I transformed into a demonic spider lily.

The remaining twenty or so bandits who had managed to survive tried to escape on horseback. However, the animals' fear of monsters was not as profound as that of humans, who only had a superficial understanding that "the other party is a monster." They did not understand those things; it was simply an instinct stemming from their bloodline. Superior monsters exerted a soul-level oppression on inferior animals.

Before the bandits could escape, the horses, which they had long since tamed, suddenly became agitated and threw them off.

They scrambled to their feet, only to find their horses had vanished. The bandits felt excruciating pain all over their bodies, too afraid to look back at the spider lily, and even lacking the will to attack. The sudden death of their companion had already caused them immense panic. More terrifying than being pierced by swords and spears, the inexplicable death was far more frightening to them.

However, the Red Spider Lily wouldn't let the bandits escape; she produced her "Spirit Umbrella" from who-knows-where.

—Umbrella sword, swift!

Throat slit, heart pierced.

One blow kills.

It was clearly a swift death that was being given to the other party, yet every action was cruel. Finally, the flower shadow spun around once, flicking the bloodstains off the tip of the umbrella.

She opened her umbrella, the handle draped over her shoulder, and stood amidst the corpses of hundreds of bandits, her calm and collected demeanor suggesting that she was simply meant to be there.

That's right!

The "red spider lily" should bloom in hell.

This is the "hell" she created.

Instead of using magic cannons to annihilate them all at once, he used the umbrella sword to kill them one by one, letting them truly experience the fear of death.

In the end, only one robber remained.

Rakshasa demon, Kansuke.

The only one still alive, neither taken away by the curse of the underworld nor feeling the cold glint of the umbrella sword, Kansuke looked up and saw the spider lily gradually walking towards him.

"No, no! Don't come any closer!"

Gone was the rampage of half a minute ago. Tears and snot streamed down Rakshasa Kansuke's face. Having witnessed firsthand how his subordinates died, his limbs were already too weak to move.

He had chosen to become a bandit precisely because he feared death, which is why Kansuke understood the horror of this matter more thoroughly than anyone else.

Leaning down, Higanbana grabbed Kansuke by the neck and slowly lifted him up, a look of pleasure in her eyes. The man, whose armor weighed over a hundred kilograms, was easily lifted above her head.

"Mmm, mmm..."

Kansuke's feet were forced off the ground, his breath caught in his throat, and he struggled desperately, repeatedly slapping Higanbana's wrists with his hands, occasionally making incomprehensible sounds, clearly begging Higanbana for mercy. His brown pupils began to dilate due to lack of oxygen, and the force of his slapping gradually weakened.

"Humans, do you know? Even before you arrived here, I sensed that heavy 'karma'. You should have fallen into the Black Rope Hell, but I will save you and transform your souls into nourishment for my growth. In this way, you will not have to step into the Yellow Springs."

Higanbana explained this matter to Kansuke, and it was not a fabrication. Of all the humans who were eaten by monsters, only a few were able to be reincarnated, because what they ate was not flesh and blood but the soul deep within.

"...Ugh! Ugh!"

Rakshasa Oni Kansuke's eyes were filled with horror. He used all the strength he could muster to shake his head twice, and his hands were trembling afterwards.

"You don't want to die?"

The red spider lily said with great interest, "Sure, as long as you can answer one question for me: tell me your name, what is it?"

"Uuuuuuu..."

Kansuke wanted to speak, but his neck was stuck, and he couldn't make a sound. In fact, because of the struggle just now, he had exhausted the last of the oxygen in his body, and he could almost hear the sound of his heartbeat.

Thump, thump—

The sound stopped abruptly.

"Come on, tell me your name, if you can say it, if you can speak it!" Sensing the other person's heart plummet from hope to despair in an instant, the Spider Lily revealed a cruel smile; she had never intended to let the other person go from the very beginning.

They're just toying with their prey.

With his breath gone and his body dead, Higanbana released her grip. Rakshasa Oni Kansuke's corpse was thrown to the ground, and several vines sprouted from the ground, covering everything. From beginning to end, she had never given these bandits a second glance; they were just a bunch of ordinary people of the Nth rank, and killing them would be no problem for her.

However, after the spider lily decomposed all the corpses into nutrients, it still looked slightly surprised, feeling that these nearly one hundred ordinary people provided more experience than a dozen R-rank monsters...

Is this what humanity is—a being born with innate spirits?

It is even more nutritious than the spirits of monsters, which are born after birth. No wonder those monsters always like to target humans. Any human is comparable to a red daruma of the same level. Therefore, Feng and Xuelu, who possess spiritual power, would probably rise to a higher level, roughly equivalent to at least three blue daruma of the same level.

"Ah, thank you for the treat."

The vines gradually retreated into the ground, and the spider lily smiled as it looked at the empty ground, a place where not even a trace of blood remained.

Immediately, the red spider lily turned around and looked at the group of villagers. Its crimson eyes swept over them, and the group of people were so frightened that they took a step back.

Seeing this, the smile on the other side of the flower gradually faded. She had gotten carried away with the killing and forgotten her identity as a demon. She not only had a deterrent effect on the bandits, but the villagers also feared her. Even though the crisis brought by the bandits had been resolved, they remained on guard and dared not put down their weapons.

It should be so.

The red spider lily had no other thoughts. She simply turned her back to the group of villagers. When her identity as a monster was revealed, the slightly more normal humans would ostracize her. Only the abnormal would accept a monster.

