Akuto glanced at the bronze mirror, as if he could see through its surface to the peerless beauty far away on Mount Lu in China.
Only "as if," however, because Cult Leader Luo Hao had already left the mystic mirror.
"Cult Leader Luo isn't there?" Akuto raised an eyebrow. He had thought Luo Hao intended to say something to him, but in the end... she had simply left?
"Yes, Lord Akuto. Master said that in preparation for her meeting with you, she had some matters to attend to, so she left first," Lu Yinghua replied with a subtle expression.
The reason his expression was subtle was because he had clearly seen Luo Hao's reaction at the time.
The thought of Luo Hao showing a bashful look on that face of hers sent a chill through Lu Yinghua.
"I see."
Akuto chuckled and shook his head. From Lu Yinghua's expression, he had already inferred a few things.
...
Just as Akuto had guessed, half a minute earlier, Cult Leader Luo Hao, who had watched Akuto kill Marquis Voban with thunderous decisiveness through Lu Yinghua's broadcast, had suddenly held her breath.
The posture Akuto displayed when defeating Voban had stirred up towering waves in her heart for the first time in more than two hundred years. An indescribable blush quietly climbed onto her jade-like, cool cheeks, like a winter plum blooming for the first time in the snow, breathtakingly beautiful.
After asking Lu Yinghua to convey her invitation for Akuto to visit the Xitian Temple, Luo Hao ended the call, went beneath her bed, and opened an ancient chest that had been sealed for two hundred years.
Deep within Mount Lu, a clear spring flowed with a soft murmur.
Luo Hao removed her ornate robes and stepped barefoot into the cool spring water.
What she held in her hands was not ordinary clothing, but an ancient bridal robe, neatly folded and colored like rosy clouds. Hundreds of phoenixes embroidered in gold thread flickered faintly amid cloud patterns. Even after two hundred years, it still shimmered with flowing radiance, luxurious and dazzling.
This was... the bridal robe she had prepared for herself more than two hundred years ago.
Because it had been reinforced by spells, even after two centuries, Luo Hao's bridal robe remained as spotless and pristine as new.
Her pale hand lifted lightly, and the bridal robe slowly spread open in the spring water, like rosy clouds falling into a stream.
Luo Hao's fingertips brushed over the delicate silk. The spring water was cold, but it could not cool the heat on her face. She lowered her head and washed it with intense focus, as if performing a sacred ritual.
The clear current slid across the exquisite embroidery, also reflecting the rare confusion in her eyes and a trace of... shy anticipation.
"What would I look like wearing it?"
The thought surfaced beyond her control. When she prepared this garment two hundred years ago, she had thought there was no one in the world worthy of her.
Now, however, the figure who had killed Voban lingered in her mind and would not leave. The spring water was cool, but it could not soothe the slight tremble in her fingertips or the restless heat in her heart.
She pressed her lips together and submerged the bridal robe deeper into the water, trying to wash away those improper thoughts. Yet all she did was let that rosy color spread even deeper in her heart.
...
While Cult Leader Luo Hao's heart was stirred by Akuto's battle, elsewhere, her disciple was covering for her sudden departure.
According to the normal process, after Akuto defeated Voban, Lu Yinghua should have promptly offered him a round of praise.
However, because Luo Hao did not want to reveal her bashful side before Akuto, she decisively fled, leaving Lu Yinghua behind to deal with Akuto.
"By the way, Lord Akuto, although Master is currently occupied, she still left some words for you," Lu Yinghua added respectfully.
"Oh? What words?" Akuto raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. Master's exact words were..."
At this point, Lu Yinghua took a deep breath, straightened his back, and imitated his master's cool and majestic tone.
"Akuto! This battle was swift and clean, deeply pleasing to my heart. Your strength is enough for you to stand alongside me in honoring China. That old cur Voban deserved death!"
As Lu Yinghua's words fell, the mirror surface seemed to ripple slightly, as if a gaze had turned toward them.
Akuto: "..."
Akuto remained silent and did not expose the fact that Luo Hao was still spying on him.
Since Luo Hao was temporarily unwilling to meet him for some reason, he respected her wishes.
After all... this side of Luo Hao was rather cute too, wasn't it?
...
After a pause, Lu Yinghua continued, "Master also said that the seal at Xitian Temple has loosened, and the Heretic Sun Wukong is about to break free. That fiend is vicious and unruly, so she invites you to hunt him together."
"If nothing unexpected happens, she will meet you at Xitian Temple in one week."
"A joint hunt for a Heretic God in one week... fine. However, I have one condition." Akuto nodded.
"Please speak freely, Lord Akuto. I will relay it to Master exactly as you say it," Lu Yinghua immediately replied.
"I hear that Cult Leader Luo has a Divine Ancestor named Anshela in her possession. I want Luo Hao to transfer Divine Ancestor Anshela to me," Akuto stated his demand.
