msmithbooks Chapter 2244-2242 The Sword Masters' Life-or-Death Battle
Chapter 2244-2242 The Sword Masters' Life-or-Death Battle
Chapter 2244-2.242 The Sword Masters' Life-or-Death Battle
The stunt car slowly arrived at the Hirakawa Gate.
The enormous female ghost face floating in front of the oxcart unknowingly shed two lines of bloody tears. The teardrops had barely slid down her cheeks when they burst into a spark. The spark, trailing a crimson tail of flame, flowed towards the ground, leaving two long lines of fire behind the oxcart.
As the oxcart drew closer, the giant ghost face gradually shrank back into the carriage.
"Pfft—" until the black "Tajima cattle" pulling the cart (named after its place of origin, Tajima Province, it is small in size and was once used as a draft animal, but later became the source of the three top Wagyu breeds, Matsusaka, Kobe and Omi, due to its excellent meat quality) slowly stopped under the Hirakawa gate with a long snort.
The oxcart in Japan originally served as a means of transportation for the imperial family and nobles during the Heian period. By the late Kamakura period, its practicality had diminished, and it only appeared during special ceremonies at the imperial palace. It was abolished during the Sengoku period, but revived after Toyotomi Hideyoshi came to power, evolving into the "Gosho-kuryu," a massive carriage requiring a ladder to enter and exit. Later, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who conquered Japan, emulated the ancient nobles by riding in such a huge oxcart to meet the emperor and receive his title as Shogun. From then on, the oxcart ceased to be a practical means of transportation and became a symbol of aristocracy coveted by the "samurai families" (a group of samurai families who held power through force, and the "courts" who held office through lineage), used to display power and pomp. In Edo Castle or on formal occasions, samurai riding in oxcarts were accompanied by mounted attendants to display their authority. While the more common personal modes of transportation during the Edo period were palanquins, kakogo (similar to palanquins but with a different structure, often made of woven bamboo baskets, with a cramped space requiring two people to carry it; townspeople could use them under specific conditions, but these were strictly limited), and kakogo (specifically, luxurious kakogo used by shoguns and daimyo, with a complex structure, tatami mats inside, doors, and rainproof devices, and exquisite decorations; shoguns needed eight people to carry them, and daimyo needed four). These vehicles, though cramped, were more flexible given the limited road conditions. Compared to the lightweight palanquin, oxcarts were slow and cumbersome, and therefore did not dominate daily commuting, remaining more reserved for ceremonial or specific transportation scenarios.
Seeing that Captain Yuko, the courtesan of Gobancho, and the four concubines Xu Jingshan, who were blocking the entrance, remained unmoved for a long time, the black Tajima bull impatiently pounded its hooves.
"My lord, what should we do?" Captain Yuko, the courtesan of Gobancho, habitually asked Wu Chen.
"Pull back the curtains," Wu Chen said after thinking for a moment.
"Yes, sir." The side windows of the ornately decorated imperial carriage were covered with bamboo blinds. A slight lift of a corner revealed the situation inside the carriage.
"This is..." Captain Yuko, the courtesan of Gobancho, immediately saw two corpses in the position of seppuku (ritual suicide). According to Edo-era custom, after the person committing seppuku cut open their abdomen, the second (kaishakunin) would swiftly sever their cervical vertebrae to alleviate their pain. However, precise control of the force was required, usually leaving a thin sliver of skin connecting the head to the body to prevent it from falling off completely and becoming disrespectful. Therefore, a second who could sever the head in one stroke was not qualified.
The identities of the two people in the carriage, a man and a woman, whose necks had been cut open but whose bodies remained intact after committing seppuku, were immediately confirmed by a pop-up message from "Super Brain Area Chain".
The eleventh shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ienari, had two illegitimate siblings: the beautiful younger sister, Tsuchimon Murasaki (Green Demon), who was obsessed with murder and debauchery, and the elder brother, Tsuchimon Ietake, who had a perverse love for his sister.
From "Sleep Maniac Shiro: Human Muscle Spider".
