The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

Five minutes later.

"...So, Mokou, you were so tired from taking care of my elder brother that you fell asleep in a daze. Plus, it's winter and very cold now, so you unknowingly ended up in my elder brother's bed?"

After Fujiwara no Mokou, her face flushed, stammered out the whole story, Kaguya Houraisan nodded thoughtfully.

"My concubine understands."

"That's right, that's how it happened!! And I was the one who laid out the blanket on the floor, so it's only natural that I lay it down and take a nap, right?!"

With her face still flushed, Fujiwara no Mokou nodded fiercely.

"If I had known things would turn out this way, I should have kicked him out and taken the blanket for myself!! I've suffered such a huge loss without even knowing why... Kaguya, you're still laughing!!"

"Ahem... Don't worry, Mokou, I will keep this secret for you."

Kaguya Houraisan coughed a few times, then solemnly patted the other person's shoulder.

"Of course, if you wish to ask my elder brother to take responsibility, that is also possible, and I certainly will..."

Before the NEET princess could finish her serious sentence, the enraged Fujiwara no Mokou pounced on her, covered her mouth with her hand, and brought her face close to the princess's as she spoke fiercely.

"Forget it! Forget it all!! Forget everything about that!! Then talk to me again..."

"Kaguya, have you seen Mokou...?"

Before Fujiwara no Mokou could finish her sentence, a weary voice came from behind her, causing Fujiwara no Mokou to stiffen.

"Uh……"

Seeing the two people in the living room acting unusually intimately and ambiguously, Shi Bai's expression suddenly became quite strange.

After a second of silence, the person decisively turned around and walked back to their room.

"Um... I didn't see it, you guys continue."

Fujiwara no Mokou: "..."

Kaguya Houraisan: "..."

P.S.: Happy Labor Day everyone! ヽ(ー_ー)ノ

Chapter Thirty-Three: Purple Mom gbnbvvbb::gfgjy

Human beings have their limits.

While this so-called limit varies from person to person, there is always an upper limit. To surpass this limit, one would have to stop being human.

—It's like a blond, handsome man shouting such words while wearing a mask on his face.

"...So, I'm human too, isn't it normal for me to encounter some troubles?"

Holding up a single finger in front of him with a serious expression, the person looked utterly solemn.

"I'm not ready to abandon my humanity yet."

"That's not what I meant!"

With a forceful slam, Kaguya Houraisan slammed her hand on the table, her tone filled with intense dissatisfaction.

"Mokou has already told me everything about what happened back then, so why are you deliberately hiding it from me? Am I really that untrustworthy to you?!"

"How did you bring up trust in this kind of thing?"

Rolling his eyes, Shi Bai poured himself a cup of tea.

"If my calculations hadn't been slightly off, this would have been just an ordinary daily treat."

"They deliberately set up a barrier to prevent me from entering, and before that, they didn't tell me anything. Isn't this a clear sign of suspicion and distrust?!"

Hiding her hand, which was still aching and numb from exerting too much force, behind her back, Kaguya Houraisan snatched the cup of tea that the other person had just poured and glared at him with an angry look.

"...Okay, so tell me what you want?"

With a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, Shi Bai decisively raised his hands in surrender.

"How about I show you an aerial split right now? It's a miracle I learned from a captain, something only a few can do..."

"Apologize!!"

Holding the teacup tightly with one hand, Kaguya Houraisan's tone was quite resolute.

"And it has to be a very sincere apology!!"

"...I'll cover all the meals for this month."

Shi Bai stared silently at the ceiling.

“That’s not enough. I’d like to add another one.”

Holding up a finger, Kaguya Houraisan looked completely serious.

"I hope you won't wear a mask on your face anymore."

"When did I start wearing a mask?"

Shi Bai reached up and touched his face, looking completely bewildered.

"Is that so? But we've lived under the same roof for so long, do you think I wouldn't have noticed?"

Turning her head, Kaguya Houraisan let out a soft hum.

"It's one thing for you to like running out into the rain alone when it's pouring, but sometimes you'll sit on the rooftop in a daze for several nights in a row without sleeping. You have so many worries hidden in your heart, but you always act lazy and indifferent to everyone... To be honest, I would suggest that you see a psychologist."

