The next day arrived quickly, marking the day after Ye Yu registered for the Martial Arts Tournament.
After finishing his daily training, Ye Yu stepped out of the inn. For safety reasons, Lox remained in his room and did not go out.
The tournament trials were held in a courtyard at a corner of the Imperial Palace. Although the trials had not yet begun, many people were already gathered there.
Ye Yu's arrival drew sideways glances from everyone. Crossing his arms, Ye Yu ignored the stares, found a spot to sit casually on the ground, and observed the people around him.
Everyone here had signed up for the Martial Arts Tournament, so the appearance of a kid barely half an adult's height was bound to attract attention.
"Since when can a wet-behind-the-ears brat participate in the Martial Arts Tournament?" bellowed a burly, full-bearded man with a booming voice that drew the attention of the entire courtyard.
Noticing all eyes turning toward him, the big man flashed a satisfied grin, flexed his shoulders, and strode toward Ye Yu.
Some onlookers smiled as if waiting for a good show, others looked at Ye Yu with worry, and some crossed their arms to watch the developments unfold; yet not a single person stepped forward to object to the big man's behavior.
Everyone knew the big man wanted to use a kid to assert his dominance—after all, persimmons were always easiest to squeeze when they were soft.
Ye Yu neither stood up nor spoke, simply watching quietly as the big man stopped right in front of him.
"Brat, I've taken a liking to your spot. Get up!" Seeing Ye Yu remain as unshakeable as a mountain, the big man suddenly felt he was losing face. How could any ordinary kid withstand such a scare? He quickly barked the demand.
Ye Yu still didn't move, raising his head to glance at the big man before lowering it again.
Clenching his fists, the big man boiled with inner fury. He hadn't expected to lose face to an oblivious brat before the trials even began; how could he let this slide?
Moreover, the single glance Ye Yu had given him was filled with mockery, clearly showing that he didn't take him seriously at all.
"Brat! You asked for this!" The big man abruptly threw a punch straight at Ye Yu.
The onlookers were quite surprised, never expecting the big man to actually attack a kid, and even more astonished that a kid could withstand such heavy pressure and force the big man into striking. Was he truly not afraid of death?
"Stop right there!"
Before anyone could make out who had shouted, a silver flash of a blade entered their view. As the sword slid back into its scabbard, the big man collapsed to the ground in agony.
The big man's arm fell to the ground, oozing a trickle of blood that the earth greedily drank up, leaving behind crimson mud.
As he shrieked in pain, black cursed poison spread from the big man's wound, swiftly reaching his heart. With a single spasm of his body, the big man foamed at the mouth and breathed his last.
The surrounding crowd gasped, backing far away from the big man's corpse for fear of being contaminated by this terrifying cursed poison and meeting a gruesome end.
Seeing that the big man had lost all breath, Ye Yu finally stood up, brushed the dirt off his clothes, and looked at the person beside him—someone with shoulder-length hair who carried a Japanese-style sword.
"A Teigu: One-Cut Killer: Murasame." Fixing his gaze on the blade, Ye Yu felt a trace of covetousness. This was the first Teigu he had laid eyes on in this world.
One-Cut Killer: Murasame, also known as the Cursed Sword Murasame, was a weapon-type Teigu.
It was called One-Cut Killer because a mere scratch meant instant death; the curse's poison within the sword would rapidly spread throughout the body from the wound, causing death once it reached the heart. This poison had no cure and was effective only on living beings.
By inflicting self-harm with Murasame, the user could activate a secret technique—Little Horn. The curse venom would crawl all over the user's body, taking on the burden of the curses of the souls slain by the blade, thereby strengthening the user through the power of the curse and granting a massive boost to physical capabilities.
However, this would shorten the user's lifespan, and even after the secret technique ended, the cursed markings would remain permanently on the skin, causing unbearable pain and itching that would torment the user for the rest of their life.
This was the intelligence Ye Yu had known in his past life concerning the cursed sword Murasame. He hadn't expected to encounter the protagonist's blade so soon.
Yet since this sword was here, the identity of its master went without saying.
One of the Four Rakshasas, and the current wielder of the cursed sword Murasame—Gohzuki.
"Hey, hey, kid, I just saved your life, why aren't you showing any reaction at all?" Gohzuki looked down at Ye Yu with dissatisfaction.
