chsdbacks Page 280
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"No one can challenge Fall Guys until they gain enough power."
"Right now, most of the Crown owners are near Tokyo, but nobody wants to mess with that guy."
The Shiba Inu yawned: "You've seen it too, he already has more than ten crowns. Do you think ordinary evil spirits can stand against him? Are you kidding me? Although everyone knows it will ultimately be a life-or-death struggle, nobody wants to die."
Onmyoji Ling Ming, with a gloomy expression, floated silently in the air.
"But... is there any other information? Why can ordinary people still exist in the world as souls without turning into evil spirits?" The Shiba Inu was very puzzled: "How did you do that?"
"It wasn't me who did it; it was Fall Guys' ability," Onmyoji Ling Ming replied.
"His abilities?!" The Shiba Inu suddenly became excited: "Tell me quickly, what exactly is going on?"
Onmyoji Ling Ming then slowly began to recount his experiences, such as the levels of the Fall Guys game, the various elimination mechanisms, and the various rules explained by Dou Tang.
"He actually managed to bind the soul of the loser to another world... How is that possible?" Shiba Inu seemed incredulous, but then seemed to remember something and said, "Ever since Taira no Masakado claimed to have returned from the underworld, some people have confirmed the existence of the underworld, and there is now a consensus."
"That is... no one can take a soul from the Yellow Springs. The souls of all the dead, whether they are vengeful spirits, monsters, exorcists, or ordinary people, all have only one final destination: the Yellow Springs."
"Moreover, the Yellow Springs do not perform any so-called cleansing or purification of the soul."
Onmyoji Ling Ming was somewhat surprised: "You mean..."
"Is Fall Guys one of the entrances to the Underworld?"
The black Shiba Inu shook its head: "No, there is no such thing as an entrance to the Underworld."
He stretched out his claws and tapped the ground beneath him, saying, "The Yellow Springs are right beneath our feet, or rather, they are everywhere."
"The Yellow Springs is a space independent of matter, or rather, it cannot be called a space, but rather a void where souls gather."
"The Fall Guys world is probably unrelated to the Underworld, so... that's equivalent to him seizing the power of the Underworld."
Onmyoji Ling Ming was suddenly stunned.
"The souls he kills are taken into the Fall Guys world, where they are cleansed and live happily as Fall Guys until they are reincarnated... But what about the things that are cleansed?"
The black Shiba Inu continued, "Those things are probably just the resentment of evil spirits. That's all power. Whether the power belonging to evil spirits will become his own power after he devours it, none of us can say for sure."
"But what is certain is that he is competing with the underworld for business, competing with the destination of countless souls after death, which is not... a good thing."
"Judging from the fact that Taira no Masakado was able to return to the human world, the underworld is probably not a completely unmanaged place. Perhaps there really are beings in the world that represent the underworld."
Hearing the black Shiba Inu's explanation, Onmyoji Ling Ming was very surprised, but after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "What... exactly are you?"
“I used to think that you Shiba Inu monsters were just little monsters under the command of some crown holder to contact other crown holders, but... these are things that an ordinary liaison officer cannot know.”
"What exactly are you? What are you Shiba Inu monsters after?"
Hearing this, the black Shiba Inu grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and said, "Oh... that's a pity. If you were still alive, you might have known the truth one day."
"But now... you're not worthy to know the truth."
Upon hearing this, the Onmyoji Ling Ming fell silent.
He is dead.
In the face of these monsters, he was just a guy who had been captured by the Fall Guys but hadn't been purified immediately, no different from any random vengeful spirit on the roadside. Moreover, when he returned, the information in his mind might even be known to Dou Tang.
The black Shiba Inu yawned again, turned around and crawled into its doghouse, saying, "Anyway, thank you for thinking of passing on the information. Now you can take this time to see the world. I'm going to go back to sleep."
"When I wake up, we'll have to change our address. After all, we don't know if Mr. Ren will find out about what happened here when you go back."
The Onmyoji Ling Ming remained silent for a while, then sighed and slowly rose into the air.
He rose, rose, and rose higher and higher, until he felt an invisible barrier binding him from above.
Just stopped.
He lowered his head and looked at the city in front of him.
This city, not far from Tokyo, is just as bustling and vibrant as Tokyo itself.
Even in the dead of night, it burns with all its might amidst the bright lights.
Since becoming younger, Onmyoji Ling Ming has not had a proper look at this city.
Countless people live in this city.
For example, a dinner.
While eating, imagine that scenes like this are happening thousands of times in the same city: some people are alone, some are with their whole family, and countless others are entering hotels and restaurants with others.
What kind of lives do they lead? Who are the people sitting opposite them? What kind of relationships exist between these people?
Countless complex feelings and information change every moment in the city, like tiny cells of a vast organism.
This feeling sent shivers down the spine of the Onmyoji Ling Ming.
He suddenly realized that what he was facing was not a city built by humans, but a colossal god so vast that it relied on human offerings and sustenance.
Humans are nurtured by cities, but they also nurture cities. However, cities will never change because of the disappearance of one or two people.
All power is insignificant in the face of this behemoth.
Looking at the neon-lit city before him, Onmyoji Ling Ming seemed to have a sudden realization.
But this realization came far too late, and he suddenly became curious about what the Yellow Springs would be like.
Since it's a place where countless souls gather, it might be as all-encompassing as the city before us, right?
But that has nothing to do with me anymore. My destiny is to become a jelly bean and live a carefree and happy life.
Thinking about it this way, it's much better than being swallowed up by a monster that looks just like the city in front of us.
