It's Auntie Benmaru!

#64

After returning from hell, Tianqing's body is not seriously injured.

The superficial wounds were almost healed, and after asking, she realized that her soul had been missing for more than a month, and it actually took a month for Onikiri to go to hell and come back.

"This... is probably due to the time difference after falling into the Santu River, and I also heard that the speed of time in hell is different from that in this world."

Although Tianqing was a little surprised when she knew the time of her disappearance, she quickly realized it.

Onikiri thought for a while, and nodded slightly: "I also feel that I have indeed stayed in the Santu River for a long time."

Mentioning that he was staying in Santuchuan, Tianqing naturally thought of the images and visions of him accompanying her——

Onikiri probably didn't know that part of the memory miraculously merged into her body together with the fragments, so Tianqing just blushed, nodded and faltered, and left the topic behind.

Onikiri:?

"Cough." Tianqing avoided Onikiri's probing eyes, and finally turned his gaze back to Natsume and Foxanosuke in front of him: "Let's get back to the topic."

"Well, Ms. Tianqing is planning to go back to the Edo period, right? Are you going to join Hui and Ms. Tomoyo directly?"

Natsume sat upright in front of Tianqing. They had explained what happened to Honmaru recently in the past few days, and finally had the opportunity to talk about the current world.

Speaking of this, Natsume's eyes showed undisguised worry: "However, your body still..."

"Yeah, so it's impossible for me to directly join Mr. Hui's queue and start dealing with the flood of mana."

Tianqing understood what Xia Mu meant, and nodded to continue to add.

"Although I maintain an adult state on the outside, in fact, my spiritual power has only recovered to less than half."

"After being knocked into the air, most of my soul fragments went to hell...but many of them scattered randomly. The whereabouts of those fragments...no matter how I do divination, I can't sense them. They are probably scattered far away. place."

"If you want to find it back, maybe it will have to be the same as before, and you need to find it a little bit during the journey... But it all depends on luck."

"We don't have time to take it easy."

Speaking of this, she put her hands gently on her knees, and the solemnity of a page was written in her downward looking eyes.

When Foxnosuke saw the god judge like this, he planned to sit obediently, but finally couldn't bear it and ran to Tianqing's side, raised his fox paw and pressed it on the back of Tianqing's hand: "God judge, so you It means that this time you travel, will it be more dangerous than the last time?"

"Last time you were ready to go again, but this time you only went with half your strength!"

Foxnosuke got anxious and spoke faster and faster: "No, I don't know if you are lying to me. You have only recovered a quarter of your strength, or a fifth..."

"You haven't summoned any shikigami recently, and you haven't regularly consolidated the enchantment of the mountain behind Honmaru as usual, and you haven't rearranged the peace spell that prays that the sword men sleep peacefully. In the past, you would let the shikigami help you, None now..."

"Not only that, but also the practice of refining spiritual power that you will do at night, and..."

Foxnosuke counted out all the things Tianqing would do secretly in the past. At first, she wanted to calm Foxnosuke, but she was still surprised by what it said——

After all, she didn't expect that Honosuke would remember all the things she usually did secretly by herself, and what she said, Honosuke would also remember in her heart...

It remembered everything, but it didn't say a word before.

"...Actually, you are still very weak, right? Then don't go!!"

Listing out all the evidence, Foxosuke finally couldn't help raising his voice. At the end, both front paws were on Tianqing's body, and anxiety was written all over his usually furry and cute face.

Seeing that Honosuke, who has always played the role of spectator and communication, suddenly spoke a lot excitedly. After the aftertaste of the last syllable disappeared in the air, the entire reception room fell into silence.

Both Onikiri and Natsume were a little surprised by Fox's performance.

But it's also obvious that this is a conversation between Foxnosuke and Tianqing, they can't intervene, they have to wait for Tianqing to respond.

……

"..."

The room was quiet, and the only tense atmosphere came from the directions of Tianqing and Foxanosuke.

"Foxosuke..." Tianqing didn't think of how to respond for a moment, and put both hands on Foxosuke's side, but didn't put it on it for a long time.

"I...I..." Foxnosuke wanted to say something, but his mind was in chaos.

