Chapter 673: Snowflakes Drift, the North Wind Whistles (No More Leave Requests Left)

“Strange. What’s going on?”

In the gap, Yagumo Shiki continuously manipulated the boundaries between truth and falsehood, as usual, trying to erase certain truths that ought not to exist.

“No way! Stuck?!”

The boundary of forgetting and remembering.

The boundary of cause and effect.

The boundary of existence and nothingness.

After another bout of struggle, Yagumo Shiki, wearing a white lace-trimmed bonnet and with slightly curled golden hair, gritted her teeth and crawled out of the gap filled with terrifying crimson eyes:

“This can’t be real.”

“Yagumo-sama, a visitor has come to call.” Yagumo Aoi’s figure appeared behind the frosted glass.

“Heh.” Yagumo Shiki opened the door and stared directly at Hōrai-san Kaguya, who was rubbing against Aoi’s nine fluffy tails, and sneered: “You’ve tricked me, Princess of Eternity Pavilion!”

Hōrai-san Kaguya set down her nine fluffy fox tails and let the flustered Yagumo Aoi scurry away with tiny steps.

“Grandma Shiki, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” Kaguya wore an innocent expression.

“Are you going to play dumb?”

Ignoring the offensive term, Yagumo Shiki smiled without warmth as she regarded her visitor: “Then, what business brings you from your cluttered dwelling to the House of Lost Paths, using a year’s worth of exertion?”

“As a resident of Gensokyo, I’m here to report recent security issues.”

Kaguya half-smiled, covering her lips with her sleeve: “It’s terrible—my guests are all terrified and trying to flee.”

Flee

Yagumo Shiki slashed the air beside her with her folding fan, revealing the man named Su Lin, backpack packed, pinned to the ground by several others.

“Let me leave this Gensokyo full of dark settings! I want to go home!”

“He’s having a panic attack! Someone stop his mouth before he bites his tongue!”

“I’m getting married at the Hakurei Shrine—don’t you dare give up on treatment, Fool! Quickly activate your Word-as-Will!”

“Lu Mingfei, you’ll step in dog shit tomorrow.”

“You’re the dog shit!”

Inside the temple school, the noise gradually turned into brawling, until Fujiwara no Mokou, her anger at its peak, hurled a fireball, only to be struck by a headbutt from the frenzied Keiin.

The scene was utterly chaotic.

The gap closed.

“I owe you a favor from the Lunar War, but that’s no excuse for bringing outsiders into Gensokyo without consent.”

Yagumo Shiki’s tone turned icy: “Especially when they might bring danger.”

She had no intention of brushing this off—clearly, their presence had indeed interfered with Yagumo Shiki’s ability to alter Gensokyo’s truth.

Kaguya smiled sweetly and said:

“In the past, you handled everything unilaterally; we never knew the details. Even if we had known, our memories would have been altered as part of Gensokyo’s fabric, so naturally we never learned what was forbidden.”

“Though neither I nor Eirin care much about these matters, bringing outsiders into Gensokyo without permission is indeed my fault.”

“Then I shall bear all responsibility for this matter—you may kill or punish me as you wish.”

Her attitude and reasoning left no room for criticism.

Yagumo Shiki studied Kaguya for a moment, then retrieved a tea set and fruit from a gap, inviting her into the inner chamber of the House of Lost Paths.

“This kind of punishment holds no meaning for you.”

“If anyone can end your eternal life, it should be you, right?”

Kaguya picked up an orange from the table and peeled it; the two chatted as if exchanging idle words.

“Even if Gensokyo is destroyed, you won’t die. Even if the outside world and the entire universe meet their end, you alone will survive.”

Yagumo Shiki wore an expression of deep exasperation, as if genuinely struggling with how to handle Hōrai-san Kaguya.

But who knew what she truly thought?

No one in Gensokyo understood Yagumo Shiki’s behavioral principles.

“I’m not the only Hōrai person,” Kaguya smiled.

