Swallow Return

"It is hateful that I still do not know the reason... I can only ask you to seek justice for me."

The great demon, the nine-tailed fox, is always elegant and graceful, whether she is in a favorable or unfavorable situation, and rarely shows her emotions like she does now.

If she didn't understand, Liu Yun was even less puzzled.

There's no need to think about it; it's just that Nobunaga is capable enough and has a strong ability to seduce people.

Unlike the nine-tailed fox, Ryuun did not harbor any additional malice towards Mori Ranmaru.

But what he didn't expect was—

Upon seeing the handsome young man, Lady Guidie, standing beside her, immediately raised her eyebrows, widened her almond-shaped eyes, and uncontrollably erupted in anger.

"As a man, why do I act like a submissive woman? I don't know the reason. Perhaps it's because the Saito family is newly established and of shallow social standing. I really can't appreciate the elegance in it."

Clearly, Lady Guidie is not good at being sarcastic or sarcastic; her words were too obviously malicious and didn't sound sarcastic or sarcastic at all.

But why does she harbor such deep hatred?

It shouldn't just be because of jealousy; I've never seen her show any hostility towards Oda Nobunaga's other concubines before.

Upon hearing this, Mori Ranmaru smiled faintly, seemingly unconcerned. He bowed deeply and said calmly, "Madam, you need not be so agitated. Although you once attempted to kill me, and it was indeed I who used the magic you employed, I was merely following Nobunaga's orders."

Gui Die scoffed with disdain, "So you mean even if you're being attacked, you'll only dare to fight back if you get an order?"

Mori Ranmaru nodded, his face showing an expression of matter-of-factness, without any denial, and even a happy smile appeared on his lips: "I am alive only because Lord Nobunaga needs me. Otherwise, even if you were to take my life, there would be nothing to retaliate against."

Gui Die gave a cold snort and said nothing more.

The nine-tailed fox seemed to have suddenly realized something, muttering to herself, "Is this why clones betray us...?"

Judging from their conversation, Liu Yun could only deduce that some unknown, hidden things had probably happened inside the Oda family's palace.

However, he wasn't particularly interested in these things—they were probably just trivial conflicts.

He couldn't help but glance at Lady Guidie with a look of pity.

The matriarch of the most powerful martial family in the land is actually vying for attention with a handsome young man—how embarrassing!

Lady Kicho received this look and seemed to understand its meaning immediately. She became somewhat embarrassed and angry, and quickly raised her voice to explain, "Lord Nobunaga... I don't care at all if that fellow Nobunaga lies in the castle playing with any man, woman, or even something that is not human. But if he wants to ruin my late father's legacy or even murder my old friends, I cannot stand by and watch."

That's quite clear.

But Liu Yun didn't quite understand why she had to bring this up in the first place.

Mori Ranmaru slowly glanced sideways, then said meaningfully, "Only in front of Lord Ryuun would the lady use different self-references..."

Before Ryuun and Guidie could react, she opened the door to the citadel and gestured for them to come in.

……

Inside the door was a place Liu Yun had visited once before.

At the time, he was unaware of the significance of Oda Nobunaga's reconstruction of Seiryo-ji Temple, the imperial palace in Kyoto.

Now that I think I understand, I still don't feel it's anything serious.

On the contrary, Lady Kicho gripped the sword at her waist tightly upon seeing this, muttering things like, "Nobunaga's ambition is too great, and it will bring disaster to everyone."

At this moment, a melodious and deep singing voice suddenly emanated from the depths of the courtyard, which was built in imitation of Qingliang Temple.

It was none other than Oda Nobunaga's voice.

It seems to be a tune like "Fifty Years in the Human World".

Liu Yun suddenly felt a wave of discomfort.

It felt as if the oxygen content in the air had dropped sharply, causing difficulty breathing, poor blood circulation, mental agitation, and weakness in the limbs.

It takes some effort to resist that eerie singing.

This was a little troublesome for Liu Yun, but not difficult to overcome.

Lady Guidie, however, was already deathly pale, clutching her chest and bending over, unable to stand up.

But she gritted her teeth and didn't complain. She just said with all her might, "Please lend me a hand."

Then, holding Liuyun's hand, he struggled to continue forward.

