Chapter 130: Let the Flames Purify All

Arisu Asano’s eyes sparkled at Qiao Qiao’s words. Finally, would she finally be able to witness her teacher’s agile and heroic form in action as he performed an exorcism?

The "Bonding Tree" stood before them. Due to its great age, it was as tall as a three-story building. Two massive trees were intertwined, indistinguishable from one another, their colossal canopy looming over a vast stretch of the forest. The yin energy surrounding them was thick and potent, far beyond anything a common vengeful spirit could produce. While the paulownia tree itself retained a shred of consciousness, constantly resisting the erosion of the yin energy—which made the exorcism much easier and spared them from a large-scale battle—Arisu still could not fathom how to cleanse such a massive entity efficiently. If only she had that rocket launcher the teacher used last time, perhaps it would be possible.

While Arisu was lost in thought, Qiao Qiao had already called Maki Shinoki at Shimogamo Shrine, asking her to temporarily bar tourists from entering this area. It would be quite unfortunate if someone were to be accidentally injured.

In the Tadasu no Mori forest, the candles on the holders burned in silence. Qiao Qiao briefly gauged the distance to the surroundings.

"Can I go back now?" Ryoko Kitagawa asked weakly. As a powerless, fragile shrine maiden, she felt like nothing more than a burden in the face of a battle between Qiao Qiao and a seven-hundred-year-old tree spirit.

"No, it will be over soon," Qiao Qiao replied. "Kitagawa-san, if I recall correctly, your spiritual power is the lowest among the five shrine maidens of Shimogamo Shrine, and your exorcism test scores are also the worst of the five."

"W-why are you bringing this up now?" Ryoko asked, confused and slightly offended. She could not understand his intent.

"Relatively speaking, you also have the strongest desire to be a shrine maiden. I remember your family’s supermarket was saved only after a shrine maiden resolved a supernatural incident there, allowing the business to continue," Qiao Qiao said, as if deep in thought.

"So what?" Ryoko retorted, clearly unhappy.

"It is quite ironic, isn't it? To have the desire to be a shrine maiden and an exorcist, yet be unable to perform the work effectively, while those who possess the power do not care for it at all." Before Ryoko could erupt, Qiao Qiao added, "What if I told you I could give you the ability to purge vengeful spirits?"

"?" Ryoko hesitated. Although she had once asked Qiao Qiao to teach her exorcism techniques, she was a person of common sense. She knew that the ability to exorcise was directly proportional to one's own spiritual power; a weak exorcist had no value.

Qiao Qiao could not possibly infuse his own spiritual power into her in such a short time to make her power skyrocket. Was he secretly a mad scientist masquerading as an exorcist, capable of performing human augmentation? While Ryoko remained silent, lost in thought, Qiao Qiao spoke again.

"If you infuse spiritual power into bullets, you can make them lethal to vengeful spirits. This technique is extremely simple—even a kindergartner could learn it. Given your spiritual reserves, producing three to five a day would not be an issue. Ordinary vengeful spirits can be dealt with using just one or two such bullets. If you are persistent and convert your daily spiritual reserves into exorcism ammunition, you too can possess the strength to eliminate spirits. At the same time, weapons such as blast hammers, directional anti-spirit mines, and exorcism grenades can also be applied to the work. Your athletic scores are quite impressive, so you must have good physical stamina; wielding these heavy weapons shouldn't be difficult for you."

"???" Ryoko listened to the string of nonsensical words, her head filled with question marks. Was this truly exorcism?

"Take this Bonding Tree we are dealing with now, for example." Qiao Qiao pulled a tubular device from his backpack. The main body consisted of a green cylinder with a pistol-like trigger and grip at the end. At less than fifty centimeters long, it looked like a folded umbrella in his hand.

"This is a DFR-89 35mm individual incendiary weapon," Qiao Qiao explained. "It is under 450mm in length, weighs less than 700 grams, and has an effective range of twenty to one hundred meters. It is a short-range incendiary weapon. The warhead uses white phosphorus, which, under the right conditions, can deliver a high-temperature strike of over one thousand degrees Celsius to hostile spirits within a hundred-square-meter area. Combined with infused spiritual power, purifying this area will not be difficult."

"?" Shoji, who had been listening to their conversation from the side, seemed to realize something. "Wait, Master Exorcist, is it really okay to use this in the forest?"

"It is fine. This is my improved version. I took into account the needs of urban alleyway combat—small-scale exorcisms in the city—and reduced the burn range by half. It is perfect for granting the Bonding Tree its release," Qiao Qiao said, aiming at the tree. "Kitagawa-san, I have said it before: the history of human civilization is the history of creating, improving, and perfecting tools. Exorcism techniques have a long history, but they, too, can be improved and perfected. Watch—this is an exorcism technique that incorporates modern human technology."

*Whoosh.*

A bolt of white light streaked through the night. Like a shooting star in daylight, the glow descended from Qiao Qiao’s waist toward the Bonding Tree. As it neared its target, the star suddenly detonated.

Countless points of light instantly engulfed the towering tree. Ryoko instinctively covered her eyes, for the Tadasu no Mori had become as bright as high noon. Flames roared to life along with the falling sparks, unstoppable, swallowing the intertwined trees in a single instant. Though Ryoko was not a great student, she had heard that white phosphorus was highly flammable and that the "will-o'-the-wisps" seen in some graveyards were actually phosphorous fires. Through her spiritual vision, she saw that the flames were not just burning the tree, but also consuming the dense yin energy. The massive amount of energy that she thought impossible to eradicate was being devoured by the spirit-infused fire, leaving not a trace behind.

In the midst of it all, Ryoko heard a voice: "Thank you." It was likely the final lingering remnant of the tree’s will.

The fire lasted for half an hour before being extinguished with the help of the tanuki. As Qiao Qiao had promised, the modified incendiary charge had a much smaller range, controlled strictly within the bounds of the sacred *shimenawa* rope. The Bonding Tree, which had stood for seven hundred years, was now gone. Within a five-meter radius, the earth was scorched, and not a blade of grass remained. Even the organisms in the soil had been wiped out.

Afterward, Qiao Qiao gathered water from a nearby stream, converted it into spiritual water, and sprinkled it over the scorched earth. Finally, he lit a stick of soul-calming incense at the spot where the tree had once stood.

"I hope the Bonding Tree finds reincarnation," Qiao Qiao said, closing his eyes and pressing his palms together.

"?" Reincarnation? There probably isn't even any ash left, Ryoko thought, shivering. She felt a sense of relief that she was not Qiao Qiao’s enemy. At the same time, the breathtaking power of the weapons he displayed had truly shaken her. If she could do the same...

Seeing the change in Ryoko’s expression, Qiao Qiao felt quite gratified. Indeed, once seen with one's own eyes, anyone would be moved by this simple, easy-to-understand exorcism technique that even a kindergartner could learn.

That made four.