Return to the Boundary

The onyx-like orb levitating in front of them fell to the ground with a clinking sound in front of Kanghui, who glanced down to see its smooth transformation into an ebony rectangular pendant with two glowing ancient scripts in gold.

Kanghui picked it up and read the two words out with a frown on her face, "Sky Punishment."

At the same moment, the thirteen guardians disappeared around Alex, along with his sense of security.

"My pendant, as a sign of good faith," the voice spoke, echoing around them as Higanbana tapped her foot impatiently with a huff.

Kanghui immediately made a fist and palm salute while gripping the pendant in her fist, bowing to the skies in obeisance. "In that case, no need for it."

Alex stumbled against Arahabaki. "S-s-he is giving me up just like that?"

Higanbana rolled her eyes at him and asked Arahabaki. "Is this one always a drama queen? "

"Well, we told him stories about the Celestial Crows," Arahabaki chortled and shoved Alex towards Higanbana, who stretched her arm out against Alex's chest to stop him from tripping onto her.

A sting from the touch of her hand caused him to reel away into Kanghui.

Kanghui sighed and gripped a frightened Alex on the shoulder. "Don't worry. Just go."

Higanbana folded her arms and grinned in amusement. "Come along. No time to waste."

"Will I be returning?"

"It will take a while for both of them to navigate through Huangquan," Higanbana gestured for him to follow her into the banks where the predatory red spider lilies were. "Up to the old crow how she wants to return you to Youdu and where she decides."

Alex hesitated to enter the banks where the red long petals hid everything below Higanbana's small waist in the foliage. What would those flowers do to him?

Higanbana huffed. "They won't consume your soul because they are part of me."

Alex stared wide-eyed at the red spider lilies and then at Higanbana. If every flower here was part of her, she would be gargantuan in her true form. As wide as an ocean? As tall as a mountain?

He shook his head in disbelief and swung around in time to watch the two figures of Arahabaki and Kanghui vanish ahead into the flowing crowd. The two scurried off fast without him.

A yank of his collar send his arms flying out in the air, dragging him through the cutting leaves of the flowers as he felt Higanbana's long hard nails scratch his neck lightly, leaving another stinging pain in the midst.

As Higanbana dragged him roughly over the ground, Alex spotted a thick mist- like cover veiling the ground where the stalks sprung out.

Then his body flew into a small clearing and he landed with a thump, face first. Turning his head to get up, his eyes caught sight of Higanbana's bare white blemish-free feet with its pointed scarlet enamel toe nails.

As his arms pushed up from the ground, he noticed red long petals flying towards them, forming a swirling shield-like aura. With each rotation, the petals swirled faster and faster, blurring the surroundings into a wall of red.

"W-what is going on?" Alex gulped.

Higanbana threw him a look of disdain but said nothing. Soon, the swirling reddish aura slowly turned purplish. One blink of his eyes and the aura disappeared.

They were in front of an abandoned shrine-like structure, like Kanghui's shrine. It resembled a box with a roof and a small opening to the dark inner sanctum. Someone boarded all the openings up and pasted a notice in Japanese that Alex could only make about some instructions to pray.

He turned around to notice was a long stairway snaking down a hill along the trees. No Torii gate there, unlike Kanghui's shrine.

He noticed that Higanbana quickly moved away to the clearing near a green wire mesh fence surrounding a tiny hokura shrine on a stone platform and the entrance way was a stone Torii gate with a shredded looking shimenawa rope stood.

Alex guessed that the shrine is another boundary between the hidden dimension and his human world.

Alex looked up at the eaves of the roof and found no signs of spiders or any animals nearby. Someone had swept the path to the shrine recently. Dead foliage laid on the partially frozen steps in the winter. Alex heard the gushing sounds of a nearby stream.

"Is this a shrine?" Alex pointed to the box-like structure.

"Kagatsuchi's shrine. Homusubi is his other name. I wouldn't stand there for long, if I were you. Or take a step over the stairs."

Homusubi. Wasn't that one of Chongli's names? Or one of the Zhurong that bore Chongli's energy waves, like him. Why was he brought here?

"Huh? Why?" Alex asked.

"It is still active. That's a guard post to prevent them from leaving…," Higanbana pointed at the tiny shrine, dwarfed by the big stone Torii gate. "Not that it helps. Although it misfires at times."

Alex walked briskly from the entrance of the shrine to the safety of Higanbana's side, unwilling to find out the consequences of a misfiring.

"Ussselessss anywaysss," a hissing reply came from the hokura.

"Don't tell me…," Alex feigned a pause. "You are the Mishakuji?"

"No, they are cousinsss." A large, dark green snake with two horns slithered out of the hokura.

The width of its body was the size of the door way with more of its body flowed out. Unlike the Mishakuji who were unwilling to reveal themselves, this serpent being didn't seem to care.

"Don't tell me that's a portal." Alex blurted out.

The snake turned around and looked at the hokura with curiosity. Then turned back to Alex with its gold-like eyes fixed on him. The tail finally emerged, only to have another horned snake appear.

Alex took a step back cautiously while Higanbana ignored their appearance. All these serpentine beings came in gangs, Alex thought as he watched the third snake head emerge out of the hokura. What's with yet another boundary with serpents?

The third and final snake suddenly reared its body into a striking pose while the other two laid on the grass. Alex took another step back, only to be pulled in front by Higanbana's hand.

"Chicken Ssshit," the first snake reared its head to snigger at the reaction of Alex.

"Newcomer," said the second.

"Bah," the third one spat.

Higanbana gestured towards the rope. A blur and there was a rustling sound of the rope shredding. Alex noticed the bits of straw in the third serpent being's mouth.

"Stupid humansss. They think a Torii and a rope can imprison us. Even Homusssubi doesn't care," the third snake hissed its grievances.

"Keepsss the humansss away," the first answered, with its eyes still trained on Alex.

"We are the Yato-no-Kami," the three serpent beings introduced themselves unexpectedly.

Alex could hear the sound of a car approaching and a strange cacophony of wings flapping towards the shrine.

He looked towards the skies to see a dark speck approaching at high speed from a far. Alex heard the loud caws as he squinted to make out a murder of crows on approach to the shrine. One by one, they began landing on the trees with their eyes directed at him, watching intently while creeping him out.

"The person we are waiting for has arrived," Higanbana announced.

"Sssake. Yaysss." the snakes perked their heads up.

"SAKE?" Alex exclaimed.

"Good ssshit," the first replied.

Then Alex remembered the Mishakuji and their strange fetish for KFC chicken. Now these serpent beings would be the alcoholics. Between the penchant for junk food and sake, he didn't know which was worse.

Alex heard footsteps making their way up the stairs as blackish wisps wafted from the stairs past the box-like shrine in front of Higanbana, who bowed, pushing Alex's head down until he could see the frozen dew coated ground.

"He still doesn't have the sight to see through the veil," a familiar voice said.

Alex straightened himself only to have his worst nightmare confirmed - Yasomagatsuhi in the human guise, standing before him.

"I noticed. He is looking at you, but he can't seem to see me," the voice of the Celestial Crow said.

Strangely, Alex could hear her panting. Was she human?

An invisible force slammed on the top of Alex's head, causing him to fall to his knees with his hands on the ground. The pressure immobilised him while increasing its weight on him. Like being crushed by concrete.

"Just as I thought. He can't even ward off my aura without Arahabaki and Kanghui, or my restraint."