Chapter 98

The ridge of the roof exploded, and rubble and dust billowed up.

Qi Xing stood at the edge of the roof, his hands still stained with blood and bone fragments, yet his expression remained as calm as ever, not even blinking.

"Who gave you permission to speak?"

Sometimes, in certain situations and with certain enemies, Qi Xing would let them finish speaking before they died; after all, one should always listen to a person's last words.

But there were also times when Qi Xing didn't even bother to listen.

We are the ones who have invaded, and you are the one about to be killed.

We are here to kill you, and there is no other reason.

Who allowed you to speak?

096: You actually dared to hit my beautiful face

"You damn bastard!"

Susanoo—the Thunder Blade Girl—was both shocked and furious.

Although they had long known that [Master Leipu] was strong, that had only been an abstract [knowledge].

No one had truly imagined that [Master Leipu]'s speed could be so fast that it left her—and [Tsukuyomi] hiding in the shadows—unable to react in time.

It didn't even give her, the [Guard], a chance to block!

"Om, Indraya (Homage, Indra)…"

Her left hand supported the scabbard, her right hand gripped the hilt, her waist lowered, her posture taut as a bowstring.

In her fury, she channeled her power, calling upon the thunder god's mantra.

With the syncretism of gods and buddhas, having practiced esoteric mantras for many years, she refined thunder in her body and focused on swordsmanship in her mind. The mantras within her resonated like thunder. This style of quick-draw swordsmanship was her ultimate art—Indra's thunderous might coursed through her spine, joint by joint, electricity flickering around her as killing intent overflowed from the scabbard.

Like a prayed-for heavenly thunder, she only needed to draw her blade slightly to cleave the world asunder!

The warrior girl's thumb had already pushed the blade out of the scabbard by a sliver of cold light.

Her unrivaled slash could exceed the speed of sound and shatter any defense; it was an ultimate technique forged through insane skill—and now, she was about to strike!

But it was at this moment that Qi Xing turned his head.

He didn't speak; he just glanced at her.

No lightning, no spiritual pressure, no magic.

Just a look.

There was no anger in that gaze, no contempt, only an extreme, profound stillness, like an endless ocean, a pressure that submerged all things. It wasn't killing intent, it carried no emotion; it was simply a form of scrutiny.

This scrutinizing gaze made the Thunder Blade Girl realize something.

She had always prided herself on being a combat genius, winning with a single strike, yet in that instant, she felt as if her entire body had been locked by a heavenly tribulation; her soul felt like an insect sealed in amber, her consciousness as if it were nailed to the hilt of her sword.

If she truly drew her blade, the next person to fall would be her.

That wasn't fear, but an instinctual certainty.

Cold sweat broke out, her fingertips trembled, her thumb released, and the cold light returned to the scabbard.

The intent of her draw, which she had pushed to the limit, collapsed under [Master Leipu]'s gaze, like a trail of fire instantly extinguished in a gale.

Qi Xing had already withdrawn his gaze.

He didn't actually want to kill her; after all, he had just agreed with Lin to save one enemy for her.

He hadn't even finished his main course yet; how could he steal his friend's dessert?

"I've lived for nearly a thousand years, and I've never seen anyone suddenly hit a beautiful girl like me."

[Amaterasu]'s head had been smashed by Qi Xing's knee, her body beaten to a pulp, falling into the village hall.

But at this very moment, her voice drifted over again, clear and calm, like a casual complaint, as if the person who had just had her head smashed and internal organs crushed wasn't her at all.

Qi Xing looked toward the source of the voice.

Right across the street from the village hall, on the roof of a two-story house, [Amaterasu] had appeared again.

Her red and white kimono was still luxurious, her white hair still draped like snow, the bronze mirror in her arms was spotless, and not even her wooden clogs were stained with a speck of dust.

She stood with graceful poise, her eyes smiling, as if the head smashed on Qi Xing's knee had been some inferior imitation.

