The door was violently kicked open.

The usual tranquility was shattered by the sound.

The ghost man opened his eyes, and judging by the smell, at least twenty people had arrived.

In the midst of the uproar, Jiukong Xun keenly captured the girl's voice.

"Damn, let me go!"

It was the girl's voice, and for some reason Jiukong Xun could "feel" fear and panic.

"Hehehehe, I didn't expect to catch a big fish by accident. Cutting off the head of a demon can get a big bounty, right?"

"Bastard! What do you want to do?"

"It's noisy, and then it's your turn."

"Hmm!"

Such a voice reached the ears of Jiukong Xun, and the ghost man closed his eyes again, and it foresaw what was about to happen.

The group didn't let it wait long, and soon they all stepped into the darkened ruined temple with torches. Judging by the clothing, most of the local farmers are present.

And the girl who had been taking care of the ghost man was now covered in bruises and being held by two men, and she struggled angrily, shouting like a hysterical beast. Bruises were everywhere on her body, and she looked like she had been lynched.

"I can't move, this is a great opportunity." A certain peasant smiled innocently, with a look of joy on his face like he had caught a hare, and he was already imagining the scene of taking the head of the Nine Empty Smoke to pay it back.

"Don't be careless yet, let this guy go over and have a look."

The man dressed as a squire casually pointed to a person and asked him to come forward.

The named peasant cowered and touched the ghost, who had closed his eyes, and after a while confirmed, "It was indeed a serious injury."

"Oh, that's good." The squire casually answered, pushed away the guards in front of him and stepped forward, and the guards on the side stopped and admonished, "My lord, is this a little too dangerous?"

"Fuck off."

The squire kicked the guard away, paced arrogantly to the ghost, and said with contempt, "You notorious fellow, today is your death."

The ghost man closed his eyes and said nothing, like an immobile King Kong.

Seeing that there was no movement in the nine airs, the squire smiled and beckoned to everyone, showing the ghost behind him. It's like a merchant showing a commodity and saying, "Do you see that? This guy is the blade ghost! It has slaughtered so many of our compatriots with the blade in its hand, and today we will pay for it with blood!"

It was not an incendiary speech at all, and everyone in the ruined temple cheered excitedly. It was as if they had accomplished a great feat in the crusade against the demons, and the fact that such speeches worked was due to the deep-seated hatred of aliens in the hearts of the people.

Everyone was excited, except for one person.

It's that girl.

"Enma is not like that! You guys......

"Smack!"

The girl's resistance was exchanged for a resounding slap from her side. The squire snorted, "A lowly slave must look like a slave."

The squire slapped her backhand again, knocking the girl straight to the ground.

"My lord, isn't this a little ......?"

A farmer looked at the girl sitting on the ground and hesitated.

"What, do you dare to question me?"

「…… Don't dare."

The peasant cowered and retreated under the squire's gaze, and the squire gestured defiantly to the ghost, "You care about this little ghost, don't you?"

「……」

"Don't speak? Then it's okay if I kill her, right?"

The squire drew the long knife he had at his waist and placed it around the girl's neck. The girl's face changed, but quickly returned to normal: "Whatever it is."

"Wait! Wait a minute! My lord, this child is innocent, please let her go!"

Just as the squire made up his mind to do so, a peasant suddenly fell to his knees and pleaded, "Take my life in exchange, please!"

Gritting his teeth, the peasant slammed his head on the ground a few times, and the scarlet blood immediately wet his forehead and dripped onto the rough stone brick floor.

[What is that...... Uncle Shimura!? 】

The girl looked at the farmer who was willing to save her with his life, and it was Uncle Shimura who took the most care of her on weekdays.

Because of her, she has affected the people she respects, and she can't do this kind of thing!

"Uncle! What are you doing!? This has nothing to do with you!"

The girl's voice was faintly crying.

"How could it be okay." Uncle Shimura, who was bleeding from his head, knelt on the ground and smiled bitterly, "It was your dad who entrusted you to me in the first place. If I watch you die, what face will I have to meet that guy under the Nine Springs!"

Shimura and the girl's every move the squire watched, but he just smiled hideously.

"Uh-huh...... It's really touching." The squire played the long knife in his hand and put it on the girl's neck again: "Unfortunately, I didn't plan to let her go!"

The sharp blade cut through some of the skin on the girl's neck, and bean-sized droplets of blood slowly oozed out. The girl bit her lower lip to keep herself from looking so frightened, but her face turned unusually pale.

[Am I going to die......? 】

[I'm sorry, Lord Enma......]

