Seven days later. Twilight Autumn Manor.
Fujiwara No Chiko arrived early with the sword case that her master, Ito Fumio, had given her, but she realized that she was already late.
There were already more than thirty people standing outside Matsumoto Takeyoshi's pavilion. Most of them were dressed like servants, but from their sharp eyes and light breathing rhythm, they were all top experts. Beside Matsumoto Takeyoshi were three people that Fujiwara Chiko had never seen before, other than the two experts, one in green and one in white.
The first person was very tall and burly, almost twice the height of a normal person. He wore a navy blue samurai uniform and had a long sword at his waist. The sword was six feet long, and it was the longest sword that Fujiwara No Chiko had ever seen. This person had a pair of eagle eyes, and his gaze was sharp. His bronze skin, well-developed muscles, and the two scars on his face made people feel that this person was not a good person.
The second person was of medium build, and he wore black armor from head to toe. Even his hands and feet were covered with steel gloves and boots. He wore a ferocious black bronze mask on his face, revealing only his eyes. He held a black sword in his hand, and carried a quiver of arrows and a crossbow on his back. He was well-equipped.
The third person was even weirder. He wore a wide black robe, and a huge hat hung down below his eyes. There were more than ten blood-red flowers embroidered on the black robe. From the wrinkles on his skin, this person was an old man. But what made Fujiwara No Chiko feel strange was that she could not feel the breathing of this black-robed person! It seemed that this person's cultivation had reached the realm of perfection. Fujiwara No Chiko did not see any weapons on him. Perhaps they were hidden in the wide black robe.
Fujiwara No Chiko stepped into the pavilion and came to Matsumoto Takeyoshi. She bowed deeply to him and said, "Master." After that, she glanced at the three experts, and they looked back at her expressionlessly.
"Yes, everyone is here." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said as he turned around and walked into the pavilion. The two experts immediately followed him.
"The four of you, follow me." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said.
The four people, including Fujiwara No Chiko, immediately followed behind and entered the pavilion.
Fujiwara No Chiko deliberately followed at the back. This way, she could carefully observe the three experts walking in front of her and analyze their weaknesses and strengths, so that she could be fully prepared. In the future, once her true intentions were exposed, she could not avoid fighting with these three people. But to her disappointment, these three people did not seem to have any weaknesses.
The tall and sturdy man not only had light footwork, but also the long sword on his shoulder did not sway in the slightest. The sword and the person were one, which showed that his sword skills were outstanding. The expert in heavy armor following closely behind was the same. Although he was wearing heavy armor, his footwork was light, as if he was wearing ordinary clothes, and did not make any noise. The old man in black robe in front of Fujiwara No Chiko was even more incredible to Fujiwara No Chiko. She could not see the movement of his legs. Under the black robe, he seemed to be floating on the ground.
It seemed that these three people were experts among experts. She must be careful.
Under the guidance of Matsumoto Takeyoshi, the group silently came to a beautifully decorated door. When the two guards in front of the door saw Matsumoto Takeyoshi, they immediately opened the door slowly. A magnificent hall immediately appeared in front of everyone.
The first thing that caught their eyes was a huge golden statue of a man. This statue was three feet tall. It was in the image of a man, wearing armor and holding a sword. The most surprising thing was that this statue had three eyes. The third eye was on the forehead. It was carved out of a whole ruby and slightly emitted a red light.
After entering the hall, Matsumoto Takeyoshi changed his usual high and mighty image and became very humble. He bent his waist and walked to the front of the mat with small steps. Then, he knelt down and kowtowed.
"My Lord, we have prepared everything. We hope that my Lord will protect us and make everything go smoothly." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said.
After Fujiwara No Chiko heard this, she couldn't help but find it funny. This Matsumoto Takeyoshi actually believed in the illusory talk of ghosts and gods. She was not the only one. The tall expert also had a look of disdain on his face. The masked man in heavy armor also let out a cold laugh. Only the black-robed man did the same as the two experts. He imitated Matsumoto Takeyoshi's actions and kowtowed to the statue.
Just when the three people felt that it was funny, a strange scene made them unable to laugh anymore. The eye on the forehead of the statue suddenly shone with a red light. It was so dazzling that the entire golden hall was illuminated with a red light!