As a noblewoman, Gui Die's palms showed no signs of age, remaining as soft as in her youth. However, the resolute intent emanating from her wrists revealed a quality that set her apart from ordinary women.

Unwittingly intertwining their fingers and rubbing close together, Liu Yun couldn't remain calm and inevitably became distracted.

However, considering that they were now fighting against a powerful enemy together, and seeing that Lady Guidie's expression was resolute and her eyes were sharp, it didn't seem like the time for her to be thinking nonsense.

So he suppressed his excessive emotions and strode in with his head held high.

As expected, Oda Nobunaga, just like last time, stood alone in the villa with his hands behind his back.

"Has Liu Yun arrived? Today's meeting, though unexpected, is also quite reasonable. It wasn't necessary... Hmm?"

Oda Nobunaga slowly turned around, speaking in a deep, resonant, and magnetic voice, spouting meaningless pleasantries to show off.

However, when he saw Lady Guidie and Liuyun holding hands, he froze on the spot, stopped speaking halfway, and his eyes flashed with anger and astonishment.

However, this feeling only lasted for a very short moment.

Oda Nobunaga quickly regained his composure and smiled, looked away, and lost all interest in writing pretentious articles. He said simply and clearly, "Lord Ryuun has arrived at just the right time. I have been waiting for you for a long time. You probably have some questions, and I will try my best to answer them."

He seemed to completely ignore the presence of another guest, his wife.

Lady Guidie, however, seemed unwilling to be ignored and spoke up first, saying loudly, "So now you see me as a thorn in your side and want to get rid of me? You've really forgotten all of my late father's entrustment!"

Inside the Honmaru of Azuchi Castle, she still seemed to be suppressed by some invisible force field, making her appear very strained, so she still held onto Ryuun's hand tightly.

Perhaps for this reason, Oda Nobunaga's expression remained somewhat off. He glanced over and then quickly looked away, smiling calmly as he slowly replied, "Madam, you are overthinking it. I am merely planning to fulfill my adoptive father's request in a different way. As for considering you a thorn in my side, that is absolutely impossible... Rather, it is for the sake of Lord Ryuun that I have troubled you."

This was completely unexpected.

Liu Yun paused for a moment, then asked doubtfully, "So, after I returned to the Kinki region, I first visited Lady Kicho at Seigenji Temple in Kyoto, and then helped her delay the effects of the spell—was all of this within your expectations? Was it some kind of trap?"

Oda Nobunaga nodded in agreement, then after a moment, shook his head and sighed, "After all, we are dealing with Sasaki Ryūun, who is destined to win every battle. Ordinary methods won't work. In the end, you are clearly living a peaceful and happy life overseas, so why did you have to come back and meddle in other people's business? It's truly regrettable."

After hearing this, Liu Yun was still wondering what kind of fate it was that was "victory in every battle." But then he saw that his teammates beside him had already turned pale with fear.

"What? I'm a trap?"

Lady Guidie frowned and pondered for a moment, then seemed to understand something. She exclaimed in surprise, immediately let go of Liuyun's hand without hesitation, and took a step away from him.

However, under the oppressive aura of the Azuchi Castle Honmaru, her mobility was greatly restricted, and she collapsed after only taking two steps due to weakness in her limbs.

Liu Yun reacted quickly and stepped forward to help him up.

“Heh…” Oda Nobunaga let out a sarcastic laugh that was hard to decipher: “As expected, Lord Ryuun is a man who cherishes women and cannot stand by and watch this woman get into trouble.”

Liu Yun helped up the struggling Lady Gui Die and comforted her, saying, "Don't be so gullible. Look at me, I'm perfectly fine now."

He frowned and looked up, saying, "Although I've heard that your relationship is strained, you are still husband and wife. Using her as bait, isn't that a bit too much?"

Oda Nobunaga didn't seem to mind: "It's a pity. But if I want to accomplish great things, I have no choice but to disregard trivial matters."

Liu Yun immediately pressed on: "So, a few years ago you told me that your ambition was to end the chaos and bring peace to the land, but now you can raise your sword against hundreds of thousands of Iga people all at once... Can this also be explained as 'those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles'?"

