"Why so quiet? Don't worry, you're not out of a job yet." Chen Li walked up to Kikyo and gently poked her.
"Ah, you're back?" Kikyo, who had been in a daze, snapped back to her senses and looked at Chen Li with a complicated expression.
"Did you hear what I said? Because the Shikon Jewel was destroyed, all the youkai who coveted it came running. But there are always some evil youkai who weren't greedy for the jewel or who didn't arrive in time. And then there are these ones—the ones who aren't evil now, but who knows what they'll be in the future," Chen Li said, pointing to the group of youkai currently scavenging for usable items.
Elysia had already returned on her own, having grown bored during the long wait.
"I heard you. Preventing youkai from causing harm is the responsibility of us exorcists," Kikyo nodded.
Her feelings right now were extremely complicated.
Three hours. The massacre had only lasted for three hours.
It wasn't because Chen Li could only last for three hours, but because everyone who needed to be killed had been killed. Without a subsequent supply of energy, The Reckoning had no choice but to end.
As for the youkai who hadn't made it in time to die, they either lived too far away or were simply too slow.
In the later stages of the battle, even greater youkai couldn't last more than five seconds under the sky-blanketing rain of arrows.
A river of blood was the most accurate way to describe the horrific scene.
Kikyo had never imagined that simply posting a commission to forge a weapon out of fear that the Shikon Jewel might be stolen would result in the other party coming to her world and slaughtering more than half of the entire Sengoku period's youkai population.
It was so peaceful!
If not for the Severing Karma effect, which burned away everything of a youkai after the arrow killed it, this place would not just be a river of blood, but a mountain of corpses in a sea of blood.
However, Kikyo wasn't worried that some new youkai would be born from the resentment of this blood-soaked land. The souls of the youkai had long since been burned to nothing, leaving no conditions for new ones to form, and all the power within their blood had been completely annihilated.
"In that case, would it be alright if I used this bow for a while first?" Chen Li asked, holding out the Longbow of Peace.
"It's yours," Kikyo said slowly.
"Huh?"
"I have no use for this bow anymore," Kikyo said, shaking her head.
From within the Miracle Barrier, she had witnessed countless powerful youkai perish beneath this longbow. After confirming its might, Kikyo realized a few problems.
First, with the majority of youkai killed by Chen Li, she could easily handle the rest with her own Azusa-yumi. She didn't need this bow.
Second, once youkai were no longer a threat to humanity, humans themselves might use this longbow to create an even greater sea of blood.
Just because only a good-hearted person could use it didn't mean a good-hearted person couldn't be deceived into using it for slaughter.
This bow would be an even greater disaster than the Shikon Jewel.
And most importantly, Kikyo couldn't even begin to imagine what she could possibly offer as a forging fee.
"You won't regret it?"
"I won't." Kikyo nodded.
"Emm…" Chen Li pondered.
The proper way for a Curio Forger was to give the bow to a suitable person and let them create a miracle with it.
But he wasn't obligated to complete the commission.
Besides, any miracle Kikyo might have created had already been accomplished by him. Giving her the bow now would likely only net him a few Crystals at best.
The commission was objective; the reward it listed was what one would normally receive.
But this situation was clearly not normal.
As for the issue of Crystals… Chen Li had already made a massive profit this time!
For his first Miracle Check-in, Chen Li had received 30 Crystals, a Miracle Card, and 500 Star Stones.
And for this, his second Miracle Check-in, he had also received 30 Crystals and a Miracle Card.
[The Arrow That Once Slew a Million Youkai] (Miracle Card): No one can deny the awe-inspiring feat of eliminating eighty percent of Japan's youkai within three hours. And this was the limit of their travel speed, not the limit of your slaughtering speed.
Effect 1: All youkai, demons, ghosts, monsters, and evil people will face an initial intimidation check when they encounter you. Those with insufficient willpower will be completely unable to muster the courage to fight you. This effect grows stronger as you slay more youkai, demons, ghosts, monsters, and evil people.
Effect 2: You will progress at an astonishing rate when learning any skill related to archery or ranged combat. You will also imbue your ranged weapons with an 'aura of slaughter.' This effect grows stronger as you slay more youkai, demons, ghosts, monsters, and evil people.
Effect 3: Can be used to forge a Curio.
Sixty Crystals and two Miracle Cards were already more than worth the price of admission, and he had gotten 500 Star Stones on top of that.
"How about a deal?" Chen Li suddenly asked Kikyo.
"What kind of deal?"
"Nominally, you will still be the owner of this Longbow of Peace. You will be the one to wield it to punish the wicked and eliminate evil. You can't deny that it's faster to exorcise youkai with this bow, right?"
"Yes," Kikyo nodded.
"However, whenever I have need of this bow, I will be able to instantly summon it to my hands for battle. How about that?" Chen Li asked.
"That… is acceptable. But if the bow were to suddenly disappear in the middle of a fight, it could affect me. Perhaps I could carry two bows," Kikyo said after some consideration.
"You're so considerate, you're making me feel a little embarrassed. Don't worry, this bow can appear in the hands of two people at the same time," Chen Li said.
Summoning the bow back to his hands was a function of the Omniscience Vault, and making it appear simultaneously was also a function of the Vault.
Its name was Temporal Dislocation, a function only he could use.
The benefit was that it prevented the Curio's wielder from suddenly losing their weapon and being caught off guard.
The drawback was that it cost Star Stones—one stone per ten minutes of use.
But the time was cumulative. In other words, no matter how many times he summoned it, as long as the total time didn't exceed ten minutes, it would only cost a single Star Stone.
"Then there are no problems."
"Oh, right, let's add each other as Friends. If you ever want another Curio forged in the future, you can look for me. In return, if I ever run into danger and need to summon your projection, I hope you won't hesitate to help," Chen Li said.
This was another one of his objectives.
Placing the Longbow of Peace with Kikyo would not only allow her to collect evil souls while she slays demons, but it would also allow Kikyo, as the wielder of his Curio, to form a Friend contract with him (a hired muscle contract, really).
Under normal circumstances, Chen Li didn't have time to go around slaying demons.
Besides, while having one Longbow of Peace going on a rampage in a critical moment was good, how could it be as efficient as having two Longbows of Peace rampaging at the same time?
"No problem. And thank you for everything you have done for the people of this world," Kikyo said, her heart anything but calm as she expressed her gratitude.
From her perspective, Chen Li had not only solved the Shikon Jewel problem but also purged most of the youkai in Japan, and he asked for nothing in return. It was truly a joyous occasion.