My personal opinion on Gensokyo

Sitting in front of Shangyang and Kikyo, the lazy monster sage waved his hand casually.

"Just be casual, Miss Miko, don't worry. For me, Shang Yangjun, and other ancient great monsters, the perspective on humans is completely different from that of those greedy little monsters."

Having said that, Yakumo Yukari smiled and sighed.

"However, Shang Yang's attitude towards you is quite rare in our opinion."

The Monster Sage didn't care too much about Kikyo. For her, the only regret was that Kikyo, who had an outstanding spiritual talent, was already dead and could not become the shrine maiden who protected Gensokyo.

However, the harsh conditions for being a shrine maiden in Gensokyo would have been difficult to meet even if Kikyo were still alive.

So although Yakumo Yukari felt a little emotional, she didn't take it too seriously, but instead turned to Shang Yang with a playful smile.

"Then, Shang Yangjun's visit to me this time should also bring some good things?"

Hearing Yakumo Yukari's question, Shang Yang did not hesitate and nodded slightly.

"I met with Yingji. Yingji and the Ten Kings of Hell fully support the 'Yokai Expansion Plan' and will do their best to help establish 'Gensokyo' on Earth."

Hearing Shang Yang's reply, the Monster Sage chuckled.

"It's not that Shang Yang-kun reached an agreement with Yingji and the Ten Kings, but rather that Yingji and the Ten Kings gave something to your Miss Gu Mingdi to gain your approval, right? That's probably it?"

"It's a pretty good exchange, isn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Shang Yang was not surprised that Yakumo Yukari could guess this, but generously shared the relevant facts with the Monster Sage.

"For nearly a hundred years, the 'Hall of Right and Wrong' has been planning to establish a new hell, believing it requires portions of the old hell as its own territory, presumably located somewhere around the present-day Scorching Hell. Having previously visited the Otherworld and met with the Ten Kings, you should understand that they intend to leverage your 'Monster Expansion Plan' to gain more ancient great monsters' approval for the 'Hall of Right and Wrong''s management of the Otherworld."

"In order to gain Jue's approval for the 'Rights and Wrongs Hall,' the Ten Kings are willing to let Jue serve as an 'extra-staff' manager on par with the Ten Kings, jointly managing the 'Rights and Wrongs Hall.'"

"Oh? That's quite a concession."

Hearing this, Yakumo Yukari smiled.

"The Ten Kings only granted Youyouko the authority to manage the spirits of the other world. That's completely incomparable to the authority Ms. Komeichi has been granted. If I hadn't guessed the reason, I would have gone to the 'Rights and Wrongs Hall' to confront the Ten Kings."

The monster sage certainly understood that Komeiji Kaku's Hell One Hundred Demons Night Parade had long been outside the otherworldly system of the Yamas. In the past, as the general commander of the One Hundred Demons Night Parade, Komeiji Kaku led the hell monsters to participate in the war on the Moon Sea. He had a high reputation among the hell monsters and was fully capable of replacing the "Hall of Right and Wrong" of the Yamas.

Furthermore, most gods and monsters were aware of Komeijikaku's close relationship with Shangyang. Under these circumstances, giving up a non-official position among the Ten Kings in exchange for Komeijikaku's Hell demons accepting the "Rights and Wrongs" system was the foundation for the Yama to establish widespread rule in the otherworldly underworld.

Hearing the "dissatisfied complaints" of the Monster Sage, the master of the Cloud Courtyard laughed in silence.

"Kaku has no intention of managing the order of the other world, and I don't like those trivial troubles. The Yama's 'Rights and Wrongs' have been flawless for thousands of years. As long as Kaku agrees with this, I will of course have no objection. And because of a connection with a certain young lady from the Saigyouji family, you, Shizuka, will also agree to the Ten Kings' request. Compared to the establishment of Gensokyo, these are just trivial matters."

"Well...after all, you and I have an important connection in the other world, so it's okay to agree to the Ten Kings."

Hearing this, the Youkai Sage laughed.

"Let the Yamas pursue their superficial plans. However, we will need to convince the other sages involved in this matter. Hopefully, none of them intend to do anything in the other world."

Hearing this, Shang Yang nodded slightly, and under the gaze of the dignified witch sitting next to him, he mentioned another matter.

