I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

A moment later, the other end of my heartstrings trembled violently.

"Troublesome" and "safe".

This message was conveyed.

In other words, it seems that although there is trouble, it can be resolved.

Uesugi Tetsu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little more at ease.

After all, if the safety of the shikigami body of the two-foot-tall master were to be compromised, it would be a great loss.

"Lord Yoshimoto, Nishiki and Motonobu are facing a thorny problem, but the situation in Yoshida Castle and the entire Mikawa Province can no longer be delayed any longer..."

He paused slightly, then spoke earnestly to Imagawa Yoshimoto, whose expression was solemn but whose demeanor remained calm.

"We may have to rely on ourselves first."

The ruler of the Three Rivers Kingdom took a deep breath facing the rising sun, and then calmly asked,

"Are you sure?"

Uesugi Tetsu knew that this question was directed at himself.

So, Uesugi Tetsuya, who had just broken through to the expert level in Spirit Control Technique, was about to bring another breakthrough to the Natural Heart-Soothing School, and had also obtained relevant information about illness from the Special Affairs Department, grinned.

"To say that we have everything under control might be a bit of an overstatement."

With a smile, he carefully picked up the girl's fist, which had nails digging into her flesh, pried it open, and poured a drop of the refreshing mist onto it: "Lord Yiyuan, Che can only say that he will do his best."

Imagawa Yoshimoto stared at Uesugi Tetsuya, at this mysterious and unpredictable Onmyoji who was now willing to kneel as his retainer.

She felt the warmth emanating from her palm, and the anxiety, urgency, and gloom that had filled her heart to the extreme were somewhat relieved.

Yoshimoto Imagawa spoke expressionlessly; she rarely showed any extra emotion since the Mountain Whale King joined the team.

"In that case, let's set off."

The three mounted their horses, with three komainu dogs (guardian dogs) nimbly running behind them.

Before long, Uesugi Tetsuya and his group left the village and arrived at a small forest in the hills closest to Yoshida Castle.

From here on the mountainside, you can already see the outline of Yoshida Castle in the distance, which is not much different from before.

Just as we were about to leave the hill, a spirited old man's shout came from the edge of the woods.

"Heroes! Can you lend this old man a hand?"

Chapter 188 Fighting the Sick Old Man, Half-Dead Birds Are Everywhere, In This Way, That Yin-Yang Master Che Will Surely Offer His Neck for Slaughter!

The old man's voice was very loud, and the forest in the mountains was quite a distance from Yoshida Castle, so it was very quiet.

Therefore, the sound of the horse's hooves hitting the ground could be heard by the old man, and his cries for help also reached the ears of Uesugi Tetsu and the others in an instant.

Looking at it this way, it seems quite reasonable.

The problem now is that Yoshida Castle has already fallen because of those sick and suffering relatives—how could there be such a vigorous old man in the forest outside the castle?

Moreover, the timing was so coincidental, as they were trapped during this very short period of their journey.

Imagawa Yoshimoto knew without even thinking that there was definitely something wrong with it.

Even if this old man wasn't one of the sick and suffering relatives Che mentioned, he was definitely related to demons.

However, Imagawa Yoshimoto, as he had initially stated, placed the decision-making power in the hands of Uesugi Tetsuya.

"Che-jun, shall we stop?"

Uesugi Tetsuya pulled on the reins, and upon hearing the tone of voice filled with joy that seemed to know they had stopped, he pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Well, let's go check it out first."

He nodded silently to Imagawa Yoshimoto, indicating that he was on guard.

—Even if the old man was truly suffering from illness and family ties, it would be a good opportunity to eliminate him while he was alone, thus weakening the enemy's manpower.

Uesugi Tetsu turned his horse around and slowly rode towards the source of the sound.

Before long, the two saw the old man who had cried for help.

— He had a white beard and white hair, wore faded robes, and carried a huge medicine chest on his back.

The old man seemed to be in good health, with a rosy complexion and not many wrinkles on his face. He even carried the medicine box with his back straight.

However, his right leg was entangled in a large, seemingly tough and thick vine.

The old man's eyes lit up when he saw the two men riding up on horseback. He first bowed deeply to them before letting out a slow sigh.

"I am an old man, a monk who travels around in this chaotic world, practicing medicine and healing the sick."

Having heard rumors of an epidemic in Mikawa Province, I went to Yoshida Castle to observe the situation further, but unexpectedly got stuck by vines here.

We hope the two of you will lend a helping hand.

The old man spoke gently and used very polite language, as if he had seen a lot of the world and learned a great deal.

However, a red notification popped up above his head.

——【Sick and Suffering Family Members, Old Man with Karmic Illness (Three Stars)】.

Uesugi Tetsu lowered his head, sized up the old man for a moment, then dismounted and said in a slightly eager tone, "Lord Yoshimoto, let's cut the vines for this old man first."

"it is good."

Imagawa Yoshimoto's eyes flickered slightly.

She didn't show any extra expression, but just stared at the old man with a slightly wary look in her eyes.

On the saddle, the shrunken Mountain Whale King stared intently at the old man for a while, but after finding nothing, it closed its eyes again and returned to a state of dozing.

Uesugi Tetsu rushed to the old man and squatted down, directly using the qi he flicked from his fingertips to cut the thick vines inch by inch.

