Tokyo Swordmaster Online Dealer

"The Lord of Mount Oe, the Ghost King Shuten?"

In an instant, many things were connected together in his mind.

If he remembered correctly, in his scroll of one hundred demons, there was a picture of Shuten-doji who drank a strong liquor and howled and sang.

Of course, the demon soul is incomplete.

Whether in Japanese legends or in the background story of the Hundred Stories card, this is a very powerful monster, the leader of countless ghost tribes in Oeyama, and a veritable "supernatural" ghost king.

If the demon behind the double demon group is the demon king Shuten, then it makes sense for a lot of things.

The red ghost and the blue ghost also belong to the ghost clan. When Yokotano mutated, horns grew on his head, which is consistent with the characteristics of the ghost clan.

And in this case, it is obvious why they chose to target the Yokota family.

This Demon King Shuten wants the demon soul, right?

Nohara Anko has the demon soul of Yingcao on her body, and the demon soul is very important to Uesugi Kiyoshi. So, will the same demon soul also have a strong attraction to these monsters?

You know, Toubo Maki of Toubokai also has a demon soul, but Shuten Douji chose to cooperate with Toubokai.

There is no fishy thing going on here, Uesugi Kiyoshi absolutely doesn't believe it.

The only thing that doesn't make sense is that if the enemy is really the Oeyama Ghost King of this world, then he should have nothing to do with the Hundred Stories card.

It was a famous monster from the Heian period in Japanese legend, the leader of the demon clan and the most well-known demon king in "The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons". He was active in Oeyama in Tamba Province, blocking the only way in and out of Kyoto, committing evil, burning, killing and looting, causing great trouble to the rulers of the time. In the end, he was defeated by General Minamoto no Raikou and his head was chopped off with a sword.

If Shuten-doji still exists in this world, then he has lived for at least several hundred years. He should have no connection with Uesugi Kiyoshi who just traveled through time a year ago.

Why would such a ghost king be interested in the demon souls in the Hundred Demons Scroll?

Is it only Shuten-doji who is interested in the demon souls, or can the ghosts and gods who are born as monsters be able to sense the demon souls in the Hundred Tales card?

If it is the latter, then things will be much more difficult.

Uesugi Kiyoshi's thoughts raced and his brows furrowed. Although he understood the identity of the enemy, what followed was more confusion.

Chapter 81 Rashomon

There are two possibilities.

First, the demon spirits in Hundred Stories have a special attraction to ghosts and gods.

Second, the Demon King Shuten is special. It is even possible that the demon soul of Shuten-doji is attached to the Demon King Shuten of this world.

After all, if demon spirits can connect with humans, then connecting with ghosts and gods does not seem to be something difficult to accept.

These two possibilities may exist at the same time.

Uesugi Kiyoshi just read out the words "The lord of Mount Oe, the demon king Shuten" directly.

While he was thinking, Akutagawa Ryunosuke took over the conversation.

"Yes, the legend of Shuten-doji is well known in our country."

"The most widely recognized version of the Three Demon Kings in folklore is the Demon King Shuten, Sutoku Daitengu, and Nine-tailed Tamamonomae."

"In history, Shuten-doji is a real monster. During the Heian period, when extraordinary people were fighting against demons and gods, Shuten-doji was beheaded by the swordsman Minamoto no Raikou. He was severely injured and sealed away, lurking in the dream mirror."

"Recently, he has been leading the Oeyama ghost tribe and has been getting restless."

Akutagawa Ryunosuke spoke in a calm tone, narrating a fact that was completely different from the legend.

Uesugi Kiyoshi nodded thoughtfully, accepting this statement, but he then spoke again with some doubt.

"I understand. The enemy is the Demon King Shuten, but..."

"Akutagawa-san, why did you become enemies with the great monsters of the Heian period?"

"Would you mind telling me?"

Akutagawa Ryunosuke smiled slightly, and did not answer in a hurry, but asked: "Does Uesugi know anything about the ghost tribe? I mean those powerful ghost monsters."

Uesugi Kiyoshi didn't know much about Japanese legends, and among the ghost tribes of Oeyama, only two of them left a deep impression on him.

"I only know that there are two ghost kings in the ghost tribe, Ghost King Shuten and Ghost King Ibaraki."

"Do you know Ibaraki Douji's nickname, Uesugi-kun?"

"I know a little bit about him. He is known as the Rashomon Ghost."

Before he finished speaking, Uesugi Kiyoshi stopped talking. He seemed to have thought of something, looked at Akutagawa Ryunosuke in surprise, and lowered his head without saying a word.

Akutagawa Ryunosuke's smile became full of meaning.

"Uesugi-kun is indeed very smart. It seems you have already thought of it."

"Look, what do ordinary people think of when they mention Rashomon?"

"Ibaraki Douji. And Akutagawa Ryunosuke!"

