Chapter 50: The Argument

“Have Fujiwara Shino and the others already arrived in Kamakura?” Kamibayashi Miko asked Himemiya Izayoi.

“They’ve arrived.”

After half a month, seeing Himemiya Izayoi again, she acted as if nothing had happened. She still had sunglasses clipped to the collar of her clothes, but she didn’t even glance at Minamoto Kiyomoto.

Kamibayashi Miko nodded and said, “Then let’s go too.”

“I’ve already prepared a car. I’ll drive this time.”

“Not the RV from last time?”

“The RV wasn’t comfortable to sit in, so I threw it away,” Himemiya Izayoi said lightly.

Minamoto Kiyomoto stood silently to the side, listening to the two of them talk. They walked outside, and he followed behind.

After Kamibayashi Miko and Himemiya Izayoi had said their five sentences, there was no sound between the three of them.

The new car was a red sports car, a 2-door, 4-seater Aston Martin. The back seat was very narrow.

“Are you sitting in the front or the back?” Kamibayashi Miko asked Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“The back. The air in the front isn’t good,” Minamoto Kiyomoto fumbled for a bit, folded down the front passenger seat, and squeezed into the back.

In the driver’s seat, Himemiya Izayoi wore sunglasses and tapped the steering wheel with both hands, looking at Minamoto Kiyomoto through the rearview mirror.

Because the proportions of her nose and chin were well-balanced, she was very beautiful with sunglasses on.

“The trunk of this car is very big,” Himemiya Izayoi said.

“Thank you, no need,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied.

This was the first time the two of them had spoken in fourteen days.

“What are you replying to? I wasn’t talking to you.”

“I wasn’t talking to you either.”

“You even talk to yourself?” Himemiya Izayoi sneered mockingly.

“Are you the only one allowed to talk to yourself?” Minamoto Kiyomoto retorted impolitely.

“I was talking to Miko.”

“Stop talking to yourself. Let’s go,” Kamibayashi Miko got into the front passenger seat, closed the door, and fastened her seatbelt.

It was still raining. The sports car rolled over the muddy road, went straight for 180 meters, then turned left into Nakayama Road, heading for the capital’s elevated highway.

Lively music was playing in the car, but it was as quiet as death.

◇

Kamakura, Enoshima.

At the seaside where it was raining, even on June 19th, one still had to wear a thin jacket at night.

“Brother Kiyomoto and the others should be here soon, right?” in the small living room of the No. 134 inn, the sweet-looking Minamoto Kiyomi said.

“Counting the time, there’s still half an hour,” the person who answered was heroic and valiant, it was Minamoto Kiyone.

“Ah—” Minamoto Kiyomi stretched, her clothes sliding up, revealing her cute navel. “When I think about it ending, I’m so reluctant.”

After Minamoto Kiyomoto knew that the ninth group would be gathering in Kamakura, he instructed the three of them to travel around Tokyo, and then on the 19th, they happened to travel to Kamakura.

A group of three university-student-like ladies traveling together would not be suspected anywhere.

As for Minamoto Nagatoku, as an experienced cultivator, Minamoto Kiyomoto let him figure it out for himself.

“In the end, neither my mission nor yours was completed,” Fujiwara Shino said, shuffling the cards.

The three of them were playing cards at a pirate-themed glass table.

During this time, she had more or less integrated into the modernization of Tokyo. She wore a white short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans, with a cardigan over it.

But her words and actions were still graceful. Anyone who saw her would know that she came from a well-educated family.

“You guys,” Minamoto Kiyomi leaned forward, “if we ask Brother Kiyomoto for the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra,’ will he teach us?”

“Who knows?” Minamoto Kiyone took a sip of juice.

Fujiwara Shino placed the sorted cards on the table, “You had an unpleasant encounter before. It might be difficult.”

“Miss Fujiwara, you don’t understand me,” a clear and pleasant voice interrupted the three of them, who were about to start the next round.

The three of them followed the voice and looked.

