Chapter 70 Gu Yu's Family 1

At the moment Hanshu was sealed away, the swords suppressed their worries and began to act according to the original plan. All the swords of Hanshu Honmaru would participate in this operation, while the task of guarding the Honmaru was entrusted to the spirits.

Because Han Zhou was sealed away, her clone left beside her main spirit had also been listless. [Tsurumaru Kuninaga] approached the little white fox, stroking its fur along its back. Normally, this little fox wouldn't allow [Tsurumaru Kuninaga] to touch it.

The little white fox struggled to open its eyelids, saw a white crane of the same color as itself, and closed its eyes again without paying any attention. Seeing the little creature in this state, Tsurumaru Kuninaga became even more worried; he was also concerned about Hanshu's condition.

She was my respected former master!

"Haha, don't worry. We just need to do what we're supposed to do." Mikazuki Munechika, sitting next to the white crane, noticed its mood and comforted it.

Higekiri and Hizamaru also observed the little white fox's condition, and breathed a sigh of relief when they confirmed that the little creature was merely listless and its divine power had not dissipated. This meant that Han Zhou was not in any immediate danger.

"Well... hasn't my other self already taken action?" [Higashiri] said with a soft smile. Those golden, upturned cat eyes were the kind of eyes that the little white fox once liked.

As their main spirits, they were unable to move freely, but... those divided spirits wouldn't just sit idly by and wait to die. In that sense, there was a touch of jealousy involved, since the divided spirits had encountered Han Zhou and the like earlier than they had.

"Brother," Knee-maru, noticed that his older brother's mood was a bit off and spoke with some concern, but there was nothing wrong with the questioning look the other brother was giving him.

Seeing this, Tsurumaru Kuninaga shook his head helplessly and decided to look around the Honmaru in Kanshuu. Although the layout of this Honmaru was similar to his own, there were still some differences, such as:

In the courtyard stood a plum tree planted by Hanshu and the short swords. The soil beneath the tree had just been turned over, suggesting something was buried there. [Tsurumaru Kuninaga] knew without a doubt that plum wine was being brewed under the tree. In Hanshu's office, there was a slightly awkward Chinese knot made by Laipai; on his desk was a small wooden fox carving, seemingly the work of the Samonji family.

There are far too many such traces.

I really hope that Lord Hanzhou can continue living such a peaceful life.

[Tsurumaru Kuninaga] thought of this.

——

Yu Yuwu, Qingye, and Ranlu split into three groups, each taking a tsukumogami to the homes of Guyu, Senchuan, and Qishan respectively.

Before setting off, Yu Yuwu took a deep breath to calm her anxiety. Although her hands were trembling slightly, her gaze remained firm: "This time, we have only one goal: to destroy the evil god statue and bring... Lord Hanzhou home!"

"yes!"

As the golden light of the teleportation array dissipated, the first force, led by Yu Yuwu, officially set off for Gu Yu's home.

Upon landing at Gu Yu's residence, Yu Yuwu was shocked by the pervasive resentment and obsession. Everywhere she looked were soulless, living-dead puppets. Leading the first unit was Yagen Toushirou, who had previously accompanied Han Zhou to investigate the situation of the three major families.

There was no surprise in this situation.

“They are all soulless puppets,” Yagen explained to his unsuspecting companions. Yuuki, her brow furrowed, watched the puppets moving towards them, her voice tinged with anger.

"The three great families have truly gone mad, actually extracting human souls!" Yu Yuwu, surrounded by a golden aura, watched as the swords, gripping their hilts, cautiously surveyed their surroundings. "Be careful, both puppets and vengeful spirits will be drawn to the divine power within you."

Spiritual and divine power have a fatal attraction to such evil beings.

Just as the swords were preparing to strike first to deal with these things, they discovered that the vengeful spirits could not approach them. Yu Yuwu looked at herself and the swords enveloped in a soft white light; this familiar power came from—Han Zhou.

The soft white light formed by the power of the Cold Boat, like a mother's protective arms, kept the vengeful spirits away.

Even though Han Zhou is currently sealed, as long as the god hasn't fallen, the power left behind by the god will continue to protect them. This scene was unexpected by everyone; the familiar power surrounding them felt like Han Zhou was telling them: Don't be afraid, I'm still by your side.

However, this protection did not bring Yu Yuwu any relief. As the Saniwa, she was quicker than the swords to realize the lurking evil. Yu Yuwu's gaze pierced through the light barrier, fixed on the depths of Gu Yu's mansion—there, a power that chilled her to the bone was frantically draining spiritual energy, along with the divine power Han Zhou had left on them.

"We can't delay any longer!" Yu Yuwu said urgently. "That evil god statue is absorbing the divine power left behind by Lord Hanzhou. We must break through these puppets as soon as possible and destroy the statue!"

Yagen Toushirou surveyed the surroundings and immediately ordered, "Understood! Everyone, form an assault formation! Protect Lady Miyazaki and advance deeper into the mansion!"

The swords responded in unison, instantly changing formation. Taro-tachi and Jiro-tachi, as the two great swords in the first unit, stood at the front to clear the way, each sweeping strike clearing away a large number of puppets. Ichigo Hitofuri cleared the path alongside them.

The katana and wakizashi flanked the area, precisely severing all the vengeful spirits that tried to approach Yuyugiri. The katanas, with their small size and agility, weaved through the gaps, clearing out any stragglers while remaining vigilant against sneak attacks from the shadows.

