Chapter Twenty-Seven: Eradicate the Roots to Eliminate Future Troubles Forever

At this moment, taking action was truly the worst option; eliminating others would have been manageable, but this Ichiro Fujiwara, already at the level of a second-rank battle commander, was not someone easy to deal with. If he managed to escape, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Yet, with matters reaching this point, Xiao Fei and his companions had no other choice.

Who could have expected that just then, Ichiro Fujiwara darted to his daughter’s side, snatched the box from her hands without so much as a glance, closed it, and barked angrily, “Idiots! Where are my men? Hurry up and escort the young lady away!”

Ichiro Fujiwara bowed awkwardly before Xiao Fei—known here as Yoshihiko Noda—greeting him respectfully, “General, I deeply apologize. My daughter’s mother was a princess of the Qing dynasty, and my daughter has lived in China since childhood, spoiled and pampered. I hope the general will forgive her.”

Xiao Fei and his companions broke into a cold sweat. This fool Ichiro Fujiwara had not even looked at the box. If he discovered it was filled with explosives, everything would be lost.

In truth, Ichiro Fujiwara didn’t even need to look closely; with a bit of attention, he could have sensed the weight was off. The box contained nothing but explosives, far heavier than ordinary jewelry or cosmetics.

Xiao Fei immediately signaled Qin Tianxiang to take back the box, while he himself replied, “It’s nothing, nothing at all. Qing princesses are always like that, forever considering themselves royal, naturally a bit arrogant, which is understandable. But this princess’s lively and clever nature is rather charming.”

Xiao Fei spoke in Mandarin, so Emi Fujiwara heard everything. She broke free from the samurai dragging her away and bounded over to Xiao Fei’s side in a few steps.

This astonished everyone.

“Hehe, you’re a rather adorable uncle with a beard yourself,” Emi Fujiwara said, blinking her lovely eyes.

“Oh, really?” Xiao Fei laughed awkwardly.

No one expected the little girl to suddenly grab a tuft of Xiao Fei’s beard and yank it hard. Xiao Fei felt a sharp pain under his chin; the beard stuck on with glue by Li Shishi was pulled clean off by the girl.

“Heehee, I actually pulled it off!” Emi Fujiwara giggled.

Silence—absolute silence! In the vast hall, one could hear a pin drop. The suddenness of the event left everyone stunned; no one could have anticipated the girl’s actions.

The situation became extremely perilous; Xiao Fei and his companions now had no choice but to act.

But something even more unexpected happened. Ichiro Fujiwara stepped forward, grabbed Emi Fujiwara, and slapped her hard. In his eyes, his daughter’s behavior was akin to pulling a tiger’s whiskers—such ignorant conduct was inconceivable. After all, Yoshihiko Noda was his superior!

It was Emi Fujiwara’s first time being struck, and the slap was far from gentle. She had grown up in a princely manor, pampered and willful. At twelve years old—just last year—she was suddenly joined by her biological father, Ichiro Fujiwara, a warrior from her father’s homeland, who doted on her even more. Yet she never expected to be harshly punished by him today.

Emi Fujiwara was heartbroken. In a fit of anger, she ran out, and Fujiwara’s men dared not stop her—in fact, deep down, they hoped she’d run away, as her troublesome nature made her a constant headache.

Ichiro Fujiwara had been engaged in anti-Chinese activities in China for over a decade. In his first year in the Qing dynasty, he was lavishly received by the imperial family. To win over this distinguished guest, Prince Zai De even gave his daughter to Fujiwara as a concubine.

Fujiwara had wives and concubines back home, but none compared to the beauty of the Qing princess. Thus, Zai De’s daughter became his favorite. The couple soon had a lovely daughter, whom Fujiwara named Emi.

Not long after, Fujiwara was recalled for further training, and his absence lasted over ten years. In that time, China underwent dramatic change; the feudal imperial system that had ruled for over two millennia ended. Prince Zai De and his family, though treated well by the new government, lost their former glory. The princess had died of illness years before, and their daughter, Emi Fujiwara, was now twelve.

Having no children in his homeland, Fujiwara’s fatherly affection for Emi overflowed upon their reunion, and he spoiled her excessively. In his culture, women held low status, often subordinate to men—even daughters rarely received such indulgence. Yet Fujiwara was different; he treasured Emi as his only bloodline, which fostered her rebellious nature and led to today’s defiant behavior.

Fujiwara was terrified—he feared General Noda would explode in anger. He bent ninety degrees in apology, saying, “Forgive me, General, for embarrassing you. I deserve a thousand deaths!” He then respectfully picked up the fake beard pulled off by his daughter and handed it to Xiao Fei.

Xiao Fei and his companions were baffled.

What was going on? Things had reached this critical point, yet the man still suspected nothing? Was he really that stupid?

Xiao Fei couldn’t fathom the reason, though Li Shishi seemed to have guessed. Having interacted with the real Yoshihiko Noda many times, she had always doubted his abilities in certain respects—she even questioned whether he possessed the attributes of a man. However, never having intimately dealt with Noda herself, she couldn’t be sure.

Today, it seemed her suspicions were confirmed.

Li Shishi hurried over to smooth things out, saying, “General Noda, this is nothing serious. Even if you lack certain abilities, haven’t I still brought joy to you?”

As she spoke, Li Shishi stroked Xiao Fei’s chest.

This left Xiao Fei even more confused, but it was clear the crisis had passed once again.

Li Shishi had guessed correctly. Yoshihiko Noda, a veteran of countless battles, had lost his manhood during a campaign suppressing rebels in his homeland—his adversaries had severed it, making him a eunuch and the subject of the greatest scandal and ridicule in his country’s military circles.

As Fujiwara’s superior and elder, Fujiwara had only heard rumors but didn’t know the truth. Today’s “fake beard incident” convinced him even more that Noda was genuine—no one could fake such things.

Coincidence after coincidence, each crisis was thus resolved in the shadows.

It seemed even fate was secretly aiding him. Xiao Fei thought to himself: Today, I must eliminate them!

He and his companions waited for the perfect moment.

Sure enough, it soon arrived.

Although women’s status was low in his homeland, mothers held a special place, especially in military circles, where mothers were revered. On their mothers’ birthdays, they would pray devoutly for them.

Fujiwara’s mother lived far away, so Fujiwara led his family and subordinates in singing and praying toward the direction of his family home. To outsiders, it looked more like meditation.

Because Noda outranked Fujiwara, he didn’t need to participate.

Xiao Fei secretly ordered Li Shishi to withdraw, took the box of explosives from Qin Tianxiang, and eyed the central hearth in the hall. Suddenly, he activated the Thunder Wing, tossed the explosives into the fire, and with a thunderous boom, the hall exploded.

The blast wasn’t immense, but those ordinary men were torn apart, blood and flesh flying. Fujiwara, however, lost only an arm and an ear, leaping up in an attempt to escape.

But Xiao Fei had anticipated this. He swooped down and delivered a crushing kick to Fujiwara’s head. Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself—Xiao Fei pulled the trigger, firing two shots into Fujiwara’s chest.

Perhaps even in death, Fujiwara would never understand whose hand had ended his life today.