TMJ Chapter 69: Daki's Arrival (Patreon)

“Three sisters, please stop quarrelling, prepare yourself to receive guest with the others!”

Just when the “battle” within the room was about to happen, the lady boss, Omitsu’s sound was heard by them.

“Today, our ‘oiran’ Daki will also be around, together with your appearance, our Kyogokuya’s business will be very prosperous!”

Hearing “boss’” voice, the “three little pillars” looked at each other, finally, it was Inosuke who could not bear the other two’s “stare”, and forced to pinch his voice and replied.

“Lady, we know, we will immediately come out~”

Sharp and charming voice, coupled with Inosuke’s angel-like face, regardless of others’ reaction, for Tanjiro and Zenitsu, both of them shuddered, while turning away their stare from Inosuke.

“Hey hey hey! What’s with those looks in your eyes!”

“Ahaha, the room is kinda hot, don’t you think so, Zenitsu?”

“Eh? Tanjiro, you also think so, then we should quickly go out and breathe some fresh air.”

…

“Are the three of them… reliable?”

Seeing them in their “stunning” disguise pushed open the door, Uzui Tengen who was sitting in the guest house across the street, retracted his observing gaze from the window.

“Don’t worry, Tengen, I have reminded them to be careful, if they were not even serious in a matter of battle, they would not have endured to this point, right?”

Gently blowing the heat out of the hot tea, Maple was much calmer than Tengen, after all, for him, who had known all the details, he had prepared all kinds of plans and trump card.

This was also one of the reasons why Tengen, although worried, still brought Tanjiro and the rest along for training. After all, there is a big brother “soul pillar”, who was stronger than big brother Gyomei, had personally made some plans, no matter who, they would definitely be relieved.

Furthermore, the other reason was that the “three little pillars” capabilities were indeed not bad, their potentials were even more extraordinary.

The origin sun breathing technique, thunder breathing which was focused to the extreme as well as the self-created “I’m strong – beast breathing”, this huge potential was seen by all pillars during the training Maple gave to the “three little pillars”.

So, when an operation where the risks could be controlled, Tengen also had the thought to train these three juniors.

The big battle was about to arrive, to be able to raise the strength of the demon-slayer corps was also good.

“Well…you are right, this god of festival has never cultivated a disciple, on this point, I have yet to perform it flamboyantly.”

Hearing Maple’s free and easy words, the worry in Tengen’s eyes had also reduced by quite a bit, and turned his thoughts and looked doubtfully at the “Kyogokuya” across the street.

“Mr. Feng’s soul breathing is truly convenient, at least my sound breathing cannot detect what you called ‘death aura’.”

Tengen’s pair of crimson eyes were flowing with solemness, if not because of the characteristics of Maple’s soul breathing technique, even he would not be able to immediately locked onto this normal-looking brothel.

The lively stream of people, melodious music, the flowery geisha, regardless of who, the first time they looked at it, the first impression would be a scene of dancing and singing. Even Tengen also never thought that his own wives also disappeared in this place.

“Suma, Makio, Hinatsuru…wait for me, I will be there soon.”

While Tengen murmured, he was also looking solemnly at the “Kyogokuya”, if not because Maple had some plans, he would have sneaked inside to look for his wives.

“Calm down, Tengen, did you forget what I have divined for you? At least for a while, their destiny was not clouded.”

Maple stretched out his hand and clap Tengen’s shoulder to comfort the thoughts of this “wife protector”.

“Divination?”

Tengen was slightly stunned, and recalled just before they departed, Maple made a “small divination” using his wives’ hair, he still recalled the result of the coin flip…

Face, no problem.

However, Tengen just thought this was Maple’s effort in comforting him, and did not take it to heart.

It was only now that Maple once again mentioned it, Tengen suddenly realized…

That divination result, was it not just Maple’s casual commentary?

“Mr. Feng, it seems that your methods are truly flamboyant!”

Although he did not understand why Maple was so concerned about that “divination”, but Tengen knew one thing.

