The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

After seeing who it was, Shi Bai curled his lip and jumped down from the tree trunk.

"By the way, how were the items I provided? How effective were they against those ferocious beasts?"

"Hmm... the Vulcan cannon is very useful. The Ice Watermelon Pitcher and Corn Pitcher are very effective at restraining some grouped ferocious beasts. The shower head that can eliminate negative effects and curses has also been a great help."

After thinking for a moment, Hou Yi nodded.

"However, compared to those, I would prefer to order more recovery items and medicines from you. Of course, I will offer something of equal value in exchange."

"Sure, I have the most recovery items here, lots of blue and red potions, life potions and the like. Let's keep the original price."

With a snap of his fingers, Shi Bai handed over several cards.

"As for recovery-type medicines, I would recommend this [Peach] and [Oath of the Peach Garden]. One is for single-target healing, and the other is for group healing without discrimination. I haven't used these before, so you can ask them to test them out more."

"Thank you very much. Actually, I have another matter I would like to ask you for a favor."

After giving a slightly apologetic smile, Hou Yi took the cards and then took the longbow off his back.

Based on the style and color of the longbow, Shi Bai immediately recognized it as the one that Heng'e had carried on her back.

"This bow...!?"

Subconsciously, Shi Bai used his appraisal skill on the longbow that Hou Yi had sent him. After receiving the appraisal result, Shi Bai's face immediately turned extremely ugly.

P.S.: Good afternoon!

Chapter Nine: The Truth About Pure Fox

Just as when people mention Chang'e, most will think of the story of Chang'e flying to the moon, when people mention Hou Yi, most will think of the story of Hou Yi shooting down the sun.

However, firstly, the Eastern world is different from other worlds, and secondly, even if Hou Yi wanted to shoot down the suns, nine more suns wouldn't appear out of thin air. Therefore, Shi Bai never took such things too seriously.

But now that he has learned all the attributes of this longbow using his skill... he suddenly realized an extremely terrifying possibility.

"...I hope you can answer one question for me."

Looking up at Hou Yi in front of him, Shi Bai's tone suddenly turned slightly cold.

Was the marriage alliance between the Youqiong clan and the Tushan clan solely for the sake of this bow?

"You can say yes, you can say no."

Hou Yi glanced at Shi Bai with a slightly puzzled look, then answered frankly.

"Inter-clan marriages are essentially exchanges of benefits. Although the alliance between two clans can greatly promote the relationship between them, this bow is also a necessity in the marriage. An archer must have a bow that is most suitable for him, and this bow is the sealed heirloom of the Tushan clan."

"So, you should now know about the bow's capabilities and the price you have to pay?"

After hearing Hou Yi's words, Shi Bai's voice became even colder.

"A great calamity is about to befall us. It is merely a matter of sacrificing our own families for the greater good. For the sake of all living beings, what is such a small and insignificant price to pay?"

Although Hou Yi found the man's change in attitude a bit strange, he still answered with a serious expression.

"The traces of the four ancient ferocious beasts that were once sealed by the sages have become faintly visible. Each of them possesses extremely terrifying abilities. If they were to truly appear, thousands of miles would be flooded and tens of thousands of miles would be scorched earth. However, we have just experienced a great calamity and our vitality has not yet been restored, so some external help is necessary. Otherwise, the Tushan Clan would not have wanted to unseal this bow."

"Then let's move on to the next question... Does Heng'e know anything about this bow?"

"I don't know, because such top-secret matters are always known only to the clan leader. But I think that as my wife, she will understand and support my actions."

As if he had also vaguely sensed something, Hou Yi's expression darkened.

"This is a family matter between Heng'e and me, and it doesn't seem to require your excessive concern, does it?"

"Some things are matters of principle, and principles cannot be ignored."

Shi Bai glanced at Hou Yi in front of him and answered indifferently.

"This bow is an evil artifact. I will destroy it for you, and then I will compensate you with a better bow."

As he finished speaking, he exerted a heavy force on his longbow, and with a slight crack, the longbow shattered into countless fragments in his hand.

"It's no use, I was already prepared for that."

Looking calmly at the scene before him, Hou Yi remained composed as a longbow quietly took shape in his hands.

