Swallow Return

At this time, Kinoshita Tokichiro was probably still fighting the Asai army on the front lines and couldn't be free for the time being.

About half an hour later, they arrived at the foot of Hengshan City.

Now it is the lord's younger brother, Kinoshita Koichiro, who is guarding the city with the remaining soldiers.

Before they could even say hello, Takenaka Shigeharu and Miyabe Zenshōbō helped Toragozen in, while Ryūun led a few small yokai into the citadel.

At this time, Madam Ningning had been unconscious for quite some time, and her face was somewhat ashen and dry, making her look rather unwell.

Tiger Goden struggled to his feet, ignoring the continued bleeding from his wounds, and stepped forward to grasp Ningning's wrist, saying with a wry smile, "I thought that having a soul of the same origin would make our meeting a very fortunate thing, but I didn't expect to implicate you. Please wait a moment, and I will be able to remove your calamity."

As soon as he finished speaking, a profound yet calm demonic power could be felt around him, and it began to operate.

The two wounds on Toragozen's waist and abdomen continued to bleed, showing no signs of stopping. She briefly gathered her strength, then revealed utter exhaustion. She pointed, casting a soft beam of light upon Nene, a gentle, contented smile spreading across her face as she murmured, "The path I've chosen may not be the right one, but I have never regretted it. Perhaps Lady Nene is the true epitome of a Japanese woman..."

Liu Yun, Takenaka Shigeharu, Miyabe Zenshōbō, and others all sensed something was wrong upon hearing this.

But they didn't know what to do.

Ningning's body gradually regained its vitality, and she slowly opened her eyes, but her mind was still in a daze.

Tiger Goden's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, exuding an aura of death.

Liu Yun said in a hoarse voice, "So it turns out that Lady Hu Yuqian did not give up her will to die because of this, but rather planned to eliminate the trouble she caused before calmly facing death."

Toragozen managed a weak smile, her body gradually becoming transparent. Just as she was about to disappear, she uttered her final words: "Lord Sasaki, you are a trustworthy person. Please help take care of those children. They were all born under the influence of my demonic power and have no ill intentions... This is my final request. Now I can leave my late husband. Consider this last thing as a reward for Lord Sasaki's promise to take care of the children!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she—or rather, her entire demon—vanished without a trace.

Only a wisp of colorful mist, half real and half ethereal, drifted out.

Liu Yun subconsciously reached out to grasp it, and then the mist instantly drifted into his body.

Then he sensed something was off about his junior and instinctively tensed up.

Two crisp sounds were heard, and a pair of white dove-like wings grew out from behind the flowing clouds, tearing through the clothes and stretching out to be more than ten feet wide.

With a thought, he took flight as nimbly as a bird!

To have gained such an amazing ability!

In the past, he would have been overjoyed, but now, considering that this was Toragozen's last gift, he felt heavy-hearted.

Takenaka Shigeharu sighed softly, his expression remaining largely unchanged.

Miyabe Zenshōbō silently murmured, "What joy is there in life?" without showing any sorrow.

There were some waiters nearby, including Kinoshita Koichiro, who was watching from a distance. They were all puzzled and had no idea what was going on.

Only a group of small, blue-faced, fanged demons pounced on the spot where Tiger Goden had disappeared, making strange whimpering noises, with tears-like liquid flowing from the corners of their eyes.

After wailing for a while, the little monsters listlessly gathered around Liuyun, seemingly waiting for instructions from their new "leader".

Liu Yun sighed, "Having received this gift, I must do my best to fulfill the request. From now on, these little monsters will be my subordinates, and I will take them home and care for them as if they were adopted orphans."

After a while, Lady Ningning finally came to her senses, turned over on the tatami mat and slowly sat up. Looking in the direction where Tiger God had disappeared, her expression was very complicated. She bowed and saluted with unusual formality: "I will certainly live up to your trust, Madam."

Those around them were overjoyed: "The lady has finally woken up! We must quickly inform Lord Kinoshita."

Liu Yun, however, subconsciously felt that something was wrong.

The way they refer to themselves has changed!

Ningning used to use "妾身" as her first-person pronoun.

The use of such an ancient word as "余" seems to be limited to Toragozen, who lived during the Heian period.

Could it be that Toragozen didn't die, but instead, by some twist of fate, merged with Nene?

Liu Yun frowned, noticing that Takenaka Shigeharu seemed to be pondering the same question.

However, after a moment, Ningning returned to her usual dignified, generous, gentle and virtuous state, looked around and smiled, "Please rest assured, everyone, I... I am fine now."

It appears that nothing has changed except for the point of view.

