The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

"I think the most important thing you should do right now is help me up, instead of squatting down next to me and poking my face with your finger..."

With his eyes half-closed, Shi Bai remained speechless.

"I just find your current state amusing... what a stingy person."

With a slight pursed lip, Hirain helped the other person up.

"Speaking of which, where exactly did you bring me?"

Pointing to the endless yellow sand before him, Riluoyuan's interest was noticeably higher than before.

"The Sahara Desert... Well, there aren't any deserts in Gensokyo, right? I might as well broaden your horizons while I'm at it."

Looking at the desert in front of him, Shi Bai's lips twitched slightly before he spoke casually.

"A lone plume of smoke rises straight from the desert, the setting sun hangs round over the long river—such a beautiful scene can't be seen in Gensokyo... Here's a camera; take as many pictures of the scenery as you like to remember it. I'll adjust the teleportation gun."

He handed a camera to Riluoyuan, who was looking around with curiosity, and then Shibai sat down cross-legged on the yellow sand.

Although Asakura Rikako took most of the science and technology and research results with her when she left Youkai Mountain, some scientific and technological products were still left there. For example, the camera used by news reporters is one such product. So Shibai doesn't need to worry that Hirain Hana won't know how to use it.

"Tsk, the positioning error of this teleportation gun is absolutely outrageous, and Rick didn't even bother to give me an instruction manual... What the hell is this Sahara Desert?!"

While muttering these words to himself, Shi Bai readjusted the various parameters of the teleportation gun.

According to his plan, his destination was not the Sahara Desert, but rather to return to Penglai Island and bring Hong Meiling and Huo Qing'e to Gensokyo. At the same time, he also planned to return to the Demon World to talk to Shen Qi about Alice and the others.

Although he has returned from the Western world, if Alice and the others want to come back, it will probably take at least several decades. Moreover, given the succubus's personality, she won't leave until she has made proper arrangements for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

He could let it go on for the past three months, but now he felt it was necessary to go and talk to Shen Qi about it.

Just as he was frowning and re-entering the new coordinate parameters into the teleportation gun one by one, an excited Hirain Bō suddenly pounced on his back and hugged his neck.

"Hello, I'm currently..."

With a slightly amused expression, Shi Bai looked up. Before he could finish his sentence, a crisp click rang out, and their first photo together was taken.

"Alright, you can get back to what you were doing!"

Satisfied with the result of the photo, Hiragin Hana let go and continued to take photos in other places.

For Hirain Hana, who has almost never left the area of ​​the Youkai Mountain since childhood, everything about the outside world comes from hearsay and her own imagination.

Even now, the surrounding landscape of a barren desert with endless yellow sand is enough to excite her for a long time.

"This is really..."

Looking at the figure not far away, Shi Bai shook his head and smiled slightly before lowering his head again.

However, this time he slightly changed a few numbers regarding the input of the relevant positioning coordinates.

So, in the following days, Hiragin Hana probably spent some of the most unforgettable days of her life.

From the vast desert with its endless yellow sand to the pale, snow-covered Arctic, from the boundless, magnificent sea to the towering, clustered mountains... Shi Bai took her to almost every famous tourist attraction he knew in the world.

Watch the sunrise over the East China Sea, and admire the sunset over the South Abyss.

Drinking wine under the moon in the Western Hills, fishing for the moon in the Arctic Ocean.

We've watched the sunrise, admired the sunset, made wishes upon shooting stars together, and witnessed the magnificent aurora borealis at the North Pole.

Mountains and rivers, boats and ships, the sun, moon and stars, beautiful scenery and fine weather, all enter my heart.

Over the course of several days, Hiragin Hana's camera took countless photos, but what followed was that someone's motion sickness was getting worse and worse...

To be honest, Shi Bai didn't know when he had developed this strange ailment. The feeling of being dizzy from teleportation was quite unpleasant, but seeing Ri Luoyuan's expectant expression, he gritted his teeth and endured it.

Riluoyuan Ban had a great time these past few days, while Shi Bai felt like he was almost completely burned out.

"My past? Why are you suddenly interested in my past?"

