"That's how things went. That child named Hakuji has now been taken to Keizo's dojo.
After so many years without a single disciple, the Soryu Dojo has finally welcomed its first student. Truly congratulations-worthy~"
"Haha, little Mitsuba is still so skilled at mocking others..."
At dusk, the sky had darkened.
Mitsuba, who had returned from delivering medicine to the Soryu Dojo, was sitting beside the Centenarian Elder at the stone table in the dojo courtyard, chatting casually.
Hearing the old man's cheerful teasing beside her, Mitsuba immediately felt displeased and retorted:
"What do you mean, little old man? I was sincerely congratulating Mr. Keizo, understand?"
"Being able to use such polite manners to seriously deliver blessings that sound like mockery—I must admit, little Mitsuba, you truly have exceptional talent..."
"Huh?!"
"Of course, the neighbors in town actually quite like this about you..."
Lifting his teacup to sip his tea, the Centenarian Elder suddenly said with a smile:
"Speaking of which, yesterday a man from the north of town came on behalf of his son to propose marriage to you through me.
I thought that young man seemed quite decent—steady and honest. How about it, little Mitsuba, would you like to consider it?"
Hearing these words, Mitsuba's eyes widened, and she nearly rose from the stone bench.
"Wait! Little old man, why are they coming to you about my marriage? We agreed before that we wouldn't interfere with each other. I'm warning you, don't randomly agree to anything for me..."
"See you tomorrow, Big Sis Mitsuba!"
Behind her, the children's voices suddenly rang out.
Parents who had finished their busy day were arriving at the dojo one after another to pick up their children.
"Got it, see you tomorrow. Hurry home, and don't make too much noise on the way."
Turning around, Mitsuba warmly responded to the children who enthusiastically bid her farewell before leaving, not forgetting to give them a few instructions.
Among them, only one little one's voice was somewhat discordant.
"Big Sis Mitsuba! Please marry me!"
"You little brat, saying that again—hurry up and go home!"
Black lines appeared on her forehead as Mitsuba shook her head with a bitter smile.
"Such a small child with such big thoughts..."
"Little Mitsuba has always been well-liked by children..."
Beside her, the Centenarian Elder quietly watched this scene while holding his tea bowl, laughing cheerfully:
"Whether adults or children, everyone in town has been helped by you these past few years..."
"You're the last person I want to hear that from."
Her smile gradually fading, Mitsuba turned her gaze to the old man beside her and said seriously:
"The matter with Hakuji this afternoon—you were the one who went to the magistrate's office to negotiate, weren't you?"
At noon, the several people Hakuji had attacked on the street were all wealthy, even somewhat powerful figures in this town.
Mitsuba had been worried all afternoon that these people would demand the magistrate's office cause trouble at Keizo's Soryu Dojo.
She had specifically sat at the Soryu Dojo for an entire afternoon, waiting to help Keizo handle this matter.
It was only when evening came and no one appeared that she gradually realized someone must have stopped this behind the scenes.
And in this town, the only person with sufficient seniority and capability who could step forward to handle this matter at the first opportunity was the Centenarian Elder before her.
As the oldest person in this town, no one knew anymore when exactly the Centenarian Elder had arrived here.
In everyone's collective memory, from the moment they began to remember things, the Centenarian Elder was already here.
His long lifespan had allowed him to accumulate extremely rich experience, and high seniority and status in this town.
No one in this town failed to show him respect, and even officials from the magistrate's office would invite this "living bodhisattva" to preside over justice when mediating some thorny and complex civilian conflicts.
Clearly, behind the fact that Hakuji had beaten up several important figures on the street yet faced no consequences, it must have been this old man who went to the magistrate's office to mediate.
Facing Mitsuba's direct question, the Centenarian Elder simply sipped his tea and smiled gently.
"I merely occasionally help everyone in town, just like you do, little Mitsuba..."
"Really, going out to make trouble at your age, not afraid you'll suddenly die one day."
Having obtained the answer she wanted, Mitsuba shook her head helplessly.
To be honest, Mitsuba didn't actually know how much longer the Centenarian Elder could live.
Although she could observe it using her Blood Demon Art, she hadn't done so.
Or rather, Mitsuba had often done so in the past, but no longer wanted to.
In the past decades, when Mitsuba had lived in other places using other identities, she had particularly enjoyed using her Blood Demon Art to observe the fates of those around her.
Occasionally, she would even try to help them change their original destinies.
Especially those humans with whom she had good relationships.
At first, Mitsuba could derive great pleasure from this.
But soon, she grew weary of it.
After all, in her view, the brilliance of life lay in its unpredictability.
If one knew the ending from the very beginning, comprehending everything about the future, then this journey called life would become utterly joyless.
After realizing this, Mitsuba stopped casually using her Blood Demon Art to observe others.
Instead, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to each new identity, enjoying the encounters and experiences with different people.
"Alright, I won't chat with you anymore."
Seeing that the last child in the dojo had also been picked up by their parents, Mitsuba finally stood up and stretched.
"Finally off work. If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back... ah, right."
As if suddenly remembering something, Mitsuba turned to look at the Centenarian Elder and said:
"Same as the past few days, I'll be going out tonight as well.
If anything urgent happens in the evening, please trouble Mr. Keizo, little old man. I mentioned this to him this afternoon."
"Going out again? Little Mitsuba seems to have been quite busy at night recently..."
"Stop. We agreed before—not allowed to ask about my matters... that's it, see you tomorrow."
No longer paying attention to the old man behind her, Mitsuba waved her hand dashingly and quickly left the dojo.
She indeed had matters to attend to tonight.
To be precise, she had actually been busy these past few nights.
The matter began with a small merchant caravan that had come to this town for trade a few days ago.
At that time, Mitsuba—who had gone to purchase some training equipment for the Centenarian Dojo—unexpectedly heard the words "Blue Spider Lily" from the mouth of this small merchant caravan's leader.
Yes, Blue Spider Lily.
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