Chapter 69

"You..." The masked girl— Kindred —did not answer the question immediately, but instead carefully examined the fox-like girl before her. "What's your name?"

"My name Ahri... What's wrong...?" Ahri nervously took a half step back—she could feel the extremely powerful magic within the other person.

That power... was far stronger than hers...

And that terrifying white giant wolf...

"Ahri... could you take off your mask and let me see it, Ahri?" Kindred asked again.

"Hmm..." Ahri did not refuse—or rather, dared not refuse—and slowly removed the mask from her face, revealing her flawless and pretty face.

Kindred examined it more carefully.

A familiar figure flashed into her mind.

Equally beautiful, with a pair of fluffy fox ears and nine fluffy fox tails...

But she was still not quite sure.

And now is perhaps not the time to consider such things.

She shook her head inwardly and asked again, "Ahri, did you see anything scary just now? A ghost... or something that looked like a ghost?"

"Yes!" Upon hearing this question, Ahri immediately thought of the monster that had kidnapped Chen Ce and nodded repeatedly.

"There are two, right?"

"Two...?"

"One was originally in the Spirit Realm, and the other appeared through a crack in the Gate of the Underworld —but now they are both gone."

"But... I only saw one..." Ahri said, "It was a terrifying monster... It captured Chen Ce!"

"Chen Ce?" Kindred and Wolf Spirit exchanged a glance, then asked, "Is this 'Chen Ce' you're talking about a living person?"

"Of course!"

"He was captured by a 'monster' from the Death Realm?"

"Yes!"

"When?"

"Just now! About... five minutes ago!"

Upon hearing this, a look of sudden realization flashed in Kindred's eyes, hidden behind his mask.

She turned her head again to look at the Wolf Spirit beside her.

"Perhaps this time we should take the initiative to go and explore the Death Realm, Wolf."

Chapter 82 Spirit Blossom? Nine-Tailed White Fox!

During each Spirit Blossom Festival in previous years, Kindred had to be constantly on guard against the movements of the Gate of the Underworld.

It's fine for the spirits of the Death Realm to pass through the cracks in the Gate of the Underworld and become souls to meet the living, but if the "Lord of the Death Realm" were to extend his reach into the Spirit Realm, then things would be very different.

As the "Grim Reaper" who governs death, Kindred's mission is to guide the dead to where they belong and to do his best to maintain the balance between life and death.

Clearly, the actions of that lord of the Death Realm disrupted the balance between life and death.

He imprisons all the spirits in the Death Realm, oppressing and enslaving them, forcing them to become his "subjects" alone.

Kindred will not allow this to happen.

Therefore, every year Spirit Blossom Festival, she would come to the border between the Spirit Realm and the Death Realm, ready to stop the Lord of the Death Realm from overstepping his bounds.

She wouldn't care if those poor souls met with the living, but she would never allow the Lord of the Death Realm to trespass into the Spirit Realm.

And today, she and her good partner, the Wolf Spirit, both sensed the transgression of the Lord of the Death Realm.

He reached into the Spirit Realm... that nauseating aura of arrogance, that haughty, disdainful attitude, like a king.

The good news is that he only appeared briefly before returning to the Death Realm, without causing widespread destruction in the Spirit Realm.

The bad news is... his goal seemed to be to drag someone into the Death Realm, and he succeeded.

And that "target" was a living being who also possessed the aura of the Death Realm —it was strange, but true.

At first, Wolf Spirit thought that the Lord of the Death Realm had trained a "soldier" in the Death Realm, or that a new "Lord of the Death Realm" had been born in the Death Realm, but the truth was far from what he had imagined.

It's no wonder that initially only one aura of the Death Realm was sensed within the Spirit Realm, while shortly after the Lord of the Death Realm appeared, both auras returned to the Death Realm.

"Although it's not entirely clear what the Lord of the Death Realm intends to do, we cannot allow him to bring a healthy living person into the Death Realm —whether he intends to imprison or kill them, Wolf."

Kindred adjusted the mask on her face, her other hand already gripping the longbow tightly.

"What do you intend to do, sheep?" The Wolf Spirit circled the "sheep," its two enormous fangs revealing its hunting desire. "Should we just storm into the Death Realm and bring that strange human back?"

"Perhaps this is unavoidable, but we should be more cautious." Kindred shook his head. "The Lord of the Death Realm is very powerful. Outside, we might be able to compete with him, but within the Death Realm, we are probably no match for him."

"Don't be afraid, little lamb!" The Wolf Spirit grinned defiantly, revealing two rows of fangs, each as large as a normal adult's head. "I will tear his armor apart! I will bite through his body! I will drink his energy dry!"

Kindred neither confirmed nor denied these remarks, only shaking his head again.

Although she had never fought the Lord of the Death Realm head-on, she could feel the terrifying power of that "Tyrant of the Death Realm" almost every year Spirit Blossom Festival —power that was by no means weaker than hers.

She might have a slight chance in the Spirit Realm, but in the Death Realm... she has absolutely no chance of winning on her opponent's home turf.

After a moment's thought, she continued, "We can't get him to hand over the person willingly, so entering the Death Realm is inevitable. But perhaps we can get as much help as possible before Death Realm."

"Help? Who here can help us fight that damned guy?" The Wolf Spirit were still unconvinced—they were the great creations of the Mask Mother; if even they couldn't defeat that damned guy, then who could help them?

"Some."

"Who?"

"Well..." Kindred patiently explained as she turned to face the fox girl who seemed completely confused.

"She."

For someone like Ahri, who is entering the Spirit Realm for the first time, it is very difficult to leave the Spirit Realm on her own, but for Kindred, it is a piece of cake.

