Trafford's Trading Club

723: Chapter 136: If I Have Already Matured 723: Chapter 136: If I Have Already Matured Question: What is the first wrong thing you did as a child, and when?

Do you remember?

I don’t remember.

Question: Why don’t you remember?

Why would I remember if I already don’t?

…

…

Overall, the young witch is much weaker than the current Nagato Tsuruko.

Perhaps it’s because Nagato Tsuruko has already transformed into a fox demon, maybe it’s because she has merged with Miki, or perhaps the current ‘her’ seems even more composed than the young witch.

However, Mo Xiaofei actually thinks that perhaps ‘she’ is far more composed than the young witch—despite fox demon-transformed Nagato Tsuruko looking quite excited.

Nevertheless, Mo Xiaofei keenly noticed a touch of awe-inspiring coldness in ‘her’ eyes.

Mo Xiaofei also feels that this young witch is very cold, but this kind of coldness feels more like it is due to her nature.

The coldness of the fox demon-transformed Nagato Tsuruko is a coldness towards all living things.

To put it bluntly, she doesn’t regard humans as humans.

It’s the aloofness of a superior being looking at an inferior one, like a human seeing an ant.

However, the young witch still shot feathered arrows into the sky one after another, her movements steady, without a hint of hesitation.

Mo Xiaofei didn’t know if this was a state of excellence that only an outstanding archer would possess, but it’s surely not easy for a girl who looks only fourteen to achieve this.

After all, she is essentially firing at herself, those arrows filled with spiritual power aimed at none other than her past self.

Zhuifeng was still perplexed, but Mo Xiaofei gradually started to piece together some threads.

Long Xiruo said that people like him, whose brains have been developed, will eventually become truly wise, like the Buddhist saying of unlocking the root of wisdom.

Mo Xiaofei couldn’t quite grasp what it felt like to instantly open the root of wisdom, but at this moment, he could grasp some aspects of things.

Of course, if it weren’t for that year of reincarnation in this nightmare, if not for the magical experience of syncing mentally with Nagato Tsuruko’s chaos, seeing the young witch and fox demon-transformed Nagato Tsuruko later, even if he truly opened his root of wisdom as Long Xiruo said, he wouldn’t have been able to unravel the threads.

Zaodao Village must have been destroyed long ago, its existence erased, so he and Zi Xing had been wandering in Zaodao Village, likely trapped in an illusionary place.

And the source of this illusion is Nagato Tsuruko—six-year-old Nagato Tsuruko.

Miki should also be Nagato Tsuruko, or rather, the part of herself that was discarded by the six-year-old Nagato Tsuruko after Zaodao Village was destroyed—the self that annihilated everything and shattered the origin.

The witch should be Nagato Tsuruko now, after she’s grown up.

If you think this way, the Nagato Tsuruko Mo Xiaofei and Zi Xing saw in Zaodao Village should be created by Miki—in theory, it should be like this.

However, Mo Xiaofei could never figure out how this six-year-old Nagato Tsuruko, created by Miki in the illusion, was able to emerge from the illusion into reality and merge with Miki herself, now standing in opposition to the grown-up witch.

And moreover…

There’s another Miki.

Mo Xiaofei instinctively looked up at the towering Sakura Tree, and at a certain point on the trunk, there was yet another Miki…

Could it be that even the current environment is just a dreamlike illusion?

“Zhuifeng, have you seen Zi Xing?” Mo Xiaofei thought he had unraveled some clues, yet realized he seemed to have stumbled into a larger enigma.

He now remembered Zi Xing, a monster he temporarily knew only as the young master of the Greedy Wolf Clan, with quite impressive thinking abilities.

Perhaps if he told her about the situation, she could give him an answer.

“Zi Xing!

Is she here too!” Zhuifeng exclaimed urgently!

“Huh, you didn’t know?” Mo Xiaofei was taken aback, then said, “During the plaza incident, Zi Xing was the first one you saved.”

“She…

But the appearance is completely…” Zhuifeng wanted to say something, but suddenly realized, at this moment, neither he nor big brother Mo Xiaofei looked like themselves!

“Ah!

There she is!”

Mo Xiaofei kind of forgot about his recent outburst, but Zhuifeng was very clear, especially when that girl in a white kimono appeared along with…

Zi Xing!

