How did I, an Onmyoji, become the Lord of Yokai?

After letting out a soft laugh, Shimizu Asahi ruffled Aika's hair, took the wine glass from her hand, and said, "Alright, Aika, you'll get drunk if you drink any more."

"Hey..." Noticing her glass had been taken away, Aika immediately looked anxious and called out, "I'm not drunk, Asahi-nii, I can still drink, please let me have another glass..."

"You call that being drunk?"

Setting down his wine glass, Qingshui Chaoyang tapped her forehead and said, "Come on, have something to eat. I'll let you drink again when you feel a little better."

"Um... Brother Chaoyang is a bad person."

Seeing the disapproving smile on Qing Shui Chao Yang's face, the girl pouted her cute little lips and then turned her head away.

Seeing that expression, which resembled a child throwing a tantrum, Shimizu Asahi, charmed by its cuteness, laughed indulgently.

Fortunately, shrine maidens don't need to drink too much sake during rituals; otherwise, Aika probably would never have become a shrine maiden.

Because alcohol is a gift from the gods, shrine maidens must drink alcohol to celebrate when worshipping the gods. However, because they must preside over the rituals, they cannot drink too much. In any case, a girl who does not drink alcohol at all cannot become a shrine maiden.

Ai Hua is lucky; although she gets drunk easily, she doesn't lose her senses after just one or two drinks.

"Chaoyang, you can't bully Aihua."

Just as Shimizu Asahi felt that Aiwa was lucky, a clear and pleasant voice suddenly came from beside her ear.

Qingshui Chaoyang subconsciously turned around, and then, Ali's figure came into view.

"Ah Li, what's wrong?"

"Can't I contact you if there's nothing wrong?"

In response to the boy's question, Ali smiled lightly.

"That's not what I meant. It's just that, shouldn't we take a look around more? There are still many beautiful sights you haven't discovered yet."

"There's still a long day ahead, plenty of time for me to watch. If I finish watching it all at once, I'll miss out on a lot of the fun."

The girl's words made Shimizu Asahi pause for a moment, then she chuckled and said, "That's true..."

"Moreover, I prefer to be with someone rather than alone."

His dark eyes darted around gently, and the boy's figure was reflected in his beautiful, star-like eyes.

"Today, you can spend time with me..."

What are you talking about?

However, before she could finish speaking, a clear, cold voice filled with doubt suddenly came from the side, interrupting Ali's words.

The boy and girl turned around at the sound, and then Qingnufang silently sat down next to Ali.

She looked at the two people staring at her, her expression calm and casual, with only a hint of concern deep in her pale yellow eyes.

Ali glanced at Qingnufang sitting next to her and paused for a moment, but quickly recovered.

"It's nothing, I just wanted Chaoyang to show us around, since there are still many beautiful sights here."

"Is that so...? That makes sense. Although it's more fun to discover it on your own, it's only when you're together that you can truly appreciate the flowers."

Qingnu nodded thoughtfully, then turned her gaze toward the rising sun.

"May I?"

"Yes, that's fine. I'll take you all over this mountain."

Qingshui Chaoyang naturally wouldn't refuse Qingnvfang and Ali's request, and readily agreed.

"Thank you in advance," Qing Nufang said.

"No need to be so polite, we're friends."

Listening to the conversation around her, Ali felt a little helpless.

She had hoped to spend some time alone with Shimizu Asahi and see if she could take this opportunity to shorten the distance between them, but she did not expect that Aonobo would suddenly interfere.

Their time alone together turned into a three-person outing... Even she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

But... never mind, even if Qingnvfang doesn't say anything, Chaoyang will probably ask her to come along anyway.

After all, in his heart, every relative and friend is equally important.

But thinking about it carefully, even if it's a threesome, it doesn't matter. Anyway, Qing Nufang doesn't like Chaoyang. She just needs to change her offensive from direct to covert.

She still has a chance to shorten the distance between them. (Chapter 141, Section 144: I have something I'd like to ask you)

Ali comforted herself, and her slightly disappointed mood quickly returned.

At that moment, a voice I had never heard before came from the cherry blossom-lined passageway.

"Father, Sister Mio, we've arrived!"

A cheerful voice reached everyone's ears. They looked up and then a handsome young man with long black hair came into their view.

Before Tamamo-no-Mae could speak, three more figures appeared behind the boy.

A young man with black hair hanging down, a beautiful woman with white hair tied up, and a handsome young man with white hair hanging down.

The Abe family and Hagoromo arrived at the flower viewing spot.

"Long time no see, Kuzue and Masatsugu. Come and sit down."

As the hostess, Tamamo-no-Mae took the lead in extending greetings and invited the two to chat.

