Chapter 1483 - 1445: Possessed Spirit Body

"Demon?"

Lann tentatively held the Rong Buqiu, moving it left and right, then cautiously placed it on the ground.

The round, chubby big cat ball rolled around on the ground, always moving in sync with the position of the Rong Buqiu.

It made joyful sounds as if playing with someone.

Occasionally, it would bounce, attempting to get closer to the Rong Buqiu.

Hearing Lann refer to the big cat ball, the Rong Buqiu appeared puzzled, shrinking in Lann’s hand, not wanting its paws and tail placed on the ground.

"Demon... is a monster meow?"

"In theory, it should be, but..." Lann rubbed his chin, "it doesn’t quite feel like that."

Seeing Rong Buqiu reluctant to be put on the ground, Lann simply placed it on his shoulder.

The big cat ball rolled its body, gently bumping against Lann’s leg.

It felt warm and soft.

Quite different from the hungry ghosts Lann saw last night.

Hungry ghosts could summon the power of the [World of the Living], and the suppression and consumption of that power on earthly life made one feel incredibly oppressed.

It was both a physiological and psychological oppression.

But when this big cat ball approached him, Lann felt relaxed and open-minded, even physically lighter.

The Demon Hunter’s eyes became deep.

He looked at the big cat ball circling his feet, and the Water and Fire Patterned Little Raccoon still sipping tea like an old man on the Qilin’s head.

"They are connected with you," Lann analyzed. "And now, I can’t see the forces that were previously entwining you all."

"So, the forces that wrapped around us eventually create something like this?"

Lann was a bit puzzled by this: "What does this mean?"

Arriving at a place, getting wrapped in a certain power, the final result is having an invisible supernatural... spirit body by your side?

Lann wasn’t quite certain what they were, so based on his observation, he guessed they should be some kind of special spirit body.

This almost sounds like... ’possession’?

The Rong Buqiu cautiously perched on Lann’s shoulder, looking down at the big cat ball chasing it, meowing softly.

The bouncing big cat ball seemed inviting to play, gradually attracting the inherently playful and joyful Elu Cat.

Plus, Lann mentioned earlier that it didn’t feel like a demon.

So, the Rong Buqiu began to cautiously climb down from Lann’s shoulder, tentatively extending its paw to make contact with the big cat ball.

"Meow meow?"

"Meow meow!"

The two little creatures started communicating.

But the Qilin beside them still shook its head in dissatisfaction, unable to see anything.

"When did they appear by your side?"

Watching the Rong Buqiu and the big cat ball gradually play together, Lann crossed his arms, asking the Qilin.

"Huff~"

’I can’t see, but Rong Buqiu was all fussing when it woke up this morning.’

The Qilin’s hooves rubbed idly on the ground, synchronized with the demeanor of the Water and Fire Patterned Little Raccoon on its head.

Lann leaned in for a closer look and discovered the characters ’Fen Fu’ written on the teapot.

"So, what did you do last night?" Lann stood up straight, changing his angle to ask, "We arrived in this world together, so why were you two possessed so quickly?"

Lann could guess that it likely had something to do with his [Body Light] blocking these forces, but he still wanted to see if other factors existed.

"Neighhhh."

’I just slept and ate normally, so did Rong Buqiu. Oh, it found fireflies in the woods and played with them for a while.’

A sudden realization.

Lann looked at the lazy demeanor of the Water and Fire Patterned Little Raccoon and Qilin, then at the Three-Floral Elu Cat playing with the big cat ball.

At the right moment, the biochemical intelligence began automatically summoning last night’s data, checking it frame by frame.

Eventually, Mentos reported a time period to the main body.

"Sir, please note this 23-second interval and the few subsequently not exceeding half a minute."

The voice of the biochemical intelligence was as calm and pretentious as ever.

Lann quickly glanced over the times Mentos found.

During that time, the power swirling around his [Body Light], seemingly sketching some kind of pattern, suddenly accelerated.

And that was exactly when Lann sighed for the hanged man, feeling something breathing on the back of his neck.

