CH 230

It was late night in Kamakura City. The cold moon was occasionally hidden among the dark clouds.

A tall figure stood on top of a roof, looking almost like she was wearing nothing from the outline of her figure. Nearly every curve of her body was accentuated by the ultra-thin and tight-fitting indigo bodysuit she wore. She sported a long blue ponytail that reached all the way down her ankle. As the dark clouds chased the moon, her curvy silhouette was occasionally visible in the dark.

Yuuki Mayumi’s face was covered by a purple veil. Her translucent eyes gleamed like the most precious sapphire on a vast plateau.

She leaped over several roofs and jumped onto the quaint outer wall of Genji Dojo with the help of an old willow tree.

Genji Dojo wasn’t as tightly guarded as everyone imagined. In fact, there were no special defense measures in place. Then again, how many thieves and demons dared to infiltrate this place where the most elite samurai in the Land of East were gathered? The disciples were the most fearsome demon slayers themselves, so why would they even need any defense measure here?

Even so, most of the disciples here didn’t even concern an expert like Yuuki Mayumi.

She cautiously slinked into the dojo based on the information she gathered. When she ran into several attendants who carried lanterns while carrying out their night patrol duties, she concealed herself instead of striking them. Her figure wasn’t even spotted by the cat on the roof, let alone these clueless attendants.

Yuuki Mayumi made her way through a secluded bamboo forest and arrived at the disciples’ residences. In reality, only a handful of disciples actually lived here.

A residence built by the pool attracted her attention. Her graceful figure quietly approached it in the dark.

At this time, Lily was sound asleep. Shiu and Nanako were sleeping on their futon on each side of the room adjacent to Lily’s room.

“AH — !” Shiu woke up startled from her nightmare.

“What’s wrong?” Nanako looked at her grumpily in a befuddled state from being awakened by the noise.

In just a short while, Lily also came over dressed in white to find that Shiu and Nanako were safe and sound. Shiu was sitting on her futon and her forehead was covered with cold sweat.

“What’s wrong, Shiu? Did something happen?” Lily asked.

“Lady Mimori… Lady Mimori… I dreamt that Lady Mimori had fallen into an abyss full of malevolent demons… They were terrifying demons…”

Lily shook her head in resignation and stepped forward to embrace Shiu, then pat her on her back. “Alright. Don’t think about it anymore. It’s just a dream. This is Genji Dojo of the East. Why would there be any demons here?”

“I’m sorry. I seem to have a bad nightmare…” Shiu leaned her head against Lily’s shoulder.

“It’s alright. This is the safest place.” Lily comforted her. As soon as her voice fell, she sensed an unusual fluctuation sweeping across the place. It felt almost unworldly.

Lily secretly wondered to herself, ‘What’s going on? Did a demon really invade this place? No, it didn’t particularly feel unworldly, just disturbing.’

She put Shiu and Nanako back to sleep, then quietly draped a scarf over her shoulders. She picked up Crescent Moon and headed out to investigate.

Although it was late at night, Shimizu still took out her ancient mirror and kept stroking it in her room.

“Mirror… I won’t ask you to show me the clear reflection of my face. I only ask you to bestow more enlightenment upon me, so that I can defeat that woman. Isn’t my power the hope to change the destinies of mirror girls? Lord Mirror, just how long do you intend to test Shimizu’s patience?”

“Lil’ Sister Lily is progressing at a terrifying speed. On the other hand, I’m still stuck in a rut and struggling to break through even with your help. Why is this happening? Tell me, what should I do? How do I continue to gain all your powers? I am willing to pay any price!” Determination flashed across Shimizu’s eyes.

“Who!?” All of a sudden, Shimizu sensed an incisively cold gaze on her back.

She stuffed the mirror into her yukata in alarm, then stood up and grabbed the katana beside her.

The one who peeped on her definitely didn’t feel like it was a disciple of the dojo. It felt much more mysterious.