Fujiwara No Chiko suddenly felt a strong force like Mount Tai pressing down on her body. This force was extremely overbearing. Even if she used her True Qi to resist, it was useless. At this time, she couldn't control her body and her knees immediately knelt on the ground! Looking at the other two people, they were also like her. They were also forced to kneel on the ground by this force. The tall expert had a look of disbelief on his face and the masked man in heavy armor no longer sneered.
After the red light passed, everything returned to normal. The overbearing force that was pressing down on the three people also disappeared. After everyone got up, Matsumoto Takeyoshi waved his hand and a maid immediately brought a tray. On the tray, there were five cups and a jug of wine.
Matsumoto Takeyoshi picked up the jug of wine and filled the five cups one by one. He walked in front of the four people and placed the four cups of wine in their hands. "With the protection of great god Xie Tian, I believe we will be invincible on this expedition. Everything will depend on everyone!" Matsumoto Takeyoshi finished speaking and drank the wine in his cup.
The four of them nodded and also drank the wine in their hands. Since Matsumoto Takeyoshi drank it, it meant that the wine wasn't poisonous.
"Inform everyone to set off immediately." Matsumoto Takeyoshi gave the order.
After four hours, the group was already on the vast sea. The giant ship under their feet broke through the waves, moving at full speed. The white clothed Fujiwara No Chiko stood on the deck, looking at the vast sea in a daze. For this trip, not only did her master Ito Fumio give her the sword case he used in the past, there were also four battle swords in the sword case. These four battle swords were Ito Fumio's beloved items. In order to prevent any accidents, he let Fujiwara No Chiko wear them. Furthermore, Ito Fumio also told her the address of his China friend surnamed Ye. He told her that if her identity was exposed, she should ask for help from his friend surnamed Ye. He and his friend were friends through life and death, so he could be assured.
"Father, you must protect Chiko and help her kill her enemy." Fujiwara No Chiko silently prayed.
"Miss Chiko, what are you thinking about?" The black clothed man came to Fujiwara No Chiko's side.
"So it's Hattori Chiko," Fujiwara No Chiko replied, "The cabin is too stuffy, so I came out to get some air." After Matsumoto Takeyoshi's introduction, Fujiwara No Chiko understood the general situation of the three people. The black clothed man in front of her was called Hattori Chiko, an old man who was obsessed with weapons. His cultivation was profound, and he had a lot of special skills. He was obsessed with China's weapons culture. This time, he was recruited by Matsumoto Takeyoshi because Matsumoto Takeyoshi promised him that as long as he could help him obtain the Ming Dynasty's divine weapon, everything else would be easy. In the future, as long as he liked the Ming Dynasty's divine weapon, he could take away any weapon he wanted. The tall samurai was called Sasaki, and his martial arts were superb. Ordinary swords could not hurt him at all. At most, they would leave a white mark on his body. Not only was his swordsmanship outstanding, but he was also very strong. As for the masked man in heavy armor, Fujiwara No Chiko knew very little about him. She only knew that his name was Miyamoto Akiichi, and that his swordsmanship was strange, and his archery was exquisite.
"I've long heard about your father, Kaiga Fujiwara. I've also met your father once," Hattori Chio said in his hoarse voice as he gazed at the sea. "I admire your father's sword-making skills very much. Unfortunately, he passed away at such a young age."
"Oh?" Fujiwara No Chiko asked, "Mr. Hattori, you have met my father? How come I don't have any impression of you, Mr. Chiko? "
"Hahahaha …" Hattori Chiko laughed loudly. "When I met your father, you weren't even born yet."
"I see," Fujiwara No Chiko replied.
"With all due respect," Hattori Chiko changed the topic and said in a low voice, "Based on my understanding of Mr. Fujiwara, his death is not as simple as you think." After that, he turned to look at Fujiwara No Chiko.
"Mr. Hattori, thank you for your concern." Fujiwara No Chiko said as she turned around. "But this is the Fujiwara family's business. I know who is right and who is wrong. You don't have to worry about it." After that, she walked into the cabin.
Hattori Chiko, who was standing on the deck, lowered his head and thought for a while. Suddenly, a strange smile appeared on his face. "I see, hehehe …"
After Fujiwara Chiko returned to her room, she began to concentrate and meditate cross-legged. Hattori Chiko's words were obviously hinting at her. He still couldn't tell if this person was a friend or foe, and he couldn't fully believe what he said. Perhaps Matsumoto Takeyoshi had sent him to test him. The only thing he could do now was to sit on the fishing boat and wait for the storm to come. She needed to deal with all changes by remaining unchanged.