“But isn’t the key ingredient of Hōrai medicine derived from ‘Eternity’ itself?” Yagumo Shiki opened her fan and gently fanned herself:

“If a danger arises so great that even the Hōrai cannot survive, I believe they would return their sole hope of survival to you.”

“You even know that.” Kaguya broke off a segment of orange: “Hmm, are you threatening me?”

“You’re overthinking. I lack that power—I merely heard some secrets and wanted to verify them.” Yagumo Shiki’s lips curled into a faint smile.

“So, would you mind telling me what’s going on?” Kaguya swallowed the orange segment, licked her fingers, and said:

“If trouble arises, I’ll consider relocating.”

Isn’t this the moment to offer active help?

Yagumo Shiki closed her fan and tapped it irritably in her hand.

A gap split open, swallowing the entire room, each eye within it reflecting Yagumo Shiki’s image.

Yagumo Shiki addressed a coolly dressed “Yagumo Shiki”: “Sorry, the Lunhuizhe you lent me is broken—better go back now.”

Kaguya narrowed her eyes in surprise: “Of course—only you can freely contact and interfere with other parallel worlds in Gensokyo.”

“Parallel worlds? Heh, hahaha.”

A group of Yagumo Shikis emitted melodious, bell-like laughter.

“That’s not inaccurate.”

“But a more precise term would be certain timelines before the world’s Lunhui .”

“And the Yagumo Shikis from Gensokyo branches with different possible developments.”

Seeing the stunned expression on Hōrai-san Kaguya’s face, the Yagumo Shiki she knew softly laughed:

“Let’s call it the unique nature of a Boundary Spirit.”

“Please behave yourself and don’t stir up any more trouble.”

Yagumo Shiki closed the gap and called for Yagumo Aoi to show the guest out.

“Has age made your memory worse? Don’t turn the tables on me, Mommy Shiki.”

Hōrai-san Kaguya shut the door, with none of the courtesy she’d shown upon arrival; her shadow gradually faded from the frosted glass of the doorframe.

“Yagumo-sama, is it safe to tell the Eternity Pavilion about this?”

“Since we can’t alter that part of the truth now, we’ll try again after those outsiders leave.”

Yagumo Shiki yawned, then picked up a newspaper with a smile:

“By the way, have you heard something interesting, Aoi?”

“Huh?” Yagumo Aoi, tidying the tea set, paused in surprise.

“About the imprisoned Chang’e in the Lunar Capital,” Yagumo Shiki said to herself.

Yagumo Aoi replied: “I recall the Moon Rabbits were punished to pound medicine because of her.”

“More precisely, it was Chang’e’s husband.”

Chang’e’s husband shot down the suns; Tsukuyomi, missing his sister too much, created a human form in the image of “Amaterasu.”

He was born with dominion over “Eternity” and “Moment.”

“Thus, Hōrai-san Kaguya, though a princess of the Lunar Capital, is not Tsukuyomi’s biological daughter.”

Yagumo Shiki’s smile turned unsettling, making Yagumo Aoi’s fur stand on end; under her gaze, a gap opened toward the Moon.

“Slipped my hand.” Yagumo Shiki erased part of the information on the Bunka Daily and tossed it onto the lunar surface.

“Maybe I’m getting old.”

Yagumo Shiki opened a gap in the ceiling, continuing to observe the group in the temple school—only to find the noise had ceased, and a faint, Youlan , olive-shaped vertical pupil hovered against the ceiling, staring into the gap.

“What are you looking at?”

“.”

She silently closed the gap.

The next day, at the temple school’s entrance.

After a simple breakfast, the group chose to continue to the Hakurei Shrine to scout the location.

“Thank you,” Su Lin and the others expressed gratitude for their lodging last night: “Mokou-tan, next time you and Kaguya cook offal soup, I’ll bring you hotpot base.”

“You and that dead woman Kaguya better vanish from my sight forever,” Fujiwara no Mokou grumbled, turning her head away.

She’d been forced to stay overnight in the bamboo grove and endure a full night of etiquette lessons with Keiin.

Still, these guys had indeed helped Keiin resolve a problem, so Fujiwara no Mokou thought for a moment and made a promise:

“If you need anything in the Human Village, come find me.”