But even this alone is noteworthy. Especially the second sentence, which seemed deliberately adjusted to a past tone, makes it even more difficult not to overthink... If it weren't for the maternal tenderness that Tiger Queen exudes, making her seem far from being an evil person, one might think she was possessed by an evil spirit!

Chapter 115 My Secret with My Wife? (Part 1)

About a year ago, the Oda clan gained the upper hand in the Omi battlefield through battles and maneuvering, besieging the Asai clan at Odani Castle, but they lacked the strength for a prolonged siege. Therefore, Nobunaga ordered the construction of temporary outposts on roads in all directions outside Odani Castle, intending to cut off internal and external communication and exhaust the enemy.

Kinoshita Tokichiro was appointed lord of Yokoyama Castle and given full command over this series of actions.

Aside from the siege of Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei and the New Year's performance review meeting, I've stayed here the whole year.

Despite having only 3,000 soldiers left to fight, the Asai clan did not give up hope. On the one hand, they kept sending elite troops out of the city to launch surprise attacks and try to destroy those temporary strongholds. On the other hand, they pleaded with all sides to send reinforcements as soon as possible.

At this point, they probably still firmly believed that as long as Takeda's Koshin army and Asakura's Echizen troops launched an attack together, everything would be alright!

On March 17th of the third year of Genki, the Asai army launched another counterattack, dispatching about a thousand elite soldiers in an attempt to burn down the Oda clan's strongholds during the dry weather.

Kinoshita Tokichiro then led several hundred personal guards and nearly a thousand local soldiers from Yokoyama Castle to meet the attack.

The battle lasted only a few hours, and after a fierce fight, neither side gained the upper hand, and both returned empty-handed.

This means that the Asai family's goal has failed, and Kinoshita Tokichiro has gained the upper hand.

This battle, in terms of both scale and significance, is far from worthy of being recorded in history.

However, the process was still quite intense.

Hachisuka Masakatsu, Maeno Nagayasu, and almost all of Ryūun's retainers were wounded. Not to mention those who died in battle.

Even when Kinoshita Tokichiro returned to Yokoyama Castle, he was covered in blood, his armor stained red. He was quite excited to learn that Nene had woken up and was unharmed, but he didn't have time to find out the details. He only asked a couple of simple questions before falling asleep on the spot.

Takenaka Shigeharu explained that this was due to fatigue caused by overuse of the "Ape-Faced Transformation" skill, and that there would be no aftereffects, so his retainers and the people of the country need not worry about it.

At this time, Madam Ningning's condition is worth paying attention to.

She seemed to have inexplicably incorporated parts of Toragozen's personality. Her words and actions were generally no different from usual, but there were occasional subtle differences, as if she were an actor who had not yet fully immersed herself in the role.

At least Liu Yun felt something was off.

However, others may be too exhausted from the intense battle to notice this.

This includes Kinoshita Tokichiro, who fell into a deep sleep due to overexertion.

The situation did not improve on the second day.

An urgent report arrived early in the morning that Takeda Shingen's vanguard had crossed the border between Suruga, Totomi, and Shinano provinces, invaded the territory of the Tokugawa clan, a junior member of the Oda family, and captured two small fortresses, while also turning a local lord on the border against the Oda clan.

This wasn't something that needed immediate attention, considering it was still over 300 kilometers away.

Everyone knew that Oda Nobunaga had already decided on a strategy: to let Tokugawa Ieyasu hold out for this wave while he took the opportunity to quickly eliminate the enemies in the Kinki region.

The problem is that some forces in the vicinity, who were originally ambiguous, have been encouraged by Takeda Shingen's advance and have bravely stood up to oppose Oda.

The most famous of them all is a figure known in Japan as "Matsu Hisahide".

This guy had quite a presence in the games Liu Yun played in his previous life; he was supposedly a notorious and ruthless villain.

However, what I've heard in my life is that Matsunaga Hisahide is a rare hero with eight thousand skilled soldiers under his command, and the legendary swordsman Yagyu Muneyoshi and the ninja Kashin Koji serve him.

Of course, few people can say for sure just how powerful Yagyu Muneyoshi was. As for Kashin Koji, it's even uncertain whether he was a real person.

The only certainty is that Matsunaga Hisahide's betrayal of Oda and support for Takeda caused a great reaction in the surrounding areas.

On the Yokoyama Castle side, apart from Sasaki Ryuun, who was not very clear about the situation, the others, including Kinoshita Tokichiro, Takenaka Shigeharu, and Hachisuka Masakatsu, felt that this matter was a bolt from the blue and that the situation would become very tense.

They were right after all.

Just as Takeda Shingen's advance provoked Matsunaga Hisahide's rebellion, Matsunaga Hisahide's actions ignited the ambitions of many others.

