I Am a Heroic Spirit

Along with the energetic voice, the last one to appear from the summoning circle was the dual-sword swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Miyamoto Musashi, who still retained his past memories, greeted Zhang Luo happily as soon as he came out.

"Miyamoto Musashi? Why are you here too?" Before Zhang Luo could greet Miyamoto Musashi, Princess Xingbu screamed in surprise.

Turning her head, she saw that Xingbu Ji could no longer maintain the calm demeanor that a princess should have. Instead, she held the drawing board in her arms somewhat restrainedly, her eyes drifting around.

"It's you, Princess Xingbu. I didn't expect you to be summoned too." Miyamoto Musashi put his hands on his hips, and his tone was not very good.

"Well, that, that..." Princess Xingbu lowered her head and stammered, unable to speak clearly. She seemed a little afraid of Miyamoto Musashi.

"What's the matter? Why is it like this? I've heard about your legend. You should have a good relationship." Zhang Luo asked with some confusion. Could it be that his arrangement was wrong?

"What do you mean by good relationship? Master, I think the legend you have heard is that I expelled the ghosts from Himeji Castle, and then was given the precious sword Go Yoshihiro by Princess Keibu, right?" Miyamoto Musashi waved his hand and said loudly.

"Isn't it?" Zhang Luo asked back.

"In fact, the monster I expelled was Princess Kobu herself, and the knife can be said to be a bribe she gave me." Miyamoto Musashi told the truth.

"What?" Zhang Luo looked at Xingbu Ji in surprise. According to the setting, Xingbu Ji should not be a ghost that would do evil. After all, she is the guardian god of Himeji Castle.

"Don't look at me like that!" Xingbu Ji was so embarrassed that she was about to cry. She no longer had the demeanor of a princess. "I was just playing a prank. I didn't hurt anyone. I just wanted to scare people. Who knew that Miyamoto Musashi would bump into me?"

Zhang Luo was speechless. He was caught red-handed for playing a prank in his own territory. It looked like he was left with a psychological trauma and was scared to death. Is this guy really lucky?

Ignoring this embarrassing topic, Zhang Luo pointed to Ibaraki Douji, Shuten Douji, and Tamamono Neko in the back and introduced them to Miyamoto Musashi: "They are Tamamono Neko, Ibaraki Douji, and Shuten Douji, who are Berserkers, and they are also my Servants. You should all get along well with each other."

"Ibaraki-douji? Shuten-douji? Master, they can't be the two people I imagined. And Tamamono-neko, what is her relationship with Tamamonomae?" Miyamoto Musashi was stunned when he heard Zhang Luo's introduction, and asked in disbelief.

"Wrong! It's not a human! It's a ghost! Remember clearly, I am Ibaraki Douji, the leader of the ghosts of Mount Oe, and this is my sworn sister, the ghost king of Mount Oe, Shuten Douji." Ibaraki Douji showed his fangs, crossed his arms, and said proudly.

"The legendary demon is so beautiful... Was I born in the wrong era?" Miyamoto Musashi's gaze swept across the faces of Ibaraki Douji and Shuten Douji, focusing on their demon horns, and exclaimed in disbelief. Both Ibaraki Douji and Shuten Douji were beauties who were not inferior to her.

"Meow, I'm Tamamo-ninetail, a wild fox from Tamamo-neko. Please give me your guidance." Tamamo-neko greeted Miyamoto Musashi politely according to Zhang Luo's wishes.

"Is it the one-tailed clone of the Nine-Tailed Fox Tamamonomae? How powerful is Tamamonomae?"

According to the legend, the famous evil spirits are two young beauties, and one of the nine-tailed fox Tamamonomae is a powerful monster that is not much weaker than herself.

Miyamoto Musashi felt that his three views had been refreshed. Although he was just summoned again, it was like a different world.

"You are a woman yourself, so don't be surprised by such things. The great swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, aren't you also a man in the legend?" Ibaraki Douji complained.

"Haha, that's true." Miyamoto Musashi touched his head and laughed heartily.

Chapter 168 Before Departure

"Is that so? In that case, this is Himeji Castle, and our enemies are those swords that were meant to hurt the enemy, but were hurt by others' emotions, and thus became motivated to destroy the world."

