The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

He wasn't planning on sleeping tonight anyway, since he wasn't really sleepy at all... Hmm?

As if suddenly sensing something, Shi Bai turned his head with a slightly puzzled look, and then saw a figure carrying a cup of hot tea push open the door and walk in.

"Inuzoku Kaba? Aren't you asleep yet?"

Seeing the white-haired, animal-eared girl walking towards him wearing a coat, Shi Bai couldn't help but ask her a question, looking slightly puzzled.

If he remembered correctly, the other party had drunk the most at the banquet this afternoon, to the point that he staggered and collapsed on the table before the banquet was even over. He should have been helped into a room in the backyard by Inuzoki Momiji and Hatate to rest long ago. How come he suddenly got up now?

"I suddenly woke up... Your tea."

With a faint, almost imperceptible flush on his face from being drunk, Inuzoki Kaba placed the cup of hot tea he was holding on the table.

What are you doing right now?

"Ah Qi asked me to help her organize the manuscript. After all, it was written from a human perspective, and there are too many presumptuous speculations and errors. I plan to help her correct it tonight."

Shi Bai reached out and took the cup of hot tea, then smiled at the other person.

"Thank you. It's getting late, you should go to sleep too."

"...Why use such an affectionate term of address for such an ordinary human being?"

She showed no intention of leaving; instead, she stood even closer and spoke softly.

"You call my sister 'Hua', but why do you only use my name when you call me?"

"...You're drunk."

After turning his head and staring at the girl in front of him for a moment, Shi Bai couldn't help but chuckle.

"If you want me to call you that from now on, that's fine too, as long as you don't mind. Alright, it's getting late, and it's freezing cold, Hua, you should go and get some rest too."

"That's not the answer I'm looking for."

Stubbornly shaking her head, the girl boldly reached out and wrapped her arms around the other person's neck, leaning her body against him. A unique fragrance emanating from the girl instantly wafted towards them.

"You surely know what the answer I want is. Tell me the real answer."

"That's why I said you were drunk... If it were your normal self, you definitely wouldn't do something like this."

With a sigh, Shi Bai gently pressed the back of the other's head, and in an instant, the girl in his arms slumped against him and fell into a deep sleep.

"If you want to know the answer, please ask me at a normal time..."

Turning his head to look behind the door, which remained completely still, Shi Bai's lips twitched slightly. He then stood up, picked up the girl in his arms, and walked towards the backyard.

Just as he reached the doorway, he saw several figures hurriedly disappear into the darkness.

"These guys..."

Shaking his head with a hint of helplessness, Shi Bai placed the girl in his arms on the bed, tucked her in, and then returned to the front hall.

The night was starkly silent amidst the swirling snow, while someone stood guard over the light in the darkness.

P.S.: Good morning!

Chapter Twenty-Five: Winter Season

At dawn, the world was covered in white snow.

"I always have a terrible headache..."

With a long sword at his side and dressed in patrol attire, the early-rising white wolf tengu sat at the table, tapping his forehead with a headache.

"Who told you to drink so much last night? Your headache is just a normal hangover."

Shi Bai smiled as he pushed a cup of hot ginger tea in front of the other person.

"What, are you going on patrol again today?"

"After all, it's work... Thank you."

Seemingly having no memory of what happened last night, Inuzoki Kaba accepted the cup of ginger tea and thanked Shi Bai somewhat awkwardly.

"Also, I'm entrusting my sister to your care."

"It's just a small matter, there's absolutely no need to take it to heart... Come over here for lunch. It's not good to live alone in such terrible weather. You should stay here with me until the snow stops."

With a casual wave of his hand, Shi Bai returned to his original position and continued to help Hieda Aqi revise the thick stack of manuscripts piled up beside him.

"Also, remember to wear more clothes. It's freezing cold, so be careful not to catch a cold."

"Uh...but..."

