A muscular girl is presented to the passionate world of crossover anime.

Watching Mishima descend the hill, Saito Hajime lit his third cigarette, sighing to himself, "The chaos of the late Edo period is not yet over. The bloodshed and turmoil of the Bakumatsu era continue to this day, even dragging in a little girl like her... Anyway, let's see what kind of person she is."

But after waiting for a long time, Eiichiro Mishima returned on his own: "Um, Xia is missing."

"what?"

“The villagers said she asked a lot of questions, about herself, about Jianjiao and Zhizhixiong, about the government, and then she left the village.”

Author's Note: One more chapter! But I suspect I've been updating later and later lately, so many people probably don't read it until the next morning... This chapter is more like background information, since not everyone is familiar with the Rurouni Kenshin story. Next chapter, Kanon will also be surviving in the Bakumatsu wilderness...

Chapter 871, Section 880: Kanon's Great Crisis

Hanon has run away from the village!

This wasn't due to a girl's rebellious nature, nor was it because the villagers' attitude towards A-Xia hurt the heart of the transmigrated Hanon, nor was it out of fear of police questioning... Well, there was still a little bit of fear of being discovered as a transmigrator, but the main reason Hanon left Crescent Village was to "go to Kyoto."

She wants to kill that legendary villain, "Shishio Makoto".

While Saito and Mishima were dealing with the Sharp Corner gang, Kanon learned a lot from the villagers, especially from Mishima's youngest brother, Eiji. After being rescued by Kanon, Eiji completely idolized her, telling her everything he knew. Being a child, he was particularly easy to get information out of her, which made things very convenient for Kanon.

Through questioning, Kanon learned that Crescent Village is located between Tokyo and Kyoto. Two years ago, it was occupied by a gang of villains led by Shishio Makoto, who implemented a reign of terror, killing government-appointed police officers and essentially becoming kings of the mountain. However, Shishio did not stay there permanently, but only came to stay for a week every six months.

Don't be fooled by the fact that he's just here to soak in the hot springs; he's actually a ruthless demon who runs a reign of terror, far more frightening than Sharp Horn. In the past two years, several villagers have been killed for the slightest disobedience. In addition, Shishio's body is covered in bandages for some reason, making him look quite terrifying and even more frightening. The people of Crescent Village tremble at the mere mention of him.

"Sigh, you silly girl, I don't know how you defeated Jianjiao, but what if Shishio comes back to take revenge on us?" The villagers' attitude towards Hanon did not improve. If it weren't for Hanon's sudden display of strength and the arrival of Saito's group of police officers, these people might have done something as shady as tying up Hanon and handing her over to Shishio in exchange for forgiveness.

So, in order for Xia to live a better life after she "left," Hanon decided to take action first to deal with Shishio Makoto's gang and eliminate this worry.

After all, Miss Xia is most likely an ancestor of the Yingfeng family.

Oh, right, in those days, ordinary Japanese people had only recently gained the right to choose their own surnames. As a young orphan girl in the village, Xia was isolated and hadn't had a chance to choose a surname yet. So, needless to say, in Kanon's eyes, her full name is "Takakaze Kasumi"! It's not bad, isn't it? It has a heroic and chivalrous feel to it!

According to Jianjiao, Shishio will arrive tomorrow, and he is probably already on his way, accompanied by quite a few accomplices. Hanon doesn't want to start a war in the village and involve innocent people, so she takes the initiative to set off to confront Shishio and his group.

She was unaware that Saito Kazuya from the police force was also planning to ambush Shishio's group in Shingetsu Village. Otherwise, if the two sides joined forces, it would have saved a lot of trouble, and Kanon wouldn't be in this... well, miserable state.

Hanon got lost.

"Waaaaah, I'm so stupid, so incredibly stupid." Hana felt like crying her eyes out: "I never even realized I had such a terrible sense of direction! Without modern technology like phone maps, I can't find my way at all..."

She had heard that Crescent Moon Village was located near Numazu Station on the Tokaido Road, and assumed that there would be a main road once she left the village. However, she did not expect that the village was located in a valley, with low-lying terrain and dense trees, making it extremely difficult to find a path. At first, Hanon walked smoothly, but she unknowingly lost her way and felt that something was wrong as she walked. When she tried to turn back, she could no longer find the old path and could only grit her teeth and keep walking in one direction.

"We're doomed!" After walking for a day and a night, Hana was so hungry that her stomach was practically touching her back—her body was already thin, and being hungry meant she was literally "chest to back" in a real sense! Dizzy and lightheaded, she collapsed to the ground: "Damn it, we haven't even seen any wild fruit along the way. If this continues... if this continues..."

Will the Takakaze family line die out in Kanon's generation if things continue like this? Will Kanon even exist in the future? This is the most famous "grandfather paradox" in time travel science: if someone travels back in time and kills their ancestor, will that time traveler still exist? Is it really possible to "kill myself"?

