I transformed into a demonic spider lily.

"And you guys outside, how long are you planning to eavesdrop?"

The spider lily draped the white robe she had personally taken off onto Kikyo, then glanced at the doorway of the house. She could sense that the group of half-demon children were gathered outside the door, their ears probably pressed against it.

"...I'm so sorry! We didn't mean to."

Upon hearing this, the door to the house was pushed open, and Asagi hurriedly went inside to bow and apologize to the spider lily and the bellflower.

"Flower, don't scare these children."

Compared to the aloofness of the spider lily, the tone of the bellflower was very approachable. She first thanked the children, saying, "Thanks to your herbs, my condition has improved a little."

Then Kikyo asked, "Could you tell me your names?"

"The asparagus in my name".

Upon hearing this, Asagi introduced herself, then pointed to Moegi and Ran beside her and continued, "These are my sisters, Moegi and Ran."

"Orange and green."

The two brothers, Orange and Green, spoke together.

So it's still impossible to tell who's who.

"I am Aster."

"That's what the girl with short purple hair said."

Kikyo glanced at the group of children one by one. Among them was a young girl named Lan, who had obvious fish gills behind her ears, and Aster, who had a pair of ram horns on her head.

The other children must also be half-demons, but they don't have obvious characteristics. Either their demon blood accounts for too little, or their fathers are human and their mothers are demons. This involves many biological theories, such as chromosomes.

"Are you the only ones here? I think I just heard that you have an 'older sister'. Can you tell me where she is?"

The bellflower voiced its question to the other shore flower.

"elder sister……"

Upon hearing this, the group of children exchanged glances, and Meng Huang said, "Sister has already left; she's with brother."

“My brother left first, and my sister couldn’t bear it, so she went with him,” Asagi added.

"My brother could hunt, and my sister could sew, but after they left, we can't do anything..."

Orange and Green said.

"So, they left you here? And then escaped to outside Penglai Island?" With a slight frown, Kikyo understood this to be the implication.

"Idiot, I hate to say this to you, but my foolish Kikyo~ the 'go' these kids are talking about might be different from what you understand it to be."

Knowing the truth, the other shore flower finally spoke up.

Chapter 113 Hands Clasped Together, Door Opened [4K5 words]

"Oh? Oh! I'm sorry, my apologies."

After being reminded by the spider lily, Kikyo immediately realized her mistake. How could her older brother and sister, who were loved by so many children, possibly do something like running away alone?

Therefore, another explanation is...

……die.

The word "走" (zǒu) has a different meaning, meaning to leave.

Death is never a simple matter. Many people feel awe when faced with this word, and even speaking of it is a torment.

"If you can, please tell us what happened on this island, and we can help you," Kikyo said, trying to communicate with the children.

"You can't help us. You've already lost to them, haven't you? That mark..."

After saying that, Asagi lowered her head.

"Stop joking! Who lost to them? Those guys are faster than anyone else, and they're even better at sneaking around than I am, which is disgusting. The men are so sneaky, I've never seen anything like it."

The red spider lily is infuriating.

"Please tell us no matter what," Kikyo earnestly requested.

"……Um?"

The spider lily glanced at the pale green onion, its gaze seeming to say, "Do you dare say 'no' to me?"

"Uh……"

Under the pressure of the opposing attitudes of the spider lily and the bellflower, Asagi had no choice but to speak, and she was the only one present who could explain the situation.

So, Asagi slowly began to speak: "A long, long time ago, I don't remember exactly how long ago, but I know that when my sister told me last time, she said it was three hundred years ago. At that time, this island was very peaceful, and everyone lived in harmony in this place. There were humans and monsters, and then they built this village together, and we half-demons were born. Until a group of guys called the Four Gods came here and killed my father and mother."

Clearly, Asagi's narrative skills are still somewhat immature, and she can only convey everything that happened in the past to Kikyo by telling stories.

"In the end, we were the only ones left in the village, and our survival was not due to luck."

Recalling what had happened, Asagi suddenly felt a little palpitated, but she still suppressed her fear and told Kikyo the truth of the matter: "There used to be a priestess on this island. That priestess was very powerful. She said that the priestess set up a barrier on the island. Even when the Four War Gods came here, the priestess sealed them, but in the end, she was no match for the Four War Gods."

"After the power of the Four War Gods was sealed by the priestess, in a fit of rage, she wanted to throw us into the 'Ringing Cauldron' that sustains this island. But they later discovered that as long as we were thrown into the furnace, their power would be temporarily restored to some extent, so we survived. However, every now and then, we need to fill the vacancy in the 'Ringing Cauldron,' starting with the oldest and going down in order..."

"Not long ago, the 'Ringing Cauldron' was opened once. That time, it was our brother. Our sister and brother had a very good relationship. She didn't want to live alone, so she went with him."

"The 'Ringing Cauldron' was once a sacred artifact that protected us, but now it has been defiled by the Four Gods and turned into an evil artifact."