"One more thing. There should be quite a few villages scattered throughout the mountains around here that you brought here using your 'hidden' method, right?"

"Yes, there are probably more than a dozen human villages in the deep mountains around here."

When mentioning this matter, Yakumo Yukari explained casually.

"Although we have set up concealment barriers around the outskirts of these villages, and I've asked your family's Yorihime to transport the necessary food from Kyoto, all of this must be done while the people in these villages remain completely unaware of our existence."

Upon hearing this, Shang Yang nodded slightly. He could understand Yakumo Yukari's hard work. These remote villages, which knew nothing about the outside world, were hidden here by Yakumo Yukari. In order to let these farmers, who were extremely vulnerable in the Warring States Period, settle down in the unfamiliar depths of the mountains and forests without knowing anything, there would be countless trivial matters that required the monster sage to provide them with help unnoticed.

The Monster Sage is like a gamer in a real-life farming game. He has to gradually settle down in this area where the Monster Sage has set up a hidden barrier without letting the people in these villages know that they are now being "kept in captivity" by the Monster Sage.

Volume 6: Thoughts Across Time and Space: Chapter 461: The Prototype of the Human World

"Currently, these human villages have overcome the difficult period of their initial arrival. They have stored enough food to last until the end of this year's harsh winter, and the farmland in the flat areas has been reclaimed accordingly."

Counting on his fingers, the Monster Sage reported the current status of the dozen or so human villages with familiarity, like the village chief who actually managed these villages.

"These dozen or so previously sparsely populated remote villages have gradually begun to interact with each other, thanks to the quiet efforts of Lan and me, and are showing some signs of integration and cohabitation. According to the plan, these dozen or so human villages will eventually merge and cohabit together to form a larger village. This will also be the prototype of the human settlement in Gensokyo. I intend to name it 'Human Village'."

Speaking of this, the Yokai Sage seemed a little troubled.

"However, putting aside these long-term plans, there is a more troublesome problem that needs to be solved urgently."

"Before Lan and I used our divine invisibility to relocate the remote, sparsely populated mountain villages across this land to nearby areas, the deep mountains of the Eastern Kingdom had long been a haunt of small monsters. While Lan and I could detect the more powerful monsters in time and prevent them from attacking human villages, the deep forests of this area also gave rise to numerous small monsters driven solely by greed. They frequently attacked the people of these villages, causing great panic."

Speaking of this matter, the Monster Sage seemed a little helpless.

"These numerous little monsters, craving human flesh and blood, have already greatly impacted the stability of these human villages. We must find a way to ensure that these human villages have a certain degree of self-protection."

Hearing the difficulties mentioned by Yakumo Yukari, Shang Yang nodded slightly in agreement.

In the future Gensokyo that Shang Yang knows, the "Human Village" where mortals live is a very lively and safe place.

In addition to the many monsters who have reached an agreement with the monster sages of Gensokyo and live in the human village and secretly protect the human village, such as the tengus who protect the village from storms and the kappa who protect the village from floods, there are also powerful girls such as Fujiwara no Mokou who serves as the sole garrison of the human village and Kamishirosawa Keion of Terakoya who protect the safety of the human village.

These protection systems for the human world, which were gradually improved in the following hundreds of years, of course did not exist in the deep mountains of the East Country during the Warring States Period.

Shang Yang came this time to help Yakumo Yukari solve the problem of numerous small monsters in the surrounding area who were craving for the flesh and blood of living people and frequently attacked human villages. After all, the stability of the "human village" is also extremely important for the future "Gensokyo".

"That's what I'm talking about."

After listening to what Yakumo Yukari said about the current troublesome problem, Shang Yang looked at Kikyo who seemed to be thinking about the conversation between him and Yakumo Yukari, and smiled casually.

"Regarding this troublesome problem, I happen to have a solution here. Without further ado, Zi, you and Lan should go and take a look."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, the Youkai Sage smiled playfully with great interest.

"Then you have to go and see."

A few minutes later, outside, in the deep mountain forest.

In the mountains and forests, white mist gradually enveloped this sparsely populated dense forest. Hundreds of sparsely scattered, blurry human figures gradually solidified on the lush grass of the forest.

In this remote mountain forest, such a strange scene would probably surprise and frighten the woodcutters and farmers passing by, and make them flee in panic, thinking that they had encountered vengeful spirits and ghosts in the mountain forest.

