Chapter 250: Myriad Celestia Trailer — An Exorcism at Fyxestroll Garden 『 Part One 』
「 Faced with the immense disparity in strength, Cirrus had no choice but to admit defeat, and what awaited it was eternal punishment.
Although its will to fight had crumbled for the moment, Cirrus still harbored thoughts of a comeback in the future. The Heliobi are immortal and imperishable; there would always be another chance for them down the line.
With Cirrus dealt with, the Ghost-Hunting Squad's operation could be considered concluded. Having weathered this Heliobus crisis, Huohuo's tail was resealed, Sushang gained a new talking point about fighting Yanqing to a draw, Little Gui obtained a high-follower account, and Stelle received Stellar Jades from Jing Yuan… Everyone had a bright future. 」
「 .....」
〜Bleach World〜
Byakuya Kuchiki sat dignified within the tea room of the Sixth Division barracks, watching the Heliobus crisis conclude smoothly on the sky screen. The corners of Byakuya's mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
Suddenly, the cherry blossom petals drifting outside the window were disturbed by a surge of spiritual pressure. Shinji Hirako hung upside down from the window frame, his golden bangs dangling.
"Oh? It's rare to see you smile. Are you that interested in the affairs of the Xianzhou Luofu?"
Shinji flipped himself into the tea room, casually swiping a tea cake from in front of Byakuya.
Byakuya closed his eyes, calmly sipping his strong tea without a change in expression.
"Trespassing into another's tea room without permission—is this the etiquette of the Fifth Division?"
"Don't be so serious~"
Shinji sat cross-legged, spinning an empty teacup on his fingertip.
"In this incident, aren't you curious about one of Xianzhou's organizations?"
Byakuya set down his teacup, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Which one?"
"The Ten-Lords Commission. From the current intelligence, the Ten-Lords Commission is an organization completely independent from the rest of the Xianzhou. If I were to make a comparison… I feel it's very similar to the relationship between the World of the Living and Soul Society—at least in terms of function."
"Those who come from the Ten-Lords Commission are called 'Spiritfarers' and 'Judges'… Don't you think those terms sound a lot like 'Soul Reapers'? Do you think our Soul Society might have some inextricable link with the Xianzhou's Ten-Lords Commission?"
Byakuya glanced at him sideways, his tone placid.
"A superficial conjecture. Soul Society has existed for far longer than a mere few thousand years. Furthermore, there is the issue that the location of the Ten-Lords Commission appears to be extremely mysterious; ordinary people have no opportunity to see it."
"As for the connection you mentioned… if one could see the Ten-Lords Commission with their own eyes, then perhaps—"
"Wait, Byakuya, the image on the sky screen seems to be changing."
Shinji Hirako suddenly interrupted him, pointing a finger towards the sky.
"This time, the scene seems to be focused on… Huohuo?"
—
「 "The people of the Xianzhou roam beyond the heavens, inevitably encountering strange forces and chaotic spirits; thus, many supernatural tales arise from this."
On the sky screen, Huohuo was clutching a compass, moving forward according to its guidance.
Her destination was a distant mountain, shrouded in gray mist that never dispersed year-round. Jagged, grotesque rocks jutted out from the cliff faces like withered, skeletal claws. The ancient trees within the mountains were twisted and knotted, their dry branches emitting a crack-crack sound in the wind, resembling the friction of bone against bone.
"It is said that on that day, a novice judge of the Ten-Lords Commission accepted a decree, ordered to subdue demons…"
Huohuo had struggled to climb the mountain, only to see a gate radiating a gloomy, chilling aura. The two lanterns hanging at the entrance looked like two bright red fangs, eager to swallow her whole. Terrified, she squeezed her eyes shut and simply trotted forward blindly.
Along the way, she heard the sound of light footsteps. Opening her eyes, she saw two young attendants standing by the roadside. 」
「 .....」
〜Dragon Raja World〜
"This narrator's voice… it has to be Tail, right?"
"Remove the 'has to be'—it is Tail."
Chu Zihang sighed softly.
"Although it's unclear what game they are playing, the content on the screen seems to be a depiction of Huohuo shortly after she joined the Ten-Lords Commission, performing an exorcism. Also, I noticed it just now… the directional markings on Huohuo's compass—that's a Bagua map, isn't it? Isn't that something unique to your country?"
Caesar frowned. Although his grades in history weren't great, he could still recognize such iconic cultural symbols.
"Why would there be Bagua on the Xianzhou?"
The Bagua has a history spanning thousands of years, said to originate from Fuxi, the "First of the Hundred Kings" in Huaxia civilization. Although Caesar wasn't particularly interested in the Bagua, he vaguely knew it was something quite formidable.
"Perhaps it is a case of… 'The Dao is not a solitary secret'?"
Chu Zihang ventured.
"…Not a what secret?"
Caesar felt his brain swelling slightly.
"Have you ever looked into Baguazhang(Eight Trigram Palm)?"
Chu Zihang decided to switch to a different question.
"I've heard of it."
Caesar had displayed fighting talent far exceeding his peers since childhood, and his family had always cultivated his martial literacy. He hadn't learned every famous martial art in the world, but he had heard a thing or two from his instructors.
"The footwork of the Georgian dance from Russia, as well as the kinetic changes in the thigh muscles, operate on the same principle as the 'Circle Walking' of Baguazhang(Eight Trigram Palm),"
Chu Zihang explained calmly.
"Although the cultures of the two countries are different, the insights one realizes might also be realized by others on the other side of the world, simply applied differently."
"Oh…"
Caesar seemed to understand, yet also not, but his focus shifted elsewhere. "You know about Russian Georgian dance?"
"A female member of the Lionheart Society once actively invited me to watch a dance performance."
"So, what happened then?"
"…After watching it, we had a meal together. During the meal, I noticed her face was very red and hot when she looked at me, so I concluded she must have a fever and took her to a nearby hospital."
Chu Zihang's expression suddenly turned grave.
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"No problem. I can only say… your handling of the situation was very you."
—
「 Huohuo approached the two attendants. "Excuse me…"
The two attendants slowly turned around. Their pale faces had a greenish-gray hue in the dim light. The corners of their mouths slowly split open, and long, slender tongues like scarlet snake forks lolled out, nearly touching the ground.
"Newcomer…"
"Must entertain properly…"
Their voices overlapped, sounding like echoes squeezed out of a rotting coffin.
"WAAAHHHHH—!!"
Huohuo finally couldn't take it anymore and bolted, fleeing behind a dilapidated wall, gasping for breath with lingering fear. The two attendants, meanwhile, hopped like jiangshi, their mouths constantly repeating, "Welcome."
At this moment, the needle on the compass shifted again. Not far away, a hand slowly extended from a sarcophagus, lifting the lid just a crack.
"N-no way…"
Huohuo pulled a coin sword from behind her back, walked tremblingly to the sarcophagus, and carefully poked her head out to look inside.
The sarcophagus was empty, but unbeknownst to her, a dark shadow was standing behind her. Huohuo turned her head in terror, only to hear a crack-crack noise from the person's neck. The head twisted at a grotesque angle, a pair of scarlet eyeballs staring dead at her.
"Are you… the newcomer?" 」
「 .....」