"How is this possible…" Li Xuan watched as the silver bullets passed through 'Mei's' body without any obstruction, leaving two bullet holes in the ground.
Is she even human?! Isn't this a ghost or a spirit?! Otherwise, why would bullets pass through her body… Li Xuan watched this scene in shock. As a successor of 21st-century communism, a good child raised under the red flag, his worldview shattered at this moment…
Who said there were no ghosts in the world?!
"Give it back, give me back my sword!!!" The repelled 'Mei' raised her head, a bloody light flashing in her blood-red pupils. She crouched slightly, her right hand resting on the hilt of her sword, and repeated in a hoarse, demonic voice.
"*Shing!*~" The katana, just returned to its scabbard, was slowly drawn by the girl's fair hand, its snow-white blade flashing with a cold light. "Aaaargh!!" 'Mei' roared, her body shooting towards Li Xuan like an arrow.
"Be careful, Li Xuan-kun," Yae Sakura, who was holding Li Xuan, instantly pushed him back. Her sakura-colored long sword was instantly unsheathed, its bewitching blade cutting through the void.
"*Clang! Shing!*~" The two long swords, glinting with different sheens, collided, producing a piercing metallic screech. The blade of 'Mei's' sword even developed faint cracks from the massive impact, and her body was forced back.
"Higokumaru!" Yae Sakura took a deep breath, ignoring her still trembling right hand, and instead shouted her partner's name.
"Here I come!" The black fox ran out from behind Yae Sakura. Its body, originally the size of a pet dog, emanated a black aura and instantly swelled, transforming into a giant beast several meters long.
"ROAR!!~" The giant fox beast, to the astonishment of Li Xuan and the others, opened its mouth and roared at the figure in front of them.
"*Whoosh!*~~" Higokumaru opened its great maw and began to inhale deeply in the direction where 'Mei' stood. Plumes of black mist were continuously sucked into its mouth. At the same time, the dark red stripes on its body began to flash with an even more bewitching red light, and its already massive body continued to slowly grow larger.
"Aaaargh————Damn you!! Damn you!! You nuisance! Die!" As the black mist was continuously absorbed by Higokumaru, 'Mei' revealed a ferocious expression and shouted with resentment, like a cornered beast, as she forcefully threw the long sword in her hand.
The sharp long sword turned into an arrow, shooting towards the currently defenseless Higokumaru.
"Watch out, Higokumaru!" Yae Sakura, unable to intervene in time, reached out her hand and shouted. But Higokumaru was unable to react at that moment; the process of absorbing Honkai energy couldn't be stopped instantly.
"*Bang! Bang!*" Two crisp gunshots rang out. Two silver bullets struck the flying long sword, and their powerful force knocked it off course.
"Phew..." A relieved Yae Sakura turned her head to see Maid Liv, who was holding Li Xuan, lowering the two silver smoothbore guns in her hands.
"Hmph!~ It was all because Master asked for it…" Liv, whose cheeks were puffed up, saw Yae Sakura's grateful gaze, blushed, and turned her head away.
"How hateful, how hateful....." As if sighing, yet filled with resentment, 'Mei' spoke softly. She closed her wine-red eyes as if in release… Her body slowly became illusory and transparent, vanishing into thin air as if she had never been there.
"*Crack!*~" The long sword stuck in the ground suddenly transformed into a purple Honkai energy crystal in the shape of a sword, developed cracks, and then shattered into countless tiny pieces.
"Uh, she disappeared….." Li Xuan, having recovered, stood up from the ground and looked at the spot where the girl had been standing, which was now empty.
"Li Xuan-kun, I think she's still around here somewhere…" Yae Sakura walked over and said softly. Ghosts like that weren't so easily dealt with.
"Calm down, Sakura…" Li Xuan said. He, of course, knew that they hadn't truly defeated her, but…
"Let's rest a bit after the fight, or our bodies won't be able to take it," Li Xuan said gently. His shield had just been broken and hadn't recovered yet, and he had also seen Yae Sakura's right hand trembling slightly from the fight just now. The impact from the clash of swords in a battle between monsters was quite severe.
"Uh… sorry…" The two fox ears on Yae Sakura's head drooped slightly. Li Xuan's concern gave her a warm feeling in her heart.
'Being cared for by someone else feels so… warm,' Yae Sakura thought with her eyes lowered, a faint smile unconsciously appearing on her lips.
"That person must have some connection to Mei. The sword style she uses should be the Raiden family's 'Hokushin Itto-ryu'…" Li Xuan said as if talking to himself, frowning.
He had lived with the Honkai Yuri Trio for so long that he knew a little about their backgrounds. For example, Raiden Mei's family's inherited sword style was the 'Hokushin Itto-ryu', which she had learned from her master. And according to her, the master who taught her Hokushin Itto-ryu looked like a fuzzy doll in her memory…
"And that person kept saying the sword in my hand was hers... and that spirit looks so much like Mei…" Li Xuan raised the ancient-style katana in his hand. This sword was Mei's family heirloom…
"There must be some meaning to all this…"
"Master!!" Liv suddenly said loudly in Li Xuan's ear.
"What's wrong?" Li Xuan, his train of thought interrupted, turned his head with a sigh.
"...Liv detects a high concentration of Honkai energy!" Liv said, staring at the black mist ahead, which had become somewhat thinner.
"What?!… Damn it, is she back again?!" Li Xuan said with a headache. If that 'Mei' revived again, it would be a bit troublesome.
"That is…." Yae Sakura pointed ahead, puzzled.
The black mist in front of Li Xuan and the others slowly dissipated, revealing what was inside….
"A tomb?!..." Li Xuan said in surprise.
A tomb overgrown with weeds appeared before them, the characters on the tombstone written in an ancient script from a distant era…
(End of Chapter)