Chapter 93

"Rest assured, I won't choose that path."

Looking down at Sasa, whose expression was already clearly showing panic, Qi Xing smiled even more pleasantly.

"So, I've actually just been thinking over the past two days."

"Although many things still don't have answers, and although I haven't fully grasped everything yet, at least I can say with integrity,"

Qi Xing raised his head, looking at the sky where sunshine and rain alternated in this world, "I don't want to change this current world for the sake of that world from the past."

"But because there are people in this world I like, or even just find agreeable."

"This world might be small, foolish, and absurd. But I have also met many kind, strong, and brave people in this world."

Perhaps, perhaps this was also one of the reasons Qi Xing couldn't truly hate Sasa. Because in this world, whether good people or bad, all were Sasa's creations; because in all honesty, what he had experienced in this world was by no means only fear and pain.

"Your world is too rotten; they deserve a better world."

He indeed hadn't fully grasped everything yet, but things like a cultivator's heart tribulation couldn't be rushed; it was better to break through step by step.

"What on earth does this have to do with whether you want to start a harem?"

"You don't understand, Sasa, this is also love."

Sasa indeed didn't understand, but she was already inwardly lamenting at this moment… because the information files on Qi Xing that Rin and the others saw had actually all been modified by Sasa using her illusion power.

It was certainly a good thing that Qi Xing didn't want to escape this world. But if Qi Xing and Rin's relationship really grew closer, they would sooner or later discover something was wrong. By then, Sasa's bottom would definitely be in danger! Next time, it probably wouldn't just be a spanking!!

Was her bottom going to become the sacrifice for Qi Xing staying behind to change this world?!

Speak of the devil, and misfortune never comes singly—Rin's foster sister, Ayame Shingo, who had previously personally snuck a peek at Qi Xing's files and was the person in the Jingo Family most afraid of and vigilant against Qi Xing, happened to pass by the stone monument at the village entrance at this moment and saw Qi Xing hanging around there alone at a glance.

Miss Ayame's vigilance immediately increased even further!

The young lady seemed to quite like him, and the master didn't seem to care much. But she, Ayame, would definitely expose this person's true colors!

"Good day, Mr. Qi."

Having made her calculations, Ayame immediately walked over with a smile,

"What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Miss Ayame."

Most locals in Shingo Village had the surname Shingo, so Qi Xing didn't address her by her surname,

"Just thinking about some things. I just finished helping out the Official Exorcist, and I'll be heading back to the inn in a while."

Just came back from helping out an Exorcist? The battle just ended?

Ayame immediately felt a bit worried about this dark hero who bore the bloody fate of battle. If the young lady saw him at such a time, it would definitely stimulate her protective instincts even more!

The young lady was at home right now; she had to pull him away from the inn, she couldn't let him go back immediately!

"Since that's the case,"

A bright idea struck her, and Ayame smiled even more gently,

"Mr. Qi, would you like to go on a date with me, just to change your mood?"

She tilted her head to look at him, her smile just right; with two fingers, she gently tucked back the stray hair by her temple, her posture dignified and proper, yet not lacking a hint of girlish playfulness.

Huh?

Qi Xing was stunned for a moment, but only for an instant.

He really hadn't expected this situation. A moment ago, she had been staring at him like a calm observer, but the next second, she had switched to such a gentle smile, her tone relaxed, even carrying a hint of ambiguity.

However, Qi Xing had just broken through a layer of his heart's barriers, and his mood had improved a lot—just like when he fought Romanie, in this state, he was invincible.

So, the next second, Qi Xing had already put on a dashing smile, raising an eyebrow with the look of someone worldly-wise: "Sure, I've always been happy to accept invitations from ladies."

He said it extremely naturally, his tone lazy, and while speaking, he raised his hand to pat his clothes, his movements leisurely, as if he were in New York, having just gotten off a plane, and was now preparing to have afternoon tea with a beautiful woman.

The smile on Ayame's face stiffened imperceptibly.

She suddenly had an ominous premonition.

Was this move of hers delivering meat to the big bad wolf?

092: Thinking only of oneself

In the end, although it was called a "date," it was actually just walking around the village with Ayame and buying some things.

Although Shingo Village was still nominally a "village," it had developed rapidly over the past ten years; many new buildings had been built, the roads had been renovated, and some sections even had the appearance of a small town. Small shops lined the streets, with stalls selling vegetables, meat, and handicrafts arranged in an orderly fashion, carrying a special sense of worldly life.

