The Place of Belonging

Crimson Leaf Hunt knelt down...

Within the Onmyoji legacy, the ninth-ranked shikigami, coveted by everyone, performed a deep bow of worship to the enemy in the form of a "dogeza" (a traditional Japanese prostration).

It's like meeting a father.

This was a situation that Kamishiro Unichi had never encountered before, and it was never recorded in the family history.

Why?

Kamishiro Unichi couldn't understand why this was happening!

Not only that, when Crimson Leaf Hunt went down to pay her respects, Mountain Child and Fox Fire also went down to pay their respects.

The little white monkey, Mountain Child, knelt on the ground just like a human, with its two palms, as big as gongs, resting on the ground.

The red Fox Fire stretched out its forelimbs and lay motionless on the ground.

This shows that the problem wasn't with the Crimson Leaf Hunt, but rather with the emergence of someone who naturally possesses the ability to Bloodline Suppression of shikigami!

His mind raced, and he saw two people kneeling in the direction of Crimson Leaf Hunt: a boy and a little girl.

First, consider who is actually kneeling?

It shouldn't be a teenager, because Crimson Leaf Hunt showed absolutely no restraint when attacking a teenager, until the little girl's cheek was slashed.

Kamishiro Unichi stood atop the mountain, silently observing everything. He tried to continue controlling the three shikigami, but there was no response.

This is the Outer World. If the information provided by the Mysterious Affairs Department is correct, this little girl should be Jingūji Maki.

But why would a little girl who isn't even a Time Walker, an ordinary person, have the ability to command shikigami?

How can we fight like this? Without shikigami, what's the difference between Onmyoji and a high-level infantryman?

Kamishiro Unichi had finally managed to reset her account and start over, obtaining the coveted Crimson Leaf Hunt, only to encounter a little girl who was cheating?!

At this moment, Qing Chen looked at the three shikigami beside him and whispered to Jingūji Maki, "Try commanding them and see if it works."

"Huh? What are the orders?" the little girl asked, puzzled.

"... make them do a split," Qing Chen said.

The little girl hesitated for a moment, then said to Crimson Leaf Hunt, "Can you do a split for your brother?"

However, Crimson Leaf Hunt did not react at all.

She repeated the same thing to the Mountain Child and the Fox Fire, but there was still no response.

"Brother, no, it won't work," Jingūji Maki said weakly.

"That's strange. Is it only possible for shikigami to worship?" Qing Chen wondered. "Can you communicate with them in your mind?"

"No..." the little girl said.

Qing Chen thought about it and realized that it was indeed the only way to have these shikigami pay homage.

Even so, he still found a treasure.

With this little girl around, even if the other party can't become Time Walker, they can probably roam freely in the Outer World if they encounter Onmyoji.

No, it should be that all Onmyoji should avoid her.

The Kamishiro Family has two branches of inheritance. With the little girl present, one branch is essentially rendered useless.

He wondered if the little girl's bloodline would be useful to higher-level Onmyoji shikigami. Thinking of this, Qing Chen quickly took the small glass bottle he originally used to hold the black ointment and scraped the drop of blood from the little girl's face into the bottle.

This scene left Jingūji Maki bewildered.

"Brother, what should we do now?" the little girl asked.

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Kill this Onmyoji, and then see what changes the shikigami undergoes."

As he spoke, he carried the little girl on his back and rushed up the mountain, taking several meters in a single stride as if walking on flat ground.

Kamishiro Unichi saw this scene, he was terrified. Recalling how the boy had crushed the Mountain Child and Fox Fire, he thought that if he had taken a punch from this boy, he would have died on the spot.

Moreover, Kamishiro Unichi had just witnessed the battle between Qing Chen and Crimson Leaf Hunt, and he suspected that even if Crimson Leaf Hunt hadn't been intimidated and subdued by the little girl, he was no match for the boy at all.

Because the boy was too relaxed and too calm during the fight.

Qing Chen headed up the mountain, Kamishiro Unichi turned and fled from the other side, not even caring whether his shikigami could return to his Destiny Divine Bridge.

Every Onmyoji has a Destiny Divine Bridge in their mind, which is the place where their shikigami usually reside and can be gathered inside.

But now, he can't even bring the shikigami back.

As soon as Qing Chen moved, he had only run a few steps when Crimson Leaf Hunt, Mountain Child, and Fox Fire stood up and charged at him again as if nothing had happened.

However, as soon as the three of them entered within ten meters of Jingūji Maki, they knelt down again.

Qing Chen took another step with a puzzled look. The shikigami got up again. This time, they did not rush towards Qing Chen, but wanted to detour to other places to meet up with Kamishiro Unichi and return to his Destiny Divine Bridge.

However, before they could fully stand up this time, Qing Chen jumped back, and the three shikigami knelt down again...

"Huh, there's a distance limit?!" Qing Chen thought for a moment and then said, "Xiao Zhenji, you just stand here and don't move. Keep them under control. I'll be back soon. If they move, cut your finger again."

In the past, Qing Chen would certainly not have wanted to do this to a little girl, but now that she has stepped into the Knight Organization, she should naturally bear all of this.

Cutting your finger isn't a big deal.

