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Volume 8 - Higanbana: Chapter 17 – Martial Saint

“Miss Kazama, please give this swordstyle book to Madam Tokiwa. Perhaps she will reward you with a treasure. For a mother, there is no greater treasure than a relic of her child.”

Lily was uncertain about Lord Yoshitsune’s motives for giving her the book. Maybe it held some hidden mystery that she was unaware of. However, she planned to visit Madam Tokiwa in the future to pay her respects and inquire about it. Madam Tokiwa was a renowned scholar and beautiful woman who had devoted herself to the Taira clan’s head, Taira no Kiyomori, to protect her child. Though that was a long time ago.

Lily pondered whether she would ever have the opportunity to visit and pay her respects to Madam Tokiwa. Since the future was unpredictable, she decided to hand over the relic of Lord Yoshitsune.

“Is that so? Genji Swordstyle… Teacher said this was written by Yoshitsune, is this… the original volume?” Kazama’s lack of understanding of human emotions did not stop her from having exceptional perception in her realm.

Lily nodded, “Please.”

Lily’s original intention was to befriend a blade maiden to gain a deeper understanding of herself. However, she discovered that Kazama Azusa was not just any blade maiden, but a cursed blade. Lily didn’t inquire about the reason behind this as she felt it didn’t concern her own training. Nevertheless, this unexpected encounter presented an opportunity to connect with Lord Yoshitsune’s mother. In a sense, it was a chance worth taking.

“Then… I shall entrust it to you, Miss Kazama.”

“I see. I will go and exchange this book for a treasure from my teacher,” Kazama said, displaying her trust in others without appearing naive.

Although Lily couldn’t quite comprehend her behavior, she didn’t dwell on it too much, “Then, farewell, Miss Kazama.”

“Ah, right, what was your name… can you tell me again? I think I forgot…”

“Kagami Lily…”

Lily couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised that Azusa could remember the matter about the treasure so clearly but had forgotten her name. However, she didn’t say anything and bid farewell to Azusa before entering the ancient city of Nara.

The dust-covered city wall was riddled with shattered and collapsed spots. Lily realized that entering through the main gate was unnecessary.

“Ah!” Lily blushed and covered her mouth, realizing her mistake.

“This is bad!” She had underestimated Kazama Azusa’s intelligence and had unintentionally revealed her real name. During their first meeting, Lily had used the alias Lynne, but due to her trust in Madam Tokiwa, she had revealed her true identity without even realizing it.

Although Lily wasn’t too worried about the consequences of her name being revealed, given her current abilities, she still hoped that Kazama Azusa would forget her name to avoid any potential embarrassment.

“Never mind.”

Amidst the bleak ruins of Nara-kyo, Lily pressed on. Dilapidated buildings surrounded her, and a sense of deep unease pervaded the air. Though there were still many samurai and vagrants on the outskirts of Nara-kyo, this particular area was devoid of people, and it was unsettling.

The Rashomon lay at the center of Nara-kyo, and regardless of which direction she entered from, Lily knew that she would have to venture deeper into the ruins to reach it.

As she made her way through the ruins, Lily sensed that she was being tracked by multiple individuals, and they were not just vagrants. These trackers were much stronger than the ones she encountered on the outskirts of Nara-kyo. However, they kept their distance and did not attempt to get closer to her.

Despite being aware of their presence, Lily decided to ignore them. She knew that Nara-kyo was filled with dangerous individuals who would attack anyone they came across. Engaging in a fight would only draw more attention to herself and potentially put her in even more danger. Instead, Lily continued to move forward towards the Rashomon, knowing that the trackers would not be able to keep up with her if she entered the Path of Yomi.

Lily raised her gaze to the sky, noting the absence of the moon, but she still had a rough idea of the time – it should be two or three hours before midnight. Abruptly, a group of swordsmen donning majestic karate uniforms appeared before her, obstructing her path. She sensed a familiar style to their attire.

“Maro Dojo!?”

The narrow path was an unfortunate place to encounter enemies. Lily feigned ignorance and kept walking, but the group in front of her remained unmoved. It wasn’t until she was within ten meters that she halted in her tracks. As she did, the people who had been following her appeared and blocked all the roads behind her.

The swordsman confronting Lily questioned, “Are you Kagami Lily?”

“You’ve mistaken me for someone else.” Although Lily wasn’t intimidated by the group, she didn’t want to engage in a fight unnecessarily.

“Kagami Lily! Don’t try to deceive us,” a girl’s voice echoed from above. A young girl, dressed in a gray hunting cloak with a short skirt, and carrying a kendama, appeared before Lily.

“Little Ui?” Lily recognized the girl.

Even though Lily had covered her face, Ui was certain that she was the one who had slain her beloved young master.

Without warning, the group of swordsmen parted into two rows, creating a path for the imposing presence that had just arrived. Standing on the other side of the road was a middle-aged man with a muscular build and a stern, angular face.

