The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

...Is it because of what I've done here these past few days that I've been granted divine favor as an exception?

"Alright, let's talk about the rest."

Before the girl could recover from her joy, the deity in front of her suddenly produced a large basket from nowhere.

"Young lady, did you just throw this pile of golden durians, this pile of silver durians, or that pile of durians that hit my head?"

"My Lord! The pile I threw just now was the one that hit your head..."

—A girl's voice abruptly stopped.

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

"Yes...that's right, I am the River God."

Looking at the girl kneeling obediently in front of him, the man had a serious expression on his face.

"Lost maiden, who guided you to this land of slumber? State your name."

"Lord River God, I am so sorry!!"

Although she was very curious about why the deity was now called the River God instead of the Pond God, the girl managed to suppress her curiosity... even though the deity in front of her seemed very easy to talk to.

"...My name is Kanako. I am...I am a human from a nearby village who survived the monsters thanks to the protection of the River God."

"What?! Goddess!?"

"...Lord River God?"

The girl raised her head with considerable caution and confusion.

"Ahem... It's nothing, please continue."

He coughed a few times, making a fist and putting it to his mouth. In the shortest amount of time, Shi Bai's expression returned to normal.

As he listened to Kanako's story, he sized her up and nodded thoughtfully to himself.

(Hmm...that's right, if you add the straw rope on her head and the huge straw rope loop on her back, and then change into that outfit, she's Yasaka Kanako...I mean, why does this feel so familiar...But speaking of which, isn't Kanako a goddess? How come she's human now?)

"...That's the situation, Lord River God."

After explaining her situation and what had happened recently, Kanako nodded cautiously in the face of the probing gaze fixed on her by the deity.

"You said that monsters will be invading your village soon, so you came here to see if you can find some way or tools to resist the monsters, right?"

After pondering for a moment, Shi Bai asked the girl in front of him.

"Can...is it okay?"

The girl clenched her fists unconsciously, clearly showing signs of nervousness.

"They're just some little monsters born from filth... You can have this Desert Eagle."

After rummaging through the storage ring on his hand, Shi Bai casually tossed a pistol in front of the other person.

"It's very simple to use. Just point the gun at the monster and fire. Be careful when using it, and remember to return it to me after you're done."

"...Desert Eagle?"

Kanako picked up the slightly heavy iron box in front of her, looking a little lost.

"Lord River God, how is this treasure used..."

"Aim the gun at your target and pull the trigger. I'm not exaggerating, this thing is practically the best weapon in the world these days, after all, times have changed... Come on, give me a smile."

Shi Bai waved his hand and greeted the girl in front of him with his phone.

"Laugh...is that so?"

After a moment of stunned silence, the girl smiled.

"It's alright... barely passable."

After looking at the photos on his phone for a while, Shi Bai nodded slightly with regret.

One-third of the puzzle at Moriya Shrine has now been lit up.

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

"Lord River God, did you always live in that pool... in that river?"

After the initial awe, Kanako's courage grew as a result of someone's rather easygoing demeanor, and given the rarity of opportunities to directly interact and communicate with a deity. Her curiosity was almost overflowing.

"Yes, that's right. If that pond dries up, I'll die too."

Someone is making offhand remarks with a straight face.

"However, my daily work usually involves waiting by the bridge for the woodcutters to drop their axes into the water. Every day, I send out more than 10,000 gold and silver axes."

"A golden axe and a silver axe... are they the same as golden apples and silver apples?"

Recalling the two apples she had received earlier, Kanako couldn't help but feel interested. However, a new question immediately arose in her mind, and she asked the deity who was lying on the recliner in front of her, basking in the sun, with great concern.

“Lord River God, what if the woodcutter’s axe falls and hits you, just like I did? Wouldn’t that be…”

"I am a god, and gods cannot die. This is all for the sake of faith; there's no other way."

"Lord River God, were you asleep before I arrived?"

"Yeah, yeah, it feels lonely since no one comes to throw axes anymore."

"Lord River God..."

"........."

Afternoons in the bamboo forest always seem exceptionally long.

P.S.: Okay... Good evening.

Chapter 4 Divine Mother Yasaka Kanako

"Ah... I have a feeling that the gods born in this era have had a really miserable life..."

After the Goddess who wasn't yet a goddess left, Shi Bai casually put the comic book in his hand aside, rested his head on his hand, and looked up at the sky.

At the very beginning, he genuinely did not recognize the other party's identity, nor did he ever associate it with the Goddess Yasaka Kanako, after all, who could have imagined that the other party was once human?

Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya were the two deities enshrined at the Moriya Shrine in Gensokyo in later generations. Because of the decline of faith in the outside world, they chose to move into Gensokyo.

However, compared to the frog child who is an indigenous god, the goddess mother is fundamentally different.

Moriya Suwako is one of eight million gods. She does not have a basic soul; she is composed of pure faith. If faith is completely lost, she will disappear. She is a god.

As for the Goddess, the lack of faith only diminishes her power, not makes it disappear; that is, she is a deity.

This is the essential difference between the two gods.

Among the dead, those who are worshipped as gods are called deities. Some of them were gods in life, while others became gods after death.

There is no connection between the deity and the eight million gods. Although the deity is no longer worshipped by humans, the deity has not died; it has simply disappeared from the world.

The difference between a deity and a god lies in this: one is born purely from human faith, while the other is worshipped as a god and becomes a deity after death.

