Hearing Hachishaku-sama's plea and her begging tone, both Yui Yuigahama and Miko were stunned.
What was this situation?
Hachishaku-sama wanted Ye Xing to take her away?
What the hell?
How did interrogation turn into developing feelings?
Could this be the legendary Stockholm syndrome?
Were they acting out some ghostly romance now?
As the person involved, Ye Xing remained completely calm upon hearing Hachishaku-sama's shocking request. His expression didn't flicker, as if he'd anticipated this all along. He simply smiled and said:
"It seems you still have some sense."
A Gate was a bridge between two worlds.
Or, to put it more bluntly—
In a way, a Gate broke the boundary between life and death.
Whether due to her unique nature or sheer coincidence, Hachishaku-sama, who had merged with a Gate, was no longer an ordinary evil spirit. She could traverse between worlds and kill humans by dragging them into the Reverse World's Kyoto.
To other evil spirits who craved human souls but couldn't obtain them, such an ability was priceless.
Was Hachishaku-sama strong?
Relatively so. After all, she was a famous evil spirit, and merging with a Gate made her superior to ordinary spirits.
But how many evil spirits lurked in this Reverse World Kyoto?
How many unknown horrors hid within those thick black mists?
If things continued this way, Hachishaku-sama would meet only one fate—
Being devoured by stronger evil spirits who coveted the Gate's power.
Evil spirits feared death, too.
Moreover, Hachishaku-sama had personally experienced the agony of being slowly devoured.
She was terrified of Ye Xing.
But by that same logic—
If even she feared him, other evil spirits would too.
As the saying goes, a fine bird chooses its perch.
Was it shameful?
Not at all.
"In that case..."
Ye Xing's smile faded as he spoke slowly.
"Let's form a contract."
In Miko's original experience, she had formed a contract with the gods of the shrine.
The terms were simple: she offered everything in exchange for three instances of divine intervention.
This showed that in contracts, humans usually got the short end of the stick.
But now, the situation was completely reversed.
Under the astonished gazes of Yui and Miko, Ye Xing made an offer they never expected:
"The contract's condition is that you become my aide."
Ye Xing's first sentence sounded quite normal, but what followed completely changed the tone.
"Six working days a week with one day off, at least twelve effective working hours per day. If you fail to complete the tasks I assign within the stipulated time, you'll have to work overtime without pay, and your bonus will be deducted."
"Holidays follow a shift system. You can take time off, but any missed working hours must be made up during regular days."
"Even during non-working hours, you must be on call. If I summon you by name, you must appear immediately; otherwise, it counts as a full day's absence."
"In return, your weekly wage is the right to devour one evil spirit, plus my protection."
Here, Ye Xing paused before continuing.
"Oh, and the final interpretation rights of this contract belong solely to me."
"If there are no issues, we have a deal."
Both Yui Yuigahama and Miko Yotsuya were stunned.
Good grief, even evil spirits get exploited?
You deserve to be hung from a lamppost!
Faced with this extremely unequal contract, Hachishaku-sama had no choice but to nod with a humiliated expression.
No choice really.
If you don't sign, plenty of others will.
If Hachishaku-sama won't become an asset, countless other evil spirits would compete for the position.
Take it or leave it.
Seeing Hachishaku-sama's nod, Ye Xing could feel a subtle connection forming between them.
Just as the old man had said.
The concept of contracts was an ancient, unbreakable covenant between humans and spirits that had endured to this day.
"Little Hachi."
Ye Xing walked over and patted Hachishaku-sama's shoulder before helping her up, nodding approvingly.
"With me, your future's limitless. Work hard, and together we'll grow stronger, achieving new glories."
"Sooner or later, we'll crush those so-called Four Great Evil Spirits - Emperor Sutoku, Sugawara no Michizane, Shuten-dōji, and Nurarihyon."
"You must grow with the company, realise your personal... well, spiritual value, understand?"
Miko facepalmed with a sigh, thinking, 'Now he's selling her dreams?'
But, to her surprise, upon hearing Ye Xing's words, Hachishaku-sama actually looked delighted and nodded obediently.
"Mhm mhm, I'll work hard under your guidance!"
Though an evil spirit, in her centuries of existence, no one had ever fed her such promises before.
To Miko, the scene resembled a naive country girl arriving in the city, being tricked by some unscrupulous boss into becoming a hostess.
Too abstract to properly describe.
Having dispensed these grand promises, Ye Xing finally nodded in satisfaction. Leading Miko, Yui and Sable, they passed through the Gate conjured by Hachishaku-sama, returning to the real world's Kyoto.
Hachishaku-sama, now merged with a Gate, was practically his dream tool spirit.
The Reverse World's Kyoto, ruled by evil spirits, appeared to Miko as a deadly danger zone.
But to Ye Xing...
This place was practically a high-end buffet!
As he devoured more evil spirits, Ye Xing found his nightly operations becoming increasingly difficult.
The difficulty didn't lie in battling the spirits themselves.
It was simply that he couldn't find many evil spirits at all.
The moment they sensed his presence, the evil spirits would flee like stray dogs, immediately making themselves scarce.
Now, with the Reverse World's Kyoto—a place teeming with food—delivered right to his doorstep, the timing couldn't be more perfect.
Of course.
Though Hachishaku-sama could open a Gate anywhere, there were still limitations.
Even if she created one, passing through a Gate was only possible during those two specific time windows.
Moreover, this ability to create a Gate had a seven-day cooldown.
In any case, though there had been some unexpected developments along the way, Miko Yotsuya had awakened her Soul Materialisation ability to combat evil spirits, and they had also gained information about another world.
The gains from this trip left Ye Xing feeling quite satisfied.
"Phew, we're finally back."
After passing through the Gate, Yui Yuigahama rubbed her eyes and pinched her cheek, as if waking from a dream.
Seeing Miko Yotsuya and Ye Xing still standing in front of her, her expression suddenly turned to shock.
"So... that wasn't a dream?"
Ye Xing and Miko both wore expressions of speechlessness.
Damn, Yui Yuigahama's reaction time was so slow it could stretch from Kyoto all the way to Okinawa.
Just then, the door to the master bedroom suddenly opened.
"Haah..."
Yui's mother emerged from the room, yawning.
When she saw three people standing in the living room—one of them being Ye Xing, a boy she'd never met before—she froze on the spot.
"What... are you all doing?"