"Eh, eeeh!? Why at a time like this!?" Seeing a long-haired, red-eyed little girl only about one and a half meters tall step out from behind a tree, Jiu Ming hesitated in considerable anguish for less than an instant. With dense vines bearing down behind him, he decisively charged toward her.
Besides hair that fell past her waist, the little girl had a pair of... dog ears, perhaps? Or wolf ears? And a tail as well. Judging by her build, she should be one of the tengu too? When Jiu Ming had left Aya Shameimaru, he had seen quite a few tengu.
At such a small size, she should be the sort of yokai that had not yet come of age, right? Had she run out here to play because she was mischievous?
When the little girl saw Jiu Ming rapidly closing in, her eyes widened slightly. Whether she had been frightened by his aggressively charging posture, as though he wanted to 'push her down,' or by the vines pursuing him, she simply stood there without moving and watched him rush over.
Had she been scared stiff?
Shaking his head, Jiu Ming lowered his body slightly as he neared the white-haired little girl and swept an arm around her waist. The instant he touched her, he felt as if he had crashed into a mountain...
That sensation lasted less than an instant. Once he had scooped up the little girl and burst forth with strength to evade the vines rapidly pressing down behind him, it vanished. "That was close~ Anyway, this isn't a place for playing. Hurry home and play there." Then, finding the little girl's ears rather cute, Jiu Ming reached out and pinched one. The little girl's red eyes narrowed slightly, a strange gleam flashing through them. But