"...That's roughly how it is."

Asagi finally finished speaking.

"Not long ago..."

Kikyo heard this keyword. If she had arrived here earlier, the children's older brother and sister probably wouldn't have left.

"Excuse me for being presumptuous, but when exactly is this 'not long ago' you're referring to?" The other flower didn't know where Kikyo got so many self-blaming thoughts every day, managing to connect the current events with herself.

...That's outrageous.

"About three months ago."

Asagi felt that this time was not long.

"So, how many companions did you originally have, and how many times did the 'Sounding Cauldron' open?" asked the Spider Lily.

"Previously, there were seventeen or eighteen of us. The 'Ringing Cauldron' takes place roughly every five years, but this time my brother and sister went together. It will probably be ten years before it's my turn next. Hmm~"

Asagi, who was counting on her fingers, clearly realized that something was wrong.

Every five years, ten people have left.

At most, it would take fifty years.

But my sister said it was three hundred years.

"It's because of the barrier. That priestess's barrier even changed the flow of time between the outside and the inside. Fifty years is the time inside, and three hundred years is the time outside. But during the three days when the barrier weakened, the flow of time between the outside and the inside was connected. However, after the barrier is restored, the time in the two areas will have a serious conflict. Due to the difference in time, this island will be invisible to the outside world, and from the perspective of this island, it will also be in a state of disappearance."

The other shore flower deeply analyzed the inner workings of this barrier and could only marvel at the shrine maiden Souhime's skillful methods, which were far beyond her reach.

"That's amazing..."

The bellflower is also breathtaking.

"In other words, three months ago for you is equivalent to one or two years for the outside world." Such a time difference cannot be resolved simply by arriving "a little earlier".

The red spider lily hopes that the bellflower can regain its senses.

"……I see."

Asagi suddenly realized and said.

"Also, Kikyo, if we can't leave this island tonight, once the barrier returns to normal, the next time we can leave will be fifty years from now."

The red spider lily offered a serious reminder.

"By the way, why don't you leave this island? If you're half-demon..."

Suddenly, Kikyo's expression faltered slightly. She knew that these children were all half-demons, but they lacked the power and demonic aura that half-demons should possess.

"To prevent us from causing trouble, the Four War Gods stripped us of our powers. As for leaving this island? With this mark, we can't leave."

Asagi pulled her clothes up a little, revealing four scratch marks on her back, exactly the same as those on Kikyo's body, with remnants of the Four Gods' demonic energy still remaining on them.

"Only Lan is still young and cannot withstand the marks of the Four War Gods, so she has not been branded yet. We have thought about letting her leave here, but we are also worried that she will not be able to survive outside, because she is a half-demon, and my sister said that the outside world is not suitable for us to live in."

Asagi also said, she was very conflicted.

"Kikyo, it will probably take a long time to remove the mark on your back. As long as this mark remains, even you cannot leave."

This is the main problem right now, because the trickery of the Four Gods has put Higanbana and the others on the defensive, preventing them from acting freely.

"I need a month."

Removing the mark only takes three days, but that's just the time it takes to remove one mark. Kikyo won't give up on these half-demon children, so giving Higanbana too much time is simply not enough.

"Then we'll have to go through another method."

Higanbana pulled open Asagi's clothes, and the latter, despite her young age, couldn't help but blush. Her cold fingertips traced across Asagi's spine down to the scar at the bottom of the mark. The fourth claw mark was noticeably fainter than the previous three, representing the demonic energy of "Xuanwu" Gangluo, who had already been "killed" by them.

However, that was not true death.

The tenacity of monsters is beyond human imagination. Their demonic power was sealed by the priestess Kanade. Although they defeated Goro's true form, once his demonic power returned, reviving him was an easy feat.

Therefore, the mark of this claw mark has not faded. However, if the four fighting gods are all "killed", then the demonic energy of the four claw marks will be weakened and unable to maintain its shape, and they will be able to leave Penglai Island.

and so……

"...Kikyo, what are we waiting for? Let's go and take down the Four War Gods. Squirtle is gone, so only Ryuro and Zyuro are left."

The red spider lily called out to the bellflower.

"There's another one, who can use very powerful flames, as if he can burn everything," Asagi reminded Higanbana and Kikyo of the fierce Luo.

Upon hearing this, Kikyo looked at the spider lily. Come to think of it, since they arrived on the island, the other party had never mentioned the last of the Four War Gods, ignoring him from the start as if he didn't exist. The reason for this was probably…

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we won't run into that guy," the Spider Lily explained.

As expected, the other party had already planned it.

Kikyo suddenly smiled with relief.

"Kikyo, stop grinning like an idiot. We only have this one night. Long Luo and Shou Luo probably won't stand in front of us on their own. They're waiting, waiting for us to make a mistake because we're too eager. We can only do what they want. Do you understand?"

The spider lily tries to communicate with the bellflower.