This time, the swordsman protagonist is facing off against twin siblings born to a concubine of the Shogun. Compared to the extremely extravagant and beauty-obsessed Takahime in the second part of the series, "Victory or Defeat," the sword-collecting Katagiri Takayuki in the third part, "Full Moon Slash," and the twisted personalities of the Shogun's illegitimate sons in the fourth part, "Demon Sword," and the resentment towards her ugly face and jealousy of all beautiful things in the world in the seventh part, "The Passionate Sword," the Tsuchimon siblings in this work can be said to be the epitome of all of the above.
The eleventh Shogun, Tokugawa Ienari, from his ascension to the throne at age 15 to his death at 70, married 40 concubines and fathered 53 children (26 sons and 27 daughters). Due to the enormous expenses and burden of raising them, he sent some of his illegitimate sons to various daimyo domains as adopted sons. This not only alleviated the Shogunate's financial pressure, but Ienari also hoped to strengthen the Shogun's power by ensuring his bloodline widely inherited these domains. The Tsuchimon siblings were among them. However, Murasaki, spoiled from childhood, had a twisted personality. Her two husbands were poisoned by her brother, who was obsessed with her, leading to a drastic change in her character. She also suffered from a strange illness that could only be alleviated through bloodshed. To prevent betrayal, the siblings went so far as to poison many high-ranking Shogunate officials in Edo. Until their crimes were exposed, Shogun Tokugawa Ienari was forced to order them to commit seppuku to quell the public outcry. In reality, they secretly switched the bodies, finding two scapegoats to commit seppuku as atonement, while the brother and sister were quietly transported out of Edo and hidden in Kai Province.
Kofu Castle, also known as Maizuru Castle, gets its name from its layered white walls, which resemble a white crane spreading its wings. It is also called Ichijo no Koyama Castle. Built on the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, it was taken over by Tokugawa Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara. The Kofu Domain (Kai Province, present-day Yamanashi Prefecture), where it was located, was a key domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate, often headed by the Shogun's heir or a close relative, and held strategic significance in monitoring both the central government and local areas.
However, exiled to a foreign domain and left unsupervised, the brother and sister became even more ruthless, capturing all the villagers of Yagi Village, near the "Great Crow Forest," and imprisoning them in the mansion's dungeon, which the surrounding villagers called the "Demon Mansion," for their daily torture and amusement. Coincidentally, the swordsman protagonist's mother was buried in Yagi Village. On his way back to Edo, Kyoshiro, on a whim, went to Kofu to pay respects to his mother, thus setting off a series of erotic, suspenseful, and deadly battles in the "Swordsman's Duel."
Same recipe, familiar taste.
After slaying men and women along the way, she finally brought down Tsuchimon Ietake, the illegitimate son of the Shogun. Murasaki, who had been killed first, also perished amidst the wrath of the Yagi villagers, turning to face the raging flames of the Oni Mansion.
Clearly, the raging fire of the Demon Mansion in Maizuru Castle is the reason that attracted the "Shiranui Fox".
"My lord, are you sure it's the Tsuchimon siblings themselves?" Captain Yuko, the courtesan of Gobancho, felt that something was off.
"No." Wu Chen's fleeting True Sight revealed the flaw: "It's those two scapegoats!"
As they were talking, the male substitute turned his head and smiled eerily: "Ah, no wonder you have the beauty of a courtesan."
After saying that, his mask fell off, revealing his true colors.
This man was none other than Honda Tsukijuroji, the Tsuchimon family's flag bearer, who routinely acted as an accomplice to tyranny, capturing able-bodied men to provide sexual pleasure for his siblings. Yet, he adhered to the code of the samurai and committed seppuku on behalf of his master when the swordsman protagonist stormed the Tsuchimon Oni Mansion.
Hearing this, the female scapegoat turned her head and smiled eerily: "Can I have your face, sister?"
This woman is none other than Murai Suma (Sanjo Mako), the younger sister of Murai Kanbei, a maidservant of the Tsuchimon family and a master of the Madoka school of martial arts!