Why can't humans do it too?

Xin Ke suddenly stopped talking, and Su Er also raised his head. They looked at each other with their eyes slightly open. Without needing to communicate, they both knew who the other was thinking of.

"Speaking of twisting and rebuilding the rules, we seem to have forgotten about that guy?"

"Yeah, that guy... he really shouldn't have done that. Is this what they mean by 'blind spots under the lamp'?"

"Was it our oversight...?"

"Let's go."

"Hmm~"

In Suer's hut, three cups of tea and a plate of snacks were served, with two incense burners on either side, the rising smoke filling the room with a sense of tranquility.

"...Putting aside the reason, being invited here by you in such a grand manner truly makes me feel flattered," Yakumo Yukari said, taking a deep breath as she looked at the man in front of her with a serene smile.

Was it just her imagination? Why did she see a hint of eagerness in that serene smile?

"Eighth Miss..."

"...Just call me Yakumo, or you can call me Yukari."

“Okay, then it’s Yakumo.” With a snap of his fingers, Su Er ignored Yakumo Yukari’s wariness and refilled her empty teacup with water. “Don’t be shy, have some tea, have some tea.”

Silently, Yukari Yakumo reached out for the fourth time and drank the scalding hot water in the teacup in front of her in one gulp. She then put the teacup back, seemingly elegant and composed. But only the loud sound of the teacup hitting the table could prove how turbulent this banshee's heart was at that moment.

Chapter Seventy-One: Making a Name for Oneself

"...You can just say what you need. As long as it's within my power, I will definitely not refuse...So there's really no need for this." Watching Su Er refill her tea with a smile, Yakumo Yukari felt her brow throbbing. She couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

To be more precise, she felt restless and uncomfortable all over. Nowadays, there are not many things that can make her feel this way, but there are two in this room.

"Haha, I was just worried you'd be thirsty," Su'er said with a dry laugh, putting down the teapot.

Tea leaves and tea water are beverages that will only gradually become used by Suer for daily drinking and entertaining guests at least tens of thousands of years from now. In this era, only he would do such a thing. Yakumo Yukari has drunk such novel beverages at Suer before, but the feeling she has today is unprecedented—there probably wasn't any medicine in the tea water, right?

Yakumo Yukari secretly used her demonic power to examine her body.

Everything is normal and I feel good.

Although the atmosphere between Sue and Yakumo Yukari was harmonious except for their first meeting, Sue never let go of her murderous intent towards Yakumo Yukari. Even Yakumo Yukari herself knew this, so every time she visited the banshee in a seemingly relaxed manner, she was on high alert.

This time was no exception... The only problem was that this time Su Er really had no intention of killing. In fact, when asked for a favor, he didn't know how to bring it up. After all, he knew that his relationship with Yakumo Yukari was not just superficial, but rather that they had never been close.

'Wouldn't it be too abrupt to ask if I've eaten yet?'

"You should know about the changes in Izumo Province, right?" After putting aside the question that had inexplicably popped into his mind, Suer hesitated for a while before choosing a suitable question as a starting point.

“…Of course,” Yakumo Yukari immediately saw that this man didn’t actually want to ask that, but she still went along with the question and answered, “There is no need to hide anything from you. In fact, everything is under my control right now.”

"Including the banishment and slaughter of monsters?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Suer asked, raising an eyebrow. "Even if some of the monsters don't respect you and are unwilling to obey your orders, most of them are just ordinary monsters, right? The kind that will respond to you as soon as you raise your voice."

Yukari Yakumo holds an extremely high position in Izumo. In human terms, she is a rising star among the yokai. With most of the older yokai either dead or in hiding and unwilling to get involved, she is a banner for the yokai in Izumo. She is also the one who communicates with the high-ranking gods of Izumo and discusses national affairs together.

Although Sull didn't see Yakumo Yukari when the gods of Izumo launched that massacre, he didn't believe that this incredibly fast-running female demon would just die so quietly. It was more likely that she was held up somewhere by people sent by the gods and couldn't get to the scene.

Believing in the principle that evil deeds last a thousand years, Yukari Yakumo, a youkai with lofty ambitions, is categorized by Sull as the type who would do something extraordinary even if she had to get off the bed. It's impossible for her not to cause a big commotion before she dies.