His very presence exuded a sense of fear and intimidation, and Lily could tell that he was a formidable opponent.

Lily was taken aback as she exclaimed, “A throned saint!”

The middle-aged man, standing tall at 1.9 meters, walked through the rows of swordsmen with a fierce look to confront Lily. Despite being targeted for her beauty in the past, she could sense that this man’s eyes were filled with hatred and not desire.

“Kagami Lily, do you know who I am?” he asked.

“No, who are you?” she replied.

The middle-aged man glared at Lily with fury. “Kagami Lily, are you not willing to confess to the crimes you have committed?”

“What crime are you talking about?” Replied Lily calmly.

“You! You killed my son, you b?i?t?c?h?!” The man’s eyes turned red with anger.

Lily remained composed. “I have killed countless enemies, exactly who is your son?”

Kiuchidera Tesshin sneered at Lily with a somber voice, “Kagami Lily! How dare you act arrogantly in front of the Lord Martial Saint? You cheated in the duel and used sorcery to kill the young lord. Repent now! Kneel and accept your death by the hand of Lord Martial Saint, or suffer the consequences!”

“Although I can prove that I killed Sakanoue no Tamurakonoe in a fair duel, I doubt you have any intention of letting me go,” Lily said coldly. “Senior Martial Saint, if you’ve come to avenge your son, why waste words? Let’s just fight, I don’t have time for this.”

How arrogant! Lily had the audacity to respond to the Martial Saint Sakanoue no Tamuramaro in such a way! The other swordsmen in the dojo were infuriated by her response.

“Kill her! Avenge the young master!”

“Kill!”

Sakanoue no Tamuramaro’s eyes were cold as if he was already looking at a lifeless body. “Then, die!”

Clang! Tamuramaro’s sword was drawn with incredible speed, and the blade flickered like an electric arc towards Lily!

If Sakanoue no Tamurakonoe held the title of the number one quickblade of the Sinless Domain’s younger generation, then his father, the martial saint Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, held the title of the number one quickblade of the Nara Sinless Domain.

As Lily half unsheathed Yasutsuna to catch the blow, a loud “Boom!!!” echoed around them. The impact created a massive shockwave, engulfing her in a cloud of smoke and dust. The force of the blow blew away her bamboo hat and tore off her veil, which fluttered away in the wind. Eventually, the bamboo hat floated down to the ground and landed at the feet of the surrounding swordsmen.

With a look of contempt at the billowing smoke and dust, Tamuramaro sheathed his blade and declared, “My son, you can now rest in peace. Take that woman’s body and chop it into a thousand pieces! Hang her head on top of the city as a warning.” Confident of the outcome, he then turned to leave.

The martial saint’s imposing demeanor left the surrounding swordsmen in awe.

“Cut off that woman’s head! Chop up her body!” The group of swordsmen drew their blades and charged into the cloud of dust.

Chop! Chop! Chop!

In the midst of the dust, crimson sword shadows flickered and flesh and blood flew, but not a single sound was heard.

“Mm?” Tamuramaro paused, sensing that something was amiss. Why were the swordsmen so quiet as they hacked away at the woman’s body? Suddenly, a wet thud sounded, and something red and bloody splattered on the ground behind him. He turned around to investigate and was shocked to see a severed hand still gripping a sword. As the smoke began to clear, Tamuramaro looked up in surprise.

Before Tamuramaro stood a young woman, dressed in red with long black hair fluttering in the wind. In her hand, she held a cursed blade dripping with blood. To Tamuramaro’s surprise, she was unscathed, and the dozen swordsmen who had rushed into the cloud of dust lay dead at her feet.

Tamuramaro furrowed his brows and gasped, “What!?? How… How is this possible? You are only as strong as my son, how could you not die after taking my blow!?”

“Senior Martial Saint, surely you understand that strength is something that can be improved, do you not?”

“Nonsense! It has only been six months. No matter how quickly you progress, there is no way you can reach my level from the permanence realm!” he retorted, his forehead veins bulging.

“Just like how it is impossible for you to lose to a woman, right, Senior Martial Saint? If I am not mistaken, you are the one who used spirit power to ambush me at the Yoshitsune Memorial. I can empathize with your pain of losing a child at your age, but how about we stop here for now? I respect your prestige and strength, but I am not an easy target. Why don’t you let it go, and I will continue with my business, and you can maintain your illustrious reputation

¹?”

“Outrageous! You arrogant witch! You hid your strength to plot against my son! Why did you kill him? With your strength, why did you mask your realm to the permanence realm? Die, witch!” he roared furiously.

Sakanoue no Tamuramaro’s body erupted with a deafening “Boom!” as his spirit power flared up. The red dust and spirit power swirled around him, enveloping the sky. In a flash, he turned into a blur of motion and charged towards Lily with great speed.

References

Robinxen: Lily does not take prisoners in verbal battles.