Swallow Return

"Yes, yes, yes!" The bearded, dark-faced middle-aged boatman slapped his thigh and turned to look at Liu Yun: "You've already given two hundred and fifty coins, so you still need... um..."

This time, the young, sallow-faced, beardless boatman finally learned his lesson and whispered in my ear, "One thousand six hundred and seventy coins."

"Yes, yes, yes!" the bearded, dark-faced middle-aged boatman said righteously. "Look, sir, you still owe 1,670 coins for the fare. I'll give you a discount and pay you 1,500 coins, one and a half strings of cash, how about that?"

Liu Yun glanced at the other person and said calmly, "This isn't a small amount of money. Are you sure I can afford it?"

The bearded man with the dark face chuckled and said slowly, "Two days ago in Tsuruga, you spent so lavishly on lodging, meals, and boat rentals, spending tens or even hundreds of coins without batting an eye. You must be able to easily come up with a mere one and a half strings of cash."

Liu Yun then realized that he had been being watched all along. The innkeeper was clearly in cahoots with the two thuggish boatmen.

Wasn't it agreed that Tsuruga Town was an important commercial hub in the Hokuriku region?

The owner of the largest inn in this important commercial hub is actually in cahoots with thieves! What kind of world is this?!

Fortunately, Liu Yun was skilled in martial arts and was not afraid of ordinary thieves.

He replied confidently, "I can afford it, but what if I refuse to give it?"

The middle-aged boatman with a thick beard and a dark face lifted his clothes, revealing a short knife hidden at his waist, and said with a smile, "Well, there's nothing I can do. If you don't pay the fare, you'll have to get off the boat now."

Liu Yun looked out of the boat and said, "We're still hundreds of steps from the shore! If we get off now, we'll drown!"

The middle-aged boatman with a thick beard and a dark face shook his head and said, "This... we can't control that. Either you pay the full fare, or you get off the boat."

At this moment, the yellow-faced boy silently drew his sharp blade.

Liu Yun then asked, "You seem to have a lot of confidence in your martial arts skills?"

"Haha!" The bearded, dark-faced middle-aged boatman laughed smugly and said arrogantly, "We two are quite well-known on this sea. We've seen quite a few ghosts die by our blades. Although you also carry a knife, judging from your attire, you probably haven't seen much blood, have you? People who fight and kill all the time aren't as clean as you."

“Alright…” Liu Yun sighed and shook his head, saying, “It seems I have no choice.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Yun activated his "bewitching power," and his eyes emitted a strange red light.

The two boatmen were immediately caught in the trap.

The young man, with a sallow complexion and no beard, was completely stunned, and instantly lost his mind.

However, the middle-aged man with a dark face and a big beard was dazed for a moment, then broke free from the control and cried out in alarm, "It's sorcery!" At the same time, he turned around and was about to jump into the sea.

The bewitching power of the red jade pendant failed to work, which surprised Liu Yun.

It's clear that the other party is indeed quite capable, at least mentally very determined.

However, the dark-faced bearded man's movements seemed extremely clumsy and slow to him. Without getting up, he remained seated in the cabin and swung his hand to throw the wooden teacup, which accurately hit the other man's calf.

With a cry of "Ouch!", the dark-faced, bearded man collapsed at the stern of the boat, clutching his swollen wound and screaming in agony.

Liu Yun remained seated, ordering the controlled, yellow-faced young man to bring his companion over.

The middle-aged man with a dark face and a thick beard immediately burst into tears, begging loudly for mercy: "Sir, spare my life! Sir, spare my life! I only wanted money, I never intended to kill anyone, I actually..."

Liu Yun found him too talkative, so he grabbed a piece of burlap and stuffed it into his mouth to prevent him from making a sound. He then took a rope and tied him up.

Then, they asked the young, yellow-faced men who had been restrained, "Who exactly are you people? How many things like this have you done? Tell us the truth!"

The sallow-faced young man, his eyes glazed over, stammered, "We're the navy of the Uesugi clan of Echigo, the pirates under Lord Kurata Goroza. When we're not on missions, we run our own businesses, robbing inexperienced, fat targets. I've been doing this for years, robbing countless customers. Most of them pay up, and we don't want to make a big fuss. Not many are actually killed and thrown into the sea for refusing to pay; only three or five in recent years..."

Upon learning the identities of the two boatmen, Liu Yun could hardly help but be surprised, and asked, "As members of the navy, how can you do something like this without the higher-ups intervening?"

The sallow-faced young man shook his head blankly and said, "Everyone does it this way, how can we possibly manage it? The money we get from above is barely enough to eat white rice, let alone find a girl... So, as long as the victims aren't Uesugi samurai or his merchants, the lords turn a blind eye. After all, they're counting on us to fight and die for them. If they're too strict, we can always go and join another family."

