"So, if you want Dragon Tears, you must first go to the Palace of Origin?" Wolf asked.
"That's right," Isshin nodded. "As for how to get to the Palace of Origin, the old man doesn't know. You can ask the Princess to search the library of Your Excellency Tianshou; maybe you can get some clues from those ancient books."
"Understood..."
Coming out of Isshin's room, Sister Zhou was also suddenly enlightened about the goals of the next task, and the audience was discussing:
"Did I hear it right? Dragon? Does this game require us to deal with dragons?"
"It's possible, after all, there are white snake gods, and the appearance of dragons is not unexpected!"
"Isshin just said that the cherry blossoms came from the land of dragons in the west, and this land of dragons... Wouldn't that be our country?!"
"Well, according to the game designer's settings, I'm afraid this is really the case. This plot is really getting more and more mysterious."
While talking, the audience was not only a little excited; it would be great if this game could also involve fighting against dragons!!!
Sister Zhou first returned to the Tianshou Pavilion and relayed Isshin's words to the Princess.
"Is that so? Okay, I understand," the Princess nodded. "If that's the case, then I'll immediately start to look up the ancient books here to see if I can find clues about the Palace of Origin. Wolf, the Immortal Slash at Senpou Temple, please go and get it back. Please be careful."
"Got it," Wolf nodded.
"Friends, the next goal is to go to Senpou Temple," Sister Zhou said as she turned and left the Tianshou Pavilion.
According to Isshin's suggestion, Senpou Temple is located on Mount Kumgang in the west of Ashina City and can be reached by passing through several villages.
Just do what she said, Sister Zhou still sneaked on the eaves in a low-key manner as before, and soon came to the west gate of the main city of Ashina.
There are not many guards on duty at the West City Gate, only four soldiers. When Sister Zhou saw this, her eyes lit up: "Just try [Blood Smoke Technique] first!"
Sister Zhou cautiously approached one of the soldiers, and when he was not prepared, she jumped up and stabbed him in the heart!
Then, Sister Zhou launched the blood smoke technique, and saw that she suddenly drew the knife, and the blood she brought out turned into smoke and spread out, covering the surroundings.
"Cough cough!"
"Where's the smoke from? Damn, can't see clearly!"
The other three soldiers couldn't see the situation clearly in the blood-colored smoke, so they could only panic, but Sister Zhou had a clear view of the surroundings.
She hurriedly attacked and killed the other two soldiers while the blood fog continued, leaving only one soldier left. Sister Zhou fought one-on-one and quickly killed all four soldiers.
"This is really a magical skill. In this case, even if I am surrounded by enemies, I can escape with this move!" Sister Zhou sighed.
The effect of this move is basically the same as that of a modern smoke bomb, but it is made of blood. This game designer is really creative.
The only pity is that this [Blood Smoke Technique] has a cooldown and cannot be used all the time. Otherwise, Sister Zhou even thinks that she can conquer this city with one move.
Soon, as soon as the grappling hook was pulled, Sister Zhou vaulted over the west gate and left the main city.
It's noon now.
I don't know if it's because of Genichiro's relationship with the Lightning of the Eightfold Path.
The sky is completely overcast.
It turned out to be a light rain.
Sister Zhou was walking on the muddy path of the mountain stream.
The feeling of stepping on the slippery mud pit on her body, face, and feet was perfectly restored.
Walking alone on this village road, Sister Zhou actually felt a little lonely.
Soon, in front of her, the shadows of village houses appeared vaguely.
It seems that it is about to arrive at a certain village in Ashina. No matter how you look at it, the country of Ashina is already dying, and even the town of Ashina is full of soldiers, so what will happen to the lower-level villages?
Will you see the villagers?
With this kind of thought in mind, Sister Zhou approached the village slowly, and soon she found that the fields on both sides of the village road seemed to be desolate for a long time, and there was no smoke from the low houses made of soil and thatch in the distance.
There was not even the sound of cocks and dogs barking, not to mention the chatter between the villagers. In short, except for the patter of rain, there was silence.
Sister Zhou frowned and entered the village, but she didn't see a single person.
"What about the villagers in the village? The whole village looks a bit desolate."
"Escaped? Or... dead?"
"Well, I guess there are only two possibilities."
The audience was guessing, but they heard the sound of branches. Among the dilapidated thatched huts in the village, many villagers suddenly walked out. Most of these villagers were naked, with yellow faces and thin skin, and there were men, women, and children.
