fictional spring

It wasn't the promise to be together forever with Onimai Tsuji in the form of a witch at that time, but the curse that had been cast earlier, before meeting her, vaguely meeting her Some kind of thought emerged from the bottom of my heart.

I made a promise to someone...

Even if I don't remember the reason for the agreement, I don't remember the object of the agreement, and I don't even have a half impression of the time and place, but this unknown agreement has allowed me to support the assertions of one doctor after another.

Until I met Ghost Dance Tsuji Mumi.

At that time, it seemed as if the dense fog was suddenly pushed away, and the unclear thoughts were clearly visible in an instant. I seemed to be able to hear someone's voice, and I heard that voice whispering my name in my ears. Intimate and gentle like rubbing hands together.

"Muyuehime...Muyue..."

I used to think that was the voice of the Miko, but it wasn't until later that I realized—no, it wasn't her.

It was a male voice.

It belongs to... Wu Mi's voice.

But it's not like the Onimai Tsuji Mumi who I saw later, who changed from a female form to a male in front of me, but another...someone who is weaker and paler than him.

Or, someone who is younger or gentler than him, who is difficult to find out the specific form from memory.

My consciousness fell into chaos, and even I began to doubt whether I was awake at the moment.

Everything seems dreamlike and unreal.

Whether it's my experience or encounters, the period of my life from my childhood to the present, or the people I met in my life-it all makes people feel unrealistic and false.

The warm wind in the courtyard gently blew the hair on both sides of his cheeks. My lord did not urge me, nor did he say anything to me. He just stood quietly by the side, allowing me to fall into a long silence.

And I raised my eyes, and what I saw in my sight was a gentle, tolerant and encouraging sight.

Suddenly there is an idea that I really want to say something to him, I want to tell him something, something that has been buried in my heart for a long time, there will also be a moment when I want to share it with others.

So at that moment, I said, "It's a promise."

I told him.

"Although I can't remember the person's name, appearance, or when the agreement was made, the content of that agreement has always been in my heart. I once told that person that we will welcome together. Come to the next Spring Festival."

It was always buried in the memory, no matter how many years it took, it would never be forgotten—the Promised Spring.

After I finished saying this, my lord still stared at me with that gentle gaze, without taking my eyes off it.

As if to make sure that I really had nothing else to say, after a while, he asked again: "So, are you also working hard for this agreement now?"

His voice was calm, but the reaction he brought to me was not.

At the moment when this question fell into my ears, I opened my eyes slightly, as if something suddenly became clear, and the haze in my heart seemed to dissipate.

"Yes."

I gave an affirmative answer.

This is exactly my true feeling. I was born in this world precisely for this promise, because of the feelings that have lasted from the long past, and the obsession that has never been dissipated-it is the waiting and yearning for that "Spring Festival".

I suddenly wanted to understand something at this time.

It is for these reasons that I am here.

Even though there are already too many things that I can't remember clearly, even if even the other person's face is blurred, I still feel that - the reason why I appear here is because of that promise.

The lord is the one who pointed out the direction for me. It is precisely because I talked with him and heard him tell me what I really think in my heart that I can have the direction to move forward.

I want to see Tsuji Mumi once again.

It's not because of hatred or other thoughts and reasons like wanting revenge, I just want to see him again.

But it's not just a simple meeting.I want to see that familiar but unfamiliar face, and want to ask him something.

——Is he the one who made a promise with me?

That person has been forgotten by me a lot, but it often comes to my mind, sometimes warm and sometimes gloomy... More often, it is the unpredictable and capricious person.

Only Muma Onimai Tsuji can answer my question.

With this in mind, I joined the Demon Slayer Squad.

The people called "Pillars" in the ghost killing team are excellent swordsmen who have passed the test and killed a certain number of evil spirits.

Letting a person who picked up the Sun Wheel Knife a few days ago and has just learned the breathing method become the new water column, no matter what, it will make people feel too ridiculous-not to mention that I didn't even have any combat experience before this, let alone Not to mention wrestling with man-eating ghosts.

But the decision made by the lord has not been opposed by anyone.

He held a pillar-level meeting in the courtyard, and officially awarded Master Toyama's Sun Wheel Sword to me, and promoted me to be the new water pillar.

No one objected.

It's not because the Lord Master is so powerful that one person can decide everything, and it's not because his methods are so ruthless that everyone dare not speak, but because...

