The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

After hearing the man's words, Heng'e was clearly taken aback.

"Of course, are we just going to stay here and wait to die?"

Rolling his eyes, the person, lounging leisurely on the recliner with his hands behind his head, slowly answered.

"And in some respects, Huashan's condition doesn't allow her to stay any longer."

"……I see."

After a moment of silence, Heng'e nodded.

"Take care on your journey... But with your abilities, I don't think there's anything too much to worry about."

She gave a very forced smile.

"By the way, how's things going between you and Hou Yi?"

Shi Bai sat up from the recliner and casually asked the other person a question.

"For example, yours..."

"...I was rejected, and he was very firm in his stance."

Heng'e's words carried a hint of bewilderment, doubt, and a sense of relief that even she herself was unaware of.

"However, my marriage to him is a major event concerning the two clans, and it is not something that can be refused at will. But the wedding date has been postponed indefinitely."

Looking at the man in front of her, she suddenly laughed.

"Being too willful is not a good thing. We are no longer children. How can we treat matters concerning the future of two great clans as a joke? That would make us a laughing stock."

"So, in some respects, your rationality is even stronger than that guy's, is it just one-sided purity?"

Shi Bai pressed his forehead with his hand and sighed with a hint of helplessness.

"You don't actually need to impose so many constraints on yourself."

"...It's not a constraint, but a responsibility and mission that we must shoulder."

After a moment of silence, Heng'e shook her head.

“Someone as carefree as you could never understand. I carry too many expectations and hopes on my shoulders. The Tushan clan, which has already declined, can only continue to survive by relying on the power of the Youqiong clan. I cannot let them down.”

"Ha... carefree..."

With a smile that was hard to tell whether it was mockery or sarcasm, Shi Bai stood up and casually handed over a small box he had taken out of his storage ring.

"I gave Hou Yi the things I promised him last night. This box is for you, as a return gift for all the snacks you've brought me these past few days... Oh, and by the way, the food you make is really awful."

"If it tastes bad, then don't eat it. You're only saying this after you've finished eating..."

She gave a soft hum, looked at the box Shi Bai handed her, hesitated for a moment, and then reached out and took the box.

Upon opening the box and seeing the exquisite pastries inside, Heng'e was slightly taken aback.

"what is this?"

"Peach blossom pastry. Since the peach blossoms were in bloom, I made this as well. It's definitely a million times tastier than yours... I also gave you a poem at the time, but I only remember a few lines of it."

With a light laugh, Shi Bai turned and walked towards the door, where Ibaraki Kasen was already waiting.

"The peach tree is young and tender, its blossoms are bright and beautiful; this maiden is going to her husband's home, she will be a good wife and mother... um, I forgot everything after that."

"The peach tree is in full bloom..."

Looking up at the overly vibrant peach tree before her, and holding the box of peach blossom pastries, Heng'e fell into a long silence.

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

"Isn't she coming with us?"

After being away from the Youqiong clan for some time, Ibaraki Kasen finally couldn't contain her emotions and couldn't help but ask Shibai a question.

"What are you thinking? Everyone has their own life. She can't just drop everything and take a trip like we can... It was an unintentional disturbance, why be so arrogant and cause a mountain to flood?"

Shi Bai pursed his lips and looked up at the sky.

"For the rest of the journey, you shouldn't take any more action. The most important thing is to resolve your problems as soon as possible."

"But there will always be unexpected accidents and dangers on the road, especially in the current situation..."

Ibaraki Kasen seemed quite hesitant.

"Don't forget what your original intention was. You wanted to see the world properly, right? You want to cultivate yourself into an immortal without eliminating your inner demons? Don't be ridiculous."

Shi Bai yawned and lazily interrupted the other person.

"Let's talk about whether or not to take action after you've resolved all your problems. At least for now, your situation can't be allowed to worsen."

"But it should be fine, right?"

Holding the pendant hanging from her chest in one hand, Ibaraki Kasen spoke with a hint of doubt.

"As long as this pendant is there, the violent emotions within me will never erupt, and dealing with those things is just a matter of time..."

"Come on, I only summoned one of these pendants. Do you think these are cheap glass marbles that you can get a whole bunch of for a penny?"

Rolling his eyes, Shi Bai interrupted the other person in a very irritating manner.

"In short, just listen to me. I won't harm you, and you can slack off. What's wrong with that?"

"But cultivation..."

"There's a rule in the police station that subordinates can't kiss their superiors on the lips. If you talk back again, you won't get any more drinks!!"

"........."

Ibaraki Kasen retreated in silence.

As he left the territory of the Youqiong clan, Shi Bai deliberately raised his head and squinted at the sky.

When they arrived here, it was raining heavily, but when they left, the grass was lush and the sun was shining.

During the few months he lived with the Youqiong clan, he finally found Chunhu and learned about a past story buried by the long history.

Previously, his concept of Chunhu was something like "Chang'e, did you see that?!" He regarded the hatred between Chunhu and Chang'e as just an ordinary thing. But after truly understanding, he realized just how deep and complex Chunhu's hatred for Chang'e really was.

Most things in this world are hard to explain clearly; there are all kinds of people and all kinds of lives.

In Gensokyo, everyone has their own life, and every being in Gensokyo has their own story. And he is now personally experiencing the past stories of every being in Gensokyo.

Perhaps it is precisely this mixture of joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, that creates such an unforgettable... Gensokyo that one so desperately wants to blow up with one's own hands?

Strange... something seems off...

Shi Bai pressed his forehead slightly with his hand, looking thoughtful.

Looking at the warm sunshine overhead, he thought for a moment, then took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on, tossing a pair to Ibaraki Kasen as well.

