Swallow Return

As for why he jumped over the wall instead of knocking... it doesn't seem to make any sense; it was just a subconscious action.

Upon entering the temple, one immediately sees several maids sweeping the courtyard, each with a blank expression and mechanical movements, like mindless zombies.

The drifting clouds immediately passed by.

The servants were like deaf and blind people, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Upon entering the house, there was still no sign of cooking or boiling water; it appeared cold and desolate.

Uninvited, Liu Yun, following her intuition, walked through the corridor and pushed open the bedroom door.

Sure enough, Lady Guidie appeared before them.

Then Liu Yun immediately realized that although she was indeed still alive, it was not entirely unreasonable to say that she was dead.

……

At this moment, Lady Guicho was not wearing her usual solemn and heavy cool-toned kosode, but only a loose and light white yukata. Her hair was not tied up, but hung loosely over her shoulders.

Liu Yun realized for the first time that Lady Gui Die was actually so plump, full-figured, and graceful.

While her figure might not have been considered the most aesthetically pleasing in 16th-century Japan, it is now viewed by modern standards as the deadliest female leopard.

Of course, Liu Yun only glanced at it before looking away.

Now is not the time to consider other trivial matters.

More notably, Lady Guidie's eyes were lifeless, and she sat upright like a bell, with the books on the table in front of her clearly untouched for a long time.

Even when Liu Yun rudely barged into her boudoir, she didn't react at all.

The situation was exactly the same as that of the servants outside.

Liu Yun had long realized that the guests at Qingjian Temple had all been affected by a magic array, which was why they looked like this. But after carefully examining Lady Guidie for a few moments, he suddenly realized that if a magic array truly existed, then the key to it was her.

Rumors circulated outside that she had been dead for a year, but inside, the situation was quite strange.

This is indeed very strange, but what should we do?

Unable to think of any other way, Liu Yun decided to try greeting them directly.

"Lady Guidie, it's been a long time. How have you been?"

He spoke first in a low voice, but received no response.

He raised his voice and repeated it two or three times before she slightly raised her head, her eyes seemed to regain some luster, and her consciousness gradually returned.

After a long while, Lady Guidie's pupils finally seemed to focus, but her body and face remained stiff and motionless. She managed to open her mouth with difficulty and utter a monotone sentence: "...Is that Lord Liuyun? I never expected that I—I never expected that I would be able to see you again after my death. Have you died too?"

Upon hearing that familiar yet unfamiliar voice, Liu Yun was taken aback and immediately retorted, "Madam Gui Die is mistaken. I am still alive, and so are you."

"Heh—" Lady Guidie gave a dry smile and shook her head very slowly, like a rusty machine: "Who would make a mistake like this? Lord Liuyun, you must be joking."

"I'd like to ask, how could a living person think they're dead?"

Liu Yun was truly puzzled.

Then he wondered if it was because she thought she was dead that she truly became lifeless like a dead person?

Liu Yun himself could not judge this.

So, following custom, he inquired of the demon sword princess, Nagafune Nagamitsu, who had transformed into a sword hidden in its sheath.

Yaodao-hime also said she didn't know, but offered a suggestion:

“Master, you can communicate with the Nine-Tailed Fox with your divine sense at any time now, why don’t you ask her?”

Liu Yun thought about it and agreed that it made sense. Although the nine-tailed fox was quite unruly, she was still very knowledgeable. Now that he had seized the power of the divine kingdom, she couldn't cause any trouble.

So, on a whim, he contacted the nine-tailed fox who was resting and recuperating in the divine realm.

Then a delighted and coquettish voice immediately echoed in my mind: "Lord Liuyun, have you missed me? Hehe, I'm so happy..."

“Heh—” Iori, who was also within the mental link range, gave a completely emotionless interjection.

"Oh, is Iori-neechan angry? Don't be like that, you can't enjoy all of Lord Ryuun's favor by yourself!"

Liu Yun decisively stopped the pointless conversation.

"This kind of communication is exhausting. Stop talking nonsense and tell me quickly what's going on with Lady Guidie."

His thought, transmitted as if by magic, immediately silenced the nine-tailed fox, who obediently carried out the order.

A moment later, a surprised and uncertain voice came from the other end:

"Could this be Lord Oda Ufu's (Nobunaga's) method of dealing with me? After being given the concept of 'death' by the outside world, I will truly die step by step under the constraints of the law. But does this also work on mortal humans? Hmm... Lord Ryuun, could you come a little closer so I can take a closer look?"

"Get closer?" Liu Yun was pleased to hear that there was an idea, but this request made her frown: "How close?"

"The closer the better, ideally to the point of skin-to-skin contact and spiritual communion."

This was said... Liu Yun initially thought it was a dirty joke, but the Nine-Tailed Fox's tone was very serious, not like she was joking. 2

Chapter 297 Liu Yun, Corrupted and Poisoned by the Nine-Tailed Fox

"Is that right?"

Liu Yun carefully grasped Lady Gui Die's wrist.

"It's not enough, I can't see it clearly."

The nine-tailed fox's clear voice appeared in his mind.

