The Trap Is Sprung

In the past two days, besides searching for traces of Yomi, Bell hasn't been idle either.

He conducted a detailed investigation into the information about the Killing Stone from the books collected by Sakamoto and others.

There's a saying that goes something like this.

Did humanity originate from the abyss?

As the saying goes, where there is light, there is darkness. No matter how upright and kind a person is, there will inevitably be a dark side in their heart.

The erosion of humanity by the Killing Stone, besides the direct invasion of evil thoughts, actually incites and amplifies the evil thoughts within humanity itself.

When the dark side of a person is magnified and becomes connected with the Killing Stone), that person's soul will become part of the Killing Stone.

After all, according to the records of China Cultivator, the Killing Stone was created by incorporating the souls of a large number of murdered people into Wu Shijie's blood.

In other words, the Killing Stone is essentially an aggregate of a large number of souls.

While sealing the Killing Stone, Bell also discovered that although Yomi had not yet completely merged with the Killing Stone, the two could now be considered inseparable.

In a sense, the Yomi now is a walking, human-shaped Killing Stone.

Therefore, separation is practically impossible.

"There's no way to remove it. The Killing Stone has become part of my soul. There's no other way to take Killing Stone out of my body except by killing me."

Yomi's calm voice confirmed Bell's conjecture.

"So, just kill me already."

Yomi had already mentally prepared himself for death. However, due to Bell's interference, he didn't die.

But this isn't all bad.

After Bell sealed away part of the power of the Killing Stone, her mind is now much clearer.

Thinking about it carefully, it is indeed as Bell said before, that it was not appropriate to let Kagura kill her with her own hands.

Therefore, after a brief moment of thought, she set her sights on Bell, hoping to use Bell to eliminate the threat she posed to Kagura's sister.

"Don't be so extreme. If I killed you, your sister would fight me to the death!"

I don't want to be constantly on people's minds; it would affect my appetite.

With a slight pout, Bell decisively rejected Yomi's suggestion.

Just kidding, he's not the kind of person who would cruelly destroy a beautiful woman.

"But..."

"So I have a suggestion!"

Just as Yomi was anxiously trying to persuade Bell, Bell suddenly interrupted him.

Enough groundwork has been laid; now it's time to the trap is sprung.

"Yomi, come and be my Shikigami!"

"...What did you say?"

Yomi stared at Bell in disbelief.

It seems he has been severely corrupted by the Killing Stone; he can no longer understand human speech.

"I said, I want you to be my Shikigami!"

Lifting up Yomi's head, Bell leaned close to his ear and shouted:

"In that way, I can use the bond of the contract to suppress the evil within the Killing Stone, preventing you from being corrupted!"

"..."

It's just that he doesn't have a physical body right now, otherwise Yomi would definitely have cleaved Bell in two with one strike.

She's not an 80-year-old grandmother, she's still hearing, why are you talking so loudly in her ear!

Now her ears are so uncomfortable that she can't even rub them with her hands.

And most importantly...

"What kind of ridiculous request is that?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"Well, I know it's hard for you to accept right now. But that's the situation, and there's nothing I can do about it."

After lifting Yomi's head a little further away, Bell said helplessly.

The other party suddenly raised their voice, which made his ears feel quite uncomfortable.

Moreover, because he was holding Yomi's head with both hands, he couldn't rub it with his hands.

After Yomi regained consciousness, he dared not hold the other person's head with one hand anymore. He was afraid the other person would bite him.

"Don't talk like it's already a done deal; I haven't agreed to it yet!"

After taking two deep breaths, Yomi finally calmed down.

She doesn't even have lungs anymore, so who knows where all that air went?

"Bell, I cannot become your Shikigami. Just as you said, if I were to sign Shikigami contract with you, the evil within the Killing Stone would erode your soul through the bond of the contract."

I know you are strong, but believe me, no one can withstand the corrosive power of the Killing Stone Killing Stone. Many talented Onmyoji have attempted to control its power, but they all ultimately failed.

Yomi looked at Bell with complicated emotions and earnestly tried to persuade him.

To be honest, when Bell proposed to take her as Shikigami, she didn't know how she felt.

The anger of being insulted? The joy of seeing hope? The feeling of being cared for?

Perhaps both, or perhaps neither.

But in any case, as she just said, she cannot become Bell's Shikigami, otherwise she will only harm him.

Death was the only path she could take.

"Of course I know what you're talking about. But don't worry, I have Xiao Qi with me."

As he spoke, a miniature Qiongqi emerged from Bell's left arm.

Previously, after being struck by his Freezing Curse in the Yomi, causing the Lion King to slip from his grasp, Ran Honglian, who was residing within the Lion King, automatically dispelled the summons and returned to the sword.

After sensing the message transmitted back by Qiongqi, Bell released the Qiongqi from its summons, allowing it to return to his body.

"Let me introduce you. This is my Patronus — Qiongqi. I created it by combining the guardian Shikigami Patronus Charm with the Taoist Yin-Yang theory and utilizing the methods of Onmyoji to control shikigami."

I don't know if you're familiar with the Taoist Yin-Yang theory. Simply put, Qiongqi is formed by the combination of good and evil intentions. Good and evil intentions circulate within Qiongqi's body, mutually restraining and generating each other, ultimately achieving a state of Yin-Yang harmony.

Therefore, with Qiongqi guarding my body, the evil intent of the Killing Stone cannot affect me; it might even become nourishment for Qiongqi.

Bell joked, "He's a wizard, you know!"

Is death the only path left?

It doesn't exist!

If there's no road ahead, then forge a new one. With magical help, this is no problem at all!

Of course, if Yomi really becomes his Shikigami, then in order to suppress the malice constantly emitted by the Killing Stone, he will no longer be able to summon Qiongqi outside his body to fight.

But on one side is Qiongqi, this dark-skinned and pale guy, and on the other side is Yomi, who is fair-skinned, beautiful, and has a shapely figure. Which one to choose? Is there any need to consider this?

"Awooo~~"

Perhaps sensing the extremely rude thoughts in its master's heart, the Q-version Qiongqi, which had been baring its teeth at Yomi's head since it appeared, turned its head and looked pitifully at Bell, letting out a wronged whimper.