He changed Tiwat

Han Fulai discovered that the location of each window on the wall of the tea room was carefully designed. Natural light from outside entered the room from different angles, making the scenery inside look different, creating the so-called "changing scenery with every step" effect.

For example, the black pottery vase was an ordinary object, but from Han Fulai's angle, he could see a ray of light shining in from the window on the side wall, illuminating the black pottery vase.

The white morning glory in the vase, bathed in light and shadow, exudes a unique beauty, like the only star in the dark sky.

"How is it, Divine Child? Isn't the tea room I designed myself the best in Inazuma?"

Beside the fireplace, an old man dressed in white hunting clothes stroked his beard and smiled, looking quite pleased with himself.

Han Fulai noticed that the old man's hunting robe was decorated with a pattern of "shadows of cherry blossoms," indicating that he was related to Narukami Taisha.

The priest sitting opposite him turned his head and glanced at the black pottery vase.

Her gaze swept across Han Fulai's face, but didn't linger, as if Han Fulai didn't exist in the tea room at all.

"The flower is beautiful, but why is there only one lonely bloom?" the divine child asked.

"Oh dear, you don't understand, do you? I'll have to teach you what 'wabi-sabi' is."

The old man's voice was brimming with undisguised smugness, clearly indicating that his lines had been prepared in advance.

"When I built this teahouse, I specially invited the General to come and meet me. I also mentioned that the morning glories in the courtyard were in full bloom and incredibly beautiful—you know, the General loves morning glories the most."

"So the general brought Lord Ying along, and they came over excitedly to see. And guess what? Hehe, I had knocked down all the morning glories in the yard beforehand, so the general only saw withered branches when he arrived."

"Lord Ying immediately drew her sword and said that to mock the General, one should atone by committing seppuku, and she was willing to help me with the seconding."

The goddess blinked: "But your head is still perfectly fine on your shoulder, isn't it?"

“Of course!” The old man became even more smug, pointing to the black pottery vase, and said, “The general and his sister are quite different; they’re very refined. When she saw that lone morning glory, she immediately understood my intention—”

"Imagine visiting a garden full of morning glories; the scenery is beautiful, but you can't help but forget it after a while. But a single morning glories, picked and placed in a vase, will soon wither, yet it will be unforgettable to those who see it. This is the beauty of 'fleeting moments'."

“‘Morning Glory’ blooms at dawn and fades by sunrise; isn’t that exactly ‘a fleeting moment’?”

"The same applies to the tea ceremony. A tea ceremony is a 'one-time event'. Even if the same host and guests hold tea ceremonies repeatedly, the moment itself cannot be recreated. The general's love for the tea ceremony is precisely for this 'one-time event'."

"Tea that is only once in a lifetime, flowers that are only once in a lifetime... to find eternity in the 'moment,' that is the eternal way of the general."

The goddess snorted: "I think you've really messed up your flattery, You Lezhai. Her Highness loves flowers, and you knocked down all her favorite ones. She might not say anything, but she's probably complaining about you in her heart. Think about it, hasn't Her Highness never come to 'Ru'an' again since then?"

"This, this..." The old man named Youlezhai couldn't sit still any longer, and several strands of his beard were plucked out.

The Divine Child pressed her advantage: "I also know that Your Highness, Lord Shadow, and Master Saigu often gather at the Kamisato family's 'Wooden Casket Tea Room.' Aren't the camellias, cherry blossoms, and morning glories there more beautiful than your bare tea room?"

"And—they never take you to their parties!"

"This, this, this..." You Lezhai stammered for a long time before finally giving up.

It's a fact that the General hasn't come again, and it's also a fact that the General doesn't take him to gatherings... Even the eldest sister of the Zhai Palace doesn't want to invite him, even though he has Le Zhai, who is a top-notch refined scholar in the fox clan!

So, he really was ostracized, right?

Of course, there was something the priest didn't tell Yurakusai:

The gathering at the "Wooden Leak Tea House" was originally a "women's gathering." His Highness the General, His Highness the Shadow, Master Saigu, and Miss Chiyo, Miss Reizenbo... they were all girls, how could we invite a man like him to spoil the fun?

"Alright, alright." The Divine Child picked up his teacup, took a sip, and smiled. "I didn't come here today to visit—you should have finished writing the sequel to 'The Tale of the Six Foxes of Yulezai,' right?"

"Of course!" Upon hearing the mention of "The Tale of the Six Foxes of Yurakusai," Yurakusai immediately perked up and began to tell the shrine maiden the rest of the story: "Legend has it that the Great Fox Bai Chen had six disciples, all of whom were highly skilled in magic and versatile. They were responsible for assisting the mistress Bai Chen in coordinating shrine affairs and protecting the safety of Shadow Mountain."

