Wisps of cooking smoke rise, and thousands of cherry blossom trees bloom.
After seeing off her uncle, Yagyu Chinatsu did not leave this place—a secluded spot that could rival the most beautiful private village—but instead stayed here, waiting for her uncle to return with good news.
Because Yagyu Munenori had said that after going and coming back, they should be able to leave Mount Fuji and return to being pirates.
It was already evening, time for dinner. Out in this desolate wilderness, there were no restaurants, no delivery shops, and no servants to help with cooking, so Yagyu Chinatsu cooked for herself, making a light meal of millet porridge with green vegetables.
Actually, during this period while she and her uncle Yagyu Munenori had been living here, she had always been responsible for both of their meals.
Just as the fresh fragrance of white rice porridge began to drift through the thatched hut, an unexpected figure suddenly appeared outside the fence and walked straight through the door.
Wearing a black kimono, with delicate makeup and bright red lips, Yagyu Chinatsu came out of the kitchen holding a cooking tool. When she saw this person, she was instantly stunned, then her expression changed drastically. She asked in shock, “Why are you here!”
“Classmate Yagyu Chinatsu, long time no see.” Jiang Fei greeted her with a smile.
That’s right—the one who had come here was none other than Jiang Fei!
There was no Liu Yunduo beside him, the main character of this trip to the island country. He had only arrived one step ahead by himself. But what he hadn’t expected was that instead of seeing Yagyu Munenori, he would see Yagyu Chinatsu, a foreign student at Capital University whom he had once taught in a class and had run into a few times afterward.
“I came to find your uncle. He doesn’t seem to be here, right? Where did he go?” Jiang Fei sensed around a little, then asked.
In these few rooms, apart from Yagyu Chinatsu, there was no one else. Naturally, Yagyu Munenori was not here at this moment.
Hearing Jiang Fei say this, Yagyu Chinatsu’s expression became even more tense. Her face, which could originally seem somewhat charming, instantly turned sharp and fierce. She stared fixedly at Jiang Fei as if looking at her father’s murderer, and said sharply, “What do you want with my uncle? He’s not here. You’ve come to the wrong place!”
Last time, when Yagyu Munenori and Jiang Fei discussed swords at the golden summit of Emei, although Yagyu Chinatsu had not gone, she had long since understood the whole story clearly. So she also understood very well why her uncle had not died after his defeat, and knew that Jiang Fei and her uncle had a half-year agreement.
Now the half-year deadline had not yet arrived, but Jiang Fei had traveled thousands of miles from Huaxia to the island country and had even directly found the place where her uncle lived. What did that mean? It went without saying.
He definitely wanted to fight her uncle again!
Originally, when Yagyu Chinatsu looked at Jiang Fei, there had always been a faint admiration in her eyes. Now, only hostility remained.
“Not here? But the information I gathered says he really is here. You’d better tell me where he is.” Jiang Fei said with a smile.
“I don’t know where you heard that from, but there’s no one here you’re looking for. Please leave immediately!” Yagyu Chinatsu said coldly.
She could not possibly let Jiang Fei go see her uncle Yagyu Munenori. Last time, her uncle had suffered a crushing defeat at Jiang Fei’s hands. Only a few months had passed since then, and the situation was very unlikely to have reversed.
Jiang Fei shook his head and said bluntly, “You’re worried I’m here to duel your uncle again, aren’t you?”
Yagyu Chinatsu just stared at Jiang Fei and said nothing.
“You’re wrong this time. I’m really not here to duel your uncle. I came this time only because I have something to discuss with him. The one who wants to duel him is someone else. Haven’t you heard the news lately? There’s a female swordsman from Huaxia named Liu Yunduo who has been challenging the top experts of the island country’s kendo world one after another. The next one she’s preparing to challenge is your uncle, isn’t it?” Jiang Fei asked.
“So what? What does that have to do with you? Are you going to challenge my uncle before she does?” Yagyu Chinatsu asked coldly.
Recently, like her uncle, she had been living at the foot of Mount Fuji, keeping a low profile and almost cutting herself off from the outside world. But a necessary understanding of the news was still indispensable. So she roughly knew a little about Liu Yunduo.
It was just that she had never taken it seriously.
How could a young swordsman—and a woman, at that—possibly be a match for her uncle, the only sword master of the island country in this era? Not everyone was as monstrous and abnormal as Jiang Fei.
So even though she knew Liu Yunduo wanted to challenge Yagyu Munenori, Yagyu Chinatsu had not told her uncle about it.
“No, no, no. I’m just traveling with her. This time I’ll be watching from the sidelines. So I want to find your uncle beforehand because I have something to discuss with him. It’s not to challenge him.” Jiang Fei said. “I’m telling the truth.”
Yagyu Chinatsu was stunned.
Jiang Fei meant that this time he had come to the island country together with that woman named Liu Yunduo? She had never heard this news before. She hadn’t known that beside Liu Yunduo there was actually a peerless expert like Jiang Fei!
Could it be that Jiang Fei had really come to find her uncle not to challenge him, but to discuss something, such as asking her uncle to go easy in the upcoming match?
“Do you think I’ll believe you?” Although many thoughts flashed through her mind for a moment, Yagyu Chinatsu did not really believe Jiang Fei’s words so easily. Instead, she retorted with a cold smile.
This woman was really troublesome. Jiang Fei frowned, feeling a little impatient. He said, “It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not. It means nothing to me. But I only want to tell you: do you think that if you don’t tell me where your uncle is, I really won’t be able to find him? Also, do you think your uncle is the kind of person who would avoid me for the rest of his life? If you miss this chance, then the next time I find your uncle, or your uncle comes to find me for a duel himself, I won’t guarantee that something you don’t want to see won’t happen.”
“You…” Yagyu Chinatsu was choked with anger, but she could not refute him.
Her uncle Yagyu Munenori, of course, could not possibly hide for a lifetime without seeing Jiang Fei just because he feared death. If the half-year deadline arrived, even if Jiang Fei did not come looking for him, Yagyu Munenori would definitely step onto Huaxia’s soil again on his own to find Jiang Fei. Even if he clearly knew it meant death, he would not hesitate.
Thinking of this, Yagyu Chinatsu could not help but burn with fury. She stared fixedly at Jiang Fei and asked, “You really came to find my uncle this time only to discuss something?”
Jiang Fei nodded.
“My uncle went out because of something. I don’t know when he’ll be back. Can you wait two days?”
“I can’t wait.” Jiang Fei said. Liu Yunduo had already arrived at Mount Fuji, and there was no telling when she would take the initiative to challenge Yagyu Munenori. There was not much time left.
“Then… then I’ll take you there…” Yagyu Chinatsu had no choice. Fortunately, she knew where her uncle had gone this time to “break through the pass.”
For a moment, through a strange twist of fate, all three groups of people gathered at the cliff where Tsukahara Bokuden lived.