This casual method from the “soul pillar” although it may be just a joke, but it was not without an objective.

After all, he could even refine a demon into a “puppet”, to also be able to “divine”, what did that count?

Thinking of this, the burden in his heart was reduced, Tengen had also completely recovered his original battle-ready state.

“Mr. Feng, don’t tell this god of festival, that you want to used upper-ranked demon to refine a “sealed items” that you previously mentioned, you can also show off to those priests, hahaha!”

Tengen laughed and spoke loudly, even the pearls on his head flickered under the light of the lamps.

After laughing, Tengen also saw the helpless smile on Maple’s face, and suddenly widened his eyes, as he seemed to have realized something.

“Wait a minute, Mr. Feng…are you, really trying to perform some kind of ‘ritual’?!”

“This, Tengen, I recall Kyojuro had mentioned how I previously created [2-03], right? Ritual, materials, prayers…these things cannot be lacking. You could liken it to ‘forging knife’.”

While speaking, Maple also saw and gradually appearing inexplicable expression on Tengen’s face and immediately realized that he might have misunderstood.

“Tengen…did you think that Kyojuro was ‘bluffing’?”

“Eh…hahaha! That seems to be the case?”

Tengen laughed while touching his nose, as he moved away his sight, ashamed to look at Maple, feeling rather guilty.

“In that case…it seems that Mr. Feng is even more like a god of festival…what a ‘flamboyantly’ big crisis.”

However, Tengen’s thought was very exquisite, and quickly changed the direction away from this “awkward” topic.

“Since Mr. Feng put it this way, then I guess, in order to make this upper-ranked demon into a ‘sealed item’, Mr. Feng should have the draft for the ritual, right? How should I cooperate with you?”

“Tengen, they way you changed the topic is still rather stiff.”

Maple glanced towards this “god of festival”, Uzui Tengen, who was no longer focusing on himself, and did not pursue the matter anymore. Instead, he focused on the Kyogokuya “in his eyes”.

The voices became slightly ethereal as he used his “spiritual vision” to check the unconsciously released spirit.

“High represents ‘demon’, middle represents ‘human’, low represent ‘corpse’, this is actually an unintentional “trinity” …”

Seeing the demon’s twisted “spirituality” wandering on the upper level of Kyogokuya, as well as the “ashes of the dead” hidden beneath the brothel, this is actually an already established ritual altar.

It is also because this world did not have the so called “magic”, otherwise, people with the slightest bit of knowledge on the occult would have gone around this place, afraid of being schemed at.

“Even the graves had been dug, how can I reject such a ‘good intention’?”

Although Tengen did not understand Maple’s professional terms, he still understood what was meant by “digging one’s own grave”. In his heart, he had judged this demon, which had attracted soul pillar’s attention, to be dead.

Lightly knocking on his molars for a while, Maple closed his ‘spiritual vision’, while thinking.

“Trinity, twins bound with one life, twisting ‘death’ upside-down…let me think, like this…”

Seeing that Maple started to meditate, Tengen by the side became silent, as he did not want to interrupt his thinking.
“There, let’s do it like this.”

Under his strong spiritual power, Maple’s thinking speed could be said to be extraordinary, in just a few moments, he had a laid out a complete plan.

“Tengen, both of us should now enter kyogokuya, remember to disguise yourself, I need to inform Tanjiro and the rest something.”

“I’ll listen to you.”

Seeing Maple that was thin like a bamboo, Tengen raised his eyebrows, and unhesitatingly stood up, seemingly full of expectations that he could join the soon big “festival”.

The departure of the two huge young man who was sitting by the window did not seemed to attract the surrounding people’s attention, somehow, even the figures of these two people slowly disappear from their memory and forgotten like blank piece of paper.

…

Let’s not mention how the two pillars were going to disguise themselves, in the end, the “three little pillars” inside the kyogokuya were truly worrying.

Oh, wrong, perhaps…I guess the only one worrying was our Tanjiro?

