Female Swordsman Training Dojo

"Fujiwara Sanbei, could you please open it?" Shiranui Ran said, tossing the iron box onto the floor, but her gaze was fixed on Fujiwara Mitsuyori.

She didn't have time to waste with Fujiwara Sanbei any longer, so she decided to directly seek out the powerful sorcerer Fujiwara Mitsuyori to break the spell. She admitted that the spell was very sophisticated, and it would take her a long time to break it; it wasn't something that could be done simply with magical power.

But Yin Yangtou's magical skills are far superior to hers.

Fujiwara Mitsuyori glanced at the iron box and knew he couldn't refuse. He was also very curious about what Fujiwara Sanbei had hidden so carefully.

Is it truly a corrupting force?

He pulled a yellow talisman from his sleeve, suspending it above his head. Then, he extended his right hand, allowing the tengu shikigami to slit the pad of his index finger. Bright red blood seeped from the tiny wound, drifting towards the suspended talisman before it could be captured by gravity. The blood, as if manipulated by a master calligrapher, freely traced red lines on the bright yellow background.

Soon, a complete talisman was created, and Shiranui Ran, who was watching from the sidelines, was also amazed; indeed, humans would do anything to save mana! Using the rare book demon's body as the base material, plus the lifeblood of a great mage, just to save a little bit of mana.

Fujiwara Mitsuyori watched as the talisman was completed, then pointed his fingers at the iron box, forming a sword shape, and shouted in a deep voice, "Open!"

The talisman fell rapidly, landing on the iron box. Its earthy yellow and bright red colors reacted violently, expanding and flashing continuously. But it was completely useless.

With a click, the metal box opened.

Shiranui Ran raised her hand, and the contents of the box floated out on their own.

There were two knives, a stack of documents and letters, and a red fox mask.

Shiranui Ran's previously calm and gentle demeanor instantly turned sharp upon seeing the mask, and she unabashedly cast a murderous glare at Fujiwara Sanbei.

"Why do you have this mask, Elder?"

Fujiwara no Sanbei holds the title of Honorary Elder in Shiranui, a title he earned in exchange for the treasured swords forged by him. As an Honorary Elder, he is not subject to deliberate surveillance by the ninjas of Shiranui, nor are any missions offered to him accepted. He can also enter and leave Shiranui with an escort. Furthermore, as an Elder, he has sufficient voting power in matters concerning the selection of the Fire Demon.

Of course, these rights are only granted with the permission of the Imperial Family. If Princess Misuru or the Emperor were to order the ninjas of Shiranui to monitor Fujiwara no Sanbei, then I can only say sorry, Elder.

However, none of this explains why Fujiwara Sanbei possesses the Yakumo Kurenai mask—no, it should be called the Shiranui Kurenai mask. This mask is useless to anyone other than the Fire Demon, as its function is only to seal, control, and, at crucial moments, unleash the Fire Demon's power. Without that power, wearing it is just an ordinary mask, at most a bit harder and less prone to damage.

Fujiwara no Mitsuyori withdrew his hand, looking at his cousin with a leisurely air. Fujiwara no Sanbei had completely lost his pretense at this moment, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his expression was full of fear.

"Blue—Shiranui! Listen to me, it's not what you think. I... I did all this for you!"

Shiranui Ran was initially just angry, but after hearing this, she became furious and even entered a semi-demon state, with ears and a tail sprouting from her head and back respectively.

“I don’t recall having such a good relationship with you, Elder Fujiwara.”

Looking at the ravenous Shiranui, Fujiwara Sanbei hurriedly took a step back. He had completely lost the demeanor of a master blacksmith he once was, and was now only driven by a strong will to survive.

He knew very well what kind of person Shiranui Ran really was, which made him deeply regret his past choices. If Shiranui Ran was really so angry that she went berserk here... He glanced at Fujiwara Mitsuyori and saw his cousin quickly pulling something out of his sleeve.

Clearly, even Yin Yang-Head must be cautious when facing the Killing Fox. He certainly wouldn't have the resources to protect a cousin who deserved his misfortune.

Driven by an intense will to survive, Fujiwara Sanbei knelt down with a thud: "Lord Fire Demon! I am guilty! I gave false testimony about the demon sword Shiranui Kurenai! She did not eat people, nor did she use humans to forge or test the sword!"

“I just think you’re more suited to be the next Fire Demon than her! She’s too unpredictable—”

Even though she already had some suspicions, hearing Fujiwara Sanbei's words still made Shiranui Ran feel dizzy, and she didn't even listen to what Fujiwara Sanbei was saying afterward. All that remained in her mind were the words, "Shiranui Kurenai didn't eat people."

Although she had heard these words countless times, even when her best friend pleaded with her to say them, she had never believed them. A heart-wrenching pain permeated her.

