Why can't humans do it too?

Could that energy, which lies between illusion and reality, be related to Kagome Higurashi?

"Is something big about to happen?" Nurarihyon asked, looking at Sue's solemn expression. The years had given him a keen sense of smell.

"Ah, maybe," Sue couldn't give a definite answer. "Tell the yokai under your Nura Clan to be more careful from today onwards. Aren't you supposed to be benevolent and righteous? During this time, try to send more people to patrol the city. This will also help protect the place where you live."

"Could you draw a boundary?" Without asking why, Nurarihyon simply nodded in agreement.

“No,” Su Er shook his head and smiled wryly, “If we really want to talk about the scope, it’s the entire city.”

Today, those ancient yokai, far more bloodthirsty than other yokai, all emerged from the ancient well behind the Higurashi Shrine. But just as the place they appeared in after passing through that portal was not where the well was in ancient times, what if those yokai appeared around the well, or in other parts of the city?

Even though the Nura Clan had already dispatched personnel to deal with the increasing number of yokai, the yokai appearing now were not yet at the level that required them to be on high alert. If they were to approach them with this mindset and encounter those truly savage yokai that had traveled from hundreds of years ago...

Sull actually quite liked the humane yokai, big and small, in the Nura Clan; it was truly heartbreaking to see them lying dead in the streets.

"It's uncertain when it will end, and it's uncertain when danger will appear... Let's be careful," Suer sighed.

“I understand.” Nurarihyon wouldn’t joke about something like this. He planned to make arrangements as soon as the guys who went to school with Nurarihyon to cheer on Araragi Koyomi returned.

A time of great turmoil.

--------------

Cherry blossoms, belonging to the subgenus Prunus of the family Rosaceae, generally live for about twenty to thirty years. Although in some places, due to ideal conditions such as sunlight, soil, and water, and proper care, they can live for over three hundred years, these are extremely rare exceptions.

So how long has this tree actually lived?

Even three of my outstretched arms couldn't reach that diameter, is this really the width a cherry blossom tree can grow to?

And most importantly, why hasn't a cherry tree that has lived for so long, far exceeding the lifespan of its kind, become a monster?

Whether it is good or evil, even if it cannot transform into human form, it should at least have a corresponding spirituality. However, no matter how much Suer sensed, he could not find anything unusual. It was as if it was just a simple tree that had lived long enough to far exceed the limits that its species should have.

It has to be said that when you choose to approach everything you encounter with a vigilant mindset, you can suspect that even a rabbit might transform at any moment.

The owner of this huge cherry blossom tree should be called the Saigyouji family, or rather, this is their ancestral home. However, the number of people living in this huge house is far less than its size. After making some inquiries, Su Er learned that the rest of the Saigyouji family are basically scattered in other parts of Japan, and this ancestral home is only used to house some troublesome or inconvenient family members.

In ancient societies with low productivity and scarce resources, infants born with disabilities were often drowned shortly after birth, before they had any understanding of the world. While this may seem cruel to modern people, it could be considered a form of mercy under the conditions of ancient times.

The Saigyouji family was an exceptionally kind family. Instead of drowning their disabled children, they cared for them well in their ancestral home until their lives ended naturally.

Even Suer had to praise their kindness, not to mention the illiterate ancient commoners around them. It was precisely because of this that the Saigyouji family had a very good reputation in this area... Although as a family of sorcerers who exorcise demons and protect humans from monsters, their reputation was already quite good.

They are not Onmyoji; their formal name is Hoshi. In Su'er's view, they are Buddhists dressed in monks' robes, or ascetics. They focus more on the practical effects of exorcising and destroying demons than on scriptures for praying for rebirth in the afterlife. They are practical people.

Well, although they have such a big house, they are indeed ascetic monks. Judging from the words and actions of the monks who were given the name Saigyouji that Suer saw, they really lived a simple life. When they had money, they would give away the rest to ordinary people, except for what they needed to survive.

They are good people, and they used real spiritual power when they drove away the demons. So it seems that it's not a problem that the cherry blossom tree growing in the ancestral home of a family that takes protecting humans as its mission did not turn into a monster.