After listening to Zhang Luo's description of the current situation, Miyamoto Musashi summarized his thoughts. His words revealed the same view as Zhang Luo's.

It's really creepy. Miyamoto Musashi shuddered at the thought that the sword in her hand would turn into a self-aware Tsukumogami. As a swordsman, she doesn't need a weapon that is out of her control.

"...Every mistake, that's it. It's a very insightful summary." Zhang Luo paused and nodded in approval.

"What do we need to do?" asked Xingbu Ji.

"Today, I'm going to Heian-kyō with Ashiya Michiman to investigate the situation and report what's happened here to the Emperor. The two of you will remain in Himeji Castle to deal with the Time Travelers' attack," Zhang Luo began, outlining his plan. "Musashi will attack, while Hime Kobu will defend and provide support. If you two work together, repelling the Time Travelers shouldn't be a problem."

"Unless the enemy possesses a high-level Noble Phantasm against castles, no one can capture Himeji Castle," said Princess Kobe.

Miyamoto Musashi nodded confidently: "As long as there is enough magic power for me to release the Noble Phantasm, even just once, there will be no problem."

"Very good, then let's go and meet the Lord of Harima Province who lives in Himeji Castle to avoid any misunderstandings." Seeing that there was no problem with both Princess Xingbu and Miyamoto Musashi, Zhang Luo said with satisfaction.

After leaving the house, Zhang Luo led a group of heroes to the Lord's Mansion. On the way, they met the servants of the Lord's Mansion who came to invite them to have lunch. At this time, Zhang Luo looked up and found that it was already noon. The sun had already hung in the sky, emitting hot light.

Following the servant of the King's Mansion whom I met by chance, I came to the King's Mansion and entered the hall. I saw that the King and Ashiya Doman were already sitting at the dinner table. There were four empty seats next to them, which I guess were prepared for Zhang Luo and his group.

However, there were more than four people coming this time. The king was stunned when he saw Zhang Luo and his group. How come two more people came in just one night?

Zhang Luo explained to the king, "This is Harima Tomahime Myojin, Princess Tomahime, who was once buried near Himeji Castle. She is one of my Shikigami. This is the great swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Even great monsters are no match for her swordsmanship. After Master Doman and I leave, they will protect Himeji Castle."

"Princess Fu Ji!" The king exclaimed and subconsciously turned his head to look at Ashiya Doman who was sitting aside and had already started.

Feeling the king's gaze, Ashiya Doman paused, knowing that the king was asking him about the truth, he looked up and met the king's eyes, signaling to the king.

Seeing that Ashiya Doman also recognized Fu Ji's identity, the king glanced away calmly.

"Princess, please take a seat. And this warrior, please take a seat as well."

The king stood up from his seat and respectfully invited Princess Kobu, but his attitude was much worse towards Miyamoto Musashi, who was just a samurai.

Princess Xingbu also acted like a princess, sitting in the seat of the king. Miyamoto Musashi, Zhang Luo, and others also took their seats.

"Master Zhang Luo, is there something wrong?"

After taking his seat, the king immediately asked Zhang Luo about his doubts. Why did the king suddenly send his men to guard Himeji Castle? Is Himeji Castle in danger?

After all, he is the ruler of a country. When he sees that something is wrong, he immediately thinks of the most likely scenario.

What happened? Didn't Ashiya Michiman tell the lord that Himeji Castle might be attacked?

Zhang Luo was puzzled, but did not say it directly. Instead, he turned his head to look at Ashiya Doman. After all, he was just an outsider. Whether there was any hidden secret or not, whether he should tell it or not, he should let Ashiya Doman decide.

"Haha, there's no problem. It's just that Master Zhang Luo and I are planning to lure away those Tsukumogami, and we're worried that some of them might slip through the net, so we're adding some protective measures to Himeji Castle." Ashiya Doman said lightly, holding a duck leg in his hand, gnawing on it with oil dripping from his mouth. It looked like he was talking about something unimportant.

