Demon Sword Maiden

“M- my young master is T- T- Toku…”

“Enough!” Shigetsugu pointed at the bullock cart with a whip and said, “I am Tokugawa Shigetsugu! In this Kamakura City, there is no woman who dares to block my path. Isn’t that adding misfortune to my going out to fight against monsters in the early morning? Get out of my way!”

“This road is so wide that you can easily go side by side. Why…”

“Forget it, Shiu!” Lily slightly raised a corner of the curtain. She saw that Shigetsugu harbored malicious intentions as his eyes leered at the cart. She lowered her head to let her long hair cover her face and said, “Senseless matter, why argue? We will just let him go.”

“Master… Ah no, miss…” Shiu thought of how to address Lily outside.

“Shiu, let that Shigetsugu pass by first, it won’t take much time. Such a dispute is just asking for trouble.” Sakiko also said indifferently.

Seeing that both of them said this, Shiu unwillingly drove the bullock cart to one side and let the people of Shigetsugu walk away with pride. Contrary to what one might expect, each and every samurai of Shigetsugu’s party had resolute facial features and emitted formidable violent aura.

In the cart, Sakiko said: “Lily, you did the correct thing. Shigetsugu is not a common person. Although his strength is also ranked top among his peers, his father, Tokugawa Shigemori, is a magnificent hero of the Eastern Nation. Looking at the eight nations in the Kanto region, he can be regarded as a real top hegemonic power.”

“Eastern Nation’s top powerhouse? Isn’t that the Six Swords?” Lily asked in surprise.

“Hehe, Little Lily, the Six Swords of the Eastern Nations are just six most talented persons of the younger generation of the Kanto region. However, there is still a gap between them and the mighty warriors who have existed for hundreds of years.”

“Ah? I- is that so?” Lily thought that her Sister Uesugi was already the second strongest in the Eastern Nation. She didn’t expect that there were even stronger samurai.1 Could they be some kind of old monsters?

“That’s right. Now that you have joined our main dojo, some secrets of the Eastern Nation can be revealed to you.” Inside the dimly lit cart, Sakiko’s eyes flashed with reverence. She raised her delicate body to an upright position and said: “The strongest in the Eastern Nation, except for Duke Kamakura, are the Furinkazan.2”

“Wind, forest, fire, mountain…”

Just listening to these four words, Lily felt the majestic aura of the Eastern Nation’s samurai assaulting her senses.

It could be said that these four words epitomizes the Eastern Nation’s four elements. It portrayed the strength and images of these four people!

“Yes, the Furinkazan are the real top four samurai of the Eastern Nation.

Echigo Province’s Uesugi Sokei, Kai Province’s Takeda Tsunenobu, Totomi Province’s Ashikaga Shin, and Mikawa Province’s Tokugawa Shigemori!”

Sakiko looked at Lily blinking naively so she continued to speak: “That Uesugi Sokei is now sporting tonsure3. He is also known as Uesugi Hage4 and is a legendary samurai and general. Uesugi Rei is his granddaughter.”

“Ashikaga Shin is not originally from the Ashikaga family and her original surname was Shina. After she married into the Ashikaga family, she took up the Ashikaga surname. She is Ashikaga Kiyoshi’s mother and the youngest one in Furinkazan.”

“So that’s it…”

Lily nodded and thought to herself, “It turns out that Ashikaga Kiyoshi of the Six Swords and Sister Uesugi are both related to the one of most powerful samurai of the Eastern Nation. No wonder they are so strong. There is a huge gap between them and others. I need to work harder.”

Sakiko also said with reverence: “Demons wreak havoc all over the country. It is said that the Central Wilderness and the Endless Mountains have been occupied by monsters and the Demon Kingdom. However, the Eastern Nation can stand strong like a boulder and deter the monster’s invasion, it is all because of the fact that Duke Kamakura oversees the middle region and the Furinkazan guards the four sides!”