After all, although Honosuke is now so angry that his hairs are standing on end, in fact, as the recorders of Honmaru, they have all been trained by the outdated government, and they have been warned not to interfere with the practice of the interrogator .

Only then did it realize how many unnecessary words it had just said in anger.

For a long time, Fox Nosuke remembered that he was just a recorder. As for how Honmaru would develop, at most it would provide channels and opinions for the god judges, and inform the god judges about the latest news about the government of time. Review the practices of the gods.

It knew that with its own identity and standpoint, it should not have said those words to Tianqing.

No... It's better to say those words, it has nothing to do with Honmaru.

It's just Fox's personal worry, his personal affair.

It actually said it, it actually said it all.

Thinking of this, Foxnosuke, who was aware of his out-of-control performance, suddenly felt quite aggrieved, and crystal liquid soon filled his round eyes, no matter how he raised his head, tears still fell uncontrollably.

"Suck... woo..." It choked up a few times, sniffed, and finally sat on the ground like a child, crying loudly: "Wow..."

Seeing that she made Foxnosuke cry, Tianqing was also startled, and hurriedly hugged Foxnosuke into her arms: "I'm sorry, Foxnosuke, I'm sorry, did I do something wrong? I know , in fact, it has been my self-willedness that has made you uncomfortable all this time..."

"Wow wow wow..."

Foxosuke was lying in Tianqing's arms. In fact, he couldn't hear what Tianqing said clearly. He could only apologize inarticulately: "I'm sorry, the judge, I shouldn't have said it. Foxosuke, I... I I know you're upset...but..."

"I'm sorry, Foxnosuke."

Tianqing hugged it, Fox Nosuke, who had always behaved like a child, remembered that it fell into her room in a mess that day, and it was him who suddenly gave her a way to get out of the cage... Everything started from It started with the encounter with Foxnosuke.

She suddenly had a sore nose, and her voice was choked with unconcealable sobs.

"I have caused you too much trouble all this time, you know how worried you are about me, but as a god judge, I..."

"I'm worried about you, not because you're the judge of our Honmaru!" But before Tianqing could finish speaking, Foxosuke interrupted her, and then explained with a look of embarrassment, "I and the first None of the God Judges are like this, although I also like the second Master Chu, but..."

"But you, I found it from that place myself, I sent you to Honmaru!"

It said loudly, and the super fierce but still cute crying appearance startled Tianqing, and at the same time being yelled at by Fox, she wanted to cry even more.

It's just that Foxnosuke hadn't finished speaking, and it was rare to say everything, so he simply shook out all the words in his heart in Tianqing's arms.

"Besides, Honmaru's situation was so bad at the beginning, you worked hard alone, you idiot, God judge!"

The more Foxnosuke said, the more turbulent the tears became.

"Since I brought you back, you could actually let me work hard with you at that time, you... have suffered enough before, why don't you just handle the matter of this pill alone, and you have to run away for other dangerous things deal with?"

"The last time you came back like this, Foxnosuke, I was really scared. I thought you wouldn't wake up. If it wasn't for Onikiri-sama to find you back, I would have gone to hell myself..."

"Actually, I just don't want you to be in danger. I just want to see you laughing slyly when you play tricks on me. I just want to see you eating and chatting with everyone normally, and then being amused by the strange things everyone makes. Occasionally because Happiness from eating delicious desserts, and the guilty look when he was caught for being lazy..."

"Hey, when did I feel guilty?" Tianqing hugged Foxonosuke, her clothes were already wet with unstoppable tears, but when she heard Foxonosuke talking about it, she still couldn't help laughing, crying again and again. He was smiling, and looked very strange.

"So you really are lazy! I caught it right!" Foxosuke also grinned at her. If the fur of the whole face hadn't been wet with tears, it would have looked more threatening.

...Although it will not be much more.Tianqing thought with a smile.

"So you were just talking nonsense?"

"What nonsense! You're bullying me again, Master Chu wouldn't bully me, and you're the only one who quarrels with me every day!"

It seems that Foxnosuke is about to wrestle with Tianqing again after a disagreement——

Only this time, before it even lowered a paw, the raised paw froze.

Its claws were fixed in the air, and finally, slowly, slowly landed on Tian Qing's face.

Tianqing was taken aback by the familiar and slightly moist touch, she didn't speak, but held Foxanosuke lightly.

