The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

"No... I mean, how come you've become so stupid lately?"

Stopping his rummaging, Shi Bai looked up at the girl in front of him, sighed helplessly, and looked at her with a disappointed expression.

"The existence of the Celestial Realm is an exception. Although I came from the Celestial Realm, even now, there is still no news of the Celestial Realm emerging. Otherwise, the Celestial Realm would be more than enough as a third force besides gods and demons. The Celestial Realm is restricted by the entire world... Do you understand? Such an extremely special situation as the Celestial Realm is basically impossible to happen a second time."

"……I do not understand."

After a moment of silence, Yagokoro Eirin gently shook her head.

"This is an unsolvable dead end. We are just repeating the tragedy of the previous generation... Things that have reached their end, even if they are reborn, will only perish again. Just like all beginnings are actually just pre-written knots... What are you doing?"

"Take a picture!!"

While quickly taking ten consecutive shots, Shi Bai looked completely at ease, his words revealing a hint of excitement.

"Finally found my phone... I guarantee these photos I'm taking now will fetch an astronomical price in the future!!"

"........."

Although she didn't know what the other person meant or what the square box in their hand was, Eirin Yagokoro suddenly felt an urge to snatch the thing called a cell phone from their hand and destroy it.

"What are you trying to do? Let me tell you, this phone is my family heirloom, and I'm going to pass it down from generation to generation!!"

As if he had noticed something, Shi Bai, with a look of vigilance as if guarding against a thief, carefully put his phone back into his storage ring.

"...Let's get down to business."

Banishing the strange thought from her mind, Eirin Yagokoro turned around and spoke calmly.

(A cell phone? Photos? What are those... But I don't feel anything unusual, so it should be fine, right...?)

"The important thing? The important thing is that I'm hungry and need to cook something."

Shrugging, Shi Bai took an alcohol stove out of the box and placed it on the table.

"Want to try some top-quality beef hot pot? This is high-grade beef, the taste is unbeatable."

"If you want food, I have plenty in my house, but please answer my questions first..."

With a soft sigh, Eirin Yagokoro placed her hand on the alcohol burner... though she didn't know why she sighed.

What will our future be like? Is there really no perfect future for us?

"As I said before, to create a perfect future, one must have the corresponding awareness. And this awareness is not the will to sacrifice, but rather the ability to carve out a bright path for us to follow in the dark wilderness..."

Shi Bai pursed his lips and looked up at the rather naive-looking girl in front of him.

"So now I ask you, are you aware of this?"

"……I have."

After a moment of silence, Yagokoro Eirin nodded silently.

"But all I possess is the power to kill... Is that acceptable?"

"That's a question for you to answer, after all, I can't make that decision for you... What do you want to do with your own power? Or rather, what do you really want to do? Hmm... or what kind of power do you want to possess?"

"I don't want to take other people's lives so easily anymore, I don't want to see killing and bloodshed anymore, I don't want to see hatred and corpses anymore... I want to have the power to save others."

Looking down at her hands, Eirin Yagokoro remained silent.

"But that's impossible, isn't it? Because all I know is killing."

"Impossible? Nothing in this world is impossible."

With a light laugh, Shi Bai extended his hand to the girl in front of him.

"Don't be too pessimistic. You need to start believing now that anything is possible... Want to have the power to save others? Sure."

"Come and learn medicine from me!"

P.S.: Tickets.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Eirin Yagokoro's Thoughts

Eirin Yagokoro, as one of the oldest gods, is undoubtedly a first-rate being.

The fact that she has survived so many fierce wars between monsters and gods is enough to prove her strength.

Of the gods who existed at the same time as her, very few remain today; the vast majority perished in several fierce wars against demons.

It was precisely because she realized the cruelty of war and the endless nature of hatred, and when she realized that one by one the familiar people around her were dying because of this meaningless war, that Yagokoro Eirin chose to leave in order to find an answer.

In the long period of time since she left, she has made many attempts and tried many methods to explore the possibility that gods and monsters can coexist in this world... but hatred still spreads, war continues, and killing and death continue to be staged.

