Chapter 325: The Azure Sky Awaits the Misty Rain, What Are You Waiting For?
Not long after, news reports emerged about the disappearance of the famous actress Sawamura Maki from her own apartment.
Because of this, Mitsui Honoka was sad for a long time, but with the comfort of her close friend Kitayama Shizuku, she soon emerged from the gloom.
However, for Mahiro, this was just a minor episode.
In recent days, the consolidation and liquidation of the numbered families had not stopped, with many families already being cleaned out.
At the same time, investigations into Gu Jie's whereabouts were also underway in secret.
But Gu Jie was not idle either, repeatedly launching attacks on Yotsuba family members outside—
Suicide bombings using magic to manipulate corpses, with nearly a hundred incidents in just one week!
Who knows where the old man got so many corpses—did he move the hospital morgue into his home?
Not only that, but missing persons cases were also frequently reported in the news.
To maintain social order, the Saegusa, Juumonji, Ichijou, and Yotsuba families, which had not been liquidated, formed a search team to track down Gu Jie's whereabouts.
However, apart from Juumonji Katsuto and Ichijou Masaki, neither the Saegusa nor the Yotsuba families sent their main forces.
The Saegusa family dispatched the eldest son, Saegusa Tomokazu, and Nakura Saburou. Nagakura was once a member of the "Nanakura" from the "Lost Number Families" and now served as a retainer of the Saegusa family.
The Yotsuba family, on the other hand, sent Shiba Tatsuya along with several subordinates.
Neither Yotsuba Mahiro nor Saegusa Mayumi made a personal appearance.
This left Juumonji Katsuto quite puzzled.
The reason for Saegusa Mayumi's absence was still unclear, but for Mahiro, it was naturally because Shadow Garden had finally, after relentless efforts, uncovered Gu Jie's whereabouts.
"It seems this old man is ready to flee at any moment."
Looking at the location marked on the map, not far from the docks, Mahiro's lips curled into a mocking smile.
Just by looking at the map, it was clear that the old man might have realized that the attacks over the past week had not caused any significant damage to the Yotsuba family—not even a scratch—and was now planning to secretly flee Japan.
However, there was also the possibility that Gu Jie intended to continue confronting the Yotsuba family, choosing a location near the docks to prepare for a quick escape if needed.
Whichever it was, now that he had caught his tail, this guy had nowhere left to run.
Prepare for action tonight.
"Yes, Mahiro-sama!"
Since entering the country, Gu Jie had almost always moved his hideouts alone.
Although the old friend providing the hiding places was reliable, and guards or subordinates responsible for creating chaos were constantly being sent, he never expected the Yotsuba family to be so tenacious.
Despite his actions being so covert, he was still found.
Recalling the mysterious gaze that suddenly appeared this afternoon, Gu Jie's expression gradually grew solemn.
Gu Jie could not trace the source of that gaze, nor did he understand the method behind it—what kind of magic it was remained a complete mystery. But he was certain that the gaze was searching for him, most likely from one of the Ten Master Clans, and very possibly from the Yotsuba family!
Once he thought of this, it was impossible for Gu Jie not to feel anxious.
He had completely underestimated his opponent, actually exposing himself within the enemy's line of sight.
In that case, he would be killed before he could complete his revenge.
Despite some degree of risk, Gu Jie decided to flee Japan as quickly as possible.
"Sir, the boat is ready."
At that moment, someone entered and spoke respectfully.
"We depart immediately."
"Please allow me to guide the way."
Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Jie immediately picked up the already prepared travel bag beside him and followed the person out of the room.
In truth, the bag contained little luggage; most of it was money and spell tools.
Slung over his back, he looked like a foreign traveler from a novel or anime.
6:00 PM.
The cloud-covered sky had turned completely dark.
In contrast, the ground was filled with artificial lights.
As the proportion of people working from home increased, the term "bedroom community" was fading away.
Meanwhile, due to the development of high-speed transportation networks, the metropolitan business districts had expanded at a leapfrogging pace compared to the last century.
For example, "shopping from Hiratsuka to Shibuya" had become as common as "going to the station to buy something" in the last century. The outer cities of the metropolitan business districts saw nightfall arrive earlier than before.
Even so, 6:00 PM was still a peak hour for crowds.
Gu Jie intended to escape amidst the flow of people, but his every move was already under complete surveillance.
"The target is on the move, with approximately three companions."
Zeta crouched on a rooftop somewhere, her sharp eyes fixed intently on the fleeing Gu Jie, her tail swaying left and right as if stretching.
"Mhm, I understand. Keep close to him; don't let him escape."
Through the earpiece came the voice of Mahiro.
"My Lord, is there no need to kill him directly?"
"Not for now. Let him run a bit more, let the prey tire itself out."
"Understood, my Lord."
With that, Zeta's figure vanished once again, leaping between buildings as she closely followed the vehicle on the road below.
"A Mage from Japan is in pursuit."
Sitting in the back seat of the police car, Gu Jie immediately sensed the faint, almost imperceptible gaze.
From the sensation sharp enough to prick his skin, he could tell the other party was targeting him.
