21st Century Necromancer

Looking at the distress on the little girl's face, Chen Yu felt a twinge of guilt and remorse. He understood it was his arrival that had led to her substantial loss, and failing to offer some form of compensation would be tantamount to bullying her.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Yu gathered the scattered Power of Faith around him. This power was what the little girl had not managed to collect, and judging by her condition, she seemed no longer capable of gathering the dispersed Power of Faith.

But with Chen Yu's strength, he still could forcibly collect these scattered powers.

Watching Chen Yu gather the overflowed Power of Faith once again, the little girl's eyes lit up, but she remained wary of him, hiding inside the shrine, clutching the door, and revealing only half of her head along with her pitiful eyes.

Feeling the longing and pitiful gaze of the little girl, Chen Yu further compressed the gathered Power of Faith and, to the girl's astonishment, concentrated a bit of Necromantic Power at his fingertips.

He integrated the Necromantic Power into the condensed Power of Faith, extricating impurities and transforming it with the aid of the Necromantic Power into a force similar to the Divine Power the little girl had previously released.

However, Chen Yu was unable to separate the mingled Necromantic Power and thus offered it to the little girl as it was.

"Let this be my apology for the great loss you suffered. It's mixed with a hint of the power of death, can you accept it?" Chen Yu asked, watching the joy in the little girl's eyes, realizing his question may have been unnecessary.

The little girl accepted the force infused with Necromantic Power, then inhaled deeply and swallowed it with a small mouthful.

Chen Yu had thought that now they could have a proper conversation, but to his surprise, after the little girl absorbed the force he had provided as an apology, her body underwent significant changes—she grew up.

From her original three heads tall, chibi-like figure, she rapidly evolved into the size of an average child with four heads tall. Her doll-like clothes, which resembled a twelve-layered kimono, also changed; a deep purple hue was dyed with black and red, and bright Red Spider Lilies decorated the hem of her skirt. Explore hidden tales at empire

On her head, where there had only been a single ring as an accessory, there now bloomed a vivid Manzhu Shahua.

"This... this... this?!" Clearly astonished by the changes to her own body, the little girl looked at herself from left to right, spinning halfway around before finally looking up at Chen Yu. With a hint of shyness, she quietly said, "Thank you!"

Relieved that the little girl was finally able to communicate normally, Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He had found it difficult to bear the sight of such a pitiful little girl shedding tears in front of him. Now that she had stopped crying, Chen Yu finally asked her, "Can we talk now? I have some questions for you."

"Yes! I can tell you anything I know and am allowed to, but if it's forbidden, not even if you were to devour me could I disclose it," the little girl replied as she timidly stepped out from the shrine to stand in front of Chen Yu. Although she still looked somewhat scared, her tone was firm.

Chen Yu, although he also wanted to inquire about some secrets from the little girl, seeing her so determined, did not wish to force her and after some thought, decided not to ask too much. Thus, he began, "I primarily want to ask, where does the soul of a person who has already died go after they are buried?"

Speaking thus, Chen Yu stepped aside and pointed towards Saegusa Kyoko, who had been standing behind him and who cooperated by walking to the front of the little girl.

"She is dead? If it's the soul of a person who has died and has no lingering attachments, they can be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss or go to Yomi. It depends on what you believe!" The little girl walked a circle around Saegusa Kyoko, then contradicted her statement, "No, no, that's not right.

This person has already started becoming your Divine Servant, and she still holds attachments, so she can't be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. As for Yomi, unless she enters through Yomotsu Hirasaka, she can't go to Yomi either."

"Divine Servant? What is that? I forgot to ask, who are you? Are you a deity?" While the little girl was sizing up Saegusa Kyoko, he was also observing the little girl.

The little girl in front of him was indeed a Spiritual Body, but different from ordinary Spiritual Bodies. It seemed she was influenced by Divine Power and the Power of Faith, reflected in her attire which displayed two different kinds of powers: one was the deathly power transformed into the Red Spider Lily, and the other seemed to be related to a bountiful harvest.

The power associated with the bountiful harvest sustained her existence as a Spiritual Body and reinforced it by absorbing the Power of Faith. However, due to the sparse nature of the Power of Faith, this reinforcement was almost negligible. Had it not been for Chen Yu bestowing another power related to death upon her just now, causing her to grow rapidly, Chen Yu would not have noticed this detail.

"My name is Little Rice Princess, a Divine Servant of Lord Miketsu, stationed at this shrine dedicated to Lord Miketsu by his order. Because of the power granted by Lord Miketsu, I consider myself a deity, though just a subordinate deity to Lord Miketsu," the little girl explained to Chen Yu, politely bowing as she did so.

"Little Rice Princess?" Chen Yu felt curious about the little girl's name, which seemed somewhat random.

"It is the name given by Lord Miketsu!

Originally, I was just a messenger of Lord Miketsu, but because a new Inari Shrine was built here, Lord Miketsu sent me to guard this place and with the Divine Power he bestowed upon me, I was able to transform from a fox into a human form," the little girl continued to explain while also glancing towards Saegusa Kyoko, "Similar to how you infused power into this soul, Lord Miketsu granted me Divine Power, unlike the mere Yin Force you gave to her."

So Negative Energy is called Yin Force? Chen Yu couldn't help but pick up a relatively useless piece of trivia. However, it didn't stop him from continuing to ask Little Rice Princess, "You mentioned earlier that the souls of the deceased can go to the Pure Land or Yomi, but she cannot. Why is that?"

"The Pure Land is a concept that came after the spread of Buddhist Law, introduced by Buddha. Those who believe in Buddhist Law can be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss after death. As for Yomi, it is the ancient Japanese world inhabited by the dead; even the great deity Izanami went to Yomi after death, so before the spread of Buddhist Law, the dead all went to Yomi."

The little girl, now devoid of fear, became chatty, as if she hadn't spoken much to anyone in years, "But she still has attachments, and before those attachments disappear, she cannot be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. As for Yomi...

to be honest, since the spread of Buddhist Law, there have been very few who go to Yomi, and having absorbed the Yin Force, she is not a pure soul and thus cannot enter Yomi."