With this relaxed mindset, Suer casually searched the surrounding area for anything unusual, centered on the portal, until he saw the long-lost blonde bewitching woman again.

"Yo~, long time no see~", without any sense of tension, the blonde female monster simply raised her hand to greet her casually, and even joked, "After all these years, if you don't change so much that you're unrecognizable, you should at least have grown a bit more beard, right?"

With a gentle smile, Yukari Yakumo reached out and tapped her chin, tracing the shape of her face in the air.

"Like, someone with a full beard?"

A bearded, muscular version of Suer.

“…Yukokumo Yukari,” Suer murmured the name of the female youkai in front of him, and began to have some doubts about this sudden encounter.

Chapter Fifty Changes

Does chance exist in the world of yokai?

Or rather... why did Yukari Yakumo appear in front of him?

There is some secret here that he and Xin Ke have not yet discovered, and Yakumo Yukari came for that secret, or perhaps there is something here that is very important to Yakumo Yukari, and she will show herself to him to prevent him from interfering or causing things to be exposed.

For other youkai, such speculation might be superfluous or an overreaction, especially considering that the green-haired flower fairy is a battle maniac like Jibril. However, when applied to Yukari Yakumo, it's worth considering carefully.

For humans, it only takes a dozen years, or a generation, to forget certain things. Even if the time span required for forgetting is magnified several times when it comes to monsters, it is generally only a few hundred or a few thousand years.

But how many centuries and millennia have passed since ancient times?

This is an exceptionally long period of time, even for a demon. As a result, a long memory is born. What was once feared will become blurred with the passage of time and the demon's own strength. The extinguished fire will also be rekindled.

If Yukari Yakumo was secretly spying from her hidden space and only came out to greet her after being discovered, Suer wouldn't think there was anything wrong with it. But for her to come out so openly and directly to reminisce was really a bit... making Suer suspicious.

Or has Yakumo Yukari's personality become almost like that of a different person after growing up for so long?

Suer thought this was unlikely.

So... the mass exodus of monsters to their deaths and the appearance of the Time Gate are related to this blonde female monster?

"Hmm...you're not thinking about something profound, are you? It's a bit too much to speculate about a friend you haven't seen in a long time like this," Yakumo Yukari said, pulling out a fan from somewhere and snapping it open to cover half of her face, preventing Suer from seeing her expression except for her eyes.

"...Leaving aside my changes, yours are completely different," Su Er retorted, squinting.

Although it was said to be a long separation, for him it was actually only a few months, which was less than half a breath for an immortal being. However, this was only from his perspective. For Yakumo Yukari, it was undoubtedly a reunion after tens of thousands of years. She was surprised that the man looked exactly the same as she remembered him.

The woman in front of me, Yukari Yakumo, looks more mature than before. If she could still be called a girl back then, she can now be called... I mean a mature woman, but she doesn't look old at all.

Compared to her simple image back then, where she only had long golden hair and wore a simple purple robe, the Yakumo Yukari we see again tens of thousands of years later has even grown her hair into a slightly curly style, as if she secretly got a perm. Her clothes have also changed to a white and purple Eastern-style Taoist robe, but with several layers of skirts.

Well, should we say that demons undergo many transformations as they grow older? Even this old demon has developed a love of beauty.

Perhaps the most significant change is the calm and composed attitude she displays in conversation now. Having weathered the passage of time and the trials of life, Yukari Yakumo speaks in a very different way. She is no longer the respectful and somewhat dependent person she was tens of thousands of years ago, out of fear of the power displayed by Sull, nor does she have that restrained feeling.

She acted as if she were genuinely greeting a long-lost friend, neither humble nor arrogant, and she was indeed reminiscing about the past.

Suddenly, I gained a direct understanding of the imposing aura of the great yokai that Nurarihyon had mentioned. This composure, refined by the passage of time, was indeed extraordinary.

“You’ve grown up too…” After realizing this, Suer suddenly let out a long, neurotic sigh.

Yukari Yakumo: "?"