Liu Yun was at a loss for words. After a pause, he asked, "Aren't you afraid of offending high-ranking officials from other families or wealthy merchants from other places?"

The young man from Huanglian still looked bewildered: "Those people either have their own ships or bring a large number of guards. We wouldn't easily provoke them if we saw them. However, some of our bolder brothers dare to do it secretly... As long as no evidence is found later, nothing will happen. Even if evidence is found... Anyway, this area is under the control of our Uesugi family. At most, we'll just teach them a lesson. We can't let our own pirates pay with their lives for outsiders."

Liu Yun understood the whole story, sighed, and felt quite powerless.

He could easily deal with these two murderers and thieves, whether by punishing them personally or handing them over to the Uesugi family.

But... if all the naval forces on this sea are like this, what good would killing two of them do?

If this environment, which is conducive to the birth of thieves, is not improved, no matter how much we punish evil and eliminate wickedness, it will only be like a wildfire that cannot be extinguished and will spring up again with the spring breeze.

Having traveled through time for so many years, this is the first time Liu Yun has felt that unifying the world is truly necessary.

Even if the administration was not so clean after unification and the people were still oppressed, it was still much better than during the period of war.

Chapter 75 Zhong Kui's Greeting Gift in Echigo (Part 1)

Before disembarking, Liu Yun ultimately took the lives of the two boatmen.

He first manipulated the yellow-faced boy, who was under his control, to kill the black-faced bearded man with a single blow. Then, he personally used the black-faced bearded man's knife to pierce the yellow-faced boy's heart.

It was essentially a simple staged shootout where everyone perished, and the whole thing was done without making a sound.

Two online trolls who worked part-time as robbers paid the price for the bloodshed they committed.

Liu Yun's thoughts were actually quite simple: it was unrealistic to exterminate all the evil people in the world, but at least he could deal with those who came before him as much as possible. These two boatmen had committed murder and robbery for money, and their crimes could only be repaid with their lives.

Then he rode his small packhorse ashore and, facing the salty sea breeze, arrived at Naoezu Port Town in Echigo.

A ship with two dead bodies in its cabin moored at the beach would inevitably be discovered sooner or later, but Liu Yun wasn't worried. He was about to reunite with the core members of the Uesugi family and go out on a mission together, so he wasn't concerned about being tracked down.

Besides, the sheriffs of this era probably don't have enough sense of responsibility to deal with pirate fights.

……

The docks in Naoezu Port are very spacious, at least much wider than those in Tsuruga.

Moreover, there seemed to be frequent travel on the water. At least thirty or forty boats of varying sizes were moored at the shore, and one could constantly see boats sailing in from the east and west, or heading in the east and west.

Hundreds of porters were busy unloading and loading cargo on the beach. They were all burly men, working hard and sweating profusely even in the cold winter. They were all shirtless or wearing only a close-fitting short jacket.

There were so many travelers and merchants coming and going, many of whom were accompanied by attendants and guards.

Liu Yun, all alone and leading only a small packhorse, appeared quite inconspicuous.

A few hundred steps away, there seemed to be a sizable fishing ground, where people were also busy carrying large crates of seafood toward the town center.

Heading inland, less than fifteen minutes later, the view suddenly opened up, revealing the most prosperous town Liu Yun had ever seen since his journey through time.

A main road, three zhang wide, runs parallel to the coastline and stretches as far as the eye can see on either side, lined with bright and spacious shops. From the main road, countless side streets branch off, each only a zhang or a few chi wide, serving as the domain of small shops or itinerant vendors.

There were patrol teams of ten men on the street, fully armed, carrying long guns, swaggering through the city. Their armor gleamed in the setting sun, making them look heroic and domineering.

Every now and then, carts pulled by oxen or horses would pass by, laden with goods. All sorts of goods were available, but the most common seemed to be hemp for weaving.

The pedestrians were not exactly bustling, but they were quite dense. At least every shop in sight had customers checking goods or bargaining. No shop was idle.

Of particular note was the sight of many pampered women dressed in kimonos and wooden clogs, fanning themselves with round fans, shopping in upscale clothing stores; they were presumably women from wealthy merchants' or high-ranking samurai families.

Before coming here, Ryuun had heard that there were 25,000 townspeople (citizens who had left agriculture) in Naoetsu, and he was a little skeptical, but now he couldn't help but believe it.

It is said that the town inside Ishiyama Honganji Temple has 30,000 to 40,000 residents, while Sakai, the number one commercial center in Japan, has more than 50,000. If we compare them, Naoezu is half the size of Sakai, so it is undoubtedly the largest town in the Hokuriku region.

To the southwest are mountains. Looking into the distance, you can vaguely see the structure of a castle built against the mountain, divided into several layers from top to bottom. That is Kasugayama Castle of the Uesugi family.