"The leader of the six foxes is named 'Black Fox Ada.' Although she is a woman, she is broad-shouldered and burly, with a robust and imposing physique. She has a free and unrestrained nature. Once, she got drunk and caused a scene in the main hall of the shrine, damaging the body of the general, which angered the White Star Matriarch, who banished her down the mountain to reflect on her actions..."

Having listened in on this, Han Fulai finally remembered the identity of the old man named Youlezhai.

That day, when Han Fulai was helping Ying choose light novels at "Yaedo," he saw the old man's books on the bookshelf—

He was once the most famous bestselling author of Inazuma, the younger brother of Huzhai Palace, the matriarch of the Baichen Fox Clan, and the Changyi of Youlezhai Ruan.

Chapter 237 The "Old Man of Aoi" Who Committed a Heinous Crime [4k]

"...Now, this black fox Ada, who had just descended the mountain in a polite manner, completely forgot his mistress's admonitions. He grabbed a jug of fine wine and headed straight for the village to cause trouble."

"She saw two women standing by the roadside, dressed as woodcutters, each with a seven-foot-long katana, a short katana, and a wakizashi at their waists. They were fully armed and their sharpness was on full display."

"Seeing the burly, dark-skinned figure stride towards them, kicking up dust and shaking the ground, the two women became alert, gripping their sword hilts, and asked in unison..."

As You Lezhai finished speaking, he suddenly stood up and placed his hand on his waist.

A magnificent longsword also hung at his waist.

The long sword is painted with gold lacquer and is decorated in an elaborate manner, making it more like a work of art than a weapon. A small flower with three petals is inlaid on the hilt—it is a pansy, also known as the "butterfly flower" because of its butterfly-like shape.

Yuezhai drew his sword, pointed it at the divine child before him, and demanded:

"Who goes there? Could it be a monster?"

Han Fulai then saw the knife clearly—it was a prop knife at all; not only was it unsharpened, it was simply a wooden knife painted with gold paint…

However, Yu Lezhai's ventriloquism was quite remarkable; he could even imitate a woman's high-pitched voice quite convincingly, making the goddess giggle.

After laughing, the divine child imitated the black fox Ada from the story, laughing loudly in a gruff voice: "Haha! I am the monster!"

The question and answer between the two reminded Han Fulai of Tian Tiezui, who famously said, "Three bowls and you can't cross the harbor."

On stage, Tian Tiezui said, "Back then, in Liyue, the seas were plagued by great demons, and the mountains were teeming with evil dragons..."

The audience below will surely chime in: "Emperor Yan summons all the immortals to restore a bright and clear world to the land!"

"Back then, I loved listening to Yurakusai tell stories. Later, I founded 'Yajōdō' perhaps because I missed him... It's a pity that someone as good at storytelling as Yurakusai has never appeared again."

At some point, Shenzi stood behind Han Fulai, watching the storyteller gesturing wildly by the hearth, and the loyal listener opposite him.

"You're here. Have a seat." Han Fulai nodded slightly to her, not particularly surprised.

He already knew that the Divine Child possessed the art of splitting spirits, and that only Shinnosuke had used Yin-Yang techniques to recreate past records for them in the Desolate Sea Palace, so he figured this tea room must be the same thing.

The two people sitting around the fire before him, Yurakusai and Yae no Kamiko, were probably both illusions created by Kamiko using magic. The reason why they ignored him when he entered the tea room was probably because of this.

"Listening to audiobooks should be accompanied by tea and snacks... Would you like some?"

The divine child sat down as instructed, and from somewhere pulled out a packet of roasted pumpkin seeds, and kindly handed him a handful.

Han Fulai didn't stand on ceremony and took it, putting it in his mouth.

Mmm, crunchy, chicken flavor, and a faint floral aroma.

The divine child narrowed his eyes: "Hey, I'm currently in a 'possessed by the evil spirit' state, you know? Aren't you afraid I'll drug you?"

“I think it would be more efficient for you to attack me from behind,” Han Fu said, munching on sunflower seeds. “Besides, even if you really poison me, I’m not afraid. I have the constitution to help demon-slaying demons share their ‘karma’.”

The goddess pouted in disappointment: "This is so boring."

Han Fulai smiled slightly: "You told me last time that even if your Bai Chen bloodline is corrupted, it can still maintain its will. So I know you are very clear-headed now, and you won't attack me when you are clear-headed—after all, the 'Divine Cherry Blossom Great Purification' still depends on me. If I die, there will be no one else who can help you."

