People do many foolish things in their lives, especially when they are young.
At that time, they are not very mature, so when they look back at the things they did a few years later, after maturing, they feel an urge to slap themselves.
Mature people learn from these experiences, so they don't do such self-slapping foolish things again in the future.
What about immature people? They also make up their minds, slap themselves hard a few times, and make themselves remember the lesson.
But then! When the situation arises, they do whatever they were going to do, having long forgotten about the slaps.
After doing it, they look back and slap themselves again, repeatedly.
They slap, then do it, then do it, then slap again, in a cycle.
Inoyue also slapped herself, and this slap was remembered; she believes that in similar situations in the future, she will definitely not do such foolish things again.
Is there a future?
In this situation, most people might have already given up, then sat on the ground, reflecting on their lives, quietly spending their remaining hours.
Inoyue was an exception among ordinary people; she did not want to die, so she did not give up.
The cave was only a little over three hundred square meters, not a large place, but she searched every inch of it, hoping to find a hidden exit.
The cave ceiling, under each treasure chest, and the murals—she checked every single place.
In caves like this, there should generally be secret passages.
In stories and movies, the plot is always like this, which is why Inoyue held onto that sliver of hope.
However, after searching three times, that hope was ultimately shattered.
"This time, I'm really dead for sure," Inoyue said with a bitter smile, sitting on a treasure chest and looking at the dazzling array of jewels.
"Are these useful?"
Perhaps, but at least she couldn't use them.
Maybe after many years, when this place is opened, the person who discovers these treasures will be surprised: there's even a loli's corpse among these treasures.
"After I die, I won't exist anymore, right? After all, things like reincarnation and transmigration are already miraculous once; twice is just wishful thinking."
Speaking of which, this life wasn't bad, was it?
As a man, she did quite well; as a woman, although she was just a loli, she at least experienced it once.
Next time she turns, will she be male or female? Will she still remember this life and her previous one?
When a person is about to die, it's inevitable to reflect on life.
...
The cave, over three hundred square meters, was spacious with plenty of air, but the oxygen wasn't abundant.
Because this place had been buried underground for a long time, and only a tiny bit opened up when it collapsed, how much oxygen could possibly get in?
Inoyue could breathe normally at first, but after reflecting on her life, she felt as if she had reached a high-altitude mountain area, and breathing became more difficult than usual.
Ninja are much stronger than ordinary people, but they will still go through this process; they just last longer.
Upon realizing this phenomenon, it was the prelude to welcoming death.
Her heart inevitably beat faster.
No matter how rational, she couldn't control her nervousness, feeling as if her heart was about to leap out of her throat.
As her heart rate quickened, her breathing became more rapid, and then oxygen consumption would increase accordingly.
Gradually, she felt as if a layer of plastic film had been placed over her head, making breathing somewhat difficult.
After a while, another layer was added, then another layer after a bit more time.
At this point, she no longer knew what nervousness was; she only knew to gasp for air, wanting to breathe.
Inoyue collapsed, falling directly to the ground.
Her breathing became shallow, and there was still some oxygen in the air; such shallow breathing might allow her, who was almost in shock, to last a few more minutes.
Her consciousness began to blur, and her soul seemed to have returned to the underworld.
...
"Is this the Underworld?" Inoyue asked aloud, looking at the waning moon above her head and a faintly glowing guiding path before her.
"Yes, this is the Underworld," a voice came from the surrounding darkness, indistinctly, sounding like a middle-aged man.
"How did you, a human little girl, come here?" The voice questioned.
"Can't I come here? Don't all people enter the Underworld after death?" Inoyue replied curiously.
In this world where all around was dark, with only a winding guiding path emitting light, having a voice to accompany her was indeed much better.
"After death, one does enter the Underworld, but this is the demons' hell; how did you, a little girl, come here?" The voice asked again.
"Demons' hell, are there many demons? How come I haven't seen any?" Inoyue became interested.
She didn't expect such a thing to happen after death.
If she had known this beforehand, perhaps death wouldn't be so scary.
"They all left; only I am left," the voice carried loneliness, desolation, and a deep sense of Vicissitudes (vicissitude).
"Why didn't you leave?" Inoyue continued to walk along the guiding path, and she continued to ask.
She felt a little afraid, afraid that the voice would disappear.
In such an environment, walking alone, no matter how she thought about it, was an extremely terrifying thing.
...
Inoyue listened, because after she asked that question, the voice did not reply.
"Are you still there?" After a long pause, Inoyue quickly asked.
She was truly afraid that the voice would no longer answer, but thankfully, after waiting a few seconds, the voice sounded again.
"Yes, why didn't I leave?" "Perhaps, I wanted to wait for demons I know to come here and reminisce!" The voice answered its own question, as if contemplating the reason why it didn't leave.
"Are you lonely?" The path seemed endless; Inoyue kept walking, wanting to finish the path before the voice stopped.
"Haha! Do children your age even know the word 'lonely'?" The voice chuckled, as if a hint of interest had arisen at the loli knowing the word 'lonely'.
"I do! I'm most afraid of loneliness; being alone, with no one to talk to or anything.
Indeed, whether it's demons or humans, we are all social creatures," Inoyue sighed.
This was a heartfelt sigh; she was a child, but her manner of speaking and expression made people unconsciously think she was a mature adult.
What kind of child at eight years old could give people such a feeling?
The voice seemed to fall into contemplation again; after Inoyue finished speaking, he paused again.
The pitch-black surroundings were silent; Inoyue could only hear her own footsteps, very light footsteps, but in this silent world, they seemed very loud.
"Do you want to hear a story? I can tell you a story." Inoyue's heart tightened because the voice paused longer than before.
"A story?" The voice questioned, then continued, "Can you tell me a story about the demon world?"
Judging by the voice's tone, it didn't seem to expect an eight-year-old loli to have any good stories.
Perhaps he had already discerned that the loli was afraid he wouldn't speak, which was why she suddenly thought of telling him a story.
Since that was the case, he would just listen naturally, after all, in this vast Underworld, it wasn't easy for someone to come and talk.
What kind of demon stories were there?
Inoyue quickly rummaged through her mind for anime and novels she had seen in her previous life.
She couldn't recall any demon stories she had read in novels, but she remembered a ton of anime.
From Hokage Ninja to Shinigami, One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist, and so on—Inoyue dismissed all of these anime because he wanted demons, but there were so few demon anime!
Just as Inoyue was racking her brains in a hurry, a flash of inspiration struck her little head: she had it!
An anime she had watched in her previous life, specifically about demons, but she needed to confirm if it fit the criteria.
"A story about half-demons, is that okay?" Inoyue asked weakly, as if her confidence was a bit lacking.
Because in that anime, true demons really disliked half-demons, and she was afraid this demon was also like that