bdsm-fiction Page 96
Page 96
Excluding the non-existent fifth and sixth floors, each floor here serves a different purpose. The 28th floor is a call center with hundreds of operators providing hotline services to the Japanese underworld. The 29th floor is a liaison department that can contact various underworld forces in Japan to mediate conflicts. And the higher you go, the closer you are to the central hub of the Snake-Headed Eight Families.
Genji arrived at the 30th floor of Genji Heavy Industries, opened a hidden door, and went inside.
Unlike the fast pace of the 28th floor and the communication center of the 29th floor, the environment of the 30th floor immediately makes people relax, like a Japanese-style activity center for retired cadres.
Beyond the door lies another world: a small vermilion torii gate sits on a spacious terrace, the granite walls are carved with various Shinto deities and spirits, and there is a clear spring on the terrace. Surrounding the spring is a dry landscape garden composed of white stones and green grass, exuding a strong sense of Zen under the moonlight.
It's somewhat like the legendary Hanging Gardens, only in a Japanese style.
In the center of the courtyard stands a stone table with a yin-yang pattern made of black and white stones. On the table is a Go game in progress. Tachibana Masamune sits in front of the stone table, holding a white Go stone in his hand, his brow furrowed, as if he is thinking about how to break the game.
“I just went to your room and found you weren’t there, so I knew you must be here, Father.” Genjiro casually sat down on the stone bench opposite Tachibana Masamune.
Tachibana Masamune held the chess piece, still undecided: "That's how it is for older people. They often suffer from insomnia, tossing and turning all night, unlike you young people who can always sleep through the night."
"Insomnia has little to do with age; only carefree people can have good sleep. It's because you have too many burdens on your shoulders, Dad. Carrying the entire Snake Clan on your shoulders, anyone would have trouble sleeping and eating."
"From what you're saying, it seems you're eager to take on some of my responsibilities?" Tachibana Masamune smiled at Genjiro.
One is a patriarch nearing the end of his life, his energy waning; the other is a capable young master approaching middle age. This kind of situation is quite common in history.
Young male lions are always impatient to wait for the old lions to die; they eagerly bar their teeth and claws to show off their power and take over the reins prematurely.
However, Tachibana Masamune would never doubt that Genji had any intention of seizing power. If it weren't for the relief he felt about his responsibilities, the young master of the Snake Clan wouldn't even be willing to take on the position of head of the executive bureau.
"Please spare me, Dad. You've always handled family matters so well, haven't you? I don't have your boundless energy. Just one executive bureau is enough to keep me busy."
Genjiro's sharp eyebrows and eyes quickly drooped as he glanced at the chessboard on the stone table, trying to find a topic to divert Tachibana Masamune's attention, fearing that Tachibana Masamune would add more burdens to him.
There aren't many pieces on the board yet; the black and white sides are still in the opening stage and haven't really clashed.
The white pieces played by Tachibana Masamune employed the Cosmic Style created by the national champion Masaki Takemiya, using a three-star opening. Unlike the mainstream concept of "golden edges, silver corners, and grass belly," it places greater emphasis on the central territory.
White's initial opening moves weren't particularly noteworthy, but their subsequent moves were quite interesting. While seemingly unrestrained, they were actually constantly maneuvering against Black's pieces, showcasing a unique and flexible style.
“I don’t recall Masaki Takemiya and Cho Hun-hyun ever having a game like this, or a similar endgame.” Genji frowned slightly.
His Go skills are quite good. Even if he can't win any titles, he can at least rival some professional players. When he went to Kassel to study, he even took a Go course to earn credits.
Genjiro remembers all the games played by top Go players throughout history. Judging from the style of the black pieces, it should be the style of Japanese 9-dan Masaki Takemiya, while the white pieces are the style of Korean 9-dan Cho Hun-hyun. The two masters played a total of 18 games, and Masaki Takemiya won 12 of them.
But this game of chess is different from those 18 games.
"This is not their game, nor is it an endgame. It is just an old man imitating their playing styles, playing against himself."
After pondering for a long time, Tachibana Masamune finally made a decision and placed his piece on the board with a "thud".
"My father's chess skills are as impressive as ever. He can play with both hands simultaneously, and his chess prowess is still comparable to that of the two masters."
"Playing with both hands is ultimately meaningless. Since you're here, why don't you take the white pieces and play this game with this old man?"
Genjiro's face fell. "My chess skills are not as good as yours, Father. Cho Hun-hyun has lost more often than he has won against Takemiya Masaki. Why are you letting me play white?"
