Ultimately, after some hesitation, Tsukimi Soukaku chose not to pursue Qin Ming further, opting instead to let him leave. Qin Ming climbed into his car, started the engine, and swiftly drove away.
Through the rearview mirror, he could see Soukaku standing there, shrinking further into the distance. Behind the wheel, Qin Ming let out a long sigh of relief.
Phew! Finally out of that mess! This mission was full of hidden traps at every turn.
The quest had seemed simple enough: pick off a low-ranking Tsukimi disciple and leave quietly, and you'd be fine. If you had the sense to stop while you were ahead, the quest was actually below a D-level in difficulty.
But if you got greedy, seeking more kills to better your task completion score, then tough luck—you'd find yourself stepping on a minefield of complications. That was when Soukaku would appear, the main plot character of the Tsukimi Clan, along with other powerful disciples, turning a D-level mission into something akin to B-level or worse.
In the Nightmare Space, the difficulty grade given to missions only represented the level under normal circumstances, when players took advantage of every support provided. The rating didn't account for complications caused by greed or poor decisions.
Now that Qin Ming's car was descending the mountain road, heading toward the distant highway, he suddenly slammed on the brakes.
Poking his head out the window, Qin Ming saw a Tsukimi disciple approaching rapidly. Clutching a staff and wearing a conical hat, the figure hurriedly made his way up the road.
After scanning the area to ensure no witnesses were around, Qin Ming adjusted his glasses to appraise the disciple's stats.
Once confident in his assessment, Qin Ming rolled the window up, ducking back into his seat.
Moments later, the Tsukimi disciple stormed by, barely noticing the car as he sped down the road, his robes billowing behind him. And then—
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, one side of the vehicle exploded, a massive spinning air blade slicing out and shearing through the air toward the startled disciple. Eyes wide with horror, he barely had time to react as the blade tore through him.
Charged Sonic Hand Blade!
A few minutes later, several figures came rushing from the distance. Coming to an abrupt halt, they stared grimly at the corpse before them, now cleanly severed in half. Their expressions darkened, none of them uttering a word.
In the center of the group, Tsukimi Soukaku gripped his staff, his teeth grinding audibly in fury. He picked up a shard of metal from the car and examined it, his hand tightening until the metal warped in his grip.
"It's him! That boy was a Shiranui after all!"
"Brother, what should we do now?"
"What can we do?! It's clear Shiranui Hanzou is determined to kill us all and avenge his son and daughter-in-law. He's practically daring us into a deathmatch!"
Soukaku threw the twisted shard to the ground, his face dark with uncertainty. He understood exactly why Hanzou would resort to such ruthless tactics—the old man didn't have long to live.
With his advanced age and a chronic injury sustained from that infamous clash years ago, Hanzou didn't have much time left. And once he was gone, the Shiranui family would be left with only Shiranui Mai. Could a mere girl hold her own against the Tsukimi Clan? It was unlikely.
As for the disciples training at the dojo, they were there only to study martial arts, not to risk their lives in some ancient grudge match.
Hanzou was racing against time, seeking vengeance not only to settle old scores but also to secure his granddaughter's future by eliminating their greatest threat. Though sporadic assassinations from the Shiranui side were nothing new, this latest attack, which left four Tsukimi disciples dead—two of them elite members—was unprecedented.
Soukaku could no longer restrain his simmering rage. Initially, he had intended to wait for Hanzou to die naturally and then resolve matters with the Shiranui Clan himself. But this latest attack made it clear—he had no choice but to confront Hanzou now.
Staff in hand, Soukaku struck the ground, cracking it under the impact. He turned toward the direction of the Shiranui dojo, his voice steely and resolute.
"Gather everyone! We're storming the Shiranui dojo and sending Hanzou to his grave!"
"Yes, sir!"
With his command, the Tsukimi disciples dispersed, summoning their comrades through spiritual channels, instructing them to rendezvous.
Soukaku then knelt, closed his eyes, and steadied his breathing as he prepared himself for the impending battle.
In truth, even he wasn't entirely confident about facing Hanzou. The Shiranui Clan leader was a formidable elder warrior, and Soukaku harbored no illusions about the fight to come. But with his clan on the brink of destruction, Soukaku was left with no alternative.
Fight he must. If he didn't, how could he ever honor the teachings of his master?
The seeds sown in that brutal skirmish years ago had finally come to bear poisonous fruit. Cause and effect, as they say—what goes around, comes around. It was karma.
Would this clash finally end the blood feud between them? Or would it only fuel yet another cycle of revenge, binding them in an endless struggle?
No one could even recall the origins of the grudge between the Tsukimi and Shiranui families. All that remained was a cycle of vengeance—one family flourishing at the expense of the other, generation after generation. The stronger side would hunt down its foe, only to face a reversal when the other grew in power.
Even if he could defeat Hanzou now, what would that accomplish? In another twenty or so years, when Soukaku was old and feeble, the Shiranui heirs would come knocking on his door, seizing the chance to finish him.
And then another generation would retaliate… and on it would go.
Soukaku's thoughts drifted back to the carnage from that battle over a decade ago, his heart heavy with bitterness. Truthfully, he had long desired to end the fighting, to negotiate a truce and put an end to this grudge.
But Shiranui Hanzou wasn't one to forgive or forget. After witnessing his son and daughter-in-law slain before his very eyes, how could Hanzou ever find peace?
Hanzou's mind was twisted by vengeance, his heart hardened beyond reason. Soukaku had resolved to wait—wait for Hanzou's passing, for the day when the Shiranui Clan would fall under Shiranui Mai's rule.
Mai was nothing like her grandfather. Gentle-hearted and good-natured, she held no memory of the bloodshed from those years. True, her parents had perished in the conflict, but if he could appeal to her sense of reason, perhaps she'd be open to peace. After all, Soukaku had lost his master and countless brothers in that war.
The grudges could be laid to rest, their fates unburdened. Or so he'd hoped.
But now…