“When that sentence came out of Fang Li’s mouth and reached Mumei’s ears, she was somewhat surprised and asked almost reflexively, “Why?”
“I made a promise to someone,” Fang Li said straightforwardly. “As a condition for allowing you to stay on the Hayajiro Trains, you must remain in this last carriage and not go anywhere.”
“…Is that so?” The astonishment on Mumei’s face gradually disappeared, and she said, “But I have to go, don’t stop me.”
Saying that Mumei forcefully twisted her shoulder, breaking free from Fang Li’s grasp, and continued extending her hand, gripping the handle of the carriage door.
However, the next moment, Mumei stopped.
Because the hand that had been gripping her shoulder a moment ago had somehow reversed its grip, holding a sharp dagger that extended from behind Mumei and was now resting against her neck.
At the same time, a chilling sensation filled Mumei’s heart.
That feeling was familiar to Mumei.
Previously, within Fang Li’s body, Mumei had experienced it more than once.
This feeling only conveyed one message to Mumei.
That message was danger.
“I said you can’t go.” Standing behind Mumei and gripping the dagger with its sharp blade against her neck, Fang Li’s dark-colored eyes had turned into ice-blue Mystic Eyes as he spoke.
In Fang Li’s eyes, cracks resembling death lines began to appear on her body. Especially on Mumei’s delicate body, these death lines were imprinted everywhere and extended toward her heart.
Naturally, there were death lines on Mumei’s neck as well.
Regardless of the creature, if their head was severed along the neck, only extremely resilient and special beings would be able to survive.
And Mumei did not belong to that special category.
If her head were severed, this cute girl would instantly lose her life.
So, at this moment, with just a gentle exertion of force, this exceptionally cute girl before Fang Li’s eyes would bid farewell to this world.
Ikoma was completely bewildered and at a loss for words by this sudden turn of events.
On the other hand, although Mumei sensed extreme danger in her heart, her childlike charming face showed no trace of fear on it, not even a hint of expression.
However, Mumei still spoke. “There is Kabane aura inside this Hayajiro,” Mumei said without turning her head. “There must be Kabane inside of it.”
“Is that so?” Fang Li’s expression remained unchanged, and his ice-blue Mystic Eyes stared at Mumei’s back as he said, “But what does that have to do with you?”
“What do you mean?” Mumei furrowed her brows and said, “If Kabane appears, we should defeat them.”
In other words, Mumei wanted to charge into the front carriage only to defeat the Kabane, not because she was concerned about the life and death of the people at Aragane Station within the Hayajiro Trains.
“Acting solely to defeat the Kabane, is that it?” Fang Li closed his eyes.
Even without much thought, one could understand the commotion and consequences that would arise once Mumei rushed into the front carriage.
By then, the atmosphere that had been painstakingly eased would be completely disrupted, putting Mumei and Ikoma in an even more disadvantageous position, right?
Of course, that wasn’t the most important issue.
The most important question was that Fang Li, who was familiar with the original work, knew what the Kabane aura Mumei had just sensed actually meant.
Therefore, Fang Li knew that even if Mumei charged into the front carriage, she wouldn’t find the so-called Kabane there. It would only give the Yomokawa family’s Samurais an excuse to shoot them.
With no need for such unnecessary actions, Fang Li naturally wouldn’t let Mumei do it.
“To be honest with you, I can actually leave anytime, regardless of all of you. I’m still staying here only to repay the favor to the people who helped me before,” Fang Li said calmly.
“If you think it’s unnecessary, you can say so anytime. After all, I’ve almost repaid the favor owed to you. But I must tell you, considering the current situation, it seems that I’m the only one who can provide you with fresh blood. If you want to become a Kabane, then I won’t stop you.”
After speaking, Fang Li opened his eyes again, but his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception were already closed, returning to their dark-colored hue.
Immediately, Fang Li withdrew the dagger from Mumei’s neck, turned around, and leaned against the wall, sitting down.
Mumei’s frown deepened, but shortly afterward, she seemed unwilling to ponder over such complicated matters any longer and once again reached for the door handle.
However, at that moment, Mumei suddenly realized that the Kabane aura she had just sensed had disappeared.
“Eh?” Mumei stood there, stunned.
Seeing this clearly, Fang Li’s lips curved into a faint smile without a trace. He then closed his eyes, pretending to be in a deep sleep.
Mumei turned around and happened to witness this scene.
Immediately, Mumei expressed her dissatisfaction, “Did you already know it would turn out like this and that’s why you stopped me?”
Mumei’s questioning did not receive any response.
Fang Li, leaning against the wall, emitted only steady breathing, giving the impression of being genuinely asleep.
This appearance, on the contrary, made Mumei itch with annoyance.
Unfortunately, at this moment, Ikoma, who was still confused by all this, asked, “What’s happening?”
Mumei immediately glared at Ikoma, causing him to startle and take several steps back.
Although this young girl seemed innocent, she was extremely violent. If you made her unhappy, you would definitely end up beaten and bruised.
Therefore, Ikoma didn’t want to be her punching bag.
“Hmph,” Mumei coldly snorted, no longer paying attention to Ikoma. She returned to the wall and leaned against it, closing her eyes to go to sleep.
Only Ikoma was left, looking at Fang Li and Mumei, who were both leaning against the wall, seemingly asleep, facing each other. He couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation for a long time.
…
Time passed quietly.
The Hayajiro Trains continued to travel swiftly on the railway, galloping towards an unseen destination.
Inside the last carriage of the Hayajiro Trains, Fang Li’s entire group remained in their respective corners, leaning against the walls and sleeping, just like when they first started.
In this situation, the sun outside gradually descended towards the west, heralding the arrival of evening.
At a certain moment, all three individuals in the carriage opened their eyes simultaneously.
Ikoma looked in the direction of the door and whispered, “Someone is here.”
Footsteps became clearer after a while and a pleasant voice sounded faintly sounded out from outside the door.
“Fang Li-San…”