Chapter 161: Okamoto

Chapter 161: Okamoto

The boring half-day of classes finally ended.

Fang Jing unusually decided to have lunch at the school cafeteria today.

Bringing his own lunchbox to school every day was quite troublesome, and most of the time, he had to buy extra food anyway.

He selected his meal at the meal ticket vending machine, got the ticket, went to the cafeteria counter to pick up his food, and then left with his tray.

Fang Jing ordered a lot at once: grilled seaweed, salt-grilled red salmon, hamburger steak, a large portion of rice, and pickled cucumbers. But all that food was just enough to whet his appetite.

The school cafeteria set meals were quite cheap, and the portions were generous. You could also choose your own side dishes.

Even though he ate a lot, no one really paid attention. After all, they were all teenage students; having a big appetite and eating a lot was normal.

“I’ll buy some bread later, or it still won’t be enough…”

Come to think of it, having to add extra meals every day was a bit of a hassle.

In the Outer Demon Gate’s records, there were several Chinese herbal medicine formulas. Some of the ingredients in these formulas were said to have remarkable effects and could replenish vitality and energy.

However, these Chinese herbal formulas were ancient prescriptions. Only pharmacists skilled in ancient Chinese herbal medicine theory could properly prepare them.

Fang Jing had never studied traditional Chinese medicine or herbalism. Even if he had an ancient Chinese medicine formula in his hands, he wouldn’t dare try to mix it himself.

Traditional Chinese medicine was an ancient medical system. Essentially, it was a set of medical principles summarized over a long time through the clinical experience of countless Chinese medicine practitioners. It had some differences from modern medicine. One of the core aspects of Chinese medicine was the use of medicinal ingredients, primarily herbs.

Herbalism wasn’t unique to China. The history of herbalism was long and continuous. Different civilizations and ethnic groups around the world had their own summarized theories of herbalism. Herbalism was also a treatment method based mainly on clinical therapy.

In Chinese medicine, herbal ingredients were the first choice for prescriptions, guided by theories based on the experiences summarized by ancient practitioners.

Fang Jing was well aware that Chinese medicine formulation emphasized the roles of primary and supporting herbs. The proportions of different medicinal components had specific requirements. Too much or too little of any ingredient could cause problems. If done incorrectly, a good medicine could even turn into poison.

Traditional Chinese medicine, and Chinese herbal medicine, were quite popular in ancient Japan. By the Meiji period, as the government pursued civilization and modernization, the status of Chinese medicine declined drastically. Nowadays, finding a reliable Chinese medicine practitioner was understandably difficult.

“If it really comes to that, I’ll have to go to the Chinese community in Yokohama’s Chinatown to look for one.”

He could feel that his body consumed an enormous amount of energy. He ate exceptionally large amounts every day. If used properly, the few Chinese medicinal herbs listed by Ancestor Genzo might help alleviate the issues his body was currently facing.

“Alright, I’ll finish lunch first!”

Fang Jing put down his tray. He looked around; this spot only had him and an acquaintance sitting opposite, Karasawa Meisuke.

He seemed to be having ramen or something similar, but he hadn’t started eating yet. Instead, he was flipping through a book.

“It’s you again…”

There was no one around Karasawa Meisuke. Most students in the school had heard of his reputation as a delinquent. No one dared to come over and greet him.

Basically, Karasawa Meisuke’s reputation at Wu Long was different from Fang Jing’s in some ways, but they also had some similarities.

One major common point was that neither of them had many friends or close associates.

“Yeah, mainly because there aren’t many people around you.”

The seats around where Karasawa Meisuke was sitting were empty.

Fang Jing noticed he was reading a book and couldn’t help but feel a bit curious.

“What book are you reading?”

“You’re asking about the title?”

Karasawa Meisuke gave him a sidelong glance and said unhurriedly, “I think it’s called ‘Jiling Local Customs Research Survey Collection.’ I borrowed it from the library… Hey! Why are you sitting so far away?”

