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

But as she thought about it, Yezi lowered her head... I was supposed to go first...

Just then, a melodious bell rang out from afar, immediately drawing the attention of the four people in the room.

"It's...almost the New Year."

Tamura couldn't help but laugh, and then said, "Alright everyone, let's pray to the gods, wishing that we can still be as happy and reunited as we are now in the new year."

"By the way, it would be best to pray to the gods again for Asahi and Reiko's future."

The elderly man, well into his forties and approaching fifty, said half seriously and half jokingly, "I hope they can finally get married this year..."

Shimizu Asahi and Reiko laughed from the bottom of their hearts, and then began to pray quietly.

......

Gentle sunlight streamed through the cracks in the window into the warm room. As he lay on the tatami mat, Shimizu Asahi slowly opened his eyes. As usual, he rubbed his eyes and then quietly got out of bed.

He did not wake Lingzi.

Although fish do not hibernate, they reduce their activity levels due to low temperatures. Therefore, Reiko tends to be more sleepy in winter than usual.

So let her sleep in a little longer in the morning.

After quietly leaving the room, he quickly washed up and then went to the front door.

He thought he was one of the earlier risers, but to his surprise, Tamura Samurai had risen even earlier than him.

"Happy Chinese New Year, Father."

He walked over and greeted Tamura Shige, who stopped what he was doing upon hearing his voice and said with a smile, "Asahiro, Happy New Year. You're up really early."

"It's nothing, I'm used to getting up at this time. But Father, getting up so early, are you hanging up a rope?"

Looking at the straw ropes on the door, he couldn't help but ask this question.

During the New Year in Yamato Country, a straw rope or a circle made of straw rope is strung above the door of each household. This is called a 'shimenawa' or 'shimenaka', which is the thing that is always hung on the gate of a shrine.

Originally, this thing shouldn't be hung on the door casually, since it represents a sacred object of the gods. However, because it was the Spring Festival, the gods relaxed their restrictions a bit and allowed the people to do this.

Besides shimenawa (sacred rope), people also paste paper cutouts of animals symbolizing longevity, such as cranes and turtles, inside and outside their homes to pray for peace.

If this were placed in that ancient kingdom to the west, it would be equivalent to putting up New Year pictures and hanging Spring Festival couplets.

"Well, the house is so big, I have to get up early, otherwise I won't be able to finish all the work."

Considering that the servants also wanted to celebrate the New Year with their families, Tamura-ji sent them home to celebrate the festival the day before New Year's Eve. Since it was best to make things like shimenawa (sacred ropes) and New Year couplets on New Year's Day, he got up early to get busy.

"Then I'll help too. Two people can get things done faster. Maybe we can even prepare breakfast before Reiko and Yoko get up."

Although eating breakfast is not common in Yamato during this era, the Lunar New Year is an exception.

Because Emperor Kōtoku greatly admired the culture of the ancient western country and absorbed it without much alteration, they also inherited the ancient western country's custom of eating breakfast during the Lunar New Year.

As for why this habit isn't extended to other times, it's because it's still difficult to provide people with three meals a day.

If the Heian period, three hundred years later, was like this, then the situation three hundred years earlier must have been even more dire.

However, none of that is an important issue. What they need to do now is decorate the house.

"Hehe, okay, let's speed things up and get these things done as soon as possible."

Without refusing Shimizu Asahi's help, Tamura Samurai handed him some of the shimenawa (sacred rope) and paper cuttings, and then the two began to work. (Chapter 328, Section 331: Why does this old lady have to be here at this time!)

The Tamura family mansion was indeed very large. Excluding the kitchen and the battlefield, there were seven or eight living rooms alone. If you include the living room and the inner room, there were more than a dozen. However, thanks to the efforts of Shimizu Asahi and Tamura Samurai, the number of rooms was nothing. They finished decorating the house in about an hour.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad."

Looking at the house filled with the spirit of the New Year, Tamura Samurai couldn't help but smile.