Feeling the pain in her neck, the girl closed her eyes.

"Yukako! Don't!!"

Uncle Shimura's sad and angry voice seemed to be in the girl's ears, and the peasants beside the girl gritted their teeth and turned their heads to avoid the bloody scene.

Tragedy is about to happen -

That's how it should be.

"Isn't it too despicable to threaten me with such a young child?"

At that moment, a light appeared in the dim ruined temple.

Brilliant golden light.

The ghost man with closed eyes opened slightly, and the noble ghost golden pupils were revealed, and the huge deterrence frightened the peasants present to be forced back several steps.

Rao, who was so arrogant in the face of this momentum, also shed a few drops of sweat in horror.

"Hmph...... Sure enough, my mouth is hard, but if you don't move, I really can't help it."

"If you want to kill or chop you off, the ghost's head is here, come and get it if you want."

said that this was the case, in fact, Jiukong Xun also felt a trace of ridicule in his heart, he had been crusading against ghosts for most of his life, and as a result, there was a day when he was treated as a ghost and crusaded.

It's just that the guy on the other side doesn't seem to want to cut off its head at the behest of Nine Sky Smoke.

"Blade Ghost, I know I can't deal with you, even if you are seriously injured now, I can't hurt your invincible flesh with any weapon." As if verifying his claim, the squire threw the long knife in his hand towards the nine airs. After a sound of gold and stone resonating, the long knife broke in two after grazing Jiukong Xun's neck, and Jiukong Xun was unscathed.

The scene was in an uproar.

"And I'm not stupid enough to approach you and get [that thing] on you." The squire pointed to the hideous scar on Nine Voids' chest.

"You can see it...... Is it a youkai again?"

Of course, Jiukong Xun knew that the squire was referring to the "karma" on his body, and with such a huge amount, it was impossible for ordinary people to survive if they were contaminated.

And this unknown squire can actually see "karma", so it can only be a monster.

Sure enough, the squire's pupils turned into snake pupils for a moment, but they quickly recovered as before.

"You're going to have to harden your mouth now. I can't do anything about you, but do you think I really can't kill you?"

「……」

As if pleased with the silence of the Nine Skies, the Squire kicked the girl out with the arrogant smile of a victor and told someone to throw her a shovel: "You, go dig a pit and bury it alive!"

"W-What!?"

Instead of picking up the squire's shovel, the girl looked at Kukukusha with a shudder, and then at Uncle Shimura.

Uncle Shimura desperately gestured to the shovel with his eyes, but Kukuku Xun didn't say a word.

What to do?

The girl is caught in a choice.

If you don't listen to the squire and bury Jiukong alive, Uncle Shimura and her will be killed.

But she can't do such a thing as burying Jiukong Smoke alive......

What should I do...... Who's going to save me......]

Every choice she makes will determine the life and death of one party, and girls are facing unprecedented pressure.

Finally, she cried.

"I...... I ......."

No one went to comfort her, everyone waited for her choice.

But she couldn't......

In the end, it was the one she wanted to save who saved her.

"It's okay, Yuhanako, bury me."

Jiukong Xun said this to the girl, a relieved smile on its face.

This time, it's the choice of Nine Sky Smoke.

"Enma-sama...... I'm sorry...... I ......."

"Don't cry like that, I'm not going to die that easily. I've made an appointment with you, and I'll see you again."

The girl's choked words were choked, and her vision was blurred by tears.

She stooped down and picked up the shovel on the ground, and cried out to the ghost, "You must not lie to me! We'll see you again!"

"Definitely."

The girl took the Nine Voids out of the ruined temple and began to dig a pit under the gaze of everyone.

It's strange to say, obviously it's not so weak to use a shovel at ordinary times, why can't you even hold the handle now?

The girl's hands were shaking, and her whole heart was shaking.

Her heart was aching.

At the last moment, the girl couldn't help herself from crying, walked up to Jiukong Xun and whispered, "Please forgive me......

But the ghost man said something like that.

"Yuhanako, remember—"

It said.

"No matter what kind of sorrow you encounter, don't give up hope. Please be sure to rebel with your life."

The girl didn't understand the meaning of the ghost man's words, and she didn't know that she had already met her future through the noble golden eyes of the ghost. The girl just numbly lowered the Nine Voids into the pit, and then sprinkled a handful of dirt on the ghost man she respected.

Yukako, like a numb puppet, repeats the action of shoveling and pouring soil. Every movement felt like digging into her heart, shoveling out not dirt, but flesh.

It was on that day that the girl Yukako transferred her savior, her respected elders, and her idols.

Buried alive.