The moment everyone's eyes turned towards it, those bloodshot eyes trembled slightly.
In the next instant, an evil spirit wearing tattered red robes emerged from the sacred palanquin. Its gender was indistinguishable, with pitch-black skin, a decaying body, a ferociously twisted face, and six eyes. It darted instantly toward Haruno Yukinoshita, opening its mouth to reveal dark yellow teeth that emitted black smoke.
"You... can see me?"
The smile on Haruno Yukinoshita's face stiffened slightly. Mindful of her younger, ordinary sister, Yukino, standing beside her, she suppressed her inner fear, maintaining a completely normal expression.
No way...
Why did it have to target me!?
With so many psychics here, why did it specifically come for me!?
This is just too unlucky, isn't it?
"The sacred palanquin..."
Yukino Yukinoshita gazed at the bright red palanquin being carried by several men and spoke softly.
"I've always thought these things look rather creepy, carrying some inexplicable sense of fear."
Marin Kitagawa nodded beside her, tucking a strand of her pale gold and pink-dyed hair behind her ear as she agreed.
"Me too. Whenever I saw these things as a child, I wanted to hide. But since they're traditional items used for ceremonies, we had to endure them."
Yukino Yukinoshita turned her head, about to say something to her elder sister Haruno, when she keenly noticed a complex, somewhat helpless look in her eyes and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Haruno Yukinoshita looked at the evil spirit mere inches away, its six bloodshot eyes fixed intently on her, and forced a smile as she replied.
"No... nothing..."
From this perspective, while Haruno's mental fortitude couldn't compare to Miko Yotsuya's, it was still remarkably strong for an ordinary person.
Nothing to be ashamed of.
Within the Supernatural Society, the only one who could rival Miko Yotsuya in this aspect was Kazusa Touma.
Although both could maintain composure when facing evil spirits, there was a fundamental difference between them.
Miko Yotsuya felt fear but could forcefully suppress it without showing any abnormality, possessing exceptional control over her facial expressions.
As for Kazusa Touma...
She seemed to be naturally missing that particular sensitivity, incapable of feeling panic or fear.
Or perhaps Kazusa Touma's thought processes were simply unique - in her eyes, evil spirits didn't provoke fear in her.
Just as Haruno Yukinoshita's mind raced, considering whether to find an excuse to leave first and use her Soul Materialisation ability in some secluded spot to eliminate this six-eyed evil spirit, she heard Ye Xing speak softly beside her.
"Come out."
One black and one white ghost hand abruptly appeared. Before the six-eyed evil spirit could react, the two large hands swiftly closed together, crushing it into pulp.
"Ridiculous, made me laugh a bit."
Ye Xing chuckled lightly before speaking calmly.
"Now that everyone's here, let's start enjoying the fireworks festival."
Miko Yotsuya patted the still-stunned Haruno Yukinoshita and whispered.
"You'll get used to it after a while."
Apart from Haruno Yukinoshita herself, all the other psychics present clearly understood why she alone had become the evil spirit's target.
Simply put...
Haruno was the weakest among them.
Precisely because she was the weakest, she couldn't fully control her spiritual power, allowing the evil spirits to detect her.
This basic technique was naturally mastered by Mai Sakurajima, Rio Futaba, Miko Yotsuya, and Yui Yuigahama, as they had conducted numerous exorcism operations. Each commission they handled further honed their abilities.
Though Hina Amano awakened her Soul Materialisation ability later than Haruno Yukinoshita, she had been practising controlling and utilising spiritual power for some time. Every Sunny Girl commission, while involving prayers and borrowing power from the Weather God, genuinely improved her proficiency.
Moreover, Hina Amano had her true soul form, Hiyoribo, devour part of the Weather God's body. Their compatible attributes greatly enhanced both the strength and control of her spiritual power.
Simply put.
Haruno Yukinoshita was too weak, which was why that evil spirit detected something unusual.
