He changed Tiwat

"In this fleeting world, not only can one dream when asleep, but everything is empty."

Yes, that's the one.

After Fox Palace finished reciting the short poem, the first person to raise his wine cup and start talking at length was undoubtedly Yurakusai, who loved to tell stories.

Youlezhai was a renowned scholar of the fox clan, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, flower arranging, tea ceremony, poetry, swordsmanship, and dance... there was almost nothing he couldn't do. Whenever he spoke, he could always captivate all the demons, and even the Fox Palace, which hosted the banquet, couldn't help but close its eyes and smile.

Only the little god would relentlessly nitpick the flaws in Yurakusai's story.

Every time she pointed out a flaw, Yurakusai would stroke his beard and make up a new story, and then the Divine Child would find another flaw, and so on... until Lord Saigu smiled and persuaded them to stop.

After several rounds of drinks and numerous stories, the demons were so drunk that none of them could form a coherent sentence. At that point, the demons simply stopped arguing and used their demonic powers to soar into the air, seeing who could blot out the sky and the moon and win the first place.

—This is known as "On a moonless night, a hundred ghosts roam the night."

The last "Hyakumonogatari" (Tales of One Hundred Demons) and the last "Hyakuki-yaki" (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) were both five hundred years ago.

Five hundred years have passed since then, and the little fox of yesteryear has now cultivated into a powerful demon capable of reaching the heavens and the earth. The demons who once drank with her have disappeared into war and history, and their remaining bloodlines are gradually dwindling.

From then on, both the "Hyakumonogatari" (Hyakumonogatari) and the "Hyakumonogatari" (Hyakumonogatari) became legends from "a long, long time ago".

"In this fleeting world, not only can we dream when we sleep, but everything is vanity." The divine child murmured the short song. "Is it only what we see in sleep that is a dream? In this impermanent world, is there nothing real that we see?"

"But I really want to see you all again... even if it's just in my dreams."

The divine child hasn't dreamed in over ten years.

From the day the name "collapse of the nation" reached her ears, from the day she glimpsed the "future," she never dreamed again.

In the "Pure Land of One Heart," Lei Yingdian, who was meditating with his eyes closed, had a dream that he hadn't had in a long time.

She dreamt of more than two thousand years ago, when her sister and friends were still alive.

Before becoming a general, Raiden was just a warrior responsible for carrying out the orders of the previous general, his sister Raiden Shin.

The previous general, Raiden Shin, was weak in combat, and the tasks entrusted to Kage were mostly sword-wielding and bloodshed. However, outside of battle, Kage also had relaxing moments with his friends, playing "karuta" under the cherry blossom trees.

"Kakka" is a traditional folk game unique to the Inatsumi people and one of the most popular competitive events at festivals.

Inazuma waka differs in format from Liyue poetry, using a "5-7-5-7-7" structure, but like Liyue poetry, it is divided into upper and lower halves. The karuta game involves reciting the first line and finding the next.

The game is a two-player game where players compete to collect a total of fifty playing cards, each printed with the second half of a waka poem.

The cards will be arranged in a deck in front of the two players, and the players can spend some time memorizing the positions of the cards before the game starts.

Once the competition begins, the host will read out the first stanza of a poem, and the contestants will then scramble for cards printed with the second stanza. The contestant with the most cards wins.

The karuta played by the people of Inatsuma in later generations was based on the selected version of "Ogura Hyakunin Isshu" published by "Ogura-ya".

The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is a collection of 100 of the most popular waka poems selected from the Kokin Wakashū by the ancestors of the Ogura family. Contestants need to be able to recite these 100 waka poems fluently in order to have a chance of getting a good ranking in the competition.

However, the karuta that Ying and her sister used to play was made from the Kokin Wakashū, compiled by Kosai-no-miya. It was fifty songs selected from 1,111 waka poems. After all, it was entertainment for gods and their retinues, and the difficulty was completely incomparable to that of mortals.

Due to her personality, this game was not suitable for a martial artist like Kage, so she had never been the winner of this game. Meanwhile, Sasa Yuri, the most agile of the demon race, was always the karuta master at the banquet, and the prizes prepared by the Fox Palace for the winners were basically all enjoyed by Sasa Yuri alone.

In martial arts, no demon can rival Ying, but in karuta (Japanese card game), no demon will lose to Ying... As a martial artist, she is determined to win back what she has lost.

...And the pastries made by Fox Palace are really sweet.

Therefore, Kage devoted his focus from martial arts training to karuta practice, often taking the initiative to challenge Shin or Mikoto Chiyo to karuta duels, or reciting verses alone under the moonlight.