"I remember you wanted to build a kingdom inhabited only by monsters, right? How's it going now?" Su'er was genuinely curious about this. "With the power of monsters, their execution is usually very efficient, isn't it? After all these years, you should have built a very prosperous kingdom by now."

Yukari Yakumo: "..."

Suer wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the female monster opposite him, who had just been smiling and raising her eyebrows, suddenly drooped down. Uh, the hand holding the fan handle was also tightening, so much so that he could see the bones clearly.

You've hit a nerve.

Xin Ke has a keen eye for human nature.

"The City of Yokai... no longer exists." With half her face covered by a fan, Yukari Yakumo's expression was completely obscured. The new skills this blonde female yokai had learned over the years were quite useful. All Suer could hear was her extremely strained and low voice, "It's all in the past."

"...Looks like you've been through a lot too..." Knowing he had touched a sore spot, Su'er was a little embarrassed and could only offer a dry compliment to ease the tension.

"Enough of that. So you're here to stop us for more than just a reunion, right? Tell us your purpose and don't try to hide anything." Jibril spoke so bluntly and directly, laying bare what Suer had been secretly speculating about. Her raised right hand was faintly glowing with white light, giving off a "I'll punch you if you dare to utter a word" attitude.

If there was some connection between Suer and Xinke and Yakumo Yukari, then Jibril and this beautiful female monster were not familiar with each other at all. Even though she vaguely remembered that a golden-haired monster had come to pay homage when she brought Suer back to the modern world, she easily dismissed those boring things and did not want to waste a second glance on them.

"Lady Jibril is still as straightforward as ever," Yakumo Yukari said with a smile, her composure impeccable. "Seeing you again reminds me of some interesting things. If you gentlemen have the leisure, you might want to visit the Ise Grand Shrine... Haha, although it's said to be a place for worshipping Amaterasu Omikami, the actual deity enshrined in this shrine is..."

She seemed hesitant to speak, but just by looking at Yukari Yakumo's smiling eyes that kept glancing at Jibril, you could tell what she meant.

The one who receives incense offerings and worship under the name of Amaterasu at Ise Grand Shrine is... Jibril?!

Chapter Fifty-One Threat

"Huh? Jibril was mistaken for Amaterasu?" Sue raised her voice in disbelief.

“That’s right. After that ancient battle came to an end, the fragments of Ashihara no Naka de that fell from Amaterasu’s body landed directly in this sea area, forming these islands of various sizes. And it is probably because Lady Jibril eventually descended from the sky with the radiance of the Milky Way that the humans who were preserved in Izumo Castle seem to regard her as Amaterasu and worship her,” Yukari Yakumo nodded and said.

"Although I was also curious, the remaining gods of the Izumo pantheon and the oni clan simply accepted this, which led to many humans having Amaterasu Omikami in this winged form with a small sun hanging above her head after countless years... Many newly born youkai also hold this view."

What else could it be? In that situation, it was most likely to continue the bloodline and rule in this small land surrounded by demons. After all, if Jibril were established as the faith of Izumo, even the boldest demons would restrain themselves when they wanted to harm Izumo. As for the years that followed, it probably became a habit, and even the newborn offspring with divine blood and the demons were unaware of the intricacies of the past.

How can we record the ugly state of our ancestors when they were forced into a corner?

This was a simple scheme that even Sue could see through, let alone the overly clever Xinke and Jibril. Jibril, in particular, had developed a strong aversion to such inexplicable worship practices after her visit to the Twin Souls Shrine in Nara, and she felt no sympathy even now that she knew a prestigious shrine was holding such a ceremony.

After all, the person being worshipped there is Amaterasu, not Jibril... so what does it have to do with her?

"Would you gentlemen like to visit the Ise Grand Shrine? I can help create a direct passage there; it will only take a few breaths to get there," Yakumo Yukari snapped her folding fan shut and swept the handle through the air around her from top to bottom.

The edge was as dark as the gap in Suer's memory, but this gap no longer contained those eyes of all sizes. Apart from two cute ribbons tied at both ends, the other end of the gap was a sunlit ancient forest, where one could vaguely see the vermilion pillars and dark gray tiles.