“Hoo—” Oda Nobunaga exhaled deeply, and strode forward, saying, “There’s no need to hide it now that things have come to this. My ambition is simply to hold all the power in the world in my hands. On that day, I will naturally end the chaos and establish a peaceful land. But the order of things cannot be reversed.”

“That’s right.” Liu Yun suddenly realized, then felt relieved and said seriously, “It’s the most satisfying to kill villains like this who are simply driven by their own ambitions and have no grand aspirations or childhood traumas. There’s no need to worry about touching on political correctness.”

Oda Nobunaga clearly didn't understand the details in Ryuun's words, nor did he dwell on it. He simply put on a confident expression and said arrogantly, "Perhaps you yourself don't realize that under the current laws of this world, it's impossible to defeat you head-on. But fortunately, with this woman as bait and trap, I now have the opportunity to bypass the laws."

Liu Yun smiled and dismissed the other party's nonsense, not taking it to heart at all.

Lady Guidie grew increasingly weak and pained, unable to move even slightly in Liuyun's arms, yet she still struggled desperately to escape. She uttered phrases like, "I'm so sorry to have troubled Lord Liuyun..." and "Please sever all ties with me immediately."

Liu Yun was a little confused and asked, "What bait trap? I wasn't hurt at all! I think Nobunaga is just bluffing!"

"No, it's me..." Lady Guidie tried anxiously to explain, but her voice grew softer and softer until it was inaudible.

Chapter 301 Sasaki Ryuun, you may die!

Liu Yun couldn't quite understand what was happening before her eyes.

Why did Oda Nobunaga act like a fool brainwashed by a low-level cult, rambling and blindly confident? And why was Lady Kicho so apprehensive and on high alert?

While the "Sixth Heaven Demon King" is indeed a formidable figure, his audacity in appearing alone without any guards doesn't seem to pose a significant threat...

However, Lady Guidie was now shivering and cold, collapsing weakly into her arms, her breath growing weaker and her voice becoming softer and softer. This was hardly a good time to find her and get to the bottom of things.

Liu Yun could only support her in a princess carry, while also having to spare some attention to worry about the safety of his teammate.

Incidentally, Oda Nobunaga seems to have completely come to terms with things now. He didn't show any anger at the situation, but instead let out a disdainful sneer.

"Hmph... that's all. Why bother arguing with a dying man?"

Nobunaga seemed to be talking to himself as he spoke these words.

Suddenly, Liu Yun felt a resonance within his body again.

Following Lady Guidie, the Demoness "Nagafune Nagamitsu" also seems to have entered an abnormal state.

"This is bad—"

Through the mental link, the Demoness of the Blade transmitted her pessimistic emotions: "I am a demon born from a weapon, and my very existence is for fighting. In the past, the stronger the enemy I faced, the stronger my fighting spirit became... But now, for some reason, I have an uncontrollable urge to avoid battle and escape... Please be careful, Master..."

Even without her saying it, Liu Yun could sense that there was indeed something wrong with the indestructible blade in his hand.

Its appearance remained unchanged, but just now, the moment Oda Nobunaga opened his mouth to speak, the mysterious "sharpness" within the demon sword vanished without warning.

There's something really fishy about this...

Liu Yun felt a bit heavy-hearted.

I had already thought that going to Azuchi Castle to find Nobunaga would be more difficult and troublesome than going to Himeji Castle to find Hideyoshi, but I didn't expect it to be even more difficult and troublesome than I anticipated.

The other party has clearly mastered some new power, but I am completely unaware of it.

Even the Demoness of the Blade, Nagafune and Nagamitsu, couldn't give a clear answer.

Then another groan, deep and long, pierced my soul.

That was the wailing of the nine-tailed fox in the mental link.

"To have mastered such terrifying power... This reminds me of Jianzhen from back then... It's far beyond the level of ordinary humans, even great demons can't reach it... So the injury to my body wasn't due to trickery but real power? It seems I shouldn't be surprised that I was injured by humans, but rather that I've survived until now..."

Was the nine-tailed fox awakened?

The first thing he said when he woke up was something like that... It seems Oda Nobunaga is really something else today.

Even a legendary demon like the nine-tailed fox was shocked.