The originally quiet village became lively in an instant, and when the villagers saw Sister Zhou, their eyes lit up, and they all gathered around enthusiastically:
"I didn't expect a distinguished guest to come to our village!"
"Yes, yes, a rare honored guest!
"We'll wait for the villagers to welcome Your Excellency!
"Hey, what's the situation? Why are there so many villagers?" Sister Zhou was not only a little surprised, she was surrounded by this group of villagers, and she didn't know what to do for a while.
The audience was equally stunned:
"Something's wrong, it looks like a deserted village, why are there so many villagers all of a sudden!"
"And these villagers are still very enthusiastic."
"Well, you are very welcome, Sister Zhou."
The audience is also puzzled; this thing seems extremely strange.
Soon, all the villagers welcomed Sister Zhou into the largest thatched hut in the village and asked her to sit on a bamboo mat. She was very enthusiastic, and even the socially awkward wolf was a little unpredictable: "You guys... in the end?"
Hearing the wolf's question, the group of villagers suddenly became quiet again, and after looking at each other, an old man stood up: "That's it... A master, right?"
The wolf was silent for a moment before he said, "That's right..."
"That's right, we, the villagers, want to ask Your Excellency something." The old man straightened up and continued.
"What's the matter?"
"I would like to ask Your Excellency... to take the heads for us."
After saying this, I saw the old man in front of him and the villagers behind the old man suddenly thumped and knelt on the ground towards Sister Zhou, and then their heads disappeared, even with the flesh and blood on their bodies. It also started to become transparent!
"Damn!"
"Damn, these villagers are not alive!"
"And they don't even have a head?!!"
This sudden change made the audience feel scared out of their wits in an instant. Sister Zhou was also frightened and jumped up directly, and then pulled out her sword!
What's the matter with this?! In an instant, these villagers have changed from their original appearance to headless ghosts!
Sure enough, this is a fantasy world, so ghosts naturally exist!!!
"Don't be afraid, Your Excellency, I was originally a villager in this village and turned into an ordinary ghost after death. I have no intention of harming Your Excellency."
The old man waved his hands and continued, wondering if it was because of being a ghost, the old man could continue to speak without a head.
Hearing this, Sister Zhou also let out a sigh of relief, but she still held the hilt of the sword and was on guard.
Wait a minute, Sister Zhou suddenly realized that all the villagers in this village had turned into ghosts...
"Then... Who killed you?" the wolf also asked.
"It's the Inner Palace." The old man replied, "Now that the country of Ashina is weak, we can no longer take care of our small villages. A few days ago, the soldiers of the Inner Palace sent a team of soldiers to slaughter all the villagers like us and took all the goods away."
"Inner Palace? ... " The wolf muttered three words, slightly moved.
"This damn Inner Palace!"
"Sure enough, in troubled times, the fate of civilians is as miserable as ever."
"Yeah, people are like grass in a chaotic world. No wonder the previous cave mountain told us not to inquire about it. This is too cruel."
The audience also sighed one after another, and Sister Zhou also felt uncomfortable in her heart, and her fear of these headless ghosts also decreased a lot.
They look scary, but they're just poor ghosts.
"Then what about your heads, were they also taken away by the Inner Palace?" the wolf asked again.
"That's not true," the old man denied. "Our heads were all cut off by the soldiers of Ashina."
"??? Why is this?" the wolf's tone was surprised.
"They used our heads to enshrine a kind of ghost called [Headless]." The old man replied.
"Headless?"
"Well, Headless is a powerful monster that gathered the souls of beheaded warriors in ancient times," the old man explained. "Because they were killed by beheading, they are extremely eager for heads, and they use heads to enshrine these ghosts."
"What is the purpose of awakening such ghosts?"
"Oh, of course, it's to repel the Inner Palace," the old man sighed and explained, "Your Excellency, please come with me."
Under the leadership of the old man, Sister Zhou left the village and came to the dense forest behind the village.
After a while, a hidden cave appeared in the depths of the dense forest, and at the mouth of the cave, there was still a rope hanging, the ropes were also hung with something similar to a talisman.
In addition, there are also two Ashina soldiers guarding the left and right.
"That Headless is to be enshrined in that cave," the old man pointed to the cave and said. "When the Inner Palace invades, the Ashina soldiers would release the Headless in the cave to fight against the Inner Palace, so, only by removing the Headless, can we take back the head.
"In this chaotic world, although villagers such as me have suffered this calamity, they also know that they are weak, so they consider themselves unlucky, and have no idea of revenge at all. They just want to ascend to heaven as soon as possible and leave this miserable world.
