“Ahh… this bowl…”
A native picked up an old ceramic bowl from the ground; it had a crack, looking like an antique.
“This is the very entity of that monster just now…”
Wu Ming explained briefly, but to his surprise, the people around seemed frightened. “This… this is a Tsukumogami! We must send it to a shrine immediately and have a Shinto priest perform a ritual to exorcise it…”
The native was even more terrified, staring at the bowl in his hands, unsure whether to throw it away or not, fearing a curse.
“A god?! Oh… He indeed claimed to be something like ‘Miko’ before… That ‘Miko’ seems to be an honorific title for deities, right?”
After asking a few more questions, Wu Ming found out in exasperation that this good-for-nothing creature was indeed one of Japan’s eight million deities, known as the Tsukumogami.
As recorded in “Yin Yang Miscellany”: “After a hundred years, objects may transform into spirits, deceiving people’s hearts; these are known as Tsukumogami by the common folk.”
This means that everyday items like old brooms, umbrellas, broken bowls, and pots, if left untouched for a hundred years, may absorb the essence of heaven and earth, accumulate resentment or spiritual energy, gain souls, transform into monsters, and plague humanity.
Therefore, there is a custom in Japan: every year on the eve of spring, families clear out their old household items and discard them by the roadside, known as “Soot Sweeping.” This practice avoids the calamity of Tsukumogami, which occurs just one year short of a hundred.
Thus, the physical forms of Tsukumogami are usually old pots and pans, broken umbrellas, old paintings, and other objects that appear amusingly animated.
However, since the Japanese people believe in the spirits of all things, even such useless creatures are listed among the eight million deities, which Wu Ming found extremely annoying.
Of course, after the task was completed, it was only natural to collect the reward.
Wu Ming immediately accepted the money bag respectfully offered by the old samurai and slowly made his way back to Numata Castle.
“It’s not bad to go out and relax a bit after daily cultivation… a balance between work and rest…”
As his reputation for strength spread, villagers and even local warriors occasionally came seeking his help to defeat various monsters and ghosts.
When Wu Ming was in a good mood, he would casually deal with them as a form of relaxation, which only increased his fame. Eventually, he even earned the nickname “God and Devil’s Blessing,” and his sword became known as the famous blade “Fuma-Kiri,” which amused him greatly.
In fact, with the passage of time and training, his inner cultivation had reached a state where red energy filled him, with only a small white core remaining at the center.
This meant he was just a step away from reaching the level of a true cultivator, just like Wu Qing.
This achievement was truly extraordinary. However, the cost was that most of the dragon energy within the Suihō Pearl had been depleted.
Still, Wu Ming considered it well worth it.
…
“Lord has returned!”
Upon returning to the inn where he was renting a room, the landlady immediately came to greet him.
“Alright! Prepare dinner; I’ll eat here tonight!”
Wu Ming opened the bag of reward money, casually took out a small silver coin, and tossed it into the landlady’s arms.
Soon, dinner was served.
A bowl of miso soup, a pot of sake, two rice balls, a plate of radish, a plate of fresh fish, and, at Wu Ming’s insistence, a bowl of wild boar meat that the landlady reluctantly managed to gather.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Inside the inn, there were other small merchants, ronin, and so on. Seeing the sumptuous dinner, they couldn’t help but swallow hard.
“Ah… a feast like this would be hard to find even at a daimyō’s banquet!”
“The fish is one thing, but eating pork? Isn’t this samurai afraid of divine punishment?”
“Shhh! Be quiet! Do you know who this lord is? He is ‘God and Devil’s Blessing,’ the one who defeated Lord Fuma, the Kappa demon, and the flying-head monster! It’s said he possesses the strength of fifty men, and his sword ‘Fuma-Kiri’ howls every night, craving blood…”
The ronin who had spoken first was quickly pulled down by his companion, who covered his mouth, fearing trouble.
This “God and Devil’s Blessing” was no merciful man; not only had he defeated many demons, but he also killed every warrior who challenged him, never sparing a soul.
The name “God and Devil” represented ultimate power and terror!
“Oh no! Lord… that annoying Hōzō has come again!”
The landlady suddenly frowned in disgust, sighing.
“Ah! Sake! Give me sake!”
With a foul stench, a ragged ronin rolled in. He looked to be at least fifty or sixty years old, with messy hair, wearing only a torn kimono that exposed his bony chest, which bore festering sores. The surrounding people all looked at him with expressions of disdain, some even wondering why the landlady didn’t drive him away.
In the next moment, this ronin sat down opposite Wu Ming, grabbed the sake, and gulped it down.
He almost finished the entire pot in one go before lying back contentedly on the floor, sighing, “Kōji no Sukune… I owe the merchant twenty kan again… cough, cough…”
As he spoke, he coughed up black blood, clearly gravely ill and nearing death.
