Chapter 60: The Night of Retribution

Priestess Kyoko stared at the cracks spreading across her barrier, a fear she had never known surging within her. The fissures seemed a premonition of her impending doom. With just that single strike, she understood that confronting such an overwhelming attack head-on would be utterly foolish; she was no match for her opponent.

“Damn it!” Kyoko gritted her teeth, anxiety flickering in her eyes.

She swiftly chanted a spell, her fingers dancing as small paper figures shot from her palm. These paper men tumbled and circled in the air before landing lightly, instantly transforming into various grotesque monsters.

Some were humanoid, others beast-like, their hideous faces appearing especially terrifying in the night. The monsters let out ear-splitting roars, like devils from hell breaking free of their chains, surging towards Bai Mengqi.

Their eyes glowed with bloodthirsty malice, as if determined to tear Bai Mengqi to shreds. Yet, facing such a multitude of shikigami, Bai Mengqi’s face betrayed only a hint of disdain.

She gently raised the sword in her hand, its tip quivering subtly, resonating with a certain power in the air. Then, with a casual flick, a dazzling sword light, like the first rays of dawn, instantly illuminated the surroundings.

This sword light was brilliant and piercing, carrying an indomitable force as it swept towards the monsters. With several resounding ‘bangs,’ the monsters, born from shikigami, instantly disintegrated into dust under the sword light, as if they had never existed.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of burning paper, confirming that these specters were merely illusions conjured from paper, not true demonic entities. However, when Bai Mengqi cast her gaze back towards Priestess Kyoko, she found that the woman had already seized the opportunity to flee.

Her figure flickered in and out of sight in the darkness, vanishing swiftly into the distance like a ghost. “Coward! You dare harm people under the cover of night, but lack the courage to face me?” Bai Mengqi snorted coldly, her divine sense instantly expanding.

Like an invisible net, it enveloped everything in the vicinity. She quickly sensed the direction of Kyoko’s escape, a cold smile curving on her lips.

At this moment, Priestess Kyoko was running for her life, her face a mask of undeniable terror. As she ran, she pulled out her phone and quickly dialed a number.

On the other end, a man’s voice soon answered, “Hello? Kyoko? What’s wrong?” “Matsuda! Come save me…” Kyoko cried out urgently, a hint of a sob in her voice.

She offered no further explanation, simply issuing a desperate plea, hoping the man on the other end would arrive as quickly as possible. But would Bai Mengqi grant her that chance?

Bai Mengqi’s figure flickered and leaped through the night sky like the grim reaper. Her speed was astonishing, as if she could transcend the constraints of space, rapidly closing in on Priestess Kyoko.

Kyoko felt the encroaching presence behind her, her heart seizing with even greater panic. Her eyes darted about, and then, steeling herself, she abruptly changed direction and continued to run.

From this new trajectory, it appeared she intended to flee towards the Jingguo Shrine. There, her accomplices and a potential sanctuary awaited, perhaps offering her an escape from this ordeal.

However, Bai Mengqi quickly perceived her intention. A cold sneer played on her lips as she accelerated once more, instantly appearing a dozen meters ahead of Kyoko.

She soared into the air, her sword carving a graceful arc, and a thread-like beam of sword light instantly shot towards Kyoko. The sword light was as swift as lightning, as fierce as a storm.

It flashed across the sky, and in the next instant, left a terrifying sword mark on the ground directly in front of Kyoko. This sword mark was unfathomably deep, even splitting a nearby house in two, revealing its steel and concrete structure within.

Yet, because the mark was so fine, the house did not collapse, merely trembling slightly. Priestess Kyoko halted abruptly, a wave of lingering fear washing over her as she gazed at the sword mark.

She knew that if that strike had landed on her, even if she survived, she would have lost her last means of defense. It was clear her opponent had deliberately shifted her aim slightly, or else Kyoko would undoubtedly be a corpse by now.

“Stop running!”

Bai Mengqi’s voice rang out in Kyoko’s ears, imbued with undeniable authority. “I know you were hired. Tell me who your mastermind is, and I can spare your life!”

The voice exploded like a clap of thunder in Kyoko’s ears, making her heart tremble. She clenched her fists, then turned around, a look of scorn on her face as she faced Bai Mengqi.

“You ability users from Xia Country shouldn’t be so arrogant! This is Japan, not your Xia Country!” Upon hearing this, Bai Mengqi rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Hmph! So what if it’s Japan? Precisely because this is Japan, and not Xia Country, I can act without restraint!”

As she spoke, she once again swung her sword, and a dense surge of sword light, like a streaking meteor, rapidly swept towards Priestess Kyoko. Kyoko’s face blanched at the sight, and she hurriedly erected her barrier once more, hoping to block the sword light.

However, the sword light sliced through her barrier as effortlessly as cutting tofu. With a loud ‘crack,’ the magical artifact she used to sustain the barrier shattered into a pile of fragments.

Having lost her only means of defense, she could only watch helplessly as Bai Mengqi drew closer. “One last chance! Speak or not? You won’t get another!” Bai Mengqi warned coldly.