"So the God Judge..."

Foxnosuke also stood on his hand and looked at her. What he was going to say next seemed extremely difficult for it, but it still mustered up the courage to speak.

"I just want to say, I hope you don't force yourself."

"Be more selfish."

"Actually, even...even if you are no longer a god judge, it doesn't matter."

"Even if you and I don't meet again, it's okay."

"If you think Honmaru is a burden, you can drop it."

"In the same way, if you are afraid of what will happen in this world, why don't you go back, just hide here forever."

"Everything is fine, the last thing I want... is to see you force yourself, and then, suddenly, I don't even remember..."

Foxosuke's voice was getting weaker, but those sincere words were like knives on Tianqing's body one by one, causing her heartache like twists and turns. The tears that had been so hard to stop just now burst out again like a bank bursting .

She couldn't say anything, so she could only hold Foxnosuke in her arms and burst into tears. Then, she poured Foxnosuke tightly into her arms, apologizing over and over again: "Sorry, Foxnosuke, I'm sorry, sorry……"

"No, not just sorry, thank you, Foxnosuke, thank you for saving me in the first place, thank you... sorry, I..."

Her shoulders shrugged, and the way she cried helplessly made anyone's heart ache.

...As for Onikiri and Natsume sitting in the same room.

Compared with Natsume who was always looking for an opportunity to comfort Tenharu, Onikiri looked at the thin and pitiful girl, but got up with a calm expression.

Tianqing didn't look at him, and he didn't do anything, just pulled the door with moderate force and left.

Onikiri seemed to choose not to bother, or took her into his arms at this moment.

"Wait, Onikiri-san..."

Seeing Onikiri coming out, Natsume naturally turned around immediately, and shouted his name angrily, somewhat at a loss.

Onikiri's footsteps stopped, and then calmly looked back at Natsume, before leaving without saying a word.

Natsume could only follow in a hurry, closing half of the door for Tianqing and Foxnosuke.

……

Two figures, one dark and one shallow, were walking in the corridor of Honmaru. After confirming that they were far enough away from the room just now, Natsume cautiously said, "Mr. Onikiri, aren't you accompanying Ms. Tianqing?"

"If it was because of my existence that you couldn't comfort Miss Tianqing, now I can go back to the room alone. I feel that Miss Tianqing is quite fragile at the moment and should need someone else's company..."

Xia Mu's brows and eyes are full of distress. To him, Tianqing is his good friend - once he thinks that she is carrying such a great pain, his heart aches along with her.

He doesn't mind that he is not the one who successfully comforts Tianqing, he just hopes that Tianqing can get some warmth now.

"Mr. Onikiri, you are the person who can give Ms. Tianqing the most peace of mind, she..."

Natsume tried to explain to Onikiri, who was not familiar with his temperament, but Onikiri in front of him suddenly stopped. Before he knew it, the two who had hurried away just now seemed to have reached the nearest time-space shuttle device to Honmaru Honden.

The swordsman and the monsters planted a lot of plants near this land, so this lush greenery is the first thing you will see after Honmaru every time you use the space-time shuttle device.

Onikiri looked at it, then shifted his gaze, and then looked at the towering cherry tree in the distance—this cherry tree has almost never finished its flowering period since it was in full bloom, and the pink and tender will always support a part of the sky in Honmaru.

Then there is the road on the right side of the main hall. He knows it is the entrance of the side hall. It has a kitchen, a large field, and a newly built animal house, as well as the railings that he built for grazing when he was blackmailed by Tianqing with the help of demon power. .

There are too many.

too much.

There are too many pictures, no matter how he refuses, the pictures here have already broken into his mind forcefully, making this place a place he is familiar with.

Finally, Onikiri's voice came from Natsume with his back turned.

"...she doesn't cry often."

His voice is deep and magnetic, and Natsume rarely hears Onikiri speak properly, mostly monosyllables, nodding his head or raising his eyebrows, etc., which only Tianqing can understand...so hearing Onikiri speak normally, even though Natsume usually accepts it No matter how powerful he was, he was still stunned.

He looked at Onikiri's back, and tried to continue the conversation: "Yes, Miss Tianqing is a strong and outstanding woman, she doesn't cry easily, and it is precisely because of this that I think you..."