"Oh? So that's how it is?" Although Zhang Luo knew that Ashiya Doman's words were false, he still pretended to be confused and cooperated with the king. "This morning, Master Doman came to me and asked to borrow a few people. I didn't expect that he was considering this issue. But I don't think it's necessary. Now that we've left, if those Tsukumogami wanted to attack us, they wouldn't send people to Himeji Castle."

"No, no, no, it's necessary, absolutely necessary. What if there's a Fusangshen who doesn't know you've left?"

The cooperation between the two was not very good, but it made the king choose to obey in panic. Hearing that Zhang Luo was unwilling to leave any man behind, the king hurriedly said.

"How could that be? We didn't hide and left Himeji Castle openly. How could they not know?" Zhang Luo defended seriously.

"It's better to be prepared than to be caught off guard." The king racked his brains trying to convince Zhang Luo. Although he subconsciously felt from Zhang Luo and Ashiya Michiman's behavior that they wouldn't discover the Tsukumangami attack on the city, as the king of Harima, he naturally wanted to maximize his benefits. Miyamoto Musashi and Princess Gyobu were both valuable.

After talking nonsense for a while, Zhang Luo naturally let Miyamoto Musashi and Xingbu Ji become the guardians of Himeji Castle during this period with the warm welcome of the king.

After dinner, Zhang Luo and Ashiya Doman exchanged glances, then left the palace on the pretext of taking a walk.

Walking on the streets of Himeji Castle, Zhang Luo looked at the scenery around him with a melancholy look on his face.

The Heian period was both the best of times and the worst of times. This comment applies only to the spiritual world. Japan's most powerful onmyoji throughout the millennia—Abe Kiyomizu, Ashiya Doman, Asakura Yoo, Kamo Tadayuki, Kamo Yasunori—as well as the exorcists Minamoto no Yorimitsu, Watanabe Tsuna, Sakata Kintoki, Ubube Suketake, and Usui Sadamitsu—as well as the shrine maiden Tsuiko, the monsters Ibaraki Douji, Shuten Douji, and Tamamonomae. Also, there's Ono Takashi, Kukai Reverend, Jyozo, Genzo Daishi, Saicho Reverend, and many other remarkable individuals—all born or active during this era.

It can be said that this era is a mythical era of last gasp. Although it cannot compare with the era when gods and humans once lived together, it has also given birth to many powerful people who can be compared with gods.

But for ordinary people, this era is the worst era. Demons and ghosts are rampant everywhere, feeding on human flesh and blood, burning, killing, looting and doing all kinds of evil. Even ordinary ghosts can be skinned and eaten. The dignitaries of this era do not want to make progress, but only think about protecting themselves. They live a life of luxury and debauchery all day long, and do not care about the lives of ordinary people at all.

Putting aside other things, today's lunch was not much different from lunch in modern times, except that there was more food. There were so many people, including ghosts, and they only ate most of it. The rest was thrown away.

However, as Zhang Luo walked along, he saw ragged beggars lining the streets and walls. A quick glance revealed that many of them were already dead, their skin and bones emaciated, revealing they had starved to death. Even the civilians walking the streets, even those with slightly intact clothing, were no better than beggars, and could become the next beggar at any moment.

This really echoes Du Fu's poem: "The rich have wine and meat, while the poor are freezing to death on the streets."

"Do you understand?" At this time, a voice came from behind Zhang Luo.

"Master Doman." Zhang Luo turned his head and saw that the person coming was Ashiya Doman.

Ashiya Doman walked forward and walked side by side with Zhang Luo.

Zhang Luo asked, "What are you talking about?"

Ashiya Doman glanced at the surrounding civilians and said, "Do you understand why I didn't tell the Lord that Himeji Castle was about to be in great trouble?"

Zhang Luo followed Ashiya Doman's gaze towards the surrounding civilians, and a sudden realization struck him: "Because, they."

Ashiya Michiman said: "They are at the bottom of this world, and they are also the ones who die the fastest."

Zhang Luo understood what Ashiya Doman meant and shook his head, saying, "With Princess Kobu and Miyamoto Musashi around, the Lord of Harima wouldn't be so rude."

"You come from the prosperous Tang Dynasty, so naturally you don't understand the situation here. I guess you have never seen such an environment before." Ashiya Doman rarely showed a wry smile, with a sad look on his face.