On the vast ice sea of ​​Antarctica, facing the question suddenly raised by Jirain, Shi Bai, who was fishing on a piece of glacier that had been knocked off, turned his head with a slight puzzlement.

"Is it wrong to be curious? Or is this some kind of incredible secret?"

As he spoke, Riluoyuan, who was sitting next to Shibai by the fire, draped in thick, warm feathers, added some firewood to the fire in front of him.

Fishing in the icy sea, grilling fish on the side, and the aurora borealis stretching across the sky—it all has a unique, poetic and picturesque charm when viewed from afar.

"Hmm? It's not exactly a secret or anything, it's just a very ordinary adventure..."

After thinking for a moment, Shi Bai nodded thoughtfully.

"How about this, after I get back to Gensokyo, I'll take some time to write down my past experiences. Some of those worlds were actually quite interesting, like protecting the forest with Black Cat Sheriff... Hmm, they were really interesting."

"Are you really going to write all of this down?"

After hearing Shi Bai's words, Ri Luoyuan's eyes lit up slightly.

"Ha, these things aren't anything shameful..."

With a nonchalant smile, Shi Bai suddenly reached out and raised his fishing hook.

In an instant, an enormous black shadow was forcibly pulled up from beneath the sea surface.

—That was a gigantic whale.

"Uh... this fish is so big, it seems like we can't finish it..."

Staring wide-eyed at the whale that almost completely covered the space above his head, Hirain Hana was stunned.

"That's right, we really can't finish them all. I feel like the fish I've been catching lately are getting bigger and bigger."

Nodding in agreement, Shi Bai waved his hand and released the unfortunate and greedy whale back into the icy sea.

"Never mind, we've already had enough grilled fish... Let's eat this much for today, we need to get down to business tomorrow."

Putting away his fishing rod, Shi Bai turned around and took over the task of grilling fish at Riluoyuan, while also snatching the wine jug from the other man's hand.

"Also, underage Tengu are prohibited from drinking alcohol, so drink less."

"Tch, what's the big deal? You're such a cheapskate..."

With a slight pout, Hiragin Ban leaned against the other person and lay down as if in revenge.

“Minors are prohibited from drinking alcohol, especially since you become very strange when you get drunk… I’m doing this for your own good.”

He took a swig of wine, exhaled a breath, and began to speak while concentrating on grilling the fish.

"Also, you are forbidden from using your abilities on me. Manipulating other people's desires at will is a very dangerous thing, and I hope you will keep this in mind."

"I know, I know, there's no need to come and lecture me every time you have the chance, is there? If it weren't for the fact that you've taken me to so many places, I wouldn't even bother with you..."

While keeping her eyes glued to the dazzling aurora borealis stretching across the sky above, Hirain Hanamura let out a slightly dissatisfied snort.

"In a few hundred years, I will be a full-fledged adult, and then I can go wherever I want..."

"There is no need to put too much pressure on yourself. Even if you are the Heavenly Demon who guides the entire Tengu clan forward, you don't need to carry everything on your own shoulders."

Shi Bai handed a skewer of grilled fish to the other person and began to speak casually.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Why put so much pressure on yourself? If you continue like this, you'll definitely develop all sorts of psychological problems..."

"Nonsense, my mind is perfectly normal. I am the Heavenly Demon who commands the entire Monster Mountain. Do you know what a Heavenly Demon is? The Heavenly Demon represents..."

"You are yourself. The Heavenly Demon is just a code name. The Heavenly Demon is you, but you are not the Heavenly Demon."

He interrupted the other person and laughed.

“Remember this: you must learn to live for yourself, not for some vague and unattainable title. Heavenly Demon? I have no idea what a Heavenly Demon is. All I know is that your name is Riluoyuan Ban.”

"........."

"...Dragon God? Dragon God is just a title... I am Dragon God, but I am not Dragon God. I would much rather you call me by my name than by the title Dragon God..."

...words exactly the same as those of the mysterious girl from that night.

Turning his head, Hirain didn't say anything.

Drunk, unaware that the sky is reflected in the water, a boat full of sweet dreams presses down on the Milky Way.