"We believe in the decision of your lord."

The swordsman with dark blond hair and slightly reddish hair ends is the current Yanzhu, and he is also the one who discovered Ji Guoyuanyi who was holding his dead wife and child for ten days, and suggested his burial Ghost Slayer Swordsman.

But now he stood in front of me and said to me: "Since the lord has approved you, then we don't have any need to question it."

All the pillars were present when he said this, and I could see other pillar-level swordsmen as long as I raised my eyes and looked a little.

Their views are the same.

This kind of cognition suddenly made my body tense up, and my mood also fell into a strange cramped state, but Yan Zhu patted my shoulder: "Let's work hard together! Mu Yue!"

I felt a pain in my shoulder from his sudden slap, but what followed was a stunned astonishment.

It's clearly the first time we've met, but you've already called my name so skillfully...

Another person I've never met.

A strange and novel feeling came to my heart for a moment, but it was covered by other emotions in a moment.

I pursed my lips and said nothing.

Life in Ghost Slayer is simple.

It could even be said that it is more peaceful than my previous life-except when performing tasks.

For normal training and occasional missions, only when the crows send news and instructions do they need to rush around to search for traces of ghosts.

But sometimes when the tasks are heavy, ghosts appear too frequently in certain places, so you have to keep running to the designated places.

For ordinary team members, such a task may be a little difficult, but for Zhu, it is an extremely ordinary daily routine.

Not only me who has just taken office, but other pillars as well.

Zhu was very respected in the team, because he was paid with his own strength, so everyone took it for granted.

I often wonder why other people, especially Ji Guoyuanyi, are willing to stay in the Ghost Killing Squad.

With his ability...with Ji Guoyuanyi's strength, as long as he is alone, he is enough to match the entire ghost killing team.

This is my most intuitive feeling.

Even if other people's breathing method is also learned from Ji Guo Yuanyi, but it is obviously more suitable for their breathing method, but it cannot exert the power of Yuanyi's breathing of the sun on them.

During the training, I was able to detect the gap between everyone. The swordsmen who are pillars are indeed very good-flame pillars are more stable than wind pillars, and rock pillars are more proficient in using breathing techniques than thunder pillars...

The gap between everyone can be seen at a glance.

I sat on the porch and watched the pillars of everyone practicing their swordsmanship in the garden, and my eyes fell on Enichi who was slowly approaching from a distance.

He probably just came back from the outside, the haori on his body was covered with some inconspicuous dust, and the long crimson hair in a bundle floated slightly in the air as he walked, and the wind blew by, bringing up the broken hair on the forehead, revealing Flame markings on left forehead.

In the entire Ghost Killing Squad, only Yuanyi has such markings on his face.

It is said that it was born with something like a birthmark, but every time I look at the markings, I always feel some unexpected meaning.

It's probably just my illusion.

Lifting up the hot tea beside me, the red-haired swordsman took the tea cup in my hand and thanked me softly.

He sat down next to me, refused the snack I offered again, held the tea cup in his hand, but didn't drink the tea.

"Did the mission go well?"

I asked.

Wen Yanyuan said softly: "Yes."

He has always been like this, and he rarely speaks too much. After getting along for a while, I found that in the city at that time, what he said to me was enough.

On weekdays, Yuanyi can not say a word for a whole day. If someone takes the initiative to talk to him, he will reply a few words, and after those words are finished, he will return to his overly quiet appearance.

and so……

"Why do you want to stay here?"

I suddenly asked him.

The other swordsmen in the courtyard didn't disturb the rhythm for half a minute because of Yuanyi's arrival. They were so focused that they didn't notice the existence of any spectators, they just focused on training themselves.

Yuanyi was quiet for a long time, he didn't say anything, he didn't show any expression, he seemed to have no desires and desires, as if nothing in the world could touch his mind.

However, I noticed a slight change.

His mood was not calm at the beginning, but more like fluctuating because of something I said.

"Because there is a reason to stay."

In the end, Enichi just said this to me.

I stared at him silently for a moment, then turned my head to look at the pillars who were still training.

Just at this moment, Yue Zhu and Feng Zhu had finished their exchange, and Yue Zhu, who turned his gaze to our side, met my eyes.