The previous time travels were all very short, and Kanon tried her best to act in accordance with the course of history. But now she is really worried about starving to death. Will she be able to return to the familiar world in the future?

Having traveled through time so many times and fought against countless powerful figures, Hanon has never been in such a perilous situation as she is now; she is facing a major crisis.

"No, I have to live! I'll force myself to catch some animals and roast them later!" Lying on the ground, Hana made up her mind, but her body obediently didn't get up immediately: "Ugh, so hungry, so tired, I have no strength left, let me rest for a bit... huff, huff..."

Poor Hana-on fell asleep.

"Thump, thump, thump..." After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, Hana was awakened by the continuous slight tremors from the ground. She opened her eyes: "Hmm? Is it an earthquake?"

No, it wasn't an earthquake. When Hana got up, she followed the tremors to the source, parted the bushes, and saw a stream. There was a young man by the stream, forcefully smashing a boulder.

"Who is it? A madman?" Hua Yin steadied herself, trying to activate her hungry, dizzy little brain: "Oh, it should be a martial artist practicing cultivation. My eyes are playing tricks on me; I didn't see the small stone standing on top of the big rock..."

The young man sported a trendy rooster-comb hairstyle for the time, his body wrapped in bandages, and he was relentlessly striking small stones placed on top of a boulder. He was incredibly efficient, smashing one stone with every punch or two, as if cracking walnuts. His punching power and skill were quite impressive, befitting a martial artist. However, the young man seemed very dissatisfied, continuing to strike while roaring, "Damn it, damn it, no, still no!"

"As expected... he's still a madman."

Normally, Hana wouldn't bother with such a crazy guy, but things are different now. She's a martial artist who has trained in the mountains, so she knows that martial artists always carry provisions with them in this situation!

Trembling, Hanane reached out her hand towards the young man: "K-kind samurai brother...please...please share some of your food with me..."

Unfortunately, she was too weak to speak, and her voice was barely audible. The young man was focused on smashing the stones and didn't see or hear her at all.

Just as Hanon was about to step forward and ask for help, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and patted her shoulder.

Hana was startled. Even in this state, to be able to get so close to her without her noticing must be the work of a truly formidable expert. She turned around and saw a man dressed as a monk, with a very muscular build. His eyes were covered in dark eyeshadow, which added a touch of menacing to his originally dignified and peaceful face.

“Young lady, don’t disturb that person; he’s practicing martial arts.” The monk’s tone was very gentle. “Are you lost? You look tired and hungry. I have some dry food here; why don’t you come over…”

"No need to say anything more, boss, I'll go with you."

Author's Note: I struggled to finish this chapter; it's really too late, sorry~

Section 881, Chapter 872: The Breaking Monk Anci

"Huffing and puffing..." Hua Yin was silently munching on a white steamed bun, while across from her was the monk who had helped her, watching her eat in silence.

"Child, eat slowly." This monk had a calm demeanor and a gentle temperament. Although he rarely smiled, he was very caring and handed Huayin the earthenware pot filled with water at the right time.

"Huff huff... Thank you... Huff huff..." Hana's mouth was full of food. She took the water, smoothed it out, and continued fighting.

Whether as a Chinese office worker or a Japanese heiress, she had never experienced true famine. In all her lifetimes, this was the first time she had encountered a hunger that penetrated to the bone. It was probably related to the fact that a young girl needs to grow, and also to the fact that she had fought after being possessed by Hanon, which consumed a lot of her physical energy. After all, when she first started learning martial arts, Hanon had a particularly large appetite, and muscle manipulation consumes a lot of energy.

The white steamed buns in front of me are rough and bland, but they taste especially delicious to someone who is starving.

Seeing that Huayin was eating with gusto, the monk opposite her was quite pleased: "The little girl must be starving, look at how she's wolfing down her food."

"Huffing and puffing..."

"Why would such a frail young girl end up in the forest? Was she lost? Or did she encounter some villains? Where are her parents?"

"Huffing and puffing..."

"Hmm, the reformed government is truly wicked, causing innocent girls to be displaced! The hatred on my shoulders has become even heavier. It would be best to overthrow them as soon as possible."

"Huffing and puffing..."

"Uh, this girl eats way too much..."

The monk's forehead was covered in cold sweat as he watched Huayin devour all his food. Finally, he let out a burp, disregarding his image: "Burp... I'm almost full."

"Almost..." The monk wiped his sweat: "Do all young girls eat this much?"

After filling her stomach, Kanon regained her ability to think. Upon hearing this, she blushed and said, "Oh, no, I'm really not a big eater. I have a friend named Sakura who eats five times as much as I do."

"Ah, then she must be as big as a Vajra." The monk imagined it for a moment. If there really was a woman with such a huge appetite... how fat she must be!

"I'm sorry, Master." Hanon also realized there was no food left: "I ate all your food."

