Tokyo, but I'm a deceitful scumbag.

"It's no use not reading it aloud. No matter what, your eyes will betray you. Children who have been corrupted by knowledge are destined to never have clear eyes like illiterate people."

Hoshino Hideyuki shrugged and said, "In the end, when we were looking for the Buddha statue, besides Asuka and me, two other members of the Tendo family were assassinated."

"I can understand why Haruka Tendo died, since she was indeed quite strong. But I don't understand why Tomoya Tendo died. He had decent talent, but his effort and awareness were terrible. He was clearly a good-for-nothing. Why would anyone want to kill him?"

"After thinking about it for a long time, the only answer I can come up with is that he offended the person behind the scenes."

"What a coincidence, not long ago, he almost trampled you on horseback!"

Himeko Aoi put her hands on her hips: "What, don't you hate him too? I kicked him out of the game early and gave him a good beating, aren't you happy?"

"You really tortured him?"

"Why would I lie about something like this? I love tormenting people~"

"Then I am indeed quite happy."

Ryuji Tendo, who was standing to the side, was dumbfounded and shouted, "Wait, why are you two chatting now!"

Naoko Sakuragi was equally dumbfounded, looking at Aoi Himeno: "Could it be that, Aoi, you... you're a spy for the Long-Haired Demon King? Everything you've done has been a lie to me?"

Himeno Aoi sighed softly, temporarily ignoring Tendo Ryuji, and turned to Sakuragi Naoko, saying:

“Naoko-nee, I have absolutely no connection with that hideous demon king, and I’m not lying to you. I am the orphan you picked up… for hundreds of years now, through hundreds of reincarnations, I have always been that person.”

Naoko Sakuragi was stunned: "What are you talking about? What hundreds of years? We've only lived for a few decades!"

"Well, that's the problem. It's your problem, and it's the world's problem. There's nothing we can do about it; our world is a giant lie."

Hearing this, Hoshino Hideyuki was also stunned.

Shouldn't Himeno Aoi be an outsider who infiltrated the area, just like herself?

What does this mean?

Why does it seem like she's a native of the dream world?

At this moment, Tendo Ryuji started shouting again: "Hey! Himeno Aoi! The leader of the ninjas! Can't you hear me? If you waste any more time, the boss's entire plan will be ruined!"

"I heard it~ I heard it~ la la la la la~!"

Himeko Aoi scratched her ear and then said, "Naoko-nee, I will not forget your kindness. I will explain the details to you after I finish this nightmare called the Trial. For now... please stay a little further away."

Hoshino Hideyuki nodded to Sakuragi Naoko and said, "That's true. We're going to have a pretty intense fight, so you guys should stay away..."

"But... okay."

Now that things had come to this, despite being full of questions, Naoko Sakuragi obediently led Yukawa and his men away from the scene.

Hoshino Hideyuki also condensed his Heart Moonfire into a flying dragon, which roared and circled the arena, scaring away the other passersby who wanted to join in the fun. This left only the two people and the fox in the area.

Himeno Aoi saw the fox's actions and a smirk appeared on her lips:

"Fox, you're actually quite to my liking... but unfortunately, you still have to die here!"

As the girl spoke, her appearance rapidly changed; she grew taller and more mature, and the clothes she wore became longer, wider, and darker in color...

Soon, she transformed from a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl into the female ninja who attacked the fox a few days ago!

This time, however, she no longer wore a mask, revealing her stunningly beautiful face at the age of eighteen or nineteen without any hesitation. Her bright and charming eyebrows and eyes, along with the mole at the corner of her right eye, would leave anyone who saw her stunned.

The only problem...

The scar that runs diagonally from his forehead to his left cheekbone seems to have grown a bit and become even more grotesque.

But for a fox, a monster without perfectionist tendencies, the scar looks quite cool!

So he smiled and gave Himeno Aoi a thumbs up.

Himeno Aoi returned the smile and said loudly:

"Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Himeno Aoi. I am an orphan of the Yukawa clan, but I am also the captain of the Unkai Gambling House Flower Knife Team!"

Upon hearing this, Hoshino Hideyuki's smile vanished.

Yunhai Casino?

W-w, it's you guys again!

Oh no, is the owner of Ruyi Workshop behind this incident?!

Across from him, Himeno Aoi looked at Tendo Ryuji and said:

"As for this one, his name is Undying Hara Shuto, the captain of the White Blade Team at the gambling den, but he's currently using the body of Tendo Ryuji."

"Look at that foxfire just now, you must be the legendary Smiling Fox, right? No wonder you could chase after the Undying Plains all over the place... I remember you even took down that kid Sada Kuni? Tsk tsk, you beat me to it..."

Tendo Ryuji—no, I mean, Undying Plains Zhou Dou—frowned and said, "Himeno, why are you talking about this again? Let's attack together! Quickly take him down!"

After saying that, he grinned maliciously at Hoshino Hideyuki: "Fox, what happened just now doesn't count. Now I'll show you my true strength!"

