“Such diligent training, regardless of your reason—whether it’s for someone you love or for your own aspirations—is a good thing. It is something outside of your status, something that belongs only to you.”

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"If others can't see that, it's because they lack vision."

Qi Xing said with a faint smile, as if he were merely stating a fact, completely unaware of his own flirtatiousness.

But the teasing smile that had been on Ayame's face now quietly faded a little.

She lowered her head, looking at the grocery bag in her hand, suddenly unsure of what to say.

Qi Xing just continued walking beside her, as if nothing had happened, strolling leisurely with a pleasant smile still hanging on his lips.

He really hadn't been thinking about anything complicated; he was just in a good mood and simply said whatever came to mind.

Yet that simple sentence was like a pebble dropped into the girl's heart, causing ripples that wouldn't settle for a long time.

Ayame was already starting to regret it.

— —

Over the last two days, ever since they soaked in the hot springs together, Jingo Rin felt that Qi Xing seemed more inclined to avoid her… though that wasn't quite right to say.

It should be described more as a sense of "keeping a respectful distance," maintaining a polite buffer.

Although she was confused and felt a bit regretful, Jingo Rin's intuition had always been sharp. She sensed that Qi Xing seemed to be deep in thought about something, so she hadn't disturbed him these past two days.

However, today, she saw her foster sister Ayame return home looking like she had lost her soul.

She walked into the entryway with sluggish movements, her eyes unfocused, and her cheeks flushed red.

"What's wrong, Ayame? You don't have a fever, do you?"

Jingo Rin was naturally a bit worried.

As a result, she saw Ayame act as if her soul had just drifted back into her body; she froze for a moment, then looked at her with worry, murmuring, "Young Miss…"

"That Qi Xing really is a dangerous man who excels at toying with women. You must stay away from him…"

Huh?

At this point, Jingo Rin couldn't help but be puzzled: "What's going on?"

"I just dragged Mr. Qi for a stroll around the village; we were originally just going to buy some things."

"But along the way, he—he actually kept complimenting me! Do you know? That kind of gentle, sincere, and flirtatious praise—it was like being wall-pinned, the kind that makes your mind go blank, your heart race, and your soul leave your body! He complimented me until I couldn't take it anymore!"

What does it mean to be "complimented until you can't take it anymore"?! Jingo Rin couldn't understand it at all!

"Young Miss, you must stay away from him! He's just like the dark-type male lead in a shoujo manga, clearly burdened by a dark and tragic past. But he's also incredibly sensitive, striking a girl's heart at the most critical moments."

"Once you're tricked by him, you won't be able to escape; you'll be doomed forever!"

Why?! Is he some kind of demon?!

Jingo Rin's situation was unique; she didn't even know what "Love" felt like at all.

As for Ayame, although she hadn't dated either… it was clear she read too many shoujo manga in her spare time.

Of these two sisters, one liked reading romance manga, and the other liked shonen manga. Recently, every time a new JUMP was bought, after Jingo Rin read "Kaiju No. 8," "Sakamoto Days," and "RuriDragon," Ayame would take it to read "Tis Time for 'Torture,' Princess."

Jingo Rin was puzzled for a while, but finally couldn't hold back: "So what exactly did he say to make you end up like this?"

"I… I, I don't want to say…"

Ayame crouched in the entryway with her knees hugged, whimpering softly, "It's too embarrassing to say… Young Miss, you'll laugh at me for the rest of your life…"

"Then how exactly do you want me to be careful of him?"

It was a pity Elaine wasn't here; otherwise, if she had heard this conversation, she would surely sigh deeply that Qi Xing was indeed such a sinful man!

Needless to say, this misunderstanding would be cleared up sooner or later. But what would happen to a certain devil's backside by then was hard to say.

In any case, the day of March 9th ended just like that.

A few more days passed quickly.

The Official Exorcists were busy continuing to suppress the remaining local sorcerer families that were resisting. Like the Jūyaku Clan, they all possessed super-regenerative immortality for some reason, clearly granted by [True Buddhism], and their combat power was shockingly strong.

Ordinary Exorcists could hardly match these immortal freaks. For the past few days, Qi Xing and Jingo Rin had been flying around, taking down these stubborn evildoers based on the reports. They either killed them outright on the spot or had the Exorcists on-site take them back for sealing.

