Chapter 65: A Weakness

Heian-kyo

The night city of Heian-kyo was deep with a gentle vibrancy. The river nearby shimmered under the soft glow of yellow lanterns, which floated serenely on the water’s surface, casting flickering reflections that danced against the dark backdrop of the night.

Gojin stood atop a ten-storey yagura, a traditional Japanese tower. From his vantage point, he could see the reflections of the lanterns protruding from each floor, illuminating the busy night market below.

People moved through the stalls, engrossed in their pursuits, oblivious to Gojin’s presence above them.

Despite the slender build of the structure, he felt completely at ease, thanks to his ability to control gravity, which made balancing on the narrow ledge effortless.

Inside the building on the fifth floor, Sakura and Kenji sat opposite each other, enjoying a cup of water as they perused the poetic books they had ’borrowed’ from the pawn shop.

The aroma of food wafted into their nose,as they were inside a traditional restaurant. But they were content in their quiet corner.

“I can’t believe Kigari later killed his true love. From enemies to lovers, and then back to enemies again. What a tragic ending! I need volume two. I just hope they don’t add any inappropriate content; the writer seems rather perverse,” Kenji remarked, his eyes glued to the pages of his book.

Sakura raised her eyebrows slightly, shooting an annoyed glance at Kenji. “Did you have to spoil that for me? I told you not to tell me anything about how it ends… you’ve ruined my enjoyment!”

Kenji chuckled, replying in a teasing tone, “Sorry, just having a bit of fun.”

“Anyway, Gojin said he’s already found an inn for us to stay in and will be back in an hour after booking it…”

…

Gojin sighed as the night air lifted his hakama slightly. He rested a hand on his chin, deep in thought.

“How do I break it to them that all the inns are fully booked and we have no place to sleep tonight? It would be heartbreaking, but I have no choice,” Gojin said with a laugh, stretching his arms wide as the air enveloped him.

***

“What!?” Sakura and Kenji exclaimed in unison, their voices breaking the little silence that existed in the restaurant.

The other customers looked at them, puzzled.

Gojin, on the other hand, drew a white cushion closer and sat on it, a wide smirk on his face that clearly displayed mischief.

“…And do you want to know one more thing?” he asked, tapping the wooden table with a finger.

Sakura and Kenji shook their heads, declining, but Gojin chose to tell them anyway.

“We’re going to beg for a space in this restaurant… shameless, isn’t it?”

“A-Anata wa kurai ni chigatte iru ni chigai nai,” Sakura said, which translates to “You must be crazy.”

Gojin shrugged.

Kenji sighed, facepalming.

“So what are we really going to do?”

“Of course. What other idea do you have?” Gojin replied, gazing around the room. A few minutes later, the customers began to leave, but surprisingly, more arrived. Kenji and Sakura were already feeling mixed emotions. How were they supposed to find a place to rest when this place didn’t seem to close?

Heian-kyo is a busy city, and it was certain that throughout the night, people continued to move about, bustling at any time of day.

Gojin then stood up and went to speak with the owner of the night pub. After a while, he returned with good news.

“The owner has agreed to give us a place to stay for the night. It turns out they also run a night inn with two rooms available. This means Kenji and I will be in the same room, while you’ll be in the other—amount to be paid is 20 silvers, cheap, right?”

He asked Sakura to give him the money, promising to hand it over to the owner. Obviously, this was another scam by him; the owner had allowed them in for free, but Gojin wanted to collect money from Sakura, no questions asked.

Sakura reluctantly handed over the coins, and he went towards the owner to speak with her again, actually just saying ’thank you’ for the fifth time. He pocketed the money without the other two seeing or knowing anything about it, including the owner, who was unaware that her name had been used for a scam. What a pity…

The two rooms were located on the upper floor of the tower, and soon the three had gone in to sleep. However, Gojin snuck out. He had decided to hunt for demons; at this time, demons would surely be roaming the land, searching for food—humans.

Gojin walked through a quiet alley, whistling a pleasant melody and tapping on the walls as he went. He noticed a demon lingering in the area, likely one of the radiant souls. A piece of cake for him.

Suddenly, an arrow flew towards him. From the corner of his eye, he saw it and tried to catch it. But, out of the blue, it vanished and reappeared in front of him, about to strike. He quickly dodged, creating distance and attempting to catch it again, but the same thing happened.

A special tool? A demon using a tool, and a special one at that…? This world is truly fascinating, Gojin pondered.

It’s quite rare to encounter a demon wielding a tool, especially one of such uniqueness. Special tools are those with supernatural enhancements, far stronger than usual ones; they can teleport, tear through dimensions, ignite in flames, and perform many other astonishing feats.It seemed this one was linked to teleportation.

Dodging the arrow this time and executing a backflip with his hands touching the ground, a black hand suddenly emerged from the ground to strike his face mid-flip. Luckily, he sensed it quickly and escaped using his ki tapping, not without making the hand explode, scattering crimson liquid across the ground.

At that moment, the demon decided to spawn out of nowhere behind him, its hand already reconstructed. Gojin smirked, preparing to use his ki tapping again. Multiple arrows and spears appeared two metres away from his body but quickly exploded due to his barrier being active.

However, they came again, repeatedly exploding, and soon after, more appeared, this time deactivating his barrier. His eyes widened in shock. He knew that; he knew that.

He had once thought Taro was the only one capable of this, but at that time, his barrier had been weak. Now that it was stronger, he believed nothing could break it. Yet he remembered when he was twelve, training with Yuki; after multiple heavy hits on his barrier, she had managed to break it. It seemed that weakness still existed in the barrier, no matter how strong it might have become.

“Like that was the end for me…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep