The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

"Hello, this is Aya Shameimaru!! Can you accept my..."

Before a reporter could finish speaking, she was punched hard on the head. Grabbing Wenwen by the collar, Ji Haitang Yuli bowed slightly to Shi Bai with a hint of restraint.

"I'm sorry, Wen is always so clumsy and has caused you trouble."

"Well………"

I was just a child and didn't know any better back then, but now Ji Haitang Yuli is no longer the child who always liked to throw tantrums. Now that I think about it, how could someone who could decide the decisions of the Tengu Elders' Council of the Demon Mountain back then be just an ordinary great demon?

Putting aside the many favors she received from him during her internship at the newspaper in Hell, the numerous scandals between him and Lord Heavenly Demon that broke out recently were enough to shock her.

Lady Tenma is not only the supreme leader of the entire Tengu clan, but also the supreme being who commands the entire Youkai Mountain. She herself is just an ordinary crow tengu in the Tengu clan. The difference in status between the two is not just a little bit.

Of course, the main point of the problem is not that, but rather the infamous Flower Tyrant who has been sitting quietly in his seat drinking tea all along.

According to Mengyue, the relationship between the two of them is quite extraordinary. At the same time, the other party also has an ambiguous relationship with Lord Tianmo. Lord Tianmo has often clashed with this Flower Tyrant in the past... This circle is really messy.

When she was younger and less sensible, she could still cuddle up to Wenhua and the others, acting spoiled. But if she had the courage to do that now…

Looking at the other person's youthful face, which hadn't changed at all over the past few hundred years, Ji Haitang Yuli's lips twitched slightly.

Even though the other person was much older than her, they didn't look that way at all. And just thinking about how she used to cling to them and beg them to tell her stories made her cheeks inexplicably burn.

...Even if you were just a little bit older now, that would be fine!!

The heart of a certain tengu was filled with resentment.

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

It feels like your personalities have shifted...

With a subtle look in his eyes, Shi Bai glanced at Wenwen, whose eyes resembled mosquito coils, and then sat down at the table, inviting the two of them to sit down as well.

"...A newspaper selection competition?"

After listening to Ji Haitang explain her intentions for some time, Shi Bai couldn't help but feel slightly surprised.

Are there many newspapers on Monster Mountain? Is the competition that fierce?

"Of course! After all, newspapers bring in so much profit. It would be strange if there weren't many newspapers, right?"

Shameimaru Aya, with the pen in her hand on her lips and her head resting on the table, looked resentful.

"Currently, there are three major newspapers on Mount Youkai, five medium-sized newspapers, and the rest are all small newspapers. The competition between newspapers is quite fierce. However, the amount of news happening in Gensokyo each day is very limited, so there's no need for so many newspapers. Therefore, in order to increase newspaper sales, some newspapers have started fabricating fake news to deceive readers. That's probably why Lord Tenma launched this purge..."

"Hmm? So what type of newspaper are you?"

Shi Bai pushed a glass of cola and a glass of orange juice in front of Aya Shameimaru and Hatake Himekaido respectively, and asked the two tengu in front of him.

...So many years have passed, do you still remember our tastes?

Looking at the glass of orange juice in front of her, Ji Haitang Yuli was slightly taken aback. However, before she could answer, Shameimaru Aya spoke up.

“We’re a mini newspaper. There are only three of us: me, Yu Li, and Hua. I’m the reporter, the editor-in-chief, and I’m also responsible for printing, copying, and typesetting the newspaper. It’s really tiring, okay? We’re losing money every year, and I’m almost unable to pay salaries.”

Shameimaru Aya picked up the cola in front of him and drank it all in one gulp, muttering to himself.

"If our newspaper sells even a single-digit number of copies each issue, that's considered pretty good. We can't even compare to the big newspapers, let alone the small ones... even though we work really hard to get the news!"

"So, in your pursuit of big news and to boost newspaper sales, you went so far as to sneak into the sunflower field and kidnap Xiaosan, right? How could you possibly do something like that..."

Shi Bai rolled his eyes, somewhat speechless.

"Ahem... I originally just wanted to risk filming the battle between Lord Heavenly Demon and the Flower Tyrant for publicity purposes, but after seeing that there were other monsters in the sunflower field where there were never any outsiders before, I couldn't help myself... This is what you taught us before, and I have always kept your teachings in mind."

Sitting up straight, deliberately mimicking Shi Bai's tone and movements, Shameimaru Aya coughed a few times with her fists clenched to her lips, her face serious.

“Those who achieve great things do not dwell on small details.”

Shi Bai: "..."

"...So you want to win this match, right?"

After thinking for a moment, Shi Bai asked them.

"That's right, there will only be one winner in the end, and everyone else will be eliminated. Although the competition is quite fierce, we don't want to give up so easily."

Aya Shameimaru nodded very seriously.

"The competition will last for 12 months, with each newspaper publishing a total of 12 issues. The final result will be determined by the total sales of these 12 issues. Cheating is impossible because the entire process will be supervised by Nose-High Tengu and his team. If any fraudulent activity is discovered, such as paying for newspapers to inflate sales figures, the newspaper will be immediately disqualified, losing its chance to compete for the last and only spot."

"So, what do you want to do?"

Shi Bai reached out and tapped the table with his fingers.

"We could pay to buy your newspapers, but there are only a few of us. That would be a drop in the ocean, wouldn't it?"

P.S.: Good morning!

Chapter Thirteen: Plastic Sisters

Sunflower field.

Previously, this place was the most forbidden area in Gensokyo, and not many people dared to risk coming here. However, with the return of Tokihaku, the Sunflower Field has become much more lively.

—And this is something that Kazami Yuuka understands best.

In the past, there have been many journalists who wanted to come to her area to gather information or conduct personal interviews with her.

However, she was in a bad mood at the time, and the reporters were really annoying. So, after all the bold reporters were hung on poles several meters high and used as scarecrows for half a month, they all became obedient.

To a large extent, her infamous reputation as the "Hanada Tyrant," which is now known to everyone in Gensokyo, stems largely from the reporters she has disciplined.

After all, in Gensokyo these days, newspapers can be considered a fairly important tool.

However, Kazami Yuuka didn't care about such things at all. Although the name didn't sound very nice, it at least made her life much quieter.

Among the journalists from various newspapers, the only ones who left a slight impression on her were Aya Shameimaru and her two companions.

As a mini newspaper consisting of only three people, Aya Shameimaru and her friends can be said to be struggling to survive in the cracks. As the first group of people on the mountain of youkai to have received formal internships in the newspaper in hell, each of the three of them can be considered a talent.

In reality, those major newspapers did try to hire them with high salaries, but Aya Shameimaru and the others resigned after working at those newspapers for only a few days.

The benefits at the big newspaper were high, but as low-level special correspondents, they had no right to write their own news. There was a lot of darkness on Monster Mountain, but even if they wanted to expose it in the newspaper, it would never be published.

Capital only cares about profits.

However, this kind of thing is unacceptable to Aya Shameimaru, who once interned at the newspaper run by the Oni clan, to Hadate Himekaido, or to Momiji Inubashiri.

It was precisely because of this that the three hit it off and took out all their savings and spent a great deal of effort to establish a mini newspaper that was not even worthy of being called a small newspaper.

Things are not the same as before. Due to the changes in the world, they can no longer travel freely between Hell and the human world as before. Even the entrance to the underground city in the old Hell has been closed for many years for some inexplicable reason, and there is still no sign of it being opened.

Apart from the top-tier great youkai, everyone else's activities are restricted to Gensokyo. Compared to the golden age when they could freely travel to various places and obtain valuable news with just a little effort, it is now almost impossible.

Therefore, due to these and other factors, the mini newspaper company formed by Aya Shameimaru, Hatake Himekaidou, and Momiji Inubashiri was simply not competitive in this environment.

Their mini-newspaper has been around for almost a year now. In that year, they have published twelve issues... and sold less than four figures in total. Their best-selling issue only sold a few hundred copies.

If things continued like this, their mini-newspaper would inevitably go bankrupt, so for the sake of their dream, the three of them came up with a terrible idea.

That is, to risk shooting and finding some exclusive news.

For example, they could find the right opportunity, and wait for the time when their own Heavenly Demon Lord would occasionally come to the sunflower field to fight with the Flower Tyrant there. The three of them could then split up and risk sneaking into the sunflower field to capture firsthand footage.

Of course, there are great risks involved. For example, they might be caught in the aftermath of a battle between two top-tier monsters and seriously injured, or they would be 100% captured by the Flower Tyrant, the owner of the Sunflower Field. But in order to get first-hand exclusive news and save the newspaper, the three of them can be considered to be going all out.

The first adventurous photo shoot yielded surprising results; that issue of the newspaper sold several hundred copies, more than ten times their previous record!

Of course, the price to pay for doing so is also severe.

Of the three, Inuzomi was left behind by the Flower Tyrant. She worked cautiously in the sunflower field as a substitute fertilizer for almost half a month before being released by the Flower Tyrant.

...and then the rest is obvious.

It's just tending to the flower field, not using it as fertilizer. Anyone can do that, right? Besides, staying in the flower field gives you access to top-secret, firsthand information about the sunflower fields—it's a guaranteed profit!

—If it weren't for these exclusive news stories unique to them, the total sales of their 12 issues wouldn't even exceed 100.

So, having tasted the sweetness of success, they couldn't possibly give up this first-hand exclusive news in order to save their newspaper and realize their dreams. After that, they went several more times. Basically, each of the three of them was left behind by that flower tyrant to take care of the sunflower field once or twice.

Of course, despite the care they received, the tyrant of flowers never gave them a kind look, so they lived in constant fear, afraid that they might be used as fertilizer by the tyrant when he was in a bad mood.

