593: Chapter 593 If she's not called Tamamo-no-Mae, she'll be called Daji!

Ye Chen looked at Tamamo-no-Mae without saying a word.

Seeing this, Tamamo-no-Mae thought he minded her situation and explained, "Please rest assured, Master. I only used illusions to deceive those people; I haven't done anything out of line."

"I didn't ask you about that," Ye Chen said indifferently.

Tamamo-no-Mae was dazed. "Then you are...?"

"I was thinking..."

Ye Chen said playfully, "How to make use of Japan."

Tamamo-no-Mae giggled. "Master truly has far-reaching vision; I was being too narrow-minded."

Ignoring Tamamo-no-Mae's eager expression, Ye Chen turned around, his gaze falling on Wasunoko Ruozhi. He spoke flatly, "I want to control Japan. Do you have any objections?"

"N-no... none..."

Wasunoko Ruozhi trembled all over, her head shaking like a rattle. "Mr. Ye may do as he pleases. I... I will cooperate fully, without a single word of protest!"

Was he joking?

The Great Tengu had been trampled to death, and Seimei Kangyue had been kicked to death. As an Empress of mere flesh and blood, what right did she have to object?

Did she have a death wish?

Therefore,

As the old saying in Dragon Country goes,

A wise person submits to the circumstances!

She... might as well be a wise person for once!

Ye Chen nodded with satisfaction and turned his gaze toward Hattori Senjun. "And you? Do you have any objections?"

Hattori Senjun's pale face was filled with terror.

"N-no!"

"This lowly one... this lowly one will follow Mr. Ye's every lead!"

Even though he was a God Ninja and the closed-door disciple of the Onmyoji,

So what?

His master was dead, the Great Tengu was destroyed, and he was just a defeated remnant who couldn't even stand steadily. What did he have to oppose with?

Staying alive was more important than anything else.

As long as he didn't die, being a dog wasn't so bad either!

Ye Chen didn't look at Hattori Senjun again. His gaze swept over the ministers kneeling on the ground. "Well then... what about you all?"

The ministers kowtowed in unison, their foreheads hitting the tatami mats.

"No objections!"

"We shall strictly obey Mr. Ye's orders!"

"Should Mr. Ye have any instructions, we will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

...

Voices rose one after another.

Each was louder and more fawning than the last.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and glanced at Tamamo-no-Mae.

"Very well."

"From today onwards, you will keep an eye on this place for me. Whoever dares to act out, kill them. Do you understand?"

Tamamo-no-Mae dropped her playful demeanor, folded her hands in front of her, and bowed respectfully.

"Understood, Master."

"Master, please rest assured. With Daji here, Japan will not be able to stir up any trouble."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "Daji?"

Tamamo-no-Mae blinked.

"Does Master not like this name? Then I shall change it..."

"No."

Ye Chen waved his hand. "Just call yourself Daji. From now on, continue to go by Daji. Don't use Tamamo-no-Mae anymore; I don't like Japanese names."

Daji secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Tamamo-no-Mae was the name she had taken after fleeing Dragon Country and crossing the sea to the East.

It was a new identity she had forged for herself, a testament to her attempt to sever her past and start anew.

But now that she had acknowledged Ye Chen as her master, she needed to switch back to her original identity.

Firstly, it was to prevent Ye Chen from finding the name an eyesore and suddenly killing her.

Secondly, it served as a 'letter of allegiance' for following Ye Chen, proving that she too was a 'person' of Dragon Country.

That was why

She had been so proactive...

Ye Chen said nothing more and turned to walk toward the head of the great hall.

Wasunoko Ruozhi was still kneeling beside the throne. Seeing Ye Chen approach, she hurriedly scrambled away to make room.

Ye Chen sat down, crossed his legs, and asked calmly,

"By the way, I heard there is a treasure beneath Mount Fuji."

"Tell me everything you know, honestly."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall changed abruptly.

Good heavens!

This god of slaughter had actually come for *that* thing???

Ye Chen watched their reactions, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.

"It seems you all know something."

"If you dare to withhold anything, I will still kill you."

"After all..."

"If the Empress dies, I can have Daji transform into her."

"If the ministers die, I can just replace them."

"You all better watch yourselves."

His voice carried a hint of a smile.

But to the ears of those Japanese people, it sounded like a death-dealing curse.

Wasunoko Ruozhi knelt on the ground and explained stutteringly,

"Mr... Mr. Ye, there is indeed a treasure beneath Mount Fuji."