Three people walked in gracefully from the entrance of the inn.

One had a calm expression, like a fairy from heaven;

One had an innocent and enchanting face, with sunglasses on her head, like the most beautiful woman in the world. Her slender white fingers were expressionlessly playing with a car key.

Following behind the two of them was a handsome young man, with a smile on his lips and a radiant look, making it impossible for people to take their eyes off him.

This inn, which was neither luxurious nor shabby, instantly brightened up with the arrival of the three of them.

Minamoto Kiyomi and the other two were not bad-looking, but compared to the three people in front of them, they were still lacking.

“Brother Kiyomoto~” Minamoto Kiyomi stood up.

The other two also stood up and bowed to Kamibayashi Miko and Himemiya Izayoi.

After a simple greeting and ordering drinks, the six of them sat down again.

In the U-shaped, three-sided small living room, Minamoto Kiyomoto and Kamibayashi Miko sat on one side, Minamoto Kiyomi and the other three sat opposite them, and Himemiya Izayoi sat alone at the head.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“It was no trouble. Traveling is also quite fun,” Minamoto Kiyomi replied as the representative.

Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded and took a sip of his coffee.

“Now I can tell you the purpose of coming to Kamakura. According to the information we received—the ninth group of Shintoism will appear in Kamakura tomorrow,” he said.

The three of them paused for a moment.

“Are we going to annihilate them?” Minamoto Kiyone asked tentatively.

“That’s right,” Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded. “There is a certain danger, but it’s still within a controllable range. The leader of the ninth group will be handled by Miss Kamibayashi, Yanagi Michiko will be dealt with by Izayoi, and the rest are for us.”

“Are you also making a move, Brother Kiyomoto?” Minamoto Kiyomi was stunned.

The other two were also surprised. As people who had ulterior motives for Minamoto Kiyomoto, they naturally understood his cultivation.

He had started cultivating in April, and it had only been two and a half months today.

Minamoto Kiyomoto put down his coffee cup, suddenly raised his hand, his arm like a scythe, and a black divine power as cold as ice cut towards her head.

It happened suddenly, but Minamoto Kiyomi had participated in a “battle” after all. A cherry-blossom-colored divine power was like a faucet being turned on, moving as she willed, and gathered in her arm.

“Bang!”

The No. 134 inn trembled slightly.

The boss behind the bar pressed down on the table and looked at the ceiling, “An earthquake?”

“How was that move?” Minamoto Kiyomoto withdrew his hand and asked with a smile.

Everyone looked at Minamoto Kiyomi’s hand. A cut had opened on the lace-trimmed sleeve, as if it had really been cut by a scythe, revealing a line of fair skin.

Minamoto Kiyomi’s face was full of terror. Minamoto Kiyone and Fujiwara Shino’s faces could not hide their surprise.

Although it was a sneak attack, to be able to break through Minamoto Kiyomi’s defense with only two and a half months of cultivation was already beyond imagination.

Not to mention that after breaking through the defense, he only cut the thin clothes and did not leave even a red mark on the delicate skin.

It was still unclear what his specific cultivation was because the exchange was brief, but in terms of control over divine power, Minamoto Kiyomoto had already surpassed the three of them.

But because of the huge size of the yokai, most cultivators only focused on power and didn’t pay much attention to the fineness of their power.

It was just unknown whether Minamoto Kiyomoto was advancing in both power and fineness, or only focusing on fineness.

If it was the former, then his capacity was too far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

“Before the great battle, teaching you the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’ will only distract you. After it’s over, I will tell you completely, so that you can have an explanation when you go back.”

“…Thank you,” the three of them had not yet recovered from the shock.

The cultivation of divine power was not something that could be seen by its momentum. The exchange just now was enough.

Sometimes, one didn’t even need to make a move. One’s background could be seen just by their words and actions.

When one’s capacity awakened, their words and actions would naturally reflect their talent.

If a person was indecisive, then their capacity was definitely narrow, and it was impossible for them to achieve great things.

