Mai Shiranui, of course, had no intention of doing anything of the sort. The things weighing on her mind were light-years away from what Li Ke was imagining.
After that, neither of them spoke another word, simply waiting in silence for the dawn to break.
Once the sun finally rose, people slowly began trickling out of the surrounding houses. The moment they spotted Li Ke and Shinobu Kocho, their faces contorted into expressions of panic and fear, mixed with a tiny, desperate flicker of hope.
Looking at their petrified expressions, Li Ke felt a sudden, mischievous urge to give them a good scare, but after a moment's thought, he ultimately decided against it.
"It might be funny to me, but it'd be pure terror for them."
Judging by how utterly on edge these townspeople were, Li Ke estimated that if he were to casually pretend to be a yokai right now, he would probably scare a few of them straight to death.
"It'd really suck to actually kill someone from fright," Li Ke muttered to himself under his breath. He then picked up his pace to follow Shinobu to their meeting with whatever local lord governed this area.
Naturally, there was absolutely zero chance of Li Ke kneeling before anyone. He just stood there, entirely unbothered, boldly staring straight up at the high-ranking official seated above them. Because of his unyielding stance, Shinobu followed his lead and refrained from bowing as well. Li Ke could easily tell that the nobleman was deeply irritated by his lack of etiquette, but the man at least possessed enough brain cells to mask his displeasure. Had he tried to throw his weight around, Li Ke would have gladly given him a live demonstration of what it looked like to mow down a horde of monsters single-handedly.
During the briefing, Shinobu focused entirely on the logistics of their skirmish, strategically omitting any mention of Li Ke's absurd raw destructive output. She simply stated that they had expended a significant amount of effort to purge a massive cluster of yokai plaguing the city outskirts.
The noble, however, offered absolutely no tangible reaction. He merely maintained a stone-cold, death-mask expression, gave a curt nod, and dismissed them on the spot, leaving Li Ke thoroughly speechless.
"I mean, is your local city lord seriously this stingy? We just broke our backs doing all that heavy lifting, and we don't even get a baseline cash bonus?"
Shinobu offered a slightly strained, awkward smile. She also felt the lord's conduct was rather petty, though not strictly because of the lack of a financial bounty; the Corps rarely received state compensation for slaying demons anyway.
But dismissing them without even a single word of formal encouragement or gratitude was genuinely pushing it.
"At the very least, he provided us with comfortable lodging, didn't he? What exactly did you expect from Taisho-era Japan?" Mai chimed in with a deadpan critique. Her understanding of historical Japanese dynamics was far deeper than Li Ke's, which was based entirely on a handful of manga and light novels. She knew that under these exact socioeconomic parameters, a lord granting them a safe haven was already considered exceptionally generous.
In fact, given the unapologetic arrogance Li Ke had displayed just moments ago, a common peasant would have been instantly decapitated for less.
"Talk about incredibly small-minded leadership," Li Ke couldn't help but scoff out loud. If he were the one calling the shots, the bare minimum requirement for dealing with elite warriors would involve hosting a lavish banquet. Even if you withheld chests of gold and silver, you at least had to put on a grand show of treating exceptional talent with absolute reverence.
Attempting to seize the dominant psychological high ground while remaining completely silent during the distribution of military credit—all just to maintain an empty facade of upper-class superiority—proved the man's brain was thoroughly riddled with structural potholes.
"There's nothing we can do about it. That is simply the cross the Demon Slayer Corps has always had to bear," Shinobu murmured softly.
Li Ke, however, didn't lose any sleep over the political slight. If the local bureaucracy ever genuinely crossed the line and rubbed him the wrong way, he would simply unsheathe his blade, march straight into the inner chambers, and forcefully deport the lord to go see his ancestors. He wasn't about to let petty mortal politics distract him from his mission.
Ultimately, they still managed to have a reasonably pleasant meal together before heading back to rest.
When they parted ways, Li Ke cast a highly expectant look toward Shinobu. Regrettably for him, both Shinobu and Mai needed to head off for a bath, which meant Li Ke was left to wash up all by himself.
There was no helping it; the bathing facilities here were communal and exceptionally crude, mirroring the exact setup he had grown used to back in the 7 Days to Die universe—a simple wooden tub with someone manually boiling water on the side.
Refusing to trouble the estate staff, Li Ke bypassed the hassle entirely. He directly weaponized his Firebending to flash-heat the water, used his Waterbending to adjust the fluid volume, and stepped in to begin his soak.
Even though his Dragon Fire wrap ensured his muscles didn't harbor a single shred of actual fatigue, the soothing, warm current still allowed both his mind and body to slide into a state of deep relaxation. Yet, staring down at the thick white steam rising from his cupped palms, Li Ke couldn't resist analyzing the mechanics of his Waterbending.
"Come to think of it, I can already phase-shift water into ice, and melt ice straight back into water. If that's the case, is there a tactical path for me to directly elevate the thermal energy of the liquid itself?"
