Chapter 213 Parents' Past, A Twilight of Sorrow and Love…
"Absolutely true! I know what you want to ask."
Ramondo groaned in pain again.
"But that's a cat's skull. It's been tested; it's a pure cat. Even if Lady Funina is human, it couldn't possibly be human!"
“…If it’s a real cat, then many details don’t make sense.” Funina immediately shifted the topic to analysis. “Look at the boy’s eye shape! It’s clearly eight-tenths similar to Mainkun’s, except the pupils are just ordinary round ones. I don’t believe this is a coincidence!”
"But what if it's not a coincidence..."
Many eyes began to converge on the image, eventually landing on Mainkuen's father, the little orange cat.
"...How exactly can such a bizarre scene be created?"
Meow~
From any perspective, this cat is quite ordinary.
It would often whimper softly in the night out of fear, trembling and huddled beside the girl's pillow.
"Do you miss your mom? Or your brothers and sisters?... Sigh, I'm sorry, little sun, I've made you as lonely as I am."
The soft hand radiated a warmth similar to that of a mother cat, and Little Sun nestled against it and fell asleep.
"What kind of part-time job is this?"
In the early morning martial arts arena, the boy looked awkwardly at the kitten that was brought to him.
"It's not my cat, why should I help take care of it?"
"But I only trust you!"
Miyoko has her own reasons for feeling helpless.
"Little Sun is too lonely locked in its room by itself, and I'm too scared to bring it to the classroom... Please, I'll bring you something delicious!"
"...You're the young lady, so do as you please."
The boy licked his lips and, with the samurai master's tacit permission, let the cat roam freely under the tree.
"My dear cat, don't come near me when I'm practicing my sword, and don't go too far away either."
He looked up at the rice-gray wall and suddenly sneered, "Ha, I forgot, we are both prisoners in this quagmire. How far can we run?"
"One day, I will definitely..."
"A-Zhu, come here."
His chilling mutterings were interrupted by the samurai, who threw a wooden sword out of thin air, embedding it directly in front of his feet.
"Let me assess your abilities. If you don't meet the requirements, you can go back to being a servant."
"...Tsk!"
Without hesitation, A-Zhu pulled the knife out of the mud and strode forward to slash directly at the samurai's neck!
"Well done, you've got some guts!"
Amidst the clanging sounds of clashing swords, the little orange cat shook its head and turned to pounce on the singing grass that was almost as tall as itself.
"Well, is this just how things are in Inazuma Country?"
Kaeya from Mondstadt couldn't stand it anymore.
"It seems like only the cat looks happy in this house?"
"Ah, Takeshi is definitely unhappy; I haven't seen him smile at all. As for Miyoko..."
Wendy watched the sun set and the moon rise over the middle of the water before the little girl went to find Ah Zhu to ask for the cat.
"Finally, we can play! Ah-Zhu, let's play together!"
"No more playing, give me some good food."
"...Although it's a little better, it can hardly be called freedom."
In the oppressive and quiet night, the boy, the girl, and the kitten all grew up little by little under the protection of adults, and their innocent laughter gradually faded away.
Finally, the little sun grew into a round and plump orange ball, lying in front of the boys.
"I didn't feed them anything."
Azhu squatted down in a daze, picked it up, and reached out to rub the cat's soft belly.
“I didn’t feed you anything special, and you’ve grown so tall now, haven’t you?” Miyoko poked her head out from the side.
"...But it's really too fat."
"Gurgle~"
The orange cat wiggled its rear end, adjusting itself to a more comfortable position.
"ah."
The girl covered her mouth and laughed at him from the side.
"The way you're holding Little Sun right now looks like you're holding a baby."
"Nonsense! Have you ever seen a baby? You're just spouting nonsense here."
"I'm not making this up; the Guhuoniao (a mythical bird) is depicted holding a baby in ancient paintings just like that!"
"Then it's very likely fake, after all, you haven't seen a monster yet, right?"
Ah Zhu calmed down immediately and contentedly wiggled the cat.
"You're just a shut-in Onmyoji."