“Does Miss Fujiwara have any doubts?” Minamoto Kiyomoto noticed that Fujiwara Shino had been sizing him up with a strange look and asked.

“No, I don’t,” Fujiwara Shino lowered her gaze and looked at her long legs.

The boss came out from behind the bar, holding a towel. Seeing that the cups of the crowd had not been overturned by the earthquake, he went back.

“Then everyone, let’s rest early tonight,” he said.

“Yes,” the three of them also stopped playing cards and stood up to go back to their rooms.

“Sit down,” Himemiya Izayoi’s eyes glanced over.

“Lady Himemiya, is there anything else?” Minamoto Kiyomi asked with confusion.

“I told you to sit down.”

“But… Brother Kiyomoto told us—”

“Are you listening to him, or to me?” Himemiya Izayoi stopped spinning her sunglasses, raised her gaze, and asked.

Minamoto Kiyomoto leaned back on the sofa leisurely, took a sip of his coffee, and didn’t even look at Himemiya Izayoi.

Fujiwara Shino and Minamoto Kiyone were fine. Minamoto Kiyomi looked back and forth between Himemiya Izayoi and Minamoto Kiyomoto, not knowing why the two people who had been so harmonious before were now suddenly on bad terms.

Although the Lord of Kyoto’s document seemed to be with Minamoto Kiyomoto, the three of them still obediently sat down.

“Lady Himemiya, what are your orders?” Minamoto Kiyone asked carefully on behalf of Minamoto Kiyomi.

“Rest early tonight. You may go,” Himemiya Izayoi turned to spin her sunglasses in her hand.

“…Yes,” Minamoto Kiyone squeezed out a smile.

The three of them stood up again, preparing to go upstairs to rest.

“Hey, hey, Sister Oto, Sister Shino, what do you think is wrong with them?” Before she was far enough away, Minamoto Kiyomi could no longer hold back her curiosity.

In the U-shaped small living room, only the three of them were left.

“Are some people taking themselves too seriously?” Himemiya Izayoi said nonchalantly.

“Yes,” Minamoto Kiyomoto took a sip of coffee, supported himself with his hands on his knees, and stood up. “I’m going to bed first.”

“Sit down,” Kamibayashi Miko said.

Minamoto Kiyomoto sat down again.

“Like a dog,” Himemiya Izayoi sneered.

“Not as much as someone else is a dog.”

“Say that again?” Himemiya Izayoi looked over.

“Not as much as someone else is…”

“Shut up,” Kamibayashi Miko glared at Minamoto Kiyomoto coldly, then looked at Himemiya Izayoi. “What’s wrong with you two?”

“You should ask her,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said. “She called me out, but she was dismissive when she spoke.”

“A lunatic speaking, isn’t it just being dismissive?” Himemiya Izayoi sneered.

Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t know where she had heard what he had said before.

“It was my fault for calling you a lunatic,” he said. “Then why were you so angry on the fifth?”

“Does a lunatic need a reason to be angry?” After Himemiya Izayoi asked, she took a sip of her juice.

“I was just angry,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“The ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’ that anyone can get from you, offset my ‘Fire Thunder’ and ‘Divine Weapon Curse,’ and I don’t owe you anything? Was that also said in anger?”

“It was said in anger.”

“Said in anger?” Himemiya Izayoi’s eyes glanced over, and she said coldly, “What right do you have to be angry?”

“If you can be angry, why can’t I be angry?” Minamoto Kiyomoto also replied coldly.

“I’m a lunatic. Are you a lunatic?”

“I am a lunatic. What’s wrong?”

“Go to your lunatic. Don’t talk to me,” Himemiya Izayoi turned her face away, her chest heaving with anger.

Minamoto Kiyomoto had never been so angry with someone in his life.

He took a deep breath and slowed his voice, “Let’s both calm down. If you have something to say, just say it. If I really did something wrong, I’ll apologize to you.”

“I have something to say directly? Heh,” Himemiya Izayoi stood up and went straight upstairs.

