Chapter 371 - 254: Aoi Monshou (Part 2)
Chapter 371: Chapter 254: Aoi Monshou (Part 2)
Though called Cold Ice Sword Qi, it was really just a stream of sharp energy that could be made thick or thin, large or small. He had never intentionally focused on improving this Superpower, but with his current Tier Eight strength, his Spiritual Power was far more abundant than that of other Extraordinary Beings of the same tier, making the ability quite formidable.
Chiba Yuki: "..."
Li Xiang swiped with his fingers as if holding a sword, unleashing three elegant streams of Sword Qi that severed Chiba Yuki’s bonds. Her hands were tied together, while her legs were bound separately to the stone chair, hence the need for three cuts.
Chiba Yuki marveled at the sight. Li Xiang’s Superpower had just severed her ropes without so much as grazing her skin. It was a divine display of skill, more precise than the blade of an old Kyoto master carving a tuna.
She hastily bent down, picked up her clothes, and draped them over herself. After pulling the towel from her mouth, she bowed deeply to Li Xiang. "Thank you, thank you..." Tears streamed down her face as she spoke, so choked with emotion she could barely get the words out.
"What’s the deal with this old man?" Li Xiang asked, sitting down on the stone chair.
"Ah? Are you...?" Chiba Yuki asked, a pleasant surprise washing over her. She had already suspected it was Li Xiang, but she had never seen his real face. Now, hearing his familiar voice, she was overcome with shock and joy.
Li Xiang nodded.
So, Chiba Yuki knelt beside Li Xiang and began her story.
"I am a widow..."
Her maiden name was Sakurai, but she took her husband’s surname, Chiba, after marrying. She had twin daughters. As the old saying goes, trouble is always knocking at a widow’s door—especially one so young and beautiful.
She was only twenty-seven—just one year older than Li Xiang, in fact.
"The man’s name is Mitsui Genichiro. He not only lusts after me, but he also wants to seize my family’s ancestral private hot spring inn. The man has considerable influence here; his family is a member of the Nikki Association."
"The Nikki Association? Is that the Mitsui Conglomerate?" Li Xiang suddenly smiled. ’Isn’t that my next target?’
"Yes. They control the Mitsui Conglomerate, one of Japan’s Six Major Conglomerates. Their connections and networks are deeply intertwined," said Chiba Yuki.
Japan has Six Major Conglomerates: Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Fuji, Sanwa, and the First Bank of Japan. They effectively control over 60% of Japan’s economic lifeline.
They rarely present themselves publicly as conglomerates, but their influence permeates key sectors like finance, manufacturing, and technology, making them the "behind-the-scenes manipulators" of the Japanese economy and politics.
After World War II, the dissolution of the zaibatsu, led by the United States, forced the conglomerates to transform into modern corporate alliances with cross-shareholdings. Family control was replaced by stock ownership and financial capital. In other words, there is no "behind-the-scenes boss" or single controlling family in the traditional sense.
"You said you have twin daughters? What are their names?"
Chiba Yuki paused, wondering why Li Xiang was focusing on this. Still, he was her savior, so she answered truthfully. Without him, her fate tonight would have been truly horrific.
"One is named Chiba Asatsuyu, the other is Chiba Yukigiri. They are both only five years old."
Li Xiang: "..." He sighed to himself. ’It must be fate. Twins, and their names and ages match. There’s no mistake.’
"Sir, with this old man dead here, there’s bound to be a lot of trouble later. Perhaps you should leave now?" Chiba Yuki suggested, glancing worriedly at the corpse on the floor.
Then, she steeled herself and said, "I have a difficult favor to ask, and I’m not sure if you’d be willing to grant it."
"Speak."
"I want to entrust my two daughters to you. Please take them as your goddaughters and bring them back to China, because... I’m probably going to prison." With Mitsui Genichiro dead in her private inn, she could never escape suspicion. She didn’t care if she went to prison or even died, but her daughters were so young. What would become of them? Entrusting them to Li Xiang was the best solution she could imagine.
Li Xiang just laughed. "Why are you afraid of the mere Mitsui Conglomerate? Give me one night, and no one will ever bother you again."
As Li Xiang stood up, Chiba Yuki remembered something and hastily added, "There are three samurai waiting upstairs."
"It’s fine." Li Xiang waved his hand dismissively. His figure flashed, and he disappeared into the rock wall.
Chiba Yuki: "..." Then, to her horror, she realized the old man’s body had vanished from the floor.
"This man... he’s godlike," Chiba Yuki marveled. A fervent hope then bloomed within her. ’If Asatsuyu and Yukigiri could truly have him as their godfather, then their future...’
Li Xiang had, of course, stored Mitsui Genichiro’s body in his system inventory. When he reached a spot hundreds of meters away and hundreds of meters underground, he tossed the old man’s corpse out.
He then phased back to the surface.
The three samurai were still waiting in the corridor, whispering about the boss’s romantic conquest. All three were deeply envious.
"Who are you?!" The three samurai were terrified by the sudden appearance of the mysterious Armored Man.
Soon, the three of them disappeared.
To Li Xiang, crushing them was as easy as crushing ants. With a flash, his figure vanished into the night.
「The next day.」
A sensational piece of news once again sent shockwaves through Japan.
The Mitsui Conglomerate was wiped out overnight. The homes of the Nikki Association’s key members had all been ransacked.
Conglomerate executives are forbidden from traveling on the same plane to prevent a single accident from crippling the company’s operations. But now, every single one of the Mitsui Conglomerate’s senior executives, and even some of its mid-level managers—hundreds of people in total—were dead. This was far more devastating than any single plane crash.
Chiba Yuki spent the whole day on edge. She didn’t open her business, instead planning to lie low behind closed doors. During this time, the police did come to question her, but it was just a routine interview to take a statement. She said that Mitsui Genichiro had come, but had left quickly.