"Father, you should go and rest first. I'll go prepare breakfast. By the time it's ready, Yezi and the others should be up soon." Standing next to Tamura Shigehiro, Shimizu Asahi nodded with great satisfaction. However, after admiring the food, he also had to prepare breakfast.

"Ah, thank you for your hard work, Chaoyang."

"It's nothing, it's what I should do."

After saying that, the boy prepared to leave to prepare breakfast, but just as he turned to leave, Tamura Samurai suddenly remembered something and called out to him.

"By the way, Chaoyang, have you prepared your annual pass and New Year's money?"

As the Spring Festival in Yamato Province has not yet incorporated many of its own customs, the people of Yamato Province highly respect the traditions of that ancient country, and have even adopted things like greeting cards and New Year's money.

Moreover, exchanging greeting cards is one of the most popular ways to congratulate individuals and families alike; people even refer to this activity as "flying kites."

During the Lunar New Year, whoever receives the most New Year's cards will feel that the new year will bring them a bright future and good fortune, and this will generate an irrepressible joy.

As for New Year's money, it's a gift from adults to children. Well, although adults don't really do it, it's still the New Year, so it's good to get some good luck. Besides, this is the first time the four members of the Tamura family have celebrated the New Year together, so it's perfectly reasonable to prepare some New Year's money.

"Don't worry, Father, everything is ready."

Having experienced the Spring Festival for over a decade, Shimizu Asahi still understood these customs. He gave Tamura a reassuring look and then quickly left.

Before long, he came out carrying four bowls of vegetarian noodles.

Because of custom, people eat vegetarian food on New Year's Day, so Shimizu Asahi simply made some vegetarian noodles. As he finished preparing the noodles, the Tamura sisters finally got out of bed.

After a quick wash, they came to the living room, exchanged New Year greetings, and then the four of them began to enjoy breakfast.

Of course, they took the opportunity to give out greeting cards and New Year's money.

The only one who didn't receive New Year's money was Yezi.

Although Shimizu Asahi was younger than her, in terms of seniority, Shimizu Asahi was older than her. Therefore, she became the only person in the Tamura family who received New Year's money but did not give it away.

I'm quite happy about holding the leaf; no matter what, I can get money without paying anything, hehe...

After breakfast, the four of them went out to visit the temple. The main activity for today was to visit relatives and friends, but Tamura had no relatives or friends, and Shimizu Asahi's only sister was nowhere to be found. So, the visit ended before it even started.

However, this is for the best. Apart from the soldiers, those so-called friends who come to visit are definitely here for matters of state. If they were to be involved in such matters on the first day of the Lunar New Year, it would be extremely unlucky.

......

However, while Shimizu Asahi accompanied his fiancée's family to visit a temple, Shimizu Mio, dressed in gold, sat in the main seat of a luxurious house with a sullen expression.

"Why do I have to be here at this time?!"

She looked at the two black-haired women beside her and couldn't help but let out a willful and dissatisfied sound.

"I finally managed to catch a faint sound from him, and now that I've missed this opportunity, where am I supposed to find him?"

The two women standing beside her looked helpless. They exchanged a glance, and then one of them said softly, "Great God, you haven't shown up to take charge for two years. This has already caused concern in the royal family. If you don't come out this year, the royal family may think that you have abandoned them."

"Moreover, the newly enthroned Emperor is not satisfied with you, and the newly promulgated regulations strongly promote Buddhism and Taoism. You must come out this year to stabilize the situation."

“Ten-tsunami-no-Mikoto is right, Omikami. You can look for the person you're looking for anytime, but it's best to stabilize things as soon as possible. Once the situation is stable, we can accompany you in your search,” another woman advised.

Hearing what Ame-no-Mikoto and Kiku-ri-hime said, Shimizu Mio's mood worsened.

Having finally obtained the Heart of Prayer for Shimizu Asahi, she was preparing to set off to find him, but was dragged here by Ame-no-Mikoto and Kiku-ri-hime, missing the best opportunity to find him. This already made her unhappy, and now this unexpected thing has happened, making her even more irritable.

