si-mexico Chapter 358 Reunion of Old and New Friends
Chapter 358 Reunion of Old and New Friends
These whispers were naturally made by the raccoons hiding in the caves by the sea.
But I clearly summoned these raccoons during the last exorcism ritual.
Why does it feel like we've gone back to the way things were?
Xu Ning stood there in a daze for a while, somewhat unsure whether this was another dream where he had never been before, or whether the timeline here was not the timeline he had experienced.
Xu Ning turned to look at the top of Yingxiang Mountain. He couldn't see if the Divine Cherry Tree was there. If he wanted to verify the time, the fastest way would be to go to Narukami Shrine.
However, before Xu Ning could even set off, he suddenly heard a rustling sound of footsteps approaching the forest where he was.
It's still early spring; the grass has just sprouted, and the rustling sound underfoot is not yet like that of late autumn.
Moreover, this rustling sound was quite peculiar, like the sound of a weary traveler dragging his feet on the ground after a long trek through the desert.
Xu Ning only glanced at it from afar before summoning all his Wind and Thunder clones.
“The Narukami Shrine is brightly lit, and smoke is rising from the distant Konta Village. All of this indicates that the Dark Calamity has been over for a long time. So why are demons appearing here at Kageshiro Mountain?”
The monsters that came were both human and beast, making them extremely difficult to distinguish.
However, judging from the broken half of the blade in its hand and the tattered armor on its body, it can be seen that the original owner of this body should have been a member of the shogunate's army. Even from the patterns on the tsuba and armor, it can be seen that he was not an unknown soldier in Inazuma.
"You just happened to show up when I arrived; you're just unlucky."
Xu Ning shook his head slightly, preparing to command his lightning elemental body to deliver a fatal blow to the monster and end its tragic life.
But then they heard the monster suddenly roar out a hoarse syllable, "Sound..."
Despite the extremely hoarse sound, Xu Ning could still hear the boundless hope in it.
Looking at the hunched figure, Xu Ning had already guessed the former identity of the demon in front of him.
Reaching out, Xu Ning summoned his two clones, Wind and Thunder, back to the Dust Concealment Gourd. With a flash, he hid under a huge willow cedar tree, reached the branches of the trunk, and climbed up to the middle of the cedar.
"whee……"
Xu Ning had just settled down on the branch when he heard a playful laugh above him, and then a fluffy pink ball of fur fell into his arms. It was none other than the little fox Yae who had secretly run down the mountain to have some fun.
"I was just about to call out to you. If you had killed him with one blow, things wouldn't have been so fun afterward."
Xu Ning sighed and rubbed Yae's head. "How can something so sad be fun? How long has he been loitering here?"
Yae chuckled and said, "He only just found his way here. But the one he's looking for has been waiting around here for a very, very long time. I've been waiting with him for a long time, just waiting for this moment. Don't make a sound, I reckon Hibiki will be here soon."
"ring……"
The monster let out another hoarse cry.
Xu Ning took a sip of wine and slowly sat down against the tree branch.
Everyone has their own destiny, and every step they have taken to get here has been extremely difficult. As for whether he can get what he wants, Xu Ning will not say, but he will not try to stop him either.
From the direction of the shadows towards the mountain, the figure of a priestess dressed in white had already appeared at the edge of the forest.
"Pity."
Xu Ning looked at the figure that had become hunched over like a beast, "To be tainted by the power of darkness into this state, yet still retain a shred of intelligence and managed to find its way back here. If only it had been sooner..."
"There's nothing to regret."
The little fox nestled on Xu Ning's stomach, hugging its tail, and said calmly, "They will all disappear eventually; it's just a matter of entering another cycle."
“However,” the little fox added, “Lord Zhaigong once told me that when you can no longer possess something, the only thing you can do is to not forget it. Aren’t we doing that now?”
Xu Ning glanced down at the little fox. Encounter, witnessing, memory, reincarnation—it seems that Bai Chen's lineage also knows a great deal about this world.
Moreover, the Tianchen White Fox lineage has a long lifespan, and there may be more secrets hidden in their inherited bloodline memories.
The man and the fox were chatting idly up there, while the two people in the distance were quickly approaching.
The demon, emanating a dark power, was quickly detected by the white-clad priestess.
The magical bow, belonging to a demon, was drawn in the priestess's hand and aimed at the eye socket of her former lover.
"Isn't it a really melodramatic plot?"
The little fox Yae flicked its tail and yawned, "When I have time, I'll definitely find some novelists to write some new things. I won't approve any plots like this..."
Xu Ning wholeheartedly agreed.
The monster was none other than Kirigiri Takane, a married but unruly male god who stirred the heart of the shrine maiden Asase Hibiki. She left behind her treasured bow and went out to fight the monster, braving mountains and rivers, even if it meant being destroyed in body and soul, to fulfill the bet she made.
The content includes infidelity, teacher-student romance, passion, tragedy, patriotism, and ultimately, a melodramatic death at the hands of the lover. It has all these elements and could easily be expanded into a novel.
When Xu Ning was a world observer in his previous life, he asked a girl a question.
"If one day your lover were to transform into a demon, like a mountain peak pierced by mist, and crawl back from that hellish place to find you, what would you do? Would you help him escape his suffering?"
The girl answered decisively, "Absolutely not! He only came to me because he loves me, not to hurt me. I will take care of him, even if I lock him up and hide him somewhere no one knows. As long as we can be together every day, we won't feel pain."
Xu Ning still doesn't know what the right thing to do is.
However, he knew what consequences Asase Hibiki's arrow would bring in the future.
One day in the future, when the Hyakume-ki, who looked and acted almost exactly like Kirigiri Takane, appeared, Asase Hibiki devoted almost everything to following and protecting him.
He even went so far as to incite a thunderstorm to fight against the shogunate that represented Inazuma. All of this may well be a continuation and compensation for the guilt and grief he felt for killing Kirigiri Takane with this arrow today.
Xu Ning suddenly stood up from the tree trunk.
"Kirigiri Takane cannot die, at least not at the hands of Asase Hibiki."