Next day
The morning dew has already fallen to the ground. Walking on the street, you can still hear the laughter of children.
The Snow Man and the Slit-Mouth Man were walking side by side on the street. The Slit-Mouth Man was still wearing the black windbreaker, and Snow was also wearing a white kimono and an ice-blue haori. However, as the weather was getting hotter, the outfits of the two of them attracted the attention of passers-by from time to time.
Ah Xue, who adapted well, would even smile and wave gently to the girls who looked at him, looking like a gentle neighbor brother.
They were on their way to Ukiyo-e-cho to visit the Nura Group.
But before that, I have to take a look around the area.
"I didn't expect that there are so many small land gods nearby." They walked a distance and roughly judged that there were quite a few small shrines, but most of the small gods were weak.
"...After all, there are eight million of them." The man with the slit mouth whispered, "Even if there are a lot of small gods...it's not surprising."
As they were talking, they passed by a small shrine and the man with the slit mouth saw a small land god inside, secretly looking at them.
"How interesting." Axue looked over and smiled. The land god immediately went into his own shrine.
Axue: "Is the Nura group protecting these weak monsters and gods? Doesn't this coincide with our goal?"
I heard that the future third generation of Nura Clan is just a child, and he has not shown any intention to succeed.
It's no wonder that the people below are so restless. Even the little monsters nearby want to get a piece of the pie. Under the current circumstances, if they come to pay a visit, they may be regarded as enemies with ulterior motives.
However, if you want to know the true strength of the monsters here, you still have to see them with your own eyes.
If they are not allowed to test the level of the monsters, Jiuyuan will not know how to use the skill points he will get in the future.
"What a magnificent house!"
Not far from their destination, the two saw the famous "haunted house" in front of them.
Just looking at it from the outside, it does look quite impressive, and the area it occupies is enough to explain everything.
Xiao Bai looked towards the main gate and said, "The demonic aura... is also very strong."
"Next, let's go visit the owner of this house, the legendary general of the Nura clan who leads the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons... What kind of guy is he..."
With his sleeves fluttering, the young man in the snow-white clothes walked forward leisurely.
I ran into a boy wearing glasses running out of the room, shouting, "I'm going to school first! Ah!"
Unexpectedly, he bumped into someone when he turned around to talk. The boy staggered backwards. After adjusting his posture, he found that the person in front of him was a young man with a gentle smile.
"Sorry..." Nurarihyon replied consciously.
The other person was in a good mood and said softly, "It's okay. Are you going to be late for school? Don't worry about me. Go ahead."
"Oh, thank you!"
The boy's back quickly disappeared, and then a young woman in a kimono walked out.
With a worried look on his face, he said, "...The child's lunch box was forgotten at home. Eh...?"
She also noticed the stranger in front of her, "May I ask who you are...?"
"Hello." Xue Nan smiled back at her with his charming face, "We are here to visit... Could it be that you are the child's mother?"
"yes……"
Axue: "You look so young. To be honest, I thought you were siblings."
Speaking of her own child, she said, "What should I do... I need to find someone to deliver his lunch box to him." She looked at Axue and said, "Sorry... How about you wait here and I'll ask the other people in the family if you have an appointment with them?"
"No, I just came to visit you without permission. I hope you can help convey my message."
At this moment, another girl in school uniform came over and said, "I'll take the lunch box over to you, young master."
"Sorry to trouble you, Xiao Bingli..."
"No need..." Before she could say "no need to thank you", Bingli saw the young man standing at the door.
Fair skin, snow-white hair, and eyes that convey no emotion.
as well as……
The breath of the same race.
"Oh?" The other party looked over first, "...it's actually a girl from the same tribe? She looks like she's still a child."
After hearing this, Bingli immediately took a step back and put her hands behind her to protect Madam Wakana.
As the human wife of a monster family, the latter was accustomed to such things and was not afraid at all. She nodded and said, "I'll go call the others over."
Normally, they wouldn't be so alert.
It's just that Tokyo has been a bit restless recently, with monsters from other regions coming to cause trouble. The Nura Clan has been targeted for a while, so it's only natural that they would be wary of a strange face like Axue. If they wrongly accused a good person, they could apologize later, but if the other party was an enemy, being careless at this moment would only hurt themselves.
"Don't worry, I have no hostile intentions... Although I want to say this, you probably won't believe it, right?"
The crows didn't care about being seen by passers-by and were already circling over Xue's head.
The young Tengu were watching their every move, and if they decided to take action, they would immediately go into battle.
The man with the slit mouth beside him had already grasped the handle of the scissors, ready to protect his companion at any time, but Xue just shook her head and said, "Xiao Bai, we can't do such rude things."
"Let them in." Until a voice came from inside, "This is the general's order."
…
…
"The Snow Man and the Slit-Mouth Man...right? Usually they appear as women...this is the first time I've seen a man."
Ah Xue replied calmly: "Really?"
Inside the room, Axue and Nurarihyon sat facing each other with tea and snacks in front of them.
Jiuyuan was a little surprised. The so-called general-in-chief turned out to be such an old man?
However, the deeds of the Nura Clan have been passed down for a long time, and now they are in their third generation, with a time span of nearly a hundred years. So it is not surprising that the first generation has declined.
Although he has grown older, the demonic aura he exudes is still extraordinary, and one can imagine what a majestic monster he was when he was young.
Nura Hizashi continued, "There was a big commotion a while ago, it's hard not to know about you guys."
"I'll take it as a compliment to us," said Xue. "Then, I guess you've guessed why we came to visit you?"
"No." The other party actually denied it, with the cunning look of an old man pretending to be stupid, and said, "I don't know."
