Chapter 26. Dawn was breaking.

The cold air, like fine needles, seeped into her bones from all directions. Azhi could almost hear her teeth chattering, not only because of the physical cold, but also because of the feeling in her heart, as if she were in a frozen wasteland.

With her limited abilities, she had no way of seeing what the ghost was doing. She only heard a sound like a thunderclap, and in an instant, the sky collapsed and the earth caved in, creating a gaping hole like a chasm from her room to the street.

It was like a violent earthquake had occurred.

Amidst the swirling dust, the powerful arm that had been gripping her waist tightened even more, then carried her away in an unknown direction.

Azhi never imagined that Upper Moon One would be so terrifying, so terrifying that even she, an outsider, could see the vast difference between him and others.

Everything happened very quickly. They had already been taken far away, but Azhi could still faintly hear a sharp shout calling her name from behind.

It was Yiyong's voice. It seemed he was out of danger. This was the only good news so far.

Azhi couldn't explain the current situation clearly. The setbacks and changes she had experienced today were more than all the previous years combined. The word "despair" was the most accurate way to describe her feelings.

The rain was still drizzling, and there was still some time before dawn. The area in her field of vision went from having some human presence to being completely dark, and she was being led to an increasingly remote place.

I don't know where the final destination is.

Perhaps when she stops, she will be eaten.

At some point, the demon's arms, which had been around her waist, loosened and instead gripped her wrists.

—It's so cold.

The moment they made contact without any barriers, Azhi was chilled by the temperature of the ghost's palm, unable to tell if it was colder than the falling rain.

With Kokushibo walking ahead, Aori had the opportunity to carefully observe what kind of environment she was in.

Before me was a completely unfamiliar place, which could be described as a primeval forest. Everywhere there were thick, tall trees and waist-high wild grass. The environment was dark and quiet, with only the sound of rain pattering through the leaves.

In this remote place, where decaying plants are everywhere, a path has inexplicably meandered out.

Azhi was taken away very suddenly. She didn't have time to put on her shoes. One of her white tabi shoes was lost during the walk, and the other one got dirty and messy as soon as it touched the ground.

The ground was wet and soft from the rain; one could sink half a foot into it. She passively followed the demon, and the hem of her kimono was immediately soaked by the splashed mud.

The demon didn't walk very fast; its dark red hair swayed on its broad back as it walked, but the difference in height was still hard to overcome.

Azhi kept walking, panting heavily. Her clothes were completely soaked, and the damp coldness clung to her skin. All she could breathe in was the damp, decaying smell.

Several times, she almost fell, but she didn't fall and was carried forward unsteadily.

Just as the girl was about to fall into the puddle again, Kokushibo finally couldn't help but stop.

It wasn't that Kokushibo hadn't noticed Aori's condition; being so close allowed him to perceive everything about the girl behind him clearly, including her rapid breathing and slightly trembling body...

The long span of several hundred years is enough to make some intense emotional imprints fade, but it can also make people who harbor resentment and do not want to forget this emotion recall it again and again, deepening it until they go mad.

Betrayed, deceived, and...

Countless times in the pitch-black night, Kokushibo tasted humiliation, hatred, and anger. Countless times, he gritted his teeth and brandished his sword under the moonlight, trying to sever the shackles that tightly bound his soul...

By the faint moonlight, Kokushibo saw the girl almost fall to the ground, her weak legs seemingly unable to exert any strength, her nose and eyes red, her face covered in tears and rain, looking very disheveled.

With tears in her eyes, she timidly looked up, her skin wet like a poor little kitten that had fallen into the water.

He paused slightly, and the raging anger that had been raging in his heart vanished instantly, as if it had never been there at all.

The demon stopped abruptly, and Aori, unable to cope with the sudden change, crashed straight into Kokushibo's chest. The sharp pain from touching his forehead, which felt like an impenetrable wall, made her involuntarily groan.

She subconsciously raised her head and inevitably met Kokushibo's gaze.

Being locked onto by six eyes still instilled fear. The inhuman pupils were slightly focused with light, but it was definitely not the warm light that A-Zhi usually had. It seemed that because they were looking down at her, the menacing aura was weakened.

But the lips beneath the high, straight nose remain flat.

Compared to obvious anger or hatred, this indifference and lack of emotion shown by someone who is clearly not in a calm mood undoubtedly makes one feel even more uncertain.

Azhi's breath hitched again. Her fingers trembled slightly as she frantically clutched her sleeve. Tears welled up in her eyes again before they had even dried.

At the same time, a hidden sense of grievance also began to sprout deep inside.

