Chapter 713: What's Hiding in the Bushes of Gensokyo? (Please Refresh)

The wrath of a common man is no more than a bareheaded man baring his feet and dashing his head against the earth.

With a face streaming blood like some demon, it wouldn't be at all strange if Kaguya, having just bashed her head, blurted out next second, "My brain is trembling."

Su Lin couldn't help suspecting this person wanted to end herself by headbutting.

"..." After a deep breath, Kaguya shook her head, splattering blood all over the bewildered Saigyouji Rin: "Nothing, I just thought I heard something for a moment."

Fortunately this game doesn't allow typing /remake, otherwise Kaguya might have become the first competitor to forfeit on her own.

A resurrection match where only spell cards can take your life — even if it feels like all three lanes have collapsed, if you don't want to play, you should at least pick a more dignified way out.

Su Lin led everyone into the car, and along the way slapped a "Fujiwara Tofu Shop" decal on the door — no helping it, one lie naturally has to be patched up with countless others.

Amid the bamboo grove, bamboo shadows swayed; the out-of-place dump truck rumbled loudly as it rolled along the somewhat narrow path.

After honking twice and tapping the accelerator, the group of contestants ahead — faces complicated and somewhat twisted — finally cleared the road, terrified of being sent to another world mid-resurrection-match.

"After all, Gensokyo doesn't have traffic police, no need to yield to pedestrians."

Su Lin rolled down the window and asked, "Princess, want a ride?"

The Hourai-shan Kaguya of that spacetime looked up, sized things up, and finally flew in out of curiosity.

She glanced at Saigyouji Rin, but completely ignored the other self of hers who was squeezed together with Saigyouji Rin, pressing her brow, lost in thought.

"Kaguya!"

"Princess!"

"Let me into Eientei too!"

Behind them, plenty of people were running after the dump truck, shouting Kaguya's name as they ran — some even on the verge of tears — giving one a real sense of déjà vu.

Is this the set of "Passing Through Your Gensokyo"?

Hourai-shan Kaguya stuck her head out the window and called, "Yuyin Yonglin!"

An invisible barrier split space apart; the spout of the jade medicine geyser spewed forth cloud-mist, and in the instant it inverted, a hundred-li radius was drawn into a microcosmic universe.

— 【Tianmaru. Houchuuten】

The white-haired caster lightly plucked, and the entire river of stars fell into the mortal world like a marionette, and so, one by one, motes of stardust descended.

The scene was magnificent to the extreme — provided you set aside the wailing and screaming.

"Since you've come to Gensokyo, whatever you wish to do must naturally follow the rules of the spell card game — including entering Eientei."

Hourai-shan Kaguya, as if her mood had lifted, spoke up of her own accord:

"But you, my lord, are an exception. It's been many years — your changes truly surprise me."

"Not only are you far more charming than before, you've even passed the outside world's N1 driver's license."

"Keeping up with the times, after all —

?? On ordinary days in the outside world one still has to work a job to make a living." Su Lin replied nonsensically.

"That much is true — I too work at Eientei on ordinary days."

"The job of tending the potted plants?"

"..."

The steering wheel turned left, right, and straight ahead from memory, and in no time at all they arrived before the nether gate set into Eientei's main entrance.

Engine off, park, open the door — gather enough quest items and take the shortcut to clear it, sparing themselves a firsthand experience of the Eternal Night Incident. Whatever the Hourai-shan Kaguya of this spacetime fragment was thinking, they were about to say goodbye anyway.

"..."

The moment this thought arose, 'Hourai-shan Kaguya' teleported to the gate via the Power of Eternity.

"Please wait a moment, I've already instructed the servants to tidy up and prepare."

Hourai-shan Kaguya smiled charmingly and said shyly:

"I'm deeply moved by your persistence all these years. After a thousand years, you've solved every difficulty — now it should be time for me to fulfill the promise of old, and take you as my husband."

"Please hand those treasures over to me first."

Here we go again.

The mosaic in his eyes and the calluses in his ears automatically filtered out this skill — which in a Holy Grail War would easily qualify as 【Charm EX】.

【How do I get rid of her?】 Su Lin sent a message.

【Give her the treasures, then you can stay and prepare for the wedding night.】 Kaguya replied.

【?】

"To tell you the truth, these past years I have taken refuge in the Buddhist faith and long since achieved great enlightenment."

Su Lin said, his expression unchanged: "I have come today only to apologize for the forgery of the Hourai Branch back then."

At the same time, he handed over the treasures — Yan no Shinanagane, the Hourai Branch, Buddha's Jeweled Pestle, the Robe of the Fire-Rat, and the Dragon's Neck Jewel.

"But aren't you an immortal?"

"Don't mind the details."

In the long silence, Hourai-shan Kaguya finally couldn't hold back, raised her sleeve to cover her smile, then reached out and lightly brushed her hand over those treasures.

"It is indeed a bit of a surprise to me..."

A subtle shift came into her eyes, and an inexplicable smile curved her lips: "Forgive me, please."