"Really?" After hitting a soft thorn, Axue was not angry: "I heard that the Nura Group is a monster organization that protects one side. The general's idea coincides with my master's. My master also hopes that all monsters in this world, no matter how strong or weak, can have a place to stay..."
He said: "We have the same wish, don't we? This is just a courtesy visit... After all, we will have many opportunities to meet in the future."
Nurarihyon pretended not to hear the alliance in Axue's words, and asked sharply:
"'Contact'...? Then let me ask: when you expressed your friendship just now, were you speaking on behalf of yourself or the master behind you?"
Ah Xue took a sip of tea: "...Hmm? What's the difference?"
"I heard that there are some conflicts within you. There will be different voices within an organization, and naturally there will be different factions and ways of doing things. Even if the instructions issued by the master behind the scenes are the same, you will choose your own way to carry out... If your master behind the scenes wants to create a peaceful environment in order to protect the monsters, there is no need for us to reject his goodwill to make friends, but--"
The old man looked at him with a sharp gaze: "You are different, Snowman - do you really want all this?"
Nurarihyon directly expressed his distrust of Xue.
"So that's how it is... In other words, you believe that the master behind me has good intentions, but you don't believe me?"
"Not entirely. In fact, I don't really trust the so-called master behind you. He talks about being kind and righteous but is actually hiding his true intentions. It's really hard to believe him. But... compared to him, you are even less trustworthy, Yukio."
Ah Xue was insulted, but she was not angry: "There is nothing I can do about it. Since I have been denied to this extent, if I continue to talk, you will just think that I have some bad intentions, right?"
"Oh? I thought you would lose your temper." Nurarihyon's words were like adding fuel to the fire.
"No, you're right." Axue admitted generously, "For me, it's enough for the monsters to live well, but I'm not so great as to regard this as my mission. I'm just carrying out the will of the master of the family. I regard his will as my own and execute it, but I'm not very interested in understanding his will."
"As a subordinate, you are very dedicated." Nurarihyon commented, "But if you do not understand people's hearts when carrying out your work, you may end up doing something wrong."
"Don't bother with that," said Axue. "I thought you would agree to form an alliance with us. What a pity..."
"Kurotengu, please show me around." Nurarihyon took a sip of tea.
When we walked into the courtyard, we found that those blocking the way were all members of the Nura Group.
However, most of the monsters are weak.
(There are so many little monsters in this house... Where are all the powerful ones?)
I could sense the gazes coming from both sides, and some of them were clearly from those with stronger demonic powers. It seemed that there were still some martial arts members who lived at home with the general.
Although they failed to reach an agreement, Jiuyuan had never intended to do so.
He still remembered his original motivation - to find out the approximate strength of the monsters here.
Axue deliberately looked at the monsters on both sides, then turned back to look at Nurarihyon, and finally fell on Lady Wakana.
As the saying goes, you need to be precise when stepping on landmines.
"I see... Are you rejecting our kindness because of humans? I didn't expect that the Nura clan also likes to be with humans..."
The next moment, sparks from clashing weapons appeared around Axue.
The monster wearing monk's robes and a martial hat clashed with the slit-mouthed man's weapons. On the scissors of the slit-mouthed man, there were red lines wrapped around his body that restricted his strength - it was another monster not far away that was restricting his movements.
(…Kurodabo and Shumu?)
In order not to reveal their true strength, they would let the weaker Slit Man fight with them.
The fighting faction was able to demonstrate the strength of the upper-middle class of the organization. After such a short confrontation, Jiu Yuan had a clear idea in his mind.
Axue smiled brightly: "... Don't worry, we are not boring monsters who will attack unarmed humans."
The two men who had just been fighting with them also put down their weapons after receiving the general's nod.
Axue nodded and said goodbye: "——Well, goodbye."
…
…
In fact, Jiuyuan really hadn't thought of this before coming here.
Just now, when Xue Nan bumped into the child called the young master at the door, he discovered that the other party was actually half-demon blood, and at least two generations of mixed blood... In other words, his grandfather and father were both united with human women.
Since even the person they love most in their life is a human, it is normal that they are unwilling to assist Yukio's obvious "unfriendly faction".
However, this trip was not in vain.
How can we verify this information if we don't go there in person?
Especially now that the "villain" Yukio has appeared in front of them, there will be a contrast when Hanako's side comes into contact with them.
The success rate... hopefully will be higher.
Back to Hanako, when Geto came back, tonight's recruitment had just ended.
Jiuyuan successfully recruited new employees.
He is a public security policeman named Morobushi Kagemitsu who has very special work experience. It just so happens that they currently have no talent familiar with this field, and Morobushi Kagemitsu's joining is exactly what Jiuyuan wants.
At this moment, Xia Yujie took off his mask and his expression looked very bad.
Hanako asked, "...What's wrong? Didn't you go to look for your own body?"
"I missed the bet." Xia Yujie looked very bad.
I thought that finding my body would solve the problem, but I didn't expect to encounter a bigger problem.
Just at this time, Hisaen brought Morobushi Kagemitsu over, intending to let him meet his predecessor, Natsuyuki Takeshi.
However, the moment he saw Geto Suguru, he revealed a very subtle expression, as if he was confused. He couldn't understand the situation in front of him and said "Huh?"
Jiuyuan: "What's wrong?"
"...I saw this face a few days ago." Zhu Fu Jingguang said subconsciously, then he realized that his wording might not be appropriate, and changed his words: "Ah, sorry, do you have a brother? I saw someone who looks very similar to you..."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the people, demons and ghosts in the room looked at him at the same time.
Summer Oil: "...Where did you see it? Can you tell me?"