The Warrior of Love

"I can't see anything at the riverside..." Even Jiang Liu couldn't help but turn pale. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and forced himself to turn his head and not pay attention to what was below.

At this moment, a calm woman's voice suddenly sounded.

"Are you scared? This sight."

"—"

Jiang Liu, who had not seen any "people" along the way and had not heard a single word except for the man talking to himself, felt creepy at this moment. In the blink of an eye, he was ready for battle. Not only did he move his feet forward to lower his center of gravity, he also placed his right hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, completing the prelude to the Iai Slash.

He has mastered many moves. Iai is not the most powerful one, but it is the swiftest and sharpest one. It is also a martial art that can be used at the strongest state at any time and in any place. Once encountered a sudden attack, he will instinctively choose this seemingly ordinary sword-drawing slash.

However, when he looked in the direction of the sound, he was stunned when he saw the "enemy" standing at the other end of the bridge.

Bird feather-shaped hair accessories, a gorgeous kimono in bright colors, long rouge-colored dark red hair and eyes of a similar color. Although she looks only seventeen or eighteen years old, her stern expression gives people a sense of maturity.

This was not what surprised Jiang Liu. What surprised him was that the girl in front of him looked very similar to an acquaintance of his, the proprietress of "Hongqueting".

No, if you exclude the factor of age, they are almost identical. It is clearly a grown-up version of the little sparrow!

"That look...it seems like you've seen someone similar to me. It's true. No wonder there's a familiar aura about you."

The girl in gorgeous clothes looked at Jiang Liu twice and said with her red lips: "Do you know my daughter?"

"daughter?!"

Jiang Liu's mouth twitched, thinking of some legends about the little sparrow - Red Yama, and asked with some trepidation.

"So who are you?"

"I am the spirit that guards this "Santu River", cleansing the soul and cutting off the past. My name is "Duoyi Po". "

Huh... Jiang Liu breathed a sigh of relief.

Just now, he actually suspected for a moment that the other party was a feminine version of King Yama - was he really too deeply poisoned by Type-Moon?

But it's not his fault. After all, in Type-Moon's setting for Red Enma, it only mentioned that her adoptive parents were King Yanma and Lady Duoyi. Jiang Liu only had a deep impression of "King Yanma". At that time, he didn't even know who Lady Duoyi was...

Besides, those were memories from his "past life". Even though his mental strength was far superior to that of an ordinary person, and his memories of both his past and present lives were very clear, there were still some omissions. As for the settings of those anime and games, he only remembered the key points. The details were really...

Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to write down all the information about his previous life in a small notebook. Wasn't it because he felt that some things were too cumbersome and he was too lazy to remind himself over and over again?

“Among the people in this world, only the dead can cross the ‘Sanzu River’. Once you cross it, it means that you have no connection with your previous life and you can never go back, even if you are an acquaintance of my daughter.

Stop here, go back, this is not the place for you. If you stop here, I can still turn a blind eye and let you go. "

The girl who called herself the Clothes Snatcher said this, as if she was not allowing Jiang Liu to move forward. Although she didn't seem to have any weapons and looked slender and weak, Jiang Liu didn't want to have an armed conflict with the guards of the underworld in such a place.

However, if he retreated at this point, the curse would still remain on him, and he felt unwilling to not completely eliminate the evil.

"I entered the world of the dead this time not to challenge the laws here, but I have a secret... I believe you can also see the curse on me."

Jiang Liu said sincerely: "If you want to dispel the curse, you must go deep into the underworld. Now there is only one step left. I promise that I will leave as soon as I achieve my goal."

The woman who takes away clothes narrowed her eyes slightly: "Don't push your luck! I'm letting you go for the sake of my good daughter. If you want to go deeper, you can only ask me about my swordsmanship that can cut off the three thousand troubles of the past life - hm?"

The girl, who had been speaking sharply, suddenly stopped talking, showing a look of surprise, and started talking to someone across the air.

"My king? What... this kid actually! Okay, I understand... Fine, I won't make things difficult for him, just do as I say."

After finishing her "soliloquy", the girl paused and looked at Jiang Liu with a slightly complicated expression.

"Come with me, the living man - King Yama wants to make an exception and see you!"

Chapter 130: The Childlike Yan Mo Emperor

"Okay, King Yama is right here, go in and find him yourself."

Bringing Jiang Liu to the front of a magnificent palace, the girl in Toba kimono raised her head slightly to signal.

"I have the mission of guarding the Santu River, so I will not go in with you."

Without waiting for Jiang Liu's answer, Duoyi Po left, leaving him alone in front of the famous "Hall of Yama".

