The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

"The little hedgehog that bites people by the sea disappeared a few days after you left."

"The young man from the countryside, whose beauty was short-lived, was promised to another imprisoned princess."

"That dissolute lecher in the city had a grand funeral in Gomorrah just six months ago."

"Now only one devil who has come to terms with it remains, and fortunately he can still return to you alive."

"Recently, the devil opened a small shop selling dreams. The shelves are temporarily empty. Soft and warm cotton-padded jackets and the like have been off the shelves for almost fourteen years. Why don't you take a look at something else first?"

The thought of escaping had long since vanished. Aoko gazed at the boy she knew all too well, at his confident smile, and, following the lead of the conversation, uttered words that were equally ambiguous.

She reached out and skillfully pinched the believer's cheek.

"Then I'll take this one."

"Wow, you're so greedy, sir! I've been a merchant for so long, and this is the first time I've ever met a customer who doesn't want the goods but wants the boss."

"I don't care, you name your price."

"Hmm, it's clear this young lady is born with the element of wind, having wandered the world in the past. She must be a penniless and unscrupulous spendthrift."

"I just don't care about those things and I'm afraid of trouble. Can't I just live a simple life? Besides, spending money without considering the cost and enjoying the process is my eldest sister's style. The title of 'spendthrift woman' would never apply to me. Enough nonsense. Now that you know I'm penniless, hurry up and give me a discount!"

"Oh dear, sir, I just checked the current market situation in Hell. Even the Nobu handshake ticket has been sold for exorbitant prices. What you want to buy is Nobu himself—the original price of Nobu has already exceeded the limit, so discounts won't help."

"A handshake ticket? You were an idol in hell, weren't you?"

"You've only held a concert tour in Hell, have you forgotten that I learned to play the piano when I was a child? Twelve years after I cleared the Demon King's Castle, when I touched the piano keys again in the brothel of Gomorrah, I was so glad that I hadn't forgotten everything."

"The pleasure quarters? Okay, I've got it. I'll have a good talk with you when we get back."

"It was just a part-time job playing the piano. I was as poor as a dog at that time, okay? It was a rare opportunity to have a job to make a living, how could I refuse?"

"I don't believe you played the piano because you were short of money. Who is that brothel owner?"

"Azriel Azazel".

"So that's how you met Qi Jun. Forget it, I'm too lazy to get involved in your bunch of big shots' messy affairs. Getting back to the point, boss, are you still doing business or not?"

"Didn't we just say that Nobu's original price has skyrocketed?"

"That's your problem, not mine. Figure it out yourself."

"Okay, then I'll give it to you for free. Happy now?"

"Is that almost enough?"

Before Aoko could finish speaking, she was pulled into a gentle yet irresistible embrace.

Under the moonlit sea of ​​flowers, in the frosty dawn, with the temperature hovering around zero degrees Celsius, the chilling coldness vanished completely at this moment. Qingzi only felt her heart pounding fiercely. This impeccable man had completely let down his guard in front of her, as honest as a child.

The believer buried his head deep in her dark red hair, greedily inhaling the scent he remembered. After fourteen years, he finally embraced the woman who had initially given him the courage to walk into the thicket of thorns. Although desire arose in his heart, before that, there was a deep longing.

Back when the believer was wandering alone in the countryside during those dark and difficult years, he had become accustomed to preserving memories through smells or sounds.

All that is seen is illusion, all that is heard is jest, all that is encountered is demonic, and all that is done is unjust.

When all direct sensory information is unreliable, only the memories indirectly retained by smell or sound have never deceived us.

He remembered encountering a solitary hero on the coast in late winter, who was as ethereal as the sea breeze.

I also remember encountering a bewildered princess in a cherry blossom grove in early spring, as ethereal as a falling cherry blossom.

Both of them were beings who could easily slip away unnoticed, vanishing like a dream, yet they both appeared in his world at an age when he had nothing left but hatred.

He kept his promise to the latter—to eradicate evil from that land.

He broke his promise to the former—to live as an upright and courageous person.

After he slaughtered one dragon after another on that land and buried them in hell, he suddenly looked back and realized that the world was empty. He bowed his head and reflected on himself, only to find that he had become the most powerful dragon in hell, the most arrogant and greedy dragon.

Years later, this arrogant and greedy dragon, filled with guilt, longing, and long-corrupted dreams, finally spread its sky-covering wings and revealed its scales, claws, and fangs to the former heroine, easily defeating her and embracing her in a sea of ​​flowers, roaring at the moon.

