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

After he left, Shimizu Asahi also got up with a smile.

"Alright, let's go too. Don't keep Mr. Ming Liu and Lady Takiyasha waiting."

"Oh dear... Mr. Mingliu's timing is really bad..."

Ibuki said this with a hint of regret, but then smiled the next second.

"However, hehehe... I'm not in a hurry."

"I've already noted down the reward, my lord."

The boy could only respond with helplessness to the girl's words.

However... I don't dislike it. Chapter 766 Finding Joy in Suffering

The City of the Sun has been mired in Himiko's time-space magic for eight hundred years. Now, apart from the watchtower and the village to the east, there is no other place that can escape the time-space magic.

Because the villages to the east are still shrouded in the aura of death, only the Watchtower area in the City of the Sun is currently habitable.

It's also thanks to Shimizu Asahi and his group arriving now; if it had been a few hundred years earlier, Takiyasha-hime might not have been able to occupy the watchtower.

They moved from their room to the main hall of the mansion.

Princess Takiyasha had already come out of the Naruto Room and was sitting in the main seat.

After a day of rest, Takiyasha-hime's breathing had recovered considerably, and her previously pale complexion had improved, making her look quite well.

Qingshui Chaoyang and the others went inside and took their seats.

I exchanged a few words with Takiyasha-hime, inquired about her situation, and then began to eat dinner.

Although you can grow some vegetables here at the watchtower, you just can't get meat no matter what.

Even livestock were under Himiko's control.

With Takiyasha-hime's strength, she could have easily taken some livestock.

But at that time she was all alone, and with the power of the song protecting her, she didn't need to eat at all.

Although some people were saved later, they were all already dead. Even if they couldn't be reincarnated, they were dead, and naturally, they lost their appetite.

In other words, Takiyasha-hime and the others don't need to eat at all.

This was the first meal in hundreds of years that Shimizu Asahi and the others had eaten together.

As for why there are still vegetables in this situation, well... these are probably just a way to pass the time.

Just like Princess Takiyasha would occasionally visit the royal palace while saving the villagers, Meiroku would continue to observe in this way, and sooner or later he would collapse under the pressure.

Therefore, he also had to find something to do to relax his tense nerves.

Dinner was finished quickly, and Mingliu volunteered to wash the dishes. After cleaning up the dishes, he left.

He seemed to know that Shimizu Asahi and the others would have a good talk with Takiyasha-hime next.

But before that, he still brewed them a pot of good tea.

Although tea was officially introduced from that empire only two or three hundred years ago, it was actually introduced to Yamatai as early as eight hundred years ago when Himiko established contact with that powerful country.

It just didn't spread widely.

After all, the Yamatai Kingdom at that time did not have much tea.

Of course, as a country that learned from that powerful empire, Yamatai also defined tea as something for self-cultivation. Generally, if they didn't drink alcohol, they would drink tea when chatting.

Taking a sip of hot tea, Takiyasha-hime looked at the six people sitting to her left.

"Mr. Shimizu must have had a fruitful day, but he also has many questions in his mind."

"Mr. Shimizu, you can ask me anything you want."

She got straight to the point.

Without hesitation, Shimizu Asahi smiled and recounted his gains for the day, as well as his speculation about Himiko's strength.

Of course, he didn't reveal Takiyasha-hime's identity.

Perhaps they felt that Takiyasha-hime had her own considerations, or perhaps it wasn't the right time yet.

In short, aside from the issue of his identity, he revealed everything without reservation.

"I see... So they've already discovered that Himiko's strength has weakened?"

"As expected of Mr. Shimizu, his observation skills are truly remarkable."

"That's right, just as you said, Himiko's strength has declined."

"She can no longer maintain every detail of this vast city. In order to ensure control over the city, she is being forced to gradually reduce her power, allowing more and more areas and plants to slip out of her control."

"However, no matter how weak her power becomes, Himiko is still Himiko. Her strength is beyond our ability to contend with."

Himiko's weakening was something Takiyasha-hime had anticipated, but she didn't seem happy at all.

