The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

Reminded by someone, Fujiwara no Mokou's face immediately darkened again.

"To be honest, the way you were before was really asking for a beating."

"……Thank you."

After a moment of silence, Shi Bai turned his head and spoke earnestly to the girl in front of him.

"There's an old saying in my hometown: 'A drop of water in need is repaid with a spring of water.' You chopped me with a chop to the hand before, so I absolutely have to chop you with many more hands to repay your kindness."

"...Is this how the idiom is used?"

"Of course, a drop of water in need is repaid with a spring of water, that's what it means literally... Very well, you hit me twice. A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, and I, Shi Bai, will remember this grudge today."

"So this isn't about repaying a debt of gratitude, it's about seeking revenge, isn't it..."

While making such a comment, Fujiwara no Mokou suddenly reached out and quickly grabbed the other person's hand that was hanging on the floor.

Feeling the "truly soft and boneless" texture emanating from her hands, her expression immediately turned extremely ugly.

"As expected, I knew you were hiding something. Otherwise, how could you not dodge a hand strike of that magnitude... You don't even want me to know something like this? Are you planning to stay here and wait to die?!"

By the end, Fujiwara no Mokou's tone had become unusually angry.

From the very beginning, she felt something was amiss. If it was meant to suppress and fight the berserk shikigami, it was impossible for the other party to be completely unharmed. However, based on her observation just now, she found that the other party did not have any obvious injuries. In addition, the other party kept urging her to leave the room, and the other party did not seem to want to drink the water she poured for them. Fujiwara no Mokou had already become suspicious.

After some probing, her suspicions came true.

Because she discovered that the bones in the other person's hands... were all broken, or perhaps all the bones in their body were broken, otherwise they wouldn't be sitting on the ground in such a posture, their body not moving at all except for their head for a long time.

Despite the severity of her injuries, the other party still tried to hide everything from her and wouldn't tell her anything, even going to great lengths to get her out of the room... Was they trying to get themselves killed?!

"...Did you believe me when I said I could automatically recover in a few hours?"

The person was speechless.

"Really, it's just a small matter, a very ordinary little thing that happens every few hundred... every now and then. I actually have a lot of experience in dealing with these kinds of things."

"You're telling me this is a small matter after such a serious injury?! Then what exactly constitutes a serious matter?!"

Although Fujiwara no Mokou's words sounded even angrier, her hand movements became noticeably lighter.

"And you don't feel any pain at all!? Almost all the bones in your hands are..."

"If I could still move now, that would be a really big deal..."

Interrupting Fujiwara no Mokou's words, Shi Bai sighed with a hint of helplessness.

"Let me put it this way, I am a very powerful Onmyoji, you agree with that, right? Didn't you see all those alchemical tools?"

"so what!?"

As if afraid of hurting the other person, she gently placed their hand on the floor, Fujiwara no Mokou's expression was icy.

"So you have to learn to trust me, my magic can be very fast... Wait, what are you doing?"

Seeing Fujiwara no Mokou suddenly get up and go to the kitchen to get a blanket and spread it on the floor, Shi Bai was slightly stunned.

"Regardless of whether you actually have some incredibly powerful healing spell to heal yourself, with all your bones broken, you clearly can't even move right now, right?!"

"Uh...it's good for loosening up the muscles and bones, and boosting immunity..."

Shi Bai spoke in a dry, unresponsive manner.

"So how about you go out and play games with Kaguya for half a day? Don't worry, I'll be back to normal in half a day. There's really no need for you to stay here... This is the third time."

Why should I hit you? Because you deserve it!

Fujiwara no Mokou withdrew her hand and glared at him fiercely.

"Since you can't move anyway, why don't you fight back now if you're so capable?!"

"...A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, and I am a gentleman."

"Then I'm sorry, I'm a woman, not a gentleman. If I wanted revenge, I would have done it on the spot."

With a soft hum, and after a slight hesitation, Fujiwara no Mokou leaned down and reached her hand behind him.

"Be a little more honest, because I'm not sure if I can actually lift you up..."

"Um... I strongly feel that I just need to sit here and wait for half a day... Really, please believe me..."

"If you say another word, believe me, I'll give you another chop to the neck!"

"........."

Shi Bai suddenly realized that many of his first experiences had been taken away by the other party.

