"You have suffered," said the Great Tengu, looking at the weakened Yuki-onna. "If these evil demons continue to come with malice, I will make sure they never leave alive!"
The Jorogumo I'd seen before approached, her belly teeming with tiny demons. Izumi's vision blurred; she'd inhaled too much miasma...
"spring……"
Little Snow Woman tugged at her sleeve.
Then, Izumi was plunged into darkness.
-
When Quan regained consciousness, she found herself in a carriage. There was a commotion outside. When she lifted the curtain, she saw that the carriage was passing through a bustling market.
She lifted the curtain, and across the street was an umbrella shop. Hanging in front of the shop was a Teru Teru Bozu doll, modeled after Hiyoribou.
As the carriage passed by, its outer edge snapped the string securing the teru teru bozu (a Japanese doll made of teru teru bozu) to the shop door, and the doll fell into the carriage.
Quan picked up the doll, and after a long pause, she came to her senses. The first thought that came to her mind was—had she encountered a human trafficker?
"Quan, you're awake?"
The Snow Woman's voice came from in front of the carriage.
Then the Snow Woman nimbly stepped into the carriage and sat down beside her.
Seeing her, Quan breathed a sigh of relief, then asked incredulously, "Where did this carriage come from?"
"Oboroguruma".
The Snow Woman uttered two words softly, and Izumi's eyes widened: "Oboroguruma?!"
Legend has it that on dark nights, the creaking sound of oxcarts passing by could often be heard. Upon closer inspection, a giant human face could be seen in front of the cart. This was said to be the Oboroguruma (縮車). It was a monster born from the resentment accumulated by nobles who often fought over a good spot in their oxcarts, and it was called the Oboroguruma.
"Are we riding in a log cabin?"
Quan was no longer calm.
"right."
Where is the face in front of the Oboroguruma?
This is the key.
"They were driven away by the Great Tengu."
"You can't just drive those ghost cars around on the streets in broad daylight! It'll get you into trouble!"
Izumi hurriedly got up to get ready to drive the car. The Onmyoji here wouldn't find it strange to see an Onmyoji driving the Oboroguruma.
"There's no need for that."
The snow woman grabbed her.
"He'll be here soon."
Quan was stunned. He heard countless cries for help coming from outside the carriage window, and the sound of bones hitting the ground rose and fell. For a moment, the smell of blood filled the carriage.
Izumi suddenly realized that they had arrived at the entrance to the world, which was the first main storyline she was supposed to experience—the Yaksha storyline.
Today is the fifteenth day.
There were thirty-two days in total, thirty-two monsters, and thirty-two shikigami.
Subtracting the Hair-Eating Demon, Enenra, Jorogumo, Arakawa, Hannya, Yuki-onna, Ōtengu, and Hiyoribou, there are still twenty-four shikigami that have not been subdued.
But she only has seventeen days left.
This line...
"Hey! Who's that person sitting in the car? Show yourself and beg for mercy when you see me?!"
A fork blocked the walking demon bull, and the yaksha stabbed it hard, turning the once muscular bull into a pile of bones.
"Night Fury, you dare to cause trouble without even seeing who it is? What do you want?"
The voice of the Great Tengu rang out.
"Hmph! You bastard, you have crow wings on your back... are you perhaps a Tengu?"
"It is indeed me."
"Then do you dare come down and have a match with me? If you're strong, kill me! If I'm strong, I'll pluck all the hair off your body and make a fur collar for you!"
"Yaksha said arrogantly."
Although they didn't see Ōtengu, Izumi and Yuki-onna knew that he must look terrible.
"Okay, I'll compete with you."
The veins on the Great Tengu's forehead stood out.
The reins were placed inside the carriage, and the Great Tengu nimbly jumped down. A moment later, the sounds of fighting could be heard outside.
"There's the sound of water," the Snow Woman said, frowning.
A black feather drifted into the carriage, and the Snow Woman became somewhat anxious. Just then, the carriage began to creak and groan.
"The wind is picking up. Does he want the carriage to fall apart?" the Snow Woman asked coldly.
"Snap!"
The fork pierced the carriage, passing through the snow woman's shoulder. The snow woman's eyes narrowed, and the fork began to vibrate before being quickly retracted by the yaksha.
"It's so cold. Is there no one inside, only a Snow Princess? Tch! I'm not playing anymore!"
As the Great Tengu withdrew his demonic power, just as the Yasha used his trident to break through the wind escape and prepared to escape, Izumi's incantation descended.
"Words of power, bind."
In an instant, the Yaksha was bound by an invisible spirit, tied to the ground and unable to move.
"Damn Onmyoji! You hateful woman!" Yasha cursed angrily.
"What are you going to do?" The snow woman keenly sensed Izumi's intentions.
“A monster stained with blood must not be allowed to wreak havoc on the world.”
Quan lifted the carriage curtain, stepped out of the carriage, and appeared before the Yaksha.
"Why are you trapping me?!"
Yaksha asked directly.
"I want to keep you as my shikigami." Izumi began to set up a magic circle, and Ōtengu couldn't help but remind her: "Yaksha has destroyed countless villages and killed countless people."
"That's right! Did you hear that? I've killed a lot of people, one more won't make a difference! Don't think you can control me just because you've subdued the Great Tengu. Even if it costs me, I will kill you!"
Yaksha revealed a cruel smile.
"So you're suited to be a shikigami."
Quan said in a calm tone.
"you……"
The Yaksha was so angry he couldn't speak.
"Let's go."
Having taken him as a shikigami, Izumi got into the carriage and said, "Let's go to the next village."
"There will be no next one. The next village will only be filled with dead people!" the Yaksha roared.
Izumi untied him, but the Great Tengu, still worried about him, bound him again and tied him to the roof of the carriage.
"Hey, this is so embarrassing!"
The Yaksha lay flat on the roof of the carriage, but the Great Tengu ignored him and leisurely drove the carriage on its way.
After running for a while, Yaksha broke free from the Great Tengu's restraints and picked up his fork to stab the people in the carriage, nearly killing the unprepared Izumi.
What are you doing!
The Great Tengu was enraged, and only after being persuaded by the Snow Woman did he not throw him off the mountaintop, but his fork was confiscated.
Quan lay weakly in the carriage, feeling as if he would die at any moment.
"Sir, it's alright."
The snow woman comforted her while freezing her wounds so she could receive treatment in the next village.
"Hahaha, you're about to die, aren't you? Once you're dead, I'll be free!"
A smug laugh came from above.
The snow woman coldly conjured a sharp icicle and slashed it directly at the top of the carriage, a drop of blood flowing from the hole in her head.
"ah!"
Yaksha let out a loud cry.
"My back hurts so much! Woman, what did you do?!"
The snow woman said coldly, "Be quiet, or I'll freeze you in ice."
An icicle was stuck in the Yaksha's waist, causing the carriage to shake as the Yaksha trembled in pain.
"hiss……"
The Yaksha groaned and stopped making a fuss. But the ice shards at its waist were formed from the Snow Woman, and they wouldn't melt anytime soon.
Blood dripped into the carriage.
Quan vaguely heard his voice and felt a pang of pity. After all, he was her shikigami. She got up and helped him pull the ice crystals off.
"hiss……"
When they pulled it out, it aggravated the wounds on his body, and Quan curled up on the ground.
How much longer until we reach the next village?
"I'm so anxious," the Snow Woman asked.
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