Hundred Ghosts Journey · Life is like summer flowers

——Iori Mansion——

Sitting on the porch of the guest room, he stared blankly at the scenery of the courtyard, and did not speak for a long time.It's as if everything happened yesterday and it hasn't gone away.

Yu Daoyin's death and Xia Hua's departure, the world gave him the two most painful things at once.At this moment, he lowered his head to look at his hand, and held it tightly again without saying a word.

At this time, Ayi came with Chitose Ashiya with tea, and seeing Mingdou so depressed, he came to sit beside him. "It's over..." Ashiya Chitose said earnestly, reaching out her hand to stroke his head for a while, just like treating a child.Ming Dou grew up by himself, and like Xia Hua, he is indispensable in his heart. After hearing their experiences, Ashiya Chitose felt sad and sorry for their present.

Xia Hua already has the consciousness to become a demon, she has always been so stubborn that she will not turn back.After Ming Dou has gone through these things, I am afraid that he will leave scars in his heart forever.

"Master..." Ming Dou spoke softly at this moment, and raised his head to look at him, "The 'important matter' mentioned in your essay...do you want to tell me that Xia Hua is still alive..."

"You have been cultivating abroad for so long... You even lost contact suddenly in less than two years..." Chitose Ashiya looked at him, with a trace of unbearable expression in his eyes: "I was just wondering...whether you can't accept Xia Xia? Hua is alive, but it is a half-demon fact..."

"If I had known earlier, you would have thought that I would have rushed into Dajiangshan to save her..." Ming Dou turned his head and reached out to take the tea handed over by Ayi, and said softly: "My practice is still far away. It's not enough... I have to become stronger..."

"...It's all about being a bad teacher..." Ashiya Chitose also began to repent at this time, at this time he held his hands, and said softly in a low voice: "I actually thought that I could bring her back... In the end, I was still helpless." Look at her—" Ming Dou took a deep breath at this moment, shaking his head to prevent Chitose Ashiya from continuing.

"Actually, master...is this really okay now?..." Ming Dou tried hard to calm down the grief in his heart, and asked softly: "Jiutun-douji has become a human being... Xia Hua has no reason to stay by his side... Wouldn't it be better for us to watch him..."

"...This is Xia Hua's choice...Whether Shuten-douji will become the same as before, we can't be sure-but Xia Hua is different, she is the only one who can get close to him..." Ashiya Chitose said: "The Shuten-douji who killed his parents no longer exists. The one in front of me... I am afraid that with the passage of time, I will spend my life as a human being."

"..." Ming Dou fell into silence at this moment, he couldn't trust Shuten-douji now—if there was any doubt, Ming Dou really wanted to kill him immediately...

"Anyway, let's go see her more, Xia Hua...she will be very happy too..." At this time, Ashiya Chitose took out a string of beads from his cuff, and said to himself: "How about it?" ...she is my apprentice..."

"Hmm..." Ming Dou responded softly, and Ayi said at this moment: "Lord Chitose, Ming Dou, Lord Abe and the others will be coming soon."

"Abe?" Ming Dou was stunned for a moment, then turned his gaze to Chitose Ashiya. "Mingdou, please do something for this capital with us." Chitose Ashiya offered the invitation at this time, "With your current ability, it is no less than being a teacher."

"But I..." Ming Dou was silent for a while, and wanted to refuse—"Xia Hua will be happy too..." Ashiya Chitose said to himself: "If possible, I wanted you to join together... "

"..." Ming Dou didn't speak when he heard this, but he couldn't help but recall in his mind that they were standing in the courtyard of Ashiya Mansion, under the starry sky, she heard herself shouting, 'I want to become the strongest Onmyoji'.

"It will definitely come true." At that time, she smiled to herself. She was as dazzling as a star under the starry night sky. Just like her name, she came to her with the hope of life, and made him realize the joy of being alive. beautiful.Supporting each other to live, things have been separated up to now, and they will never meet...

One person and one monster...

Just like him and Yu Daoyin, an insurmountable wall was formed between them...

"Hmm..." Ming Dou put his hand on his forehead at this moment, and after a weary smile, "that's all I can do... I won't let any monster destroy her life—even if it's him. No way..." Ashiya Chitose and Ayi looked at each other at this moment, wanting to say something but didn't know what to say, and in the end they could only sigh at the same time with two almost inaudible sighs...

