【Light Cut】Playing hard to get

Before arriving at Seimei’s courtyard, Raikou passed Minamoto’s house. He dismounted from his demon horse and walked around the wall of Genji’s mansion. As he walked, he ran his fingertips across the painted red bricks and tiles, as if he was listening to the message from the mansion itself. Talk and miss.

He looked solemn, with a certain sadness beyond his age and appearance in his eyes, but unfortunately his strange behavior and his rare silver-haired red eyes once again aroused curiosity and harassment for him. Holding a tall horse, he stopped in front of him, lashed at him with a whip: "Hey, who are you? You are sneaking around outside my Genji wall, do you want to steal something at night?"

Lai Guang lowered his fingers caressing the walls of the mansion, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, and he didn't even bother to look up at the young man surnamed Mina who was taller than him because of riding a horse.

The half-demon boy said in a calm tone: "Boy, who do you think you are talking to?" As soon as he finished speaking, the horse that the young master surnamed Yuan was riding knelt down on his front legs without any warning, and threw the person on his back off. go down.

The young man surnamed Yuan screamed in pain, covered his back and twitched like a tapeworm on the ground, Lai Guang glanced at him contemptuously, raised his hand and patted the big black horse walking towards him, snorting happily at him With a slight smile on his forehead, he said, "Your ancestors used to accompany me to gallop thousands of miles, dripping sweat into blood. Although you are in a peaceful age, don't forget the heart of riding the wind and chasing the moon."

The black horse rubbed its forehead against the palm of his hand several times, snorted again, Laiguang scratched its slender jaw, said goodbye to it, and once again rode on his demon horse, leaving Genji's mansion behind.

The half-demon boy arrived at the courtyard of the Great Onmyoji, and Bai Zangzhu, who turned into a human, led him through the courtyard, and whispered before he opened the door and entered the old man's room: "Master Qingming has very little time. , please speak quickly... Please give me more time, I want to stay with my master again."

Raikou lowered his reply with the sound of sliding doors: "Okay."

He stepped into the room, closed the door behind his back, and isolated the worried Bai Zangzhu from the outside. He tapped the door screen behind him with his fingertips, and in an instant, he applied a triple barrier to Patriarch Abe's room, which is used to hide the eyes and ears, and it is strong enough , "Laikou, you are here. Hurry up and give Grandpa a hug, I miss you very much." The old onmyoji couldn't sit up from the sickbed, he could only stretch out a wrinkled hand from under the quilt, toward the The half-demon boy raised his index finger and motioned him to approach, "I thought Onikiri would lock you up and deprive you of the chance to choose... It seems I misunderstood Onikiri. Probably the sword master Fusangshin was also with him. Your growth, let’s grow.”

Looking down at the nearly paralyzed, cloudy eyes, but still smiling at him, expecting him to come forward for a hug, Laiguang couldn't bear it, but he still approached Seimei, sat down beside his couch, and opened his mouth straight : "Qingming, it's me."

This is the first time he doesn't use the title of "grandfather" in his seniority, and there is no trace of the softness and intimacy of his grandson towards the old man he trusts wholeheartedly in his tone. After understanding everything, he couldn't help saying in grief and indignation: "Damn it, why are you a bastard! Bring back my cute little grandson, Minamoto Raimitsu!"

General Ghost Slayer, who reappeared in the form of a half-demon boy, rolled his eyes childishly, and muttered in embarrassment: "I'm sorry to tell you, 'Laikou' is me too. It takes a long time to restore memory, From taking back this eyeball—" He raised his hand and touched his left eye with the three-bladed flower, "—until yesterday, after ten years, I was able to fully integrate with 'Laikou' and get back the original I."

Seimei cleverly caught the key sentence, and couldn't help feeling sad again: "Men Raimitsu, Minamoto Raimitsu, you are so old, why did I have a friend like you! Tell me! What happened to that eyeball?" matter? No matter how much you dare to hide it, I will never let you go even if I am a ghost."