—Until the revelation of that era of ancient myths, she brought back an ancient being from an extremely deep canyon that had been split open by an earthquake while researching these things.

She was incredibly powerful, with countless drops of blood on her hands, and she had immense confidence in her abilities; otherwise, she wouldn't have had the audacity to choose to live in seclusion alone.

Even with such power, she could clearly feel a stark difference in strength between herself and the ancient being she had brought back. Therefore, she held a deep sense of awe for this being who had survived since the time of ancient mythology.

The ancient mythological era was an era that is incredibly distant from the present day. Even though only fragments of information remain from that era, it is enough for Eirin Yagokoro to glimpse the power of those immortal beings from that time.

And if we're talking about who can solve the predicament their era is facing, it's only the other side.

Therefore, when faced with goodwill from the other party, addressing them as "teacher" and requesting to learn medical skills from them is actually a very good choice.

"...This is what you meant by food?"

Silently watching the fruit that Yagokoro Eirin had taken out of the house, which looked like a variant of durian, Shi Bai raised his head and looked at the girl in front of him.

"Can't this be eaten?"

Picking up a piece of fruit, Eirin Yagokoro looked up with a slightly puzzled expression.

"It's not that I can't eat it... but ever since I was tricked into eating a durian when I was eight years old, I've always avoided any fruit that looks like a durian. I was too young back then..."

Shaking his head with a hint of emotion, Shi Bai then rummaged through his storage ring and found a box with the word "fruit" on it.

Because boxes can be mass-produced as long as there is wood, and given their unique storage and indestructibility, they were his first choice for storing items.

Of course, the so-called indestructibility is relative; if you throw it into lava, it will still burn to ashes...

"Stop eating durian, come on, eat watermelon!!"

With great generosity, he placed a watermelon in front of Yagokoro Eirin, and Shi Bai also casually drew out a kitchen knife with a dragon-shaped handle.

"Now that you've become my apprentice, I'll present you with this legendary ancient culinary utensil, the Eternal Spirit Knife, as a gift. From today onward, you must diligently practice your culinary skills and strive to become a renowned chef to benefit the world!"

"...The Eternal Spirit Blade? A legendary ancient cooking utensil? Wait..."

Looking at the Eternal Spirit Sword lying quietly in front of her, Yagokoro Eirin couldn't help but ask her newly recognized teacher a question.

"Shouldn't I be studying medicine? Why did it turn into..."

"Hmph, the wisdom of mortals."

Shi Bai casually pulled an apple from the box, took a bite, and sneered.

"Do you think I, your teacher, am unaware of such matters? The Eternal Spirit Knife is a legendary kitchen utensil. Don't rush to refuse. Take a look at it in your hand first before you speak."

"Eternal Spirit Blade..."

Looking at the kitchen knife in front of her, which had a faint glimmer of light on its surface, Yagokoro Eirin remained silent for a moment before reaching out and picking it up.

To her surprise, the moment her hand touched the surface of the Eternal Spirit Blade, the light that had been lingering on the blade vanished rapidly. In a short while, the Eternal Spirit Blade, which had previously appeared incredibly mystical, quickly turned into ordinary iron.

If she could sense before that the Eternal Spirit Blade was a treasure with magical power, then now it felt like an ordinary stone on the roadside.

"this is……"

Looking at the kitchen knife in her hand, Eirin Yagokoro was stunned.

"A doctor should have a benevolent heart. If one's heart is not pure, how can one be a doctor? Do you understand now? You are not qualified to learn medicine at all. The Eternal Spirit Blade that you have corrupted is the best proof of that."

With a nonchalant wave of his hand, Shi Bai reached out and took the alcohol stove from the table, and casually took a pot from the [box] and placed it on the stove.

"So, wait until you can make the Eternal Spirit Blade shine again before you talk to me about learning medicine... Oh, by the way, do you eat cilantro?"

"……coriander……?"

Holding the Eternal Spirit Blade in her hand, Yagokoro Eirin was clearly bewildered by her teacher's abrupt change in thought.