Li Ke found himself deeply locked in thought.
While he could technically use Firebending to flash-boil water down the line, being able to directly manipulate the kinetic energy of water molecules to force a thermal spike would be infinitely more versatile.
Furthermore, if he mastered that conversion, he could theoretically bend high-pressure steam, granting him a pseudo-form of Airbending through pure moisture control...
"Hmm... If I follow that trajectory, the absolute zenith of the four bending arts would essentially allow a master to utilize a single element to trigger a flawless phase-shift across all physical states of matter?"
He commanded a stream of water to hover, forcing it to vibrate and undulate right in front of his face. His core theory involved aggressively spreading out the fluid particles or manually forcing the water molecules to frictionally collide against one another to generate heat.
Regrettably, his current micro-manipulation metrics weren't precise enough to force atomic-level molecular friction to generate raw thermal energy.
The absolute limit of his current output merely allowed him to generate intense fluid waves, achieving a crude effect identical to a modern washing machine.
After experimenting for a few minutes, he gave up and directed the high-velocity churning current against his own shoulders, using it as a self-operating back scrubber.
The sensation naturally caused his thoughts to drift back to the premium back-scrubbing services provided by Ikumi Mito back in Food Wars. The precise, heavy friction of her bountiful assets kneading against his skin had been exceptionally spectacular. On top of that, Ikumi possessed a flawless understanding of her role as his mistress, keeping her posture beautifully submissive and catering to his every whim.
Reflecting on the fact that he had been stranded in this universe for two whole days without getting a single girl into his bed, Li Ke couldn't help but suspect he was entering another extended period of forced celibacy.
After all, judging by the dirty looks Mai Shiranui had been throwing him, she was undoubtedly preparing to whisper endless poison into Shinobu's ear to ruin his chances.
"Ugh, what an absolute tragedy."
Letting out a weary sigh, Li Ke hauled himself out of the wooden tub. Feeling thoroughly refreshed and crisp after his bath, he made a straight line for his quarters to catch some sleep. While his robust physical frame wasn't technically exhausted, his mind had finally succumbed to a deep mental fatigue.
Li Ke lay down onto the futon bedding Shinobu had meticulously arranged for him earlier, indifferently concluding that tatami mats weren't anything worth bragging about; they weren't even half as comfortable as the traditional bamboo cooling mats he had back home.
However, the layers of the fabric radiated a heavy, soothing scent of wisteria flowers, and as he shifted around, he was left thoroughly speechless when his hand brushed against a small wisteria sachet hidden right beneath the sheets.
One had to admit—this girl, Shinobu, was truly, deeply obsessed with wisteria.
Li Ke was slowly drifting into a deep sleep when he vaguely sensed a small, soft figure slipping into his arms. Even in his half-asleep state, his body reacted on pure instinct. He tightened his embrace, pulling the delicate body closer, and his large hand immediately began exploring her chest with practiced familiarity.
His fingers slipped under her clothing and cupped one of Shinobu's massive, soft breasts. Despite her petite 1.5-meter frame, her tits were absurdly large and incredibly plush. Li Ke groaned softly in his sleep as he began kneading them greedily. His hand sank deep into the warm, yielding flesh, squeezing and massaging the heavy mound with rough affection. He could feel the contrast perfectly — her tiny body versus these oversized, pillowy breasts that overflowed his palm.
He pinched and rolled her stiff pink nipple between his fingers, tugging it gently before squeezing the entire breast again, enjoying how the soft meat spilled between his fingers. His other hand soon joined in, groping her other tit with equal hunger. He pressed them together, buried his face between the deep valley of her cleavage, and continued kneading them sleepily, as if they were his personal stress toys.
"Li… Lord Li Ke…" Shinobu whispered, her face already burning red.
She had prepared herself mentally before sneaking into his arms, but she hadn't expected him to immediately start fondling her so shamelessly even while half-asleep. Her voice was soft and embarrassed, but Li Ke remained mostly unconscious, his hands still moving on their own, squeezing and playing with her sensitive breasts.
"Really… Lord Li Ke…"
Shinobu's cheeks flushed deeper. She gave up on resisting and let him treat her like a living doll. As she lay nestled against his chest, she once again became acutely aware of their size difference. Her small body was completely enveloped by his, while her disproportionately large breasts were being thoroughly groped and manhandled.
"Will I really be okay…?" she whispered to herself, feeling both nervous and strangely warm.
Just as she was about to close her eyes and wait for him to wake up naturally, she shifted her body slightly to get more comfortable.
Her soft, round ass accidentally brushed against Li Ke's already rock-hard cock.
Li Ke's eyes snapped open instantly.
He was no longer half-asleep.
The moment his eyes opened, raw lust burned in his gaze. He looked down at the small, blushing beauty in his arms, his hands still firmly gripping her massive breasts.