"So how did you know I didn't sleep those nights... Holy crap, you were secretly playing games all night again behind my back!?"

First, he frowned slightly, and then, as if he suddenly realized something, Shi Bai's expression changed.

"I mean, what happened to you those few days..."

"These issues don't matter!! You still dare to deny that you have psychological problems!?"

Slightly flustered, she quickly interrupted him, her tone sharp and determined as she tried to appear calm.

“Psychological problems can be very serious. Things like what Mokou said about the backlash from the shikigami of an Onmyoji, that's not the reason at all, is it? Besides, your room was completely sealed off by a barrier, how could any monster have sneaked in? So I strongly suspect that you have a serious case of self-harm…”

Everyone has flaws; no one can be perfect.

Shi Bai's eyes twitched slightly, and he coughed a few times, clenching his fist and placing it near his mouth.

“I admit that my state of mind is indeed a bit problematic, but there is nothing absolutely perfect in this world. A perfect state of mind? If I could achieve that, I would have already severed my three corpses and become a saint in the primordial world, merging with the Dao of Heaven. There would have been no such mess afterward... You have to understand that humans are inherently limited.”

"But you're clearly not human, are you? Although I still haven't figured out your true identity, since Eirin respectfully calls you 'teacher'..."

"I am human, that is a self-evident fact, there is no need to continue discussing this topic, because it is meaningless."

Clearly not wanting to get too entangled in this matter, Shi Bai ended with a single sentence.

"Let's put it this way: everyone has flaws, more or less. A truly perfect being is impossible. Just staying true to yourself is enough, but very few people can actually do that. And what kind of being can be called truly perfect? ​​If you pursue perfection too much, you might end up becoming the very thing you once despised, except that at that time you..."

"...Are you sure it really will still be you?"

........................................................................

It was a rather cold winter.

However, no major snow disaster occurred in Fujiwara Kyoto. Although the number of monsters has increased sharply in recent years, further squeezing the living space of humans, this has a positive aspect in a certain sense.

As the capital of the country, Fujiwara-kyo has the most shrines and temples in the country. Although Tokihaku himself did not particularly like Buddhism and Taoism, Buddhism undoubtedly had its own positive significance in being able to be promoted rapidly in the country and develop into one of the world's leading religions in later generations.

The religious war between indigenous Shintoism and Buddhism continues, only now it has moved from the open to the covert. It is precisely because of their struggle for faith that humanity is not utterly defeated in the current situation.

However, it is obvious that ordinary people are unaware of the intricacies involved; they continue to live their own lives, struggling daily for basic necessities.

This is just like the saying goes: there is never any such thing as a peaceful and tranquil life; it's just that someone is carrying a heavy burden in the dark... just like those humans who voluntarily live in the human village of Gensokyo in the future.

Originally, Shi Bai was somewhat confused about the purpose and meaning of those humans choosing to live in such a dangerous place, but now he understands it a little better.

To humans, monsters are evil, and humans and monsters are inherently incompatible. And in that place, there exists an extremely terrifying mountain of monsters. Although the monsters currently residing on this mountain have no interest in the outside world, this doesn't mean they won't be interested in the future. If one day the monsters of this mountain were to swarm out and invade the outside world, humanity could very well be destroyed.

Those humans who chose to settle there voluntarily became what are known as "pioneers".

Actually, this principle is quite simple; it's just that you didn't think of it before.

This is like in modern society, a large number of highly lethal venomous snakes and beasts suddenly gather in a certain place. But just because these venomous snakes and beasts have not invaded the human world, does that mean that humans can ignore that place?

Impossible. Even if they didn't have the ability to eliminate those venomous snakes and ferocious beasts, humans would inevitably choose to deploy defenses in the surrounding area.

—This is a modern explanation of the formation of the Human Village. The spontaneous gathering place of human cultivators in the "borderland far from the Human Village in the East" is the predecessor of the Human Village in the later Gensokyo.

The reason Shi Bai suddenly thought of this was because, during his conversations with the endless stream of nobles who came to visit, one of them mentioned a place called "the remote border region of Dongzhi Kingdom, far from human settlements," and even said in a rather sarcastic tone that any human who chose to live there was a fool...

