Chapter 84 Her in a Parallel World

After returning from his last trip to the mortal world, Han Zhou gave a few instructions to the swordsmen and Ran Luo and the others, and then briefly disappeared from everyone's sight.

They were unable to contact Han Zhou, not even Yu Yuwu, who was a divine messenger; no one knew what she had gone to do.

The swords in the citadel silently counted down the days until Hanshu left, more than half a month later.

Wu Hu Tui was searching for the little tiger cub that was always running around. As he rounded the corner, he saw that familiar figure and froze on the spot. But the little tiger cub at his feet had already nimbly run to Han Zhou's side.

Han Zhou, dressed in a white-gold robe, crouched down and reached out to stroke the little tiger circling at her feet. She looked up at the stunned Goko, slowly opened her arms, and spoke in a calm tone with a barely perceptible gentleness:

"I'm back. I'm leaving."

Hearing the call, Goko Retreat threw himself into Han Zhou's arms. The familiar, cool fragrance enveloped his nostrils, offering an inexplicable sense of security. The little dagger's voice was muffled, as if he were suppressing something:

"Welcome back... my lord."

Han Zhou gently patted Gokotai's back, comforting the little swordsman who was about to cry. However, this gentle gesture only made Gokotai want to cry more.

He knew that his lord must have something important to do if he wasn't in the main castle, but he still hoped that his lord could return soon.

Han Zhou picked up Wu Hu Tui, the little dagger was very light. She looked at the little dagger who was still holding her and burying his head in her neck, and coaxed him softly, "I'm sorry, I'll come back as soon as possible next time."

"Where did our lord go this time?" Wu Hu Tui looked up at her and asked, his eyes and nose red, but he stubbornly refused to shed a tear.

"After going back to investigate the matter concerning Ranluo's father," Hanzhou carried Gokotsu and walked towards the room in Awataguchi. He hadn't seen the scenery of the citadel for half a month and felt a little nostalgic.

“I promised that after everything was over, I would take her back to see the place about her father.”

This was a promise, so Han Zhou went back to investigate. But because so much time had passed, the traces left by the monster "Che Yu" were gradually buried by time. Even Han Zhou took quite some time to find anything related to Che Yu.

She had already made arrangements in advance, and Ranlu could go back whenever she was free.

Once Gokotai had calmed down, she gently put down the short sword and let him hold her hand, stammering about the funny things that happened when she wasn't in the citadel.

Sometimes the spirits would come over to visit, so they would occasionally see the two Mikazuki-dono sitting on the veranda drinking tea together; or the two Yagen-ni studying herbs together; or Shokudaikiri being teased by the two Tsurumaru Kuninaga.

Even when she wasn't there, the citadel was still very lively.

only……

"It's just that my lord isn't here, so I always feel a bit lonely."

Han Zhou heard Wu Hu Tui say this.

"My lord?!" Ichigo Hitofuri exclaimed in surprise upon noticing the person beside Gokotai.

However, this call immediately drew out all the short swords in the room.

"Wow, our lord is back!"

Welcome back!

"I missed you so much while you were away, my lord!"

The short swords swarmed forward, and Kanshu, suddenly surrounded, responded to their words with a hint of helplessness. After a brief period of commotion, Kanshu, Mikazuki, and Higekiri sat together under the eaves, drinking tea.

Hanzhou let out a leisurely breath, his white hair shimmering faintly in the sunlight. Mikazuki glanced sideways, looking at that long hair.

"By the way... why did your hair turn white after you became the Heavenly Dao?"

The swordsmen had many speculations about this issue in private, and although Mikazuki never participated in the discussion, he was still somewhat curious.

Hearing Mikazuki's question, Kanzuru lowered his eyes and looked at the white hair in front of him.

"I'm not entirely sure either," Han Zhou said, sipping his tea. "But after becoming the Heavenly Dao, my emotions and thoughts have been somewhat affected."

"Many things cannot affect my emotions; the power of Heaven is forcing me toward 'absolute' justice."

The swords were also able to sense these changes. When they realized that Han Zhou's emotions were not as obvious as before, but were still present, they were relieved.

“However… when the patriarch was in the citadel, although his emotions were very calm, we could still sense it.” Higekiri responded to Kanshu’s words.

Han Zhou nodded, affirming Higekiri's words. Indeed, when facing Touken and Ranluo, her emotions weren't suppressed as quickly.

"Perhaps, you are the anchor of my humanity," she said, revealing her conjecture.

"Wow, this is incredible news!" Tsurumaru Kuninaga exclaimed as he overheard this, then casually poured himself a cup of tea and found a place to sit down.