It's like a cluster bomb exploding in a chain reaction.

The area around Yokoyama Castle was in a state of "multiple alarms in one day". Names such as the remnants of Rokkaku, the Ise Kunishi, the Kitae Twelve Wards, the Katada River Pirates, and the Igayama Fubuki... many names that were previously not very prominent in this area appeared in the news.

Of course, they were only a few hundred people, and they didn't have the ability to provoke the main force of the Oda clan. They just harassed towns and villages and plundered money.

The Asai family of Odani Castle was also eager to make a move and launched another breakout operation.

As for the thieves and demons whose businesses suddenly spring up, that goes without saying.

Because Oda Nobunaga had to deal with multiple fronts at the same time, no reinforcements were sent. He only sent a magistrate with some money and a token of appreciation to encourage Yokoyama Castle to deal with these troubles on its own.

At this time, Kinoshita Tokichiro's policy of "retainers gathering together" did have some effect. Upon hearing enemy reports from any direction, they could respond quickly with the garrison in Yokoyama Castle without waiting for the peasant soldiers to slowly assemble.

Because small groups of enemies appeared too frequently, even Liu Yun, who usually lacked fighting spirit, had to launch attacks repeatedly.

Naturally, I went home less often.

Sasaki House possesses a certain level of defensive capability and is protected by powerful retainers such as Aotabo and Kurotabo. Unless attacked by top-tier experts or a large-scale army, there is no need to worry too much.

The wings that Toragozen bestowed upon him on his deathbed are not yet fully adapted to, so he hasn't used them much yet. However, Ryuun, even when fighting alone—at most with Saeko by his side—still possesses unparalleled combat power. He can gain the upper hand against enemies of thirty to fifty. Only when facing a team of more than a hundred people does he need to evade them, considering that the damage he might suffer may exceed the limit of his own healing ability.

As for Kinoshita Tokichiro, he was so busy that he didn't even have time to put his feet down. He was constantly leading troops into battle and often needed to use the "Ape Mask" transformation. His fatigue kept accumulating, and he also had to handle necessary military and political affairs. Basically, apart from work, he would just lie on the tatami mat and sleep without any decorum.

Therefore, Madam Ningning's unusual condition was even less likely to attract attention.

She even had to compose herself and, as the mistress of the house, try her best to share the workload of paperwork.

Liu Yun had always felt that it was none of his business to meddle in other people's wives' affairs.

But seeing the situation now, it feels really uncomfortable to keep it bottled up inside.

……

On the fifth day of the fourth month, Ryuun received intelligence and set out. He found more than a dozen Ikko-shu disciples destroying towns in the southeast. Among them were samurai, ninjas, as well as monks and onmyoji, none of whom were weak. Ryuun fought valiantly but only managed to kill six and drive away the rest, failing to eliminate them all.

He returned to Yokoyama Castle to report the matter and found that most of the officials in charge were out on business. Only Lady Ningning was sitting alone in the Honmaru Palace, compiling statistics on the recent complex battle situation, so as to serve as evidence for measuring achievements, estimating losses, and compensating the wounded and the injured in the future.

Seeing that no one was around, Liu Yun went straight to the point and asked the question that had been on her mind: "Lady Ningning—should I continue to address you with that title, or are you now not only Lady Ningning, but also have inherited a part of the soul of the female demon Tiger Goddess?"

Upon hearing this, Ningning abruptly stopped holding her pen, looked up and gazed at him intently, her expression complex and subtle.

Chapter 116 My Secret with My Wife? (Part 2)

On a late spring day, the sun shines brightly in the Honmaru of Yokoyama Castle, a rare treat.

Upon hearing Liu Yun's direct question, Ning Ning's smile froze, and her hand holding the pen stopped in mid-air. After a long while, she sighed deeply, put away the documents and files on the table, slowly stood up, left the palace, crossed the corridor, walked into the courtyard, and headed towards the small, semi-open shrine in the corner.

Liu Yun hesitated for a moment, then followed at a distance.

This semi-open-air shrine is said to enshrine the local guardian deity, who has been worshipped for thousands of years. It is believed to slightly increase the yield of nearby fields and bring greater peace and happiness to the people.

Because of its negligible influence and its uncertain existence, it is impossible for it to receive thriving worship. Being able to establish a foothold in the city is already considered an extraordinary respect for traditional culture.

Atop the shrine stood a wooden statue about two feet tall, not finely carved, but clearly depicting a monkey. A canopy covered the shrine, from which hung four lanterns inscribed with mysterious characters and tied with white ribbons, their purpose unclear. Below were three porcelain plates and two small incense burners, with a donation box at the very top.