On the cover of that book, there are five Chinese characters written "Golden Black Jade Rabbit Collection".

This book has a great origin, it is said to be written by An Pei Qingming himself, and it is the core solution of his yin and yang arts, and it has never been handed down.

Uesugi Kiyoshi suddenly fell into a trance, and when he came back to his senses, he had become "himself".

The memory was still unsealed without hurry, and he looked at the golden black jade rabbit collection and found that it was basically a method of creating "Shijin".

These methods are said to be heretical, but in fact, they can't be killed with a stick, but they are always full of evil ways, and they are definitely not the right way.

This is because the birth of every "Shikigami" is bound to be accompanied by the death of "living beings".

There is life and death, but it is in line with the concept of yin and yang.

Uesugi Kiyoshi asked himself if he was a moral saint, but if you asked him to exchange his life for "Shikigami", he couldn't do such a thing.

Next, Uesugi Kiyoshi, who was substituted for the role, spent an extremely torturous few days.

He looked through many Heian period texts, and his strange knowledge grew a lot, but his purpose was not achieved at all.

Thinking about it, "let mortals quickly step into the extraordinary without side effects" is the dream goal of countless true knowledgeable people, and those crazy scientists have devoted their efforts to the task that they have spent decades or even a lifetime not accomplishing, if it can be conquered by Uesugi Kiyoshi in a few days, then it is called an evil gate.

His life of studying hard came to an abrupt end one day.

In the darkened study, the door was pushed open.

In the past few days, it's not that no one has come in, Xinghui will send him three meals a day, and Ah Chai will rub the corners of his clothes with a flattering smile from time to time - this dog thing is quite humane, it has been raised by the Lord of the Hundred Ghosts since it was a child, and it has traveled thousands of miles, called to the appointment, which is actually a journey of exile, and the Lord of the Hundred Ghosts will also take this dog, which shows how much Achai attaches importance to the Lord of the Hundred Ghosts.

And apricots don't need to be said.

According to the memory of Uesugi Kiyoshi slowly unsealing in his mind, in the years when he became the lord of the country and unified the Kanto region, the cronies close to him were two young girls, and... A dog.

Apricot who has been serving by his side, there is also a red sword, Achi, who is the strongest in Edo Castle, and Achai, the "loyal dog".

He was obviously in a bad mental state, in an extremely depressed state, and those retainers didn't dare to persuade him, so he could only knock on the side and let Xing come to probe Uesugi Kiyoshi's tone.

Apricot is not very good at doing this job, just to deliver three meals a day on time, he saw that Uesugi Kiyoshi was chattering, as if he was crazy, and he didn't dare to persuade him, so he had the courage to persuade a few words, but Uesugi Kiyoshi couldn't listen to it, so he had to worry with him.

It's just that this time it was not the apricots who came to deliver food.

The first to be under the command of the Lord of the Hundred Ghosts, the veteran-level retainer, the ninja swordsman "Wind Demon" walked in with heavy steps, standing in front of Uesugi Kiyoshi, and opened his mouth with some difficulty.

"Your Excellency... Something happened, you'd better check it out. ”

Uesugi Kiyoshi was in a state of being impregnated by the memory of the Lord of the Hundred Ghosts at this time, and his mentality was very consistent with the Lord of the Hundred Ghosts at that time, so he didn't pay attention to the wind demon at all, and just studied the books in his hand by himself.

Seeing this, the Wind Demon gritted his teeth and continued, "My lord, your dog... Something went wrong. ”

Hearing this, Uesugi Kiyoshi was startled and raised his head, revealing bloodshot eyes.

He has an inexplicable good impression of Ah Chai, which does not come from the memory of his previous life, but because in the present life, if he didn't have the ability of the dog god, he would have died countless times.

To tell the truth, his entire life was given by the dog god.

Hearing this somewhat bad news, Uesugi Kiyoshi reacted for a few seconds, got up and left without saying a word.

Seeing this, the wind demon hurriedly led the way.

A few minutes later, on the path near the back door of the castle tower, Uesugi Kiyoshi was directly stunned.

In a dirt pit, Ah Chai, who is usually smiling and bouncing around him, lies quietly in it.

There was still a smile on its face, but the smile had stiffened, and the blood on its forehead had collapsed, and it had also solidified, Uesugi Qing touched its body tremblingly, and the cold feeling told him that Achai in front of him had been dead for a long time.

The long silence made the wind demons behind him almost breathless.

The extremely huge sense of majesty that came from Uesugi Kiyoshi made him feel like he was on pins and needles.

After a long time, Uesugi Kiyoshi turned around.

His eyes were almost blood-red.

