Chapter 74: Kagome Hall (Two)

“These two are the helpers at the mansion. This is Madam Esumi, and here is Wakae, who assists here… Wakae is also my granddaughter.”

Butler Saeki introduced the two servants of Kagome Hall to Fang Jing. Madam Esumi was naturally the old woman in the kimono, and Wakae was Butler Saeki’s granddaughter. She also helped out at the Hirakawa Family with odd jobs.

He told Fang Jing that there weren’t many helpers in Kagome Hall. Including himself, there were only three people currently working at the hall: Butler Saeki, Madam Esumi, and his granddaughter Wakae.

The Hirakawa Family members didn’t stay at the hall all the time. Only Saeki Tsurutada was resting there continuously, and Madam Esumi managed most of Kagome Hall’s work.

“When Young Master Shun and I aren’t here, we rely on her to take care of things. If anything comes up and you can’t find me, please ask Madam Esumi for help, Mr. Nishizuka…”

Butler Saeki personally led him to a guest room on the second floor and said at a calm pace: “You can also look for Wakae, but that child isn’t very mature yet. If she does anything rude, please bear with her.”

“You’re really too polite.”

“No, this is part of my duty… By the way, here is your room key, Mr. Nishizuka. Please keep it safe.”

Butler Saeki took out the key and handed it to him.

“For safety’s sake, please lock the doors and windows. Kagome Hall had a burglary case in the past, so we’ve been very careful about this ever since.”

“Okay.”

When he thought about it carefully, Kagome Hall had many of Hirakawa Shun’s and the Hirakawa Family’s Collection Artifacts. Since they were Collection Artifacts, it was normal for thieves to target them, so they naturally paid extra attention to this.

“Mr. Nishizuka, please try to keep the key secure. Only Madam Esumi has a spare key, since she holds all the keys to this hall. There are no extra copies. Losing it would be quite troublesome.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of it.”

Butler Saeki explained a few more things to him, like the layout inside the hall, the location of the bathroom, and the schedule for hot water and bath times, mostly ordinary little matters. Fang Jing stood there patiently listening to him.

“The Activity Room is on the right side at the bottom of the stairs. Some guests who arrived earlier are resting and chatting there. Mr. Nishizuka, you might want to go and say hello…”

Fang Jing was the last of the guests to arrive, and another thing was… he wasn’t really part of Hirakawa Shun’s friend group. He had a plan in mind: after seeing Hirakawa’s collection tonight, as long as he got the Yin Energy and absorbed the Growth Value, he would leave first thing tomorrow morning.

He sat down and checked his own status and skills.

Since last week, when he ran into “Brown Glasses” — that is, the monsters called Corpse Hounds — he deeply felt that his power was still too weak. So he made up his mind and spent a full 10 Growth Value to quickly figure out a new skill for the Torrent Skill.

Now, he could see a blue message appear on his skill list.

(Torrent · Hundred Strikes, Extreme Intent, Achieved)

Fang Jing focused his gaze on the words “Torrent · Hundred Strikes.” It was his newly mastered skill, and also the evolved form of the Torrent Skill from the Water Division.

He had personally tested the power of this move and had to admit that the 10 Growth Value wasn’t wasted at all. “Torrent · Hundred Strikes” was definitely his strongest skill right now.

Fang Jing judged that, at full strength, Torrent · Hundred Strikes was at least twice as powerful as the original Torrent Skill.

Even more surprisingly, “Torrent · Hundred Strikes” fixed the issue of needing a charging time to build power at the start of the Torrent Skill. Torrent · Hundred Strikes allowed him to build up ahead of attacks. Using breathing techniques, he could change that without wasting time on adjusting the rhythm to gather force.

He also had a suspicion: the breathing technique for “Torrent · Hundred Strikes” could be practiced during everyday movements like walking, sitting, or lying down. In other words, he had found that this way of building up energy, by adjusting his body and the rhythm of his breathing, was steadily adapting to his own body.

He wasn’t intentionally doing it, but in daily life, he still ended up using this breathing style without noticing.

Occasionally, while sitting in a chair listening to a lecture, he would naturally exhale and suddenly feel the vertebrae in his back squeezing against each other. That would stir his internal organs to move, producing a low, soothing inner sound that seemed to come from inside him. Or, after a practice session, while he was resting, his spine, like a great dragon, would tremble slightly. Energy would naturally flow through his muscles and bones, turning his skin red and warm.

The breathing, rhythm, and pace of “Torrent · Hundred Strikes” seemed to be recorded day by day by his muscles, bones, and every inch of his body. It felt etched into his body, like his body was being tempered by this breathing rhythm… He didn’t know if this kind of haphazard practice was right, but “Torrent · Hundred Strikes” gave him a good feeling. There was no discomfort at all.

Fang Jing started to check his own data in detail.

Name: Nishizuka Tsukasa

Age: 17

Occupation: Primary Fate Devourer

Fate Grade: Bronze

Strength Attribute: 4.8

Physical Attribute: 5.9

Speed Attribute: 4.6

Stamina Attribute: 1.8

Mental Attribute: 2.5

He still had only 2 Growth Value left. Originally, he spent 10 on Shaolin Kempo. The 29 he absorbed at the Defiled Temple became 19. Then he spent 7 to raise Torrent to the Advanced Level, and another 10 to get “Torrent · Hundred Strikes,” leaving him with only 2 points.

He wasn’t in a rush to use these meager 2 points. He was only hoping that this trip to Kagome Hall would provide him with more Yin Energy, allowing him to make a bigger improvement.

If he could raise his Strength, Physical, and Speed Attributes all above 5, his body would go through a qualitative transformation. Fang Jing was really looking forward to that.

He opened his backpack and checked the items inside. The backpack held clothes for changing, plus some extras like towels, a lighter, and a compass…

Fang Jing took out compressed biscuits to refill his energy. While searching the backpack, he found a medium-sized box.

“Why did I bring this thing? Oh, right, I think last time, I didn’t take it out. I just packed it away and tucked it back in.”

It was an ordinary metal box, but the item inside wasn’t simple. Inside the box was that Mummified Severed Hand.

Click!

He closed the box. The Mummified Severed Hand gave off an ominous aura. But Fang Jing suspected that his earlier escape might have had something to do with it. That’s why he hadn’t thrown it away.

He stared at the Mummified Severed Hand without realizing it, looking confused and lost.

Knock, knock, knock!

A knocking sound snapped Nishizuka Tsukasa out of his thoughts. He opened the door to find Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi standing there.

“Nishizuka-kun, aren’t you going down to the first floor to greet everyone?”

“Huh…”

“Haha! It’s okay, really. Everyone is actually easy to talk to. And before, because of the photos you brought, Young Master Shun mentioned you to those friends. They’re all quite interested in you.”

Hearing Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi say that, Fang Jing couldn’t very well refuse.