Hijikata Tohgo—”Why do you study Kendo?”
This was a Kendo training hall. The young Hijikata Tohgo knelt on the floor, facing an elderly man dressed in coarse hemp clothing and wooden clogs, his eyes sharp and piercing.
“To become an outstanding samurai!”
“Wrong!!”
Bang! The bamboo sword struck down, causing excruciating pain. Even more unforgettable for Hijikata, however, was the old man’s gaze: “A samurai must fear neither life nor death; a swordsman must focus his mind solely on the sword! This is also the ultimate secret of Mugen-ryu!”
At that moment, the old man appeared so lonely: “One day, when you can abandon life and death, honor, and even your identity as a samurai, you will truly grasp the essence of Mugen-ryu!”
Bang!
Back in reality, Hijikata staggered backward more than ten steps, his hands nearly numb.
Even though he was a legendary swordsman, he was already middle-aged and lacked Wu Ming’s supernatural strength enhanced by magical techniques!
The ultimate “power” he had just gathered—the Demon-Slaying Single Slash—was already the peak of his life, the culmination of nearly twenty years of accumulated killing intent!
First the energy rises, then it weakens, and finally it is exhausted!
Right now, his strength was waning from its peak, no longer in the previous state.
Even more importantly, his opponent, Wu Ming, would certainly not give him any chance to adjust.
“Am I going to die?”
Hijikata murmured in his heart, then suddenly turned resolute: “Even if I must abandon life and death, abandon dignity and the name of a samurai, I will defeat you!”
At that moment, he finally cast away his fear of death, abandoned his stubborn attachment to samurai honor, and even… himself!
And in this mysterious state, Hijikata suddenly sensed his breakthrough. The secret technique of Mugen-ryu, which he had never before grasped, appeared clearly in his mind.
“Secret Technique—Floating Bird Stance!”
In an instant, Hijikata’s heart became as calm as still water, or rather, his heart had left his body, merging with some ultimate force of the entire universe.
This immense power was so vast that he immediately broke free from his disadvantageous situation, assumed a swordsman’s posture, and slowly drew his blade.
Whoosh!
The sea surged, and above it seemed to echo the long cry of seagulls.
“Hmm?”
At that moment, before Wu Ming’s eyes appeared a vast ocean, turbulent waves surging, wind and snow blowing fiercely, and above it, a floating bird soaring high!
Finally, this bird transformed into a beam of swordlight, appearing almost instantaneously before him.
“Master!”
Sagami Ken’ichi, Sagami Shota, and others were greatly alarmed, even abandoning their samurai honor as they stood up and drew their swords.
Ding!
After a crisp sound, two figures abruptly separated.
“I’m fine!”
Wu Ming slowly stood in place, looking at the large slash on his five-colored ceremonial robe, his expression quite grim.
“May our lord enjoy long life and be invincible under heaven!”
Seeing the sight of Hijikata Tohgo lying motionless before their lord, the outcome was naturally clear, causing Sagami Shota and others to joyfully kneel in reverence.
“If it weren’t for the five-colored ceremonial robe this time, I would surely have been injured…”
Wu Ming thought inwardly. He himself was a true cultivator, a Daoist practitioner. To fight against a sword master samurai without using magical artifacts would be strange.
He just hadn’t expected that his opponent could still break through at the last moment, damaging his five-colored ceremonial robe significantly.
Approaching Hijikata Tohgo’s side now, looking at the bleeding wound on his body, with traces of scorched wind and thunder around: “Do you have anything else to say?”
“I really want to…”
At this moment, Hijikata’s eyes showed a little light: “It feels like going back to my hometown, seeing the cherry blossoms, and… drinking the tea she brews for the samurai…”
He stretched out his trembling hand, as if trying to grasp something, but finally let it fall helplessly.
His head tilted sideways, and he immediately sank into complete darkness.
…
Not sure how much time had passed.
Hijikata Tohgo opened his eyes again: “Where… is this? Heaven?”
The surroundings seemed like a dungeon, dark and damp. The stone slab beneath him bore dark brown bloodstains, long dried, seemingly filled with endless horror and resentment.
“It seems… someone like me cannot attain peace even in death. Could this be the realm of the Asura hell?”
“You’re still alive!”
Wu Ming’s figure slowly approached, exuding a sinister aura unlike before: “Tell me, who sent you here?”
Although this swordsman came seeking revenge for his disciple, which was understandable both emotionally and logically, Wu Ming still felt something was off.
“Spit it out quickly, or I will destroy your Mugen-ryu!”
At this moment, he naturally had no need to hide.
“With your power, Lord Oniichi, you could indeed wipe out Mugen-ryu. But my coming here was entirely my own choice… Hasegawa Saemon was my most beloved disciple…”
Hijikata tried to struggle but found his body below the neck had already lost all sensation, giving a bitter smile.
“Not lying?”
Wu Ming frowned: “Well, you’ll tell me eventually anyway…”
He began chanting a spell, and a mass of white mist appeared, wriggling like a small snake as it entered Hijikata’s nose and mouth.
“You… evil Yin-Yang technique!”
