A Pawn’s Passage

Before Qi Xuansu finished his sentence, he had already thrown a punch at the village elder.

The elder's entire body collapsed instantly, a faint mist rippling around him like deflating skin. Moments later, he turned into a sheet of skin in clothes, drifting gently to the floor.

Han Yongfeng rushed forward, picked up the skin, and examined it. His face changed dramatically when he noticed it was not tanned hide nor synthetic leather, but freshly flayed human skin, still bloody and raw.

This was also why Qi Xuansu had attacked first. He was highly sensitive to the scent of blood.

Just then, a storm of flying needles shot toward them like rain.

Qi Xuansu stepped forward and thrust out both palms, conjuring a wall of qi that blocked the onslaught of needles.

Two blades suddenly stabbed through the floor. Without even glancing at them, Qi Xuansu balanced on one foot and kicked both sides, snapping the blades in half.

He followed with a powerful stomp. The entire building trembled, and blood began to seep up through the floor.

Clearly, someone had been hiding underground using Earth Escape Methods, trying to ambush him. But Qi Xuansu had crushed them to death. This saved them the time to dig up a grave.

Seeing how terrifying Qi Xuansu was, the hidden assailant who had launched the needle attack dared not linger. The shadow flickered and vanished in an instant.

Qi Xuansu did not bother giving chase. Instead, he instructed, "Search the area. Watch for booby traps."

The others acknowledged in unison and spread out.

Han Yongfeng entered the inner room and returned to report, "Deputy Hall Master, there's a skinned corpse inside, likely the original owner of that piece of skin."

As he spoke, he pointed to the human skin from earlier.

Lu Yuting examined the tea boiling over the hanging brazier. "Deputy Hall Master, the tea is poisoned. These Wokou are quite cunning. First, they refused us and urged us to leave, then begrudgingly agreed. That kind of behavior lulls people into lowering their guard. If we hadn't been careful, we really might've fallen into their trap."

Qi Xuansu said, "Seems they were pressed for time. If not for that faint scent of blood, the outcome might have been very different."

Qian Daren sighed. "They say the Wokou are cunning and cruel—turns out it's all true."

Elsewhere, Li Mingshan carefully picked up a throwing needle. He noticed that both ends of the needle were sharp, unlike many projectile weapons found in the Central Plains.

"Deputy Hall Master, please take a look," Li Mingshan said as he raised the needle.

Qi Xuansu asked, "Is there something noteworthy about this needle?"

Li Mingshan replied, "In Fenglin, all throwable weapons are generally referred to as shuriken, which translates to hand-hidden sword."

Han Yongfeng scoffed. "Those Wokou call everything a sword. They insist on calling curved blades swords. Now, even throwing weapons are called swords. They like swords so much, yet there isn't a single real sword in sight!"

Li Mingshan continued, "Shuriken are divided into stick type and wheel type. The stick type comes in single-point versions, commonly known as throwing needles, and double-point versions, called senbon. The wheel type refers to what we usually call ninja stars or throwing stars in the Central Plains. These have multiple sharp edges, such as eight-point, hexagonal, cross-shaped, triangular, and hook cross shuriken."

Qi Xuansu looked at the needle in Li Mingshan's hand and remarked, "So this is what they call a senbon."

Li Mingshan nodded. "Stick-type shuriken are easy to carry and make, but difficult to use effectively. They require extensive training. The user's skill directly affects range and accuracy. That's why most people can't handle them."

Qi Xuansu mused, "So in short, this senbon has a high threshold. Not just anyone can use it. Who do you think these people are?"

Li Mingshan replied with certainty, "The Iga Ninja."

Qi Xuansu said, "I've heard of ninjas. They're professional spies, scouts, and assassins, right?"

Li Mingshan nodded. "Exactly. In Iga, there's a place called the Forty-Nine Temples of Iga. That's where the Iga Ninja originated. There are three main families: the Hattori, Momochi, and Fujibayashi clans, together known as the Iga Jonin Triad. Later, the Hattori clan left Iga to serve the Ashikaga shogunate, and the Momochi clan took over local power.

"The earliest Iga Ninjas were actually feudal lords. Before the Toyotomi government, the Oda clan held the most power. Even the Toyotomi clan was once their vassal. The Oda clan patriarch called himself the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. He famously crushed the Enryaku-ji Temple, which belonged to the Hongan-ji. Monshu Shonyo called him the Enemy of the Buddha, hence the Demon King title.

"When the Oda clan was at its peak, they built the Maruyama Castle in Kobe as a base to attack Iga, but were repelled by the Iga Ninja, who then burned the castle down. The next year, the Oda clan sent a force of ten thousand troops into Iga, losing more than half. That became known as the First Iga Ninja Rebellion."

Qi Xuansu interrupted, "Superintendent Li, the Kobe you mentioned—does it happen to be near Mount Suzuka?"

Li Mingshan replied. "Yes, the two are only separated by one district. Both are located within Ise Province."

Qi Xuansu nodded, signaling for Li Mingshan to continue his explanation.