“Meow — ” A black and white tabby cat jumped off the roof and stood on the window sill, looking at Shimizu.

“Oh? It turns out to be just a cat?” Shimizu breathed a sigh of relief. Cats indeed had incredible Spirit Power which could confuse an oversensitive woman like Shimizu.

“Seems like I’ve been too anxious lately, especially when Lily is not around. It’s like we’re together almost all the time… I should find an opportunity to teach Lil’ Lily a secret sword technique. As an older sister, how can I possibly hide something from her?” Shimizu caressed the mirror, smiling sweetly but foolishly at it.

At this moment, Yuuki Mayumi was looking back at the lonely house from the shadows of the bamboo forest near Shimizu’s residence. “So the intel from Onigumo before his death turns out to be true. The mirror girl is the young female warrior who was investigating him. In the entire Kamakura City, the only young female samurai who could kill Onigumo and be involved with the mission under the governance of Genji Dojo is most likely Minamoto no Shimizu, the first of East’s Six Swords. Little did I expect it turned out to really be her, but she looks weaker than I thought… No matter what, this is an unusual matter. I must report to Lady Haihime at once.”

Just when Yuuki Mayumi was about to leap onto a pine tree and leave the place from the top of the outer wall, she heard a brave female voice shouting from behind her.

Then, a cold blade was already pressed against the side of her neck from behind.

Yuuki Mayumi immediately used a short-ranged spirit perception. Since she couldn’t use a large-ranged spirit probe here and risk exposing herself, she didn’t notice someone approaching from behind.

The opponent was only a Late-Stage Sword Master. Hmph, she could kill just her.

Wait!

‘A Late-Stage Sword Master? But why does she have the fluctuation of a spirit jade in her body?’

Furthermore, this is Genji Dojo. This young girl would definitely know some kind of strength amplifying swordstyle if she was an elite here. Although her strength was not enough to threaten her, it wasn’t weak enough to be underestimated either.

“Hmph, who dares to interfere with the important task of Lord Tokugawa’s female ninja?” Yuuki Mayumi said on purpose.

She knew that there was a Tokugawa Shigetsu in this dojo and was informed of his identity. Hence, it wasn’t strange if Tokugawa had sent out a female ninja to carry out some shady business in the dojo. In fact, Tokugawa had really done this a few times so Yuuki Mayumi had planned it all out. It would be very easy for her to escape if she were discovered, but she couldn’t afford to expose her identity. Hence, she’d just use Tokugawa’s name.1

Lily took a step back when she heard Tokugawa’s name, but kept her katana pointed at her. “Hmph, so Tokugawa is important enough to make a female ninja like you, who is at least a Jonin, to do his bidding? Just what is he planning? Why did he send you to peep into Sister Shimizu’s room?”

Yuuki Mayumi smiled at Lily. “Oh? You can actually tell my strength? Although you’re a bit off, I didn’t expect a seemingly Late-Stage Sword Master like you to actually possess the strength of a Late-Stage Sword Saint. Genji Dojo is indeed a place where talents are gathered!”

“What are you talking about? Why do you sound a little strange? Did Tokugawa really send you?” Lily’s voice also turned cold. “Why do I sense an intense phantasmal energy from you? Who are you exactly?”

Yuuki Mayumi sized up Lily. “You’re saying that I possess phantasmal energy?”

Her eyes suddenly turned frosty as she whipped out a chokuto and lunged toward Lily.

“What!?” Lily was shocked by her speed but still swung her katana instinctively.

Bang! She recoiled from a strange impact and saw Yuuki Mayumi turned into a cloud of smoke.

The cloud of smoke then revealed a piece of log that was cut into two by Lily.

“What!? Ninjutsu!” Lily exclaimed in great alarm. Her opponent was much more skilled in ninjutsu than Shiu.

Lily suddenly felt a chill behind her. She snapped her head around but it was too late.

Before she could even retract her katana, Yuuki Mayumi had locked Lily’s neck with her arms that were cuffed with bracelets.

