In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

With his sword no longer by his side, Zuo Cun was essentially crippled.

In a daze, Zuo Cun seemed to notice a little girl standing in the middle of the courtyard.

The little girl had a cool and aloof gaze, white hair and white eyes, and quietly looked at Zuocun.

“That is…” Zuo Cun took two steps forward, leaning against the wooden pillars of the corridor, trying to get a better look.

But a gust of wind blew by, and heavy snow blocked Zuocun's view, and the little girl disappeared without a trace.

Zuocun frowned.

In this eerie village, nothing in front of you can be easily trusted.

But Zuo Cun felt that the little girl was definitely there, and was watching him.

Back in the living room, Hideo Kurokawa's gloomy face instantly transformed into warmth: "Ah, young man, you're back. The food's getting cold, hurry up and eat."

Samura did not answer, but simply looked calmly at Kurokawa Hideo.

Hideo Kurokawa smiled and said, "What's wrong, young man?"

Zuocun has thought about it.

Although the woman seemed to be the culprit, many of the odd things pointed to the man in front of her.

That is, the village chief of Kurokawa Shimomura, Hideo Kurokawa.

“I will not eat this food,” Zuo Cun said.

Hideo Kurokawa's smile gradually faded.

He stood up and looked at Zuocun.

"What did you say?"

“There are many things that are not right about this village.” Zuo Cun picked up his teacup, which contained warm water.

When you turn the teacup upside down, the water that should have been poured out remains completely still inside.

"Unless it's something absolutely necessary, everything here must be an illusion."

“And this meal,” Zuocun picked up the food and stared blankly at Kurokawa Hideo, “if I eat this, I probably won’t live to see tomorrow.”

Am I right?

Hideo Kurokawa looked at the young man, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

He suddenly sighed.

"It seems you have a keen eye for observation."

“It’s not that I’m perceptive.” Zuocun threw the plate on the ground. What had originally looked like a delicious dish turned out to be just a pile of dried and rotten food after the illusion was dispelled.

"It's because you have too many flaws."

"It's 1855 now. How come you, who was already over 50 in 1802, still look the same as you do now?"

"Why is a village that is deserted during the day brightly lit at night?"

"Anyone who isn't an idiot can see that, right?"

Dark energy emanated from Hideo Kurokawa, who squinted at Samura.

“I originally wanted to leave you with some warm memories before you die, so that I could talk to you again when we work together in the future, but now it seems…” Kurokawa Hideo’s outer skin disappeared, and what appeared was a humanoid monster. “I have to use some brutal methods.”

His appearance was extremely disgusting, with pure black skin covered in wrinkles, as if he had been soaked in water for a long time, bloated and bizarre.

Black energy emanated from its head and limbs, and thick liquid dripped from its swollen face.

“I don’t think we need to fight.” Zuo Cun stepped back without making a sound. “I just heard outside that woman is enslaving you, isn’t she? Don’t you want to be free?”

The monster that Hideo Kurokawa had transformed into stood still for two seconds.

"You bastard, what do you even know!"

After saying that, he pounced on her frantically.

"Tsk." Zuo Cun frowned, jumped up, and dodged the monster's attack.

As I jumped up, I suddenly saw a figure standing under a tree in the courtyard.

......

Behind the mountain, Lake Kurokawa.

The woman who had been at the Kurokawa residence looked up at the sky and sighed.

The giant black shadow from before stood atop the mountain, watching her from afar.

------------

Chapter 307 Human Pillar, Kurokawa

In the courtyard of the Kurokawa residence, there were several trees. Samura leaned against a tree trunk, looking down at Kurokawa Hideo.

"Strange, this monster... seems unable to see the little girl?"

The monster has a strong jumping ability and is very fast.

The little girl stood next to the monster, her face calm, paying no attention to it, only looking at Zuocun.

The monster clung to the tree trunk, trying to break it and throw Zuocun off.

Zuocun jumped up from the tree, and before the monster could react, he stepped on the monster's face and rolled away to avoid the monster's attack.

Zuocun stood there, staring at the monster, his heart pounding, utterly helpless.

Besides the wrinkles and swelling on the monster's body, there were also things that looked like fish bones. Moreover, the black aura that resembled flames made Zuo Cun feel very uneasy, and he dared not fight the monster hand-to-hand without a knife.

The monster seemed to be enraged after being stepped on by Zuocun.

"You... filthy, disgusting bastard—!!!" he roared as he charged forward.

Zuocun quickly retreated, avoiding direct contact with the monster.

Just then, a voice appeared in Zuocun's mind.

Do you... need help?

The sudden sound startled Zuo Cun. The monster fired black energy from its palm, and Zuo Cun almost missed it.

"Who are you?" he quickly asked, gathering his thoughts. "How can you help me?"

"...Look behind you." The voice disappeared.

Zuocun dodged the monster's attack again; the monster looked even more terrifying and disgusting up close.

Turning around, Zuo Cun looked behind him.

The girl with white hair and white eyes was standing not far behind him.

In her hands were her two knives.

The girl gently tossed the two knives, which flew in an arc.

Zuo Cun's eyes lit up.

Instead of taking the katana, he caught the pheasant feathers that had been with him longer.

Zheng—

The moment Zuo Cun got his hands on the knife, he seemed like a completely different person.

In that instant, the wind and snow seemed to stop.

Leaping up like a feather, and then—

cut!

The monster that Hideo Kurokawa had transformed into was decapitated with a single slash, and after swaying twice, it collapsed to the ground.

Hideo Kurokawa's body seemed to melt away, turning into a pool of black water.

Zuocun breathed a sigh of relief, but the sight of Kurokawa Hideo's body disappearing only made him feel even more horrified.

Using the hem of his clothes to wipe away the remaining black blood from the pheasant feathers, Zuo Cun finally felt a little relieved.

The pheasant feathers returned to their sheaths, and the white-haired, white-eyed girl reappeared seemingly out of nowhere beside Zuo Cun.

Zuocun did not speak first, but walked to the other side, picked up his katana, and tucked it into his belt along with Chiba.

"You're very strong," the girl said.

"My skill level is not high enough, so how can I be considered strong?" Zuo Cun shook his head and touched his left rib.

The monster grazed me there; I don't know how badly I was hurt.

“You are strong enough, but... now is not the time to end everything.” The girl lowered her head.

"You seem to know a lot. Can you tell me what exactly happened here?" Zuocun frowned. "If I weren't here today, I would probably be dead by now."

"Do you want to know?" The girl looked very pretty, with white eyelashes. She raised her head and stared intently at Zuo Cun.

“Please tell me,” Zuo Cun said without hesitation, gripping the hilt of his sword.

"..."

Silence fell over the air, with only the sound of wind and snow remaining.

"Please follow me."

The girl in white floated up, and Zuo Cun jumped up and followed behind.

The girl was heading east of the village, towards Kurokawa Mountain.

"You are the only one among those who came to this village who survived the first night," the girl said, floating behind her to Zuocun.

"Really?" Zuocun jumped around, pondering why the girl was floating.

"He was also the first person to give me hope."

call--

The cold wind swept through the university, and Zuo Cun was dressed very lightly, but he didn't have time to feel uncomfortable.

"What's the deal with that monster? And what's the deal with that woman with the long hair?" Zuocun asked.