Becoming a god in a low-key way in the supernatural world

"Hey, why would I do something so shameless? I'm just a close friend of yours, like brothers."

"Then where am I, your own sister, supposed to go?"

"Didn't your own sister want to kill him last night?"

The room fell silent for a moment, the two staring at each other, each wanting the other to go back to school.

Shirakawa Nozomi was woken up by them. His brows furrowed, and he began, "You..."

"Hmm?" The two people at the head of the bed turned their heads, especially Hu Tao, whose eyes sparkled with a hint of fire.

"There's a stool under the bed and fruit in the cupboard. You can sit down and chat."

After he finished speaking, he turned his body to the other side.

Hu Tao snorted, hooked the stool out with her toe, placed the lunchbox on the bedside table, and said coldly, "If you're awake, don't sleep anymore, get up and eat breakfast."

The young priest sat up without a word, his right arm in a cast, reached for the small table at the far end of the bed, took the lunchbox, removed the layers one by one, held the spoon in his left hand, and ate silently.

While peeling a banana, Furutekawa Kami exclaimed in surprise, "His hand is injured right now, aren't you going to help him, as his older sister?"

Hu Tao tilted her head, looked at Shirakawa Nozomi, and said sweetly, "Do you need my help?"

The little priest's hand trembled, and he shook his head repeatedly.

"See, he said he doesn't need it."

"..."

The two stared at each other for a while until the little priest finished his meal, took his medicine, went to the toilet, and came back to lie down and sleep. Then, Furude Kami rubbed his sore eyes and sighed, "Alright, let's go outside and talk... and find a place to eat."

Hu Tao looked at him and said, "If it weren't to avoid Youjia, why would you come so early?"

"I was eager to visit, is that not allowed? Besides, you came so early yourself, didn't you?"

The two left the ward, exchanging disdainful glances, and even Shirakawa Nozomi, who was lying on the hospital bed, breathed a sigh of relief.

In the flowerbed downstairs from the inpatient ward, clusters of pale pink hydrangeas are in full bloom. Their flower language includes "health," and they are pleasing to the eye and refreshing to the mind. However, they are poisonous, but it doesn't matter if you accidentally ingest them, since this is a hospital.

Kotegawa and Kurumi went out the gate, turned around and glanced at the flowerbed, then walked towards the commercial street north of the hospital. However, they hadn't gone far when they stopped and turned back in the opposite direction.

At this time, everyone should have already eaten breakfast and be getting ready to go to school.

Meanwhile, Mikazuki Haruka and Takanashi arrived at the shopping street and met Yuuka, who was eagerly waiting for them.

Yujia looked behind them, her expectation gradually turning into surprise: "Eh? Why are there only two of you? Where are my lovely slaves today?"

Mikazuki Seisaku explained, "There was an emergency last night. Kurumi's younger brother was injured and hospitalized, and Kotegawa took leave to take care of him."

A question mark appeared on Youjia's forehead. She asked, completely bewildered, "He went to keep an eye on her? What about Hu Tao?"

"Hu Tao said her younger brother was dying in the hospital and she had to go to the hospital to keep an eye on him."

Yujia was stunned for a long while, her gaze gradually turning resentful: "They did it on purpose, didn't they? They must have done it on purpose!"

"No." The young woman shook her head: "At least Shirakawa-kun is really in the hospital."

"..."

At a restaurant a few kilometers away, Kotegawa and Kurumi had just ordered a table full of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and shrimp porridge and were enjoying their meal immensely.

Shirakawa Kurumi wiped her oily mouth with a tissue and asked him, "Are you really planning to skip school today?"

"Of course, I've already taken leave to be with the patient."

"Forget it! His fever has gone down, it's just a broken right hand, he doesn't need any special care."

Kotekawa Kami thought for a moment and said, "You go if you want, I'm not going today."

"How about we do a bounty mission?" Hu Tao handed him her phone, lowering her voice. "I saw this from my teacher yesterday. The mission doesn't seem too complicated, but the reward is incredibly generous! Seven million!"