"She also doesn't like being seen crying." Natsume interrupted, Onikiri's tone was not always a bit displeased and tempered like usual, but it seemed to be stating a plain fact.

Natsume seemed to understand, because he could only see Onikiri's back, so he could only tentatively ask: "So Mr. Onikiri left on purpose, so that Ms. Tianqing can calm down?"

"..."

Onikiri on the other side seemed to have fallen silent.

After a while, he responded in a low voice.

"……no."

"Why then?"

Natsume really cares, right now he is most concerned about Tianqing's affairs, and Onikiri is the closest person to Tianqing - if Onikiri has any special insights, Natsume also hopes that he can know and help Tianqing.

After all, the only thing he can do now is to support his friends.

Shiratori Tianqing is also the person whom Hui casually mentioned before he set off and hoped that Natsume could help him "look good".

Natsume thought back, and Onikiri in front of him had already turned around to look.

On Onikiri's handsome and heroic face, which is also worthy of the word "finely crafted", there is an "indifferent" expressionless expression dedicated to people other than Tianqing. Natsume and his dark Eyes meet——

Sure enough, he couldn't understand Onikiri's eyes at all.

The dark blue pupils were almost pitch black, without waves, deep and alienated.

Even Natsume, who has been said by Yuanhui countless times to touch people's hearts, can't understand it, and even dare not raise his hand to touch the ice wall between Onikiri and himself.

He clearly felt that he didn't want to rashly approach Onikiri's side either.

Of course, Onikiri didn't intend to let anyone take a step in his direction.

perhaps……

Only Tianqing can communicate with this sharp and dangerous, cold and complicated monster in front of her... No, man, let's communicate well.

After all, Natsume had accidentally seen it many times.

When he first came to Honmaru, he saw Tenharu who went to the laundry room alone and Onikiri who suddenly appeared behind to help her move the laundry basket; he saw Onikiri who went to the pool to cool off and think, and Tenharu who approached with a snack I've seen Onikiri go to the kitchen to cook food secretly after dinner, and then, as if feeling something, walked silently into the kitchen with a sweaty body after the practice and sat down to eat...

The two of them don't often appear in front of people at the same time, but they also accompany each other naturally in many ordinary daily life.

Although, when talking with Tianqing in private, Onikiri didn't react much, and her tone of voice sounded sullen, but Tianqing was still able to chat with him naturally, no matter what the topic was, she could laugh Then share it with ghosts.

As for Onikiri...

When he looked back at her, although there was no easy smile on his habitually cold face, the toughness in his whole body seemed to disappear in an instant. Sunny is not the same thing.

Natsume felt that she couldn't describe the feeling.

It can only be said that he feels that Onikiri is indeed like a monster in front of others, which is very different from human beings in Yuanhui's mouth-it seems that he can only see one thing in his eyes, does not have complicated emotions, and only acts for special "persistence".

When we first met, Natsume really thought that Onikiri was as cold as a shikigami who could only obey orders and act, just like the shikigami trained by Yuanhui's family, all of them would faithfully carry out all the tasks assigned by Yuanhui, All he could see with his eyes was Yuanhui.

He didn't mean that Onikiri felt loyal to him at the time, he just felt that Onikiri was similar to Genki's shikigami, as if he didn't have his own personal thoughts, and just existed there in a single, cold, and alienated way.

But in front of Tianqing, Onikiri...is suddenly different.

It's not that there is any difference in expression, behavior, or language. Onikiri doesn't seem to have changed much, but every time Natsume sees Onikiri who is involved in Tenharu's problem, all of a sudden...

All of a sudden, he will change from the iceberg monster image firmly in Natsume's heart to an ordinary "man" and an ordinary "human being".

That's why Natsume thinks he and Tenharu need each other.

Natsume looked at Onikiri, and Onikiri, who had just turned around, finally spoke.

"You're wrong, it's not that I don't want to comfort her."

"Huh?" Xia Mu was startled.

"... Just now, I also wanted to comfort her like ordinary people," Onikiri lowered his eyes: "It's just that I can't do it."

"Why?" Natsume asked subconsciously: "For Ms. Tianqing, just a hug from you must be able to comfort..."