The young man curled his lips, and subconsciously showed Onikiri's small movements when he was uncomfortable, "'Prepare for a rainy day, play hard to get'. I know very well that you will not agree to my request and use this eyeball to seal Onikiri's memory, so I hid it. The last trick is to make this eyeball correspond to the blood pact, and gradually unlock the sealed in the eyeball with the help of the blood and demonic aura that Onikiri gave me—”

"Wait!" The great Onmyoji almost bounced off the bed, tore his hair and hit the wall, "Could it be that you deliberately allowed Onikiri to sneak into the room behind you and deliberately allowed Onikiri to steal the book about the blood contract?" Taboo Notes, but in fact that scroll was written by you to seduce Onikiri?! Damn Minamoto Raimitsu, you know Onikiri too well, you know he will be persistently looking for your reincarnation, and will definitely keep you You are uncompromising, so you deliberately let Onikiri learn the method of concluding a blood contract, and deliberately entrusted this eyeball full of spiritual power to me for safekeeping, just to let Onikiri and I enter your game, and let me and Onikiri worked together to transform 'Laikou' into 'Menen Raimitsu'!You damn guy, in order to achieve your goal, you really didn't even let your own reincarnation go! "

The old man burst into anger, coughed violently, frowned in pain on the sickbed, and let out a tormented sound of "ho ho" from the depths of his chest, "Qingming!" Seeing that the old man was in such a critical state, the young man rushed to him quickly. On his body, he raised his hand to protect his heart, soothed the breath of a half-demon that eased his chaotic heart, and kept calling to him: "Qingming, Grandpa Qingming! Don't be angry! Breathe, breathe—exhale—inhale Angry—Grandpa! Calm down!"

The young man was still anxious, but the old man stopped coughing suddenly, his crooked eyes looked like a sly fox fairy, "Hey, did you call me 'Grandpa' again? Your tone just now was still my cutest little grandson Son... I guessed right, it wasn't you who swallowed Laikou, but Laiguang accepted you. Although the child's consciousness is fully integrated with the memory you sealed into your eyeballs, the habits left by him have already been rooted in you and him. A common soul, just like the breath you gave me just now, it is the breath of fusion of pure evil energy and pure spiritual power... Even if you are stubborn and do not accept any changes, you will still be blamed after all. Only the influence of that child, after all, he is you. 'Only I can persuade myself', I am talking about old stubbornness like you, Minamoto Raimitsu."

The young man whose privacy had been exposed looked down at the old man blankly, and after a while he sighed softly with a bit of annoyance: "That's right. Because Raikou is also me, the traces his experiences and emotions leave on our souls, even I, too, can't be cut off. Sometimes it's true...my thoughts can't catch up with this body's instinctive reaction, and Raikou has already surpassed me permanently, so I can't put my choice above Laiguang's love and hate. "

"For example." The boy took off the hibiscus hairpin that adorned the long ponytail and put it in the palm of his right hand, "Although this hairpin polished by Onikiri is not sharp enough, it is enough to be my weapon for killing ghosts. However, whenever I produce The idea of ​​stabbing Shuten-douji's neck with this hairpin..."

"Clang!" The boy's right hand suddenly began to tremble violently, knocking off the hairpin in his palm. Even though he frowned and squeezed his right wrist tightly with his left hand, he still couldn't suppress the resistance and rebellion of his right hand. He and Qingming seemed to be able to He heard Raikou's angry child's voice through that right hand: How could you hurt Uncle Shuten!I don't allow it!I really hate your behavior of destroying my home, Mr. Laiguang, you idiot!

"Slap!" "Hiss..." Probably Lai Guang started an awkward scene, the scale was as big as three Onikiri, the boy was slapped hard by his right hand, and the pain made him helplessly complain to his neighbor. The child in the soul confesses: I get it, stop now.The idea just now is just an idea, I will not put it into practice.

Immediately, his right hand returned to normal, free from epileptic tremors and spasms.

The young man's aggrieved expression made the old man laugh straight away: "Pfft! Hahaha, he is indeed the most beloved little grandson of this genius!" The wrinkled face smiled, still reminiscent of the handsome beauty of the past, "Minarai, you, it's better not to be hard on yourself. Before Laiguang merged with you, he was a well-behaved child who was loved by all the great rivers and mountains. You are here After using him to regenerate, he still wants to launch the Dajiangshan Retreat, but Lai Guang is so angry that he forces you to commit suicide—he would rather die with you than let you hurt those monsters who loved him. After all, he has the same power as you My original heart and righteousness that cannot be changed."

