soul stone

"Hey, have you heard? The rumor of the 'breather'."

At the dimly lit bar, someone was whispering.In the seat by the wall about five meters away from them, Xue Ye was staring thoughtfully at the empty seat opposite, while quietly listening to their conversation.

"I've never heard of it... What is the 'breather'?"

"Tsk, buddy, your news is too ill-informed. Recently, there have been a large number of dead people who look like mummies on Meteor Street. Don't you know about this?"

"Mummy...ah, it seems, I seem to have heard of it."

"Right? Hey, brother, I'm selling you a favor. The information is free, just buy me a drink."

"Okay...hey, boss, another glass of this."

"Hey, you are indeed my good brother. Now, let me tell you, this 'breather' refers to the person who created these mummies. According to reliable sources, those mummies, if you look at them with 'condensation', there is a dot on them Not at all angry, not at all!"

"...Really, you kid won't talk nonsense again, will you?"

"Think with your head, think. Why do those dead people become mummies?"

"Well... because there is no 'Qi'?"

"Correct answer! Brother, you are smarter than you look."

"Don't keep it up, finish it in one breath."

"Ahem! As you know, 'qi' is life energy. Not long after a person dies, there will be 'qi' emitted, which is a symbol of life energy. What is corpse decay? It is those microorganisms that decompose the dead body Organic matter, as one's own energy source. To put it bluntly, it is to use the remaining life energy of the dead as food, that is, 'food qi'. Hey, do I understand?"

"Well...According to your statement, if there is no breath, it...can't rot?"

"Exactly. Those corpses that have been eaten 'qi' will not rot at all, they will all become mummies..."

Before he finished speaking, the speaker felt someone standing behind him.Looking back, there was a guest wearing a fur cloak with only eyes showing.By height, a woman; by eyes, a beautiful young woman.

"What's the matter, miss? Will you have a drink? Come, sit here!"

"No need. I only have one request." Xue Ye looked into the man's eyes and said calmly.

"Oh?"

"After I go out, please..." She turned her gaze to the man's companion, "And you, kill all the people in this bar, and then commit suicide."

"……What?"

Before the two could react, Xue Ye had already walked out the door.

As soon as he turned the second corner, he heard the sound of fighting from the building behind him, mixed with screams of terror and wails of pain.The sound of the wall cracking, the sound of fists hitting people, the sound of cups and plates breaking, the sound of struggling after being caught after escaping, filled Xue Ye's eardrums.

In three or two steps, he jumped up a garbage mountain and looked at the scene of the bar.Smoke and dust filled the air, and violence and bloodshed spread.After more than ten minutes, the dust settled, and the original building had been reduced to ruins.The two murderers looked at each other.In the blink of an eye, one of them broke his own neck, and the other plunged a dagger into his heart.

Like a toy that cut a wire, the two fell down at the same time.Xue Ye looked around and made sure there was no danger before jumping off the rubbish mountain and returning to the pile of ruins and corpses.

"So that's how it is... After all, he is a person with the ability to read, and he needs quite a lot of 'Qi' to control it." Xue Ye thought to himself.

Since she retrieved her soul stone, she returned to Meteor Street.Countless people die here every day, killing people is commonplace, and it is the best testing ground for testing abilities.At the same time, the living environment here is extremely harsh, even harsher than frozen island, and the environment is more complicated. If you stay for a while, your strength will definitely improve to a certain extent.She believes that the ability gap between herself and Villar is largely influenced by the environment in which she grew up.

Xue Ye squatted down and took out the earrings from the cloak.The "Qi" of the surrounding dead is collected and input into the soul stone, just like streams merge into rivers, and rivers merge into the sea.After a while, there was not a drop of "Qi" left in this place.Xue Ye was about to take back the soul stone when she was suddenly caught.

"Catch it, 'Air Eater'." A deep and magnetic male voice sounded from behind.

"...What?" Xue Ye sighed softly, "It's not as good as 'Girl with Stomach Expansion'."

She withdrew her hand, leaned over to stand up, and turned to meet a pair of equally clear black pupils.

"Don't like this title?" Kuroro smiled.