"A mission worth seven million?" Kotekawa Kami wiped his hands, skillfully entered a series of login passwords, and began to read the mission details.

"After dark, go to a dilapidated ancient temple at the foot of Mount Myogi to visit the ghost of 'Great Master Gien'..." He read this far, then looked up and asked curiously, "And then?"

"The employer said that if we could meet the Venerable Master Yiyuan, we would naturally know what lies behind the mission." Hu Tao looked at him: "Are you going or not?"

"Seven million for visiting a ghost? And it's all so mystical? Who's the employer who gave out the job?"

"He was a university professor, and it seemed he was studying the scriptures of the Venerable Master Yiyuan."

"So you're taking on this task?"

"No, there were nearly a hundred people who tried, but none of them succeeded. It is said that those who failed had no chance to meet Master Yiyuan."

"So many people have failed? And you still call this not complicated?"

"But we're not ordinary people! Maybe we can do it, right?"

"They're looking for their soulmate, so why should we assume we're the one?"

"But trying it won't make much of a difference, right?"

"...Alright then."

Chapter 53 The Story of Yu Zi (Part Two)

At noon, Kamiko Kotekawa brought the sweet and sour pork ribs rice he had bought into the ward. The little priest sat in a chair with his back to the door, staring blankly at the sky outside the window, looking like an old man on his deathbed in the twilight.

Despite being only sixteen years old, she has a remarkably refined demeanor.

"Lunch is ready," he called out.

The young priest silently got up, walked over, and took the lunchbox.

Kotekawa Kami wasn't in a hurry to leave. He peeled another banana, glanced at the little priest's bowl, and finally ate it himself.

He asked vaguely, "How did I offend that group?"

Shirakawa Nozomi was gnawing on a rib when he said after a moment, "They're looking for the person who ruined their plans the night before last."

"Uh... and then what?"

"Then they set their sights on Tamako, it's that simple." The little priest continued gnawing on his ribs.

Is that how it is?

Kami Kotekawa shook his head and threw away the banana peel: "So, you really don't plan to become stronger? What if something like this happens again? Do you expect me and Kurumi to run all the way there to save you? Even if we can get there, what if you can't wait?"

The junior priest paused slightly, then continued eating without saying a word.

This feigned death attitude made Kotegawa Kami frown: "Are you really planning to be a willful child?"

The young priest put down his chopsticks and said expressionlessly, "I will definitely be very strong in the future."

"Even the strongest future needs time to pave the way! How can anyone believe you in the way you are now?"

Kotekawa Kami crossed his arms: "Putting everything else aside, why are you so fixated on a ghost that can only sing and has no fighting power at all? I've heard Kurumi talk about the relationship between Onmyoji and Shikigami, so don't try to fool me with some weird talk. Besides, what's the point of fooling me? In the end, you'll be the one who suffers."

Shirakawa Nozomi clenched his left fist tightly, somewhat agitated: "If the second shikigami is too powerful! Tamako will be bullied, and might even be devoured!"

Kami Kotekawa paused slightly, then subconsciously said, "So you really want Tamako to devour that ghost lady? But didn't we say we'd find other ghosts for her to eat? That ghost lady just wants to live a peaceful life, so let her go?"

His voice lowered: "But if she eats a spirit that is too ferocious, Yu Zi will also be affected, and besides, she won't eat it... I just want to find her a friend who can keep her company when I go to school or work, even if it's just to talk... I just want her to be happier."

Kotekawa Kami stared at him blankly: "You..."

The young priest sat on the edge of the bed, head bowed, unusually dejected: "Three years ago, I followed my master to exorcise a man-eating evil spirit. That day, we moved directly into the home of our employer, a female college freshman. Her parents encountered the evil spirit on their way home from get off work... That night, as soon as the evil spirit appeared, my master trapped it with a barrier he had set up and gradually weakened its spiritual power with cleansing talismans. The exorcism process went smoothly, but when we were almost able to seal it, I was too nervous and accidentally threw other talismans into the barrier. As a result, I didn't hurt the evil spirit, but instead damaged the barrier."

The conversation abruptly ended there. A few minutes later, Kami Kotekawa asked softly, "And then?"