"In other words, not only can you not harm me now, you also have to fawn over me and treat me to good food and drink..."

The god-child angrily snatched the melon seeds from his hand.

Han Fulai wasn't annoyed. He took some melon seeds from Shenzi's bag and asked her as he did so, "Where did these melon seeds come from? They taste pretty good."

"You want to know...?"

The divine child snapped his fingers.

The bag of sunflower seeds in her hand turned into cherry blossom petals.

"Would you like to eat more?"

Han Fulai didn't mind at all. He casually picked up a cherry blossom petal, held it to his nose and smelled it: "No wonder those melon seeds smell of flowers. The Scarlet Cherry Blossom Rice Cake is also a specialty of Inazuma. Thank you, Lord Miyaji, for treating me to such a fine treat."

Manyo had told him before that the Inazuma yokai loved to use this kind of trick to torment mortals.

During my time wandering in Manyo, I met a fellow traveling merchant.

It was early summer, and the weather was rainy, making the mountain roads muddy and difficult to navigate. As night approached, Wanye wanted to find a shelter from the rain, and as soon as he turned around, he saw a thatched hut at the end of the road.

The merchant cheered when he saw the thatched hut, but Wanye advised him not to go inside.

The traveling merchant, unwilling to get wet in the rain, immediately abandoned Wanye and went to the thatched hut alone.

When the merchant knocked on the door, a beautiful woman came out to greet him, invited him inside to take shelter from the rain, and brought him fragrant tea, delicious food, and bedding.

Perhaps the food was too delicious, for the merchant became sleepy as he ate and fell asleep immediately. When he woke up again, it was already the early hours of the next day. The roof above him was nowhere to be seen, and the sunlight was shining directly on his face, making it extremely dazzling. All he could see was Wan Ye, who was smiling down at him.

Before the merchant could even speak, he spat out a handful of chewed leaves and mud. As for what lay beneath him, there were no blankets, just a filthy muddy ground.

The goddess used cherry blossom petals as melon seeds, which were much tastier than the mud and leaves of the tanuki demon, so Han Fulai was quite content.

The divine child glanced at him, his expression somewhat helpless: "Tell me, when do you plan to make your move?"

Han Fulai smiled and said, "No rush, at least let me hear the story of Youlezhai first."

The illusion in this tea room was probably created by the goddess to pass the time while she waited for him to come and "exorcise" her. It was just a memory from her past and had no special meaning.

But he was indeed quite interested in the Divine Child's past experiences.

And... he really wasn't in a hurry.

"Time flows differently in this consciousness space than in the outside world. You have time to wait for me, and of course I have time to chat with you."

Hearing this, the divine child stopped urging him and instead began to introduce him to "The Tale of the Six Foxes of Youlezhai":

"The story that Yurakuzai is telling now is 'The Two Demons of Togakushi,' the third volume of 'Yurakuzai's Six Fox Tales.' These 'Two Demons of Togakushi' are two female bandits, one a blue demon and the other a red demon. They used to bully the villagers in Konta Village, but were spotted by the black fox Ada, who gave them a good beating. After that, the two became Ada's underlings and followed her in her chivalrous deeds."

"Speaking of which, this part has been lost in the extant 'The Tale of the Six Foxes of Yulezai.' Now, I'm probably the only one who can still remember this story, right?"

Han Fulai's face showed a rare expression of displeasure: "Hey, You Lezhai hasn't finished telling the story yet, can you please not give away spoilers?"

The goddess was even more excited to spoil the plot: "By the way, Yurakusai will be telling the story of his sword next—it's called 'Yuraku Gorenkiri,' a famous item that Yurakusai made himself."

As expected, Yurakuzai, standing by the hearth, picked up his "prop sword" and began to tell the story of the sword to the priestess opposite him, as if showing off—while the priestess next to Han Fulai stole Yurakuzai's lines first.

“'Yuraku Gorenkiri' was originally nameless. It got its name from a 'Shibaju' (traditional Japanese entertainment venue).

"'Shiba-i' is the origin of arts such as Inatsuma Kabuki and Noh. In the days before the establishment of the Shaman Magistrate, the ancient Inatsuma festival was about appreciating flowers and the moon, drinking and singing. There were no formalities back then, and people usually sat on the ground, with the lawn as their seat. In the Inatsuma language, the lawn is called 'shiba-i'."

