Chương 19: looks rather strange.

"Who are you?" the girl asked curiously in her emerald green eyes. On the surface, she was a normal, sunny, and cheerful girl, but there was a sinister aura about her.

Jie Luo smiled faintly and went straight to the point: "Do you want to leave with me, to leave this cage?"

The blonde girl was taken aback, then her eyes suddenly lit up. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Why?" Jie Luo tilted her head in confusion.

"Why should I be afraid of you?"

"I'm a monster," the girl said with a bright smile, "a monster who manipulates people's hearts."

"What a coincidence," Jieluo laughed.

"I'm also a monster, a monster that steals people's hearts."

Yes, literally winning people's hearts is a natural thing to do after gaining control of the local resentment and apprehension.

She was starting to lose her composure.

Clearly startled by Jieluo's words, she flinched, her pair of fairy-like transparent wings fluttering slightly behind her waist. Then, she lowered her head and murmured softly, "I hate it so much..."

Jieluo stared at her with a puzzled look.

If she could hide her deepest fear and panic, she might be able to frighten Jieluo.

Seeing that Jie Luo didn't give any response, he remained silent.

She added, "I hate it so much..."

He was trying very hard to portray the eerie tone of a monster.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Jie Luo watched her performance quietly, while the girl stole glances at Jie Luo's face.

After a long pause, the girl hesitantly asked, "Are you really a monster?"

Jieluo nodded.

I guess so.

She believed it.

Because she didn't sense even the slightest fear deep within Jieluo's heart.

To her, Jieluo was an unknown, deep, and indescribable black hole, and she couldn't evoke any fear in Jieluo at all.

"Then..." the girl said, "I'm not going with you!"

"That's not up to you." Jie Luo smiled faintly, then slashed at the barrier with her sword.

A gaping hole appeared, accompanied by the ear-piercing sound of a knife scraping and tearing. A scream rang out, and the girl jumped up and rushed back to the shrine without looking back. She slammed the door shut, leaned against it, and her heart pounded with tension.

I'm going to die! What should I do?!

A real monster has arrived!

Jieluo's lips curled up. Through close observation, he could tell that the girl in front of him was a typical person with great mental strength who could withstand a lot of negative emotions and thus be able to stably ignore the mental influence of the tailed beast.

Born into a mad ninja clan, hatred is her disguise.

Their personalities are just like those of the tailed beasts.

Interestingly, neither Kaede nor anyone before him has ever been rumored or heard of a Jinchūriki going berserk in the more than 60-year history of Takigakure.

In this respect, it is undoubtedly much better than the five villages that suffered so much.

Was it the kindness and love of everyone in the village that inspired the Jinchūriki?

Given the level of corruption among the Takigakure leadership in the early days of the Five Great Villages, this would have been impossible. Without a doubt, it was the outstanding personal qualities and abilities of the Jinchūriki that allowed Takigakure to enjoy long-term stability.

Jieluo kicked the door open.

You should know that Yura is a monster, and she's very powerful.

"Ouch..." With a sudden cry of pain, the girl Lucy rolled on the ground like a gourd, rolling a short distance before shrinking into a corner of the shrine and watching Yura.

Tiny tears welled up in her eyes without her even realizing it, threatening to fall.

She's extremely weak...

Jieluo could hardly speak. If one ignored the subtle power in the air that had no effect on Jieluo but could influence the mental state of others, she was undoubtedly extremely weak.

It's like a mouse meeting a cat—a natural nemesis.

Therefore, even though her acting skills were poor, she could still influence the emotions of others, subtly driving them to madness and self-destruction. This was the fundamental reason why the Uji clan feared her.

Jieluo was curious about this method of utilizing negative emotions. Although she could absorb negative emotions and turn them into sustenance, she did not have any particularly effective means of using them.

"Don't you know ninja techniques?" Yura asked.

Looking at Jieluo, Lucy hesitated before nodding and saying, "Nobody taught me."

"What did they teach you?" Jieluo asked.

"We worship at the hour of the 11 o'clock in the morning." Lucy gestured and said, "I think it's called a spirit summoning technique. It's a kind of cute little thing, and it's pretty easy to use."

"Stand up," Jieluo said calmly.

"Oh..." Lucy responded weakly, standing up with some trepidation.

She won't eat me, will she?

The sixteen-year-old girl had slightly messy, medium-length blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders. She wore a red and white shrine maiden outfit and had bright green eyes. After carefully looking her up and down, Yura asked, "Wearing a shrine maiden outfit, what god do you serve?"

In the ninja world, there's no shortage of death gods and evil gods.

