[One Piece] Inferior Star

Chapter 356 The Beautiful Eye

The verandah is a famous place in Huadu, and probably the most profitable place.

In terms of places other than Wano, this is the red light district.In the luxurious rooms on both sides, the geisha use their fleeting years and appearance to attract the guests coming and going.For the guests, this is a gentle hometown that makes people linger and forget to return, but for the geisha, is it more like hell outside the city without food, or here?

The izakaya called "Ranju·Qili" was built on the street not far from the veranda.Many customers from the veranda will come here, so the business is not bad.It is said that the proprietress of the izakaya used to be the "oiran" of the verandah, just like the current oiran, Xiaozi, the proprietress was once a star and idol that everyone watched in Wano country.

Later, for unknown reasons, she left the verandah and became the proprietress of the izakaya.Here, she still wears the fancy clothes of the old geisha, but she always wears a fox mask, which doesn't show her real face very much.People say that the proprietress has an alluring beauty, and if you want to see her true face, you have to go to the izakaya more often and become a regular customer.

Maybe this is the sales method of the proprietress, I have to say, it is quite effective.

When Ace and Sabo pretended to be guests and walked into the izakaya, it was already full of people, no worse than the veranda next door.The small tavern was bustling with activity, and many guests who were already drunk were entertaining themselves day and night, as if they wanted to forget what the current Wano country is like.

A little girl wearing a kimono and a fox mask immediately appeared in front of the two of them, and she said, "Welcome, guests, please follow me here."

Her invitation seemed irresistible, Ace and Sabo didn't say anything, they could only follow her into the interior of the izakaya.I thought she would stop near an empty table, but I didn't expect that she would lead the two of them all the way out of this lively room.

Going out from the back of the room, you can see a long corridor.One side of the corridor is a beautifully landscaped courtyard, and the other side seems to be a private room specially provided for distinguished guests. There are voices of people talking from time to time.

"that……"

"Please come with me."

There was no chance for Ace or Sabo to ask questions. The maid-like girl in front turned several corners in the corridor and was taken by them to a relatively quiet private room.

The maid stopped in front of the sliding door and said, "Mrs. Shi Jiang will personally entertain the two of you. Please come in."

Who is Mrs. Shi Jiang... Ace realized that their arrival had been expected, and he and Sabo's actions had been monitored since he didn't even know when.He glanced at Sabo, Sabo nodded, and the two entered the room in front of them maintaining vigilance.

There was a faint scent of incense in the room, and the banquet was already set up.A white samurai sword was placed on one side of the room, and in the upper seat, a woman wearing a gorgeous black cherry pattern kimono with complicated and beautiful makeup, holding a long and thin pipe in her hand leaned against several stacked The cushion is half lying down.

Even though she is now wearing a fox mask covering most of her face, she can still feel her luxurious and graceful beauty.

The maid leading the way did not follow in, but closed the sliding door behind Ace and Sabo.There was no way, the two could only walk in one after the other.Ace spoke first, "Mrs. Shi Jiang... right? You seem to have expected us to come here."

"That's natural." Mrs. Shi Jiang took a puff of the cigarette stick and blew out the blue smoke, "After all, even in this Wano country, there is no second person who uses other people's heart to approach my shop."

"!" Ace subconsciously raised his hand to touch the scar on his chest, and then he understood that Shi Jiang was a member of the "exorcist family" that Chris said.So he went straight to the point and said, "Is this so obvious to you guys... Chris didn't even notice it."

"Oh, that kid's magic power is weak. The new generation will always be like that, and you can't force him." Mrs. Shi Jiang's tone changed, and she waved her hand to Ace and Sabo to sit down, "Where you go to the store When I left, I found you. Come on, sit down and sit down."

Ace raised an eyebrow, but Sabo had already sat down first.The two of them sat side by side in front of the banquet, hesitated for a moment, and started to eat unceremoniously.