"Damn it, what right does that human have to be dissatisfied with me? If he's dissatisfied, then let him go down and bring someone else up!"

"The Yamato Imperial Family has many members. One more or one less makes no difference. I have plenty of candidates for Emperor. What is he to me!"

"How dare a mere human wield a sword against a god?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Tenten no Mikoto and Kikuri no Mikoto, who were standing nearby, both fell silent. Having served Shimizu Mio for so long, she already knew Shimizu Mio's personality very well.

Never try to persuade her when she's angry, because if you don't, she might just talk the talk, but if you do, she'll feel that your words are a challenge to her decision and then she'll actually do it.

So at this time, it's best for them to remain silent.

As for the last sentence, "just a mere human being," well... let's just pretend we didn't hear it; it was just something said in anger anyway.

After all, she was the one who said she was just a mere human being, yet she was also the one who tirelessly searched for humans.

However, this matter was truly beyond their expectations.

Two years ago, when Shimizu Mio told them she was going to find a human, they were speechless with surprise, and even thought she was just joking. However, when two months passed and she still hadn't returned, they realized that Shimizu Mio was serious.

She, who could never persevere for a month for anything, actually persisted for two months for someone. This is absolutely unprecedented since the birth of this country.

However, instead of thinking she was neglecting her duties or acting recklessly, they encouraged her after her initial search failed, telling her not to give up.

They were trying to cultivate her patience and composure in this way.

As for the consequences of this choice... they didn't know whether it was a success or a failure.

Regardless, the Spring Festival must go on.

Amidst their own wonderful moments, the time for the Spring Festival gradually passed.

Although Shimizu Asahi felt a little regretful, she also genuinely felt the warmth. Shimizu Mio, though quite dissatisfied, diligently completed her work. Whether happy or frustrated, the New Year celebrations ended perfectly. (Chapter 329, Section 332: This is what I made for you and your sister.)

As the Spring Festival passes, people's rhythm slowly returns. One by one, the servants who went home for the festival return, and one by one, the stall owners who closed their stalls for a break reopen their shops. As January and February are about to end, the people who are preparing to welcome the beginning of spring have also prepared seeds and farming tools.

The vitality of early spring is slowly beginning to emerge.

Soon, time flew by, winter quietly passed, and early spring arrived silently. The river water that had been frozen by the cold began to flow again, and verdant life gradually emerged. The lives of the people returned to normal, and even Tamura Samurai began to retrain his soldiers.

Of course, even while training his soldiers, he did not neglect the search for Shimizu Mio and the preparations for the wedding.

The date that Shimizu Asahi and Tamura Samurai had decided on was May, but because the Lunar New Year holiday was quite long and the servants couldn't return immediately, it was postponed.

It's already March, and there are only a little over two months until May, which they have set out to do. Therefore, Tamura Samurai cannot afford to waste any more time.

Fortunately, in addition to the servants preparing in peace, the soldiers were also making preparations.

When they returned to the barracks and learned that Shimizu Asahi was going to marry Reiko, they were all so happy that they discussed it for a whole month.

Tamura was also very pleased with the soldiers' joy. Although Shimizu Asahi had rarely appeared in front of them since the island incident two years ago, the soldiers who had participated in that war all remembered how Shimizu Asahi single-handedly escorted them away and how he single-handedly saved Yoko. To them, Shimizu Asahi was their benefactor.

Therefore, even though the people have gradually forgotten about Qingshui Chaoyang, they still remember it clearly.

As for the new recruits entering the military camp, these veterans would often talk about this with these greenhorns.

Over time, Shimizu Asahi became a hero in the eyes of all the soldiers of the Tamura family.

"Hero, that title really doesn't suit me..."

Upon learning of this, the black-haired boy couldn't help but laugh. In his view, he was just doing what he could, and he was far from being called a hero... No, he should say that he never thought of becoming a hero; he just wanted to do his best.

However, if the soldiers want to call him that, then let them call him that. After all, he couldn't possibly order the soldiers to stop calling him that from now on.