“This bow is indestructible. I have made a pact with it. No matter how many times it is destroyed, it will always reappear in my hands as its master… Aren’t you being a bit too nosy?”

"Sorry, but I'm the kind of person who can't stand to be wronged. Indestructible? I don't believe it."

Looking up at the night sky, Shi Bai reached out and gently pressed his forehead.

"Since you know the bow's abilities, you should understand better than I do just how evil it is. It will devour everything around you, and in the end, it will even devour you completely... If you don't want to die, hand the bow over to me. I don't have much patience."

"You can only gain by losing. Do you think you can get through this calamity without sacrificing anything? Don't be ridiculous."

Gripping his longbow tightly, Hou Yi's expression finally turned cold.

"Even if there's a price to pay, that's my business. What right do you have to judge me based on your position?"

"You want qualifications and a position? I can give them to you, because I simply cannot bear to see tragedy happen."

Shi Bai deliberately emphasized his tone.

"You offer your own fortune as a sacrifice, your own lifespan as a sacrifice, your own emotions as a sacrifice, your own blood relatives as a sacrifice... This bow will sacrifice everything you have, and the power it unleashes can kill almost anything in the world. You want to use this bow to deal with this great calamity, right? Sacrificing your small family for the greater good, just for the sake of all living beings... Your awareness is indeed great, but it's unnecessary."

"No need?"

Hou Yi's voice grew even colder.

"Your Excellency possesses such immense power, yet you do not use it to save the common people. Now you even wish to prevent me from doing so? Bu Zelu, a gentleman discerns the will of the people and seeks their peace. Is this the gentleman you speak of?"

"I have never claimed to be a gentleman. I have always defined myself as a villain. There are some things that you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Shi Bai narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression noncommittal.

"It's your business if you want to save the world, and it's your business if you want to sacrifice your own family, but when you do this, have you really asked how other people feel?"

"You mean Heng'e? Since she's my wife, she must understand my actions."

Raising his longbow, Hou Yi spoke coldly.

"To save all living beings, a small sacrifice is worthwhile. I can give up everything, so why can't she? If it's necessary, even I am within the scope of sacrifice, so what reason does she have to run away?"

"You've already been influenced by that bow. If this continues, you'll become completely possessed by evil."

Shi Bai frowned.

"Give me that bow, and I'll get you a better one with fewer side effects. I'll also provide you with more assistance. How about that? It's a good deal, isn't it?"

"It's too late, ever since I signed the contract with this bow. I chose this bow, and this bow chose me."

As Hou Yi drew back the bowstring, a jet-black arrow appeared on the bow, his tone icy.

“I know my own situation well and don’t need you to remind me. This level of emotional outburst is still within my control. A great calamity is coming, and I need greater power… but you absolutely cannot produce a bow with greater destructive power than this one.”

"To gain something, you must first give something; that's common sense."

With the bowstring pointed at him, Shi Bai snapped his fingers without a care.

“Yes, you’re right. While the price to pay for this bow is staggering, it’s actually equal to the price itself. Not everyone deserves the bow’s recognition; you may be the only one in the world right now… but I still won’t allow you to use it.”

"........."

Hou Yi remained silent, showing no intention of putting down his bow and arrows; he simply stared at him coldly.

"Don't look at me like that. Even with the power of this bow, you still can't kill me."

Shi Bai sneered.

"To be honest, I finally understand why I couldn't find Chunhu, and why Chunhu still hated Chang'e so much after killing you. You wanted to sacrifice your own family for the greater good, but did you ask how Chang'e felt?"

Shi Bai pointed to his forehead with his finger.

"Her emotions outweigh her reason. She's just a foolish girl who desperately craves love and hopes her ideal man is a peerless hero. But you never seemed to have any love for her, did you? No matter how much you hypnotize yourself, when the dream you've forcibly constructed for yourself shatters, she'll fall into despair, and her situation will probably be similar to Huashan's, or even worse... Chunhu? Just pure madness after forgetting herself."

"……what do you want to say in the end?"

After a moment of struggle, Hou Yi slowly lowered the bowstring, and the arrow that had been nocked on the bowstring disappeared without a trace.