"As a party to such an unheard-of contract, you are quite energetic, kid." Mrs. Shi Jiang seemed to be looking Ace up and down, and she said, "The person who gave you his heart must love you deeply."

"..." Hearing this, Ace stopped eating.He took a sip of his drink and said, "I'm here because of her. Chris said you might have a way. I need your help."

"I can't help you return your heart to her, okay?"

"Not that," Ace said. "I want the power to protect her. I want to be able to sense what she experiences all the time. I want to have the power to at least fight those things."

"—do you want to 'enchant'?"

"It's really professional. I don't need to explain more." Ace smiled, he stretched out a hand, and then the flame burned from his hand, "Can you 'enchant' this flame? ? Mrs. Shi Jiang?"

"........."

Mrs. Shi Jiang looked at the flame, she stopped smoking, she didn't speak immediately, as if she was remembering something, until suddenly there was a noisy voice outside the door, as if someone was yelling and arguing, the voice became more and more Finally, someone suddenly opened the sliding door and broke in!

"Mrs. Shi Jiang! Where is Mrs. Shi Jiang?! Ahh!"

A drunken middle-aged man ignored the obstruction of the maids and rushed into the room. He immediately saw Shi Jiang sitting there, and then laughed: "It really is here! Mrs. Shi Jiang ! I have been here so many times, and you still refuse to see me! Even Xiao Zi, the oiran in the corridor, has seen me!"

"...My guest, please abide by the rules of our store." Mrs. Shi Jiang was very calm. She gently raised her cigarette rod, knocked it on the edge of the incense burner next to her, and said, " If you have any needs, you can tell me through the maid instead of breaking into other people's rooms."

"What?" The man's expression suddenly changed, he turned his head and glanced at Ace and Sabo, although he was surprised, but he still didn't forget to eat, and then said, "You don't see me because of these two brats. Are they?! Are they as high as me? I have money too! Mrs. Shi Jiang! I can get anything you want!"

"Guest, please calm down. This is not a verandah..."

"Didn't you just come out of the veranda! Don't mess with me! Shi Jiang!"

The guest's attitude suddenly changed, he raised his voice, and glared at Shi Jiang: "You have looked down on me from the beginning! I don't know what you, a geisha, are so arrogant!! In the veranda, there is no woman who dares to neglect me like this Me! Think it over for me! Shi Jiang! You little tavern! I'll be able to—”

"It stinks..." Suddenly, Mrs. Shi Jiang changed the subject and said this.

"What, what?" Because this sentence was so sudden, the guest was also stunned, thinking that he had heard it wrong.

"I said... it stinks to death." Shi Jiang stood up while repeating her own words, her posture was still elegant and gorgeous.Although he was just standing, he had an aura as if he was in the way of an oiran.

"You... are you talking about me?!"

"Will anyone else here let me say that?"

"You, this, woman, person——!!!"

Shi Jiang's words completely angered this person, he shouted angrily and rushed towards Shi Jiang!Ace and Sabo were still thinking about holding hands, but they didn't expect that before they had time to move, Shi Jiang had already dodged past the tall man rushing over, and then retreated to a corner of the room, quickly pulling out the white handle. knife--

"How dare you--insult me!! You're just an outdated geisha!!" The guest was caught in the air, he turned around, still furious, and overturned the banquet as if losing his mind, trying to rush towards Shijiang again! !

However, Shi Jiang had already rushed in front of him with small steps!I saw the flash of the knife!

Blood sprayed from the guest's body, and the brawny man who was shouting just now fell to the ground without making a sound!Shi Jiang flicked off the blood on the knife, and looked coldly at the black mist emerging from the person who fell on the ground through the fox mask: "My Wuguitang family has been fighting for generations..."

Huh... Ace fell asleep at some point.

Kacha... Sabo poked Ace to wake him up, and took a bite of the apple in a daze.

"Crack... vomit..."