Remembering that he had lived there before, Shi Bai, who was very vengeful and petty, put a strong laxative in the other person's tea, estimating that it would keep the other person at home with diarrhea for seven or eight days.

He originally wanted to get revenge on Fujiwara no Mokou, but she had been clearly avoiding him these past few days, and hadn't even come over for meals anymore. So even if he wanted to get revenge for the three hand chops he had suffered before, he couldn't...

The cold season did not deter the nobles from their lust for beauty. Every day, guests continued to flock to the bamboo house. The rumors about Princess Kaguya's beauty not only showed no signs of disappearing, but instead grew larger and larger over time.

Even some monsters from other places heard about the rumors of the most beautiful woman in the world, and they came over with great interest, wanting to snatch a certain NEET princess back as their wife... Before Shi Bai could make a move, those monsters with big ideas and ambitions were dealt with by the monks and Onmyoji who had received the favor of those nobles in advance.

The reason he was so deeply affected by this was that among those toads trying to eat swan meat, Shi Bai saw five familiar faces... That's right, the same five good-natured fools who had previously claimed to be brothers on the Monster Mountain, working together in everything they did, and who were essentially one.

This is Fujiwara Kyoto, the place with the most shrines and temples, and home to the most powerful human practitioners. When it comes to eliminating monsters and vying for faith, both the shrine maidens and the monks are extremely active.

— This was the first time Shi Bai had truly experienced the meaning of the idiom "beauty is a curse."

Because the legendary most beautiful woman in the world, Princess Kaguya, was extremely rare to see, the nobles set their sights on her.

Some people warmly offered to let the siblings not live in such a poor place, saying that they had prepared a mansion in the best location in Fujiwara-kyo for them to move into.

The man, quite extravagantly, tossed a box full of dazzling gold and silver jewelry in front of him, offering to recruit him as a guard in his mansion, but insisting that he bring his sister along as well.

Some even expressed that because he was handsome, refined, powerful, and charming, they wanted to marry their sisters, daughters, or granddaughters to him.

...The most outrageous thing is that the granddaughter of the nobleman who claims he wants to marry his granddaughter is only about three years old. Does he really think he's a pervert?!

The biggest problem isn't here, but that it's not just one person who made this suggestion, but many. Some nobles even brought their granddaughters with them, the youngest being three years old and the oldest only six.

Why is the Genji Project so popular here?

Shi Bai suddenly began to question the meaning of life.

After this happened again, he decided to take some time to have a proper talk with Kaguya Houraisan.

However, at this very moment, in the bamboo house deep in the bamboo forest, an unexpected guest suddenly appeared.

"Zi Ma? What brings you here?"

Looking at the idle yokai who had somehow appeared in his room and was sitting at the table, Shi Bai couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh dear~ Can't I come and check on you?"

Her eye twitched slightly, but Yakumo Yukari tried her best to maintain a smile.

Although I was furious, I still had to try to smile... Who can't beat someone? In the world of monsters, might makes right. [Shrugs]

"I only came to visit because I heard some rumors about Princess Kaguya, but it seems I've had an unexpected surprise~"

Sitting upright at the table, Yukari Yakumo waved a diary she had just been reading in her hand with a smug smile on her face.

"I never imagined that someone as powerful as you would have the habit of keeping a diary?"

"Go ahead and read it if you want. Anyway, that diary was just something I wrote to pass the time."

Shi Bai glanced at the intact lock on the drawer, waved his hand casually, and then walked straight to the bedside, resting his head on his hand and lying down.

"I already had something to discuss with you, and your arrival is just in time... However, I would like to offer you some advice: a moderate amount of curiosity is a good thing, but excessive curiosity may very well bring you utter disaster."

"Don't worry, I know my limits."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and Yakumo Yukari casually closed the diary in her hand and tossed it back into the drawer through the gap.

"Did you need something from me? Perfect, I needed to talk to you about something too~"

P.S.: There will be an update tomorrow morning ヽ(ー_ー)ノ

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Unqualified Demon Sage

"Why did you suddenly have such a thought?"

After listening to Yakumo Yukari's story, Shi Bai sat up from the bed and raised an eyebrow in surprise.