The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

"If the Oni race truly still needs my power, I'm willing to stay. But since the Oni race no longer needs my power..."

"Please set me free."

P.S.: Ah, this is the first update at noon. Looks like the timing was perfect.

Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Reasons for the Disappearance of the Age of Gods

Ibaraki Kasen eventually left.

Just as she said before, once she has made a decision, no one can change it.

At that moment, Hoshiguma Yuugi silently watched his best friend's figure disappear into the vast night, and then he dragged Shiro to the top of the Youkai Mountain and drank alone all night.

The four people who once drank heartily together on the mountaintop have ultimately become strangers.

"This is just a normal thing. There are joyous gatherings, and naturally there are partings. After all, all good things must come to an end."

Turning his head to gaze at the rising sun on the horizon, the person who had spent the entire night drinking with Hoshiguma Yuugi calmly shook his head.

Although he drank an unknown amount of alcohol that night, there was no trace of drunkenness on his face, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter, eventually shining as brightly as the stars in the night sky.

"A temporary separation is only for a better reunion."

"...You're leaving too? Don't you plan to stay on the Monster Mountain a little longer?"

After a moment of silence, Hoshiguma Yuugi suddenly spoke up and asked the black-haired man in front of him a question.

"I've been here for quite a while now. Now that I've achieved all my goals for coming to the Monster Mountain, it's time for me to leave."

Shi Bai waved his hand, stood up from the ground, and walked towards the mountain path.

"Hmm... If I have time in the future, I'll still come here occasionally to have a drink with you guys. I just hope you won't kick me out then."

"what……"

Looking down at the empty bottles scattered on the ground, a fleeting sadness crossed Hoshiguma Yuugi's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

"...I would be more than happy to."

……………………………………………………………

Although it only took less than two days in total, the situation on Monster Mountain undoubtedly underwent a dramatic change.

Whether it was the Tengu clan's recapture of the entire Demon Mountain under the leadership of the Heavenly Demon, or the cleanup and remnants that the Oni clan needed to deal with.

It is foreseeable that the area around the Monster Mountain will not be peaceful in the coming period.

Long before he went to the mountaintop to find Hoshiguma Yuugi, Shi Bai had secretly followed two little girls and completed the Loli Earth Spirit Palace encyclopedia... Of course, he would never tell anyone about something like this.

Under the care of the demon clan, Xiao Wu and Lianlian were still quite depressed, but the fact that their entire clan had been wiped out in the war and only the two of them remained could only be gradually healed by the passage of time.

Even he couldn't help with something like this.

In fact, most things that can be solved by force are not difficult at all; destruction is often easier than creation.

Shi Bai thought to himself that there were few problems in the world that could stump him, but in the end he had to helplessly discover that there were too many things that could not be solved by strength alone.

Just like Komeiji Satori and Komeiji Ren, the only sisters of the Satori clan in the world, can he help them erase the grief of their clan's annihilation from their hearts?

Or perhaps it's like the inner demons that plagued Ibaraki Kasen for hundreds or even thousands of years. These are things that only the person involved can overcome; others can only offer a little external help at most.

Strength is not everything.

...But without power, you can't even do something like secretly filming a little girl!

Someone spoke in a loud voice.

After bidding farewell to Hoshiguma Yuugi, Tokihaku embarked on his journey home.

After extorting a case of beer from him, the cunning rabbit disappeared again that same day. But given the rabbit's lucky streak, nothing bad probably happened to it, so he didn't bother to care.

After all, everyone has their own life, their own joys and sorrows, and their own affairs. The world never revolves around any one person, and Shi Bai undoubtedly understands this very clearly.

Escorted by a white wolf-tengu, he returned to the foot of the mountain. For some reason, the white wolf-tengu remained unusually silent throughout the journey.

"Alright, we'll meet again someday."

After looking up at the clear blue sky with his eyes slightly narrowed, Shi Bai nodded, tapped his head with his finger, and began to speak to the other person with a smile.

"But I hope that when we meet again, you will have matured a bit and won't be so reckless in the future. When you encounter problems, think them through more before you act."

"You, you will...where are you planning to go?"

The white-haired, beast-eared girl opened her mouth, looking hesitant to speak.

"I'll wander around and see the sights. It'll probably be a long time before Shenqi and the others return. In the meantime, I plan to... um..."

After thinking for a moment, Shi Bai turned around and waved to the back of him in a nonchalant manner.

"That's just how it is. Since waking up, I've hardly seen the world properly. I was planning to travel around the world a bit first... to see if I could pick up a little girl named Purple Mom..."

"........."

As the figure gradually disappeared from his sight, Inuzoki Kaba subconsciously clenched the item in his hand that he had never had the courage to give away.

After standing still for a long time, the white wolf tengu silently turned around, and faint whispers seemed to drift on the wind.

"Next time... next time..."

A gentle breeze swept by, swirling up a fallen leaf and sending it tumbling away to some unknown, distant place.

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

When the sun was high in the sky, they stopped in a vast field with excellent scenery. Shi Bai opened his eyes and spoke to the person behind him.

"Alright, can you come out now? I think it's very inappropriate for someone of your status as a Ghost King to follow behind someone as weak, helpless, and pitiful as me for so long, isn't it?"

