My personal opinion on Gensokyo

"Calm down, calm down, I really didn't do anything."

Seeing that Miss Shana was extremely ashamed and angry, and was ready to chop someone if they disagreed with her, Shang Yang felt that the joke had gone too far and hurried to explain.

"I was just holding you. All your clothes are still on."

"Then why am I lying on the bed in your room?!"

However, after hearing Shang Yang's explanation, Shana showed no sign of calming down. She still raised the "Sword of Heavenly Fire" in shame and anger and pointed it at Shang Yang, continuing to stammer and question him.

"You were the one who pushed open the door of my room in a daze this morning and lay down directly on the bed."

As he explained, the young man stood up and pointed to the girl with long black hair in the corridor outside the door.

"Love knows this too, she can prove it."

Hearing Shang Yang say this, Shana was stunned and subconsciously looked at Ai in confusion.

Noticing that Xia Na turned her gaze to herself, Ai nodded helplessly, confirming Shang Yang's explanation.

Seeing Ai nod in agreement, and realizing that it was she who had stumbled into Shang Yang's room in a daze that morning and had let Ai see this scene, Miss Shana's pretty face suddenly turned as red as a hairy crab just out of the pot.

"...Look," Shang Yang also felt helpless when he saw Ai's approval, "This matter really has nothing to do with me."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!!!"

Shana, who was already on the verge of going berserk, was completely furious when she heard Shang Yang was still teasing her.

Shana jumped off the bed and pointed the "Heavenly Fire Sword" at Shang Yang, whose face flushed red and gnashed his teeth.

"It's all because Shang Yang hugged me for no reason and made me so nervous!"

"...What kind of excuse is that? It doesn't make any sense!...Don't just kick me, girl!"

Seeing the petite black-haired girl, who was so embarrassed that she was about to explode, raising her white and tender feet and kicking towards him regardless, the young man immediately dodged to the side to avoid the petite girl's white and tender feet without shoes or socks, and complained helplessly.

"Blabbering! Go to hell!"

In response, he was scolded by Shana with a vehement and arrogant tone, and her white and tender feet kicked him more and more fiercely...

After a while of chicken and dog jumping.

After beating and kicking the hateful Shang Yang like crazy for a while and venting her shameful emotions, Shana finally stopped.

After noticing that the girls were still watching outside the door with great interest, the shy Miss Shana simply jumped back onto the bed, lay down, and used the quilt to wrap herself tightly in a ball, pretending to be an ostrich.

Seeing Shana's shy look, Shang Yang felt that Shana must be ashamed to death at this moment.

Sighing, the young man turned to look at the girls who were watching at the door with great interest and tried to persuade them.

"Stop watching, everyone! If you keep watching, Shana will probably be so ashamed that she'll commit suicide here, leaving the world in shame..."

After hearing Shang Yang's persuasion, Miss Gu Mingdi Jue, who was very considerate, pulled her sister Lianlian and the reluctant Princess of the Moon City downstairs to the living room.

The girl with long dark hair who stayed until the end whispered to the young man.

"Come down soon, breakfast will be ready."

After instructing the young man, Ai turned around and left, going downstairs to continue preparing food.

Seeing the girls coming downstairs, Shang Yang turned around, looked at the big quilt on the bed, and rubbed his gray hair.

"... Let's try to comfort this tsundere."

The young man with gray hair walked to the bed and sat down. He gently patted the quilt and asked considerately.

"There's no one here to help, why don't you come out?"

“…I won’t come out.”

The petite black-haired girl's upset voice came from inside the quilt.

…Okay, I knew it wasn’t that simple.

The young man was troubled when he heard that the petite black-haired girl in the quilt was still making a fuss.

...No, we can't let this girl stay stuck in the quilt forever.

"...Okay, okay, I was wrong, Miss Shana."

Gently shaking the quilt, the young man sincerely apologized to the former main god lady who was very calm in the past, but after having a real body, she became very girlish and innocent.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have joked with you. Come downstairs with me to eat, okay?"

After hearing Shang Yang's sincere apology, there was silence for a while in the quilt, and then Shana's reluctant and shy voice was heard.

"Don't...love her. People will laugh at me..."

...That's true.

Although he agreed with Ms. Shana's words in his heart, the young man could not show it.

"But how can I persuade her... Oh, right."

With his mind turning, Shang Yang gently shook the quilt again and asked tentatively.

