My daily life of exorcising demons and falling in love with a witch.

Yi Xing was so immersed in the happiness that the mother and daughter brought him that he couldn't extricate himself.

Although Erina is not his wife now, she will be in the future.

Even if the relationship can only be maintained in secret, it doesn't matter.

Righteousness is not about superficial forms or titles.

The Witch of the Underworld cannot marry or openly date. This does not hinder their relationship in any way.

As long as Erina's heart belongs only to him, that's enough.

He was willing to be the young lady's servant for life.

Moreover, Yi Xing had already secretly made up his mind.

...I will never make the same irreparable mistake as my master.

Why did Xiao Ji travel back in time?

Yixing quietly watched her daughter, who was burying her head in her mother's chest and acting coquettishly, and felt a little uncomfortable.

It wasn't because of lemons, but because he felt uneasy at the thought of what might happen in the future that would prevent Xiao Ji from ever being able to act cute like that again.

The chairman's words kept echoing in my mind.

Yi Xing didn't know much about time-traveling magic. Such magic was not only highly dangerous, but also absolutely forbidden.

He was certain of only one thing—even if Yaodaoji traveled back in time just to see her parents again, it still conveyed the message that if the future remained unchanged, at least one of him and the young lady would be separated from Xiaoji forever.

As for what exactly happened, it's hard to imagine.

There are countless endings more tragic than death. Of all, what Yi Xing feared most was the eternal torment of his soul.

Physical death is child's play compared to this.

The first Yomi Shrine Maiden met a tragic end, which terrified Yoshiyuki just imagining it.

She was chosen as the Yomi Shrine Maiden at the age of twelve. Under the protection of the first Maekawa, she traveled all over Japan for several years to prepare for the sacrifice. Finally, at the age of seventeen, she completed the sacrifice ritual in the final battle of the sealing war and sealed the gate to the underworld.

The decisive battle against Hades was not essentially about defeating her by force, but about weakening her power and protecting the Witch of the Underworld from casting her spells, thus delaying the Great Seal for long enough to complete the seal.

The price of the seal was the death of her body, and her soul would remain forever behind the door, serving as the core of the seal.

The subsequent sacrifices of the Yomi Shrine Maidens were merely to maintain the seal and prevent the power of the first Yomi Shrine Maiden from being completely exhausted.

One can imagine how Izanami, forced back to the underworld, would retaliate against her in order to vent her anger.

Having used all her strength to guard the gate, she was powerless to protect herself and could only be tormented and manipulated by Hades like a helpless little girl.

In fact, as long as the consciousness of the first Witch of the Underworld collapses and she submits to Hades, the seal of the Gate of the Underworld will naturally break down.

But this has never happened.

Even after more than a thousand years, the first Witch of the Underworld did not yield.

This is why, whenever the seal becomes unstable, the Yoda family can successfully maintain the seal by supplying power to her core, which is forged from her soul, at a very low cost, without having to fight another battle to seal the door after it opens.

No one can guarantee that they would have a chance to defeat Izanami again if they had another chance.

Since Izanagi disappeared thousands of years ago, no god in Japan has been able to rival Hades.

Winning the last battle to seal the gates was almost a miracle. Hades had just arrived in the world, his power still very weak, when he stepped into the sealing trap and was besieged by dozens of powerful warriors. Even so, Hades almost won.

Even if Japan wins the second battle to seal the gates, it will cause devastation to the world and harm far more than just Japan.

Regardless of the civilization, the opening of the underworld passage will disrupt the balance of the human world, potentially plunging the entire world into chaos caused by the dead and demons.

This is a key reason why the Shushan swordsmen and knight Herman did not leave Japan immediately after finding the alchemist and obtaining the elixir.

Helping to defeat Izanami is also a way of saving their own homeland.

In Yoshiyuki's view, Herman's later tragic death was essentially caused by Izanami.

If the Gates of the Underworld hadn't opened, Herman's homeland wouldn't have been invaded by the monster horde, and he wouldn't have been forced to use the Shu Mountain Immortal Arts and Yin-Yang Techniques to protect his people. Therefore, he wouldn't have died at the stake.

Anyone who knows the first Yomi Shrine Maiden will be deeply moved by her will.

Because she was just a mortal, she could endure endless torment and loneliness.

They could have found peace by giving up, but they never yielded.

If her longtime companion, the First Generation Maekawa, had been by her side, perhaps she wouldn't be in such agony. But ever since she chose to enter the Gates of the Underworld to complete the seal, she has been forever alone.

Only the tortures of Hades and the pain and sorrow of all the dead in the world.

No one knows what the first Yomi Shrine Maiden was thinking anymore.

The only person who can contact her is her successor—the Witch of the Underworld in each generation.

However, this connection is only one-way.

The young lady could only speak to the first Yomi Shrine Maiden, but the other was exhausted from maintaining the seal and was even unable to speak, so she could only listen silently.

One part of Erina's daily prayers is to pray to the first Yomi Shrine Maiden, telling her about the new things happening in the human world, expressing gratitude, and trying to comfort and encourage her to persevere.

That was the only news the first Witch of the Underworld could hear from the mortal world, and perhaps it was also an important pillar supporting her will.

Yoshiyuki could never have imagined how the first Yomi Shrine Maiden had managed to endure for so long.

All he knew was what the consequences would be if she could no longer bear the endless pain and could not resist the temptation of rest, and the Great Seal broke.

Another battle to seal the gate must be fought, requiring the current Witch of the Underworld to perform a sacrificial ritual to reseal the gate to the Underworld.

This means that Erina will disappear from his side and suffer the same eternal torment as the first Yomi Shrine Maiden.

Until she could no longer hold on, the seal collapsed once more.

That would begin a new cycle...

This is the most terrifying thing Yi Xing can imagine happening in the future.

If that's the case, then he must stop it.

But what should we do?

He has absolutely no clue what to do now.

The young lady's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Yixing's thoughts.

"By the way, Yoshiyuki, what are we going to eat when we get home?" Erina licked her lips, her face full of anticipation. "Hime has been waiting for us for so long to finally reunite, so we have to cook some of her best dishes! I think our daughter will definitely want hot pot!"

"Hey, it's clearly you who wants to eat this!" Yoshiyuki retorted, then smiled at Yoto Hime: "By the way, Hime, do you like hot pot?"

Xiao Ji nodded heavily.

So Yixing pressed for more information.

"So, do you prefer a spicy hot pot or a clear broth hot pot?"

Xiao Ji finished writing without hesitation and held up the notebook.

[Extra spicy Sichuan hot pot, the kind you dip in an oil-based sauce.]

"Little Ji is so knowledgeable!"

Just as Yixing was feeling this way, he saw her hold up her notebook again, on which was written the following sentence.

But I still prefer hot pot with two broths.

"Why?" the young lady asked curiously.

Xiao Ji carefully wrote each character, and the content on it brought tears to Yi Xing's eyes.

Because Mom can't eat spicy food. When we eat hot pot (with one broth side dish), we're always with Mom and Dad. It's very enjoyable.