[Prompt: Fujiwara no Mokou’s affection increased]

Probably a mass hallucination—how else could five people all see this illusion?

Leaving the Human Village, they entered a dim, winding path where sunlight and rain alike were scattered by the forest’s leaves—this was the only road to the shrine.

Among the five, Meng Qi and Huai Shi rubbed their eyes as if half-asleep; no one knew if they’d been stealing cows in the night.

Don’t ask why they could fly but chose to walk—just accommodate that picky guy’s mortal experience.

Kelaien started an internal group chat: “How do we handle the Lunhuizhe Yagumo Shiki brought from other Gensokyo?”

“Want to understand the meaning of life? Want to truly live?” Lu Mingfei sent a message: “Yes or No?”

Su Lin: “Or”

Song Shu: “I choose death.”

Su Lin: “Reward: a resurrection artifact.”

One Lunhuikongjiandelunhuizhejiugoumafanle ， Youlaiyigezhushenkongjian ， Yaobushihuiyezuotianquerenlezheshibayunzicongqitahuanxiangxiangnonglaishitanjirendepaohui ， Zhedifangshizhendeyikedoubuxiangdaile 。

Zhongshangweiyuhaiyaodadianfengsai ？

Zhonghuoyishihaichabuduo 。

Kuangqiehaibuzhishizhushenkongjian

“ Zhaozhemeshuo ， Huiyesuozaidehuanxiangxianghenjiuyiqianjiuchuxianguozhezhongqingkuangle ？” Weigongshilangwendao 。

“ Yiqianshiyouzhezhongxiangbuqilaideshiqing ， Zhijidechuxianleyibian 。” Zaiyongyuantingneidehuiyetangzaibeiwoliyibianwanzhe PSP， Yibianhuifuxiaoxi ：

“ Danmeixiangdaoshizilaotaipobaqitashikonghuanxiangxianggaobudingdeweixianyinsunongdaozhebianlaile 。”

“ Biruxiangkaihougongdechuanyuezhe 、 Zhuanshengzhe 、 Lunhuizhezhileidejiahuo 。”

“ Zuowanxijisiziwude ， Haoxiangjiushilaizijingchangchuxianlunhuizhedehuanxiangxiang 。”

Zhongli: “Is this also a power of the Boundary? Do all the Youkai Sages in every Gensokyo possess this ability?”

Penglaishanhuiye ：“ Yiqieshendeliaojie ， Butongshikongdehuanxiangxiangzhongdebayunzizhijianyeyouqiangruochabie 。”

Su Lin: “So we just happened to run into the most troublesome one? And just happened to be the ones who came here?”

Penglaishanhuiye ：“ Qiaohela ， Buguoduokuiyounimen ， Qieshenzongsuanzhidaolezhenxiang 。”

Zhenvrenjueduizhidaoyixieneimuyoushunshierweizhi 。

Yishidaozijidangleyihuigongjurendesulinganjuezijikuile ， Biedeyouxilizhishaohuangeinijikeyuanshi 、 Jiejing 、 Hufuzhileidewanyier 。

Penglaishanhuiye ：“ Jiangli ： Nikeyibahuanxiangxiangbianchengleyuan 。”

Sulin ：“@ Yileina ， Wokeyizaihuanxiangxiangkaihougongme ？”

Yileina ：“？”

Yefan ：“ Zhezhongshibushigaitoutoumomoshengmizhuchengshufanlezaishuo ？”

Xiaoyan ：“ Ruguobushibukekangliyinsudeyingxiang ， Wojianyihaishizhuanyiyidianhao 。”

Zijinshenlong ：“ Xishuobukekangliyinsu ， Longdayexihuantingzhege 。”

Huaishi ：“ Wohenzhuanyi ， Danwoxuyaoyidianbukekangliyinsudezhidao 。”

Xiaoyan ：“ Bushi ， Worenzhende 。”

“ Zheshinalaidezhananliaotianqunme ？” Qichuanxuxudeyileinafangxiamozhang ， Kanleyanzhouweilengjingbandeciyuankongjian 。

