"Hey, what's with that attitude?"
Ye Xing slightly frowned, as if greatly offended.
"Let's be fair here - can you still see with one eye?"
The Slaughter Demon hesitated before replying.
"I can see, but..."
"Well then? It doesn't affect you at all, yet you've held a grudge for so long. That's rather petty of you."
Seeing Ye Xing suddenly switch tactics, the Slaughter Demon was momentarily stunned before realising something was wrong and roared.
"I originally had two eyes! Now I only have..."
"What are you roaring for? Why are you roaring?"
Before the Slaughter Demon could finish, Ye Xing directly interrupted, patting its shoulder with a meaningful tone.
"Listen here, Little Slaughter - as a spirit, do you have any life goals?"
The Slaughter Demon's intellect wasn't as outstanding as Tamamo-no-Mae's. Faced with this question, it pondered for quite a while before finally responding.
"To kill more evil spirits..."
"See? There you go!"
Noticing the Slaughter Demon's confused expression, Ye Xing smiled and explained.
"Think about it - losing one eye doesn't affect you at all, but with your eye, we can better track evil spirits and eliminate more of them."
"And during this process, your eye plays a crucially important role."
"From a certain perspective, doesn't that mean you're the one eliminating the evil spirits?"
"I didn't steal your eye - I'm helping you achieve your spiritual life goals."
The Slaughter Demon wore a dumbfounded expression, carefully considering these words until its brain was nearly overloaded.
"It seems..."
After thinking for a long while, the Slaughter Demon finally nodded, showing a simple and honest expression.
"What you say does make sense."
Shizuka Hiratsuka, listening to the conversation between this human and spirit nearby, was completely dumbfounded.
Wait, this makes sense?
What part of this makes any sense!?
Although Shizuka didn't fully understand, she could gather from the conversation that the reason this tall, ferocious-looking evil spirit had an empty eye socket was because Ye Xing had taken its eyeball.
And it can tolerate this!?
Moreover, right now, this evil spirit gentleman actually looked completely submissive, even somewhat grateful?
What is this? Some ultimate intelligence-reducing aura?
What Shizuka didn't know was that although the Slaughter Demon was simple-minded, it wasn't so simple that just anyone could fool it with a few words.
Its current behaviour was entirely due to it sensing something unusual about Ye Xing's presence.
As a special existence known as a yokai grim reaper that only attacks evil spirits and spectres, completely harmless to humans, the Slaughter Demon's power far surpassed that of ordinary evil spirits.
Precisely because of this, it could sense how tremendously this human male had changed since their last meeting.
To put it simply.
The aura emanating from Ye Xing, in the eyes of a malevolent spirit like Slaughter Demon with its keen perception, was akin to a human witnessing a blood-soaked murderer still draped with dismembered limbs.
The thick scent of blood, the suffocating killing intent.
This was Ye Xing's image in Slaughter Demon's eyes.
Moreover, compared to their last encounter...
The killing intent born from slaughtering numerous evil spirits that clung to Ye Xing had grown significantly denser.
This was the true reason Slaughter Demon let down its guard.
After taking its eyeball, the other party was indeed massacring evil spirits at an unimaginably astonishing rate.
This brought great pleasure to Slaughter Demon, which harboured intense killing intent toward evil spirits and spectres.
"By the way, I say, Little Slaughter."
Ye Xing pressed the elevator button, patting Slaughter Demon's shoulder with a very friendly demeanour.
"You can speak now?"
Slaughter Demon spoke in a completely emotionless tone, its voice deep.
"Ate many evil spirits. Then, could speak."
"I see."
Ye Xing wasn't surprised by this.
That evil spirits could enhance their power by devouring other evil spirits was something he'd known all along.
Ding!
Watching the elevator doors slowly open before them, Ye Xing entered together with Slaughter Demon.
Then he looked at Shizuka Hiratsuka standing outside with a bewildered expression and urged.
