A comic book, but a librarian

Only then did Yotsuya Miko notice that Uesugi Sumire looked a little disheveled, whether it was his disheveled clothes or the smell of sweat that seemed to be due to intense exercise, or even the smell mixed with dust. Yotsuya Miko felt unexpectedly at ease, and she leaned her head on Uesugi Sumire's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but I can't just watch that little girl run out alone at night...to find her sister."

"Her sister's situation is probably the same as yours..."

"Eh?!"

"Perhaps you were targeted because of your talent and became the sacrifice of that mountain god... God knows what that mountain god does. He actually targeted you through the small gift your friend brought you. Perhaps his family was targeted by the mountain god as a sacrifice just like you."

Uesugi Cheng thought that there might be many people with psychic abilities in this world, but the fact that they all appeared around him still made him confused. Could it be that clairvoyance was not that rare after all?

"I just... dreamed that I went to a strange room... In that room, there was a red cloth covering one wall, with a white bull embroidered on it."

"Is there a bunch of white candles and a restless guy staring at you?!"

There was a hint of confusion and excitement in Uesugi Sumiya's tone. Yotsuya Miko was a little puzzled as to why Uesugi Sumiya knew so much, but she finally felt a little relieved. She nodded slightly and rested her chin on Uesugi Sumiya's shoulder.

"Well, a very cold spirit was looking at me. It was a little strange, as if it didn't hate me but didn't like me either."

Uesugi Chengxin said that it was with your help that I was able to calm it down and put it to sleep successfully. Don't continue to occupy Solomon's bedroom and act arrogantly. It will definitely remember you when it sees you.

As Uesugi Sumiko walked, he extended his consciousness back to the Silent Bookstore. Sure enough, there were signs of someone lying on the bed in Solomon's bedroom. The cup of spring water from Brancog Island next to it was empty. The spirit was looking at the bed with interest, as if wondering how Yotsuya Miko disappeared under its nose.

"Almost there... did you find anything inside that factory?"

"some......"

But before Yotsuya Miko could finish her words, the two of them saw the huge fly-like monster, and Yamie was blocking the way in front of them.

Chapter 30: Facing the Mountain God

Yotsuya Miko and Uesugi Sumiko both saw the one-eyed monster that looked like a giant fly and was carrying a bag on its back. It was floating in the air, and it seemed to be waiting for two people.

"......." Yotsuya Miko was a little nervous. She was carried away by this big guy and brought to the factory without knowing what was going on. She ran to the chimney with great difficulty and fired a flare. Finally, she had to try to jump over the broken beam as she was chased by the meatball monster and fell down.

Seeing Uesugi Sumire carrying Yotsuya Miko on his back, Yahui did not make any move, but simply stared at them. Then, in the surprised eyes of the two, it seemed to bow and nod, left a strange note and left.

"Big Brother and Big Sister, Master Ye Hui came to see me. He showed me the notes written by Big Sister in crayon. Big Sister said that the kidnapped people would be taken to the other side of the tunnel. I can't trouble Big Brother and Big Sister anymore..."

There seemed to be some messy handwriting on the back of the note. Perhaps the little girl wanted to write something but didn't know what to write.

"Master Ye Hui... could you please stay?"

Ye Hui, who should have left at this point, stopped, as if he understood what Uesugi Sumire said. Yotsuya Miko looked at Uesugi Sumire with some surprise that he actually took the initiative to talk to her, but she chose to believe Uesugi Sumire and the giant monster that did not kill her directly.

"You want to...protect her, protect those children, right?"

The huge monster floating in the air nodded, as if it understood what Uesugi Cheng said. It felt a little sad and a little confused.

"I clearly wanted to protect the children, but in the end I failed to protect any of them..."

Uesugi Cheng sighed. As a monster, Yamaki could never understand the fragility of children. So when it brought the children who were supposed to be abducted to the factory and provided it with what it believed to be a safe place, tragedy was bound to happen.

"So...can you give me a ride? I want to...protect that child."

Uesugi Sumire took a deep breath and finally expressed her request. Yotsuya Miko's body tightened and she hugged Uesugi Sumire as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only said one sentence.

"Take me with you, I can help!"

Yotsuya Miko stretched out her hand, tightly clenched in it was a tattered amulet.

"I found this in the factory. It's the same style as the amulet my friend gave me."

