Fantasy Library.

Chapter 495 I just want her to be happy

"I don't need it."

At first, Aize tried to use this excuse to avoid accepting Komagawa Mizuha's examination.

Perhaps because his resistance was a bit too obvious, not only did Asagi Yasuharu and Hitachi Mako object, but Asagi Yoshino and Murasame also noticed something amiss.

"Master, you wouldn't..."

Cong Yu's expression changed drastically, as if she had remembered something important.

"Moko! Come help!"

Asahi Yoshino suddenly became more assertive and even gave instructions to Hitachi Mako.

"Yes, Lady Yoshino!"

Without hesitation, Hitachi Mako and Asatake Yoshino stepped forward and, surprisingly, restrained Aizawa from both sides.

"Wait……"

Just as Aize was about to protest, Cong Yu, who had floated behind him, ripped off his shirt with lightning speed.

The expressions on everyone's faces changed at that moment.

Because they all saw Aize's back.

"Ai Jun, you..."

Chao Wu Anqing's expression instantly turned extremely sorrowful.

"This injury..."

Komagawa Mizuyo's expression immediately became extremely serious. She quickly unfolded the medical kit and took out a large number of medicines and medical supplies.

There was nothing that could be done; on Aize's back, there were two extremely gruesome wounds.

The wound didn't look like a minor injury; the skin and flesh were turned outwards, as if it had been struck by a red-hot iron rod. Although there was no bleeding, it was almost festering from being soaked in water.

It was impossible for anyone to remain unmoved upon seeing the two wounds, especially Asagi Yoshino and Murasaki, who clearly knew how those wounds had been inflicted.

This was undoubtedly a wound left by the demon god whose half-body had disintegrated when it lashed Azer with its tentacles.

"How could I have only realized it now?!"

Asahi Yoshino's face, which had regained some color, turned pale again, her eyes filled with deep guilt and self-reproach.

You have to understand, Aize was unable to free his hands because he was saving her, which resulted in him being whipped twice by that evil spirit. She has completely forgotten about this, which is really inexcusable.

Moreover, it's even more unacceptable that she didn't notice the two wounds before she got home.

After all, when the two of them were taking off their clothes and wringing out the water, Aize had taken off his shirt and turned his back to her.

Perhaps it was because of the insufficient light at the time, or perhaps because Asagi Yoshino dared not look at Aize's bare body, she completely failed to notice the two wounds and forgot the fact that he had been attacked by the evil spirit while saving her.

Thinking of this, Asahi Yoshino's face showed even more guilt and self-reproach.

"You...you don't feel any pain at all, Lord Aize!"

Even Hitachi Mako was surprised.

She simply couldn't understand how Aize could remain so calm and composed despite suffering such severe injuries.

"It's alright." Seeing that he couldn't hide it any longer, Aize could only say, "It did hurt quite a bit at first, but maybe it's because I soaked in the water for a long time, it didn't hurt anymore later."

"That's because your pain receptors have been paralyzed to some extent." Komagawa Mizuha said seriously while applying medicine to Aize, "Not only is there the problem of infection from soaking in water, but also the problem of filth carried by the evil spirit entering your body, which is why you have lost your sense of pain, Lord Aize."

"Fortunately, the bleeding has stopped and has stopped flowing. Otherwise, without the ability to feel pain and understand the extent of the injury, it could have been life-threatening."

"You're not taking your injury seriously enough. Please allow me to conduct a more thorough examination."

Without waiting for Aize's consent, Komagawa Mizuha began examining his body.

Fortunately, apart from the two gruesome back wounds, Aize had no other injuries.

Although he was not injured, due to his two close encounters with the evil spirits, Aize's body was tainted with some filth. If this filth is not cleaned off, it may affect Aize's physical health and even his mental state.

"What should we do, Dr. Mizuha?!"

Asahi Yoshino seemed to have lost her composure, which made her voice sound particularly anxious.

"Let's treat the wounds first. After that, we need to find a way to cleanse Lord Aize of the filth."

Mizuha Komagawa offered her opinions methodically.