She always seems to do stupid things at inopportune times. In the past, there were always people to back her up, and at worst, there was always 000 to comfort her and give her advice.

But this time the problem was too big, and she had absolutely no experience in dealing with this situation on her own.

Ah Zhi closed her eyes again, trying to escape. Her nose ached, and she stood motionless, her arms tucked in, like prey terrified under the claws of a wild beast.

However, the situation was not as she had imagined.

The demon gripped her waist again, his other hand supporting her knees. With a flicker of his wrist, she was easily placed on his right arm, as light as a feather. Terrified by the sudden increase in height, A-Zhi didn't want to be so close to the demon and reflexively reached out to push him away, but she couldn't budge him.

Only when her knees were against the other person's chest, and her buttocks were cushioned by the demon's well-defined, hard forearm, did she belatedly realize what had happened. Her body trembled as if startled, and the tears that had been clinging to her eyelashes fell.

The upper moon seemed to think she was walking too slowly and wanted to speed her up.

Thinking this, she was even more puzzled by the demon's next move.

Kokushibo then raised his left arm, stopping just above Aori's head. The wide sleeves fell with gravity, covering her entire body and completely shutting out the wind and rain.

Just now, a scalding hot tear fell on the back of his hand. This inconspicuous tear had a tremendous force, and the skin on the back of his hand felt as if it had been burned by fire.

Without a doubt, these were the girl's tears, which seemed to have never stopped since she met him.

Having not felt pain for a long time, Kokushibo was forced to relive this unfamiliar sensation. He remained expressionless, only tightening his grip on his arms and quickening his pace.

The demon's actions seemed somewhat inexplicable; it appeared to be creating a cage to imprison the girl, but rather it was building a temporary refuge for A-Zhi.

But Aori finds it hard to think in this direction. In her view, she and Kokushibo are naturally opposed to each other as predator and prey. Who would care about the feelings of the prey?

Although the demon called her name at the Tokitoya, it didn't mean anything. No matter what Kokushibo did, Aori would only feel that he was plotting something in the dark.

Therefore, the upper moon must have been there to block her view and prevent her from escaping after memorizing the route.

Ah Zhi truly felt that she was being overly flattered. Even if she were given a map, she wouldn't be able to escape this place.

The thought flashed through her mind. There was only darkness before her eyes, and she couldn't see anything clearly. It wasn't until the soft fabric brushed against her cheek that Azhi opened her eyes wide in a daze.

The next second, she quickly covered her nose and mouth with her free hands—she was afraid of the horrifying smell of blood.

Azhi knew that the more ferocious a demon was, the more people it would devour. As Upper Moon One, Kokushibo naturally ate even more people. He had countless people's blood on his hands, and perhaps every piece of his clothing had been soaked in blood.

Just thinking about it, Azhi tightened her hands even more, but no matter how much she covered them, she still needed to breathe. When her face turned red, a few drops of air gradually leaked out from between her fingers.

The air seeped in little by little, and surprisingly, there was no smell of blood as she had imagined.

What's even more unexpected is that, besides not having an unpleasant odor, this Upper Moon was also surrounded by a faint scent of sandalwood.

It smells like it's been there for years, but it's not unpleasant.

Before she could think it through, Azhi's thoughts were interrupted. Without her as a burden behind her, Kokushibo's speed was indeed much faster, fast enough to hear the rustling of the wind in her ears.

It seemed to be going uphill, and Azhi could feel a slight jolt as she floated in the air and then fell.

Although the arm under her bottom didn't sway at all with the movement of walking, Azhi, whose legs were dangling in the air and felt unreal, still had a worry that she might fall from such a height.

There was another slight, minor bump.

Azhi felt that dying from a fall was a sad way to die. She quietly loosened her hand from covering her mouth and nose, and pretended to casually grab the clothes on Kokushibo's chest to make herself more stable.

Unbeknownst to her, her action had rendered her previous resistance completely ineffective. She thought she had done it discreetly and failed to notice Kokushibo's brief, almost imperceptible stiffness.

Maintaining a posture that seemed absolutely bizarre to anyone, Kokushibo led Aori to their destination.

It was almost dawn.

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Author's Note: Upper Moon One's psychological journey: I hate it so much → I'll hate it later

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There were so many people in the last chapter! _(:з」∠)_

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 20:07:40 on April 21, 2023 and 16:44:21 on April 23, 2023!

Thanks to the little angels who threw landmines: Sand Sculpture is not a Sculpture, A-C 1;

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Ling Sanqing (12 bottles); Bai Xuege (10 bottles); A C (5 bottles); Bu Si Chuan Qing Hua (4 bottles); Tao (1 bottle);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!