And on the hillside in the jungle, the girl who was watching from a distance looked at the Kyoto in front of her. She no longer had the right to feel the tranquility and prosperity.She, who was willing to fall into the demon way, has seen too much now.In fact, it is not important to be a human being or a demon, she just hopes that she can live without covering up - and the boy in front of her is leading her to the slope step by step, humming softly, The look of curiosity about this place is really fascinating.Those golden eyes were finally no longer full of gloom and sharpness, and the laughter kept repeating on his body... Shuten-douji, the monster, is no longer there.

Instead, it was Xia Hua herself who had a certain yearning for him in the past that she couldn't explain clearly.Wanting to be by his side, no matter what happens to me, this idea has never been erased, even if it is distorted... even if it ends up being the same, it doesn't matter-but now she is secretly heartbroken because of his disappearance, and the drunkenness in her memory The boy is dead, the Shuten-douji who used to laugh with him in the maple forest is dead.

To like someone is to understand his past, accept his present, and believe in his future.Xia Hua somewhat understood now, so she absolutely didn't want to leave him alone now.If the demonization of thousands of years ago is repeated, it will be endless like continuing to inherit that lonely pain.

I won't leave you alone...

"Xia Hua, what's there? There are a lot of people." Jiu Tun-douji looked into the distance at this moment, turned his head to face her with a surprised expression, "Shall we go there to play?"

"I can't pass through the barrier set up in the capital." Xia Hua smiled faintly and replied, "But you can go, if you really want to go, I can ask Ming Dou and the others..." "What barrier? Do the people there treat you as a monster?" Shuten Doji frowned at this moment, and interrupted Xia Hua, "I want to be with you, no matter where I am, I will be by your side."

"The barrier around Kyoto was built to prevent the invasion of monsters." Xia Hua shook her head, not caring that she couldn't go to Kyoto. "But...the people there should be wary of you." Shuten Doji retorted, holding her wrist tightly with one hand: "What about the monsters? Are the monsters going to be excluded?"

"..." Xia Hua was stunned for a moment, as if the initial pain that belonged to Shuten-douji fell on her again.Yes, he was originally a human being, but he was called a devil because of certain things...Being neglected and excluded, even betrayed and hated...Why can't he integrate into their world...Why must he be excluded...

In this world, there is no place for oneself, and there is nothing belonging to oneself...

That figure appeared in her mind, and Xia Hua couldn't help but feel a pain in her heart. "It's okay." Xia Hua took his hand and put it down, and said with a smile: "I am satisfied with the current situation. Because you are with me."

"..." The young man in front of him was startled suddenly, and a blush could not help appearing on both sides of his cheeks: "But... But, if Xia Hua wants to be a monster, I will be a monster too!" He let go of her and said this to Jingdu : "I will give you a piece of sky with my own hands, this sky belongs only to you - for me, you are indispensable!" But in the world that only belongs to them, where will there be...

"Why? Why do you say that I am indispensable?" Xia Hua was silent for a moment, avoiding his sentence, "If Xia Hua wants to be a monster, I will also be a monster." The complicated look in his eyes that he couldn't notice.

"I don't know..." Shuten-douji lowered his head and answered silently, "At that time, I couldn't trust anyone except you..." When he opened his eyes, a fox demon with a golden tail shouted loudly with a razor He wanted to kill himself, but he felt terrible and at a loss when facing this scene... It was as if at a certain time, a group of people inexplicably held a sharp weapon against him and shouted to kill him.

He didn't know what he did wrong, why did he always have to be hated and hated by outsiders in the first place?What did I do wrong, why do I always have to be alone?

And at that time, the figure who came over suddenly and stopped him was as dazzling as seeing a light in the long darkness.But the current Shuten-douji himself can't know why every time he sees her, why does he feel unbearable distress in his heart-what is my past...

"But for me... the important thing is not the past, but to protect someone who can really want to protect..." Shuten Doji put his arms around Xia Hua's shoulders, and whispered in her ear: "I don't want to protect you." Let them treat you like that, and I want to stay with you."

"That?" Xia Hua was startled for a moment, she wanted to break free but was held tightly in his arms again. "I'm here to protect Xia Hua, so if you don't go to Kyoto, I won't go, okay?" He put his chin on her head, his voice was extremely gentle.It's hard to imagine that the lonely and domineering Shuten-douji was such a gentle person when he was still a human being, and Xia Hua also felt that he was completely another person in front of him, strange but heartbreaking.

"Ibuki Sora Ji..." Xia Hua recited the name silently, and at this moment smiled lightly: In the blank season, the days when the red leaves were falling while watching together will not come back...but you can continue as a human being. If you survive...that's not bad.

Facing the pain of being alone and lonely for thousands of years, you have left this body with this pain...