"For Lord Rakshasa to come to the training grounds—surely you aren't acting as the chief examiner?" Instead of answering Gohzuki's question, Ye Yu countered with his own.
"So? What are you trying to say?" Gohzuki asked in puzzlement. Could this brat really be an idiot? No wonder he hadn't dodged when someone tried to hit him.
"Nothing. Thank you for saving my life, Lord Examiner." Ye Yu offered a faint smile, then turned and walked toward a corner. With a corpse lying right there, Ye Yu had no desire to linger in such an unlucky spot.
"I never expected Lord Rakshasa to be the chief examiner!"
"Is that the cursed sword Murasame? Truly terrifying."
"If I had a Teigu too, wouldn't my life take off?!"
"..."
With Gohzuki's appearance, the crowd in the courtyard instantly livened up, everyone buzzing with discussion.
Gohzuki watched Ye Yu's retreating back with a gloomy expression. Ever since he had become one of the Four Rakshasas, this was the first time anyone had ignored him to this extent. He felt compelled to teach the brat a lesson no matter what.
Yet he did nothing for the moment, instead turning around to summon the guards maintaining order and having them carry the big man's corpse away.
As soon as the scene was cleared, Gohzuki spread his arms and shouted to everyone: "That man just now challenged the dignity of my position as chief examiner and openly provoked trouble, which is why he died here. I must ask everyone to strictly obey the Empire's order."
"Now, the selection of Martial Arts Tournament participants officially begins. Kill each other!"
"Ten minutes from now, anyone in possession of three arms will pass the test."
"Those who do not wish to participate may leave right now."
Raising his hands, Gohzuki loudly announced the cruel testing rules to everyone present, then pointed a finger at Ye Yu in the corner and yelled, "That kid's single arm counts as three!"
An uproar swept through the surrounding crowd, who also secretly counted their blessings. This was clearly targeting Ye Yu—though who told him to offend Gohzuki, the chief examiner?
How strong could a mere kid be?
Everyone stared at Ye Yu as if looking at fish on a chopping board. That single arm was worth three, and getting it meant direct advancement.
After a portion of the crowd, unable to stomach such cruel rules, chose to leave, the trial began immediately.
Everyone remained on guard against those around them while keeping their eyes fixed on Ye Yu. Everyone wanted this juicy piece of meat, yet they feared others would reap the profits while they fought, so for a moment, absolutely no one made a move.
Ye Yu stood in place, resting his hand on the hilt of Falling Cherry Blossom Saber, and cast a cold glance at Gohzuki, who was watching with amused interest from a distance.
I will remember this grudge.
"Ha!"
With a battle cry, one man broke from the crowd and charged straight at Ye Yu. He could wait no longer; better to seize the initiative—what if he actually succeeded?
As someone made a move, many others who had long been restless surged toward Ye Yu as well. Some even attacked those standing right next to them, since the competition around Ye Yu was so fierce that they figured they had better clear the field rather than fight over Ye Yu's two little arms.
Thus, the massive melee inside the courtyard officially kicked off.
***
Meanwhile, Leone, sporting a slightly swelling panda eye, arrived at the inn where Ye Yu and the others were staying.
After all, running into Ye Yu meant earning a silver coin! Where else could she find such a lucrative gig besides here?
That's right, little Leone had gone out to earn money for her younger siblings and was preparing for round three with Ye Yu.
She knocked on the door of Ye Yu's room, but received no response.
Leone scratched her head in frustration. How could he be out? How was she supposed to make money now?
At that moment, the door of the adjacent room cracked open. Lox revealed his figure through the gap and looked at Leone, nearly startling her into jumping out of her skin.
She had thought she was seeing a ghost.
"Old man, where's that guy Ye Yu?" Recognizing Lox, Leone quickly reined in her urge to flee and asked hurriedly.
"The young master went out this morning and hasn't returned yet. Please come inside and wait a moment, Miss Leone." Lox opened the door wider and invited Leone in.
After pondering for a moment—since she had nothing better to do anyway and might as well wait a bit—Leone followed Lox inside.
Lox poured a cup of tea for Leone and placed it on the table.
Leone sat down in a chair without standing on ceremony, picked up the cup, blew on it, and began taking tiny sips.
Watching Leone's antics, Lox couldn't help a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Ah, what's the old man's name, anyway?" Leone asked cheerfully, feeling the warmth of the tea spread comfortably through her stomach.
