A Premonition of Liver Pain

Fate always loved playing jokes, whether it was an unexpected encounter or a spur-of-the-moment journey.

It always came so suddenly, catching people off guard... Of course, those so-called great meetings or glorious adventures recorded in poems or history books might have come about for that very reason. Perhaps the people involved never thought much of it, and most never even realized it.

Gu Mo did not know what it felt like to drink until he blacked out, but he could probably guess.

After all, he had personally experienced far too many similar "blackouts" lately. It was like watching a movie when a section in the middle was inexplicably cut out. One frame was still this scene, yet the next abruptly jumped to another.

There was no transition at all. It was as if, in the blink of an eye—

He merely closed his eyes, and when he opened them again the next second, it was already the following day...

That was roughly how it felt, just like right now.

Cold. Shaking...

As Gu Mo felt the presence of his body again, he also received those sensations from the outside world and opened his eyes. There was no lingering grogginess at all. The instant he woke, he was fully alert, his mind and will both at their peak.

What entered his sight was the outline of a forest stretching through the night, with a narrow strip of sky visible between the trees. Brilliant stars dotted the deep night canopy. The sky bore the color of the cosmos, while moonlight shimmered faintly behind dark clouds, making the dense treetops seem to be sliding backward.

Hmm, he was not inside some underground train carriage?

The thought flashed through Gu Mo's mind, and he relaxed slightly. The sensation he had felt the moment his consciousness returned, combined with his own situation, had made him instantly imagine some very strange possibilities.

It was good that he was not. He had not prepared himself to go two thousand feet underground beneath Raccoon City and play a live-action version of Left 4 Dead...

Although he had already faced far more vicious Demons and Monsters and should not have feared mere walking corpses, it was not the zombies themselves that scared him. It was the virus. The immunity granted by thirteen points in Constitution might make him mostly immune to ordinary diseases, but it was probably still not enough to withstand the T-virus.

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief and tried to sit up, a face appeared above him.

Her hair was cut in a hime style with straight bangs. The black fringe across her forehead had been neatly trimmed level with her brows, while the hair at her temples fell perfectly straight to her chin...

Her rose-red eyes were clear and gorgeous, like rubies. The lower half of her face was covered by a black mask, hiding her true appearance, but even from her exposed features and brows, one could imagine the doll-like delicacy concealed beneath it...

Whether it was a coincidence or she had sensed something, Hidechiyo happened to lean over and look at him at that moment, meeting his gaze directly.

"..."

"..."

In an instant, the air fell silent.

The girl showed no expression, still looking calm and composed, her eyes tranquil as water.

But Gu Mo was different. After freezing for a moment, he suddenly remembered what had happened earlier. A deadly wave of embarrassment surged over him, drowning him whole.

I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead...

Why did I have to wake up now?! No, why am I still in this Dungeon?!

A storm erupted in his mind. The roaring waves reverberating in his head were the kind of embarrassment that could make anyone toss and turn in bed in the middle of the night, wishing they could leave the planet on the spot. It was the sudden, overwhelming feeling of everything being completely wrong.

And so, in the soundless silence, another... one or two seconds passed.

Yet under these circumstances, Gu Mo truly understood what it meant for seconds to feel like years. Especially while looking into the girl's calm eyes, every passing second seemed to take an entire century. It was unbearable torture.

No, this could not continue. His heart would not be able to take it...

As Gu Mo stared into the girl's eyes, his heartbeat grew increasingly irregular. But he could be certain this was definitely not love. It was far more likely to be arrhythmia!

Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath. The cold air, carrying the chill of midnight and a faint fragrance, calmed his thoughts somewhat. Then... he forced a beaming smile onto his face and waved at the black-haired girl peering down at him while remaining where he was.

"Hi, good evening."

"..."

"..."

Hidechiyo raised an eyebrow and examined him carefully. Only after confirming that his breathing was perfectly steady and that there truly was nothing wrong with him did she respond.

Good evening.

She nodded lightly, still silent, yet seeming to say exactly that without words.