"..." Shuten-douji let go of her at this moment, took a deep breath and said, "However, I will not give up. As long as it is what you want, I will give it to you."

"...Mmm." Xia Hua pointed her little finger in front of his eyes at this moment: "Promise me, don't think about becoming a monster, no matter what happens..." She knew in her heart that even though Shuten-douji had his own company She couldn't become a demon for a while, but she still couldn't really let go of her heart.

"Hmm..." A bright smile appeared on his face, and the boy in front of him stretched out his hand to hook her little finger together.The breeze blew, and the maple leaves blowing from nowhere gradually turned red at this moment, passing behind them silently, and drifting towards the capital below...

——The room of Shingon Abe in Iori Prefecture——

"This is Mingtou." Several onmyojis in the room gathered here, Ashiya Chitose introduced his apprentice to them and said: "Abe Shingon, Hanain Wushi, Kusakabe Toshi, they all follow the teacher Seniors." Ming Dou looked at them, and when he heard the surnames 'Abe', 'Huayuan', and 'Caobi', he couldn't help but feel that the onmyojis in front of him were so tall, and Ming Dou immediately felt that he was the same as him. They differ too much.

"Is Ming Dou determined to become a warlock?" Kawainou Wushi looked at his attire, and asked with a faint smile, "I remember Chitose said that he wanted to become a powerful onmyoji." Warlock and Onmyoji The difference between masters is that warlocks get rid of the shackles of the family and practice outside to dispel monsters, while many warlocks will always encounter powerful monsters, and no one will know when they die.

"Yes, I personally feel that my cultivation level is not as good as those of the seniors." Ming Dou replied quite modestly here, while Yuanshi Caobi laughed while sitting in a wooden wheelchair: "Haha, I must have been taken by Chitose, Why does a good boy have such low self-confidence? Chitose, you didn't do any ideological work on him, did you?"

"Heh... but I envy Chitose for having such a good apprentice, unlike ours..." Abe Shingon walked into Mingdou and looked at him carefully, and then said with a kind smile: "Actually, there is no need to be too restrictive. You are Chitose's beloved disciple, and naturally we belong to you, and you will also need your help in assisting Lord Iorihime in the purification ceremony. You are welcome to come to us at any time. Although we are indeed a generation older than you." Abe Mantra said here , Mingdou and Ashiya Chitose couldn't help laughing, "I'm telling the truth, don't make us so old."

After the meeting, Mingtou followed Ashiya Chitose to say goodbye and left Abe Shingon's room, and Kawain Goshi also helped push the wooden chair of Kusakabe Toshi, and said to Abe Shingon: "Then let's start with these scrolls. I took it away, and I will return it in a few days." Yuanshi Caobi hugged the scrolls piled up on his body for a while, feeling helpless: "Think about me, if you continue, you will really drop the treasure of the mantra to the ground."

"Okay, I got it, I got it." Abe Shingon smiled faintly at them, watching them leave his sight. "Looks like you're enjoying it?" At this moment, a ghostly voice suddenly came from behind him, and Abe Shingon's face immediately became dark, "If you don't do it well, how can you fool them? At this moment, he turned his head to look at the silver-haired monster in front of him, his face was so cold that there was no expression on his face: "It's you, is this really good for Ashiya Chitose?"

"Hmph..." Hua Piao spread his hands with the pipe, and said indifferently: "When necessary, you still have to discard what should be discarded."

"..." After a moment of silence, Abe Mantra spoke again: "So, what about 'Shuten-douji'?"

"He lives in a small wooden house outside of Kyoto... Now he has almost no demon power..." Hua Piao took a breath at this moment, and said word by word: "It seems that Chitose and the others are planning to hide this from you." What should I do? Bet on the honor of the Abe family, do you want to kill him yourself?"

"In the Heian era, Shuten-douji was 'killed' by Minamoto Yorimitsu, and after Abe Seimei's death, the era of Onmyoji gradually entered a trough... And as Abe Seimei, this time I will definitely kill Shuten-douji with my own hands. Let the Abe family continue to flourish." At this moment, he clenched his fist and thumped the partition door heavily: "So... what about An Tsuna? Does Shuten Doji not have An Tsuna?"

"I don't know where I went, maybe I fell into hell..." When Hua Piao said this, a sneer appeared on the corner of Abe's mouth: "That's right... that's just right..."

As long as Shuten-douji dies in his hands again, the Abe family will naturally become stronger.Not only will it be absolutely dependent on the emperor, but even all the Onmyoji families will be united under the sect.

Chitose Ashiya and the others... are just stepping stones for me...