Chapter 344

Her awareness, shame, and regret followed closely behind, creeping in.

If only she could trust her friends more, like Taira no Harunobu did with his disciples—

Thinking of that fiercely protective villain, Shiranui Ran suddenly calmed down a bit. Because she remembered that regardless of whether Yakumo Kurenai was innocent in the past, she was now a complete and utter heretic.

Whether it was the incident involving the Demon Dragon Society or the recent air raid and demon sword incident that are likely related to her, it all shows that she is no longer the lively and innocent Shiranui Kurenai.

Pain surged within her, and Shiranui Ran's gaze returned to the red fox mask, her chaotic eyes regaining focus.

Something's not right. No matter what, even if it was the Fire Demon Mask that Yakumo Kurenai herself threw away, it should have been retrieved by Shiranui Ryou. How did it end up in Fujiwara no Sanbei's hands?

Unless there's something else.

Shiranui Ran's gaze returned to the stack of documents floating next to the mask, and the two knives.

Anything that can be placed alongside the Fire Demon Mask must be something extraordinary.

Shiranui Ran beckoned, and the document floated towards her. A flicker of struggle crossed Fujiwara Sanbei's eyes, but he ultimately leaped up decisively, rapidly chanting an incantation—

boom!

Fujiwara no Mitsuyori's tengu shikigami kicked him back to the ground.

He's a master swordsmith, but when it comes to fighting—he might as well give up and go to sleep.

Shiranui Ran opened the first page of the document.

Chapter 320: Yakumo Kurenai's Side Quest

Inside yet another safe house, Yakumo Hong leaned back on a cushion, smoking. The swirling smoke filled the enclosed space, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of paradise. Rin Rokudo, who had appeared in the corner, silently dispersed a large amount of smoke and sat down on the sofa opposite Yakumo Hong.

"Tenmoku Lian sent me to ask you for data; you should have collected it, right?"

“Of course.” Yakumo Kurenai tossed the data records she had prepared to Rin Rokudo. “But I didn’t expect that Ashikaga kid to become completely possessed by demons on just the first day, even though his mind was on Niou.”

"Who told you to sell Prajna to him? Besides, isn't it normal for Niou to fall into demonic possession?" Lun Liudao flipped through the records, and after confirming that it wasn't a fox's prank, he put it into his pocket.

"But then again, with all this fuss, will the match still take place? Or rather, will the Emperor even show up?"

Yakumo Kurenai took another puff, staring blankly at the sky: "Because this matter has caused such a big fuss, the Emperor is bound to come out. And I've already arranged for the culprit. Here, while you're at it, help me dump these things in front of the dojos that bought the knives."

"Including the Azure Sky Pavilion?" Lun Liudao asked, catching a large stack of papers that flew towards him. The papers were printed with lifelike depictions of hell: countless fragmented human bodies were layered upon each other inside a building resembling a forge, surrounding a furnace and a long table. An elderly man with gray hair stood behind the table, gazing with immense delight at the sword displayed there, seemingly oblivious to the bloodied flesh and bones beside it.

Further down the page, there is a lot of very detailed data, which records the disadvantages and advantages of using different parts of the human body when forging demon swords; and also the specific advantages and disadvantages compared to using demon materials.

The final signature was: Fujiwara Sanbei.

"Hiss—" Lun Liudao inhaled a puff of secondhand smoke. "You want to make Fujiwara Sanbei a scapegoat? That's impossible!"

"Hehe, I originally thought it was impossible, but I didn't expect that Tenmoku Ren could actually create a demon sword exactly the same as Fujiwara Sanbei's. Now the evidence is conclusive."

Yakumo Kurenai shifted lazily and tapped her pipe on the table: "And what I'm saying is all true. After all, I was kicked out of Shiranui because I discovered this."

"???" Lun Liudao, whose only hobbies were making money and chasing women, and who occasionally ate a few people for a treat, felt his worldview was being shaken. "No, you mean that everything written here was really made by Fujiwara Sanbei?"

Even monsters aren't this monstrous!

"Hehe, who knows? Maybe I just did this experiment out of boredom. You just need to throw these things out there, in as many places as you can, and then just watch the show."

"The more chaotic the situation, the less attention will be paid to our underhanded dealings; and the more His Majesty the Emperor will need to step in to appease the people. We just need to wait until he appears, and then snap his fingers—"

Yakumo Kurenai snapped her fingers triumphantly, mimicking the sound of an explosion: "Then, BOOM, I can go back to Osaka and claim my credit."

Completely shocked by the monstrous humans, Lun Liudao shook his head and stood up: "Humans are truly terrifying. No wonder there are so many humans now."

He simply didn't believe that Yakumo Hong had orchestrated all of this, because Yakumo Hong knew nothing about sword forging and couldn't have conducted such experiments. Moreover, she was incredibly lazy, never doing anything unnecessary except for mission requirements. Just like the Dragon Guild incident, if she had simply set up a few more powerful barriers for the Dragon Guild, things might not have ended up like that.

