Don't force me to use my right fist.

After hesitating for a moment, Saya decisively pounded his palm. If we're talking about the most convenient way to deal with this in the wild, then barbecuing is definitely the way to go.

Saya, who acts on his thoughts immediately, busied himself on the spot, completely ignoring what was happening under the tree where Shibata Ai was hiding, as if he didn't care at all whether she would run away a second time.

That's exactly the case. He doesn't care about that at all. If someone wants to run away, can he stop them?

But she might not be so lucky next time. Sawa doesn't think she can stay in this forest for much longer.

However, somewhat to Sōyū's surprise, after a rustling sound, the girl emerged from her hiding place, hugged her knees, and sat down in front of him.

"Not running away this time?"

While busy baking wings that were almost half his size with hellfire rock, Saku asked the girl behind him as he flipped the thing over.

"Or are you craving what I'm making right now, and planning to eat it all up and then run away, just like before?" Zuoyou turned around and joked with her, while also raising the enormous bird wings in his hand.

"Mr. Yokai, are you really a yokai?" Shibata Ai asked, resting her chin on her knees and staring intently at the boy in front of her.

"I've never said I'm anything special. I'm just an ordinary human being. If there's anything different about me, it's that I can fight a little bit."

Sōyū rolled his eyes. He used to be considered a weirdo, but now in ancient times he's considered a monster?

"Someone who can fight, an ordinary person?" Something that can withstand, right?

However, there is one thing she can know.

You have to understand that the injuries she suffered before were basically fatal. Although we don't know what Sasuke did to her, her current lively and energetic appearance...

She didn't think she possessed anything that made him go to such great lengths to save her, and even if it concerned the entire village, she didn't think it was enough for him to make such a sacrifice.

So, after figuring this out, she actually started to become curious about Saya.

"Hmm, don't you have anyone with special abilities? Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to withstand a monster like that just now, would you?"

Sawa didn't know how to explain it to her; he couldn't exactly tell her he was Superman, could he?

"If you really want to talk about it, there are, legitimate Onmyoji masters, but I've only heard of them in legends. The old man in the village said that an Onmyoji master once sat in our village."

After careful consideration, Shibata Ai answered Saya's question, looking at him expectantly. Could Saya be the legendary Onmyoji? That would explain why he did this.

"Onmyoji? Hmm, if slaying demons and monsters counts as this profession, then I can barely qualify, but if we're talking about specific categories, then I definitely don't belong to it."

Sōyū shrugged. In any case, he didn't seem to have anything to do with the profession of Onmyoji. Perhaps the only thing they shared was their work goals.

"Um, you yokai, oh no, you Onmyoji master, could you please answer one of my questions?"

As if summoning immense courage, or as if grasping a glimmer of light in the darkness, after hearing Saya's answer, the girl reached out her hand to Saya, her eyes shining with an intense longing.

Seeing this expression, Sōyū was momentarily speechless.

What kind of problem is troubling her that makes her look so expectant? I hope she doesn't run into trouble if I don't answer it well.

After pursing his lips, Sawa finally nodded.

"Although I'm not exactly a proper Onmyoji, a proper Onmyoji probably couldn't beat me. If you have any questions, just ask, and I'll try my best to answer them."

She exhaled a deep breath, as if to release all the grievances she had been holding in, and turned to look in Saya's direction.

"Onmyoji, do I look like a yokai that brings bad luck?"

With her finger pointed to her chest, the girl's brown eyes held an expectation that far exceeded Sawa's imagination, like a sinful soul waiting for redemption in the darkness, asking the question with fear yet determination.

"Huh? That's it?"

Sōyū looked her up and down, and unable to resist, he even placed the back of his hand on her smooth forehead, wanting to see if something had damaged the girl's brain.

"You've been a normal human being from beginning to end. If you were a monster, it wouldn't be chicken wings being roasted right now, it would be you."