Protected in the center, Yu Yuwu, a Saniwa who had never been on the front lines before, desperately tried to remain calm, suppressing her fear and unease. She focused her mind, golden spiritual energy shimmering around her. While reinforcing the protective array, she also clearly sensed the dark place that absorbed divine power.

With each step they took forward, the light of the protective shield dimmed a little, and the onslaught from the surrounding vengeful spirits intensified.

"Well......!"

A muffled groan came from the flank, the sound kept low as if to avoid worrying the other blades. It was Namazuo Toushirou; a vengeful spirit, almost solidified, had grazed his arm, breaching his defenses. His sleeve was instantly corroded, leaving glaring black marks on his skin, and the wound sent a chill down his spine, accompanied by excruciating pain.

"Namazuo!" Honebami Toushirou sensed Namazuo's abnormality almost instantly. He immediately shattered the vengeful spirits blocking his path and went to his brother's side, his eyes filled with worry.

Are you alright?

"I'm fine!" Namazuo gritted his teeth, though his injured left arm trembled slightly. Honebami noticed this, pursed his lips, gripped his main body tightly, and stood back-to-back with his brother to face the enemy.

The closer they got to the depths of Gu Yu's mansion, the stronger the puppets became, and the more densely packed and violent the vengeful spirits grew. They relentlessly and endlessly assaulted the swords' defenses. Meanwhile, the divine power left behind by Han Zhou had been almost entirely absorbed by the evil god statue; its shimmering white light flickered on and off.

"Lord Miyazaki!" Yagen called out, his voice still clear amidst the shrieks of the vengeful spirits, "The power left behind by our lord won't last much longer!"

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Yu Yuwu's forehead. She felt a wave of weakness; the combined strain of maintaining the protective barrier and resisting the erosion of evil energy was making her feel somewhat overwhelmed. But her eyes remained resolute: "I know! But we must hold on! Lord Hanzhou is waiting for us!!!"

Just then, the mirrored reflection ahead suddenly cleared. They rushed out of the area most densely packed with puppets and vengeful spirits, arriving at a vast courtyard. However, the sight before them made everyone's hearts sink.

"Snap—"

A soft, shattering sound, like a mirror breaking, rang out. The divine power left behind by Han Zhou had been completely devoured by the evil god statue, and the firefly-like protective shield shattered along with it.

"What a terrible scene," Yu Yuwu said with some helplessness, her gaze warily fixed on the dark red array in the central courtyard. "It's the Soul-Devouring Array."

The array's patterns writhed slowly, like living things, exuding a thick stench of blood and resentment. At the center of the array stood a twisted, neither-human-nor-beast, pitch-black statue—the statue of the evil god. The array was operating, and visible black evil energy converged from all directions, mixed with wisps of pure divine power drawn from them, belonging to Han Zhou!

"They're truly courting death! Even though Hanzhou was sealed away, they still dare to come here and walk right into our trap!" A strange voice echoed as Gu Yu Feiyue coldly watched the Saniwa and the sword spirits who had barged into the Gu Yu family's residence.

That gaze clearly regarded them as inanimate objects.

"Heh, who would have thought that these three seemingly upright families would do so many despicable things?" Yu Yuwu revealed a mocking smile, her sharp gaze showing no fear. "Auctioning swords, torturing and killing Saniwa, extracting souls, sacrificing evil gods, and even disrupting the flow of time and space, leading to the emergence of the Time Travel Army!"

Gu Yu Feiyue showed no anger upon hearing this. Instead, she looked at Yu Yuwu with great interest: "Han Zhou is more capable than I imagined. He already knows so much."

Her tone carried a false sense of regret and pity.

"So what if we know? Han Zhou's fate is to be sealed away by us. Wouldn't it be better to just pretend we know nothing? It wasn't your swords that got into trouble, so why do you have to meddle?"

Yu Yuwu and the swords stared in shock at Gu Yu Feiyue, who had uttered these words. Seeing genuine confusion on her face, their anger almost overwhelmed their reason.

"Besides, if we hadn't established the Time Government, how could you, Miyuki, have become a Saniwa, and how could you be surrounded by swords? You should be thanking me."

Such a shameless statement left Yu Yuwu speechless for a moment. She realized that the members of the three major families had long been brainwashed; their hearts were only set on family interests, and everything was a bargaining chip in their eyes, including friendship, kinship, and love. As the heads of the three major families, they were, in another sense, nothing more than puppets brainwashed from childhood.

How tragic, and... how hateful.

—Under sealing—

Although she couldn't break free of the chains and revert to her original form to suppress her power for the time being, her perception of the outside world remained. Realizing that the divine power she had left on the swords and Yu Yuwu had vanished, she abruptly opened her eyes and instinctively tried to get up.

Clang!

The chains clanged loudly as the cold boat moved.

The vengeful spirits, unable to find a breakthrough, seemed to sense Han Zhou's anxiety and charged forward like hyenas, whispering in her ear.

"I'm getting anxious..."

"Hehehe, do you think they'll succeed?"

Han Zhou remained silent for a moment, then twitched its snow-white fox ears, dispelling the noisy vengeful spirits around it. It then lay back down, ignoring the spirits' words, its heart filled with worry for Yu Yuwu's situation.

Be very careful, Yu Yuwu.