Amid Su Lin's utterly bewildered expression, she returned those five treasures along with the Elixir Red Stone, and stepped aside.

Not having to keep arguing was a good thing — this Hourai-shan Kaguya did seem more normal than the one beside Su Lin.

But just as the three of them were about to step through the gate and teleport to the next area...

"This Mr. who calls himself Fuhetei."

Hourai-shan Kaguya spoke the name in a tone that invited speculation, then placed her hands together in front of her and gave a slight bow:

"Although the present me is still not quite mature, from now on please do

take good care of me."

"You've worked hard out there. Welcome back to Eientei."

Every gesture she made carried an elegant grace; her smile was soft and lively, and her gaze held curiosity.

Saigetsu Rin parted her lips, her dazed eyes sweeping back and forth between Kaguya and Su Lin.

"You've probably got the wrong idea." Su Lin tilted his head and raised a hand: "I already have a girlfriend."

"Eh?"

Houraisan Kaguya's thoughts visibly stalled. She tilted her head, and before she could think it through, the three figures before her vanished in the blink of an eye.

Their forms were like phantoms, ethereal and wispy, leaving no trace.

In the night behind her, countless brilliant neon lights bloomed. A moment later, Yuyin Yonglin returned, smoothing back the disheveled white hair caused by the danmaku game.

"Princess, they—" Yuyin Yonglin furrowed her brow.

"He called himself Fujiwara no Fuhito, but he knew the paths of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost extremely well. Setting that aside, after all, that lot is the same."

Houraisan Kaguya turned around:

"My five treasures are all one-of-a-kind in this world. Even if they could be forged, the traces of the power of an instant they carry would not be wrong."

"He carries the aura of eternity, the impurity from taking Hourai Elixir, and his manner toward me is completely natural."

"Which means I specially made the same Hourai Elixir I gave you, Yonglin, for him."

"What's more, my future self might also be here; that's the only way he could answer questions about Fujiwara no Fuhito's affairs so fluently."

"We probably aren't our true selves." Yuyin Yonglin thought briefly and said: "The appearance of those people, including the current spacetime state of Gensokyo, is problematic."

Houraisan Kaguya's expression turned strange. She stared at the spot where Su Lin and the others had vanished, the corner of her mouth twitching:

"The future doesn't seem like it'll be boring, but somehow it feels a little off."

She was silent for a while, then looked together with Yuyin Yonglin toward another direction in the sky.

A Yin-Yang Orb split into seventy-two crimson rings of light, each ring firing off precise diamond-shaped danmaku. In only a few breaths, a shrine maiden with a massive red bow tied at the back of her head and two buns at her temples bound in red-and-white ornaments descended.

She threw Ibaraki-douji and Reisen down onto the ground, her expression indifferent as she fixed her gaze on the two before her: "Step aside."

"Yonglin, it seems you were right." Houraisan Kaguya's face took on the same cool composure from earlier: "This isn't the Hakurei shrine maiden I remember."

"Princess, could your memories and condition—"

A flash of shock crossed Yuyin Yonglin's face, but she immediately shook her head, realizing there was no point in dwelling on it now.

Kaguya smiled and instructed: "Stop her."

"Medicine Sign · Galaxy in the Pot."

"Shoot the Moon!"

The danmaku refracted into infinite afterimages in four-dimensional space—

—countless bursts of light exploding above Eientei. Before long, the false moon shattered, leaving behind a trail in the darkness as brilliant as a meteor.

In the end, from within a deep ravine, Houraisan Kaguya crawled out weakly.

"She's becoming more and more like a monster than a shrine maiden."

She stood up, went to the spot where several contestants had earlier sneaked away, and picked out a few game cartridges and discs.

"Never really played NTR before, want to give it a try? But seems like there's no time."

In the sky, a giant dragon breathed out void. The distant Gensokyo, including those flying toward Eientei to resolve the incident, shattered and scattered like glass.

"Didn't we come here to attend a wedding banquet?"

"I almost thought we were attending a funeral."

"How did it turn into saving the world?"

"Shut up, the prey's coming!"

A young girl in appearance, with red eyes, yellow hair tied with a red ribbon, dressed in black—Rumia was fleeing at top speed.

She would occasionally wrap herself in a ball of darkness to try to hide, but immediately several light arrows would fly out from behind her.

Whoosh whoosh—!

These were not danmaku from spell cards, but weapons condensed from some kind of real power.

Rumia fled in panic, but ultimately, because she wasn't watching where she was going, she suddenly tripped and fell. Her eyes welled with tears from the pain.

In an instant, a cage descended from the sky. Her pupils contracted as she rolled in front of a clump of grass.

"Waaah... no..."

A fully armed man with a pointed chin stepped out. Facing Rumia, who looked like a small child and kept begging for mercy, greed instead flashed in his eyes.

"A youkai of darkness, able to manipulate shadows—killing her and taking the corpse should net a decent reward." The pointed-chin man pulled out a throwing knife and grinned ferociously:

"I told you jungling is where the loot is. I'll go look for a wild fairy in a bit."