"I am no longer the Ghost King."

As a voice rang out, Ibaraki Kasen's figure gracefully emerged from behind a large tree. Perhaps because she finally had the courage to face her inner conflict, she wore a bright smile.

"But so what? After all, Hoshiguma Yuugi has already taken a step back. No matter when you go back, the Oni will still acknowledge you as their Oni King."

With a slight pout, Shi Bai turned around and looked at Ibaraki Kasen not far behind him.

"So, shouldn't you have left Monster Mountain last night? Why are you still following me?"

"I'm not familiar with this world, so I'm hoping to find a travel companion to journey with."

Ibaraki Kasen responded quite calmly to Shi Bai's question.

"Also, could you tell me in detail what an immortal is?"

"I want to hear the truth."

Looking up at the sky, Shi Bai rolled his eyes.

"Uh... those wines you brought out were really good..."

Ibaraki Kasen turned her head away, slightly embarrassed.

"After leaving the Oni clan, I've had a hard time getting any alcohol. If I travel with you, I might be able to drink every day... But if there's anything I can help with, I'll definitely do my best to help!"

Shi Bai: "..."

...I knew you just wanted some of my wine!

"Alright, it's lunchtime now, come and have lunch with us. Didn't you say you'd help without hesitation if there's anything we needed?"

With a sigh and a hand over his forehead, Shi Bai spoke to Ibaraki Kasen, who was not far away.

"How about this, could you go and catch a few pigeons for me? I suddenly feel like having some pigeon soup."

"……Pigeon?"

"It's a 'coo' bird. It should be easy to find, since pigeons usually gather in large groups, and a single coo can attract a whole flock..."

"Uh……"

Half an hour later, on this vast plain, Shi Bai put down the soup bowl in his hand with satisfaction.

"The pigeon soup is indeed very delicious... So, what questions do you have?"

"The immortals you mentioned to me before, what were you referring to?"

After nodding in agreement, Ibaraki Kasen put down her soup bowl and earnestly asked Shi Bai for advice.

"Immortals? The so-called immortals are those who are free and unrestrained, unbound by anything. They watch the sunrise in the east, rest their heads on the moonlight in the south, admire the vast desert in the west, and drink from the sea in the north, living like mayflies in the universe, as insignificant as a grain of millet in the vast ocean..."

At this point, Shi Bai himself started laughing.

"Actually, there has never been a clear conclusion about immortals. What I just said is just my own feeling about immortals."

"Is that an immortal...?"

After a brief silence, Ibaraki Kasen suddenly asked another question.

"How exactly can one become an immortal?"

"Even if you asked me about something like this, how could I possibly know? After all, I'm not some kind of immortal."

Shi Bai spread his hands, his face showing complete innocence.

"But being an immortal is not just a title. If you keep searching for ways to become an immortal, you will never become one."

"Why is this again?"

Ibaraki Kasen seemed slightly curious.

"I don't know. By the way, where did you come from, a walking encyclopedia of questions?"

Faced with Ibaraki Kasen's endless stream of questions, Shi Bai rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I'm not an encyclopedia, so why do you all always ask me these strange questions? If you want to know the answers, why don't you explore them yourselves? As the saying goes, man follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature... Hey, this pigeon isn't roasted properly. You need to add more cumin. It doesn't taste good without cumin."

Before he could finish his sentence, Shi Bai hurriedly took the roasted pigeon from Ibaraki Kasen's hands.

"Uh……"

Watching the man in front of her busy sprinkling cumin on the pigeon, Ibaraki Kasen paused for a moment before completely giving up her idea of ​​trying to roast a "gu" and contentedly waiting to eat the ready-made roasted pigeon.

...Then she saw that after the other person finished roasting the "gu", they took it back to their own bowl and ate it without any qualms.

"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that? If you want to eat it, why don't you grill it yourself?"

The person looked completely bewildered.

"...I've been roasting that pigeon you just took over for a long time."

Ibaraki Kasen remained silent.

"Hmm, you've controlled the heat well. Keep it up."

After thinking for a moment, Shi Bai gave Ibaraki Kasen a thumbs up.

"........."

"Alright, you've asked me so many questions before, now it's time for me to ask you some, isn't it?"

After thoughtfully placing all the seasonings in front of Ibaraki Kasen, Shi Bai continued eating the roasted pigeon in his hand while asking her a question.

"Could you please tell me a little about the composition of this new world? To be honest, I'm not very clear about these things..."

"...What do you want to know?"

With a resigned sigh, Ibaraki Kasen resumed her grand business of roasting pigeons.

"This is the age of monsters and gods. Although the names may vary in other regions, the general situation is the same."

"Hmm... Have you ever heard of Odin?"

After thinking for a moment, Shi Bai asked the other party.

Since even Amaterasu has appeared, then it's likely that in this Age of Gods, which later generations of humans referred to as the Age of Gods, there must also be those familiar figures.

"I naturally know the leader of the Western gods... What's wrong?"

"Ahem...it's nothing. So, what about the others?"

"Anything else?"

A complex emotion flickered in her eyes, and Ibaraki Kasen nodded.

"They are perhaps the closest beings to immortals in my eyes."