Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 721 - 596 Unexpected Gain (Seeking Monthly Tickets) _1

Chapter 721: Chapter 596 Unexpected Gain (Seeking Monthly Tickets) _1

Li Xuan thought that the Black Deer King was hiding in the residence of the Bashe queen. However, after entering, the six-tailed spirit fox led them to the left.

"Fusou Pavilion?"

Li Xuan was taken aback and then slightly frowned.

East of the Great Jin Dynasty in this world, there is also a vast island. It’s positioned not far from Japan, and its land area is three times as large as Japan.

The people on the island claim to be the descendants of Xu Fu and call their land ’Kingdom of the Rising Sun’, believing their dwelling to be the place where the sun rises.

The Jin Dynasty does not acknowledge the ’Kingdom of the Rising Sun’ nor its Emperor, referring to the kingdom as Wo. Later, at the request of the Wo envoy, it was changed to ’Fusou’.

As it happens, there is a delegation from the Kingdom of Fusou that recently arrived in the capital city to negotiate trade.

The negotiations, also known as the ’tribute trade’, began during the early phase of the Jin Dynasty that implemented maritime restrictions. It only allowed trade with foreign countries that were prepared to offer tributes at specific times and places.

Foreign merchant ships had to deliver tribute goods and regional items to Jin. The Great Jin Dynasty would collect the tribute goods, purchase regional items, and gift Chinese goods to foreign merchants in the form of ’Guoci’ (National gifts).

Before these merchant ships could dock in the Jin Dynasty, they needed to hold a ’Kanhe’ issued by the Jin Dynasty in advance, which could be interpreted as a permit.

On the one hand, the Jin Dynasty intended to prevent piracy with this measure, while monopolizing the income from overseas trade on the other hand.

The purpose of this delegation from Fusou, although ostensibly for an audience with the Emperor, is actually to acquire the ’Kanhe’.

Li Xuan couldn’t understand how the Black Deer King got involved with the Fusou delegation?

"It’s here!"

Jiang Hanyun looked up at the entrance of the ’Fusou Pavilion’. "Lei told us that the last trace of the Black Deer King’s presence was here. He was very sure and even sensed that there’s a trace of your sword intent."

Jiang Hanyun referred to it as sword intent because the ’Rule of Extreme Heaven’ was born from the ultimate martial intent.

At this moment, some Fusou samurai guarding the entrance of the Fusou Pavilion had run in rushingly.

Soon, a man in silk and feathers, with a Mediterranean samurai hairstyle (Tsuki-to), hastily stepped out.

This man focused his gaze on Li Xuan’s bright yellow Feiyu Suit, the Six Dao Fumo Armor, the Xiuchun knife, and the Wenshan seal on his waist.

He quickly recognized Li Xuan and bowed, "Fusou official, Keigo, the third son of Onodera from Seiwa Minamoto lineage, greets the Marquis of Guanjun of the Great Jin Dynasty."

With a mixture of doubt and caution, he asked Li Xuan, "What brings Marquis Guanjun to this humble place?"

"So it’s Onodera, the direct line of Seiwa Minamoto. I heard you are the descendants of the king of Fusou, aren’t you?"

As Li Xuan walked up the steps, he casually said, "I am here looking for someone. Recently, there has been a significant case in the Capital City, and I suspect that the culprit is hiding in the ’Fusou Pavilion’."

He thought, since Lei insisted, the Black Deer King must be hiding in the Fusou embassy.

Onodera Keigo’s face changed as he swiftly stepped in front of Li Xuan, "Wait a moment, Marquis Guanjun, this is the Fusou embassy, outsiders must not enter without permission."

Li Xuan’s pupils narrowed, giving Onodera Keigo a piercing look, "Onodera, are you trying to hinder me from carrying out my duty?"

Though he wasn’t a radical before his transmigration, he had no ill feelings towards the people of Fusou in this world.

After all, the people of Fusou in this era are very respectful towards the Great Jin Dynasty.

Neither could he do anything to them.

At the beginning of the Jin Dynasty, the five envoys sent to Fusou were beheaded as they were mistaken for Mongol envoys. However, the Hongwu Emperor, the Great Ancestor, swallowed this insult.

One of the reasons was the Fusou people’s apology was well received, and the other was the Jin Dynasty’s weakness in maritime power.

After the collapse of the Mongol reign, some old forces were active at sea, which caused considerable disturbances to the Jin Dynasty, forcing the Hongwu Emperor to implement maritime restrictions.

It wasn’t until the reign of Emperor Taizong, when the threat from the Mongol Yuan Dynasty significantly reduced, that the situation began to improve. During Taizong’s reign, a fleet of luxury ships called the Seven Treasures roamed the oceans, making a name in the South China Sea.

But now, as government spending is becoming more strained and the Tumu Fort disaster, those luxury ships have rotted in the harbor.

Starting disputes without having enough backing only brings shame.

However, if Onodera Keigo intends to stop him from capturing the ’Black Deer King’, the situation is different.

"Lord Marquis Guanjun," Onodera Keigo might not want to offend Li Xuan. He avoided Li Xuan’s gaze and lowered his body further.

However, he refused to give way, strongly resisting Li Xuan’s plans.

"Lord Marquis Guanjun, the embassy is currently not suited for outsiders. If you’re looking for a criminal, you could draw his profile and characteristics for us to search for. Please believe in the capability of our delegation. Among our delegation, there are fifty senior samurai, five swordsmen, and a heavenly level swordsman."

From his last sentence, Li Xuan sensed a veiled threat.

The senior samurai of Fusou is equivalent to the third gate cultivator; the ’swordsman’ is equivalent to the fourth gate cultivator.