The swordsman who uses the breath of the moon is Jiguo Yuanichi's elder brother, Jiguo Yansheng.

He was attacked by a ghost while leading his subordinates out, and the subordinates were killed by the ghosts, but at this time, he happened to meet Yuanyi who was out on a mission, and was rescued by Yuanyi.

The two brothers, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, met again in this way. Ji Guoyan Sheng left the original family, joined the ghost killing team, and became the same ghost hunter as Yuanyi.

I sensed some emotion in his eyes.

In my opinion, there seems to be some kind of estrangement between Yan Sheng and Yuan. I thought it was a normal phenomenon caused by the two brothers being apart for too long, but after spending dozens of days together, I realized what I seemed to be thinking. wrong.

It wasn't that they were unfamiliar after a long time, but it seemed that they had a different view. Because they had different ways of looking at each other, they created different perspectives.

The gaze Yan Sheng cast on Yuanyi reminded me of someone after a long absence.

It's someone I should know very well.

That gaze, which seemed to be concerned and disgusted, was so obvious that I couldn't ignore it.

But others don't seem to notice.

When I cast my eyes on other people, when others also decided to pay attention for a while, so when they came to the porch to drink tea and eat snacks, no one could notice the strange eyes that slightly circulated in the air.

That was Ji Guo Yan Sheng looking at Ji Guo Yuan Yi.

He was always like this, as if he had cast his eyes on his younger brother at a moment when he was not even aware of it.

If it was in the past, I would probably think that this is what brothers often look like, but in my opinion now, it is not the case.

I think...it's more like some kind of complicated feeling mixed with longing and disgust.

While I was watching everyone silently, Feng Zhu, who was stuffing his mouth full of snacks, suddenly swallowed the food in his mouth, and said to me: "Muyue seems to have never competed with us before, don't you really want to try it? "

I looked up at him.

Several months have passed since I became the water column of the Ghost Killing Squad. The weather is gradually warming up. The wisteria flowers in the courtyard are blooming one after another, and the petals are falling one after another, creating a dreamlike and beautiful scene.

I love scenes like this.

Because when you see the ground covered with petals in its original color, you will feel a familiar and warm feeling in your heart.

It's a... reassuring feeling.

So whenever there is no task, I will sit on the wooden porch and quietly look at the ground of the courtyard. The children of Butterfly House will occasionally bring me scented tea and snacks. Still will pass me other types of dim sum next time I see you.

"If you don't like the last time, how about trying the new dim sum this time?"

The young girl squatted in front of me holding a plate, and smiled brightly when I turned my head to look at her.

"If you like it, I can do it for you next time."

When she said something like this, I didn't refuse anymore.

It is easy to accept the kindness of others, but it is very difficult to get something in return.

When I was trying to do something for her, the little girl said to me: "I don't have the talent to hold a solar knife."

The smile on her face was still bright, but there was an obvious sense of heaviness in her voice, tightly clutching my heart, making it difficult for me to catch my breath.

"I've heard about you." She said to me: "Everyone says that the new Shui Zhu is as talented as Mr. Ri Zhu. As long as he has seen the moves once, he can memorize them by heart, even if he faces No matter how difficult a ghost is to deal with, it can be easily killed..."

"I have always envied everyone, whether it is Zhu or other team members, who can hold the sun wheel knife, master the breathing method, and kill the evil spirits that took away their family members with their own hands." The little girl said She didn't know when the smile faded away, and she clenched her fists tightly, "Even if I only need to have one of them, or in other words, as long as I have a little possibility, I want to become a swordsman... ..."

Her voice was full of unwillingness.

So I took her hand and said to her, "You've done enough."

Even if you can't become a swordsman, you can still make efforts in other areas.

The Butterfly House members are responsible for taking care of the injured swordsmen, so that everyone can fight in a better state.

"So there is no need to be too persistent."

It is true that such words probably do not have much effect on her, and it may even make people feel like—a person standing on a high place, lightly advising a person struggling in the mud...

So it has the opposite effect.

But I still said it.

Because I think she probably needs such a sentence.

Obviously I have put in enough effort, but I can't have any effect on the result I want. What happens at this time is not only the pain of failure, but also the self-blame for my incompetence.

Even... She has paid enough.

"You've done your best. Humans are not omnipotent, so you don't have to take all the responsibility on yourself."

