dmims Page 221
Page 221
Dou Tang pushed off the wall with both legs and casually released the corpse in his hands. The corpse fell naturally down the wall, hit the air conditioner unit, swayed for a moment, and blood scattered in the air, turning into blood rain, before falling to the ground with the corpse.
"boom!"
"Pap tap tap tap..."
The body fell heavily to the ground, the blood dripping with a sticky, splattering sound that sent chills down one's spine.
Dou Tang stood by the wall, with only his heels on the windowsill. His whole body leaned forward, as if he was about to fall at any moment, but then he straightened up and flicked his long sword, causing the blood on the blade to drain away instantly.
Dou Tang took a deep breath. For some reason, he smelled a familiar sense of fear in the air—the fear that evil spirits felt towards him.
Evil spirits have always been afraid of me. Those rational evil spirits who have harmed people must be afraid of retribution, especially retribution like mine.
Sometimes Dou Tang felt this was very unfair. In his previous life, among the many exorcists he had met, those exorcists had never killed anyone, yet they were already prepared to be killed by others.
Meanwhile, evil spirits rampage and slaughter other lives.
But they never imagined that they would be killed themselves.
In Dou Tang's mind, only those prepared to be killed have the right to take another's life. A demon that only feels fear and regret when its own life is threatened is utterly worthless.
You don't even have the awareness of being the prey, so what gives you the right to call yourself a hunter?
Dou Tang looked down at the evil spirit in front of him and sighed deeply.
He raised his longsword again, transforming into a ghostly figure wreathed in snow-white sword light, and leaped down, charging towards the evil spirit immersed in terror.
………………
After emerging from the alley, Xiao Qin shuddered and said, "I feel like I just saw the Doom Slayer."
Kenny took off his monocle and rubbed it vigorously with the corner of his shirt, his hands trembling as he said, "Yes, indeed..."
At this point, everyone glanced back at the alley, swallowed hard, and then turned away in fear, getting into the van.
A moment later, Dou Tang dragged the masked half-demon, who had been tied up, out of the alley, threw the half-demon into the van, and said, "You don't need to worry about the cleanup. Take this guy with you. When Mikazuki comes around on her motorcycle later, you go back to the office with her first."
The crowd kowtowed repeatedly.
Dou Tang looked at the alley behind him, shook his head and said, "I have to stay here. The commotion here is indeed a bit too much. I will set up a resentment barrier here until the person in charge comes to take over."
Chapter 28 News from Tokyo
Taking a deep breath, all I could smell was the scent of blood.
Dou Tang stood in the alley, with a black mist behind him that was used to obscure the view of ordinary people.
Both ends of the alley were shrouded in thick black fog. To the average person, the fog appeared transparent, but once you looked over, the view was just an ordinary alley.
But the aura emanating from Dou Tang standing here was enough to deter any ordinary person. That instinct to avoid danger from the depths of one's subconscious could not be faked and was extremely honest.
"Tick, tick..."
Blood flowed in the alley, and the sound of liquid dripping from above could be heard from time to time. Dou Tang looked up and saw a corpse sitting on an air conditioner unit. His chest had been pierced by his own long knife and pinned to the wall, so he had not fallen.
Looking at the corpse, Dou Tang suddenly felt a chill run through his body.
When did I become so cruel?
I should have been more decisive and efficient in the past, but look at myself now, what am I doing?
Enjoying the feeling of fighting these evil spirits, even torturing and killing them in such a brutal way... They are guilty, but judging these guilty evil spirits is not a reason for my cruelty.
Since coming into this world, I have been becoming more and more emotional, but also more and more brutal, like a lion without restraint.
With freedom comes not only gentleness, but also a surging wave of brutality, which is slowly eroding itself.
This made Dou Tang begin to doubt himself, wondering whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
I was definitely not like this before.
Dou Tang closed his eyes, smelled the somewhat pungent smell of blood in the air, and began to recall and think.
In the past, no matter what evil spirits I encountered, I could deal with them in the best possible condition and would never be swayed by emotions. Why was that?
Was it because there was nothing left to lose? Back then, I was all alone. No matter how long I was away from home, no one would expect me to return. No matter where I went, no one would care about me. In those lonely and uncared-for days, I felt like I had become a machine that simply judged and destroyed evil.
They had lost so much in the past, yet felt no hatred. Now, though they have not lost anything, they hate evil to the core, even to the point of committing such brutal acts.