To get a bit off-topic, in short, Suer originally thought that Yakumo Yukari had been tricked by the gods and had disappeared for so long, but he didn't expect that in the end, he went to Kazaki in the morning to ask her to help him find Yakumo Yukari, and Yakumo Yukari came to visit him in the afternoon.

“That’s right,” Yakumo Yukari nodded in agreement, not denying Suer’s words at all. “They do indeed have the determination to follow me.”

"but?"

"But this determination was not firm enough."

Sure enough, Suer knew that there was more to what the banshee had to say, and Yakumo Yukari's confession proved that she was not completely ignorant about Izumo... and it was very likely that she was the one who orchestrated it and was personally involved.

“For a race like humans whose lifespan is no more than thirty years, a hundred years is an unimaginable long time, but for youkai it is extremely short,” Yukari Yakumo said calmly. “They watched this city being built little by little, expanding little by little, and becoming more and more lively and prosperous, regarding it as their home… their nest.”

“But in reality, Izumo has always been a country established by the gods of the Susanoo lineage… and its master has never changed—the gods,” Shinko suddenly followed up on Yakumo Yukari, nodding to each other as they looked over. “I think I understand.”

"Thank you for your understanding," Xiang Xinke bowed slightly to show her respect. Yakumo Yukari knew how important this semi-transparent soul was to this man. "Later, at the place where the sun rises in the eastern part of Ashihara no Katsuyu, I will establish a kingdom that belongs only to us youkai. I hope you will come to our celebration banquet then. It will be the glory of all youkai."

“…Ah, we will,” Xin Ke nodded in agreement after glancing at Su Er.

Sul has been silent ever since Yakumo Yukari admitted it, but he wasn't thinking about any grand principles about humans and demons. He just felt that if Daigo were here, he would be very sad after hearing what Yakumo Yukari said.

The yokai, slaughtered and driven from their self-proclaimed lairs, were filled with anger and resentment. Yet, they united because of their hatred, gathering under the banner of Yakumo Yukari, who was raising her flag and shouting. They even established a kingdom of only yokai in the east of Ashihara no Naka de.

Even without going to the scene, Su Er knew how Yakumo Yukari would use her seductive voice to shout out what those youkai most desired at that moment. Her scheme was not complicated, even surprisingly simple, but the effect was excellent—her ambition was about to be fulfilled, and her dream was about to be realized.

That ruthless guy.

“…Congratulations, congratulations,” Su Er sighed and gave a perfunctory bow. Then Xin Ke pinched his waist, and in the pain he suddenly remembered why he had invited Yakumo Yukari over today. He quickly put on a friendly smile.

Well, it was called a friendly smile, but in Yakumo Yukari's eyes it was actually more like a fawning smile. She often saw this kind of smile on the faces of youkai who wanted to get something from her—and she felt uncomfortable all over again. To be honest, she would rather face the state of Sull from a few seconds ago.

"...Um, is there anything I can help you with?" Yakumo Yukari asked with a wooden face, barely able to contain herself.

"Haha, it's nothing serious... Little Eight..." Su Er refilled the teacup. "What are your dreams? Uh, I mean, besides becoming the Lord of Yokai, like becoming a Space Yokai or something?"

Chapter Seventy-Two: Persuasion

"...Yakumo, or Yukari."

"Of course, of course, so Zi, what are your dreams?"

"..."

Yukari Yakumo was speechless. Why did this question sound like there was a trap in it? Of course she had dreams, but her dreams had been realized through her own efforts... or had already been realized. And then there was that novel term.

"Space?" Yukari Yakumo repeated in confusion. What did that mean?

“Space.”

Suer repeated, then pointed to the ceiling. Of course, since they were still inside, even if Yakumo Yukari looked up, she could only see the wooden ceiling.

"...Have you considered taking a trip to the moon?" After a moment's thought, Su Er decided to abandon his plan to continue beating around the bush.

"The moon?!" Her pupils dilated slightly, and Yukari Yakumo's mouth gaped open in astonishment. She now understood what Su Er had been trying to say after all this time. "You've found a path to the moon?! The Milky Way has started flowing again?!"

For Yukari Yakumo, this was absolutely terrible news. She knew that such a calamity-like creature roaming the earth would inevitably cause unpredictable consequences that would affect everyone.