"Come out quickly, Shana. I want to discuss with you the first lunar war in a hundred years."

Volume 3: Above the Moon Sea: Chapter 78: Discussions on the First Lunar War

Hearing Shang Yang say this, Shana immediately lifted the quilt and leaned out. Although the blush on her pretty face had not faded, looking at Shana's serious expression, it was known that her attention was no longer on being shy, but on wanting to listen carefully to Shang Yang discussing business with her.

...You are so reliable, Ms. Shana.

Shang Yang found it very interesting to see that Shana was no longer paying attention to her previous appearance, but was staring at him seriously, waiting for him to continue.

If I say I'm just teasing you now, Shana will probably just draw her knife and chop me to death...

Although he was thinking about something very rude, Shang Yang looked serious, which made Shana feel that there was nothing wrong with it. Instead, she waited quietly for Shang Yang to speak.

However, Shang Yang would not tease Shana with such a serious matter.

Putting other thoughts aside for the moment, Shang Yang thought about it and looked at Shana, asking.

"Shana, tell me what you think first?"

Seeing that Shang Yang didn't want to speak first, Shana relaxed a little and spoke while thinking.

"The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, launched by the terrestrial demon tribes against the Moon City, led by the 'Yokai Sage Yakumo Yukari', is the First Lunar War. This is an event we must participate in. This event itself is a key historical structure that anchors the fate of this world's anomalous history."

"There's no doubt that the Moon People's complete victory in the First Lunar War is a 'destiny' anchored in the history of this world."

"The Moon People are a very confusing group. In ancient times, they were a branch of humanity. But later, they embarked on a completely different path from humans on Earth. They abandoned the short lifespans and instinctive desires of humanity to pursue an unchanging and eternal path. Throughout this period, the lives of the Moon People have remained unchanged, and they don't even expect the slightest change."

"If it weren't for the fact that abnormal historical causality can only anchor the historical structure and cannot freely control everything in the world, I would even suspect that the Moon People were created by abnormal historical causality, a tool to achieve the goal of keeping the history of this world unchanged and becoming a world dominated by a single history."

"That's right," Shang Yang nodded in agreement. "For some unknown reason in ancient times, the desires of the Moon People completely vanished. Perhaps they were content with the perfect dream of the moon and became complacent. Perhaps, as 'humans,' they gained immortality but lost the human trait of pursuing change. Or perhaps it's a combination of both. In short, the Moon People became a group favored by 'Destiny,' who pursues a single history."

"So, because the original balance was disrupted and their living space was squeezed by human activities, the terrestrial demons led by Yakumo Yukari attacked the Moon Sea. Their opponents were not only the Moon City, protected by the Moon Sages and possessing advanced technology," Shana continued seriously, her expression solemn. "But also, for the lives of this world, the history of this world itself, which is the 'destiny' of this world."

"Our goals are, first, to change history to a certain extent and gain the power of causality after the collapse of the historical structure; second, to establish prestige within the demon race and provide favorable conditions for the establishment of Gensokyo a thousand years later; third, it is related to Kaguya, so I won't explain it, Shana should know."

"You intend to use the opportunity of invading the moon to solve Kaguya's problem and force the Moon City... or rather, force the "Night Food and Moon God, Tsukiyomi" to order the Moon City's sinner, Kaguya Houraisan, to be exiled to the mortal world forever, right?"

Hearing Shang Yang's words, Shana looked at Shang Yang with dissatisfaction, snorted, and said it out for him somewhat awkwardly.

"...Forget it, this is Kaguya's wish anyway. If Kaguya is sent back to the Moon Sea, Ai will be sad... But it's not for you, I'm only doing this for Ai and Kaguya."

"Yes, yes..." After hearing Shana's offer to help, Shang Yang also complimented Miss Shana, "It's all for love and Kaguya."

"...What a perfunctory attitude."

Hearing Shang Yang complimenting her as if he were coaxing a little girl, Shana complained a little dissatisfied.

"Don't worry about the details..."

After hearing this and calming down Shana's dissatisfaction, Shang Yang changed the subject and asked slowly.

"By the way, Shana, do you think Yakumo Yukari will be aware of the existence of the abnormal historical structure of this world?"

Shana was stunned when she heard Shang Yang's question. After thinking for a while, she was not sure.

"I don't know. Logically, she wouldn't be able to detect it. In this world, there's no life that has any knowledge of the long river of time, so the existence of abnormal historical structures cannot be confirmed. But as for Yakumo Yukari... that troublesome ability, it's hard to say."