The man who fell on the ground suddenly moved, and an indistinct sound came out of his throat. At this moment, all the maids ran over from the place they had just avoided.

"Send the guests to another room to rest." Shi Jiang put the knife into its sheath while saying so, "Evil, spirit, retreat, disperse."

At this moment, the black mist on the man's body completely disappeared, and he himself seemed to have lost consciousness.The maids didn't say anything, as if they were already very familiar with this situation.They carried the man out of the room in groups of two or three.

At this time, Shi Jiang took off his fox mask.

Just like the rumors, even though she has retired, she still has an alluring beauty.This beauty has reached the point where her age cannot be seen.However, one side of her eye was a slightly weird blue-green color, and there were some ugly burn marks next to the eye.

Maybe that's why she wears the fox mask.She directly ignored the lively situation just now, looked at Ace who had just woken up and said, "There is no doubt that the owner of your heart must love you now. What about you? Can you also come up with the same Love her at a price?"

"If I take out my heart now, she can be saved and live an ordinary life, then I will take out my heart and give it to you now." Ace also looked at Mrs. Shi Jiang, and he said, "I'm not afraid of anyone Come to question me... Mrs. Shi Jiang. You don't have to ask so many questions. Just answer me, can you do it?"

"Enchanting is not a magic that gives power to someone fixedly, but a magic that fulfills wishes." Is it magic or a prank?Mrs. Shi Jiang was not sure either.Rather than saying that this is a gift from God, it is more like a kind of irony and ridicule.

"Chris and... a guy I know said that enchanting is putting magic on a weapon to make it more effective against demons or something like that," Ace said, "and make it easier to detect that."

"That's just one of the effects. If the enchantment is successful, the form of expression is also related to the wish made. In the final analysis, this is just the summoning of the devil."

"We still have to use their power after all..."

"Of course. The so-called magic is the power of dreams."

"I see." It doesn't matter anymore.Ace said, "I know exactly what I want, and I've decided. If the enchantment works, it doesn't really matter to me what it is."

"...This eye can no longer be seen." Mrs. Shi Jiang didn't say anything directly, but raised her hand and touched her left eye, which had turned into a strange blue-green color, "This is the failure." The price. Because my wishes are different from someone's."

What do you mean... Could it be that Mrs. Shi Jiang did similar things to herself before?

"I can cast this magic for you. You don't need to donate your heart, you just need..." Madam Shi Jiang raised her hand and pointed to one of Ace's eyes, "I only need one eye. If you succeed Now, with this eye of yours, you can see what the person in your heart sees. And if you fail..."

Mrs. Shi Jiang pointed to her blind eye again.

"I see." The price is an eye, right?Ace started eating again, "It's just an eye...it's much easier than I thought. You Xiang gave me her heart, so what's the point if I give her an eye? This little thing...let me do as much as I want for her."

"Hey...you're asking more questions." Sabo really couldn't stand it anymore. He replaced Ace who started to give up thinking because he had already got the answer he wanted, and said, "Specifically speaking, what kind of technology is this?" What about Mrs. Shi Jiang?"

"This is magic, kid." Technology... What a cute description.It would be nice if it was technology, but it's magic.There is a price to pay.Mrs. Shi Jiang showed a wry smile, and she said, "This is my talent."

Yeah.Each of you has a different magical talent.Chris's mother would have the magic to see the future, you would have the magic to grant people's wishes, and only Chris would do nothing but piss people off.

Szabo almost understood, and said, "Let's talk about the risks, then. My brother doesn't care too much about it, but I think we have a right to know?"

Is it a different type from his brother?Mrs. Shi Jiang looked at Sabo and said: "I will let your brother enter the dream world, where he will pass the tailor-made test, overcome all the temptations of demons... and then reach an end point. If even the end point test is not enough Once overcome, the enchantment will succeed. He will be closer to the dream world and realize his wish."

"That is to say, if it succeeds, Ace will be able to see those things and fight them more effectively, right?"