It took her eight hundred years to weaken Himiko's power to this extent... No, it's also possible that Himiko weakened herself by maintaining the vast space for so long.

At this rate, it might take her another eight hundred years, or even sixteen hundred years, before she could have a chance to contend with Himiko.

Having persisted for eight hundred years, persisting for another eight hundred or sixteen hundred years doesn't seem like an impossible task.

But...who could understand the weariness in her heart at this moment?

No matter how strong she was, she was still just a girl, a girl who watched the disaster happen but was powerless to save it, a girl who knew she should do something but was powerless to stop it.

The passage of time is too powerful... She doesn't know when she will become completely numb.

Himiko spared her life partly because she considered her a daughter, and partly because she knew the girl would eventually get lost in this endless cycle of reincarnation...

No one can withstand the test of time and loneliness.

For her, the clue about Shimizu Asahi was actually useless.

Although the words were somewhat harsh, that is the truth.

However, just as she was thinking this, a voice came from the side.

"Well... although this information is indeed not very useful, we can't keep thinking about the downsides."

"As long as she keeps getting weaker, it means we keep getting stronger. Isn't that good news?"

As if she could read Takiyasha-hime's mind, Shimizu Asahi chuckled softly.

"Finding joy in hardship is also a very important thing."

Although Shimizu Asahi believes in the principle that one should not advise others to be kind if one has not experienced their suffering, this is not a deep-seated grudge; it is merely to offer some guidance to a child who has suffered for eight hundred years.

"..."

Takiyasha-hime looked at Shimizu Asahi, opened her mouth slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she gently shook her head.

She had thought about finding joy in hardship, but... she just couldn't do it.

In this world, she really couldn't think of anything that could bring her joy.

However, she did indeed sense Shimizu Asahi's kindness.

A very faint smile appeared on her delicate, aloof face.

The woman said softly, "Let's not talk about this for now."

"Mr. Shimizu must have many more questions for me."

Although it was only a little, it added a touch of life to this lifeless world... Chapter 767 Relying on Oneself

"Hmm... there are indeed many more questions I want to ask."

The questions we just discussed were less questions and more confirmations, a way to solidify our assumptions into facts.

Now, let's begin to look at the real questions.

"I have a lot of questions on my mind, but the one I want to ask most right now is probably the location of the shrine."

Shimizu Asahi decided to find the cause of the natural disaster, but after searching most of the Sun Wheel City, he found nothing. He felt that his search direction seemed to be somewhat wrong.

Natural disasters come like a gust of wind; focusing on that alone probably won't lead to the right answer.

The intelligence and clues I found today were all just by chance.

However, after searching so many places in the City of the Sun, he still couldn't find Himiko or the cause of the natural disaster. Even if he went to places he hadn't been to today, it probably wouldn't be of much use tomorrow.

Of course, this doesn't mean giving up; he just felt that he should take a two-pronged approach.

While searching for the cause of the natural disaster, they also looked at it from another angle, trying to find out why their older sister didn't intervene when the disaster struck.

This is also a good starting point for resolving the conflict between Himiko and her sister.

So, after careful consideration, he came up with a place.

--shrine!

The shrine of the City of the Sun.

That was the place where Himiko was born, and also the place where Himiko died.

There are so many stories about Himiko and Shimizu Mio there; if he goes there, he will surely be able to find the reason.

However, Takiyasha-hime's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, as if she had thought of something unpleasant.

"...Actually, the shrine...is no longer there."

She closed her eyes and softly uttered these words.

"Himiko destroyed the shrine long before the natural disaster destroyed everything."

"The person she respected most took everything from her, and this pain drove Himiko mad. The shrine she had built in the palace was destroyed without hesitation."

"Even if time could be reversed, she would not have restored that shrine."

"Now, that shrine has probably disappeared into the river of time."

"......this."

His pupils widened involuntarily, and Qing Shui Chaoyang was momentarily stunned.

My own sister's shrine... was destroyed?