"Come in, let's hurry, Little Shizu."
"Come... in..."
Shizuka Hiratsuka glanced at the tall Slaughter Demon, whose head nearly touched the elevator ceiling, with its terrifying, distorted face and bloodstained body.
Ride the same elevator... with an evil spirit?
"Hurry up, stop spacing out."
Ye Xing leaned halfway out, grabbed Shizuka Hiratsuka's wrist, pulled her into the elevator, then pressed the button for the top floor.
Shizuka Hiratsuka cautiously glanced at the motionless Slaughter Demon standing there, subtly shifting to the side to hide behind Ye Xing, whispering.
"Um... shouldn't we go to the first-floor lobby to leave this hotel?"
"Not exactly."
Ye Xing shook his head, his expression still relaxed and calm, as if standing beside a terrifying evil spirit posed no pressure at all, and explained lightly.
"Let me briefly explain."
"There are only two ways to leave this area and return to safety."
"The first, you can understand as escaping the evil spirit's range of influence."
"However, evil spirits can move, and during this movement, we'd encounter many attacks like earlier."
"If it were just you and me, I'd definitely choose to immediately take you away from here."
Here, Ye Xing paused, then said something that made Shizuka Hiratsuka, who'd lived over twenty years, feel her heart flutter for the first time.
"After all, you're very important to me."
Hearing this, Shizuka Hiratsuka's heartbeat skipped.
Very important person?
A confession?
Is this a confession!?
Thinking carefully... when we met on the commercial pedestrian street this morning, why did Ye Xing suddenly ask for my room number?
Could it be a coincidence with what's happening in the hotel now?
How could that be?
Shizuka Hiratsuka finally understood.
Ye Xing had braved the torrential rain to come to this hotel specifically to protect her, even asking for her room number.
Coupled with those earlier words...
Shizuka Hiratsuka felt her defences were gradually, irreversibly crumbling.
She couldn't hold on any longer - who could withstand this?
Ding!
With the elevator's chime, the two humans and one spirit reached the top floor.
After following Ye Xing out of the elevator, Shizuka noticed the Slaughter Demon still standing inside. Hesitating briefly, she ultimately tugged at Ye Xing's sleeve to alert him.
"Um... your... your friend is still inside."
As Ye Xing turned to look, the Slaughter Demon extended its pale grey left hand, pressed the button for the first floor, and spoke in a deep voice.
"I'm going down."
Ye Xing exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh, you know how to press elevator buttons?"
Slaughter Demon: "..."
When the elevator doors closed, Shizuka finally breathed a sigh of relief as if a weight had been lifted, looking at Ye Xing with a complex expression.
"You... know evil spirits like that?"
"You know it too - it's the Slaughter Demon."
"Slaughter Demon?"
Shizuka felt she'd heard this term somewhere before. After concentrating for a few seconds, her expression suddenly changed.
"That legendary being from the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, the Death God who only targets other yokai - the Slaughter Demon?"
"Correct."
Although Shizuka hadn't specifically studied Japan's various ghost stories like Miko Yotsuya had, she was clearly familiar with them, immediately asking:
"So it's here to hunt other evil spirits? And how do you know it?"
"We'll talk about that later."
Ye Xing waved his hand dismissively, and Shizuka nodded without pressing further, aware they were still in danger.
As they walked deeper into the hotel floor, Ye Xing explained:
"The second method of escaping danger I mentioned earlier is to find and eliminate the key evil spirit."
Shizuka frowned slightly, her face showing concern.
"So you... plan to find that evil spirit? Could it be dangerous?"
"What danger could there be?"
Ye Xing laughed, raising the shower head in his hand with mock solemnity.
"Though evil spirits are strong, I, the shower head warrior, am no ordinary opponent!"
Shizuka had no energy left to criticise the absurd terms coming from Ye Xing's mouth.
