It was already evening when Pei Zi Yun came out of Abe's house. The snow had stopped falling and the last ray of sunlight was fading away as the moon rose.
The road was covered with snow, white and flawless. Traces of passersby had been covered by the snow. The cold wind blew and the snow fell into the flowing river, disappearing without a sound.
"The enchantment barrier is still there, but it is full of holes."
After the year 794, Heian City became the capital. According to the divination of Yin and Yang, Heian City was the holy land of the four gods. To the north was a mountain (Chuanokang Mountain), to the east was a river (Duck River), to the south was a lake (Juling Pond), and to the west was a main road (Mountain Sun Road). The four gods, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird and White Tiger, prayed for their protection.
In order to match the natural terrain, the Emperor built Yanli Temple (Ghost Gate), East Temple, West Temple (Forbidden Middle) and South Temple (South Temple) to prevent evil spirits from causing trouble.
The Fengshui enchantment barrier was like this, and it was where the Japanese court was located. Evil spirits should not be able to enter, but it was not full of greyish black Qi. There was a faint blood-red glow in the air. It was no wonder that there were no pedestrians on the road at night. The people who lived near the river had already closed their doors when the sun was still up.
The nobles did not care about the lives of lowly people. The people who lived nearby did not even dare to talk about it in order not to attract evil spirits. They only exchanged glances with each other.
This was a taboo for the people living at the bottom of Heian City.
Demonic ghosts!
Pei Zi Yun turned back at this time.
The road was covered in a thick layer of snow. Underneath the snow was a layer of old snow that had been crushed and hardened. If one were to be careless, one could easily slip and fall. However, the road beneath Pei Zi Yun's feet was extremely smooth and smooth. As he treaded on the snow, it was smooth and steady.
In addition, he had an outstanding temperament, different from the low-level warriors. Those who heard the noise peeked through the cracks of the door and looked at him with awe.
"Father, is this warrior here to get rid of the ghosts … Oh …" In the cold wind, a child's childish voice suddenly rang out, but was soon covered up.
Pei Zi Yun didn't bother to look at it. He continued walking until he reached a stone bridge.
It was different from the day when they sat on the oxcart. Now that they were on the stone bridge, they realized that the scenery here was even more elegant. Although the river below the bridge was dark, and under the moonlight, it was so calm that it made one's heart palpitate. Even ordinary people could feel that something was wrong. But standing on the stone bridge, they could see far into the distance.
There were still some trees by the river. It was winter now, so there was no sign of green, but the dense branches were covered with a thin layer of snow. Under the moonlight, it was like a tree full of pear blossoms, very beautiful.
It was a pity that such a place had already been polluted …
"Sir Martial Artist, are you waiting for me?" Just as he was thinking about this, a female voice drifted over.
Pei Zi Yun turned around and saw that at the end of the bridge, twelve women had appeared out of nowhere and were slowly walking towards him.
Her posture was elegant and her figure slender. It was as if she wasn't walking on a stone bridge, but a lover's path paved with fresh flowers. Between her brows, there was a kind of joy in the coldness.
Her jet-black hair and pale skin formed a kind of beauty. It was said that one could see a beauty under the moonlight, and this saying applied to her.
Pei Zi Yun did not pay too much attention to her sickly beauty. He looked straight into her eyes and asked, "Waiting for you?"
"Sir, you came to my place in the middle of the night and stared at me like this. Could it be that you're not waiting for me, but for another woman?"
The woman used her fan to cover half of her face and smiled. This kind of seduction, in contrast to her cold and conservative appearance, made her even more alluring.
Pei Zi Yun turned a blind eye to her, as if the woman standing in front of him was not a beautiful woman, but a skeleton. It wasn't that he looked down on beauties, but that he had seen many beautiful women before.
To be able to be called a beauty, none of them were inferior to this woman. Needless to say, this woman in front of him was filled with resentment.
A deity's desire was not tainted. This did not mean that a deity's heart was pure, nor did it mean that he did not like the pleasures between men and women. It was just that once a deity reached the level of a deity, his status would be higher. This resentment was like a woman smeared with feces. How could she have any desire?
It was possible for humans and ghosts to fall in love, because humans could not see through it and smell it. But the love between deities and ghosts had never been heard of since ancient times.
"You said this is your residence?" Pei Zi Yun scanned his surroundings before asking, "There's only a river and a bridge here. Where's your mansion? Are you sleeping in the open? "
"That's because I use the bridge as my roof and the river as my bed. If you don't believe me, I can demonstrate it for you. "
The woman laughed as she stared at Pei Zi Yun. She then stretched out her hands to remove her clothes. Pei Zi Yun frowned and did not speak.
With a 'pu' sound, another girl who looked exactly the same as the first girl sneered and pounced forward. She wanted to attack from the front and the back, but she missed.
Then, under the moonlight, there was a flash of light.
"Ah —" A miserable scream came from the mouth of the woman in front. There was a three-inch deep wound on her body, and behind her, the exact same woman couldn't even scream. She fell to the ground with her chest and abdomen cut open. There were no internal organs, only gray and black gas.
