Chapter 258: The Eternal Seventeen-Year-Old Yōkai Girl

Before the Sea of Tranquility.

"It's about time we left."

Jia Ji stood ahead, arms crossed, leaving his broad back to the great yōkai still lingering on the Moon Capital.

As for the surviving lesser yōkai, they had long been bundled through gaps and teleportation gates and dumped back onto the surface; as for these great yōkai, they had things to say—they'd at least wait until he woke up before leaving.

So, apart from Fūken Yūka, who had departed early after snatching a branch of Penglai jade, everyone else waited for Jia Ji.

"The Moon Capital really isn't as fun as the surface."

"If I stay any longer, I'll go mad."

"Kwa! This place is so damn boring!"

Several demon kings and great tengu nodded in agreement—the Moon Capital's monotonous scenery was fresh at first, but after a while it became torture; they had nearly been tempted to slip back to the surface.

The great yōkai fixed their stares directly on Jia Ji, as if waiting for something interesting to happen.

A classic inverted triangle build, his muscles densely honed like armor encasing his entire body—every tendon, every bone, every organ had been tempered through countless trials, surpassing even the demon race in strength.

Merely from behind, he radiated an extraordinarily fierce and sharp aura, yet what they truly cared about was his front.

The unspoken thought in their eyes—"Let me take a look"—was crystal clear.

And that front, since Jia Ji's arrival, had never been seen by any yōkai.

It was said—"For a swordsman, wounds on the back are shameful."

The same logic applied to fist specialists who fought head-on—if your chest bore seven flower-like bruises, your fist skill was clearly pathetic…

As for someone deliberately carving seven star-shaped scars on their chest, well, that's beyond normal human thinking.

Though not from injury but from unavoidable circumstances, he couldn't let these female yōkai see the seven circular marks on his chest—otherwise his nickname would inevitably be twisted into "The Man with Seven O's on His Chest."

Jia Ji made up his mind and refused to turn around, standing firm ahead, posing against the lunar wind.

Overall, though the yōkai side suffered heavy losses in this lunar war, it wasn't catastrophically brutal—except for a few mindless male yōkai who charged too far forward and died in excess, the named great yōkai Jia Ji knew had mostly only been injured.

Of course, this was partly because Jia Ji had specifically asked Mokadara to look after his acquaintances.

And though Yagumo Shiki herself may not have intended this, the actual effect eliminated many of the most hardline opponents who would later resist Gensokyo, and made the arrogant yōkai realize they weren't necessarily heaven's favorites.

Had no one stepped in to turn the tide, the Moon Sages, once freed, could have easily driven the yōkai into full retreat—even the Moon Rabbits had won decisively on the lower battlefields.

Perhaps Jia Ji didn't prevent this lunar war beforehand, but instead actively encouraged it, hoping to reduce future obstacles for Yagumo Shiki's plans.

And Mokadara Inagi, using the gate on Jia Ji's body, had watched his epic battle with Tsukuyomi and secretly observed the explosive scene of Jun'ko blasting Chang'e—certainly worth the price.

But if we speak of the greatest gains, they belonged to the former lunar fugitives and criminals—Himeko and Yagumo Eirin.

The Moon Capital not only revoked their warrants and surveillance, but also seized numerous experimental materials and drugs from the lunar facilities.

Even a creature ruined by Jun'ko before the war—the missing "Kishin Sagami"—had been claimed by Yagumo Eirin from Mokadara, to serve as her research assistant.

In Jia Ji's words: "Xudong accidentally got reassigned to the graduate program at the Eternity Pavilion—now he'll be Eirin's scientific slave, forced to run experiments and write papers using climax-restraint techniques."

The Watatsuki sisters had strongly wanted to swap her out, but Sagami herself seemed indifferent, even willingly accepting.

She was one of the rare Moon Sages who could freely travel between Earth and Moon, and didn't share the other Moon People's revulsion toward earthly filth—perfectly suited.

"One's the same as two—might as well take another."

Jia Ji grabbed a Moon Rabbit soldier by her rabbit ears—her eyes crimson, her ankle-length hair pale purple, her body wrinkled from stress—and tossed her to Yagumo Eirin: "Reisen."

"... f I recall correctly, she's the pet of Iki and Toyohime, isn't she?"

Yagumo Eirin faintly furrowed her brow, unsure of his intent—was he giving her a gift by picking one rabbit from hundreds of thousands?

Caught between the ferocious surface dweller and her master's teacher, the naturally timid Moon Rabbit trembled, her crimson eyes filled with timidity and helplessness, saying nothing, desperately trying to erase her own presence.

Too bad. It didn't work.

"Trust me—this rabbit isn't ordinary."

Jia Ji smiled mysteriously—he'd happened to hijack her vehicle during his raid; truly, fate had a hand in it.

"Since she's no longer just a Moon Rabbit, I gave her a name—you can call her Reisen Udongein Inaba. But I'd prefer you call her—'Moon Fighter Reisen'!"

Yagumo Eirin, knowing Jia Ji never acted without purpose, said nothing more and bundled the rabbit-eared girl back to Eternity Pavilion.

His true intent would become clear later.

If Sagami was a graduate student, then Reisen—over a few hundred years old—wasn't even qualified to be a high schooler.

With a wave of his hand, one by one, yōkai—those who had fought and those who hadn't—returned through the passage to their familiar surface, but as Lumia was about to leave, Jia Ji suddenly turned back and stared at her.

"W-what?"

Jia Ji's oppressive gaze, like a beast ready to devour prey, sent shivers down the spine of this 155cm-tall, unknown-weight, unknown-age, golden-haired, voluptuous, powerful dark yōkai.

She'd heard plenty about his habits these past days—whether he knew you or not, he'd hit first and ask questions later. Was he now targeting her to complete some "Total Defeat of All Lunar Yōkai" collection achievement?

Jia Ji's inner thought: Lumia, I really need to control you.

Though he still had no way to solve problem ⑩, he would never again allow events like "young Reimu" to happen.

The last one was Yagumo Shiki.

The yōkai sage appeared before him, her beautiful eyes fixed on the man who had brought her both great trouble and great aid—she seemed to have something to say, yet couldn't speak.

Jia Ji, however, laughed loudly, stepped forward, and—using his height advantage—ruffled her hair, gently stroking her soft strands.

The yōkai girl startled—she hadn't expected him to come so close—and her cheeks flushed slightly, a mix of panic and shyness surging from within.

She recalled the brief span of days—traveling with him from the surface to the Moon, sharing laughter, bickering, fighting side by side.

At that moment, Yagumo Shiki wore an expression no one had ever seen—uncertain, endearing, as if even the battle-hardened sage didn't know what to do now.

So she turned her head, pretending to gaze at the distant scenery.

Finally, someone stepped back.

And spoke the words she hadn't uttered in so long—

"Kana!"

(End of Chapter)