"This is a good thing. The fact that Onmyoji stay at home means that there are no monsters causing trouble in the world. I don't have to go around chasing after the troublesome Fox Monk like my ancestors did. So, staying at home for the rest of my life is Inazuma's blessing."
Miyoko could spout a lot of reasoning, but Takeshi was quite unconvinced and casually probed her with a question.
"Would you like to go see the Narukami Island Festival?"
"think!!"
Subconscious reactions cannot be hidden, and it wasn't until A-Zhu grinned mischievously that Miyoko realized she had given herself away.
"Ugh, you're making me angry again! You know perfectly well that I'm not allowed to go out!"
The girl angrily reached out and pulled the orange pig out of A-Zhu's arms, then rushed out with elegant yet swift steps.
"Little Sun, let's go, don't pay attention to the bad guys!"
"Meow!"
The cat responded happily, burying its head in the girl's arms and rubbing against her.
Just like when it was a child, it looks carefree and at ease.
"...Fox Abode Palace".
On the contrary, Lei's film seems to be unusually furious.
"When did the Fox Palace of the White Star bloodline become an evil demon? Even if the inheritance is lost, it cannot be—"
"I know you're angry! Me too! But don't draw your sword here!" Yae no Miko tried her best to appease her.
"Miyoko-sama."
A servant bowed his head and respectfully called to the girl.
"The guest has arrived; the master is waiting for you."
"..."
The smile on Miyoko's face vanished instantly, and she nodded coldly.
"Please ask them to wait a moment; the preparatory rituals before the exorcism will take some time."
"oh?"
Although the soldiers were delighted to see General Thunder and Lightning change his expression, they did not lose their senses due to their joy.
"I remember she just said she'd never seen a monster? Ha, this place is really strange in every way."
She said she was going to prepare, but in reality, Miyoko did nothing but stare blankly at the sky.
"Meow?"
A dozen minutes later, the girl buried her face in the cat's belly and took a sniff as if to vent her anger.
"To protect the glory of our family, the great family of God for generations to come."
Then Miyoko put down the little sun, used the bat fan to brush off the cat hair on her body, and walked step by step towards the front hall, while flicking her sleeve to bring the pattern on the paper door to life.
"Report it."
She looked down at the guests whose faces were full of admiration.
What troubles you?
Hahahaha! Hahahaha!
Almost the instant the guest bowed down, the soldiers burst into wild laughter. "Look what I've discovered! Hmm? The Inazuma family, facing hardship, doesn't pray to the gods but instead seeks help from a family of swindlers! No, no, they're not exactly swindlers! Hahaha! They're just genuinely bluffing!"
"Lady Miyoko, please look at my wife! You must be possessed!"
The woman, who resembled a noble concubine, had a pale face.
"She had been ill for a long time, her limbs were weak, and she had drunk a lot of herbal medicine but it didn't help..."
"Please describe your daily diet and lifestyle in detail so that I can find traces of the monster."
"Yes, sir, please allow me to explain in detail..."
After explaining the situation to her husband, he looked at Miyoko with expectant eyes.
"Lady Miyoko, is there a solution?"
His wife stood behind him, her head drooping, looking listless and barely alive.
"...I heard you say that she has been a vegetarian for more than eight years?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" the husband nodded vigorously. "My wife is kind-hearted and can't stand seeing animals killed!"
Having more or less understood, Miyoko sighed inwardly, but outwardly remained calm and took out the talisman as usual, pretending to exorcise evil spirits.
"Your wife is too kind, and her aura is too gentle and weak, which is why she was bullied by the kappa and contracted this disease."
"Then, what should we do?"
"Don't be afraid, the demonic aura has been dispelled. From now on, kill three live fish every day, cook them with salt into porridge, and eat it. Then throw the fish heads into the nearby waters as a deterrent..."
There are no monsters here, it's just malnutrition.
Miyoko wanted to explain everything clearly, but her father kept staring at her back, so she could only reluctantly endure it.
After receiving the money and seeing off the profusely thanking guests, the father turned around and praised Daizi:
"Miyoko, you really are the best Onmyoji in the Korekami family."