"The anomalous historical structure is the historical process of this world itself, that is, the 'fate' of this world. This also means that if a life born into this world does not develop a vigilant awareness of 'fate', it will be unable to perceive it and resist the trajectory of fate anchored by the anomalous historical cause and effect. It is the historical structure that already exists in this world, and no life can have any understanding of history itself from birth. Without this understanding, there is no way to resist the 'fate' of history."

"But as for Yakumo Yukari, according to the information we have, she can not only travel through space, freely entering and exiting the world of dreams, but even the world in books and stories. So, in the process of traveling through these 'worlds', can Yakumo Yukari perceive the trajectory of 'fate' due to the changes in the nature of the 'world'? This is something we don't know."

Having said that, Shana changed the subject and asked Shang Yang seriously.

"Shang Yang, what do you think were Yakumo Yukari's intentions and purposes in launching the First Lunar War?"

"Well... I don't think we can say she has multiple intentions. It should be said that the First Lunar War was originally a strategy for Yakumo Yukari that could be advanced or retreated," Shang Yang stated. "The process of the First Lunar War was full of 'testing'. If the Moon Capital was very strong, then it wouldn't hurt to take advantage and leave. Monster wars are different from humans. Monsters can fight when they want and retreat when they want. This is also the meaning of the Hundred Demons Night Parade. If the Moon Capital is weak, then it would be no problem to take it down. Anyway, for Yakumo Yukari, who possesses the power of a realm, she can lead the Hundred Demons Night Parade to come and go as she pleases. But from the trends we already know, the Monster Sage Yakumo Yukari obviously overlooked one person, the Moon Sage Yagi Eirin."

"Yakumo Yukari didn't anticipate that Yagyu Eirin could alter the moon's orbital cycle, negating the youkai's greatest advantage, mobility, and trapping the terrestrial youkai within the lunar sea, ultimately leading to their crushing defeat."

"The terrestrial monsters' first attack on the outside world ended in a disastrous defeat, which undoubtedly had a profound impact on the monsters of this land. As a result, the monsters of this land lost their overall ambition, or at least lost most of their external aggression, and became less likely to attack other 'worlds'. This undoubtedly created a huge obstacle to the development of the monster race. After the Heian period, monsters and humans coexisted. In my opinion, this is probably the result of the terrestrial monsters' compromise with their living environment after their disastrous defeat in the attack on the Moon Sea."

"What we need to ensure is the outcome of the First Lunar War. We don't necessarily need to occupy the Lunar Ocean or destroy the Lunar Capital, but at the very least, we can't lose."

"The demon race on earth will launch their first Hundred Demons Night Parade against other 'worlds'. They cannot fail on the Moon Sea."

"This is related to our long-term plans for the next millennium."

PS1: The first lunar war in this book was written five or six years ago... At that time, there was no way to know about the sequel. After the release of "Doubei Kanjuden" many Gensokyo doujin authors were unable to write.

PS2: So, for the Lunar War content, please omit the characters from the subsequent Eastern sequels, such as the rare detective girl. I will bring them back when I write the next chapter. (It's a big project.)

Volume 3: Above the Moon Sea: Chapter 79: Deduction of the Battle Against the Moon City

"Preserving the characteristics of the monster race..."

Miss Shana seemed to be lost in thought.

"Speaking of which, youkai are a very unique group. Powerful, great youkai don't need to actively build their power. All they need to do is raise their arms and countless more will follow them, forming the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. Until the great youkai leading the Night Parade falls, the other youkai won't stop marching.

"With the help of the powerful Tang Dynasty, Shang Yang made the fleet that carried Monk Jianzhen's eastward crossing dozens of times larger than any other fleet in history."

"Helping Gao Xianzhi win the Battle of Hellas against the Arabs made the Tang Dynasty's management of the Western Regions smoother. Gao Xianzhi was therefore further valued by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who appointed him to succeed An Lushan, the governor of the Three Garrisons, who had become too powerful and a source of concern to Emperor Xuanzong. This appointment made An Lushan feel threatened, and he hastily launched a rebellion without proper preparation. He then took matters into his own hands and eliminated the top leaders of the An Lushan rebels. Without them, the An Lushan rebels immediately fell into internal strife, and their power was greatly reduced. The An Lushan Rebellion, which had originally lasted for eight years and severely damaged the vitality of the Tang Empire, was quelled by the Tang army in just a few months."