"This... Lord Akuto, this is not something I can decide. I need to contact Master again." Lu Yinghua's face showed a trace of difficulty.
In the end, however, he still contacted Luo Hao again.
Although this response exposed the fact that Cult Leader Luo Hao was still listening to their conversation, as long as Akuto did not deliberately point it out, the conversation could proceed smoothly.
After receiving Akuto's permission, Lu Yinghua hurriedly called Luo Hao once more.
A dozen seconds later, Lu Yinghua relayed her answer truthfully.
"Master says Anshela is a key sacrifice she prepared as the core offering for summoning the Heretic Sun Wukong. Her earth mother goddess aura is indispensable..."
"Earth mother goddess aura?" Akuto chuckled.
"With me present, what need is there for a Divine Ancestor's aura? My very existence is the best sacrificial catalyst. Tell Cult Leader Luo Hao that I want Anshela."
The mirror fell silent for a moment, as though the cult leader on Mount Lu was weighing the matter.
A few seconds later, Lu Yinghua's face showed a trace of relief, and he replied respectfully, "Master has agreed. She says Anshela may be handed over to you. However, before releasing Sun Wukong, she hopes... you will have a warm-up match with her first."
"A warm-up? No problem. I agree." Akuto had expected Luo Hao to make such a request.
"Very well. In that case, Lord Akuto, I will be responsible for delivering Divine Ancestor Anshela into your hands." Lu Yinghua let out a breath of relief. He was grateful that Akuto had not pursued Luo Hao's slip.
Otherwise, if Luo Hao became both embarrassed and angry, he would probably have a miserable time.
"Erica, send someone to Cult Leader Luo Hao's side and bring Divine Ancestor Anshela here."
"As you command, my lord." Erica bowed elegantly and accepted the order.
...
Elsewhere, after defeating Marquis Voban and settling the matter with Cult Leader Luo Hao's side, Akuto brought the three girls back to his high-end apartment.
Asuka Tokunaga, Miyama, and Sawa, three inseparable schoolgirls, sat side by side, their nerves still taut after everything that had happened.
Akuto leaned lightly against the low table, his fingertips tapping the surface from time to time. His gaze passed over the three of them, making the air in the room grow heavy and quiet.
"A-Akuto-kun..." Asuka's voice carried a broken tremor, and her cheeks were flushed red. She was not stupid. Naturally, she understood what it meant for Akuto to bring all three of them here together.
Miyama kept her head lowered, her fingers clenched tightly in her skirt as though she might wrinkle the thin fabric to pieces.
Sawa stubbornly raised her eyes, but the faint flicker in her gaze betrayed the panic behind her forced composure.
Akuto's lips curved with a playful smile, and he leaned forward slightly, bringing with him an invisible pressure. He reached out and gently took Asuka's hand.
The girl flinched like a startled deer, but she did not pull away in the end.
"Asuka," Akuto said softly, his voice low enough that it seemed meant only for her, "are you sure?"
Asuka's breath caught. She looked at Miyama and Sawa, then at Akuto. Her eyes trembled, but after everything she had just survived, the hesitation inside her had already been burned away by fear, longing, and relief.
"I... I'm sure."
Miyama and Sawa watched their friend give that answer, and for a moment, both of them stopped breathing.
Akuto turned his gaze toward Miyama. Before he could speak, she tightened her fingers and lifted her face with difficulty.
"I'm sure too," Miyama said, her voice strained but firm. "I don't want to run away anymore."
"Sawa," Akuto said, looking at the last of them. "What about you?"
Sawa's body tensed like a drawn bowstring. She looked at Akuto, then at her two closest friends. Finally, as if accepting the path she had chosen, she closed her eyes for a moment and gave a small nod.
"I'm not backing out either."
The room fell quiet.
The three girls' shyness, the silent worry passing between close friends, and the fragile courage they had summoned after their brush with death all intertwined into a delicate atmosphere.
Akuto stood and drew the distance between them closed. Asuka was the first to be pulled into his embrace. She gave a faint sound, her body stiffening for a moment, but when he lowered his head and kissed her, her symbolic resistance quickly dissolved. Her arms rose unconsciously around his neck.
Miyama and Sawa watched their friend being kissed, their breathing gradually growing uneven. The fear and tension from earlier had not vanished, but it had changed form, becoming something warmer and harder to name.
Akuto reached out to them as well.
Miyama, who had prepared herself more thoroughly than anyone, leaned in and helped steady Asuka. Sawa hesitated for only a moment before joining them.
The three girls, bound by deep friendship and the same decision, chose to remain together.
For Akuto, their youthful courage, their attachment to one another, and the trust they placed in him were enough to stir a powerful sense of conquest and satisfaction.
The rest of the night passed behind closed doors.
(End of Chapter)
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