“All emotions disappear, leaving only rationality.” Tsurumaru Kuninaga put himself in that position for a moment, then immediately shuddered and shook his head. “It’s terrifying to even think about. I hope my lord doesn’t become like that.”

Han Zhou looked at Tsurumaru Kuninaga, who was deliberately making a fool of himself in front of her, and helplessly pushed his face away. She didn't like that kind of "absolute" rationality either.

Fairness should be humane, not cold and rigid.

Therefore, she would never allow herself to become like that.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga, who had been pushed away, left with a grin. He suddenly leaned closer as if to confirm that his lord had not changed, and after confirming that there was no mistake, he left reluctantly.

"There's one more thing," Han Zhou put down his tea, recalling the situation at his estate, "would you like to move to my estate?"

That place that's always been uninhabited... perhaps it's time for it to liven up a bit.

——

The news of Han Zhou's return quickly reached the ears of Yu Yuwu and the others. The three of them, who were originally handling official business, unanimously handed over their tasks to their trusted subordinates.

so--

Without prior consultation, the three arrived at Hanshu's citadel at the same time, and the scene of them looking at each other in bewilderment seemed somewhat eerie.

"What...are you doing?"

Seeing them staring at each other without speaking, Han Zhou spoke up to remind them.

Realizing their lapse in composure, the three coughed lightly at the other two and simultaneously averted their gazes. Ranluo spoke first, feigning displeasure as she looked at Hanzhou, who was dressed in a white-gold robe.

"Where have you been all this time? I haven't heard from you at all. Don't you know how much I miss you?"

It's less of a complaint and more of a display of affection.

Han Zhou, who was being "questioned," blinked and gave a somewhat formulaic answer.

“I went back to my hometown to investigate your father’s affairs. As for why you would think of me… I expected that.”

Ranluo, who had only been half-joking, was stunned. She didn't actually mean to blame Hanzhou; she knew that as a Heavenly Dao being, he always had things to do. She just wanted Hanzhou to occasionally send back some information.

To put their minds at ease

When Ranlu heard news about her father, she almost instinctively took a step forward, her tone filled with urgency and anticipation.

"When...when can I go?"

"Tomorrow, I will take you back." Han Zhou looked at Ran Luo, who was filled with anticipation yet also nervousness, and took a few steps forward to gently pat Ran Luo's head.

When talking about his hometown, Hanzhou's tone always carried a hint of sadness that was not easily detected.

"The White Fox Clan's settlement has long since disappeared due to a disaster, but... I found a demon who knows Che Yu, and she will take us to the place where he once lived."

Ranluo felt the hand on her head and subconsciously rubbed it. After hearing that the settlement had disappeared, a faint sadness rose in her heart.

"I want to see the place where my father used to live, and I also want to see the place where the white fox clan used to live."

"I see"

Han Zhou didn't say much. Since Ran Luo wanted to see it, he would take her there to see the former settlement.

Qingye and Yuyuwu exchanged a glance, unintentionally breaking the warm scene. The terminal on the latter's body emitted a "beep beep beep" notification sound. Yuyuwu clearly did not expect that someone would contact her at this time.

Even if the work was temporarily assigned to a subordinate, it shouldn't have been contacted so quickly.

She glanced at the message on her terminal, and after repeatedly confirming that she hadn't misread it, her face was filled with surprise and astonishment. Qingye noticed Yu Yuwu's surprised expression, raised an eyebrow, and glanced at the content.

I was so shocked that my eyes widened. Could it be that something so amazing really happened?

"Lord Hanzhou, although this matter sounds somewhat unbelievable," Yu Yuwu said cautiously, pausing before finally managing to finish her sentence, "another thing is that you, as a child, seemed to have suddenly appeared in politics for unknown reasons."

...

What? ! !

at the same time--

【Han Zhou】While the government officials went out to serve her tea and snacks, she transformed into her original form and slipped away.

When the political personnel returned to the reception room and found it empty, a sharp explosion was heard.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhh!! That person has disappeared!!"

"What?! Go find it right now!"

"If we can't find them, we're all doomed!!!"

The already turbulent political situation instantly descended into chaos. The culprit behind all this had sneaked into the Wanwu, curiously looking around at this place he had never been before.

She tucked in her ears and tail and wandered among the various vendors.

Some who noticed her sword stood frozen in disbelief. Even though her face was still quite youthful, they could all recognize that this was Lady Hanzhou!

Why did it suddenly turn into a child's appearance? Or did some other accident occur?

While the swords were secretly watching [Hanzhou], she was also quietly observing them, sensing the similar yet different spiritual energies within them.

They also knew these beings were like monsters or gods. The young Hanzhou didn't know about "Tsukumogami" and directly categorized the swords as weapon spirits.