Finally, once again under the cherry blossom tree, Kage fought his way through the challenges and finally defeated Tengu, achieving ultimate victory.

In her dream, Ying raised her hands in a "long live" gesture, cheering for victory, which made her sister and friends laugh. Only then did she realize that she had completely lost her usual composure, and she quickly lowered her hands, reverting to her indifferent expression.

With a smile, Fox Palace presented the pastries to her: "It's called a reward, but it's just some handmade pastries. I didn't expect it to catch Ying's eye. In that case, please enjoy this reward that belongs to the winner."

“I wasn’t after the pastries…” Shadow retorted, seeing it as a reward for her competitive spirit.

She's not the kind of little girl who cries and throws tantrums if she doesn't get dessert.

But the pastries were truly delicious, like the taste of victory.

Even in her dream, a smile unconsciously appeared on Ying's face.

Then I woke up from the dream.

All that remained before her eyes was the unchanging "pure land" and the unchanging "dry landscape".

"With nothing to do, I sit idly facing my inkstone..." Ying suddenly remembered this phrase.

This is a famous line from Inazuma's classical literary essay, "Tsurezuregusa." "Tsurezure" means "utterly bored."

In order to understand the Kokin Wakashū, Kage had crammed a lot of Inatsume literary classics. These words and phrases that symbolize the past are now inexplicably appearing in her mind.

Feeling utterly bored...?

Ying suddenly realized that she was actually feeling "bored" during her meditation.

That shouldn't be done.

Ying lowered her head, trying to clear her mind of all distractions, but at that moment, another memory resurfaced.

"In this fleeting world, not only can one dream when asleep, but everything is empty."

This is the poem on the last karuta card she won when she won a karuta tournament more than two thousand years ago. Because it is so meaningful, I remember it very well.

That was also their last game of karuta.

Later, a war broke out with Umijima, and Sasa Yuri was never able to go to that cherry tree again.

Ying remembered the name of that waka poem; it was a lament called "Sung at the Death of a Close Friend".

The divine child withdrew her hand from the sacred cherry tree.

Long, long ago, the Divine Cherry Tree was not in the shape of a fox. It was only after Lord Kitsuri-no-miya passed away that it took this form.

It was also thanks to Lord Fox Palace that the Divine Child was able to merge his own White Star bloodline into the Divine Cherry Tree.

No one knows that the Divine Child is not a complete soul at present—half of her soul resides in the Divine Cherry Tree.

She is now more like an incarnation of the divine tree than a priestess of the shrine or a servant of the thunder god.

The goddess is not one to suffer losses, so her willingness to make such a sacrifice is naturally because there is a generous reward in return.

That reward allowed her to transcend a thousand years of cultivation, enabling her to become a "celestial fox" at a young age. She could also connect to Inazuma's ley lines through the Divine Cherry Tree and peek into the "memories" within the ley lines.

Previously at the Evil Eye Factory, she had watched the "Scattered Soldiers'" memories with Han Fulai. In those memories, the Divine Child obtained a crucial clue.

The earth's veins contain everyone's memories, records of everyone's lifetimes.

Those memories are so numerous and complex that trying to find specific people and events from them is like looking for a needle in a haystack; even if the divine child had thousands more years, it would be of no use.

It's like using an internet search engine; you can enter any word and hundreds of thousands of search results will pop up. Going through them one by one would take forever.

But with those key times, places, and people, the Divine Child had the "keywords" and could naturally pinpoint the search results she needed.

She has found the memory she needed: the memory left behind by the land of Inazuma.

It's time to move on to the next step.

The priestess took out a tower-shaped "Kagura Bell".

The "Kagura bell" is a bell held by the Inatsume shrine maiden when she performs a dance to the gods at festivals. It consists of three rings that encircle a wooden stick from top to bottom, with a different number of bells hanging on each ring.

The "True Meaning of Kagura" in the hands of the divine child, like the "Undying Moonlight" of the Coral Palace on Umijima Island, is a magical artifact imbued with divine power. It was passed down from the previous Grand Shrine Master, Kosai-no-kami, and is the seal of the Grand Shrine Master of Narukami.

The shrine maiden rang the "Kagura Bell".

Her footsteps danced beneath the sacred cherry tree, each step subtly echoing a mysterious rhythm. Cherry blossoms fell in a flurry, like snowflakes drifting down.

This exquisite dance is the proof of the chief priest of Narukami Taisha Shrine – "Kami-sakura Shin-yu Kagura Dance".

