Half an hour later, inside the bedroom.
"So that's how it is."
After listening to Miko's explanation, Yui Yuigahama nodded with a somewhat comprehending expression.
"So the things you and Ye Xing usually talk about are all about these matters? I thought... hehe."
Seeing Yuigahama Yui still acting so naive and clueless at this point, Miko Yotsuya couldn't help rolling her eyes and said irritably:
"Aren't you scared at all?"
"I am, but being scared won't help."
Miko showed a hint of surprise in her eyes, thinking Yuigahama Yui was actually quite strong-willed. Most normal girls would have been reduced to hysterical tears by now in this situation.
Though it might just be that her nerves were too thick.
"Anyway, the good news is your mother wasn't brought into this place. Hachishaku-sama is in this otherworld with us, so you don't need to worry about her safety."
Just as Miko finished speaking, they suddenly heard a woman's sobbing coming from the living room outside the bedroom door.
Following this came Ye Xing's unmistakably villainous tone, delivered with a cold laugh.
"Crying? Crying counts as time, too!"
The two girls and the dog all fell silent.
After a long pause, Yuigahama finally snapped out of it and cautiously asked:
"Um... is it really okay to leave Hachishaku-sama alone with Ye Xing like that?"
Miko shook her head with a calm expression.
"Don't worry about Ye Xing. Judging by Hachishaku-sama's attitude when she first saw him, she's clearly terrified of him."
"Oh... I see. That's good then."
Yuigahama gave an awkward laugh, thinking to herself that she wasn't actually worried about Ye Xing.
Given the current situation, shouldn't Hachishaku-sama be the one they should be concerned about?
The sobbing from the living room continued, interspersed with the woman's trembling words.
...
Nearly an hour later.
"You can come out now."
Hearing Ye Xing's words, the two girls who'd been intensely curious about the living room situation immediately opened the bedroom door and stepped out.
The sight that greeted them in the living room left them momentarily stunned.
Ye Xing was lounging on the sofa with his legs crossed, looking thoroughly satisfied.
Meanwhile, the towering figure of Hachishaku-sama - though now noticeably diminished in height from nearly 2.5 metres to just over 2 metres, her form somewhat blurred and her clothes dishevelled - was cowering in the corner with a meek, submissive demeanour.
The two girls exchanged glances, seeing identical confusion reflected in each other's eyes.
Just who was the evil spirit and who was the human here?
To those in the know, this was Ye Xing interrogating the evil spirit Hachishaku-sama.
But to an outside observer, the scene carried the unmistakable atmosphere of that infamous Water Margin episode where corrupt official Gao Qiu's adopted son successfully seduced Lin Chong's wife.
"Hey."
Miko moved closer to Ye Xing and tugged at his sleeve, whispering:
"What exactly did you do to her?"
Ye Xing answered matter-of-factly:
"Interrogation."
"What kind of interrogation could possibly produce results like this?"
"Oh, it's simple."
Ye Xing's voice carried amusement as he calmly revealed words that sent chills down Miko's spine:
"I told her that for every question I asked, if I didn't get an answer, I would devour part of her."
"Of course, I exercised great control - making sure each time was painful enough to be effective, but not enough to make her dissipate."
"This Reverse World is quite different from our usual one. Evil spirits recover much faster here, which makes things more convenient for me."
"See? After just over an hour and devouring her less than two hundred times, she's already obediently confessed."
Miko Yotsuya felt a chill run down her spine, involuntarily sucking in a sharp breath.
This method of torture...
Wasn't this death by a thousand cuts?
No wonder.
No wonder Hachishaku-sama, who had been so ferocious earlier, was now in such a state.
Who could withstand that?
Just hearing Ye Xing describe it made Miko shudder, even making her suspect this guy might have some sadistic tendencies.
"Ah, I can't take it anymore."
At that moment, Ye Xing suddenly clutched his forehead, looking utterly exhausted as he collapsed onto the sofa.
Seeing this, Yui Yuigahama rushed over, exclaiming in unison with Miko:
"What's wrong?"
"Can't... can't go on."
Ye Xing waved his hand weakly, his brows furrowed in obvious pain.
"Summoning the ghost hand twice and maintaining it for so long... I can barely suppress the side effects of the evil spirit power now. I've got no combat ability left."
"No, no, I'm losing control..."
Gritting his teeth, Ye Xing appeared to be enduring excruciating pain. To Miko, it felt like her own heart was being clenched.
"Red is destruction, blue is indifference, green is disguise, white is nothingness, yellow..."
"Yellow... what was yellow again?"
Ye Xing muttered to himself, the pain on his face suddenly vanishing.
"Ah, right, yellow is for me."
"Huh?"
Both Miko and Yui were dumbfounded.
Weren't you about to lose control?
Weren't you completely powerless just now?
Recovered that quickly?
What's going on?
Ye Xing glanced at Hachishaku-sama, who was cowering in the corner without moving a muscle, looking utterly submissive, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Mm, seeing how weak and pained I appeared just now, yet you didn't seize the opportunity to attack, it seems you've truly submitted. So the information you provided earlier can tentatively be considered truthful."
Miko Yotsuya was momentarily stunned before understanding dawned on her.
So Ye Xing's agonised appearance earlier had been an act?
The whole performance was for Hachishaku-sama's benefit.
If Hachishaku-sama had seized the moment to attack, it would have proven that the information extracted under interrogation was likely fabricated.
Even evil spirits were being outmanoeuvred.
Truly, Ye Xing was an experienced exorcist.
That's what she thought.
Yet Miko couldn't shake a strange surge of anger. Her right hand clenched into a fist and swung out, only to land lightly on Ye Xing's shoulder.
"You couldn't have given me a heads-up? You had me worried for nothing."
"Now that's unfair."
Ye Xing maintained his usual lazy demeanour, entirely unbothered.
"Summoning that ghost hand twice and maintaining it that long did actually take a considerable toll."
Hearing this, Miko remembered a question she'd meant to ask. "Speaking of which, how many times can you summon that pale hand?"
"Hmm... never properly tested, but I'd estimate around twenty times."
"Twenty!?"
Miko was shocked.
"Your 'considerable toll' was just one tenth?"
"Of course."
Ye Xing nodded with complete seriousness.
"Haven't you heard the saying?"
"What saying?"
"For any seasoned RPG player, 99% HP counts as critically injured, and below 95% is practically on death's door."