Himeko shrugged and said to the fox, "Yeah, enough with the nonsense. Smiling Fox, have you decided how you're going to kneel down and beg for mercy?"

By this time, the sky was already beginning to lighten, and soon the sun would peek out.

Even though the morning sun was about to shine, Hoshino Hideyuki's face fell.

The guys at Yunhai Gambling House are never easy to deal with, and these two in front of us don't seem to be any weaker than Sada Kuniyoshi...

To be honest, one against two is a bit troublesome...

"fox!"

Just as the fox was in distress, a shout came from the sky!

The two humans and the fox looked up and saw the blonde girl with twin ponytails descending from the sky, bringing golden light to the earth before the sun!

boom!

A moment later, Asuka Tendo stood up from the cracked ground and smiled at the fox beside her, who was still a little dazed:

"Fox, I've changed my mind. I still want to fight alongside you!"

Chapter 220 In the girl's eyes, the fox is the most important!

According to the original plan of the fox and Asuka Tendo, dealing with the mastermind was left to the fox, and the girl only needed to focus on hunting down the long-haired demon king and completing the trial.

The reason for this arrangement was twofold: firstly, the fox was confident in its superior strength, and secondly, the fox knew that this trial was extremely important to the girl and held special significance.

However, at this very moment, Asuka Tendo appeared beside the fox...

Hideyuki Hoshino blinked and asked, "You..."

The girl seemed to have guessed the fox's thoughts and waved her hand, saying:

"Don't worry, I already severely injured the Long-Haired Demon King before I came here, and I've entrusted the task of hunting him down to Tendo Mizuki. Mizuki will kill him soon and end this trial."

The fox sneered and asked, "Then why don't you go and hunt them down yourself?"

"Because that takes a lot of time, and... I think your side is more important..."

The girl's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, and her face gradually turned red.

Asuka Tendo naturally wanted to kill the Long-Haired Demon King with her own hands, then gain the approval of the shikigami Tanlang, and slap the faces of all those in her clan who looked down on her.

But as the plan was carried out, she became increasingly worried: what if something happened to the fox?

She's throwing all her toughest enemies at the fox. Is that really a good idea?

Although theoretically, even if the fox couldn't withstand the attack and was killed, the trial mechanism would prevent it from truly dying... but who dares to say with certainty that there won't be any unexpected events?

After all, if outsiders can just barge in like that, who knows if this secret realm is even normal anymore? Besides, the fox doesn't have the bloodline of the Tiantong family, so what if it can't trigger the emergency ejection mechanism...?

Asuka Tendo became increasingly frightened as she thought about it.

So when she finally found the Long-haired Demon King, she immediately used all her strength and desperately injured him in the shortest time possible. The girl was not exaggerating. After a series of trials and special training from the fox, her current strength far surpassed that of her peers and was no less than that of Tendo Ryuji.

The Ghost King, who had given countless young people of the Tian Tong family a headache in the past trials, was no match for her at all!

However, just as she was about to launch a fatal attack, the Ghost King's subordinates arrived in time, covering the Ghost King as she mounted her horse and escaped along a mountain path.

After careful analysis, Asuka Tendo was convinced that she could eliminate the Demon King if she chased after him. However, although she was invincible with her golden body, she was not very fast. Once she started chasing, she didn't know when she would be able to stop.

If the fox can't hold out during this time...

Finally, the girl realized her feelings.

That dead fox is far more important than obtaining a shikigami or slapping the face of my clansmen!

I can't let the fox fight alone!

So she released the modified fireworks and summoned Tendo Mizuki, with whom she had made a pact to join forces. She handed over all the information and the talismans and items she had on her, and asked her to hunt down the Demon King.

Tendo Mizuki is also a little genius, and her strength is not bad. It's only a matter of time before she kills the seriously injured Demon King.

After making these arrangements, the girl borrowed a flying moth-like shikigami and eagerly rode it to the small pond. However, she didn't find anyone there, but instead saw a flying crane in the sky, so she chased after it all the way back to Ashihara.

And so, the girl stood beside the fox once more.

"In short!"

Under the fox's amused gaze, Asuka Tendo crossed her arms and straightened her back: "As a genius and beautiful Onmyoji, even if you are a despicable and hateful dead fox, I will not give up on you!"

Fox: Staring...

Girl: "You...you wouldn't be trying to tease me even at a time like this, would you?"

Fox: "Actually, there really is a suitable angle..."

Girl:?

Fox: "Never mind though~"

Hoshino Hideyuki shrugged, reached out his right hand, and gently touched the girl's golden head, saying earnestly:

"Thank you."

"……snort!"

The girl gave a soft hum, raised her chin, seemingly unwilling to have her head patted, but the corners of her mouth still involuntarily turned up.

"That's enough for you two!"

Suddenly, Immortal Plains Zhou Dou let out a low shout and remotely controlled several samurai swords to spin and slash over, interrupting the heartwarming interaction between the fox and the girl.

Asuka Tendo reacted extremely quickly, immediately pulling the fox away. The fox, however, allowed the girl to drag it along, swaying in the strong wind as it fought against the Immortal Plains: