Chapter 208: Hakiwen

Damn it!

The girl cursed inwardly; the roaring wind surged at her ears, her jet-black, silk-like raven wings—her pride—vibrated furiously as she rode the wind, leaving even the sound far behind, the air twisting from the violent oscillation.

Damn it damn it damn it!

The girl repeated it inwardly again; her blistering speed nearly turned her into a black lightning bolt. She was a spirit of the wind, never once outpaced in pure velocity—but the monster behind her had robbed her of even the slightest grace.

Why can't I shake him off no matter how fast I go!!!

Whoosh!

The girl's afterimage swept across the surface of Xuanwu Marsh, creating a "divine wind."

Not a refreshing breeze, nor a storm capable of destroying mid- or small-sized towns, but a razor-thin, hyper-concentrated gale stretched into a straight line, its brutal cutting force raising two water walls dozens of zhang high, stretching hundreds of meters long.

Several small heads wrapped in lotus leaves cautiously emerged from the water, curious about what was happening above, secretly observing—when the surging wave swept over them, flinging them backward like cannonballs.

"So scary so scary so scary…"

The unlucky kappa and the panicked girl fleeing for her life screamed in unison.

The girl's sensitive skin sensed someone approaching from behind at an unimaginable speed and presence—so much so that he was even—

Faster.

In an instant, the girl, fully focused and pushing her speed to its limit, went pale as snow, for she heard a voice right beside her ear.

"Got you."

The very air trembled, as if a colossal white heron swooped down to snatch a small bird—five fingers like steel clamped onto the girl's slender, fair ankle.

"Bite down hard—! North Star Great Whirlwind!"

Boom!

Jia Ji suddenly lifted the still-unresponsive raven tengu, still holding her forward-flight posture, and swung her violently through the air!

A tremendous centrifugal force surged forth.

Whooosh whooosh whooosh whooosh whooosh… Violent air currents formed a colossal tornado column, with Jia Ji at its eye.

Silence.

The world spun wildly, everything before her blurred; the girl's consciousness slipped into unconsciousness from the violent rotation.

Several childlike creatures, previously flung to shore by the water surge, shook their heads violently; though water drenched the ground, they remained dazed, staring blankly at the man who was abusing the once-majestic tengu lord of the skies.

Then, their eyes slowly filled with utter horror.

What had they seen?

—"A gown."

In Jia Ji's rapid, violent spinning, space itself seemed to shatter in that instant!

The countless afterimages gradually stabilized, froze, then reshaped!

"It's like…" murmured the kappa girls.

"A piece of clothing!"

——————

"Ugh… I can't take it anymore, so nauseous! My head's splitting!"

When the girl regained consciousness, Jia Ji's utterly cruel smile was deeply etched into her mind like a silhouette.

Even though she still wanted to flee, the aftereffects had left her with a splitting headache, stars dancing before her eyes—she couldn't fly at all, her wings numb as if nonexistent, her entire body feeling as if crushed hundreds of times by Lunrudao.

"Hehehehehehehehe… Caught you, Miss Shamingyuan Wen?"

The clear sky was blocked by Jia Ji's body, casting half his face in deep shadow as he loomed over the little raven tengu; his eyelids slightly lowered, making his already fearsome face even more terrifying, radiating an eerie aura.

"W-what did you do?"

Though the newly awakened little raven tengu was disheveled, Jia Ji had held back—he hadn't broken her completely—but she wished she'd stayed unconscious rather than face this reality.

Throughout the Hachi no Oka, the future Youkai Mountain, only one raven tengu matched this description: adorable in appearance, radiating an eccentric, otherworldly charm from within and without, fond of spying and slippery as an eel—only the (questionably) upright journalist, Shamingyuan Wen!

Even from her appearance, it was clear.

She appeared young, about one meter fifty tall, with jet-black wings, short flowing hair, wearing a crimson six-pointed cap with three white fluff balls dangling from each side, dressed in a black robe adorned with leaf patterns, and stepping on the tengu's signature red-wood geta—could she be anyone other than Wenwen, before she became a journalist a thousand years ago?

What about Ji Haitang Yuli?

Who's that? A child I don't know.

Fun fact: this youthful, beautiful girl before you, Shamingyuan Wen, is actually a thousand-year-old youkai since the founding of Gensokyo—she's just exceptionally good at pretending to be young by constantly acting recklessly.

"Heh… heh…"

The girl chuckled nervously; if she'd known even going out to gather news would get her attacked by strangers…

Fukuokada—!

With a pained glance at the scattered feathers—feathers that would take years to regrow—the girl's mind raced, carefully crafting her words.

"Um…"

Shamingyuan Wen seemed ready to use her eloquence to beg this terrifying man to spare her… Though tengu were proud, the gap in power was obvious; the wise adapt to circumstances.

A raven tengu's life is still a life!

Shamingyuan Wen had no doubt: if they truly fought, even ten of her would be swept away in one hand by this man.

"I've heard there's a special dance passed down among the tengu—could you show it to us?"

Before the raven tengu could speak, the creature beside her—reeking of youkai mixed with human scent, and with a demon-like face—spoke, making a request that froze her mind.

"Hey!"

A beautiful but displeased female voice came from her side; Shamingyuan Wen turned to see a golden-haired beauty holding a folding fan between her teeth—yet the most striking thing was that she sat atop a rift in space, from which countless crimson eyes stared out.

The young, underage raven tengu shuddered—she remembered the warning from her elders about the dangerous youkai sage: 【Yakumo Shizu】.

"Aren't you here to subdue the tengu? Why are you playing with a child?"

"Shizu, you don't understand—better to catch them young; they'll be harder to catch later."

Upon hearing that name, Shamingyuan Wen's heart sank—this was truly the youkai sage; she was doomed!

(End of Chapter)