Chapter Forty-Three: Not Going

  Her name is Yakumo Yuko...

  A great demon who had lived for over a thousand years, as for why she came back here, it could only be said that it was a coincidence. She moved through the gap and arrived here in an instant. At first, she thought someone had ambushed her, but then she saw a 'ghost' staying in a rather strange house.

  A very strange house, although there are doors inside, but other places can't see any doors or windows leading to the outside world, it's like a tight cage!

  She's been feeling down lately due to some things.

  When she's in a bad mood, nobody looks good to her. In an unfamiliar place with an unpleasant mood, she didn't even bother talking to the other person before throwing punches... But that's not the point!

  The key is that the ghost in her hand actually holds a treasure that makes her heart move, and even from a distance, she can feel the energy inside that is filled to the extreme. Although it doesn't match her attributes, absorbing it will waste a considerable part of it, but even so, the boost it gives her afterwards is not small.

  Monsters don't need reason!

  If you really want a reason, this is it!

  A mere ghost dares to smile at me? You're looking for death!

  With a wave of her hand, the entire hall was swept clean three times, and she had almost been ridiculed by Jiǔ Mìng nine times. Unable to find a way to deal with Jiǔ Mìng for now, she decided to... temporarily put aside their conflict?

  Let it be for now.

  "How about you accept two more of my commissions?" Yakumo Yukari's mouth corners were slightly raised in a smile, "There aren't many existences that can make me introduce them on my own initiative, so just call me Yakumo Yukari."

  Yakumo Yukari... Eh!?

  "My name is Jiǔ Mìng."

  Yakumo's purple eyes twitched slightly at the corners, and his smile grew even wider. "What a coincidence."

  That tone just now... If you can't even see that you're ignoring the reason why you were attacked, how can you still smile? How dare you still smile?

  "Hmm, should I thank the god stick for giving me a name?" Nine Lives chuckled and gathered up the sealed cards on the tea table, including the one with the super-energy crystal. "Two commissions, if they can offset such a high difference, it must be very difficult to do, but you really don't plan to use your own ability anymore?"

  About spatial type capabilities!

  "As a matter of fact, I have another business here." Jiǔ Mìng thought for a moment, "Actually, you can choose partial transactions."

  "What did you say?"

  "It's just a part of the ability, similar to that defective electrical one. As long as you have a few points left from the original, it won't eliminate your own ability. The more you trade out, the weaker your ability will become. Of course, you can also re-cultivate it afterwards."

  However, what you need to pay attention to is that this is a separation at the source level, and it won't be easy to recover your original abilities just because of your past experiences and achievements. To put it bluntly, the difficulty of practicing back to your previous level is not lower than before!

  "Oh ho?" Yakumo Yukari burst out laughing, unsure if it was mockery or genuine delight at Kurenai's good intentions, "You really are a serious little shopkeeper."

  After calming down, I looked at him and chatted with him for a while, feeling that the little devil in front of me didn't seem so annoying after all.

  Based on the assumption that the other party is not human.

  "Huh? Cough! Of course, because it's only a partial transaction, the speed boost after others load it will definitely not be as good as the full version, so when trading with me, the price is on the low side... very low!"

  Where's the scam? Where's the black-hearted businessman? Where's the part where you make the other person bleed and cut their flesh?

  Alas, it can't be done!

  "Why didn't I see relevant content above?"

  Yakumo Yuko waved the small booklet in her hand.

  "That's just a rough introduction, the rest is up to the store manager's self-awareness, yeah, that's right."

  So if you don't want to be cheated, try to build a good relationship with the store owner!

  "How is that part calculated?" If it's just a partial loss, it might not be unacceptable, for herself it's only a temporary weakening, as for completely abandoning the ability to hide in the gaps? She could only say absolutely impossible!

  At least not until she encounters an event that truly requires her to abandon this ability!

  "Let's put it this way." Jiǔ Mìng knocked on the tea table, and a faint light screen appeared on top of it, "In terms of scoring, the previous Thunder Pearl scored 14,300, while your hidden ability is 88,888.8..."

  "Hmph." She hummed softly twice, and Yakumo Yukari narrowed her eyes at Kuroyukihime, "Little shopkeeper, you're not being entirely honest either. If that's all there is to it, the real value difference wouldn't be just six times, would it?"

  Is it just six times?

  Even if it's doubled, there's no problem!

  This is just for humans. For a mysterious shop, it doesn't matter what value this thing has, they'll give you whatever price they want to give you, ignoring all external factors and other considerations!

  Do you have an opinion?

  If you have an opinion, keep it to yourself and hold onto your valuables!

  Anyway, they won't forcibly take it back here, of course if you kneel down... Hehe!