Seeing the young man drooping his eyelashes, he seemed to silently agree with this statement, Qingming let out a long breath, and said slowly: "But I'm still curious, what is your attitude towards the Yuan family now? I swore a poisonous oath to repay the Yuan family for life and death. I was so afraid of your oath that I restrained myself in every possible way not to look for Laiguang after receiving a letter from eight hundred bhikkhunis after counting Laiguang’s birth...but Afterwards, you also know that Onikiri found Raimitsu and your existence, and fate is like a mirror reflecting the past between you and Onikiri. Onikiri forced and hurt Raikori, but they—— As a result, a new blood contract was concluded, which gave birth to a deeper bond."

"But in terms of the same essence, Laiguang and you are both proud of their human identities. I am worried that Onikiri will force Laiguang to be half-human and half-demon, whether it will bring about a dilemma for the child I am a mixed race. Based on my past experience, I hope that Raikou can avoid detours, so I ordered Onikiri to return to Heian-kyo on the day of Raikou’s adulthood—today, and make a decision on whether to continue to stay in Oeyama choose."

"Minami Raimitsu, knowing that you have merged with Raimitsu... there is one more choice you need to make. One is the choice between Oeyama and Heian-kyo; the other is truly free The choice between the freshmen and the former ghost-slaying general."

"Even if I live a hundred years longer than you with the blood of the fox demon, I still don't know how you will choose. But you have to know that both Onikiri and I hope you can be free and get rid of Genji. The shackles of the surname and worldly delusions will be cut according to the original heart."

Seeing the young man raise his eyelashes, and the crimson pupils gestating a storm like a sword dance, Qingming knew that his heart was touched, so she went further and said with a smile: "Old friend, you once asked the ghost to cut the world's evil thoughts, why do you want to kill the evil spirits in the world?" 'Onikiri', so what is evil? At that time, your favorite sword answered you, 'cut with heart'."

"Menaraikou, you are determined to save the common people in the world, but you cut down countless evil thoughts that bully the good and the weak. You are also an 'onikiri'. But you are not your sword after all, because you are both a human being and a human sword. To reflect the emotions and desires of human beings on the blade, the turbidity and greed will gradually corrode your sharpness, question your definition of evil thoughts, and make your pure ambition to fight for people become cruel and tyrannical that can be blamed. Former source Lai Hikari's original heart has long given way to the title of Patriarch of the Genji family, the identity of General Ghost Slayer, and the glory of a hero whose name will go down in history."

"The bottom line is that you chose not to think about victory or defeat, life and death, but the human beings you fight for, think about victory or defeat, and care about life and death! You judge the goodness of human beings by your good and evil as a human weapon Evil, the slightest loss, the thousands of miles, the curse is deeply entangled in you. Yuan Laiguang, old friend, no matter how much you despise gods, Buddhas and ghosts, your sincere heart of loving human beings is always so humble, and you are so humble. The deep-seated hatred of a beloved human being is the source of your pain."

"To this day, you might as well let go of that pride, learn from your sword, and let Onikiri teach you how to make a real demon-slaying blade. Whether it is good or evil, or good and evil are inseparable, regardless of previous life Debts, or other people's expectations, it is enough to act with a clear heart."

The old Onmyoji paused for a moment, unavoidably exhausted after pouring out his heart to his old friend, and smiled with fatigue: "Let me hear how you choose, old friend."

He thought that he would wait for a long time, or that he would wait for an inscrutable and unintelligible answer full of the personal characteristics of his old friend, but unexpectedly the young man said: "I have studied military art, and I deeply feel that the strategy of playing hard to catch is very mysterious." , even though the world is plundered by monsters and the human world is at stake, we warriors still prefer to kill and make a decision."

"Qingming, when you and I joined hands to bring temporary peace to this world, my body had already shown signs of breaking, so that I had to take precautions, so I remembered the trick of playing hard to get. Although I had no regrets in my previous life, I still I have regrets, one is Onikiri, and the other is that the world is still not settled, and the flag of human beings standing on the earth is still suspected to be shaken. So I set my sights on Dajiangshan—for me, for my treasure, and for me My old enemy and destiny, the great rivers and mountains are all places where fetters and entanglements are unavoidable."

