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

Takanashi stayed up all night and is now extremely sleepy, yawning constantly, with tears welling up in his eyes.

The three of them, Kotegawa, said goodbye and left Takanashi's house, then went home to catch up on their sleep.

After locking the front door, Kotegawa briefly checked the house, cleaned up the broken cups in the living room, and returned to his bedroom. He was still wearing his pajamas because everything had been so rushed.

The room was quiet. The two girls, who had been frightened and were in a state of extreme tension, relaxed and fell asleep immediately.

Kami Kotekawa lay on the bed, his eyes slightly closed, pondering the sudden earthquake that had just struck.

As I was thinking, I dozed off.

When it was five o'clock, he opened his eyes again, changed his clothes and washed up, and went to the yard to do his morning prayers.

Two hours later, Qingkong came out of the house and practiced a set of Tai Chi moves with great skill. After warming up her body, she smiled and went back inside to prepare breakfast.

Another hour later, Kotekawa Kami put down the two heavy barbells and went back inside, covered in sweat. He still hadn't received a call from Ishikawa Yasuhiro, so it seemed to be just an ordinary earthquake.

After he finished showering, the morning news on TV was broadcasting detailed information about the earthquake.

Just as he guessed, it was just a small, ordinary earthquake. However, it was unusual for multiple locations to experience the earthquake simultaneously, and the proximity of the locations made the tremors feel so strong.

Although the earthquake was not very strong, the road conditions looked quite bad in the aerial footage on TV.

It seems that, as Ms. Senko said, the roads will be closed in advance. In previous years, the roads were closed from the day before the Obon festival until the third day after it ended, which can be considered a mini-holiday in a way.

The Hungry Ghost Festival is a special day for guiding the spirits of the dead. During this period, if you wander around outside carelessly, you are very likely to encounter ghosts and cause accidents.

Sure enough, after breakfast, the corresponding notices came down, and some roads in Tokyo, Yamanashi and Saitama began to be closed in advance. Among them was the section of road that you have to take to get from Kotegawa to Nagano, and even several train lines were temporarily suspended.

He watched TV and pondered for a moment.

It's not that there's no way back, but the road conditions in different places are still unclear, and it's easy to take the wrong turn. So we need to consider whether to wait and see how things go, or choose a few routes and set off immediately, figuring out the way as we go.

On such an important day as the Hungry Ghost Festival, countless people want to return to their hometowns. With some roads closed and railways temporarily suspended, every extra second of waiting means potentially being stuck in traffic for much longer.

As he pondered this, he opened his phone, found the map, and began planning his route home.

But at that moment, Aunt Qiuye suddenly called.

"Xiao Jian! The news says the epicenter is over in Tokyo! You and Xiao Qingkong must be very careful! Kenji and I discussed it, and we don't need to rush back for the Obon festival. With the roads closed, traffic in other places will definitely be congested. If we encounter another earthquake on the way, we won't be able to escape! Listen to me, come back during winter break! Don't wander around! Stay away from areas with many buildings!"

Kotegawa paused for a moment, then replied, "Yes."

Okay, now I don't have to worry about it anymore.

Chapter 141 Sorry to bother you

As expected, not long after the news of "road closures in advance" came out, this year's "great migration of ethnic minorities" began in a grand manner.

There's usually a holiday of more than ten days around the Ghost Festival, so there's no need to rush. But with this incident, nobody knows if any unexpected things might happen, so people who want to go back to their hometowns can't sit still anymore. They pack their things, fill up their gas tanks, and hit the road.

To put it more directly, a main road near the Kotegawa family's house was immediately congested, with cars crawling forward at a snail's pace.

Kotegawa, who walked to the supermarket, looked at the endless line of cars on the road and felt quite glad that he hadn't insisted on setting off, otherwise he would definitely be one of the "snail packs" now.

He was carrying two large bags, and Yujia and Qingkong next to him were also carrying full bags.

