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After such an unexpected incident, no one was really in the mood to pick out weapons anymore.
They all retreated to the reception room.
Lu Chengfeng and Wang Dong were covered in dust, and the latter had a scraped knee that needed immediate attention.
Nagayama Jin rushed over anxiously. Seeing everyone, he furiously scolded Nagayama Taro, asking how he could mess up such a simple task.
After the scolding, he apologized to the group.
Even though it was a free offering, Li Xiang and the others were still guests. Putting guests in danger was a failing for any establishment.
Since Lu Chengfeng was unharmed, Bai Zhi and the others naturally didn't make a fuss. The senior sisters exchanged pleasantries with Nagayama Jin, and with Yan Hu smoothing things over, the matter was settled.
As for compensation… well, the weapons were free to begin with. What more could they offer? At most, they'd just invite everyone to stay for lunch.
…Which had been the plan all along.
Before long, Lu Chengfeng and Wang Dong returned, wearing ill-fitting robes. The former looked dejected, while the latter clutched his buttocks, grimacing in pain.
"What's wrong?" Li Xiang asked curiously.
"Didn't realize it earlier, but I sat on some broken glass. Only felt the pain after showering," Wang Dong said with a strange expression. "Luckily, it's just a scratch, and it's in a relatively high position."
Beside him, Lu Chengfeng muttered gloomily, "My fault, all my fault…"
'Oh no, this senior brother's lost it.'
Li Xiang patted Lu Chengfeng's shoulder. "It's all in the past now. It's fine. Senior brother was just careless."
Wang Dong also said irritably, "Enough already, stop whining like a girl. You were a victim too."
"Junior brother…" Lu Chengfeng looked at them, moved.
"What 'junior brother'! Call me senior brother!" Wang Dong frowned. "I joined the dojo three days earlier than you!"
Mentioning this, the previously distraught Lu Chengfeng perked up. "But I'm three months older than you!"
"My butt still hurts!"
"What does that have to do with who's senior brother?!"
The debate over seniority, even after all these years, continued unabated.
Li Xiang was speechless. Bai Zhi and the others were equally exasperated. However, this incident would definitely be reported to Duan Tianxing.
After a short rest, they waited for lunch.
Just then, a Pokémon floated in through the door—composed of two short swords and a leaf-shaped shield, with purple-pink tassels.
The evolved form of Honedge—Doublade.
'What now? Couldn't win before evolving, so came back for a rematch?'
Li Xiang silently pulled a Poké Ball from his pocket. The others also frowned, each reacting differently.
"Don't be nervous, everyone. The parent is here to apologize," said a middle-aged man in a deep blue kimono and wooden clogs, a cigarette in his mouth. He held a sheathed Honedge in his hand.
The Honedge's single eye was closed, as if it had passed out.
"I'm the… well, village guardian of Triple Village. I'm responsible for managing these guys," the middle-aged man said casually, tossing the Honedge to the ground. Its semi-metallic body clinked softly.
"This little guy escaped to play around this morning. Didn't expect it to cause so much trouble for you. My apologies," he said.
The Doublade beside him swayed its long tassels slightly, as if in agreement.
'If you don't speak or make a sound, who can understand you?'
Li Xiang stared at the Honedge on the ground, itching to touch it but afraid of ending up like Lu Chengfeng. Besides, Honedge also had the special ability to drain life force, making people weaker over time.
Although, so far, Lu Chengfeng, who had been possessed, showed no signs of being drained.
"It's fine, it's fine."
Another round of polite exchanges continued. However, the middle-aged man's purpose wasn't just to apologize.
"I heard you're here to pick weapons. How about this: after you've chosen your weapons, if you still have time, come to the temple," he said, cigarette in mouth, looking at Nagayama Taro, who seemed surprised. "Taro! You're responsible for bringing these guests!"
"Ah! Yes!" Nagayama Taro nodded vigorously.
The middle-aged man then picked up the Honedge from the ground and left, without even explaining, leaving behind only this vague statement.
With this, everyone could only turn to the local insider—Nagayama Taro—for clarification.
Yan Hu seemed to know something but not much, looking confused. So, in the end, Nagayama Taro had to explain.
The young man hesitated, then ran to the workshop to ask his grandfather before saying, "I hope everyone will keep this confidential."
Everyone naturally agreed and found seats, ready to listen to Nagayama Taro's story.
"This matter goes back a long time…"
The story wasn't hard to understand.
Four hundred years ago, a swordsman named Shimazaki earned the title of Sword Saint after winning over thirty real sword duels and slaying two hundred people on the battlefield.
But as he aged, his physique declined, and old injuries from his youth flared up, forcing him to retire from the martial world.
At that time, a group of craftsmen under his protection, along with the Shimazaki family itself—a wealthy clan—came with him to the former city of Nai and settled there in seclusion.
This was the origin of Triple Village.
The current outer, middle, and inner ring structure was recently designed by Nagayama Taro's father.
The key part came later.
As a Sword Saint, Shimazaki naturally had an extraordinary sword by his side. His sword had grown up with him, and even after cutting down hundreds of people, it never broke—incredibly durable, astonishing those around him.