There's no need to walk through the gap; you can reach the other side simply by crossing this slit. Sull also believes that Yakumo Yukari definitely didn't play any tricks on this gap; you can reach the shrine where Jibril is worshipped as Amaterasu simply by crossing it... But why do they need to go there?

“You seem to really want us to leave,” Xin Ke said with a sneer as she revealed herself. “Is it because our presence here will hinder you from doing anything? There’s no need to be so secretive. Let me, a genius, help you out.”

"How could that be? I just thought you all would like to visit a shrine that enshrines you. If you're not interested in such places, that's fine too." Yukari Yakumo's expression didn't change. She simply waved her hand, and the huge gap disappeared into thin air, directly showing that she didn't care about this matter and simply wanted to help.

But it was precisely because of this that Suer finally noticed something was wrong with the female demon... She was still nervous after all, but compared to herself in ancient times, Yukari Yakumo was now able to hide her emotions very well.

If it weren't for the obvious purpose in those few words, Suer probably wouldn't have realized that deliberately bringing up the topic of Ise Grand Shrine was actually a way to lure Suer and the others away. After all, how many people can completely ignore the glory of being worshipped and having temples built and worshipped by others?

Even going there out of mere curiosity is considered falling into Yakumo Yukari's trap. This blonde youkai's style of doing things has become more gentle and tactful over the years.

“I think I know where you got your inspiration,” Su Er nodded to himself. To create a story about two souls to guide humans in establishing a shrine for the god of marriage, perhaps Yakumo Yukari got her inspiration from the events at Ise Grand Shrine.

"My lord?" Not understanding what Suer said, Yakumo Yukari tilted her head curiously.

"Stop with the nonsense," Queen Jibril waved her hand dismissively. "Just tell us the truth, or we'll force you to do something nobody wants to see."

Jibril, who has never been afraid of the retribution she would suffer if she recklessly wielded her power, is at least 6,000 years old and seems to fear that the world is not violent enough.

To enhance the persuasiveness and reliability of her threat, the pink-haired Skywing simply raised her hand and summoned a light gun. The rapidly spinning and compressed energy was flung out after reaching a brief limit, instantly flattening a small hill in her sight.

The implication was clear: if you don't tell the truth, I'm going to lose my temper, and you'd better not regret it if I do.

"..."

Silent, Yukari Yakumo's gaze shifted from Jibril to Shinko, pausing only briefly before settling on Sul, looking at him intently. To be honest, if Jibril were to do something truly heinous and horrific, Sul would definitely stop her. However, given the unspoken understanding in the current situation, Sul wasn't stupid and naturally wouldn't undermine Jibril.

"May I ask one more question: what brings you all here?" Yukari Yakumo finally relented.

“Actually, there’s nothing strange about it. I’m studying the huge cherry blossom tree at the Saigyouji family’s house. Putting everything else aside, it’s lived way too long. And with such a long lifespan, it doesn’t even have the intelligence to barely respond to emotions, let alone become a youkai. It’s really too strange… Do you have any clues?” Su’er asked astutely.

He had noticed that when he mentioned the huge cherry blossom tree, or rather, when he mentioned the three words Saigyouji, Yukari Yakumo's face showed surprise and astonishment for a moment, which quickly turned into helplessness. Even though she quickly realized this and opened her folding fan to cover her face, she could not erase the fact that had already occurred.

“Then I’ll take you there,” Yakumo Yukari finally put down her fan and sighed in despair. “That cherry blossom tree, and the Saigyouji family’s affairs… I may need your help.”

It seems that Yakumo Yukari's weak point has been exploited.

Chapter 52 Yakumo Yukari's Achilles' Heel

It was a strange feeling. In fact, ever since they saw that statue at the Twin Souls Shrine, Sue and the others had been prepared to give Yakumo Yukari a good beating. However, this youkai was hiding too well in modern society, so much so that even when Sue asked the Nura Clan to search for her, they couldn't find her.