"But more importantly, Dajiang Mountain is located at the junction of Yin and Yang. The terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is the most important and only gate between humans and ghosts. I know that after death and reincarnation, I may not be able to get back. Genji's surname, but if I want to be a stepping stone for human beings to move towards a peaceful and prosperous age, I must regain the power no less than that of 'Minami Raimitsu' again, and use Mount Oe as the front line to guard Kyoto, and I will guard it myself , in exchange for the safety of Gyeonggi with minimal casualties, so as not to let the sea nation's army rush in and threaten the livelihood of the Li people. In addition, if the monsters in Dajiang Mountain intend to invade the east, I can also fulfill my duty of killing ghosts in advance , to reduce the burden on the Genji defenders in Heian-kyo."

"I admit, I used Onikiri again. I used his obsession with me, I induced him to use the blood pact on my reincarnation, and through his evil spirit, let that eyeball become the key to awaken my memory Not only that, but I also hid in the depths of Raimitsu's pure heart, followed Onikiri to Mt. Oe, pierced into the hinterland of the ghost town where I had retreated several times but was still unreachable, and gained the trust and favor of the Oni King. Relying on Raimitsu, I Being able to live in Dajiang Mountain for a long time, I can freely explore the secrets of the junction of Yin and Yang, and realize my long-cherished wish of guarding the gate of ghosts."

"That's the best interpretation of 'playing hard to get' that I've been able to do... I thought it was."

The young man shook his head slowly, grinding his lower lip with his canine teeth, and puffed out his cheeks when he shrugged slightly.Those are small gestures by Raikou, but he unconsciously presented them one by one in the serious dialogue, as if reflecting what he said "I thought it was".

Only to hear the young man whisper again: "I only missed one thing - I would play hard to get, but Onikiri, and Oni King Shuten Doji, they wouldn't. Originally, I just wanted to use Dajiangshan as a place for me. On guarding the frontier and guarding the outpost in Kyoto, Raikou...has recognized Dajiangshan as his home with me. Raikou is pure and clean, he is me, and I am beyond me, but he will produce That kind of thinking... The demons of Dajiangshan first pampered him unconditionally, treated him as a "child of Dajiangshan", respected him, and were willing to let him return to the capital - isn't it all because of Onikiri and Oniwang and other monsters? Playing hard to get?"

The young man held his forehead, and for a while, he didn't know what to say except sighing. Seeing that his old friend rarely showed such a frustrated expression, Qingming couldn't help but said happily: "Haha, I didn't expect Minato Raimitsu, you also have today! You not only lied to ghosts Cut, even I lied, I regretted the tears shed for you, I might as well water the flowers... But you are planted on the top of Dajiang Mountain again, haha! Well done Dajiangshan, Minamoto Raimitsu Serve it right! Hmph."

Qingming gloated, leaving the boy speechless for a while. He looked at his old friend through his fingers, and after holding back for a long time, he couldn't help turning his slander into complaint: "Qingming, how old are you, and you still look like a child?" How do you know that when I blurted out "Uncle Shuten"... Well. In short, Laiguang is a part of me that I love, and he accepted my choice, so I have to respect his nature Heart, even in terms of titles... Sigh. But, anyway, I have achieved the purpose of going deep into the hinterland of the great river and mountain, monitoring the monsters, and spying on the enemy's situation. It’s enough to be exposed, and you can also take advantage of the trust of the King of Ghosts and others in Laiguang, so why not do it.”

After a hundred years, Qingming can still hear the inconsistency in his old friend's words, and the Great Onmyoji couldn't help laughing secretly: So after a hundred years, he still hasn't changed his bad habit of covering up his affection and righteousness with thinness and ignorance.What surveillance, what spying, what use, he was just looking for excuses to return to Dajiangshan.

The old man said with a smile to the young man: "Okay, yes, yes, no problem, you are right. So you chose Dajiangshan instead of Pinganjing?"