After adjusting his state, Jiang Liu prepared himself mentally and climbed up the white stone steps step by step, pushing open the red door inlaid with copper nails. The door was very tall, and just pushing it a little was enough for Jiang Liu to enter.

This is a wide hall where it is difficult to tell where the boundaries are. The interior space is much larger than it appears from the outside.

The white ceiling, black floor and golden pillars, the monotonous but bright colors contrast with each other, giving people a sense of strangeness and incompatibility.

If he were a professional designer, he would probably complain about this rough structure that lacks any detail, and would even dislike the hall's overall lack of aesthetic appeal.

But Jiang Liu didn't care about all this. After coming in, his attention was all attracted by the high throne in the depths of the hall - no, strictly speaking, it was the person on the throne.

On a stone seat that was wide enough for a person to sleep, there was a man wearing loose black and red Hanfu and a golden crown on his head. He looked solemn and dignified, but his sitting posture was evil and he was half lying like a gangster.

While yawning, he kept his gaze on Jiang Liu, with a hint of unrestrainedness in his eyes - a little cute.

Well, yeah, it's kind of cute.

If the person sitting on the throne was a middle-aged man with a beard, then no matter how free and easy his behavior was, he probably would not be considered cute. However, the "Yan Mo" that Jiang Liu saw was not that kind of image, but a child.

Strictly speaking, he is a cute boy who is about twelve or thirteen years old and looks about the same age as the young proprietress.

The majestic Hanfu was obviously too big for him, revealing his fair and smooth collarbone, with the faintly visible gap extending all the way to his lower abdomen... If the genders were reversed, this would probably become an R-rated picture.

He has black hair and red eyes. Although he is small in stature, he is handsome enough. He has a kind of beauty that transcends his gender. If you don't pay attention, you might even mistake him for a girl.

"Yan...Demon King?" Jiang Liu spoke stutteringly.

He is still in shock and cannot accept this fact.

"Ouch, I'm so scared, so scared, hahaha!"

With his chin supported by his wrist, Yan Mo, who looked like a child, smiled at Jiang Liu: "Sure enough, this look is scarier than before. Really, everyone in this world imagines me as a man with green face, fangs, and a face full of flesh, but no matter how I dress up, I can't scare people. In comparison, this look is more unexpected, right? Hahaha!"

Jiang Liu: “…”

Unlike his childish appearance, Yan Mo's voice is deep and rough, like that of an adult man, and has a very magnetic feeling. Even though he laughs loudly, it does not sound harsh, but instead makes people feel good about it.

"Ha...but there's no need to be so surprised."

The young Yan Mo straightened his posture, crossed his legs on the seat, and made a casual pose like a child playing.

“Hehe, I have no interest in changing my appearance to tease people. That’s the job of foxes and raccoons. This is one of my original appearances.”

"Uh..." Jiang Liu took two deep breaths, suppressed the shock in his heart, and asked, "One?"

“Myths, myths… Although I was not born from myths, human thoughts do give me some “additions” because of concepts, cause and effect, divinity and the like.

Even this "Yellow Spring" has changed with the changes in mythology. If the world is like this, what about the individuals living in it?"

Yama held his chin up and smiled, "I have two faces: good and evil. The evil side is the traditional "King of Hell", which is more terrifying than any evil ghost and can make all evil people surrender and confess all their crimes.

However, the good side of me is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, responsible for redeeming evil spirits and guiding stillborn children. I am the warmest light in this hell. My current appearance is just one of the incarnations of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

So that's how it is - Jiang Liu nodded, not quite understanding.

If the most well-known Bodhisattva in China is Avalokitesvara, then in Japan it is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. His popularity is even so high that it has become a cultural phenomenon, and small shrines and statues dedicated to Ksitigarbha can be seen everywhere.

In Japan, Ksitigarbha is considered the patron saint of children. He also protects the souls of children who have died prematurely. He is a very kind and gentle god, and therefore he has an incarnation that looks like a child (it can only be said that the Japanese have been good at magical changes since ancient times).

The reason why Ksitigarbha and Yama are said to be two sides of the same coin is because a certain Buddhist scripture records that Ksitigarbha once incarnated as King Yama (in short, it’s all due to Indian mythology), and their responsibilities in hell complement each other, hence this saying.

"Do you know my Xiaohong?" Yan Mo suddenly asked.

Jiang Liu thought for a moment and said, "If you are talking about the proprietress of Red Sparrow Pavilion... I work for her."

"I see..." Yan Mo smiled, "You must be wondering why my daughter would open a hotel in the real world? Don't be scared, Xiao Hong is also called "Red Yan Mo", and she is a jailer in this hell."

I knew about this kind of thing a long time ago - but Jiang Liu still cooperated and showed a surprised expression.

"Then why did she leave Hell?"

"That's a long story."