As Fujiwara No Chiko was thinking, there was a knock on the door. She quickly got up and opened the heavy cabin door. There was a waiter standing outside with a food box in his hand.
"Sorry to disturb you, Ms. Chiko." The waiter bowed to her. "Mr. Matsumoto said that the wind is strong and the waves are strong. It's easy to lose your appetite. He specially ordered me to bring some fruits for Ms. Chiko to quench your thirst." The waiter placed the food box on the table.
"Please thank Mr. Matsumoto on my behalf," Fujiwara No Chiko said.
The waiter nodded, bowed, and left the cabin.
Fujiwara No Chiko looked back at the food box on the table and listened carefully to the waiter's footsteps. Only then did she feel relieved. Judging from the waiter's light footwork, he was obviously a ninja. She knew the methods of ninjas. They would do anything to achieve their goals.
She opened the food box. It was full of fresh fruits. Fujiwara No Chiko used the poison detection method that her master Ito Fumio had taught her. After carefully inspecting the fruits, she felt relieved to eat them. Just as Matsumoto Takeyoshi had said, the wind was strong and the waves were strong. Even such a huge warship would often be swayed by the wind. Fujiwara No Chiko had never been out to sea. If it wasn't for her cultivation, she would have vomited. But even so, she still couldn't eat. These fruits came at the right time.
After Fujiwara No Chiko finished eating the fruits, she continued to meditate. Her master Ito Fumio had told her that her Thousand Executions was only at the beginning. At best, she was at the second level. The reason was that she didn't have enough True Qi. It must be known that there were seven levels to the Thousand Executions. They all relied on the True Qi in the body. If she didn't have enough True Qi, then this Thousand Executions was just an empty shell. So whenever Fujiwara No Chiko had time, she would sit cross-legged and meditate, concentrating on True Qi.
Early the next morning, there was a sudden noise on the originally quiet deck. Fujiwara No Chiko immediately opened her eyes and got up. Carrying her sword case, she went to the deck. At this time, the deck was full of people. These people were all holding bows and arrows. Their whole body was on guard, nervously looking at the calm sea, as if they were facing a great enemy.
"What's going on?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi came over with his clothes on. Behind him were two masters, one in green and one in white. Following closely behind were the black-robed Hattori Chio, the blue-robed warrior Sasaki, and the heavily armored Miyamoto Akiichi.
"Sir," a person who looked like a ninja leader saw Matsumoto Takeyoshi and immediately knelt on one knee. "There is a sea monster in the sea."
"Sea monster?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi frowned. "What sea monster?"
"It's a huge sea snake." The leader said.
"Sea snake?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi had some doubts in his heart. His subordinates were all elites, the cream of the crop. They would not be frightened by an ordinary sea snake. The sea snake they saw this time must be huge. Matsumoto Takeyoshi was looking for an opportunity to see the cultivation of these people. Now it seems that the sea snake came at the right time.
"It's just a sea snake. Don't panic." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said, "With these four masters here, there is nothing to be afraid of."
"Yes." The ninja leader understood Matsumoto Takeyoshi's meaning. With a wave of his hand, all the ninjas on the deck immediately retreated.
"You guys, it's up to you." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said as he walked to the back of the deck. A ninja immediately brought a deck chair. Matsumoto Takeyoshi leaned his body on the deck chair. His meaning was obvious. He wanted to see them subdue the sea snake with his own eyes.
The four of them looked at each other and slowly walked to the bow of the ship and stood still. The sea breeze blew. Except for Miyamoto Akiichi, the robes of the three people were fluttering in the wind. Matsumoto Takeyoshi opened his eyes wide and carefully observed the movements of these four people. Of these four people, except for Fujiwara No Chiko, he hasn't seen the abilities of the other three people. He just heard from the Ninja that these three people are strong and can be put to good use.
After the four of them stood still, there was no movement on the sea for a long time.
"What's the matter?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi was a little impatient. "Where is the sea snake?"
"It was just here …" The ninja leader also didn't understand why the giant sea snake that was still jumping around suddenly disappeared without a trace.
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