Slaying the Heavenly Child, Autumn Execution of the Cherry Blossom

“What happens next is better left unknown.”

Uesugi Akizuki tapped her fingers lightly on the table, causing the space around her to tremble. The long sword at her side buzzed and hummed in response.

In the next moment, a deafening roar of sword resonance erupted from every corner—inside the room, outside, the bedroom, the study, the hall.

Resonance?

Su Ze’s expression turned slightly grave. The overwhelming soundwaves from so many swords resonated so powerfully that the space itself seemed to twist and distort, like a river churned by a coiling dragon.

“How many?” Uesugi Akizuki stopped tapping her fingers and asked.

“Twelve swords,” Su Ze replied.

Uesugi Akizuki took a sip of tea and said calmly, “You may choose one as a gift for joining the Uesugi Family through marriage.”

Su Ze was stunned. Joining… through marriage?

He fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.

“Are you refusing to take responsibility for my daughter?” Uesugi Akizuki frowned slightly, her hand gripping the hilt of the long sword sheathed in a pale pink scabbard wrapped with bandages.

“I will take responsibility for Xiao Han… Uesugi Akizuki, but I cannot join the family through marriage,” Su Ze said firmly.

“Reason.”

“I am a prodigy of China. Leaving aside whether I am willing or not, how would the people of China view me if I joined another family through marriage? Moreover, Rakshasa is an organization of Japan. If a Chinese prodigy were to join through marriage, how would foreign nations perceive China?” Su Ze explained.

“I don’t mean to elevate my status by invoking the nation, but this would indeed have an impact on the country. I cannot agree to it.”

Uesugi Akizuki hadn’t expected Su Ze to consider so much.

She was truly at a loss. The current situation of Rakshasa was not optimistic, and they needed to rely on China for survival. Even if she was unwilling to let Uesugi Akizuki marry out, what could she do?

Take Uesugi Akizuki away from Su Ze? Given how much Uesugi Akizuki depended on Su Ze, that was unrealistic.

Moreover, Uesugi Akizuki didn’t want to impose her will on her daughter, even if it was her own. She had already failed Uesugi Akizuki too much.

“Bring Akizuki here,” Uesugi Akizuki said, watching Su Ze’s retreating figure, her hand pressed against her forehead in frustration.

Su Ze felt like two students who had done something wrong, called into the teacher’s office. One went in first, while the other waited outside, only to be called in later to face the same scolding.

“Wait!” Just as Su Ze reached the bottom of the stairs, Yuan Qinghe, who had been waiting for a while, grabbed his sleeve.

“What is it?” Su Ze turned his head, suddenly wondering if his tone toward his future father-in-law had been a bit too disrespectful.

It had seemed too arrogant, too dismissive. He softened his tone. “Is there something you need?”

“About that problem you mentioned…” Yuan Qinghe frowned, thinking hard. “If the birth certificate is lost, how do you prove your birth…”

Su Ze was baffled. Was he still stuck on this? “Just take your ID card and go get a new one, isn’t that enough?”

“Ah… I see!” Yuan Qinghe’s eyes lit up, as if he had just had an epiphany. He looked at Su Ze as if he were a genius!

He suddenly became frantic. “I’ll go get one right now!”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Su Ze quickly shouted after him, “Your birth certificate isn’t actually lost, is it?”

Yuan Qinghe paused, “Oh… right!”

He was momentarily confused. Why had he been agonizing over this for so long?

Watching the bewildered Yuan Qinghe, Su Ze finally understood why Uesugi Akizuki was so intelligent, while both the big dummy and the little dummy were so… well, clueless.

Su Ze found Xiao Han by a small stream outside the Tenshukaku, playing in the water. Behind her stood the girl who had opened the gate for them when they first arrived.

Xiao Han crouched by the stream, her hands submerged in the water, unmoving for a long time. The girl behind her stood as still as a wooden doll.

Su Ze approached quietly, silently observing the figure of the girl with wine-red hair in a white dress.

Suddenly, Xiao Han cupped a handful of water and examined it carefully. A smile spread across her face as she held the water out to Su Ze.

The water was clear, and within it, a tiny, translucent shrimp could be seen.

Xiao Han smiled innocently. Su Ze patted her head and said, “Impressive.”

Pleased by the praise, Xiao Han gently released the shrimp back into the stream, wiped her hands carelessly on her skirt, and then took Su Ze’s hand.

Su Ze and Xiao Han returned to the Tenshukaku and went upstairs.

Uesugi Akizuki, dressed in a kimono, stood by the window, gazing into the distance. A gentle breeze lifted her long hair. At her waist hung two long swords—one with a pink scabbard wrapped in bandages, and the other with a dark red scabbard.

The dark red scabbard was intricately patterned, with designs that spread densely from the mouth of the sheath to the tip, resembling the branches of a tree. The patterns grew sparser toward the end.

Su Ze could faintly sense that those patterns emitted a faint, dark red glow.

Uesugi Akizuki turned around. This woman, who was already a wife and mother of two beautiful daughters, still retained her stunning beauty. Her mature age only added to her charm.

Dressed in a kimono with two long swords at her waist and her hair tied in a high ponytail like a kendo girl, she exuded an air of dominance and sharpness.

Uesugi Akizuki drew the pink sword from her waist, her expression complex as she gazed at the blade that had accompanied her for so long. She let out a sigh of relief. “This is the Autumn Slash Cherry. It has been my trusted companion for many years.”

“Its characteristics are lightness, resilience, sharpness, the ability to kill without a trace, and it conserves a great deal of energy when wielded. Its durable material makes it nearly unbreakable.”

She then drew the dark red sword from her waist. “This is a cursed blade, the Demon Slayer. When used, it rapidly consumes energy. Its dark red blade light has a wide range of destruction, but wielding it requires immense strength. It is heavy and powerful, with devastating force.”

“Su Ze, you are still too weak. I hope you can grow stronger quickly,” Uesugi Akizuki said, her tone no longer proud but purely that of a mother entrusting her daughter to her son-in-law. “I have failed Akizuki too much. I hope you can protect her in my place from now on.”

“I will give you the Demon Slayer,” Uesugi Akizuki said, holding out the dark red blade to Su Ze with one hand. “Don’t let Akizuki down… She’s so sweet… Please, don’t fail her…”

Su Ze accepted the Demon Slayer with both hands, noticing that Uesugi Akizuki’s emotions seemed unstable.

“Akizuki,” Uesugi Akizuki said tenderly, stroking her daughter’s wine-red hair. She pressed her forehead against Xiao Han’s, her smile a mix of relief and forced cheerfulness. Tears welled up in her eyes without her realizing it.

Xiao Han seemed to sense her mother’s emotions and gently embraced her, just as she often did with Su Ze, burying her head in her mother’s chest.

Uesugi Akizuki quickly composed herself. She patted her daughter’s head, took a step back, and held out the Autumn Slash Cherry with one hand.

“Akizuki… you must protect yourself from now on…” Uesugi Akizuki’s voice choked with emotion. “I’ve been an inadequate mother…”

Xiao Han shook her head, tears inexplicably forming in her eyes as well. She stepped forward, arms outstretched, wanting to hug her mother.

Uesugi Akizuki took a step back, avoiding her daughter’s embrace, still holding out the Autumn Slash Cherry.

But Xiao Han didn’t care. She lunged forward and threw herself into her mother’s arms.

Uesugi Akizuki was momentarily stunned. She placed the Autumn Slash Cherry at her waist and then embraced her daughter tightly.