"In exchange for his great achievements in suppressing the An-Shi Rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty rehabilitated the fleet of Monk Jianzhen, which had historically been merely a smuggled crossing to Japan. Historically, Jianzhen's voyages to Japan, which had been for his personal promotion of Buddhism, became a campaign by the Tang court to introduce Chinese Buddhism to Japan. Thus, the entire Buddhist influence in Japan came under the control of the Chinese Buddhist monks, led by Monk Jianzhen."

"They aggressively squeezed the still-nascent Japanese Buddhism and Shintoism during this era, capitalizing on the Buddhist monks' eloquence to weave numerous myths and legends about the gods and monsters living in this land, gathering faith. This brought forward the monster outbreak that would have otherwise occurred during the Heian period, and bolstered the number and quality of the monster armies that attacked the Lunar Sea during the First Lunar War."

"Unconsciously, Shangyang has already accomplished many large-scale undertakings..."

"Thinking carefully, Shang Yang and I have spent more than fifty years together, although it doesn't really feel that way..."

Thinking of this, Miss Shana put away her thoughts and turned to seriously question the young man with gray and messy hair in front of her.

"Then, what is the specific method for dealing with the powerful enemy on the lunar sea that has surpassed the realm of 'this world's principles'?"

"...Or, in other words, how many great monster-level enemies exist on the Moon Sea?"

"It is confirmed that the two 'people', let's call them 'people', are Tsukiyomi, the God of the Night and the Moon, and Yagiri Eirin, the Head of the Moon. One is one of the Three Takama-ga-hara Gods of Japanese mythology, and the other is a Sage of the Moon Sea who consumed the elixir of Penglai and became a Penglai resident."

"Although they both belong to the category of immortal species, the Yokai system does not apply to them. I can only say that it is certain that the Moon Goddess Tsukiyomi and the Moon Sage Yagi Eirin possess the power equivalent to the Great Yokai realm, and are not much higher than my level."

"…Is there any basis for this?"

Hearing Shang Yang's very affirmative statement, Shana asked doubtfully.

"The reason is simple. According to the history we know, during the First Lunar War, the One Hundred Demons Night Parade of the terrestrial monsters was defeated by the 'modern weapons' of the Moon People because Yakumo Yukari altered the moon's rotation cycle, making it impossible for the monsters to return to the Moon Sea. It wasn't Yakumo Yukari, the monster sage who led the One Hundred Demons Night Parade, who was defeated by Yakumo Yukari or Tsukiyomi."

"This is strong evidence. There are no powerful monsters on the Moon Sea that can easily defeat the realm. The existence of the monster sage Yakumo Yukari, Yagyu Eirin can't do it, and Tsukiyomi probably can't do it either. The combat power of the Moon Capital is not enough to swallow all the monsters in the Hundred Demons Night Parade at once. Instead, it relies on strategic advantages and attrition warfare to force the isolated and helpless monsters on the ground to surrender to the Moon Capital."

"Besides, even though this is just corroboration, don't we still have a 'reliable' source of intelligence?"

Having said that, Shang Yang gave Shana a serious reminder.

Hearing this, Shana was a little confused.

"In addition to inferring the Moon City's strength based on the 'history' recorded in other worlds where Shang Yang lived in the past, there are also reliable sources of intelligence..."

After a little thought, Miss Shana quickly understood Shang Yang's hint.

"...the sinner of the Moon City, the former Moon Princess, Kaguya Houraisan."

Seeing that Shana understood this, the young man with gray hair continued to explain.

"Besides 'Yo no Sukuhara and the Moon's God, Tsuki Yomi' and 'Moon's Brain, Yagi Eirin', the other two Moon Princesses of the Moon Sea, Watazuki Toyohime and Watazuki Yorihime, deserve attention. It's said that the Watazuki sisters possess the strength to face Yagi Eirin head-on, but this only speaks to the future, and its credibility is highly questionable."

"I once asked Kaguya which of her two sisters was stronger than she is now, and Kaguya answered without hesitation that the Wataru sisters were inferior to her. However, for the sake of caution, I think it's more accurate to place the Wataru sisters on the same level as Kaguya, that is, at the pinnacle of the youkai hierarchy. While those at the pinnacle of youkai power can't participate in battles between great youkai, it's still quite easy to deal with youkai below the great youkai level, so we need to assign personnel to keep an eye on them."

"Well, that makes more sense."