The monk shook his head: "It's alright. We're not far from the main road. Let's just bear with it for another day, and we'll go outside to resupply the day after tomorrow."

Hana asked curiously, "Huh? The day after tomorrow? What about tomorrow?"

"You saw the young man from before, didn't you?" the monk said. "I made a bet with him that he had to master my ultimate technique within a week, or else... Today is the fifth day. After tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, we'll have the results." The bet the monk made with the young man was that he would die if he failed to master the technique, but in front of Huayin, the monk couldn't bear to say it.

In fact, the monk's heart softened at the sight of the frail girl, Hanon. Although they had only met by chance, he had already silently taken on the responsibility of taking care of Hanon: "If we are hungry tomorrow, we will catch fish by the river to eat."

“Great, catching fish is good~” Hanon thought for a moment, then said with some surprise, “I heard that Japan did not prohibit monks from marrying and eating meat until after the Meiji Restoration. Monk, you are really fashionable, changing your ways so quickly.”

"'Fashionable'? What does that mean?" The monk was puzzled at first, then his face showed a pained expression: "Don't associate me with the reformed government... I eat meat because I am a monk who has broken the precepts."

Hanon was startled and took a step back: "Wow, a renegade monk? In Japan, renegade monks are mainly known for murder and rape, right? You..."

"Ahem, don't misunderstand, I did break the precept against killing." The monk blushed, almost being mistaken for a goldfish by Hana, and he was quite embarrassed.

"Oh, killing is not so bad." Hanon breathed a sigh of relief. Although killing was also heinous, the late Edo period was a chaotic time. This monk was strong and powerful, and it was obvious that he was a very good expert. There was also a faint murderous aura about him. It was not surprising that he had taken one or two lives.

Instead, the monk was taken aback by Hanon's composure, thinking, "She doesn't care about killing, she's obviously someone who's seen life and death before... Alas, in chaotic times, separation and death are commonplace for children. Only by overthrowing the reformed government and saving the world can these children live a happy life."

Putting aside the monk's radical ideas, Huayin, having eaten and drunk her fill, started pestering the monk with questions: "Hey, monk, my name is Ying Fengxia, what's your name?"

“...My name is Youjiu Shan Anci, Hello, Miss A-Xia.”

"Hehe, Master Anci, hello~ And who is that guy with the rooster-motif?"

"I don't know, we just bumped into each other on the street."

"Wow! A chance encounter! And you even made a bet with him, promising to teach him your secret techniques."

“I was practicing my martial arts when he saw me and started pestering me to teach him. I could see that he was also dissatisfied with the reformed government and was quite resolute in his attitude, so I taught him the ‘Double Strength’ technique. But if he couldn’t master it after a week, I would…”

"So what? Kill him?"

"..."

"Oh dear, they're really going to kill him! Truly a monk who has broken his vows..."

After a moment of silence, Huayin leaned closer and asked, "Hey, Master Anci, what kind of powerful martial art is this 'Double Strength'? I saw that rooster-headed guy smashing stones like it was nothing, he's quite skilled. And yet he still pesters you to teach him martial arts, it must be an incredibly powerful move!"

An Ci opened her mouth, about to speak subconsciously, but then a thought suddenly occurred to her: "This young girl is all alone, she must have some deep-seated hatred. She's so eager to ask me about the secret of 'Double Strength,' she probably wants to learn martial arts to take revenge?"

Well, actually, Hanon was just curious about other people's unusual moves as a martial artist.

Although Anci was a monk who had broken the precept against killing, he was ultimately a kind-hearted person with a compassionate heart. Since he believed that Huayin wanted to learn martial arts to kill, he did not want Huayin's hands to be stained with blood: "'Double Strength' is a secret I do not pass on. If you want to hear me talk about it, you must make a bet like that young man. If you fail to learn it, you will die."

"Oh, so fierce?" Hana stuck out her tongue, immediately losing interest: "If you don't want to talk about it, fine, but why make it so scary?"

She misunderstood, thinking that An Ci treasured her unique skill very much. A gentleman doesn't take what others cherish, and if An Ci didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't ask anymore. Anyway, in terms of the subtlety and wonder of martial arts, probably no one in the world could surpass her, so why risk her life? If she couldn't learn it, would she break the promise and run away, or keep the promise and commit suicide?

Seeing Huayin fall silent, Anci couldn't help but ask, "Miss Xia, may I ask why you are here in this wilderness?"

"Ah, this... I'm going to Kyoto to find someone... As for who I'm looking for..." Hanon was so busy eating that she forgot to come up with a fake reason for herself: "I'm looking for my long-lost friend..."

“No need to say anything,” Anci interrupted her. “It’s pointless to say it anyway, it’s all false.”

Neither of them could get anything out of the other, and the night passed in silence, with only the crackling of the campfire and the sound of the young man with the rooster-like hair smashing stones by the river echoing in the night sky.

Section 882, Chapter 873: The Name of a Genius