Chapter 43 The Calm Before the Storm

Picking tea leaves is only the first step. Subsequent steps such as drying, fixing, and sifting are needed to ensure the quality and aroma of the tea leaves. Therefore, this tea cannot be consumed for a while.

None of the spirits possessed the relevant skills, and Han Zhou didn't trust them with the tea leaves. If they didn't do a good job, all the tea leaves would be wasted, and they'd have to wait for the next harvest to enjoy them.

"This is quite a workload," Han Zhou thought, looking at the baskets of tea leaves in front of him. In the end, he decided to use his shikigami to help.

"We'll help too, my lord!"

Having had their fill of play, Namazuo, carrying Honebami, ran quickly towards her, while Ichigo Hitofuri, unable to keep up, followed far behind the two wakizashi brothers.

"Follow the shikigami's instructions. Make sure to spread out all the tea leaves. Pick out all the damaged leaves."

Han Zhou casually took out a few damaged tea leaves from inside, as a reference for Honebami and Namazuo.

"OK!"

"Thank you for your trouble. There's a lot of tea, so this work might be quite tiring. You could ask for a few more people," Han Zhou patted Namazuo and Honebami on the head, deciding to pick some fruit later to reward them.

When Ichigo Hitofuri found out, other swords from Awataguchi also came to help.

With some free time, Hanshu went to find Kasen and the others. He found the three of them, including Samonji, looking somewhat bewildered as a white crane stood motionless in place.

"what happens?"

"My Lord"

Aside from Tsurumaru Kuninaga, the other tsukumogami greeted Hanshu.

Seeing this, Han Zhou became even more certain that Tsurumaru Kuninaga had gotten himself into trouble. Just when she thought she was mentally prepared, the other person turned around—

"......"

Tsurumaru Kuninaga's cheeks were covered in the corpses of cochineal insects, meaning he was blushing bright red [in a physical sense].

"You... never mind," Han Zhou sighed helplessly, wiping the red mark from Tsurumaru Kuninaga's face with a wave of her hand. She crossed her arms, watching Tsurumaru Kuninaga, who was scratching his head guiltily and avoiding her gaze.

"Really, cochineal is not common, and you've used up more than half of it." Han Zhou roughly estimated that the remaining cochineal could make about two small jars of paint.

Feeling the tugging at her sleeve, Han Zhou looked down and saw it was Xiao Ye Zuo Wenzi. She crouched down to meet her gaze.

"What's wrong, Xiaoye?"

"Um... I want this paint too." Xiaoye seemed a little nervous for some reason. "C-Is it okay?"

Han Zhou chuckled softly at Xiao Ye's flustered expression. As he stood up, he patted Xiao Ye's head.

"Sure, the remaining cochineal insects should make about two small jars. One for you and one for Kasen. If you'd like, I can set aside an area specifically for cultivating the cochineal insects."

The carmine produced by cochineal insects has a very high hue and saturation, which is difficult to match by pigments made from other materials. Han Zhou distributed brushes and dishes to everyone.

"Gently brush off the cochineal worms attached to the cactus, being careful with the pressure," Han Zhou said, squatting in front of the cactus as he demonstrated.

Once they grasped the key points, they scattered to collect cochineal insects.

Saya Samonji slowly brushed the cochineal worms off the cactus with a small brush, watching as the grayish-white worms landed on the white plate, adding a bright color to it.

"What's wrong, Xiaoye?" Jiang Xue asked softly, looking at her somewhat dazed younger brother beside her.

"It's amazing," Xiaoye said, looking at the insect in the dish. He had never seen this kind of insect before.

"What does Xiaoye want this paint for?" Sozo asked with a smile, his dish already brimming with cochineal insects.

"I want to add some color to the wood carving."

Jiang Xue Zuowenzi enjoys wood carving, and Xiaoye sometimes helps him. He wants to use this paint to embellish his wood carvings, and then... present them to his lord. Although he hasn't decided what to carve yet.

Shokudaikiri, seeing that Tsurumaru Kuninaga had only collected half of the cochineal insects and was now staring at them, stopped what he was doing with a sigh.

"Mr. He, please be careful not to get it on your face again."

Upon hearing this, Tsurumaru Kuninaga chuckled twice and then distanced himself from the cactus.

"My lord, how do you make this into pigment?" Taiko no Kanemoto asked with some curiosity.

"First, the insects need to be dried, then ground, boiled, filtered, subjected to acid-base reactions, and have their color/mud extracted. Finally, they are dried, ground, and sieved again to complete the process."

Is it really that complicated?

Emperor Sadamune never imagined that the process of making pigments would be so complicated.

"It takes about a hundred thousand cochineal insects to extract one kilogram of pigment. Hmm... Kasen and Saya, why don't you help me make the pigment later? The rest of you, go help Awataguchi sort the tea leaves."

There was plenty of tea, but far fewer tsukumogami compared to that. Hanzhou worried they wouldn't be able to handle it all.

Although Han Zhou's residence is mainly composed of ancient buildings, there are also modern additions, which is quite convenient.

While Han Zhou was enjoying a relaxing vacation, Yu Yuwu and Qing Ye also made new progress.

Qingye frowned as he looked at the documents in his hand. Seeing his expression, Mikazuki Munechika asked, "Have you discovered something wrong?"

"I'm somewhat shocked... no, it's more like this is their usual tactic. The three major families have secretly murdered many Saniwa, half of whom were S-rank Saniwa."

S-rank Saniwa are incredibly rare; even the remaining half are A-rank Saniwa. Have the three major families gone mad, killing so many high-ranking Saniwa?

There must be some reason they don't know about this; it's a serious problem. Judging from the current situation, the Time Government is severely lacking in Saniwa (spirits/masters), and even members of the three major families wouldn't casually attack Saniwa.

But why would they target A-rank or even S-rank Saniwa? Did they infringe upon the interests of the three major families, or did they learn something they shouldn't know?

Based on Yu Yuwu's situation, the former is more likely. However, at that time, neither of them had established contact with Han Zhou, and the mission was assigned by the Time Government.

Is there anything about Yu Yuwu that the three major families are wary of?

The more he thought about it, the more doubts surfaced. But when Qingye turned his gaze to Mikazuki beside him, another guess came to mind.

What if... it wasn't Miyugiri who realized the problem, but rather the tsukumogami within her citadel? But if that were the case, the secrets hidden by the three great clans would be far more significant than they appear.

Since the spirit knows or has already guessed what's going on, they must deal with its master (sanjin) to eliminate any future trouble.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Mikazuki tilted his head; he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Mikazuki. I just had some guesses about your relationship with Mikazuki."

Mikazuki Munechika's sword is imbued with divinity, and also with a strong sense of self. Once Mikazuki has made up his mind, almost no one can change it; he usually behaves like a leisurely old man.

In reality, he is meticulous, gentle, and very perceptive. If he realized something he shouldn't know with this swing of his sword, Qingye wouldn't be surprised at all.

"Come with me to the Honmaru of Miyazaki; I need to confirm some things."