Chapter 1491 - 1153: Takeda Shigetada

"Now, at least we know the source of the [Residual Taint] that causes people to hang themselves. Good, very good..."

It was late, and Wuming, walking from the meadows on the outskirts towards the main road leading to the city gates, murmured as if to comfort herself.

"Good... good my foot!!!"

But soon after, she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

After investigating all day, apart from uncovering more and more abnormal extermination cases, it only made Lann and Wuming more alarmed!

The [Residual Taint], originally not difficult to deal with and could even dissipate on its own if left alone, had been lingering around Iwamura Castle for at least more than ten years!

Moreover, it had somehow layered upon itself!

The [Residual Taint] harmed people, and those harmed would form new [Residual Taint], stacking and spreading out!

Wuming, who hadn’t been to school, didn’t understand what this spread pattern meant.

But in Lann’s eyes, it was nothing less than a highly contagious epidemic with an uncertain mortality rate!

And was this [Residual Taint] epidemic really originating from Iwamura Castle’s cleansing of the local noble families over ten years ago?

Although it was just a day’s visit, both Wuming and Lann had already felt like they were searching for puzzle pieces.

Seemingly unrelated extermination cases, with a significant time difference, might actually be linked on a longer timeline and in less noticeable events.

Could the [Residual Taint] in Iwamura Castle have been contaminated from elsewhere?

Such suspicion goes on endlessly.

Lann also furrowed his brows seriously.

Originally thought to be just a [Residual Taint] with a broad impact, after a round of investigation, it turned out to be not only broad but also extraordinarily long-lasting!

"Ah ah ah!" Wuming furiously scratched her head, her originally pretty bob cut turned into a mess due to her own actions. "What should I do now!"

As a Demon Hunter possessed by a Guardian Spirit, Wuming was more inclined to directly confront demons and evil spirits, completing the ’exorcism’ with real weapons.

Following Lann in investigations and analysis for just one day, she already felt her brain was not enough!

She wasn’t stupid, but she indeed hadn’t attended school!

"Although troublesome, if we really want to investigate, there’s a way."

Lann sighed while speaking, and he was also getting used to the warm feeling simultaneously coming from behind his neck.

Wuming turned around, her suspicion mixed with a hint of surprise, and looked at the Demon Hunter: "Really?"

The two walked up the road leading to the city gates, about to enter the city.

At this time, there were also many farmers finishing a day’s work, carrying tools, carefully leading water buffaloes and horses, walking on the main road just like them.

The farmers exchanged jokes, sometimes even making a few vulgar jokes; the farmer’s wives pretended to be shy, but privately, they actually chatted more excessively than the men.

The emotional and interpersonal relations among the residents of this era were often more chaotic and complicated than Lann, a modern person, imagined.

But this also filled the military castle, Iwamura Town, with vitality.

Yet the two who could freely move in the bustling and noisy Castle Town without any hesitation yesterday, now looking at the sun setting, and the castle already shrouded in the shadows of the mountains, only felt the darkness of the mountains...

As if it was about to mercilessly devour the entire city.

"If Iwamura Castle has a relatively complete census record, then I should be able to go through more than a decade’s worth of census within a few hours."

Lann calmly spoke words that slowly made Wuming widen her mouth.

"In those census records, the mortality records separated by significant distances and without any supposed internal relation, I can compare them one by one to find commonalities."

Though having never attended school, nor knowing exactly what the census records looked like, Wuming just instinctively felt this should be a terrifying amount of work just listening.

But for Lann, even in his time allocation of a few hours, the vast majority was just flipping through books and looking.

Entering this data into Mentos, the biochemical brain will logically filter and organize the data by itself.

Those hidden connections buried in vast data, unnoticed by ordinary people, will have nowhere to hide under the crushing power of violent computing!

Eventually, the clues will be locked into an increasingly smaller range until a source is found!

"You can do such things?" Wuming was still shocked by this, "Really... are you serious!"

But soon, the practical side of the Demon Hunter prevailed, suppressing the shock.

Wuming straightened the animal skin cloak on her, saying thoughtfully: "If that’s the case, the first problem we need to face now is... how to access Iwamura Castle’s census records."

"Although I don’t quite understand these things, but I think this should be a very important thing for a city right? Although you are welcome in the Tenshu, will the City Lord really allow you to view such important information?"

"You are absolutely right." For Wuming’s concern, Lann nodded indifferently, "Tax records are involved with taxation, conscription, labor service, and so on. These things are not just ’very important,’ but one of the ’most important’ things for a city."