  "Ah, I'm a merchant after all... but it seems like I'm not the type to take advantage of people." Jiǔ Mìng let out a soft sigh, seemingly feeling a little regretful that he didn't have the talent for being ruthless. "For partial transactions, aside from the discounts based on the stripping ratio, there will also be other discounts... and the lowest limit is random!"

  It's not that absolute either. The Nine Lives know a range of 2 to 10 times, and as for which one specifically, it depends on the evaluation by the mysterious shop.

  "It's a loss, can be exchanged for something else."

  Jiu Ming began to feel that the shopkeeper of the mysterious store was not quite right, because from his perspective on the true value of items, he couldn't possibly exchange one thing for another of equal price unless the other party was an idiot who didn't know the true value of what they had.

  Exchanging gold for bricks, in terms of weight, is a profit, but in terms of value... Find a tall building with a good view and take a leap of faith to calm your mood?

  "Let's put this aside for now and talk about the entrustment instead."

  Yuyuko Saigyouji changed the subject.

  "Go on, say something."

  "First, find someone from the Saiinji Temple and kill her! Of course, if you happen to run into Saiinji's bald donkey along the way, go ahead and take care of him too."

  "Uh... is there an advantage in killing him?"

  "What's with the good review?" Yakumo Yukari gazed at Kokoro with a light and airy expression, "Not very dignified at all."

  "Let's talk about the second one." Jiǔ Mìng shook his head, killing people for no reason? It was completely unsuitable for him, he was a mysterious (self-proclaimed) merchant, not that kind of unscrupulous hitman who did things for money.

  "Recently, I found a rather unsightly and not-so-powerful flower spirit. Originally, I wanted to take care of it personally, but due to some matters, I couldn't spare the time. Can you help me with this? By the way, the opponent is only slightly less good-looking than me..."

  Doesn't look good at all? Why does it always feel so weird?

  Why don't you just go ahead and do it yourself if it sounds so easy? Is it really that coincidental? And what's with the last sentence, especially the part with the implied meaning.

  "No way!" Without even a moment's thought, Jiǔ Mìng directly opened his mouth and refused.

  "Huh?" Knowing that Kurenai would refuse, but not expecting her to be so blunt, Yakumo Yuko let out a small gasp. "Not even considering it for a moment? Although I don't plan on giving up my ability as a dimensional gap, temporarily weakening it is still bearable."

  "It's not your fault." Jiǔ Mìng waved his hand solemnly, "It's mine, I don't want to do this kind of thing."

  "Hmph, I had forgotten that even as a ghost, you were human in life." Yukari Yakumo said with a faint cold smile.

  "This has nothing to do with stance, first of all those people from Xihang Temple are all bad guys?"

  "A group of people who believe in eradicating monsters."

  "Doesn't distinguish between right and wrong?"

  "What do you think?!"

  "Is that so." Jiǔ Mìng nodded, "If it's like that, then we've encountered..."

  "Hmph, you've met me and can't help but want to take action, unless you want to die again." Yakumo Yukari let out a light hum, her words filled with strong disdain.

  "Dying once more doesn't matter, after all it's not the first time, it's just a question of when I'll make my choice... Alright, let's not talk about this for now. What about the second thing, that flower demon, why are you trying to trick me into death?"

  Nine lives were lost, and the cheeks were pinched for a good while. He also saw that the girl in front of him seemed to be stalling for time. Alas, it's said that mind games are the most tiring thing, how many brain cells die in one exchange!

  Do you want to drag on time trying to find out why you can ignore my attack?

  Yes, it's simple, just lean your face over...

  In addition to those two insincere commissions, tsk, from her words, it doesn't seem like something that needs someone's help to achieve.

  The first thing is that if you can't kill the whole family, don't do it. Let's not talk about how it goes against heaven and reason. If it's to uphold justice, then why not take action if you have the ability?

  Exert your strength according to what is proper, and don't try to force it if it's not suitable, or you might end up being harmed instead.

  As for the second thing, after careful consideration, it's just that. To be conservative, if you change the word "appearance" to "strength" in Hakuren no Kokoro's last sentence, it seems to be very close to the truth.

  In short, it's becoming clearer and clearer why the previous store manager was replaced. With people like Yakumo Yukari who are always calculating and scheming, one or two might be manageable, but with many of them around, there's a risk that you'll get taken advantage of someday and end up losing yourself.

  "Refusing a guest's request isn't very good, is it?" With a scornful smile, Yakumo Yuko's face rose slightly, "Are you afraid?"

  "You've discovered all this!? That's right! I'm afraid of being beaten to death, in every sense of the word, whether it's the first or the second."

  In every sense of the word, being provoked to death or dying from being stabbed in the back... and each possibility is equally high.

  "Hmph, how weak." Seeing that Jiuming didn't have any extra reaction at all, Bachiko gave up on this boring action and also confirmed something through the two insincere commissions she had given herself.