Chapter 143 Princess, Hero, and Dragon (Continued)

Under the moonlit sea of ​​flowers, a slightly chilly evening breeze swept by, stirring up white waves among the blossoms.

Amidst the sea of ​​flowers, Qingzi hid in that fiery embrace, not daring to look up for a long time. Her mind was blank, and she was only focused on counting the broken gold maple leaf patterns on his chest.

One leaf, two leaves, three leaves

If you run out of maple leaves, then count the branches beneath them.

One branch, two branches, three branches

If you were to count all the branches, you would only be able to count the sharp edges of the maple leaves.

She had been the one to launch the attack, but unexpectedly, he turned the tables on her and pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. She was so frightened that she dared not move.

Her self-awareness and rationality are manifested in her complete self-control, her absolute mastery of her thoughts and body, and her maintenance of an absolutely clear mind and swift efficiency.

Then at this moment, it was as if she had run into her nemesis. Her rationality and self were blown away to the ends of the earth. After shedding all the shells of self-protection, only the original gentle middle school girl, who had nothing to do with the demonic path, remained.

The invading natural enemy is another absolutely self-centered rational monster, a great monster whose inner self is exactly the same as hers, whose origins are quite deep, and whose actions are even more extreme. His offensive is to actively shed his impeccable shell and reveal the fiery and sincere heart buried beneath his cold edges.

It turns out that he had always been that little hedgehog wandering along the coastline in the frosty moonlight, that hesitant and bewildered boy facing a gloomy future.

Time passed too quickly, and each meeting was too short, so that after a few moments, he had quietly grown up, while she hadn't even realized it yet.

This is a life pursuit that cannot be recorded using a single timeline.

At first, she was far ahead, while he could only keep moving forward.

Midway through, she turned back briefly to ride alongside him, but soon sped off again after making a few funny faces at him.

In the end, she naturally crossed the finish line first, only to find that he was already sitting in the referee's box waiting for her.

She is the one who has attained the Fifth Law, the darling of the Time Realm. Even if it is just a miracle that is a gift of magic, it makes her stand out from the masses who are bound by time and become an observer who can freely walk through different dimensions.

However, perhaps it is precisely for this reason that ancient and mysterious names such as the Primordial Lord of Immortality, the King of the Endless Void, and the God of the Future and Time are left among those dazzling stars.

Perhaps it was precisely in order to catch up with her, a traveler of the Time Realm, that he resolutely took the judge's seat and became the ruler of the Time Realm.

This life-long pursuit, which could not be recorded with a single timeline, finally came to an end when he successfully captured her, a woman who could disappear with a gust of wind, by laying a net that covered the entire universe.

This is what makes a hunter truly invincible.

Before Aoko could finish counting the sharp edges of the maple leaves, Shinjo awoke from her reverie, looked up at the night sky, and reached out to pull half a pillow from the subspace rift.

"Huh? Wait, wait, wait a minute! What are you doing? Too fast! The progress is too fast, put it back, put it back! I...I...I...I'm not mentally prepared yet!"

Qingzi naturally noticed his unusual movement after he looked up. When she looked up, she was instantly terrified and blurted out a warning to stop him, fearing that if he continued like this, he would pull out a bed that was all set except for the final touch.

"What are you thinking? I just find the dirt around these flowers bumping my head on, so I wanted to get a pillow to cushion it. Fine, believe me or not, it's up to you."

The believer stared at the woman in her arms, who was now as timid as a quail and no longer as arrogant as before. She was both amused and exasperated. Then, she shoved the pillow back into the subspace and continued to rub the back of her head against the ground.

"call--"

Just as Aoko was quietly relieved, she heard a snicker beside her.

"Have you forgotten that I can simulate and materialize fantasy? If I really want to devour you right now, why would I need to find a pillow in the subspace? I can just take materials from the Sea of ​​Time and build an illegal building like a demon castle. Then I'll throw you on the big bed in the most luxurious bedroom in the castle, find some bracelets to handcuff you, and then I'll change into a classic vampire suit, sit on the throne, cross my legs, hold a glass of blood-red wine, and call a bunch of hellish henchmen to guard the castle. Doesn't that sound like it? Don't worry, the whole house is decorated in a cyan color scheme. I remember everything you like."

"Stop being so cheeky, all you do is bully me."

"You don't believe me? Fine, you just wait and see."

Upon hearing this, the believer snapped his fingers towards the night sky. Now he could snap his fingers quite skillfully, unlike when he was a child and couldn't even make a snap.