"Ah... okay," Xiao Zhenji obediently jumped off Qing Chen's back and stood among the three shikigami.

Qing Chen tentatively moved a distance away, and only felt relieved to continue the pursuit after discovering that the three shikigami were still being suppressed.

He wanted to see what would happen to the suppressed shikigami after the Onmyoji died. Logically speaking, they were suppressed and unable to return to the Divine Bridge, so they had to find another place to belong!

If a shikigami is without a master for too long and does not recuperate its spirit at the shrine bridge, it will vanish into nothingness.

Qing Chen turned and left. The ability that Jingūji Maki had displayed today was an unexpected surprise, one that even he hadn't anticipated.

He couldn't let Kamishiro Unichi leave, because once the Kamishiro Family found out about this, they would use every available force to ensure the little girl couldn't leave the island nation.

This little girl was like a shadow hanging over the sky for the Kamishiro Family; no one would allow her to live, and even returning to the country wouldn't be safe for her.

She is enough to drive the world of gods mad.

Qing Chen needs to find a way to get Kamishiro Unichi take the secret to the grave.

Seeing that Qing Chen had left, the frail Jingūji Maki stood alone in the snow and looked at the shikigami beside her with some fear...

What if the older brother goes far away and the three of them start moving again?

The little girl held a small knife to her finger, ready to cut it and bleed again at any moment.

As time passed, Jingūji Maki gradually relaxed. Looking at the three kneeling shikigami, she wondered if their knees would hurt from kneeling for so long, especially since the ground was so cold.

She thought for a moment and said softly, "Um... why don't you guys get up and rest for a bit? Rest for a bit before kneeling again."

The snow-covered landscape was quiet except for the sound of the wind whistling through the mountains.

The three shikigami did not actually "rest for a while." Crimson Leaf Hunt gradually straightened up and raised her head. The little girl was so frightened that she screamed and was about to cut her finger, but Crimson Leaf Hunt did not make any other move. She just smiled at the little girl and then knelt down again.

The little girl was stunned for a long time. She felt that Crimson Leaf Hunt's eyes were not as blood red as before, and her smile was extremely beautiful.

At first glance, she thought that Crimson Leaf Hunt was quite old, so she called her "Auntie".

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that Crimson Leaf Hunt's traditional Japanese makeup and hair were just heavily powdered; she was actually just a young woman.

Qing Chen chased after Kamishiro Unichi all the way. This Onmyoji's true strength was really too weak. He had clearly advanced to the middle level of B-Class, but his speed was only at the peak of C-Class or the early level of B-Class.

That's why Hu Corporation Intelligence Agency said that to kill the Onmyoji, one must capture the king.

Qing Chen and Kamishiro Unichi leaped and used the mountain for leverage, as light as swallows in flight.

The distance between them is getting closer and closer...

No longer caring about anything else, Kamishiro Unichi pulled out his satellite phone and dialed, shouting as he fled, "Watch out! The killer can intimidate shikigami! All Onmyoji, temporarily withdraw from the battle and let the other lineage handle this!"

Qing Chen frowned; it was too late after all.

With modern communication so advanced, Takayama Hida being a tourist destination, many places have signal base stations, so it would be too difficult for him to block satellite phones.

What to do? The only option was to flee for their lives with the little girl.

However, the next moment...

Something unexpected happened to Qing Chen. Before he could catch up with Kamishiro Unichi, the young man lost his footing in the mountains and fell straight down the cliff.

But then, Kamishiro Unichi mournful cry. Several times he tried to grab the rocks, but he only managed to touch loose rocks and continued to fall.

"Ah~ thud!"

With a final, muffled thud, Kamishiro Unichi lay motionless at the bottom of the valley.

Qing Chen stood on the cliff face, staring blankly, "Wasn't this far too hasty?"

Although he knew that the Onmyoji's true form was weak, he imagined that it would take at least ten more rounds before he could kill the opponent.

Now it's great, saving me the trouble of doing it myself.

If only Qing Chen had Puppet Master, he could sacrifice this Kamishiro Unichi.

Keep in mind that he hasn't even met the containment conditions for the Puppet Master this month. If he can't meet the containment conditions after several months, the number of lives the Puppet Master requires to be sacrificed each month will probably reach a terrifying level.

Without thinking too much about it, Qing Chen returned only after repeatedly piercing the corpse of Kamishiro Unichi's body with snowflakes.

When he returned to the valley where Jingūji Maki was, he was shocked to see a scene that surprised him. Crimson Leaf Hunt, Mountain Child, and Fox Fire had somehow stood up and surrounded the little girl.

Even though Jingūji Maki cut her finger, she couldn't make them kneel down again.

Qing Chen panicked and rushed over.

Before he could even reach them, he saw that Crimson Leaf Hunt, Mountain Child, and Fox Fire had transformed into three streaks of light and flown into Jingūji Maki's brow, disappearing without a trace.

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment. "Have they recognized you as their master? Can you command them?"

The little girl looked bewildered. "I don't feel anything, I can't sense their presence."

"Hmm?" Qing Chen frowned.

Sorry, only one update today. I have a follow-up MRI scheduled for 8:20 PM.