Chapter 846: Three Years

Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, over two years had passed. The five people who had originally proposed marriage to Kaguya had all vanished from the sight of others; rumors said they had all gone out to sea to search for the items Kaguya had demanded. But more rumors claimed that those five had already been buried in the vast ocean; after all, the ocean at this time was still extremely dangerous for ordinary people.

Thanks to those five, Lingyun and the others had enjoyed nearly three years of leisure. The five difficult tasks Kaguya had proposed at the time had been spread far and wide by many people. Upon learning of these tasks, everyone could not help but gasp in cold air, which caused many who coveted Kaguya's beauty to shrink back, not daring to come and propose again. After all, while a beauty is good, the prerequisite is that one must be alive to obtain her. In the minds of many, their own lives were the most important. To throw away one's life for a beauty one might not even be able to obtain—that was the greatest folly.

Inside the Bamboo House, Fujiwara no Mokou let out a soft breath, and the flames dancing around her slowly extinguished.

"I think, I succeeded." Fujiwara no Mokou opened her hand, and a wisp of crimson flame rose in her palm, then transformed into the shape of a bird.

"Mokou-chan has succeeded! Although I had heard from Teacher before that Mokou-chan has talent in this area that surpasses ordinary people, seeing it with my own eyes still feels inexplicably shocking! With this, Mokou's strength can be considered first-rate among humans, and she even has the power to put up a fight against ordinary Great Youkai." Kaguya lifted her head from the table, looking at Mokou with a happy face.

As Mokou's nominal older sister, she had watched Mokou step by step transform from a little girl who couldn't even truss a chicken into the powerhouse she was now, capable of arm-wrestling with Great Youkai, and she always felt an inexplicable sense of gratification.

"Mm." Fujiwara no Mokou nodded with some excitement, then looked toward Kaguya. "Sister Kaguya, on your side, is it still not finished?"

"No!" Hearing Fujiwara no Mokou's words, Kaguya could not help but let out a wail. "What kind of barrier did Teacher set on the Game Console? Although I can forcibly break it now, Teacher didn't set any defense on the Game Console itself. Even if I break the barrier, my Game Console will be scrapped!"

"Hee hee, but compared to before, Sister Kaguya's strength has improved a lot, hasn't it? I can only say, Teacher really understands you, Sister Kaguya!" Mokou said with a giggle.

"This kind of understanding, I would rather not have!" Kaguya looked at the Game Console before her, which was visible but unreachable, her eyes full of despair, and then she asked the other person for help. "Eirin..."

"That won't do, Princess. Before Mr. Lingyun left, he already told me that this thing called a Game Console can only be retrieved by you yourself! Mr. Lingyun set a Technique inside it; if it isn't you who retrieves this Game Console, it will automatically self-destruct!"

"Thwack—" Kaguya's head dropped heavily onto the table, completely losing all motivation.

The Underworld, Hakugyokurou.

"Lingyun—" A soft, glutinous voice came from afar. Lingyun, who was descending from the sky, looked up to see a pink figure floating toward his direction.

Lingyun reached out and caught this light, floating ghost directly.

"Yuyuko, it seems your life here is going quite well! The footprint of this Hakugyokurou is quite large!" Lingyun said with a smile.

"Mm, it's alright." Saigyouji Yuyuko leaned directly into Lingyun's embrace. "At first, I just wanted to build a place in the Underworld where I could rest. Later, those spirits seemed to have their interest piqued in this regard, and as a result, they built such a large garden. However, this also has meaning; some spirits, in the process of building the garden, seemed to have realized something and attained Buddhahood directly."

"Lady Yuyuko—" Just at this moment, a voice with a hint of anxiety came over. Lingyun looked up and saw a blue-white figure darting out from the garden at high speed.

"Youki is still as worried about you as ever!" Lingyun said with a smile.

"Mm, Youki is good at everything, but when it comes to worrying about me, it seems a bit excessive." Saigyouji Yuyuko shrugged and said.

