Chapter 153: The War of the Gods II

Amidst her momentary distraction, a streak of sword qi hurtled toward her. Le'er retracted her energy sphere, and with a muffled crash, the sword qi collided with her barrier of holy light and instantly dissipated. Yagyu Jubei gazed at the holy light in astonishment; its defensive power was so immense that even his Floating Boat technique had failed to pierce it, shattering upon contact like fragile paper.

Seemingly losing face, he gripped his katana with both hands and cautiously closed in, roaring as he brought the blade down in an overhead slash. Le'er raised her spear, using her cross-blades to deflect his strike before thrusting forward. He swiftly slammed his blade directly against the spearhead to knock it off course, then leveraged his body weight to drop down once more with another vertical clew.

Clang! The blade carved a shallow gash through the barrier of holy light, and Le'er rapidly retreated.

Jubei broke into a satisfied smile. "It seems your holy light isn't invincible after all."

Le'er's expression turned grim. The holy light was not incapable of blocking physical damage; however, lacking the reinforcement of sunlight and further suppressed by the onmyoji's formation, the power of light could not be fully unleashed, leaving just enough of a gap for him to breach her defense.

She flicked the butt of her spear upward. Jubei raised his blade to parry. Having her initial attack blocked, she spun counterclockwise and swept the spearhead toward his lower leg. Not one to be caught off guard, he lifted his foot to evade. With both strikes dodged, Le'er spun clockwise once more, carving a circular, flying-bird-like trajectory with her spear shadow.

Yagyu Jubei leaped high into the air to dodge the attack yet again. "Not bad."

The moment he landed, he held his katana horizontally before him and closed his eyes. Tendrils of black mist began to emanate from his surroundings, seeping from the blade itself. A terrifying pressure—rivaling the peak light-power Le'er had previously unleashed—emanated from him, so suffocatingly intense that everyone present felt as though their very life force had been hollowed out, causing them to collapse weakly to the ground.

From the space behind him, a black vortex slowly materialized, transforming into a towering, four-faced, eight-armed deity. Aside from its original pair of hands locked in a meditative mudra, each of the remaining arms wielded a different weapon, creating an intensely bizarre and deeply terrifying spectacle.

"Ultimate 奥义 (Secret Art) — Revolution."

Jubei's figure vanished in an instant, and countless afterimages surrounded Le'er, launching a simultaneous assault. She immediately drove her holy light to its absolute limit. All the attacks slammed into the barrier, causing the holy light to dim visibly. Realizing she could no longer sustain a direct confrontation, she leaped into the air to escape the Secret Art of Revolution. Yagyu Jubei's true body materialized directly before her, slashing through the air with a crescent arc. "Eight Gods Great Sword!"

Le'er hastily raised her spear to defend. With a thunderous boom, the cross-spear fractured in two, and the remainder of the slash carved a deep wound across her body. Blood sprayed wildly as she was sent flying backward through the air.

He gave her no opportunity to recover, unleashing a circular wave of sword qi straight toward her. Seeing the deadly projectile approach and knowing she could no longer mount an effective counterattack, Le'er felt the proximity of mortal danger. The dormant soul of Kagura now forcibly seized control of her body. The two distinct personalities clashed, throwing her memories into chaos. Her dark eyes instantly flashed red, and a surge of energy swirled behind her, tearing open a crimson spatial rift.

With a loud blast, although the majority of the impact was absorbed by the holy light, a significant portion still struck her flesh. The moment she fell backward into the crimson rift, it slammed shut. "Thank goodness I forced my way out; otherwise, everyone would have died."

With those words, she slowly closed her eyes. Due to the violent conflict arising from the forced coexistence of her two personalities, a portion of her memories was suppressed, leaving Le'er's mind entirely blank.

As the thick smoke cleared, Le'er had vanished without a trace, leaving everyone utterly dumbfounded. What was happening? A living human being had simply evaporated into thin air in broad daylight. Was this some kind of ghost story? Even Domyoji, the onmyoji, wore a look of utter bewilderment.

Yagyu Jubei turned to Heijiro and demanded, "You are a member of the Nakajima family. What is the meaning of this?"