Ibaraki Douji is the legendary Rashomon ghost, and one of the representative works of the great writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa is "Rashomon".

"This is a deadly feud."

"He is weak and I am strong. He lives and I die. There is no way I can live with Ibaraki Douji."

"And Ibaraki Douji is a general under the Demon King Shuten, so, hum."

Akutagawa Ryunosuke hummed softly, sighed, and continued to explain.

"I know Uesugi-kun is a little confused. That's normal. After all, you're not a linker."

"You see, for the linker, if the linked heroic spirit is a swordsman with extraordinary martial arts, or a famous Yin-Yang master, then it is natural for them to gain extraordinary powers."

"But for those who link scholars, ordinary military commanders, and Warring States daimyo, where do the extraordinary powers they possess come from?"

Before Uesugi Kiyoshi could speak, Akutagawa Ryunosuke gave the answer himself.

“Our strength comes from [faith].”

"Although this description is not completely accurate, you can understand it this way."

"Uesugi-kun, human cognition is crucial to ghosts and gods, and the same is true for the linkers."

"Especially for the linkers who use the role-playing method, the successors are not affected much."

"There are two normal ways for ghosts and gods to come to the human world."

"The first method is to take over another's body. This method is very dangerous. Not all human bodies can accommodate the will of ghosts and gods. Moreover, even if the success rate is high, the strength of the ghosts and gods will be greatly reduced."

"The second one is advent."

"The ritual of advent requires the soul of a transcendent as a sacrifice, and also the [faith] of believers."

"For ghosts and gods to exist in the real world, they at least need loyal believers who firmly believe that you exist in this world."

"Human will is a very mysterious and powerful thing. When many human wills come together, a terrifying qualitative change will occur. This is the favorite bait of ghosts and gods, and it is also a necessary condition for them to return to the world."

“It’s like the fairy tale, the emperor’s new clothes.”

“Originally, the emperor’s new clothes did not exist, but as this non-existent fact was repeated a thousand or ten thousand times, the lie became the truth, and the non-existent thing became the reality.”

"Mr. Uesugi, three people make a tiger, and many mouths can melt gold!"

"So, the most effective and safe way for us to deal with those powerful ghosts and gods is to purge their churches in the real world, eradicate all their believers, and let their existence be gradually forgotten by people."

“Without the support of human belief and cognition, ghosts and gods are nothing to be feared.”

"Similarly, human belief also has a great impact on the strength of the actor."

"The souls of those heroes are actually similar to the gods who enjoy incense. The more people understand them and worship them, the stronger they will be and the more diverse their abilities will be. Similarly, those who act as their link will also benefit from it."

"As the actor who plays Akutagawa Ryunosuke, one of my core abilities is [Rashomon]!"

"If this faith is taken away by Ibaraki Douji, my ability will be weakened or even disappear."

"There may be even more serious consequences. The spirit of the actor is relatively fragile to begin with. Without the core ability, the degree of fit with the heroic spirit he plays will be greatly reduced, leading to mental breakdown and everlasting decline. There have been precedents before."

"This is an unsolvable core contradiction. I must keep the ghosts of Mount Dajiang firmly locked in my dream mirror."

With a slow vibration, the black business car gradually stopped and it seemed that it had reached its destination.

Akutagawa Ryunosuke turned off the engine, turned around and looked at Uesugi Kiyoshi seriously.

"Uesugi-kun, I have been investigating Shuten-doji's affairs since Yokodano. Now I can basically confirm that he has a cooperative relationship with Dongwenyu of Dongwenhui."

"He wants to rely on the influence of the Dongwen Society to gather faith, gather sacrifices, and return to the human world."

Akutagawa Ryunosuke paused for a moment and continued speaking.

"As long as I'm alive, I won't let him succeed."

These words were spoken in a high-pitched and rhythmic tone, and Uesugi Kiyoshi could hear a determination as strong as steel.

"I'm not stupid. I can totally guess why Uesugi-kun came to see me."

"I have no reason to refuse something that is mutually beneficial."

"Cooperation, no problem."

"but"

"I hope that Uesugi-kun can seriously consider joining us in addition to cooperating with us!"

"Trust me, Uesugi-kun."

“The Collectibles Association will not let you down.”

ps. Ask for recommendation votes~

Chapter 82 Headquarters

"Akutagawa-san, since I'm here today, I will give you an answer."

"Are we going to talk business in the car?"

When Akutagawa Ryunosuke heard this, he did not show any disappointment. He smiled lightly, pointed to the umbrella next to the seat, and shrugged.

"I was too anxious. Here we are."

Akutagawa Ryunosuke opened the car door and walked out.

The heavy rain stopped abruptly three inches above his head, and a thin but solid layer of black mist lingered faintly around him, protecting him from wind and rain.