"But I did not agree to your request, sir. You should go back."
Quan refused.
"Oh no, absolutely not, Onmyoji, I need you."
The man spoke sincerely, but his sincerity was greatly diminished in Quan's eyes.
As she entered the main storyline, she read countless complaints from other players about encountering strangers. These unexpected strangers were all difficult to deal with, regardless of whether they were good or evil, but they all had one thing in common: they were all troublesome.
She would never allow herself to be entangled with these strangers; her time was precious, and she only had one chance to experience the main storyline.
So despite the man's sincerity, Quan refused again, and she ran into the bamboo forest to shake off the people behind her.
"Onmyoji, wait!"
A man's voice came from behind, and Quan quickened his pace, weaving through the bamboo forest.
"Wait for me..."
The sounds behind her faded into the distance. Quan breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to look. Just as she slowed her pace and looked back, her foot suddenly slipped, and she lost her balance...
"ah!!"
As they slid rapidly down into the bottomless valley, Quan fearfully clung to the bamboo on either side, trying to stop himself.
She grabbed a thick bamboo stalk, her palm stung, and then something sharp pricked her foot, causing her to hiss involuntarily.
"careful!"
After a gasp, a hand grabbed her. Quan looked up and saw the man catching up, his face almost touching hers.
"Hold me!"
His voice came quickly, tinged with panic. Quan accepted his help without hesitation; she hugged the man's waist and was easily pulled up by him.
Sitting on the ground, Quan gasped for breath, the sand rubbing against her palms and making them ache even more. The man released her arm, slowly sat down beside her, and asked with a strange sense of resentment:
"Still running?"
"...It's all your fault."
Quan touched his wound and replied softly.
"How can you blame me?" The man touched his nose and pulled her up. "It's all your fault for running too fast. Don't do that again."
Quan remained silent.
As she stood up and her left foot touched the ground, she groaned in pain, her face turning pale instantly. Why did her foot hurt so much?
"What's wrong?"
The man had obviously heard her voice and then noticed that something was wrong with her expression. Quan lost her balance and sat down on the ground. The man squatted down beside her feet, his gaze falling on her wooden clogs.
"You're injured?!"
He placed his hand on her black wooden clogs to examine them.
"Don't touch me!"
Quan recoiled as if electrocuted, but the man grabbed her foot, his playful tone vanishing, leaving only seriousness.
"Don't move!"
"I'm fine."
Quan said in a low voice.
"What's wrong? You're bleeding!"
The man said expressionlessly.
Seeing his cold profile, Quan felt a little scared, like a child who had done something wrong trying to pull his foot back, but the wooden clogs were firmly held in his hand.
"Don't move!"
He repeated himself, then carefully removed her wooden clogs. As the clogs came off, a glaring patch of intense red on her white cotton socks was clearly visible.
"He was badly injured."
He took a handkerchief from his waist, folded it into a triangle, and wrapped it around her wound.
"hiss……"
He accidentally touched his wound, and Quan couldn't help but groan. The man looked up and smiled apologetically, "Sorry, I'll be careful."
The wound on his foot was covered with a white handkerchief, and the bleeding temporarily stopped. The man stood up and slapped Quan on the forehead with a "smack".
"What are you doing?!"
Quan covered his forehead and asked with a mournful face.
"Let's see if you dare to run again! There are plenty of bamboo shoots growing in the bamboo forest, let's see if you dare to race me again!"
The man looked at her and they exchanged a few glances. Suddenly, the man picked up something, slapped his head, and walked back to the edge of the giant pit they had just left.
"Hey, where are you going?"
Quan asked from behind.
"Oh no! Did that child in your bundle roll off the bed?"
The man said anxiously.
Quan was taken aback, but quickly realized what he was looking for. She turned around to look and saw a few strands of blue hair peeking out from behind the boulder, and a delicate little face slowly emerging from behind the boulder.
It really was her.
"Come here."
Quan waved her hand, and the little snow woman floated down beside her. Quan gently patted her head.
She felt a cold touch on her arm before falling, but she was too weak to hold on. If it weren't for this noisy man, she might have really been in danger. Perhaps she shouldn't have rejected him.
"So this is where it is."
A man's voice came from inside.
Quan looked up and watched the man walk away... with the peach wood sword in his hand.
What is that?
Quan felt that this thing looked familiar, but he couldn't immediately recall its name.
"A peach wood sword can slay demons and exorcise ghosts! I usually carry it with me at all times." The man put away the peach wood sword.
Quan felt a jolt in her arms as the little snow maiden nestled against her, trembling.
“You scared her,” Quan said unhappily. “Throw that thing away, or we can’t travel together.”
"Hmm?" The man blinked. "You agreed? That's great! But why did you throw away that sword? Was it in your way?"
Izumi said helplessly, "If someone carrying a peach wood sword sees an Onmyoji, others will doubt my abilities. Although I am not proficient in Onmyo magic, it is far superior to that sword."
"Too."
The man chuckled and threw the sword behind him with a loud "crack".
"The annoying stuff is gone, let's go."
He threw the little snow maiden into the bamboo basket behind the spring, then slung the basket over his chest and squatted down, saying, "Come on up."
"what?"
Quan feigned composure.
"Idiot, you didn't want to come with me earlier, but now do you think you can do without me? Without me, you won't even be able to get out of this bamboo forest! Just climb up here obediently." The man smiled smugly.
spring:"……"
"Quick! Don't be so delicate, I won't drop you, trust me."
The man moved.
Quan gently wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned against his back, and was lifted up by his legs and hugged.
After walking for a while, Quan leaned his head against his back and looked up at the snow falling all around.
The man muttered to himself, "I'm not cold at all, so why do I keep feeling a chill in my chest, like I'm hugging a block of ice?"
"It's just an illusion."
Quan blinked.
They walked along the road toward the village not far away, which was his destination.
-
As he walked down the street, the man felt increasingly uncomfortable. "Why am I so cold?"
Quan smiled but remained silent.
"I must stay at an inn if I pass by again. Have I caught a cold?"
"Let's go quickly."
They entered a village, and the man, as if finding hope, rushed in and knocked on a door.
Hello, is anyone home?
No one answered.
The man knocked again, "We're from out of town, please let us stay the night, thank you!"
The door slowly opened a crack, revealing a small eye and a few strands of white hair.
"Who are you?"
A hoarse sound, like tree bark scraping against the floor, came from inside the door.
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