"Yo, Brother Gu Mo, you're finally awake..." A somewhat familiar booming voice came from the front. Tokichiro, who was driving the cart, had heard the movement behind him and glanced back. He immediately let out a long sigh of relief. He had also been worried something might have gone wrong.

"Wh-where is this? Where are we going?"

Gu Mo sat upright and looked around, discovering that he was seated on a battered wooden cart pulled by two horses. It was moving neither too fast nor too slowly along a rugged mountain road through the forest. Whether because the road was too uneven or the cart itself was poorly made, it jolted as though it might fall apart at any moment...

"This... I'm not too sure where this is either. I can't name the place. Somewhere like this..."

Tokichiro, driving up front, was also stunned by the question. He looked up at the sky and thought for a moment before replying with an embarrassed chuckle. Although he often traveled far and wide and knew many places, it was impossible for him to know everything, especially in this era and this world.

Mountains and forests were the dividing line between the human world and the world of yokai. The reach and prosperity of human civilization were not enough to cover every corner of the world. Towns and villages were merely a few black dots on a sheet of white paper, while most places beyond them remained wild, undeveloped wilderness.

Like now, he knew this road connected two locations... but while he knew the places at either end of the road, he truly knew nothing about the areas it passed through. Whether it was him or the mountain folk who traveled this path, they only passed through here. None of them had any interest in the place itself.

In a godforsaken place like this, where neither heaven nor earth would answer your call, there were only yokai and ghosts—or mountain bandits and highwaymen with nowhere else to go... The yokai and ghosts probably had no interest in naming the place. As for any bandits who might be around, they could ask them if they ran into any?

Tokichiro shook his head, lightly flicked his whip at the two poor horses ahead, then turned back with a smile. "But of course we're going to Mino. We set out early this morning and have already been traveling all day. Don't worry, though. It wasn't far to begin with. We should arrive tomorrow afternoon..."

"G-going to Mino? We've been traveling all day..."

Gu Mo opened his mouth and looked at the primeval forest around them, as well as the silhouettes of mountains on the distant horizon beneath the night sky.

Though he had already expected it, having it confirmed still made him feel as though everything was wrong... He looked back. Behind them, the rugged mountain road was constantly being swallowed by the darkness beyond the lantern light on both sides of the cart.

How far away were they from Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village now...

"Yeah, didn't you agree at the time?" Tokichiro said earnestly without turning around. "And we originally wanted to take you to Mino to see a doctor, Brother Gu Mo. Just look at your condition... Ahem, so we traveled through the night."

That was why they had acted so quickly and decisively.

Hidechiyo had ultimately made her decision, but faced with the unconscious Gu Mo, she naturally could not simply leave him behind. So she had brought him along as well.

I didn't say I agreed. I said Axiu could go take a look... Gu Mo opened his mouth again, wanting to say something, but then let out a dejected sigh. The deed was done. No matter what he said now, it would be useless, so there was no point in giving himself more trouble.

"W-what's wrong, Brother Gu Mo? Is something wrong?"

Hearing his dejected sigh, Tokichiro immediately turned around anxiously. "Hold on a little longer, or lie back down and rest? We still have quite a way to go. Should we find somewhere ahead and stop for a rest?"

He did not know what was going on, but from the bottom of his heart, he did not want anything to happen to his future partner. Dying before they had even begun and all that...

"It's nothing, really. It's just... I was too tired earlier..." Gu Mo shook his head repeatedly, though he did not know how to explain his situation for the moment.

But Tokichiro refused to relax. No matter what, he insisted that they find somewhere ahead to stop. He figured the mountain road was too rough and the cart too bumpy, so it would be better to rest before continuing. Besides, it was time to let the two horses have a proper break.

As the two of them bickered and settled on resting ahead, the black-haired girl seated at the rear of the cart remained quiet and still.

Her posture was exceptionally proper. She did not look as though she was being jostled about in a cart at all. Instead, she seemed to be kneeling in meditation in her own backyard, her entire presence radiating quiet gentleness... Swift as thunder in motion, still as a maiden at rest. That was probably the best way to describe her.