When Lily heard this, Duke Kamakura naturally did not need to be mentioned but she was also awed by the Furinkazan. However, having said that, last night she almost got tangled up in between the Night Parade of Michizane and Shuten Doji! After all, Furinkazan only had four people. It was impossible for them to really defend all parts of the Eastern Nation. Instead, they oversee those important cities and towns. Otherwise, with Michizane and Shuten Doji’s strength, they could ignore these top samurai and come and go freely. That would be disastrous indeed.

But being able to defend the entire Eastern Nation had already shown these four people’s prestige and domineering strength!

“Unexpectedly, on top of the Eastern Nation’s Six Swords, there is such a powerful and overbearing existence as Furinkazan. Sure enough, the Eastern Nation’s samurai have a deep foundation and theyre are as numerous as the clouds! I’m really a nobody. When I arrive at the Eastern Nation’s Genji Dojo, I still have to study earnestly. Furthermore, as for the fact that I stole the treasures of two Demon Kings would be divulged or not, that’s something that’s difficult to say for now. When that moment arrives, I must have power to protect myself from Michizane and Shuten Doji. It’s still hard to imagine reaching that height now…” Lily thought while sitting in the slightly bumpy bullock cart.

“By the way, the arrogant and domineering one we just met was Tokugawa Shigetsugu, he is also one of the gifted students in the Main Dojo.”5 Suddenly, Sakiko thought of it and said.

“Hmmm…” Lily seemed to understand the previous warning from Sakiko. The more powerful and profound the place was, the more complicated the power struggle was. What was there to fight against each other when everyone was poor?

The despotic samurai she happened to meet on the road actually turned out to be her future dojo senior? Whatever the case, Lily’s purpose was solely, and purely only for practice.

There was also a female samurai among the Furinkazan, Ashikaga Shin. Although Lily didn’t know what kind of person she was, Ashikaga Kiyoshi was a handsome man so his mother should also be very beautiful. Of course, this was not the important point.6 Even women could be among the top powerhouses of the Eastern Nation. It also gave Lily confidence that women could also stand on the top!

Finally, the bullock cart slowly arrived at the gate of Eastern Nation’s Genji Dojo.

When Lily and others got out of the cart, they saw a simple white mansion with black roof that seemed to be no different from other mansions.7 In front of the door, there hung a white paper lantern painted with the Genji family’s Japanese gentian flower pattern. The height of the door was more than two meters which did not seem overly towering. There was not even a plaque which was unexpectedly low-key.

Seeing Lily’s hesitation, Sakiko said with a smile, “Isn’t it different from what you have imagined?”

“Ah…” Lily didn’t know how to answer.

“Our Genji Dojo naturally inherited the faith of Lord Genji Ieyoshi, the creator of Genji Swordstyle. It emphasizes the way of Hagakure8. The so-called Hagakure is like the shadow of a tree, establishing the way of the lord in a place nobody can find. Therefore, my Genji dojo has always been low-key. The higher the status and more important the dojo is, the more low-key the residence is. Of course, this only applies to the Genji Dojo. After all, the Genji family is also one of the strongest samurai families in the Heian Empire. Many places and facilities in the dojo which are used for official business would still need to maintain and upkeep a pomp and lavish style matching the power and prestige that befits the purpose.”

Looking at the simple and quiet gate, Lily thought, “Lord Ieyoshi is the first hero of the Heian Empire but he believes in loyalty, simplicity, integrity, and a low-key style. This is even more respectable. Lord Ieyoshi, why did you pass the last volume of your Swordstyle to me, a woman who has nothing to do with the Genji family? Can’t so many other powerful children instead fulfill your long cherished wishes?”

Lily suddenly thought of another sad thing: “As the first hero of the Heian Empire, why did Lord Ieyoshi die young…”

The door of the Dojo opened and two attendants came out. One was male and the other was female. They were dressed in white and black attires.

“Master Sakiko.” The two attendants recognized Sakiko and saluted.