Zhang Luo opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but then closed it. After all, he couldn't say that he was a time traveler. He naturally wouldn't be able to see such an environment after a thousand years.

However, to be honest, unless the Tang Dynasty was caught in a natural disaster or man-made calamity, the civilians could at least have enough to eat. No matter how bad it was, it couldn't be as bad as in Japan, where there were so many people starving to death in a main city.

Ashiya Michiman continued, "I know the morals of those officials better than you do. If they really knew that Himeji Castle was about to be ravaged by disaster, they would not stay here for even a single day to ensure their absolute safety, even if someone was protecting them."

"So what? Even if Lord Harima leaves, nothing will happen. After all, he is of no use." Zhang Luo sneered as he looked at the surrounding environment. It seemed that it would be the same whether Lord Harima was there or not.

"One more person means one more strength. Although they are not as powerful as you and me, Lord Harima has many demon-slaying warriors under his command, and there are more Onmyojis loyal to him than the few we had last night. Since this is the main city where the lord lives, the number of soldiers here is far greater than that of other towns. These forces are enough to repel the 500-strong time-traveling army." Ashiya Michiman explained. Although Zhang Luo's subordinates, Princess Kobu and Miyamoto Musashi, were not weak, Ashiya Michiman was still worried.

Zhang Luo thought for a moment before asking his final question: "Why do you believe the Time Travel Army will attack Himeji Castle? Although those Fusangshin have fallen into demonic states, most of them still retain their sanity and don't seem like the type to indiscriminately slaughter innocent people."

Zhang Luo never understood why Ashiya Michiman always believed that the Time Travel Army would attack Himeji Castle. Even if there was a dragon vein beneath Himeji Castle, so what? Would a dragon vein be of any use to the Time Travel Army? He had never heard of a dragon vein having any effect on monsters.

Ashiya Doman paused and offered his explanation, "Even if they still retain their sanity, swords have no mercy on human life. Furthermore, it is in the best interests of those behind the scenes to completely corrupt these Tsukumogami through killing."

Zhang Luo frowned: "Who's behind this?"

Ashiya Michiman said, "You should have realized that these time travel armies are not as simple as they appear. At the very least, not even Amaterasu Omikami can transport so many soul gods from a thousand years in the future to this era."

Isn't that technology? Combining time travel technology with Yin-Yang magic, accomplishing something like this shouldn't be a problem, right? After 1,300 years of development, reaching this level is a given.

Zhang Luo thought to himself, but said, "Didn't those Fusangshen explain it?"

"That's because they haven't realized this problem either. At least I don't believe that something that even Amaterasu Omikami can't do can be accomplished with technology alone. Even if the technology they claim to be advanced is really that advanced, it would take someone more powerful than Amaterasu Omikami to get nearly a million people back in time to come here after thousands of years...."

Ashiya Doman suddenly stopped talking, looked around, and seemed to see someone familiar. He took two steps forward and shouted, "Harima, over here."

】 -

Chapter 169 The mastermind behind the scenes

When he returned home to pack up, Zhang Luo asked Xingbu Ji about the anomalies that had once existed in Himeji Castle, but received a response of ignorance. No, it was not that she knew nothing, but in Xingbu Ji's understanding, there was nothing else worth noting about Himeji Castle except its special geographical location.

Seeing that Xingbu Ji answered like this, Zhang Luo gave up the idea of ​​continuing to investigate the secrets of Himeji Castle. It seemed that Ashiya Doman was not going to tell him, and Xingbu Ji didn't know either, so he could only take one step at a time.

In the afternoon, judging from the sky, it was around two o'clock when Ashiya Doman finally arranged the arrangements of the Hanakaiin family's Onmyoji in Himeji Castle. It could be vaguely seen that a magic circle was set up in Himeji Castle. Zhang Luo didn't know much about this, he could only see that there were several array patterns in the magic circle used for sealing.

The envoys from Harima Province were also ready. A group of six people, including Zhang Luo, Ashiya Doman, Ibaraki Douji, Shuten Douji, Tamamono Neko, and the envoys sent by Harima Province to Heian-kyo, gathered at the gate of Himeji Castle and then set off for Heian-kyo.