“No problem… I’ll help you pay it off…”
Wu Ming said without batting an eyelash.
“Haha… You’ve already helped me repay hundreds of kan in debts… Now… I’m about to die… What do you want from me?”
The old ronin’s eyes seemed to gleam.
“Of course, your family name!” Wu Ming replied without hesitation.
“My family name? Haha… I am the head of the Oniichi family! My ancestors once followed the great general!”
The old ronin said proudly.
“Even so… you’ve already lost your domain and are in debt to merchants…”
Wu Ming analyzed coldly: “Do you want to die in disgrace, burdened with debt?”
After staying here for so long, he had gained a deeper understanding of the rules of this Japanese land.
Samurai were a privileged class, but to be a true samurai, one must possess two elements.
The first was a family name, or in other words, a samurai surname.
The second was a hereditary domain of at least one hundred koku of rice production. Possessing both made one a true samurai.
If a samurai lost his lord and domain, he became a ronin or a wandering samurai. Although nominally still higher than commoners without surnames, in reality, their lives were extremely impoverished. The old samurai before him was a prime example.
At such times, some commoners wanting to rise in society or merchants seeking to elevate their status came up with a plan.
That was to adopt such a samurai as a foster son or become the foster son of such a samurai to obtain the family name.
Although they still wouldn’t have a domain, they would be half a rank higher than commoners, enjoy elevated social status, and more easily find employment with a daimyō.
The merchant Naitō Takanari, whom he had met earlier, likely obtained his surname this way.
This was almost an unwritten rule, so Wu Ming also wanted to use this method.
Of course, there were not only the current destitute, lonely, dying, and noble ronin before him.
However, samurai surnames also differed.
Some were granted by daimyōs with ten thousand koku, or self-chosen, with a heritage of no more than a hundred years, shallow roots. Others were granted by million-koku daimyōs, or even the shogun or the ruler of the land, or separated from the original surname, with a heritage of over a thousand years. Although all were nominally samurai, in reality, they were completely different.
Take for example this head of the Oniichi family who claimed to be from a noble lineage.
Although he often drunkenly proclaimed this, most of the surrounding drinkers probably just saw it as a joke. However, Wu Ming saw something else in his fortune.
The old samurai’s own fortune was like a candle in the wind, but a thread of samurai fortune was long-lasting and lingering, clearly indicating the power of his family heritage.
“It doesn’t matter if I get a common surname, but I might as well choose a good one. After all, for me, this amount of money is nothing.”
Wu Ming stared into the old samurai’s eyes: “Well, have you decided?”
“Alright! I am a disgrace to my family, having lost my hereditary domain, but the Oniichi family name must not perish with me…”
The old samurai gritted his teeth: “One thousand kan!!!”
“Agreed!”
Wu Ming immediately accepted: “Five hundred kan have already been used to repay your debts, and the other five hundred will be given to you immediately!”
“What use do I have for money now that I am like this?”
The old samurai smiled bitterly: “Leave me one kan and a straw mat, and please deliver the rest to a geisha named ‘Eiko’ at the izakaya. I beg you!”
“A geisha named Eiko, I understand.”
Wu Ming nodded. A samurai loving a geisha was almost a tradition.
“In that case, bring the adoption document!”
The old samurai turned his face away, his eyes slightly red.
He had already prepared this, but the document stated that Wu Ming adopted this old samurai as his “adopted son,” meaning Wu Ming took him in as his foster son. Upon the old samurai’s death, Wu Ming would automatically inherit the headship of the Oniichi family.
“Hey! With your age, I’m going out of my way to adopt you as my foster son; you’re getting off easy…”
As Wu Ming watched the old samurai sign his name, his heart was filled with complaints.
However, the old samurai’s handwriting was indeed excellent, clearly indicating he had received a good education.
“Oniichi Hōzō… So that’s his name…”
Seeing the old samurai finish signing and even pull out a small red seal to stamp it, Wu Ming nodded in satisfaction.
“Please accept this… everything is entrusted to you!”
After the final stroke, Oniichi Hōzō’s tears finally fell.
…
The next day.
“Lord, that Hōzō has already passed away…”
When Wu Ming came out, the landlady reported this news.
“As expected…”
Last night, he had observed the old man’s fortune and knew he was at death’s door, beyond even an immortal’s ability to save.
“Give him a proper burial…”
Wu Ming waved his hand and rewarded the landlady with a gold coin.
“Congratulations, Lord Oniichi, on obtaining your family name…”
Although surprised that this ‘Kōji no Sukune’ had previously been a commoner, regardless, he was no longer one now. The landlady promptly congratulated him.
“Yes… ‘Kōji no Sukune’ was my former name. Now it can be discarded. I am now the head of the Oniichi family. There is also an inherited honorific ‘Hō’; from today onwards, I shall be Oniichi Hōgan!”
Wu Ming’s lips curled into a mocking smile as he said solemnly.
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