Even more bizarrely, Qi Xing looked back—the corpse he had [personally smashed] was still there, a bloody mess, like a pile of broken human flesh, slowly dripping with gore and brains.

Two [Amaterasu] bodies existed here simultaneously. And this wasn't an illusion.

Was it a flesh clone? Or was it replaced by a new shell after death?

"Don't you know what a conventional trope is? Before a battle, you have to patiently listen to the other person finish speaking…"

[Amaterasu] had just begun to speak with a smile—

"Fixed."

But Qi Xing had already raised his hand and extended his sword fingers, cutting off her voice without hesitation, issuing a decree.

True energy surged like a tide; the [Method of Qi Prohibition] suddenly took effect, turning into invisible heavenly locks, precisely sealing her entire body—from nerve endings to the depths of her bones, from the rhythm of her breathing to the spiritual meridians of her internal organs, everything was locked tight!

In an instant, [Amaterasu]'s body froze in place. It was as if she had been forcibly pressed onto the roof ridge by an invisible giant hand, even her golden pupils trembling slightly, revealing a look of disbelief.

There was no wind in this village. But even if there were wind blowing through her sleeves now, it certainly wouldn't move her figure in the slightest.

"Alright, tell me the whole story from beginning to end."

Qi Xing walked over with a calm expression, as if he were talking to an ordinary criminal.

However, in the next second, an incredible thing happened.

On [Amaterasu]'s face, which still maintained a smile, her golden eyes narrowed slightly, and she slowly spat out a sentence: "Alright, then let me tell you one thing first."

As soon as the words fell, Qi Xing suddenly realized—the true energy he had invaded her body with, used to seal her movements, had been broken down!

It wasn't broken free, it wasn't bounced back; it was being dismantled layer by layer, strand by strand, like extremely fine needle and thread.

"I am indeed not a warrior. I specialize in incantations, I am good at analyzing structures, solving problems, and then utilizing those structures."

[Amaterasu] looked smug and at ease, her eyes narrowed.

"When you warriors are busy training your bodies and moves, I can already dismantle this level of binding spell even while sleeping."

Interesting.

"So, are you trying to tell me with this,"

Qi Xing asked with a frown,

"—'Because I cannot die, and binding spells are useless against me, please twist my limbs and make me wish for death,' is that it?"

This finally made the expression on [Amaterasu]'s face stiffen for a moment: "Now that you put it that way, it does indeed mean that."

Qi Xing grinned and continued walking toward her.

[Amaterasu] didn't have a masochistic interest in having her limbs twisted off alive after all, so she immediately pulled back and shouted: "Tsukuyomi!"

No one knew where Kisaragi Mayu was hiding; even Qi Xing couldn't sense her. That little girl's hiding skills were truly astonishing, just like the moon on a moonless night.

But the moment after [Amaterasu] called out to her, the entire village suddenly changed drastically—

Thick fog surged out from the ground, eaves, wellheads, and broken windows like an unsealed tide!

And it was no longer just fog.

Countless black clusters of mist condensed in the air, transforming into various [human-shaped] monsters.

Some of those monsters were wearing white wedding dresses, but their faces were blurred, constantly murmuring in their mouths, "Why didn't you choose me?"

Some were covered in burn marks, carrying infants covered in fingernails, stumbling and crying, "It's your fault!"

Some had eyes all over their lower bodies, crawling and moaning; some had hairpins stuck all over their heads, laughing wildly while shedding tears;

Others had beautiful faces, but a huge hole in their chests, empty inside, with only screams echoing.

These were not people.

These were people.

They were not demons from hell, but reflections of [people].

They were the obsessions and memories crawling out from the repression, humiliation, jealousy, and lust of those who had been unable to escape or change for hundreds of years.

They were the embodiment of all the desires repressed and untold in this village, which had existed for nearly a thousand years and contained only women.

Born in the fog, dying in the fog.

What rushed out from the thick fog was just such a dense torrent of monsters!

