You say this is a love game?

The next day.

Mizutani Makoto opened the window, and the June morning breeze mixed with the chirping of cicadas and birds blew in. The floor was covered with golden cracks painted by the morning light, and the air seemed to be fresh and clean. The bloody storm in the cracks last night had nothing to do with the boy's daily life in this world.

On the tatami, the quilt bore traces of the girl's unsteady sleeping posture, but Satori Yoshiko had undoubtedly gotten up earlier. The little god of fortune had already tiptoed on her little feet, wrapped in a little apron, and started cooking breakfast for her older son.

Recently, Yoshiko Satori has been studying cooking hard.

Ever since he was defeated by a gifted cooking maniac with a love bento, the little god of fortune has been determined to work harder and harder. He cannot indulge in the illusion brought by fried food, and he must improve his cooking skills, with the standard of "the food he cooks has special effects that sparkle with golden light", and aim to reach the realm of little god of cooking!

"..."

Makoto Mizutani actually doesn't have too many ideas.

There is a big difference between the breakfast here in Japan and that of the Chinese. For example, they like to drink porridge for breakfast, but here in Japan it is basically rice, some pickled vegetables and miso soup, or if they are lazy and in a hurry, they will just have some Western-style toast.

He eats everything here, but sometimes he misses breakfast at home.

But that kind of thing... is still too difficult for a loli mother.

What's more, the breakfast of the old Chinese is actually very casual. When they are lazy, they will just buy some buns and eat some fried dough sticks to get by, or heat up the leftover food and have a few bites... There is everything. Anyway, the lazy lifestyle can be found in common no matter which country.

Out of his deep love for Yoshiko, he still spent a huge amount of money to buy her a "secret recipe book" for housewives - such things exist in every country, but they are rarely used. After all, real housewives cook by instinct and come up with some home-cooked dishes. How many people would actually follow the recipe to make those extremely complicated dishes...

But as long as Yoshiko is happy, that's enough.

That's right, how could he let this adorable little god of fortune look so lost? Even if it was the stars and the moon, he would definitely pick them for her...

Mizutani Makoto was quite happy with the thought. He ate some breakfast prepared by Yoshiko, patted the little god of fortune's head as usual, and opened his backpack to check it before school time.

I fell asleep right after finishing my work last night. When I woke up today, it was time to deal with the props that I didn’t deal with last night.

【Ashes: Ancient Toon】

Are you sure it's not wood ash?

Where did the "ashes" of the tree demon come from?

Mizutani Makoto held a handful of charred debris in his hand, and with a light pinch of his fingertips, fine powder slipped out from between his fingers, carrying with it a faint woody fragrance and a rotten smell. He couldn't help but mutter something with a strong desire to complain.

But these are not ordinary ashes, nor are they a small fighting prop that can summon Gu Chun's help by ringing a bell. It is a fragment of memory, a spiritual fragment condensed by Gu Chun in the last moment before his death, and an alternative diary.

Unlike those [diary fragments] scattered in the corners of the campus, those diaries record the past in the form of text, which are prone to embarrassing situations such as taking things out of context and being vague, while [ashes] are more like some kind of "plot CG".

Compared with text, this kind of memory recall is more intuitive and more complete.

Mizutani Makoto clicked "Read".

The next second, darkness came like a tide, completely engulfing his vision.

The whole world seemed to be hollowed out, there was no sound, no temperature, no weight, only a bottomless sense of nothingness floating in the air.

I don't know how long it took before a tiny light emerged from the darkness. It was scarlet in color. The enchanting red light called out colors. Countless gorgeous blocks of color densely filled the field of vision, and the final result was a colorful picture.

There are trees.

It seems to be Gu Chun's vision.

Once upon a time, Gu Chun was just an ordinary camellia tree. After the camellia flowers bloomed and withered for countless autumns, this ancient tree finally remembered its place.

She seemed to be rooted to the south-facing slope.

Three steps to the left is an old red pine that loves to drop pine cones, and seven steps to the right is a bush of wild berries that attract snakes and insects.

When the spring rain comes, squirrels jam their leftover chestnut shells between her branches. When the summer sun is at its strongest, birds always land on her thickest horizontal branches and chirp, and when they fly away they don't take any branches or leaves with them.

The wheel of time slowly passed, and her annual rings continued to grow. There were no cracks on her bark, and no vines entwined her. She just stood there quietly, and when the wind blew through the treetops, her branches and leaves swayed gently, making a rustling sound, as if she was just an ordinary member of the forest.

Very peaceful.

She loved that time too.

