It was over. Xuan Ye stopped moving, covering his mouth and nose as he coughed quietly. The crescent-shaped blade at his side glowed brighter and brighter, its light casting his pale and battered face in stark relief.
The girl lifted her head, her voice faint but still soft and childlike. “After I’m taken in, where will I go? Will I ever see my mother and father again?”
Xuan Ye, still panting, replied, “Evil spirits captured by the Moonlight Blade are sealed for eternity. You will not be reborn.”
Both Ban Xia and the girl froze at his words.
The girl hesitated, then sighed, seeming to accept her fate. Her voice softened further as she said, “Alright, I’ll go. But… my godfather… poor godfather. Without me, Ling’er, he’ll be so lonely. Alone for hundreds of years, and after that… alone again…”
Before she could finish, Xuan Ye turned sharply. His pale fingers gripped the hilt of the crescent blade, its tip glowing faintly. In one smooth, deliberate motion, he drove the blade gently yet firmly into the girl’s forehead.
The girl’s resentment dissipated. Her spiritual energy faded, and she could no longer resist. In an instant, her soul was drawn into the blade, her form vanishing as a faint streak of light along its edge.
Xuan Ye sheathed the blade, its light dimming as the cave plunged back into darkness.
At that moment, Ban Xia felt a shift in Xuan Ye’s demeanor. For the first time, she sensed his commanding presence—a latent, kingly aura hidden beneath his gentle exterior, like the faint glow of a distant star in the night.
Descending the mountain, Xuan Ye moved slowly. Ban Xia walked ahead of him, shivering in the chilly night breeze.
Xuan Ye quickened his pace, removed his outer robe, and draped it over her shoulders. “What are your plans now, young lady?” he asked.
Ban Xia stopped, intending to respond, but her throat burned painfully, making speech difficult.
Not only that—her wounds, from her chest to her neck, remained unhealed. Though the pain had lessened, the injuries were still ghastly.
The girl had healed Xuan Ye’s ghost-fire burns, but Ban Xia’s own wounds were untouched.
“I can heal your injuries,” Xuan Ye said softly, “but they will take time to fully recover—at least forty-nine days.”
Forty-nine days.
In other words, for the next forty-nine days, Ban Xia would have to stay with him, unable to pursue her own plans.
Ban Xia covered her face with her hands, taking a long moment to accept this reality.
She would have to follow this onmyōji. Following him meant inevitably encountering more ghosts.
It seemed that time travel hadn’t changed her fate. She was destined to be entangled with spirits for the rest of her life.
“Fine, let’s go,” she said finally, taking a deep breath, as resolute as ever.
“We can’t leave yet.”
Xuan Ye spoke after a long pause, leaning against a nearby birch tree before slowly lowering himself to the ground.
“Why not?”
“My power hasn’t fully recovered. I can’t break the barrier.”
Ban Xia froze, realization dawning slowly. “You pretended earlier? Made the girl think your power had returned so she’d let go of her resentment and lose her spiritual strength?”
Xuan Ye nodded, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. “You have natural spiritual energy and keen insight. You’re very clever.”
So, there were no saints in this world after all. And this “most handsome onmyōji in history” was far from harmless.
Ban Xia smirked coldly, quickly changing the subject. “How long will it take? And… are you alright after that?”
“I’ll be fine,” Xuan Ye replied, coughing softly. “Not long now. Don’t wander too far. The barrier is ten steps ahead—be careful.”
Ban Xia nodded, watching him for a moment before suddenly running off.
“I’m going to find my sanitary pads! That ghost brother is probably long gone, but I need my 33 centimeters back!”
Her voice drifted into the wind and disappeared into the night sky.
True to her atypical nature, Ban Xia didn’t get lost. She quickly located her box of 33-centimeter pads and returned to find Xuan Ye already on his feet.
He seemed to have been waiting for her. Seeing her return, he smiled faintly and raised his right index finger.
Ten steps ahead, the air shimmered visibly, signaling a shift in the energy field.
It seemed Xuan Ye had finally recovered. They could leave the mountain at last.
But just then, a shadow flickered outside the barrier. A pure black figure slipped through with a whoosh, as easily as a leaf blown by the wind, landing atop a pine tree.
Ban Xia looked up to see a man dressed in tight-fitting clothes with a flowing cape. His figure was strikingly handsome.
He lingered on the treetop for a long moment, striking dramatic poses like a professional model.
Xuan Ye couldn’t help but laugh. “The wind is cold, and the dew is heavy. We all know how stunningly handsome you are. You can come down now.”
The man chuckled softly and leapt down with elegant precision, landing directly in front of Ban Xia. His star-like eyes locked onto hers.
“Greetings, my lady. I am You Huang.”
After holding her gaze for a moment, he bowed slightly and, to Ban Xia’s astonishment, lifted her hand to plant a gentlemanly kiss on its back.
Ban Xia, still unable to speak, suspected this man might also be from another world. Judging by his demeanor, he seemed like a modern vampire.
“You Huang? Which ‘You’? Which ‘Huang’?” she stammered after a long pause.
With an exasperated sigh, You Huang touched his forehead. “Every beautiful lady asks me this. Such is my fate. ‘You Huang’ means ‘bamboo forest.’ Call me Bamboo, if you like.”
“A tall, elegant bamboo,” Xuan Ye added dryly, unsheathing his crescent blade.
“Exquisite Bamboo, the Moonlight Blade is fully restored. Would you like to test if it can take down an immortal asura like yourself?”
With that, he pointed the glowing blade directly at You Huang’s chest.
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