What a contradiction.
Dou Tang's wait didn't last long. Soon, a black sedan pulled up outside, and a white-haired boy in casual clothes got out of the passenger seat. It was Xue Qing, the bodyguard of Nurarihyon.
Xue Qing stepped through the barrier of resentment and into the alley. She was somewhat surprised by the tragic scene in the alley, then looked at Dou Tang with her eyes still cold and said, "You came to Pu'an City just to hunt these guys? A bunch of half-demons?"
Dou Tang replied, "No, it's to find a crown owner who is hiding in Pu'an City, turning it into his own arena, and cultivating these half-demons."
"I remember you're also a half-demon. What do you think of these guys?" Dou Tang suddenly turned to look at Xue Qing.
Only then did he have time to properly examine the half-demon who had attacked him.
Xue Qing was a head shorter than Dou Tang and looked somewhat thin. She inherited her father's wise and weathered eyes, but she also had a strong sense of youthful vigor.
His snow-white hair added to his charm, making him a handsome and imposing young man. However, his personality was not good; he was cold and aloof, even more difficult to deal with than Dou Tang.
Hearing this, Xueqing remained silent for a long time, looked at the tragic scene in the alley, and frowned, saying, "These guys are not half-demons at all."
"They're just a bunch of pathetic monsters who, even after turning into humans, are still restless and crave more."
Dou Tang raised an eyebrow, turned his head, and looked at the half-demon on the ground whose body had been transformed into a sheep.
"Why do you say that?"
Without hesitation, Xue Qing answered, "To become human means to assume the responsibilities that belong to humanity in this society."
"As long as you have a human body, whether you want to or not, it means you have to integrate into society."
"But these people want to possess the power of monsters while enjoying the rights that belong exclusively to humans in society."
“Even my father, Nurarihyon, had to live in this human-dominated city according to human frameworks. Even if we have power far exceeding that of humans, we cannot be lawless.”
He glanced at Dou Tang: "Like Taira no Masakado, whom you killed, he was an example of someone who wanted to break out of the mold."
Dou Tang nodded thoughtfully.
Seeing that he seemed to understand, Xueqing softened her tone slightly and continued, "They enjoy human rights but don't want to bear human responsibilities and obligations. Such people are just a bunch of overly greedy parasites."
"As half-demons, Yizi and I have truly experienced the life of being discriminated against by humans while having to fulfill human obligations. It was a helpless situation."
Xue Qing reached out and touched the ends of her hair, then suddenly gave a bitter laugh. Her expressionless, cold face finally showed some emotion. "These guys are just ungrateful. There are plenty of beast demons who want to become human, but most of them just want to better integrate into this society."
"Only they possessed a bright future that other beast demons dared not even dream of, yet they still had to destroy it with their own hands."
Dou Tang nodded and remarked, "Your perspective on this issue is... very unique and insightful."
After this conversation, the two became a little more familiar with each other and seemed less awkward, since their last interaction hadn't been pleasant.
Xue Qing changed the subject, gesturing with her chin towards the alley, and said, "Are you always this brutal when you get physical?"
Eyes slit, chest pierced, waist cut... the corpses in the alley died in various ways, but they were truly chilling to look at.
Dou Tang turned his head away and said, "...No, it's not usually like this."
Xue Qing shrugged, seeing that Dou Tang was unwilling to talk more, and changed the subject again, saying, "We will take care of the rest. Also, when do you plan to go back to Tokyo?"
Dou Tang stroked his chin: "Once things are settled here, it shouldn't be too long. Why are you asking this?"
Xue Qing took out a cell phone from her pocket, opened a map, and handed it to Dou Tang.
Dou Tang looked closely and saw that it was a map of Tokyo, but there were many red circles drawn on the map, which seemed to mark something.
"What is this?" Dou Tang asked in confusion.
"A new place where evil spirits are appearing." Xueqing took back her phone, her voice becoming serious: "A large number of evil spirits outside Tokyo are invading Tokyo in various ways. Recently, paranormal events have increased dramatically, and even many urban legends have slowly spread."
"Tokyo is no longer safe... There are at least one case of an urban legend coming true in almost every ward."
Chapter 29 The City of Stalemate
Back at the firm, Dou Tang appeared somewhat worried.
The men from Mengnan Village were chatting with the Jianye father and daughter. The windows of the office were wide open, and the somewhat pungent smell of smoke had mostly dissipated. Old Jianye was also smiling easily.