If that celestial river were to resume its flow, it would mean that the gods of Takamagahara could once again set foot on Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, and even the Kingdom of Yomi would reopen. The Yamato Kingdom, which had just been extinguished, would reignite its flames. The gods would never allow the yokai to establish a country in Ashihara no Nakatsukuni that only yokai could enter.

Although the land of Ashihara Chugoku is vast, not an inch of it is superfluous.

This was the worst news for Yukari Yakumo, without a doubt; her ambitions...

"Hello, Yakumo? Yukari? Hello? Wake up?"

Her dilated pupils contracted again, and Yukari Yakumo finally saw the man's finger waving in front of her eyes.

"...Ah, I'm listening."

"So listen to what he has to say before you start overthinking. The Milky Way hasn't started flowing again at all, so you can relax now," Su Er rolled his eyes in annoyance. Before he could finish speaking, the banshee opposite him fell into a pupil-wide earthquake and didn't respond to his calls.

"Really?!" Yakumo Yukari exclaimed excitedly, slamming her hand on the table. Realizing her outburst, she sat back down and sighed with relief, saying, "That's wonderful! So you've found a shortcut to cross the Milky Way and reach the moon? As expected of you, your strength is truly trustworthy."

Yukari Yakumo is naturally curious about Takamagahara and the moon. If she could sneak up there to take a look, she would certainly not refuse. To be honest, as a youkai, she is quite curious.

"..."

Unable to respond to this expectation, Su Er silently took a sip of tea.

"Is there some kind of ritual required? Or did you directly open up a brand new path with your great power?" Yukari Yakumo was still guessing. "Actually, every flying youkai has tried to get close to that Milky Way when they have enough power, but no one can get any closer to the top from the edge of the Milky Way. It's not an illusion or a maze, it's just that the distance remains unchanged."

Yukari Yakumo sighed regretfully as she finished speaking.

"Does that include you, a monster like that?" Xin Ke asked, raising an eyebrow.

Things seem to be getting bad. You see, they specifically sought out Yukari Yakumo so that she could use her unique abilities to overturn the rules and travel to the outer reaches of this world.

"Of course, when I first managed to manipulate the gap to reach the high sky, I got close to that beautiful Milky Way, although the final result was no different from those old monsters." Not knowing about Suer and Xinke's plans, Yakumo Yukari sighed even more heavily, "I feel a little ashamed. Back then, when I was young, I thought I could get close to that moon that generously bestows power upon all demons with my special abilities. Looking back now, I was still too immature."

"A gift of power?" Sue interrupted Yakumo Yukari, pressing her for an answer, as if he knew some important secret.

“That’s right. Haven’t you felt it? Whenever the moon becomes whole, all the youkai bathed in its light gain more or less power. In fact, this is an important way for many little youkai to become stronger,” Yakumo Yukari said, even more puzzled.

"..."

He's not a monster, so how could he possibly sense such things? Besides, it might also be limited to monsters born in this world.

"Just out of curiosity, was the method you used simply to fly upwards?" Suer didn't care how the monsters became stronger; he just wanted to hear a positive answer from Yakumo Yukari.

"Otherwise what?" Even more surprised than Sur, Yakumo Yukari tilted her head. "Actually, I also considered opening the gap to the moon, but that Milky Way blocked the gap, making it impossible to open it on the other side."

"So, the only method you've tried is the gap?" Su'er's eyes lit up.

“…Otherwise? Ah, does flying continuously towards the depths of the Milky Way count as one?” Yakumo Yukari racked her brains, then suddenly realized something. “Wait a minute, if that’s the case, then it means you…don’t have it?”

Before she could finish speaking, Yakumo Yukari considerately pointed to the top of her head.

"Of course not," he readily admitted that his progress was zero. Once he accepted his weakness, he was invincible. "Actually, the reason I invited you here was to ask you to use your abilities to take us to the moon."

"...But I can't do it either?!"

Yukari Yakumo had indeed assumed that Sull's friendly attitude meant he wanted something from her, and she was prepared to go all out to make Sull, this mobile natural disaster, owe her a favor. After all, such an opportunity was rare. But she never expected that Sull would ask for this kind of thing!

If she could go up there, she would have done it already!