Looking at the shower head in his hand, she wondered how such an object could possibly kill those terrifying, grotesque-faced evil spirits.
"You really intend to use that thing against evil spirits?"
Shizuka's brow remained furrowed. Though trying to maintain composure, the concern and worry in her voice were unmistakable.
"If it's dangerous, now isn't the time for abstract antics..."
Just as Shizuka Hiratsuka was halfway through speaking, a gaunt, short evil spirit suddenly rushed out from around the corner ahead.
"You can see me! Woman!"
Its movements were as agile as a monkey's. After clinging to the wall for a moment, it kicked off with both legs, its filthy hands—still caked with dirt under the nails—lunging straight for Shizuka Hiratsuka's chest, its eyes filled with an intensely twisted excitement.
Faced with this perverted, lecherous behaviour from the evil spirit, Shizuka Hiratsuka was momentarily stunned.
Then, rather than fear, she showed displeasure, her heart filling more with anger than fright.
"Die!"
Shizuka Hiratsuka clenched her right hand into a fist, slightly lowered her stance, pivoted from the waist, and threw the most powerful punch of her life.
Thud!
While the short evil spirit was still mid-air, Shizuka Hiratsuka's fist connected squarely with its face, sending it flying backwards to slam into the wall with a dull thud.
"Hmph."
Shizuka Hiratsuka shook her fist, wearing a proud expression.
"A lecher like that deserves a taste of my iron fist!"
Watching Shizuka Hiratsuka's violent display, Ye Xing quipped from the side.
"Shizuka, do you have any idea why you still can't get a boyfriend even now?"
"You..."
Shizuka Hiratsuka was momentarily speechless, let out a light humph, and struck a classic tsundere pose—crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her chin upward.
"I... I'm not unable to find one, I just don't want to, hmph."
"You're really stubborn with your words."
Then, Ye Xing added with a light laugh.
"But no matter how stubborn the mouth, it's still soft to kiss."
"You..."
Shizuka Hiratsuka shook her fist, her face slightly flushed.
"Daring to tease your teacher—do you want a taste of my iron fist too?"
"That won't be necessary."
Ye Xing waved his hand, then looked toward the wall.
"But evil spirits aren't that easy to deal with."
Shizuka Hiratsuka followed his gaze and realised that, at some point, the short evil spirit had vanished.
The next second, a blurry figure emerged from the corner.
"You... all of you can see me!"
This time, the short evil spirit was moving even faster.
Its target remained unchanged—still attempting to assault Shizuka Hiratsuka.
"You're really asking for death."
Ye Xing said calmly, swinging the shower head in his hand like a meteor hammer. It flew out and struck the short evil spirit square in the face.
Thud.
As the evil spirit's body hit the ground, before it could make any move, Ye Xing stepped forward, grabbed the sparse hair on its bald head with his left hand, and pinned it down.
"Time to enjoy yourself."
Ye Xing raised his foot, pressed it against the short evil spirit's abdomen, his eyes gleaming with a madness and excitement Shizuka Hiratsuka had never seen before. With his right hand, he slowly brought the shower head closer to the evil spirit's face.
The scene that unfolded over the next minute could only be described with one word.
Brutal.
Shizuka Hiratsuka finally understood how a shower head should be used.
The shower head had numerous tiny holes designed to spray water—hollow inside.
So the question arose.
If you were to press the side with small holes against an evil spirit's face with tremendous force, then continuously increase the pressure and push down harder, what would happen?
Exactly.
This short-statured perverted evil spirit was being "pulled apart" by Ye Xing using a shower head.
Shizuka Hiratsuka, who witnessed the entire process, was speechless with shock.
Only now did she finally understand one thing.
Although Ye Xing had done many outrageous things at Sobu High School, compared to this moment, he had actually been extremely restrained.
Slapping a few male classmates, sleeping in class, calling her, his teacher, Shizuka-chan...
