Priestess Granny spoke for a long time, and Luo Taozhi sat by her side, listening intently.
She summarized the story in her mind.
In the past, Large Hannya was everyone’s guardian deity, the very foundation of the villagers’ survival, and their most trusted partner.
This lasted until one night that was eerily quiet.
It was so silent that every person and animal seemed dead. Even though the villagers were all inside their homes, they felt a deep, instinctive fear.
It wasn’t until Large Hannya’s roar suddenly echoed through the forest that the night returned to its usual state. When dawn finally broke, the villagers went out to investigate.
Large Hannya, who had been guarding the village outskirts, had vanished. All that remained was a ground covered in shredded meat, broken bones, and countless strands of glossy, pitch-black hair.
After that, Large Hannya changed. It began entering the village every two months to devour a person.
At first, it was one person every two months, then one every month, then every half a month, then every week…
Eventually, Large Hannya came to the village to eat someone almost every single day.
One day, a strong young man from the village took the scattered hair, meat, and bone fragments and mixed them into a blade mold forged from the swords of every villager.
A divine weapon was born. Holding this legendary blade, the strong young man managed to repel Large Hannya and seal it away.
Unfortunately, the name of the hero who protected the village was lost to time. All that remained was the name of the divine weapon he had forged — [Hannya Kitetsu], also known as “Dazhi-qie.”
Peace returned to the village. To commemorate the hero who had saved them, the villagers enshrined the divine sword.
As Priestess Granny spoke her final word, the system’s voice chimed in Luo Taozhi’s ear.
[Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Hannya in the Village (5)]
[Reward: 1000 XP]
[New Quest Received: Hannya in the Village (6)]
[Hannya in the Village (Final)]
[Quest Requirement: Deliver the item [Hannya’s Hair] to Priestess Granny.]
[Quest Reward: [Hannya Kitetsu]]
Looking at the clearly labeled “Final” status and the rewards on the quest panel, Luo Taozhi felt a wave of relief.
‘All that time I wasted listening to the story of Large Hannya finally paid off.’
Although the final reward wasn’t a clue regarding a Hidden Class, obtaining a decent weapon was still a win. It was certainly better than the Novice Longsword she currently held.
“So, this statue is actually [Hannya Kitetsu]?”
Luo Taozhi handed [Hannya’s Hair] to Priestess Granny and asked for confirmation regarding the location of the weapon.
“Yes, that’s right. This old woman is getting senile. I can’t believe I only just remembered something so important. It’s all my fault. If only I had remembered sooner, sigh…”
Priestess Granny took the hair from Luo Taozhi. She looked at the statue Luo Taozhi was pointing at, then down at the hair in her hands, which was emitting a faint white glow, and let out a long sigh.
“Benefactor, I truly don’t know how to thank you properly…”
“Granny, this lock of hair is enough. Let’s give [Hannya Kitetsu] to our benefactor!”
Yoshimura Umeko walked over at some point. Looking at the glowing hair in the priestess’s hands, she offered her own suggestion.
“With this lock of hair containing Large Hannya’s former power, we might actually have a chance to turn it back into our partner!”
Yoshimura Umeko wasn’t speaking blindly.
The core ability of her class, Jujutsu Master, was soul-level communication, while the core ability of Priestess Granny’s class, Priestess, was Purification.
Now that they possessed a fragment of Large Hannya’s former power, the possibility she mentioned was very real!
Compared to that lock of hair, the “Dazhi-qie,” which had already been forged into a weapon, was completely useless for their goal.
“This… All right!”
Priestess Granny hesitated for only a brief moment before nodding firmly.
She trusted Umeko, and she believed that the divine weapon of their ancestors would be more suitable in the hands of their benefactor.
“However, Benefactor, you must wait until we use the power of the hair to suppress Large Hannya. Otherwise, pulling out ‘Dazhi-qie’ will completely release its power!”
“Understood,” Luo Taozhi nodded readily.
It was just a short wait. As long as the weapon ended up in her hands, she didn’t mind.
Soon, with Yoshimura Umeko and Priestess Granny working together, they managed to achieve their goal. Although they couldn’t completely perform a Purification on Large Hannya to return it to its original form, they successfully weakened it. The effect was even better than that of “Dazhi-qie”!
After all, this was pure power from the past. Its ability to challenge the soul and purify was naturally incomparable to a weapon like “Dazhi-qie,” which carried a malevolent aura.
“Sigh… What a pity. If only we had more of Large Hannya’s old hair, we could definitely have returned it to its former self,” Priestess Granny lamented.
“It’s all right, Granny. At the very least, Large Hannya will be much weaker when it attacks the village in the future. The village’s safety is more guaranteed now,” Yoshimura Umeko said, gently patting the old woman’s back to comfort her.
“Besides, we might find more of its hair in the future. We might succeed then!”
“Sigh… Let’s hope so… Oh, that’s right.” Priestess Granny looked at Umeko, who was busy being sentimental, and remembered they still had things to do. Her gaze swept toward Luo Taozhi.
“Umeko, go and activate the mechanism behind the statue. Bring ‘Dazhi-qie’ to our benefactor.”
Priestess Granny was old, after all. The attempt to call back Large Hannya’s soul alongside Yoshimura Umeko had nearly exhausted her physical strength. She could only let Umeko handle the task for her.
It was strange, though. She hadn’t remembered what the statue in the village actually was until she saw that lock of hair. Before that, her memory of it had been a complete blank.
Although Yoshimura Umeko had been seriously injured, her recovery speed was astounding. Even though her face was still a bit pale, she could move normally.
***
[Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Hannya in the Village (6)]
[Reward: [Hannya Kitetsu] * 1]
Just as the system notification rang out, Yoshimura Umeko handed the “Dazhi-qie” from inside the statue to Luo Taozhi.
It was a classic tachi. One couldn’t tell much from its appearance alone; in fact, if Yoshimura Umeko hadn’t wiped it off when she took it out, the surface would have been covered in dust.
However, the moment Luo Taozhi took it, she felt a surge of excitement.
For no other reason than this: the equipment quality the system displayed for the tachi known as [Hannya Kitetsu] was **[Purple Grade]**!
Purple!