"Who... Dry... Target! ”

The three hoarse words were squeezed out of his throat, and his fingers had inadvertently clenched the handle of the knife at his waist.

Anger burns into a flame in my heart, which is difficult to extinguish.

The Wind Demon swallowed and spitted, crying a little uncontrollably and said, "My lord... According to the small surname that was witnessed, it was it who crashed into this pit and died. ”

"Even this pit was dug by itself!"

Uesugi Kiyoshi couldn't hold back his anger.

"Are you kidding me!! Bastard..."

He was halfway through when suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

He turned abruptly and stared at Ah Chai's corpse.

A passage that he had read himself, came to mind.

"The dog god is the soul that lingers in the world after the death of the dog..."

"Raise a loyal dog from childhood to adulthood, cultivate feelings, and wait until the loyal dog reaches adulthood, cut off its head, bury it under the road, and increase the resentment of its soul through the trampling of tens of millions of people..."

"That sounds like a supernatural power, but maybe it's useful to demons too..."

He bent down in disbelief and looked around the pit.

The bloodstained ground is a little shocking, this is his castle tower, the dirt in the backyard is very compact, it is not the soft ground outside, like digging a pit here, with the ability of a dog... Difficult!

Ah Chai's claws were bloody and fleshy, the marks of the claws in the pit, the fatal wound on his skull, and the stiff but still present smile on his face.

Uesugi Kiyoshi clenched his fists deeply, his nails sinking deep into the flesh, and the pain spreading in his palms, but he didn't realize it.

He still felt that this thing was unbelievable, but the facts in front of him made him have to believe it.

Achai himself crashed and died here...

Why?

He could guess too.

Ah Chai has been human since he was a child and can understand what he means, and his anxious and bored expression a few days ago is in the eyes of this puppy.

It could be like doing something for the master.

When it heard the information about the Inugami Yokai narrated by Uesugi Kiyoshi, it knew what it could do.

The owner needs strength, and as a dog, it can't help.

Inugami can.

So... I'll become a dog god...

That's what Achai thought.

It can't understand all the information about Inugami that Uesugi Kiyoshi said.

But it remembers the point.

The dog god is the soul that lingers in the world after the death of the dog...

With a strong desire, it dug out its own grave with its own hands until its paws were bloody.

It hit its head on the mound of dirt, endured severe pain, and persevered.

Until it can no longer stand up.

But it still had a smile on its face.

Because... Probably the last thought of its life.

Be...

"I'm finally able to help my master.."

All this is not Uesugi Kiyoshi's imagination.

These memories naturally popped up in his mind, and he believed in them.

His whole body was trembling, and he didn't know whether it was anger, sadness, or pain.

He only felt that he had never wanted to dislike himself so much now.

The heavy punch slammed into the ground, and the entire castle tower seemed to shake for a moment, and his fist immediately cracked and bleed.

But he didn't feel any pain at all.

Ah Chai when he was a child, Ah Chai who accompanied him to practice swords, and Ah Chai who walked thousands of miles with him.

This little dog that wagged his head and tail and was always flattering and smiling.

Already...

Can't smile at him anymore.

Uesugi Kiyoshi let out a somewhat hoarse and paradoxical laugh, as if his throat had been ripped open.

He sighed lowly.

"I..."

"Can't even protect a dog!!

"I'm going to... Let it protect me? Die for me?! ”

"You shit... A self-proclaimed kendo genius, after living for so many years, where the fuck did he live! ”

The pent-up depression and anger, mixed with the sadness of the death of the dog, finally broke out.

Uesugi Kiyoshi breathed heavily, only to feel a dizziness in his brain.

He staggered to his feet, staggering to his feet.

Achai wants to become a dog god and work for him.

But... How easy is that?

The most fundamental... Where is the slightest resentment in Ah Chai?

It ended with a smile.

If Achai really becomes a dog god, then it is actually not a bad thing, the lifespan of dogs is limited, but the restraint of ghosts and gods is much less.

But... This stupid dog! How can you become a dog god?

Uesugi Kiyoshi was helpless.

In a daze, he glanced at the wind demon who was guarding the side, and subconsciously asked: "You went to collect Ah Chai's corpse..."

"Where's the apricot?"

When the wind demon saw Uesugi Kiyoshi finally speak, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and returned in a low voice: "My lord, mourn." ”

"I don't know where Mrs. Xing is, do you want me to send someone to look for her?"

Apricot, in the eyes of Edogawa's retainers, is at least the side wife of the lord of the country, with an extremely high status, where do they dare to inquire about the whereabouts of the housewife.

Hearing the Wind Demon's response, Uesugi Kiyoshi waved his hand.

"Forget it... Not necessarily. ”

"Go ahead, I'll be by myself for a while."