Meanwhile, the experts led by Elaine, of course, had not forgotten to work overtime, pondering and researching, trying to figure out what the hell [True Buddhism] was up to, and what exactly was going on with this strange immortality.

Four days later, after taking out five of the local families that insisted on resisting, their research finally yielded results.

093: What have you been doing up until now?

March 14th.

One of the Three Noble Children of [True Buddhism], [Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto], Kisaragi Mayu, had been working overtime day and night for the past few days.

Calling it overtime didn't seem quite right, as she didn't get overtime pay for it.

In fact, ever since she was taken away by [Amaterasu], Kisaragi Mayu had never been short of money. [Amaterasu]'s attitude toward her was basically, "Here's the card, swipe it as you please." If she could complete her tasks excellently, [Amaterasu] could give her limited but absolutely sufficient wealth.

But when she took the money, when she joined [True Buddhism], she had never imagined that things would turn out like this today.

Now, the Official Exorcists from the central government were hunting them down all over the Northeast; what use was money alone?

Although [Amaterasu] claimed there was no problem and everything was still under her control, in reality, ever since she had been killed once by [Master Leipu]… Kisaragi Mayu suspected that the situation was already a bit out of control.

Even if [Amaterasu] still claimed she had a plan.

Anyway, for now, [Amaterasu] continued to let Kisaragi Mayu stay in this base, rushing to help her build things.

The arts of the moon and the underworld had a natural affinity; this was common to both Eastern and Western occult cultures, which was very interesting. There were some dark spells that the [Sun Goddess] herself couldn't handle, and she could only have the descendant of the Kisaragi family, a family gifted in sorcery, operate them.

Similarly, [Susanoo]—the samurai girl of the thunder blade—could only continue to hang around in this secret base, bored to death.

[Amaterasu] required her to prepare by accumulating strength, resting her body and mind, and preparing for the final battle, while also serving as a guard for the base, forbidding her from running out to cause trouble prematurely.

So the thunder blade girl could only keep swinging her sword in the secret base by herself.

This behavior was usually akin to meditation, but no matter how she swung her sword, she couldn't calm down now.

Because restlessness was continuing in the [True Buddhism] base.

Why the restlessness? Why the anxiety?

Of course, it was all because of that [Master Leipu] who suddenly jumped out to stir up trouble!!

If it weren't for him suddenly running to the Northeast of Japan and suddenly pulling the central Official Exorcists into the chess game—originally, if it had only been the mere [Guardian of the North] Jingo Rin, they, the [Three Noble Children], would be confident of taking her down by now!

Now that things had blown up so much, [Amaterasu] was still persisting, but [Tsukuyomi] and [Susanoo] were actually both having second thoughts… Not to mention what [Susanoo] was thinking, at least Kisaragi Mayu definitely didn't like seeing even the remaining distant relatives being wiped out by the Onmyoryo.

But they were already on the pirate ship; naturally, there was no chance to escape now. They could only go all the way to the dark end and see what the outcome would be.

"By the way, Mayu."

After finishing a thousand practice swings and temporarily stopping her training, the thunder blade girl suddenly asked,

"What were you brought in by [Amaterasu] for?"

Kisaragi Mayu froze, her hand, which had been lowered to grind talisman ink, hesitating slightly.

She actually didn't want to talk about this.

But in this oppressive and restless secret base, perhaps she also needed a listener. Or perhaps she was just too tired, too tired to bother hiding anything anymore.

So she put down her brush and explained in a low, slightly reluctant mutter: "Didn't my family all get arrested by Jingo Rin because they switched to being curse masters?"

"Our assets were confiscated, family heritage destroyed. Although I have decent talent for sorcery… with a record like that, I'll never be able to become a licensed sorcerer in this lifetime."

"Then, are you going to give up sorcery and go work at a regular company?"

"But I don't even have the money to go to college. The foster institution only takes care of me until I finish high school. It's still too hard to find a good job after graduating from high school now."

"Unless I resort to 'papa katsu'—which I obviously don't want to do—there's no way I could save up for tuition. [Amaterasu] said that after this is done, she'll give me five billion yen, which would mean I'd never have to struggle again, and she's never left me short of money right now anyway."

"A very vulgar reason, right?"

After speaking, Kisaragi Mayu felt deeply ashamed herself. She barely managed to curl her lips into a smile, but couldn't laugh at all.