When the group passed by Himeyama, two pairs of eyes in the forest kept staring at the six people as they walked down the mountain. The owners of these two pairs of eyes belonged to the two polarized short swords, Tsukumogami Hirano Toushirou and Baoding Toushirou.

Watching Zhang Luo and his group walking down the mountain, the two men looked at each other, and then Hirano Fujishiro quietly retreated into the forest, passed through the dense time-traveling army hidden under the shade of the trees, and retreated into the depths of the forest, leaving only Bao Ding Fujishiro outside the forest to monitor the direction of Zhang Luo and his group.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

In a mountain stronghold deep in the forest, Hirano Toushirou rushed into the lobby in a panic and shouted to Kokarasuma who had been sitting there.

Kogumaru leaned one hand on the table, supporting his head, and sat on the ground with his eyes half closed. He opened his eyes when he heard Hirano Toushirou's shout.

"Hirano, what's the matter with you calling me, father?" Xiao Wuhuan sat up firmly and asked.

"Father, Ashiya Doman and the monsters we saw last time just passed by the foot of the mountain." Hirano Toushirou let out a breath before answering.

"Hmm?" Xiao Wuhuan's expression changed, and he immediately asked, "Which direction did they leave?"

"That seems to be the location of Heian-kyo." Hirano Fujishiro said, pointing in the direction where Zhang Luo and others left.

"Going to Heian-kyo? This is not a difficult choice." Kogumaru's expression became serious and he muttered to himself.

"Father, what should we do now? Should we follow them?" asked Hirano Fujishiro. According to the current development, the previous plan would have to be scrapped.

Kokarasuma didn't say anything, but he was very embarrassed in his heart. Ashiya Doman's decision completely disrupted his plan, and he couldn't come up with any temporary response.

It has to be said that although these Tsukumogami are much stronger than ordinary Tsukumogami, they are also severely restrained in some aspects.

The most crucial thing is vision, or the ability to adapt to darkness. Once night falls, the vision of their tachi and odachi will decline rapidly, making them unable to adapt to night combat.

After falling into the evil spirits, their abilities as evil spirits would also be severely reduced under the sunlight on a clear day. Even he was no exception, even though he still had the power of Amaterasu's blessing.

Because of these two reasons, if they want to take action, they can only choose cloudy days or evil times, just like ordinary demons.

Therefore, even if Ashiya Doman and his group passed by the foot of the mountain and were obviously leaving, they would not be able to catch up with them and fight.

"Notify everyone and gather immediately." After thinking for a moment, Kogumaru came up with a solution that was not a solution and instructed Hirano Toushirou.

"Yes, Father."

Hirano Fujishiro received the order and quickly left the hall, looking for his companions in the mountains and forests and conveying this order. As for his companions who were recuperating in the mountain village, he didn't need to look for them, he just called out and they all came out.

A moment later, the Tsukumogami scattered in the mountains and forests returned to the mountain stronghold, waiting for orders from Kogumaru.

"Everyone, Ashiya Doman just passed by the foot of the mountain. His destination is Heian-kyo. The previous plan can be carried out..."

Kogumaru was just speaking, but when he mentioned that he wanted to cancel the previous plan, an overwhelming force came down from the sky, making his head sink and his mind was instantly hurt.

Immediately afterwards, a terrifying aura came towards them, like a dark cloud pressing down on the heads of the gods, covering all the Tsukumogami present.

There was a loud "bang", and for a moment almost all the Tsukumogami knelt on the ground, as if they were carrying a heavy burden. Their faces looked ugly, and they had difficulty breathing. There were also crisp crackling sounds coming from their bodies, and the bones on the surface of their bodies seemed to be stimulated by something, and grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Among the hundreds of mourning gods, only Kokarasuma, Mikazuki Munechika, and Daidenta Mitsuyo could barely stand, but they could not raise their heads. The other completely corrupted time-traveling troops seemed to feel nothing.

In the sight of the group of tsukumogami, on the ground, a huge shadow twisted its body and circled in the lobby of the mountain village. Two red lights the size of a table lit up on the shadow's head, emitting an evil and terrifying magic that made the group of tsukumogami feel cold in their hearts.