"But that place... is very sinister."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "Sinister? In what way?"

Wasunoko Ruozhi swallowed hard, as if recalling something terrifying.

"Over the centuries, the Imperial Family has sent many people to investigate that place."

"The first group consisted of Onmyoji—fifteen of them, all the top Onmyoji in Japan at the time."

"They entered Mount Fuji. Three days later, only one person returned."

"When that person came back, he was covered in blood, his eyes were hollow, and he just kept repeating not to go inside..."

"That very night, he died."

"When he died, his internal organs were vomited out."

Ye Chen didn't speak, just watched her.

Wasunoko Ruozhi took a deep breath and continued,

"The second group were ninjas."

"Led by a God Ninja, with over thirty Upper and Middle Ninjas combined."

"They made thorough preparations, bringing food, weapons, talismans, and even the best pathfinding tools of the time."

"But after they went in, they never came out again."

"Not even their bodies were found."

"The third group..."

Her voice grew lower and lower, the fear in her eyes intensifying.

"The third group was the army."

"During the reign of Emperor Meiji, the Imperial Family mobilized the military—an entire regiment of over a thousand men, carrying the most advanced weapons and equipment of that era, marched into Mount Fuji."

"And then..."

She paused, her voice almost inaudible. "Those thousand-plus people seemed to vanish into thin air; they never appeared again."

"Emperor Meiji was furious and wanted to send more people in, but he was stopped by the ministers of the time."

"Since then, the Imperial Family has never entertained thoughts about that treasure again."

"They only established a forbidden zone on the outskirts, forbidding anyone from approaching."

After hearing this, Ye Chen was silent for a moment.

Then, he looked at Daji.

"Do you know anything?"

Daji shook her head, her exquisite little face full of sincerity.

"Master, Daji does not know."

"Daji was sealed for many years, and that Onmyoji didn't tell Daji anything."

"Moreover..."

She paused, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Regarding that place at Mount Fuji, Daji had heard some rumors before, but never went to investigate."

"Because that place made Daji feel uneasy."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "An old fox like you, who has lived for over a thousand years, can also feel uneasy?"

Daji pursed her lips, looking aggrieved.

"Master, the way you say that makes it sound as if I'm heartless."

"Even though I am a demon, I still have feelings, okay?"

"Beneath that place, there is a very ancient and powerful force."

"That force... makes Daji instinctively feel fear."

"It's like..."

She looked up at Ye Chen, a flash of complex light in her eyes.

"It's like when I'm facing Master."

Ye Chen's brow furrowed slightly.

Like facing himself?

What flowed within him was the Power of Hou Tu.

That was one of the most primordial forces in the world, the bane of all yin things, and the ultimate nightmare for all demons and ghosts.

To make Daji feel the same fear as she did when facing him...

Just what was that thing beneath Mount Fuji?

Ye Chen looked at Wasunoko Ruozhi and asked flatly, "Then in modern times, have you investigated it?"

"No."

Wasunoko Ruozhi shook her head hurriedly. "Seimei Kangyue originally planned to explore further, but the intelligence was intercepted by people from Dragon Country, so it was temporarily shelved."

Ye Chen leaned back against the chair, his eyes narrowing slightly.

It seemed...

He would have to personally enter for this treasure.

Ye Chen took a deep breath. "You should have the specific location of that treasure, right?"

Wasunoko Ruozhi nodded quickly.

"Yes!"

"The Imperial Family has a detailed map, drawn from investigations over hundreds of years."

"Although we couldn't enter the core area, the outer terrain, routes, and dangerous zones are all clearly marked."

"I... I'll go get it right now!"

As she spoke, she stumbled to the wall at the back of the great hall and pressed several times on a mechanism next to a hidden door.

The wall split open again, revealing an even more concealed compartment.

She took out a yellowed scroll from the compartment and, holding it with both hands, respectfully presented it to Ye Chen.

"Mr. Ye, this is the map of the Mount Fuji treasure."

Ye Chen took the scroll and unfurled it.

The scroll was large, over a meter long when fully opened, densely covered with drawings of mountains, rivers, caves, and passages, with many annotations in Japanese.

He subsequently rolled the scroll back up and tucked it into his robe.

"Fine, I'll take the map."

"As for that treasure, I will go take a look personally tomorrow."

Wasunoko Ruozhi looked hesitant.

Ye Chen glanced at her. "What? Do you have an objection?"