Chapter 131

Yuki-onna remembered it very clearly.

This four-tailed fox... this four-tailed fox called "Uesugi Toru" had truly and undeniably been killed by her.

She had felt a bit of pity at the time, so she deliberately left behind a small piece of ice.

Yuki-onna silently pinched out a transparent ice crystal from her kimono with her fingers, on which remained an extremely faint trace of Uesugi Toru's aura that she had gone to great lengths to preserve.

——It was exactly the same as the aura of that guy standing in front of the inn not far away.

Intuition told Yuki-onna that this four-tailed fox named Uesugi Toru had a fundamental difference from the yokai within Kisaragi Station, or the ordinary yokai who had wandered in here by mistake.

She stroked the ice crystal with her nearly pure-white fingers, her cold eyes half-lowered, and for the time being did not act rashly, choosing neither to speak out nor to ambush and kill that four-tailed fox again.

Instead, she converged the chill and aura surging from her body toward the outside world, standing like an ice statue behind a sturdy tree, silently observing Uesugi Toru.

Ever since she had come to this territory, this mountain forest, it had already been a full three to four hundred years.

Even for Yuki-onna, whose nature was indifferent and who liked quiet, she could not help but occasionally give rise to a tiny thought of "going outside to take a look."

However, Yuki-onna herself still did not know exactly how to escape this special territory.

Since that was the case, she was also happy to see what surprises this Uesugi Toru could bring her.

——If what he did was all nonsense, then making a move at that time would not be too late either.

……

Inside the mountain inn, Ye Chun, her eyes vacant, was hugging her head and shrinking on the bed.

It had already been a full month and more since that four-tailed fox had promised to take her away.

Before that, every day she did not know how many times she would poke her head out the window, hoping that one of those times when she opened the window and looked outside, she would see that composed and unhurried figure.

But there was none.

Let alone the four-tailed fox, Ye Chun had not heard even a shred of news related to the four-tailed fox.

It was as if he had already been killed by the owner of this inn, that Yuki-onna of unfathomable temperament, on that night.

"I want to go home..."

Ye Chun murmured softly, and for the who-knows-how-many-th time the thought of escaping the inn rose from her mind.

——But over these days, she had already witnessed too many people who held the same idea as her escape the inn, only to appear again in the inn before long, knowing nothing.

Encountering an angry Yuki-onna halfway and being frozen to death, being killed by the translucent souls wandering everywhere, or even starving to death alive...

As long as they left this inn, the ways to die waiting for them, these unarmed ordinary people, were simply too many to count.

Ye Chun did not want to die.

Because she did not want to forget those memories that were very important to her, did not want to forget those memories that must not be forgotten.

"Perhaps, I shouldn't have believed him that day."

Ye Chun got off the bed somewhat numbly, preparing to mechanically open the window and cast a glance outside as per usual.

She no longer held any hope for that four-tailed fox's appearance.

Creak~

The faint twisting sound of the wooden window rang out in Ye Chun's room.

The girl lay prone on the windowsill, silently raising her gaze from the wooden floor of the room.

Then, she saw it.

——In the dark mountain forest covered in light frost, that four-tailed fox wearing a red-and-white Chief Priest Robe, with four fluffy long tails swaying behind him, was waving a folding fan, staring at her with a smile.

"Eh?"

Ye Chun froze in place, astonished.

Her first reaction was that she had hallucinated due to excessive anticipation.

This kind of situation had happened before, so as long as she rubbed her eyes it would disappear.

Ye Chun tightly closed her eyes like before, raised her hand and vigorously rubbed her eyes for a while, then looked toward the outside of the inn again.

That four-tailed fox with a unique appearance and temperament that no one else could possibly disguise was staring tightly at her, and even waved at her.

Real.

It was real.

The long-accumulated numbness, suffering, and anxiety on Ye Chun's face all transformed into immense joy in an instant, like a tide overwhelming her original expression.

She immediately raised her hand, wanting to loudly call out a greeting to Uesugi Toru down below,

"Fin——"

But the moment the first syllable left her mouth, Ye Chun immediately covered her mouth, realizing she could not speak loudly in the silent mountain forest.