"Just call me old man," Lox replied with a smile. His name was no good thing; if Leone mentioned it outside and someone with ulterior motives overheard her, her life would be forfeit.
"Fine. Where did you guys come from, old man? You shouldn't be traveling merchants, right?" Leone asked. After all, as traveling merchants coming to the Imperial Capital without selling or buying any goods, they looked nothing like the real deal.
"We came from Sanshui Town in the southern part of the Empire..." Smiling, Lox began to recount the story of how he and Ye Yu met, glossing over certain details. Some things were not meant for Leone to know at her current stage.
Prompted by Leone's curiosity, Lox also began answering many of her confusions and telling her stories of various places across the country. Leone listened very intently; ever since she was little, she had wanted to see the outside world, and listening to Lox's stories to scratch that itch was a fine alternative.
Time slipped away quietly amidst Lox's tales.
***
Inside the Imperial Palace courtyard, large patches of the ground were dyed a purplish-red as cries of agony and sounds of slaughter merged into a cacophony.
Right in the exact center of the grounds, however, a massive pile of bodies had grown into a mountain. The people buried within the mound wailed in torment—every single one of them missing an arm.
The rest of the combatants still fighting maintained a tacit agreement not to approach this mountain of ghosts and wailing, as if a man-eating demon resided upon it.
Standing in the distance, Gohzuki wore a gloomy expression, staring fixedly at the summit of the corpse mountain. His hand repeatedly grasped the hilt of Murasame at his waist only to release it again, as if battling some inner conflict.
Following Gohzuki's gaze, Ye Yu sat coldly atop the peak of the corpse mountain, one hand propped against the scabbard of Falling Cherry Blossom Saber, looking down indifferently at the crowd still locked in combat.
Blood stained the boy's face, lending a fierce edge to his youthful features. From the very beginning, when challengers had continuously launched assaults against him, down to the present moment when not a single soul dared approach, merely ten minutes had passed.
In those ten minutes, Ye Yu had acted like a grim reaper, numbly collecting challengers' arms. The small flesh-mountain piled high beside the main heap served as Ye Yu's battle trophies.
Gohzuki closed his eyes and took a deep breath to soothe his restless emotions, then shouted, "The trial is now over! Submit your arms and names to our guards; those with a sufficient quantity pass the test."
"It's finally over... This test is way too cruel."
Those who had gathered enough arms relaxed, saying in relief that some had even had both arms hacked off, destined to be crippled for the rest of their lives.
Hearing this, Ye Yu stepped down the corpse mountain one slow, unhurried step at a time. All the others dared not make a rash move, staring fixedly at Ye Yu's moving figure out of fear that he might walk in their direction.
His grim-reaper-like presence still lingered vividly in their minds.
Ye Yu slowly approached the guards and stopped right in front of one, who looked at him with trembling eyes.
"Count that pile yourselves. My name is Ye Yu." Pointing at the small pile of flesh, Ye Yu spoke with indifferent detachment.
"R-Right." The guard nodded hurriedly and recorded Ye Yu's name.
Receiving confirmation, Ye Yu walked straight out of the courtyard.
Standing beside the guards, Gohzuki tightly gripped the hilt of Murasame, watching Ye Yu's retreating back in prolonged silence.
***
Drenched in blood and grime, Ye Yu wandered the streets of the Imperial Capital as passing pedestrians gave him as wide a berth as they would a plague god.
Ye Yu didn't mind; after all, anyone seeing someone in his state on the street would shudder.
His current priority was to go back and take a bath. Having dried blood stick to one's skin was unpleasant, and besides, it drew too much attention—something Ye Yu wasn't quite used to.
As an assassin, standing out this much felt wrong.
Blame the organizers for not even providing a place to wash up.
Little did Ye Yu know, unlike their testing site which was so bloody, all the other testing sites were just ordinary exams.
"Little friend, please wait!"
From behind him, someone seemed to be calling out to Ye Yu.
Halting his steps, Ye Yu turned around to look.
It was a man wearing the uniform of the Imperial Capital Guard. Following behind him was a little girl who, acting like a small tail, shyly hid behind his back, poking her head out to gaze at Ye Yu with a mix of curiosity and fear.
"Hello, my name is Berkeley Eubigitas. I'm a member of the Imperial Capital Guard, and this is my daughter, Seryu Eubigitas." With a gentle smile on his face, the man introduced himself warmly, looking like a thoroughly decent person.
