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

Thanks to Tamura's diligence and efforts, they quickly set a wedding date.

Tamura originally planned to have them get married during the New Year period, since the New Year this year was auspicious and festive, a rare and wonderful time.

However, Shimizu Asahi felt that this was a bit rushed. After all, he and Reiko had prepared for a full two weeks when they got engaged. If it was really confirmed to be the Lunar New Year, then it was too close, less than two weeks.

Moreover, preparing for the New Year and the wedding at the same time not only makes them feel rushed, but also takes up a lot of the servants' time. With so many things to do, it is easy for mistakes to happen. Therefore, he thinks it would be better to postpone it for a while.

Under his persuasion, Tamura Samurai also felt that it was indeed a bit too fast, so he scratched his head and reluctantly gave up the plan.

It's a pity; if he had decided earlier, he could have made preparations in advance...

After deciding on the wedding date, Tamura began preparing for both the New Year and the wedding. With double happiness on his mind, he was all smiles and looked several years younger.

Besides Tamura Samurai, Yoko, as his younger sister, was also very happy. In order for the two of them to grow old together, she took them to all the shrines in the area. Whether they were useful or not, she prayed to every god.

If it weren't for the fact that Ise Grand Shrine is quite far away and the round trip would miss the New Year, she might have taken them to Ise City to worship Amaterasu Omikami.

Although Tamura Samurai and Yoko were a little excited, Shimizu Asahi and Shimizu Reiko, who were directly involved, understood, since they were happy for themselves.

Moreover, the care and love between the two of them made it hard for them to refuse.

And so, amidst the joy of celebration, time slipped by little by little, and in the blink of an eye, New Year's Eve arrived.

The Great Last Day, which is the 31st day of the twelfth lunar month, is also known as New Year's Eve according to the ancient Western countries.

This day is the last day of the year, and second only to the Lunar New Year.

According to traditional customs, people will do a thorough cleaning on this day, sweeping away all the dust in the house, and then place three kinds of plants, namely pine, bamboo and plum, in front of the door, which are considered auspicious.

Then on New Year's Eve, the family gathers together to eat New Year's noodles, which are buckwheat noodles. After the meal, they talk about the future and plan their lives while waiting for the New Year's bell to ring.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, people would pray to the gods for blessings, hoping to send off the troubles of the old year and welcome a wonderful new year. After the New Year, temples in towns and villages would ring 108 bells to drive away evil. When the New Year's Eve bells stopped, it meant that the new year had arrived. Only then would people get up and go to bed, hoping for a good dream.

Of course, this series of actions is called 'keeping watch over the year' in the ancient kingdoms to the west.

And now, Qingshui Chaoyang and the others are in the process of 'keeping watch over the New Year's Eve'.

After finishing their buckwheat noodles, the four sat around the brazier, their faces beaming with genuine joy thanks to the warm atmosphere.

Especially for Reiko, as a yokai, this was her first real New Year's celebration.

Last year on New Year's Eve, she and Shimizu Asahi had everything prepared for a peaceful New Year. But then a huge monster suddenly appeared, destroying their wooden house and saying it wanted to eat them to celebrate the New Year. Reiko got angry... Chapter 329 How many children do you want?

The troublemaking monster was killed, but even though it was killed, it still ruined Reiko's mood. Although Shimizu Asahi tried to cheer her up, the damage still left her with a lingering regret.

However, it's still there, and this year's New Year made up for that regret.

Not only is her fiancé by her side, but her father and sister, two very important relatives to her, are also there. The Little Mermaid has never been as happy as she has been this year.

Seeing Lingzi's happy expression, Shimizu Asahi smiled indulgently. He knew that Lingzi had left with regrets last year, so he wanted to do his best to make it even more perfect this year.

After all, the word 'first time' is extremely important in any situation.

However... he himself felt a little regretful.

Regardless of time and space, from his personal perspective, this is the second time he has not spent the Lunar New Year with his sister.