"Is it that the spirit body possesses more quickly due to the resonance of will and mood?"

Although he knew the spirit body possessing him had yet to fully manifest, Lann instinctively turned his head to glance behind him.

Spirit possession... is this a common phenomenon in this world? I haven’t seen Kikuchi Daisuke or any of them having it.

"However, it seems these powers indeed aren’t bad things. The feelings provided by my [Body Light] seem quite accurate."

As Lann spoke, he poked the water and fire patterned little raccoon on the Qilin’s head with his finger.

These spirit bodies apparently are not on the same level as living beings in the real world under normal circumstances, so Lann’s finger felt no touch and went straight through.

Shaking his head, Lann straightforwardly mounted his horse.

Since researching these possessing spirits led nowhere, he thought it might be better to find a local with supernatural powers and get some information from them.

The newly improved harness on the Qilin perfectly secured the high-energy crystals protruding from its shoulder blades without damaging the harness itself.

Seeing Lann already on the horse, Rong Buqiu snapped out of its playful state.

It waved at the big cat ball and then leaped onto the horseback.

"Huh?" Lann raised an eyebrow, "Can you make the possessing spirit bodies retract now?"

"Don’t know meow!"

Rong Buqiu looked curiously at the spot where it waved goodbye to the big cat ball, speaking in surprise.

And the water and fire patterned little raccoon that had been lying on the Qilin’s head and the big cat ball beside the Elu cat had disappeared under a halo of illusory light.

"I was just thinking of getting to work, and then it disappeared... no, meow."

Rong Buqiu closed its eyes seriously, brushing a paw over the empty space beside itself, nodding.

"It’s not disappearing; it’s temporarily hidden, meow! So it can do this!"

The Qilin snorted, saying it had the same thought as Rong Buqiu.

So, these possessing spirit bodies don’t even affect normal life and only act at certain times?

Pretty intelligent, huh.

For now, set aside the bewildering possessing spirit bodies since their arrival.

This time they were headed to Iwamura Castle under Ando Shouji’s name. Being one of the ’Mino Three,’ there ought to be an experienced Yin Yang Master or Priest Chief in one of his castles, right?

They’d see if they could exchange some ideas by then.

Before that, though, the Demon Hunter had to first appear trustworthy.

Following Kikuchi Daisuke’s directions, they walked along a large road through the wilderness.

The air was filled with the earthy scent of the yellow dirt road and the grassy scent of woods and shrubs.

Although the current era was tumultuous, near Iwamura Castle, there had been neither large-scale battles between daimyo lords nor any notorious bandits settling nearby.

So it was rare to see the dead along the way.

Occasionally, they’d see corpses lying in weeds and shrubs off the path, mostly just skeletons by then.

The scattered bones had clearly been gnawed on by wild dogs or other creatures post-mortem.

According to Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village Priest Chief Wuzuo, corpses that had been around this long should have their [Remaining Filth] naturally worn away by the liveliness of the world.

If passing by these remains or even handling them briefly, it shouldn’t result in being covered in heavy [Remaining Filth].

The caravan leader said the hanged man was a carter who seldom left the wagon on the road.

The few times he did, it was just to urinate off the road.

Even if he was careless or audacious enough to urinate on those skeletons, the [Remaining Filth] wouldn’t drive him to suicide.

[Remaining Filth] is just leftover filth, devoid of human emotions and sensations.

Urinating on skeletons might pick up less [Remaining Filth] than handling them directly, as direct contact is closer and tighter.

Insults or disrespect have nothing to do with [Remaining Filth].

They won’t get angry from insults, nor will they relent just because those touching them weren’t related to them in life.

As long as touched, the person becomes tarnished, entangled.

Iwamura Castle is situated in the southeastern corner of Mino Country, a Mountain City nestled in the Kiso Mountains on the Juwei Plateau.

It’s a fortress dominated by military functions.

Thus, unlike many commercial towns that have arisen in recent years, it lacks a large Castle Town for business activities.

It’s more of a traditional style.

So when Lann came from quite a distance outside the castle, he dismounted and approached the gates on foot.