The young priest took a deep breath, desperately suppressing the trembling in his voice: "The evil spirit came at me. My master on the other side didn't have time to make a move, but while I was stunned with fear, someone pushed me aside and had their neck torn off by the evil spirit in my place."

"Later... in order to prevent her from losing her mind, she became my shikigami."

The young priest, expressionless, let large tears stream down his face: "That night, I was the one who deserved to die. I killed Yu Zi! I swore that as long as I live, I will never let her suffer the slightest injustice again!"

Those killed by evil spirits cannot become Buddhas; they will become vengeful spirits, and may then grow into evil spirits... The easiest way to grow into an evil spirit is to eat people, to keep eating people.

Kotegawa Kami stared at him blankly, remaining silent.

So that's why they've been refusing to sign a second shikigami? No wonder they're so fixated on Miss Rin...

After a long pause, he spoke up: "What about Hu Tao?"

Shirakawa Nozomi turned his head away disdainfully, then turned around and rubbed his face haphazardly with his sleeve: "She wasn't home when she was six! And she's been a silly girl since she was little! Her looks are just a trade-off with her brains! What a losing proposition!"

“Uh…” Kotekawa Kami hesitated for a moment, then whispered, “Actually, Kurumi didn’t say anything wrong… but if she knew, she would definitely understand you and Tamako.”

The young priest took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions, and said, "I don't need her to understand! I will train hard! I will become stronger!" He looked at Kotegawa: "You're not an Onmyoji, but you're stronger than most Onmyoji! If you can do it, then so can I!"

Kotekawa Kami didn't like hearing this again, but considering his feelings, she tried to be tactful and said, "You can't generalize about people. For example, I feel a bit wronged to say that I'm 'exceptionally gifted'."

The young priest pursed his lips, hesitated, and whispered, "If I stop being an Onmyoji, would you... would you be willing to teach me martial arts? I don't need to be very powerful, just able to protect Tamako."

Kotegawa Kami looked at him and sighed deeply in his heart.

Little brother... no, he's a little priest. He'll never call him little brother again.

The young priest is now trapped in a vicious cycle on his path to becoming an Onmyoji. Tamako is too weak, and he would never sign a shikigami stronger than Tamako, which hinders his progress. If this vicious cycle continues, he may never have a chance to succeed in the future.

But if we were to switch to a different lineage, I'm afraid neither the young priest nor Kurumi's father would agree... With two sons and a daughter, not to mention the daughter's alternative path, neither of the two sons wants to inherit the family business. This is practically trying to wipe out the Shirakawa Shrine's lineage! I'm afraid that at that time, another personal tragedy might occur.

He looked at the little priest and said seriously, "You don't have to give up on Onmyoji. I can also teach you martial arts. But, let me make this clear first. Don't be fooled by how strong I am. If you think you can become like me after ten years of training, you're making a big mistake. Although you have some foundation, it's not enough. You need to build a solid foundation for at least three years before starting from the very basics. This growth process may take several decades, or even a lifetime."

At this point, he added, "Don't take me as a benchmark. I'm not very scientific; sometimes I'm so strong that even I'm not sure of myself."

The young priest was stunned for a moment.

“Remember these words, and prepare yourself mentally. I will teach you martial arts…” Kotekawa Kami continued, “But I think it’s best to solve the current problem at its root—do your best to make Tamako stronger!”

"She may not be as fragile as you imagine, or she may not need to be pampered or protected as much as you think."

"Growing up is a matter for both of you, isn't it?"

Kotekawa Kami took out a half-full bottle of Yin Qi Pills from his pocket, placed it on his desk, and said softly, "Consider this a gift for Tamako. Have a good talk with her."

The young priest stared at the bottle and murmured, "Why are there so many Yin Qi pills?"

That's a lot, at least twenty or thirty million, right?

"Never mind where I got it, just make it useful, good luck!" Kotekawa Kami patted him on the shoulder and turned to walk out the door.

Outside the ward, Hu Tao leaned against the wall, her eyes filled with helplessness, and subconsciously said, "I...I don't know..."