A Stardew Valley farmer came to Gensokyo.

Have you thought about these things?

Upon hearing this, Motoori Kosuzu's face showed a hint of confusion.

She had never thought about these things, because to her, the Human Village was just the Human Village.

Regarding yokai, she has been thinking a lot lately because of Xia Xun's situation, but she has never thought about the existence of yokai in the human world.

It is only natural that monsters are the enemies of humankind.

Seeing the bewildered look on Motoori Suzu, Hieda Akyuu glanced at Natsumi and Niiwa Mamizo, sighed, and decided to tell them the truth.

Now that she has truly decided to come into contact with monsters, she needs to know these things.

"Long ago, as humanity developed, the existence of monsters began to be denied by humans, and thus the monsters that were born from human fear began to gradually disappear."

"In order to maintain the existence of youkai, Gensokyo was born, and human villages that existed for youkai also appeared."

Hieda Akyuu's simple words left Motoori Kosuzu stunned.

"In contrast to the past, human villages have become places where they cannot exist without monsters."

"Eh. How could this be!" Motoori Kosuki stared at Hieda Akyuu in shock, then couldn't help but look at the youkai Niiwa Mamizo who was present, only to see that the other party was calm and obviously agreed with these words.

"Doesn't that mean that, in fact, humans are essential to the monsters?"

"I always thought that monsters were the enemies of humans, and humans were the enemies of monsters."

“Yes, this is Gensokyo now.” Hieda Akyuu nodded: “Humans and youkai depend on each other, which constitutes the most important rule of this world.”

"Monsters need human fear and awareness to maintain their existence, and humans need monsters to protect them to ensure the survival of their villages."

"The villagers have been completely unaware of this all along; they are simply afraid of monsters. That's why we wrote Gensokyo: Origins to record these things."

“That’s how it is,” Niiwa Mamizo said with a smile. “That’s why the yokai all know they can’t attack the Human Village.”

"Maintaining mystery, creating fear, and making people afraid of monsters are all acceptable."

"But if they cause harm to the humans in the village, they must be eliminated. The humans in the village are different from the humans outside the village."

"So, Xiaoling, you understand why I didn't let you come into contact with yokai before, right?" Hieda Akyuu looked at Motoori Kosuki and sighed. "For everyone in the Human Village, the happiest thing is to pretend to be used by yokai and live under their excessive protection."

"And like you before, constantly walking the line between humans and yokai, one day you will finally cross the line and be defeated by the yokai sage or the Hakurei shrine maiden."

"Then, brother." Upon hearing this, Motoori Kosuzu looked at Natsumi with concern.

Seeing this, Hieda Akyuu raised his hand and tapped Motoori Kosuzu on the head: "I already told you, she's a human from the village."

“Xia Xun has already moved outside the village, so naturally she won’t be bound by this rule.”

"The only rule that still needs to be followed is that humans must never become monsters."

Motoori Kosuzu nodded blankly, feeling dizzy.

She had been constantly reading books about demons and monsters these past few days, and now she suddenly learned so many unimaginable things that her brain was already overloaded.

Seeing her best friend looking so silly and cute, Hieda Akyuu helplessly reached out and pinched her cheek, then sighed as she looked at Motoori Suzu with a pitiful expression and said, "Alright, Suzu, don't think too much about it."

"Anyway, you've already decided to marry Xia Xun. From now on, you just need to accept the existence of monsters and figure out how to get along with them."

"Oh, oh~" Motoori Kosuzu nodded upon hearing this, looking as if she had just realized something.

Although she still didn't quite understand why.

Hieda Akyuu, however, had no intention of telling her the story, telling Motoori Suzumi to think it over herself and then go watch Gensokyo Origins.

She looked up at Xia Xun and pleaded, "Xia Xun, I need your help to get rid of the Salt Family Boss. He's completely possessed by the monster and is beyond saving."

“Okay, no problem.” Xia Xun nodded in agreement.

During this period of cultivation, he naturally understood what it meant to be completely dependent, which meant that his body and mind were completely occupied and changed by the demon.

Although they appear to be alive, they are actually just walking corpses.

After putting down the bell from her bosom, Natsumi took out a golden carp she had left over from yesterday and handed it to the chef of the Hieda family. Then she and Hieda Akyuu went to the Shio family, which was just across the street. Seeing this, Niiwa Mamizo followed.

At this moment, the Yan family was surrounded by guards, and people could be seen discussing among the onlookers.