Recently it was the off-season for tourism, and there were no guests at the Jingo Family's hot spring inn besides Qi Xing and his group, so there was no need to purchase a huge amount of ingredients like usual. Walking around the village and buying a few vegetables was enough for those few people to eat for the day.

"Yo, Ayame! Buying groceries today too?"

"It's suddenly gotten cold again recently, you're wearing too little, be careful not to catch a cold!"

"Are you making hot pot or stir-fry? Today's eggplants are fresh too!"

Vendors and shopkeepers along the road greeted Ayame from time to time, their tone carrying closeness and trust, as if they were looking at their own children.

Qi Xing stood to the side, originally thinking she would feign detachment. But Ayame returned every greeting, smiling appropriately and naturally. When someone asked too many questions about her relationship with this strange man, she would just smile in response, easily turning the topic, leaving people confused.

"Everyone likes you quite a lot."

After leaving the butcher shop, Qi Xing said with interest.

"I am the master's adopted daughter, and the young lady's attendant, after all."

Ayame replied naturally, also with a bit of pride,

"They like the young lady, so they also like me by extension."

This made Qi Xing even more interested: "So the people in Shingo Village really do like Miss Rin quite a lot?"

"Not 'like,' but 'revere.'" Ayame corrected, a smile on her lips, "Everyone has seen the changes in the village over these past few years."

They walked into an old vegetable stall, where an old woman with a wrinkled face was lowering her head, peeling beans in a basket. Seeing Ayame, she looked up with a smile: "Oh, it's Ayame, today's eggplants are nice."

"Thank you, Grandma, we want to make stew today."

The old woman then deftly picked up a handful of beans, put them into a paper bag, and then added a few oranges for free, chattering while packing the bag: "Last month, the Shrine Maiden's dance was also very beautiful. Let the Shrine Maiden eat more fruit."

As soon as Rin was mentioned, as soon as the village's Shrine Maiden was mentioned, not just the old woman selling vegetables, but the other villagers around, the middle-aged women coming to buy vegetables, all opened up their chatterboxes.

The villagers spoke one after another, and the conversation naturally turned to Rin, not because Ayame brought it up, but because they really wanted to talk about it.

"It's really thanks to the Shrine Maiden that the village has been able to become this good over these past few years."

In the tone of a middle-aged woman buying vegetables standing nearby, there was a trace of simple and genuine respect,

"In the past, there was no such good business as there is now; even my grandson has been able to save enough money to buy a house in the south."

"The young lady is really such a good child… She has been smart and sensible since she was little, never crying or making a fuss, just a bit too well-behaved."

The old lady squinted her eyes and sighed,

"She used to always sit alone on the steps in a daze, that gaze, oh, it was empty… Even though she was so young, she was just like an adult."

Qi Xing stood to the side and listened silently. There was no mention of anything mysterious or supernatural in the old woman's words, but he could also hear some underlying meaning in them.

Rin was, of course, a "special" person. Those who were further away from her would even avoid her due to fear of her special nature.

As for the people in this Shingo Village… although they didn't say it out loud, they actually understood something in their hearts.

"Thanks to the Shrine Maiden (Divine Child), whose reputation has spread far and wide, that's why there have been more and more tourists in the village over these past few years, and why business has been getting better and better."

"In these years, it feels like even accidents in the village have become fewer; it must be because of the Shrine Maiden. The Shrine Maiden is the auspicious sign of our village, may the ancestors bless her."

They, of course, couldn't know specifically how powerful a force Rin possessed or what she had done. But they all knew, more or less, that it must be she who had changed this land.

Because of her existence, the local tourism industry had become more and more prosperous, allowing people in the village to earn more money, allowing their children to… go to other, more developed cities to develop.

Although they didn't know the real reason—but in fact, it was precisely because she was this "Guardian of the North." That was why the government higher up had built new roads for the village in recent years.

Although they couldn't possibly know, they vaguely sensed that perhaps it was because of Rin's existence that supernatural phenomena around the village had significantly decreased, and the frequency of various "accidents" had significantly reduced, allowing them to live peacefully and stay away from the evil spirits found everywhere in the world.

It was she who made life in this remote place better and better.

