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

Shimizu Asahi's face remained calm, but his mind raced. In just a few seconds, he understood what Ara meant.

"...What the deity is saying is that my choice will determine whether Reiko will have to wait for three hundred years, right?"

"Correct."

After Huang uttered that word, he didn't speak again, and for a moment, the surroundings became quiet.

Shimizu Asahi looked at Ara without saying a word, seemingly waiting for him to continue. However, half a minute passed, and he showed no sign of wanting to speak.

Upon reaching this point, Shimizu Asahi understood that Ara would no longer reveal any information to him.

The choice of Reiko's fate has been placed in his hands.

"..."

The atmosphere subtly turned somber, and the previously firm decision began to waver once again.

Should we tell Reiko the truth and make her wait for three hundred years, or should we hide the truth and make her run around trying to save her...?

Shimizu Asahi was caught in a deep dilemma.

Three hundred years is an incredibly long journey for humans. From birth to death, they cannot even complete a third of this journey. Even monsters, whose lifespan is measured in thousands of years, cannot ignore three hundred years.

If temporarily concealing the truth could buy Lingzi some time, he would rather temporarily bear the guilt of leaving alone.

But... he was worried. Huang hadn't given him any definite information; he didn't know exactly how much the shortened time would be.

One day? Two days? Ten years? Fifty years? One hundred years?

He was unaware of any of this.

For him, this choice was a gamble. If he won, he could alleviate Lingzi's pain; if he lost, he would have to bear Lingzi's resentment.

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Shimizu Asahi felt that his mind was completely in disarray, and he had no idea what he should do or what he should do.

He had never been so conflicted. Chapter 324, Section 327: I am destiny itself!

"......call..."

After a long silence, Shimizu Asahi finally exhaled a breath of stale air. He turned to the blue-haired man again and said in a deep voice, "My Lord, I don't need to make this decision so quickly, right?"

"Naturally, all the time before you leave this era is your time for reflection."

"Then, I will make my decision before I leave. Thank you, God."

"Our meeting was also arranged by fate, so you don't need to thank me."

After leaving those words, Huang intended to depart. He glanced at Shimizu Asahi once more with an almost imperceptible look, and then continued, "My purpose has been achieved, so it is time for me to leave."

"Ah."

After a brief farewell, Huang left the room without a sound...

As Ara left, the repulsive force that had been permeating the surroundings quietly dissipated. About ten seconds later, the colors returned, and Reiko, who had been forcibly suppressed, returned to normal.

However, Reiko was unaware of the conversation between Shimizu Asahi and Ara.

Huang had truly suppressed Lingzi, both her consciousness and her thoughts. To describe it, it was as if he had stopped her time.

As expected of the strongest god in Takamagahara before Orochi appeared!

After breaking free from the 'frozen time', Reiko's consciousness returned. Looking at her fiancé who had suddenly stopped talking, she couldn't help but ask, "Why did you stop? Didn't you have something you wanted to tell me?"

"Um... I wanted to discuss our wedding date with you." Shimizu Asahi suppressed her emotions and regained her usual composure.

"Is this what you were trying to tell me? I remember you mentioned something about three hundred years..."

The girl tilted her head in confusion, her expression rather cute.

"No, you must have misheard me. I've always been talking about the wedding date."

Without the slightest hesitation, the boy was determined to stick to this matter.

Although Reiko, who trusted her fiancé completely, still had some doubts, she didn't need to worry about it after Shimizu Asahi said so.

So she smiled gently and replied, "You and Father can decide this. Whatever the date, as long as it's your decision, I can accept it."

"As long as you're by my side, that's enough for me."

His gentle words inadvertently stirred up the emotions that Qing Shui Chaoyang had finally managed to calm down. He took a soft breath, then sat down beside her, put his arm around her shoulder for the first time, and said, "Don't worry, I will always be by your side."

Perhaps it was the arm that was stronger than usual, or perhaps it was the firm words that were spoken more firmly than ever before, but Reiko felt a sense of peace.

No matter how the world changes, she doesn't care. All she desires now is for him to stay by her side forever...

While Rimo and Reiko were tenderly cuddling, Ara, who had left the Tamura family, returned to Takamagahara once again.

Ara has a very luxurious and solemn mansion in Takamagahara. Although he himself has no requirements for such things, as the one who observes fate, his status in Takamagahara is not low, and can even be said to be very high. After all, even the daughter of Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the Inari Goddess Miketsu, is his direct subordinate.

Therefore, even if he doesn't ask, the Great God of Gods will arrange a very nice mansion for him.

Besides his mansion, he also had a place for observing fate that was as dazzling as the stars.

Unless something drastically alters his destiny, he would never leave this place. Therefore, after returning to Takamagahara, he immediately came here and continued to observe his future fate.

Of course, his first priority was to observe the fate of Shimizu Asahi and Reiko.

Having foreseen a future devoid of any ups and downs, the god nodded slightly.

"His fate is stable, and his future remains unchanged... It seems he has made a wise decision."

"We can stop observing now."

Withdrawing his gaze, Huang focused his energy on the complete River of Destiny and began working diligently again. But just then, a domineering and annoyed voice came from outside the Starry Land.