No ordinary sword could achieve such a feat.
Thus, that sword was also regarded as a divine weapon, enshrined in the temple of Triple Village.
At first, nothing happened. The main events occurred after Shimazaki passed away.
For unknown reasons, the sword, which had been enshrined day and night, was suddenly inhabited by Shimazaki's soul. In front of hundreds of people, it transformed into a Honedge.
"Really?" Lu Chengfeng interjected, stunned. A human turning into a Pokémon? That was just too far-fetched!
"Well… the Sword Spirit itself claims to be the reincarnation of Shimazaki," Nagayama Taro said, scratching his cheek somewhat troubled. "You can treat it as a legend if you want."
"Eh…" Lu Chengfeng felt inexplicably disappointed.
Li Xiang, beside him, stroked his chin, wondering if the sword had transformed into a Honedge on its own and then pretended to be Shimazaki.
After all, a swordsman never parted with his sword, so it knowing everything about Shimazaki wasn't surprising.
The story continued.
At first, the villagers didn't trust it either.
The Sword Saint reincarnating as a Honedge was as unbelievable as Gengar being Pikachu's shadow or Kadabra being a transformed psychic boy.
Pure urban legend.
But it showed no hostility, didn't become the village chief, and displayed no ambition to control others. It didn't even drain anyone's life force.
It simply remained in the shrine, continuing its role as a mascot as before.
Until months later, when two neighboring lords started a war that spread to the village.
Just as the village was about to be engulfed in the flames of war, the Honedge guarding the temple suddenly evolved and displayed extraordinary power.
It transformed into a beam of light, instantly splitting the battlefield in two. It successfully protected the village from the war's impact and scared off both groups of enemies.
After this heroic feat, the Doublade coincidentally evolved again, directly reaching its final form—Aegislash.
Its power surged once more.
The two warring lords, wary of Aegislash's power and considering the villagers' own considerable strength, decided to leave Triple Village alone—even offering bribes instead.
After all, in those times, blacksmiths were highly valuable.
Aegislash went from being a figure the villagers distrusted to one they revered as the guardian sword spirit.
The Shimazaki family generation after generation enshrined it, calling themselves the village guardians.
Up to the present.
The man from earlier was the current village guardian, Shimazaki Masao.
"What a story… I don't even know where to begin," Bai Zhi said, twitching the corner of her mouth.
The central figure of this story was naturally that Aegislash. Regardless of whether the Sword Saint reincarnation was true or not…
"I have a question," Wang Dong raised his hand.
"Please go ahead," Nagayama Taro nodded.
"The Honedge and Doublade from earlier… are they descendants of the Aegislash—the guardian sword spirit?"
"Yes."
"Forgive my bluntness, but did it… with another Aegislash…" Wang Dong didn't finish his sentence. Aegislash had a gender, meaning it could reproduce with other Aegislash.
If Aegislash was really the Sword Saint reincarnated, shouldn't it find something like this unacceptable?
Although how Pokémon reproduced had always been a mystery.
Everyone stared speechlessly at the square-faced boy. 'Is that what you're focusing on?'
Nagayama Taro coughed several times, seemingly startled too, but after a pause, he said, "Regarding this question, it involves the Sword Spirit's privacy. Well, actually, it's not really privacy anymore."
"Normally, Pokémon need a male and female pair, both willing, right?" Nagayama Taro lowered his head slightly, making a strange gesture as if checking if he was doing it correctly.
"But the Sword Spirit, perhaps because of its unique birth, has a slightly special way of reproducing."
"It transforms from weapons. Can you understand that?" He looked up seriously. "Just like how it transformed from a long sword."
Oh.
Everyone looked at each other. Such a method of "reproduction" was truly unheard of.
"I don't understand the principle either. The Sword Spirit's birth itself is very special," Nagayama Taro said slowly. "Anyway, you should understand that the Sword Spirit is the reincarnation of the Sword Saint."
Everyone nodded.
"After you've chosen your weapons, I'll take you to the temple to meet the Sword Spirit. The Sword Spirit will bestow upon you a power that makes you more compatible with your chosen weapon," Nagayama Taro gestured. "Simply put, it makes using that weapon smoother, just like how Sword Saint Shimazaki used his sword back in the day."
'This is… Knight of Owner?'
Li Xiang gaped, never expecting this Aegislash to have such power.
However, in modern times, this power would seem rather redundant. Who still goes around cutting people with swords?
If you dared to carry a sword outside, the police would be the first to find you. Pretty useless for ordinary people.
For people like Li Xiang and the others, it might still be somewhat valued.
At this point, Wang Dong raised his hand again. "If the weapon is destroyed, does that mean the power is gone?"
'Good question!'
Li Xiang couldn't help but give Wang Dong a thumbs-up.
"Uh, yes, because this power is mutual, acting on both the weapon and the human. Neither can be missing," Nagayama Taro said softly.
Meaning this was a one-time buff. Gone if the sword breaks.
Don't think weapons like swords are durable. Honestly, unless it's some divine weapon, ordinary weapons have very short lifespans. On the battlefield, you might have to change yours after cutting just a few people.
Swords like Japanese katana, with their thin blades, are even more fragile.