"Did you run into some trouble?"
Berkeley looked at Ye Yu with worried concern, asking carefully. As a member of the Guard, seeing such a young child covered in blood made Berkeley fear that Ye Yu had encountered something terrible.
His worry even caused him to overlook the Falling Cherry Blossom Saber at Ye Yu's waist.
"Seryu Eubigitas..."
Ye Yu glanced at the little girl hiding behind Berkeley, then shifted his gaze back to Berkeley without a change in expression. Smiling, he said, "Hello, my name is Ye Yu. Nothing's the matter."
"Ye Yu!" Berkeley exclaimed in surprise, then quickly blurted out, "Such a young child? Weren't you supposed to be eighteen on the Martial Arts Tournament roster?"
"Pardon me, no offense intended. Are you by any chance the Mr. Ye Yu known as the Arm-Swallowing Demon at the ninth testing ground?"
Quickly noticing his own lapse in composure, Berkeley hastily straightened up and asked with a serious expression.
"Arm-Swallowing Demon?"
Ye Yu was left somewhat speechless. He had only hacked off a few arms—how did he earn such an ugly moniker? Furthermore, the test objective was clearly proposed by Gohzuki, the chief examiner.
"If, possibly, perhaps I haven't guessed wrong, that would be me."
Sighing, Ye Yu reluctantly admitted it.
"Are you truly eighteen, milord?" Berkeley still found it hard to believe that a child who looked only around ten years old could be the person who had terrified the entire ninth testing ground.
"Berkeley, let's consider ourselves friends from now on. Walking around outside looking like this might affect the Guard's image for public safety, so I'll chat with you another time." Ye Yu smiled, bypassing Berkeley's question.
"Your daughter is very cute. Goodbye."
With that, without waiting for Berkeley to react, he turned and walked away.
Watching Ye Yu's receding figure, Berkeley stroked his daughter Seryu's head and muttered softly, "What a strange person, Mr. Ye Yu."
Then, crouching down, he smiled and told Seryu, "Alright, let's continue our patrol! Don't let any evil disrupt the peace of the Imperial Capital!"
"Yes!" Little Seryu's eyes sparkled as she answered excitedly. In her heart, her dad was a hero who saved the world, the light battling against the darkness.
"Daddy is so amazing! He even dared to go up and talk to a big brother who was covered in blood!"
"Haha, little Seryu, we must extend a helping hand to good people in need! That's what justice is."
"Got it! When I grow up, I want to be a righteous hero just like Daddy!"
"..."
***
Ye Yu returned to his inn. Walking down the hallway, just as he reached for the handle of his room door, the adjacent door belonging to Lox suddenly swung open, and a golden blur lunged swiftly toward him.
Ye Yu stepped aside to pull the door open, leaving Leone unable to dodge in time as her face made firm, intimate contact with the wooden door.
"Ow, that hurts!!!"
"Young master, you've returned."
Leone clutched her forehead, puffing out her cheeks as she sat on the floor and glared viciously at Ye Yu.
Standing in the doorway, Lox bowed slightly toward Ye Yu.
It was only then that Leone noticed Ye Yu was covered head to toe in blood. She hurriedly stood up and asked him with concern, "What on earth did you go do? Why is there so much blood?"
"It's fine. This blood isn't mine." Waving a dismissive hand, Ye Yu walked into the room. Leone nervously followed right behind him, only to be kicked straight back out the doorway by Ye Yu the moment she crossed the threshold.
"I'm taking a bath! Why are you coming in?"
Seeing that Leone's body was pushed outside, Ye Yu shut the door right in her face.
"You really don't appreciate kindness! I'm ignoring you from now on!"
Rubbing the spot where she had been kicked, Leone muttered complaints at the closed door.
Lox simply looked on with a gentle smile at the interaction between Ye Yu and Leone, saying nothing.
"Well, I'll head back then. Old man, tell me some other stories next time!" Leone scratched the back of her head. It was time to head back; it was mealtime, and her younger siblings were waiting for her to bring food home. Looking at the door of Ye Yu's room, she muttered regretfully, "Oh well, looks like there's no chance to make money today."
Hearing this, Lox waved farewell to Leone and smiled, "You are welcome to visit again anytime, Miss Leone."
Standing in the doorway, he watched Leone leave until her figure disappeared from sight, then closed the door and stepped back into his room.