"Sigh —"

Sanjō Munechika had his hands behind his back as he paced back and forth in the courtyard with a frown on his face.

Jinjian was standing beside him with his sword in hand. His tall and straight posture made him look silent and solemn.

After watching Sanjō Munechika's struggle, this Fu Mourning God, who did not like to be patient at all, simply asked, "Is there something bothering you?"

Jinjian was sincerely respectful and grateful to this "father" who gave him this body.

Therefore, he was willing to help as long as it was within his power.

And Sanjō Munechika was the only one in the world who could enjoy such special treatment.

Hearing Fu Mourning God's question, Sanjō Munechika closed his eyes and sighed, "There is no need to hide this matter. After all, it is related to you."

"About me?"

Jinjian slowly lowered his eyes and thought of a possibility.

Sanjō Munechika rubbed his forehead in distress, "Yesterday, when you came out of the furnace, you caused a strange phenomenon. Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor specially sent an edict to let you take a look."

The edict was sent this morning. It was a long and voluminous article.

Putting aside all the useless nonsense, the general meaning was — —

I heard that you have a big treasure in your family. Bring it to the palace for me to take a look.

The edict was very polite, but Sanjō Munechika knew in his heart that once he was taken in by the emperor, Jinjian would probably become the Imperial Family's possession in minutes!

He was too careless.

After yesterday's incident with Daitengu, he actually forgot about the Imperial Family's nobles who loved to watch drama.

Compared to the terrifying Great Demons, the new Unique Treasures were more to their liking.

Although it was a great honor to be the Imperial Family's possession, but … but the current Sanjō Munechika was not willing to give it up!

"You don't want me to enter the palace."

Jinjian sensed Sanjō Munechika's hesitation. He turned his eyes and said, "If this is your wish, then I won't go."

Fu Mourning God's tone was calm and indifferent, as if defying the Emperor's decree was a trivial matter.

Sanjō Munechika calmed himself down and thought for a long time. In the end, he clenched his teeth and slapped his thigh.

Enter the palace!

Since he couldn't avoid it, he might as well face it head-on!

But this time, Sanjō Munechika only brought the real body of the Odachi with him. He did not let the Fu Mourning God Jinjian follow him.

After all, there were many Onmyojis in the palace. They might not be as tolerant as Haruaki Abe towards the Fu Mourning God, who did not conform to common sense.

Sanjō Munechika sat on the ox-cart and slowly drove toward the palace.

Jinjian silently stood in front of the mansion's gate. His tall and straight figure was enveloped in a faint layer of morning light, as if he was about to melt in this hazy glow.

… …

This was not the first time Sanjō Munechika had entered the palace.

As a famous bladesmith in the capital, for various reasons, he had entered the palace not too many times, but not too few either.

However, due to the fact that his state of mind was different this time, the magnificent palaces that he used to admire and the dignified maids that brushed past him didn't attract Munechiko Mijou's attention at all.

The female official in charge of leading the way led Sanjō Munechika around one palace after another until they finally reached a winding corridor.

"Halt."

A woman's voice suddenly rang out. The end of the voice trembled slightly, and it was indescribably delicate and long.

Sanjō Munechika and the female official turned their heads and saw a woman slowly walking from the corner.

She was wearing the most common maid's kimono in the palace. But the collar, which was supposed to be tightly closed, was more than half unconventionally opened, revealing the woman's round shoulders and beautiful figure.

The woman caught up to Sanjō Munechika in a few steps, ignoring the female official who was staring at her with wide eyes.

"You must be Sanjō-sama. I've heard so much about you."

The woman unhurriedly adjusted her loose collar, and then her gorgeous red lips curled up, revealing a flamboyant and frivolous smile.

Seeing this, the female official was so angry that she took two deep breaths.

She was originally the personal servant of the Emperor of Imperial Supremacy. How could she tolerate such rude behavior? "How dare you!

Which palace are you from?

Your clothes and actions are simply impudent! "

Facing the female official's angry reprimand, the woman only half covered her head and glanced over lightly.

What reflected in the female official's vision was not the human eyes that she had initially disguised.

The white of her eyes was a terrifying pitch black. It was a bloody hole that could swallow everything.

And in these dark eyes, there was clearly a pair of molten gold pupils. A demonic light flashed in them, like a fierce beast baring its fangs, sharp and dangerous.

The female official was so shocked that she took a step back. She almost wanted to scream without caring about anything else.

However, her dry throat seemed to be strangled by someone, and all possible sounds were lost in the fear of extinction.

Her lips trembled a few times, and she couldn't make a sound. Her face was pale, and her body couldn't help but tremble.

Sanjō Munechika felt that something was wrong.

But before he could say anything, he saw the unidentified woman turned around and faced him again.

