Swallow Return

Then they saw Lady Guidie emerge from Liuyun's arms.

Regardless of age or status, all the maids couldn't help but gasp in surprise, then quickly covered their mouths, lowered their heads, and pretended to be engrossed in their work, as if they hadn't seen anything.

A hint of amusement crept onto Ningning's lips, though her face remained quite miserable.

Lady Guidie initially didn't take it to heart, but seeing everyone in the courtyard react this way, she became somewhat uncomfortable. She greeted Ningning, but didn't know what to say next.

Liu Yun was concerned about Yi Zhi's safety and felt that not even a few minutes could be wasted. He had no mind to care about anything else.

Before he could even finish saying "Take care," he took off and left without stopping for a moment.

Now he needs to head to Ichijoji Temple, which is located in the southeastern part of central Kyoto!

Spreading its wings and flying in the air, the flowing clouds rushed forward rapidly, gradually approaching the target. Then, out of the corner of its eye, it saw that there were indeed strange-looking monsters below, carrying out wanton attacks and destruction. At a rough glance, there were at least three to five hundred of them.

There was resistance from the human side, but most of them were lone swordsmen, or at most groups of three or five. There were also some Onmyoji and monks, but the "three thousand elite soldiers of the Oda family" that Lady Kicho had mentioned were nowhere to be seen.

With such a large-scale disturbance, shouldn't the garrison be mobilized immediately?

Just as they were wondering, a crow-shaped monster and a bat-shaped monster suddenly attacked from the sky.

The former shoots feathers as arrows, while the latter spews out yellow venom.

Although Liu Yun received a pair of wings from the female demon Tiger Goddess's legacy, he had no experience in fighting in the air and was immediately flustered.

He drew his sword to retaliate, but the two monsters immediately fled.

While the flowing clouds may have the upper hand in terms of straight-line speed, they lack the skill to maneuver and are not easy to catch up with.

Furthermore, preoccupied with the safety of his family, he had no desire to continue the fight and, too lazy to concern himself with such matters, turned and continued walking towards Ichijō-ji Temple.

The crow monster and the bat monster immediately followed and harassed them again.

It's incredibly annoying.

Looking back, Liu Yun saw that the two flying monsters had become a straight line with him. In a moment of desperation, he had a flash of inspiration, drew his sword from his waist, and threw it back like a javelin, piercing both monsters with a single arrow.

The crow and the bat let out a scream almost simultaneously, then plummeted to the ground and remained motionless.

Liuyun was finally able to continue his journey undisturbed, and soon arrived at the Terauchi-cho of Ichijoji.

He had no time to care about the innocent civilians. The first thing he saw was that his own courtyard was indeed being besieged by dozens of monsters!

Led by Aotabo and Kurotabo, the retainers and guards held the gate tightly. Saeko and five little mountain spirits also joined the battle, and even the maids with a little strength were shooting arrows.

Although it was a tough struggle and several people were injured, they were able to persevere.

Liu Yun immediately landed and joined the battle.

He had previously thrown his katana as a javelin, and now he had a spare short wakizashi left. It was only two feet long, including the hilt and blade, so it was not convenient to use wide-ranging martial arts techniques, but it was more than enough for combat.

Liu Yun then charged into the battlefield wielding the wakizashi, slashing horizontally to kill a monster with a human body and a beast's face, and then using the momentum to cleave it back, cutting down a giant monster with four arms and one eye next to him.

Wait... one-eyed?

Liu Yun understood immediately. Looking around, he saw that those besieging the courtyard were all monsters with only one eye.

The leader was a short, one-eyed old man, whose appearance was almost identical to the one he had seen in the secret chamber of the ancient tomb in the mountains.

Didn't Lady Guidie say that this guy was sealed in an ancient tomb deep in the mountains and couldn't come out? Was it a misjudgment, or has there been some special change?

With a few swift movements, Liu Yun killed two enemies. Dozens of demons seemed to feel a little scared, baring their teeth and claws, making strange and fierce noises as a threat, but they all took two steps back and dared not approach easily.

The retainers, guards, and servants of the Sasaki family were greatly encouraged.

"Our lord is back! There's nothing to fear!" Eguchi Sukezaemon exclaimed joyfully, raising his cross-shaped spear and shouting like a howling monkey.

"Hey! Hey! Oh!" Hayami Seibei led his guards in unleashing the battle cry of "whale wave."

Saeko stared at the descending clouds with shining eyes.

The five little mountain spirits around her also cheered and babbled.

The two fighters, Aotabo and Kurotabo, who were the strongest and most nervous, both breathed a sigh of relief.

Although there were only a dozen or so people, they were quite imposing.

Everyone seemed to have full confidence in Liu Yun's martial prowess, even the guards who were bleeding profusely and lying by the wall showed relaxed expressions.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Liu Yun stood in the doorway, holding a two-foot-long wakizashi, and calmly ordered, "Hurry up and treat the wounded. I can handle things here."

The retainers immediately obeyed the order and dragged the seriously injured under the eaves to provide emergency treatment and bandages.

Liu Yun stood alone at the door with a knife, and the demons dared not approach.

The one-eyed old man who was in the lead was slightly shocked when he saw Liu Yun's figure, but he quickly regained his composure and smiled calmly: "I didn't expect you to escape from my subordinate's trap so quickly... but today you will die by my hand."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yun merely sneered, too lazy to waste any more words, and swung his sword straight at the monster leader.

Although these one-eyed monsters were terrified, they were probably still somewhat loyal—or rather, they feared their leader more than swords—and charged forward with loud cries.

Unfortunately, although there were many of them, their quality was lacking, and six of them were quickly killed by Liu Yun.

The rest dared not step forward.

The one-eyed old man at the head of the group stood smiling in the distance, his confidence seemingly unfounded.

