"Hey, what should I do with him? His hands or his feet?" Shuten asked Shiranui Asuka over his shoulder, a cigarette between his lips. "Or should I pull out his tongue?"
"Master, be good and don't look." Great Tengu Myriad Bone Workshop gently covered Shiranui Asuka's eyes with his hand and told Shuten Doji, "Just beat him into pulp. Don't let any blood splash onto Master."
"Got it." Shuten Doji tightened his grip on his metal bat, and murderous intent filled the room.
"Ah! No, you can't!" Shiranui Asuka hurriedly pushed Great Tengu away and stopped Shuten Doji. "Shuten, you can't kill him. He's important..."
"Important or not, he's dying." Shuten Doji had no intention of sparing Xu Xian. "I'm pissed off. Nobody can save him today."
"I said no! Didn't you hear me?" Shiranui Asuka suddenly shouted, startling both monsters.
"Huh?" Shuten turned around, utterly bewildered. "Myriad Bone Workshop, did this woman just yell at me?"
Great Tengu Myriad Bone Workshop was puzzled too. "Master, why are you acting... so strange?"
Shiranui Asuka wiped her tears away. "I-I'm really grateful to you both, but you absolutely can't kill him. We're inside a legend, and I'm on a mission. You're my shikigami, so please listen to me!"
Shuten Doji simply couldn't understand it. Was the girl before him really the same crybaby he had known?
"Come to think of it, this isn't Japan, is it?" Great Tengu Myriad Bone Workshop surveyed the furnishings. "Is this China?"
"China?" Shuten glanced at the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall. "It really is... All Chinese characters. It's been so damn long since I used them that I can't read a single one..."
Great Tengu ignored him and addressed Shiranui Asuka instead. "Master, it seems this trip to China really has helped you