Mushao Plateau

After hearing the story of the Demon Spider Greatsword, Kanru seemed to remember his friend Rikyou.

“Is that from the Sword-Leg Spider that killed Rikyou?”

“Yes. I was fortunate enough to finish it off, so I turned it into a broadsword-like weapon.”

Chenfa was looking at me with probing eyes.

“It does not seem like you are lying.”

When Zengu heard that, he got excited.

“That’s amazing. A Sword-Leg Spider is supposed to be a yōma on par with a Thunder Bear, right?”

Kanru turned to look at Zengu and snorted.

“Hmph, so you don’t know. People do say that, but in reality a Thunder Bear is more formidable. If you rank them by strength, it would probably be Thunder Bear, Flame Spider, then Sword-Leg Spider.”

So that was how it was. I had not known. I wanted to see a Thunder Bear for myself, but it might be dangerous unless I raised my mastery of the Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique. Thinking that, I went on ahead and reached the entrance to the Mushao Plateau.

“This is as far as we go today. We are going to hunt for food, so you lot start preparing camp.”

Chenfa gave the order. We set down the luggage and checked the camping gear inside. The camping gear consisted of only two blankets, one large piece of leather like a leisure sheet, a pot, fire-starting tools, and hardtack for each person.

We quickly stacked stones to make a stove. After that, I stayed behind to watch the baggage, while Ashin and Zengu went into the forest to gather firewood. Left behind, I cut weeds with the Demon Spider Greatsword and spread them on the ground near the stove. I was thinking of using them in place of bedding.

When I looked up at the sky, there were few clouds. There was probably no need to worry about rain.

“We really do need proper camping gear too.”

To go deep into the demon realm, we would have to stay overnight. At times like that, camping gear would be absolutely necessary.

“Kou, we gathered the firewood.”

Zengu and Ashin came back carrying enough firewood to keep a fire going for one night. In addition, Zengu was carrying the corpse of a Fang Rabbit.

“Oh, you took down a Fang Rabbit?”

“It jumped out of the bushes while we were gathering firewood.”

“Zengu killed it with a single thrust of his spear.”

We butchered the Fang Rabbit and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces so it could be eaten. Since it was a rabbit about one hundred twenty centimeters long, there was enough for about five people. Thanks to that, we did not have to eat the awful hardtack.

“Aren’t the senior brothers late?”

Ashin spoke up. Now that she mentioned it, some time had passed since they went hunting, and the sun was about to set.

“Did the hunt fail… hm? They’re back.”

I noticed Kanru and the others’ presence and turned my eyes in that direction.

“What are you lot doing?”

“We went to gather firewood, and since we killed a Fang Rabbit, we were just cooking it.”

“Doing whatever you please…”

Kanru muttered complaints under his breath. When I checked whether they had gotten any prey, I saw that they were carrying one Fang Rabbit. At that moment, an awkward atmosphere drifted around us.

“Let’s eat.”

Being able to read the room, I spoke up as though I had not seen the Fang Rabbit the senior brothers had hunted. The senior brothers also sat down by the stove and began grilling pieces of Fang Rabbit meat skewered on sticks they had carved from branches.

The only seasoning was salt, but the Fang Rabbit meat was delicious.

“Oh, so you cut weeds and made bedding. That was thoughtful of you.”

Kanru praised me. I did not think this senior brother was a bad person. He was simply obedient to the elders’ orders, and unless the elders told him to teach the outer disciples, he probably would not teach them anything.

The senior brothers spread the leather that looked like a leisure sheet on top of the weed bedding, covered themselves with blankets, and went to sleep. We decided the order for keeping watch, then slept in shifts. At that time, since I wore my down jacket and slept on top of the weeds, I was not cold.

My turn at watch was the last one, so I tended the fire so it would not go out while waiting for everyone to wake up. After a while, once everyone was awake, we got ready and headed for the Mushao Plateau.

We climbed a slope like an animal trail, reached the Mushao Plateau, and headed east across it. Mist had settled over part of the Mushao Plateau, and it was cold. We took out our down jackets and put them on.

“That looks warm, doesn’t it?”

Chenfa said with a displeased look.

“Yes, I thought it might be cold up on the plateau, so I brought it.”

Zengu answered proudly. Hearing that, Chenfa looked even less pleased.

About three hours later, we came upon trees bearing Star Dew Fruit. The Star Dew Fruit looked similar to loquats.

“These are the fruits. Gather them.”

Chenfa enthusiastically began collecting them. We also gathered the Star Dew Fruit and stuffed them into bags. When we had secured about half the amount we needed, I noticed the presence of something approaching and turned my eyes in that direction. At the same time, I saw Kanru turn his eyes there as well.

Noticing that, Chenfa looked toward where Kanru and I were staring.

“Is something there?”

As if that voice were a signal, a White Wolf appeared out of the mist.

“This one is for me and Chenfa. You lot stay back.”

The two senior brothers drew their treasure swords and pointed their tips at the White Wolf. I could feel a great quantity of qi circulating through their bodies. The White Wolf sensed that qi as well and fled. Seeing that, the senior brothers gave chase.

“Wait here.”

I heard Kanru’s voice. We decided to wait while continuing to gather the Star Dew Fruit. Before long, we finished gathering the required amount and sat down at the base of the tree to wait for Kanru and the others.

“I wonder how far the senior brothers went?”

Ashin said while looking in the direction the White Wolf had fled. I also turned my eyes that way, but visibility was poor. The mist seemed to have grown thicker.

“They’ll be back soon. Still, I wanted us to be the ones to defeat the White Wolf.”

Zengu said that while glancing at my White Wolf Warhammer.

“Do you want to make a White Wolf Warhammer like Kou’s?”

“For Ashin’s sake.”

As soon as Zengu said that, Ashin, blushing red, smacked him hard across the back with her open hand.

“Ow!”

Zengu writhed in pain. It seemed to have hurt a lot.

At that moment, I sensed the presence of something, so I stood up with the Demon Spider Greatsword in hand and tossed aside the sheath.

“A yōma.”

At my voice, Zengu and Ashin took up their weapons and readied themselves. As we waited, a giant red-and-black mottled spider emerged from the mist. It was about three meters long. It was without a doubt a Flame Spider.