Chapter 95

Hua Shan Lijuan stood in the highest courtyard, holding a European monocular telescope in his hand, intently watching the picnic outside Shuri Castle.

Hua Shan Lijuan stood motionless like a statue until he noticed that the picnic was surrounded by soldiers of the Ryukyu Kingdom, then he lowered the telescope in surprise.

"Someone..." A delicate figure appeared behind him, a sweet-looking girl who, if dressed up, would be a man-killer level beauty. If Lord Long were present, he would immediately recognize her as the ninja who attacked him last night, Kiri Kage.

"Go and investigate what King Shotei is up to. I feel something is very wrong... If even you can't find anything, then use the deepest sleeper agents..." Kiri Kage responded with a "Hai" and retreated, quickly running towards Shuri Castle.

Strangely, Kiri Kage did not go directly to Shuri Castle but took a detour to a hillside. In an ordinary Japanese house, there was a hidden trapdoor under the tatami in the master bedroom, leading to a dungeon where Kiri Kage and his sister were held.

The damp and cold dungeon was not deep but very narrow. When Kiri Kage arrived, a young man, covered in blood, was chained to the wall opposite the door.

"Yaheta, I'm giving you one last chance. Return to the Shinsengumi, and we will forgive your death sentence for fleeing..." Kiri Kage's cold voice was met with Yaheta's mocking response.

"Forgive me? If I hadn't been merciful last night, how many of you would have died? Seven or eight? I forgave you, but you attacked me with the most despicable poison fog. This Shinsengumi is not the Shinsengumi I imagined..."

"Baka!" Kiri Kage rushed forward, her right hand fiercely grabbing Yaheta's bare chest, leaving five bloody marks from his heart to his waist. "The Shinsengumi cannot be betrayed! Our loyalty to the Tokugawa family is inviolable. The moment you joined us, your life was no longer your own..."

Yaheta looked pitifully at the fierce woman, his face expressionless, as if the long wounds were not on his own body. "Poor woman, you seem to have forgotten. I, Yaheta, never swore an oath. I only agreed to work for the Shinsengumi for three days. After three days, I have the right to choose whether to join or not... Of course, you weak-minded people, to cover up your twisted personalities, you would naturally choose violent coercion..."

With a crack, Yaheta's jaw was dislocated. Kiri Kage's eyes almost set Yaheta on fire with anger. "Who are you calling weak? The weak one is you, locked to the wall, you, the expert of the Shinin-ryu. We value your talent, so we give you more chances. Don't wear out our patience..."

At this moment, two other guard ninjas angrily said, "Leader, this person cannot be reformed. Should we kill him?" Kiri Kage shook her head, gently putting the dislocated jaw back in place, and asked gently, "Tell me, what did you and that Xiang talk about yesterday? What is Xiaole Tian's plan?"

Yaheta moved his jaw, looking at the woman with a mocking smile. "Ninjas have fallen to the point of begging warriors for information? You are truly a disgrace to ninjas..."

"Baka..." Kiri Kage punched Yaheta's stomach, a powerful blow that made Yaheta curl up like a shrimp.

"Shiro, stay and watch him. The rest, follow me..." Kiri Kage had no more time to waste. She turned and quickly left the courtyard with the other ninjas, determined to quickly gather information about Shuri Castle.

After Kiri Kage left the courtyard, the entire Japanese courtyard was left with only the ninja named Shiro at the dungeon door and six heavily injured ninjas in the room, all of whom were wounded by Yaheta last night.

No one thought Yaheta could escape. The four steel chains were unbreakable, and as a wandering swordsman, Yaheta had no friends in Naha Port, and no one would come to save him.

Unfortunately, the ninjas miscalculated. They never expected that shortly after they left, a dirty, emaciated figure would crawl through the drain connecting the courtyard to the outside stream.

The intruder was covered in mud, making it impossible to see his face, but the wakizashi he tightly held in his hand betrayed his identity. This wakizashi was the one Yaheta had given to Heita.

Heita, this child who had transformed into a lone wolf, had taken the path of a strong warrior the moment he swung his sword at Akahachiro. Although his body was still small, his heart had been tempered into steel.

Last night, Heita had hidden in the woods by the beach to thank his savior. He had witnessed the duel between the two experts and the ninja ambush. Surprisingly, no one had noticed him during the entire night.