Although Yuki-onna had left the inn, heaven knew if her screaming out would attract some unforeseen accident.

——Seeing Ye Chun only let out one syllable before hurriedly covering her mouth, Uesugi Toru lightly exhaled a breath.

Good thing Ye Chun controlled her emotions.

But it was also his fault.

If he had been able to silently run from outside into Ye Chun's room, this mouth could have been covered by him personally.

Then no accident would have occurred.

A flash of thought passed through, Uesugi Toru controlled his volume and voice direction, operating his Breathing Technique toward Ye Chun's room and said: "Time is tight, just jump down directly."

That gentle voice crossed a distance of twenty to thirty meters and reached right by Ye Chun's ear, as if that four-tailed fox was standing beside her whispering.

Ye Chun didn't think at all, and without hesitation raised her leg onto the windowsill, then jumped out from the window.

Whoosh!

The cold wind of the deep night whistled past her ears, and when an incomparably strong sense of weightlessness enveloped Ye Chun's whole body, she only then suddenly reacted to what stupid thing she had done.

She dazedly lowered her head, and at a glance saw clearly that she still had a full twenty-odd meters distance from the ground.

Ye Chun felt her heart was about to stop beating.

At this distance, even if the four-tailed fox could catch her, she feared she'd be snapped at the waist into several pieces.

After all, she wasn't one of those physically powerful yokai—just an ordinary person who gasped for breath after running a few hundred meters.

But the four-tailed fox couldn't have guessed any of this; he likely judged her by his own physical condition, which was why he told her to jump down.

In an instant, intense fear and regret surged from the bottom of the girl's heart.

It's over, I'm going to die.

Ye Chun clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut, only hoping that when the pain came, it would be lighter.

Since she had already decided to die, she might as well die quickly!

Slap.

But the expected pain did not come; instead, the warmth of another person's body from beneath her thighs and back made Ye Chun shiver.

I... am I not dead?

Ye Chun tremblingly opened her eyes, and then saw that face, calm yet seeming to hold a smile.

"Ye Chun, long time no see."

She heard the other person say,

"I've come to fulfill the promise."

Uesugi Toru gazed at the girl in his arms, frightened and shrinking like a helpless little rabbit: "I'll take you..."

But before he could finish, he felt Ye Chun hug him tightly, followed by extremely low sobbing and crying from inside his robe.

"Four-tailed fox, I'm so scared, I'm really so scared..."

"I waited for you for so long, so long, but never waited for you... I'm afraid you just forgot the words you said to me, I'm afraid I'd die here like this, and then like everyone else, bit by bit forget my entire past, making myself no longer like myself..."

Uesugi Toru listened quietly, while holding Ye Chun and quickly rushing toward the SUV at the foot of the mountain.

Simply holding one Ye Chun could not affect Uesugi Toru's traveling speed.

—If he didn't even have this much balance and load-bearing ability, then his Uesugi Toru's Breathing Technique and Tennen Rishin-ryu would have been practiced in vain.

By the time Uesugi Toru reached the foot of the mountain, the Ye Chun in his arms had finally vented all the emotions she had suppressed for a long time and accumulated until now.

However, even when emotionally broken, she could consciously keep her voice at the lowest.

Uesugi Toru lowered his head, looking at Ye Chun in his arms who had turned her head and stopped sobbing, her eye rims red, with a few tears remaining at the corners of her eyes, and raised two fingers toward her,

"First, my name is Uesugi Toru."

He gently wiped away the tears at the corner of Ye Chun's eyes with the back of his finger, speaking calmly but extremely seriously,

"Second, I will take you away from Kisaragi Station."

Uesugi Toru opened the SUV's passenger door, lightly placed Ye Chun onto the soft seat, stared into her eyes and said: "I guarantee it to you."

Ye Chun did not reply, seemingly not having recovered yet, just blankly letting her gaze keep following Uesugi Toru.

Uesugi Toru sat in the driver's seat, turned the key, and pressed the accelerator to the floor.

The SUV started like a beast out of a cage, racing toward the Isanuki Tunnel.

Ten seconds later.

In the mountain forest, a corner of a white kimono was revealed.

The Snow Woman silently watched the SUV leave: "As expected, he came for that girl..."