Hijikata’s face turned red with anger, but unfortunately, already severely wounded and restrained, he had lost the ability to gather his blood and spirit, and could not resist Wu Ming’s magic.
His eyes grew heavier and heavier, finally sinking into darkness.
Moments later, Wu Ming withdrew his palm from Hijikata’s crown, a trace of confusion on his face: “After hearing the news, he bought intelligence with large sums of money from the ninja—it all seems normal… but why do I still feel something is off?”
In his view, his reputation had spread throughout Izumo Province, inevitably drawing the attention of certain people.
And when such attention reached its peak, some tests were bound to occur.
Although everything seemed normal, there might still be that hostile reincarnator manipulating things behind the scenes.
After all, just as he wanted to set bait to catch him, the other party wouldn’t be so foolish as to come in person. Using other pawns was only natural.
“Well… whether you’re a pawn, an unlucky fool, or simply a vengeful soul, at least… you still have some use…”
Wu Ming examined the man’s face thoughtfully.
This samurai had already reached the third level, purely through swordsmanship, but essentially he was still a master at the same level as himself. With this foundation, he was an excellent candidate for a shadow warrior.
“Hmm… his face is a bit old, his stature a bit short, but these aren’t problems. The corpse refining techniques of the Corpse Refining Sect can handle that…”
Then, he immediately looked over Hijikata Tohgo with the gaze of someone inspecting pork at a market.
“As for his aura, I can implant a spell made from my hair and blood on him… Hmm, I have to admit, Japanese Yin-Yang techniques do have their uses…”
“For the final control, how about embedding senbon needles inscribed with talismanic symbols into his consciousness? The hypnotic techniques from ninjutsu could also prove effective…”
During this period, Wu Ming hadn’t been idle.
Besides his daily cultivation routine, he had also used his connections with Ito Kagehide and the ninja network to obtain a large number of books on Onmyōdō (Yin-Yang techniques), ninjutsu, and even Kendo, from which he had drawn the best elements and synthesized the essence.
Now, with such a perfect material presenting itself, combined with his previous concept of creating a shadow warrior, a plan immediately surfaced in Wu Ming’s mind.
Without hesitation, he acted!
Wu Ming took out a small knife, compared it to Hijikata’s facial structure, and immediately began cutting into his face without hesitation.
The gruesome sounds of flesh being scraped and bones being carved echoed incessantly. After more than half an hour, Wu Ming examined his handiwork and was barely satisfied.
“There’s still… this…”
His knife never stopped as he carved a five-pointed star magic formation on the other’s forehead. Then, he cut his own finger and let drop after drop of blood seep into it.
“Yin illuminates the abyss, the energy of the Nine Hells, heed my command, swift as a decree!”
A low chant echoed in the dungeon, and rings of thick, black hellish energy immediately enveloped Hijikata Tohgo on the stone slab.
Creak! Creak!
With sounds that made one’s teeth ache, his bones began to proliferate, the wounds on his face started healing, flesh spread out, and his skin became plump and smooth again, seemingly rejuvenated by twenty years.
At the same time, his face changed continuously, gradually resembling Wu Ming’s original form more and more.
“Cutting on my own face… always gives a strangely unpleasant feeling…”
Wu Ming touched his own face, then looked at the figure on the stone slab, who was increasingly looking like his twin brother, and said solemnly: “Hmm… although it’s realistic enough to fool anyone… but still not as handsome as me!”
…
“My lords!”
In the meeting hall of the Oniichi family, Sagami Shota, Ken’ichi, Tsuboi Hayakichi, Tachibana Shigehiro, and the recruited samurai were all present, kneeling with their hands on the ground, listening to the instructions of the family head, Oniichi Hōgan, who was seated on the main throne.
“You’ve all worked very hard this month, completing your tasks excellently. Thank you all!”
Oniichi Hōgan also bowed with both hands on the ground.
“We dare not!”
As the head of the family, his humble and kind demeanor deeply impressed the other samurai, who returned the bows respectfully.
After finishing the minor matters, Oniichi Hōgan continued: “Thanks to Tachibana Shigehiro and Tsuboi Hayakichi’s efforts, the temple on the small mountain has also been completed. I’ve named it ‘Honno-ji’! And I’ve already invited the head priest!”
As he finished speaking, he clapped his hands, and the wooden door was pulled open, revealing a monk with a kind and benevolent appearance.
“Let me introduce everyone. This master is named Sanyō Shōbō, whom I have invited to preside over our family temple!”
Oniichi Hōgan said.
“My name is Sanyō Shōbō. Pleased to meet you all for the first time!”
The monk immediately bowed to all the samurai present.
He looked very young, perhaps not even thirty. Although somewhat surprised, since their lord trusted him so much, and every move he made indeed carried a faint Zen-like aura, very much like a highly cultivated monk, the retainers dared not be disrespectful and returned the bows.
“Well then, Master Sanyō, from today onwards, Honno-ji will be under your charge. Do not disappoint me!”
“Hai!”
Sanyō Shōbō respectfully responded, exchanging a glance with Oniichi Hōgan, everything left unspoken yet fully understood.
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