“Lunatic!” Minamoto Kiyomoto couldn’t help but say loudly.

“You’re a lunatic in this life, your past life, and your next life!” From the corridor, Himemiya Izayoi cursed back.

Behind the bar, the boss was wiping a glass, looking over with an amused expression.

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at him with cold eyes. He even said to Minamoto Kiyomoto, “Girls, just coax them a little. There’s no need to be serious.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto was so angry that he snorted through his nose. He was too lazy to bother with him. He picked up his cup and wanted to drink, but the coffee inside had already been finished.

“It seems she knows you’ve been hiding it from her,” Kamibayashi Miko said.

“Then why didn’t she just say it? I said, if I’m wrong, I’ll apologize to her. She doesn’t say anything, just gets angry. Not to mention me, even if you came, you wouldn’t be able to do anything,” Minamoto Kiyomoto leaned back and lay down completely on the sofa.

Kamibayashi Miko looked at him with amusement.

“Why didn’t she say it?” she asked.

“How would I know,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said in annoyance.

“Because she knows that you have no obligation to tell her everything, but she’s angry that you didn’t tell her. In other words, she’s angry because she cares too much.”

“Really? Wait,” Minamoto Kiyomoto sat up. “No wonder that day, she suddenly went crazy and said something about not being friends.”

“Manjuan praised you as a living World-Honored One, and you yourself act all knowledgeable and well-read every day. How could you not have seen it?”

“At that time, I didn’t know that ‘she knew I was hiding it from her’,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said. “I thought she was having a fit, saying something about not being friends, which hurt my feelings, so of course I was angry. Besides, I have no experience with girls. The first person I liked was you, Miss Kamibayashi.”

Kamibayashi Miko stood up, extended her snow-white wrist from her sleeve, and pushed his upper body back onto the sofa. She turned and went upstairs.

Minamoto Kiyomoto lay on the sofa for a while, sat up, and came to the bar.

“Boss.”

“Drinking?”

“No,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said. “Can you give me the room card of ‘the girl who was arguing with me just now’?”

“Hmm—” the boss wiped the glass, lost in thought.

“Don’t worry, she’s a third-dan judo master. She can easily break my neck. If something really happens, it’s her who forced me.”

“It could also be that she was half-pushing and half-yielding. That’s how girls are,” the boss gave the room card to Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Remember to hold her after you’re done and watch the rainy Kamakura at night together.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto took the room card and went upstairs. He knocked on Himemiya Izayoi’s door.

Light seeped out from the crack of the door, but no one answered.

He opened the door directly with the room card.

Himemiya Izayoi was sitting by the window, her elbow resting on the armrest of the chair, her palm supporting her head, her lonely eyes looking at the sea in the rain.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, she just turned her gaze.

“Get out,” she said coldly.

Minamoto Kiyomoto walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

“My big sister Izayoi,” he said with a smile, “there’s a reason for everything. If you’re angry, you’re angry. You have to tell me why you’re angry, right?”

“I’m a lunatic. I can get angry however I want. Can you control me?”

“If it were for other reasons, I really couldn’t control you,” Minamoto Kiyomoto walked over with a smile. “But as long as it’s a sickness, there’s nothing I can’t control. Come, let me help you take a look. Stick out your tongue.”

“Go to hell!” Himemiya Izayoi waved her hand and slapped his extended hand away.

Her anger had subsided a little. She said, “What are you looking for me for?”

“To admit my mistake,” Minamoto Kiyomoto massaged her shoulders.

Himemiya Izayoi waved his hand away.

“Didn’t we agree to break the barrier between people? Then Shintoism can’t be let off. I didn’t mention Yanagi Michiko’s matter for this reason,” Minamoto Kiyomoto explained the whole story.

“Is that all?”

“That’s all.”

“What’s there to hide from me?” Himemiya Izayoi said with a sneer.

It was better not to hear it. Hearing it made her even angrier.