During the long time since becoming the inn's owner, the Snow Woman naturally knew of Ye Chun's special nature.

Likewise, she knew that after Ye Chun died, this entire "world" would undergo a strange restart, causing time to flow back to a certain point.

As a yokai who had strayed into Kisaragi Station, although she was also affected by the restart, conversely, her memories would not be affected in any way.

And she also discovered that other Stranger Souls would lose part of their soul after death, but Ye Chun would not.

No matter how many times Ye Chun died, no matter how many times this world restarted, when the Snow Woman saw her again after a long absence, this girl still possessed a complete soul.

The reason for this, the Snow Woman was unwilling to investigate.

She only wanted to manage her own and the inn's small plot of land well enough.

"But if his actions can end the endless Samsara brought about by this girl, I have no objection..."

The Snow Woman whispered to herself.

—As for the consequences of the guests in the inn realizing how much time had passed, and realizing this truth, she would bear them herself.

"This way, they can all be tranquil."

The Snow Woman gently closed her eyes, specks of frost and snow fell from the tips of her eyelashes, landing among the leaves and dirt beneath her feet.

Such an ending seemed not bad either.

On the way to the Isanuki Tunnel, the SUV was hardly affected much.

Because the Adult could poke his head out of the sunroof and strike the Life and Death Taiko, he could easily drive away the Chi Swarm blocking the road.

And in Kisaragi Station, where the other three Yokai Kaidan had been exorcised by Uesugi Toru, apart from the Chi Swarm there were truly no other threats.

So it didn't take much time before Uesugi Toru brought Ye Chun to not far from directly in front of the Isanuki Tunnel.

The SUV slowed down at the tunnel entrance.

Uesugi Toru turned his head, saying to Ye Chun, who had clenched her fists in fright at this speed but still stared straight ahead with wide eyes,

"The next stretch is an unknown road, anything could happen. So Ye Chun, remember, no matter what happens, do not open the car door..."

Uesugi Toru sat in the driver's seat and chattered on with some words.

A few minutes later, he also realized that much of what he said was unnecessary, so he sighed,

"Anyway, first prepare yourself mentally."

"Mm!"

Ye Chun nodded heavily and checked whether her seat belt was fastened.

Although I didn't know why we weren't waiting for the train at Kisaragi Station, but instead drove the car into this deep tunnel.

But Ye Chun would not question the man beside her who had saved her from the hotel... uh, male demon.

Uesugi Toru then took out many pieces of equipment from his Storage Space, hanging the Komainu Bell at his waist, wearing the Cold Steel Arm Guard on his arm, and hanging the Broken Hina Crown on his ears.

Of course, there was also the Hidden Trump Card—the Rikishi Talisman.

Uesugi Toru solemnly stuffed the Talisman Paper into the lining at his waist, confirming that he could use it at any time when an emergency occurred.

As for the rest, it was...

Uesugi Toru took out the Pure White Wedding Kimono and handed it to the Adult sitting on the seat, leaving the latter stunned, her small face instantly covered in a blush.

Needless to say, Uesugi Toru knew exactly what her little head was thinking.

"This is equipment." He emphasized the word "equipment," "Try it on to see how the Compatibility is."

"Po... okay!"

The Adult took the Pure White Wedding Kimono-style Pure White Wedding Kimono and put it on in a fluster.

Ye Chun sat in the Passenger Seat watching this scene, her gaze moving back and forth between the obviously adult Uesugi Toru and the petite Adult.

Does Uesugi-kun like this kind of super tiny one?

She hesitated for a moment and asked,

"Uesugi... kun, among you monsters, can you casually marry underage little monsters as wives?"

Uesugi Toru's face instantly darkened upon hearing this; he rubbed his Sun Temple and explained to Ye Chun: "This is the Adult, you can treat her as my Shikigami—that is, my Associate."

"Putting on this Pure White Wedding Kimono now is purely because this outfit was Consecrated by a master, so it possesses some miraculous effects, and has nothing to do with its own meaning."

"Oh..."

Ye Chun nodded half-understanding and understood a little.

—This porcelain doll-like little girl was not Uesugi Toru's wife.

