A Stardew Valley farmer came to Gensokyo.

"Xia Xun".

Er Yanzang opened her mouth, her voice coming through the rain. She took a step forward and slowly closed the oil-paper umbrella in her hand.

"You are in great danger."

The moment the words fell—

Boom!

A powerful demonic aura surged into the sky!

Centered on the Eryan Mazo, the rain curtain within a radius of tens of meters was suddenly blasted open!

She stood in the middle of the road, her eyes now completely transformed into inhuman vertical pupils, their depths gleaming with vigilance and determination.

Eryanzi gazed at Xia Xun's startled figure and said, word by word, "I will seal you away."

Xia Xun abruptly stopped in his tracks, completely stunned.

An unexpected encounter, inexplicable words exchanged.

He subconsciously pulled out the talisman and gripped it tightly, while his mind frantically searched for memories.

Did I offend this monster lady somewhere last night?

"Wait," Xia Xun tried to speak, "have we made some mistake—"

He hadn't finished speaking.

Niyan Mazo raised her right hand, and demonic power gathered in her palm, which transformed into its original form and rapidly grew larger.

"Further words are useless," Niiwa Makozo said coldly. "You are now the root of Gensokyo's woes, and if left unchecked, you will surely disrupt the balance of Gensokyo."

She took a step forward.

The ground beneath my feet cracked silently, the cracks spreading like a spider web.

"Today, I must deal with you, this variable—"

"Ok?"

A soft hum, tinged with doubt, suddenly came from mid-air.

The two looked up and saw a red and white figure floating silently above the rain.

Reimu Hakurei supported the barrier, holding a coin in one hand and casually resting the other on her waist. She tilted her head and looked down, her face showing a hint of displeasure at being disturbed.

"What a bold monster." Reimu's voice was lazy, but gradually turned cold. "How dare you openly attack my friend near the shrine?"

The pupils of the two rocks suddenly contracted.

"Hakurei Miko?!"

She looked up in disbelief, her beastly eyes flashing with astonishment and confusion.

No, that doesn't make sense!

According to the information she gathered, Reimu Hakurei had a falling out with her best friend Marisa Kirisame yesterday because of a "new man," resulting in a fight that left the latter crying and fleeing the shrine.

Normally, Reimu should be immersed in regret or anger at this moment. In addition, with the heavy rain today, it would be impossible for this notoriously lazy shrine maiden to leave the shrine!

Why...

Why is she here? And at this particular time?

"Wait!" Niiwa Mamizo exclaimed urgently, attempting to explain, "This person's identity is suspicious, and he's entangled with multiple factions. He might pose a threat to Gensokyo—"

"The Yin-Yang Jade".

I'm too lazy to listen to Reimus.

Anyone who dares to try to harm her sugar daddy will be driven out without mercy.

Tap tap open, tap tap open!

She formed a mudra with one hand and chanted softly.

hum-

A ball of light, interwoven with crimson and pure white, appeared before her. Initially no bigger than a fist, it rapidly expanded! The surge of spiritual energy completely pushed aside the surrounding rain, forming a huge spherical hole.

As the jade spun, a Tai Chi pattern appeared on its surface.

"It's pointless to say more."

Reimu returned exactly what Niganmazu had just said.

She flipped her wrist so her palm was facing down.

then--

Press it down hard!

"go with!"

Boom!

The Yin-Yang Jade transformed into a falling meteor!

A giant sphere of spiritual energy, over ten feet in diameter, tore through the rain curtain, trailing a long, luminous tail, and crashed toward Eryan Yuzang with the force to crush everything!

Wherever it passed, the air exploded, the rain evaporated, and even the light was distorted.

Er Yan Zhou's expression changed drastically.

She dared not take it head-on; that was the Hakurei Shrine Maiden's Yin-Yang Orb, a form of violence recognized as "outside the rules" in Gensokyo.

Any monster that gets hit head-on will be bedridden for at least ten days to half a month.

"Tsk!"

She spat and quickly retreated.

At the same time, he rapidly formed hand seals in front of his chest and chanted obscure incantations.

"Hidden!"

puff--

A plume of smoke exploded.

Just before the Yin-Yang Jade struck, Er Yan Zhou Cang's figure vanished in a wisp of smoke.

Boom! ...

The Yin-Yang Jade was smashed into the ground.

The earth shook violently.

Centered on the point of impact, the ground within a radius of several meters suddenly sank!

Soil, gravel, and vegetation were torn apart and thrown into the air by the violent spiritual power, and then crushed into dust by the subsequent shockwaves. A huge crater several meters deep appeared in the smoke and dust.