"...Because for her, I don't want to just do this." Onikiri interrupted Natsume, and the brown boy was stunned. In the courtyard.

The wooden clogs made a slight rustling sound when they stepped on the lawn, and a gust of wind blew the long dark hair that reached the waist of the ghost into a chic arc.

"I'm just thinking, how can I make it so that there will be no more..." His deep voice came with the wind, but it was not dispersed by the wind: "Or how can I make her sad tears no longer appear, how can I make her cry The threats that had been her haunting fears were all gone."

"Her sad tears, I don't want them to appear again." Onikiri frowned slightly, and gradually began to bite the words: "But right now I can't finish this matter right away, so that she can feel completely at ease."

"...That's why I'm very irritable."

"……very angry."

Natsume saw Onikiri's armored hands under his white safari gradually clenched into fists, trembling with force.

"I knew I couldn't comfort her, so I left."

"I know I still have a lot to learn."

"I'm just a little anxious."

"That's why... I had to leave."

"I still have a lot of shortcomings."

It was rare for him to express his thoughts clearly, recalling what she had said to him on the first day after returning from hell in his mind. He had promised her to become the most powerful person in the world, but now he felt ...

I am far from enough.

This lack made him let go of his usual supercilious arrogance, and there was no need for him to hide his thoughts about her, so after confessing to Natsume frankly, Onikiri let go of his clenched fist.

"Before she officially leaves, I need to go away and practice for a while. After all, my soul was only truly awakened a few days ago. If I want to use this ability in the future, I still need to refine it."

"During this time, please take care of her."

A gust of wind blew by, once again lifting Onikiri's hair from the sideburns.

The dark blue hair turned into thin white lines in the air, but it couldn't hide the sharpness in his eyes.

Natsume was stunned, and once again came to his senses, the monster who had become exceptionally calm and reliable at some point had disappeared.

……

After that, Onikiri really did not return to Tianqing for several days.

That day Tianqing and Foxnosuke fell asleep crying, and after waking up, they calmed down and had a good talk.

Foxnosuke is also worthy of the habit of recording Tianqing often, and he easily said Tianqing's real situation that day.

Because too many fragments were lost in that battle, her current spiritual power, let alone half, has not recovered to one-third.

This is all related to the incompleteness of the soul fragments in her body. Although she maintains an adult body now, it is only a superficial appearance. The spiritual power contained in it and the spiritual power that she tries to refine every day cannot be properly locked in the body.

If she challenges Shiratori's family and her grandfather again in this state, she will be able to deceive people with her appearance, and she will definitely show her feet in a short while.

"...So, I'm not stupid enough to go back and challenge my grandfather again."

Tianqing touched Foxosuke's furry head, and heard from Natsume that Onikiri had gone to practice for the past few days, and she had never seen him - so she could only be with Foxosuke all day.

"The judge, you say that, is there a way?" Fox Nosuke asked worriedly.

"It's not a solution, but I thought of someone who might be able to help." Tian Qing's face softened.

And just when she was about to explain this existence to Foxnosuke, a voice familiar to Tianqing came from the door behind her, unceremoniously joining the conversation: "...Who is it?"

Tian Qing was startled, and immediately turned her head to look, and met the eyes of the handsome warrior in white.

At this moment, his back was facing the sun, and the afternoon light covered him like a cloak, and the strong light suddenly made Tianqing unable to see his eyebrows and eyes clearly.

"Onikiri? You're back..."

She squinted her eyes to try to find the difference between Onikiri and before, but her inspiration is not as sharp as before, and Onikiri seems to have become much stronger after repelling her fragments, which is not what she could easily see through before. kind of monster.

It is scary to say that his progress is so fast.

The monster that made her feel unfathomable last time was...

Tianqing recalled that figure in her mind.

She remembered that the other party always approached suddenly by riding a wind dragon—and there was a rescue at the moment she was afraid.

He obviously represents the wind, but he is not as chic and free as the wind in her impression. On the contrary, his personality is as warm and delicate as the afternoon sun—he always worries about others, and never minds sacrificing himself and exposing what he has. everything.

His tolerance and generosity, just thinking about it, makes people both moved and sad.

"Who are you going to find next?"