That was enough.

Not long after, when the Adult put on the Pure White Wedding Kimono that automatically shrank in proportion, a Jump Out Prompt appeared before Uesugi Toru's eyes—

【Your Shikigami · Eight Shaku Figure has equipped the Pure White Wedding Kimono.】

【Current Compatibility: 30%】

【Current Compatibility has not reached 100%, Hidden Effect cannot be triggered.】

【Current Compatibility is too low, all effects of the Pure White Wedding Kimono are weakened by 30%.】

Uesugi Toru: "..."

As expected, the Adult's personality did not match this equipment well.

But it was fine, it was just that the effect had decreased a little.

Its two quite good effects could still be used normally, and the Pure White Wedding Kimono's own Defense was enough, better than having nothing to wear.

"Popo! Toru-sama, I suddenly feel full of strength all over!"

The Adult raised her small hand, clenched her fist, her Complexion showing Surprise.

"That's why I wanted you to wear it."

Uesugi Toru waved his hand: "Alright, prepare to beat the Taiko Drum in your hand later, don't think about anything else."

"Po!"

The Adult nodded seriously, poked her small head out of the SUV's sunroof again, and looked somewhat nervously into the pitch-black Isanuki Tunnel.

"I'm stepping on the Accelerator, you two get Prepared."

After informing them, Uesugi Toru slowly pressed the Accelerator, letting the SUV slowly drive into the tunnel.

Just as the SUV drove into the tunnel, a strange feeling vaguely rose in Uesugi Toru's heart.

The Heartstring twitched, indicating that the Adult also felt this feeling.

It seemed that the method of driving an SUV into the Isanuki Tunnel was correct.

After confirming, Uesugi Toru began to press the Accelerator hard.

Amidst the drumming of the Life and Death Taiko, the SUV plunged straight into the pitch-black Isanuki Tunnel, as if rushing fearlessly into the giant mouth of the Abyss.

Buzz buzz buzz.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh.

Since driving the car into the Isanuki Tunnel, Uesugi Toru's ears had been hearing wave after wave of strange and meaningless sounds.

He asked the Adult and Ye Chun, and found that the three of them actually heard different sounds.

The Adult tightly furrowed her brows and said that gunfire was constantly coming from outside, that was the commotion those Factory Masters would definitely make before establishing their factories.

Ye Chun said that outside were the Family Calls of parents and relatives, saying that as long as she got out of the car she could see her family.

"Don't believe it."

Uesugi Toru spoke, his vast Jing Shen accompanied by the Convergence of Unshinjutsu and the release of Internal Qi spread throughout the car in an instant, temporarily driving away the sounds beside the other two's ears.

"No matter what comes from outside—even if it's my voice, don't open the car door."

Uesugi Toru had not finished speaking when he saw extremely strange changes begin to occur on both sides of the tunnel, which was originally pitch black.

Starry Sky, Seawater, City, Continent, Crowd, Battlefield...

Those scenes originally unrelated to the tunnel kept appearing on both sides of the car like murals, rising clearly like ripples and then fading.

Immediately, countless distorted faces, countless sharp Wailings appeared above the car, even suppressing the sound of the Life and Death Taiko in the Adult's hand.

"It hurts so much!"

"So painful!"

"Come be with us!"

"Come on! Come on! Come on!"

The Two-Shaku Adult stared dazedly upward, feeling as if her very soul would be torn away and carried off by those wails and screams.

"Two-Shaku! Guard your heart and mind!"

Uesugi Toru's furious shout brought the Two-Shaku Adult back to her senses.

She shuddered violently, then began beating the small taiko drum in her hands with all her might: "Damn it! Who wants to keep you ugly things company! How dare you trick me! How dare you trick me!"

Even with Uesugi Toru pressing the accelerator to the floor, he still could not break free from the bizarre scenes surrounding them.

He turned his gaze, scanning the surroundings — these scenes, were they real or fake?

Intuition told Uesugi Toru it was the former.

Which made it all the more imperative that the car's direction not go wrong……

Uesugi Toru's thought had barely formed when an old train came roaring up from the rear, brushing past the SUV.

Clang-clang——

The sound of wheel hubs crossing rails grazed past his ears.