In fact, they were more surprised and frightened by the hundreds of figures that gradually emerged from the depths of the pale fog.

In the pale and thick fog where one could hardly see one's hand in front of one's face, the middle-aged village chief of the monster-extermination village looked dazed, as if he had just woken up from a terrible nightmare. He gradually came to his senses and observed the surrounding situation with uneasy confusion.

What made the middle-aged village chief, who had participated in countless monster exterminations, feel a little relieved was that when he bent down to observe the situation on the ground, he found that some bladed weapons made from monster bones in the village were scattered on the dense grass at his feet.

Picking up the familiar bone blade and holding it tightly, the middle-aged village chief calmed himself down, looked at the vague figure looming nearby in the depths of the pale fog, and called out tentatively in a loud voice.

"Amber! Are you here?"

As the middle-aged village chief shouted loudly, almost instantly, the blurry figures in the pale fog nearby seemed to wake up, and responded by turning sideways in the direction of the middle-aged village chief. Several surprised voices sounded almost at the same time.

"It's the leader!"

"Chief! We are all here!"

"We're coming right now!"

As shouts came one after another, dozens of blurry figures near the pale fog approached the location of the middle-aged village chief.

When the blurry figures in the white fog approached, the middle-aged village chief was able to recognize them. These blurry figures were all young and strong villagers in his village. Most of these strong men were strong demon hunters who had been engaged in outdoor demon extermination for a long time in the demon extermination village.

Gathering a considerable force, the middle-aged village chief looked at the dozen or so middle-aged male villagers gathered in front of him. Their eyes were alert but with a hint of surprise in them. He calmed himself down and patiently asked these middle-aged villagers who were experienced in exorcising monsters.

"How's the situation nearby? Have you spotted any monsters?"

"I found no trace of the monster, Chief."

Upon hearing this, one of the middle-aged male villagers, holding a spear tightly, reported.

"I was just wandering around here, trying to get out of the thick fog. I walked all the way here, and then I heard your call, Chief, so I hurried over. There shouldn't be any monsters nearby."

"Some elderly people, women and children in the village are in that direction."

Another younger male villager pointed in a direction deep in the thick fog and reported anxiously.

"I saw them while I was wandering around there. I heard the leader's shouts and rushed over. There were several men from our village protecting the elderly, women and children."

"Quick! Take us there!"

Upon hearing that someone had found the elderly, women and children scattered here, the middle-aged village chief was overjoyed and immediately ordered the young villagers to gather together and rush to the depths of the thick fog where the elderly, women and children were gathered. At the same time, he ordered several strong villagers.

"Hurry up and look around in this thick fog. Call out to the people in our village and ask them to gather together! Be careful of possible monster attacks!"

PS1: There will be updates tomorrow.

Volume 6: Longing Across Time and Space: Chapter 462: Relocating to the Monster Extermination Village

Following the instructions of the middle-aged village chief, the experienced villagers of the village readily agreed and then took quick action.

Seven or eight villagers surrounded their leader and rushed to a place in the thick fog where old people, women and children gathered. The rest of the villagers also leaned forward and broke into the thick white fog, carefully searching for and gathering the people from the Monster Extermination Village who were scattered in the depths of the fog.

At the same time, above the thick white fog that enveloped the deep mountains and forests, deep cracks, like eyes, slowly opened up.

In the deep darkness of the crack, countless vertical pupils were densely packed in the gaps, and countless scrutinizing gazes that would make an ordinary person's scalp tingle seemed to be gazing with some interest at the depths of the thick white fog below.

"...These humans seem interesting."

At the crack boundary of the gap, the monster sage half leaned on the edge of the gap, narrowed his golden eyes, and seemed to be interested in the human village brought by Shang Yang.

His gaze pierced through the obstruction of the thick white fog below, and the actions of hundreds of humans scattered in the thick white fog were completely seen by the Monster Sage.

"Their defensive posture was clearly a familiarity honed through years of fighting together. It wasn't to deal with attacks from bandits, but rather to guard against attacks from greedy little monsters."

With Yakumo Yukari's keen vision, she instantly realized that the humans in the village brought by Shang Yang seemed to have long-term experience in fighting desperately with those little monsters who succumbed to their greedy instincts. In the process of gathering their companions scattered in the thick white fog, they had made corresponding defensive precautions against possible attacks from those greedy and weak monsters.

