Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

Should we ask Ah-Xin to help us steal Dad's collection? But hasn't Ah-Xin been doing that all along? Besides, he introduced me to Master Xiao-Wu before, so I still owe him a favor. This would only be repaying that favor at most, so how can I ask him to do anything for me? But since he's already said so, I can't just leave without asking for anything. What should I do...?

After thinking it over and over, Lai Shengai suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "By the way, Ashin-ge, there's an Athena concert coming up soon. Could you get me a couple of tickets? We can go see Athena's concert together!"

Li Xin would never refuse such a simple request, and immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "Of course."

Then, realizing something was amiss, she asked Kiyosa Ai, "Wait, Ai, the Athena you mentioned... is it Athena Asamiya?"

"Of course! Besides Athena Asamiya, does Japan have another super idol like Athena?!"

Lai Sheng Ai said matter-of-factly, then chuckled softly to Li Xin, "Speaking of which, Brother Xin, even you know Athena. It seems my little Athena has truly become a super idol known to everyone!"

Li Xin suddenly remembered why Athena Asamiya looked familiar when he first saw her. When he was working as a bodyguard at the Azuki sisters' house, he had seen a poster of Athena Asamiya in Azuki Yuko's room.

To be honest, Li Xin had always thought that Athena Asamiya was just a fighter. He never expected that in addition to being a fighter, she was also an idol, and judging from her appearance, she was a top idol. This was something Li Xin never expected.

"Okay, I understand. The Athena concert tickets, right? I'll get them for you."

Li Xin made a promise to love her in the next life.

Lai Sheng Ai was overjoyed and, after thinking for a moment, reminded Li Xin, "Brother Xin, Athena's tickets are very popular. You should go early to buy them, or they'll all be gone."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely get the tickets."

Li Xin spoke confidently to his future love.

"Okay, I believe in Brother Ashin!"

"I love you in the next life," he nodded.

The next day, tickets for Athena Asamiya's concert officially went on sale. Just as Ai Kisei had worried, the ticket office was packed with people and long queues formed. However, this had nothing to do with Li Xin, as he had no intention of buying tickets at the ticket office at all.

"Master Yuanzhai, do you have any tickets to Athena's concert? If so, could you give me two?"

Upon arriving at Athena Asamiya's house, Li Xin asked Zhen Yuanzhai.

"Huh? Ashin, when did you become interested in Xiaoya's concert? That's really surprising. I thought you weren't interested in singing and dancing!"

Zhen Yuanzhai smiled and took a sip of wine.

“My friend was interested and asked me to go to Athena’s concert with her. However, I heard that tickets for Athena’s concert are very hard to come by, so I thought of asking Master Yuanzhai to help me get two tickets.”

Li Xin said to Zhen Yuanzhai.

Zhen Yuanzhai nodded and said, "Oh, I see... Yes, yes, we have family tickets. I receive a few family tickets for every concert. Sometimes I go to cheer for Xiaoya. Since you want them, Ashin, take them all!"

"No need for so many, two will suffice."

Li Xin said to Zhen Yuanzhai.

"Really don't want it? Tickets to Xiaoya's concert are incredibly hard to get. Regular tickets cost 10,000 yen each, and this is a family ticket, which is considered VIP. If you give it to a scalper, they could easily make 100,000 yen!"

Zhen Yuanzhai said with a smile.

"One hundred thousand yen?!"

Hearing that a mere concert ticket could be resold for 100,000 yen, Li Xin couldn't help but change color. Although he knew that the Japanese were foolish and rich, this was just too much!

"So? Are you tempted?"

Zhen Yuanzhai said with a smile.

Li Xin hesitated for a moment, but finally shook his head at Zhen Yuanzhai and said, "Never mind, Master Yuanzhai, just give me two."

Asking Chin Gentsai for two family tickets for himself and Ai Kisei to go to the concert is naturally fine, but reselling those family tickets is going too far, it feels like taking advantage of Athena Asamiya.

"Good good!"

Zhen Yuanzhai laughed again, then told Li Xin to wait a moment and took out two concert tickets from the house and handed them to Li Xin.

"Here you go, have some fun!"

Zhen Yuanzhai spoke to Li Xindao.

"Thank you, Master Yuanzhai!"

Li Xin said happily.

After giving Li Xin the tickets, Zhen Yuanzhai rubbed his neck and said to Li Xin, "I have some things to take care of here and need to go out for a bit, so I won't be able to accompany you."

Since Zhen Yuanzhai was about to leave, Li Xin naturally couldn't stay any longer. He said to Zhen Yuanzhai, "Then Master Yuanzhai, I'll be going too. Go ahead and do whatever you need to do."

Li Xin left first, and Zhen Yuanzhai was also preparing to set off. He had just picked up the wine pot when he thought for a moment and then put it down. After thinking about it again, he went to the washroom to rinse his mouth, combed his eyebrows and hair in front of the mirror, and only hurriedly left after feeling that there was nothing wrong.