"Eat hot pot! What's the point of eating fruit all day?"

While continuing to rummage through the box for the various cooking ingredients he had put in there a long time ago, Shi Bai glanced at the girl in front of him.

"There's no need to keep looking at that knife. Even if you see the flower, it will still be the same... If you want to gain the Eternal Spirit Blade's recognition and truly make a change, then be prepared to start from scratch. My medical skills are not so easy to learn."

"……I see."

After a moment of silence, Eirin Yagokoro nodded.

(Does this mean a doctor should have a benevolent heart? To become a qualified doctor, one must first learn to purify one's heart. And this Eternal Spirit Blade... to be able to take out such a precious item without any hesitation... seems like a very good teacher...)

"If you understand, hurry up and come help. Do you still want to eat hot pot? If you dawdle any longer, you can have all the cilantro! And you're washing the dishes after you're done eating!!"

"........."

Eirin Yagokoro decides to retract her previous assessment.

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Chapter Twenty-Eight: Minor Matters in the Bamboo Grove

After using a pickaxe to cut down a few trees and rocks, Shi Bai built an extra house in the bamboo forest.

He wasn't just saying he wanted to teach the other person medicine; he genuinely had that idea in his heart. However, having an idea is one thing, but putting it into practice is quite difficult.

Among the talents he inherited from the Eastern God Clan, some were easy to unlock, while others required specific conditions to unlock.

Take the talent [Qing Nang] for example. The unlock condition is to teach a qualified disciple. However, given his previous situation where there was no one else in the entire world, let alone teaching a disciple, he couldn't even find a single person other than himself.

Back when he was still in the Heavenly Realm, he had taught Xiao Ye and Xiao Xi, but it was clear that these two little girls weren't cut out for it.

In the assessment of talent, the system gives scores of four points and three points respectively... out of 100.

But if it were Yagokoro Eirin—she should at least be able to meet the system's standards, right?

Actually, it's not impossible to start teaching the other person medicine from scratch now, but given the opportunity to have a personal chef, why not?

That's what Shi Bai thought, although he quickly regretted it.

"What...is this thing?"

Looking at the plate of thick, sticky paste made up of green and yellow colors in front of him, Shi Bai's lips twitched as he asked the girl in front of him a question.

"Banana and grass salad".

Holding up the cookbooks her teacher had given her, Yagokoro Eirin answered very seriously.

"I now understand your good intentions, teacher. A good chef may not be a qualified doctor, but a good doctor is definitely a qualified chef. After considering various nutritional factors, I created this dish, which is absolutely balanced and perfect in all aspects."

"........."

After a moment of silence, Shi Bai picked up a spoon and, with trembling hands, scooped up a spoonful of banana and grass salad and put it in his mouth.

If it's nutritionally balanced, maybe it's just that it doesn't look good? Maybe it's actually quite good... Hmm, I feel like my health bar has dropped a bit.

Forcing himself not to spit out the awful-tasting salad in his mouth, Shi Bai stiffly raised his head and looked at the girl in front of him who looked expectant, as if waiting for his praise.

"...Yagore, what else did you add to this?"

"To ensure a balanced diet and promote healthy development, I first added pure, natural, and pollution-free green grass to the bananas."

After flipping through the book in her hand, Yagokoro Eirin answered seriously.

"Then, to ensure a balanced intake of various nutrients, I added a few earthworms, and I also added powders like earthworms... Teacher? Teacher, what's wrong, Teacher!?"

Shi Bai died.

Before he could train a qualified disciple, Shi Bai felt he was likely to be killed by his disciple's terrible cooking.

....................................

After realizing that letting the girl prepare the dishes herself might lead her down a path of culinary disaster and never return, Shi Bai changed his strategy.

After tearing up the copy of "Nutrition for Beginners" that he had previously given to the other person, Shi Bai solemnly handed over a cookbook in the hopes of a bright future where he wouldn't have to cook or wash dishes himself.

"From now on, please follow the recipes when cooking. How about that? Can you manage that?"