Chapter 141: Nine Yin Severed Meridian
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 141: Nine Yin Severed Meridian
Creeak!
We stepped into the old Western-style house.
Just like the garden outside, the inside of the house was covered in a thick layer of white frost, despite it being the middle of summer.
"Fuma-senpai, can you tell where that yokai, the Yukionna, is?"
Hearing my question, Fuma-senpai slowly shook his head.
"Her presence is so immense that I can't pinpoint her location. It looks like we'll have to check every room in the mansion."
"I see."
I nodded and took a bold step toward the first-floor hallway.
Crunch!
With the sound of crunching snow, a chill shot up through the soles of my feet.
Even though it was broad daylight outside, the inside of the house was filled with shadows, as if it were dusk.
When I asked why, Fuma-senpai explained that it was because the house was dense with Yin energy.
It seemed to be a literal supernatural phenomenon.
We explored the house, walking along the creaking wooden hallways.
"It looks like it hasn't been abandoned for very long, does it?"
The belongings of the people who used to live here were left just as they were.
A luxurious leather sofa, a grandfather clock, and even a table and desk made of solid wood.
Just from a quick glance, many of the items were clearly high-end.
"From what my grandfather told me, this house was originally the villa of an influential family. The daughter of the family, who had a chronic illness, came to live in this mountain villa for treatment, but it seems she eventually died, unable to be cured. And he said the Yukionna started living in this house not long after the daughter passed away."
"I see."
As I looked around the living room, I happened to spot what looked like a family photo.
A middle-aged man in a suit and a middle-aged woman in a dress stood on either side of a pale-complexioned girl.
She was probably the daughter of the influential family who had died in this house.
"Kim Yoo-Sung, come over here."
"Yes?"
I turned around at Fuma-senpai's call.
"Bloodstains. And they look quite old."
Sure enough, just as Fuma-senpai had said, there were dark red bloodstains on the wooden floor.
I crouched down next to Fuma-senpai and asked.
"Whose blood do you think it is?"
"Could be from some fool who wandered into this mansion without knowing any better, or maybe it's the blood of a ninja from our village."
The trail of blood led from the living room to a window in the hallway.
Seeing the broken windowpane, it looked like the injured person had escaped through here.
In any case, there was no more information to be gained here, so we decided to look around elsewhere.
The first floor consisted of a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and one bathroom, aside from the entrance hall.
Except for being a Western-style building, the layout itself was similar to a typical Japanese house.
If there was one thing I noticed while looking around the first floor, it was that all the furnishings looked pristine, as if they had been used just yesterday.
I wondered if it was because of the chill filling the mansion, but I couldn't be sure.
After a quick search of the first floor, it was clear the Yukionna wasn't there.
"Well then, I guess we should head up to the second floor."
"Right."
Fuma-senpai nodded at my words and led the way back out into the first-floor hallway.
The stairs leading to the second floor were covered in thick frost, so it looked like we'd have to be careful not to slip.
Soon, Fuma-senpai began to climb the stairs first.
I followed behind him.
It was when we were about halfway up the stairs.
Crackle!
Suddenly, a sound like something burning came from Fuma-senpai's direction.
Wondering what was happening, I looked up to see Fuma-senpai muttering with a frustrated expression.
"Tch, a barrier."
…I never thought I'd get to hear that line in person.
I mean, from his perspective, he was probably being serious.
Fuma-senpai took a half-burnt talisman from his clothes and tossed it aside, then drew Raikirimaru from his waist.
"Hah!"
With one swift swing, the unprecedented force blocking the stairs vanished.
When I asked what had happened, Fuma-senpai brandished Raikirimaru and explained.
"Lightning (雷) is one of the natural phenomena that represents Yang energy. Like fire, it has the power to burn away and purify evil things."
In other words, he could cut through this level of Yin energy with ease.
"I see."
I didn't really get what he was saying, but I understood one thing: that Lightning Severing Sword was incredible.
After listening to Fuma-senpai's little boast, we finally entered the second floor.
"It's smaller than the first floor."
"It's right under the roof."
Unlike the first floor, which was relatively spacious, the second floor had less area.
It was probably because it lacked a kitchen and a living room.