Zhuifeng climbed up the tree root, his eyes darting around quickly, and soon found Zi Xing, collapsed on the ground, attached to Kondo Tsukihime.

Fortunately, she wasn’t far from them.

“Big brother, I’ll be right back!” Zhuifeng said directly.

Swift!

The consumption of the Greed Wolf Summoning was huge, so Zhuifeng had already stopped, but using Swift was still possible.

Seeing Zhuifeng suddenly disappear and in the blink of an eye reach Zi Xing’s side, Mo Xiaofei moved his lips, not due to Zhuifeng’s speed being too fast, but because the deja vu was too strong…

“This is Quicksilver, no, let’s call it Zhuifeng time…” Mo Xiaofei shook his head, then turned his full attention to the battle between the young witch and fox demon-transformed Nagato Tsuruko.

This is a struggle between my current self and the past self I abandoned…

But between the two, they seem evenly matched, although on the surface, the fox demon-transformed Nagato Tsuruko appears much more powerful than the young witch.

Why is that?

Suddenly, a black shadow flashed, and Mo Xiaofei looked closely to see Zhuifeng holding Zi Xing, returning here…

However, Zhuifeng was also carrying another man in hand.

The face of a foreign man, dressed in somewhat peculiar attire, resembling the ancient Western courtly attire, with eyes bleeding, as if blinded?

“Who is this person?”

“I don’t know, I found him lying nearby, so I brought him back.” Zhuifeng shook his head.

“Is he useless?

If he is, I’ll just throw him back where he was.”

As he spoke, Zhuifeng picked up the strange foreign man again.

This isn’t a matter of usefulness, okay…

Mo Xiaofei couldn’t help but rub his forehead, instinctively reaching out to grab this man’s clothes, intending to have Zhuifeng put him down first.

However, the moment Mo Xiaofei’s hand touched the eyes of the injured foreign man, he suddenly lost focus, and at the same time, Zhuifeng also experienced a brief moment of distraction.

It seemed not much time had passed, yet many images flashed before Mo Xiaofei’s eyes…

On the shrine, the half-demon boy and the young shrine maiden, the promise between them.

Zhuifeng also let out a groan, holding his head, Zaodao Village…

A year!

When Mo Xiaofei and Zhuifeng simultaneously touched the injured hands of this foreign man, they directly saw what was happening in each other’s experiences—all about the events that occurred after entering the Yan Wuyue World!

…

The fox-demon form of Nagato Tsuruko, or rather Miki, even though her power was much stronger than the original shrine maiden Nagato Tsuruko, could never completely avoid the spiritual arrows shot by the opponent.

She could only fend off the incoming arrows through attacking.

“The spiritual power of the Narukami Household is indeed extraordinary.” The fox demon Nagato Tsuruko suddenly stopped her hands, “After abandoning me, you cultivated for years, and now you’ve nearly achieved pure power, haven’t you?

But how ironic, that such immaculate power came from abandoning me…

Or perhaps, even if you hadn’t discarded me then, you were still cold-blooded by nature?”

Responding to the fox demon Nagato Tsuruko was yet another feathered arrow shot at high speed.

Her body moved in the air, and yet the incoming arrow emitted a peculiar spiritual power particularly discomforting to evil demons.

Just letting these spiritual energies brush past her, the fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko felt as if she was being burned.

“Angry, are you?” But the more it was like this, the more it excited the resentment within the fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko, “Did I hit the mark…

You are a selfish, despicable, and even cowardly person!

You threw all the pain onto me to bear, you turn a blind eye to everything, protecting yourself this way makes you perfect!”

The young shrine maiden merely shook her head.

Yet, the heart of the fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko was filled with hatred, unable to bear the young shrine maiden’s indifferent attitude!

“Even if you severed me, so what!” The fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko pointed at the young shrine maiden, sneering, “I am filthy, and you’re not much better!

Don’t forget, even if you separated me from the day of the festival, your essence hasn’t changed at all!

You’re still the child left behind by Nagato Munachika and Narukami Haru’s affair!

And not only that, you are the monster created by Nagato Munachika with the flesh and blood of the fox demons from Zaodao Village!

