A Stardew Valley farmer came to Gensokyo.

Xia Xun felt like she was about to die.

My legs felt like they were filled with lead, every step was incredibly heavy, my breathing was as heavy as a broken bellows, and my back was already soaked with sweat.

When he finally saw the familiar red torii gate and shrine pillars at the end of his line of sight, he was almost moved to tears.

"I swear!" Xia Xun leaned against a tree trunk by the roadside and gritted her teeth as she made her vow, "I will absolutely, absolutely never walk to the shrine again until I learn flight magic!"

"Marisa! How dare you show your face in front of me?!"

Suddenly, a clear yet angry shout came from the direction of the shrine; it was Hakurei Reimu's voice.

Boom!

Immediately afterwards, a deafening explosion shook the air.

Xia Xun suddenly looked up and saw a huge, black and white Yin-Yang jade, carrying astonishing spiritual power, shooting out of the shrine courtyard like a cannonball and tearing through the sky!

"Hey! Reimu! Are you trying to kill me?!"

Marisa Kirisame narrowly dodged to the side, the Yin-Yang Orb whistling past the edge of her wizard's hat, the force of the wind making her blonde hair dance wildly.

She steadied herself and angrily shouted at the red and white shrine maidens in the courtyard of the shrine below.

At that moment, Xia Xun had just stepped onto the last few stone steps leading to the shrine.

What came into view was a scene of Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame confronting each other—or rather, engaging in a heated exchange.

?

Xia Xun stood there, looking completely bewildered.

The tense atmosphere before them, the lingering spiritual energy in the air, and the undisguised anger on the faces of the two parties involved.

He silently took a half step back, and a thought flashed through his mind: Maybe we should come back another day?

This situation is definitely not suitable for gift-giving or business negotiations!

If I were caught in the aftermath of the battle between the two big shots and died unexpectedly, that would be too frustrating and not worth it at all!

Thinking of this, Xia Xun could no longer hold back.

He took a deep breath and shouted with all his might into the shrine grounds:

"Stop! Stop! You must stop fighting!"

The sudden sound of a third party was like a drop of water thrown into a boiling oil pan, instantly attracting the full attention of the two people in the courtyard.

Marisa Kirisame and Reimu Hakurei turned their heads at the same time, their gazes fixed on Natsumi at the entrance of the stone steps.

Upon seeing him, both of them paused for a moment, then their faces lit up with joy.

Although the reasons for this joy are slightly different.

One is the pure joy of seeing a new friend suddenly appear.

The other is more like the joy of a shop owner seeing potential customers come to their door.

"Isn't this Xia Xun? What are you doing here?" x2

Marisa Kirisame and Reimu Hakurei asked in unison, their voices almost overlapping.

Xia Xun composed herself, first nodding to Marisa Kirisame as a greeting, then turning to Reimu Hakurei, trying to keep her tone calm:

"Of course I'm here to return the favor to Ms. Reimu and thank you for your help before."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "By the way, I would also like to buy some talismans from you for protection."

After speaking, his gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, his face filled with confusion and helplessness:

"But what are you all doing? Why did you suddenly start fighting?"

Upon hearing the words "return gift" and "purchase of talismans," the light in Reimu Hakurei's eyes instantly brightened.

The fierce aura that had risen from her during the battle receded like the tide, replaced by a passion that Xia Xun found difficult to describe precisely.

The shrine maiden put away the large skewer that had just been pointed at Marisa Kirisame, and instantly transformed into a shy young girl by holding her hands to her chest.

She tilted her head slightly, her eyes fixed on Xia Xun with a gaze that could almost drown a person, filled with deep and devoted attention.

"Xia Xun~"

Reimu Hakurei's voice became unusually soft, with a slight upward rise at the end, carrying a sweetness that made one's bones melt:

"Please come in quickly, I'll serve you the best tea right away!"

Operation Twenty-Eight: The Great Rat Extermination Campaign

Reimu Hakurei completely ignored Marisa Kirisame, who was still fighting above her head.

Ignore ignore.

Then, with boundless enthusiasm, we welcomed Xia Xun's arrival.

If Xia Xun hadn't been self-aware, he would have thought that this Hakurei shrine maiden had become his lapdog.

Following Reimu Hakurei into the shrine's living room, Natsumi had barely sat down on a cushion by the low table for two minutes when a cup of hot tea was pushed in front of him.

"Please have some tea~" Reimu Hakurei knelt opposite him, her hands clasped on her knees, her posture impeccably elegant, and her face still bearing a near-perfect smile.

Xia Xun looked down at the teacup in front of her.

Then, he fell silent.

This is a plain white porcelain cup with some minor scratches and chips on the edge, indicating that it has been used for quite some time.

The tea in the cup was a very pale, almost transparent yellowish-green color, with a few fine tea leaves floating on the surface—literally just dust, with almost no complete leaf shape visible.

It was completely different from the bright red, fragrant black tea he had tasted at Alice's house yesterday.

It's also different from the tea I had at Hieda Akyuu's place this morning, which, although it was also black tea, was equally exquisite and delicious.

This cup of tea... is clearly made from tea dust, and it's of rather ordinary quality.

Xia Xun subconsciously looked up at Hakurei Reimu sitting opposite him.

A cup of tea, also in a plain white porcelain cup, was placed in front of the shrine maiden.

But her drink...

Xia Xun's gaze fell on the liquid in the cup, which could hardly be called tea.