Uesugi Kiyoshi just sat cross-legged next to Achai's corpse, staring blankly at the not clear sky, dazed, not feeling the passage of time at all.

The "setbacks" he has experienced are too many.

The earthquake struck, the invasion of the sea country, and the people of the people, and finally had a moment and a half of respite, and Achai, who had accompanied him since he was a child, left him in such a ridiculous way.

These memories came flooding over together, and even Uesugi Kiyoshi, who was mentally calculating, was a little gray.

The sky gradually became gloomy.

The sun sets and the moon rises, and it's already night.

The silence was broken by the sound of hurried footsteps.

The wind demon came over in a hurry, and this time his face was really like a mourning.

There was a resentment in his head all over his body, as if he was complaining about God's injustice, why all the drudgery fell on him.

But he still walked over without delay.

He stammered: "My lord..."

"Mrs. Xing, she..."

Uesugi Kiyoshi raised his head suddenly, his eyes were like the pupils of a beast, and his murderous aura was wantonly revealed.

He had a very ominous premonition.

He paused word by word, and said in a dumb voice: "Apricot... How... What... Done!?"

The Wind Demon gasped for breath, his face flushed, and he had a generous expression of death.

"Mrs. Apricot went to the shrine to pray for your blessing... Accidentally fell into the water, already... drowned..."

Uesugi Kiyoshi only felt a buzzing in his head, as if he had been hit by a giant hammer.

It's not that he hasn't experienced life and death, he remembers how he grieved and swallowed tears of grief when his parents died.

However, the image of "apricot" has been mixed with the image of "apricot", and it has left an indelible trace in his heart.

He couldn't imagine that the little white rabbit who always smiled sweetly at him, obeyed his words, was always busy in the kitchen, and could show a happy smile just by looking at him, would one day leave him and leave this world.

The feeling of difficulty breathing rushed to his brain, and Uesugi Kiyoshi felt the frequency of his heart beating faster, and the blood poured all over his body, about to overwhelm his nerves.

"Apricot went out, and there was no entourage to follow?"

His voice sounded calm, but... But it was like a moment of silence before the eruption of the volcano, which made people feel terrible.

The Wind Demon didn't dare to look up, and quickly replied, "Someone is following... My lord, the retinue also drowned. ”

"That shrine is evil, sitting at the water's edge, when the bodies of Mrs. Arise and those attendants were fished out of the water... It's rotten, like it's been buried in the soil for months..."

"By the time I gathered people to see it, the shrine was gone."

"I'm afraid there's a monster in here!"

"Sorry! My lord! It was my negligence and dereliction of duty! Please punish me! ”

For these, as well as the wind demon's plea, Uesugi Kiyoshi didn't listen to it at all.

"Get out!"

He roared, and the Wind Demon hurriedly retreated backwards, retreating as if it were an amnesty.

The wind demon knows how much weight that "apricot" has in Uesugi Kiyoshi's heart, at the beginning, this killer killed the son of the lord of the country at will for the sake of that little girl, and this kind of thing happened at this time when Kanto was hit hard, to make matters worse, he was already very strong in his heart if he didn't go crazy.

“...”

"Achai..."

"Apricot..."

Muttering vague words, Uesugi Kiyoshi shook his body a few times, and finally couldn't hold it anymore, his eyes went dark, and he fell to the ground.

There was chaos all around, and the thick darkness hit like a tide.

Uesugi Kiyoshi was confused, as if he was having a nightmare, and his face was hideous.

"Wake up!"

With a loud shout, he sat up sharply.

In front of him was a mirror.

In the mirror, he was dressed in a white robe.

He returned to his original space.

Everything that just happened was like an old dream, but it was like his own experience, not like a fake.

Soaked in cold sweat, Uesugi Kiyoshi gasped a few times and stared at the Lord of the Hundred Ghosts in the mirror.

"Don't look at me like that, it's all true, I don't have to lie to you."

"You understand... Was I hopeless? ”

Uesugi closed his eyes and nodded.

"Ahh

"I get it."

"That feeling of powerlessness, more than any other feeling, makes me extremely disgusted."

"What happened?"

"There are dog gods in the Hundred Ghost Picture Scrolls, and there are also Yingcao."

"They... Not dead? ”

Uesugi Kiyoshi's mind was still spinning rapidly, and he immediately thought of the Hyakki Picture Scroll, and felt that things had a turning point.

The Lord of the Hundred Ghosts nodded silently, and glanced at Uesugi Kiyoshi with an extremely complicated look in his eyes.

"yes, I'm not going to let them die like that."

"You should know that I would be surprised if I did anything crazy in that state."

"So, I made a deal with [the demon]."

"I also stepped into a trap from which I will never recover."