This brief interlude didn't dampen the group's mood for enjoying their outing.
However, the real test was yet to come.
"Is it a bit inconvenient for so many of us to walk around together? How about... we split into groups?"
Haruno Yukinoshita sounded the charge.
Mai Sakurajima looked utterly unsurprised and remarked flatly.
"Oh? I suppose you want to have some alone time with Ye Xing, just the two of you?"
"As expected of you, you guessed my intention straight away."
"Heh, your wolfish ambition isn't even concealed anymore."
Haruno tucked a strand of her black hair behind her ear, wearing a gentle, sweet expression tinged with a pitiable melancholy, and said softly.
"I'm usually in Chiba, and you all start school on Monday. If you think about it, Ye Xing and I might not see each other for months. I really envy you all, getting to see him every day."
Hearing this, the girls all had the same thought.
What a ruthless play for sympathy.
Deliberately portraying oneself as pitiful is merely a low-tier tactic.
What constitutes a high-level play for sympathy?
It's when one is genuinely in a pitiful state, yet carries oneself with an air of not feeling pitiful at all, thereby making others perceive the hardship.
Haruno Yukinoshita was truly a master among masters!
But...
This didn't mean what Haruno said was incorrect.
Thinking carefully... she did have it rather tough.
Furthermore, Mai Sakurajima remembered how much Haruno had helped when she was suffering from Adolescence Syndrome.
Although Haruno's assistance was ultimately for Ye Xing's sake, not hers, she still owed her a favour.
It wasn't just Mai. During the period when Shoko Makinohara was hospitalised in Kyoto, Haruno also used her connections to secure a room next door for the members of the Supernatural Society to rest.
She saw him the least, yet her contributions were no less significant.
Considering this, the most resolute among them, Rio Futaba and Mai Sakurajima, exchanged a glance. Both showed helpless expressions and sighed faintly.
"Fine, we'll lend him to you for half an hour then."
"Lend?"
Haruno linked arms with Ye Xing and said with a cheerful smile.
"Don't phrase it so distantly. Isn't this guy our shared boyfriend?"
Shizuka Hiratsuka, standing nearby, was utterly stunned.
Bloody hell, I knew something felt off last time I went to that Tokyo hotel.
My friend Haruno said she was dating Ye Xing, yet Mai Sakurajima, the school celebrity, also claims to be Ye Xing's girlfriend.
I thought he was two-timing them.
Turns out it's actually sharing?
Can such things really be said out loud in public?
Only you would do this, Haruno.
"Let's go."
Haruno Yukinoshita linked arms with Ye Xing, smiling cheerfully as she pulled him forward.
Shizuka Hiratsuka stood frozen in place, utterly bewildered. Although she knew everyone present except Natsumi Suga and Shoko Makinohara, the teacher-student dynamic made this... rather awkward.
Seeing this, Mai Sakurajima let out a soft sigh and muttered under her breath.
"This guy is really too much. He's the one who invited everyone, yet he just abandons them like this..."
Despite her words, Mai walked over to Shizuka Hiratsuka and said with a gentle smile.
"Shizuka, shall the two of us walk together?"
Shizuka Hiratsuka blinked in surprise, then nodded.
"Mm... alright."
Although Mai was technically her student as well, they didn't have a direct teacher-student relationship, which made their interaction less awkward.
The girls split into groups, ready to relax for the first time in ages.
Saki Kawasaki naturally chose Marin Kitagawa, and Natsumi Suga joined them as well. The latter two wanted to learn photography techniques from Saki for future cosplay shoots.
Although Shoko Makinohara had grown up, everyone still treated her like a child. She was placed in the care of the gentle and caring Hina Amano, along with the easily-lost, adorable ghost duo - Hachishaku-sama and Menma.
"Yukino, Kazusa, let's go together."
Seeing Yui Yuigahama's sweet smile as she ignored the hostile glares exchanged between Kazusa Touma and Yukino Yukinoshita, and linked arms with both, leading them forward, the other girls watched with deep respect.