Alright, I'll go home and rest for today.

The red spider lily took a step forward, preparing to leave.

However, Yukiji noticed that Higanbana's back looked a little lonely, and finally couldn't hold back any longer, shouting, "Who are you pointing your weapons at? Put them all down!"

"I... this... ah?"

The villagers were at a loss, because Xuelu's aura as a young lady and her superior tone that belonged only to the nobility made them subconsciously choose to obey.

Upon hearing this, Bi'anhua paused in her steps. She hadn't expected that the seemingly eccentric woman could be quite serious when she got down to business. She should definitely praise her next time they met.

"And you, Red Spider Lily, where are you going?"

Xuelu questioned the other shore flower in the same tone.

Chapter 73 You care that much about their opinions?

"……what?"

The other shore flower was slightly surprised, thinking she had misheard, but Xuelu's gaze remained fixed on her, and he even repeated his previous question, saying, "Where are you going?"

"Of course I'm going back. Anyway, Kikyo won't be back anytime soon, so what am I doing here?" Higanbana deliberately avoided looking at the other person as she answered.

"why?"

Xuelu pressed on with the question.

"Aww~ because I'm sleepy and want to go back to sleep, otherwise I won't have any energy." The spider lily even yawned deliberately, looking quite serious.

But you said before that you didn't need to sleep.

Feng didn't dare to make a sound, sensing that the atmosphere was off. What happened to all those bandits? She thought she had just heard a scream, and thought she would see a particularly bloody scene when she opened her eyes, but there was nothing there. As expected, Sister Hua was completely unqualified as a demon.

She said they should have killed all the bandits and not let a single one escape, but Sister Hua didn't kill any of them and let them all get away.

"Liar!"

Clenching her fists, Xuelu strode over. Several villagers tried to stop her, but she glared at them and pressed her hands on Biyanhua's shoulders, forcing her to turn around. Then she shouted, "If you're so capable, look me in the eye and say it again!"

Huh...

Why are these two older sisters arguing again?

What to do, what to do, what to do?

Seeing this, Feng was at a loss and suddenly didn't know what to do. If Kikyo were here, she would definitely be able to solve this problem.

But she's not Kikyo!

"..."

Not only was Feng panicked, but Higanbana was also slightly taken aback. To be honest, for a moment, she was really intimidated by Yukiji's domineering attitude, but then she thought about it again and realized that something was wrong. The one who should be in a dominant position should be her.

"...Human, do you know who you are facing right now?" A red light flashed in the eyes of the spider lily, intimidating Xue Lu.

Xueji's hands, which were pressing on Higanbana's shoulders, trembled slightly. She was genuinely afraid of her, but she absolutely could not show fear now. So, she feigned anger and roared at her, "I don't care what kind of flower tyrant you are, or what other being you are. Anyway, Higanbana, I'm asking you, do you dare to look me in the eye and say those words again?!"

Eh, the Flower Tyrant?

Did she say this before? Higanbana couldn't help but wonder, then saw Kaede rush over, pull her and Yukiji apart, and call out, "Stop arguing, okay? Let's wait for Kikyo-neechan to come back before we talk about it, alright?"

Feng immediately brought up Kikyo's name, which was more effective than all the persuasive words combined. Yukiji also nodded deeply in agreement, saying, "That's right, when Kikyo comes back, let her talk to you in person."

"Do you think just saying that witch's name will work on me?" Upon hearing this, Higanbana hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke firmly.

"Sister Flower~ Please don't be so mean, okay? Waaaaaah..."

Undecided? Just cry!

Feng sobbed, clutching the hem of the spider lily's dress.

"...Phew, that works."

The other shore flower took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, but almost choked. She really couldn't do anything with Feng. Although she was usually the one who toyed with him the most, she never made him cry.

It's really difficult to handle when kids start throwing a tantrum.

To avoid gossip from the other villagers, Xue Lu told Feng to take the spider lilies back first, while she stayed behind. She first looked around at the villagers present, then said, "What are you standing there for? Go do what you're supposed to be doing."

……

At Kikyo's house, Higanbana sat at the table. Yukiji came back into the house and sat down opposite her, saying, "Do you really care that much about what those people think?"

"What did you say?"

The red spider lily doesn't understand.

"Don't play dumb. I know you're worried that people will gossip about you behind your back. Because you're a monster, you've known about this for a long time, but you didn't make it clear at the time, so you thought it was fine. But today, you have to take action, otherwise many people will definitely get hurt, and it's even more likely that none of them will survive."

With her hands neatly placed on her knees, Yukiji continued, "In other words, if you hadn't come today, everyone, including me and Kaede, would have died. So what are you worried about? You saved our lives. I never thought that the closest I've ever come to death wouldn't be being chased by monsters, but by a group of humans. Seriously (damn)... cough cough, don't mind what I just said, or rather, the second half of what I said."

Yukiji's image as a young lady was almost ruined, but fortunately, she managed to save it at the last crucial moment!

"Uh."

Higanbana's lips curled into a smile, surprised that the other party was quite down-to-earth in some ways. Then her expression suddenly turned somber. Yukiji noticed this and asked, "Are you worried that Kikyo will scold you?"

"No," said the red spider lily.

boom--!

Yukiji suddenly slammed his hands on the table and shouted, "If Kikyo dares to bring this up against you, I'll definitely argue with her, and I'll even fight her!"

Goodness...

Are all the young ladies this fierce?

These words truly stunned the other shore flower.