Only Dou Tang stood by the window, looking out at the commercial street with a furrowed brow in deep thought.
Mikazuki slowly walked to Toudou's side, tilted his head to look at him, and said, "I rarely see you with this expression. What happened?"
Dou Tang pondered for a moment and said, "Tokyo is starting to fall into chaos. Taira no Masakado's death is like a signal, attracting a large number of evil spirits. Those guys have already infiltrated Tokyo."
Mikazuki stroked his chin: "Oh... the urban melee is about to begin?"
Dou Tang was immediately amused: "What kind of urban free-for-all is this... It's too weird, isn't it?"
Looking out the window, Mikazuki sighed and said, "Indeed, those evil spirits are not well-behaved at all... This city is too big. Just think about it, tens of millions of people... Living in this city is like being an ant in an anthill, densely packed and frightening."
"This city... is too big."
"I thought this way when I was a cat, and I still do now that I'm a human. I go out every day and I almost never see the same people twice. You may live less than five kilometers away from someone, but you may only see them once in your life."
Mikazuki scratched the back of his head and then said, "You will... win, right?"
Dou Tang raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"
Mikazuki turned around and looked intently at Tou Tang's face: "You will keep winning and not be defeated by any evil spirits until the so-called Crown Game is completely over, right?"
Dou Tang answered without hesitation, "Of course."
"He's awake!" a voice suddenly rang out.
Dou Tang turned around and saw Kenny waving at him, while the others were guarding the room where the surviving masked half-demon lived.
Seeing Dou Tang turn around, Kenny pointed to the room: "He's awake. If you want to get some information out of him, now's the best time."
Dou Tang nodded to Kenny and then went into the room.
Inside the room, the tall and burly Ah Tian was pressing down on the half-demon's shoulders, pinning him to the chair—the half-demon's power couldn't be restrained by ropes.
The lower half of the half-demon's face was wrapped in gauze bandages, covering the half of his cheek that Dou Tang had shaved off. When he saw Dou Tang come in, he was clearly afraid, and his eyes flickered.
Dou Tang arrived opposite the half-demon, and Mikazuki obediently moved a chair over for Dou Tang to sit down, welcoming him.
Lai Doutang gave him a strange look.
After Dou Tang sat down, he looked at the half-demon and asked, "I want to know all the information about the proxy war, especially about the Onmyoji."
"Be smart and just say it. It'll make things easier for both of us. Don't force me to resort to other methods."
The half-demon looked around, sighed, and said, "Tell me, and you can exchange..."
Dou Tang slapped his forehead.
How come this half-demon covered in scales is just like that shifty-eyed half-demon locked up next door?
Dou Tang waved his hand and said, "Let's drag the other one into this room too."
A moment later, the shifty-eyed half-demon was also brought into the house, but his arms were not tied, since he posed no threat.
The two half-demons exchanged a glance, both clearly feeling somewhat awkward, and then looked away from each other.
Dou Tang looked at the two guys and said, "Let's get down to business. Do you have any other companions?"
The scaly half-demon shook his head and said, "That's all... We mobilized all our forces, intending to take advantage of the monkey demon's injury to launch a surprise attack on their base..."
Dou Tang nodded, at least he didn't have to worry about the scenario of beating his son and then his father coming to his door.
"What are your names? How should we address you?"
"Crocodile Ying".
"Rat Field".
Dou Tang raised an eyebrow: "What is this... You guys use your true form as the first character of your name?"
The two half-demons nodded.
"Unexpectedly simple and honest..." Mikazuki remarked from the side.
Dou Tang ignored her and continued, "I need information about the Onmyoji. Tell me everything you know."
The two half-demons had no reason to keep anything to themselves, so they told everything they knew.
This also made Dou Tang realize that the situation in Pu'an City was far more complicated than he had imagined.
The half-demons split into several groups around the downtown area of Urayasu City. Those half-demons who were unwilling to participate and just wanted to live a peaceful life were either killed or driven out of the downtown area, just like Otome Yuri.
Now, the half-demons have reached a tacit stalemate, with each group constantly probing each other, but none of them actually making a move. After all, no one wants to go through all that trouble only to be outmaneuvered by someone else at the last moment.
The mysterious Onmyoji is said to be hiding near the Urayasu City Library. Some people have seen newly born half-demons emerge from that area, and some of the half-demons who were eventually transformed did indeed claim that they encountered the Onmyoji near the library.