“Senior, you should take care of yourself!”

Fang Jing wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked around the cafeteria, but he didn’t notice any suspicious figures.

Phew! That’s a relief!

This probably has nothing to do with me…

Seeing nothing unusual, he relaxed a bit.

“By the way, the Fang Hunters don’t seem to be making any moves.”

He thought of the woman who had left his class and couldn’t help but ask.

“Isn’t no movement a good thing? Those Fang Hunters are like bad omens. Wherever they appear, trouble follows. There probably aren’t any Corpse Hounds in the city right now. I’d be laughing if I were in charge.”

Karasawa Meisuke put down the pamphlet he was holding. He probably noticed his noodles were getting soggy, so he quickly picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. In your grade, there should be someone with the surname Sakuya, right?”

“Sakuya?”

“What’s wrong? You look really strange…”

“It would be weirder if I didn’t know her.”

“If you know her, then that’s good…”

Before Karasawa Meisuke could finish his sentence, a hand slapped his shoulder, startling him so much he jumped to his feet.

“Hahaha… Ah Ming, you’re overreacting.”

The person standing behind Karasawa Meisuke laughed rudely.

So tiny… Fang Jing put down his spoon. The person who startled Karasawa Meisuke was a short, petite girl.

A middle schooler? — No, all the girls’ uniforms at this school had ribbons. You could tell just by the color. But she was actually a senior in the third year?

He glanced over this senior up and down. She really had the flat, undeveloped figure of an elementary school student!

“Hey hey! I feel someone giving me a disrespectful look!”

Such sharp intuition.

“That’s right, I’m talking about you, Four-Eyes. You look like a junior…”

She acted completely arrogant.

“I feel like I’m being treated unfairly with your gaze. You have no respect for an excellent senior like me. It seems you lack proper guidance—!”

The super-small senior glared at him with sharp, large eyes.

But it was completely non-threatening. Even if a Chihuahua acts fierce, it doesn’t scare anyone.

“Ko·hi·na·ta!”

Karasawa, who had been badly frightened, had a pale face. He reached out and grabbed this senior.

“Oww… you jerk, let go.”

“Let go? No way. How many times have I told you not to stand behind me and slap my shoulder.”

Due to serious issues related to his constitution, he had similar psychological shadows.

To get back at her, he roughly messed up the super-small senior’s hair, quickly turning it into a bird’s nest.

(Now I remember, Karasawa mentioned before that he had a childhood friend who worked at a dessert shop. It must be this senior.)

“Giyah!”

The super-small senior made a strange sound like a rare animal, waving her claws and trying to intimidate the tall Karasawa.

Karasawa just sneered, crossed his arms, and didn’t say a word.

The two stood in a stalemate for half a minute before the situation gradually calmed down.

But the senior still puffed out her cheeks, looking sulky.

“This shorty is named Kohinata Neno. As you can see, she’s a shorty!”

Oh, right, she’s also kinda my childhood friend.

He added that last part in a low voice.

“Ah Ming, such a nobody, dared to speak that forbidden word that was Sealed, and he emphasized it twice. It seems I’ll have to sentence you to death next.”

Kohinata Nona hopped back a few steps and assumed a stance to unleash her ultimate move.

Despite her tiny size, she was exceptionally energetic.

Kohinata Nona’s big, beautiful eyes shifted, as if she had come up with another mischievous idea.

She cleared her throat and spoke loudly, “In Ah Ming’s third-grade essay, the teacher asked everyone to write about their future dreams. Ah Ming’s dream was to marry his sister and become the bride of the vegetable-picking sister…”

“Wait, wait, what are you trying to do?”

Karasawa Meisuke’s expression froze as he realized something was wrong.

“Ah Ming in fourth grade watched a movie called ‘Killer Clown’ and ended up wetting the bed that night. To cover up the evidence, he secretly threw the sheets away…”

“Ahhh, shut up!”