"If we want to cleanse ourselves of impurities, the best and most convenient way is to soak in a hot spring," Cong Yu couldn't help but say. "But can Master's wound still come into contact with water?"

Upon hearing this, before anyone else could say anything, Aize raised an eyebrow.

"Soaking in hot springs can actually purify impurities?"

This was somewhat unexpected.

“Only the hot springs of Hoori have this effect,” Hitachi Mako explained from the side. “What is born from the land of Hoori is not only filth, but also gods and mysterious things like the divine sword. Therefore, the land of Hoori also possesses divine power, and the hot springs flowing from this land have the effect of purifying filth.”

This is also why there are such miraculous rumors about the hot springs in Suiori.

The idea that hot springs can cure all diseases might just be a rumor used to attract tourists. But just like the myths circulating in Hoori, the legends of Hoori's hot springs are not all unfounded. They do have some special effects, which is why rumors have arisen.

“Hot springs in Suiori are known to help speed up recovery from injuries. As long as the wounds are treated properly, you shouldn’t be completely unable to soak in the water,” Komagawa Mitsuyo said to everyone. “Even if you don’t soak in the hot springs, there are other ways to cleanse yourself. Yoshino-sama’s offering dance is also a form of treatment.”

The offering dance performed by the shrine maidens of Kenji Shrine also has the effect of purifying impurities.

However, the Offering Dance purifies not just personal impurities, but the accumulated impurities of the entire land of Suiori. Therefore, for the daughters of the Asabu family, the Offering Dance is not only a required course, but also a course they must master, in order to suppress the impurities accumulated in Suiori and minimize the generation of evil spirits and curses.

Unfortunately, because the target is the entire Hoori, the shrine maiden's offering dance cannot completely suppress the filth within Hoori and prevent the curse from arising. That's why she needs to go up the mountain every now and then to exorcise the evil spirits and purify the accumulated filth directly.

"Then, I'll do it now..."

It seems that Yoshino Asagi is planning to take Aize to the shrine and perform an offering dance for him.

"Wait, Lady Yoshino." Komagawa Mizuha quickly stopped her, saying seriously, "I know you mean well, but don't forget, you are the daughter of the Asabu family and you are also cursed. If you come into close contact with the filth on Lady Aizawa, the curse may very well break out."

"This..." Asahi Yoshino froze on the spot.

Aize glanced subtly at the top of Yoshino Asahi's head.

Actually, on the way back, Aize had vaguely seen dog-like ears appear on the top of Asagi Yoshino's head several times.

It must be because he was tainted by filth that the curse on Yoshino Asatake, who was close to him, began to stir.
In particular, he performed artificial respiration and CPR on Yoshino Asagi, which undoubtedly involved extremely close contact.

Even though the evil spirit that embodies filth has been defeated, the curse on Yoshino Asatake will still appear, causing her to grow animal ears.

"Let's go for a hot spring bath instead," said Asahi Anqing, her brows furrowed. "There's a hot spring bath in the bathroom at home, which is perfect for Ai-kun."

"Then let me treat the wound again," said Mizuha Komagawa. "It's best not to get this wound wet, but since it's already like this, I can only do my best to treat it and reduce the impact."

"I'll go prepare the bath water right away." Hitachi Mako also stood up and said, "And please tell me where the change of clothes is."

“Come with me, Moko,” Congyu said immediately. “I’ll take you to get it.”

"Leave Congyu Maru to me for now," Asahi Ansei said to Aize. "Aize-kun, focus on recovering from your injuries first, we'll talk about the rest later."

As she spoke, Asahi Ansei took the Murasame from Aize's hand, and together with Mitsuha Komagawa, they treated Aize's wounds and assisted her.

As a result, everyone had something to do, except for Yoshino Asagi, who stood there blankly, looking uneasy.

"Father, I..."

Asatake Yoshino seemed to want to take over the work from Asatake Yasuharu and help Komagawa Mitsuha treat Aizawa's wounds.

She couldn't just stand there doing nothing, after all, she was the one who caused the wound.