Sakiko handed a letter to Lily: “This is your letter of recommendation stamped with the seal of the magistrate. It’s a certificate for you to enter the main dojo to practice. Take this and follow them to apply for admission.”

As soon as the servant heard this, he immediately looked at Lily with great admiration. “So you’re a female disciple of the main dojo. Sorry for being rude.”

They also bowed to Lily.

To enter the Genji Dojo, one had to be either a genius or a distinguished child of a powerful family. Their status was much higher than those of their attendants and factotum.

With a greeting from the attendant, five or six middle-aged workers in grey clothes ran out of the room and began to move.

“Can you send someone to drive this bullock cart to take me to Lord Sasaki’s residence?” Sakiko said.

“Of course, your excellency!”

Sakiko then said to Lily, “They will arrange other things for you. This includes the arrangement for the enrollment, accommodation, and everything else.”

“Yes, Lily will follow the arrangements of these two seniors.”

“Miss Kagami, we are just servants. Please don’t call us seniors. We are just your humble servants. Only those formal disciples of the dojo are your seniors.” The male servant was shy and embarrassed. After all, the disciples who were able to enter the main dojo were either extraordinary geniuses or children of the noble family. They were all very arrogant.9

“Oh! It’s so heavy —!” Although the four middle-aged workers were not tall and some of them were less than 1.5 meters, they were all very sturdy and strong. However, they couldn’t move the trunk Lily carried along.

Those who worked in the main dojo were by no means an ordinary person. At the very least, they had the strength of mid-tier samurai.

However, the metal seal alone was heavy and there were even fifty kilograms of gold placed inside Lily’s trunk.

“Please, I’ll do it myself…” Lily said awkwardly.

“How could you do that?!” The honest middle-aged factotum looked at the sexy beautiful girl who was much taller than him and said, “How can we let a noble10 lady like you do this kind of work. That would become the shame of our dojo factotum. Come on, brothers!”11

Six factotums worked together and finally succeeded in lifting Lily’s trunk off the ground. Sakiko sat back in the bullock cart and a servant drove the cart to the Magistrate’s residence. She seemed to have something to do and so Lily didn’t ask much about it. Lily saluted and followed the departing cart with her eyes

“Miss Kagami, please follow us. ” A man and a woman invited Lily.

“Excuse me, this one is…”

“She’s Shiu, my attending ninja.”

“Oh, understood, every dojo student can take two live-in attendants in the dojo. If there are too many, they will not work properly.” said the male servant.

“Please come with us. First, please go verify the recommendation, register, and then we will arrange accommodation for you. They will send you to your place of residence after that.”

“Thank you.” Actually, Lily was worried about the metal seal but then again, nobody would just casually search through her luggage for no particular reason.12

Following the two attendants in white garb, they stepped into the gate of the dojo. A lush and grassy place came into view. The air was also filled with the scent of fresh grass.

In the inner courtyard, one could hear the melody of birds from time to time, a rare bright morning, and the gentle sunlight that filtered through the vines of the trees cast assorted spots of light on the shade of the tree, providing people a pleasant and very peaceful feeling .

After Lily took a few steps into the courtyard of the Dojo, she felt that her body and mind seemed to have relaxed. It seemed that this elegant and quiet place was really suitable for training.

‘How romantic would it be if one could talk about love in such a poetic and quiet dojo garden…

Huh? What are you thinking about, Lily! You’d better not think about this kind of thing. If you show any signs of falling in love, you’re really unworthy of senior sister! No, no, the romance I want is to walk around the courtyard with senior sister in my arms and sweet talk under the trees and among the flowers…

However, all I can do is to endure the provocation of these beautiful sceneries and devote myself to practice.’

A sad and self pitying smile appeared on Lily’s face.

Deep in the shade of flowers and lush gardens, on the cloister of a small waterside pavilion, there was a young girl with dark blue hair in a small pure white Furisode13, watching Lily from the deep forest.