Wait until the smoke and dust settle slightly.

The figure of Eryanzizang has re-formed fifty meters away.

She stood on a fallen tree trunk, her face extremely pale.

"really……"

Eryan Cang gritted his teeth, his gaze passing through the smoke and dust, fixed on the black-haired youth who was still standing there with a blank expression.

Xia Xun.

This seemingly harmless human had become incredibly terrifying in her eyes.

Not only could she see through her schemes in a very short time, but she could also make her attack her without hesitation, causing the two who should have been allies to turn against each other in an instant.

What profound cunning! What terrifying control!

"I will remember you, Xia Xun!"

Er Yanzang shouted sharply, his voice filled with resentment and vigilance.

She gave Xia Xun one last deep look before her figure turned into wisps of smoke and completely disappeared into the rain.

All that remained was a furious warning.

"Hakurei Shrine Maiden, you've been bewitched by this man, you're beyond saving!"

"They ran really fast. I didn't expect that there would actually be people in Gensokyo who believed in the Ayabu Nichibun newspaper."

"I was too lenient with that paparazzi yesterday. Next time I'll have to ask her for damages for defamation."

Lingmeng pouted and slowly descended from the sky. The Yin-Yang Jade shrank back into her hand and disappeared into her sleeve.

She patted off non-existent dust from her shrine maiden robes, walked a few steps to Xia Xun's side, and looked him up and down a few times.

"Are you alright?"

"It's...it's alright." Xia Xun still looked a little bewildered, not knowing how she had suffered such an undeserved misfortune.

"That's fine."

Reimu breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately frowned:

"But how did you manage to provoke a monster of that caliber? Niiwa Mamizo is the leader of the Tanuki and Tsukumogami clan, a veteran among monsters."

"Normally, little demons would be trying to avoid her, but you've managed to get her to come to your door and confront you."

"I really don't know!" Xia Xun rubbed her forehead helplessly. "I just happened to run into them at Ni Tun Pavilion last night, and we didn't even exchange more than a few words."

"Who knew she would suddenly jump out today, and then the other party just inexplicably said something like 'You are too dangerous, I am going to seal you away'."

As Xia Xun said this, he couldn't help but look at Reimu Hakurei and complain, "How do I look like a nine-tailed fox? She's a great demon, yet she said I'm too dangerous and need to be sealed away!"

Chapter Fifty-Six: The Shrine Maiden's Personal Protection

"A nine-tailed fox?"

Upon hearing this, Reimu, though not quite catching the joke, actually began to seriously examine Natsumi.

She moved closer, squinted her eyes, and a faint glimmer of light appeared in her pupils.

A few seconds later, she nodded in realization.

"It might actually be possible."

"Huh?" Xia Xun was stunned.

“On your body,” Reimu pointed to Xia Xun’s chest, “there is the aura of a fox demon, very faint but of a very high level. It should be a mark that was deliberately left behind.”

She paused for a moment, then added, "However, from my observation, this aura itself is not malicious."

"On the contrary, it is a protective mark, just like wild animals use scent to mark their territory and tell other members of their kind, 'I've got this person under my protection.'"

“Small demons will instinctively avoid you when they sense this mark, and even large demons will not easily attack you because of who left the mark.”

"But that's where the problem lies."

Reimu shrugged and gave a knowing look.

"Fox demons and raccoon demons have never had a good relationship. The two races have been fighting for countless years, and it is common for them to trip each other up and use underhanded tactics."

“With such an obvious fox demon mark on you, and then being spotted by Niiwa Mazo, it’s no wonder she’s causing you trouble.”

Xia Xun fell silent, rubbing his forehead.

"So," Xia Xun concluded, "that was a tanuki demon. Because of the fox demon aura on me, she thought I was one of the fox demons and attacked me?"

"Yes, that's most likely the case." Reimu nodded.

“What an unexpected disaster…” Xia Xun sighed.

What kind of mess is this? We're just sitting at home, and a pot falls from the sky, a pot of cross-racial historical issues.

"Do you want me to remove this aura for you?" Reimu suddenly spoke, her eyes lighting up. "Just offer 500 coins, and I guarantee it will be completely clean and without leaving a trace."

"So expensive?" Xia Xun complained upon hearing this.

But after thinking about it, I shook my head.

"Never mind, since it's Miss Fox Demon's kind intention, let's keep it."

After Lingmu's explanation, Xia Xun also understood that the mark was a protection left by Yakumo Ran.