"Ah. There is indeed such a form of manifestation. But it also means that he will be disturbed by it. He often sees things that do not belong to this world, hears strange voices, and becomes sensitive to the state of the barrier... although not so much As obvious as the gifted are, for some it's enough of an unimaginable mental torment."

It seems to say... I will become able to experience a part of the feeling of fragrance.Sabo understood this aspect, and then he asked again: "I know that all magic has a price, so what is the price of this magic?"

"..." Ask me what the price is... Don't you all think that what you just said is the price?You... no.It should be said, what has happened to the child you want to save?

Mrs. Shi Jiang paused for a while, and she said: "For human beings, losing the barrier between dreams and dreams is already a price."

"Ah~~ I'm full!" Ace had already finished eating at this moment, and he said while stroking his stomach, "Okay! Mrs. Shi Jiang! Let's start! Do you have anything else to prepare? I want to start sleeping now." ?"

"Don't you...don't you feel scared?" Mrs. Shi Jiang felt a little strange, she said, "If you fail the test, losing one eye is the smallest loss. You may have to pay more What's more, if the other party is different from what you imagined, or even just a mistake made a wrong decision...you may even die in the dream world, is that okay?"

"Ah. I already understand the risks." Death at worst.I see.Ace said, "Youxiang told me that if you can't do it, don't promise it casually... But ah, I have already promised her that I will not die. So I must abide by this agreement now. I will not Dead. I will definitely pass this test alive. So, help me, Mrs. Shi Jiang."

Do you really understand... Mrs. Shi Jiang was a little worried. She looked at Sabo, hoping that Sabo would understand her worries.As a result, Sabo just spread his hands, he said: "No matter what I tell him, he will never give up. But this matter is the same for me... If possible, I would like to go with Ace."

"It's enough for me to take the risk alone. If something happens, I'll leave it to you, Sabo."

"I can't help it~~"

Sabola raised his voice, and he said, "I know. But you'd better not be in danger, don't forget that you also promised me that you would coax Youxiang with me."

"Hey... can you think of a way to keep her from crying, Sabo?"

"You still have the nerve to let me find a way! Why don't you always make her cry!"

"Isn't there no other way for me..." Ace scratched his hair a little aggrieved, and said, "Forget it, anyway, I don't think it's very difficult! Let's start now, Mrs. Shi Jiang! Don't you still Do you need to prepare anything else?"

Of course!Do you think you are really going on an outing!Mrs. Shi Jiang didn't know how to complain about this person, but she felt that he was not blindly confident.and……

Raising her hand again to touch the blind eye, although Mrs. Shi Jiang failed herself, she still believed, or wanted to believe in the connection and bond between people.If so, try again.Let the stranger in front of you prove to yourself... the pain in this eye only represents one person, not all human beings.

"You will enter a deep sleep. During this period, someone needs to protect your body here."

Mrs. Shi Jiang seemed to have made a decision, she said: "However, since your brother is here, I don't have to worry about this. You wait here for a while, and I will be back soon. Before that, there is still time to regret it oh?"

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The author has something to say:

Chris's mother, Yulian, uses magic to see the future.Mrs. Shi Jiang can use magic to make wishes come true.Youxiang can use magic to summon demons.These are actually innate, innate.It cannot be learned, nor can it be eliminated.And Ace and the others have already understood that there is a high probability that Youxiang will not be able to become an ordinary person. Now their thoughts are:

Since the pain of people may not be truly connected, then I can only become like you, so that I can understand your suffering.

And if Ace succeeds, he won't get magic, but just a 'price'.He chose to obtain the same pain as Youxiang, just to be able to empathize with her.

(The so-called "enchantment" actually breaks the barrier and brings people closer to the dream world.)

Everyone in the exorcist family knows powerful magic, except Chris, who knows nothing.

Chris: But I'm an ex-boyfriend.

Sabo: You are so proud! !