They had agreed to form an alliance in Hakone. From this matter, it could be seen that he still didn’t trust her, and on a deeper level—he didn’t treat her as a friend.

It was a waste that she had taught him “Fire Thunder” and “Divine Weapon Curse,” and had even stood up for him in Hakone.

Shintoism had nothing to do with Yanagi Michiko in the first place, and she herself was thinking of helping.

The more she thought about it, the angrier Himemiya Izayoi became. For the first time in her life, she felt wronged.

“And… two selfish reasons,” Minamoto Kiyomoto held up two fingers.

“Speak.”

“First, Yanagi Michiko can increase the strength of the ninth group; second… this is too private. Can I not say it?”

“If you don’t say it, then get out,” Himemiya Izayoi withdrew her gaze.

“Alright,” Minamoto Kiyomoto made up his mind.

Himemiya Izayoi glanced at him again, looking at him coldly.

“Let me ask you, if you kill Yanagi Michiko, will you have to go back to Kyoto?”

“…What did you say?” Himemiya Izayoi asked subconsciously.

“If you kill Yanagi Michiko, will you have to go back to Kyoto?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked again. “On the fifth, when we went to buy a birthday gift, you also looked like you wanted to go back to Kyoto.”

Himemiya Izayoi stared at Minamoto Kiyomoto coldly.

Minamoto Kiyomoto took a few steps forward, his hand reaching for her fragrant shoulder again. This time, Himemiya Izayoi didn’t wave it away.

“Can you deliberately let Yanagi Michiko go once?”

“Did you fall in love with her?” Himemiya Izayoi looked out the window and asked coldly.

“If I fell in love with someone so easily, I wouldn’t still be a virgin. I want you to stay. I don’t want you to go back. I’m reluctant to part with you,” Minamoto Kiyomoto massaged her shoulder.

“Then why didn’t you just say so?”

“This kind of thing is a little embarrassing.”

“You still have a face? Arguing with a woman, having a cold war for fourteen days,” Himemiya Izayoi said with cold sarcasm.

It was dark outside. In the distance, the lights of Kamakura could be seen. The glass in front of them reflected their faces.

Minamoto Kiyomoto saw the bright smile on Himemiya Izayoi’s lips in the glass.

“I’m not just doing this because I’m reluctant to see you go. It’s also for your good character,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said, trying to please her.

“Character?”

“Do you remember? You promised me that you would go to Shikoku with me. I’ve already told my mother. I’ve even prepared a room for you. I’m doing this so you won’t break your promise.”

“So, I’ve made you worry?”

“It’s fine. The ‘Nanhua Jing’ says, ‘The skillful are weary, and the wise are worried. The incompetent have nothing to seek.’ As a wise person and a capable person, it’s my duty to worry.”

“You’re quite a talker,” Himemiya Izayoi said in annoyance. This time, she laughed out loud completely.

Minamoto Kiyomoto also showed a smile.

He said, seemingly humbly but actually proudly:

“I read all these books for the sake of cultivation, but as long as you can draw inferences from one instance, the principle is the same in every field. I can even figure out how to fall in love by reading the ‘Buddhist scriptures’.”

“Shut up,” Himemiya Izayoi said with a laugh and a curse. “You can get a big head just from a sarcastic remark. If I really praise you, are you going to walk backwards?”

“Are you wearing a skirt? If you’re wearing a skirt, I’ll walk backwards.”

“Go to hell.”

“Lady Izayoi, is my massage comfortable?”

“It’s far from it. A little harder… yes, that’s about right. A little more to the right,” Himemiya Izayoi closed her eyes comfortably.

“Okay,” Minamoto Kiyomoto squeezed her slender shoulder. “Can you not go back?”

“Is it that you don’t want me to go back? Or that you don’t want Yanagi Michiko to die?” she opened her eyes and asked with a smile.

“I want both, but as for Yanagi Michiko’s matter, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. But as for whether you go back or not, there’s only one answer—I don’t want you to go back.”

“We’ll see.”

The rainy night in Kamakura.

(End of Chapter)