The young man looked away, as if he was unwilling to express his feelings directly on this question, but Qingming refused to let go, so he had no choice but to reply in a roundabout way: "When I woke up again, Genji had already changed his appearance, even though he was still a bit unworthy, the aura of the back waves But it is very majestic, those children with the Genji surname have their own brilliance, and the splendor left in the history is no less than mine, so that the Genji without me is still as endless as the gentian."

"Even if I don't want to admit it, without my sword, Genji's arsenal still has sufficient reserves, and the Genji's children are like endless sword arrays, defending the human territory day and night; without my Heianjing, it's just fine, Humans are not broken, and they will never stop for me."

"What's more, Laiguang really doesn't like the Genji family. I definitely didn't expect that child to be hurt by the Genji people like this... He insisted that I owed Genji, and he has repaid it. If I really return to Genji, He will definitely make a lot of noise in my ears, cry and scream all night long, and will not stop until he returns to Dajiangshan, making me restless, tied up, and can only be a useless knife. In the end, he will be kicked out by Genji... Sigh .I have never obeyed anyone in my past and present lives, but I will obey that child Laiguang."

The young man raised his forehead again like an old man lamenting his grandson's stubbornness, Seimei couldn't help laughing, and said happily, "Raikou was brought up by Onikiri himself, and he learned ten percent of Onikiri's irritable and stubborn side. , you can only suffer if you fight against him. But then again, it is not shameful for you to lose to Raikou, because the most difficult thing to defeat is yourself. Go and stay free."

Hearing Qingming's words, the young man seems to have fallen into deep thought again, but Qingming can see the serene smile of his old friend hidden in the shadow of his bangs, so he knows that his heart knot has been solved, and he will no longer be attached to the surname "Yuan" in the future, and will It's just "Raikou", and it can only be "Raikou".

The last concern of the Great Onmyoji was finally resolved, so he slightly adjusted his sleeping position on the couch, folded his hands in front of his chest, and exhaled lightly and slowly: "Both The choice has been made, go back to Dajiangshan, old friend. Onikiri's duplicity child must be waiting anxiously, but he still has to put on a confident look in front of the Dajiangshan monsters, haha..."

The old man smiled twice, looked at the young man's face benevolently, and said openly like knowing his destiny: "Besides, I have been waiting for Lai Guang and you to grow up, and I have lived for ten years, and I really can't hold it today. .It will probably be sunset in the evening, and I will leave this world too.”

The old man closed his eyes and opened them again, the blood in his eyes disappeared, and his blue pupils stared straight at the young man: "Minato Raimitsu, a hundred years ago, you entrusted me with the important task of guarding Heianjing to me, who is still young. I will give it back to you who are still young, Raiko."

The young man replied before the old man finished speaking: "Leave it to me, Qingming."

But the old man bent his eyes and said, "What's the rush? I haven't finished talking yet. What's different from a hundred years ago is that today you have to protect both Heianjing and Dajiangshan. If you can do this at the same time, maybe you will Two contradictory things, my old friend?"

The boy's answer was still sonorous like pearls and jade splashing down: "I will definitely be able to do it, Grandpa Qingming."

The old man smiled happily: "Okay, I believe in you, my old friend, my little grandson!"

The young man quickly approached him, gave him a tight hug, then reinserted the hibiscus hairpin on the ponytail, and looked back before opening the sliding door, "Goodbye, Qingming, you are my best friend, He is also my best grandfather."

The Great Onmyoji nodded with a smile, and watched the young man turn and leave, as if watching a part of the past be dusted, and the new picture scroll cast its first fiery colors, like drawing a sword out of its sheath for the first time after being scorched by fire. Longming, the air shook the mountains and rivers.

"May you always cherish the heart of youth and never fall into the blue sky."

"May your martial luck prosper and last forever."

"May you become the 'Onikiri' that cuts off the world's delusions like evil spirits, the most powerful blade in the future, Laikou."

The old man finished his last blessing softly, greeted Master Baizang with a smile and embraced him after rushing into the room, and will be accompanied by his first and last Shikigami, and will cross life and death leisurely, because he has no regrets in this life , and no regrets, nor alone.

After all, he is a great onmyoji—Abe Seimei!