P.S.: Good morning!

Chapter Ten: Some Minor Unexpected Events

Doing your best is a simple phrase, but it is incredibly difficult to put into practice.

Being unable to control one's own destiny—this is the best description of fate itself.

Hirain Hana's fate was bound by her identity as a demon from the very beginning, so she had to stay on the mountain of demons and had no chance to go to the outside world. She was also destined to be tightly bound by the shackles called demons for her entire life.

Just like the former Demon King Ibaraki Kasen, she was also bound to the demon clan by her identity as the Demon King, unable to break free. In the end, she even developed inner demons. It wasn't until later that she made up her mind to leave. After countless years and at the cost of an arm, she was finally able to get rid of the shadow of the past.

Ibaraki Kasen could do that, but Hiragana Hana couldn't, because on her shoulders lay the future of the entire Youkai Mountain and the entire Tengu clan, and no one could take that responsibility for her.

This shackle called fate exists extensively on everyone, including Yakumo Yukari, Yagokoro Eirin, and Shinki...

The difference is that some people break these shackles, while others willingly accept them.

In the end, Eirin Yagokoro gave up the Lunar Capital she had worked so hard for and chose to live a free and easy life in seclusion. Yukari Yakumo chose to shoulder the future of Gensokyo and stake everything on it. As for Shinki, she had firmly chosen her path from the beginning and would not waver no matter what.

Fate can sometimes be a shackle, but at other times it can be a driving force.

The reason why Shi Bai suddenly thought of taking Ri Luoyuan out for a trip was mainly because he didn't want to see the other person trapped in the shackles called the Heavenly Demon. You are yourself, you are Ri Luoyuan, and not some Heavenly Demon.

In the past, Shi Bai taught Xiao Ye in the same way, and now he is teaching Ri Luoyuan with the same words.

"...Come to think of it, you've never actually called me by my name, have you?"

After a moment of silence, Hirain looked up at him.

"In my memory, you have never addressed me properly."

"Who said I didn't? I clearly called you, you just forgot."

Shi Bai smiled.

"The Heavenly Demon is Hiragawain Ban, but Hiragawain Ban is not the Heavenly Demon. Don't let a so-called cold and impersonal name bind you. This is what I want to tell you during this trip."

"That's all?"

Hirain Bō blinked.

"Oh, and one more thing, if you don't eat the grilled fish in your hand soon, it'll get cold."

Shi Bai pointed to the grilled fish in the other person's hand.

"Shi Bai, play me another tune."

He simply rested his head on the other person's lap, and stars seemed to twinkle in Hirain Hana's eyes.

“I haven’t heard you play a tune for me alone for a long time since that day, and I want to hear it now.”

"Uh……"

With a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, Shi Bai tentatively began to negotiate.

"I don't have my bamboo flute with me right now. How about I play a tune on the erhu or a suona for you?"

"Here."

Without answering, Riluoyuan Ban reached out and grabbed a block of ice from the glacier beneath her. After quickly crafting a crystal-clear ice flute, she eagerly handed the newly made flute to Shi Bai.

Shi Bai: "..."

"How about you close your eyes? If you close your eyes, I'll give you..."

"No, this time I want to watch you play."

Lying on his lap, Hirain Hana shook her head resolutely, then took out a camera and waved it in front of him.

"I want to take this picture."

"........."

After a moment of silence, Shi Bai resignedly picked up the crystal-clear ice flute and played the simplest of all, the only one he knew how to play on the flute... "Two Tigers".

Two tigers~ Two tigers~ Running fast~ Running fast~ One has no eyes~ One has no tail~ How strange~ How strange~

After the song ended, Hirain Hana froze on the spot.

This is like a literary classic recommendation meeting held in class. While other students pull out world-famous masterpieces such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," "Dream of the Red Chamber," and "One Hundred Years of Solitude," and the whole class is immersed in the awe brought by these literary classics, Shi Bai walks to the podium with his head held high and solemnly holds up a copy of "Jin Ping Mei"... That's roughly the kind of evil he did.

—This night, which Hirain felt might be unforgettable for the rest of his life, would become unforgettable in another sense.

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