“I never said you had to imitate Cho Hun-hyun’s playing style.”
"What about you?"
"I will imitate Masaki Takemiya's playing style from beginning to end."
After a moment's thought, Yuan Zhisheng decided that if the rules were like this, it might be worth a try.
His skill level isn't weak, but he lacks aggressiveness and courage, often preferring to avoid fighting in the mid-game. His father is stronger, with a style similar to Lee Chang-ho, the "Stone Buddha," relatively conservative in the opening but extremely strong in prolonged battles, excelling in endgame and life-and-death situations.
The old man's playing style is completely different from Masaki Takemiya's. If he tries to imitate Masaki Takemiya, his playing strength will inevitably decline to some extent.
Genjiro picked up a white stone from the chess box and began to seriously analyze the game: "Then I'll give it a try."
Tachibana Masamune said nothing, but simply took the teacup and took a small sip.
"Pap, tap, tap..."
After several moves of play, Genjiro, holding a chess piece, finally asked the question he had truly wanted to ask Tachibana Masamune: "Father... can the dead come back to life?"
"No way."
Tachibana Masamune examined the chessboard and said without hesitation, "Whether it's the Taishan Fujun Festival, the magic of the great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei who resurrected the dead as recorded in the Fugui Neizhuan, or the story in the New Testament where Jesus raised the dead three times and came back to life himself, it's all fake."
The "Inner Biography of the Fu Gui" is a forgery created by later generations under the name of Abe no Seimei. The miracles of Jesus were nothing more than stories and lies fabricated by his followers to oppose Judaism and to deify him.
The dead can never be brought back to life, unless they were never truly dead in the first place.
"Unless he never died in the first place?"
Tachibana Masamune raised his eyes: "Which dead person did you see?"
"Young girl."
Genjiro lowered his eyes and told the truth: his father and Erii were his family, and there was nothing he couldn't tell them.
"I saw the young girl today."
Tachibana Masamune paused slightly, his mind completely shifting away from the game: "Isn't the girl already dead? She fell into demonhood a few years ago and was executed by your own hand while committing murder, her body thrown into the Red Well in the suburbs."
Yuan Zhisheng was silent for a moment, and lost his interest in playing chess: "Yes, I remember it very clearly. A few years ago, I did indeed personally execute the depraved girl. I am absolutely certain that I killed her."
But he still came back, and tonight, he appeared before me and the prince of Northern Qi as Kazama Ruri.
As you said, if the girl didn't come back from the dead, then she wasn't killed by me in the first place. She was just severely injured and on the verge of death, and then, with her tenacious will to live, she fought her way back from hell.
Despite Kazama Ruri's repeated claims that she was a girl, and Genjiro's confirmation that she was probably a girl, Genjiro still habitually referred to Kazama Ruri as Genjiro, and still habitually referred to Genjiro as "he" rather than "she".
Kazama Ruri is a girl, and Genjiro is a boy. Kazama Ruri = Genjiro, and that is Genjiro's concept.
"Kazama Ruri, as far as I know, the leader of the Demon Clan is named Kazama Ruri."
"Yes, it seems that the young girl has indeed become the leader of the Oni Clan. This is not surprising, as the young girl's bloodline is very strong. If it weren't for..."
He fell silent again halfway through his sentence.
Kazama Ruri, who has fallen into demonhood, is far more powerful than the legitimate emperor. In that battle between brothers and sisters a few years ago, if it weren't for the sudden appearance of Minamoto no Chizuru's personality, the one who would have been killed and thrown into the Red Well would definitely have been him.
With strength surpassing even the Emperor, Kazama Ruri naturally became the leader of the Demon Clan.
"We're in trouble now."
Tachibana Masamune pondered for a moment, then brought the topic back from a few years ago to the present: "Tell me that he appeared before you and the prince of Northern Qi. Tell me in detail what happened at that time, and how the girl behaved."
"After receiving the Kassel student and faculty group, the Northern Qi prince and his entourage dragged me to a nightclub for drinks..."
Genji told Tachibana Masamune everything that happened inside and outside the nightclub, no matter how small. His memory was excellent and his observation was very keen. There were no mistakes or omissions. It can be said that he restored the details of the time exactly as they happened.
“Compared to me, Zhi Nu values the Northern Qi prince more. He came here from the very beginning with the Northern Qi prince in mind. I suspect that Zhi Nu has some kind of conspiracy targeting or involving the Northern Qi prince and Kassel, but he has done nothing.”
"The prince of Northern Qi and Kassel?"
Tachibana Masamune's face was ashen.
