Not That Feelings Won't Arise

Watching Fang Li hand the pregnant woman over, Yomogawa Ayame instinctively took her into her arms.

Kurusu Kunoichi and Kibito Aragane, however, frowned as they looked at the unconscious woman, their eyes filled with suspicion as they turned to Fang Li.

It couldn't be helped. Fang Li's position wasn't exactly ideal to begin with, and now he was bringing a citizen of Aragane Station who had inexplicably fainted. Anyone would suspect that Fang Li had done something.

If there were other samurai and civilians here, it would have already turned into a major commotion.

Perhaps, because he knew this, Fang Li had avoided the others and brought the pregnant woman here, entrusting her to Yomogawa Ayame and the others.

Then, Fang Li left them with these words.

"When she wakes up, tell her to have her baby in peace, without worrying about anything else."

Leaving those words behind, Fang Li didn't give Yomogawa Ayame and her group time to react, turning around and heading back into the forest.

Yomogawa Ayame, Kurusu Kunoichi, and Kibito Aragane exchanged glances, unsure of how to react for a long while.

Meanwhile, Fang Li had just stepped back into the forest when he immediately stopped.

Because, in front of him, a figure had silently appeared, staring at Fang Li with a pair of amber eyes, never once looking away.

Seeing this, Fang Li raised an eyebrow and said, "You saw everything?"

Without answering Fang Li's question, Mumei asked, "Is that the Kabane I sensed on the Iron Fortress?"

"What?" Fang Li blinked, feigning ignorance. "How could that person be a Kabane?"

"Don't try to fool me." Mumei walked up to Fang Li, bringing her cute face close to his, her amber eyes staring intently, as if trying to see into his heart, and said, "That pregnant woman must have been bitten by a Kabane. She's turning into one, which is why I kept sensing the Kabane's presence on the Iron Fortress, then not sensing it."

"Is that so?" Seeing that he couldn't hide it any longer, Fang Li gave a wry smile and shrugged. "Well, you don't have to worry now. That person won't become a Kabane."

Bitten by a Kabane, yet not turning into one.

If anyone else heard that, they would vehemently object, refuting it to the point where no one could say a word.

A person bitten by a Kabane, even if they were lucky enough to survive, would gradually transform into a Kabane after the incubation period.

This was common knowledge in this world.

No one could survive unscathed after being bitten by a Kabane.

Even Ikoma could only prevent the virus from invading his brain, and still turned into a Kabaneri, which definitely couldn't be considered unscathed.

So, currently, no one could avoid being bitten by a Kabane and still be unharmed.

This was a universally accepted fact.

Therefore, after saying those words, Fang Li was still wondering how to explain it to Mumei.

But, unexpectedly, Mumei didn't press the issue. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, "Does it have something to do with what you did in the forest?"

Fang Li was speechless.

Looking into Mumei's amber eyes, Fang Li's gaze flickered. He smiled helplessly and said, "You saw everything?"

Mumei didn't answer, taking it as a silent confirmation.

In other words, Mumei had been following Fang Li from the very beginning.

Naturally, Mumei must have seen everything.

She saw the scene in the forest where Fang Li ambushed the pregnant woman from behind, stabbing her with a knife.

"Although I don't know how you did it, your strike could pierce even the heart membrane of a Kabane. So, when I saw you stab that person, I thought she was a goner. Who knew, she only fainted, and according to you, she won't turn into a Kabane anymore."

Mumei's gaze towards Fang Li was no longer one of simple curiosity, as it had been before.

Now, Mumei's gaze towards Fang Li was filled with deep questions and suspicion.

"What exactly did you do?"

This was a natural question.

Anyone who knew all of this would undoubtedly have the same question.

To this, Fang Li simply smiled and said, "Nothing much, I just killed the Kabane virus inside her body."

"Killed the Kabane virus inside her body?" Mumei was completely stunned.

However, Fang Li wasn't joking.

This was the truth.

In the forest, Fang Li's target wasn't the pregnant woman, but the Kabane virus inside her.

In the original Kara no Kyoukai story, Ryougi Shiki, who possessed the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, had done the same thing.

Using the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception's ability to see the "death" of all things, Ryougi Shiki had once killed a disease inside a person's body, allowing that person, who was suffering from a serious illness, to live.

Now, Fang Li had simply done the same thing.

"No matter what something is, as long as there is an end, it will meet its death."

Fang Li said the famous line of Ryougi Shiki, who possessed the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, to the completely stunned Mumei.

"So, as long as it's alive, I'll even kill a god for you."

That incredibly arrogant statement made Mumei's gaze towards Fang Li change once again.

It became unbelievable.

Not knowing the secret of Fang Li's Mystic Eyes, Mumei had no idea where the confidence in his words came from.

However, there was one thing Mumei understood.

"So, that means..." Mumei said hesitantly, "you saved that pregnant woman?"

"Is that strange?" Fang Li shrugged, muttering to himself as if talking to himself, "Indeed, for me, who is indifferent to 'death,' to save someone who is about to die, that might really be strange."

After all, if the ending is death, then Fang Li simply wouldn't feel sympathy.

"But wanting to save someone doesn't mean you have to have compassion."

Fang Li raised his eyes, looked at Mumei, reached out his hand, and placed a finger on Mumei's lips, slowly speaking.

"Just like you and Ikoma, I saved you to repay a favor."

"As for that pregnant woman, even if the final outcome is 'death,' that doesn't mean she has no value in 'life' itself."

"I can be indifferent to 'death,' but that doesn't mean I won't have feelings for the existence of 'life.'"

With those words, Fang Li turned around, leaving behind the still-stunned Mumei, and walked out of the forest alone.