"Once upon a time, I danced before the Emperor, the gentle tinkling of bells like a dream, lingering to this day. I once followed that departing white figure, my heart yearning for an unattainable, unawakened dream..."

As the bell's sound fades into the distance, the silver-white fox, who is both a teacher and a friend, disappears into the long river of time, like a dream; when the bell's sound returns, in the swirling current of no return, even the stubborn sandbar will gradually loosen and melt away.

The once gentle and amiable figure of an old friend has long since faded into the darkness of memory. The orphaned girl of the fox spirit clan takes the Kagura Bell and dances for the vibrant "present".

Among the "Five Supernatural Powers" of the "Heavenly Fox," one is called the "Power of Prediction."

Those who possess "the power of knowing past lives" can know the past karma of all beings and the reasons for their present or future retribution.

The divine child's dance was meant to make the doll lying dazed under the divine cherry tree understand the meaning of "destiny".

She remembered the stubborn young celestial dog.

She once used the guise of "training" to scare the child into hiking through the mountains. But the little girl was incredibly resilient; even falling off a cliff did not diminish her determination. So she disguised herself as a passing villager and recommended the child who had fainted by the roadside to the Kujo family.

Soon, that little tengu will lead the Kujo family toward their "destiny".

She thought of that indomitable ghost clan again.

That guy's willpower is truly extraordinary; she's no match for him in "eating contests"... so she had to resort to a little trick to coax him into eating "fox udon." Even the biggest-eating demon can't eat fried tofu, hmph.

In the future, that fool of the demon race will also lead the demon race toward its "destiny".

And also, that fortune teller lady.

She once corresponded with a sage from a distant land, exchanging gifts of fresh and smooth seaweed.

Now, will the man sent by the fortune teller help Inazuma reach his destined "fate"?

Everything was a piece she had already placed on the chessboard for the future.

With just two more moves needed, the game will be over.

"Your Highness has long been immersed in the dream of eternal visions, but someone must always watch over all living beings."

"To appease the wrath of the evil spirit 'Black Amiya' in Pingzhen, I briefly revealed myself using an ominous object; to quell the great commotion caused by the bald fox Kosanta, I also used my meager magical power to toy with him; the pirate Lin Zang, who had been harassing the islands, was ultimately betrayed and abandoned by his own forces due to my small scheme to sow discord... The swordsman's dark remnant soul and the calamity beast lurking in the sacred forest were also all purged..."

"Now, it's your turn."

The "Kagura Bell" in the princess's hand points to the "scattered soldiers".

"If you are a blank sheet of paper, an extraordinary being who will never be damaged by the sun and moon... accept your 'destiny'."

With a "ding," the ringing stopped abruptly.

Chapter 149 The Truth from Four Hundred Years Ago [4k]

The "scattered soldiers" heard the bell.

The sound of the bell was unpredictable; sometimes it was far away from him, like a pack animal in the desert crossing distant dunes, with no caravan in sight and only the sound of camel bells; other times it was very close to him, like a pack animal dancing in his ear, so noisy that he wanted to smash the bell with his fist.

So the "scattered soldiers" were woken up.

When he woke up, he was still in the "Borrowed View Pavilion", wearing that familiar white hunting robe.

He returned to this place once again.

To be "reborn from the ashes" twice in one day was unprecedented in his memory—it meant that he had been defeated by the enemy twice in one day, and the defeats were very, very bad.

The "scattered soldier" covered his forehead with both hands.

Something was throbbing in his head, as if it were tearing his skull apart, and his vision began to blur... This meant that his soul had suffered severe trauma and would require a long time to recover.

Trauma... Why does trauma occur?

The "scattered soldiers" slowly reminisced about their memories.

His last memory was... in his own "pure land"... He turned the wheel of Dharma, forcibly ascending to godhood at the cost of his past memories... and then... he was struck by lightning...

That bolt of lightning...

...I remember now.

The "scattered soldier" spat out a name through gritted teeth: "Yae no Miko... you lowly fox demon, I will make you pay the price!"

"Snapped!"

A crisp slap across the face.

The "scattered soldier" covered his left cheek in disbelief.

Just now, something made intimate contact with his face.

Yae no Miko stood before him with her arms crossed, holding a pair of wooden clogs—or rather, slippers.

"From now on, when you mention the names of your elders, you should use respectful titles."

"You bastard (kisama)...!"

The "scattered soldier" clenched his fist tightly, but before he could retaliate, there was another "smack".

The slipper in the priest's hand slapped him across the right cheek.

“I already said to use honorifics. You should call me ‘sama’ (大人), not ‘ki’ (大人).