The air in the wilderness is always filled with the fragrance of moist earth and the fresh scent of plant life. In the distance, streams gurgle and insects chirp faintly. The whole forest looks so peaceful and harmonious.

This camellia tree is buried in the forest. It is neither tall enough to attract attention nor short enough to be ignored. It just exists like that, without fighting or competing, without moving or shaking. There is no evil spirit, no spiritual light, no vision. Even its weak spirit is far from the level of becoming a spirit. Perhaps it will quietly go out in another spring and autumn.

Until that day, the earthy smell under the rotten leaves changed.

First it was the crows. This group of black-feathered robbers suddenly stopped competing with the squirrels for the pine cones of the red pine, and flew away in panic. Then it was the squirrels. They circled around the wild berry bushes and moved away overnight for some reason. The whole forest seemed to have become empty overnight, without any life.

It's human.

Human beings came carrying iron tools and walking on the morning dew.

Looking into the distance on the slope.

She heard dark clouds rolling in the night sky, thunder rumbling, and the earth shaking.

She also heard that the nobles in straight clothes were holding peony lanterns, and the maids were wearing beeswax beads on their wrists. The laughter of the powerful came from the high platform. They were wearing gorgeous clothes and holding golden cups. Wine flowed from the corners of their mouths, leaving blood-scab stains on the front of their hunting clothes.

She also heard the children being tied up, their cries heartbreaking, the women's tears, the men's roars, the children's struggles, the burning talisman paper being swept high into the sky by the heat flow, and then falling eerily into the forest, with some of the talisman paper's ashes even falling onto her tree trunk.

Her roots are rooted in this land stained with blood.

One could also sense that beneath the deep pit dug by humans with iron tools, the skeletons of young children were curled up like babies, with rusty copper nails nailed into their skulls, and centipedes and earthworms crawling in and out of their empty eye sockets. The entire pit was stained with blood like the mud at the bottom of a pond, muddy and full of terrifying blood.

As a result, resentment began to rise.

The spiritual veins of the earth converge here, and blood and resentment also converge here.

Just like the ominous black clouds that shrouded the sky above the Heian-kyo Palace during the Heian Period, something was born at that moment.

A surge of resentment surged up from the depths of the earth, and roars came from the night sky.

The cry was like a tiger thrush crying blood, its roar filled with shrillness and madness. In an instant, the birds gathered together, and countless demonic birds circled in the sky, forming an inky black cloud that blocked out the sky and the sun.

This is a bird.

It looks like an ape, has a body like a raccoon, limbs like a tiger, a long tail like a snake, spews poisonous mist from its mouth, has eyes like red stars, has no wings but can fly, and makes a call like a tiger-thrush, calling out an ominous sign.

Judging from its appearance, it seems to have nothing to do with a "bird", but in fact it is a kind of magical bird.

Its name is "Nue" and it is a monster recorded in "The Tale of the Heike".

The Nue appeared in the palace where the Emperor resided at the end of the Heian period. It was a monster formed by extremely strong resentment and hatred. Countless Nue birds merged into one and once swept across Japan like locusts. Eventually, Emperor Konoe commissioned Minamoto no Yorimasa, the bravest man of the time, to slay the monster. Minamoto no Yorimasa chanted "Namo Hachiman Daibosatsu" to suppress the evil spirit and killed the leading Nue, thus ending the Nue disaster.

After Nue died, his corpse caused plague and disease, leaving endless disasters for future generations.

Therefore, the Nue is also considered a beast of disaster.

Its status is like Japan's "Chimera", which is a monster with the five elements and supernatural powers that is formed by integrating the ideas of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.

This monster, however, is highly controversial. Another aspect of its legend is its ability to distinguish between good and evil. Those deemed "good" by the Nue receive its protection, but those deemed "bad" face a torturous rebirth. This is highlighted by its incredibly cruel killing methods, its penchant for horrific slaughters that defy description, requiring a look back at the history of human torture.

It is precisely because of its clear distinction between good and evil that some people in Japan worship it.

Mizutani Makoto frowned, and with the help of Gu Chun's memory, he observed the history that had happened in the past - just as the legend said, the Nue was in the form of a locust, and countless Nue gathered in the air, making extremely shrill cries similar to those of tiger thrushes. In that crazy storm of demonic birds, the black shadow finally struggled out.

It was a nue beast, formed from the convergence of countless nue birds, towering like a mountain. Its roaring, its ape-like features ferocious and cruel, its shrieks shattered the clouds. Its tiger-like claws tore through the guards, and with a wave of its hand, it crushed the city walls like building blocks. Its snake-like tail lashed the ground like thunder, transforming the place into a ghostly den in the blink of an eye.

