Tokyo, but I'm a deceitful scumbag.

"You were the first person besides me to smile at that child, so I was a little curious and asked a question. Don't worry about it."

"but……"

Naoko Sakuragi changed the subject, saying, "Since you spoke so gently to that child at the beginning, please continue to do so, otherwise she will be too pitiful."

"Well, that's all I wanted to say. Nothing else. We're setting off tomorrow, so I suggest you get some rest tonight, Rukawa-kun."

After saying that, Naoko Sakuragi got up and left.

Hoshino Hideyuki turned around, peeked over the wall, looked at Himeno Aoi, and narrowed his eyes.

the next day.

The Yukawa group joined forces with two caravans in the city, totaling about fifty people, and set off on a forest path.

There were only three horses in the group: two to pull a cart, and the other to be ridden by Naoko Sakuragi. The rest of the people walked behind her.

Hoshino Hideyuki was walking in the middle of the group when he suddenly noticed Himeno Aoi running behind him. Her snow-white little feet almost left afterimages as she darted up to him in the blink of an eye. Before she could even catch her breath, she reached out her hand to him and said:

"Mr. Rukawa, this is a return gift!"

Hoshino Hideyuki glanced over and saw a slightly dirty little ball lying in the little girl's palm, which looked like it had been held for a long time.

Without hesitation, he grabbed it and ate it.

"Mmm, it's delicious, thank you~"

"Hee hee~"

Himeko Aoi scratched her head and smiled, then asked, "Where is Rukawa-san from? His accent is so strange."

"The Great Tang Dynasty of the West"

Hoshino Hideyuki put his hand in his pocket, took out a Kaiyuan Tongbao copper coin, and waved it in front of Himeno Aoi, saying, "Hey, this is the place that mints this kind of coin."

Himeno Aoi murmured, "Kai...Yuan...?"

Hoshino Hideyuki raised an eyebrow: "Hmm~"

Just as he was about to say something more, a young man carrying a bow and arrows walked over, glanced at Himeno Aoi with disdain, and then asked Hoshino Hideyuki provocatively:

"So you're that new guy, Rukawa Makoto? Hanging out with this monster, looks like you're not all that great... If you're not happy, how about a match with me?"

However, Hideyuki Hoshino did not answer.

Instead, he opened his mouth wide, his eyes wide like saucers, and stared silently at the young man's lower body for a while. Then he leaned over Himeko's ear and whispered something, gesturing as he chuckled.

The young man carrying a bow and arrow: ?

"W-What are you talking about!"

Hoshino Hideyuki immediately straightened up, his face tense, his eyes forming a fan shape, revealing three parts mockery and seven parts pity, and said softly, "It's nothing, you're perfectly normal, nothing's wrong, don't overthink it."

Do you think I'd believe you?

Damn it, what happened?!

Could it be that I peed in my pants today?

The young man hurriedly looked down to check, and after searching for a long time, he heard Hoshino Hideyuki's unrestrained laughter.

In a daze, he suddenly understood.

be cheated!

Well, you rascal...

"Watch out! There's a hairy ghost! Ah!"

Before the young man could react, the leader of the caravan at the front interrupted him with a shout.

Everyone looked up and saw a dark figure flying through the air, carrying a bloodied human head in its hand, mouth half-open, eyes wide open in death, seemingly... the very person who had just shouted!

Chapter 202 The Fox: An Encounter with a Genius Girl, Unable to Defeat Her Even with All Her Effort

"The long-haired devil has come down the mountain!"

"Ah! Help!"

"Hold your ground! Those with spears, move forward; arquebusiers, move to the rear!"

The moment the shadow flashed by, the entire team was thrown into chaos.

Naoko Sakuragi reacted quickly and gave the order loudly. However, although her Yukawa troops had some experience in hunting long-haired demons, they were still just low-ranking foot soldiers and ronin. When suddenly attacked, they were inevitably flustered.

Furthermore, the presence of people from the other two caravans crowding around and running around made it even more difficult for the Yukawa group to form a proper formation.

Brush brush!

In the chaos, several more dark figures flashed by, instantly taking away seven or eight heads. Blood splattered everywhere, plunging the crowd into even deeper fear.

"Damn it, we've only been out of the city for a short while..."

The young man carrying the bow and arrow was a little pale. Although his trembling hands managed to draw the bow and nock the arrow through muscle memory, the chaotic crowd and the dense bushes around him made it impossible for him to aim.

Rustling!

Suddenly a noise reached his ears. He tensed up, turned around and released the bowstring. With a snap, the arrow pierced a tree trunk halfway up the mountain.