But before the gray gas could come out, two white flames appeared at the wounds of the two women. With a 'boom', the flames spread across their bodies, and the two of them became flaming men.
"Ah ah ah —" The woman at the back was burnt to ashes. As for the woman in front, the moment the flames appeared, a look of horror appeared on her face. She screamed and rolled on the ground, trying to put out the flames that could burn ghosts.
It was unknown whether it was because she saved herself in time, or because of other reasons, but the speed at which the woman in front was being burned slowed down.
"Eh, it seems like the karma she has been afflicted with is much lighter than the incarnation." Pei Zi Yun, who was watching them, thought to himself in surprise.
The flames used were imbued with divine power. Ghosts with heavy grievances would be burned very quickly, while ghosts with light grievances would be burned at a slower rate.
This woman who was struggling at death's door was obviously different from the incarnation.
"Maybe she's not just a ghost." Thinking of the legends about ghosts like Hashihime, Pei Zi Yun had a guess.
Just as he was thinking, she saw the incarnation turn into a pile of black ash in an instant. The woman's heart was like dead ashes, full of fear. Although the flames were slow, they were merciless. Step by step, they disintegrated her spiritual power and body.
She knew that although she struggled to live, it was difficult for her to escape death.
But she was not willing to die like this!
Staring at the young warrior who was standing not far away, her heart filled with hatred, and her eyes turned red.
"I hate you!" She rolled on the ground, her nails clinging to the cracks of the stone, as if this was the only way to reduce the pain of being burned.
"Why … why do you do this to me …"
"You ask why?" Pei Zi Yun, who had been silent all this time, spoke, his voice was even more mocking in the cold wind. "You are a ghost, pretending to be a human to get close to me. Isn't it to devour my flesh and blood to increase your strength? At this time, why do you say that you are innocent? "
"What's more, you have already harmed many people by staying here, haven't you? The people nearby have been so frightened by you that they closed their doors before the sky turned dark. The corpses under the stone bridge must have covered the riverbed by now, right? "
"Hehe, that's because you are all heartless people!" The flames on the woman's body were getting smaller and smaller, but it was not extinguished. Instead, her body was getting thinner and thinner. She knew that she was going to die soon. She raised her head and stared at Pei Zi Yun with eyes full of resentment and hatred. It was as if she was not looking at a stranger under the moonlight, but the man she had been longing for.
"I have always been waiting for you, my lord. You said that you would come find me, why … why did you break your promise … why …"
"Haha! You all abandoned me like grass, I want to kill you, kill all of you heartless people … "
"I want to kill all of you …"
In the extreme pain, it was obvious that the woman was losing her mind, and her words were incoherent.
Pei Zi Yun stood there, looking down at her. His gaze made the woman even angrier, but when she wanted to speak again, her body had already turned transparent.
"I'm going to die?" Following this realization, a tear fell from the corner of her eye. At the last moment before she sank into darkness, she suddenly became confused. She stared at Pei Zi Yun, as if she was looking at the man she had been waiting for her entire life. It was as if many faces were overlapping with hers. She opened the door respectfully and smiled warmly, "You … are finally here …"
The stone bridge fell silent once again.
Pei Zi Yun did not move. He stood there quietly, looking at the two piles of ashes that had been burnt.
In just a few minutes, the nearest pile of ashes floated up and started to spin.
Under the moonlight, the black ashes once again transformed into a faint shadow.
This phantom was lying on the ashes. As the wind blew, his clothes fluttered and his black hair cascaded down. Although his figure was translucent, reflecting the light of the water and the moonlight, his appearance and aura were completely different from before.
It was as if he was an exquisite piece of glass that was covered in layers of dirt. All of the ugliness had been removed, revealing the clear light within.
"Indeed, although this is the Heian era, there are many legends, not just the present." Pei Zi Yun stood there, allowing this scene to happen, confirming his previous guess.
Hashihime, the goddess of Uzhi Kawa, was in a relationship with Hachiman Hachiman. However, during the Heian era, wives could not live with their husbands. They could only stay at their parents' house, waiting for their husbands to come.
The Goddess's posture of stretching her neck and looking at the river far away was in line with the times. It stimulated the imagination of many singers and left behind many famous songs. However, gradually, the wholehearted waiting turned into sorrow and hatred in every lonely night. There were constantly women who jumped into the water to commit suicide. As a result, the atmosphere was gradually tainted with a strong ghostly aura.
Although the two that appeared could be considered as Hashihime, it was obvious that not all Hashihime had godhood. Only the one who broke out of the cocoon and reborn could be considered as a deity recognized by this bridge.
If he killed her, he could obtain some divine power, but Pei Zi Yun had no intention of doing so.
Pei Zi Yun looked up at the sky. Snow was falling again. He looked at Hashihime, who was lying on the bridge, slowly regaining her physical form, and turned to leave.
"Don't have pity in your heart. Accept the hatred of those women, although they are also very pitiful."
"A god should be a god."
Hashihime gradually woke up. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw the figure of the young samurai walking away, and the words he left behind.
"I … am not dead?" She blinked in confusion and muttered to herself.
On the Uzhi Kawa Bridge, the snow was getting heavier.
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