He changed Tiwat

A silvery-white light rose from the tip of the Salt Sorrow Spear, and a small vortex appeared out of thin air, cleansing away all the filth.

Seemingly sensing its master's feelings, the Salt Sorrow Spear did not resist absorbing the filth this time.

As the filth of "Evil Radiance" was cleansed by the Salt Awful Spear, Yae no Miko's body slowly became transparent.

Ultimately, it disappeared from this space without leaving a trace.

This was the second time Han Fulai had witnessed the divine child dissipate before his very eyes.

It was also the first time he had personally "killed" the divine child.

Standing before the sacred cherry tree for a long time, Han Fulai silently took out the "True Meaning of Kagura".

At the top of Kagura Bell, the second bell has regained its original cherry blossom color.

"I'm sorry... not right now... please wait a little longer..."

Han Fulai apologized to the divine child who was no longer there.

His current power is still insufficient to save the divine child.

With his current strength, he can already briefly break through the spatial barrier. If he wanted, he could even forcibly take the divine child out of this space.

But there's no point in doing that.

Taking away one divine child in front of you means that other divine children continue to suffer the torment of the evil radiance's defilement, and doing so will not complete the "Great Purification of Divine Cherry Blossoms".

"The principle of a great purification is to cleanse oneself of impurities so that sins may be dispersed."

The final step of the "Divine Cherry Blossom Great Purification" is to remove the filth accumulated in this space of consciousness.

Those impurities are hidden in the soul of the divine child, just like the "karma" that Xiao bears.

He currently lacks the ability to cleanse the defilement from the soul of the divine child without harming her.

He needs to become stronger.

Powerful enough to save the divine child.

So... in order to save her, he had to kill her.

Two hours later, Han Fulai heard the Kagura bell ring again.

He once again stepped onto that cherry blossom-lined slope.

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

Under the bright moonlight, the Fox Palace once again sang this waka poem.

Under the divine cherry tree, all the demons raised their cups in unison, first paying homage to the general of the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion, then paying tribute to the White Fox King who presided over the gathering, and finally drinking the fine wine in their cups.

The "Hundred Tales Conference" thus began.

"It's a dream."

The little pink fox perched on Fox Palace's shoulder let out a soft sigh that seemed out of place for its age.

Her voice was drowned out by the clamor of the demons, and no one heard it.

Yurakusai was the first to stand up again, stroking his beard, and began to boast about what kind of legend he had left behind in Inazuma—

Many scenes in "The Tale of the Six Foxes of Youlezhai" were created in this way.

In the past, the divine child would always argue with him at this time, relentlessly picking out the flaws in his story, but now the divine child is not going to do that.

She just wanted to listen to the story quietly for a while.

Even though this story has been repeated a thousand times in her memory.

Her ears suddenly twitched.

A series of "crunching" sounds rang out amidst the laughter and commotion of the demons, like mice gnawing on a bag of rice.

The little fox's eyes darted around, and it immediately spotted the source of the sound.

A pinkish-red tapir is secretly eating konpeito (Japanese sugar candy) in a corner of the banquet.

Compared to the fox spirit with its myriad legends, the dashing tengu, or the fearsome oni, the name "Dream Eater" is not entirely unknown, but it is far from being widely known.

At the "Hundred Tales Conference," the Baku clan was merely an inconspicuous embellishment.

They might peacefully savor tea in a secluded corner, or listen quietly to the boastful pronouncements of powerful figures alongside other lesser demons, or even act as waiters, pouring wine and tea for refined gentlemen like Youlezhai…

In the eyes of the divine child, the Baku clan was probably the most desireless of all the yokai.

This race has always been like this; they have little material desire and no powerful demonic energy. The food they need is nothing more than the dreams of others.

They secretly devoured nightmares for the residents of Inazuma, granting them a peaceful slumber. Because everything happened in dreams, no one knew, and even the residents of Inazuma have very few records of this tribe.

Such a clan of dream-eating tapirs naturally have no legends or anecdotes to boast about at the "Hyakumonogatari Conference".