Li Mingshan continued, "The year after the First Iga Ninja Rebellion, the Oda clan resolved the issue with the Ishiyama Hongan-ji, forcing Shonyo to back down. That freed their hand. The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven personally led an army of 40,000 troops to invade Iga. With some locals defecting, the result was decisive. Aside from the Hattori clan, who had already left Iga, the other two clans were annihilated. The remaining 2,000 or so surrendered to the Oda clan. Nowadays, the Iga Ninja are no longer an independent force but mercenaries employed by regional lords, similar to The Inn in the Central Plains. Chancellor Toyotomi's Office also employs a group of these ninjas under the Hattori family."

Qi Xuansu nodded silently, saying nothing more.

Naturally, the group could not linger here and resumed their journey.

Not long after, they passed a small river spanned by a bridge.

As they crossed, a sudden barrage of explosions erupted from the dense forest on the opposite bank. Smoke and fire filled the air.

Members of the Daoist Order were no strangers to such ambushes. It was clearly an attack using matchlock firearms from the thickets. They were not alarmed. Now that most of them had recovered from their injuries, they scattered to dodge the fire.

Tang Yongshui even drew his own pistol and returned fire.

Qi Xuansu did not dodge, allowing the bullets to strike his body.

He stood firm like an indestructible being.

The scene reminded him of the time he encountered the Heavenly Court's Marshal Tianpeng in Jinling Prefecture. Even the legendary Divine Dragon Pistol had been useless against the Heavenly Being. Now, Qi Xuansu was far more powerful than Marshal Tianpeng had been.

When the barrage finally ceased, Qi Xuansu shook his robes. Countless bullets clattered to the ground.

Almost simultaneously, over a dozen black figures leaped out from the water, rushing at Qi Xuansu from all directions.

Qi Xuansu still did not move. The enemies' blades slashed at him, but not only did they fail to harm him, the blades also shattered upon impact.

He countered with his fists. Each blow seemed harmless, yet it shook their internal organs. One by one, the enemy collapsed, lifeless.

This was the power of a Martial Arts Practitioner in the Divinity Realm. Qi Xuansu had previously faced many elite opponents, most of them stronger than him, including Prince Liao. That was why he seemed vulnerable then. But now, against opponents weaker than him, his indestructible body shone.

For a long while, there were no more gunshots.

It seemed the ambushers had lost all hope.

This was not the kind of enemy they should have been sent to confront.

Defeating someone like Qi Xuansu required cannons, not matchlocks.

Had it not been for the Yamata-no-Orochi destroying their flying vessel, Qi Xuansu and his group would never have ended up here.

While the others held still, Qi Xuansu made a move.

In a flash, Qi Xuansu vanished into the dense forest.

Moments later, the forest resounded with thunderous explosions and shouts of combat before falling silent once more.

By the time Han Yongfeng, Lu Yuting, and the others reached the forest, all that remained were scorch marks from the explosions and a field littered with corpses. Qi Xuansu was standing alone.

The enemy was the Iga Ninja.

Qi Xuansu did not bother leaving one alive because he simply knew the ninja would never talk. The very word "ninja" implied silence, and he was not about to waste time trying.

He tossed the long rifle to Tang Yongshui and instructed, "Superintendent Tang, you're from the Tianji Hall, so take a look at this firearm."

Tang Yongshui received the firearm, inspected it briefly, and said, "The structure is crude, similar to a matchlock musket. It uses black powder and steel shot, hence the thick smoke. It's clearly not a standard-issue military weapon. Back in the Central Plains, it would be the kind used by village militias or mountain bandits."

Then he suddenly added, "Eh? But the metallurgy is surprisingly refined, almost comparable to our Class C workshops in Tianji Hall."

Qi Xuansu grew interested. "Please elaborate."

Tang Yongshui replied, "The barrel is the most critical part of a firearm. If it's strong enough, it won't explode under pressure. That allows you to pack in more powder, which increases both power and range. But if the materials are low-grade and you still want more power, the bore has to be wider. Then, to avoid bursting, you either lengthen the barrel for better acceleration or thicken the walls. Stack all that together, and your musket becomes a cannon. Yet these muskets are of normal length, use regular powder, and still hit targets on the bridge from inside the woods. That means the barrel strength must be exceptional, allowing for high loads of gunpowder."

Qi Xuansu nodded thoughtfully.

To maintain barrel strength without increasing length or thickness required exceptional metallurgy. Eventually, even steel was not enough.

Qi Xuansu's Dragon Painting Pistol was not large, but it was incredibly heavy. The materials were not ordinary iron or copper, and though it was called a pistol, it was more akin to a handheld artillery piece. But because of its rare materials, such weapons could not be mass-produced.

Qi Xuansu took the musket back from Tang Yongshui and pressed a deep fingerprint into the barrel using the strength of a Heavenly-Being Martial Arts Practitioner. "This level of metallurgy isn't something common smiths can manage. These people must have powerful backing. Who do you think it is?"

Lu Yuting replied, "Either the Fenglin Court or the Western Holy Court. We've permitted Holy Court merchant ships to trade with Fenglin, so they may have brought this technology with them."

Qi Xuansu sighed. "Whichever it is, it's a development we'd rather not see."