Recalling this, Onikiri's voice sounded again in the space. Tianqing looked up and met the face she had missed for so many days and she would never get tired of looking at it, and replied unabashedly: "I plan to find Jiang Hu era, but instead of meeting with Mr. Hui, I will go to Lord Yimulian."

The first time she met Yimulian was in the Kamakura period. If nothing happened to him, as the immortal wind god, he must have existed in the Edo period.

She was just thinking about how to find Yimulian from the Edo period.

Her pretty face was slightly wrinkled, and she was somewhat annoyed at the thought of finding Yimulian in such a large place.

Or maybe, she was thinking too hard about Ichimokuren, so that she ignored the change of expression on Onikiri's face, and it wasn't until the samurai who returned from practicing practice pinched her chin in displeasure, that she remembered to take a good look at him.

"What... what's wrong?"

Tianqing's chin was pinched, and her voice became a little funny when she spoke. She raised her hand and tried to pull Onikiri's hand off, but she couldn't. She could only look at Onikiri with aggrieved eyes: "Why do you look... ...with an angry look?"

Onikiri frowned, and in the room with only one little fox, he didn't intend to hide anything, but asked displeasedly, "Why is it that Fengshen again?"

He had been annoyed before, why did she just disappear for a while, and she had such a good relationship with that Fengshen when she came back.

The other party is a god, and he even specially engraved a blessing on her to appear when Wu Mi is not good for her.

The Yimulian in his impression was not someone who would do things in such an exaggerated way.

unless...

Onikiri looked at Tianqing with suspicion, the girl in front of her was always unconscious of what torture she was doing, along the way, there were not a few people of the opposite sex who were interested in her.

It is not impossible for Yimulian to see her.

Thinking of this, Onikiri frowned displeased: "I don't like him."

"Even if you say that, I will..." Tianqing sat in front of Onikiri with helpless eyes - she couldn't stop asking for Onikiri's help just because Onikiri hates Ichimokuren, so she pulled Onikiri's hand and asked in a low voice : "Then why don't you join Mr. Hui first, and myself..."

"Find him by yourself?" Guiqie seemed to have heard something that made him even more unhappy, his lips were tightly pursed into a straight line, his face was ugly: "I will definitely kill you."

"Why are you so fierce all of a sudden..." Tianqing asked with a puzzled face, and suddenly came to his senses——Onikiri has been prejudiced against Ichimokuren for a long time, and he is probably still angry about the way Ichimokuren gets along with her alone?

It turned out to be like this, she hadn't told Onikiri about that...

She suddenly realized, and suddenly stopped Onikiri's hand that was about to extend again with her hand, raised her head and smiled: "Actually, you really don't have to hate Ichimoren-sama."

"Why?"

"Because that person might be the father I've been looking for."

"..."

"..."

"……what?"

Onikiri let out a nonchalant huff, looking at Onikiri's gradual collapse, Tianqing swore - she would never forget this scene for the rest of her life.

……

After Onikiri reluctantly accepts that the man she hates is her father who likes women, it didn't take long for Tenqing and Onikiri to set off.

On this trip, Tianqing did not bring any sword Fusangshen with her like last time, and temporarily gave Natsume her qualification as a god judge. Foxosuke didn't say anything about this, just smiled gently and send them off.

"God judge, remember what you said to me!"

"Remember, I said that I would come back and cook you a continuous meal of delicious fried tofu."

Tianqing rubbed Foxonosuke's head, which was obviously just a simple promise of compensation, but Foxnosuke looked at her very seriously, and smiled innocently like a child: "Then it's an appointment, you Be careful on the road!"

"Well, I will go back with the ghost."

She walked back to Onikiri, and the space-time shuttle device emitted a strong light again—after the light dissipated, she returned to the present world.

This is the peaceful town in the Edo period, and it is also the place where she met her uncle and cousin before coming to Honmaru.

Surrounded by bustling streets, she couldn't see any changes or abnormalities.

Wearing clothes for traveling, she and Onikiri walked out of the narrow alley together. At first, she was still worried about how to find her where Yimoren was, but just as her footsteps came out of the narrow alley, she suddenly heard a sudden bell in the air. Voice.

jingle-

A crisp and sweet voice came from a distance, she stopped and looked up, suddenly, a gust of warm wind brushed her cheeks.