"This... I am unsure myself. Although I am the eldest son, my father never shared many of the family's hidden secrets with me."

"Hmph, truly useless. No wonder your father endured the agony of passing the Sacred Light Jade to your sister."

Faced with the insult, Heijiro remained silent. Given the overwhelming disparity in their power, he dared not act rashly. To be killed here would yield no benefit; after all, should the Yagyu clan slay a descendant of the gods, they would face at most superficial condemnation.

Upon exiting the spatial rift, she plummeted from the sky above an unknown location, crashing straight onto the grassy lawn of a villa. A barking watchdog immediately alerted the homeowners. A middle-aged woman walked out, cautiously following the direction of the dog's frantic barks. When she discovered Le'er lying broken and battered in the grass, she turned pale with fright, convinced the stranger was a corpse, and bolted back inside to fetch her husband.

"You're saying a young girl fell right onto our lawn?" the man asked, half-convinced as he followed her outside.

When he laid eyes on the real Le'er, all the color drained from his face. Wasn't this the daughter of his old friend? How had she ended up in such a critical state? Panicking, the man dropped to his knees and checked her pulse. "Le'er... Le'er..."

"She's severely injured! Shouldn't we take her to a hospital?" the woman asked, unaware of her identity and assuming she was a fleeing victim of some assassination plot.

"Call Dr. Honda immediately and tell him to come over. And starting today, don't you dare breathe a single word of this to anyone!" Ignoring his wife, the man scooped Le'er up into his arms and hurried inside the villa, leaving the bewildered woman standing alone.

Following a phone call, Dr. Honda arrived promptly to tend to Le'er's wounds. Ultimately, the middle-aged man sealed the doctor's lips by gifting him a villa.

Unknowing how much time had passed, Le'er slowly fluttered her eyes open, gazing at the unfamiliar surroundings. Every slight movement sent a wave of sharp pain rippling through her body. Pulling back the bedsheets, she found herself dressed in soft pajamas.

"You're awake." A middle-aged woman walked into the room carrying a bowl of medicinal broth, smiling as she sat at the bedside. Noticing Le'er's puzzled expression, she continued soothingly, "You don't need to worry. You're safe here."

Alerted that she had regained consciousness, the middle-aged man hurried upstairs. "Do you remember me?"

She shook her head. The man tried again. "Do you know why you were being hunted?"

She shook her head once more, completely drawing a blank.

The middle-aged woman asked gently, "Then... do you remember who you are?"

Still, she shook her head. Judging by her condition, she must have suffered amnesia. A throbbing ache radiated through her head. She rubbed her temples, shook her head slightly, and spoke with a timid, vulnerable tone, "Everything you're saying feels entirely foreign to me. But... thank you. Wait, you seem to know me—what is my name?"

"You were in a car accident and suffered head trauma, which is why you can't remember us right now. Don't force yourself," the middle-aged man replied after a moment of careful deliberation. "My name is He Yuan-yi, and I am your father. Her name is Liang Ya-ru, your mother. You have a younger brother named He Chen-xi, and your name is He Xiaoqing."

Liang Ya-ru harbored immediate objections to this decision, but under her husband's stern authority, she swallowed her complaints. To casually adopt a complete stranger as their daughter meant splitting their future inheritance with an extra person, leaving her deeply unsettled.

"Mom... Dad..." After memorizing the names, she nodded happily.

"Good girl. Get some rest, and later you can taste your mother's cooking—I guarantee you'll love it." He Yuan-yi patted her head with a doting expression. During the time she was unconscious, he had already discreetly gathered information regarding her situation. To shield her from the notice of the gods, he had fabricated a new identity for Le'er, which would at least keep her safe for the time being.

"Mm-hmm," He Xiaoqing nodded obediently.

Stepping out of the room, He Yuan-yi pulled out his phone and booked the earliest flight back to China for the following day. Staying here exposed her to mortal peril by the day; those ninja assassins were not to be underestimated, and there was no telling when they might track her down. Enduring a night of nervous anxiety, he finally brought her safely back to Shanghai. Having lost all contact with Le'er, Aunt Lan and the others searched everywhere to no avail.