The bladed spears held by these humans are all made of monster skeletons, which are strong enough to penetrate the not-too-strong bodies of most small monsters. The sharp blades are also coated with poison made by themselves, which can effectively hurt the weak monsters that attack.

Watching these ordinary humans cautiously gathering their scattered companions in the thick white fog, Yakumo Yukari asked casually with some interest.

"What is this village?"

"This village was originally located deep in the mountains. For many years, it made a living by exorcising monsters, and it was a famous monster exorcism village in the surrounding area."

During the interval, Shang Yang also looked at the villagers of the Monster Extermination Village who were cautiously gathering in the thick white fog below, and explained casually.

"The vast majority of men in this village, before reaching adulthood, would follow experienced villagers out on missions to exterminate monsters, honing their skills and becoming human exorcists who rely on blades, tools, and various mystical techniques to exterminate monsters."

"This village has been dedicated to exorcising monsters for hundreds of years."

"A human demon hunter who makes a living by exterminating the little demons in the mountains and forests, and a demon extermination village?"

Hearing this, the Yokai Sage sighed with some surprise.

"Even without magical powers, you can still rely on your blade and the secret techniques you've cultivated over the years to defeat the little monsters in the mountains and forests. For a mortal, that's truly remarkable."

"Shang Yang-kun's intention is to integrate this village where the monsters are being eliminated into our 'Human Village', protecting it from the attacks of the little monsters that may suddenly burst out of the mountains and forests at any time."

Although she accurately understood Shang Yang's intention, Yakumo Yukari seemed a little hesitant and her tone was unpredictable.

"Let's take a look first. In the area near the deep mountains of this Eastern Kingdom, countless monsters have been bred over the past thousand years, and the small monsters hiding in the mountains and forests are even more numerous."

The monster sage Yakumo Yukari doesn't care much about the lives of the mortals in this land. She has never come into contact with these humans who cannot use spiritual power or other magical powers, but rely on swords and spears to deal with monsters. Therefore, she has some doubts about the monster exterminators brought to this monster extermination village by Shang Yang.

"If we're going to entrust the protection of 'Human Village' to the human exorcists of this village, we need to see their abilities firsthand."

After giving a rather uncertain evaluation, the Yokai Sage took the initiative to sideways and curiously inquired about his own Shikigami, a beautiful and dignified woman with nine fox tails spread out like fans behind her.

"Lan, do you think these humans without magical powers can do a good job of driving away the little monsters in the mountains and forests?"

"...I'm not sure either, Master Zi."

The nine-tailed fox, with nine fox tails dragging behind it, also looked curiously at the thick fog below and answered cautiously.

"Judging from the current actions of these people in this village, they are indeed well-trained and cautious."

"Based on my past experience, if a mortal daimyo summoned the samurai in his territory and recruited many peasant soldiers, he could indeed threaten the weak monsters in the mountains and forests. However, as Master Zi said, there are many more weak monsters hiding in the mountains and forests around here than in other places."

"If some of the monsters in the nearby mountains and forests launch an attack together, this team of only a few hundred people in the Monster Extermination Village will probably be unable to cope."

Just as Yakumo Aoi, the nine-tailed fox, was stating his judgment, it happened that, as if because the human scent of the people in the Monster Extermination Village was too obvious in the thick fog, the monsters lurking in the mountains and forests, with various shapes, greedy and ferocious faces, without much wisdom, and acting entirely on instinct and desire, appeared nearby one after another, greedily approaching the human scent they smelled.

Hundreds of monsters in the nearby mountains and forests smelled such a distinct human scent and gradually crawled towards the place shrouded in thick white fog.

"It looks like they're going to run into some tough problems."

Seeing this scene, the Monster Sage seemed to be a little emotional and shook his head slightly.

"Hundreds of little monsters thirsting for flesh and blood would be a disaster for an ordinary human village if they attacked all at once. I wonder how the humans in this monster-repelling village that Shang Yangjun brought here will cope with it."

Kikyo, who heard the judgments and conversations of Shang Yang, Yakumo Yukari, Yakumo Aran and others throughout the whole process, also noticed the greedy monsters pouring out from the area near the thick white fog, and her eyebrows frowned slightly.