Especially for the immature tapirs, who have barely even swallowed any dreams, they certainly have nothing to talk about with others while drinking... Moreover, immature tapirs are not allowed to drink alcohol.

Yes, the same goes for juvenile foxes.

Although the divine child had already secretly drunk it several times.

That's why this chubby pink tapir was sneaking a bite of konpeito in a corner of the venue.

The goddess saw the dream-eating tapir carefully holding the oil paper package, its pink nose twitching gently as it chewed, and even the gray-green sideburns by its ear trembling.

...Hmm, this kid was really cute when he was little, maybe just as cute as I was when I was a kid.

The playful pink fox leaped from the fox palace's shoulder with a "whoosh," and the next moment, its fluffy tail fur covered the little dream-eating tapir's eyes.

"Guess who I am?" The divine child deliberately changed his tone.

However, this slight change in tone could not fool the Baku's ears—and besides, she was the only one who would play such a prank.

“Sakura…Ya…Yahiro-sama.” The young Baku was startled.

To the Dream Eater clan, the fox clan with Bai Chen's bloodline are high and mighty figures.

Even many years ago, when everyone lived in the "White Fox Fields," these two tribes were actually neighbors... but even if they were neighbors of important figures, there was still a hierarchy between them.

The little Baku wanted to bow, but its arm holding the konpeito couldn't make the bowing motion at all; if it moved, the candy would fall.

So she hesitated for a moment and then gave up on bowing—for the young Baku, sugar was indeed more important than etiquette.

"Mizuki! You've stolen konpeito again! I'll tell your elders that you're breaking the clan rules!" The shrine maiden deliberately scared the little gluttonous Baku.

The little snack that steals konpeito in front of the goddess is named Yumezuki Mizuki. Like Kagehiko Mitsuyo, she is a childhood friend of hers.

Moreover, Mizuki was closer to her than Mitsuyo—because the house of the goddess in the "White Fox Field" was actually next door to Mizuki.

However, as they grew older, the gap caused by their different social statuses led them to drift further apart.

In the princess's memory, ever since she inherited Narukami Taisha, Mizuki had gradually stopped contacting her—or rather, she no longer had time to return to the "countryside" of "White Fox Field"...

To meet like this in a dream is perhaps a kind of luck.

After all, she was going to die soon.

This is her last beautiful dream in life, so of course she should enjoy it to the fullest.

The little Baku named Mizuki was clearly startled by her. It puffed out its chubby little face and pleaded pitifully, "Yae, please don't tell the elder... If you keep this a secret, I... I'll give you half of my konpeito!"

The Baku clan has an unwritten rule: "No one may devour another's dream without permission."

Therefore, their daily food is usually a "nightmare" for ordinary people.

For this race, the "nightmare" of mortals is like plain white rice without any seasoning or condiments—not tasty, but not unpalatable either, just food to fill their stomachs.

And sweet dreams, like konpeito (Japanese sugar candy), have a warm, delicate sweetness that will completely immerse the dream-eating tapir.

But if you become too obsessed, you might devour someone else's sweet dreams, causing them to start having nightmares...

That's why this clan has such a rule.

Their "meal replacement" for their dreams is dessert.

If a Baku with weak self-control is too greedy for sweets, it may not be able to resist consuming the dreams of mortals. Also... eating too many sweets will cause cavities.

As a result, the little dream eaters were forbidden from eating sweets by their elders.

As for Mizuki... she's the most gluttonous of the Baku clan, so her face is the roundest.

The goddess was actually quite pleased with Mizuki's gluttony—having a best friend with a round face by her side made her look thinner... The goddess herself was quite chubby when she was little.

A sly smile flashed across her face: "Little Mizuki, what do you call me when you ask me for a favor?"

Mizuki quickly changed her form of address: "Please, Yae-nee-sama, keep this a secret!"

"Hmm, so good." The pink fox smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents. "I'll keep it a secret, but I want a reward—I want all the konpeito!"

After hesitating for a long time, Mizuki finally gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and pushed the konpeito in her hand to the goddess: "It's all yours!"