Sawa, who had thought she was going to ask some earth-shattering question, breathed a sigh of relief, waved his hand, and decisively gave her his own judgment.

It's true that Sawa is not good at sensing auras, but that doesn't mean he can't tell the difference between humans and demons. As long as you get close, the power fluctuations on these guys can't hide from him.

Saya Saya didn't even think she was some kind of monster that brought bad luck, so the girl in front of her was even less worthy of the title.

Besides, what kind of person in this world is passively brought into misfortune? Luck is ultimately just a metaphysical issue. Zuo You even calls himself the ultimate unlucky one, but he doesn't seem to be unable to draw anything good.

So, while he might not know about other things, he could absolutely say with absolute certainty that the girl in front of him was not the kind of person she described.

Chapter 384 Power itself is not frightening

"Wait a minute, don't tell me the reason you were kicked out to be a so-called sacrifice for that thing is because of this, right?"

Saya blinked, realizing what she had said before. This was the best explanation he could think of.

"But I am indeed different from others." After receiving Saya's answer, the girl's expression improved significantly, but she still kept her head down, looking as if she couldn't accept herself.

Picking up an ant from the ground, Shibata Ai crumpled it into a ball in front of Saya, then placed her fingertip on it. After a flash of white light, the ant, which should have been dead, rose up and was placed back on the ground.

Zuo You's lips curled up. To put it bluntly, this could be considered a miraculous recovery. How could they still be driven out by these ignorant people? Are their brains full of shit?

"No, it only works on these small animals, and basically that's it. After a while, they will still die. The villagers all think it's an omen of bad luck, and I'm a freak."

Saya silently placed his hand on the girl's head, pressing it gently before giving her a bright, energetic smile. "That's nothing. Besides, what are you compared to mine?"

Saku casually stuffed a sapling into the magic circle he had just set up. He didn't even bother to create any attack targets, since it was just a performance and all he needed was a grand spectacle.

"If you dare call yourself a monster, then wouldn't I be the legendary Demon King?"

With a relaxed smile on his face, Sōyū pressed the magic circle in his hand directly onto the ground.

A colossal tree, seemingly about to pierce the sky, rose from the ground, lifting the area where the two of them stood up, like a castle in the air created out of thin air. This alone was enough to leave the girl speechless for a moment.

This is something no human could do, not even a demon could! Just how powerful must one be to accomplish something so miraculous?

Even the seemingly omnipotent Onmyoji depicted in the story never said they could accomplish such a thing. Saya's magic truly refreshed Shibata Ai's worldview.

She stammered out her feelings, feeling that only this reason could describe the situation; Sawa's status in her heart had once again risen to a higher level.

"Look, we both possess powers that are almost beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, so why is yours called a monster and a heretic, while mine is only hailed as a miracle? Isn't this just a matter of personal subjectivity?"

Zuoyou snapped his fingers, demonstrating to her through his actions that she shouldn't be swayed by what others say. He raised the nearly roasted bird wing in his hand, brought it to his nose, and sniffed it.

"Would you like a piece? I feel like the ingredients made by these mutated monsters are pretty good, and the bird wings taste really good too."

Saya, who had torn off a small piece of meat from the top and was chewing it, stopped chatting about that topic and instead tore off a piece of grilled meat from the inside and handed it to the girl who was also attracted by the aroma.

"So, you're really not some kind of deity?"

The girl, who couldn't understand who besides a god could do such a thing, accepted the grilled meat that Saya handed her. She ate it in small bites while asking Saya a question.

"What, if I were, would you then want to believe in me?"

Sōyū is not actually a god, but he has genuinely interacted with several gods, and not just from one system of gods.

From the Outer Gods to the Primordial Gods, even Zuo You's arrival in this world was due to the meddling of several deities.

"I just wanted to prove that I really wasn't the one who brought misfortune to the village."