Regardless of the mosquitoes and scorpions crawling on his body, Heita remained as still as a stone, hidden in the grass, showing how calm his heart had become. At that moment, Heita's mind was focused on one thought: "Heita, you must become strong. To survive and protect your sister, you must become strong..."

Survival, a humble wish, was a luxury for the lower-class people in Japan at that time.

Heita, like a lizard about to hunt, quietly crawled through the space under the wooden house. He moved very slowly, his heart very steady. In front of him were the relaxed legs of the guard.

When the distance between them was only a foot, the ninja named Shiro still did not notice the approaching danger. By the time he felt the cold chill, a sharp wakizashi had already pierced his abdomen.

The sharp wakizashi stabbed into the lower abdomen, and with a sudden force, it cut open a half-foot-long wound, spilling out his internal organs and spraying Heita with blood.

"Ah..." Shiro opened his mouth, but Heita's wakizashi flashed, instantly cutting his throat. He could no longer make a sound, falling to the ground and convulsing.

Heita quickly picked up the keys from the ground and opened the dungeon door. Just as he was about to unlock the chains on Yaheta's hands and feet, a gust of wind came from behind. "Be careful..." Yaheta watched helplessly as a katana struck Heita's left shoulder, blood gushing out like a fountain.

The attacker was one of the heavily injured ninjas from last night. Fortunately, he was severely wounded, so the blow was weak. Normally, Heita's entire left arm would have been severed. Heita grunted, not flinching, and with steady hands, he finally unlocked one chain.

Yaheta's right hand was finally free. He grabbed the katana embedded in Heita's shoulder, and with a quick flick, the katana flew out, striking the enemy's forehead.

When Heita and Yaheta, supporting each other, emerged from the dungeon, they found the remaining five heavily injured ninjas had struggled to their feet, one of them loading a musket.

"Heita, charge and kill him. Don't let him fire a warning shot..."

Yaheta used a technique to snatch a katana, cutting down two ninjas like a tiger among sheep. Heita, now a wounded wolf, charged with his wakizashi, blood streaming from his shoulder, aiming for the enemy loading the musket.

"Baka... I will become strong, I will become an invincible Heita..." The sharp wakizashi plunged into the enemy's heart, Heita's entire weight pressing down, the wakizashi grinding against the ribs, inch by inch piercing the enemy's heart.

When the enemy's struggling legs finally stopped, Yaheta had already ended the battle. He grabbed Heita and dragged him out. "Quick, go see those Qing people. They are the only ones who can protect us in Naha Port now..."

When the two bloodied figures rushed up the hill, they caused a commotion. People watched in shock as the two bloodied figures ran towards the Sakura no Yado.

At this time, Kiri Kage did not know that Yaheta had escaped from the dungeon. He and his subordinates, disguised as fishermen, tried to take a small path around Shuri Castle to the sea, but all the roads leading to Shuri Castle were blocked by soldiers.

Seeing the serious expressions of the royal guards, Kiri Kage and his subordinates did not dare to act rashly. Although the Japanese were rampant in the Ryukyu Kingdom, they still understood the hierarchy. The King of Ryukyu was a noble, equal in status to the Tokugawa Shogun. Without orders, these lowly ninjas would not dare to act rashly.

"Leader, what should we do?" The group hid in the woods, anxiously discussing their options. Kiri Kage was at a loss and could only follow Hua Shan Lijuan's plan, preparing to activate the highest-ranking Japanese spy in the Ryukyu court.

Kiri Kage took a flute from one of her subordinates, a Japanese vertical flute known as a shakuhachi. The sound of the shakuhachi is mournful and melodious, and with the twisted and contorted Japanese tunes, the sound can be quite self-torturing for those who are not used to it.

When the sound of the shakuhachi drifted to the cliffside banquet with the sea breeze, the king and his ministers were already slightly drunk. King Shotei listened with a smile. "Today's banquet is to my liking. The beautiful scenery, delicious food, and the unexpected flute music make this banquet truly delightful. Come, come, everyone, drink up..."

As everyone echoed in agreement, no one noticed that the Minister of Rites, Jin Changsen, had a slight change in his expression upon hearing the flute. He then stood up. "Your Majesty, I have brought a gift for you this time. It is currently in the hands of the steward outside. May I bring it to you?"

"Oh? A gift... Ha ha ha, very well, Minister Jin, go quickly and return quickly..." King Shotei ignored the disapproving look of General Cai Mao and allowed Jin Changsen to leave the banquet.