Chapter 150 The Slender Shadow of the Locust Tree
Your current holdings are as follows:
[Low-level vengeful spirit (purified): 303]
【Shining Soul: 1】
[Advanced Evil Spirit (Purified): 163]
[High-level evil spirits (not yet purified): 0]
[True Evil Spirits (Purified): 4]
[True Evil Spirits (Not Yet Purified): 0]
[Purification complete: 304]
Congratulations! You've won a crown! Keep up the good work and strive for final victory!
[Crown: 11]
Finally, all three evil spirits were purified.
Dou Tang breathed a sigh of relief, a huge weight lifted from his heart.
The incidents involving Taira no Masakado and the Onmyoji Ling Ming have now truly come to an end for Dou Tang.
He stood up and stretched. It was already past 2 a.m., but he was still wide awake.
Having absorbed so much resentment from evil spirits, he felt unusually energetic, even somewhat overactive.
Just as he was thinking this, he heard his bedroom door open.
"Dong dong dong..."
Who is it at this time?
Dou Tang slowly walked to the door, opened it, and then looked quite surprised.
The person standing outside the door wasn't anyone he recognized, but a... man in a suit whose face had turned ashen.
Dou Tang could tell that the man in the suit was not a living person.
He presented a box with both hands, bowing deeply and showing great humility.
"Sir, I'm so sorry to bother you so late, but this must be given to you now."
After saying that, he even knelt down on one knee, still holding his hand up, as if he wouldn't get up until Dou Tang took the box.
Dou Tang didn't rush to take it. He knew what was inside and asked, "How did you know I was here? Were you spying on me?"
"I wouldn't dare," the man in the suit hurriedly explained. "I was just following orders."
Dou Tang took the box, but this time he didn't kill the guy in front of him. Firstly, it would cause trouble afterward, and secondly, killing him would be useless, since the guy in front of him had no soul.
The man in the suit remained kneeling in place.
Dou Tang said, "Get up, you can go now. Oh, and please say thank you for me."
"Yes."
Dou Tang returned to the house, closed the door, placed the box on the table, and slowly opened it.
Sure enough, there was another sword inside, a longsword that he was most familiar with... a sword that had always been called the Ancestral Sword.
Dou Tang picked up the longsword, then drew it, and a cold light flashed in the room.
This time, in addition to the cloud pattern, four characters were engraved on the sword. Dou Tang's eyes widened the moment he saw those four characters.
The characters were strong and powerful, like a coiled dragon.
The slender shadow of the locust tree.
In an instant, Dou Tang suddenly felt something churning in his head, his head throbbing with pain, and he almost fell over.
"This is impossible……"
He struggled to his feet, his body drenched in cold sweat. Those four versions of himself felt like a heavy hammer, smashing something that had been hidden deep within his heart.
These four characters are the key points engraved on the ancestral sword, and they are the general outline of the family precepts.
This is... a word that could never possibly appear in this world. Only one kind of person knows this word: the Ren family members themselves.
There are others besides myself... It's impossible.
Yes, but in my generation, I will be the only one to carry on the tradition!
Dou Tang suddenly vomited violently. His inhuman body became extremely weak at that moment, and his stomach was constantly cramping, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.
After a long while, he slowly stood up, took a deep breath, and sheathed his longsword.
The person who sent this sword must be found!
Dou Tang threw the longsword back into the box, took some tissues from the bathroom and quickly cleaned the floor. He felt his body, which had been full of energy just moments before, suddenly become exhausted. He lay down on the bed and drifted off to sleep in a daze.
………………
"Haha..." Huaiyin stretched and woke up.
She rubbed her eyes and found that Ryūko Sada and Mikazuki, who had been drunk all night, were still asleep, while Harui was nowhere to be seen.
She thought for a moment, then laughed, jumped off the bed, quickly dressed, tied her hair into a neat ponytail, exuding a refreshing youthful charm, and quietly left the house.
She arrived at Dou Tang's room and knocked.
A faint, rustling sound came from behind the door, and then Dou Tang opened the door.
Huaiyin looked up and was stunned.
Dou Tang looked unexpectedly haggard, with dark circles under his eyes and sunken eye sockets. Although his eyes were more profound, he looked very listless.
"Huaiyin...why are you up so early?"
"Brother... what's wrong?!" Huaiyin quickly grabbed his arm. "You... you have such dark circles under your eyes, didn't you sleep well last night?"
"It's nothing..." Dou Tang replied softly, then turned and went into the house, with Huai Yin quickly following behind.
As soon as she entered the room, she noticed a box on the table with a sword on it.
Dou Tang's original sword was missing its scabbard and had chipped blades in several places; without a doubt, the one on the table was new.
“Brother, this is…” Huaiyin blinked.
Dou Tang had already lain back down on the bed, and mumbled sleepily, "It was a gift from a friend... I want to sleep a little longer."
Huaiyin had never seen him so tired and languid before. At this moment, her heart clenched, and she felt a pang of heartache as she leaned closer to him, then lay down on the bed and snuggled into Doutang's arms without saying a word.
Dou Tang didn't refuse. He opened the blanket and welcomed Huai Yin in, then hugged her tightly around the waist, still half asleep and without even opening his eyes.
Suddenly being embraced around the waist, Huaiyin was startled for a moment, then realized that Doutang had fallen asleep quickly. She sighed, touched Doutang's face with some affection, buried her head in his arms, and closed her eyes as well.
It would be good to sleep a little longer... Perhaps, I could enter his dreams and find out why he suddenly became like this.