"Give up your saintly ideas and stop imposing your will on others... Don't you think that's shameless?"

With a cold laugh, Shi Bai turned around.

"I will leave here tomorrow. I will deal with the four ancient ferocious beasts that have awakened. After that, I will forcibly go to the Heavenly Realm to completely eliminate any potential ten-day... threat in its infancy. After that, you should be able to handle the rest, right?"

"The Celestial Realm...?"

For some reason, Hou Yi suddenly froze in place.

"Also, it's best if I don't hear any news that you've used that bow... Although you haven't done anything wrong from beginning to end, and even seem extremely noble from an outsider's perspective, I've never been a good person."

Stopping in his tracks, Shi Bai spoke softly.

"Also, regarding her..."

There are some things that you will never know the truth hidden behind the layers of history unless you experience them for yourself.

For example, stories about Chunhu, Chang'e, and Houyi.

Unlike Hou Yi, who was purely rational, Heng'e's personality was largely the same: her emotions clearly outweighed her rationality, yet she was also bound by rationality.

Just like Ibaraki Kasen in the past, she was bound to the position of Demon King for thousands of years. When the false dream she had constructed for herself finally shattered, the inner demons that had accumulated over a long period of time erupted uncontrollably in her heart.

Hou Yi had no feelings for Heng'e, especially after he took the bow. In the end, Heng'e could only place her feelings on their child.

But when this last emotional attachment was completely shattered, and the false dream she had constructed was finally laid bare before her eyes, Heng'e finally fell into utter despair.

Driven to despair, she killed Hou Yi; her pure madness caused her to lose both her emotional and rational sides.

The rational part, which is also the part that binds itself, transforms into Chang'e, the sage of the Moon Capital, and is permanently imprisoned within the Moon Capital.

The emotional part, however, is pure madness, forgetting everything about himself and transforming into a pure fox, frantically wanting to kill Chang'e.

...or rather, to kill the self that once bound me and led to that desperate end, the embodiment of my rationality.

This is the story between Chunhu and Chang'e, and also the story between Heng'e and Houyi.

But from an outsider's perspective, who is at fault?

Hou Yi was not wrong.

Ten suns appeared simultaneously, causing widespread suffering. He sacrificed his own family for the greater good, solely for the sake of the people, rescuing countless lives from this calamity. Without his choice and sacrifice, even more people would have perished.

Heng'e was not wrong.

Even though her husband had no feelings for her, she still restrained herself with reason and poured all her emotions into their children... or rather, their children were her only emotional support.

Everyone has a devil within them, and happiness is its prison. When all happiness vanishes, the devil breaks free of its cage, emerging with a bloody hymn. At that time, the desperate will be invincible.

Even though no one did anything wrong, everyone somehow ended up doing something wrong.

That's weird, isn't it?

The so-called right and wrong are often not as simple as they seem on the surface.

Although Shi Bai didn't consider himself a good person, during the few months he stayed with the Youqiong clan, the image of a certain girl who often came to see him under various pretexts still couldn't help but appear in his mind.

What's so interesting about an ending that's destined to be sad and hopeless?

Just as he swore he would never watch Dragon 4 or Dragon 5 after watching Dragon 3 and vowed to kill the old thief Jiangnan in his lifetime, he has always deeply abhorred such tragic endings.

Damn that old scoundrel from Jiangnan! Give me back Erii!!!

However, although the problem with Chunhu was solved, another new problem involuntarily welled up in his mind.

The existence of the celestial realm should theoretically be impossible without it, but the story of Hou Yi shooting down the sun is well-known. After seeing that bow, he was certain that the story of Hou Yi shooting down the sun would definitely happen in this world.

In other words, this foreshadows that in the near future, the Golden Crow, which originally existed in the Heavenly Realm, will leave the Heavenly Realm and come to the mortal world. That time will be the true great calamity of heaven and earth.

Whether it was because his old friends in the Heavenly Realm were unwilling to return to this world and reclaim their master's position, or for some other reason, Shi Bai felt it was necessary for him to return to the Heavenly Realm once again.

...Although the road back is destined to be difficult.

P.S.: Tickets

Chapter Ten: Immortal Bai and the Ten Divine Weapons of Shenzhou

"leave?"