A powerful distortion unfolded.

It is an evil beast, born of resentment, a ferocious beast named "disaster". The meaning of its birth is to sweep the world with disaster.

What about people?

How did the powerful people who summoned the beast of disaster respond?

Chains shot out from the ground, but could those chains alone suppress the locust plague that had swept across Japan?

They used their spiritual veins to nourish the growth of their resentment. If they regarded the nue they gave birth to as a target for restraint, the chains filled with spiritual energy would be too thin and would be broken by a loud bang before they could even hold on for a moment.

kill!

Kill kill kill!!

The hatred and resentment will become stronger in the killing, and the souls of the killed will be drawn into it, nourishing and strengthening this ferocious beast, so the Nue will become a real disaster.

However, the disaster did not last long.

There was a wandering monk wearing a monk's robe.

The companion was an Onmyoji with white hair.

The two of them traveled here, stepped into the ghost cave together, and killed their way to the front of Nue.

On the hillside, the ancient cypress tree took root in the blood-stained soil. When everything settled down, all that was seen was the Nue bird being killed, its ape-like head chopped off, and the entire land being polluted by its blood. Resentment and curses still remained on this land.

The monk's right arm was completely broken, leaving only his left hand able to salute. He stood in front of the Nue's head, which was as big as a house, and listened with his eyes lowered. He seemed to have heard something clearly, so he came to the deep pit filled by wind and sand. He lowered his head and looked, and soon he heard the sound of low chanting.

The sound of chanting drifted far away.

The Yin-Yang master pulled out a young man in gorgeous clothes from somewhere, grabbed his collar, and dragged him to the front of a deep pit. He kicked the young man's knees to make him kneel on the ground, and then pinched the law with his hands. Red and black blood gushed out from the earth veins, circling in front of the young man like a ferocious beast, and slammed into his body amidst his terrified screams.

"Donor, why is it so?"

The monk asked.

Onmyoji replied:

"The disaster born from this blood pit originated from the resentment of 42 children. This is the sin of their family."

"Shouldn't he and his family and descendants be held responsible for this?"

"The curse wasn't my doing; it's the resentment of the undead in the pit towards their bloodline... Their family's bloodline deserves this curse."

"The resentment of 42 children will be redeemed by 42 generations of them. From now on, their lives will no longer belong to them. This will be passed down from generation to generation until the resentment in their bloodline dissipates, and this sin will be completely settled."

"Ugh……"

The monk sighed, and then there was a long silence.

The monk asked: "Can the sins of the past generations be redeemed by the future generations?"

The Yin Yang Master replied, "They enjoy the wealth, protection, and grace of their predecessors. Why shouldn't they also pay for their sins? Cursing the bloodline is the request of the undead. Otherwise, I would have eradicated their bloodline on the spot and killed them without mercy."

The monk was silent.

He glanced back, seemingly with pity at the boy who had just turned seven years old. He was convulsing all over and fainted.

"He's only seven."

The monk said.

"He is the only male left in his family. This is what he deserves."

Onmyoji said.

"If the donor does this, he won't live to adulthood."

The monk continued.

The Yin-Yang Master said sternly, "Monk, I know you have attained the power of clairaudience, but this has nothing to do with whether he is good or evil. Don't use your compassion for this matter. I won't allow it."

But the monk remained silent, bent down, and gently stroked the boy's hair.

"Donor, I don't intend to remove the curse of the dead, but we must ultimately provide a way out for all living beings."

After hearing this, the Yin Yang Master gradually relaxed his expression.

"Monk, what do you want to do?"

"I want him to be in charge of the spiritual veins. At least he will have a reason to live."

"Heh, you still dare to give your spiritual vein to this family?"

"We must make them realize the true extent of the sins they bear."

The monk whispered, "Besides, I want to leave my arm here."

"...You don't want your hands anymore?"

"It's just something outside of my body."

The Yin-Yang Master was so angry that he laughed: "You call your hands something other than your body?"

In the ruins ravaged by the Nue, a dazzling ball of Buddha's light shot up into the sky and fell into a deep pit like a meteor.

Then the monk took out something from his arms and threw it into the pit.

"..."

The Onmyoji stopped talking.

He snorted coldly and pinched his fingers together. Suddenly, the earth shook. Ghosts and gods stepped out from the void and moved the huge body of Nue here.

"What are you going to do, benefactor?"

"I'll give you a heads up."