However, the thunder blade girl opposite her did not voice any mockery, nor did she show any disdain.

"What's wrong with being vulgar?"

She just gently twirled the sword in her hand and said calmly,

"Although it's not for money, I'm also working for [Amaterasu] for vulgar reasons."

"There is no one in this world who doesn't live for self-interest."

Kisaragi Mayu was stunned and couldn't help but look up at her.

The thunder blade girl stood between the shadows and the light, her eyes calm, not as if she were reprimanding, but merely stating a fact, as if she were saying that the wind was blowing west today.

"Since you've chosen this path, then regardless of whether it's for five billion or a meal, since you've already raised your sword, don't look back."

"Even if you're here to risk your life, you must act like a samurai and fight for some value."

Even if you say that, I'm not a samurai, and you're not a real samurai either, right?

Although she really wanted to retort, very much wanted to retort, Mayu finally held it back!

In the long silence, the base only echoed with the faint sound of grinding talisman ink and the soft wind of the thunder blade swinging down.

About two hours later, [Amaterasu] finally returned to the base.

"I have some good news for you two."

As always, she was wearing a luxurious kimono with gold patterns on a white background, her steps composed, her voice crisp and pleasant,

"Of the six resisting families, five have now been suppressed; only the Arawashi family is still making a desperate struggle."

The local families were basically all relatives. Hearing this, Kisaragi Mayu felt a bit uncomfortable.

The thunder blade girl stopped her practice swings and snorted, "Are they fighting a guerrilla war?"

[Amaterasu] nodded: "Yes. They already know that fighting a positional war will only result in them being beaten into minced meat by a single punch from [Master Leipu]. So they've all learned their lesson; now they only dare to run around to stall for time."

She said this with a slight smile, her expression even carrying a trace of admiration—like a teacher pleased that a student has finally learned to avoid a dead end.

"A small portion of them were killed by [Master Leipu] and Jingo Rin, but most were taken back by the Onmyoryo to be sealed… In other words—"

Her smile grew wider, as if she were admiring a chessboard gradually taking shape.

"Everything is just as I expected."

"The pieces on the board are all in place; it's time to implement the final plan. Soon, they will follow the clues and find this base. I am going to hold the final ceremony, so please prepare for battle."

Although this was something that had been planned long ago, looking at the expressions of the thunder blade girl and Mayu, it was clear that neither of them was very enthusiastic about it. Kisaragi Mayu didn't speak, lowering her head to tie the amulets on her hands tighter. The thunder blade girl also just silently wiped her sword, not immediately voicing her opinion as she usually would.

Jingo Rin was one thing; they had some motivation to fight her. But having the two of us fight [Master Leipu]? Seriously?

[Amaterasu] naturally noticed their hesitation. But she just smiled gently, her voice like a light rain on a spring night: "Don't make such faces. You only need to deal with Jingo Rin properly; as for [Master Leipu]—"

She raised her hand slightly, her fingertips brushing through the air, as if plucking an invisible string,

"Leave him to me to solve."

"I have given you the best conditions and the power of gods. I have also led them into our home turf step by step. Surely you can't lose, right?"

Her tone rose slightly, as if she were encouraging students, or like an instructor urging soldiers to go into battle.

The two [Noble Children] then silently began to act, preparing for battle.

After all, at this point, they really had no choice.

From this, it can be seen that these [Three Noble Children] really didn't have a very solid sisterly bond… but [Amaterasu] remained very optimistic.

As the other two left, a more sinister smile appeared on her face.

"Looking at the history of human warfare and the various games in the world, all new weapons and technologies that debut for the first time often have a great advantage at the beginning."

"But when its flaws are gradually discovered and researched, it will quickly lose its effectiveness, or simply be imitated and countered by others."

"So,"

She whispered to herself, as if murmuring to someone, or as if just talking to herself,

"No matter how strong or outrageous a person is, even if he is a god… as long as he is seen through, he can be cracked and killed."

She slowly raised her eyes, her gaze like frost under the moon, her expression calm to the extreme.

[Amaterasu], as someone who had lived for long years and died countless times, someone who could be called knowledgeable and experienced, understood this principle very well.

Therefore, her trump cards must be kept strictly confidential. She had to use the advantage of information asymmetry to defeat her opponents. This was more useful than any brilliant strategy.

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