"Haha, die!"

Just as he missed, a tall, dark figure suddenly jumped down from the top of a nearby tree, howling and about to sever his head!

"what!"

"Don't just stand there, kid!"

In the blink of an eye, Hoshino Hideyuki rushed out from the side, shoved the young man aside, and with his other hand pulled out an arrow from the man's basket. He twisted his fingers and gripped the arrow shaft in reverse, using it as a dagger, and stabbed it at the dark figure's temple.

With a soft "thud," it pierced the bullseye.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. By the time the young man came to his senses, the dark figure had already collapsed in front of him, blood gushing from its head.

Hoshino Hideyuki lowered his head slightly and quickly glanced at the so-called long-haired demon.

It was humanoid, two meters tall, with dark skin, large hands and feet, sharp teeth and claws, two short horns on its forehead, and a coat woven from leaves—goodness, it even knew camouflage.

What caught Hoshino Hideyuki's attention the most was his long hair at the back of his head, which was about the same length as his height. Most of it was loose, while a small portion was tied into five or six braids with stones tied to the ends, which looked like it could be used as a meteor hammer.

This must be the origin of the name "Long-haired Demon".

Hoshino Hideyuki curled his lip, then tapped the stunned young man on the head and said:

"Your arrow just now had enough power, but its accuracy was lacking. If you want to meet me at the peak, you should probably hone your skills a bit more."

After saying that, the fox didn't wait for any response and turned to go to the front of the group to help.

It took the young man a few seconds to react. He grimaced, put away his bow and arrows, turned around, and stared at Himeko Aoi, who was crouching down with her head in her hands.

Suddenly, he felt an urge to go back in time and slap his past self for provoking him—no, one slap wasn't enough, he needed to slap him several times, make sure it was a hard slap, so that his foul mouth wouldn't spout nonsense again!

the other side.

Hideyuki Hoshino casually picked up the spear that some unlucky guy had dropped.

He had never practiced marksmanship, but with his demonic power, he still wielded the spear with great skill, sweeping it to the left and then swung it twice to the right, knocking several long-haired demons that were about to pounce back into the woods.

At this moment, although he only needed to chase after him a few more steps to completely kill the long-haired ghost who had been knocked away, he did not press his advantage.

He felt that, given the current situation, instead of focusing on increasing his own kill count, it would be better to give the rest of the team some breathing room.

And as it turned out, the fox was right.

With his flanking maneuvers, Yukawa and the caravan's guards gradually regained their footing.

Naoko Sakuragi also seized the opportunity, urging her horse forward and shouting back and forth, finally regrouping the team and getting the survivors to form a circle.

The outermost layer consisted of carriages, ronin, and spearmen, while inside were archers and a few arquebusiers. The rest of the people were hidden in the center, under protection.

As expected, once this formation was deployed, although there were still rustling sounds in the woods, no longer any hairy ghosts dared to rush out.

Naoko Sakuragi breathed a slight sigh of relief and smiled at Hideyuki Hoshino, who had rushed to her side, saying, "Thanks to you, Rukawa."

The others also cast grateful and respectful glances at the fox, realizing that the young man carrying the bow and arrows would never again make such a rash and provocative move.

Hoshino Hideyuki raised an eyebrow, indicating that it was nothing to be shy about.

"what!"

"You despicable hairless monkey!"

Just then, a series of screams suddenly rang out from the woods.

Hideyuki Hoshino touched his chin curiously.

what happened?

These hairy devils couldn't get in, so in their anger and frustration, they started banging their heads against trees as a form of self-harm? Well, I can offer you a durian, you fox!

call!

Suddenly, a giant wolf leaped out of the woods carrying the leg of a long-haired demon in its mouth and landed in front of the group.

Everyone was startled, but after a moment they became excited again.

Naoko Sakuragi burst out laughing: "Everyone, it's an Onmyoji!"

"The Onmyoji has arrived!"

"That's right, the Onmyoji launched a surprise attack from the forest and wiped out these hairy demons!"

"Great, we're safe!"

Good heavens, they've completely overshadowed me, the fox! How infuriating!

Speaking of Onmyoji...

Hoshino Hideyuki narrowed his eyes as he looked at the giant wolf that seemed vaguely familiar.

The next second, a figure emerged from the woods.

Although she was dressed in a kimono and wooden clogs, her petite figure, delicate face, and golden twin tails fluttering in the wind—there was no doubt that the person who came was Tendo Asuka!

"All the hairy demons have been wiped out by me."

The girl crossed her arms and said to the crowd, "You're all safe now!"