Chapter 47 How are you doing?
Traveling through time with a tsukumogami also takes time, but as the distance between him and the original spirit grew closer, Hanshu sensed that at least the original spirits of Mikazuki and the other five were together.
From this perspective, the true spirits of all the swords currently implemented by the Time Government might be together.
If it's really as she guessed, then it could really save a lot of time.
When they arrived at their destination, Han Zhou and the others were stunned for a moment.
"This is... the Honmaru?" Yagen looked around at his surroundings and asked with some doubt.
Since the building in front of us is almost identical to the one in the Hanshu Honmaru, it seems that the Time Government gathered the spirits together.
Han Zhou began setting up a barrier, and a protective shield began to descend from the sky. Once it was fully formed, it quickly disappeared, as if everything that had just happened was just an illusion.
With such a commotion, the spirits within the citadel must have already noticed. The fastest to react were the short swords; when [Yagen Toushirou] saw the person from his memories, he cried out in disbelief.
"general?!"
[Yagen Toushirou] quickly bypassed his brothers and arrived before Hanshu. He saw his own divided spirit and, facing Hanshu, was momentarily speechless.
"Long time no see, I came here especially to see you."
"Wow, you've given us quite a scare after all this time!" [Tsurumaru Kuninaga] teased Hanshu familiarly, with Mikazuki Munechika by his side.
"Haha, I never thought we'd meet again."
"Oh dear, I thought they were intruders, but it turns out to be the former head of the family."
"Patriarch?!"
Many tsukumogami arrived, and knowing they had many questions, Han Zhou revealed his true form. When Fox Flower and Fox Tail appeared, many people gasped in surprise.
There were many tsukumogami (spirits) that Han Shu didn't have, but in this foreign land, Han Shu saw her own swords. She looked at the Chinese knots on their bodies and their clothing, which was quite different from the other tsukumogami.
Han Zhou turned his gaze to the swords beside them.
"Seven Star Sword, Bingzi Pepper Forest Sword, are you doing well here?" she asked in Chinese.
The two people being questioned were shocked for a moment. They looked at each other, their faces filled with joy—the feeling of meeting family in a foreign land.
They responded in unison in their native language.
We are fine.
These are words only they can understand.
Seeing that Benling and the others were in good condition, Hanzhou's anxiety subsided. The divided spirits she had brought had already approached Benling to explain their situations. Although Hanzhou wanted to add more, the Seven Star Sword and the Bingzi Pepper Forest Sword came to speak with her.
The three communicated using Chinese, the language they were most familiar with. Han Zhou appeared relaxed; although chatting with them was pleasant, she hadn't forgotten their business.
“I see. Although we found the appearance of the Time Travel Army strange at the time, we never thought that it was a problem with the [Time Reversal].” [Mikazuki Munechika] said solemnly, his brows slightly furrowed.
"So, you've come to see us?"
"To confirm your situation, and also... to inquire about the details of how the three major families sought you out back then."
Upon hearing this, Tsurumaru Kuninaga crossed his arms, clearly recalling events from several hundred years ago—a distant time, but one he still remembered.
As Benling recounted events from hundreds of years ago, Hanzhou frowned slightly, gazing at the azure sky. The array she had set up was activated; ripples spread across the translucent protective barrier, like a pebble being thrown into a calm lake.
Having witnessed this situation before, Yagen and his colleagues were noticeably calmer.
"General, is someone spying on us?"
Han Zhou gave a soft "hmm," confirming Yagen's words. After all, this was the Honmaru where the spirit resided; those people wouldn't be arrogant enough to attack this place, so the only possibility was that they were spying on it.
"Let's leave this formation here; it'll help you stay out of the way. It seems the three major families have been keeping a close watch on you."
The spirits all looked grim; none of them wanted to live under surveillance. Moreover, the three major families were in need of their help, and they hadn't expected them to do something like this.
"The three major families have severed the connection between the original spirit and the divided spirit because they don't want you to know what they've been doing with the divided spirit."
Higekiri calmly recounted the details of the auction.
"Yes, my brother and I helped the head of the family clean up the venue for the auction of the tsukumogami."
Speaking of this, Tsurumaru Kuninaga became unusually excited and moved closer to his own spirit, pointing at himself.
"That's right, I was rescued from the auction by my lord. It was truly a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."
"The general has already saved eleven tsukumogami. Six of them were auctioned off, one was severely corrupted, and four were rescued from the scum's citadel."
Yagen roughly calculated that this didn't even include the tsukumogami who chose the Seiyaku Honmaru. Even though Hanshu had only been in office for a few months...
"So, what do you need us to do?" [Tsurumaru Kuninaga] smiled and leaned closer to Hanshu, his golden eyes filled with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.
"Do nothing to avoid the three major families noticing anything amiss."
"When I'm about to eliminate the opposition, I'll need your help."
When the day comes that all pretense of civility is broken, those who will rebel will not only be members of the three major families, but also the Time Retrograde Army and even the Saniwa who have colluded with them.
There are too many ants, and cleaning them up will take some effort. Han Zhou hopes to focus his attention on repairing the [Time Reversal] system.
This is a complicated repair and cannot be disturbed. Therefore, some things require the help of others; why go it alone when you have help?
These matters were simple for the spirits, and they readily agreed. Han Zhou chatted with the spirits for a while, watching two white cranes huddled together. Tsurumaru Kuninaga was telling his spirit about their journey back to their hometown with Han Zhou.
Not only was Tsurumaru Kuninaga curious about this, but all the spirits who had ever been in contact with Hanshu were also very interested in it, so they simply sat together and listened to Tsurumaru Kuninaga tell stories.
"Here you are, please have some." [Shōdaikiri Mitsutada] walked to Hanshu's side with tea and snacks, smiling as he put down the things in his hands.
"Thank you, Shokudaikiri."
Tsurumaru Kuninaga's account is quite dramatic, recounting their experiences collecting tea leaves, gathering cochineal insects, and the embarrassing incident of failing to clear a hornet's nest at the Kanshuu residence.
Upon hearing about the tea, Han Zhou took out a tin from his spatial storage and placed it in front of Mikazuki Munechika. "Consider it a small gift. If you ever want to visit my citadel or my home, you're welcome."
Han Zhou's tail swayed naturally, and she reached out and plucked a tuft of fur from it. Golden divine power condensed on it, transforming it into a palm-sized nine-tailed fox. It curled up in Han Zhou's palm, lazily stretched, and then sat up.
The golden beast's eyes stared at the tsukumogami that was sizing it up. It nimbly leaped from Han Zhou's palm onto the table.
"This is a communication tool I made. If you want to come visit me, just let it know. I'll receive the message."
[Mikazuki Munechika] watched as the little fox in front of him, quite familiar with the place, wandered around the table, then found a sunny spot to curl up and prepare to sleep.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