Dango... you're truly something else.
Kazusa on the left, Yukino on the right.
You actually managed to drag these two together to the fireworks festival...
Dango-san, you're truly terrifying!
...
Meanwhile, Haruno Yukinoshita led Ye Xing away from the bustling streets to a secluded, deserted grove of trees.
"What are you planning to do?"
Ye Xing put on an air of righteousness, but his words made Haruno Yukinoshita roll her eyes.
"You want me to unlock your kimono CG?"
Haruno smiled wryly.
"What nonsense. How could I let you unlock it here? If you want to unlock it, do it at home. I brought you here because I wanted to..."
Just as Haruno was halfway through her sentence, she suddenly noticed several thin, withered black shadows gradually emerging from the depths of the woods.
"You... can see..."
"You... can see?"
"You can see..."
...
Watching the evil spirits emerging from the woods, Haruno Yukinoshita instinctively took half a step back - and this unconscious movement gave her away.
"You... can see!"
Several evil spirits, upon realising Haruno could see them, charged forward with long strides, their eyes filled with venomous hatred and their faces contorted, as if they wanted to tear Haruno apart limb from limb.
"How utterly reckless."
Ye Xing chuckled lightly as he spoke, yet remained standing perfectly still without making any movement.
However, upon hearing these words, the evil spirits' charging footsteps instantly halted. The expressions of venom and hatred on their faces were replaced by a fear that evil spirits shouldn't possess.
"Don't disturb me from unlocking the kimono CG."
Ye Xing extended his right hand, and the pitch-black ghost hand reappeared. As he slowly clenched his fingers, one of the evil spirits was crushed into dust.
The remaining evil spirits' expressions changed, and just as they attempted to flee deeper into the woods, a dark blade flashed, sweeping past, cleanly severing their grotesque heads from their necks.
"All done."
Hearing Ye Xing's casual tone and noticing his completely effortless demeanour - as if he'd merely stepped on a few ants - Haruno Yukinoshita thought to herself:
'Indeed, he's the professional here.'
Simultaneously, Haruno Yukinoshita noticed something else.
At some unknown point, a rainbow-coloured glowing mark had appeared on the surface of the pitch-black ghost hand.
This colour...
It was the same hue as that of the Weather God's spiritual power.
Was this the change brought about after devouring a deity?
Haruno Yukinoshita shook her head, not dwelling on this matter further.
Unlike the members of the Supernatural Society, she actually had little interest in so-called exorcism and spiritual power, nor any particular desire to eliminate the supernatural and protect the real world.
"Ye Xing, the reason I brought you here is actually to have you meet someone."
"Who?"
Before Haruno Yukinoshita could speak, footsteps approached from the distance.
Mrs Yukinoshita, dressed in a kimono and radiating an air of lofty nobility, walked slowly towards the two of them, speaking in a calm tone.
"Ye Xing-kun, we meet again."
"Eh?"
Looking at Mrs Yukinoshita standing before him, Ye Xing suddenly chuckled and said,
"Mum, when I said last time that I wanted you and Haruno to go on a date with me together, I was just joking. Why did you take it seriously? You actually came? Well, that's fine too, since you're already here."
Hearing these absurd words, Mrs Yukinoshita nearly laughed in exasperation, looking utterly speechless as she replied,
"You boy, after all this time, you haven't changed a bit. Who's going on a date with you? I came today to discuss serious business with you."
"Serious business?"
Ye Xing maintained his smile.
"Is it an exorcism commission? That's not how the process works. You need to go to Old Man Oda first - only the commissions he can't handle get discussed with me. You can't just bypass the middleman like this."
Mrs Yukinoshita's expression remained unchanged as she said calmly,
"It seems you don't intend to conceal your identity beyond being a high school student."
"Why would I need to conceal it? Exorcism isn't illegal. Besides, you probably already figured it out, didn't you?"
Just as Ye Xing said.