"But since I’m saying this, it means there is a way."

In the first half of the sentence, Lann spoke to Wuming beside him while still keeping his head down. As for the latter half, he turned directly to a warrior riding a horse, who seemed like he was just passing by them.

"Sir, what are your thoughts?"

The warrior was riding a horse, blending into the crowd entering the city under the sunset.

He didn’t seem very anxious, nor did he arrogantly shove aside the civilians daring to block his path.

The warrior wore a conical hat with a cover to shield against road dust, accompanied by a straw cape.

Just as people’s height in this world’s Japan was generally taller, the horses in this world with supernatural powers were also more majestic than before.

And apart from the horse beneath him and the tachi at his waist, there was really nothing distinctive about him.

So after Lann turned his head, Wuming was surprised to realize that the warrior had been walking beside them for four or five minutes.

However, the horse’s speed was alternately fast and slow, occasionally ahead and occasionally behind them. It did appear as if he was pushed and squeezed by the crowd entering the city at dusk, thus Wuming didn’t feel anything unusual.

After Lann made it clear, the person on horseback stiffened for a moment but soon recovered.

Wuming frowned at the person, not pleased with being eavesdropped on, which wouldn’t make anyone feel good.

Secondly, their current investigation into the [Corruption] was indeed something not ordinary. It’s hard to say whether merely overhearing it might get this person similarly involved and then further spread the [Corruption].

But this warrior whose appearance was obscured by the cover beneath the hat seemed much more composed.

He lowered his head, removed the hat with the cover, revealing a young and delicate face.

Similar to Ando Shouji, he had his hair tied up in a high ponytail with some bangs in front of his forehead.

"I’ve heard that there are extraordinary individuals in Iwamura Castle recently, and combined with missing my father-in-law, I’m here to visit specially."

In the young man’s mouth, he spoke excuses neither he nor Lann believed, yet he calmly bowed slightly on horseback.

At the same time, he pulled the reins and jumped off the horse.

"Meeting today, indeed you’re everything I’ve heard about."

The warrior said to the two with steadiness and meaningfulness.

And at this moment, subtle waves inaudible to ordinary people simultaneously arose beside him and Wuming.

"Splash~" *2

Amidst a dreamy glow, Wuming’s Guardian Spirit [Eight Hundred Waves] seemingly appeared naturally, as if stimulated or sensed.

While behind the warrior, a long-bearded goat dressed in a light green robe, with ethereal ribbons fluttering in the back, and small round-framed glasses perched on its nose, looking just like a scholarly figure, also appeared behind the warrior.

"The crest of [Nine Bamboo Leaves]," As the warrior dismounted, Lann saw the emblem on the haori beneath the straw cape from his movement, and opened his mouth, "Are you from the Takeda Clan?"

"Impressive eyesight." The warrior seemed to be a gentle person, his mouth always carrying a peaceful smile, "I am Takeda Shigetada."

After a fully ceremonious self-introduction, he then expressed his apology.

"I’m truly sorry, the two of you. Earlier, it wasn’t intentional eavesdropping, it was really that I overheard some things that were somewhat concerning, so my thoughts unnoticeably followed."

"Concerned?" Wuming said in a hostile tone, "What is there for you to be concerned about?"

Lann gestured to the Demon Hunter: "Don’t speak like that, Takeda Shigetada... if I haven’t mixed it up, you should be the son-in-law of the City Lord?"

"Eh?!"

Wuming expressed Japanese-style bewilderment again, while sizing up the young warrior and the scholarly goat behind him.

"Judging by this Guardian Spirit, it really doesn’t seem like a violent warrior."

"Haha, people can’t be judged by appearances." Takeda Shigetada gently laughed, "Warriors are not just about fighting, courtesy, knowledge, strategies... Confucius said that a gentleman has six arts, and I’ve actually always held myself to such standards."

Their Guardian Spirits responded to each other upon meeting, manifested, but then each receded again.

"Exactly!" Wuming clapped her hands, "Takeda, could you convey this to your father-in-law? You heard it just now too, the situation is severe!"

Wuming wasn’t familiar with the six arts of gentlemen, or the standards of warriors. She only wanted to quickly trace the source and sever it before the [Corruption] which had already begun to unsettle her, escalated to something scarier!

The Demon Hunter’s dedication to this burdensome and thankless profession likely stemmed from resentment towards demons and evil spirits.

However, beyond this resentment, there naturally came compassion and concern for ordinary people.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this underlying psychological alignment that Wuming and Lann naturally became acquainted after meeting yesterday.