Hearing this, the little girl was stunned for a moment, and there seemed to be something sparkling in her eyes. She wiped her eyes vigorously with her sleeves, opened her eyes wide and said to me: "Then, do you still have snacks tomorrow?"

I thought about it and shook my head.

"no need."

Hearing this, her eyes dimmed instantly, her head drooped like a wilted flower petal, listless.

Seeing this, I added, "Let's have some snacks together after I finish my mission in a few days."

When I looked at her again, I saw that smiling face again.

Probably because it took too long to remember this kind of thing inexplicably, so that both Feng Zhu and Yan Zhu began to discuss who should compete with me first.

When I came back to my senses, what I heard was their jokingly arguing voices, talking about being my first opponent.

When he was about to say something, Yan Sheng, who had been silent all this time, looked in my direction and met my gaze.

"Why don't you compete with me first."

The moment these words sounded, the voices of everyone on the porch suddenly fell silent, and all eyes fell on the person who made the voice.

It is Ji Guo Yan Sheng.

Hearing this, I was also taken aback for a moment, but I couldn't guess what he was thinking.

Both Jiguo Yansheng and Jiguo Yuanyi are very quiet people, but the quietness between them is completely different. Yuanyi is not so much quiet as it is that he is unable to blend into the lively atmosphere at all, so he is often alone alone.

But Yan Sheng was able to adapt to the new environment very quickly and get along with those people in harmony.

Even compared to Yuan Yi who joined the Demon Killing Team earlier and taught the other swordsmen how to breathe, the relationship between Yan Sheng and the other pillars is even better.

I nodded in agreement.

He didn't use the Sun Wheel Saber, but only used ordinary wooden swords. Under the effect of breathing method, even ordinary wooden swords can exert dozens of times the effect.

My situation is actually different from other columns.

I've seen other pillars practice pranayama, almost human-sized gourds, and they can blow them until they burst in one breath—this is the basis of pranayama, so I've been told by others.

but……

At that time, I looked at the gourd in my hand, which was not much bigger than a palm, but I couldn't help but fell into deep thought.

I'm thinking about the possibility of scaring it out.

Just kidding.I can not do it.

After trying a little bit, I can clearly realize the gap between myself and them. Things that are easy for those pillars will become extremely difficult for me.

Just like other pillars have been unable to understand for a long time, why can I use breathing method proficiently and use it to fight with my physical condition.

"Because I saw it."

At that time, I answered them like this.

I didn't understand or comprehend anything, and I didn't have any ability beyond ordinary people's understanding, I just...

Repeated what they did.

Whether it was the water breath used by the water column for the first time in the city lord's mansion in the past, or later, after joining the ghost killing team, I saw other breathing methods used by other people sitting on the verandah. Arrived, so repeated their every move.

I can't tell the principle, and I can't explain why such an imitation can be done.

"Probably this is the so-called talent."

At that time, Lei Zhu said with emotion: "Just as Sun Zhu can see the 'transparent world', Mu Yue also has a talent that is difficult for ordinary people to touch. This ability cannot be reproduced and belongs to only one person."

That was the first time I heard the so-called "transparent world".

What we see in the line of sight is not what we see with our ordinary naked eyes, but its appearance closer to the original, which is its inner structure.

Even if it is a human being, what Yuanyi sees is not the surface of the face, but the inner muscles and bones-and everyone except him cannot see such a world.

After listening to their descriptions, I also imagined what such a world would look like—just thinking about it for a while, I felt...it was too extraordinary.

But Ji Guoyuan is an extraordinary man.

When I heard other people say the word "extraordinary", I saw a slight change in Yuanyi's eyes, and there seemed to be some fluctuations in his expressionless face.

Not happy.

Yuanyi wasn't happy because he was different, but it seemed—— he was resisting such a statement.

At that time, I had a certain thought that perhaps for him, an ordinary and ordinary life was the life he really yearned for.

When I thought of this, something also appeared in my mind, as if I had the same idea at some point in the past.

The pillars in the ghost killing team, the children of Butterfly House, they all showed more or less envy to my so-called "talent", but to me, it doesn't really matter whether I have such a talent matter.

Everything that is owned in the world can be given up for a reason, as long as it is for a sufficiently important goal, even giving up everything can make people have no regrets.

This is what I really think.

In my opinion, Yuanyi may also have some similar but different ideas.