All these things became insignificant compared to what had just unfolded before Shizuka Hiratsuka's eyes.
What is a true violence enthusiast?
This is a true violence enthusiast!
Shizuka Hiratsuka would never have imagined that a shower head could have such... wonderful uses!
She silently made a resolution.
From now on... she would stick to bathing in the bathtub.
"OK, finished venting."
After saying these easily misunderstood words, Ye Xing impatiently stomped on the head of the evil spirit lying on the ground, its body still twitching continuously, like a beast that had just satisfied its desires.
Just then, Shizuka Hiratsuka suddenly heard a soft sound and footsteps coming from the fire escape door behind her.
She turned around and saw a slender, tall woman dressed in black mourning clothes, with black hair reaching her waist, covering her face, leading a group of terrified hotel guests as they slowly emerged from the stairwell.
The mourning-clad woman paused slightly upon seeing Ye Xing and Shizuka Hiratsuka standing nearby, then a strange fanaticism appeared in her eyes beneath her black hair as she quickly walked toward the two.
Seeing the other party like this, Shizuka Hiratsuka immediately felt tense.
It wasn't that she was being overly cautious, but this mourning-clad woman's demeanour, attire, and gaze all seemed too much like an evil spirit.
What normal person would wear mourning clothes in a hotel?
No, what normal person would wear mourning clothes when going out at all!
Under Shizuka Hiratsuka's wary gaze, the mourning-clad woman had already reached Ye Xing.
She raised her hands and slowly brushed aside the black hair covering her face, revealing a stunning beauty that made even Shizuka Hiratsuka, as a fellow woman, feel her heart tremble.
However, on this exquisitely beautiful face, the delicate, slender eyes held a strongly distorted jealousy and resentment, staring intently at...
The shower head in Ye Xing's hand.
"Master..."
The mourning-clad woman's voice sounded deeply resentful.
"Have you... found a new weapon? Don't you want to use me anymore? Do you dislike me? Don't you want me anymore?"
Hearing these words and seeing the mournful expression on the mourning-clad woman's face, along with her jealousy-distorted eyes, a word surfaced in Shizuka Hiratsuka's mind.
Yandere.
But this yandere... seemed different from what she had heard about before.
Regardless of what relationship this stunning black mourning-clad woman had with Ye Xing.
Even if she was a yandere, even if it was because of strong possessiveness, shouldn't this jealous gaze be directed at her?
How could there be someone in this world who would consider a mere shower head as a rival!?
What kind of abstract development was this!?
"Oh, this thing."
Ye Xing shook the shower head in his hand and smiled.
"You weren't here, and I didn't want to touch evil spirits with my bare hands, so I just grabbed whatever was nearby."
Hearing this, the woman in black mourning clothes turned her gaze to Ye Xing's face, her tone so plaintive that even Shizuka Hiratsuka standing nearby felt her heart tighten.
"Compared to me, whom you can use freely, do you prefer this mere modern creation? Have I not served you well enough? If it's my master's command, you can use me as roughly as you want."
Shizuka Hiratsuka blushed crimson, steam practically rising from her head.
She was genuinely shocked.
This woman in black mourning clothes had such classical attire and demeanour, yet she could utter such bold and explicit words!
Rough usage...
Shizuka Hiratsuka didn't even dare imagine what kind of rough usage that entailed.
"Stop being jealous over nothing here."
Ye Xing patted the black-clad mourning woman's head and smiled.
"You stay here and protect these people, especially the one beside me, understood?"
The mourning woman glanced at Shizuka Hiratsuka, showing not a trace of jealousy in her eyes. Instead, her gaze was quite gentle as she pressed her lips together in a smile.
"Then please stay close to me and don't leave my side."
Shizuka Hiratsuka truly couldn't understand.
The other woman would even get jealous over a shower head, yet treated her so gently.
Did this mean...
In this black-clad mourning woman's eyes, she as a woman was inferior to a shower head?