Having his embarrassing past exposed directly by his childhood friend, even a delinquent like Karasawa couldn’t endure such a terrible public humiliation.

He jumped up, his face stiff, moving incredibly fast to tightly cover Kohinata Nona’s mouth.

“Alright, Nishizuka, we’ll talk about this next time…”

Without waiting for Fang Jing to speak, he forcefully pushed Kohinata Nona out of the cafeteria.

—Oh right, that book.

Fang Jing stared at the corner of the table. The booklet that Karasawa Meisuke should have forgotten to take had also disappeared in that instant.

Even with his sharp eyes, he hadn’t seen how the booklet vanished without a trace.

“If I’m not mistaken, that booklet must have returned to his hands.”

He could only hope that Karasawa wouldn’t run into any trouble!

Fortunately, Karasawa himself had a Spirit Medium Constitution and was more capable than an amateur like him.

Thinking this, he felt a bit relieved.

——————————

Since he had decided to kill, Fang Jing began making thorough preparations. He contacted Higashi Yuantai again and then, alone, took a train to Kyushu. After arriving in Kyushu, he bought a Northern Kyushu 3-Day Pass.

He first arrived at a small city called “Bunokura” and decided to meet up with a local contact.

This contact was an Information Broker named “Okamoto.” Aside from that, Fang Jing knew nothing else about him.

Killing Susaka required a lot of effort and resources, which would undoubtedly alert the enemy.

His mission was essentially an assassination. Assassination meant quietly eliminating someone.

So, instead of sending a large group, he alone traveled to Bunokura City.

His plan was simple: find out the location of Susaka’s base and go there to kill him.

This differed from the usual methods of assassins. After all, someone like Susaka was no ordinary person.

He operated and mediated between major organizations like the Black Devourer Syndicate and the Kanto Confederation, acting as a middleman, so he was certainly no small fry.

Someone like Susaka had formidable skills, which also meant he had many enemies, and those enemies were definitely not lowlifes.

To survive in such an environment, his security measures were not to be underestimated.

Killing someone like him wouldn’t be easy!

“Of course, if it were too easy, there wouldn’t be a need for me to step in.”

After arriving in Bunokura City, he first found the designated bar for the meeting.

However, he wasn’t arranged to meet Okamoto there.

Through coded messages, Fang Jing took a bus around and arrived at a hot spring inn in the mountains of Bunokura.

He first relaxed in the hot springs and was then led by a pretty maid to a hidden room.

“Is the person Higashi Yuantai sent just a kid like you?”

Fang Jing had assumed that an Information Broker named “Okamoto” would be a burly man or a bald bartender;

The meeting place should at least be a dimly lit bar or the rooftop of a tall building.

It turned out he had watched too many movies… He never expected that the contact would be an old woman with wrinkled skin and white hair.

The old woman wore a kimono, squinted her eyes, took a puff from her short pipe, and sneered as she blew out a ring of white smoke.

“Sending a kid who isn’t even fully grown, thinking he can take down a formidable figure like ‘Susaka’—has he lost his mind?”

Promoting a book to the readers

Due to a PY deal (don’t ask if I was the passive or active party; you know how it is), I have to promote a book to the readers…

Title: “My Ghost Mother Minamoto no Raikou”

Synopsis: Question, what is it like to succeed in the Hikaru Genji Plan?

Thanks for asking, my fiancée got burned, my pursuer got beheaded, my little cousin got broken, my female disciple vomited blood, my concubines couldn’t succeed, and I just want my little friend to take a break.

The above answers are from “Minamoto no Raikou’s Training Guide for Cultivating the Next Head of the New Minamoto Clan,” abbreviated as “The Hikaru Genji Plan Victim, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.”

The content has some relation to the Fate series.

But it also has original elements.

This type of story is popular on the site, and like mine, the main story takes place in Japan. Promoting it here, I hope you’ll “take it if you’re interested.”