Xia Xun, Hieda Akyuu, and Niiwa Mako entered the Shio family's residence under the protection of guards. The once luxurious mansion was now somewhat desolate, with dust piled up in many places.

After rushing through the front hall and into the backyard, Xia Xun saw the head of the Yan family, a man covered in fat, with a fierce glint in his eyes who had completely lost his mind.

Even though he was surrounded, he continued to tear at the bloody chunks of flesh in his hands.

Seeing this, Xia Xun took out a high-level talisman and looked at the head of the Yan family, feeling his heart racing.

Even if he understands that the other person is beyond saving, killing a human with his own hands still makes him feel nervous.

Hieda Akyuu and Niiwa Mamizo did not urge her, but simply watched Natsumi quietly.

After taking several deep breaths, Xia Xun's eyes finally hardened, and he activated the talisman in his hand and threw it out.

A flash of white light, and the talisman pierced through the salt shop owner, then exploded, completely purifying him.

"How does it feel to kill one of your own kind with your own hands?" Er Yanzang came closer to Xia Xun and asked softly.

"Whoo~"

Xia Xun let out a long breath and felt his mind clear. He had made great progress in the spirit-refining method he had received from Master Ci Huaxian.

Ma Ping's monsters don't attack humans without reason; Motoi Korin just told him the reason why such monsters appear.

Only through prolonged torture and consumption of horse meat can one be possessed by the vengeful spirit of an old horse through their mouth.

Gensokyo is a world where youkai, gods, and humans all exist.

"I'm just cutting off my karma."

Xia Xun said that he suddenly missed Reimu Hakurei.

So she had always carried this kind of awareness.

The most important duty of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden is to protect the existence of Gensokyo.

The positions of humans and demons may not be too important to her.

Chapter 144 The New River Lifeline

I had lunch at the Hieda family's house.

Natsumi carried Motoori Suzuna-an back to Suzuna-an, got the photocopied and framed, and then set off to go fishing at Lake Mist.

Considering that he had finished his work snacks yesterday, he decided to give them to Cirno and the Great Fairy Strawberry today.

During the continuous wind and rain, even the roads leading out of the village were flooded, and the small rivers on both sides were overflowing.

"Hiss, won't this cause a flood?"

Xia Xun stopped and looked at the fields around him that were gradually being submerged by the water, feeling that something was wrong.

The entire area of ​​the Human Village is a large plain. Since the higher areas near the village are starting to be submerged, what about his Stardew Valley Farm?

Sensing something was wrong, Xia Xun immediately took off running towards the farm.

As one goes further down the river, the water becomes increasingly silted up. If Xia Xun weren't able to walk on the water, it would already be up to her knees.

After briefly testing the water depth, Xia Xun had given up hope.

Given the location of his farm, it must have been completely flooded long ago. Now, all we can do is hope for a fast flood discharge and that the flooding doesn't last too long.

Construction sites must have been flooded too. As aquatic monsters, the kappa should be fine, right?

Filled with trepidation, Xia Xun quickly arrived at the farm.

They were immediately shocked to find that the floodwaters had been completely contained outside the farm, and the construction site seemed to be doing fine, with work continuing uninterrupted.

Wow!

"Cucumber Master, you've arrived!"

Kawashiro Naotori suddenly emerged from the water near Xia Xun's feet, proudly puffing out her small chest and saying to Xia Xun, "Please don't worry, we received the typhoon warning the day before yesterday when there was heavy rain."

"For the safety of your divine realm, we have specially allocated the most advanced drainage equipment, and it is fully prepared long ago."

"Thank you, Natsumi." Xia Xun said gratefully, and couldn't help but hug Kawashiro Natsumi and kiss her little face hard.

Instantly, Kawashiro Nitori's face turned bright red. She shyly pulled her hat over her head to cover her face with her small hands, and then said in a muffled voice, "It is an honor for us kappa to be able to help the great cucumber god."

"Um, Gua God, I still have flood discharge missions, can you put me down?" He Chenghe said shyly, lifting his hat slightly and looking at Xia Xun with his big, watery eyes.

"Flood discharge mission?" Xia Xun put down Kawashiro Narito in his hand upon hearing this and asked curiously, "I just heard you mention a typhoon warning. Doesn't Gensokyo not have a sea?"

“Gensokyo does not have a sea.” Kawashiro Nitori perked up instantly upon hearing the professional question, raising his index finger and saying, “However, the Sanzu River is connected to the outside waters, so when there are strong typhoons outside, Gensokyo will also be affected.”

