Watching Hachishaku-sama writhing with her limbs pinned by the pale, ghostly hand's nails, her throat producing agonised howls, both Miko and Yui couldn't help feeling somewhat unsettled.
Maintaining his smile, Ye Xing shrugged nonchalantly.
"Though not the insertion I had in mind, given current circumstances, I suppose I've technically inserted myself into Lady Hachishaku-sama. New achievement unlocked."
Hachishaku-sama turned silent, only fixing him with those pitch-black pupils.
Turning his head, Ye Xing noticed the uncomfortable expressions on Yui and Miko's faces. Chuckling lightly, he shook his head.
"Why that look? Evil spirits don't feel pain. Observe..."
Here, he produced a short jujube-wood dagger from his robes and stabbed it into Hachishaku-sama's arm.
"Gahhh!!!"
Amidst Hachishaku-sama's pained screams, Ye Xing smiled at the two girls.
"See? She's not in pain at all."
Miko and Yui exchanged glances: "..."
Wasn't she... screaming in agony?
Her body was trembling, her features contorted.
How could this not be pain?
Never mind. It didn't matter.
If Ye Xing said it wasn't painful, then it wasn't painful.
Yui remained too shocked to speak.
Though kind-hearted, Miko wasn't naive enough to sympathise with Hachishaku-sama, who had moments ago tried to kill them all.
Looking at the pinned Hachishaku-sama, Ye Xing considered making her solve arithmetic problems.
He wondered...
Between Hachishaku-sama and that white-haired one, who would suffer more?
But amusement could wait. More pressing matters demanded attention.
"Can you stand?"
At Ye Xing's question, Miko bit her lip and shakily rose, leaning against the wall to support her weakened body before nodding.
"Yes. Combat's difficult, but walking should be manageable."
"Then let's move indoors."
Hearing this, Yui paled, staring at Hachishaku-sama and the pale, ghostly hand restraining her as she stammered:
"Y-Ye Xing... y-you're not planning to... bring those things into my home?"
"Naturally."
Ye Xing gestured down the corridor, remarking calmly:
"Though you might want to check. I suspect this is no longer your apartment building."
Yui Yuigahama walked to the railing of the corridor and followed the direction Ye Xing was pointing. The sight before her made her instinctively cover her mouth in shock, her pupils dilating.
"This... what's going on...?"
The apartment building where she lived was in a bustling area of Kyoto City. From the corridor, one could see many office buildings.
But now.
All Yui Yuigahama could see in her field of vision was a pitch-black Kyoto City.
Not a single glimmer of light, only thick, churning darkness, and beneath those black waves, certain "presences" that seemed to be stirring restlessly.
"How could... even at one in the morning, it shouldn't be like this..."
Kyoto was a very prosperous metropolis, not some rural backwater.
Even at 1 a.m., it was impossible for there to be no lights visible at all, not even street lamps.
The darkened Kyoto City exuded an eerie, deathly silence that sent a chill down Yui Yuigahama's spine.
"Let's go inside first."
Ye Xing didn't elaborate, merely waving his right hand casually as his pale ghost hand effortlessly lifted the towering Hachishaku-sama like a toy.
"Come, inside with me."
Seeing Ye Xing carry Hachishaku-sama into the house, Yui Yuigahama also moved to Miko Yotsuya's side, supporting her as they entered with Sable. She carefully closed the main door behind them, hesitating for a moment before double-locking it.
The moment Miko sat down on the living room sofa, before even catching her breath, she urgently began questioning.
"What on earth is happening outside?"
Ye Xing remained calm. First, he used his pale, ghostly hand to pin Hachishaku-sama upright against the wall before slowly explaining.
"Have you ever wondered why a Gate takes the form of a door?"
This statement left Yui Yuigahama, who was unaware of the context, utterly baffled.
Why would a door be shaped like a door?
Why would a fish be a fish?
Why would a human be human?
If you're not a fish, how can you know the fish's joy?
If you're not me, how can you know I don't know the fish's joy?
If you're not me, how can you know I don't know whether you know the fish's joy?
If you're not me...
An infinite loop?
Does Ye Xing study philosophy too?
Miko Yotsuya shook her head and replied bluntly.
"Honestly, I've never thought about that."
Ye Xing shrugged.
"From what we can see now, the effect a Gate has on evil spirits and spectres might not originate from the Gate itself, but from the other world it connects to."
"Another world?!"
At this point, Yui Yuigahama could no longer hold back.
"Don't tell me... we're in another world right now?"
"That should be the case."
As someone who had already crossed worlds, Ye Xing knew far too many bizarre settings.
If evil spirits and spectres existed, then a mirrored version of Kyoto City, akin to Silent Hill, wouldn't be strange at all.
"So you're saying..."
Miko mused thoughtfully.
"That the power causing mutations in evil spirits and spectres from a Gate is actually just the influence of energy leaking through the cracks from another world?"
As she pieced this together, a chill ran down Miko's spine.
Merely the energy emanating from another world through a Gate could cause such devastation.
And now...
They had actually stepped into another world, one resembling Kyoto City yet completely different?
What kind of terrifying monsters might be lurking within those thick black mists?
"Anyway, we're already here."
Ye Xing spread his hands.
"You two rest in the bedroom for a while. Leave the living room to me as a private space."
His gaze shifted to Hachishaku-sama pinned against the wall, revealing a poisonous smile.
"I think..."
"No, no, absolutely not!"
Miko nearly jumped off the sofa in alarm, hastily protesting.
"What are you planning? Don't tell me you've been bewitched by this evil spirit? Have you forgotten her true form?"
Miko's concern wasn't unfounded.
In some legends, Hachishaku-sama lured underage boys to their deaths.
Though Ye Xing wasn't exactly a boy, he was indeed underage.
If Hachishaku-sama had enchanted him, the consequences would be unthinkable!
"What are you imagining? I have standards, alright?"
Seeing Ye Xing's righteous expression, before Miko could sigh in relief, he continued.
"My standard is: everything's fine except the Monkey King."