Therefore, such a complicated control experiment could not possibly have been done by Yakumo Kuren... It is quite possible that it was done by Tenmoku Ren, as that old man has always been extremely meticulous and unscrupulous in matters of sword forging.

Just like how he was trying to make money~

However, if Tianmu Lian wanted to do this, he could have done it right at the Tongxin Society's headquarters. This is definitely the work of that human. To be as insane as Tianmu Lian, humans are truly terrifying.

Lun Liudao smacked his lips and disappeared into the sealed safe room. Yakumo Hong also lay down lazily again, turning her head to look at the windowless wall.

By now, Ran should have found Fujiwara Sanbei, right? I wonder what she's thinking? Hmm, she shouldn't be stupid enough to be fooled again... probably not, right?

Oh well, it doesn't really matter anyway. Taira no Shinji definitely won't let anyone who touched his wife get away with it, and who knows, we might even see him and Shiranui Ran really get serious. Tsk tsk, Ran, you should just be a little stupid this time. You won't be any worse off than one or two more times, will you?

The fox spirit, who had killed countless people but had never actually eaten one, stretched, tossed her pipe onto the table, and went to sleep.

Meanwhile, in Fujiwara no Sanbei's workshop, Shiranui Ran, having finished reading all the documents and letters, was drawing her sword. Fujiwara no Mitsuyori took a step forward, but before he could speak, he saw a golden fox head.

The fox's narrow eyes were filled with anger and murderous intent, as well as an unyielding sorrow, which made Fujiwara Mitsuyori's heart pound. He quickly summoned two more shikigami.

"Are you going to stop me, Fujiwara the Yin-Yang Head?" Shiranui Ran held a white fox mask in one hand and a drawn ninja sword in the other, looking calmly at Fujiwara Mitsuyori.

Fujiwara no Mitsuyori breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, Shiranui Ran was still conscious. He wasn't afraid of losing to Shiranui Ran; although Sesshomaru was strong, he also knew a little magic. But the problem was, this was his home! His wife, children, and even grandchildren were all here! If a fight broke out here, even if his house was destroyed, he feared that regardless of who won or lost, his entire family would probably die.

Just for that damned Fujiwara Sanbei?

Who the hell is he?

Fujiwara Mitsuyori, supporting the Yuki-onna beside him, said sincerely, "I think it would be best to let His Majesty the Emperor decide on this matter, and also to clear Shiranui Kurenai's name... At least the Shiranui clan should clarify this matter internally, right?"

"Furthermore, I think his relationship with that demon named Tenmokuren goes beyond what's shown in these letters and documents. Instead of just killing him and then searching his soul, wouldn't it be better to capture him and torture him? Killing him would be too easy; wouldn't it be better to lock him up and torture him a bit? Do you need my magical support? I happen to be looking for a good opportunity to..."

Chapter 345

The Daughter of Time has deduced new spells…

"That's enough." Shiranui Ran put the mask back on, and the fox head transformed back into a human head, leaving only a pair of fox ears that twitched slightly.

"I will take him to see His Majesty the Emperor, but he will surely die."

Even if Taisho wanted to spare his life.

"Of course, of course." Fujiwara Mitsuyori just wanted to shift the blame, and it would be best if he could extract information about the corrupting power through torture. But right now, his priority was to get the Sesshomaru out of his hometown as quickly as possible; it was too terrifying.

Shiranui Ran silently looked at Fujiwara Sanbei, disgusted and unwilling to touch him at all. But she was also worried about Fujiwara Mitsuyori carrying it, so after thinking for a moment, she drew her ninja sword and pierced the guy's kidney, lifting him up.

Anyway, with magic protecting him, he won't die anytime soon.

"Let's go." Shiranui Ran said to Fujiwara Mitsuyori, who reluctantly cast an invisibility spell to avoid becoming the most eye-catching sight on the street, and then followed Shiranui Ran.

His Majesty the Emperor received the investigation results he wanted just a few hours later.

The author says:

Author's Note: Will the red-haired fox accept this? Please vote!

Chapter 321: Borrowing a Head

"It doesn't make sense! It doesn't make sense!"

Taisho slammed his fist on the table, his still-recovering head throbbing with pain, making him want to kill Fujiwara Sanbei, who was kneeling before him. He had considered that Ashikaga Anno's cursed sword might really belong to Fujiwara Sanbei, and even that the series of troubles in the Tenran Tournament might have been orchestrated by Fujiwara Sanbei behind the scenes.

After all, a successful Tenran Trial would indeed affect the interests of the Fujiwara clan, and this level of power struggle was still within his tolerance. Yes, he was mentally prepared to forgive Fujiwara Sanbei.