Uesugi Toru originally thought this was merely one of the countless scenes that would soon pass by.

But the next moment, three familiar figures actually slowly climbed out from that old train.

They were shockingly —

Baka-Bayashi, Taiko Bell, and the Limping High-Speed Grandpa!

What!?

Uesugi Toru's pupils contracted sharply; he watched those three all-too-familiar yokai standing atop the train carriages, then turning in unison to look at them.

In an instant, Uesugi Toru's mind churned, countless thoughts flashing through his mental sea.

A moment later, he narrowed his eyes and immediately said to Ye Chun beside him: "Ye Chun, you take the steering wheel, keep the accelerator floored."

The girl was stunned for a moment by this sudden command.

She hurriedly waved her hands, her voice sounding like she was about to cry: "Uesugi-kun, I'm just a high school student, I don't know how to drive……"

"Grip the steering wheel, floor the accelerator!" Uesugi Toru stared at the three yokai that had closed to within ten meters of the SUV, then said to the girl who had already unfastened her seat belt: "I believe in you!"

The instant Uesugi Toru's hands left the steering wheel, a pair of seemingly frail little hands replaced his, gripping the wheel tight.

The SUV's speed dropped in that instant, but even so the relative distance between those three yokai at the car's side and them did not change in the slightest.

It was as if someone was manipulating that train beside them.

Uesugi Toru leaped out through the sunroof, stepping onto the roof which offered ample footholds.

He drew Kaga Kiyomitsu, simultaneously flicking its blade: "Xiao Jia, don't affect what's underfoot."

Kaga Kiyomitsu trembled slightly, then the Separation Sorrow Domain contracted onto the blade, turning the originally pale-white-streaked edge pure white.

"Done." Uesugi Toru transformed into the White Hannya, the Evil Ghost baring a grim smile at the former subordinates he had once slain, "Who wants to come die?"

Thump.

Thump……

Before the Taiko Bell's jade mallets could strike the giant taiko twice, they turned into rustling fragments under a strand of pale blade light, instantly scattering on the wind.

The Baka-Bayashi and High-Speed Grandpa on either side chose to ignore this, shrieking as they charged at him.

——Cannot let these two yokai land on the car.

Uesugi Toru's mind turned.

Corona Breathing Method·Form Five!

He exhaled scorching breath, lightning surging across his body surface; in the blink of an eye he split off two bolts of lightning that struck the two yokai diving at the SUV from midair.

The lightning's damage was better than nothing, but the important thing was —

It forced the Baka-Bayashi and High-Speed Grandpa's movements to halt for a beat.

Next finger snap, pure white threads sliced through the bleak miasma, slaying both yokai that had once troubled him for so long.

Blood and severed limbs fell crackling, flung to the far end of sight by the SUV in a single turn.

"Hah……"

Uesugi Toru wiped fine sweat from his brow, about to return to the car, when the exact same sound of a train advancing came from behind again.

"No end to it!"

The White Hannya cursed angrily, swiveling her icy gaze toward the second train gradually catching up to the SUV.

Within those narrow carriages, countless translucent human silhouettes surged, even pressing against every carriage window until hairline cracks spiderwebbed out.

Among them, it was clearly packed with uncountable Chi.

Those Chi abandoned their usual behavior, stretching hands and heads toward their SUV, trying to surge out of the carriages and climb toward them.

"This quantity, might be a bit troublesome."

Uesugi Toru lowered his head, discovering the Two-Shaku Adult drenched in sweat, already beating the Life and Death Taiko with desperate force.

But the Life and Death Taiko seemed to have lost its original effect, having no impact whatsoever on those Chi gradually climbing to the carriages' outer areas and tops.

"Looks like someone is manipulating these two trains from behind the scenes, the three yokai that appeared strangely, and these Chi."

Uesugi Toru thought expressionlessly.

——But the more the Black Hand behind the scenes doesn't want them to do something, the more it proves they're doing it right!

"Don't think only you can call for backup."

Uesugi Toru switched back to the Four-Tailed Fox Incarnation, shaking the Shaking Bell while injecting Spirit Power into the Hina Crown atop his head.

Snap snap snap.

