even taught him martial arts. Instead, he did not talk much about Buddhism or tell him about the outside world.

I can only occasionally learn about current events from snippets of information.

When he first learned that the place was called "Shirakawa-go, Mutsu Province" and that the era name was first "Kōji" and then "Eiroku", and that he heard people mention something like "Ashikaga Kubo", he originally thought that he had traveled to the Warring States period in ancient Japan.

But the fact that people with supernatural powers are frequently seen in this world is definitely not normal history.

Regardless, after calming down, he could only helplessly accept the identity of "Monk Liuyun" and stay in the temple with Master Shunshan to cultivate his mind and body, occasionally going out to exorcise monsters—he didn't know why there were always so many troublesome monsters in this remote and impoverished place.

Liu Yun's martial arts progressed very smoothly. He surpassed his uncle in less than a year and became equal to his master in three years. This speed was many times faster than that of his fellow disciples. No one knew why he had such good talent.

Not long after, Master Shunshan passed away. Before his death, he entrusted Liuyun to protect his uncles and junior brothers, and then he passed away peacefully.

As a transmigrator, Liu Yun was naturally unwilling to spend his life in seclusion. Now that he felt he had mastered language and writing and his martial arts were sufficient to protect himself, he had the thought of moving forward after a period of stillness.

Even if I don't aspire to fame and fortune or achieve great success, I at least want to acquire some notable wealth and status to improve my material conditions.

The junior brother was young and ignorant, not to mention the senior uncle, who was an ignorant old monk who knew nothing about current affairs.

So Liu Yun inquired among the local people and learned that the most powerful forces within a hundred miles were the "Kogaodan Main Hall" and the "Kurokawa Daizen Hall," while few people knew the names of Oda and Tokugawa.

When they finally encountered a traveling merchant and inquired about world affairs, they received incomprehensible answers such as "The Shezhou army defeated the Hezhou army and became the overlord" and "The Jiangzhou army is taking control of the capital."

In short, it doesn't match my limited historical knowledge from my previous life.

There were a few tattered books in the temple that recorded some events from the Heian, Nara, and Kamakura periods, which largely matched my impressions from my previous life.

Perhaps history went astray halfway through, or perhaps the area was too remote and information was too scarce.

Liu Yun felt he needed to go to a more populated area to gather information.

The problem is that my uncle and junior brother are difficult to settle down with. Taking them along would be too troublesome and obviously unreliable. Leaving them behind, however, raises concerns about them being attacked by monsters.

Just then, a powerful "Earth Spider" monster roamed the vicinity, diverting attention. As a result, several months after Master Shunshan left, Liuyun was still unable to set off.

After much thought, I realized that I needed to settle my junior uncle and junior brother down first.

To be honest, I don't know why Master Shunshan insisted on choosing such a remote and dangerous place to settle down back then.

……

After recalling for a long time, a sudden sound of footsteps pulled Liuyun out of her thoughts.

A moment later, a middle-aged man's gruff voice called out from afar: "Excuse me, Master Liuyun, is he practicing here?"

The young monk, still quite young and innocent, was very excited to hear unfamiliar voices and immediately stood up to reply, "This is it! Is there anything I can help you with, benefactor?"

"Really? That's great!"

Accompanied by excited voices, a disheveled and travel-worn samurai, with an expression of overjoyed delight, hurriedly appeared at the courtyard gate.

The disheveled samurai was probably in no hurry to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he was stunned by the chaotic scene in the temple and forgot to speak for a moment.

The old monk stepped forward, clasped his hands together, recited a Buddhist verse, and asked, "There were some demons causing trouble just now, but there's no need to worry; we have already driven them away. May I ask what advice you have for my nephew, benefactor?"

The disheveled samurai snapped out of his daze, hurriedly and carefully returned the greeting, and humbly replied, "I am Eguchi Sukezaemon, a retainer of the Sasaki family in Omi Province, and also the layman before Master Ryuun took his vows! I have come today because all the male members of the Sasaki family have perished, and only by asking Master Ryuun to return to secular life and inherit the family business can the family continue to exist!"

"what?"