However, despite this, the two do share some commonalities, namely the source of their power.

The power of gods and deities originates from the power of faith. The more followers they have, the stronger their power becomes, the greater their influence on humans and monsters, and the larger the scale of their shrines.

Conversely, if faith diminishes, their influence becomes negligible, and the shrines fall into silence, essentially relying solely on external forces to maintain their power.

In this era, there are countless monsters born from filth and from human fear. If humans want to survive, they can only rely on the protection of the gods.

However, although they are said to be gods, there is actually a saying that there are eight million gods here, so the competition is intense.

Moreover, among the eight million gods, there are those evil spirits that bring disaster, which are actually not much different from monsters.

However, although gods are numerous, not all human villages or towns can receive their protection. In this era, there are actually quite a few cases where weak gods are killed by powerful monsters.

Moreover, gods need human faith to survive. If they are completely forgotten by humans, it means the death of that god. Therefore, the situation of gods is not easy.

Generally speaking, the strength of a deity is measured by the number of its followers, specifically by the number of its shrines. This is the most direct way to compare them.

A god who doesn't even have his own shrine is definitely not as powerful as a god who has his own shrine and followers.

This is an era in which humans, monsters, and gods coexist.

"...But so this is what faith is?"

Shi Bai stretched out his hand, looking thoughtfully at the wisp of pale golden light swirling above his palm.

This faith was something he received from Kanako.

It seemed as if the other party had already accepted his identity as a river god. When he casually tossed the Desert Eagle to her, he had already gained such faith from her.

So-called faith is actually similar to the incense offerings in Eastern Shintoism; it is an extremely pure and clean power born from the spiritual level, with a wide range of uses.

It can cure diseases and save lives, ripen grains, promote plant growth, improve physical condition, remove curses, and so on.

Based on the faith he gained from Kanako, he could also vaguely sense Kanako's state, which was quite peculiar.

"Even ordinary humans can become gods if they gather the majority of faith... although the process is destined to be extremely difficult."

Shi Bai shook his head slightly and casually placed the faith in his hand on a withered little blade of grass next to the chair. Ignoring the little blade of grass that had shaken up and become lush and green again, he picked up the comic book next to him.

"However, if a charlatan were to travel to this era, he might actually be able to transform from a human into a god... So, are those powerful gods in later generations just pyramid scheme leaders? Like God, Jehovah..."

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

"Lord River God, I've killed that monster!!"

After carefully placing the Desert Eagle on the table, the girl looked excited.

"That hideous monster wanted two offerings from the villagers for its consumption, but then I used this divine artifact..."

She stretched out her hand and made a gesture.

"...Like this... After a 'bang,' the monster collapsed to the ground, clutching its chest with an expression of disbelief. Later, the villagers discovered that the monster was seriously injured, so everyone mustered their courage and together killed it!!"

"Ah... what a pitiful monster... it's really too tragic."

Picking up a potato chip from the side and stuffing it into his mouth, someone calmly made a comment.

He had been forced to stay in the Heavenly Realm for three years while under the influence of the Eastern Emperor Bell, and after dying so many times in succession, he was inevitably affected to some extent.

If he hadn't retrieved the lucky star pendant from Hou Yi and suppressed his condition, he would have inevitably fallen back into a deep sleep.

What Shiki Eiki said was not wrong. He did indeed bear sins that ordinary people could not imagine. This was part of the reason why he chose to freeze and fall into a deep sleep. Sayo knew his situation best and originally wanted to help him, but he forcibly stopped her later.

After all, she won't die... By the way, speaking of which, Huashan alone... I mean, a ghost, should be fine, right?

Shi Bai suddenly thought of this, but before he could think about it for long, a tense voice from the side interrupted his thoughts.

"...Lord River God, can you please protect the people of our village?"

"No, it's too much trouble."

Shi Bai refused without even thinking.

He wasn't interested in becoming a god of the underworld as promised by Heca, let alone a god of a small human village. What good would it do to be a god? Absolutely none!

Who knows, I might even give myself a divine buff, and then get bound by that chuunibyou (delusional) Gilgamesh's Chains of Heaven... If it weren't for that little loli Alaya's meddling, I could have managed to...

As if recalling some unpleasant memories, the person's face immediately darkened.

"...I can convince the villagers to build a shrine for the River God. Didn't the River God say he was lonely staying here all by himself? Then I can go to the river every day and throw my axe into the water!!"

Kanako raised her hand and quickly made a promise.

"I promise, everyone in the village will come and throw axes too, then the River God will never be lonely again!!!"

"...Are you trying to work me to death or smash me to death?"

Shi Bai gazed silently at the heavens.

"In short, it's impossible for me to become a god in your village, but I can offer you some help in dealing with monster attacks... By the way, since your village has never had a god's protection, how have the people in your village survived?"

Suddenly, a question popped into Shi Bai's head, and he asked the girl in front of him with some curiosity.

Although the monsters of today are mostly small monsters born from filth and cannot be compared with the monsters of the past, everything must be compared with a reference point.

Even if those monsters are weak now, they are still overwhelmingly powerful compared to ordinary humans.

Aside from a very rare number of Onmyoji (yin-yang masters) and shrine maidens, only a few wandering swordsmen, samurai, or monks are capable of fighting against yokai, but even then, it's only a barely manageable confrontation.

Humans capable of fighting against those powerful monsters probably wouldn't exist in a small village.