There were two rooms on the second floor, and it was obvious the Yukionna was in the one on the right.
It had to be, since only that room's doorknob was frozen white.
If I touched it with my bare hands, I'd get frostbite.
After exchanging a look with Fuma-senpai, I drew up the Yang energy in my body and melted the ice on the handle.
Tsssss!
Steam billowed up, and the closed door finally opened.
Clack!
It was in that very moment.
A wind laced with a biting chill rushed out from the front, so strong it felt like I was walking through a blizzard.
"Kuh!"
I hurriedly covered my face with both arms.
"Fuma-senpai! Get behind me!"
"Got it!"
The moment the words were out, I released Yang energy from my entire body to counter the wind.
Soon, as the wind that felt like it could freeze me to the bone subsided, the scene inside the room came into view.
"……."
The room was completely dyed white.
The only furniture in the room was a single bed, a table, and a simple bookshelf.
And the Yukionna in question was sitting on the bed, sobbing by herself.
「Sob... why isn't anyone coming back? Mom, Dad, Ryu-chan...」
It wasn't an actual voice, but felt more like a whisper directly inside my head.
She was so different from what I'd expected that I was the one who was taken aback.
"Senior?"
When I turned to him with a bewildered expression, Fuma-senpai swallowed hard and said.
"Don't be fooled by her appearance. No matter how young she looks, it's impossible for anything less than a yokai hundreds of years old to possess this much Yin energy."
"...I understand."
I decided to steel myself.
To come all this way only to let my guard down because of her appearance was incredibly naive.
I slowly approached the bed.
But the Yukionna, as if unaware of our presence, just continued to sob.
「There's nothing here... It's cold...」
Her whining, like a lost child, made her look at first glance like a fragile young girl.
Then,
The girl's sobbing came to an abrupt halt.
And very slowly, she turned her head toward us.
Skin and hair as white as if she had albinism, and in contrast, deep blue eyes.
For a moment, the image of the Yukionna before me overlapped with the image of the influential family's daughter from the photo on the first floor.
The Yukionna opened her mouth.
「GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE!!」
It became a Word of Power that struck my entire body.
It felt as if everything around me had turned hostile.
No, it was real. Icicles erupted from the walls and ceiling, stabbing sharply toward me, trying to impale me.
"Hup!"
I instantly tensed every muscle in my body.
So-called, Indestructibility (不壞).
By cloaking my body in a massive amount of Yang energy, my skin becomes impenetrable to most weapons.
Shatter!
As the icicles shattered against my body, Fuma-senpai seized the opening and charged forward with Raikirimaru.
His movements were still like a flash of lightning.
But just before his blade could reach the Yukionna's neck, Fuma-senpai's body stopped abruptly, as if caught by something, and he was struck by an ice hammer that rose from the floor, sending him flying to the back of the room.
"Keuk!"
Fuma-senpai slammed his back hard against the wall and fell to the floor, letting out a dry cough.
'Is it some kind of psychic power?'
I naturally fell into a guarded stance, and when I didn't move, the Yukionna made the first move with a gesture.
Crack!
A wave of frost shot across the floor toward me.
Seeing that, I quickly stomped my foot down hard.
A floorboard broke and flipped upward, and the moment it met the frost, it froze solid.
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed I had to focus on close-quarters combat.
I had no means of long-range attack, after all.
Using my large frame, I charged toward the Yukionna sitting on the bed.
Then, the Yukionna muttered.
「Stop.」
"Kuh!"
In that instant, my body was no longer under my control.
It seemed to be the same kind of ability she had used on Fuma-senpai just moments ago.
As my body was momentarily paralyzed, an icicle shot up from the floor to kindly greet me.
If this connected, my neck would be impaled.
Immediately after, control of my body returned to me, and facing an unavoidable attack, I offered my forehead instead of my vital point, the neck.
It was a contest between an icicle easily over 50cm long and my skull.
I gritted my teeth.
CRACK!!
Impact.
The result of something incredibly hard colliding with something quite hard was, thankfully, that my skull was the one left intact.
'...I thought I was going to die.'
Rubbing my reddened forehead, I stared at the Yukionna, who still hadn't moved a single step from the bed.
How am I supposed to beat this thing?