Persuading Shion

Faced with Chen's blatant threats, the samurai were all furious.

Yet, remembering how Chen had just taken control of everyone with nothing but a Shadow Clone, they didn't dare make a move.

They all looked furious but afraid to speak up, which was quite ridiculous.

"Hey, these people are such cowards. If they all rushed you together, they'd have a chance of taking you down."

The system spoke up in displeasure. She knew everything that had happened.

Chen had seemed to take control of everyone in an instant, but in reality, he had used not only the Shadow Clone Technique but also genjutsu.

Chen could defeat these samurai, but it would inevitably be a hard fight. After all, he was only a Genin.

"Enough! What do you think you're doing?"

Daimyo Kurai Seiichi hurriedly spoke up. He was genuinely worried that if Chen attacked, he might end up a daimyo with no subjects—or even lose his life.

With the daimyo's intervention, the samurai took the opportunity to back down.

"Someone, take..."

Kurai Seiichi wanted someone to escort Chen to the Shrine Maiden, but suddenly realized that he didn't know the young man's name.

"You can call me Blood Moon."

"Very well. Take Lord Blood Moon to see Lady Shrine Maiden."

After everything that had happened, Kurai Seiichi chose to yield.

And so, Chen went to meet the Shrine Maiden, escorted by the samurai.

"Lady Shrine Maiden, the ninja who will escort you to the sealing site is here."

"I'm not going. Stop asking me. I absolutely won't go."

Shion's voice came from inside the room. Her mother's death had hit her hard.

Shion now hated and feared Moryo, while also resenting her own identity as the daughter of a Shrine Maiden.

If her mother hadn't been a Shrine Maiden, she wouldn't have died.

Because of this, Shion resented being a Shrine Maiden, and even resented herself.

The samurai heard her voice from inside the room and looked awkward. He was about to say something, but Chen stopped him.

"Leave it to me."

As he spoke, Chen walked straight into the room.

Hearing the door open, Shion grew even more displeased. She was about to speak when she saw a boy about her age walk in.

"Who are you?"

"The ninja protecting you on the way to Moryo's shrine."

"You're lying. You look younger than I do. How could you be a ninja?"

"How about now?"

Chen immediately performed the Shadow Clone Technique, which was clearly a sign that he was a ninja.

"Are you really a ninja?"

"What else would I be?"

"So what if you're a ninja? I'm still not going. No matter what you say, I won't go."

Though she was still curious about how Chen had become a ninja at such a young age, Shion was unwilling to go back to that painful place.

"It's true that refusing to go to the shrine where Moryo is sealed would spare you a painful return to the past. But is that really what you want?"

"What do you mean?"

"That's where your mother died. Maybe she's still there. You might even get to see her."

"How could that be? My mother..."

"If it were anyone else, death would be the end. But the Shrine Maiden Miroku might be different.

"Though she gave her life to seal Moryo, as a mother, she would surely want to see her daughter again.

"She had the power of a Shrine Maiden. She couldn't come back to life, but I believe she would do everything in her power to wait for the daughter she loved most."

Shion fell silent at Chen's words.

Losing her mother had filled her with unbearable grief, because she had loved her deeply.

She doubted Chen was telling the truth, but the lie was tempting.

"My mission this time is to escort you to retrieve the belongings of the previous Shrine Maiden—that is, your mother.

"I think that whether or not you can see your mother again, you should keep her belongings safe. Even if they can't seal Moryo, they're the most precious things she left you."

"What do you know! My mother died sealing Moryo! Have you ever lost your mother? What could you possibly know?"

At the mention of Moryo, Shion suddenly flew into a rage.

"Who says I don't know?

"My parents both died not long ago. Do you think I'd have run off to take missions to support myself if I weren't an orphan?

"Compared to me, you were much luckier.

"I was only one when my parents died, so I hardly remember them. I don't remember how they loved me, either.

"As for you, at least the Shrine Maiden Miroku was with you for four years, wasn't she?"

At Chen's words, Shion froze. She had only meant to vent her frustration, but she hadn't expected to hear that.

"Your parents... weren't you sad?"

"To be honest, no. I don't have many memories of them.

"Besides, I know that if my parents are watching over me from beyond, they wouldn't want to see me grieving.

"Your mother died sealing Moryo, but do you know why?"

"Why? To save the world, of course! There are so many people in the world, so why did my mother have to be the one sacrificed?"

By now, Shion's eyes were already wet. Memories of her mother came flooding back, and all her grief surged up again.

"Though that was certainly one reason, I don't think it was the main one."

"What?"

"Your mother's actions did save the world from destruction, but I think her daughter mattered more to her than the world.

"If the world were destroyed, then even if she were still alive, she wouldn't be able to protect her daughter.

"She gave up her life so her daughter could live. I think that was the real reason she was willing to go seal Moryo."

Hearing this, Shion stood frozen. People had always told her that her mother had sacrificed her life for the world, but that explanation had only made her angry.

Now that she had heard Chen's explanation, Shion suddenly felt as if her mother had been protecting her every moment.

"Who taught you to sweet-talk people like that? It only took a few words to win that girl over.

"And of course you don't care about your parents. You have no feelings for the parents you had in this life."

The system spoke up, clearly still unimpressed with Chen.

"In my previous life on Earth, I was an orphan too. And everything I told her was true. I wasn't trying to sweet-talk her.

"People are selfish. Not many can sacrifice themselves for some so-called world. Miroku may have been noble enough to do that, but I believe she mainly wanted her daughter to survive. Otherwise, she wouldn't have left behind that bell to keep Shion's power from running wild."

Although the events in the Land of Demons differed somewhat from what he knew, Chen believed that Miroku's love for Shion hadn't changed.

Ding! System notification: Special mission activated. Successfully kiss Shion to obtain the ninjutsu Sexy Technique. Failure: XXXXXXXXX.