In less than a few minutes, she took Ahri away from the Spirit Realm and headed straight for the Spirit Tree in the Dreaming Forest.

Yes, she needs Ahri's help before entering the Death Realm.

Ahri's way of helping her is to first gain power herself.

"You said I am a descendant of the Gatekeeper...?" After the brief explanation a few minutes ago, Ahri not only failed to understand the other party's explanation, but became even more confused.

She didn't even really know what "Gatekeeper" were—she'd only heard a little bit about them from that wicked priest before, and had never heard of them at all before that.

She couldn't understand a single word of what he meant by "guiding lost spirits into the Spirit Realm" or "thus granting them eternal peace."

"Maybe." Kindred, who was walking ahead, nodded slightly. "But actually, I'm not too sure... I just think you and she look a lot alike, so it's worth a try."

"Try what...?"

"Try to let you inherit her power."

"But... I don't even know my own background... being a descendant of the Gatekeeper... I know absolutely nothing about it..."

"It's alright, there's no harm in trying." Kindred's tone was very gentle, and her voice was also very soft. "Even if you fail, we won't blame you, and we will continue to try to rescue your lover from the Death Realm."

"Oh... thank you..." Ahri was still a little nervous.

After a moment, she remembered something. "Oh right, are you taking me to that tree...?"

"Yes, the Spirit Tree," Kindred replied.

"I had another... friend who also went to the Spirit Tree, but now she's disappeared..."

"Hmm? What does she look like? Maybe we can help you find her."

"She... um... she's like a human girl and a little deer at the same time..." Ahri explained, gesturing with her hands and nine fox tails simultaneously. "Her upper body is that of a human girl, and her lower body is that of a little deer... She has human hands and four deer hooves... um... it's a bit complicated..."

"That sounds a bit odd." The other person's adorable gestures with both hands and her fox tail made Kindred chuckle. "So, what's her name?"

"Her name is... her name is... oh right, Lillia!"

"Okay, we'll help you find her later."

"Thank you~" Ahri gradually lowered her guard against the gentle girl in front of her.

Soon, they arrived at the foot of the Spirit Tree in the Dreaming Forest.

This is a towering tree, tens of meters tall, with a trunk so thick it could fit several houses inside; it is truly magnificent.

Ahri curiously touched the Spirit Tree, and the Spirit Realm energy surrounding its trunk and branches made her feel very comfortable.

Then, she circled the tree trunk again, but unfortunately, she couldn't find Lillia.

Just as she was feeling regretful and preparing to go back and follow Kindred's arrangements, a strange sensation suddenly came from the touch of her fingertips and spread rapidly throughout her body like an electric current.

In an instant, many strange images flashed through her mind—

Countless orbs of light... spirits... a tightly closed door... a colossal statue... the sound of worship... priests... rituals... the Festival of Spirit Blossom Festival lily... a spiraling staircase... people's gratitude... tears... endless desolation...

"Ahri?" Kindred noticed the other party's unusual behavior, but dared not make any rash moves.

Ahri gave no response, as if all her senses had been completely blocked by some powerful force. Now she could only "see" those bizarre and fantastical scenes.

Time passed second by second, but she still couldn't control her body, and couldn't even speak.

Suddenly, the budding spider lilies around them burst into bloom, and the magical light spots on the Spirit Tree became even more dazzling.

After a while, all the spider lilies were in full bloom, while some of the branches and leaves on the Spirit Tree began to wither and fall... It seemed to be a cycle of life—the alternation of life and death.

Kindred and Wolf Spirit held their breath simultaneously, afraid of disturbing this strange sight—to be honest, they were also quite surprised.

Originally, they planned to try to guide the energy of the Spirit Tree to Ahri to see if they could make her connect with the Spirit Tree, but they never expected that Ahri would receive the Spirit Tree's blessing without them doing anything.

The Spirit Tree is the fundamental link between the Spirit Realm and the Death Realm. Countless years ago, the Gatekeeper and several other "deities" guided the spirits of the deceased here.

Kindred had seen the "Gatekeeper" many years ago. She had seen the beautiful fox-eared woman who resembled the Mask Mother. The latter looked very much like Ahri, and their energies were also very similar... So she guessed that Ahri was a descendant of that Gatekeeper —or at least had some connection to her. That's why she thought of bringing Ahri to see this Spirit Tree that had a close relationship with the Gatekeeper.

She hadn't seen the Gatekeeper for a very long time, but she thought... the Gatekeeper would surely be willing to help her descendants.

And as it turned out, she was right.

Ahri did indeed receive the blessing of the Spirit Tree.

"It seems we can get a very powerful helper," Kindred said softly to the Wolf Spirit.

"Yes, perhaps..." Wolf Spirit even managed a rare smile.

The two waited quietly.

Kindred was full of confidence.

A few minutes later, Ahri gradually stopped absorbing energy from the Spirit Tree.

A dazzling stream of light shone on her, radiating brilliance.

The blessing of the Spirit Tree has largely come to an end.

Kindred's lips, hidden beneath the mask, curled slightly as he smiled and watched the dazzling light gradually fade away.

After a short while, Ahri's figure finally gradually appeared.

Kindred immediately went to meet her.

Then...

She saw a white fox.

A very cute nine-tailed white fox.

Ahri was nowhere to be seen. Only a set of clothes remained on the ground. A white fox emerged from the collar of the robe, its large eyes filled with great confusion.

"Eek?" The white fox let out a cute cry.

Then, its eyes widened.

"Waaaaah... waaaaah?!"

"This..." Kindred was also a little stunned.

"What is this?" the Wolf Spirit asked, his face full of confusion. "Where is that fox-human?"

"Waaah! Waaah...!" The white fox let out another series of cute, unintelligible cries.

Wolf Spirit was still full of questions.