Although Mrs Yukinoshita had never asked Haruno, and Haruno had never spoken of it, Mrs Yukinoshita had long since guessed that the person who helped their family resolve the exorcism commission for that building was none other than Ye Xing before her.
After all, the payments for exorcism commissions were made through the company accounts and transferred to Oda Noto's card. Even without deliberate investigation, simply connecting the dots between Haruno becoming Ye Xing's girlfriend, the Yukinoshita company spending heavily on promotional ads for Mai Sakurajima on airships, and the connection between Mai Sakurajima and Ye Xing made the truth quite clear.
However, Mrs Yukinoshita hadn't come today to discuss this matter.
She looked directly into Ye Xing's eyes and slowly said,
"Do you have plans for further education after graduating from high school?"
"Further education?"
Hearing this question, Ye Xing smiled indifferently.
"Maybe, maybe not. After all, there's still over two years to go - who can say for certain?"
"What about your future plans then? Will you be a so-called exorcist for life? As someone who achieved first place in the unified exams and even defeated Shuchi'in Academy's geniuses, your ambitions should extend beyond this, shouldn't they?"
"Mrs Yukinoshita, if you have something to say, please say it directly. I don't really want to spend my precious leisure time actually dating my mother-in-law."
"Very well."
Mrs Yukinoshita gave a slight nod.
"Then I'll speak plainly."
Beside them, Haruno Yukinoshita maintained her smile, though she had already guessed what her mother wanted to discuss with Ye Xing today.
And in reality...
Given Ye Xing's personality, Haruno felt he would never agree.
Mrs Yukinoshita slowly spoke, uttering a shocking statement.
"I hope that if you have no plans for further education, or after completing your education, you will formally marry my daughter and take over the Yukinoshita company."
"Me? Take over the Yukinoshita company?"
Faced with Mrs Yukinoshita's sudden, shocking statement, Ye Xing still maintained his smile, merely countering with a question.
"To just hand over the foundation you've built over many years to an outsider - you're truly willing to part with it."
To this, Mrs Yukinoshita had only one response.
"If you marry my daughter, you won't be an outsider anymore. Moreover, your relationship has already progressed to this stage. From my perspective, while your personality is rather peculiar, your talent, appearance, and even family background make you a perfect candidate for a son-in-law."
"Of course, don't misunderstand me. I'm not asking you to become a live-in son-in-law, nor do I have any unreasonable demands like requiring any children to take the Yukinoshita surname."
"How to handle company affairs and how to live together after marriage - these are matters between the two of you. I won't interfere."
Hearing this, Ye Xing suddenly interrupted.
"Two people? Not three people?"
"Three people?"
Mrs Yukinoshita frowned at these words, then looked towards Haruno beside her. Her gaze fell on the other's abdomen, and she couldn't help but change expression, her pupils widening in shock.
"Haruno, you... you... why didn't you take safety measures!?"
Hearing this, Haruno Yukinoshita first froze for a moment, then hurriedly explained.
"Mother, it's not what you think..."
"Alright, you don't need to say anymore."
Mrs Yukinoshita helplessly massaged her temples and sighed.
"Since you're already pregnant, there's nothing to be done. As long as this guy agrees to marry you right after high school graduation, we'll just have to deal with the consequences after the fact. That's the only way forward now."
Looking at Mrs Yukinoshita's resigned expression, Ye Xing suddenly changed the subject.
"Before I give my answer, I'd like to ask you first - why are you willing to hand over the Yukinoshita company that you worked so hard to build from scratch to an outsider like me to control?"
Mrs Yukinoshita remained silent for a while, looking at Haruno beside her. In her usually calm and steady eyes, a rare glimpse of tenderness appeared.
"I used to think that as long as I achieved my goals, my daughter would live happily. I even believed all along that Haruno genuinely enjoyed her current life."
"It was only after you appeared that I realised Haruno had just been pretending all along."
"The her now is truly living happily."