On the outskirts of Tokyo, at the dilapidated Kagura Shrine, Hino Rei, dressed as a shrine maiden, is sweeping up fallen leaves.

She grew up at her grandfather Hino Shrine, and began her training as a shrine maiden at a young age. She was quite adept at the daily work of maintaining the shrine. Although the Fire Cloud Shrine was a bit dilapidated and not as clean and tidy as the Fire River Shrine, Hino Rei did not complain. Instead, she quickly threw herself into her work and tidied up the old shrine in an orderly manner.

Suddenly, Hino Rei heard footsteps and saw a very kind-looking old man enter the shrine. He said to Hino Rei, "Little girl, I'm looking for Hino Hagoromo. Is she here?"

"Old man, are you looking for Grandma Yuyi? May I ask your relationship with Grandma Yuyi?"

Although the old man in front of her didn't seem aggressive and appeared very kind, Hino Rei still asked a question cautiously.

The old man smiled and said to Hino Rei, "I suppose you could say I was... an old acquaintance of your grandmother!"

"You've lived in Tokyo for so many years and haven't come to visit me once. I don't have an old acquaintance like you."

A voice filled with anger came from behind. Hino Rei turned her head and saw that the usually kind-looking Hagoromo Grandma had a gloomy face, as if she harbored a great deal of resentment towards the old man.

"Ah ha ha……"

The old man, Zhen Yuanzhai, chuckled and muttered under his breath, "With you being so fierce, who would dare to come knocking on your door for no reason..."

"What do you want from me? Just say it and get lost."

The old witch said to Zhen Yuanzhai.

Chin Gentsai glanced at Hino Rei, then said to the old shrine maiden, "Why don't you let me in and have a seat? We can't keep our guest standing and talking, can we?"

The old witch's gloomy expression faded slightly, and she said to Zhen Yuanzhai, "Come with me."

After saying that, the two walked towards the residence inside the shrine.

Is this... some kind of gossip?

Hino Rei swallowed hard, wanting to approach, but then she heard the old shrine maiden's voice: "Rei, the fallen leaves on the ground haven't been swept yet. Where do you think you're going?"

After being called out by the old shrine maiden, Hino Rei stuck out her tongue and dared not sneak over there anymore, so she could only continue sweeping.

Ugh, there's juicy gossip but I can't get any to share in it, how painful!

Chapter 82 Sunny then cloudy then sunny then torrential rain

Upon entering the dwelling, the old shaman knelt down directly, while Chin Gentsai landed on his bottom with his legs bent, sitting down on the ground in a very casual manner.

The old witch remained silent when she saw Zhen Yuanzhai acting this way, because she was used to it and had no energy to talk about etiquette with this old drunkard.

Chin Gentsai smiled, then his face quickly darkened as he asked the old shrine maiden, "How much time do you have left?"

The old witch wasn't surprised at all by Zhen Yuanzhai's question. Instead, she sneered and said, "Wouldn't you come to see me if I weren't about to die?"

Zhen Yuanzhai touched his face but didn't say anything.

Seeing that Zhen Yuanzhai had not answered for a long time, the old witch remained silent for a while before saying, "About two years, a little more or a little less, but it will not exceed three years."

"But didn't you say you had ten more years to live?"

Zhen Yuanzhai asked the old witch.

The old witch scoffed, "You've heard about that too? You believe stories told to children, but do you believe them too? Besides, isn't it precisely because you don't believe it at all that you came to see me?"

Chin Gentsai fell silent once again. He simply couldn't believe that the old witch could live for so long, which was why he had come to her in person to confirm this matter.

Spiritual cultivation is different from martial arts training. In fact, spiritual cultivation is much simpler than martial arts training. It may take a martial artist eight to ten years to cultivate their internal energy to a certain level, but spiritual cultivation can be accomplished in just a few years as long as the aptitude is sufficient.

The deeper a martial artist cultivates their internal strength, the greater their power becomes. Similarly, their body will become stronger and they can live longer. However, if spiritual cultivation does not employ any unorthodox methods, once the spiritual power reaches a certain level, it will put pressure on the body and shorten the lifespan of the spiritual cultivator.

The old witch had spent her whole life fighting demons and monsters, so she naturally disdained using evil magic to modify her body. Therefore, her lifespan was destined to be short. Living to over seventy years old was already considered a long life among sorcerers, so when she said she could live another ten years, Chin Gentsai simply did not believe her.

Perhaps those sorcerers were unsure about the limits of the old witch's lifespan because of her unconventional behavior, but Chin Gentsai did not believe that the old witch could live for another ten years. However, he also hoped that what the old witch said was true, which is why he came here today.

"Why are you doing this?"

Zhen Yuanzhai asked the old witch.

"I had no choice..."

The old witch sighed, "If I don't do this, Xiaoli won't have any time to grow up..."