"To prevent the Human Village from being severely damaged by typhoons, we kappa are responsible for clearing the waterways, while the tengu are responsible for dispersing the storm."

Looking at Kawashiro Nitori, who spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Xia Xun understood at this moment what Hieda Akyuu meant by excessive care.

The monsters may value the existence of the human world even more than humans themselves.

"Really? Can I come and help?" Xia Xun asked with a smile, ruffling He Cheng Hequ's little head.

Hearing this, Kawashiro Narito looked slightly embarrassed, but when she saw Natsumi immediately manipulate a stream of water around herself, she nodded her head and said, "Then the cucumber master must follow me closely."

After giving a few words of advice, Kawashiro Nagoto plunged back into the water with a splash, reaching out a small hand to wave at Natsumi.

Seeing this, Xia Xun looked back at the unharmed farm again. A layer of water enveloped him, and he too entered the underwater world.

The turbid water carried a tremendous force, and he was almost swept away before he could react.

Xia Xun quickly controlled the water around her, transforming it into an underwater boat. She took the approaching He Chenghe into the boat and guided it towards Liu Zhiyongmu.

Along the way, he saw many kappa working underwater, either digging rivers or clearing blockages, while raging floodwaters poured out rapidly through these flood outlets.

While traveling through the willow-lined river, Xia Xun discovered that a large number of kappa had gathered in the direction of the Magic Forest, operating machinery to dig a channel in the river.

"Hequ, does this mean we're going to carve a river right through the Magic Forest?" Xia Xun asked incredulously.

"Hmph, of course." Kawashiro Nitori's chin perked up with delight at Natsumi's surprise: "This year's rainfall has been quite heavy, and the river's discharge capacity is insufficient compared to previous years."

"So we kappa decided to carve out a channel from the willow tree, and that solved the problem."

"Amazing!" Xia Xun exclaimed sincerely, his eyes suddenly lighting up as he looked at the group of kappa who were already using drilling-like machines to carve out the riverbed underwater.

He quickly rushed out of the water and used the current to lift himself into the air.

Looking at the river flowing straight into the distance, next to a forest clearing, Xia Xun's eyes shone brightly.

If this river channel is opened up, it will be right next to the newly opened planting and pastoral areas.

Then he could draw water directly from the river when building fishponds and paddy fields.

In an instant, Xia Xun decided to stop watching and do his part to help with the flood discharge.

He quickly landed back on the water's surface, and pulled Kawashiro Narito to the riverbed's excavation site. After explaining their purpose, he used his water control abilities to create five enormous water drills, which began to relentlessly drill into the land.

Even though the ground was covered with a large number of tree roots, it was still being dug through by the water with the help of the flood. The kappa followed behind Xia Xun and kept widening the opening.

With Xia Xun's addition, the excavation of the river channel was accelerated. Whenever someone was running out of energy, Xia Xun would take out the food stored in his backpack to provide it.

As Xia Xun joined the river excavation work, he discovered that there were other water monsters, not just kappa, participating in the flood discharge work beneath the water's surface.

For example, he also saw a mermaid, who was indeed just like in the legends, with a delicate and beautiful face, a beautiful upper body, and a huge fish tail.

Normally, Xia Xun would have taken a good look at it, but now, the thought of being able to contribute to protecting the Human Village and also build a river for his farm filled him with enthusiasm.

Since entering the water in the afternoon, Xia Xun has been fighting on the front line. As he continuously uses water control techniques and the power of the flood to carve out the earth, he can feel that he is becoming more and more adept at manipulating the water flow.

The only thing that bothered Xia Xun was that eating so much food was not only not cost-effective, but also made her stomach feel uncomfortable.

However, Xia Xun went all out for the new river channel, and his efforts were not without other benefits.

At least, with the continuous mining, stones were constantly obtained, and mining experience was even gained.

Working until after 1 a.m., the project, which covered a small part of the Magic Forest and reached the great river in the center of the forest, was completely completed.

At the moment of breakthrough, Xia Xun and his group emerged from underwater and cheered in triumph.

As the river channel opened, the raging torrents surged rapidly, and the water that had already submerged most of the surrounding land began to recede.

Chapter 146 Agricultural Expert - Xia Xun

Treading on the muddy road.

Xia Xun hummed a song and walked briskly toward Stardew Valley Farm.