Although other reporters heard about this wealth secret and wanted to follow suit, after the worst case of someone who stayed in the hospital for almost half a year before being discharged, no one dared to try anything reckless.

Even so, Kazami Yuuka only had a vague impression of Shameimaru Aya and the others.

Previously, when Hirain came to the sunflower field to fight Kazami Yuuka as usual, Shameimaru Aya and the other two were also prepared as usual, secretly sneaking into the sunflower field to take pictures. As for which of the three of them would be left behind by the Flower Tyrant, that would all depend on their luck.

What they never expected was that there were other people in the sunflower field, where no outsiders would ever appear in the past.

Since the Flower Tyrant didn't seem to be in the sunflower field, and their newspaper was facing increasingly difficult circumstances, almost to the point of not being able to afford food, after having to choose between going home empty-handed and hungry, or getting the most sensational exclusive news, the three of them secretly carried away a certain bewildered tsukumogami...

This is precisely why a series of events followed.

"So, Huan Yue, Meng Yue, and Xiao San are temporarily staying with you?"

Shi Bai reached up and pressed his forehead, feeling a strange headache coming on.

"It was just a perfect collaboration."

Shameimaru Aya held up a finger in front of him, her face serious.

"They have a wealth of firsthand, top-secret news about the Western world, which is extremely valuable. They happen to have no savings and no jobs, and they seem quite interested, so they've joined our newspaper... Now we have six people in our newspaper!!!"

"Hmm? So, it seems like you have a very high chance of winning this competition?"

Shi Bai reached out and touched his chin, looking thoughtful.

"So, you don't need my help, right?"

"It only gives us the qualification to compete for the final victory; it's too early to talk big..."

Shameimaru Aya slumped back onto the table, looking utterly exhausted.

"You wouldn't believe it, our newspaper is almost bankrupt. We've run out of money, and not only are we not paying salaries, but Hua has even had to take on patrol duties to earn money..."

"...So you guys came here to borrow money?"

When he came to his senses, his pale face looked rather strange.

"How can you bear to see us go hungry?"

With a swift movement, she pulled the still-unresponsive Himekaido Yutachi in front of her, her eyes wide open, and Shameimaru Aya unhesitatingly began to betray her teammates and complain.

"You wouldn't believe it, Yuli and I have been starving these past few days. We've been running all over the mountains hunting for game, but as you know, there's hardly any game these days. And the Demon Mountain has a strict rule against disturbing humans without reason. Otherwise, Yuli has even tried to sneak off to the human village several times to steal a few chickens to help us get some nutrition..."

"That's clearly your master... Ughhhh!!!"

“Look, Yuli is so hungry she’s talking nonsense.”

With lightning speed, he covered the other person's mouth, ignoring Himekaido Yutaka's desperate struggles in his hand. Shameimaru Aya sighed helplessly.

"Me, Yuli, and Hua all share a common dream, but faced with harsh reality, we don't know if we can hold onto it. Seriously, just a few days ago, the three of us were starving all day. If we hadn't stumbled upon two roasted sweet potatoes in a small grove on Monster Mountain, we probably wouldn't have had the strength to walk. Those two meager roasted sweet potatoes, even though we were all hungry ourselves, Yuli resolutely gave them to Hua and me..."

"It was you, you bastard, who tricked me... mmm—"

Finally managing to remove the other person's hand from her mouth, the enraged and embarrassed Himekaido Yuri hadn't even had a chance to utter a complete sentence before Shameimaru Aya used her other hand, covering her mouth completely with both hands...

"See, I wasn't wrong, was I? Yu Li is so hungry she's talking nonsense and her memory is all over the place. It's a pity I don't even have the money to take her to see a doctor..."

As he spoke these words, a few tears even welled up in the eyes of one of the crow tengu.

—Although she still didn't hesitate to strike.

Shi Bai: "..."

Hmm... a blatant case of fake sisterhood.

Just as he was about to speak, utterly speechless, a certain journalist who would later become world-famous in Gensokyo pulled another stunt on him.

"Shi Bai, do you still remember all the wonderful memories we shared?"

Looking up, Aya Shameimaru's face was full of deep affection.

"Back then, Yu Li clung to you like a spoiled child, refusing to get up and wanting you to sleep with her, while Hua was much more obedient; she just wanted you..."

"I'll strangle you, you bastard!!!"

Before Aya Shameimaru could finish her sentence, Himekaido Hatake, her face flushed red, broke free of her restraints and pounced on her with brute force. With the sound of a chair falling to the ground, the two best friends wrestled together on the grass.

"...Ahem, they were just little kids back then, only five or six years old, about the same age as Alice, or even a little younger."

Noticing the unusually amused look in Kazami Yuuka's eyes, Shi Bai coughed lightly, made a fist, and spoke seriously, as if he had nothing to hide and was unafraid of ghosts knocking on his door in the middle of the night.

"It's just for teasing kids... I have some photos of them from that time, would you like me to show them to you?"