Although it was leagues behind the residential castles of the daimyo in Kyoto.
"Is this it?"
A voice came from beside him.
Kanbe Hikaru turned his head.
Nurarihyon had appeared beside him at some point, biting on a kiseru pipe, his golden hair particularly striking in the sunlight.
"Why have you come again?"
Kanbe Hikaru asked.
"To join in the fun."
Nurarihyon said matter-of-factly.
"Last night you said you were coming to slaughter the lord of the castle; how could I miss such a good show?"
He exhaled a puff of smoke, his golden slit pupils sweeping over the Tenshukaku.
"Let me think, what was the castle lord's surname? Suda? A low-ranking vassal of the Hojo Clan?"
"How do you know so much?"
"I've been hanging around this area for decades; what news don't I know?"
Nurarihyon shrugged.
"I said before, this guy is a ruthless character. In two years, he squeezed six villages dry until only bone fragments were left. His reputation is so foul that even yokai don't want to get near him."
Kanbe Hikaru didn't speak.
He looked at Kikyo beside him.
The shrine maiden stood there, in white robes and red hakama, with a longbow in her hand.
Her expression was still as cold and aloof as ever, but Kanbe Hikaru could feel that her fingers were gripping the bow very tightly.
"Let's go in."
Kikyo said.
"Mm."
Kanbe Hikaru nodded.
The two walked toward the castle gate.
Nurarihyon followed behind, with the air of a spectator.
The castle gate slowly opened.
The ashigaru made way, looking at the three of them with eyes full of both fear and curiosity.
Passing through the gate, they entered the streets of the castle town.
Kanbe Hikaru looked around as he walked.
On both sides of the street were shops and houses; there were few pedestrians, and the atmosphere was dull.
Occasionally, he could see a few ragged commoners huddled in corners, scurrying away like mice seeing a cat when they saw them.
But the further they went inside, the more the scene changed.
Near the area of the Tenshukaku, the houses became tidy.
Samurai wearing gorgeous kimonos walked by swaggeringly, merchants carried poles and hawked their wares, and women held umbrellas and laughed in the sunlight.
The shops along the street also changed, from dilapidated general stores to exquisite taverns and fragrant food stalls.
The scent of food drifted through the air.
Kanbe Hikaru's gaze fell in front of a shop.
There, piles of rice were displayed, snow-white and stacked like a small mountain.
The people in those villages outside the castle were starving.
Yet the people in the castle stacked grain at their door as a sign.
"The sweat and blood of the people."
Nurarihyon said from behind.
His tone carried a rare hint of mockery.
"This castle lord really knows how to squeeze them dry; he scraped the outside clean and piled it all up in here."
Kanbe Hikaru didn't respond.
He looked forward.
The Tenshukaku was now right before them.
A middle-aged man wearing a hitatare was standing on the stone steps in front of the Tenshukaku, welcoming them with a full smile.
"Are you the experts who eliminated the evil yokai of Shimura?"
The middle-aged man bowed, his posture humble.
"My master has been waiting in the main hall for a long time; please follow me."
Kanbe Hikaru glanced at Kikyo.
The shrine maiden nodded slightly.
The two stepped onto the stone steps.
The door of the Tenshukaku opened before them.
Inside, it was another world.
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