Though he didn't understand why they hadn't made a move yet, it didn't matter. They were already very close to their destination and would soon enter the docks.
Moreover, such blatant tracking made it clear that changing routes would be futile, not to mention Gu Jie had no such intention in the first place.
"Let me give you a little gift."
Thinking this, Gu Jie rolled down the car window and said to the assistant in the driver's seat, "Steady the car."
"Yes, Sir Gu Jie."
The assistant gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands. The next moment, a violent explosion erupted from behind the car.
The flames nearly engulfed their vehicle.
Just moments before, Gu Jie had thrown out several rapid-fire grenade launchers.
Instantly, the crowded lane descended into chaos.
The screeching of brakes, the sounds of collisions, and panicked screams pierced the eardrums, but this only brought Gu Jie great pleasure.
The assistant even steered the car directly into the empty oncoming lane, intending to go against traffic.
Under these circumstances, there was no point in hiding anymore. His task now was to get Lord Gu Jie to the designated dock as quickly as possible.
However, the next second, a black-red figure suddenly appeared out of thin air in the middle of the road.
The assistant frowned but had no intention of dealing with them, stomping the accelerator to the floor instead.
The engine roared terrifyingly as the already fast-moving car exploded with even greater speed.
As a result, the figure leaped into the air, dodging the car's impact, and swung an arm.
Rip!
A slender, sharp blade tore through the car from the center.
Seeing this, Gu Jie's pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately jumped out of the car. His attendant, however, wasn't so lucky—not only was half his body sliced open by the extended longsword, but he was also caught in the ensuing explosion and perished in the flames.
"Go, kill that Mage for me."
The death soldier puppets that had been following him immediately sprang into action, charging swiftly toward the dark figure.
Meanwhile, Gu Jie, who had crouched low to the ground, activated "Ghost Gate Evasion," and his figure vanished from the spot.
Swish—
Two death soldiers, each wielding a longsword, swiftly slashed toward the figure.
The intersecting blades gleamed coldly under the night sky.
"Burial."
A girl's calm murmur quietly echoed through the still night.
At the same time, just as the two intersecting longswords were about to strike the figure, the girl raised her sharp blade to block the attack.
The sparks from the clashing blades briefly illuminated the girl's true appearance.
She was a formidable girl, like an assassin lurking in the darkness.
Jet-black hair, a serene and delicate face, and those cold, profound crimson eyes.
Clang!
Her slender arm suddenly erupted with immense force, deflecting the two longswords. Akame swung Murasame, instantly slicing through the throats of the two death soldiers. The lethal curse poison should have rapidly spread throughout their bodies, leading to death.
That's how it should have been.
But when her Murasame actually cut their throats, the expected traces of the curse poison didn't appear. In fact, they didn't even die from having their throats slit.
"...Puppets?"
Akame's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she immediately recognized their condition.
Pale faces, mask-like expressions, hollow eyes, and slack muscles—everything proved these were not living beings.
Her gaze finally settled on the tachi without a handguard held by one of them.
If she wasn't mistaken, that thing should be a Card Assisted Design capable of releasing magic. Although she had tried to learn it herself, unfortunately, she didn't have the talent for it.
And these two corpses before her were likely able to move because they were being controlled...
This stirred a hint of frustration in Akame's heart.
Thinking she could finally take out her target cleanly after not being active for so long, she never expected to face corpses—and ones that could use magic at that.
"If Poney and Gin found out, they'd definitely laugh at me."
She had argued her way into getting this mission from her sisters. She could already guess what they'd say if word got back about how it turned out.
At this thought, Akame pushed off forcefully with her feet, her figure shooting out like a sharp arrow.
"Burial!"
The one person and two corpses clashed once again, their blades flashing under the dim lamplight and pitch-black night.
Meanwhile.
Gu Jie, who had narrowly escaped disaster, had now changed his fleeing direction. Originally, he had intended to head straight for the new port and board a smuggling cargo ship to leave.
But now, he had no choice but to flee westward.
This direction forced him further away from crowds, and the surroundings gradually grew silent.
Tap.
A crisp footstep forced Gu Jie to halt his escape.
Before him stood a roadblock.
A man in a black trench coat.
"Who are you?" Gu Jie asked calmly while subtly slipping his hand into his pocket.
"First time meeting you, Mr. Jiedo Heigu. I am the eldest son of the Yotsuba family, Yotsuba Maya's son, Yotsuba Mahiro."
Mahiro smiled as he stepped toward the other, the sound of his hard-soled shoes striking the ground like notes of a death knell.
To be honest, this was his first time facing this man in person.
He had to admit the impressiveness of this so-called immortality magic.
He clearly remembered that Gu Jie was ninety-seven years old, yet judging by his appearance now, he looked only about fifty. Though his hair was snow-white, his face showed no wrinkles beyond fine lines, sagging, or age spots.
As Mahiro sized up Gu Jie, Gu Jie was also scrutinizing him, his gaze like a venomous snake, a trace of disdain curling at the corner of his mouth.