Three massive armored Komainu and five Humanoid Figures dressed as Ashigaru wielding Uchigatana and spears dropped onto the SUV's roof, even causing the car's speed to plummet a notch.

Uesugi Toru looked at the Komainu and Figures raining down like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

——【Komainu Group Leader (Two-Star)】.

——【Ashigaru Humanoid Figure (One-Star Half)】.

Two-Star and One-Star Half——not bad at all, already counts as a considerable Combat Power.

"Go occupy the top of the opponent's Carriage!"

Along with Uesugi Toru's Command being issued, the Komainu all let out ferocious roars, leaping high like armored giant beasts and Smashing Into the top of the Carriage.

The Ashigaru Humanoid Figures followed closely behind in silence, waving sharp blades and long spears, slaying one by one the Chizhou that intended to attack the Komainu.

Uesugi Toru still stood on the roof of the Train, slaying every last fish that slipped through the net.

For a moment, the eight Summons and Uesugi Toru actually Suppressed the thousands upon thousands of Chizhou sea dead within the Carriage; any Chizhou that showed its head would be miserably slain.

"But how much longer until we drive out of the Tunnel……"

Uesugi Toru cast a sidelong glance toward the still seemingly endless Tunnel ahead.

If this were the real Isanuki Tunnel, they should have reached the end five or six times already.

But now it cannot be judged by Common Sense.

"Awoo——"

Uesugi Toru looked back and saw a Komainu that had exhausted its Physical Strength being grabbed down from the train roof together by over a Hundred Translucent Hands, then Disappearing the moment it fell into the Train's Bottom.

Uesugi Toru looked back, and saw a Komainu exhausted of Physical Strength grabbed down from the roof of the Train by hundreds of Translucent hands, then the instant it fell into the bottom of the Train it Disappeared.

With one comes two; before long, an Ashigaru Humanoid Figure carelessly had its Footsteps dismantled, and plunged into the Railway turning into Fragments.

Even though the Summons' average quality and strength Far Exceed these Chizhou, most of which only have Zero-Star Half-Star, the Chizhou are Endless, and Fearless of death.

Going on like this, before long the Summons will face Annihilation.

Uesugi Toru suppressed the thought of leaving the top of the carriage, raised his hand, and an orange-red fireball lit up at his fingertip.

Uesugi Toru suppressed the thought of leaving the top of the Train, he raised his Hand, Fingertip Lighting Up an orange-red Fireball.

A great fireball fell into the Carriage, reducing more than half of the Carriage's interior, along with the chi inside and its furnishings, to ashes.

A large Fireball fell into the Carriage, turning the Chizhou inside most of the Carriage along with the interior furnishings into ashes.

After that, Uesugi Toru saw the Train speed up, bringing the next Carriage to a position level with the SUV.

He looked back again, and saw Carriages stretching endlessly out of sight.

"Want to use these Chizhou to Consume me."

Uesugi Toru's eyes revealed cold light; he had Sufficient reason to Suspect this was the Tunnel's other end's Black Hand's method to Weaken his Physical Strength and Spirit Power.

——The Appearance of these Chizhou or High-Speed Grandpa and such Yokai could still be explained as the Tunnel's Natural Phenomenon, but the Chizhou numbers inside the Carriage decrease and then another Carriage is swapped in, what is that?

No Doubt, at the other end of the Tunnel there is a guy staring tightly at their group, wanting to bury them here.

If after the Summons are consumed he then Personally Acts to slay these Endless Chizhou, he will absolutely fall into the other party's carefully designed Trap.

Since that is the case.

Then he, Uesugi Toru, will absolutely not continue following the other party's line of thinking!

A thought reaching here, Uesugi Toru took out from his Waist that Talisman Paper filled with Evil Qi, and Without Hesitation injected Spirit Power into it.

"Yellow Turban Power Warrior! Come out!"

Spirit Power lit up the winding, complex incantation, and the Talisman Paper slowly burned to ash in midair.

Spirit Power lit up the winding Complex incantation, the Talisman Paper slowly Burning into ash in midair.

The next Instant, incomparably Dazzling Golden Light Illuminated the Entire Tunnel.

【277】 (End of Chapter)