P.S.: Happy Labor Day, everyone! Extra chapters for the holiday.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The First Time Stolen? (Following)

Some things are simply difficult to explain in words.

The thirteen prisoners imprisoned in Shi Bai's mind can essentially be seen as his thirteen personalities.

Personality is related to a person's biological genetic factors. It is a reflection of a person's past life experiences and an integration of abilities, temperament, character, needs, ideals, values, etc. It is also a self with consistent motivation and continuity.

Of those thirteen prisoners, only one was the most special and unique. That was the one who represented his complete opposite, ranked number one in the danger sequence, and whom he called Time Black.

Apart from Shi Hei, the other twelve prisoners, and excluding the third prisoner [Innocent Killer] who has no self-awareness, all have only one thought in mind: to escape from prison and gain freedom. For example, the seventh prisoner in the danger sequence, [Undying Evil God], created the portrait of an evil god, with the sole purpose of using that portrait to escape from prison and gain freedom.

But Number One Black is different; it doesn't just want freedom, it wants to completely replace him.

The other prisoners were essentially himself, and Shi Bai understood them all very well, but Shi Hei was the only exception.

Of all the prisoners, only it had ever successfully escaped. Although he was able to bring it back to safety later, Shi Bai had absolutely no idea where it went or what it did during the time it was away.

Other prisoners might be considered negative personalities born from his past experiences, and everything about him comes from him, but Shihei has already developed something of its own... or perhaps it should be called him.

After being taken in and imprisoned by him, the other party never thought about just escaping; he wanted to actually replace him and become the real Shi Bai.

Shihei, in essence, is an extremely evil being formed from all negative wills. However, this extremely evil being also possesses its own consciousness. It is both the most harmless and the most dangerous of all the prisoners.

The most harmless reason is that Shi Bai has completely bound him and spent a great deal of effort to force him to sign a soul contract. Unless he can completely replace him, he will not be able to directly harm anyone.

The most dangerous thing, however, refers to himself.

Because of that soul contract, basically every few hundred years or so, the other party will take the initiative to launch a challenge against him that he cannot refuse... just like this time.

In the arena where consciousness serves as the battleground, they fight and struggle against each other. The opponent is constantly vying for true control of this body. Because there have been instances in the past where the opponent cheated and took control of this body to wreak havoc during the confrontation, Shi Bai always chooses to shatter all the bones in his body first in each of these confrontations.

The long-standing confrontation and struggle had made Shi Bai quite adept at this kind of thing. After all, his opponent had always been kept at the deepest level of his consciousness, and the increase in power was based on absorbing his own darkness and evil thoughts. At first, he may have won with great difficulty, but after he resolved to be a good person and gradually became silly, his opponent actually no longer posed any threat to him.

However, if other prisoners successfully escape, Shihei's power will also increase, since Shihei's power comes from his dark side, and those prisoners are essentially a part of him as well.

So in reality, for Shi Bai, this was just a trivial matter that happened every few hundred years. Moreover, the confrontation with Shi Hei's soul consciousness could effectively strengthen his will. So he basically treated the other party as a boss that would respawn every few hundred years... But who would have thought that such an accident would suddenly happen?

Due to the resurgence of his own desires and the liberation of his soul's shackles, he misjudged the time when the war that took place in his consciousness would end. As a result, by a twist of fate, Fujiwara no Mokou discovered the secret that he had been carefully hiding all along...

"Uh... so you can go out now?"

Lying on the floor in the comfortable quilt that the other person had made up, looking at Fujiwara no Mokou sitting next to him, Shi Bai had a conflicted expression on his face.

I thought Fujiwara no Mokou was quite well-behaved when she was with Houraisan Kaguya, but I never expected that her true nature hadn't changed at all.

...This was the first time he'd ever been attacked with a hand chop by someone else! Something that was practically impossible in his entire life had happened three times in a row...

Shi Bai felt that he was losing almost all his authority in front of the other party.

"........."

Faced with his question, Fujiwara no Mokou did not choose to speak, but silently lifted the folding stool next to her and placed it on his head, the threat in her hand was obvious.

"...As long as you're happy."

Faced with the folding stool overhead that could fall at any moment, Shi Bai decisively chose to follow his heart.

"Hmph...when will this barrier dissipate?"

