CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 17: REACHING A CONSENSUS (PART 2)

It’s just slightly different from what he felt when he previously stepped into the Constant Dark Domain of the Ox-headed Ghost; it’s not as unbearably heavy, and the energy drain isn’t ridiculously fast, relatively slowing down quite a bit.

Is it because his current Physique Attribute has reached 12 points, increasing by two points? It might be that, but it might also be because the Demon Ghost that opened this Constant Dark Domain isn’t as powerful as the Ox-headed Ghost.

The black-haired girl also raised her eyebrows slightly, reaching to press the sword at her waist, feeling the bloodline within her that had just calmed down recently becoming active again.

Using Demon Qi and Demonic Power to influence the space of the Mortal World to form a Constant Domain akin to the Mortal World is something almost all Demon Ghosts can do; it’s their inherent instinct. Being non-human beings from the Mortal World, they naturally understand how to use their own power to influence and change their environment to make their actions and battles in the Mortal World more advantageous.

However, this usually just results in a small-scale atmosphere formed by the flow of Demon Qi, while upgrading to Constant Darkness, turning the atmosphere domain into an inherent domain, doesn’t just significantly increase the area, but also greatly enhances the effect, indicating that the ones achieving this are no ordinary Demon Ghosts.

Though she has similarly hunted many such Lords of Constant Darkness, she won’t be overly careless or arrogant.

Because within the Constant Dark Domain, as a human, she will be suppressed, but the bloodline of the Demon will start to become active, causing her physical and mental state and behavior to lean more towards the demon side... She dislikes this, and lacks the confidence to control herself during Demonization’s frenzy.

Thus, now that there’s another Constant Darkness at the back mountain shrine, she must be extra cautious; if her demon bloodline, which had just calmed down, is triggered again repeatedly in a short period, she may likely fall into Demonization.

At this moment—

The black-haired girl furrows her brows slightly as she sees the person in front of her come to a stop and turn to gaze intently at her forehead, making her pause, then reflexively turn her face slightly and tightly purse her lips.

Again, it’s that peculiar gaze...

Indeed, this person is no different from the others...

"Though it might be a little presumptuous, Ah Xiu, I’d still like to ask, could I take a photo with you?"

Next moment, a somewhat enthusiastic voice comes through, as the strange person waves a small, delicate item in front of her, smiling broadly as they speak to her.

Initially, due to the angle, it wasn’t visible, but now moving together, watching the girl step into the Constant Darkness, a pair of gold, noble, and exquisite Ghost Horns faintly emerges on her forehead, causing Gu Mo to be unable to resist his impulse and take out his phone.

Anyway, in a while, I should be leaving, whether to commemorate this girl before my eyes or to commemorate my first proper battle, I have to leave something behind—he thought this as he sincerely requested Ah Xiu.

"Hmm?"

Hidechika pauses again, wondering if it isn’t because of the discovery of her Half-Demon identity that they feel disgusted?

And photo... what is that?

"Oh, well, this is... hmm, a local specialty from our hometown, it has a function called taking pictures, which is like preserving the current scenery like creating a drawing... hmm, let me show you, it’s like this, wait, I’ll turn on the flash, don’t be nervous, it will flash for a moment..."

Seeing the girl’s confusion and puzzlement, Gu Mo enthusiastically comes closer, gesturing with the phone to explain.

This task is somewhat challenging, as he tries hard to think of a way to make this perfectly normal occurrence for modern people into something Hidechika can understand.

Just the more he explains, the more confused the black-haired girl’s expression becomes, leading him to simply switch to camera mode and take a shot of the mountain path ahead... With a gentle click, the flash briefly illuminates the darkness.

The photo was successfully taken; although there is no signal or network, the phone’s basic functions remain unaffected.

He opened the photo, nodded in satisfaction, and handed it over for the opposite girl to inspect.

The black-haired girl merely took a glance and slightly widened her eyes, unable to contain her shock as she looked at the mountain path ahead, then again at the image displayed inside the small box... It was evidently quite new and a bit too novel for her.

"Just like this, come on, let’s take a photo together, smile—cheese—"

Following this, Gu Mo stood beside the bewildered girl, extending his arm and swiftly taking a selfie with the phone in front, moving so quickly it seemed he feared she might notice and refuse.

Looking at the new photo displayed on the phone, in the eerie gray forest, the background showed a winding stone stair mountain path, and above, a shrine gate faintly visible. He posed with a cheesy V-sign with his fingers while standing beside the veiled black-haired girl, looking valiant...

There was a slight trace of nervousness and unnaturalness in her expression, along with a bit of confusion in her eyes; nonetheless, it didn’t clash with the heroic spirit between her eyebrows, nor did it bring much incongruity, rather the appropriate contrast made her charm appear more innocently cute.

It’s just a pity the face is hidden, so you can’t see the full appearance...

Gu Mo felt a bit regretful, glanced at the still dazed Hidechika, considered it, but didn’t ask further, realizing that after all, it would indeed be too presumptuous.

Thinking carefully, it seems there’s no difference, as he already knows her true appearance, thinking along these lines, he ceased to be troubled, looked at the road ahead, and asked, "Hey, can I take a few more photos later for commemoration as well?"

Since it’s all for commemoration, taking a few more shots seems fine, especially since the first photo truly doesn’t convey much; it’s best to capture Ah Xiu’s fighting grace, which should quickly reveal this as a real-life ’Nioh 2’ cosplay online...

Take a few more shots?

Hidechika blinked, unsure what to say for a moment.

"Not opposing is good, then we’ve reached an agreement!" The person before her spoke joyfully and shook her hand up and down a few times.

What kind of agreement?

She clearly didn’t say anything, right?

The girl bit her lower lip, with all her life experience combined she didn’t know how to handle this situation, plus the person didn’t seem to know she couldn’t speak and hadn’t asked about it, or perhaps they just think she’s the silent type, so if she doesn’t voice opposition, it’s taken as consent?

That must be it, she thought, watching the other party fidget with the small box then resume walking forward, letting out a helpless sigh and having no choice but to catch up quickly, her mind still a bit jumbled, unable to stop thinking about the earlier photo.

As the black-haired girl wandered a bit in thought, movements suddenly sounded ahead, snapping her focus into place, only to see a small Hungry Ghost burst onto the path, already slashed open at its bulging belly, golden essence diffusing into the air.

Gu Mo shook the sword in his hand; this weapon was much sharper than the previous hatchet.

It’s said that familiarity breeds skill; doing anything numerous times repetitively in a short period inherently becomes proficient, and slaughtering small Hungry Ghosts is no exception.

—From initially treating it as an intense challenge, battling with a near wasteful expenditure of Physical Strength and horrendous combat just to safely ensure killing one small Hungry Ghost...

—To now gradually gaining confidence, having acquired some experience, starting to relax and consciously adjust and optimize combat methods to pursue efficiency, targeting weak points for quick and effective enemy kills, conserving Physical Strength...

"Eh?"

His sharp eyes suddenly spotted light gradually emanating from the body of the small Hungry Ghost, collecting into a cluster, eventually forming into a white dot floating about ten centimeters above the corpse.

Something dropped? Slashing throughout this journey without seeing a single hair, he began thinking there was no loot-drop mechanism after monster kills!

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