Yan Mo narrowed his eyes: "Besides Xiao Hong, there are many familiar auras on you. Hmm... you have met that guy Yaqi, right?"

It's not a question but an affirmative sentence.

"In the era when gods and humans said goodbye, many demons, ghosts and gods withdrew from the mortal world and returned to their own worlds. Moreover, the distance between "heaven" and "earth" became longer and longer... You have also seen that there are not many ghosts in the underworld.

In the foreseeable future, fewer and fewer dead people will come to the underworld. Sooner or later, the afterlife and reality will be completely disconnected, and new laws will replace the six realms of reincarnation and the 100,000 trials...

As a relic of the old times, all I can do is to restrain those monsters suppressed in hell and try to get through the decline period as smoothly as possible."

When Jiang Liu heard this, his eyes flashed: "Monster? Are you referring to the Yamata no Orochi?"

"include."

Yan Mo pouted and said, "There are guys at the bottom who are much more powerful than Yaki... But don't worry about it, the problem now is Yaki.

Its body remained in the world, but its soul should have gone to hell according to the mythology - it was not a fantasy species. In essence, it should be considered a monster or a demon god, and should be bound by hell.

But no one knows what went wrong. The body of the Yamata no Orochi, which should have been assimilated by the earth veins, actually awakened, and its soul secretly escaped... Xiaohong went to hunt it down."

Jiang Liu took a deep breath. He just wanted to ask Yan Mo, why he let such a little girl hunt down the peerless demon, whether the little sparrow was his biological child - oh, really not.

"Don't look at me like that." Yan Mo frowned. "If I could get out by myself, I would have brought Yaqi back long ago. But now I can only rely on Xiaohong. There is no other jailer in hell as good as her."

"But she doesn't seem to know who she is?"

"Before the time is right, she must not be exposed to Yaki's eyes, and the price of hiding her true name is to temporarily lose her memory."

"The time is right, you mean?"

"I do not know either!"

King Yama grinned and said, "I don't have clairvoyance."

Jiang Liu: “…”

"But everyone in Hell is talented. I like this place very much... I found someone who can predict the future and learned about the existence of Chaldea and your arrival."

Yan Mo kept smiling, but his eyes became serious.

"How about it, young man? I'll help you get rid of the curse, and you help Xiao Hong bring back Yaki's head!"

You have to pay extra - Jiang Liu managed to hold back from saying it.

Chapter 131: If You Don’t Go to Hell, Who Will?

Coming, coming, coming!

The classic plot that appears in every novel, game, and animation!

What should you do if you encounter a BOSS that you can’t defeat?

Either madly weaken the enemy, or madly strengthen yourself!

Isn't the current development the rhythm of King Yama issuing a task, giving one or two artifacts to Jiang Liu, and then forming a team to fight the BOSS?

With a burning sensation in his heart, Jiang Liu looked at the young Yan Mo with sharp eyes, expecting him to say what would happen next.

However, he and Yama stared at each other for a minute, and the young man on the throne did not take out any shining holy sword, but instead showed a confused expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Forehead……"

Jiang Liu forced out a friendly smile: "Are you going to let me kill the Yamata no Orochi like this?"

"Yeah, what else?" Yan Mo Tianzi spread his hands, "What are you looking forward to?"

"That's Yamata no Orochi. Do you think I look like a boss who can fight against the demon god?"

"Very similar, I'm optimistic about you." The young Yan Mo smiled, "Since ancient times, heroes have always been able to defeat the strong with the weak and create miracles. Giving heroes too much help is actually an insult to their courage."

Jiang Liu was speechless for a moment, then he said seriously: "Then please insult me. I am not a hero, just a small figure. What holy sword or devil sword? I will take as much as you give me. I will never think it is too much."

"Don't underestimate yourself. You think too lowly of yourself, Yuanshan Jiangliu."

"I do—huh?"

Jiang Liu was stunned: He doesn’t seem to have said his name yet.

Yan Mo narrowed his eyes and stared into his eyes: "This is Huangquan. Although it is not in charge of the reincarnation of life and death of all mankind as in the myth, it does bear the mission of being the "foundation of the world."

Civilizations in different regions have their own underworld systems...

As for us - do you know the "Six Paths" of China?

This is a concept that originated from Buddhism and was integrated into Taoism's own mythology. Simply put, it is to judge a person's fortune in the next life based on his or her achievements, and thus enter different reincarnation sequences. "

Jiang Liu naturally knew about the famous thing called the Six Paths of Reincarnation, but he also knew that the Type-Moon system was quite different from the mythology. After all, the general background of Type-Moon was "Mysterious Decline". With this setting, the Six Paths of Reincarnation was destined to not be as described in the mythology.