Then, Fujiwara no Sanbei gave him a big one, and not just one!

He can tolerate many things, but he will never tolerate anyone who colludes with the Tongxin Society, let alone anyone who interferes with their royal organization without authorization!

Those factory owners and merchants are dead, so be it; if they don't do it, plenty of others will. As for the feudal lords and nobles, as long as they're not all wiped out, it doesn't matter if they die; in fact, it's better if as many as possible die. But interfering with the election of the leader of Shiranui? Brazenly giving false testimony before the Emperor?

Even if it was Emperor Meiji at that time, not Emperor Taisho himself, he still couldn't accept it. What's more, he had actually colluded with the demons of the Doshinkai—and even taught them the highest level of sword-forging techniques!

Fujiwara no Mitsuyori had completely given up on his cousin's life. He didn't want to say a single good word for him anyway, because saying anything would only bring trouble upon himself.

Shiranui Ran, on the other hand, was itching to tear Fujiwara Sanbei apart. Although Yakumo Kurenai was beyond saving now, it didn't mean she wouldn't be angry! If it weren't for that bastard Fujiwara Sanbei, she wouldn't have had to turn against her best friend, nor would she have had to be a fire demon who couldn't resign—if she were just an ordinary ninja, she could have married someone else without any problem.

Fujiwara no Sanbei knew his death was imminent and pleaded repeatedly, "No! Your Majesty the Emperor! I am loyal! I was only researching sword-forging techniques with him and Ame-no-Mikoto! I—"

Shiranui Ran knocked the clown unconscious with a single punch.

He still can't understand why his problems from ten years ago were suddenly dug up, even though he had already dealt with everything he could!

The items in the safe were left behind solely out of necessity. The two swords were the culmination of his and Tenmoku Ren's research; they were demon swords forged by the two of them using the finalized sword-forging technique—they were prototypes. The documents and letters, on the other hand, recorded the detailed theory of the entire sword-forging technique, and these, of course, had to be preserved!

As for that mask… well, it's simply because he couldn't destroy it. Shiranui Kurenai had stored all her former fire demon power within it, making it impossible for him to destroy with his own strength, and he couldn't ask anyone else for help. Because anyone who could do that would recognize the mask, and once they did, they certainly wouldn't help.

But it's been ten years! Ten years! He'd even forgotten about it! Why was it suddenly discovered now? It's all because of a demonic sword!

As Fujiwara no Sanbei fainted, filled with doubt, a female ninja from Shiranui appeared behind Misuru-hime, who was drinking tea, and whispered in her ear. After a moment, the ninja stepped back and handed her a stack of papers.

Halfway through, Misurugi put down her teacup, her pretty face tense, and took the document, placing it on the table: "Father, it seems that the mastermind behind this is indeed not Fujiwara Sanbei, because this matter has almost spread throughout Tokyo."

Emperor Taisho and Fujiwara Mitsuyori solemnly looked at the Sanbei Sword Forging Method—also known as the Human Material Sword Forging Method—that Yakumo Kurenai had given away for free to the Six Paths of the Wheel.

After a quick glance, Emperor Taisho's breathing became rapid. His face, already pale and weak from the long-term poisoning, now flushed crimson, and his wide-open eyes seemed to spit fire. His hands clenched tightly, and finally, unable to restrain himself, he smashed the low table in front of him with a single punch!

"Damn the Doshinkai! Damn Fujiwara Sanbei! Damn this world!"

According to Fujiwara no Sanbei, the only people who knew about this sword-forging method besides himself were his "good friend" Tenmoku Ren, and Fujiwara no Sanbei obviously had no reason to distribute such things. He had neither the motive nor the time; he was enjoying a great memory restoration technique at the time.

Therefore, it could only be the work of the Tongxin Society, and the motive is quite clear: feeling hopeless about assassinating the Emperor, they decided to sabotage the Tenran Examination and sow discord between the Emperor and the samurai class. This is reasonable, logical, and consistent with the Tongxin Society's modus operandi.

A bunch of rats from the gutter!

Taisho brushed aside the teacup and teapot that had fallen on him, and looked at Fujiwara Mitsuyori: "Mitsuyori, your Fujiwara clan must take responsibility for this incident! Fujiwara Sanbei must die!"

What could Fujiwara Mitsuyori say? The current situation left him no room for denial. Even if he could persuade the Emperor, could he persuade the samurai who had been harmed by "Fujiwara Sanbei's cursed sword"? The Justice Hall, the Genryu Hall, and especially the Aozora Hall—these three were troublesome enough, not to mention there were certainly more than just these three.

Even someone with the most basic understanding could figure out that the Tongxin Society couldn't possibly have only released a few demon swords! Moreover, once this incident happens, even the demon swords that Fujiwara Sanbei made before, which were perfectly fine, will probably be considered problematic now.