The water was clear and colorless, with a tiny, almost invisible tea dregs at the bottom of the cup.

For a moment, Xia Xun became even more silent.

Marisa Kirisame, who had been floating in the sky with her arms crossed watching the show, saw that Reimu Hakurei had finally calmed down and switched back to her normal guest-welcoming mode, so she boldly fell from the sky and walked into the house without any politeness.

"Hey, Natsumi, what brings you here to see Reimu?" Marisa plopped down on the cushion next to Natsumi and patted his shoulder casually.

Marisa was clearly used to Reimu Hakurei's crazy outburst.

After all, young girls always have a few days when their emotions are particularly unstable, right?

Xia Xun twitched the corner of his mouth, and Marisa smiled in response.

After hesitating for a moment, he still picked up the teacup, preparing to take at least a sip.

However, just as the rim of the glass was about to touch her lips—

Boom!

A chilling, almost tangible killing intent suddenly erupted from the other side!

Xia Xun froze instantly, feeling as if he had been doused with ice water, chilled to the bone.

He suddenly looked up at Reimu Hakurei.

The priestess remained kneeling there, her face still bearing that perfect smile.

But in those eyes burned a cold and violent flame, and the aura emanating from him was as heavy as an abyss, making it almost impossible for Xia Xun to breathe.

W-what happened?!

Xia Xun's brain went crazy.

Is it because he wants to drink this cup of tea?

Is it because this was the last bit of flavorful stuff left at the shrine, and this outsider drank it, that Reimu got angry?

But she brought it up herself!

Before Xia Xun could sort out her thoughts, Bo Li Ling Meng had already started to move.

Her movements were so fast that they left only a blur on her retina.

The priestess suddenly raised her right fist, her arm slicing through the air with a sharp whooshing sound, her fist carrying a chilling force, and slammed down—

"Waaah!"

Marisa Kirisame, who had just peeked over to reach for a small, seemingly random piece of leftover pastry on the table, let out a short cry of pain.

Xia Xun's gaze clearly captured that scene:

Reimu Hakurei's fist landed solidly on Marisa Kirisame's delicate, fair face.

The moment the fist made contact with her cheek, Marisa's face twisted and deformed under the enormous impact, her soft facial skin caved in, and then was pulled to one side with the push of the fist. Like a baseball hit by a bat, she flew backward at an astonishing speed.

boom!

Marisa's body crashed through the sliding door of the living room, leaving a human-shaped gap in the wooden door frame, before slamming heavily onto the ground in the courtyard, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"My shrine does not welcome rats that steal the last of the food!!!"

Reimu Hakurei's roar echoed like thunder within the shrine.

The anger contained in that voice was so real that Xia Xun could even feel the floor beneath his feet trembling slightly.

Then, in the brief moment of deathly silence, Xia Xun heard it clearly.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

A faint yet distinct groan, the sound of intestines churning, emanated from the abdomen of the shrine maiden opposite, who was radiating an aura of demonic power.

"Xia Xun, please wait a moment."

Reimu Hakurei's voice pulled Natsumi back to reality from her turbulent emotions.

The priestess had stood up, her face once again displaying that warm smile. If it weren't for the terrifying aura still surrounding her, the smile would almost be described as gentle.

"I'll go and finish the rat extermination work I wasn't able to complete earlier."

She nodded to Xia Xun, then turned and walked step by step toward the courtyard.

Each step felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Her back was as straight as a pine tree, and her red and white shrine maiden dress fluttered in the sunlight passing through the dilapidated sliding door. The aura she exuded was as deep and imposing as a mountain peak, so heavy that it seemed to freeze the air.

In the courtyard, Marisa Kirisame rubbed her swollen cheek, hissing and gasping for breath as she stumbled to her feet.

She looked up at the shrine maiden who emerged from the shrine, radiating fighting spirit. Her golden-brown eyes held no fear, but instead burned with fierce flames.

"It hurts so much, Reimu!"

Marisa suddenly pulled out her signature miniature octagonal stove from her waist, shouting with high fighting spirit:

"Since you want to fight, then I'll show you how powerful I am!"

The battle has begun.

Xia Xun sat in the shrine's living room, staring blankly through the gap in the sliding door that Marisa had broken open, at the two intersecting figures in the courtyard.

The talismans, like fluttering snowflakes, traced dazzling trails in the air with their shimmering light; the black and white Yin-Yang jade spun and roared, each impact unleashing a deafening explosion; the seven-colored magic cannon beams tore through the air, scorching vegetation and cracking the ground wherever they passed.

The radiance of spiritual power and the torrent of magic intertwined and collided, creating a series of explosions. Waves of air swept in one after another, making the eaves of the shrine rattle.

For a fleeting moment, Xia Xun felt as if she were not in a secluded shrine courtyard, but had stumbled into the heart of a modern battlefield.

The cannons roared, and shrapnel flew everywhere.

Fortunately, Reimu Hakurei still remembers that Natsumi was her benefactor who came to her door to provide for her, and Marisa Kirisame also remembers that Natsumi was her new friend.

Although their battle was so fierce it could be described as earth-shattering, all their attacks were precisely controlled within the courtyard, and not a single talisman, yin-yang jade, or magic cannon shot reached Xia Xun, who was sitting in the living room.

Even flying pebbles and wood chips are deflected by an invisible barrier when they approach the opening in the sliding door.

Realizing this, Xia Xun gradually relaxed from her initial tension and fear.