The old man, suffering from illness, let out a relieved sigh. He touched his right leg, and finding that it seemed to be alright, he stood up, leaning on a tree for support. He then bowed to Uesugi Tetsuya and said...

"Thank you, sir."

"It was nothing, no need to thank me."

Uesugi Tetsu shook his head, making a move to leave.

But before he could even mount his horse, the old man behind him, who was suffering from illness, spoke up and asked, "Are you two gentlemen also going to Yoshida Castle?"

coming.

Uesugi Tetsu sneered inwardly, but outwardly turned around and asked with a puzzled look, "That's true, but old man, you must have your own plans, right?"

After listening, the old man with the illness first glanced at Imagawa Yoshimoto, who had only uttered one word so far, and then hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"My lords, it would be best if you did not go."

Ok?

These words piqued the interest of Uesugi Tetsuya, who had originally intended to kill the opponent right there.

The ailing family members actually advised them not to enter the city.

What does this mean?

He suppressed his urge to attack and frowned, saying, "Old man, we have also come here because of this plague, and we are here to restore stability to Yoshida Castle. It is impossible for us not to enter the city."

"I recently visited several villages and cities, and even faced those terrifying demons before escaping."

The old man, afflicted with illness, walked slowly, his voice heavy.

"Based on my old experience, this Yoshida Castle..."

The ailing family member said hoarsely, "I'm afraid it has become a den of demons."

Upon hearing this, Imagawa Yoshimoto's expression changed slightly, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on the reins.

—A den of demons, it has become a den of demons in just a few days?

Uesugi Tetsu judged that the Old Man of Karma was unaware that he knew he was the Old Man of Karma, so the information spoken by the other party should have a certain degree of credibility.

But if it's only for these few days, they should still be able to save them.

Whether it's the city or the people.

"If that's the case," Uesugi Tetsu narrowed his eyes at the old man suffering from karmic illness, "why did you still go to that demon-infested cave, where there's a nine-out-of-ten chance of death?"

"Haha."

The old man with the illness laughed heartily, stroking his beard as he retorted, "I am a doctor who heals the sick and saves lives. How could a doctor refuse to treat a patient just because their ailment is too severe?"

Uesugi Tetsuya was speechless.

If he hadn't known from the beginning that the person in front of him was the Old Man of Karmic Illness, he might have actually been fooled by the other party's words and trusted him.

When he turned his head again, he found that the Mountain Whale King no longer paid any attention to the Sickly Old Man, treating him as just a strong, ordinary old doctor.

The scrutiny and questioning in Imagawa Yoshimoto's eyes also decreased somewhat.

Uesugi Che suddenly realized.

So this was the effect that the old man with the karmic illness wanted.

—The old man with the chronic illness was well aware that a "chance encounter" would lead to serious distrust, but he had already planned to gradually gain trust through subsequent conversations...

Then, reveal your identity at the most crucial moment.

Within Uesugi Tetsuya's sensory circle, scattered "seeds" that were indistinguishable to the naked eye floated slowly in the air and landed precisely on the horses they were riding.

Presumably to avoid being discovered by making his actions too obvious, the old man of illness only targeted the two horses.

In other words, the moment they stopped to check, they had already fallen into the trap set by the old man of karma.

These ailing relatives are really good at playing tactics.

But it's a pity.

Uesugi Tetsu stared at the bright red label above the old man's head, which clearly indicated he had revealed everything, and thought to himself,

—I still have the upper hand.

The old man with the disease wanted to gain their trust and then lure them into a trap.

Uesugi Tetsuya also wanted to learn more about the situation at Yoshida Castle from the old man of karmic illness, as well as some information that the old man of karmic illness was determined to reveal in order to gain their trust, information that they did not know.

Thinking of this, Uesugi Tetsuya solemnly cupped his hands in greeting.

"Old man, would you mind traveling with my lord and me on the way to Yoshida Castle?"

"My lord?"

The old man with the "keen" ability to pick up on this title looked at Imagawa Yoshimoto with a hint of doubt and asked, "And who is this gentleman again...?"

Uesugi Tetsuya understood and walked to the girl's feet.

He turned to Imagawa Yoshimoto, winked with his cold eyes, and then spoke.

"Please allow me to introduce you, sir. This is Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto, the ruler of Mikawa Province. He has come here to save Yoshida Castle and Mikawa Province from their dire straits."

The old man's expression changed drastically, and he respectfully knelt down.

“An unnamed monk from Mikawa Province has met Lord Imagawa.”

Having already understood, Imagawa Yoshimoto nodded to him, revealing an approving look.

"It's alright, there's no need for formalities during this special time. Just get up."

"Thank you, sir."

As the old man with the illness got up and was walking over, Uesugi Tetsu suddenly felt a cold gaze fall on him.

Anyone else?

He shifted his gaze curiously, and finally found the source of his gaze at the top of an old tree.

It was a crow with one half intact, its wings as black as ink, and its eyes bloodshot and indifferent; the other half rotted, its feathers fallen away, revealing stark white bones and empty eyes.

The crow lowered its head, gazing indifferently at everything in the woods.

"Gah——!"

It made eye contact with Uesugi Tetsu for a moment, then flapped its wings and flew into the sky after letting out a hoarse cry.

The old man with the ailment also looked up, withdrew his gaze from the half-dead bird, and spoke gently.