Uesugi Kenshin, the ruler of Naoetsu, lived and worked in the main keep of that castle.

However, that's not where Liuyun's destination is today.

He asked a kind passerby for the address of the "Firefly House" shop, then led his little packhorse and walked along the street with the flow of people for a while before finding his destination.

The storefront, spanning two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) in width, would be considered neither too big nor too small in Naoetsu. Behind the counter, shelves displayed various sizes and types of candles, emitting a strong, distinctive aroma.

Three shop assistants were at work. One was haggling with a hunched-over, white-bearded old man, seemingly about a big deal; another was repeatedly lighting a sample in his hand to show a pockmarked man in front of him.

Liu Yun went straight to the third one, took an envelope from his pocket, handed it over and said, "Please give this to Mr. Matsutaro, the owner of your shop, and tell him that the item has been delivered. Also, the shipping fee is two kan, half of which has been paid in advance. Please prepare the rest."

"Oh...it's the mercenary escorting valuables!" The shop assistant scratched his head and muttered to himself, then took the envelope and jogged behind the curtain.

Liu Yun waited in place for a while.

Soon the shop assistant came running out again, bowed, and gestured for him to come in: "Mr. Matsutaro invites you in for a detailed discussion."

Liu Yun nodded, tied the small packhorse to the door, and stepped inside.

Following the shop assistant, we passed through the warehouse, courtyard, and dormitory, arriving at a room deep inside. Then the shop assistant stopped, and someone else led the way.

After several more twists and turns, we arrived at the entrance to a basement.

The flowing clouds descended the steps.

I discovered that it was a spacious and empty basement.

The area, which spanned several square feet, was sparsely furnished.

On the left was a small wooden table with two candles lit on it. In the dim light sat a short, stocky middle-aged man in black, holding a pen as if he were writing something.

On the right was an iron cage, with many talismans pasted on the outside. Inside was a very burly person—or perhaps a humanoid creature.

There is nothing else besides this.

In particular, it lacks ventilation holes that connect it to the outside world.

The dim light, the polluted air, the deathly silence, and the occasional rattling of chains created an eerie atmosphere.

The middle-aged man in black, seeing Liu Yun enter, didn't even greet him. He continued writing with his pen, head bowed, and spoke in a completely emotionless tone: "An envoy from the Oda clan has arrived? Let me introduce myself. I am Saito Tomonobu, a retainer of the Uesugi clan, known as 'Echigo Zhong Kui'... cough! cough! I have some experience in exorcising demons. As for the one in the cage, it's a monster I just caught, which I was planning to present to you as a gift."

Liu Yun peered carefully into the cage and discovered that although the burly monster looked humanoid from a distance, it actually had a head like a black bull and spider-like pincers and legs on its back. However, due to the poor lighting, it was not clearly visible at a glance.

If you concentrate and take a closer look, this monster with a bull's head and spider legs is not weak at all.

She is estimated to be only slightly inferior to Igawa Asagi.

By the way, speaking of that silly girl, I wonder how she is doing...

The thought flashed through his mind, but Liu Yun immediately put it aside and smiled, "This gift is quite unique. The Echigo Uesugi family's way of treating guests is truly distinctive."

At this moment, the middle-aged man in black, who called himself "Song Kui of Echigo, Saito Asanobu," stopped writing, slowly raised his head, revealing a scarred and terrifying face. He displayed a sinister smile that could frighten women and children to tears, coughed a few times, and then said, "We people of Echigo are accustomed to judging only by strength and dislike anything vague or unrealistic. The fact that you can handle this monster shows that the envoy sent by the Oda clan has some ability and is worth negotiating. If you cannot handle it... then please leave..."

After speaking, the middle-aged man in black waved his hand, and the dozens of talismans on the iron cage scattered all over the ground. Then he picked up his brush, dipped it in ink on the inkstone beside him, and continued to focus on his hobby of calligraphy.

Seeing this, Liu Yun chuckled and raised his head, saying, "If I can't solve this in the time it takes to write a single word, then I'll admit defeat."

The middle-aged man in black, who called himself "Song Kui of Echigo, Saito Asanobu," frowned slightly and paused in surprise upon hearing these confident words, his hand instinctively stopping.

At this moment, the burly monster with a bull's head and spider legs in the iron cage seemed to realize that the spell restricting it no longer existed, and it immediately let out an excited roar, baring its teeth and claws like a wild beast that had been starving for a long time.

Chapter 76 Zhong Kui's Greeting Gift

A six-foot-long human body, a black bull's head, thick horns, and spider legs on its back.

With a powerful charge, it smashed through the iron cage that was no longer protected by the talisman.

With a loud "boom," the iron cage was torn apart and exploded, with fragments flying everywhere and landing on the ground with a crisp sound.