“That, Zen…Zenko, what should I do, can you play shamisen?”

Tanjiro was having a headache while looking at the shamisen in his hand that always felt wrong no matter how he held it. Even considering that “beautiful young lady” to be able to play a single hand drum was a stretch. However, when he asked himself, but “her” reply made Tanjiro even more helpless…

“How to hit a drum? Very easy, Peng! Peng! Just like that should be enough, just like the way I hit rock when I was a kid.”

“I’m sorry that I have never hit a rock drum when I was a kid!”

Although Tanjiro truly wanted to shout like that, however, under the “death stare” of the lady boss, Omitsu, he still did not perform such an “ungraceful” act. He just took the shamisen and floated towards Zenko side and sat down.

“Shamisen…gramps also never taught me that!”

Zenitsu’s tearless cry slightly calmed down Tanjiro, at least there was one person who would accompany him, right…

“Ong! Ong…Ong~ong ong!”

However, Zenitsu’s next “performance” made Tanjiro deeply felt what it meant to be “backstabbed”.

Although he did not know that Zenitsu used the shamisen to play was later known as “electric sound”, but this did not prevent Tanjiro from noticing this “thief” to use “thunder breathing” to escape, but the sound that he played was so good!

“Zenko, you…”

“Eh, Tanji…Sumiko, it seems that I can do it this way?”

Hearing the “sound” that he himself played seemed to be “passable”, Zenitsu happily continued to play…

I’m sorry, Tanjiro! Lord Feng had said before, don’t care about what others think as long as you are happy. In order to complete our task, please work hard, Tanjiro!

However, Tanjiro, who was already so panicked like ants dancing on a hot pan, was no longer able to think of anything.

“Alright everyone, please quiet down! Miss Daki is about to arrive, everyone prepares properly, when miss Daki enter, we will start tonight’s business.”

Omitsu, who was sitting by the door, seemed to have heard the report from the waiting lady outside of the door, told everyone to prepare for “business”.

Seeing the surrounding geisha that had “taken their place”. Tanjiro had no other choice, he could only quickly follow behind Zenitsu, and find his music table.

“Miss Daki, please come here.”

Along with the two waiting ladies slowly opening the wind screen, Daki, who was wearing a beautiful flowery cloth and looking very stunning, finally appeared before Tanjiro and the rest under the waiting lady, Ayako’s guidance.

Along with her appearance, all the murmuring sound within the room stopped completely.

Light lotus steps, not even the slightest sound was heard, only the sound of friction among the clothes were heard, this oiran’s every action was impeccable, unfortunately, everyone within the room could feel her “arrogance” and “aloofness” emanating from her body.

That kind of sideway glance, it was like some kind of “upper-ranked” animal on the food chain observing its own “food”, although not many people could realize this, after all, the ending of this kind of people would not be good.

“Let’s quickly start.”

Daki’s cold and calm voice echoed in the room, but other than Tanjiro and the other two, everybody else seemed to have taken this oiran’s “coldness” as the norm.

“Ah, alright alright, miss Daki, then I will start the arrangement.”

Hearing Daki’s urge, Omitsu immediately nodded and smiled apologetically.

“Ayako, quickly go down and open the door.”

“Yes, lady.”

As kyogokuya’s door opened, rich merchants who wanted to visit kyogokuya immediately entered, they seemed to have heard some info that tonight in kyogokuya, there would be a feast.

“Eh? Did you hear? Oiran Daki will be dancing tonight!”

“Really?! It’s that we do not know who will be the lucky one to get her kiss.”

“Hai, I do not have any idea on miss Daki, it’s just that have you seen this morning teaser announcement? That three new sisters are first grade beauty!”

“You think too much! The chosen one would be me, don’t think about competing with me!”

The noisy crowd were discussing about beauty while entering kyogokuya under the guidance of the waiting lady.

It’s just that none of the passerby noticed two tall middle-aged men, using some form of “blinding technique” to enter the place, while wearing a confused look…