"...I should have brought you with me, Jianzi. Perhaps this is why you were targeted by the mountain god."

Ye Hui seemed to understand their conversation. He flew to them and opened the huge pocket on his back. There was nothing in the dark pocket. The two of them closed their eyes together.

"Please take us to the tunnel."

Then the pocket seemed to cover both of them. There was no sound in the darkness. Yotsuya Miko could even hear her own heartbeat clearly, but leaning on Uesugi Sumiko's back, she did not feel any panic. She could even say that as long as she stayed by his side, she would never be afraid.

When they opened their eyes again, they had arrived at the front of the tunnel. Ye Hui had disappeared, and only the tunnel filled with thick black fog silently refused their entry.

"Huh...huh...huh..."

The sound of a girl running hurriedly came from behind. Yotsuya Miko and Uesugi Sumiko saw the little girl running towards them panting with her small schoolbag on her back, and then she stared blankly at the two people standing in front of the tunnel.

"Um...I'm sorry..."

The first thing the little girl did when she saw the two people was to apologize. Yotsuya Miko got off Uesugi Sumiko's back and gently tapped the little girl on the head.

"Didn't Brother Uesugi tell you to stay in a safe place?! Why are you going alone?"

"But...but it's almost dawn. If I can't bring my sister back before dawn..." The little girl was so anxious that she seemed about to cry. She didn't want to say the second half of the sentence.

"Let's go. Once you have a connection with the 'God', it's not something you can just cut off. She might be like you, being influenced to come here without realizing it."

Uesugi Sumire was quite open-minded. Yotsuya Miko was so moved in Tokyo that she almost bought a ticket and ran here alone, as if she had lost her soul by a talisman. So it was not surprising that this little girl planned to come here alone.

After placing the amulet into the shrine in the tunnel, the thick fog began to dissipate in an instant, and the road became clear. Yotsuya Miko clearly saw that there seemed to be a huge hand monster waiting for them in front, and she also heard the sound of the meatball monster moving behind her.

"Just keep going. There's no turning back now."

As they walked forward, they discovered that the other side of the tunnel was not a road, but an ancient stone staircase leading up the mountain, with one ancient but clean torii gate after another standing on the stone staircase.

Under the gaze and unwilling attempts of the evil spirits, the three people walked to the end of the stone steps. It was a small shrine that looked like it had not been taken care of for many years. A brown-haired girl was lying on the wooden floor of the shrine. The little girl excitedly wanted to get closer, but was pulled back by Uesugi Cheng. Two huge palm monsters emerged from the darkness beside the shrine, and after a roar, a huge monster head blocked them and the brown-haired girl.

The monster's head seemed to be made up of countless dried human corpses. Its right eye was a huge eyeball and its left eye was made up of countless small eyeballs. Those eyes were full of resentment and anger, and it roared at them.

"You guys run, I'll deal with it!"

As soon as Uesugi Cheng finished speaking, amidst its malicious roar, everyone was teleported into a huge blood-red space. Countless stalactites were reflected in blood-red, and there was a shrine standing a little further away. It seemed that they and the mountain god were surrounded by the shrines. When the three of them saw the shrines, they all suddenly understood their purpose.

"You guys go light up the shrine! I'll hold these guys back!"

Uesugi Cheng stepped forward with his weapon in hand, but mortal weapons were too fragile in front of the mountain god and its two giant hands. He could only rely on his own body to deal with them.

Yotsuya Miko and the little girl ran in two directions. It seemed that the shrine was unable to function due to lack of maintenance. If the light sources in their hands were slightly closer to the shrine, they could actively activate the shrine and make it work. Yotsuya Miko gritted her teeth and ran. She ran towards the monster that once made her legs weak.

"Acheng, it will be fine in a little while...Hold on, don't get hurt."

She ran while repeating these words silently.

Chapter 31 The Night Will End

This was the most difficult battle in Uesugi Cheng's life, which had been almost twenty years since his reincarnation. The opponent was obviously much stronger than him. If it weren't for the special nature of his soul that made it impossible for the mountain god to cause effective enough damage to him during the battle, he would probably have become a walking corpse and been controlled to attack the two girls.

The sharp fingernails of the huge palm scratched his cheek, and blood dripped down his face to the floor. Uesugi Cheng was gasping for breath. He knew very well where his limits were. The Scar Discipline was not just a method of practice, its greater function was to help users understand where their limits were.