The girl lowered her head. Perhaps her abilities weren't inherently good or bad, but there was one thing she couldn't refute: the harvest was getting worse year after year.

"Bring misfortune? What do you mean by that?"

Saya scratched her head. Surely she wouldn't harm anyone just because of an ability that could only affect small animals?

"The village's grain production has been declining year by year. They all say it's because of my existence that the land god is angry. So, the offerings that are supposed to be made to the mountain god every few years have naturally been placed on my head."

The girl finally explained why she was used as a sacrifice. It was ridiculous and ignorant, but in this era, it seemed incredibly real.

"With the secret help of my parents, I escaped from the small temple where the mountain god was worshipped. While I avoided being swallowed by the mountain god, I also lost the right to go back. If I don't prove that I am not a cursed person, the village will still not accept me."

The girl looked at Saya with teary eyes. All she wanted was to live peacefully with her family; what had she done wrong?

"Hiss, this can only be called a coincidence, right? The village just needs an outlet for venting, so you naturally became the only choice."

Zuo You scratched his head. Wasn't reduced grain production normal? In this era, there was no advanced farming technology; crops grew almost entirely dependent on the whims of nature. Any problem could easily lead to a poor harvest.

This act of worshipping the mountain god is even more outrageous. It's just a snake, and Zuo You doesn't think it can increase the harvest, except perhaps by eating more people and reducing the number of mouths to feed.

"Hmm, so you mean you want to go back to living in that village?"

Sōyū pinched his chin and looked at the girl in front of him, asking her a question.

Chapter 385 What's Terrifying is Prejudice

"Yes, I just want to live an ordinary life with my parents and brother."

The girl nodded somewhat bewildered. After all, she was just a girl from the village, and there was nothing to expect from her to have any opinions of her own. Being able to live an ordinary life was already a luxury.

However, given Sawa's immense abilities, perhaps it really is some deity who descended to earth, heard his prayers, and came to protect him?

The girl felt a mix of shyness and gratitude as she recalled how Saya had just placed his hand on her head to comfort her.

"That's not difficult. The reason they're doing this is simply because they're starving. As for me, when it comes to farming, there are probably few who are better than me."

Sōyū proudly puffed out his chest. When talking about food in front of the blocky people, he could only say, "Don't mention yield; just tell him how many production areas there are." whl

If there is enough arable land, he alone could feed an entire country.

He rummaged through his backpack and found a bone. He casually crushed it into a pile of powder, then held it up and gestured to the girl.

"Look, as long as we have this thing, let alone the problem of reduced grain production, we can even turn that lousy village into a region that specializes in selling grain."

Saku once asked Kaguya for help to test the waters. In Minecraft, crops only showed that when Kaguya was around, they would grow a new crop in just a few minutes – almost like a ghost!

But bone meal is different. Whether he uses it himself or someone else does, as long as it's sprinkled on, the crops will ripen instantly. They had a bumper harvest.

Looking incredulously at the pinch of bone powder in Saya's hand, Shibata Ai's signature big eyes were filled with surprise.

Zuoyou didn't bother to explain. He simply scattered the weeds on the grass in front of him, pointed to the weeds that had grown to his chest, and looked at the young man in front of him.

Now, the light in Shibata Ai's eyes shone even brighter. With this magical effect, it was absolutely possible to stop the famine in the village.

"Then, Onmyoji, what price must I pay to obtain this item from you?"

Taking a deep breath, the girl, determined to return to a normal life, threw herself before Saya, respectfully asking him...

"Well, just stop treating me like some weirdo. And my name is Saya, not some weird Onmyoji. If you really want this thing, then just take me away from this forest. As for where the village is, you can decide for yourself."

Zuoyou shrugged and handed the bone powder in his hand to the girl in front of him, his decisive manner making it seem as if he were simply giving away a handful of mud.

"Alright, Mr. Saya, can you guarantee that you really won't have any strange ideas about the village, like bringing down divine punishment or something?"