It was as if those things could truly understand his words.
Very... inconceivable.
In this world, are there still yokai like this, who do not crave killing or blood, and who cherish all things?
It is also true; he is more human than most people in this world.
"Sister, what are you looking at?"
Kaede's voice came from behind her.
Kikyo withdrew her gaze and did not answer.
But Kaede had already followed her line of sight and looked over.
"Ah, it's the handsome big brother!"
The little girl's eyes lit up: "What is he doing? Is he talking to a hoe?"
"..."
Kikyo still did not speak.
"So strange."
Kaede tilted her head: "Is the big brother silly?"
"No."
Kikyo finally spoke.
"He is just..."
She paused, seemingly searching for a suitable word.
In the end, as if giving up, she said: "He is just a bit strange."
"Strange?"
"Mm."
Kikyo looked at the figure in the distance nodding at a hoe, and the corners of her mouth moved slightly.
"A strange yokai."
But... she didn't dislike him.
She added in her heart.
Perhaps it was because of this that he could gain the goodwill of the shikon no tama: naohi, right?
The young shrine maiden in white clothes and red hakama immediately withdrew her gaze and silently gripped the shikon jewel she carried with her.
naohi, Magatsuhi.
Three more days.
That is, the night of the full moon, when the Yin energy overflows.
...
Evening.
Kobe Hikaru returned to the guest room.
He glanced at the system panel; today's gains were not bad.
[old locust tree: Favorability 4]
[Large stone: Favorability 2]
[Well: Favorability 3]
[Abandoned hut: Favorability 1]
[Hoe: Favorability 1]
[shikon no tama: naohi: Current Favorability 6 (Sprouting)]
Not bad.
Just as Kobe Hikaru was about to lie down and rest, the system panel suddenly popped up a new notification.
[shikon no tama: naohi has conveyed a message to you.]
["Three days later, when the moon is full in the sky, Magatsuhi will reach its peak."]
["At that time, the evil power and Demonic Qi will erupt, attracting all yokai within a radius of hundreds of miles."]
["The god-chosen shrine maiden will perform the sealing alone."]
["She has no intention of telling anyone."]
Kobe Hikaru looked at this notification, and his brows furrowed.
Perform the sealing alone?
Yokai within a hundred miles will all be attracted over?
By herself?
He stood up and walked to the window.
Through the cracks in the wooden window, he could see the direction of the shrine.
The vermilion torii gate cast a long shadow in the setting sun.
That figure in white clothes and red hakama stood in front of the Shrine Hall, with her back to him.
Very straight, very resilient.
Cold as the moon, straight and resilient, yet like a winter plum.
Yet also seeming very lonely, blooming all by herself.
Kobe Hikaru watched for a while and did not speak.
He did not go to ask Kikyo what the message conveyed by naohi meant, because it was unexplainable, and also because—
Since she did not want to say, then he would not ask.
Anyway, in three days—
He would still be here.
Volume 1: Chapter 20 The Night of the Full Moon, Extreme Yin and Prosperity
Time passed, and three days flew by in an instant.
The night sky was vast and high, with the full moon hanging overhead, as big as a white plate.
The moonlight was deathly pale, shining on the shadows on the ground like ink that had just been splashed, thick and black.
Kobe Hikaru sat on the wooden couch in the guest room, without lighting a lamp.
No need to light one.
The light outside the window was somewhat blinding, yet it exuded a chill.
But that was not moonlight at all; it was the 'Qi' overflowing from the direction of the shrine, almost substantial.
Purple to the point of black, black to the point of shining.
That was the light of the shikon jewel.
It was the evil energy of 'Magatsuhi', turbid and cold—the Demonic Qi emitted by hundreds of high-level yokai hiding within.
According to what naohi revealed subsequently.
From the moment the shikon jewel was formed, inside it, the soul of the strongest shrine maiden, Midoriko, had been resisting hundreds to thousands of high-level yokai, and even resentful spirits at the level of Great Demon.
Usually, Midoriko's soul had the upper hand.
So most of the time, it was 'naohi' that was active, and most of the time, the shikon jewel appeared as a clear and bright 'white jade'.
Only when the shikon jewel fell into the hands of demons with turbid thoughts, or during the night of the full moon, when the Yin energy was scorching,
would Magatsuhi take the upper hand.
The evil energy inside it would also be released unscrupulously.
And that is this moment.
Yes, this night.
Kobe Hikaru reached out and pressed on the muramasa at his waist.
The blade was humming in its scabbard; it was like a starving wild dog smelling the scent of blood.
"Don't be impatient."
Kobe Hikaru patted the hilt.
"You'll be fed enough tonight."
He pushed the door open and went out.
The village in sight was terrifyingly quiet.
No insect chirping, no dog barking, not even the rustling sound of wind blowing through leaves.
The air was like solidified glue.
Kobe Hikaru looked up.
Three feet above his head, there was a thin, transparent film of light, like a large inverted bowl, isolating the entire village—or to be precise, the hill where the shrine was located—from the outside world.
Another Barrier.
Kobe Hikaru was naturally not unfamiliar with it.
But he could also see the difference between this Barrier and the one Kikyo had used before.
It did not cover the entire village; it only covered the villagers' residences, but it specifically 'leaked' the shrine located at the core.
Compared to defense, it was more about soundproofing.
She made the village, the surroundings of the villagers' houses, become extremely quiet.
She let the people inside be unable to hear the movement outside, and unable to feel the aura outside.
That young girl wanted the villagers to have a peaceful sleep.
Then, she stood alone inside the shrine that was not protected by the Barrier.
To face all the crises alone.
"What a stubborn person."
Kobe Hikaru muttered a complaint.
He also, in the meantime, released his Demonic Qi, which transformed into dense 'Ghost Qi'.
Then, using the 'Ghost Qi', he forged armor.
Putting on the Ghost Mask!
...
Shrine platform.
The wind was strong.
The wind here was different from the one at the foot of the mountain; it carried a fishy smell, which was the scent of highly concentrated Demonic Qi.
Kikyo stood in front of the Shrine Hall.
She did not take the Kagura bell, nor did she perform any prayers.
She held that long bow in her hand, with the quiver hanging behind her waist; her white clothes and red hakama were blown by the strong wind, snapping loudly, like a paper kite that could break at any moment.
In the mid-air in front of her, that bead was floating.
Pitch black.
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