Chapter 29 The Disqualified Saniwa (End)

Upon hearing Tsurumaru Kuninaga's question, Hanshu remained silent for a moment. She looked up at the magnificently blooming Manjusaka trees, a hint of melancholy in her voice.

"That was... more than four thousand years ago." At this point, Han Zhou raised her hand and gently touched her teardrop-shaped earring.

"It was also the opportunity that led me to become a god."

Mikazuki chuckled twice upon hearing this, seemingly remarking casually.

"It seems...this is a very long story."

They saw that Han Zhou, who rarely showed any facial expression, slightly raised the corners of his mouth, a faint smile appearing on his usually aloof face. This gentle smile startled the group of tsukumogami.

A cool, understated voice, tinged with nostalgia, echoed in their ears.

"Although there are some regrets, that period of time is still worth remembering."

Having just experienced the death of a Saniwa, Hanshu couldn't possibly let them calm down and visit the Honmaru of other Saniwa.

So the plan was to visit Qingye's Honmaru tomorrow, while Hanzhou had already returned to his own Honmaru and was talking to Qingye.

He also informed Qingye about the Flying Feather Honmaru.

—In Qingye's Honmaru—

Today's attendant was Horikawa Kunihiro. He watched his lord, who had been handling official documents as usual, suddenly develop a very serious expression, but it quickly dissipated, and he even breathed a sigh of relief at the end.

He roughly guessed that the lord was speaking with Lord Kanshu. He had also heard from Kenji that he had seen Lord Kanshu at another citadel, which surprised him greatly.

But he quickly accepted it, and at the same time wanted to meet... the person who was on good terms with Mr. Hijikata.

Qingye did not reject Hanzhou's suggestion and agreed that the tsukumogami could visit his citadel the next day. Regardless of the final outcome, he would respect the tsukumogami's choice.

"Horikawa, immediately summon everyone in the citadel to the main hall. I have something important to say."

Qingye's serious expression spurred Horikawa to quicken his pace. He made full use of his wakizashi's mobility, disappearing from Qingye's sight in the blink of an eye.

The tsukumogami gathered in the main hall looked at each other, wondering what important matter their lord had summoned them for.

They rarely summon all the spirits to the main hall of their citadel, since some swords have their own duties and things to do.

This order meant that the tsukumogami had to immediately put down their work and head to the main hall. Therefore, some of the tsukumogami still had some dust on them.

They looked like they had just come from the fields.

After everyone had arrived, Qingye relayed everything that Hanzhou had told him about Feiyu Honmaru to his family's tsukumogami.

Including the fact that a strange tsukumogami will be visiting the citadel tomorrow.

After learning who the surviving swords were, the swords of the same faction became somewhat anxious. Especially Iwatooshi, who had the best relationship with Imaizumi among the Sanjo faction members.

Sitting beside him, Ishikirimaru patted his shoulder reassuringly, his voice gentle, "Calm down, Iwatooshi. One of you has already intervened; Imaizumi and the others should be safe now."

Qingye hesitated, increasingly certain of Yu Yuwu's suspicions about Han Zhou's identity. That long lifespan, that ageless face...

Possessing power far exceeding spiritual power

If the tsukumogami do not choose Qingye's Honmaru, Hanzhou will preserve their original Honmaru and can create a passage connecting their own Honmaru and Feiyu Honmaru, making it easier for the tsukumogami to travel between the two.

At least in Qingye's understanding, this was not something humans could easily accomplish. Yet Hanzhou could create a spacetime portal with ease.

And then there's that...divine quality that flows out unintentionally.

"Lady Hanzhou is very powerful; she is not human. Yu Yuwu and I suspect she might be a high-ranking deity."

"Gods?!"

The sword spirits present were all shocked.

Qingye nodded and slowly explained the basis of his judgment.

"The power used by Lord Hanzhou is extremely pure, far surpassing that of spiritual power. This is a natural and enormous gap between divine power and spiritual power."

If it's a deity, this would explain why Han Zhou's appearance remains unchanged. As for why they didn't guess it was a demon? It's because of Han Zhou's pure power; both the demon Qing Ye and Yu Yu Wu had encountered it during their missions in the current affairs bureau.

The yokai's power was chaotic, lacking the purity of Hanzhou's. As the Saniwa of an S-rank Honmaru, I possessed that ability to discern.

Besides this, Qingye and Yuyuwu also had to wait to go to Hanzhou's Honmaru later, as the other party had something to tell them. Judging from the tone, this matter was quite significant.

However, this suited him perfectly. Qingye wasn't the kind of person who would take others' help for granted without giving anything in return; he also hoped he could help Hanzhou.

The same applies to Yuyugiri's side. If her own citadel weren't already filled with swords, she would also like to take in the surviving tsukumogami. Fortunately, Qingye's citadel was just missing those swords.

If they were willing to go to Qingye's Honmaru, Yuyugiri would feel very reassured about the juniors she had brought into the sect.

—Miyuki's Honmaru—

Mikazuki was wearing an inner robe and a yellow headscarf with a crescent-shaped sword pattern on it, which the old man had drawn himself.

He saw the anxiety on Yu Yuwu's face.

"Oh dear, is there an urgent matter on Lord Hanzhou's side?"

"Yes, that lord cleansed out a disqualified Saniwa's Honmaru and found important information. Perhaps I can be of help this time."

Yu Yuwu is a gentle yet resolute person. She wants to use her own power to help that person. She didn't have the ability before, but now... she should be able to.

Mikazuki, who could see right through her thoughts, smiled without saying a word. He gently reminded her...

"If we don't go now, we might be late!"

Suddenly realizing she had been lost in thought, Yu Yuwu smiled slightly embarrassedly and bowed slightly to the five most beautiful swords under heaven [a habit she always had]. Then she hurriedly ran towards the Time Converter.

Mikazuki watched Miyuki's departing figure and took a sip of tea.

"Hahaha, excellent, excellent!"

Upon returning to the citadel, Kanshū witnessed an unexpected scene: two new tachi (katana) had arrived, Izuminokami Kanesada and Yamatookami Yasusada. These two, dressed in their inner robes, were playfully fighting with Horikawa Kunihiro and Kashuu Kiyomitsu.

As Hanshu watched Izumi no Kami introduce himself in front of the other swords, he was about to say his own name when he was mischievously interrupted by Kashuu Kiyomitsu and Yamato no Kami Yasusada.

Izuminokami reached out and grabbed their necks, roaring in a fit of anger and embarrassment.

"You two are doing this on purpose, aren't you!"

Watching them playfully bicker, Han Zhou's lips curled into a slight smile. This scene was all too familiar; it was just like Hijikata Toshizo and Okita Souji were wrestling.

"Shouldn't we go?"

Mikazuki had appeared behind Kanshu without anyone noticing, and he knew what Kanshu was reminiscing about. His crescent-moon-like eyes watched the playful scene not far away.

"They've had a long time apart; they must have a lot to say. Let's leave this time for them."

A note from the author:

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I might be a little too busy with updates during exam week... I'll be back soon!