Starting today, we need to start preparing for the holiday.

Back home, the three of them first put away the things they had bought, then went to their respective bedrooms to change into sportswear, tie on aprons, put on masks and hats, and began the first step of their spring cleaning.

Kotegawa worked incredibly hard this time, sweeping from the roof to the basement and back again, cleaning for the entire morning. In the end, he even cleaned out all the old ash hidden in the rat holes in the yard, repainted the walls, and spray-painted the front door.

At first glance, it looks like the house has been completely renovated.

After he finished these physical chores, Yujia and Qingkong started moving the washed and dried clothes, sheets, sofa covers, and curtains into the house.

The three of them restored the curtains and sofa covers one by one, and the room was indeed three times brighter than before—the overhead light bulbs were also newly replaced.

After the spring cleaning was finished, the three of them lined up to take a shower. The two girls went first, Kotegawa went last, and Yuka, the unlucky girl, finished her shower, ate some fruit, and then went home. Her family was also celebrating the Obon festival, so she naturally had to go home.

Qingkong carefully wiped the shrine where the urn had always been kept clean, and then placed offerings on it: a cucumber elf horse, daisies, watermelon, cantaloupe, apples, grapes, pears... the entire offering table was finally filled to the brim.

The little girl watched silently. After Kotegawa, who had dried his hair, hurried over, she looked back at him, stood up straight, put her hands together, and lowered her head in deep thought.

Finally, she lit the long incense sticks in the incense burner.

Sparks flickered, wisps of smoke rose, carrying the tranquil scent of sandalwood, and the little girl's eyes glistened with tears.

Kotegawa watched quietly, sensing the overwhelming sadness emanating from the girl beside him. He reached out and embraced her.

Qingkong hugged him tightly, burying her face in his hands, but she couldn't stop the tears that welled up with longing.

Kotegawa gently patted her back, and when the smell of smoke drifted in from outside the window, he said softly, "It's time to go light the spirit altar."

Qingkong responded sullenly, let go of him, turned and ran into the bathroom, carefully washed her face, tidied her hair, and then turned and walked out the door.

The shrine—a small wooden shed—had already been set up and placed at the entrance.

They squatted down and lit the straw, the firelight casting flickering reflections on their faces.

After the straw was burned, Kotegawa hung an electric lantern at the entrance. This lantern would stay lit until the Obon festival ended.

Mikazuki Seiko stared blankly at the drifting smoke, then suddenly said, "This isn't where I used to live. Will Mom and Dad come in?"

"Definitely. I greet my uncles and aunts every day, they will definitely recognize me."

Mikazuki Seisakusho thought for a moment and nodded gently.

In any case, they (the ashes) have been living here for several months now, so they must agree.

Kotegawa looked ahead and saw Takanashi and Ms. Chiko, who were also gathered around a lit bonfire.

"Hmm?" He was taken aback, wondering who the Birdsong family was welcoming.

Takanashi's father seems to be a philandering scumbag who abandoned his wife and daughter a long, long time ago and ran off with someone else. As for how long ago, Takanashi doesn't have much memory of him, only that he's still alive.

The grandparents of the little bird are still alive.

As for his grandparents, he heard from Yuka that it seemed that the family had objected to Chiko-sensei being with Takanashi's father ever since they got divorced, and after the divorce, they completely cut off all contact. So even if Takanashi's father had a relative who had passed away, the spirit-welcoming fire was definitely not meant for them.

He took out his phone and told Takanashi Hanamai about his doubts.

Takanashi, who was squatting there, received the message quickly, took out his phone to look at it, then looked up at him and replied again.

"This is what my mother ordered for my blood-related father... She orders it every year."

Kotegawa watched silently, unable to discern whether it was love or hate.

Further away, fireworks exploded in the sky.

Yujia tagged everyone in the chat group and asked excitedly, "Special Division personnel will be on duty on the streets starting tonight! Want to go out and have some fun?"

