“Sakura, my lady invites you to meet her. Please follow me.”

What? Yae, the wicked old woman, wanted to honor her with a meeting? She couldn’t accept this change for one second.

Madam Sanjō never left a good impression on her. However, she was curious what kind of game she wanted to play this time. If she planned to hurt her, she was confident she could retaliate with her powerful kung fu.

It was a long time ago that she’d come into the inner compound of Tsutsujigasaki. Even the welcoming from Lady Ooi yesterday was held in the outer compound. She had thought that Takeda Harun.o.bu would make some change to the inner compound after he took the leading position of the whole family, but he didn’t. Madam Sanjō was still in the same place.

When she entered the house, she found the whole room cloaked in an air of death. Maybe this was because the room was in the shade and no sunlight shone in.

All of a sudden, with some rattling sounds, the door was locked from the outside. Sakura was surprised, and when she rushed to check, she found Madam Sanjō stepped out from the painted folding screen, with four armed warriors following her. Yae pushed Sakura heavily from behind, toward the madam, and yelled maliciously, “Go ahead!”

She had guessed this invitation would not be anything good, so she was not afraid of this situation.

“Sakura, half a year has pa.s.sed, and you are still the same.”

“Shall I thank you for this praise?” she asked with a smile. It was she who was still the same.

“I had thought that you are not simple since the master finally took you back. But someone gossiped to me that you just teased Takeda n.o.bus.h.i.+ge in the garden this morning,” she said, raising her voice.

“Hey, watch your mouth!” She could not bear her rudeness anymore.

“Tell me, who sent you to us?” The madam’s eyes opened wildly; her sharp tune was full of hatred, without any matching her position. “Are you a spy from Suwa? Or were you sent by Hojo? Your purpose was to seduce our master and make him break with my family? Don’t think I can’t tell your schemes. Be honest, how many of you are in the inner compound?”

Why did she turn to the same style as the old monster Takeda n.o.butora? She didn’t know how to explain. Anyway, any explanation was useless right now.

“It must be you! You arranged someone to stay with us when you left. And it was you who made my son Jiro blind shortly after birth.”

The madam was glaring at her, with her eyes full of blood streaks, akin to a demon. Then, Sakura remembered that in the historical books, she found the truth that the second son of Takeda Harun.o.bu was born blind, and the rumors in society said it was a punishment from heaven since he’d exiled his father. But how could the madam blame this on her only because she was a stranger? What if this reasoning of hers succeeded? There were so many awful events to come in the historical records. . .

“So you have nothing to say? Good! I will let you shut up for ever! Say goodbye to the world.” She waved her sleeve, and all the warriors took out their blades and came for her.

So, come to me! Sakura could not bear the madam anymore. And she lifted her left arm to defend herself from one warrior’s slice; she moved to the left of him quickly and her fist reached his chest at the same time.

“Ah. . . !”

The warrior called out a painful cry. This strong man fell down when he was. .h.i.t, and his blade was knocked out of his hands. Prepared for this, Sakura took the weapon and waited.

Another warrior lifted his knife from the right side; Sakura opened her right palm to press his wrist with the back of her hand. She threw the knife, which she got just now, to her feet and stepped on it. Her five fingers curved to grab his face. The warrior hesitated and retreated. However, this was a feint; Sakura lifted her right leg as fast as a lightning, and kicked at his knee.

“Look, my Lady, I told you the girl was a monster.”

Yae stood out to protect the madam, who was so frightened that all color had drained from her face.

“What are you doing? Come protect the madam!” Yae yelled at the two stunned warriors. The two were woken up by her shout and ran for Sakura, both raising their knives.

Again? Sakura sighed in her heart, and she took their knives immediately, and waved the two blades in the air. Soon her body was unseen; only the shadows of the knives were s.h.i.+ning and waving around in a net like an umbrella.

“Why are you turning back? Go after her!” Yae called out wildly when she saw the two warriors were also panicked.