She clearly had two or three years to live, but she claimed to the outside world that she was about to die, as if she only had a few months left to live. She even staged a spiritual power inheritance ceremony, passing on 50% of her spiritual power to her granddaughter. Then she killed several evil sorcerers to show off her power. She also said that she could actually live for another ten years, so that those evil sorcerers who were full of hatred for her dared not make any rash moves.

All of this was a scheme orchestrated by the old witch, designed to give Hino Rei more time to grow.

There was no other way. The old witch had too many enemies. If she didn't do this, her granddaughter wouldn't have any time to grow up. Once the old witch died, her family would be wiped out because of the wrath of those sorcerers, and everyone associated with her would die. So she had to buy enough time for Hino Rei to grow up.

After the old shrine maiden casually killed those three sorcerers, no one would dare to act recklessly at the Fire Cloud Shrine for at least a few years. Even if the old shrine maiden passed away, she would not arouse suspicion if she did not appear for a period of time, thus buying Hino Rei some more time.

"Well, you can come to me with this kind of thing..."

Zhen Yuanzhai said to the old witch, "After all this trouble, do you really think you have two more years to live?"

When spiritual power cultivation and internal power cultivation reach a certain level, they actually lead to the same goal. In the end, spiritual power and internal power are both a kind of power. With Zhen Yuanzhai's cultivation level, although he does not cultivate spiritual power, his understanding of spiritual power is far superior to that of those top spiritual power cultivators.

He knew very well that the old witch could not have ended the inheritance ceremony without paying a price, especially since she also had to protect Hino Rei. The pressure on her side was naturally even greater. He suspected that the two or three years of lifespan the old witch mentioned was actually her lifespan before inheriting the spiritual power, and that her current lifespan was at most only one year.

"Tsk, having someone you know inside and out by your side is really not a comfortable thing."

The old witch said with a displeased expression, which in fact confirmed that Zhen Yuanzhai's guess was correct; she indeed didn't even have two years left.

"If you're only here to confirm my death date, then you've achieved your goal and can leave now."

The old witch dismissed Zhen Yuanzhai.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhen Yuanzhai said, "Perhaps there is a way to let you live a few more years."

The old witch glanced at Zhen Yuanzhai, vaguely guessing what he wanted to say, and slowly said, "Forget it, I'm just an old woman who has lived this long enough. Living a few more or a few less years doesn't make much difference."

"But didn't you say you wanted to give your granddaughter more time to grow up?"

Zhen Yuanzhai continued.

"I've done all I can. The rest is up to her. Can I keep arranging things for her until she dies?"

The old witch said with a smile.

"I'm saying, if you just want to argue with me, at least don't do it this way, okay?"

Zhen Yuanzhai smiled wryly.

"It's not that I'm just arguing for the sake of arguing, that's really what I think. I'm not that naive."

The old witch rolled her eyes.

After a pause, the old witch said, "Actually, I have taken a liking to a young man. I think he is very promising and believe that he can protect Xiaoli and her family in the future."

"Oh, so you've found a good grandson-in-law for yourself? No wonder you're so relaxed."

Zhen Yuanzhai laughed.

The old witch said, "It's not really about finding a good grandson-in-law. After all, I'm not some feudal patriarch. It's best for the children to choose their own partners. But I think we can give them a chance. What if it works out? That young man is good-looking and skilled in martial arts. If I were fifty years younger, I would want to date him too."

Haha, you're dreaming!

Zhen Yuanzhai laughed a few times, then sensed something was amiss and asked, "The young man you're talking about, is he the one you gave the travelogue to?"

The old witch paused for a moment, then asked, "How did you know?"

Chin Gentsai scratched his cheek: "That's a junior I know. A few days ago, he showed me the notes you gave me to check if there were any problems. That's how I learned about you. Otherwise, how would I know about your world of supernatural arts? I was wondering why you would lend your notes to someone so casually. So that's what you were thinking... By the way, Yui, that junior, I was originally thinking of setting him up with my disciple. After all, I think highly of him. It's good to keep the good stuff in the family!"

"Hey...you old drunkard, you just don't want to do anything my way, do you?"

The old witch's eyelids twitched. She stood up from the ground and said to Zhen Yuanzhai, "Come on, let's go outside and have a fight. I won't be satisfied until I've beaten you old drunkard to a pulp!"

Zhen Yuanzhai said lazily, "Don't be like that. You've lost half of your spiritual power. If I were to defeat you now, it wouldn't be a fair fight for me."

"So what if I'm missing half my spiritual power? Have you forgotten that you were ten years older than me back then, and I still managed to beat you up!"

The old witch sneered.

"Who said you hit me? I didn't want to argue with a young girl like you, so I went easy on you. If I had known you would turn out to be such an annoying old woman, I wouldn't have let you get away with it!"

Zhen Yuanzhai shouted loudly.

The argument between the two escalated to the point that even Hino Rei, who was sweeping outside, could hear it.

She originally wanted to run over and mediate, but seeing that the two elderly people had been arguing for a long time without actually fighting, she eventually realized that they were just arguing and wouldn't actually fight, so she obediently started sweeping the floor again.