I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Oh, I'd like to ask you something: Is this the Moon Shrine?"

"That's right, this is the Moon Shrine."

After saying that, "Blue Ribbon" seemed to recall something, paused in her speech, raised her eyes, and looked at Qingdeng a few more times.

"Coming to my shrine at this hour... could you be Tachibana Aoto?"

Qing Deng raised an eyebrow: "Yes, I am Ju Qing Deng."

"So you're Tachibana Aoto!"

At that moment, someone interrupted—it was the priestess with the red ribbon tied around her left temple.

With one hand on her broom and the other on her hip, she continued shouting with great enthusiasm:

"You've finally arrived! You're so slow! But since you weren't actually late, we won't hold it against you!"

"Eight layers."

"Blue Ribbon" glanced at "Red Ribbon" expressionlessly, her eyes filled with reproach.

"Don't be so rude, this is Lord Yu Du's guest."

After calmly rebuking "Red Ribbon," "Blue Ribbon" turned her gaze back to Qing Deng.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ju, you must have found this amusing. My younger sister is rather impolite; please forgive her."

At this point, "Blue Ribbon" took a half step back and bowed to Qingdeng with a perfect, flawless gesture.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Sae, a shrine maiden at the Moon Shrine."

Sha Chong turned to the side and gestured towards the "red ribbon".

"This is my younger sister: Yae. Yae, quickly say hello."

"Gurgle...!"

Yae glanced awkwardly at her older sister, Sae, then at Aoto… Finally, with an expression as if she were going to her execution, she forced herself to speak to Aoto in extremely unaccustomed honorifics:

"N-Nice to meet you...I'm so...I'm Yae..."

"You're too kind." Qing Deng smiled, bowed to return the two women's greeting, and formally introduced himself: "My name is Ju Qing Deng."

"Last night, Lord Utsu informed us that the recently renowned 'Niou' Tachibana Aoto would be visiting our shrine this morning, and we should prepare to welcome him," said Saeshige. "Well then—Mr. Tachibana, please come with us. I will take you to see Lord Utsu. She has been waiting for you for a long time."

Having said that, Sae turned around without waiting for Aoto's response, picked up a broom, and strode towards the distant temple.

Yae also turned around at almost the same time and walked side by side with her older sister, Sae.

—That witch Yu Du knew all along that I would come to see her this morning?

Qing Deng was startled... and became even more curious about the identity of the witch.

Sae and Yae walked surprisingly fast.

In just a moment, the two women's figures had shrunk to the size of a thumb.

Seeing this, Qingdeng quickly suppressed his doubts and hurried to catch up with the twin sisters.

Through their brief encounter, Qingdeng had gained a general understanding of the two girls' personalities.

My older sister, Sage, always had a cold, expressionless face, and spoke in a completely flat tone. She seemed to have a very quiet personality.

As for her younger sister, Yae, her expression, behavior, and tone of voice all exuded an aura of... irritability...

Qingdeng smiled inwardly:

—What a pair of sisters with such distinct personalities…

……

The road to the temple was unexpectedly long.

To pass the time while walking, Qing Deng raised his head and looked around at the layout of the Moon Palace Shrine and its surroundings.

The Moon Palace Shrine is not small in size.

However, there were hardly any buildings.

Looking around, the only large building was the temple that he and the Sae sisters were heading towards.

The lack of buildings makes the entire shrine appear empty and desolate.

The old man who gave directions to Qingdeng earlier told him that this was a newly built shrine.

Now it seems that this is indeed the case.

Not only the torii gate at the entrance, but also the stone lanterns, shrines, and all the buildings inside the shrine were so new that I dared not touch them for fear of getting them dirty.

We are getting closer and closer to the majestic temple.

The temple is painted primarily in black and white, giving it a solemn and dignified appearance.

At that moment, Qingdeng suddenly noticed an old man sweeping in front of the temple gate with a broom.

He was a hunchback, his back hunched over badly. His head was covered in white snow, his eyebrows were white, and his wrinkled face resembled a dried orange peel. He looked at least 6 or 70 years old.

He had an ordinary appearance; the only unusual thing about him was his clothes.

He was wearing the garbha robe, the everyday attire of male priests at the shrine.