For the past sixteen years, he has gone to temple fairs and stayed up all New Year's Eve with his sister every year. Although it was just the two of them, he never felt lonely. As long as his sister was there, he would be happy no matter where he spent the New Year. But without his sister, no matter how many people were with him, he would feel that something was missing.

I wonder where the older women of this era are now, and how they are doing...

Qingshui Chaoyang sighed softly to himself.

Although he had been going wherever he pleased for the past two years, he would try to find out where his sister was, no matter where he went. Even though he couldn't tell her his true identity because of fate, he felt that even just seeing her from afar was enough.

Unfortunately, even though he searched very diligently, he couldn't find any clues, as if his sister didn't live in this country at all.

Just then, Tamura Shige, who was talking to Yoko about the wedding, seemed to remember something and immediately looked at him.

"By the way, Chaoyang, did you find your sister during your travels? She has to be there for the wedding."

"Huh? Sister? Ah...about this matter..."

The boy, realizing what had happened, rubbed his head and said helplessly, "Father, I've been looking for my sister for the past two years, but I don't know where she went. I've been to many places, but I haven't found a single clue about her."

Is that so?

Her originally happy face suddenly furrowed. The wedding of the children involved two families, and both sets of parents had to be present. In addition, Shimizu Mio was Shimizu Asahi's only relative, so her presence was indispensable. Without her, the wedding would not be complete.

However, the next moment, Tamura Shi relaxed his brow and said with a smile, "It's alright, I'll send someone to look for him after the New Year. There are still two or three months until your wedding, which is more than enough time to find him."

"Don't worry, I will definitely find your sister."

"Ah."

Shimizu Asahi's helplessness did not lessen. If his sister were so easy to find, he wouldn't have been unable to find her for two years.

However, as Tamura said, there are still two or three months left, so it's not hopeless.

Given the bond between him and his sister, even three hundred years of time and space could never sever it.

She will definitely appear in front of me when I need her.

After a brief explanation, Tamura Shi skipped over the topic, which was inappropriate to discuss on this day. He paused slightly before asking again, "By the way, what are your plans after the wedding?"

"Plans? Hmm... not yet. Reiko and I haven't decided what to do next."

Although he had the idea of ​​establishing a nation, it was impossible to tell them such a thing, so Shimizu Asahi could only respond in this way.

However, his answer caught Tamura's eye.

There was a hint of... impatience in his gaze as he looked at them?

Then, the forty-year-old general said expectantly, "Since you are not prepared, why don't you consider the children first?"

How many children do you plan to have?

"..."

"..."

Tamura's sudden words startled both Shimizu Asahi and Shimizu Reiko, who then uttered a blank "Eh?" as if they hadn't yet grasped what was going on.

However, their lack of reaction doesn't mean Ye Zi didn't react.

The young girl, who was drinking tea, choked on her words in shock. She put down her teacup and coughed uncontrollably. Once she caught her breath, she shouted somewhat agitatedly, "Wait, Father, what are you saying? Isn't this a bit too early for my sister and Chaoyang?"

"Father, I think Ye Zi is right. Isn't it a bit too early to have a child?"

Realizing what was happening, Shimizu Asahi smiled helplessly. How much did Tamura Shigeo want Reiko to get married and have children as soon as possible? The wedding wasn't even over yet, and he was already thinking about kids...

Moreover, he's the youngest in the Tamura family, right? Leaving aside Reiko and Tamura Samurai, even Yoko is two years older than him. He already had a child before Yoko got married... It just feels a bit strange.

Although Lingzi didn't say anything, the faint blush on her face made it clear that she was somewhat shy.

If it were the old Reiko, she certainly wouldn't feel shy about this meeting. After all, her personality leaned more towards the yokai side, and her ethical views differed greatly from those of humans. However, after meeting Shimizu Asahi, her ethical views gradually changed. Although she didn't completely become like a human, she moved closer to human values. Therefore, she feels shy now.