"Only with the determination to risk your life can you push your power to its limit..."

His ten fingers were stretched out, and his slender fingers were as sharp as knives. A dim but still stubborn glow shone on his fingers. As the shrine lit up, the mountain god's attacks became more anxious and frequent, as if he was anxious.

"Hehehe, I've never fought so hard before. I won't let you touch them until I bleed dry. Give up."

What responded to Uesugi Cheng was the angry roar of the mountain god and the attacks of more eyeball monsters and giant hands.

"The last one... huh... huh... almost there, Yotsuya Miko... just hold on a little longer, you can do it, he's already held on for so long, you can do it."

Yotsuya Miko stumbled forward, she looked almost exhausted. After expending so much energy at the factory, she had to rush over to save the blonde child. Apart from drinking two sips of water, she had not touched anything else.

The smell of blood gradually filled her mouth, and she even had a thought in her mind: Why would I do such a thing...

With a click, Yotsuya Miko, who was tripped by a stone, woke up as if from a dream. She tried desperately to get up, but her weak legs were no longer able to support her.

"No... stand up... get up!"

She was panting, and her vision gradually became blurred. She knew that everything would be over if she closed her eyes, but she couldn't help but want to close her eyes. Perhaps it was those sounds, those sounds that came from nowhere that made her want to close her eyes.

"Ding!!"

The last shrine lit up, and Yotsuya Miko suddenly opened her eyes that were about to close. She was surprised to see the blond child in front of her smile on his embarrassed face, and he reached out his hand to pull her up.

"it's over......"

Along with the mountain god's unwilling roar, its huge head slowly became transparent. Uesugi Cheng's clothes looked tattered and there were several scars on his face. He looked just like those street thugs.

"Asumi!" Yotsuya Miko ran two steps and barely supported Uesugi Sumi who was about to fall down. She gasped for breath, and the excitement in her voice could not be concealed, as if she had won the first prize.

"This is not the place to talk, let's go first... Little girl, take your sister with you."

The blonde girl ran into the shrine without saying a word, carried her sister on her back, and walked forward step by step.

However, just as they were about to leave the dim tunnel, an ominous premonition was born in Uesugi Cheng's mind. He quickly took out the bottle of [Blood of Anulio] from the pharmacy with his soul essence.

[Blood of Janus]: Also known as the Vibrant Blood, or, as the ignorant and superstitious say, "the true blood of Saint Janus". (5 Hearts 3 Revelation 3 Dome)

The blood in the bottle was still beating, as if it was still flowing in the blood vessels. Drops of blood fell onto the floor everywhere. The beating blood seemed to be absorbed and disappeared immediately. Then, many wounds appeared on Uesugi Cheng's arms and began to bleed.

"Ah!! I have to help you right away!" Yotsuya Miko frantically tried to find gauze to wrap Uesugi Sumira's wound. If the bleeding did not stop, Uesugi Sumira would soon be in danger of life due to excessive bleeding.

"It's okay...it will stop soon, otherwise it won't let us leave..."

A small bracelet appeared on Uesugi Sumiko's wrist at some point, and Yotsuya Miko saw it very clearly. Hanging on the bracelet was the amulet that attracted her here in the first place.

"Looks familiar, right? That mountain god..."

"That is the God of Matchmaking... He was worshipped for a long time, connecting the fates of those who prayed to him. However, in recent years, people in the town have gradually stopped worshipping that Lord... That's why this kind of thing happened."

The brown-haired girl seemed to have finally woken up, and the first thing she did after waking up was to bow deeply to Uesugi Sumire and Yotsuya Miko.

"I'm sorry. My sister and I have caused you so much trouble and made you like this... That gentleman should have taken me away as a sacrifice, just like he took my mother away."

The brown-haired girl touched her sister's head, her face full of helplessness and kindness. The moment they walked out of the tunnel, a ray of light appeared in the sky, which seemed to be a sign that the night was about to pass.

"Taking mother away means..."

"Yes, now only my sister and I live in this town, relying on everyone's help and our own efforts."

"It's okay. I'll offer that thing up as a sacrifice in your place. That guy will be quiet for at least a while after getting that drop of blood." Uesugi Cheng took a breath of cold air. The pain gradually spread to his mind. One of his arms was covered with bleeding wounds. The slightest movement felt like being cut into pieces. The pain was really unbearable.

