Chapter 37 The Three Families Launch an Attack

Han Zhou watched the lingering spirit struggling within the protective barrier, her vigilance towards the three major families rising once more. This wisp of spirit had somehow bypassed her senses and attached itself to the spirit.

"I'm sorry, that was my mistake. I didn't notice."

Hotarumaru looked at Kanshu apologizing to him with some surprise. He was so flustered that he stammered.

"N-nothing."

This lingering resentment might still have other uses. After bidding farewell to the spirits, Han Zhou headed towards the castle tower.

She attempted to extract the strange power that Mizutani had previously encountered from this lingering remnant, but unfortunately, it only contained the instinct for survival. After determining it was useless, Hanshu simply annihilated it.

Make Mizutani disappear completely

Thump thump thump—

A regular knock sounded on the door, and Yagen and Kitsunenosuke entered together. The little fox nimbly jumped onto Kansui's desk, rang the bell on its chest, and projected official documents from the Time Government.

The three major families are holding a meeting and cordially invite you to attend tomorrow.

Upon seeing this pretentious opening, Han Zhou scoffed lightly, as if mocking their overestimation of their abilities.

To Han Zhou's surprise, the three major families actually allowed them to bring one tsukumogami (spirit spirit) along. He wondered if this was ignorance, blind confidence, or a combination of both.

"Yagen, you're coming with me to this meeting." Han Zhou, already suspecting it was a trap, still added, "Although I trust you, don't get too angry."

Yagen gave a helpless smile and adjusted his glasses.

"General, I'm not really a child anymore."

Then he saw his general silently push a grape-flavored candy in front of him. Although no words were spoken, Yagen unsurprisingly understood Hanshu's meaning.

'You're just a child.'

Yagen sighed, but still picked up the candy from the table.

Whenever a tsukumogami, wary of Hanshu, enters the citadel through unofficial channels, Hanshu will not come down to eat with everyone as usual. She will leave the tsukumogami alone.

The three swords from the arriving party sat between the Awataguchi and Shinsengumi members, surprising them with the harmonious relationship between the swords in this citadel.

There was no rule that members of the same sword faction had to sit together, so Ran Toushirou often sat with the swords of the Date group. Yagen would occasionally sit with Fudo Yukimitsu, Hasebe, and Soza.

"Ah, my lord has been so busy lately," Kashuu Kiyomitsu complained slightly. When he had free time, Kanshu often drank tea and enjoyed the scenery in the corridor.

This would give me more opportunities to be by Hanzhou's side.

"There's nothing we can do about it; our lord has a political meeting tomorrow."

Yamato no Kami Yasusada comforted his partner, not forgetting to drizzle some soy sauce over his own rice.

Kashuu Kiyomitsu sighed, just about to eat when he sensed something approaching beside him. Looking down, he saw Gokotai's little tiger cub. The little guy was eyeing the shrimp on his chopsticks.

"You really are something else."

He pinched the shrimp by the tail and held the shrimp meat to the tiger cub's mouth. Often begging for food, the tiger cub immediately bit into the shrimp meat and swallowed it in a few bites.

After finishing his meal, he even licked Kashuu Kiyomitsu's fingers in a flattering manner before quietly returning to Gokotai's side.

No one seemed to care about the little incident during the meal.

Meanwhile, in the castle tower, Han Zhou was in contact with Qing Ye and Yu Yu Wu. Clearly, they had also received invitations from the three major families. While not unexpected, the timeframe requested by the three families suggested an urgent need to confirm something.

They had just destroyed the auction venue today, and the time difference was less than two hours before they received the request to hold a meeting.

"Is there anything we need to pay attention to at tomorrow's meeting, Lord Hanzhou?"

"Just don't reveal that we left the citadel yesterday, and don't call me 'sir' during the meeting."

It's too strange for Saniwa of the same rank to address each other like that.

The three logged off after confirming that tomorrow's meeting was all set. Han Zhou let out a sigh of relief and sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at the twilight scenery of the citadel. She glanced at the calendar on the table.

In two weeks... it will be the anniversary of her death. Before I go back, I need to get everything sorted out, and hopefully those annoying bugs won't bother her on that special day.

——

When Han Zhou arrived at the conference room with Yao Yan, he immediately sensed the array suppressing spiritual energy inside. Han Zhou was unaffected by it, and Qing Ye and Yu Yuwu also had methods to counter it.

In terms of formations, the members of the three major families were nothing but a bunch of second-rate clowns in Han Zhou's eyes. Yet, they arrogantly believed themselves to be the best in the world, acting as if no one could rival them.

Han Zhou, Qing Ye, and Yu Yuwu arrived in the agreed-upon order; the other two had already arrived.

Looking at the arrangement around her, she couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Each of the Morikawa, Guyu, and Qishan families had sent three representatives, and they had all unanimously chosen to surround the Saniwa in the center, striking a perfect interrogation pose. Hanzhou was positioned between Qingye and Yuyuwu.