Groups of twisted, blurry, distorted desire-monsters surged toward Qi Xing and Lin like a black tide, their overwhelming force almost swallowing the entire village!

As for [Amaterasu], she had long since let out a high laugh, riding the crest of the desire-tide, like a goddess riding the waves, escaping deeper into the village.

Clearly, this was a further strategy to lure the enemy deeper.

Qi Xing frowned and immediately chanted a holy verse, hammering divine intent into people's hearts like thunder: "I am Osiris! The King who died and rose again, the God who judges life and death!"

"Justice cannot be evaded, sinners, kneel and accept judgment!"

He attempted to use his [Dominator] power to bring [Amaterasu] under his control.

—But the next instant, a message that was unfamiliar yet seemed familiar suddenly jumped into his mind:

[Error: This target is occupied by another authority and is in a locked state]

Huh??

"Is it the [Silver Coin Messenger] again?"

No.

Last time Qi Xing used the [Dominator] power on the [Silver Coin Messenger], this wasn't the error message that popped up! It wasn't exactly the same!

"Ah, no wonder."

Sasa, who hadn't spoken for a long time, finally poked her little head out from behind Qi Xing.

"No wonder I felt a strange aura from her before."

"A strange aura?" Qi Xing was slightly startled. "But didn't you say before that there were no other silver coins within a thousand miles?"

"There aren't any other silver coins."

Sasa shrugged and answered calmly.

"But I didn't guarantee that she had absolutely no connection to other [Silver Coin Messengers]."

"I guess she must have formed a contract with another [Silver Coin Messenger], becoming a vassal and extension to a certain extent… just like how you used [Dominator] to form a contract with the little nun to prevent anything from happening to her."

"As long as you don't have the [Messenger] who first used [Dominator] to form a contract with her, you basically can't directly use [Dominator] to override and control her. It's the same principle as the little nun being immune to control-type abilities from anyone other than you."

"You didn't think that you were the only [Silver Coin Messenger] who would encrypt and lock their apostles to prevent theft, did you?"

Qi Xing was unable to refute this for a moment.

Indeed, as long as there is any trick or loophole in this world that is easy to think of or discover, it will definitely be discovered and quickly utilized by others.

"Apostles are like extensions of a god, they can share in the god's power—of course, if there's no [silver coin], there's nothing. Even if they can share the same power, the level cannot be the same."

Sasa yawned cutely, looking not very interested. After all, even if they won this kind of battle, they wouldn't be able to seize a [silver coin].

"Look on the bright side, an apostle's power is inevitably related to its source. If you defeat her and study her now, it will definitely be helpful for your future battle with the main entity. Of course, you'd better be careful, don't flip the boat in the gutter."

Qi Xing's gaze fell into the distance, locking onto the white-haired shrine maiden fleeing rapidly in the thick fog.

He had three goals for coming to Japan this time: the first was to find the trail of the [silver coin], the second was to find if there was any power left behind by Jesus, and the third was for a pre-wedding trip with Elaine. Setting aside the second and third, he had originally given up on the first. After all, Sasa said there were no other [silver coins] within a thousand miles.

Unexpectedly, such a clue had now run into him of its own accord.

[Amaterasu] likely wanted to lure Qi Xing deeper into the [Inner Realm]. But if he didn't pursue, leaving her unknown power alone, no one knew what might happen.

The endless tide of monsters rolled like black waves, sweeping toward Qi Xing and Lin. There was also the Thunder Blade Girl playing the role of [Susanoo], and [Tsukuyomi] hiding somewhere unknown. Should Qi Xing pursue [Amaterasu] directly?

No sooner said than done!

Just as the dense tide of desire-monsters rolled in, as if to swallow them both, a jet-black flame suddenly erupted, rushing straight into the sea of fog!

Boom!

The scorching black fire roared forward like a storm, instantly swallowing the groups of desire-monsters rushing in the front! Those monster shadows, transformed from filth and desire, immediately let out shrill screams, without even a chance to struggle, they twisted, melted, and turned into ashes in the sea of black fire!