Traveler of the River of Time and Space

"Thank her for me. I really like it." Su Ziyu put the book away.

The ghost maid bowed slightly and said, "Alright. Then I shall take my leave."

A wisp of light smoke dissipated in front of him.

Su Ziyu flipped through the Hundred Tales as he walked towards the Ghost Gate.

This book records more than a hundred types of ghosts, along with various illustrations and many related stories. Su Ziyu turned to the last few pages and unexpectedly found a story related to the Aoi lantern.

However, this story is incomplete.

In the story, the Aoi lantern was originally an ordinary girl in the mortal world. She extremely loved yokai stories. Whether listening or telling stories, these were her favorite things to do. But gradually, as her collection of yokai stories grew, people became increasingly fearful. Some warned her not to continue, because if she did, it would become the Hundred Tales.

That would lead to something terrifying.

However, the girl paid no heed to any of it and continued collecting various yokai stories. She would even invite people to come during the night to tell their yokai encounters, with only a single oiled paper lamp lit in the room.

At first, her guests were still humans.

But at some point, those invited were no longer just humans, as the protagonists of the yokai stories she collected gradually became the demons themselves.

The girl did not mind any of this; what she cared about were the interesting stories.

Everything passed like this for ninety-nine days, and by then, her guests at night were never humans anymore.

On the last day.

The girl did not wait for any guests, so in boredom, she took out a mirror and, beside the flickering oiled paper lamp, began to tell her own story to the mirror.

And then.

She transformed into the Aoi lantern and never again witnessed a sunrise, nor could she leave the burning green lantern.

This is the story of the Aoi lantern.

After finishing, Su Ziyu closed the Hundred Tales in his hands slowly. For some reason, he felt a bit eerie. The guests entertained by the girl transformed from humans into demons, yet she never felt fear or found anything amiss, only lost herself completely in the enthralling stories.

This was sheer enchantment.

The girl eventually also transformed into a demon; she became the Aoi lantern, though she ultimately completed the Hundred Tales.

A slight disturbance occurred within the data flow in his mind.

In the next moment.

The Hundred Tales in Su Ziyu's hand suddenly began emitting wisp after wisp of ghostly fire, followed by a slight blur in his vision, through which he saw past visions—a beautiful noblewoman, once human, the Aoi lantern, holding a book with a softly glowing olive-green oiled paper lantern beside her.

As time subtly changed.

In front of the girl appeared various people, whether men, women, elders, or children. They expressed their yokai encounters with emotionless faces while the girl swiftly recorded each chilling story.

At some point.

The girl's hair gradually transformed into a pale white, her skin became increasingly pallid, surrounded by wisps of olive-green ghostly flames.

The storytellers were gradually changing.

From humans, they began transforming into all sorts of monsters and demons, with ghosts of samurai, shadows of sprites, zombies adorned with talismans, and many dreadful yokai. Ultimately, the girl in front transformed into the current appearance of the Aoi lantern, surrounded by a sea of ghostly flames, with the Aoi lantern morphing into some unspoken mysterious entity.

On the last day.

The girl sat silently, gazing at her reflection in a mirror, and calmly began narrating her own strange tale.

That day, a Great Demon was born!

"Whew!" Su Ziyu finally awakened from this illusion, finding his palms sweaty.

The stream of data slowly emerged.

"Mysterious Item: Hundred Tales."

"Tier: Legendary."

"Effect: A book containing magical power, recording hundreds of true stories of demons and ghosts, gaining the daemon's power during the Hundred Tales ceremony. Soul-Binding Attribute, Plane Gap, Night Parade of a Hundred Demons."

An item of legendary level?!

It was then that Su Ziyu realized the Aoi lantern's gift, this book, was slightly overwhelming, as he had not expected it to be a mysterious item and a legendary one at that.

"Is this the Hundred Tales she wrote back then?" Su Ziyu murmured.

This gift was truly precious.

Perhaps today's events caused the Aoi lantern to feel a bit guilty, after all, she planned to use Su Ziyu against Jiutun Tongzi, but unexpectedly, she felt guilty and gifted Su Ziyu such a valuable present.

Should he keep it or not?

Su Ziyu's expression showed a slight hint of hesitation before ultimately deciding to keep the Hundred Tales.

It's not good to return a gift right after receiving it.

Might as well talk about it tomorrow night. Anyway, he had to return to the Ghost Capital, and as a Soul Guide, he had some tasks to complete. He had also agreed to meet with the Nine Lives Cat on the Vermilion Bird Dao tomorrow.

After leaving the Underworld, it was still a pitch-black night outside.

It was roughly around the dawn hours.

Su Ziyu's figure rose into the air, flying towards Kyoto, quietly returning to the inn where he stayed, closing his eyes for a brief nap.

When daylight arrived.

As Su Ziyu woke up, it was already late morning. He ate a simple meal before heading out to stroll around.

As soon as he stepped outside.

Su Ziyu felt the clover emblem move slightly, and then he saw a fleeting silhouette wearing a light red robe embroidered with cherry blossoms on it along the distant street.

"A demon?" Su Ziyu frowned and followed.

A faintly special scent.

Su Ziyu followed briefly, suddenly losing sight of the figure, surrounded by cherry blossom trees on both sides of the road, at the front stood a torii gate, resembling a shrine, yet it was unclear who was worshipped here.

Wait!

That witch looks very familiar!

Su Ziyu feigned passing by, glancing around, quickly identifying the witch he had met at the site near the collapsed Rashomon, recognizing her from among the Yin Yang Masters who arrived later.

The person was meticulously cleaning the shrine; sensing Su Ziyu's gaze, she slightly raised her head to glance at him.

The demon disappeared here.

But here was a shrine; after observing, Su Ziyu noticed many cherry blossom trees but found nothing else.

Su Ziyu secretly noted down this location and then turned to leave.

"So, here you are!" A faint male voice sounded.

As Su Ziyu passed through a narrow alley, he heard a male voice from behind, and the specter of the Black and White Ghost Emissaries appeared before him. The Black Ghost Emissary handed over a chain and said, "We've been looking for you for quite a while."

"Here is your Soul Hook!"

"The Judge said you're to handle the Vermilion Bird Dao today!"

The daylight seemed to have no effect on the Black and White Ghost Emissaries. Su Ziyu reached out to accept the heavy black chain, nodded and said, "Understood."

"We need to make a trip to Danbo Mountain. Tonight, we're counting on you." The Black and White Ghost Emissaries' figures vanished after speaking.

After they left.

The White Ghost Emissary glanced at the Black Ghost Emissary nearby and asked, "There are a lot of monsters on Vermilion Bird Dao! Can he manage alone?"

"Maybe he can." The Black Ghost Emissary quietly replied, "Otherwise, the Judge wouldn't have entrusted him with it. Plus, there's the Bone Girl guarding nearby. In life, she was a samurai's daughter, quite a formidable yokai."

"Let's go."

"Trouble at Danbo Mountain is growing incessantly!"

........