Chapter 160 Iori Suddenly Falls into Crisis

Although Liu Yun possessed extraordinary martial prowess, he dared not claim that he could easily deal with dozens of ferocious demons.

If someone were to truly fight against many, they would inevitably be surrounded and ganged up on.

No matter how powerful a person is, they can't remain completely unscathed; they're bound to get hit a few times. Monsters usually possess various strange abilities, and once hit, the accumulated injuries will gradually weaken them.

Even though Liu Yun possesses self-healing power, its effectiveness is still limited. If he suffers irreversible injuries in a short period of time, he will still face life-threatening danger.

A year ago, he defeated more than a dozen ninjas in the Oda clan's "talking session" by himself with a single sword. That was mainly because the ninjas' expertise lay in stealth, tracking, and reconnaissance, not in combat.

A yokai that dares to show up in Kyoto and challenge the Oda clan must be more powerful than those ninjas back then.

But now, Liu Yun has teammates!

With the two powerful yokai retainers, Aotabo and Kurotabo, protecting the left and right sides, the attackers could be prevented from getting close.

With Eguchi Sukezaemon and Hayami Seibei leading guards from the rear, providing support with long weapons or bows and arrows, the possibility of being outflanked was eliminated.

Therefore, today Liuyun does not need to worry about the risk of being besieged and can concentrate on attacking the enemy in front of him.

These one-eyed monsters each possessed unique abilities. Some spewed poisonous mist, some had eight arms and six claws, some were incredibly strong, and some had skin as hard as gold and stone. However, under the Flowing Cloud Blade, they could not last three rounds before being cut down. In an instant, flesh and blood flew everywhere, pus splattered, and black smoke rose, turning into a disgusting pile of corpses on the ground.

After a short while, the demons became hesitant and retreated.

Liu Yun, however, grew more courageous and confident with each battle.

It wasn't until the one-eyed old man who was directing from behind took out a wooden whistle and blew it that the monsters, as if injected with chicken blood, rushed forward to attack again.

Liu Yun remained calm and fearless, leading his retainers to counter each move as it came.

After a fierce and bloody battle, dozens of monsters were all beheaded.

Only the one-eyed old man who was leading the group remained, still smiling confidently for some reason.

Even when Liu Yun swung his sword and slashed at it, it remained completely still.

"You will not be able to kill me today."

After leaving behind this inexplicable remark, the one-eyed old man was chopped in two and fell to the ground, becoming a pile of rotting flesh.

Liu Yun didn't quite understand what "unkillable" meant, nor did he think about it in detail.

After dealing with these dozens of monsters, Ichijoji Temple finally became quiet again.

When Liu Yun had a spare moment, he immediately shared his blood as medicine, allowing his wounded subordinates to receive emergency treatment.

Looking around, no matter which direction you go, the streets are filled with the sounds of war and endless fighting. The cries of monsters causing chaos and the people's suffering can be heard continuously. But Liu Yun decided to go inside first to check on the safety of his family before considering rescuing the innocent.

As for completely repelling the demons and protecting Kyoto, that should have been something Oda Nobunaga, Hashiba Hideyoshi, and others considered.

At that moment, several monks and townspeople emerged from the surrounding houses, all expressing their gratitude with tears in their eyes. They thanked the monks for vanquishing the monster and pleaded for their help, asking them to help out of consideration for their temporary neighborly relationship.

When Liu Yun first saw that most of these people were carrying swords and other weapons, they seemed cowardly and afraid of death, which made him look at them with disdain.

We were just attacked by monsters, and you didn't offer any help out of consideration for our neighborly relationship. Now you know to come and beg for my help?

But upon closer inspection, he saw that the monks and townspeople who came for help were all ordinary people who were trembling with fear and panic, and none of them were skilled in martial arts, so he felt that it was understandable.

He then instructed Eguchi Sukezaemon and Hayami Seibei to go and make contact.

Just as he was about to go inside to check the situation, suddenly—

A seriously wounded soldier, resting under the eaves, pointed to the ground and exclaimed, "Look, gentlemen! The monster's corpse has vanished!"

Liu Yun immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

Sure enough, the pile of rotting monster bodies, like snow exposed to the sun, was rapidly melting into colorless and odorless gas.

But it didn't completely disappear; instead, wisps of it rapidly drifted into the air, gathering into something that I don't know whether to call "clouds."

That's probably why there's such a thick layer of demonic energy gathering in the sky.

Liu Yun recalled the words the one-eyed old man had said when he calmly faced the blade: "You cannot kill me today."

An ominous premonition gradually rose in my heart.

This phenomenon of monster corpses disappearing and gathering together is definitely problematic, but we don't know how to stop or deal with it, or even what the problem is...

Liu Yun hesitated for a moment.

But reality didn't give her time to think.

Saeko suddenly rushed out of the house, anxiously calling out, "Master, Lady Iori looks like she's in great pain. I don't know what happened, please come and see her quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yun felt a tightness in his chest. Without regard for anything else, he quickly stepped into the room and walked to the bedroom in a few steps.

After all, it seems that the target of that "One-Eyed Lord's" revenge is Iori.

Perhaps that mysterious old monster has some special methods that allow him to cause harm without direct contact!

We must not let our guard down!

Pushing open the paper door, Iori was lying unconscious on the mat, fully clothed, with her eyes closed. Her sister-in-law, Sara, and a maid were anxiously guarding her on either side.

Liu Yun quickly stepped forward.

Upon seeing the master of the house arrive, the maidservant immediately knelt down and bowed in greeting.

The younger sister-in-law, Shaluo, burst into tears, seemingly overwhelmed by the pressure. She pitifully rushed forward and grabbed Liuyun's arm, crying out in anguish, "Brother, you're finally back! My sister looks so scary, what happened to her!"