The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

Whether it's the ancient and mysterious East, the desert with its yellow sands, or the mythical Penglai Mountain or the distant Iceland, they all leave their mark.

I've been to the demon realm, I've smuggled myself into heaven, I've wreaked havoc in hell, and I've lingered in those secret realms of the West.

However, the more places you travel, the more places you visit, the more things you see, and the more experiences you have.

Eirin Yagokoro discovers that the time she misses most is still the time in that bamboo forest when she began to learn and practice medicine under the tutelage of the other person...

I miss the bamboo grove of yesteryear, and I also miss the leisurely sunshine of those days.

But perhaps more than anything, it's about missing someone.

Perhaps that's why she ultimately chose to settle in the bamboo forest.

However, in the empty bamboo forest and the vast Eien-tei Pavilion, only the three of them were with them from beginning to end.

Cold and desolate, or perhaps more accurately, lonely?

To be honest, she didn't really know much about these things.

But after everything settles down, won't everything eventually return to its original state?

Looking at the ray of sunlight streaming in through the window, Yagokoro Eirin suddenly felt a long-lost sense of peace.

She suddenly burst out laughing.

PS: Good morning!

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Accident

Do not sing the lament of the past, for the Milky Way also exists in the human world.

The sun is shining brightly, and the scenery is beautiful.

Red flowers, green grass.

"...So you can't just teleport in directly?"

Looking at the winding, secluded bamboo forest in front of him, Shi Bai turned to Yakumo Yukari beside him with a pain in his teeth and began to speak.

"Well, I did that before and got a beating from Eirin Yagokoro."

With her folding fan open, partially obscuring her face, Yukari Yakumo's tone seemed rather melancholic.

"Later, your good student made corresponding protective measures and improvements to this bamboo forest. If I had rashly gone in, I probably would have walked straight into the trap she had prepared for me, right?"

"So what exactly did you do before?"

Shi Bai turned his head and glanced at Yakumo Yukari beside him with a suspicious look.

"I remember Eirin's personality was quite kind; the phrase 'calm as water' best describes her. Why did you fight with her?"

“You didn’t ask her anything when Kazami Yuuka fought with her before.”

Yakumo Yukari spoke softly.

Is the difference in treatment between the two of us really that obvious?

"Come on, we don't seem to know each other that well, do we?"

Shi Bai pursed his lips.

"In matters like this, isn't it natural to favor those who are closer to you?"

"Tch... I just impersonated you for a bit."

She seemed to scoff to herself as Yakumo Yukari closed her fan and tucked it into her sleeve, looking sullen.

"I originally wanted to use your name to trick her into helping me build Gensokyo, but I didn't expect her to see through my disguise at first glance... My disguise was flawless."

"...You're lucky you weren't beaten to death."

Rolling his eyes, Shi Bai stepped into the bamboo forest in front of him. However, he hadn't gone far when he saw Yakumo Yukari following closely behind him and stopped, somewhat speechless.

"I was just going to see my student. You didn't need to come along for something like this, did you?"

"Coincidentally, I also need to see Yagokoro Eirin about something."

When he looked at her, Yukari Yakumo nodded calmly.

"Since we can't see her through normal means, we have no choice but to resort to this unconventional method."

"What the hell is a normal visit considered abnormal... Can't you just walk in through the door properly?"

Shi Bai replied curtly, not caring much about it, and continued walking deeper into the bamboo forest.

"How many times have I told you to use the main gate, use the main gate, use the main gate? But you're always climbing through windows... This bamboo looks nice. Looks like I can come over and dig some bamboo shoots to take back later. By the way, do you like bamboo shoots?"

Realizing something was amiss halfway through his sentence, Shi Bai quickly changed his words.

"I think you know better than I do what I like to eat, right?"

As a hand draped over his shoulder, Yukari Yakumo's voice drifted softly behind him.

"We don't seem to be that close, do we? So when did you say those kinds of things to me so many times?"

"Ahem... It was just a slip of the tongue."

Shi Bai stiffened slightly, coughed a few times, and then continued walking forward.

"You see, you didn't come into my shop through the main entrance, did you? So... could you let go of my hand first?"

"Really? But this only seems to have happened this once, right? How do you know I'm like this every time?"

Her other hand followed suit, and Yakumo Yukari rested her chin on Shibai's shoulder, then whispered in his ear.

“I was in a deep sleep for a while. Do you know what I dreamed about during that time? It seems like it happened a long time ago. I remember you described it as something like… ‘Refining the Heart in the Mortal World’?”

"I was the one who brought you out back then, so I'll at least bring you back. The outside world isn't peaceful, especially in recent years, the situation seems to have deteriorated drastically. Many worlds have been corrupted, and it would be terrible if you were to be corrupted by it, after all, corruption is something..."

His figure suddenly blurred, and then Shi Bai appeared like a ghost about ten meters in front of Yakumo Yukari. Turning around to look at Yakumo Yukari, Shi Bai had a righteous expression on his face.