Unlike Kotegawa, she rarely had the chance to go out at night, so she was particularly excited.

Looking at Mikazuki Haruka, who seemed to be in a bad mood, Kotegawa asked softly, "Yuka wants to go out tonight, do you want to come along?"

He shook his head, still looking down at the clear sky where smoke drifted, and said, "She can't get out."

Kotegawa was taken aback and was about to ask what was going on, but out of the corner of his eye he suddenly saw Yuka let out a wail: "Ah! Oh no! I shouldn't have come back so early today!"

Immediately afterwards, Takanashi Hanamai began to mock her.

Sorata Honba, who hadn't appeared for a long time, also came online. He then mercilessly teamed up with Hanako Takanashi to attack Yuuka, telling her not to get any funny ideas so as not to drag him into getting beaten up again.

Kotegawa, who was secretly watching from the sidelines, was even more puzzled.

Qingkong explained, "Youjia's family has a strange rule: during the Ghost Festival, they are not allowed to go out after 5 p.m., and they also don't light welcoming fires at night."

"This rule is a bit unusual," Kotegawa said with a hint of curiosity.

Qingkong spread her hands slightly: "Youjia said this is a rule passed down in her family, but she doesn't know the specific reason why."

"Alright." Kotegawa nodded, glanced at Yuka's complaint in the group chat, and went back to the house with Haruka to prepare for dinner.

Starting today, we'll be eating vegetarian meals at home.

Qingkong has always been a good cook. She puts all her longing for her mother into her cooking. Her knowledge of Chinese cuisine is even deeper than that of Kotegawa. Her dishes are so delicious that even the big white cat praises them. And the vegetarian dishes she makes at this time of year are made with a hundred times more care.

Kotegawa wanted to eat at a second table after finishing one – the vegetarian food was delicious, but not very filling.

In the midst of their busy work, it became late at night. After finishing the last bit of housework, neither of them went back to their room to sleep. Instead, they took blankets and stayed in the living room watching TV.

Mikazuki Seisakusaku would occasionally glance at the entrance, his eyes filled with anticipation, but the hope would quickly fade, only to return in a never-ending cycle.

Kotegawa watched silently.

Before they knew it, midnight had arrived, and Qingkong finally succumbed to sleepiness, falling asleep against Kotegawa's lap.

Kotegawa looked down at her, reached out his finger, and wiped away the tears streaming down her face.

A gentle breeze blew in from somewhere, swirling around the living room, and made the embers in the incense burner on the shrine suddenly glow a little brighter.

In a daze, Kotegawa seemed to see a young couple squatting in front of the sofa, gently stroking Qingkong's forehead.

Chapter 142 The big monster is born

The next morning, the weather was cool and breezy.

The main road was still packed with cars, moving slowly forward. Perhaps because the weather was cool today, you could hardly hear anyone honking or arguing.

The air was thick with the smell of cooking, and pedestrians were walking much slower than usual.

As Hu Tao walked along, she was stared at by countless people. She wore large sunglasses, and her beautiful figure was hidden under her cream-colored coat. Unfortunately, her legs were too long, round, full, and slender, and could not be hidden no matter what.

However, from childhood to adulthood, whenever she goes out on the street, she is always followed by countless eyes, just like now, so there is nothing to care about.

After passing the commercial street and entering the residential area, she quickened her pace again, like a fairy dancing gracefully.

Kami Kotegawa was standing at his front door, holding his phone.

"Good morning!" she waved happily.

"Good morning..." Kotegawa asked casually, "What good thing happened?"

Hu Tao's smile deepened: "I had a fight with my dad. If he dares to arrange for me to meet with any random people again, I'll bring him a grandson next year."

Kotegawa paused, then said thoughtfully, "You're going to Hakodate for a blind date?"

"Not entirely. There was a rather troublesome vengeful spirit that my master left to me," Hu Tao said lightly. "After completing the mission, I encountered an annoying fellow who claimed to be the son of my father's friend."