Besides being the head of the Snake-Headed Eight Families and the head of the Tachibana family, Tachibana Masamune also has another identity: the true leader of the Demon Clan, the King General.
He didn't recall ever telling Kazama Ruri to get close to the people of Kassel. In fact, before that, he had specifically emphasized that the Oni Clan should not have much contact with the people of Kassel.
If Kassel were to learn of the bloodline defects of the Demon Clan and the Snake-Headed Eight Families, the Snake-Headed Eight Families would certainly be in trouble, and the Demon Clan would also be in deep trouble.
The Secret Party, led by Angers, will inevitably use the pretext of eliminating dangerous mixed-race individuals to forcefully intervene in the internal affairs of Japanese mixed-race individuals, which will completely disrupt his more than 20 years of painstaking efforts in Japan.
But Kazama Ruri still went to find the prince of Northern Qi.
Although Genjiro said that Kazama Ruri only had a drink with the prince of Northern Qi and did nothing else, no one can guarantee that she won't do something in the future.
Why did she go to find the prince of Northern Qi?
The answer is self-evident.
Tachibana Masamune remained silent, his cloudy eyes clearing, a fierce killing intent surfacing in them, and the chess pieces were gradually becoming uncontrollable.
Or rather, Kazama Ruri was never fully under his control from the beginning, and her obedience was far less than that of Genji and Erii, who regarded him as their biological father.
Genji felt the intense killing intent emanating from Tachibana Masamune, and his heart sank to the bottom. With his last glimmer of hope, he lowered his head and asked, "Father, can't you really spare my life?"
“My child, don’t be naive. The young girl has embarked on a path completely different from ours, a path belonging to dragons, but the end of this path is not a dragon, but a Deadpool.”
He's already a ghost. A few years ago, you witnessed him lose his mind and brutally murder more than a dozen girls in Shikato Town. The cruelty of his methods is chilling even just reading the description in your mission report.
If he spares the young girl, who will pay for the crime he committed?
“The little girl has already bled, she has already died once. Perhaps this is the will of heaven, a warning from heaven that the little girl’s life is not meant to end.”
Genji used a biblical allusion to plead for Kazama Ruri.
"Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins," as recorded in Hebrews 9:22 of the Old Testament.
In both the New and Old Testaments, blood is described as a symbol of life, playing a crucial role in purification and atonement.
Without bloodshed, there is no atonement. Without life, there is no compensation for sins. The ritual of Jesus Christ voluntarily bearing the cross to atone for humanity's sins was only formally completed after soldiers pierced his body with spears, causing him to bleed.
Whosoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed—Genesis 9:5 (Old Testament).
The Chinese equivalent is just four characters: "blood debt must be repaid in blood."
“But the girl did not die after all, did she? The blood mentioned in the Bible does not only mean blood, but also life. Since the girl did not die, his debt cannot be considered to have been fully repaid.”
"Dad, we are mixed race, we don't believe in God."
Just moments ago, Genjiro had been invoking Christian doctrine, but in the blink of an eye, he no longer believed in God and continued to struggle: "We can build a strong enough cage for the girl, we can make sure she never appears in front of anyone again, isn't that the same as being dead...?"
"Regardless of how we can capture and imprison the young girl, the important question is whether he himself is willing to live like this."
You must have said something similar to him, right? What was his response?
Yuan Zhisheng remained silent.
Kazama Ruri did not explicitly refuse, but he had always been unwilling to lose his freedom and spend the rest of his life as a prisoner. He wouldn't have agreed to that either.
But this was the best solution he could think of.
"Give up. The paths of the Emperor and the Ghost are different. The young girl has lost her mind. You may be thinking of him, but he may not be thinking of you."
Tachibana Masamune sighed softly: "Why did he contact the prince of Northern Qi? Did he want to use Kassel's power to fight against us, or did he want to bring the conflict between the Demon Clan and us to the forefront?"
Whatever his true purpose may be, it will inevitably put the Snake Clan in a very unfavorable situation. He is now a demon, just as he told you.
"Minamoto no Chizuru is dead. All that remains is the leader of the Oni Clan, Kazama Ruri. This is the destiny of the Snake-Headed Eight Families, the destiny of the White King's bloodline."
Genji closed his eyes and finally accepted his fate.
So what do we do now?
"The young girl's appearance before the Northern Qi prince must indicate some scheme. The Fierce Ghost Clan may be planning something big soon. We must alert our family members and gather as much information as possible about the Fierce Ghost Clan's headquarters, so we can be prepared for a decisive battle with them at any time."