And she, who was like that—everyone also vaguely felt it—would occasionally show that very lonely expression.

In fact, she was very lonely.

Qi Xing stood to the side, helping Ayame carry the newly bought ingredients while listening silently. Ayame was bowing her head, picking out eggplants, seemingly completely accustomed to the villagers' chatter and pleasantries.

However, after Ayame finished buying things and left the vegetable shop, Qi Xing asked her: "It seems like I don't see many young people in the village?"

"The young people in the village are indeed becoming fewer and fewer."

Ayame nodded,

"Besides the middle-aged and elderly, there are only children. People of my and the young lady's age have generally moved to the city to live."

Modern urbanites might find it hard to understand the longing of people in the Japanese countryside for the city—when life in the countryside is clearly very peaceful and comfortable, why do they want to leave their hometown and run to the big city all day?

This is because the Japanese countryside can really be very boring for young people.

For a young person in the Japanese countryside, their only entertainment for the week might be riding a bicycle for half an hour on the weekend to that department store that was built over a dozen years ago, and going to the food court on the third floor, where he had already eaten through four times, to have a meal with friends.

Chain restaurants are, of course, nothing rare in big cities. But here in the countryside, even Starbucks closes at five o'clock. The only McDonald's within a half-hour drive might be a little better, closing at nine o'clock with the shopping mall. If they don't have a car, they only have five or six buses a day, and they don't even run on weekends.

You can, of course, know through the internet how fashionable life in the big city is. But when you turn off the screen, what you see outside the window is the unchanging scenery.

Getting a driver's license, earning an income, going to the big city for further education or employment… for young people in the countryside, all of this is actually a means to escape that unchanging daily life.

This is a very normal thing. It's just a choice. Just like some people still choose to stay.

As someone who stayed, although Ayame felt regret about this, she never complained or lamented.

"You never thought about leaving?"

Qi Xing asked with a smile.

"Of course not."

Ayame replied proudly,

"I am the young lady's attendant, and also Rin's sister."

So now, she was going to help the young lady expose the true colors of this jinxed playboy!

"Speaking of which, Mr. Qi,"

So now, Ayame revealed a bantering, mischievous smile,

"You have such a beautiful fiancée, yet you still come to date a mere maid from someone else's house, isn't that not very good?"

She probably wanted to stimulate Qi Xing's sense of guilt.

An hour ago, doing this might have been effective. But just now, Qi Xing had thought through some things, and his mood was quite good. So he instead replied with a grin: "Don't say that, you are not just a mere maid."

Oh? Was he trying to say that Ayame was also the proxy for the "Guardian of the North"?

Ayame asked back with a smile: "Oh my, then what am I?"

Qi Xing also replied with a smile: "You are a ninja."

A simple and very inexplicable sentence, which instantly made Ayame's footsteps pause, and her smile stiffen.

"When you walk, your center of gravity is always slightly forward, your knees are habitually tucked in, you don't make any sound, yet you can quickly adjust your direction."

Qi Xing began to explain in a casual tone,

"And your fingers when picking vegetables, although it looks very casual, the force is actually very precise; your fingertips don't even leave marks on the skin… This is a ninja's habit."

"Not to mention, I can tell that you have hidden a short sword and shuriken in your clothes."

He looked at Ayame with a half-smile,

"Right? You deliberately keep yourself in a state where you can draw your blade at any time."

The smile on Ayame's face could no longer be maintained, and her forehead was even slightly sweating.

However, the next second, she still managed to recover her composure: "You are truly observant, Mr. Qi."

"I am not observant." Qi Xing shook his head, "The traces of hard and diligent training are obvious at a glance."

You have to know, although he couldn't be counted as a martial arts master (because Qi Xing lacked contributions to the creation and inheritance of martial arts). But Qi Xing was at least very proficient in his studies; after all, he had practiced hard for ten years and was gifted.

Plus, this world really had ninjas, and even really had Taimanin. Over the past ten years, Qi Xing had killed quite a few ninjas and had also fought alongside the government's Taimanin. So, at a glance, he could tell that this Ayame Shingo was actually a female ninja in her every move.

And she must have trained very diligently and arduously. It's just a pity that due to limited talent and poor inheritance, she was probably a level weaker than Elaine.

But Qi Xing would never despise or look down on those on the righteous path who trained hard just because they were too weak (unless they really did something very stupid).