The term ’swordsman’ of the Fusou people is not as broad as that in Middle Earth. It refers specifically to those who have achieved the ’Menkyo Kaiden’ in their swordsmanship lineage; they all qualify to establish a lineage.

Li Xuan did not hesitate to place his hand on the pair of Dari knives around his waist: "What if I insist on going in to find someone?"

Xue Yunrou, who had followed along, immediately activated an arcane spell, unsheathing a pair of ’Zhengyi Fumo Swords’.

The Black Deer King is related to the life and death of her brother, and she must capture it no matter what.

"We, the ambassadorial group, have the right to refuse unreasonable requests, and we must refuse."

Onodera Keigo raised his head, looking at Li Xuan: "Jin Dynasty is a country of ceremony, it is said that the Marquis of Guanjun is the Hufa of Neo-Confucianism, the upholder of orthodoxy. You should know how to write the word ’ceremony’.

If there were a conflict here, I presume neither you, Marquis of Guanjun, nor the court of the Jin Dynasty would want to see it. What’s more, if you don’t find the suspect in our embassy, I will certainly report this matter to your court."

At this moment, a chilly sword intent emanated from inside the ’Fusou Pavilion’, remotely locking onto Li Xuan’s primordial spirit.

Li Xuan’s pupils constricted immediately, recognizing this to be the ’Sword Master’ of the heavenly level mentioned by ’Onodera Keigo’.

The Fusou people use the ’Katana’ as their sword. All their katanas and swordsmanship developed from the ’Tang Straight Sword’.

However, Li Xuan’s gaze became even colder, a trace of chilling murderous intent converging in his eyes.

What he was least able to tolerate in his life was being threatened. The words of Onodera Keigo were nothing but trifles to him.

Embassy conflicts, complaints to the court, Li Xuan had ways to deal with them.

However, just as he was about to act, Jiang Hanyun tugged at his sleeve: "Wait, don’t start yet."

Li Xuan looked over, perplexed. Jiang Hanyun’s temperament was far more aggressive than his.

The reputation of the ’Iron-blooded Shura’ had recently reached the capital.

Jiang Hanyun then sent a secret message: "Lei just told me that the deer’s aura has disappeared. It might have been moved, escaped, or was hidden."

Li Xuan remained with his hand on the Dari Knife. He thought, even if it was moved or hidden, so what? He could just follow the clues all the way.

Only when he noticed a look that Jiang Hanyun cast towards him, did Li Xuan raise his eyebrows and reveal a cold smile.

※※※※

Half a moment later, after seeing Li Xuan and his group leave, Onodera Keigo turned around with a gloomy face and headed toward the main hall of the Fusou Pavilion.

Sitting in the center of the hall was an old man dressed in a white robe, with white hair and beard, his eyes sharp as lightning, and his demeanor dignified and imposing.

Onodera Keigo kneeled before the old man: "Master Kamo, the Marquis of Guanjun from the Jin Dynasty has departed."

The name of the old man in front of him was ’Kamo Ittosai’.

Even though he did not hold a court-supervised position in Fusou, nor was he a lord of any region, he was a heavenly-level sword master revered by all the samurai in Fusou, and he was also Keigo’s swordsmanship teacher.

"I have sensed it," said Kamo Ittosai indifferently. "Onodera, do you know why he came here? Was it for that heavenly deer creature?"

Onodera Keigo bowed slightly: "I can’t be sure, they did say so, but they might have another purpose."

"I hope it’s for something else. The blood and demon core of this deer creature are very nutritious, they can even help the nobles extend their lives. After we return to our country, this will be the best gift for the Shogunate General and the Mikado."

As Kamo Ittosai spoke, he waved his sleeve and a metal cage about one zhang in radius appeared beside him. A large black deer was held within it, its demeanor feeble and it seemed semi-conscious.

Noticing the worry on Onodera Keigo’s face, Kamo Ittosai frowned: "What’s the matter? Are you worried about offending the Marquis of Guanjun?"

"Yes!" Onodera Keigo nodded: "I heard that this Marquis of Guanjun has a great influence in the court of the Jin Dynasty, and has even formed a powerful faction with him at the center.

I am worried that offending him would affect our trade negotiations with the Jin Dynasty——"

Before he finished speaking, a scoff came from beside him: "Onodera-san, you’re overthinking it. It’s because you don’t understand the court of the Jin Dynasty very well."

Onodera Keigo turned to look and saw that the man was ’Ito Masanaga’.

This man was originally named Si Zhengliang and had served as an official in China, ascending to the position of Jiancha Yushi of Huguang Branch. Due to intrigues in the court of the Jin Dynasty, he abandoned his office and escaped to the east, where their benevolent Shogunate General eagerly employed him as a guest Qing and granted him 35,000 shi of land in Ito Township.

Under Onodera Keigo’s puzzled gaze, Si Zhengliang confidently stated: "I admit that this Marquis of Guanjun holds significant power now, but the organizations leading the Jin Dynasty’s trade negotiations are the Ministry of Revenue and the Sili Bureau.

Both are beyond the Marquis of Guanjun’s influence, so it’s no big deal if you offend him. Once we return to Fusou, he will have even less control——"

At this point, Kamo Ittosai’s face suddenly changed. He waved his sleeve, put away the cage, and turned to look to his left.

A ’boom’ sound came from that direction. Amidst the shower of wood chips, two figures, one golden and one purple, zoomed in.

Li Xuan’s figure appeared directly in the hall. He glanced at the three people present with an expression that seemed both amused and unamused. Then he turned his gaze on Si Zhengliang, his pupils constricting slightly.

"This is really interesting! To think that I would have an unexpected gain today."

Jiancha Yushi Si Zhengliang of Huguang Branch had been directly involved in the Jiangnan flood case. Li Xuan had been searching for this man’s whereabouts for a year now.