"It's just that the head has been taken away, and even the corpse is not complete. It can't be ascended to the sky, so I have to wander around the village... So, please wait for me to take the head back...
"Also ask Your Excellency to wait for me to take the head back...
When it came to this, the villagers headed by the old man knelt down again towards Sister Zhou.
"I didn't expect it to be so cruel..." Seeing the scene of the group of ghosts worshipping, Sister Zhou also understood what was going on, and couldn't help clenching her fists.
"Hey, that's what it is!
"Tsk tsk, is it possible to do such maddening things as Ashina?"
"You can see what kind of character Genichiro is, under his leadership, it is normal for Ashina to do such a thing!
"Indeed, it seems that Isshin is right, this grandson of his has gone crazy to save the country!"
"The method of massacre in the Inner Palace is extremely cruel, and the means of resistance of Ashina are also very vicious...
"It's still the same sentence, people in a chaotic world are like grass!"
The audience couldn't help but let out a sigh of sadness.
The villagers in Ashina Country were really miserable.
They were first massacred by the Inner Palace and robbed of rice and grain, but now they can't rest their souls even after death, and their heads were cut off by Ashina.
It is used to worship ghosts and gods.
At this time, Sister Zhou had two options in front of her: whether to accept the villager's request [Accept] and [Reject].
Obviously, this is an optional task.
"This kind of task shouldn't give me options!" Sister Zhou snorted coldly: "Of course it's [accepted]!!!"
"Yes, damn him!"
"Why do you want to let these villagers go to heaven with peace of mind!"
"Damn, the labor and management are panicking!"
After learning about the miserable life experiences of these villagers, both Sister Zhou and the audience were filled with righteous indignation.
As Sister Zhou made an option, the wolf also said: "Yes, I am willing to help you and kill the Headless!"
"Thank you, sir!!!
Hearing what the wolf said, all the villagers hurriedly became grateful and got up from the ground.
At this time, the old man said again: "By the way, Your Excellency, that [Headless] is an evil ghost after all, and it is extremely fierce.
Please remember to bring two things, otherwise, it will not be its opponent.
"Which two things?" asked the wolf.
"One is [Divine Confetti], only by using this thing to bless the weapon can we attack the Headless, and the other is [Pacifying Agent], which can be used to suppress fear and prevent being scared to death. These two things should be both found in Senpou Temple on Mount Kumgang ahead."
"Scared to death? Is there such a thing?" Sister Zhou frowned.
"Then, please, Your Excellency..." After the old man said these words, he bowed to Sister Zhou and led a group of villagers to disappear in place.
"[Divine Confetti], [Pacifying Agent], it seems that this Headless can only be fought if we come back from Senpou Temple..." Sister Zhou muttered: "But we can go ahead and try it now."
After all, it's just a game, and the villagers are too miserable, and Sister Zhou really wants to fulfill their wishes as soon as possible.
Thinking of this, Sister Zhou walked towards the cave.
The two soldiers guarding the entrance of the cave were nothing to worry about. Sister Zhou lurked there, first assassinated one, and then launched the blood smoke technique to kill the other, easily.
"I didn't expect that in this game, I would even be a Taoist priest to kill ghosts!!!" After killing the two soldiers guarding the gate, Sister Zhou sighed. She has always been very fond of 'ghosts' Scary, previous performance in Silent Hill PT says it all.
It's just that the game "Sekiro" is also an action game. There shouldn't be too terrifying ghosts in this game, right?
And she still has a sword, unlike "Silent Hill," she doesn't even have the ability to resist ghosts. What's more, what happened to the villagers in Ashina was really tragic, no matter how afraid of ghosts she was, she had to leave Come on!
Thinking of this, Sister Zhou took a deep breath and stepped into the cave.
The light dimmed instantly, and the deeper she went, the darker it became. This was a cave, wet and damp, and Sister Zhou could still vaguely hear the sound of water droplets dripping to the ground.
"Tsk tsk, why is this atmosphere so terrifying...
"Are you going to dream back to Silent Hill again?"
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, this is a martial arts game, not a horror game!
"Yes, yes, don't panic!
The audience was talking one after another, and Sister Zhou swallowed her saliva. She had already pulled out her sword. With the help of the [Eagle Eye] skill, even if it was pitch-dark, she could still see the surrounding scenery clearly.
Immediately afterwards, Sister Zhou suddenly stopped, because in front of her, something appeared. It was a pyramid-shaped structure that was almost one meter high. It seemed to be made of stacked stones.
But if you look closely, you will find that it is not a stone at all, but a human head!