"Uh..." Lucy was taken aback and said, "The Sage of Six Paths."

Jie Luo narrowed his eyes slightly. The Uji clan is a ninja clan that has been passed down since the Ninjutsu era?

"Is it appropriate for you, a demon, to serve a sage?" Jieluo asked subtly.

"Is that so?" Lucy said, "My family made me serve..." Her toes nervously dug into the soles of her shoes as she said, "I don't even know what the Sage of Six Paths looks like, is he a demon or something..."

"You look quite monstrous, like the Sage of Six Paths." Jieluo chimed in, "You're a yokai too, so you're peers, like the Sage of Six Paths."

"Have you seen it before?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"I guess I've seen him before," Jieluo said.

"He certainly doesn't look human."

"Wow, that's amazing..." Lucy flattered, her eyes darting around, seemingly plotting something, probably figuring out how to escape.

At that moment, a voice rang out from deep within Lucy's heart; it was the voice of Shigeaki Nanao.

"Lucy," a handsome male voice said.

"She said she's seen the Sage of Six Paths. Ask her for his name."

Jieluo raised her eyelids slightly...

I sensed the fluctuations in emotions.

"Um, do you know the Sage of Six Paths' name?" Lucy asked.

"You seem to get along quite well with the tailed beasts..." Yura smiled.

"Let me think, is that so..."

A strand of hair gently touched the seal on Lucy's abdomen, and with the influx of demonic energy, it invaded and connected to the massive chakra in the next second.

Suddenly, the world turned upside down, and everything changed dramatically. With Lucy and Gyro, they entered the world of the mind.

The seal was so rudimentary that Chongming was able to leisurely lie amidst the beautiful scenery of birdsong and fragrant flowers in his mind.

Yura turned her head and looked up, her scarlet eyes meeting those of Nanao Jōmei.

"You..." The seven-tailed bird flapped its wings, its voice filled with surprise.

"Is there anything you want to ask me, Chongming?"

She knows my name.

For thousands of years, only the tailed beasts and the Sage of Six Paths have known the names of the tailed beasts.

Then there's no need for further words. The Seven-Tails lay down again, looking at Yura with apprehension.

This wasn't Lucy's first time in this place. After a brief moment of surprise, she quickly ran to Chongming's side, hiding behind his heavy armor and glaring fiercely at Jieluo.

"This huge thing is a ferocious tailed beast! Known as a calamity! Are you scared yet!"

"Wait, Lucy," Chongming said in a deep voice.

Ignoring Lucy's actions, Jieluo looked at Chongming and said, "Perfect timing, I have some questions to ask you."

"Please ask, powerful ninja," Chongming said, "if I know the answer."

"What's wrong with this girl?" Yura pointed at Lucy and said, "Is her power a bloodline limit?"

Chongming shook his head and said, "In terms of power, it would be more appropriate to call it Bloodline Elimination. If I'm not mistaken, this is a weakened version of the power that the Sage of Six Paths used to connect the hearts of people."

It turned out to be the case.

"The Bridge Clan?" Jielu pondered. The connections between people can be figuratively called bridges.

The connection and understanding between people seems beautiful, but in reality, due to the darkness deep in people's hearts, situations like Lucy's can occur, where people contaminate each other, and one person infects two others.

Lucy's immense negative emotions are the result of absorbing the emotions of others over time. She hasn't gone insane because her own mental strength is strong and resilient enough. As a large source of negative emotional pollution, she unconsciously pollutes those around her, causing them to go insane.

No wonder this drama of interpersonal connections came to an abrupt end during the Ninja Clan era, and was collectively abandoned by the ninjas.

In this situation, even the Sage of Six Paths, if alive, would have nothing to say and would only feel despair.

The records of the Bridge Clan were probably destroyed around that time.

Seeing that Jieluo was ignoring her, Lucy stamped her foot, feeling looked down upon, but she didn't dare to go forward.

"Then you should know that if this continues, she'll go crazy sooner or later," Jieluo said.

"Especially with you for an extended period of time."

"I know," Chongming said in a deep voice, "but you seem to have a way to deal with powerful ninjas."

"Jieluo, that's my name," Jieluo said.

"Follow me, and I'll keep her safe."

After a moment of silence, Chongming said, "Okay."

"Hey!" Lucy looked up, staring incredulously at the giant bug Chongming, and exclaimed, "What are you doing, giant bug?!"

"Go with her, Lucy," Chongming said.

"Otherwise, you won't live long."

What a mature and good little bug!

Jieluo nodded, closed her eyes, returned to the real world, and let them argue among themselves. She looked at Lucy with her eyes closed.