“Arghh — Urghhh — ” Lily immediately felt blood rushing to her head and couldn’t breathe.

However, she was a Spirit Power samurai. Even not breathing for a long period wouldn’t affect her Spirit Power. Lily erupted with crimson-colored Blade Maiden Spirit Power. With a turn of her wrist, she directed the tip of Crescent Moon toward Yuuki Mayumi’s waist.

“What a vicious little girl. You are even fiercer than those from the Land of Hundred Demons!” Yuuki Mayumi kneed Lily in her side. A force several times stronger than Lily’s immediately knocked the wind out of her and greatly disrupted her movements. Yuuki Mayumi then promptly followed up with a suplex from behind, directly lifting Lily up and throwing her backward.

Lily’s head smashed heavily into the grass. Even with Spirit Power reducing the impact, it was still a heavy slam. Yuuki Mayumi was extremely skilled in taijutsu. While Lily was still dazed, Yuuki Mayumi flipped over. She landed one leg across Lily’s waist and used her other leg to lock the arm which Lily held her katana with. She grabbed a fistful of Lily’s long hair and twisted her wrist. A pull, a hold and a twist2!

“Arghhhh — !” Lily yelled in pain and loosened her grip on the katana.

Yuuki Mayumi exhausted Lily before flipping her over by her arm. She then parted her legs and straddled Lily’s face. The slight bumps among her tight-fitting bodysuit were nearly pressed up against the tip of Lily’s nose, making her unable to breathe again.

Just like that, Yuuki Mayumi sat on Lily’s face and silenced her. All Lily could do was stubbornly resist her opponent with her eyes, unable to hide her burning cheeks from the shame.

“Hmph, ignorant girl. Did you become complacent from being a popular genius in Genji Dojo? How dare you swing your blade at me and attack me so viciously? I can kill you off effortlessly, but I rather let you live until the Land of Hundred Demons rules over the Kanto region. By then, I’ll come back and appreciate the hopeless and soulless eyes of the so-called arrogant genius girl~ Yes, your eyes are looking a bit like that now, but not good enough yet. Hehehe.”

“Tell you what, your standards in the Land of Hundred Demons isn’t enough for me to get heated up, genius girl~ hehehehehe!”

Although Lily’s cheeks burned under Yuuki Mayumi’s wanton gaze, she showed no signs of yielding to her.

“Who’s there!?”

Torches and lanterns lit up not far away. A large group of attendants, including Sakiko and a few swordsmanship instructors in Genji Dojo, had heard the commotion and were rushing here.

“Hmph! A bunch of trash has come to ruin the fun. Oh well, I’m not here to stir up problems in Kamakura City anyway. It won’t be fun if Lord Kamakura gets angry.”

Yuuki Mayumi stood up. Her feet were on both sides of Lily’s neck. She parted her legs and looked at Lily who was gasping for breath in humiliation.

“Hmph, we shall meet again next time, stubborn and wanton little girl! For you to possess a spirit jade at such a young age, you could’ve accomplished extraordinary feats. Too bad you picked the wrong route… The Extended Night will ultimately come. When eternal darkness envelops peace, I wish to see the helpless and desperate expression on your face as you struggle against the hundred demons, hehehehe.” Yuuki Mayumi smiled triumphantly and scornfully looked at the people who were rushing to the scene. She did a backflip and jumped onto a pine tree branch. Her figure then flashed into the depths of the forest and disappeared into the night like a phantom.

Sakiko rushed to Lily very quickly and kneeled down to help her up.

“Lily! Are you alright?”

Lily had a look of shame on her face while she breathed heavily. She lifted her head up and looked in the direction where Yuuki Mayumi had vanished in discontentment, only to find that she was long gone.

“That woman is far more powerful than me. Why didn’t she kill me? Just what kind of influence does she have in the Land of Hundred Demons?” Lily was deeply bewildered.