"Don't make excuses. Hua came here with this in mind. If you go back to your own home, you'll find that you can't find any clothes or blankets, because all your belongings were packed up and brought here by them."

Shi Bai pursed his lips and interrupted the other person.

"Aren't you surprised that I have clothes here that fit you? Those girls were just thinking of doing this without asking questions first... and I'm sure this idea was definitely Wenwen's idea."

Recalling the dark figures he had been spying on from the doorway the night before, Shi Bai's words carried a hint of toothache.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. I've already made breakfast for you and it's warming up on the stove. Remember to take it with you when you go out."

Seeing that the white-haired, animal-eared girl in front of him seemed to be hesitant to speak, Shi Bai waved his hand and directly cut her off.

"Hua, just continue with your work. Remember to come back for lunch. That's all."

"But... wait, what did you just call me?"

Before he could finish his sentence, Inuzoki Kaba's eyes lit up as if he had suddenly realized something.

"Hua, or rather, you can ask me to call you by your name..."

"I'll come over around noon!!"

"Uh……"

Looking at the girl in front of him who suddenly became full of energy and whose headache disappeared, running out the door like a gust of wind, Shi Bai's lips twitched slightly.

"It's just a name... Is it really that exaggerated?"

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

A heavy snowfall overnight blanketed the world in white.

As dawn broke, the heavy snowfall finally stopped intensifying, but the snowflakes continued to fall, and the temperature continued to drop.

In just one night, the snow piled up in the courtyard was almost enough to spill into the house.

However, before Shibai could suggest that everyone go and shovel the snow, Ellie, the gatekeeper of the Dream Pavilion, and Yumezuki, who considered herself his maid, volunteered to take on the task, while Inuzomi Momiji had already been diligently shoveling snow.

Huan Yue couldn't bear to see her younger sister working alone in the snow, so she joined in. Tatara Kosara followed closely behind out of curiosity.

As a result, Aya Shameimaru, who looked unwilling, was also forcibly dragged out of the warm kotatsu by Hatake Himekaido and added to the battlefield...

So in the end, only Kazami Yuuka, Hieda Oshichi, Hirain Hajime, and Tokihaku remained in the house, enough to make a mahjong table.

...and then they actually started playing mahjong.

It has to be said that with Hieda Ashichi as a special existence who can balance his luck, Shi Bai can finally enjoy the fun of playing cards. Playing cards like before is completely meaningless. After all, what's fun about winning every time?

Unfortunately, Shi Bai, who was used to winning by luck, was theoretically on par with Heca in terms of card skills once luck was removed.

Four pounds against eight ounces, a clash of titans.

However, the other three players weren't much better at cards either, since it was basically their first time playing...

Needless to say, Kazami Yuuka, who is used to being alone all year round, and Kamehida Shichi, who is buried in completing his manuscript all year round, also need no further explanation. Hirain Hana wanted to find someone to play cards with to pass the time on the Youkai Mountain, but due to his special status, he also could not find a suitable card player.

Although she often went to Ibaraki Kasen to drink and play chess on weekdays, she had never actually played mahjong with four people before.

Since everyone was a beginner, the atmosphere at the card table was quite pleasant... except for one person.

"...So why is it always me who loses the worst again?"

Shi Bai tore off the note stuck to his face, his expression showing a conflicted look.

"The food itself is the original sin."

With a slight pout, and noticing that the people sweeping snow outside were almost finished, Hirain stood up from the table.

"Because of my status, I can't stay here for long. I didn't go home last night, and Da Tengu has already nagged me for ages. I don't want her to come here in such a big way..."

With a hint of jealousy in her eyes, Hiragin Hana glanced at Kazami Yuuka, who was calmly sipping her tea, and began to speak.

"By the way, I will still make time to come over in the future."

“I have a better experience. Why don’t you just stay here? You’d be very welcome.”

With a soft chuckle, Kazami Yuuka put down her teacup and met the other person's gaze without flinching.

