Soul Breathing

Under the cover of night, the mountains and fields are a vast expanse of white.

Two warriors led the way, followed by sedan chair bearers and maids.

These two samurai were from the magistrate's office, and their main task was to protect Oboro's safety.

They are now close to their destination, but have not yet entered the town.

Generally speaking, unless there is an emergency, traveling at night is very dangerous, not only because of ghosts, but also because of the presence of deserters and thugs, including bandits. No one can guarantee that they won't be targeted... Some audacious individuals will lie in wait in towns looking for prey and secretly follow them.

However, due to limited mobility and the varying distances between towns in different regions, Oboro's palanquin did not reach the town at the Mount Kumotori during the day and was expected to arrive around midnight.

Everyone could only hurry on their way.

How much longer?

A faint voice came from behind the sedan curtain.

"Reporting to you, sir... it will be another hour or so. Once we pass these mountains, we'll see lights. However, I remember there's an abandoned shrine a few kilometers ahead. Passersby often stop there. If you feel tired, we can rest there," a warrior replied, turning around.

"Cough cough cough..."

Long let out a violent cough.

Be careful.

He reminded him.

"Yes."

But clearly, the samurai didn't take his words to heart.

Inside the cramped sedan chair, her eyebrows were lowered, and a smile played on her lips.

These two seemingly battle-hardened samurai are complete trash... Oboro could already smell the blood in the air.

The samurai was completely unaware.

It might not be a ghost; it could also be a battle between humans.

After walking a short while longer, the group looked up and caught sight of a dilapidated house by the mountain path. The flickering candlelight in the window indicated that someone was inside.

But the next second, it seemed as if a cold wind swept in, extinguishing the flames...

The samurai frowned, only then realizing something was wrong when he saw some bloodstains on the road ahead.

Just as he was about to speak, suddenly, without warning... a force swept him up and instantly rushed into the dark forest beside him, disappearing without a trace.

To onlookers, it seemed like only a blink of an eye before the samurai flew off the ground, disappearing into the mountains.

"Who?"

"What is that?!"

The remaining samurai were terrified, drew their swords, and looked around in bewilderment.

He screamed in panic.

Then, something else seemed to rush closer, crashing into the samurai and carrying his body into the forest.

The speed was so fast that the two of them didn't even have time or strength to react.

The mountains were quiet... filled with an eerie and sinister atmosphere.

The chill in the hearts of the sedan bearers and maids was even greater than the biting weather.

The four sedan chair carriers dropped their loads almost simultaneously and ran away as fast as they could.

They weren't guards; in a life-or-death situation, they couldn't even save their own lives, so why would they care about Long's life?

Then, the two maids watched as the four sedan chair carriers who had run away along the same route suddenly leaped up, as if controlled by an invisible force, and were dragged into the woods.

After a series of heart-wrenching screams, all was quiet.

The sedan chair fell, but Long, who was sitting inside, touched the ground with her toes, thus dissipating the remaining force and avoiding injury.

Outside the sedan chair, the maid holding the imperial coin dropped it, huddled at the doorway, trembling... Another maid instinctively looked towards the sedan chair, her teeth chattering. "My... master..."

Long bent over and stepped out of the sedan chair.

He remained calm.

He could tell the ghost's abilities at a glance...

Although there were messy footprints on the snow, there were straight footprints on both sides of the spot where the two warriors had just stood, connecting to the forest.

The ghost... it just became invisible.

Unseen...

It must be its Blood Demon Art.

Then, in an instant, with explosive speed, they abducted living people into the forest and killed them.

"Chatter chatter..."

Suddenly, a strange laugh, the direction of which was impossible to discern, echoed in the night sky.

"You seem to be... a very important person."

With a whoosh.

A gust of wind stirred up the snow, and a figure appeared ten meters in front of the sedan chair.

A ghost.

He wore a flamboyant outfit, his body stained with large patches of blood that had not yet congealed, his hair was tied up like a samurai's, his pupils were unusual, his skin was dark purple, and his fingernails were as sharp as a wild beast's.

The veins in his limbs bulged, giving him an aura of ferocity and tyranny.

Clearly, he was a samurai before he was transformed into a demon.

"Cough cough cough..."

Oboro examined the ghost before him with interest, a smile on his face.

He clenched his fist and held it to his mouth, coughing incessantly.

"A sickly person..."

The ghost squinted its eyes.

The person in front of me was very young, with short, curly black hair sticking to his forehead. He wore a fluffy black haori and leaned on a katana in one hand to support his thin body.

The knife seemed more like a walking stick, and the man's face was even paler than the snow on the ground.

It seems he could collapse at any moment without even lifting a finger...

Extremely Exhaust.

"Grown ups..."

A maid, her face filled with fear, mustered her courage and spread her arms to shield Oboro.

He gestured for Oboro to run first.

"She's quite pretty... I'll have to enjoy her later."

The ghost wasn't in a hurry. Looking at Long and the others, who were like fish on a chopping board, he stroked his chin and revealed a mocking smile.