"Back then, people would invite famous performers to sing and dance to liven things up. To maintain order, they would fence off the lawn to separate the performers from the lawn. The so-called 'Shibaju' was the 'audience seating' enclosed by the lawn. Later, it became a synonym for Inazuma Kabuki performances."

"The leader of the demon foxes, Gohyakuzo, once held a 'Shibaiju' in the 'Forest of Guardians'. That 'Shibaiju' was to celebrate Gohyakuzo being appointed as the 'Director of the Hidden God's Life Preservation Office'."

"He hosted a banquet for Inazuma, inviting many famous yokai, especially those who also held official positions in the shogunate, such as Master Saigu and Miss Chiyo..."

"'The Invisible God's Health Preservation Office Director' is a high-ranking official—at least that's what Ichizo thought. So, to match his high-ranking position, he held a particularly luxurious 'Shibai' that time, and even specially built a very beautiful performance stage, with curtains painted in gold."

“I heard from Master Saigu that the Five Hundred Tribes invited famous Kabuki performers such as Zeami and Izumo no Okuni that time. It was a grand festival that even the Inatsume demons admired. Guess who wasn’t invited to this amazing ‘Shibai’?”

Han Fulai looked at Youlezhai with a pitying gaze.

The voice of the goddess also carried a hint of amusement: "Yurakusai was very angry. So he deliberately got drunk and went to the 'Forest of Guardians' to cause a scene. He even used his sword to cut off all the 'royal curtains' painted with gold on the stage—that's how he got the gold paint on his sword, and the pansies on the hilt were hairpins he stole from the heads of Kabuki actors."

"And when Yurakusai was causing a ruckus, the person who stopped him was a demon who had gone with Chiyo to freeload... um, that's Arataki Otogi from 'Arataki Otemon'."

"After sobering up, Yurakusai gave his treasured tea set to Gohyakuzō as an apology. There were also many valuable tea bowls in the tea room, but he gave them all away... and his sword was given to Araki Otogi as a gift to the mediator."

"Ha, no wonder the sword in his hand was just a wooden one. It turns out the real one has already been given away." Han Fulai now understood why You Lezhai had a "prop sword".

The priest laughed and said, "This anecdote about the gift of the sword was later adapted by Yurakusai into a story of two heroes who were neglected by high-ranking officials and appreciated each other. He would bring it up to everyone he met to boast about it. However, he had only met Arataki Otogi once."

Han Fulai smiled and said, "I'm willing to believe that they truly considered each other friends. That Arataki Otogi, who sacrificed himself to protect the people of Inazuma during the 'Dark Calamity,' was indeed a hero."

"Since heroes cherish heroes, and there is a man named Yue Zhai, he must also be a hero, right?"

Suddenly, the divine child clapped his hands.

Yurakusai and Shinji, who were laughing and joking by the hearth, suddenly stopped and then slowly turned into light and disappeared.

Only the two of them remained in the tea room.

The goddess sighed softly: "Quite the opposite. Yurakusai... later became a sinner of the fox clan, and even of Inazuma."

"..."

Han Fulai looked at the divine child in silence.

This was an answer he hadn't expected.

The divine child's face darkened: "Don't let You Lezhai's appearance fool you, he is actually one of the strongest among the Inazuma demons. If I were to address him properly, I should call him my uncle."

"You Le Zhai, whose full name is Bai Chen You Le Zhai Ru An Chang Yi. He is the younger brother of Master Zhai Gong, and the purest Bai Chen Tian Hu... Logically speaking, after Master Zhai Gong's death, he should be the one to succeed him as the 'Bai Chen Hu Wang'."

"You Lezhai is proficient in magic and martial arts, making him a rare all-rounder in my Bai Chen Fox Clan. He is really, really smart, and he learns everything faster than others. Not only martial arts and magic, but also music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and songs... he can learn them all in no time and master them immediately."

"Besides the name 'Yurakusai,' he also had a pen name, 'Aoi no Oki.' He was one of the 'Five Poet Immortals' commemorated by the 'Koka Eisai Festival.' To this day, Inatsuma-hito still recites his poems..."

"And the legends and anecdotes he left behind are the most numerous among the fox clan... The chivalrous stories in 'The Six Fox Tales of Youlezhai' are actually his own personal experiences. He is probably the person who best fits the image of a 'fox fairy' in Inazuma's mind—at least in my memory, he is the most suitable person to be described with the word 'immortal'."

"Although I always liked to argue with him when I was a child, in reality, besides Master Zhaigong, he was the elder who loved me the most and was closest to me... Many of the supernatural powers and spells I have mastered came from his teachings."