"So, to ensure your safety, I was watching the whole thing, and it's perfectly normal for me to know all this. It's just that if word got out about this kind of spying, it would be too damaging to my image, so I didn't tell you."

"Oh, are you sure it was just spying?"

Yukari Yakumo had a half-smile on her face.

"But why is it that in every lifetime I encounter a being that leaves an indelible mark on my soul? And quite coincidentally, in my dreams, the images of those beings eventually converge and transform into the appearance of a single person?"

"I can understand the saying, 'What you think about during the day, you dream about at night.'"

Shi Bai coughed a few times.

"After all, I am the guide in your life, or rather your destiny. I can understand that you have some aspirations and ideas about me, but that cannot be a reason for you to slander me... Do I look like the kind of person who would casually deceive other people's feelings with such a perverse sense of humor?"

"No, because you're worse than a beast."

After glancing at him, Yukari Yakumo suddenly sighed.

"To be honest, I don't know how to evaluate you. You are probably the oldest existence in the world, a living antique, a living fossil, but after all these years, you don't even have a partner."

"Ahem...like that kind of thing..."

"Don't worry, I have no feelings for you. I just want to resolve a question in my heart. I am a sage of monsters who has lived for countless years. Those fleeting memories have no effect on me at all."

She opened her folding fan again to cover half her face, and Yakumo Yukari regained her initial elegance.

"I originally thought you would become a little more honest, but now it seems..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the sage seemed to shake his head in disdain.

"Hmm? You don't mind?"

"What impact could those fleeting memories, totaling less than a few hundred years, have on a great demon who has lived for an unknown amount of time?"

With her elbow resting on the palm of her other hand, Yukari Yakumo looked completely calm and collected.

"I get more sleep time in a single night than that, so who would care about those trivial, fragmented things?"

"Really? Then I'll be relieved."

Shi Bai wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

“Okay, I admit it, those people were all imposters. The reason I gave earlier was part of it, and another part was…”

"You bastard who deceived the feelings of an innocent young girl!!!"

Before Shi Bai could finish speaking, Yakumo Yukari suddenly appeared in front of him in a flash, grabbing his collar and yelling at him fiercely.

"How about that? You can't deny it now, can you?! I recorded everything you just said!!!"

"Uh……"

Staring blankly at Yakumo Yukari in front of him, Shi Bai was suddenly dumbfounded.

...Didn't you say you didn't care?

P.S.: Good morning!

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The So-Called Knot

Lost in the bamboo forest.

The lazy sunlight shone faintly through the dense bamboo and into the forest, casting dappled spots of light on the ground.

In the hazy light and shadow, a girl with long golden hair (?) was gritting her teeth and grabbing a man's collar.

"You can't deny it this time. So, all those despicable guys were you after all, weren't they?!"

"Uh... was it really necessary to react so strongly?"

Shi Bai's lips twitched slightly as he had never seen Yakumo Yukari so out of control before.

"You are, after all, a dignified sage among demons, a great demon who has lived for countless years. Let bygones be bygones, let bygones be bygones..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yakumo Yukari bit his shoulder hard.

Those who spread poison and tear each other apart are all bastards!!!

Shi Bai: "..."

five minutes later.

"I can withstand a black hole with my bare hands, and you still come up here to bite me? Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

Looking at Yakumo Yukari, who was sitting under the bamboo with her chin in her hands, sulking, Shi Bai had a look of both amusement and exasperation on his face.

"Then you did it on purpose."

Covering her chin, Yukari Yakumo let out a cold snort.

After a brief moment of losing her composure, her dignity as a sage of demons allowed her to successfully regain her composure.

In other secluded places, such as her own private space, things would be alright. But here in the bamboo forest, on Yagokoro Eirin's territory, if she were to lose her composure and have it recorded and spread... she would face social death.

—She is a sage among monsters.

"But didn't I completely loosen my defenses later on?"

Shi Bai looked somewhat helpless.

"Look at my shoulder, you even left teeth marks on it... Is it necessary to hate me so much? I clearly said I wouldn't hold it against you."

"The person who said they didn't care was me back then, not me now."

With a cold snort, Yakumo Yukari stood up from the ground.

"This matter is far from over. You've repeatedly deceived the feelings of innocent and naive young girls. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

"Uh... I think you should fall into the BBA category."

Shi Bai coughed a few times.

"The term 'young girl' is usually used to refer to characters like Hieda Nana or Fujiwara no Mokou. At your age, you should be called 'Mama Murasaki'... And you still dare to come here!!"

He hurriedly took a few steps back and quickly assumed a defensive posture in front of him.

"I am 17 years old this year."

She glanced at him, opened her folding fan to cover the lower half of her face, and Yakumo Yukari regained the elegance she had as a youkai sage, her face calm and composed.

"That matter isn't over yet, and I'll settle the score with you again later, but let's leave it at that for today. Think carefully about how you're going to make it up to me. The crimes you've committed are simply too numerous to count."

"It's just a small matter, it's all in the past, there's no need to dwell on it anymore, right?"