"Okay, so what now?"

Liu Yun stepped forward, stretched out both hands, and gently grasped Lady Gui Die's arm.

"We've made some progress... but it's still not very clear. Could you get closer?"

The nine-tailed fox sounded a little strained, as if she was concentrating on observing.

"Uh... how about this?"

After a moment's thought, Liu Yun went around to the back and put his arm around Lady Gui Die's waist.

"I can almost sense it. If I were any closer, I would be able to see it completely."

The nine-tailed fox was slightly out of breath, but also a little excited.

However, Liu Yun hesitated.

If this isn't close enough, then how close do we need to be?

The principle of men and women not touching each other should always be taken into consideration, right?

The series of actions just now—grabbing wrists, arms, and waists—were actually quite impolite.

Although Liu Yun briefly explained the reason, Lady Gui Die was not very clear-headed after being awakened and seemed not to understand. Like a woman who had been violated by a thug, she glared at him with an unfriendly look.

only……

She is currently in a state of extreme mental and physical weakness, and her gaze seems more like one of shame, annoyance, and anger.

As for shifting her body and trying to struggle, her strength was negligible; anyone who didn't know better would think she was feigning reluctance, using retreat as a tactic to advance.

Despite repeated explanations, Lady Guidie seemed not to understand.

Liu Yun felt extremely embarrassed.

As an overly healthy adult male, certain physiological reactions in certain parts of the body are natural stress responses, which you cannot control through willpower alone.

Under these circumstances, the nine-tailed fox actually asked to get even closer...

If it weren't for the fact that Liu Yun, after seizing control of the divine kingdom, could clearly perceive the other party's thoughts and intentions, he would definitely have thought that the Nine-Tailed Fox was deliberately causing trouble and making fun.

But now he knows it's not.

So after much deliberation, I still feel it's time to cooperate.

So Liu Yun closed his eyes, steeled his heart, said "Please forgive me," and then hugged Lady Gui Die from behind.

The two were pressed completely together, their contact area almost reaching its maximum, practically invisible.

Lady Guidie bit her lip, raised her embroidered eyebrows, turned her head and glared at her, her eyes filled with shock and anger, as well as a somewhat indescribable meaning.

"Liu Yun, what are you doing!"

In her desperation, Lady Guidie disregarded etiquette and lost all her usual noble and dignified aura.

At the same time, she spoke much more fluently and smoothly than before, no longer appearing as a sluggish, zombie-like figure.

Seemingly startled by Liu Yun's outburst, it gradually broke free from its lifeless state.

Before he could answer, he heard the Nine-Tailed Fox's voice of sudden realization in the mental link: "I understand now. So that's how Oda Ufu designed it? What an amazing and ingenious idea! I never thought that a mortal human could do this. If the idea is fully realized, it will be comparable to the legendary monk Jianzhen! Such an exquisite technique can only be stopped by defeating Oda Ufu himself."

In fact, she didn't need to explain in detail. To Liu Yun, the Nine-Tailed Fox's thoughts were like an unlocked book with black and white text, which could be easily flipped through, deleted, and even smeared with some strange things.

However, the issues currently being addressed are all related to mysticism, involving the relationship between faith and the soul, and the connection between spirit and body—things that cannot be understood overnight. Overall, Oda Nobunaga wanted to reshape the relationships between humans, yokai, and gods, aspiring to become a unique and unrestrained dictator. His plans could potentially lead to countless innocent people suffering disaster.

Liu Yun could only understand the general idea.

However, he could clearly grasp the nine-tailed fox's thoughts, ensuring that he remained in a dominant position.

Simply put—

If there's something to do, let the nine-tailed fox do it; if there's nothing else... cough cough.

When Liu Yun came back to his senses, he remembered that he had been holding Lady Guidie tightly in his arms with his strong, steel-like arms.

As one can imagine, Lady Guidie struggled desperately but could not break free, and could only express her anger with her eyes, which were almost burning with raging flames.

This is actually a good thing—her vitality is growing stronger, and she no longer seems like a dead person.

Liu Yun quickly released his hands, took a few steps back, and distanced himself to prove his innocence.

Before the other party could even begin to question him, he immediately interjected, "Madam, you should realize now that you're still alive!"

"Nonsense, of course I still—"

Lady Guidie, who had been cold and aloof, rebuked him with a sneer, but halfway through her sentence, her expression suddenly changed, a look of pain appeared on her face, and her voice abruptly stopped.

After a while, she seemed to realize what was happening on her own, and exclaimed with a frown, "I... I am still... still alive, but someone wants to make me think I'm dead. This is a method of killing by destroying one's mind."

Liu Yun breathed a sigh of relief. As expected of a knowledgeable and domineering female CEO, she was able to figure things out so quickly, so there was no need to explain the previous offense.

Lady Guidie nodded and pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up and said, "It seems that Lord Liuyun's actions just now were to awaken me."

Liu Yun nodded quickly: "Yes, it was an emergency, and I had no choice but to offend you. I swear to God that I never had any evil intentions from beginning to end."