"I have the resolve to give up everything. Do you? If you really have the courage to abandon everything on Youkai Mountain, what's wrong with me letting you stay here for a long time?"

"...Hmph, I know exactly what I'm doing."

With a muffled groan, after glancing at Shi Bai, Riluoyuan Ban turned and walked towards the door.

But she hadn't gone far before she turned back and started to seriously instruct Hieda Shichi, who had been in a daze since that conversation began.

"Please remember to keep my identity a secret."

Baedian Ah Qi: “………”

P.S.: Good morning! (?O｀)

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Lake of Mist

The cold wind is like a knife, using the earth as its chopping board and all living beings as its prey.

Snowflakes fly for thousands of miles, turning the sky into a furnace, melting all things into white forge.

—The source of this upheaval that affected the entire Gensokyo originated from the Lake of Mist.

Lake of Mist is located at the foot of Mountain of Yokai. It is a large lake that few people approach. During the day, the lake is shrouded in thick fog, making visibility very poor. Yokai easily gather here, especially in summer, when it is particularly easy to attract yokai to drink water. Many yokai live here.

The river that flows into the lake originates from the Mountain of Yokai. Occasionally, kappa (water spirits) drift downstream, and due to poor visibility, it's easy to mistakenly believe the lake is very large. In fact, it's not as big as it seems; it takes less than half an hour to circle the lake.

Since the powerful snow woman who ruled this misty lake disappeared hundreds of years ago, there has never been a true master here.

Countless battles between youkai have arisen from the dispute over the sovereignty of the Lake of Mist, but ultimately no definitive conclusion has been reached.

"This is it, the place with the heaviest chill that I've detected."

Standing by a lake shrouded in thick fog, Yakumo Ran's complexion looked rather unwell.

After all, because of what Kazami Yuuka had done to her before, she didn't have any good feelings towards either Kazami Yuuka or Tokihaku.

But now she has no choice but to ask the other party for help, which makes her feel inexplicably embarrassed.

This was the coldest winter since Gensokyo was established, and also the most abnormal winter. The snowflakes seemed to fall incessantly in Gensokyo, showing no sign of abating.

This has completely disrupted the order within Gensokyo, something that Yakumo Ran, who governs Gensokyo on behalf of the sleeping youkai sage, absolutely cannot tolerate.

However, after a month of hard work, although she found the source of the anomaly, with her current strength, she couldn't even delve into the source of the anomaly, let alone solve it.

Such a trivial matter could not possibly disturb Lady Yakumo Yukari, who was in a deep sleep. After making a choice between her own mission and her own honor, Yakumo Ran finally chose to seek help from someone.

"Uh... so it really is the Lake of Mist?"

Looking at the lakeside shrouded in thick fog despite the extreme cold, Shi Bai seemed lost in thought.

To be honest, when he saw Yakumo Ran come to his door with a humiliated expression, he almost thought something had happened.

After all, the expression on the other person's face at the time was too easy to misunderstand, not to mention that there was a journalist living in his house who was always eager to stir up trouble and report big news...

During this cold winter, Aya Shameimaru and her group from the news group, who were temporarily staying at her house, had given her quite a few things to do... The matter of Kaba Inuzo was just a minor matter, since she spent most of her day on duty on the mountain of yokai.

"Alright, I understand. Leave this to me. You can go back and rest now."

He casually tossed the few pieces of fried tofu he had brought along for lunch to the other person, and walked straight into the thick fog in front of him.

"Oh, and by the way, could you please tell Yuuka that I might be going back a little later today..."

His voice disappeared into the swirling snow.

"........."

After staring at the few pieces of fried tofu in her hand for a while, Yakumo Ran put them into her mouth.

She's been running around doing this for a while now, and honestly, she hasn't had a proper meal... This food looks pretty good, doesn't it?

As the shikigami of the sage yokai Yakumo Yukari, Ran Yakumo will take over her duties when Yakumo Yukari falls into a deep sleep.