Zhejigejiahuo ， Shenmeshihoubamofatishengdaozhezhongchengdule ， Lianzijisicangdemofayetouxuele 。

“ Doulaoshidian ！ Baweijinwupinquanbujiaochulai ！”

“ Yinsiziyou ！ Dadaoducaizheyileina ！”

Shudaoshenyingconglengjingkongjiandejingmianzhongfuxian ， Shenshangdoukeyinzhexiangtongdemofayinji ， Jinjiezhe ， Jiuyouguangmangfuxian ， Shunzhecengcengciyuanzhongdemofakuangjiagoule 。

Yizhongbenyuanshangdelianjie ， Jiangjirenheyileinabangdingzaiyiqi 。

Zheshigaizaohoudejianglingyishi ， Liyongtongyuanlianxi ， Fuzhizheyileinayongyoudemofajineng 。

Kanqilaiyishibanhuiershizoubukaile 。

Xianhongdeyezizhujiantuibianweidongzhise ， Weicengdiaoling ， Danjiannandiguazaizhiganshangsuifenghuangdong 。

Chuxuepiaoluo ， Baiseyanzheshandingkaishiranshangsecai 。

Bolishenshewai ， Sulinfumozhenahewangriyibanjiebaidepifu ， Zhijiaqingqinghuaguo ， Yanlimanshijuanlianyulianxi ：

“ Dujiaoshou ”

Jishibianchengleyituantieqiu ， Tayerendechulaizhejiushipeibanzijizhengzhanxujiudedujiaoshou 。

Zaiguimidajiekanguotianshi ， Zaishoufutuolajidasaiaozhanhuangtiandi ， Zaimanweiyuzhouhongguoshendunju ， Zuihouqueyunluozaiyigechengguanshouli 。

Yixiangdaozheli ， Gongqingnengliqiangdadesulinganjuezijileishuidouyaoliuxialaile 。

“ Laoyou ， Wolaile 。”

Tataochuyigenliubiantilengzhuxingzhuangdeheisejingti ， Yizhenrouyankejiandelvseshujuliukaishibaoguonatuanmingwei ‘ Dujiaoshou ’ Detieqiu 。

Piankehou

【 Gaifeitiebujubeishenghuadejichutiaojian ， Yewuchakou ， Qingxuanzewanzhengdewujishengmingti 】

Zhemeduoziyuanhexianjingaizhuanghoudedujiaoshou 。

Shengjidazizainiepandaimade U Panluozaidishang 。

Xuehuafenfeizhong ， Sulinchuixiashuangshou ， Bengkuidihandao ：“ Bu ！”

“ Nabiandeguairenshinimenpengyou ？” Bolilingmengnazhesaozhouwendao ：“ Nawanyiercunlishoufeitiededoubuyuanyilaishoua ， Denghuijiaotadaizouhaole 。”

Touyicikanjiansulinzhegemuyangdelumingfeidengrenhenbuxiangchengrenzhegexianshi 。

Gemen ， Biediurenle ！

“ Huashuo ， Nimenjintianyaogeixianghuoqianme ？ Bugeixianghuoqianjiukuaidianxiashan ， Biezaizhelidaraowogongzuo 。” Bolilingmengkanleyanwuzilidenuanlu ， Duoduosuosuodicuolecuoshoubi 。

Lumingfeilengleleng ：“ Zuotianbushicaigeiguome ？”

“ Zuotianshizuotianla ， Jintianyoushixindeyitianle 。” Bolilingmengbaibaishou 。

Zheshi ， Nabiandesulinzhanqishen ， Baichuhexudeweixiaozoudaobolilingmengmianqian ， Jiangshoufangjinhuailiquchuyiduijintiaohebaiyinfangzailesaiqianxiangshangmian 。

“ Yidianxinyi 。”

“ Qingshangzuo 。”

Bolilingmenggongjingdilakaimen 。

“ Nibushimeiqianme ？！” Lumingfeidengrenkanxiangtuoxiejinwudesulin 。

“ Lishitouying 。”