...everything is the same as last time.

Tianqing blinked, then pulled Onikiri's wrist: "Onikiri, I know where Ichimoren-sama is, come with me!"

……

The sound of the bell kept coming from afar.

Tianqing and Onikiri were walking in the same direction, and there was a continuous stream of people on the Jingjing Road. It had been a long time since she came with Yukidou last time, but Tianqing still remembered clearly what happened at that time.

There was a shop selling sweets ahead, and it was at that shop that she met Yuanhui and Natsume for the first time.

There was a shop selling paper materials in the alley across the corner. At that time, she was about to pick out useful paper to make talismans, but she was almost discovered by her uncle. It was probably discovered without Yuanhui's help.

And the mountain they are going to now... It is the place where Yaqi Orochi is sealed. She remembers that she hurried to Honmaru from behind this mountain last time, and she has experienced too many things...

"What are you thinking?"

Asked Onikiri, who was rushing forward with her beside her.

Tianqing looked back at him and shook her head: "It just feels like time flies by."

"..." Onikiri didn't expect her to have such an idea, and he also recalled at the same time—indeed, since he met Tianqing in the field of the Human Face Tree, since Watanabe Tsuna's death, and since his rebirth after recasting , from his battle with Ibaraki Doji, and everything...

It seems that he has experienced a lot of things.

After Tsuna Watanabe's death, he once felt that the life was very difficult, which was worse than the physical pain when the knife was broken. After all, he lost interest and feeling in everything that happened around him-even how did he listen to the rumors at that time? He didn't quite remember walking into the realm of the Human Face Tree.

It's just that when the sky is clear, his world seems to be suddenly injected with light.

Afterwards, they experienced a lot. It seems that they have reached this new situation in the blink of an eye, and they have to move forward before the past has settled down.

"Indeed very soon." Thinking of this, Onikiri also agreed with a light tone, but at the same time gave Tianqing a meaningful look: "But there is still a lot of time in the future."

After understanding what he meant, Tianqing's face turned red.

"Where did you learn..."

bell bell -

Just when she was about to have a lecture with the unashamed Onikiri, the bell rang closer, Tianqing's complaining voice stopped suddenly, and at the same time she raised her head——

The entrance to the mountain is right in front of you.

"Want to go inside?"

"Well, I feel that Master Yimulian's breath is inside."

She nodded, and was about to lift her skirt to climb up, when Onikiri next to her suddenly raised her arms around her waist, and picked her up with one hand.

"Ah, what's the matter?" Tianqing was startled, and subconsciously stretched out her hands to wrap Onikiri's neck.

The other party didn't change his face, just glanced at her shoes and replied, "Just lead the way, the mountain road is rough and difficult."

He then naturally climbed up the stairs, Tianqing was startled, and had no choice but to accept Onikiri's kindness.

... He must have seen that after her soul was wounded again, her physical strength was not as good as before.

"Go straight ahead, go in the direction the wind blows."

She didn't refuse anymore, instead, she hugged Onikiri's neck like a child, and buried her head in the hollow of his neck.

The samurai-like rigorous and indifferent man's body seemed to be stiff for a moment, but then he only slightly corrected the movements of his hands, allowing her to lean on him.

Onikiri's familiar scent of citrus flowers came from her hair, although Onikiri didn't have any special feelings for flowers, but because of her, Onikiri paid more attention to them.

……

Can't remember which night it was.

He had sat with her on the porch outside her bedroom after she returned from hell.

She suddenly touched his shoulder, different from the usual physical contact and ambiguous atmosphere during the mission, the always conservative Onikiri froze, and didn't know how to react at first, when she was nervous, it was the one on her body The smell diverted his gaze.

"...It's this smell."

"smell?"

"You have a scent on you."

Onikiri said it seriously, and Tianqing jumped up exaggeratedly when he heard the words, picked up his hair and sniffed it seriously like a puppy: "I have a smell on me? I take a good bath every day. Could it be the day before yesterday? While cleaning the stables..."

No matter how hard she sniffed, she couldn't find an answer, so she had to back away from Onikiri in embarrassment: "Then I'll stay away from you..."

At that time, he raised his hand to grab her wrist, and suddenly took the initiative to hold her