Do you know!

On the first day you were born, Narukami Haru’s first reaction was to try to kill you!

Because she didn’t acknowledge you as her child, she just saw you as a freak!

But she couldn’t kill you!

Because you were a monster created by Nagato Munachika, he wouldn’t let you die!

Hahaha, in the end, Narukami Haru went mad!

Mad because of you!!

Because of you, the monster!

And now you plan to kill me?

Is turning a blind eye no longer satisfying for you?

Are you planning to personally bury your ugly self this time so you can continue to maintain your perfect impurity!”

The young shrine maiden had long placed a new feathered arrow on the wooden bow, with the sharp arrowhead aimed at the fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko, but at that moment, she lowered her bow instead.

The fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko sneered repeatedly, “What?

Did I hit the nail on the head?

Already ashamed and angry?”

“I am not perfect or immaculate.” The young shrine maiden shook her head, “When I was six, I didn’t know how to cope with such a situation.

Severing you then was a form of self-protection, and even now, this instinctive behavior exists.

It prevents me from seeing you, even if you stand before me, it makes me perceive nothing about you, shielding everything related to you…

If you consider this selfishness, then let it be.

However, there’s one thing I want you to know, I was never immaculate or perfect.

This spiritual power indeed originated from severing you, causing some changes, but ultimately, this power still comes from the Narukami Household…

And the Narukami Household, back then, was part of the group that slew the Zaodao fox demon.

Looking at the ever-changing expression of the fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko, the young shrine maiden spoke slowly, “The soul of the Zaodao fox demon was ultimately taken by the Onmyoji of the Narukami Household.

They sealed the fox demon’s soul within their descendants, gradually causing the spiritual power of the Narukami Household to evolve…

Ultimately, the source of this spiritual power is also from the Zaodao fox demon, so it certainly cannot be considered immaculate.”

“Hahaha, do you think saying so much can cover up your sins?” The fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko lamented, “Pushing all faults, painful memories to me, yet keeping all perfect and beautiful things for yourself…

Do you think by doing this you can live happily ever after?

Dream on!”

“I said, I’m not perfect or immaculate; if you don’t want to believe it…” At this moment, the young shrine maiden’s figure suddenly flickered.

“What are you doing!” At this moment, the fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko let out a sharp cry.

Because she already saw, the young shrine maiden not only did not attack her again but instead headed toward the Sakura Tree—towards Miki, who was early on fused with the Sakura Tree, becoming a container!

The fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko had a portion of Miki’s thoughts…

Even if it was just a small part, it apparently dominated the main consciousness of the current fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko.

So she was very clear, that Miki fused with the Sakura Tree is not just a pretty sight!

She had once heard Arex speak of this ability between dream and reality, so she knew that Miki fused with the Sakura Tree was her true self, while she was just something pulled from a dream—of course, now appearing in physical form as well!

This, is Lord Arex’s biggest secret, a special ability that can only be used three times in a lifetime: between dream and reality!

When she was severed, wandering like a stray dog, multiple times seeking acceptance…

It was Lord Arex who appeared before her, completely unbothered by her ugliness!

Even if only to become a container for the Lord…

Even if Lord Arex only regarded her as a tool to use…

“Don’t go near her!!

Don’t come near…

me!!”

Seeing the young shrine maiden without any hesitation, climbing onto the thick branches of the giant Sakura Tree, swiftly heading towards the suspended Miki, the fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko let out a shrill scream!

But the young shrine maiden did not heed the fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko’s command.

Instead, she pressed her forehead gently against Miki’s forehead in front of the Sakura Tree, softly saying, “I said, I was never perfect or immaculate…

Now, I won’t abandon you anymore…”

“No!!!” The fox-demon Nagato Tsuruko suddenly became frenzied, raising her hands high, a terrifying dark cloud was gathering in the sky!

When one can already accept their past ugly self…

A gigantic thunderbolt descended from the depths of the dark clouds, and after a flash of golden light, the entire Sakura Tree instantly withered…

Meanwhile, the young shrine maiden slowly floated into the air from the end of the lightning.

Behind the young shrine maiden, one white tail after another unfolded slowly…

she had also taken on the form of a fox demon.