Sakiko knew that she couldn’t show any signs of anxiety, she was a very powerful existence in the eyes of Lily and Shiu, which also served as their safety net. If she started to panic, they would become even more afraid. However, the current situation was indeed weird and bizarre. She had never come across such a situation even after going back and forth to Kamakura so many times.
“Master Sakiko, why did this bullock cart start to move again?” Lily looked at Sakiko with puzzled eyes and an even more worried expression on her face.
Sakiko got off the cart again, moved the bullock cart to the side of the road, tied the rope on the bull’s nose ring directly to the tree, and then returned to the cart. However, just by going out in this manner made Sakiko shivered slightly because of the cold. She quickly shut the curtains to prevent cold air from flowing in.
She said to Lily and Shiu, “Tonight, the fog is too heavy to discern the road and direction. Let’s spend the night in the bullock cart. Tomorrow, the fog will disperse and then we will move onward. As long as we get out of this mountain and enter the grassland, it will be an easy matter to deal with.”
Shiu leaned against Lily and said worriedly, “Master Sakiko, why am I feeling colder and colder.” “If you feel cold, just come closer. Come here.”
Three women, Sakiko, Lily, and Shiu, leaned against each other. With this, they could temporarily withstand the cold in the dim bullock cart with the lamps on.
“Woo— Woo— Woo—” The chilly wind howled outside, blowing through the mountains, trees, and valleys, making a whistling sound. And the temperature continued to drop. Even Lily —whose body usually radiated heat— was unable to bear the cold anymore. After all, everyone was wearing thin clothes because there was no need to prepare winter clothes. Lily was so close to Sakiko that her huge chest was pressing against Sakiko’s arm.
The wind leaked in through the cracks of the cart and blew the oil lamp hanging in the corner. It almost extinguished the lamp several times. Shiu felt so cold and scared that she directly lay between the thighs of Sakiko and Lily. She even buried her face in Lily’s underbelly and dared not raise her head.1
At this time, Lily didn’t care about these things and let Shiu do whatever she wanted. Just then, the gale blew.
“Whoosh——”
The oil lamp struggled in vain, and the only source of light in this deep night was finally blown out. The three women hugged each other more tightly as the dark purple of the night shrouded their surroundings. Just then, the bullock cart began to move again.
“What!?” Lily’s eyes widened and she looked outside of the cart. The inside was so dark she could barely discern the existence of Sakiko and Shiu by the sense of touch. “Why is the bullock cart moving again? Hasn’t Master Sakiko tied up the bullock cart?” Shiu asked in a panic.
The gust blew even faster and the temperature continued to fall.
Sakiko’s breathing was deep and a little hurried. “This is bad, maybe this bullock cart is taking us somewhere.” Lily and Shiu clasped each other’s hands. No matter where the bullock cart took them, it was definitely not a good place.
“No, let’s get off the cart!” Sakiko said. “Eh?” “Come on, get out of the cart. Otherwise, it may be too late.” Sakiko urged while pushing Lily and Shiu out of the cart from behind. In a hurry, Lily seemed to think of something and grabbed the Sakura Parasol.
Then, Sakiko also got off the slow-moving bullock cart. The three stood in the middle of a gloomy and chilly road, under the towering huge trees.
A pale blue moon was faintly visible in the sky. It was cold. It was bone-chilling cold. It was useless even if they stood next to each other. It was so cold that it made the soul shiver and tremble in fear. This cold made Lily think of the night when she had just arrived in the world of Heian.
The bullock cart went a few meters forward and stopped. Lily could see a burst of dim light in the dense fog ahead. It seemed like a faint blue light.
“Master Sakiko… there is a strange light up ahead. ” Lily warned carefully. “What? Light?” Sakiko didn’t seem to be able to see the light. However, after a while, she activated her Spirit Sight and finally noticed the light. It was not an ordinary light and ordinary people couldn’t see it. It was a spiritual light.
“Listen, you two. From now on, you are not allowed to speak or move. No matter what you see or what happens, you must stay behind me and never leave from my side. Do you understand?” Sakiko ordered in a low stern voice that contained extremely solemn and unquestionable authority in it.
“I understand.” Lily held on to Shiu tightly.
In the gloomy night, the blue light intertwined with the mist, and smoke billowed like black clouds. A huge figure nearly ten meters tall gradually emerged in the fog and walked towards the three ladies. Compared to the towering figure, the bullock cart looked like it was as small as a child’s doll.
All three of them held their breath.
All of a sudden, Sakiko changed her posture and her snow-white arms stretched out her sleeves. She drew a circle in the air with her arms and The Spirit Power in her body began to materialize. The circle drawn by the two hands formed a light blue ancient diagram.
Sakiko’s expression was cold and severe as she said, “Vermilion Bird in front, Black Tortoise in the back, Azure Dragon on the right and White Tiger on the left …” Next came a seemingly ancient incantation that Lily couldn’t understand.
“Four Guardian Beasts— Spirit Guard—”
There was no apparent change but Lily felt that the atmosphere around her, Shiu, and Sakiko had become a little different. By this time, the ten-meter-high figure had emerged out of the fog. It was a man with small torch-like sinister eyes, a thick black beard like a broom, and he wore a court dress.
“It’s really Michizane!” Lily immediately recognized the huge demon.
Her legs began to tremble helplessly. Even though she was strong enough to step into the threshold of Kensei, Lily still felt powerless like an infant in front of an adult as she watched Michizane coming closer and closer from afar.
No, it is because I have gotten stronger that I am able to more accurately judge how terrifying Michizane really is.
“No, this is terrible! It is Michizane. He can kill us thousands of times over with just a flick of his finger!”
Shiu’s face paled with fright and she stuck tightly to the speechless Lily. Sakiko seemed to have finished arranging the spells and she also stepped back. She protected Lily and Shiu on both sides behind her.
Demon King Michizane was a few meters off the ground. He came closer by stepping on the thick and billowing black cloud that floated right beneath him.2 And it seemed like there was another white-faced figure under his feet. He was about six to seven meters tall. He wore an Eboshi Cap and a gloomy hunting suit. The man’s eyebrows were only two black spots but there were two small azure dragons that poked out of the man’s ears.
Although this strange man could only be described as a grotesque-looking freak, it gave Lily a terrible feeling. Even the little azure dragon in his ear could easily spit out dragon breath and burn them to ashes.
From the back, lanterns hanging on a high pole appeared one after another as the demons and monsters tailed behind Michizane. The sound of a flute could be heard, it sounded so sad that it made people feel sad and tearful. The sound gradually became louder along with the approach of the dense fog and numerous demons.
Night Parade of a Hundred Demons? Why would we encounter the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons at this time in this place!?3
Just as Lily was feeling flustered from encountering the hundred demons led by Michizane…
A scorching wind that made them sweat profusely in an instant blew from behind the three of them. Lily suddenly looked back and even Sakiko looked a little panicked as she turned around.
In the dense fog behind them, a flickering flame could be seen.
What emerged from the flame was a majestic red devil that was even taller than Michizane! Sitting on the top of the demon’s head, however, was a handsome man donned in white ancient clothes and long red hair. Behind the man, there was a huge wine gourd which was equivalent to the height of one adult man. Under the barefoot of the handsome man was a skull that looked like it belonged to a woman.
Blue, red, yellow, demons of all sizes and colors followed the man who was sitting on the top of the huge red demon and emerged from the fog. 4