But of course, amidst her shyness, she also harbored a sliver of anticipation.

My child with Shimizu... a little one who inherits their bloodline, he must be so cute, right?

Among yokai, the connection of blood is both important and unimportant. Unlike humans who generally treat children as their own offspring and strive to nurture and raise them, yokai who like children will cherish their children even more than humans do, while yokai who dislike children will abandon them and ignore them.

The most representative of them is the Asura Demon King, who slaughtered countless evil spirits and humans. As a demon king who only knows how to kill, his world has always been filled with killing and bloodshed. Lovers and children are simply impossible for him to have. However, even so, after having lovers and children, he couldn't help but feel the urge to cherish them.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been willing to sacrifice its own life to allow Kidomaru to escape the encirclement.

Besides the Demon King Shura, the evil god Yamata in the underground altar of the Genji clan also loved his child very much. He even wanted to kill Shimizu Asahi several times because of Ibuki.

It was also fortunate that he, in this era, was unaware that his daughter would be taken away by this guy in the future; otherwise, Shimizu Asahi wouldn't have ended his trip to Izumo so easily. (Chapter 327, Section 330: New Year's Day)

Of course, these points are mentioned to illustrate that Shimizu Reiko, like the evil god who is obsessed with his daughter and the Shura Demon King, is a monster who loves his child.

Incidentally, Reiko is not opposed to having children as early as possible.

because......

"Ye Zi, Chao Yang and Ling Zi are not young anymore. Many people are already parents at their age. Moreover, the chances of humans and yokai having children are probably much smaller than those of their own kind. So, preparing now is not only not fast, but it can even be said that it is already too late."

Tamura told Reiko what was on her mind.

Indeed, they are very likely the first pair of humans and monsters to be together. Therefore, their future is uncertain and directionless. They will have to figure out how to proceed on their own. In addition to figuring out how to get to where they are, they also have to face a very serious problem.

Can humans and monsters produce offspring?

Shimizu Asahi from the future wasn't worried about this, since his friends, such as Aika Hagoromo and Seimei Kidomaru, were all half-demons, so he and Reiko were sure to have the cutest child.

However, the rest of the world was completely unaware of these events. In their eyes, it was simply the first time that humans and monsters had come together, like the first person to eat a crab. No one knew what the consequences would be.

"Oh, this..."

Realizing the consequences of the information gap, Shimizu Asahi rubbed his head. Although he really wanted to tell them that there was no need to worry about the child, after careful consideration, he decided to keep the information to himself.

It doesn't really matter anymore. After all, things that need to be done after marriage still need to be done. Whether or not to have children is up to fate.

Of course, he preferred that he and Reiko wouldn't have children in this era.

If Lingzi really had a child, how could he bear to abandon them, a widow and her child, and return to three hundred years later?

So there's no need to worry about that.

Yoko, after receiving Tamura's explanation, also showed a thoughtful expression.

Indeed, no matter how much a monster becomes like a human, it will always be a monster, that much is undeniable. Therefore, whether humans and monsters can have children is something they care about very much.

"Well... Father's considerations are not without merit... Alright, I won't say anything more. Chaoyang, what do you think?"

No matter how you look at it, there's nothing to say, so Yezi passed the question to Shimizu Asahi. She couldn't just give advice on something like this.

"Well... since you've all said so, I have no choice but to agree."

After resting his chin on his hand and pretending to be deep in thought for a while, Shimizu Asahi finally shrugged with a helpless expression.

"It's like we forced them to agree; if they didn't want it, they didn't have to."

Even so, the girl wore a faint smile, and her clear black and white eyes were filled with an almost imperceptible joy and anticipation.

"Hehe... How could that be?"

The boy smiled indulgently and denied it.

Unconsciously, a warm atmosphere once again filled the four of them, and everyone began to fantasize about the scene of Shimizu Asahi and Reiko having a child this year.

Hmm... with a little effort, their seniority can be raised next year.