He wore a tall black gauze hat, a dark green hunting robe on his upper body, a light blue hakama (traditional Korean jacket) on his lower body, and gray sandals on his feet.

Since he's wearing a hunting robe... he must be one of the priests of this shrine, Aoto thought.

The old man was indeed old, but his prematurely white hair and eyebrows seemed quite out of place with his agile sweeping movements and energetic appearance.

For some reason, the old man's "very energetic despite his advanced age" reminded Aoto of his sword-drawing master: Boss Kiryu...

Qingdeng didn't pay much attention to the old man, glancing at him before looking away.

"Your Majesty, may you be well."

Good morning, my good morning!

Sae and Yae greeted the old man one by one.

"Hmm." The old man, whom the twin sisters called "Grandpa Tian," looked up and gave the two women a kind smile. "Good morning... Hmm? And who is this?"

“My God,” said Sae, “this is ‘Niou’ Tachibana Aoto. Yae and I are taking him to see Lord Utsu.”

“Oh…!” Two striking snow-white eyebrows twitched slightly. “Mr. Tachibana, I’ve heard so much about you. I am the priest of this Moon Palace Shrine: Amagura Owl. Welcome to my residence.”

Having said that, Tian Cangxiao, facing Qingdeng, smiled peacefully and lowered his already hunched back even further.

"You're too kind."

Just as Qingdeng bowed in return—

"?!"

Qing Deng suddenly felt an indescribable aura of dominance rushing towards him!

He looked up and saw a broom aimed straight at his head.

Holding the broom, Tian Cangxiao's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and an astonishing killing intent emanated from between his brows!

*******

*******

A new month has arrived!

Please vote for this book with your monthly tickets! Please be sure to vote for this book with your monthly tickets and recommendation votes! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

By the way, can anyone guess why Tokugawa Iemochi sent Aoto to meet with the shrine maiden Uotsu? (Fat leopard.jpg)

Chapter 254 Ninjutsu Talent Amplified 35 Times! Copy Talent [Ninja Master]! [8100]

Just as the broom head was about to strike his face, Qing Deng, relying on the fighting instincts and muscle memory he had developed in countless deadly battles, nimbly turned his body to the right.

The broom head whistled past Qingdeng's right cheek, the ear-piercing sound of it cutting through the air so close that it made the hairs on Qingdeng's head stand on end.

If you were hit hard by that broom head... you wouldn't die, but a broken nose is a certainty.

The instant after dodging Tian Cangxiao's sudden attack, Qing Deng jumped back, widening the distance between himself and Tian Cangxiao, while his right hand reflexively reached for the Ding Guishen acupoint on his left waist.

"What are you doing?!" Qing Deng's face turned extremely gloomy in an instant.

Tian Cangxiao ignored Qing Deng's stern questioning.

He slowly and expressionlessly brought the broom back to his front, as if he were adjusting the broom's condition, and peeled off some of the bristles.

"My God." Sha Zhong, whose tone was usually completely flat, had a rare slight fluctuation in his voice. "Are you... going to start now?"

Tian Cangxiao nodded:

"Now is the perfect time to fight Mr. Tachibana, isn't it? We'll have to fight Mr. Tachibana sooner or later anyway, so let's get things done quickly now."

Aoto couldn't understand a single word of what Sae and Amakura were saying.

Starting now? You'll have to fight me sooner or later anyway?

The meaning is unclear.

Qingdeng felt confused, his body tense as if imprisoned by his thoughts.

However, this only happened in an instant.

because--

"Mr. Tachibana...I'm going!"

Before he finished speaking, with a whoosh, the dusty broom head once again hurtled towards Qingdeng's face!

The new offensive launched by Tian Cangxiao interrupted Qing Deng's thoughts, leaving him no time to dwell on those intricate details.

Although it's unclear why the old man suddenly attacked him... it's always good to disarm the old man and incapacitate him!

Qingdeng leaped lightly upwards, easily dodging Tian Cangxiao's broom.

The moment he leaped into the air, there was a "whoosh" sound—Qing Deng grabbed the Ding Gui Shen sword and raised it high above his head in a high stance!

Just before landing, Qingdeng swiftly brought down Ding Guishen, striking the broom handle squarely.

However... his palms did not feel the expected sensation of the wooden broom handle being snapped in two.