"Isn't it a good thing to have such a loyal and responsible Garden Master?" Lingyun said with a smile.

"But sometimes being too responsible isn't good either!" Saigyouji Yuyuko stuck out her tongue and said, though her tone was full of affirmation for her Garden Master.

Lingyun gave Saigyouji Yuyuko a flick on the forehead: "You are a classic case of having your cake and eating it too! You don't even know, Yukari has long been envious, jealous, and hateful that you have such a good Garden Master!"

"Eh? Really?" Saigyouji Yuyuko tilted her head and asked.

"I just arrived and heard you saying that about me, Little Brother, my heart is truly a bit complicated!" Yakumo Yukari suddenly drilled out from a Gap and hung directly on Lingyun's back. "However, I am indeed quite envious of Yuyuko; having a Garden Master who can manage household chores and also cook, how nice!"

"I say, Yukari, you don't have to be like this every time you see me," Lingyun said with some helplessness.

"Mm, I just feel this is very comfortable!" Yakumo Yukari's eyes narrowed involuntarily; she felt as if she had seen this scene a long time ago.

"I say, Yukari, I think you should also find someone who can take care of you, like how Yuyuko has a Garden Master by her side. You have no one by your side, and with so many affairs, you should always find someone to share the burden for you," Lingyun said to Yakumo Yukari.

"Wu—I know!" Yakumo Yukari nodded and said, clearly agreeing with Lingyun's words.

"Mr. Lingyun." Konpaku Youki, who had rushed over, saw Lingyun being sandwiched by Yakumo Yukari and Saigyouji Yuyuko one after the other. After offering a greeting, he left with great tact.

"By the way, Lingyun, how is your injury now?" Saigyouji Yuyuko asked with some concern.

"Rest assured, this kind of injury healed long ago!" Lingyun indicated that this kind of injury was absolutely no problem for him.

"Oh, then I can rest easy." Knowing that Lingyun would not lie to her about such things, Saigyouji Yuyuko finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At the time, when the two of them learned from Shinki why Lingyun had been injured, they were truly terrified for a long time; even thinking about it now, they still had lingering fears.

"I am always in control of what I do, you two don't need to worry!" Lingyun led the two of them to beneath the Saigyou Ayakashi.

After Saigyouji Yuyuko entered the Underworld, the Saigyou Ayakashi was also brought along by her. Firstly, there was an inseparable connection between the two, and secondly, if the Saigyou Ayakashi were left in the World of the Living, there was no telling what kind of trouble it would cause. Lingyun had said before that he had left a glimmer of life for the Saigyou Ayakashi, which meant that the Saigyou Ayakashi had the possibility of reviving, so it was better to keep an eye on this ticking time bomb himself.

"Lingyun, the three-year time limit is almost up, isn't it?" Yakumo Yukari sat down against the trunk of the Saigyou Ayakashi and asked Lingyun.

"Yes, the events of that year should also come to an end," Lingyun said indifferently. "Once those people are dealt with, Kaguya's future days will be much quieter."

"You are really good to that Moon Princess!" For some reason, Lingyun seemed to smell a hint of lemon fragrance in Yakumo Yukari's tone.

"After all, she is my student. If they had truly been doing things, then I could have shown some mercy. But those fellows who only think about being deceitful, I won't let a single one of them go," Lingyun said with a smile.

"Mm, I can already imagine the miserable ending for those people," Yakumo Yukari asked with a giggle.

"By the way, Yukari, how is your plan coming along?" Lingyun asked.

"Now quite a few Youkai have agreed to join my plan, but among them, there are still many thorns, many bloodthirsty and crazy fellows. These existences will inevitably pose a huge obstacle to the Gensokyo plan and must be cleared away!" There was a trace of killing intent in Yakumo Yukari's tone.

For Yakumo Yukari, the Gensokyo plan, which existed for the continuation of Youkai, was her life's work, and she would use any means necessary to purge any existence that dared to stand in her way. After all, her title of Sage of Youkai was built upon piles of countless blood.