"Just as I thought."

Oboro sized up the ghost for a moment and smiled slightly.

The fact that the demon's flesh and blood were so thick indicates that Muzan's blood had extremely strong catalytic and assimilative properties.

If this were placed in the world of Hunter x Hunter, it would be an invaluable treasure... Not to mention using it to amplify the Nen user's aura, even for ordinary martial artists, there would be no need for years of training and honing.

Although it's a low-level world, some things... still have some value.

It's not entirely unacceptable.

"Um?"

Guijian Long stretched out his palm and placed it on the maid's shoulder, making her stand aside.

His expression turned strange.

The other person was too calm... There was no fear that ordinary people would feel when they see them; their eyes were as calm as still water.

"This attire... you're a high-ranking official in the town magistrate's office... a retainer of the Shogunate?"

When the demon spoke of the word "Shogunate," veins bulged on his forehead and his face contorted in a ferocious expression.

"How could someone as useless as you possibly rise to a high position? The Shogunate really should fall..."

The ghost mocked.

Based on his memory, Shogunate knew that the current situation was unstable, with some rebel groups emerging in various places, and these rebel armies were mostly composed of samurai.

These people, once captured, are almost all to be beheaded... and the person in front of us is no exception.

Otherwise, a mere ronin, unfamiliar with the regime, could not possibly determine someone's identity simply by killing two minor officials of the magistrate's office and glancing at their attire.

"Is it genes... or evolution..."

Oboro's response completely ignored the ghost, as if she were talking about something else entirely.

He tightened his clothes and asked softly, "Who gave you your blood? With your physical strength, it couldn't have been Muzan himself who bestowed it upon you, nor could it be an Upper Moon... Was it a Lower Moon? Where did you come from?"

How many quarter moons are there?

As soon as he spoke, the ghost's pupils shrank to pinpoints.

"You... you... you..."

"You actually... dare to address... that... master... directly..."

The ghost's eyes showed more fear than shock.

It seems that the word "Muzan" possesses a certain magic for him... it is a synonym for supreme and terrifying.

"You diseased person who can't even dress properly... Go to hell!" Just as Long was about to speak again, the ghost was terrified, instantly vanished into thin air, and let out a fierce shout.

It swung its sharp claws and pounced towards Oboro.

Even though the demon was invisible, it was too easy for Oboro to pinpoint its location.

The speed of the wind, the drifting path of snowflakes in the air, the marks on the ground... everything was providing Oboro with 'messages'.

In the Hunter x Hunter World, 'intelligence' is extremely important.

This kind of fighting tactic is too rudimentary...

Oboro's originally calm gaze suddenly turned sharp.

He bent slightly, and the large haori that almost completely enveloped his body was suspended in mid-air due to the sudden movement...

Long gently inhaled a wisp of cold air into his lungs, "Soul Breathing, Form One, Yomi Funeral."

After he finished speaking, the countless snowflakes falling from the sky stopped falling.

One by one, rhomboid ice crystals shattered and exploded, forming a white powder that floated in the air, flowing away like a river in the wind, washing over the 'scene' of space.

A slender, silvery glint of light, like a straight line, swept across the ghost's neck.

Oboro, having detached herself from her haori, appeared behind the demon.

Blood splattered in the transparent void...

In the ghost's eyes, everything in his field of vision became incredibly wondrous. It was no longer a cold, snowy night, but rather his soul was enveloped in warmth. He transformed into his younger self, standing on a bridge with a gentle stream of yellow water flowing beneath it, a truly delightful sight.

He looked down at the yellow water beneath the bridge, where a young face was reflected. This suddenly reminded him of why he had once wanted to become a samurai...

"Yes... when did I forget my original intentions... using my samurai status to commit evil deeds and recklessly wield my sword against civilians? It shouldn't be like this..."

"Zhiye, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and go... it'll be too late if we wait any longer, or the owner will scold us."

His childhood friend suddenly appeared beside him, flashing him a bright, sunny smile.

She took his hand and ran away with him.

In reality, a ghost's body manifests directly from the void, and the corpse is separated from the body.

The severed head rolled several times on the snow.

Then, the physical body slowly turned into ashes...

Tears streamed from the demon's eyes as he gazed at Oboro's figure. In his dying moments, he uttered in a barely audible voice, "Thank you."

"Cough cough cough..."

Long coughed violently, and a little crimson stain appeared on the palm of his hand that covered his mouth.

This is terrible...

Even though I approached it with a try-it-out mentality and used the minimum amount of force, the damage to my body was still considerable.

"Hehe... But it's exactly what I thought... The same effect can be achieved without the Nichirin Sword. Coming from a higher world, my use of power is beyond the norm... The more powerful the world, the purer the level and essence of the power that can be accessed. In a lower world... within the limited power environment, it's not too difficult to break the 'settings'."

Long smiled.

Then came another bout of coughing.

He was all too familiar with the concept of the soul.

As for the so-called "Soul Breathing," he just picked it up randomly to fit the occasion.

To put it simply, it's about the application and transformation of power.