Shimizu Mio followed suit with a greeting.

"Long time no see, Tamamo-no-Mae, Mio."

Yicai and Geye responded to 'they' with smiles.

"Hehe, Asahi and Aika are also very energetic... Hey, who are these two?"

As her gaze shifted, Kuzuha, who had intended to check on her friend's child, noticed the two girls beside Shimizu Asahi, and she too made a curious sound.

After Qing Shui Chaoyang introduced the four people and explained the relationship between Qing Nufang, A Li, and the Qing Shui family, they showed their friendliness and warmth.

After a brief introduction, the flower viewing event officially began.

Kuzuha and Abe no Masatsugu sat with Tamamo-no-Mae and Shimizu Mio, while Seimei and Hagoromo sat with Shimizu Asahi.

As soon as they sat down, Shimizu Asahi poured them sake and said, "It's been a while, Seimei and Hagoromo."

Seimei smiled as he accepted the wine bowl, thanked him, and replied, "Yes, that's true. I thought we'd be able to spend more time together after the Onmyodo started, but it turns out things are still the same as before."

"The three of us are the same as before, but it seems that you and Yui are not."

With a flicker of his eyes, Shimizu Asahi looked at Hagoromo beside Abe no Seimei, and then gave a small, teasing sound.

"Well... this is what happened after I won the assessment."

Seimei gave a helpless smile.

Before the start of the semester, they made a pact that whoever completed the grade-skipping assessment first would become the other's senior. In this assessment, Seimei defeated Hagoromo a day ahead of schedule and became his senior.

After her defeat, Yu Yi willingly called him "Senior Brother" and helplessly admitted that she was still no match for him.

However, after realizing that he was the weakest of the three, he became determined to catch up with him and Chaoyang.

However, since the Onmyōryō (the monastery of Yin and Yang) had not yet reopened, his return to the shrine would only lead to him working in isolation. If this continued, the gap between him and Seimei would only widen. Therefore, Hagoromo decided to discuss the matter with Seimei.

His original target was Shimizu Asahi, but unfortunately, Shimizu Asahi went to Kyohara Castle, so he could only set his sights on Seimei.

The final result was that Seimei spent this time studying Yin-Yang techniques with him.

They rarely have time to rest from morning till night.

It is precisely because of this that Hagoromo's strength is increasing at a visible rate.

"Hehe, I might even be able to beat Brother Chaoyang now."

Hearing Seimei and Asahi talking about her, Hagoromo immediately responded with a grin.

Perhaps to strengthen the persuasiveness of his words, or perhaps because he genuinely wanted to compete with Shimizu Asahi, he paused for a moment before continuing, "Asahi-nii, let's find some time to have another match."

"Hehe, you're really confident... Sure, I'm always welcome."

Shimizu Asahi naturally wouldn't refuse his younger brother's challenge, and besides, after two or three months without a match, he also wanted to know how far Hagoromo had progressed.

"Seimei, are you coming?"

After making the appointment with Hagoromo, the boy looked at Seimei with a hint of anticipation.

"Hmm...that's true. We haven't sparred in a while. Let's set a time and have a match."

After a moment's thought, Seimei smiled and nodded in agreement.

After some discussion, the three quickly set a time, and then they talked about the events they had experienced in the past three months.

Perhaps the story was too captivating, or perhaps the bond between the three was too deep; they only had eyes for each other, leaving Qingnufang and Ali no room to interrupt.

Seeing the slightly excited Shimizu Asahi, the two girls couldn't help but exchange a glance.

They were just... ignored?

Fortunately, such excitement was only temporary. After chatting for a few minutes, Shimizu Asahi realized that he had been indifferent to the two girls. So, he suggested to Seimei and Hagoromo that the six of them go for a walk around the small mountain covered with cherry blossoms.

This very good suggestion made the two look at each other, and then they nodded in agreement.

And so, the young men and women greeted their elders and then set off together with laughter.

......

"Looking at those children, I don't know why, but recently I've suddenly had a feeling that I'm getting old."

After watching the children leave, Ge Ye couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Although she was about to enter the realm of the Demon King, with a lifespan that could be measured in millennia, when she saw the back of her child, she would feel that time had quietly slipped away from her.

"Perhaps this is what it means to be a parent. Whether you are human or a monster, you will have this feeling when you see your child grow up."

Tamamo-no-Mae nodded slightly in deep agreement.

“Watching Hagoromo and Aika work hard towards their goals, I sometimes wonder if I should just leave this era.”

"The future belongs to these children."

“It’s too early to back out now, Tamamo-no-Mae. The children aren’t fully grown up yet,” Abe Masatsugu laughed. “We still have a lot to do.”

"I know."