The four of them returned to the sisters' room. Uesugi Sumiko lay in the largest room and closed his eyes quietly. Yotsuya Miko quickly fell asleep leaning against the bed. The two sisters also lay in their own small beds and fell asleep. So many things happened that night that when they opened their eyes, they saw another dusk that was about to set.

Uesugi Sumiko's arms were wrapped in layers of gauze, which could not be removed in a short time. Yotsuya Miko found that she seemed to no longer be being watched, and she was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and feel at ease.

"That is to say, you two still plan to stay in the town, right?"

The two sisters opposite nodded together, and Uesugi Cheng looked at the amulet on the bracelet.

[Symbol of a bond with a 'god']: You have reached a contract with a 'god', but everyone knows that all gifts are marked with a price. (2 hearts 2 honey)

[Sister's Assistance (One-time)]: The sisters will provide you with all the help they can for your favor. (4 Winter 4 Revelation 4 Dome)

He let out a long sigh and spoke.

"If that's the case, then we'll see each other next time if we're lucky... Maybe with this thing here, we'll see each other again soon."

Chapter 32: Recuperation

When they got on the train back to Tokyo, Yotsuya Miko sat particularly close to him, but Uesugi Sumiko didn't pay much attention to it. He closed his eyes and began to think about which room would be best for using the assistance he got from this short 'business trip'.

Finally, he chose to open the corridor-like room where the alchemical equipment was placed.

[Fluder Gallery]: This was once an alchemist's workshop and a gallery, but now paintings have been discarded, containers have been overturned, and solvents and reagents have been spilled. Repairing this place is time-consuming and dangerous. (Repair requires 6 winters or 6 castings)

The bittersweet memories inevitably befell the sisters, and the silent and cold nature of winter gave them enough patience and care to clean up this long gallery and count how many useful relics were left.

Yotsuya Miko responded to the inquiry text messages sent from her mobile phone. Although it seemed that her mother and Ahua were a little suspicious, Yotsuya Miko found that the school did not seem to mention this matter, as if she went to school normally.

So Yotsuya Miko put away her phone and looked at the boy next to her. The scar on his face was no longer bleeding, and it even seemed that the scar itself was healing rapidly. That handsome face would not be disfigured by the scar, and Uesugi Sumire would not be criticized or even ostracized by his classmates because of it. Yotsuya Miko's head slowly leaned on his shoulder.

"I really can't imagine... it will end up like this, but then... what reason can I have to continue to stay with Asumi-san?"

Yotsuya Miko felt a little melancholy. She owed too many favors to others. If it weren't for Uesugi Sumiko, she would have died several times. The other party had even ended up in this state in order to save her, but she could not provide any return.

The black-haired girl slowly closed her eyes, covering her golden pupils, and her youthful and energetic body leaned against Uesugi Sumika as if she had fallen asleep. Even she herself did not notice it. She always seemed to feel more at ease and easier to fall asleep next to Uesugi Sumika.

[Yotani Miko's assistance]: Now, having experienced and seen many things, she will provide you with all the assistance for free, please cherish it. (3 Winter 2 Lights)

Yotsuya Miko's sexuality has grown again, at the cost of a journey that was dangerous for her life. Uesugi Cheng did not want to see this happen. Although the growth of the assistant was certainly gratifying, the benefits were too small compared to the potential risks. It was still too difficult to find a suitable and talented assistant these days. At least Uesugi Cheng had only found a few people so far.

"If you want to go to school today, go first. I plan to go home and rest for a while, which can also be regarded as a way to avoid suspicion."

Uesugi Sumire got off the train at the station and said goodbye to Yotsuya Miko. He did not notice that Yotsuya Miko was looking at him from behind before turning away, nor did he notice that Yotsuya Miko seemed to have something to say. He now just wanted to take care of his wounds and then deal with the fact that he suddenly ran away.

"Are you still alive?"

"died"

Uesugi Sumire gave Hikigaya Hachiman a prank reply, and then tried to clench his hands tightly, but the healthy part of his soul, that is, the physical part, was not in such a good condition at the moment.

[Health: Injured]: Wounds and scars represent the passing of life and inevitable damage, but there is still a way to recover. Just a little rest is enough. (Recovery required: 5 hearts)