The woman's gaze wandered over his body unscrupulously. Finally, it stopped at the Odachi he was holding in his hands.

She rubbed her chin, moved closer, and sniffed. Then she narrowed her eyes and said, "As expected, it's the smell of that guy … It seems that the rumors in Kyoto aren't completely groundless …"

As the woman spoke, she observed every inch of the Odachi with her eyes. It was as if she had seen through the scabbard and clearly saw the sharp blade of the sword.

Finally, she laughed with satisfaction. "As expected of the treasure that Daitengu took a fancy to. It really is a famous sword!

It's a waste to leave such a treasure in the hands of a human. It's better to give it to a close friend! "

When these words were said, anyone would have noticed that something was wrong.

Sanjō Munechika almost didn't think, and immediately turned around and ran.

However, the woman seemed to have expected this. In an instant, Sanjō Munechika froze in place, unable to move at all.

Sanjō Munechika was extremely anxious. He wanted to stomp his feet, but there was nothing he could do.

So he could only watch as the woman stretched out her hand and pressed it on the blade of the Odachi.

Almost at the same time, Fu Mourning God, who was far away in Sanjō Mansion, seemed to have sensed something. He suddenly looked up, and a strange golden light flashed through his eyes.

"Sssss —"

On the other side, the moment the woman touched the sword, a clear burning sound could be heard in the air.

Wisps of white smoke rose from the woman's left hand that touched the sword.

The burning pain made the woman retract her hand reflexively.

As the white smoke dissipated, the originally slender and fair fingers were no longer there. What was finally revealed was a pair of terrifying ghostly hands.

"… Oh?

You actually broke my spell … "

The woman raised her eyebrows in surprise, and then showed an interested expression.

Since the camouflage had been broken, she might as well stop pretending.

So her figure flashed, and the kimono beauty disappeared. Instead, a tall man appeared.

He wore dark clothes, and his waist, shoulders, and arms were covered with armor. His whole body exuded a bloody aura of war and smoke, as if he had become a ghost.

Not to mention, he also had a pair of strange golden eyes, and a red horn that clearly didn't belong to a human.

The majestic great demon stood there, and all humans were afraid of his name.

He was — —

The ghost of Rashomon, Ibaraki Doji.

Sanjō Munechika looked at the slowly approaching demon, and knew that things weren't good.

Although he hadn't seen Ibaraki Doji before, this person's aura was comparable to Daitengu's. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't be a simple character.

The Immobilization Spell had been broken, but Sanjō Munechika knew that even so, he probably couldn't escape.

So he hugged the odachi even tighter, and suppressed his fear, and said, "You must be a great demon, why do you have to make things difficult for a little swordsmith like me?"

Ibaraki Doji snorted coldly, showing that he didn't buy it, and said, "Human, hand over the sword."

Ibaraki Doji naturally had no interest in killing a human, but if the other party didn't cooperate, he didn't mind making a move.

Of course, if it was just a normal day, he wouldn't be so serious about the sword.

But now, he was busy building a palace for his close friend, a palace with all the rare treasures in the world!

It was also because of this that Ibaraki Doji came to Kyoto.

After all, there were the most beautiful women, the best jewelry, and the most gold and silver … And these were what he urgently needed to build the palace.

Just yesterday, Ibaraki Doji, who was disguised as a maid and wandering around the palace, suddenly heard that there would be a rare treasure today. It was said that it was a rare treasure that even Daitengu was tempted by.

So, in the spirit of "the best is for his close friend", Ibaraki Doji simply came to stop him.

That was how the current scene came to be.

Sanjō Munechika didn't know the twists and turns of the cause and effect, but he could tell that the great demon in front of him wouldn't let him go so easily.

But even so —

"Today's sword is the masterpiece that I cherish the most in my life.

Whether it's the Emperor or Your Excellency, I won't hand it over! "

Ibaraki Doji smirked, and a dense demonic aura surrounded his left hand, and said, "You have a backbone, but —"

"Also very stupid."

The armor clanged, and the arrogant great demon stretched out his claws, intending to get rid of the human in front of him.

…

In the three mansions far away, Fu Mourning God, who was resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his golden eyes.

His hand slowly touched the side of his waist. His body should have been hanging there, but now it was empty.

But even so, Fu Mourning God still gripped it a few times, and then silently lowered his eyes —

… Demonic aura.

Father, there's danger.

Realizing this, Fu Mourning God straightened his body expressionlessly.

His brilliant golden eyes suddenly surged with some sort of agitated emotion, and it was like a dormant volcano had been revived. Scorching lava was gushing out, and it was bound to obliterate everything within its sight.

He walked out of the room step by step and came to the courtyard.

Then, he calmly raised his head and looked in the direction of the palace.

— Oh no, he seems to …