The goddess's smile grew even brighter, and with a single sweep of her fluffy tail, she snatched all the konpeito from Mizuki's hand.

Mizuki's big, watery eyes rolled twice, almost bringing tears to her eyes.

However, she soon discovered that she had a dark, gritty object in her hand.

"what is this?"

Ruixi stuck her nose in and took a deep breath.

That smell is so sweet.

The priestess smiled and twitched her ears: "It's called 'chocolate.' It's a tribute that Lord Saigon obtained from the palace. It's said to be the favorite delicacy of the gods of Fontaine!"

"This...this is so valuable, are you giving it to me?"

Mizuki's hands started to tremble.

But the sweet aroma of the chocolate made it impossible for her to put it down.

"Hmph." The goddess wagged her tail smugly. "I heard from Lord Saigu that the people of Fontainebleau have a tradition of giving this precious item to someone they like. My favorite person is Mizuki, so I'm giving you this chocolate."

The little snack-loving Baku was so touched that its eyes welled up with tears. It held the chocolate to its chest with great care and said, "Thank you... I like you the most too!"

The pink fox looked up at the moon overhead.

The moonlight in my memories is always tinged with sweetness.

gorgeous.

Under the moonlight, two girls sat side by side on the treetop.

This is the branch of the most robust cherry tree on the south side of Shadow Mountain, and it is also the "secret base" of the two girls.

As the divine child and Mizuki successively learned the supernatural power to transform into human form, they, like mortals, were separated by the torrent of life and sent to different waters.

At this time, Yae had already inherited the title of "Divine Child" and was being groomed as the successor to the next Grand Shrine Master.

Under the supervision of the Fox Palace, she studied unfathomable demonic arts; surrounded by the shrine maidens of the Narukami Shrine, she studied the 880 rules of the palace priest; she moved among the great demons; and as a rising star of the Baichen lineage, she consolidated her clan's position among the demons.

Her world is like the vast, unpredictable sea that she and Mizuki gaze at together—a sea full of dangers and challenges, yet also teeming with endless variables and opportunities.

Meanwhile, the unassuming Mizuki settled into a stable life: farming or weaving with her tribe to make a living, and making regular rounds to devour nightmares for those seeking help...

Like a lake into which a stream flows, it is so calm that it is somewhat uninteresting.

But these two childhood friends still keep their childhood promise and meet at this "secret base" every month.

"In the deep of night, the cold fog is thick; at dawn, the bamboo pillow awakens me from my spring breeze. I gather my clothes, wearily untangling my dreams. I casually pull out my purple hairpin, brush aside my purple sleeve, and the dew-laden moonlight stirs within me."

(ぬばたまの夜梦の梦に春の风目覚めて聴くは褘の声夜の衣に君思いpurple cyanotic のhairpin sleeves 払う月の遮颫)

Mizuki recited the poem over and over again, her shyness unable to conceal the joy in her eyes.

Her long, gray-green hair, like a thin mist in the twilight, swayed gently in the mountain breeze, brushing against the goddess's cheek.

“My God, I really like the poem you gave me.”

The divine child smiled with immense pride.

Fox Prince enjoys waka poetry, and as his disciple, the Divine Child naturally needs to be proficient in it as well. To some extent, the rhythm of waka poetry is actually similar to the "word spirit" of magic, making it easier to evoke the resonance of demonic power when chanting incantations.

Furthermore, the priest of Narukami Taisha Shrine, who presides over festivals, must be skilled in refined arts and culture.

This waka poem was written by the goddess Miko during her studies and was given to her friend. It depicts Mizuki as she sees her.

This day was the middle of March in early spring, which was also the birthday of Yumemizuki. In Inatsume language, "Yumemizuki" is another name for "March".

For the goddess, composing songs was not a difficult task; she had always harbored ambitions to surpass Yurakusai. Sooner or later, she would transform the legendary "Five Poet Immortals" of Inazuma into "Six Poet Immortals."

Mizuki quietly lowered her head, took out a lacquer box from the sleeve of her kimono, and placed it in the priestess's hand: "This is... a return gift."