Watching Rumia flee toward the grass, he was somewhat amused, tossing out throwing knives one after another to enjoy the sight of her struggling.

Step by step, he slowly closed in.

The man saw Rumia wrap herself in darkness again and burrow into the grass. With quick reflexes, he reached forward to grab her.

"Alright, game's over—what's this?"

His palm felt something thick and hard. He froze for a moment, then yanked hard, and a long spear gleaming with a cold metallic light emerged.

"That's your granddaddy's treasure."

A vicious voice rang out. In an instant, the experience of countless battles made him want to chant an incantation and blink away.

"Shut up!"

Swish—!

A military banner fell, followed by three figures with throwing knives stuck in various parts of their bodies, blood spraying everywhere, eyes blazing with fire, leaping out from the grass—

—shouting:

"DEMACIA!!!"

A long spear flicked him flying, and a massive hill rose up from the hollow ravine to flat ground.

"Damn, you won't even let a little girl go! Take my Dragon Strike!"

"A single cold gleam arrives first!"

"Demacia Guillotine!"

A dragon's roar split the air; the sounds of fists, kicks, and shattering flesh rang out, accompanied by a series of grunts, and finally a giant golden greatsword descended from the sky.

"Nima. Gensokyo." The barely-breathing sharp-chinned man looked at the communication device in his hand that was still speaking, and uttered his final confusion:

"Where did Demacia come from."

Crack-crackle-pop.

The hill collapsed. Ge Xiaolun kicked the sharp-chinned man's body, and walked out from inside with Zhao Xin and Cheng Jiawen.

"You've never seen anything." Ge Xiaolun watched Rumia bouncing over to his side, drooling at the sharp-chinned man over there, and hurriedly held her back:

"Eat this first, the reward we agreed on earlier for you bringing the weird uncle over."

He pulled out a whole roast chicken, then took out several bags of snacks.

"There are still a bunch of weirdos over there."

Rumia pointed in a certain direction of the forest: "I'll go bring them all over!"

She manipulated the darkness; the surroundings turned into night, deeper than when she had fled in disarray before.

"Ruzike Sect."

Ge Xiaolun breathed a sigh of relief and said: "It's just that this little Miss's habit of biting people whenever she feels like it needs to be fixed."

Halfway there, he suddenly noticed a ball of darkness clinging to his hand, with the sound of a saw cutting wood coming from inside, nearly scaring the pee out of him.

But fortunately, after learning that Rumia had been hunted and hadn't eaten in days and was very hungry, the few of them hit it off and reached a cooperation agreement.

"This side is full of monsters, ghosts, demons, and immortals, only you have damage output." Zhao Xin pulled the long spear out of the sharp-chinned man's butt and sighed: "I can only break defense by stabbing here."

"You brat are not honest, if you'd given us a heads-up earlier, we'd have farmed up a full set of divine gear by now." Cheng Jiawen shook his head:

"This place is full of beauties, but those beauties can punch five of me."

The few chatted as they burrowed back into the grass.

"Alright, this time I'll carry you guys while you farm, keep quiet I'm replying to a message." Ge Xiaolun opened the chat group, and the two losers beside him also opened the Myriad Worlds Communication Talisman to search for the Hehuan Sect live dance show.

Inside the chat group.

Ge Xiaolun: 【I don't know what point in Gensokyo this is on our side, but there's a bunch of two-hundred-fives ganging up in the forest to capture fairies and hunt small monsters, just opened an account and took one out.】

Huai Shi: 【Sister Mokou, lend me a light for a Huazi.】

Ge Xiaolun: 【?】

Huai Shi: 【Uh. Nothing, my lighter fell. Over at the Human Village, another group of never-before-seen magical beasts just attacked humans. After cleaning them up, Teacher Huiyin hid the Human Village.】

Han Li: 【On my side I did run into a group of cultivators. Wait a moment.】

Han Li closed the chat group, turned to look at the several groups of people who had restrained their auras but were facing off with magic treasures, and sent out communication with divine sense:

"Fellow Daoists, I am Li. Li."

"I am Li Changshou, may I ask where this place is? And where do you all come from?"

"I see."

After a round of probing, Han Li reported the situation in the chat group.

It seemed that more and more visitors from other worlds were appearing in Gensokyo now, and everyone exchanged updates on the situation.

Song Shuhang glanced at the message, cupped his fists toward the green-haired girl before him and asked: "Senior, may I ask where this place is? And how should I address you?"

But the green-haired girl in front didn't seem to want to interact with Song Shuhang, and kept shifting her steps away, yet Song Shuhang employed a Confucian movement technique and followed along.

"Senior, please wait."

"Youkai Mountain," the green-haired girl said: "I'm Kagiyama Hina, don't come any closer!"

Kagiyama Hina?

The moment that name flashed through Song Shuhang's mind, a familiar cackling laugh suddenly came from the sky.

【Tip: Group member Song Shuhang has entered soul state.】