The heavy night slowly descended, but the city beneath its brilliant lights remained as bright as day.
The coquettish laughter of mysterious women mingled with the strings of the shamisen, spilling out of the pleasure houses along with the scent of wine.
The city that never slept was a dazzling place of endless song and dance, but behind its lavish, drunken revelry lay the accumulated blood and tears of countless people.
"Jingxian Temple is just ahead. All the courtesans from the pleasure houses and the retired courtesans were buried there."
Luna pointed at the quiet, gloomy, and eerie temple ahead.
Unlike the lively pleasure district, where lights stretched as far as the eye could see, this place held only desolation.
It was as though they were two completely opposite worlds.
"What a powerful grudge... This is where the grudge is truly concentrated." Kikyo looked at the temple ahead, where the grudge surged toward the sky...
In the daytime, the temple's Buddha light had concealed it, but now that night had fallen, the Buddha light was suppressed instead.
"Are there any monks at this temple?" Kikyo rarely encountered such an enormous amount of grudge, so she immediately asked Luna.
"No. There are only countless women from the pleasure houses who were hastily buried at Jingxian Temple."
"I see..."
The courtesans and retired courtesans had been carelessly buried at this temple. Nothing else was here. How was it any different from a mass grave...?
No wonder the grudge here was so powerful. It all came from the resentment of those women's spirits.
"The demon curse placed on me must have been born from the resentment of the spirits of the predecessors buried at Jingxian Temple."
As she said this, Luna's face took on a fearful expression once more.
As a member of a pleasure house, Luna naturally aspired to become a courtesan.
Yet no matter how hard she tried, she still fell just a little short of becoming one—she lacked that touch of unique charm.
But that wasn't something easily made up for. There were many beautiful, hardworking women in the pleasure houses, and Luna wasn't the only one.
But Luna couldn't accept it...
One night, by chance, Luna came to Jingxian Temple, where countless predecessors had been buried. Her frustration drew out a demon.
A beautiful female spirit, born from the resentment of a retired courtesan buried there.
In response to Luna's frustration, the demon gave her an irresistible charm.
But this help came at a price...
"So many resentful spirits..."
The moment she stepped into Jingxian Temple, Yae Sakura sensed the presence of countless resentful female spirits.
"Be careful..." Kikyo took the bow from her back and stood beside Yae Sakura.
Yae Sakura kept her right hand on the Spirit Blade. Against these spirit creatures, it was a particularly effective weapon.
As for the little fox, Higokumaru, she wore a relaxed expression. Her Fox Fire was no joke.
Luna, the only one who was afraid, still followed closely behind the two women and the fox.
Once the three women and the fox had fully entered Jingxian Temple, they saw... the burial ground, which had seemed lifeless to the naked eye, now filled with resentful spirits drifting through the air, dancing gracefully.
The temple had also completely transformed, becoming a luxurious, beautiful pleasure house and a Flower Night Path.
Inside the pleasure house, the resentful spirits seemed lost in the dream of their past.
Before long, a gigantic figure dressed in an elaborate kimono suddenly appeared before them. The figure stood more than ten meters tall and was dressed as a courtesan, but had blue skin and a head of snowy white hair.
The spirits of women who had lingered here, consumed by their obsessions, had gathered together and taken the form of a courtesan...
"Beauty fades with time, and a true love is hard to find..."
It was actually... a great-demon-level resentful spirit...
[Wanted Quest: Exorcise the Ghost Courtesan] [Quest Requirements: Grudges and frustration have worn away what little happiness remained. The grieving spirits are imprisoned on this shore, unable to depart. Awaken the souls lost in their dreams and guide them to the other shore.] [Rewards: 200 Crystals, 30 Mechanical EXP Crystals (Purple), 50 Skill Points, 100,000 Gold Coins] [Accept?]
"Kikyo, can you guide them to the afterlife?" Yae Sakura looked at Kikyo.
"A great-demon-level resentful spirit will be difficult to put to rest. Of course, it mainly depends on how strong their obsessions are." Kikyo wasn't certain. Guiding spirits to the afterlife was different from exorcising them.
"But if we can shatter her obsession and make her remember her life, there shouldn't be a problem."
"Shatter her obsession?" Yae Sakura was taken aback.
"J-just hit her until it hurts!"
"You could've said so earlier... But this resentful spirit is too weak. Higokumaru, you're up!" Yae Sakura looked at the little fox on her shoulder, not intending to fight herself.
"Leave it to me, big sis!" Higokumaru readily agreed. Looking at the gigantic Ghost Courtesan before her, the little fox leaped off Yae Sakura's shoulder and immediately grew into a fox as large as the spirit.
"Be careful not to destroy her. Just make sure she can't fight back." Afraid Higokumaru might get carried away, Yae Sakura quickly added a reminder.
"Got it!"
Now a fiery fox, Higokumaru stood imposingly before the Ghost Courtesan. Fox Fire blazed across her body, and the surrounding air began to grow hot.
"Who are you...?"
The Ghost Courtesan looked at Higokumaru, who had suddenly appeared. Before she could even ask, the giant fox engulfed in flames pounced on her.
In the next instant, a gigantic pillar of fire, more than thirty meters in diameter, erupted around Higokumaru. It surged up from underground, soaring into the sky and reaching for the clouds!
Beneath the enormous pillar of fire, Jingxian Temple was reduced to ashes in an instant.
The pillar of fire shot into the clouds, illuminating all of Bungo Province!
If Higokumaru hadn't been careful around Yae Sakura and Kikyo, even the three of them might have been injured.
"Damn!"
Yae Sakura was stunned by what Higokumaru had done!
She'd told her not to hurt the spirit, and Higokumaru had gone straight for such a powerful technique?
"Oh my god..."
Kikyo immediately set up a sealing barrier. Although Higokumaru had deliberately kept her flames at bay, the heat was still intense. Yae Sakura and Kikyo were fine, but Luna was just an ordinary person.
"Ah..."
The enormous pillar of fire engulfed the Ghost Courtesan. Resentful spirits were naturally afraid of fire, let alone powerful Fox Fire. Even a great-demon-level spirit could barely withstand it.
However...
"The resentment is dissipating in the flames..."
Kikyo watched the Ghost Courtesan in the fire with great astonishment. The spirit screamed as the resentment covering her was purified by the flames...