"Hua Shan, how about I tell you a story today?"

"……story?"

Taking the sunglasses, Ibaraki Kasen looked completely bewildered.

"That's right, this is the story of an existence that has lived for a very long time."

He pushed up his sunglasses with his fingers, his face showing a deep and thoughtful expression.

"He disappeared from the world for quite some time, and many people thought he was dead, but he always reappeared."

"Uh……"

"He was once led and instructed by an elder surnamed Deng. When people mention him, they can't help but think of a cold-blooded animal, which has almost become his symbol. It is said that he did not hesitate to take other people's lives in order to prolong his own life. His name has become a taboo. Ordinary people cannot even call him by his name directly, but can only use some inexplicable but well-known nicknames."

"???"

"He is... Tom, Tom Marvolo Riddle. Known in the underworld as Voldemort... oh, no, Voldemort."

"........."

The certain "Baozi Fairy" was completely bewildered, having no idea what was going on behind the other person's sudden, inexplicable story and actions.

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

This was a wild and untamed era filled with legends and tales.

On the continent, ferocious beasts roam freely, and clans stand in great numbers.

The beginning of the cycle of reincarnation led to the spread of filth, and all sorts of disasters began to sweep across the land. Ancient, sealed ferocious beasts were unleashed, and calamities such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes followed one after another.

Flash floods erupted, the Yellow River overflowed, and ferocious beasts ravaged the land.

Thousands of miles were deserted, and the land was scorched like wasteland; people struggled to survive.

With the breaking of the seals of the four most ferocious ancient beasts in legend—Qiongqi, Taotie, Taowu, and Hundun—the beasts' madness began to intensify.

At this critical juncture of life and death, all the clans urgently united and began various arrangements and plans to kill the four most ferocious beasts of ancient times.

The following year, Qiongqi, one of the four ferocious beasts, was witnessed being killed by a mysterious black-haired man wielding a long sword as smooth as water north of the Yellow River.

In June of the same year, Taotie was imprisoned in the desolate North Sea, where thousands of miles were frozen and snow was falling. After that, Taotie disappeared from the world.

Thus, two of the most ferocious creatures of antiquity have been eliminated.

While the clans were shocked and delighted by this good news, the two ferocious beasts, Taotie and Chaos, launched a surprise attack on the land of the united clans. Although they were forced back by Hou Yi, the leader of the Youqiong clan, with two arrows, the clans suffered heavy casualties.

After only a few years of recuperation, Taotie and Chaos, along with thousands of ferocious beasts, attacked again, plunging the world into darkness.

At that time, a black-haired man in white robes and wielding a sword appeared and slew the Taotie and Chaos beasts amidst a horde of ferocious beasts. He left behind ten divine artifacts, bringing clarity to the world. Afterwards, he and a woman quietly disappeared. All the clans bowed in reverence and called him a celestial being.

Thus, the greatest crisis since the scourge of the ferocious beasts quietly dissipated.

March rain.

"He really did it..."

Standing under the eaves, looking at the sky outside where a light drizzle was falling, Hou Yi couldn't help but smile bitterly as he recalled his conversation with the other person on that night a few years ago.

Over the years, he endured wind and rain, sleeping in the open to fight off ferocious beasts. The once handsome young man's face now showed signs of vicissitude, and a thin scar slanted from the corner of his eye down to his neck.

For years, as the leader of the Youqiong clan, he fought on the front lines against the ferocious beasts, surviving countless near-death experiences. The countless scars covering his body, hidden by his clothes, were the best proof of his bravery.

Because of his agreement with the other party, he used that bow very few times over the past few years. For the most part, he kept the bow firmly locked away.

He understood the principle that you have to give something before you can get something, so he didn't actually have any aversion to the bow. It would be good if used for good, and evil if used for evil. He was confident that he could control the bow.

If the other party hadn't intervened, he might have kept the bow until he had killed all four of the most ferocious ancient beasts. The real reason the bow was given to him was precisely so that he could kill the four ancient beasts.

But by then, what he had given up was probably lost to time; perhaps even his feelings had been sacrificed as a offering.

He possessed pure rationality, not a lack of emotion.

In the past, he felt that emotions could not play a positive role in the face of calamity, so he had always suppressed his feelings. If he could solve the problem of the ferocious beasts, it wouldn't be a big deal if he lost his emotions and luck.

But now...

As if remembering something, Hou Yi revealed a faint smile on his face.

He carefully wrapped the bow with strips of cloth and placed it at the bottom of the box before letting out a long sigh of relief.

Holding this bow for too long would affect his spirit. Now that all four ancient ferocious beasts have been killed, he naturally no longer needs this bow.

With the biggest problem of the ferocious beast calamity solved, the rest is only a matter of time, not to mention the help of the ten divine artifacts left behind by the other side.

Thinking of this, Hou Yi's mood inexplicably became cheerful.

With a strange thought in mind, he walked briskly into the courtyard and immediately saw a girl sitting by the stone table, propping her head up with one hand and staring blankly at the peach tree beside her.

The drizzle had just stopped, and the peach blossoms on the peach trees were adorned with glistening water droplets, which shone brightly in the sunlight.

The girl was so engrossed in gazing at the peach blossoms on the tree that she didn't notice his arrival at all.

"........."

After a long silence, as if he had finally made a decision, Hou Yi sighed softly in his heart and then sat down at the table.

"Heng'e, I have something to tell you."

"...Yi?"

Suddenly snapping out of her daze, the girl looked at Hou Yi in front of her with a hint of confusion.

"If you miss him... then go find him."

P.S.: Tickets