"So you're that bitch's child. It seems the Kunlun Fangyuan's experiment actually succeeded back then."
"No, it failed."
Mahiro shook his head with a sigh. "My birth has nothing to do with your damned Great Han or the Kunlun Fangyuan."
He had known this for a long time, ever since he learned about Maya's past.
He could be said to have been born out of thin air, as if by divine intervention.
Otherwise, where did these eyes of his come from? From the Great Han?
If they had such abilities, the Great Asian Alliance would have long been renamed the Great Han.
"As for you, aren't you going to keep running? The cat-and-mouse game isn't over yet."
Faced with Gu Jie's slightly disdainful expression, Mahiro showed no anger at all. Instead, he teased him.
In fact, he very much hoped Gu Jie would continue fleeing, preferably all the way onto a ship and out of the port.
That way, he could simply unleash a Material Burst.
But in response to his mockery, Gu Jie remained unhurried, even exuding an air of confidence, as he laughed triumphantly:
"No, it's over. Now it should be called a trapped beast's struggle!"
Gu Jie activated his magic, an invisible psion wave spreading from his body.
It was the signal to control the death soldiers.
To prevent accidents, Gu Jie had long stored a large number of death soldiers in the surrounding warehouses. He never expected they would actually come in handy now!
As long as he killed this young man before him, it would mark the first step of his revenge!
But strangely...
Although his command had been issued, there was no sign of any death soldiers appearing.
"Old man, 'sky blue awaits misty rain,' but what are you waiting for? The next course?"
Mahiro smiled, the corners of his mouth curling upward with genuine delight, his gaze like that of someone watching a lamb awaiting slaughter!
And Gu Jie fell silent.
To be precise, at this moment, a trace of panic actually arose within him.
He didn't understand why his magic for controlling death soldier puppets hadn't taken effect.
Could it be...
Just as Gu Jie was breaking into a cold sweat and pondering, several severed limbs were suddenly thrown out from a dark corner, landing at his feet.
They were human limbs, or rather, limbs detached from corpses that had long been dead!
And from the direction of the warehouse where he had stored the death soldiers, a slender and delicate girl was sitting on a crate, lightly licking the bloodstains from her fingertips.
That was no human!
Gu Jie could tell at a glance—not just from a spiritual judgment, but also from a visual one!
A pair of cat ears, a tail swaying left and right, and a pair of crystal-clear... cat eyes.
No matter how you looked at it, that couldn't possibly be human!
"What's wrong? Have you finished your little tricks? Are you out of ideas now?"
Mahiro clapped his hands, drawing Gu Jie's attention and thoughts back.
"If you've run out of moves, then it's my turn to act."
Seemingly a question, but in reality, a declaration.
The moment his words fell, Mahiro had already sprung into action.
The hem of his black coat fluttered instantly, and in the blink of an eye, he was already in front of Gu Jie. With a single foot stomping fiercely on the ground, a dense web of cracks erupted around them.
At the same time—a pair of dark, obscure eyes met Gu Jie's, and a palm struck like a blade, thrusting hard toward his chest.
He would die!
He would absolutely die!
At this moment, Gu Jie truly panicked.
As his pupils contracted in shock, waves of thought particles surged around him once more.
"'Ghost Gate Evasion'!"
The surrounding time seemed to slow down, and his body blurred for an instant.
It was an afterimage, or perhaps an illusion.
Gu Jie himself had taken advantage of this gap to bend his body in an impossible direction, just to evade this strike.
But the next second, what greeted him was a crisp slap.
Slap!
Gu Jie felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow. His skull seemed to deform in that instant, and his entire head was forcefully slammed to the ground.
Looking up, he saw a pair of crimson eyes, like those of a demon, enough to terrify anyone's heart and soul!
What on earth was that?
Before Gu Jie could even think, the next slap came crashing down heavily.
"'Ghost Gate Evasion,' huh?!"
Slap!
Another slap.
This time, Gu Jie's mind was thrown into chaos. He was temporarily deafened, and several of his teeth were even knocked out.
"Wanting to take revenge on the Yotsuba family, huh?!"
Slap!
"Causing trouble and making things difficult for me for no reason, huh?!"
Slap!
"Still wanting to target the people around me and plot against my Yotsuba family, huh?!"
Slap!
"Still daring to act tough in front of me, huh?!"
With each word spoken, Mahiro delivered a slap, each strike perfectly measured to ensure Gu Jie would shed equipment and lose parts with every blow.
But after about ten slaps, Gu Jie fell completely still, half his head already driven into the asphalt.
Like splattered ketchup, the ground was stained crimson.
Only the exposed corpse twitched and convulsed.
Like a fish tossed onto a cutting board, freshly slaughtered flesh.
"Trash should stay in the trash heap. Why bother causing trouble for no reason?"
Mahiro coldly glanced at the corpse on the ground, casually pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his hands, then tossed it onto the body.
"Zeta, let's go. We're heading home."
Mahiro left without looking back.
The moment the handkerchief landed on Gu Jie's corpse, a sudden flame erupted, completely engulfing his body.
It burned away entirely, leaving no trace behind.