"Ahem, there's nothing particularly important about inviting the three of you here today. Although you three don't serve the three major families, we're all colleagues, so it's good to get to know each other, right?" A man from Morikawa, who appeared to be around forty or fifty years old, spoke with a smile.

He appeared kind and approachable, but Han Zhou and the others knew he was a smiling tiger.

"If you have something to say, just say it," Qingye said, arms crossed, showing no respect whatsoever. "You guys have a lot of free time, but we don't have that much time to chat with you."

This outspoken remark immediately drew the ire of the other two representatives from Morikawa, who glared at Qingye.

The smiling tiger from Aomori, who was being targeted, chuckled and turned his gaze to Han Zhou.

"Would you consider working for the Morikawa family, Master?"

Han Zhou, who had been invited, glanced at the other person indifferently and said, "I hate the title 'Saniwa'."

They haven't even investigated this matter properly, yet they dare to invite her to switch jobs. Are they brainless?

"What kind of attitude is this?!"

"Please don't shout. Are all the members of the three great families so ill-mannered?" Yu Yuwu sat to Han Zhou's right, her back straight and her gaze unflinchingly meeting that of the person who had just yelled at Han Zhou.

The people from Guyu and Qishan seemed to have had enough of this farce. The people from Guyu started to smooth things over, while the people from Qishan took the opportunity to ask them if they had been anywhere yesterday.

Upon hearing this question, Qingye glanced at the people from Qishan.

"What, you're blaming us for something being lost? I didn't leave the citadel yesterday, you're in for a disappointment."

Miyuki said calmly, "I'm also in the citadel."

"Me too."

Unless there are special circumstances, the Saniwa rarely leaves the Honmaru. The three major families couldn't possibly be unaware of this, yet they possessed a strange intuition. The auction's accident was inextricably linked to them.

Even their initial precautions failed to find evidence of the three S-rank Saniwa's presence at the auction. After the auction house was destroyed, just like before, no spiritual energy information could be found.

"Is that so..." Qi Shanzhi didn't believe them, but since they had no evidence themselves, they simply turned their attention to Han Zhou.

"You don't look very old, and you don't seem to have any special background, so why are your skills in using spiritual power so advanced?"

"What does this have to do with you?"

"I'm just worried that you used improper means to increase your power, which might backfire on you," Qi Shan Zhi said with a smile.

【Unfair means】This encompasses a very broad range of topics, and Qi Shanzhi's malicious glances intentionally steered everyone's thinking in another direction.

Standing behind Han Zhou, Ya Gen frowned slightly, looking at the arrogant human with great displeasure. Not only him, but also the tsukumogami brought by Yu Yu Wu and Qing Ye showed their displeasure.

Yu Yuwu's face darkened, her brows furrowing.

Be careful what you say.

Han Zhou didn't care much, because the moment the other person said those words, his fate was already sealed.

The consequences of insulting a deity always vary from person to person. Han Zhou usually only administers minor punishments; after all, she is a deity who has received the mandate of Heaven, so she doesn't interfere. However, the power the Heavenly Dao has bestowed upon her will not stand idly by.

"If that's all you've got to say, then this meeting is pointless. It's a waste of time."

Han Zhou stood up to leave, with Yu Yuwu and Qing Ye following closely behind. As they reached the door, Sen Chuan's smiling face said, seemingly casually...

You might regret your decision in the future.

But Han Zhou completely ignored him.

The three arrived at the general store; there weren't many people there at this time. Yu Yuwu's angry expression hadn't faded; she was clearly very dissatisfied with Qi Shanzhi's words.

"Yu Yuwu, insulting the gods will have consequences."

Han Zhou strolled leisurely down the street. If she didn't explain soon, this little girl would make her so angry she'd turn into a pufferfish.

"Oh? That's good. May I ask what price that person paid?"

Not only Yu Yuwu was curious, but Qingye and the three Tsukumogami were also a little curious.

"His tongue is rotten to the core, and his eyes are blind for life with no cure." Han Zhou added, "Even gods are ranked; those who attain godhood through the Way of Heaven possess a layer of protection."

"Therefore... people will eventually pay the price for their words and deeds."

——

Since that meeting, Kiyama Asahi has noticed his eyesight gradually deteriorating and his tongue frequently aching. However, no matter what methods he uses, he cannot find the cause of his symptoms.

It's not a disease, nor a curse. They can't find anything wrong with it.

He initially thought the symptoms wouldn't last long, but as time went on, his vision worsened and his tongue even developed ulcers!

This situation panicked him, and he desperately began searching for a cure. His eyesight deteriorated until he went blind; even after a corneal transplant, he could not see. His festering tongue eventually had to be amputated.

Unable to speak and blind. This is the price Qishan Zhi paid for his wild words and vulgar gaze.