"Huang! You must tell me today, where exactly is Qingshui Chaoyang!"

The moment Huang heard that voice, he knew that trouble was brewing again.

He sighed, calmly withdrew his gaze from the river of fate, and then turned to look.

As he expected, the Lord of the Gods, clad in a golden robe and exuding nobility and arrogance, once again arrived in the Land of Stars.

However, facing the imposing Lord of the Gods, Ara remained unmoved. He calmly replied, "Great God, no matter how many times you come, my answer will not change. I will not tell you where Shimizu Asahi is."

"Now is not the time for you to meet."

"What do you mean 'not the right time'! My intuition told me to go find him two years ago, which means I could have met him two years ago! You keep using 'not the right time' as an excuse to keep me from meeting him, are you deliberately preventing me from seeing him?"

The beautiful and noble girl stared wide-eyed, looking arrogant and as if to say, "It must be you who stopped me from meeting Shimizu Asahi." If Shimizu Asahi were here, she would probably be dumbfounded.

My gentle and considerate older sister has this side to her!

"I will not interfere with the flow of destiny, much less deliberately stop Omikami. Yes, your fate and Shimizu Asahi's fate have indeed been in motion. In the past two years, you have even crossed paths more than a dozen times. However, each time you crossed paths, you avoided each other through various ingenious means."

"Therefore, it is not that I am stopping you, but that fate has decreed that you cannot meet at this moment."

"I am destiny itself!"

A loud shout interrupted Ara's narration. Looking at the man before her, Shimizu Mio spoke with pride:

"I am destiny itself!"

"..."

Looking at Shimizu Mio, who exuded a powerful aura that even he found difficult to resist, Ara remained silent.

He wasn't angry or helpless about those words, because he was already used to them.

Since his birth as the one who observes destiny, the gods of the Land of Gods have finally come to truly understand the existence of destiny. They respect and revere the predetermined future and decide to follow the arrangements of destiny and continue to move forward. However, there is only one person in the entire Land of Gods who does not think so.

Even when she witnessed fate firsthand, even when she personally experienced fate, she never felt that it was fate's arrangement for her, because it was a decision she made based on her own will.

It wasn't fate that arranged it, but rather that she decided to do it, and that's why fate arranged it this way.

She placed her own status above fate! Chapter 328: Chinese New Year

Originally, Huang, as an observer of fate, didn't need to pay too much attention to these words. After all, no one can escape the arrangement of fate, and even he, the so-called observer, is still under the control of fate.

To his astonishment, Shimizu Mio had indeed changed his fate.

Upon arriving at Takamagahara, Ara had observed Shimizu Mio's future, and each of his observations yielded the exact same result.

She will remain in the land of the gods and have no connection with humans for the rest of her life.

However, more than two years ago, he suddenly discovered that her fate had been changed.

—A person who should not have existed appeared in this era and formed an unbreakable bond with her!

Deeply concerned about this matter, he immediately stepped into the river of fate and quickly captured the scene of her saving the dying baby three hundred years later.

In the original course of fate, Shimizu Mio would never have crossed paths with this baby. But perhaps because of her gentle nature as the ruler of the gods, she saved the child in a one in a million chance, and this child successfully changed her destiny.

No, it should be said that it changed the fate of the entire world, and even the river of destiny was stirred up by this change.

Ara tried to stop this change, but Shimizu Mio, who placed herself above destiny, never believed him, so his attempts to stop her were futile.

The facts tell Huang that fate can be changed, whether intentionally or unintentionally. A seemingly casual decision can bring about tremendous changes in the long river of fate.

Because of this incident, Huang has become even more concerned about the stability of destiny. If this change is a good thing, he will stop thinking about it. But if it is a bad thing, then it will all be his responsibility.

Looking at the silent Ara, Shimizu Mio, who was completely unaware of the matter, revealed a smug smile.

"Since you can't refute my words, then quickly tell me the whereabouts of Shimizu Asahi!"

The voice pulled Ara out of his reverie. He looked at Shimizu Mio and then calmly retorted, "Since Omikami considers herself the chosen one, then even if I didn't say anything, you would still be able to meet Shimizu Asahi. Besides, according to Omikami, the fact that you two cannot meet means that you, as the chosen one, also believe that now is not the time to meet."

"Therefore, Omikami should not ask me about the whereabouts of Shimizu Asahi. The person you should ask is yourself."

"Well!?"

A well-reasoned and logical argument silenced Shimizu Mio, who, believing herself to be destined for greatness, was momentarily speechless and unable to refute.

Standing there staring at Ara for a long, long time, and seeing that he really didn't seem to know what to say, Shimizu Mio finally couldn't help but grit her teeth and snort coldly, "Damn it! Go find him yourself then! I don't believe I can't find him!"

After saying that, Shimizu Mio quickly left the Starry Land.

Only when Shimizu Mio's figure disappeared from Ara's sight did Ara breathe a sigh of relief.

"A momentary impulse could last for two years... Has the bond between you two run that deep...?"

......

No one knows the details of the conversation between Shimizu Mio and Ara in Takamagahara, but after leaving the Star Land, the somewhat weary Lord of the Gods once again began his journey to find his relatives, while on the other side, Shimizu Asahi's life continued in an orderly manner.