Xue Ye didn't answer, but asked, "How did you find me?"

"As long as you want to find someone, it's not that difficult to find someone. Especially on Meteor Street...because this is my hometown."

Hearing the word "hometown", Xue Ye blinked and shivered all over.Kuroro saw it and reconfirmed the fact that Xue Ye grew up on Frozen Island.However, the frozen island sank in [-], and the snowy night was seen again in [-] in the settlement of the Kuruta tribe.So, how did she escape from the frozen island, and how did she get to the settlement of the Kuruta tribe?

"Hometown..." she murmured, "It sounds so warm."

"Go back," Kuroro turned his head and looked in the direction of the temporary base. "You should have a place to go back to."

Xue Ye shook her head lightly, remained silent for a while, then slowly exhaled, revealing a smiling face like sunshine after rain.

"I don't know the way back. Can you... be my guide?"

"Heh..." Kuroro closed his eyes and chuckled.Then, he took her hand.

Back at the base, Xue Ye counted secretly, and all members of the thirteen brigades gathered together, as if foreshadowing some big move.

That night, just as she was lying in bed, she heard a knock on the door.

"it's me."

Get out of bed on a snowy night and open the door.

"What's wrong? It's so late."

Kuroro stood at the door, staring at her pajamas thoughtfully.

"Come in first." Xue Ye let him into the room, and sat back on the bed by herself, "What's the matter? Could it be related to the next event of the brigade?"

"As expected of a snowy night," Kuroro laughed.

"I won't go." Xue Ye closed her eyes, "If someone who is not a member of the regiment intervenes, it will cause trouble for others."

As if he had expected her answer, Kuroro changed the subject and said, "You like wearing this pajamas very much. It is exactly the same as the uniform in the monastery."

"Ah, I don't know why, but I feel very comfortable wearing it." She looked down at the dress on her body, "Villar doesn't like it?"

"Nothing, this dress suits you very well."

"That's good." Xue Ye smiled.

"Hey, Snowy Night."

"what?"

"For you, Holy Thirteen Monastery is your hometown, right?"

Xue Ye's smile froze instantly.She stared at Kuroro's mouth and didn't speak for a long time.In the end, she finally came back to her senses, her voice was on the verge of transforming like a mixture of ice and water.

"Maybe, I can't tell. The only thing that is certain is that it is the place with the most memories. Whether it is good or bad..." The ice and snow melted, and the water was soft. "I will never forget it, Because I met you there."

"..." These words were clearly beyond Kuroro's expectations.He opened his eyes wide, and then changed the subject again: "Those guys are inviting us."

"Hey?"

Kuroro handed the information to Xue Ye.

"In July this year, the graduation test for the monastery will be made public, and the gangsters will take this opportunity to compete for talents."

"Make it public?" Xue Ye turned her gaze to the printing paper in her hand.Near the end of the reading, her pupils suddenly shrank——

"At that time, the youngest graduates of our school, Villar Lynch and Oyagi Yukiyo, who graduated 15 years ago, will also be present. Both of them were only eight years old when they graduated. The highest titles of 'King' and 'Queen'...the school still retains the objects of the two at that time, which will be exhibited at the same time as this graduation test."

From the perspective of Kuroro, who used "condensation" at the side, Xue Ye's entanglement was a mess.Even so, her face barely remained calm.

After a long time, she said in a word: "I'm going."

"Exactly," Kuroro breathed a sigh of relief, "I think so too."

Xue Ye didn't answer the words, the wrapping around her body gradually regained her composure, her eyes determined.Kuroro understood the look in his eyes.She is thinking.

"Speaking of which..." He looked at Xue Ye's sculptural side face, where something that should have been missing was missing, "Where's your earring?"

As if the reaction switch was pressed, the girl turned her head in slow motion, and said quietly: "Thanks to your reminder today, it is easy to lose it when you wear it outside, so I hid it."

"what?"

"It's in my stomach." Xue Ye stuck out her tongue.

In an instant, Kuroro's expression became very complicated.

In July [-], the Phantom Troupe assembled.

Goal - the end of the Holy Thirteen Monastery.

Before that, I have to get back what belongs to her...