Seemingly

Koji Takeda sat up straight, his sword resting beside his knee, when his phone vibrated.

He picked it up and checked the message.

The Military Affairs Bureau had replied quickly.

“The police officer’s identity has been verified. He belonged to a nearby police box. His death has been confirmed. The preliminary cause of death is a dislocated cervical vertebra.”

So the Japanese police officer who had just snatched Zhafu’s identification really was a Japanese police officer.

But he was already dead—he had fallen and dislocated his neck.

When Koji Takeda read the message, he abruptly turned toward Zhafu.

“That police officer is dead!”

“Oh? Is that so? Seems like it.”

Zhafu took a sip of ice water.

He remembered that ramen shops in Japan provided customers with ice water regardless of the season. Of course, if a customer specifically asked for hot water, they would provide that too.

Hearing Zhafu’s response, Koji Takeda’s brows drew together.

“How can you be so cold-blooded?”

“What did I do?”

“That was a human life.”

“He stole my identification.”

“He was a police officer.”

“So it’s reasonable for Japanese police officers to steal the identification of foreign tourists?”

Zhafu looked completely unconcerned.

“If he was a fake police officer, then your public security is a mess. If he was a real police officer, then your problems are even bigger. A real police officer stealing a tourist’s identification? How wonderful.”

Zhafu made no attempt to hide his words. He was practically slapping Japan in the face.

As he spoke, Zhafu raised his phone. It still contained the video he had just obtained from the high school student.

Koji Takeda suppressed his anger.

“He might have received orders to verify your identity.”

“Does verifying someone’s identity require riding a bicycle after them?”

Koji Takeda fell silent.

“You believe in bushido, don’t you?”

Koji Takeda did not answer.

Zhafu looked at him.

“Then tell me. What do you call taking someone else’s identification, refusing to return it, and then turning around and running away?”

Koji Takeda was unable to respond.

Zhafu continued drinking his water.

“Don’t rush to defend him. The fact that he’s dead doesn’t necessarily make him blameless. Besides, everyone saw that I never touched him.”

“But his death was too convenient.”

“The bicycles here are poorly made. What does that have to do with me?”

“You’re pretending not to understand.”

“Do you have any evidence?”

Koji Takeda’s hand pressed against the scabbard of his sword.

Zhafu glanced at it.

“You want to draw your sword?”

For a moment, Koji Takeda did not know what to say.

First of all, this man called Zhafu truly had not done anything. His code of bushido would not allow him to draw his sword against an innocent person.

The owner brought over the ramen.

“Soy sauce ramen. Please enjoy.”

Steam rose from the bowl.

It was chicken-stock soy sauce ramen.

The broth was light in color, with a layer of oil floating on the surface. There were five slices of char siu, half a soft-boiled egg, and a fairly generous sprinkling of scallions.

Zhafu picked up his chopsticks, stirred the noodles, and tasted the broth first.

Not bad.

Most of the soy sauce ramen in Edo followed the chicken-stock style. The umami was rich, and the salt was on the heavier side.

The tonkotsu ramen commonly found in Huaxia was more characteristic of the southern regions of Japan.

After eating a couple of mouthfuls, Zhafu’s mood improved somewhat.

Koji Takeda still had not received his food.

The next second, his phone rang again.

He picked it up and found another message.

“Zhafu is extremely dangerous. Ten minutes ago, four personnel stationed nearby were attacked. Two people died after being taken to the hospital, while the other two died on the spot. The deaths appear to have been caused by a method that requires no physical contact. According to the information retrieved, Zhafu is a mage from the Tibetan region of Huaxia. He is believed to possess a method of killing people silently.”

Koji Takeda’s eyes widened when he saw the message. He immediately turned to look at Zhafu.

Zhafu was still eating his noodles.

One bite of noodles, one sip of broth.

He paid no attention whatsoever to Koji Takeda’s murderous stare.

Glancing at the ramen shop’s owner and servers, Koji Takeda ultimately decided not to question Zhafu any further.

If he provoked Zhafu, this restaurant might be destroyed along with everyone in it.

Before long, Koji Takeda’s ramen arrived as well.

“Special White Jade Ramen. Please enjoy.”

By coincidence, Zhafu had just finished the last bite of his noodles and set down his chopsticks.

He took some money from his pocket and placed it on the table.

“The flavor’s decent.”

The owner nodded.

“Thank you for your patronage.”

Zhafu then stood up and walked away without even sparing a glance at Koji Takeda’s freshly served ramen.

Koji Takeda stared at the bowl.

The broth was still hot, and the noodles remained untouched.

Then he looked toward Zhafu’s retreating back.

“Hey!”

Zhafu pulled open the door.

“Take your time eating. I’m in a hurry.”

Koji Takeda gritted his teeth, placed some money on the table, and bowed to the owner.

“Sumimasen. Something suddenly came up. I’ll eat here next time.”

The owner frowned.

“What’s gotten into you today? You’re acting so jumpy. Why not finish your meal before leaving?”

“Sorry.”

Koji Takeda rushed outside and saw Zhafu standing on the embankment, gazing toward the Imperial Palace.

There were far fewer pedestrians on this stretch of road now.

Koji Takeda finally could not hold back any longer.

“Why did you kill those four people?!”

Zhafu turned around and looked down at him with disdain.

“Evidence.”

“The Military Affairs Bureau has already confirmed it.”

“Confirmed what? That your people died? What does that have to do with me?”

“They died at the places where you appeared.”

“People die all the time in Japan. Are you going to blame every single one of them on me?”

Koji Takeda took a step forward, gripping the sword case tightly.

“What exactly did you come to Edo for?”

“Tourism.”

“Do you have to kill people while sightseeing?”

“Who did I kill?”

“Those four people!”

Once again, the conversation had returned to where it began.

“Where’s the evidence? If you’re going to accuse me, bring evidence. I’m just an ordinary tourist.”

With that, Zhafu paid no attention to Koji Takeda’s expression and continued walking toward his destination.

Koji Takeda looked around and could not help complaining inwardly:

Where’s the backup?!

Why hadn’t the backup arrived yet?!

At that moment, a black van stopped at the intersection ahead.

The doors slid open.

Several men in suits stepped out. They had earpieces, gloves, and black bags—everything in place.

Zhafu saw them too.

He stopped and sighed.

Koji Takeda caught up with him and shouted:

“Don’t do anything reckless.”

Zhafu looked at the men in front of him, then glanced toward the Imperial Palace.

It did not seem to be very far away.

If he had to fight his way there, it was not impossible.

“Move aside. I’m in a hurry.”

The man in front pulled out an identification badge.

“Mr. Zhafu, please cooperate with our investigation.”

Zhafu simply opened his passport.

“Sorry, you’ve got the wrong guy. My name isn’t Zhafu. It’s Zha Your Mother.”

The name had been changed by Lin Mo. One had to admit, it was an excellent alteration, and deeply meaningful.

“Stop playing games, Mr. Zhafu. That sort of thing doesn’t work here—”

Before the suited man could finish, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

The agony was so intense that he immediately dropped to his knees, completely unable to struggle.

The instant Koji Takeda saw what had happened, he knew Zhafu had made his move.

Without hesitation, he drew his sword from its case.

“Stop!”

But every one of the men standing before Zhafu collapsed to the ground.

Zhafu merely turned his head toward Koji Takeda.

“I advise you to put your sword away.”

He glanced at the people on the ground.

“If you don’t want them to die.”