Fujiwara no Mokou seemed to hum softly as she put the folding stool aside. After thinking to herself that Kaguya Houraisan's decision to have her bring the stool in was truly prescient, she turned her head and glanced around the room.

As time went by, the pervasive bloody aura in the room seemed to gradually dissipate, and the visibility was significantly better than before.

"This binding barrier is tied to my condition. It will disappear whenever I recover. In another half day, when I recover, this barrier will also dissipate."

With a resigned sigh, Shi Bai closed his eyes.

I have to say, lying in a comfortable, warm bed is definitely much more comfortable than sitting against the wall like before. Maybe I can take this as an example and hibernate someday...

"...I'll go out and tell Kaguya about your situation first."

After hesitating for a moment, and considering the person outside who was still worried, Fujiwara no Mokou stood up from the floor. However, after turning around and taking only a few steps, she turned back and glared fiercely at the person on the ground.

"You stay here and don't move!!"

"I do want to move now..."

Staring blankly at the ceiling above his head, Shi Bai sighed again, looking rather melancholy.

"It's truly a case of a dragon in shallow water being mocked by shrimp, and a tiger fallen on flat land being bullied by dogs. If only..."

A folding stool landed precisely next to his head with a dull thud, successfully interrupting his words.

Shi Bai: "..."

"I will always remember your great kindness. I will repay this kindness tenfold in the future."

After a moment of silence, Shi Bai turned to look at Fujiwara no Mokou not far away, his face solemn.

—If he weren't currently unable to move, he would definitely be striking a pose of heroic bravado with clasped hands.

"........."

Although Fujiwara no Mokou had vaguely sensed it before, she was now absolutely certain of it.

That guy in front of me is... really annoying in every sense of the word.

Using the passage opened by Kaguya Houraisan, a passage accessible only to ordinary people like herself, Fujiwara no Mokou returned to the normal world. Judging by the time, approximately fifteen minutes had passed since she entered the room.

However, just as Fujiwara no Mokou walked anxiously to the table to report to Houraisan Kaguya about the situation with her older brother in the room, she discovered that Houraisan Kaguya had fallen asleep on the table at some point.

"Was it because you were too tired from trying to break that barrier...?"

Trying to relax her hands and feet, Fujiwara no Mokou let out a soft sigh.

After finding some necessities outside the room, she returned to the room. She had taken care of her mother when she was seriously ill before, so Fujiwara no Mokou believed that she had some experience in taking care of bedridden people.

But can such a severe injury really heal so quickly?

After Fujiwara no Mokou returned to the room with all the items she had found, the bamboo house returned to its initial tranquility, and the snow that had stopped outside started falling again at some point.

The world was a blanket of white.

—A silent, pure white world.

When Kaguya Houraisan finally awoke from her slumber, the sky outside had already darkened without her noticing.

After sitting blankly at the table for a long time, Kaguya Houraisan finally recalled something from the distant memories that had faded since her sleep, and hurriedly stood up from the table.

Although she didn't think anything would happen to her brother in his room, one can never be too careful. She had spent a lot of time and effort to barely break the binding barrier and then asked Fujiwara no Mokou for help. She just didn't know how long she had slept or what had happened in the room...

After seeing that the barrier that had enveloped the entire room had disappeared, Kaguya Houraisan visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that the troublesome barrier has disappeared, whatever happened inside the room should be considered resolved, right?

With this thought in mind, Kaguya Houraisan opened the door, but when she saw the scene inside the room, her expression and the movements of her hands froze.

In the not-so-large room, a quilt was neatly laid out on the floor. Because of the cold air and the drop in temperature, the bamboo house still had quilts. Even if they didn't prepare these, the things that the nobles had were enough for them to use for a lifetime.

But that's not the key point.

From Kaguya Houraisan's perspective, her older brother was snuggled up in the same bed with Fujiwara no Mokou, their heads close together, fast asleep.

Kaguya Houraisan: "..."

For some reason, she suddenly felt like her head was turning green.

Fujiwara no Mokou was awakened by the noise of her entering through the door. After rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, she groggily opened them.

...Then I spotted Kaguya Houraisan standing frozen at the doorway.

Seeing the strange expression on Kaguya Houraisan's face, Fujiwara no Mokou first turned her head with a slight puzzlement, then her face immediately turned bright red, and she practically fled from her warm bed.

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