"Yoshino, go change your clothes first." Asagi Yasuharu treated Asagi Yoshino as a victim of this incident and said gently, "You'll catch a cold if you keep wearing wet clothes."

"But……"

Asatake Yoshino really wanted to object.

In response, Asahi Yasuharu only said one sentence.

“If even you get sick, not only will there be one less person to take care of Ai Jun, but everyone else will have to be distracted taking care of you. Do you want to see that happen?”

Asahi Yoshino was speechless.

After a long while, Asahi Yoshino finally gave in and walked back to the room, looking back every few steps. Her worry and guilt were impossible to hide.

Aize simply watched everything quietly, including Asagi Yoshino's performance and how the others treated his injuries. He didn't offer any opinions and just watched silently.

After Komagawa Mizuha finished treating her wounds and temporarily withdrew with her medicine box, Asahi Ansei spoke to Aize, who was sitting quietly there.

“You really went too far this time, Ai-kun.” Chao Wu Anqing sighed and said rather seriously, “Luckily you didn’t get into trouble, otherwise I wouldn’t know how to explain it to Mr. Genjuro.”

"I'm sorry to have worried you." Aize glanced at Chao Wu Anqing, then asked, "Was my grandfather aware of the matter concerning the evil spirit?"

“I know a little bit.” Asahi Ansei said with a wry smile, “Mr. Genjuro is a very influential elder in Sui-ori. Even I am his junior and have some relatives with him. The older generation and their families who are closely related to the history of Sui-ori all have some knowledge of the secrets of Sui-ori, even if it is not in great detail.”

"Is that so?" Aize said as if talking to himself, "The reason why my grandfather was so supportive of me staying here was that he wanted me to use Murasame to exorcise the evil spirit, or even to lift the curse on Hoori and the Asabu family?"

“No, Mr. Genjuro has no intention of placing such a heavy burden on your shoulders, and neither do I.” Asagi Ansei immediately denied this, saying very seriously, “Please listen to me, Ai-kun, we have no intention of entrusting such a heavy burden, which no one has been able to solve in Sui-ori, to a young man like you.”

"Although your pulling out Murasame has given us some expectation and hope, like Genjuro, I would much rather you continue to live peacefully in this town."

"This is our only thought about you." Asahi Ansei lowered his almost invisible eyelids and said in a low voice, "If possible, I also hope that Yoshino can grow up safely and live a happy life, instead of watching her bear such a heavy burden."

Asahi Ansei, who is not a direct descendant of the Asahi family but married into the family, must be the one who feels the most powerless.

As the head priest of Kenshin Shrine and the patriarch of the Asabu family, he should know the most about the secrets of Hoori.

Knowing everything, he could only watch helplessly as his daughter carried the mission of the Asabu family to fight against the evil spirits and protect the town of Suiori. How could Asabu Yasuharu, a grown man and a father, possibly let this go?

Just like tonight, if it weren't for Aize's intervention, Asagi Yoshino would probably be gone by now, right?

This fear and anxiety had plagued Chao Wu Anqing every day, forcing him to keep his eyes closed, squinting, and desperately trying to hide the pain and helplessness within them.

"Then why did you unilaterally force me to enter into a marriage contract with Miss Chaowu...?"

Looking at Chao Wuanqing like this, Aize still asked the question.

"I just want my daughter to have more people around her who can understand her and improve her current situation." Chao Wu Anqing confided in Aize, saying, "Because of the curse, Fang Nai has never liked to get too close to others since she was a child."

"She was afraid of implicating innocent people, and perhaps she also had some inferiority complex, believing that she was cursed and could not get too close to others, so the child had always been all alone."

“Moko-kun has been by her side the whole time, but she is only protecting Yoshino as a guard, so it is difficult to improve her condition.”

"Therefore, in order to change Yoshino's interpersonal relationships and this situation, I took a tougher stance this time and made Yoshino get engaged to you."

In short, Chao Wu Anqing was powerless to treat this serious illness and could only resort to drastic measures.

For Asahi Ansei, the appearance of Aize was like the arrival of a potent medicine.

(End of this chapter)