Only, her gaze remained fixed tightly on someone...

To be honest, Hidechiyo had spent the entire day worrying whether something had happened to this strange man. Not long after she woke that morning, he had suddenly passed out. No matter how they called to him afterward, he would not wake. If not for his calm, rhythmic breathing, she might have suspected that he was dead.

But now, it seemed he had really just slept?

That left even her speechless. But after thinking it over seriously, perhaps... this was the price of that hand-washing secret technique of his?

That was the conclusion she reached.

Having finished bickering with Tokichiro, Gu Mo turned back with a weary heart and met the thoughtful gaze of the black-haired girl. He quickly looked away, feeling his cheeks grow slightly hot. This was how someone acted when they had done something shameful and did not dare face the person involved.

Even if the girl did not seem too concerned and showed no intention of pursuing the matter, just as easygoing as before... embarrassment was never about what others thought. It was about the feeling one could not bear oneself.

The cart stopped on a stretch of flat ground in the forest beside a river. Under the dim glow of the lanterns hanging from the cart, the surroundings were silent except for the murmuring flow of water.

Tokichiro was bustling around, feeding and watering the exhausted horses. The black-haired girl stood beside the cart on watch. Though she appeared to be distracted, staring blankly at the brilliant stars overhead, nothing stirring within the surrounding area could escape her senses.

They had been traveling all day and had encountered several attacks by yokai and ghosts. Tokichiro knew that when the girl looked distracted, it was actually the safest time—it meant there was no danger nearby. Thus, he tended to his two horses without the slightest worry.

—This was also part of Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village's legacy. They were not good horses, but they were still a considerable asset. Bringing them back to Mino would earn a decent sum.

Meanwhile, by the river, Gu Mo was filling a leather waterskin. He had volunteered for the task. First, it was the only thing he could help with, since he did not understand the rest. Second, he wanted to use the chance to check his system panel.

In this unfamiliar yet strangely fantastical world, it was his greatest source of confidence. Only by looking at it could he feel at ease.

There had been no changes to his character panel. His total level was still LV4. Of the four allocatable attribute points he had gained, he had put one into Strength and three into Constitution... Well, at least he would no longer be a weakling unable to truss a chicken in this war-torn age.

At the very least, his physical fitness should be far better than that of most soldiers, farmers, and others who were underfed, poorly clothed, and malnourished.

But that was still far from enough...

Letting out a breath, he hesitated before opening his equipment page. It was still completely empty, without a single piece of equipment recognized by the system... So was his Guardian Spirit not on this page?

With a faint sense of unease, he sensed the reassuring presence beside him, then opened the skills page and finally relaxed.

Sure enough, it was here. On the skills page, directly above the silhouette of the human figure, a new slot had appeared. Inside was a shining emblem depicting a fiery red fox.

Yet instead of being directly merged into the previous ten skill slots, it had been added above them as an extra slot for display. Did that mean his cheat had added a separate subsystem for Guardian Spirits?

Thinking this, he opened his Guardian Spirit interface.

A codex-like page appeared. On the left was a three-dimensional image of a majestic fiery red fox. Its nine tails slowly swayed amid the foxfire floating around it, radiating authority. There was also a written description—

"Nine-Tails is a fox Guardian Spirit with nine tails. It is said that each tail contains immense Yokai Power. Not only can it control flames, it also possesses Divine Power capable of bewitching people. After Nine-Tails appears, the world will soon enter a period of transition."

Gu Mo did not pay much attention to it and instead looked at the page on the right.

Upgrade.

Equipment.

Skills.

Appearance.

Hmm, why did this seem familiar? He twitched the corner of his mouth and opened the skills page. There, he saw the silhouette of a seated fox facing forward, its nine tails fanned out behind it like a peacock's display. Each tail corresponded exactly to a round slot.

Gu Mo suddenly felt a pain in his liver. Were Guardian Spirits not supposed to come fully formed? Why did his seem to require training from scratch? Did he have to level it up too? Farm equipment and skills for it?