Her voice pierced Kyoko’s heart like an ice pick, sending a bone-chilling cold through her. Yet, for some reason, Kyoko dared not reveal her true superior.

This matter involved layers too deep; once it escalated to a national level, it would trigger unimaginable consequences. “I have no mastermind!”

Kyoko gritted her teeth in defiance. “I simply detest you people from Xia Country! I don’t want your country to lead the energy development project!” With that, she took the initiative to attack.

“Night Parade of One Hundred Demons!” With a flick of her sleeve, a massive horde of diverse ghosts surged forth. These specters, unlike the previous shikigami, poured out like a tide, lunging at Bai Mengqi.

Their eyes gleamed with green phosphorescence, and they let out bloodcurdling roars, as if intending to devour Bai Mengqi entirely. For a normal B-rank ability user, this attack might have been troublesome.

But against Bai Mengqi, a cultivator, they were nothing more than a swarm of weak monsters. She gazed at the surging yokai, her eyes narrowing, and with a horizontal sweep of her sword, she unleashed a torrent of dense sword light.

Like a net, it slashed through the monsters. These sword lights, swift as lightning and fierce as a storm, instantly shredded the yokai into a mist of blood that scattered across the sky.

Priestess Kyoko’s pupils contracted sharply at the sight. She had never imagined Bai Mengqi’s power to be so terrifying. At the same moment, a beam of sword light shot out from the blood mist, like a silver bolt of lightning, piercing towards her chest.

“No!” Kyoko screamed in terror. However, the sword light showed no decrease in speed, instantly passing through her chest.

With a ‘swoosh,’ her heart burst open on the spot, blood spraying into the night sky like a fountain. The life force within her rapidly dissipated, as if being drained by some unseen power.

“You… I… our Japanese ability world… will… will not let you… off…” Kyoko choked out her last words, then collapsed weakly onto the street.

Her body twitched incessantly, blood continuously flowing from her, quickly forming a pool on the ground. A formidable C-rank sorceress had died tragically on the street, with no one able to save her.

Bai Mengqi watched her expressionlessly. After a moment, the woman’s soul struggled free from her body. It glared at Bai Mengqi with profound resentment, as if vowing to haunt her even as a vengeful spirit.

Unfortunately, Bai Mengqi had no intention of granting her that opportunity. Since she knew that Japan was a place prone to nurturing ghosts, why would she merely destroy the physical body? A cultivator’s soul was stronger and more prone to becoming an evil spirit.

Bai Mengqi chuckled, then suddenly reached out and seized Kyoko’s soul. A powerful suction instantly drew the soul towards her, where Bai Mengqi crushed it in her hand.

“You… impossible! You can see me, and even touch me?” The priestess’s soul cried out in horror. Bai Mengqi stared at the soul, a cold sneer on her face. “I know this place in Japan is prone to breeding ghosts. So, don’t even talk about haunting me as a ghost. I’ll make sure you can’t even become one.”

After speaking, Bai Mengqi mercilessly crushed the priestess’s soul. Kyoko’s existence was then completely erased from this world.

“Self-destruction.”

Bai Mengqi did not linger, but left the scene immediately, sensing that someone was approaching. After she departed, figures converged from all directions.

Leading them was a man dressed as an Onmyoji, accompanied by several ninjas. “This? Matsuda-kun, is this Miss Kyoko?” The ninjas looked at the deceased priestess, their expressions grim.

A C-rank sorceress, brutally killed on the street—this was no minor casualty. But the most enraged and sorrowful was the Onmyoji named Matsuda.

“Junior Sister.” Matsuda cradled the priestess from the ground, his face filled with grief. They were fellow disciples, taught by the same master.

“Matsuda-kun, should we report this to Kamiyashiro?” a ninja asked. The Kamiyashiro he referred to was Japan’s official ability user management agency.

“Idiot, how can something like this be brought into the open?” Although Matsuda was distraught, he wasn’t foolish. Such private actions, if brought to light, would lead to direct confrontation between the two countries.

Japan currently lacked the qualifications to confront Xia Country. As long as conflicts between ability users remained private, even if the authorities knew, they would tacitly feign ignorance.

Bai Mengqi hadn’t obtained evidence of the Matsushita Group’s wrongdoing, so she naturally couldn’t seek revenge against Matsushita Suguru. She could only return to her residence quietly.

She opened the window, shed her clothes, and slipped silently into bed. Just as she lay down, Zi Yanran’s voice sounded.

“Already dealt with?” Bai Mengqi froze, realizing that Zi Yanran had opened her eyes at some point. “You’re awake.”

Zi Yanran nodded. “Yes, I woke up a while ago. You went out late at night; did something happen that I don’t know about?”

Bai Mengqi thought for a moment, then reached out and embraced Zi Yanran. “Let’s sleep first. I’ll explain everything tomorrow during the day.”

Since she had said so, Zi Yanran did not press further. Soon, a thrilling night passed. The next day, around seven or eight o’clock, Zi Yanran emerged from the room, clearly displeased.

“Captain Liang, is this your security? If my personal bodyguard hadn’t appeared in time yesterday, you might only be seeing my corpse today.”