...
An Onmyoji who has never seen a single Yokai is considered good, isn't he?
Is an Onmyoji who's full of lies even a good one?
"Let's meet the next guest, Miyoko. Thanks to you, our reputation has spread far and wide."
……dislike.
"Meow."
As if sensing something, the little sun gently rubbed against the girl's back.
"Oh, it's still alive."
The head of the Wei family frowned, thought for a moment, and asked.
"Miyoko, it should be almost seven years old by now."
"It's still a bit short, what's wrong?"
"Didn't I teach you? Cats that live past seven years have the potential to become monsters unless their tails are removed, Miyoko, you have to..."
"Those are all unverifiable ancient books! Or do you, Father, think that I can't even control a newly evolved little cat demon? The greatest Onmyoji of the Yushin family?"
“…Miyoko, the guest is at the door, please speak softly.”
"..."
Miyoko's angry expression froze on her face, and she glared at her father, who looked nervous.
“Miyako, think about your surname, return to your dignity…”
The girl was silent for a moment, then finally slapped the cat's butt lightly.
"Meow?"
"Let's go out and play, little sun, it's not fun here."
The cat was bewildered as it was kicked out of the room.
It seemed not quite understanding what was happening.
"Don't worry about it, little sun."
A-Zhu, who was outside the door, picked it up and held it in her arms, stroking it gently.
"I guess that rumor just stems from the fact that people in the past had never seen a cat that could live for seven years, and everyone was always struggling..."
Meow~
The cat didn't know what he was talking about; it only remembered that he was getting nicer to it, becoming gentler day by day.
"Everyone has been having a hard time."
Unexpectedly, A-Zhu recited the sentence again with a distant gaze.
"Little Sun, whose fault do you think this is?"
The cat, of course, couldn't answer him, and the young samurai stood in front of the door, waiting with it from noon until night.
"Miyoko."
He called out to the weary-looking girl.
"Let's go out."
"Sigh, please don't tease me. I'm so tired and sad right now."
"I'm serious."
A-Zhu stepped forward and gently pushed her shoulders with both hands, helping her hunched back straighten up again.
"You, me, and Little Sun, the three of us secretly went out to play and watch the celebration."
"...But what about Father..."
“Let’s hurry and get back before he notices.”
"...Are you serious?! But, but I've never been out before, are there any etiquette rules I should follow?"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Miyoko was so excited that she almost threw away her bat fan.
"Bring Mora, and oh, and a map too! Just in case it gets lost."
"No, you don't need to bring any, Your Excellency."
With permission granted, a rare smile finally appeared on A-Zhu's face.
"I'm here with you."
"Oh dear, these two young people."
Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun couldn't help but utter a sigh unique to elders.
"That's wonderful, wow, that's wonderful..."
Xiao was somewhat worried, "If the head of the Weishen family finds out about this, Azhu will probably be punished very severely."
Whether they were happy or sad, these were all things of the past. People could not change anything. All they could see was the girl excitedly climbing over the high wall, and then nervously grabbing Ah Zhu's arm.
"Where to go next? That main road?"
"No, although the main road is flat and bright, it is not suitable for the two of us who are secretly running away."
A-Zhu grabbed her arm in return, led her, and, holding the cat, rushed into the woods.
"We're going to have to take a secret path!"
"Meow?"
"Wow!"
Uncontrollable chuckles began to echo through the forest. Perhaps tomorrow these chuckles will become a brand new yokai legend, but who cares? The cat and its young human friends ran wildly to the festival island, only to be startled by the flowers blooming in the night sky and howled in terror.
"Those are fireworks, aren't they, Ah-Zhu!"
"Don't be afraid, little sun, I'll go write an ema for you..."
Just as A-Zhu received the ema (votive plaque), a wandering warrior secretly slipped away from the crowd and approached him to ask a question.
"Boss, is that...our sister-in-law?"
"Shut up and get out of here."
A-Zhu smiled and picked up the pen.
"She doesn't know anything yet. If she dares to leak it out, I'll skin you alive."
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