The next moment, a huge rift tearing open across the night sky revealed the majestic outline of a mysterious creation from the distant Azure Silver Sea.

Aoko looked up and saw the pointed Gothic tower and the blue-toned buildings everywhere, which startled her so much that she quickly called for a stop again.

"When I said you were being glib, I meant you were all talk and no action. Now, throw that city back into the Sea of ​​Time!"

"But the princess in the Sea of ​​Time also lives in a shrine that resembles the style of the Far East."

As the believer slowly pulled the illegal structure in the sky back into place, she smiled knowingly and offered a pointed reminder.

"and many more."

Aoko grabbed his sleeve.

"What? Changed your mind?"

"I don't like this gloomy style. I'll redesign it when I get back."

Aoko, whose attitude had changed 180 degrees in an instant, launched into a tirade against the illegal buildings in the sky, and then proceeded to make constructive plans for the future.

"Okay, it's up to you."

The believer nodded, stuffed the last section of the spire into the crack, and then closed the rift that stretched across the sky.

"So, you're really awake?"

After the wild commotion subsided, Aoko looked up at the sky, which had returned to normal, then turned to stare at the face with a slight mischievous smile and asked meaningfully.

"Is the world of Ha Shenzhi really this boring?" Aoko sighed upon hearing this.

The believer replied irritably, but quickly smiled in relief.

"It's okay, I'll just reset it later."

"But I think you're doing neither of these things properly."

"This shows that this is my true nature."

"So what exactly is the difference?"

"An eccentric who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipotent, and an eccentric who knows what he should know—does that make sense?"

"Got it, you're just being a hands-off boss, skipping work and slacking off."

"You truly understand me; you are my mentor/hands-off manager who taught me the energy-saving philosophy of helping others when I can and running away when I can't."

The believer praised her sincerely with great emotion, then hugged Aoko tightly and began to rub against her affectionately again.

"You were acting like a human just a moment ago, how come you suddenly turned back into a beast? Where did your humanity go?"

Caught off guard and trapped again, Aoko frantically tried to defend herself.

"There's nothing I can do about it, you're as alluring as catnip."

"So you really are a cat! You hate cats so much."

"No one says that people who hate cats can't be cats themselves, okay? Since those damned cat demons dare to impersonate me in front of my mother and compete for her favor, don't blame me for skinning them alive."

Aoko suddenly pushed him away from her embrace, stepped back a few paces amidst the sea of ​​flowers to keep her distance from him, and looked at him with a sudden solemn and compassionate gaze.

“My believer, if you remember, you absolutely remember that when I was a child, I accidentally killed a litter of kittens hiding under the hood of the car while helping my father start the car on a snowy morning. I felt guilty about it for many years. So, when I was at the beach, I told you that it is wrong to take lives at will and take pleasure in it, whether it is a person or a cat.”

""

As if deterred by that pitying gaze, the boy in the sea of ​​flowers was not angry that his prey had broken free from his embrace. Instead, he lowered his head, staring blankly at his empty arms.

"I'm not using this to reprimand you for killing the demons that tormented you in the past, but I hope you remember to never talk about killing with a smug tone."

Aoko's earnest advice came to an abrupt end, solely because of the boy's unusual behavior.

He also stepped back a few paces, keeping his distance from Qingzi.

Aoko, separated from the flower field by a step, watched the boy who had suddenly walked away from her. The warmth in her heart cooled with the sudden distance, and just as she felt increasingly lonely, she suddenly heard...

"Meow."

"!"

The handsome young man had somehow transformed into a black kimono with gold maple leaf patterns on the sleeves, identical in color to his previous attire. His azure eyes had instantly turned into a pair of bewitching, fiery red-gold vertical pupils, and two casual blushes adorned his cheeks. Flowing, graceful cat ears and a tail, like ink wash painting, swayed behind him, and his long, jet-black hair danced in the evening breeze like smoke.

The stunningly beautiful actress, at this moment, was as alluring and languid as a cat demon from a far-eastern folktale, stretching her waist freely in the sea of ​​flowers. Then, she raised her cat paw, bent down, and slowly walked through the sea of ​​flowers, seemingly casually but with a hidden meaning, as she slowly approached Qingzi.

""

"Meow~"

Aoko was so frightened that she almost couldn't recover until the cat demon affectionately rubbed her cheek against hers.

Even the whispers that rang in her ears seemed more real than the real thing, to the point that she momentarily thought she had fallen back into a dream.

What are you doing?

"Meow?"

"It'll be about time, but we'll have to wait a bit."

(Sniff)

"I've said enough!"